I’ve been reading Paradise Lost for school. It’s an epic poem about the fall of man written by John Milton in the 1600s. I think it’s my favorite epic poem… right along with Homer. This is saying alot, seeing as how I’ve read Homer, Virgil, Dante, Spenser, Chaucer… most of the epic poets. There is something indescribably grand about Milton’s style and subject. He describes the fall of Satan, the war in heaven, the casting of Satan and his host down to Hell, the beauty and perfection of creation and man before the fall… seriously. Epic poetry doesn’t get much better than this.
But I want to talk about Satan in this post, and Milton’s depction of him. As I read Paradise Lost, I find myself somehow attracted to the character of Satan. In the first book, Milton describes the fallen host of Hell, lying on the flaming ground after being cast down from heaven, groaning and depressed and just kind of writhing on the ground across the giant plain. Then Satan stands up and gives a speech to his armies, rousing their spirits once more to rebellion and valor. Here he speaks the famous line "It is better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven." The mind, he says, can make of hell a heaven, or of heaven a hell. He is the picture of glorious unsubmission, his head unbowed, shaking his fist at the powers who are trying to bow him, he is unwilling to give up his pride. This poem captures his spirit well I think.
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
It has been bothering me somewhat that I’ve been so entranced by this Character of Satan in the story and in this poem. Doesn’t that poem just stir something inside of you? Well, it does in me anyways. Perhaps it’s because I’m young and fiery. But it just makes me feel so strong. I am the master of my fate, *I* am the captain of my soul. Who is there that can humble me? Even if God throws me to hell on judgement day, it was my choice, and I will never bend my knee. This is the attitude of Satan and his angels.
Perhaps you’re reading this and becoming somewhat disturbed… I am somewhat disturbed writing it, at least. It is quite obvious that there is something undeniably evil about the spirit I’m describing. Seeing as how I am an evil man, it doesn’t surprise me too much that I have an affinity for evil things and attitudes, and yet it still makes me uncomfortable to think that I admire this spirit of unabashed pride and self-sufficiency.
It has always been a part of my nature to be very non-conformist, to try my best to stand away and aloof from the crowd, to be the odd one out. Most people who read this blog probably know all too well my sometimes overly-zealous non-conformism. I have always endeavored not to submit to the world or to the culture’s or the modern church’s expectations, but only to God and his kingdom. This can at times be a rather negative trait, and I’m beginning to wonder if the root of this desire is my overbearing pride and desire to be self-sufficient. Perhaps that’s why Satan and the poem appeal to me so much.
It seems to me that the very root of all sin is pride. The fall of Satan and his angels can be attributed to a deep-rooted sense of pride and unsubmission. This was the first of all sins. Even the first sins of Adam and Eve were linked inseperably to pride. Instead of trusting God’s command and judgement, they trusted in something else. In Eve’s case she trusted in the serpent’s reasoning, in Adam’s case he relied upon his own reasoning. The Chiefest of sins, then, the worst and foremost, the root and cause of everything evil is pride. That’s something to think about.
Caleb I would say that rather, a. it is his strong character that attracts you, and that b. all having fallen short of God, and inherently evil, we are automatically attracted to evil.
And I agree Pride is indeed the Chiefest.
Thanks for posting.
Lady Dame Amy