Upon a day of the heavenly year the Almighty Father, upon his Holy
Mount, before the assembled Angels, manifests the Son—proclaims the Son,
the head over all Principalities and Powers, and requires to be paid him
accordingly the homage and obedience of the whole angelical host. The
whole angelical Host pay, as required, their homage. But not all gladly
and sincerely. One of the highest Archangels—if not the highest—whose
heavenly name is heard no more—but upon Earth and in Hell he is called
Satan and Lucifer—envies and revolts in heart at this new vicegerency.
He intends rebellion:—beguiles the next Angel in authority under him,
and with him, pretending a command from the celestial King, withdraws
the legions who are bound in service to his hierarchal standard into the
northern quarter of Heaven. With such precision does Milton dare to
imagine, even in the highest, the scenes and procedure of his Poem.
There the false Archangel proposes to his followers that they shall
resist the ordinance imposing a new reign over them. The followers thus
addressed are _one third part_ of the whole celestial host. One Seraph
resists—refuses to forego his original, proper allegiance, and flies
back. The rest march in arms against the Mount of God. They are
encountered by an equal number of the faithful Angels. Two days the
fight rages in the celestial fields. The second of the two days closes
the unequal, hopeless conflict. The Messiah goes forth to war; and the
rebellious angelical multitude are precipitated from the verge of Heaven
into the fiery pit of Hell, newly created, and yawning to receive the
vanquished and cast-out numbers without number from their unimaginable
fall.
NORTH.
What, according to Milton, is Pride? Milton’s answer is in one word.
Satan aspires to sit upon the Throne of God. Then in angel or in man
there is but one meaning of the word Pride. He unseats God, and sets up
another—namely, Self—in his place. The comparison of Man’s Sin to
Satan’s, is by Milton distinctly affirmed. The Almighty says—
“——_Man disobeying_,
Disloyal breaks his fealty, and sins
Against the high supremacy of heaven,
_Affecting Godhead_.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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