Milton on Learning and Wisdom

Abstract

The longer I live, the more I am satisfied of two things: first, that the truest lives are those that are cut rose-diamond fashion, with many facets answering to the many-planed aspects to the world about them; secondly, that society is always trying in some way or other to grind us down to a single flat surface. … People who honestly mean to be true really contradict themselves much more rarely than those who try to be “consistent.” But a great many things we say can be made to appear contradictory, simply because they are partial views of a truth, and many often look unlike at first, as a front view of a face and its profile often do.—Holmes, The Professor at the Breakfast-TableThe rose-diamond cut of Milton's thought often disconcerts his reader, but perhaps nowhere so completely as in his views on learning. After the high enthusiasm for unrestricted inquiry, after all the “intent study” which he took as his own “portion in life”, in Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, the ripe products of his learning, he gives to Raphael, Michael, and Jesus speeches that seem a wholesale repudiation of studies of all sorts. The three passages are too well known to quote. In the first (P.L., viii, 66–178)1 Raphael disparages Adam's inquiries about astronomy, but answers them, and then comments, “Solicit not thy thoughts with matters hid.” In the second (P.L., XII, 575–587) Michael commends Adam for the inference he has drawn from his preview of universal history (that “to obey is best, / And love with fear the only God”), and admonishes him, “This having learnt, thou hast attain'd the sum / Of wisdom; hope no higher.” In the third (P.R., iv, 286–364) Jesus spurns Satan's offer of Greek learning, with an analysis of the defects of Greek philosophy and literature and a thrust at learning in general: “Many books / Wise men have said are wearisome.”

Sanctification in Milton's Academy: Reassessing the Purposes in Of Education and the Pedagogy of Paradise Lost

“…Milton had always valued education, but only insofar as it produced virtuous people who behaved ethically (713‐15). Thickstun has recently confirmed Samuel's position:…”

“…Sensabaugh concludes that “Milton apparently had not, in 1644, thought through the implications of repairing the ruins of our first parents” (262) and proceeds to argue that Milton must have undergone a radical change of mind between the 1640s and the 1670s, since Of Education , published in 1644, proposes a liberal arts education grounded in the classics, while Milton's later poetry, especially Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained , includes stern warnings against the dangers of speculative science and classical learning. By overlooking the fact that Milton republished Of Education in 1673, Sensabaugh leaves himself vulnerable to Irene Samuel's thorough refutation of his argument. Samuel analyzes the rhetorical context of each passage from Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained that he cites, showing that in each instance, Milton is merely warning against pursuing knowledge as its own end (722).…”

“…By overlooking the fact that Milton republished Of Education in 1673, Sensabaugh leaves himself vulnerable to Irene Samuel's thorough refutation of his argument. Samuel analyzes the rhetorical context of each passage from Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained that he cites, showing that in each instance, Milton is merely warning against pursuing knowledge as its own end (722). Milton had always valued education, but only insofar as it produced virtuous people who behaved ethically (713‐15).…”

“…7 7 Certainly there are passages in Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained that appear to question this view—Raphael, Michael, and Jesus all warn against knowledge pursued for the sake of power or mere curiosity. For a detailed account of how these warnings relate to Of Education , see Samuel. …”

Political Poetry across the Centuries

“…Indeed, it is an essential part of Milton's educational project in his great epic poem Paradise Lost, which he wrote about 15-20 years after Areopagitica, to provide, in the form of a Christian epic narrating the circumstances of the fall of Adam and Eve, the biblical and theological justification for the present state of humankind and human knowledge.106 The poet defines the scope of his task as follows: In the context of this paper, only a few selected studies can be drawn to the reader's attention. Sensabaugh (1946) paints the picture of an aging and disillusioned Milton; the reply by Samuel (1949) suggests an interpretation of Christ's statements that fits Milton's previously voiced views on the purpose and contents of education. Classic monographic studies are Schultz (1955) In the famous opening lines of Paradise Lost, Milton presents himself as a prophetic teacher in the tradition of Moses, whom he calls "That shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed, / In the beginning, how the heav'ns and earth / Rose out of chaos" (1, 8-10).…”