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Milton's Attitude Toward Knowledge in Paradise Lost
Milton's Attitude Toward Knowledge in Paradise Lost
First of all, both St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas recognize two levels of
knowledge. The lower level, referring to knowledge of all contingent, ever-changing
and corporeal things, is said to be attainable by human senses, while the higher level,
referring to knowledge of all eternal, changeless and abstract things, is said to be
supersensible and thus only attainable by means of God’s illumination or analogical
interpretation. St. Augustine designates these two levels as “sense knowledge” and
“contemplation knowledge,” whereas Thomas Aquinas designates them as
“knowledge of the particular” and “knowledge of the universal.”
Next, both St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas approve of the pursuit of
knowledge; that is why they themselves should have spent so much energy in
considering things. However, St. Augustine considers it a sin to try to probe too
deeply into the mysteries of the universe. So he feels himself doomed because of
“intellectual arrogance.” On the other hand, Thomas Aquinas holds that every human
act, including the pursuit of knowledge, should be in accordance with the order of
reason. That is, the immediate end of every human act should be in harmony with the
final end, which is the infinite Good, namely, God. In brief, both St. Augustine and
Thomas Aquinas maintain that temperance and God’s divine order should be observed
in the pursuit of knowledge.
Now we come to Milton. In his Paradise Lost we clearly see that all the above-
mentioned Augustinian and Thomist concepts are expressed in two episodes:
Raphael’s coming to Eden to warn Adam, and Satan’s temptation to Eve. In the
former episode, Milton expressed the concepts through the mouth of Raphael; in the
latter, he exemplified them through the act of Eve.
We know there are a series of talks between Raphael and Adam after Raphael’s
arrival at Eden. However, in their talks we notice that when Adam asks about the
earthly things, Raphael will answer easily and happily, but when Adam asks about the
heavenly things, Raphael will answer hesitatingly and with some reserve. This makes
it clear that in Paradise Lost knowledge is also divided into two levels: the earthly
and the heavenly, corresponding respectively to St. Augustine’s “sense knowledge”
and “contemplation knowledge,” and Aquinas’s “knowledge of the particular” and
“knowledge of the universal.”
The earthly things are what Adam already knows; and the heavenly things are
what Adam longs to know. But the heavenly things, being abstract and supersensible,
are beyond his grasp. So he needs a “Diving Interpreter” (BK. Ⅶ, 1. 72) to
illuminate them. Now God has sent Raphael down as the “Divine Interpreter,” who,
as we know, is said to have revealed the heavenly things to Adam on the analogy of
earthly things.
But while St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas stress the importance of
temperance in seeking knowledge, Raphael also perpetually emphasizes the virtue of
modesty in knowledge-seeking. He even points out the bad consequence of over-
curiosity to Adam, and reminds him whenever possible of the divine order.
To verify the points so far suggested, there are plenty of lines we can quote. For
instance, before Raphael, in answer to Adam’s request, starts relating the fall of
Lucifer, he says:
Here “high matter” naturally refers to heavenly knowledge, and as such is composed
of “invisible exploits,” to relate which to human sense is a “sad task and hard” for
Raphael, for it “surmounts the reach/Of human sense.” So he can only delineate it by
“lik’ning spiritual to corporal forms.” But he cannot delineate it all, for there may be
something “not lawful to reveal.”
The similar ideas are repeated before Raphael continues his recountal of the
happenings after the fall of Lucifer:
And Adam seems to have been impressed by his exhortation, for he replies that
But as we know, although Adam has been so impressed, Eve has committed the
very sin of intemperance in knowledge-seeking for succumbing to Satan’s temptation
to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. We know Satan’s temptation is full of
wileful arguments. He tells Eve that knowledge of good and evil can make her know
how to approach good and shun evil, can thus lead her to a happier life, and can make
her Gods’ equal. And Eve’s reasoning with herself, in compliance with his
temptation, is that “good unknown, sure is not had, or had/And yet unknown, is as not
had at all” (Bk. Ⅸ, ll. 756-757), that the eating of that fruit will not result in death
since the serpent has eaten that and has not died, and that the fruit can “feed at once
both Body and Mind” (Bk. Ⅸ, l. 779). In effect, Satan’s arguments only suggest some
immediate ends of knowledge, to use the Thomist terms, while Eve’s reasoning is the
consequence of forgetting the final end, which is the infinite Good, or God Himself.
Hence, by violating the order of reason (that is, by observing the immediate ends and
neglecting the final end), Eve has made sure the loss of Eden, has turned wisdom to
folly.
So far I have only given a few examples to illustrate my points. But I think they
are more than enough to prove that in Paradise Lost Milton has indeed fully
developed and clearly exemplified all my aforesaid Augustinian and Thomist concepts
of knowledge and ethics through the mouth of Raphael and the conduct of Eve.
Works Consulted