More Paradise - Milton

(Sorry for the very brief posts of the last couple of weeks.  The end of the summer has been abnormally busy and my mental energies have been sorely taxed.  The kids are all back in school so things should return to normal.)

I'd like to point readers to a far better review of 'Paradise Lost' than my own effort from last week.  You can read Cleo's full review here.  It sounds like I'm not alone in finding Satan to be a sympathetic character.  I'm just following in some 300 years of footsteps.  Well, it's nice to have company.  Cleo also points out 'A Preface to Paradise Lost' by C.S. Lewis (Amazon link), which sounds like a wonderful companion piece.  It's on my wish list now and I'll let you know if/when I get a chance to read it.

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I'd also like to point out some artwork that was inspired by 'Paradise Lost'.  This is the from Gustave Dore and it's simply wonderful.

You can find more here.  Simply wonderful.

Paradise Lost - Milton

'Paradise Lost' is Milton's epic poem regarding the Garden of Eden and man's fall from grace.  The poem also covers Satan in Tartarus (Hell) and accounts of the war he lost in heaven.  It truly is epic in all senses of the word.
I spoke with my Dad, who has taught 'Paradise Lost' on several occasions and he told me that it in its time, it was second only to the Bible in terms of popularity.  This isn't surprising.  Almost all of our modern conceptions of hell are drawn from Milton's imagery.  With Milton we get burning lakes.  With Dante, a few centuries earlier, hell was a series of frozen rings.  Now we think of Hell as a place of burning torments.
The most surprising element of the poem was how sympathetic it made Satan out to be.  I'm somewhat certain that wasn't the aim of Milton, but I'll be damned if that isn't the result.  Satan famously says that it is 'Better to reign in Hell, then to serve in Heav'n'.  I can't help but wonder if that didn't reflect some of the distrust in the Monarchy that was evident throughout England in the 17th century.  The idea of being subservient to someone else was being seriously questioned.  (This is probably just me projecting backwards, but it struck me.)
The interplay between Adam and Eve was also very interesting.  It deserves its own blog post, but I'll just mention that Milton mixes in a justification for eating the fruit that seems very close to the traditional wedding vows.  I don't know if Milton inspired the vows, or simply copied them.

Did I enjoy the poem?  Parts of it.  There were some long sections of descriptions of scenery or flora that I skimmed through.  There were sections on things like 'free will' that I'm sure were very important at the time but don't seem so very important now.  The arguments of the 1600s between Catholics and Protestants are interesting from an historical perspective but not very captivating on their own merits.

Biography of Milton

John Milton was born in 1608 in London.  His father was a composer of some note, successful enough that Milton was raised with a tutor.  At an early age he learned both Latin and Greek.  A contemporary of his said that "When he was young, he studied very hard and sat up very late, commonly till twelve or one o'clock at night".
He spent time at Cambridge, where he was apparently suspended for fighting a few times.  While there he also made contacts with various people, like Roger Williams a theologian.  While at Cambridge, Milton was already marked for his poetic skills.  After school he went to his father's house and studied hard on subjects of his own choosing for the next six years.  He kept a record of his studies, which is now in the British Library.
Milton toured Europe, mostly France and Italy.  While doing so, his poetic skills were given a larger audience and he met several of the leading intellectual lights of the continent.  He skipped a visit to Greece because he wanted to return to England before civil war erupted there.
During the civil war, Milton was outspoken against Catholicism and a vocal proponent of 'republicanism', the belief that the head of state should be elected, not inherited.  He also made an ill considered marriage and wrote about the advisability of divorce.  These writings were attacked and Milton wrote the subject of this month, 'Areopagitica'.
After the war was over, Milton worked for Cromwell's government as the 'Secretary for Foreign Tongues'.  His job was mainly to translate the correspondence into Latin but he also worked as a propagandist and censor.  He wrote several defenses of the regicide of Charles I.  By 1654, he was totally blind and had to dictate his work to assistants.
Cromwell died in 1658 and the Restoration (of the monarchy) period was a hard one for him.  He went into hiding, only emerging after a general pardon had been issued.  He was still arrested and briefly spent time in prison.  Some influential friends sprung him and he lived quietly in London, being forced to move out of the city during the plague of 1665.
In 1667, 'Paradise Lost' was published.  He'd been working on it since at least 1658.  It's widely regarded as one of the best poems ever written in English.  He followed it up with 'Paradise Regained' and other notable poems such as 'Samson Agonistes'.
He died of kidney failure in November of 1674.

Reading for August

Only one.

August

Milton: Paradise Lost link

Reading for August

One poem.

August
Milton: Paradise Lost link

If you're afraid of epic poetry, this is a good one to get your feet wet with.  The story makes sense, the written scheme is unforced and Milton is a (can't resist the pun) damned good writer.

Exposure to Sin - Milton

One of the interesting arguments that Milton brings forth in 'Areopagitica' is that in order to show true virtue, one must be able to sin.  If your virtue is enforced, is your only choice, then it doesn't mean as much.

I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat.

On the face of it, this makes sense to me, but rarely has a society agreed with Milton here.  We shun indecency and vice.  We especially work hard to keep it away from those least likely to fall prey to its temptations.  But of course Milton was speaking of books.

And this is the benefit which may be had of books promiscuously read.

How can we know what we're arguing against if we never hear those arguments?  We run into this today in modern politics where it is increasingly easy to read only opinion that you already agree with.  If your mind isn't exposed to the ideas of the opposition, it will probably never be changed.  Like Milton, I can't praise that 'fugitive and cloistered virtue'. 

Note: I just discovered that the previous couple of entries didn't publish for some reason.  They are below in their proper time slots.

The Life of a Book - Milton

One of my favorite passages in 'Areopagitica' is when Milton speaks of why we must be careful when 'confine' or 'imprison' books, as is the case when we censor them.

For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them.

That's exactly right.  When an author pours his intellect into a book, it is a reflection of the author's intellect or soul.  When that author pours his very best, then it is of the purest soul.  He continues:

Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God's image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were in the eye. Many a man lives a burden to the earth; but a good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.

That's a quote for the ages right there.

Nearly twenty years ago, I first read a book by Umberto Eco called 'The Name of the Rose' and it blew me away.  If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.  [SPOILER ALERT]  The book is largely set around a medieval library and at that climax of the story it goes up in a conflagration.  After I read the book, I passed it on to my dad and he also loved it.  We talked about this scene and he talked about how it was like a punch to the gut.  All of the monks, all of the other characters in the book were long gone and worm food by the time the book was written.  The books however could have lived forever if they'd survived.  Unfortunately, they were lost, some of them certainly the only copies left.  The world was left much poorer because of it.

Aeropagitica - Milton

John Milton is better known (much, much better known) for his poetry, but 'Aeropagitica' is a thing of beauty.  At the time it was written, there was a Licensing Order in place in England in which an author needed permission from a state appointed official before publishing something.  He published this in direct violation of the act.
The arguments are still familiar today.  They should be as Milton lays down what we would think of in America as First Amendment freedoms.  The sad thing is that we'd even need to argue this anymore, but there is some part of humanity that fears free expression. 
He starts with three basic arguments: 1) 'the inventors of it be those whom ye will be loathe to own' (the censors will not be good people), 2) the order will do nothing to stop 'scandalous, seditious, and libellous books' and 3):

Last, that it will be primely to the discouragement of all learning, and the stop of truth, not only by disexercising, and blunting, our abilities in what we know already, but by hindering and cropping the discovery that might be yet further made both in religious and civil wisdom.

This is a huge point, still relevant.  If you restrict the scope in which people can argue, you will make it impossible to learn new things.  Later on he expands on this point by comparing Jesus, the savior, to Truth itself.  He says that it deceivers rent that truth apart into a thousand pieces and scattered them to the winds.  That search still continues, he says, but will be stopped if the search is censored. 
Milton also notes that the censorship will surely spread:

If we think to regulate printing, thereby to rectify manners, we must regulate all recreation and pastimes, all that is delightful to man.  No music must be heard, no song be set or sung, but what is grave and Doric. There must be licensing dancers, that no gesture, motion or deportment be taught our youth but what by their allowance shall be honest;...

Once we accept the logic of broad censorship, it grows and grows.  Our current society has settled this to some extent by simply labeling some writings (music, movies, etc.) so that people have an idea of what to expect.  Parents can (mostly) keep adult materials away from kids.  Violent materials are clearly labeled.  Religious writings are free, with some notable and important exceptions.  Political writings aren't as free as they should be, but in general, opposing viewpoints are allowed. 
I wish we had read this whole piece, or at least excerpts, back in high school.

Biography of John Milton

John Milton was born in 1608 in London.  His father was a composer of some note, successful enough that Milton was raised with a tutor.  At an early age he learned both Latin and Greek.  A contemporary of his said that "When he was young, he studied very hard and sat up very late, commonly till twelve or one o'clock at night".
He spent time at Cambridge, where he was apparently suspended for fighting a few times.  While there he also made contacts with various people, like Roger Williams a theologian.  While at Cambridge, Milton was already marked for his poetic skills.  After school he went to his father's house and studied hard on subjects of his own choosing for the next six years.  He kept a record of his studies, which is now in the British Library.
Milton toured Europe, mostly France and Italy.  While doing so, his poetic skills were given a larger audience and he met several of the leading intellectual lights of the continent.  He skipped a visit to Greece because he wanted to return to England before civil war erupted there.
During the civil war, Milton was outspoken against Catholicism and a vocal proponent of 'republicanism', the belief that the head of state should be elected, not inherited.  He also made an ill considered marriage and wrote about the advisability of divorce.  These writings were attacked and Milton wrote the subject of this month, 'Areopagitica'.
After the war was over, Milton worked for Cromwell's government as the 'Secretary for Foreign Tongues'.  His job was mainly to translate the correspondence into Latin but he also worked as a propagandist and censor.  He wrote several defenses of the regicide of Charles I.  By 1654, he was totally blind and had to dictate his work to assistants.
Cromwell died in 1658 and the Restoration (of the monarchy) period was a hard one for him.  He went into hiding, only emerging after a general pardon had been issued.  He was still arrested and briefly spent time in prison.  Some influential friends sprung him and he lived quietly in London, being forced to move out of the city during the plague of 1665.
In 1667, 'Paradise Lost' was published.  He'd been working on it since at least 1658.  It's widely regarded as one of the best poems ever written in English.  He followed it up with 'Paradise Regained' and other notable poems such as 'Samson Agonistes'.
He died of kidney failure in November of 1674.

Readings for August

Two pieces:


Hobbes: Leviathan (Part 1) link
Milton: Areopagitica link

Both of these pieces were written during the English civil war.  I happened to read some historical fiction set during the Restoration period, Neal Stephenson's 'Quicksilver' and that helped me understand what was going on.  Then I read part of Churchill's 'History of the English Speaking People', roughly the section that covers the 17the century, including all of the civil war.  That also helped me to understand what prompted these writings. 

Milton - Poetry

The next poem is from John Milton.  The title is 'When I consider How my Light is Spent' and was written after he had become blind.

When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker; and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur; soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousads at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."

What an interesting poem!  Milton's 'talent' is obviously his way with words.  Now that he is blind, he can't write.  He can still dictate, but I imagine this is a frustrating way of continuing.  So can he stop writing?  His talent is from God, and God has seen fit to take his sight.  Is he still expected to work?
The answer is oblique at best.  God doesn't need his work.  Tasks are given out to those who can best handle them.  And although many work for him, even those who are simply still and patient are doing God's will.
And yet he still wrote.

Getting a Jump on 'Paradise Lost'

If you're following along with the bloggers in the sidebar, you may be familiar with 'The Western Tradition' blog.  Over there Dr J is making his way through the Great Books but he's doing it in a slightly different fashion than I am.  He is covering more ground (much more) and at a faster pace. 
Each week he announces what he'll be working on for the next week and offers comments on the previous pieces.  Yesterday he mentioned that he's starting 'Paradise Lost', which he calls the greatest poem in the English language.  As I've mentioned before, poetry is something of a blind spot for me.  Long, epic poems intimidate me and 'Paradise Lost' is something I've been dreading a bit. 
With that in mind, I'm going to follow along with Dr J.  It looks like he's covering one 'book' per week.  If so, this will be done over the next twelve weeks.  If you're also intimidated by long poems, this might be a good way to help yourself out. 
'Paradise Lost' comes up on our list in August of year three.  I plan on simply taking notes and leaving them in a journal so that I can brush up and be ready again two years from now.  You can easily do the same.