Paradise Regained by John Milton
"Paradise Regained" is a poem by John Milton that serves as a sequel to his earlier work, "Paradise Lost." The poem focuses on the life of Jesus Christ, particularly the events surrounding his temptation in the desert after his baptism by John the Baptist. It begins with Satan, the embodiment of evil, who, alarmed by Jesus' divine status, attempts to thwart his mission through a series of temptations. Over the course of the poem, Jesus confronts Satan's challenges, which include appeals to physical needs, ambition for glory, and earthly power. Each temptation is met with a steadfast refusal by Jesus, emphasizing his commitment to divine purpose over worldly desires.
The narrative unfolds through dialogues and encounters that explore themes of faith, temptation, and the nature of true power. At the climax, Satan challenges Jesus to prove his divinity by jumping from the Temple, but Jesus responds by affirming his trust in God. The poem concludes with angels celebrating Jesus' triumph and guiding him back home, marking a significant moment of spiritual victory. "Paradise Regained" engages with profound moral and philosophical questions while highlighting the importance of inner strength and the fulfillment of divine will.
Paradise Regained by John Milton
First published: 1671
Type of work: Poetry
Type of plot: Epic
Time of plot: First century
Locale: Holy Land
Principal Characters
Jesus of Nazareth ,Satan ,
The Poem
Jesus of Nazareth is baptized by John the Baptist. This rite is attended by Satan, the Adversary, cloaked in invisibility. Thunderstruck by the pronouncement from heaven that Jesus is the beloved son of God, Satan hastily assembles a council of his peers. They choose “their great Dictator” to attempt the overthrow of this new and terrible enemy. God, watching Satan set out on his evil mission, foretells the failure of the mission to the angel Gabriel. The angels sing a triumphant hymn.
Led by the Spirit, Jesus enters the desert and pursues holy meditations. In retrospect, he examines his life and considers his destiny but does not wish for revelation of his future until God chooses to give it. For forty days he wanders unharmed through the perils of the desert; then for the first time he feels hunger. Just at that moment, he meets an aged man in rural clothing. The old man explains that he was present at the baptism and then expresses amazement at the lost and perilous situation of the wanderer. Jesus replies, “Who brought me hither will bring me hence, no other Guide I seek.” The old man then suggests that if Jesus were really the son of God, he should command the stones to become bread. In his refusal, Jesus asks, “Why dost thou then suggest to me distrust, knowing who I am, as I know who thou art?” At this discovery, Satan abandons his disguise and enters a dispute attempting self-justification. Overcome in the argument, he vanishes as night falls. The other newly baptized people and Mary, the mother of Jesus, are distressed at his absence but do not allow themselves to despair.
Satan calls a fresh council of war. He dismisses Belial’s suggestion to “set women in his eye and in his walk” and receives a vote of confidence for his own plan of using honor, glory, and popular praise combined with relief from the suffering of physical hunger.
Jesus dreams of the ravens who fed Elijah by Cherith’s Brook and of the angel who fed him in the desert. Awakening, he looks for a cottage, a sheepcote, or a herd but finds nothing. Suddenly, Satan appears again in a new form but does not attempt to conceal his identity. He discloses a table loaded with delicious food and invites Jesus to eat. Jesus refuses the food, not because the food itself is unlawful but because it is the offering of Satan. Disgruntled, Satan causes the food to vanish and returns to the attack, offering wealth with which to buy power. When this is declined as an unworthy aim for life, Satan proposes the career of a glorious conqueror. Jesus retorts with references to Job and Socrates, as justly famous as the proudest conquerors, and he declares that desire for glory, which belongs to God, not humanity, is sacrilege. Satan then attempts to relate conquest to the freeing of the Jews from their Roman oppressors. Jesus replies that if his destiny is to free his people from bondage then it will come about when God chooses. Satan asks another of his penetrating questions: why did Satan hasten to overthrow himself by trying to found Christ’s everlasting kingdom? This question tortures Satan internally, but he takes refuge in hypocritical assurances that he has lost hope of his own triumph.
Then, remarking that Jesus has seen little of the world, Satan takes him to the top of a mountain and shows him the terrestrial kingdoms, in particular the empires of Rome and Parthia, one of which he advises Jesus to choose and use to destroy the other. Jesus, however, refuses earthly empire. Then Satan tries a particularly Miltonic temptation. He offers the empire of the mind: philosophy, learning, and poetry, particularly those of Greece and Rome. Against these, Jesus places the sacred literature of the Hebrews. Satan, baffled again, returns Jesus to the desert and pretends to depart. When Jesus sleeps again, Satan disturbs him with ugly dreams and raises a fearful storm. With morning and the return of calm weather, Satan appears for a last, desperate effort, no longer so much in hope of victory as in desire for revenge. He seizes Jesus, flies with him to Jerusalem, places him on the highest pinnacle of the Temple, and challenges Jesus to prove himself to be the son of God by casting himself down. Jesus replies, "Tempt not the Lord thy God," and Satan himself falls.
After Satan’s second fall, a host of angels fly to the temple, take Jesus to a fertile valley, and spread before him a table of celestial food. After they sing another hymn of triumph, Jesus returns home to his mother’s house.
Bibliography
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