Milton's Paradise Lost & The Danger of the Intellect

Milton invokes the Muse at the start of his journey to inspire him to justify the ways of God to men. Paradise Lost, therefore, has something to tell us about the will of God on behalf of Milton. The primary focal point of the story is Satan’s attempt to reach higher than God, relaying the tale of his Fall from Heaven and inspiration to curse all mankind. The God of Paradise Lost embodies a kingly prowess as seen in the Old Testament, which is reasonable given Milton’s life in 1677 during the rule of Charles II in England. After transgressing against his will, Milton’s God, despite loving his creation of Man and Woman, casts them out into the barren world beyond Paradise Eden.

What is interesting to us as readers is the reiteration of the Bible story in polemic by Milton. This fulcrum extends the force of Paradise Lost immensely, as our understanding of the story and the evil, tempting nature of Satan empowers Milton to cast a character that fools even the astute reader onto Satan’s side. In providing Satan a philosophical stance, Milton births a political agenda from his character to rule beyond God. This is what Blake may have intended in saying Milton was really, “the Devil’s Man.”

The psychological similarity of Milton’s masterful Satan to the reader is akin to being given a basket with a glowing orb within and told, “this is the fundamental reality of all.” Some accept this and have their questioning extinguished; others, like Satan, wonder what lies beyond the glowing orb.

Milton’s effort encapsulates how the ultimate figurehead of God in his Paradise Lost represents, what is believed to be, a necessary stopping point to the incessant questions of the mind. This leads to three reflections: the question of fundamental impairment of rational faculties, the fatherly ordinance of God, and the ultimate reality of Milton’s God.

Through tasting Good & Evil, Milton argues, Adam & Eve embed a flaw in human rationality. That is, the human mind is inherently “ill” in its inability to accept an ultimate truth as a stopping point.

We are lost and will never find our way because we are sick.

This “illness” prompts a spine-crawling sensation similar to Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor. The mind as “ill” reveals the Biblical passage of the Fall as a psychological conflict, demonstrating one’s role in that passage.

The principle we must learn from this intrinsic “sickness” of the mind is that one must humble themselves to the almighty. To draw a modern analog, Milton suggests the patient losing touch with reality must yield to the doctor, trusting that through submission, the patient will be cured. Put through Lao Tzu:

“Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.”

The mind is incapable of transcending its limitations, thus surrender is necessary for peace (heaven).

Adam & Eve find humility in renouncing themselves as insignificant before Paradise. The psychological metaphor is poignant when Adam describes how they may bear the burden of Good & Evil. Milton hints that we, as readers, too, can learn from this tale. The kingly personification of Milton’s God reflects an authoritative figure; Satan’s flaw is his inability to see why one should not question a King. However, this questioning inevitably leads to exile, raising the question of why such a punishing response?

Primarily, a King does not want his decisions questioned. However, with the “Ultimate King,” Milton’s God, our question is why such an ideology of pure, loving authority would be so punishing. The chief question becomes why Milton’s God is so upset with the Fall?

Given Milton’s God’s omniscience, why was the Fall such a transgression? This question subtly assumes there is something beyond him. But Milton argues the Fall has impaired rational facilities, causing us to question divine rule. This cultural conflict reflects the revolutionary’s desire to see beyond the “status quo.”

We are left then to question the validity of Milton’s God as ultimate reality. One asks why give free will, why plant the forbidden tree if the parental figure is all there may be. However, herein lies a disturbing question about the nature of Evil itself. As Jung might suggest, Paradise as infantile consciousness and the Fall as individual awareness brings forth the parent’s love for a baby’s innocence but resentment as the child grows. This metaphor breaks down in metaphysical contemplation, leading to Milton’s greatest obstacle.

The contradictory placement of Evil from a figure claiming Good suggests Milton’s God embodies both. At this point, we reach into mythology, discovering Milton’s God as a deification of the self as the divine balancer of Good & Evil. Dr. Peterson’s Maps of Meaning posits that reality is the ultimate plane for action, casting the mythological landscape as one’s setting for bearing Good & Evil.

In closing, Paradise Lost prompts us to consider whether, as “the Devil’s Man,” we are convinced of the warnings against belief beyond Milton’s ultimate reality. Peace from questioning is achieved when one submits to totality, accepting Good & Evil, as Adam & Eve did in bearing their banishment from Paradise. Through this lens, heaven is brought onto earth when one stops seeking an answer beyond what is in front of them. Adam is later revealed the fate of his progeny by the angel Raphael, as Milton prepares to inform us of how Paradise can be regained in his next work.

While those who cross Milton are seemingly given a one-sided choice, we must remember that Milton, the “Devil’s man,” seeks to justify the ways of God to men.