"Freely we Serve, and Freely we Love" ~ A Thought from Paradise Lost

            Certainly, it is never good to pull theological implications from a political allegory. Policies, politicians, and extremist groups are not where we should derive morality or find truth. This allegory is different from most though. Although it hints of England in its Neoclassical age, the “bread and butter” of the story is adapted from Genesis. The narrative of Paradise Lost, of course, is not to be taken literally true. It is designed to paint a picture of different people groups in civil war. Civil war is an interesting topic, and so is what this allegory represents. I feel as if Milton’s allegory goes deeper than what many of us can process, especially in the deep and rich English prose. A passage in Book Five particularly caught my attention.


 From lines 538-543,

“…Freely we serve
Because we freely love as in our will
To love or not: in this we stand or fall.
And some are fall’n, to disobedience fall’n,

And so from Heav’n to deepest Hell. O fall
From what high state of bliss into what woe!”

            Raphael is warning Adam of the coming threat so that he has no excuse when he faces it, but in this moment, he is relating his relationship to God as an angel. Throughout the book this dynamic is similar to a human’s relationship to God, although not exactly the same. The evidence of their freedom was love. This same principle is key in our relationship with God too. It is what we stand on, the love of the Savior. It is our freedom, and our foundation.
           
Just before, in lines 530-534, a bigger picture is painted.
           
“…For how
Can hearts, not free, be tried whether they serve
Willing or no, who will but what they must
By destiny and no other choose?”

            I feel like there’s more behind these few lines than what we realize. We know we have free will because we have the choice to love. Love is not something that we can be forced to do, because true love isn’t possible that way. We have been given the freedom to love, and through that love, service. We were made to be free. What does this mean for Milton in the allegorical sense? What would that love translate to? That service? That freedom? What would this mean for the Englishman? Many read this and thought of it in spiritual terms, but Milton was adamant about the Political. Who would they serve? What would they love?

Who did Milton serve? What did he love?





I commented on Anna Grace's and Rebecca's post