Apple and Eve - Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained - The Lost and Found Horizon

Apple and Eve – Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained - The Lost and Found Horizon

Sin  -  When did this begin ? Where did this begin ?   Is it happened in the creative workshop of Yahova, Abba the father or in the Garden of Eden ?

Let us begin with the inception of human race.  God created Adam and from Adam’s rib he created Eve to give company to Adam.  Adam was created in the image of God himself (Genesis 1:27).   God smiled after satisfied with his own creations, the mankind. 

The Original Sin   - Paradise Lost -

God gave immense joy and laughter to Adam and Eve.  Adam and Eve danced and played in the Garden of Eden,  they listen to the song of chirping birds and they enjoyed the flowing  streams while they loved the flora and fauna.  They ran across the steppes and meadows with joy, ate  fruits when they were hungry and drank honey when they were thirsty and lived without experiencing  shame.   Sun gave them bright light during the day and Moon kept vigil when they were asleep.  Stars smiled at them from the sky.

There were many varieties of fruits to eat and enjoy but God asked them to refrain from eating fruit of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad” in the center of the Garden, which was an apple tree.    The Bible says that Satan is a rebel and fallen angel who had banished to hell.  The Satan (Lucifer) in the disguise of a serpent tempted Eve with the forbidden fruit.  Eve was attracted by the beautiful apple tree and its delicious apple fruit.  The Satan misinterpreted God by saying that God has denied apple to you because if you eat apple you will become wise like God and also you will have the knowledge of good and bad.   Eve was fallen as a prey to Satan and his evil design and accepted  apple from Satan and ate it and offered some apples to Adam too.  Adam when realized it is the forbidden fruit he clasped his throat in an attempt to spit it out and the fruit stuck in his neck to be known as Adam’s apple.  

The punishment was to follow.  God expelled them from the Garden of Eden to work hard and sweat it out on the Earth.  They became conscious about their body and experienced shame and started covering their genitals with fig leaves.  The beginning of Haute Couture when fig leaves were replaced with camel skin. 

Is women more prone to temptations than men?  Does man has more control over his urges and impulses?  Though the matter is debatable in this modern scientific era where equal rights to women being discussed in every walk of life.  

God cursed women that she will experience the labor pain while giving birth to her progeny   and she will be subject to man.  The Bible shows the male supremacy by citing men do the work which is hard in nature and they are strongly built compare to the slender and supple frame of women.

However, the paradise is not lost to women because they experience the real joy of the world while breastfeeding her baby wherein she completely forgets the excruciating delivery pain. The man derives immense satisfaction in his quest for victory in whatever he does and achieve in life.

 Is the loss of Paradise a curse to man or an instrument to propel his physical and mental prowess to come to the forefront.   Is a life wherein everything is in abundance and no need to sweat or dream is really ideal ?  Is the ideology of mate and make merry is the coveted life’s doctrine for men and women ?  Each and every small or big achievement gives humans immense satisfaction.  We must know that there is no gain without pain.  Happiness is a state of mind and wealth provides him financial security.  The happiness God offers to the humans are not measurable.  The rich and poor both experience the measure of joy even in smallest of the things.   The man’s desire to outplay and outsmart others to amass material goods is well-known.   The survival of the fittest distinguishes the strength and weakness of the human beings.  Man uses his intelligence to reign supreme and remain enviable in the world.  The paradise is not lost when man regained it in the world through his intellectual and physical prowess.

Adam died at the age of 930 years.  However, with the passage of time the mortality rate has fallen rapidly to the current 125 years.

Paradise Lost and its sequel Paradise Regained is a collection of poem by 17^th century English poet John Milton (December 9, 1608-November 8, 1674).  The Paradise Lost when published in 1667 had 10 books with over ten thousand lines of verse.  Milton was one of the greatest poet of his time.  He was regarded as the greatest  English poet and statesman  after William Shakespeare.  
                   

Milton is best known for his work “Paradise Lost” (1667) which is an epic poem in English. 

Milton was born to Sarah Jeffery and John Milton Sr. in a prosperous London family.

Milton married thrice and had 3 daughters and a son from his wedlock with Mary Powel. 

Milton got a Master of Arts degree from Cambridge in 1632.  Milton’s poetry and prose reflect deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and the political turbulence of his day.  Writing in English, Greek, Latin and Italian, he achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1664) – written in condemnation of pre-publication censorship – is among history’s most influential and impassioned defences of free speech and freedom of the press.

Milton read both ancient and modern works of theology, philosophy, history, politics, literature and science in preparation for a prospective career as a poet.  As a result of this intensive study, Milton is considered to be amongst the most learned of all English poets.  In addition to his years of  private study, Milton had command of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish and Italian from his school and undergraduate days; he also added Old English to his linguistic repertoire in the 1650s while researching his History of Britain and probably acquired proficiency in Dutch soon after.

Pastoral Elegies – Lycidas by John Milton

He contributed his pastoral elegy Lycidas  to a memorial collection for one of his Cambridge classmates.  Pastoralism in literature is an attitude in which the writer looks at life in the point of view of a shepherd. Pastoral elegy has its own conventions handed down from generation to generation.  The pastoral poet begins by invoking the Muses and goes on referring to other figures from classical mythology.  There are mourners of death in all pastoral elegies.  With the curious mixture of pagan loveliness and Christian austerity Lycidas becomes the offspring of Milton’s unparalleled  genius. Though there were other protagonists for pastoralism, it was John Milton the scintillating star in the firmament of pastoralism. 

Drafts of his poem are preserved in Milton’s poetry notebook, known as the Trinity manuscript because it is now kept at Trinity College, Cambridge.

 

 

         

 
                  

Milton’s Cottage in London                                            
                                                                          Berkyn Manor Farm where Milton lived 1632-1638.  

  

Paradise Regained  -  John Milton  

Paradise Regained is a sequel to John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost and has four books in the sequel. In Paradise Lost Milton began his history of sin and redemption by telling the story of fallen angel Lucifer (Satan) and the loss of innocence through Adam and Eve’s Original Sin and their expulsion from Garden of Eden.  Paradise Regained retells the Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptation in the desert by Satan. Satan has observed Christ’s baptism and heard the announcement from the heaven that he is Son of God. Satan calls a Council of Devils and resolves to corrupt Jesus as he did Adam. In the wilderness, Satan, disguised as an old man, confronts Jesus.  Posing as Jesus’ friend and advisor, Satan tempts Jesus  by telling him to turn the stones as food. Jesus, however, sees through Satan’s disguise and says that man lives by God’s word and not by bread.  Superior to both physical and spiritual temptations Jesus overcomes Satan and redeems humankind from its fallen state caused when Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation.

Milton abandoned his campaign for legitimize divorce since 1645 but he expressed support for polygamy in the De Doctrina Christiana the theological treatise that provides the clearest evidence for his views.

Milton met many prominent people during his visit to Italy including Galileo.  Milton had a lifelong fascination with Science and Scientific discoveries.  Book VIII of Paradise Lost mention telescope and deal with planetary motions.

Milton’s magnum opus, the blank verse epic poem “Paradise Lost” was composed by him from 1658-1664.   Milton gradually lost his eyesight and became totally blind during his last days. Milton has written a poem about blindness after losing eye sight.

He dictated his work to his three daughters and other assistant after turning blind.

Milton’s monism is most notably reflected in Paradise Lost when he has angels eat and engage in sexual intercourse and the De Doctrina Christiana where he denies the dual natures of man and argues for a theory of creation.

By 1700, Paradise Lost was recognized as one of the classics of English literature.

Milton’s major works –

Poetry and Drama -

·         L ‘Allegro

·         Penseroso

·         A Mask presented at Ludlow Castle

·         Lycidas

·         Poems of Mr. John Milton, both English and Latin

·         On the Late Massacre in Piedmont

·         Paradise Lost

·         Paradise Regained

·         Samson Agonistes

·         Poems and Upon Several Occasions

Prose

• Of Reformation
• Of Prelatical Episcopacy
• Animadversions
• The Reason of Church-Government Urged against Prelaty
• Apology for Smectymnuus
• Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce
• Judgement of Martin Bucer Concerning Divorce
• Of Education
• Areopagitica
• Tetrachordon
• Colasterion
• The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates
• Eikonoklastes
• Defensio pro Populo Anglicano [First Defence]
• Defensio Secunda [Second Defence]
• A Treatise of Civil Power
• The Likeliest Means to Remove Hirelings from the Church
• The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth
• Brief Notes Upon a Late Sermon
• Accedence Commenced Grammar
• History of Britain
• Artis logicae plenior institutio [Art of Logic]
• Of True Religion
• Epistolae Familiaries
• Prolusiones
• A brief History of Moscovia, and other less known Countries lying Eastward of Russia as far as Cathay, gathered from the writings of several Eye-witnesses
• De Doctrina Christiana

Man found happiness in the world and pursued his skills and expertise to regain the lost paradise.  Man really achieved the lost and found horizon of happiness in the world.  The loss of paradise was a blessing in disguise to man to recreate the same in the universe.

Man able to distinguish between good and bad had created history in the form of legendary, great and genius people and their inventions and innovations.