An Essay. This is one of my favorite papers I have ever written. Enjoy!
Lust, Free Will, and Redemption: An Appraisal of Milton’s Reinterpretation of Classical and Medieval Depictions
Since man could lift a pen, the concept of lust has been a theme in literature. Lust is often depicted as a strong, destructive, and uncontrollable force that leads to moral corruption and tragedy. In classical and medieval works such as Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Inferno, lust is not only portrayed as a cause of human suffering, but also as a violation of the divine order. John Milton’s Paradise Lost takes inspiration from these depictions and reinterprets them within the context of Christianity. Milton presents lust not only as a sin, but as a crucial piece in humanity’s journey toward eventual redemption. Virgil’s Dido and Dante’s Francesca and Paolo are presented as trapped by their own passions with no hope of redemption. In contrast, Milton’s Adam and Eve use their free will to choose lust, which leads to both their fall and the possibility of their salvation. Through Paradise Lost, Milton adapts the classical and medieval depictions of lust as portrayed by Dante and Virgil to reflect his Christian perspective on free will, sin, and redemption.
In Virgil’s Aeneid, the love that Dido feels for Aeneas is described as an uncontrollable fire of passionate desire. Her passion and devotion to Aeneas overwhelms her own reason and sense of duty to her people and leads to her own destruction in death. Virgil writes, “The queen is caught between love’s pain / and press. She feeds the wound within her veins; / she is eaten by a secret flame,” (Virgil, IV: lines 1-3). The desire Dido has for Aeneas is more than simply feeling, but an all-consuming fire within her that clouds her own judgement and governance, leading to her tragic suicide. Similarly, in Inferno, Dante portrays the lustful as victims of an eternal storm that is driven by the winds of their own desires in the second circle of Hell. At the center of Canto V are Francesca and Paolo, trapped in this storm for eternity as punishment for their illicit love affair. Dante uses the metaphor of the storm to represent a chaotic and uncontrollable nature of their intense passion: “That hellish cyclone that can never rest / snatches the spirits up in its driving whirl,” (Dante V. lines 31-32). In Dante’s depiction of lust, it is not just a physical sin and moral failure. Dante interprets it as a lack of self-control, which leads to eternal damnation.
In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve are driven by a carnal desire that mirrors the intense passion that Virgil’s Dido and Dante’s Francesca experienced. Milton writes, “Carnal desire enflaming; he on Eve / Began to cast lascivious eyes, she him / As wantonly repaid, in lust they burn” (Milton, IX: lines 1013-1015). Here, lust is no longer a personal sin, but a reflection of the breakdown of the natural order, initiated by man’s first act of disobedience against God. While Virgil and Dante depict lust as a destructive force with consequences the individual characters face, Milton intensifies this by showing the impact human actions have on the entire universe.
The overwhelming tension between divine law and free will is a central theme in both Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Inferno. Aeneas’s constant struggle between duty and his own desire reflects the choice between following one’s own will or submitting to the will of God. In the Aeneid, Aeneas chooses to abandon Dido and pursue his fate in Italy. While his love for Dido remains strong, he must fulfill his duty. Virgil writes, “It is not my own free will that leads to Italy” (Virgil, VI: line 492). This quote indicates the internal conflict that Aeneas faces between his desire for Dido and divine responsibility. In Inferno, Dante purposefully places the lustful in Hell to show that their inability to control their own human desire is a failure to use free will responsibly. Francesca and Paolo’s eternal damnation is the consequence of humanity’s abuse of free will, driven by unchecked passion. Dante writes, “I learned that such a torment was designed / for the damned who were wicked in the flesh, / who made their reason subject to desire” (Dante, V: lines 37-39). The punishment that they face highlights the importance of controlling one’s desires and using free will to align with divine law.
Milton adapts these depictions of free will in Paradise Lost by framing the Fall as a direct consequence of the abuse of free will. While the decision that Aeneas makes is one of duty and Dante’s sinners are eternally punished for a human desire, Milton presents the Fall as a choice. The series of actions by Adam and Eve are both a misuse of free will and a necessary piece in God’s plan for redemption. Milton writes, “Freely they stood who stood and fell who fell” (Milton, III: line 102). Their choice was with their own free will, driven by lust and carnal desire. Adam and Eve’s choice to disobey God reflects the idea that free will is the cause of the fall of humanity.
In both the writings of Virgil and Date, lust leads to personal betrayal and moral corruption. In the Aeneid, Dido is abandoned and betrayed by Aeneas, who leaves her in order to complete his divine mission. Her undying passion for him is betrayal of her responsibilities as Queen of Carthage and as a widow, and her final actions are marked by a desperate plea for vengeance. Virgil writes, “Do you flee me? By tears, by your right hand / this sorry self is left with nothing else... my honor is gone and that good name that once / was mine, my only claim to reach the stars” (Virgil, IV: lines 422-423, 432-433). The fate of Dido is incredibly tragic, and her passion leads her to emotional and spiritual ruin in suicide. Similarly, the punishment of Francesca and Paolo for their illicit affair symbolizes the betrayal of divine law. Their eternal torment is representative of their own moral corruption. Francesca speaks of their love in a way that highlights their mutual inability to resist lustful desire, “Love, which allows no loved one not to love, / seized me with such a strong delight in him / that, as you see, it will not leave me yet” (Dante, V: lines 103-105). Their punishment is not only physical but eternal, which directly represents the spiritual devastation that lust brings.
In Paradise Lost, Milton draws inspiration from these themes to display how Adam and Eve’s choice as a betrayal of God’s divine order. Adam’s choice to eat the forbidden fruit, influenced by his desire for Eve, reflects a profound betrayal of Eve and the command of God. Milton writes, “Certain my resolution is to die. / How can I live without thee” (Milton, IX: lines 907-908). Adam’s betrayal is characterized by his willingness to place his love and desire for Eve above his own obedience to God, which is an act that brings about the fall of mankind. Unlike Dido and Francesca, who are trapped to no end by their passions, Adam and Eve’s betrayals spark a chain reaction responsible for the potential redemption of humanity.
Unlike Virgil and Date, who offer no redemption for their lustful characters, Milton introduces the concept of salvation through Christ in his text. Dido, Francesca, and Paolo are doomed to eternal suffering and their sin is seen as irredeemable. In his writing, Milton expands upon this concept by making the consequences more open-ended. Milton frames the fall of Adam and Eve as a part of a divine plan for redemption, where the possibility of salvation is always present. Just as eating from the tree is a choice, salvation is as well. Even after the Fall, Adam and Eve are given hope for the future, “The world was all before them, where to choose / Their place of rest, and providence their guide” (Milton, XII: lines 647-648). Through the sacrifice Christ made, humanity is offered a chance to overcome the consequences of sin, including that of lust. This Christian view of redemption sets Milton’s work apart from Virgil and Dante, who offer no hope for their characters beyond the eternal punishment they face. Milton’s Christian worldview transforms the previous classical and medieval depictions of lust. In this, he shows that while lust may lead to the fall from God, it does not necessarily lead to eternal damnation with no chance of return. Instead, the fall is a necessary step toward humanity’s ultimate redemption through salvation.
Overall, Milton’s depiction of lust and its consequences Paradise Lost draws heavy inspiration from the themes explored in Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Inferno. Milton’s Christian worldview reinterprets these themes, broadening the narrative of human fallibility to include the potential for redemption. Where Virgil and Dante fail to provide any pathway for redemption, Milton presents a pathway for salvation through free will, divine justice, and Christ’s sacrifice. Therefore, Milton’s Paradise Lost derives inspiration from the classical and medieval works of Dante and Virgil but reinterprets their ideas within his own framework. Through this view, Milton offers a distinctly more nuanced view of lust, sin, and redemption that displays the advancements of Renaissance literary tradition.
Works Cited
Alighieri, Dante. Inferno. Edited by Anthony Esolen, translated by Anthony Esolen, Random House Publishing Group, 2002.
Mandelbaum, Allen, translator. The Aeneid of Virgil. Random House Publishing Group, 1981.
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Edited by David Scott Kastan and Merritt Yerkes Hughes, Hackett Publishing Company, 2005.
Reflection
Overall, this class was one of my favorite Scholars courses. I can finally make an assertion about that after being almost done with all of the classes! I like writing research papers because it allows you to find what you personally connect with in a text that we beat to death in class. I don't personally connect to lust, but writing this paper allowed to dive into three of my favorite texts from the program, Virgil's Aeneid, Dante's Inferno, and Milton's Paradise Lost. I like the creative freedom that this course gave us!
An Essay. This is a paper I wrote about the ancient history of mercury!
Ancient Dig: Mercury
Mercury is a metallic element identified as atomic number 80 on the periodic table and symbolized by the abbreviation Hg. The element presents itself in a unique physical form, which is silvery and metallic liquid in appearance at standard temperature and pressure (“Mercury, “2024). Because of this property, mercury was formerly known as hydrargyrum, which is derived from the Greek words hydor ‘water’ and argyros ‘silver’ ("Mercury,” 2024). Mercury is not naturally found in this liquids state but derived from the mineral cinnabar, also known as mercuric sulfide (”Mercury,” 2024).
Mercury is primarily derived from cinnabar, which is a solid mineral. Ancient recipes describe two diverse types of extraction methods, “cold extraction” and “hot extraction” (Marchini et al., 2022). Theophrastus, a fourth century B.C.E. natural philosopher, is cited with recording an early method of cold extraction of mercury from a chemical reaction (Marchini et al., 2022). This method is characterized by the reaction of cinnabar, copper, and glacial acetic acid, which produces droplets of mercury when ground together (Marchini et al., 2022). Glacial acetic acid is found in vinegar, which is what Theophrastus used in his experiment. An early method of hot extraction is noted by the Roman architect Vitruvius, hailing from the first century B.C.E. (Marchini et al., 2022). Vitruvius produced the liquid form of mercury by exposing cinnabar to extreme heat. (Marchini et al., 2022).
Mercury was known as a fascinating element to the ancient Greeks, Chinese, Romans, and Hindus (Sloane, n.d.). It was not until ancient societies sought to mine mercury that they discovered the element's toxicity. Spain and Italy are known to have the richest natural deposits of cinnabar (Sloane, n.d.). The Romans used their mercury mines as institutions for criminal punishment because of their poisonous nature as a neurological poison (Slone, n.d.). Those exposed to mercury have been documented to experience tremors, extreme changes in mood, and hearing and vision loss (Sloane, n.d.). It could be said that the discovery of mercury was an element that drove those of ancient times mad!
References
Marchini, M., Gandolfi, M., Maini, L., Raggetti, L., & Martelli, M. (2022). Exploring the ancient chemistry of mercury. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(24), e2123171119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2123171119
Sloane, J. (n.d.). Mercury: Element of the ancients | Dartmouth Toxic Metals. Retrieved September 10, 2024, from https://sites.dartmouth.edu/toxmetal/mercury/mercury-element-of-the-ancients/#:~:text=Although%20mercury’s%20mystique%20held%20the,progressing%20to%20severe%20mental%20derangement.
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, September 8). Mercury (element). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 01:18, September 11, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mercury_(element)&oldid=1244683921
Reflection
This course challenged me in many ways. First of all, I am not a STEM major or knowledgable of science in anyway. I struggled and occasionally had success, but it was the course that challenged me the most. One of the hardest moments of this course was the surprise extra exam I took the same day I took the final. Sleeping in McCombs the night before the exam (do not do that, the neck pain was horrid) and finding out about the opportunity to take an extra exam to save my grade 30 minutes before I was supposed to take it. I somehow got out with an A, but this class was one that taught me how to study for an exam. I did it, and I'm proud of myself. Overall, the class was cool, I especially enjoyed the explosions.
A writing sample. Prompt: explain Hobbes’ conceptions of the State of Nature, the Right of Nature, and the Law of Nature, and discuss how they are related to each other and/or are foundation to his understanding of a sovereign's power. (Taken from exam one)
In Hobbes’ Leviathan, the discussion of the state, right, and law of nature are all central to Hobbes’ concept of the individual and the commonwealth. The state of nature is described as one of war and competition where people are doing what they must to survive. This leads us into a discussion of the right of nature. To survive in our cruel and harsh world, man has a right to self-preservation. In class, we used the example of making sure your door is locked. You don’t do it because you know someone will break in, you do it because it is possible for someone to do so. The law of nature is that we are all radically equal. In this, there is no man that is above the worry for his own survival or someone particularly special. In Hobbes’ writing, we are all individuals whose goal is to survive in our society of war and competition.
All of these observations are foundational to his understanding of the sovereign. The state of nature is one of war and competition. To be a sovereign, a leader must be able to impose one’s own will and be legitimate in doing so. It is crucial for both factors to be true, because one without the other leads to chaos and civil war. The sovereign must hold power and provide protection to his people, because without the preservation of peace and protection, the people are not at the will of the sovereign. The front piece describes this next part the best, the sovereign is serving all his people alike. They all look to the sovereign as equals, not one more important than the other. The sovereign works for the best interest and survival of his subjects, and in a social contract the people follow his will as long as he serves their will.
Reflection
Compared to other Great Works courses, this one had more content I was familiar with. My favorite book was Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, which is the origin of social contract theory. As someone who enjoys American history, the tie in with the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers was really nice and something I definitely would not have made by myself. The study of the Communist Manifesto was more insightful than I thought it would be. The class is not finished, but I am interested to see how the course goes as we move in to post-modernism.