Milton's Use of Classical Mythology in Paradise Lost

PMLA ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Collett
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Paradise Lost ◽  
Historical Reality ◽  
The Third ◽  
Adam And Eve ◽  
Classical Mythology ◽  
The World ◽  
To Come

There are three categories of myth in Paradise Lost, each of which is essential to the epic's proleptic structure: first, those myths identifying the pagan gods with the fallen angels; second, those myths used in comparisons with Eden, Adam, and Eve; finally, in Book xi, those myths that are types of the Old and New Testament revelation that Adam will receive. The first and third categories are evidences of God working in history, and these myths are consequently “fabled”, set in story form by the pagans; the second group have no historical reality and are only “feigned”, or fabricated. Milton uses these two words carefully. From another perspective, the first and second uses lead from the timelessness of prelapsarian existence to history. The third moves in reverse, from history to eternity, not of the world before the Fall but of the Christian glory to come.

Sympathy for the Devil

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Dilan Tuysuz
Keyword(s):  
John Milton ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Paradise Lost ◽  
Adam And Eve ◽  
Epic Poem ◽  
The World ◽  
The Devil

John Milton, in his epic poem Paradise Lost, describes the expulsion of Adam and Eve from heaven, leading to the beginning of the oldest struggle. However, the representation of the devil in Milton's work, which is considered responsible for all evil in the world, is striking. The fact that Milton's devil's temptation has taken precedence over the story of expulsion of Adam and Eve is similar to Batman being overshadowed by the evil character Joker. Batman, who has many virtues and positive qualities as a superhero, has not impressed the audience as much as wicked Joker. But what makes the bad characters attractive to the reader/audience in Milton's Satan and the Joker? Is the Joker mentally ill? Is there a rebellion like the Satan's behind the Joker's malicious actions or is it possible to talk about a different motivation? The aim of this chapter is to explore the answers to these and similar questions by taking a journey through the psychology of evil. Thus, it will be possible to understand whether our admiration of bad characters is a reflection of the darkness within us.

The Significance of the Ascension of Jesus Christ in the New Testament

1977 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 555-568
Author(s):  
B. K. Donne
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Present Writer ◽  
The Third ◽  
German Scholar ◽  
Contemporary Christian ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Subject ◽  
To Come ◽  
Ascent To Heaven

The theme of the Ascension of Jesus Christ is one of the most JL important in the New Testament, yet during the present century, very little theological attention has been given to it. Most of the published work has been in the form of articles in theological journals and commentaries, though J. G. Davies' Bampton Lectures entitled He Ascended into Heaven, published in 1958, were devoted to the subject, and later, there appeared, also in English, U. Simon's The Ascent to Heaven in 1961. Even H. B. Swete's The Ascended Christ, which first appeared in 1910 and was subsequently published in several editions until 1916, expresses the hope that the work might awaken a response to a renewed sense of the importance of this great Christian festival. His earlier writing, The Apostles' Creed in 1894, contains a chapter on the Ascension which was a spirited reply to the German scholar Harnack, who asserted that the Ascension had no separate place in the primitive tradition, and whose views considerably influenced the thought of New Testament scholarship for many years to come. This article seeks to make an assessment of what the present writer considers to be a subject of the utmost importance, both in regard to its theological significance in the New Testament, and in its relevance for contemporary Christian experience. The Scriptures declare that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, buried, and raised again the third day.

Chapter II. The World Economy

1976 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 33-49
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Industrial Production ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
The Third ◽  
The World ◽  
Trading Partners ◽  
To Come

It is now clear that output in the OECD countries rose even faster in the early stage of the recovery than we had previously supposed. Between the third quarter of 1975 and the first quarter of 1976 their aggregate GDP appears to have increased at an annual rate of 7 per cent and their industrial production at 12 per cent. By the second quarter, however, stock movements were probably making a substantially smaller contribution to the expansion of demand. The rate of growth of industrial production has slowed down considerably since the spring and the same is probably true of GDP, particularly in view of the effects of the drought on European agricultural output. By the second half of next year we expect the deceleration to become more pronounced in the major countries, particularly the United States. The smaller countries have, however, been lagging behind their bigger trading partners in the recent cycle and their phase of rapid recovery is probably yet to come. In all we expect OECD countries' aggregate GDP to increase in volume by 5½–6 per cent this year and 5 per cent in 1977.

Eschatology and Ethics in the New Testament

1962 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. P. Owen
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
New Age ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The Third ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Second Coming

The aim of this article is to examine the relation that the New Testament posits between ethics and eschatology. The first part will deal with the ethical implications of eschatology as a whole; the second part will be devoted to an examination of one topic only—the Second Coming (Parousia) of Christ; the third part will take the form of a few remarks on the applicability of Christian ethics to the life of the world.The basis of apostolic eschatology is stated in the earliest Christian ‘sermon’ for which we have evidence—Peter's speech on the day of Pentecost. The speech ends with the assertion that the promised Spirit has been given and that the ‘new age’ has dawned. This ‘realised’ eschatology of the Petrine kerygma has parallels in both the gospels and epistles.

scholarly journals “DESCENT INTO HELL” VS “THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT GUEST”: CHRISTIAN DOGMA IN THE ETHNO-RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE OSSETIANS

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
С.Г. КЦОЕВА
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Third ◽  
Religious System ◽  
The World ◽  
Religious Cult ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
Canonical Texts ◽  
The Comparative Study

Статья посвящена анализу христианских интерференций в самобытной этноре- лигиозной системе осетин. В «Осетинских этюдах» Миллер со ссылкой на работу Б. Га- тиева привел легенду о Барастыре. Этот правитель загробного мира по ходатайству неизвестного, но «великого гостя» выпустил грешников из ада и ввел их в рай. Миллер, предположивший в данной легенде отражение христианского догматического предания о сошествии Иисуса Христа в ад, не стал доказывать свою гипотезу, и в некоторой сте- пени настоящее исследование является ее научной проверкой. Анализ сюжета позволяет с уверенностью констатировать его христианскую основу. Предпринятое сравнитель- ное изучение осетинской легенды и христианского догмата выявило как совпадения, так и несовпадения отдельных элементов легенды с каноническим преданием, что обусловило необходимость обращения к ветхо- и новозаветным апокрифам, касающимся данного со- бытия. Их разбор также не оставил сомнений в точности миллеровской догадки. Отсыл- ка к неканоническим текстам в ходе настоящего исследования была обусловлена также скудостью упоминаний о событии Сошествия в ад в библейском каноне. Обращение же к неканоническим евангелиям в ходе сравнительного анализа способствовало его существен- ной объективации, вследствие чего в статье особо подчеркивается проблема апокрифиче- ских заимствований, остающаяся, судя по небольшому количеству публикаций, одной из наименее изученных в осетиноведении. Кроме того, материалы сравнительного изучения способствовали выявлению третьего, неожиданного объекта анализа — иудейских элемен- тов в предпасхальной этнорелигиозной обрядности осетин («суфæхæрæн æхсæв»), что позволило вывести исследование за рамки собственно мировоззренческой сферы в другую область религиозной системы — этнорелигиозную культовую практику. The article is devoted to the analysis of the Christian interference into the original ethnoreligious system of the Ossetians. V. Miller in his «Ossetian etudes» referred to B. Gatiev’s work where the legend about Barastyr is narrated. This ruler of the world of the dead at the request of the «great guest» released sinners from the hell and welcomed them to the paradise. V. Miller suggested that this legend reflects the Christian dogmatic tradition of the Descent of Jesus Christ into hell. He, however, did not develop this hypothesis, and, to some extent, the present study is a scientific verification of this hypothesis. The analysis of the plot allows us to state with certainty its Christian basis. The undertaken comparative study of the Ossetian legend and Christian dogma revealed both coincidences and discrepancies between the separate elements of the legend with the canonical gospel. This necessitated addressing the Old and New Testament apocrypha, which relate this event. The present analysis leaves little doubt about the accuracy of Millerʼs guess. The reference to non-canonical texts in the course of this study is also due to the meagerness of references to the Descent into hell. The analysis of the non-canonical Gospels in the course of the comparative study contributed to its significant objectification, as a result of which the article highlights the problem of apocryphal borrowings. Judging by the small number of publications, this problem is one of the least investigated in the Ossetian studies. In addition, the materials of the comparative study helped to identify the third, unexpected object of analysis — the Jewish elements in the religious pre-Easter ritual («sufæhæræn æхsæv») among Ossetians. This made it possible to extend the research beyond the actual worldview scope to the other field of the religious system — ethno-religious cult practice.

Literary Colonialism: Books in the Third World

1975 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Altbach
Keyword(s):  
Third World ◽  
The Third ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Industrialized Nations ◽  
The World ◽  
Publishing Houses ◽  
Literary Colonialism ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Relationship Of

Most Third World people have limited access to the world body of knowledge, and even information about their own countries is often hard to come by. One reason is that the majority of publishing houses in the world are either located in the West or controlled by Westerners. In this essay, the author describes the difficulty of publishing in the Third World as part of a larger relationship of dependence of developing countries on industrialized nations. The author, who has done research in India and published a number of books in that country, concludes his discussion with suggestions for expanding Third World autonomy in the area of knowledge production.

Choosing Rest in Paradise Lost

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-293
Author(s):  
Daniel Ritchie ◽  
Jared Hedges
Keyword(s):  
Paradise Lost ◽  
Sexual Expression ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Garden Of Eden ◽  
Adam And Eve ◽  
The World

As they depart the Garden of Eden at the end of Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve must “choose their place of rest” in the world. Most scholarly treatments of this “rest” place it in the eschatological context of Hebrews 4. Our paper highlights the neglected worldly significance of rest in Paradise Lost. Adam and Eve come to understand rest in relation to work, speech, understanding, eating, and sexual expression, both before the fall and after. Our article enables readers to identify with “our first parents” in seeking a “place of rest” in this world.

scholarly journals Indikatief en paraklese in Romeine

1990 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Kruger
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Main Section ◽  
Missionary Work ◽  
The Third ◽  
Valid Method ◽  
The World ◽  
Introductory Part ◽  
Greek New Testament ◽  
Diverse Groups

The introductory part of this article presents an explanation of what is meant by the Greek New Testament word παράκλησις: and an indication of what is accepted by the author of this article as a valid method of studying Romans. The main indicative of Romans lies in the first part, 1:16 - 4:25. Special attention should thus be given to the introductory part before this main section. In deviations from the formal introduction to the letter Paul beforehand indicates what is to follow later in the letter The traditional exegesis of Romans 1:18 is not considered as correct in all aspects and reformed dogmatics built on Romans 1 should be reconsidered as far as sufficiency of revelation is concemed The second main section, Romans 5-8 is a consolation and an exhortation to Christians to persevere in faith. The third part, Romans 9-11, is an appeal to Jews to accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. This part also contains an urgent warning to Christians from the Gentiles not to fall into covenant-automatism. The παράκλησις; of Romans 12:1 -15:13 is directed in first instance to the congregation in Rome. Though this paraclesis primarily concerns the congregation in Rome, it also touches upon the relation to the world and to authority, and it culminates in Romans 15:7 with an appeal that the diverse groups in the congregation in Rome should accept each other as Christ had accepted them. In the concluding part of the letter Paul’s main issues are to get the Romans involved in his planned missionary work in Spain and the appeal that they should bring forth the fruit of their faith. The article concludes with some suggestions for sermons from Romans.

scholarly journals Fall and Redemption

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gábor Ittzés
Keyword(s):  
Paradise Lost ◽  
Initial Reaction ◽  
The Third ◽  
Adam And Eve ◽  
Perception Of Time

The current essay is the third paper in a long drawn-out series that examines the temporality of created beings in Paradise Lost. The first paper (The AnaChronisT 1996) discussed the pristine condition of humans in an Eden characterised by dynamism rather than stasis. The second article (The AnaChronisT 2004) examined the temporality of Milton's angels, both loyal and fallen. The present investigation returns to Adam and Eve but looks at their life in time as we know it. I will show that the first human pair's initial reaction to the altered situation, their perception of time and despair after the fall parallel those of the fallen angels. The destinies of rebel angels and of disobedient humans diverge in that God bestows grace on the latter and reverses their fate, which betokens time's new significance for humanity as the potentiality to be redeemed. As part of the redemptive process, Adam and Eve must come to terms with death, foreknowledge and history. While the 1996 paper mostly concentrated on the paradisal books, and the previous essay on books i-ii and v-vi, I now turn to the last third of the epic. Taken together, the three articles thus provide a sustained reading of the whole poem.

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