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Milton satirizes political debates in this devilish council. Milton opposed the monarchies in England and was a proponent of individual freedoms, and he wrote Paradise Lost while in hiding from King Charles II. The devils never name God, instead describing him with epithets. This shows the power of names in Paradise Lost, as the devils’ original, angelic names are erased from Heaven as part of their fall. The devils’ debate is by necessity a choice between several evils, as is most politics in Milton’s mind. For him God was the only rightful ruler, and any human government was inherently partly unjust. Belial is the epitome of the learned politician, but in him Milton shows how political power corrupts, and religious and political leaders deceive the public or do evil things in the name of the greater good. This “debate” between the devils is in reality a farce, as Satan has already made his decision and is simply letting his followers play at democracy. Everything is relative in the shifting world of Hell, and Belial perhaps wisely suggests that there can always be worse punishment from an omnipotent God. Sloth is one of the deadly sins, and Milton notes that Belial does not propose making peace with God, but simply being lazy and avoiding pain. Mammon echoes Satan’s feelings that the devils are still too proud to submit to God, even though they recognize that they have been defeated. By presenting the devils’ critiques of God first, Milton “tempts” the reader into sympathizing with them and also finding God tyrannical, requiring “forced hallelujahs.” The question is whether Milton will later undercut these criticisms and “justify God,” or whether his God remains legalistic and unsympathetic. Milton reminds us that though the army of devils is terrible and huge, they are all still afraid of Heaven’s army, which was far more powerful. Beelzebub acts as Satan’s mouthpiece here, keeping up the appearance of a fair political debate. Satan’s great argument against God is that God restricts his freedom, which connects to the theme of free will and predestination. Satan (through Beelzebub) finally makes the proposal that will lead to the Fall of Man and the poem’s main plot. The devils continue in their sin (and so their punishment) by refusing to submit to God even after their defeat, and insisting on trying to ruin his creation and bring evil out of good. God, being eternal, can foresee these plans and so will look farther ahead to bring good out of their evil. The devils succumb to Satan’s tricks without even realizing it, as Eve will later. This next scene also becomes a parody of a Heavenly scene in the next book, where the Son volunteers to die for humanity’s sake out of love for them. So Satan volunteers to “sacrifice” himself for the other devils, risking his safety to cross the abyss and corrupt Earth. The devils still hope for a happier home, not realizing they carry their suffering with them. Again Hell acts as a grotesque mirror of Heaven, where Satan is worshipped as a selfless, heroic God. Milton mockingly praises the devils’ “accord” (which was actually just a clever fraud by Satan) to further satirize the political evils he saw in the world. Milton then moves to satirizing philosophical debates. The motif of the “maze” will recur throughout the poem, as Milton associates it with a quest for forbidden knowledge that leads nowhere. Part of the lesson of Paradise Lost is to accept the knowledge God has given and not delve too deeply into philosophy or conjecture, but live in simple obedience. The gates of Hell echo the gates of Heaven, but God seems to purposefully allow Satan to escape Hell so that he can tempt Adam and Eve. These two monsters (revealed as Sin and Death) are physical figures in the poem, but also symbols of the concepts they represent. The relationship between Satan, Sin, and Death is symbolic of both a perverted Trinity and the concepts themselves – Satan, the father of disobedience and revolt, gives birth to sin, and therefore all sin is the product of disobedience against God. Sin is at first frightening but then beautiful and seductive, like the lure of sin to humans. Sin’s ultimate fate shows the result of all sin – loneliness and torment. Death is sin’s offspring, showing Milton’s point that Death was not originally part of Earth, but was the product of disobedience (Satan) and sin (Sin). The incestuous trio of Satan, Sin, and Death is also a grotesque mirror of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – though Milton did not believe the Spirit was equal to the Father and Son. In giving Sin the key to Hell, God seems to implicitly encourage Satan’s escape and therefore the temptation and fall of humanity. This is one of the situations where Milton wrestles with free will and predestination – if God is all-powerful, then nothing can happen against his will, but many evil things do happen, so God must at least allow this evil or plan for it. Chaos and night are a departure from traditional Christian dogma, as Milton portrays this chaotic matter as uncreated and existing before the universe along with God himself. In describing the scope of humanity and Heaven, Milton also includes some of the science of his day, like the elemental makeup of the universe. Again “ill chance” helps Satan – but by necessity this must be also condoned by God. Chaos also becomes personified as a mysterious, vague figure who is the antagonist of all God’s order and hierarchy – yet Chaos is not God’s personal adversary like Satan is, but is allowed to have his realm of darkness and confusion. Even though Chaos stands against all order, he still accepts his place within God’s hierarchy and does not try to overstep his bounds, which is Satan’s great sin. Milton again compares his epic to those of the past but expands the scale and grandiosity. Satan isn’t just travelling over dangerous seas, he is travelling over the vast abyss between Hell and Earth. With Sin and Death’s bridge, Milton tries to justify the immense suffering caused by Adam and Eve’s later disobedience. They don’t just offend God’s sensibilities, they also allow these monsters to enter Earth and infect every living thing. Milton changes his focus, reminding the reader of Earth’s insignificance as he prepares to describe Heaven.