[Milton-L] Knowledge, free will, etc.

[Mitchell M. Harris]

No, Jeffery, "necessity," the claim of tyrants as the narrator points  
out early on in PL, is an excuse to veil the action of the will, which  
is always de facto free in Milton's theology. As Milton explains in  
Christian Doctrine, predestination and election are not divine  
decrees, simply the result of the actions of one's will (which God  
does foreknow but does not compel).

The punishment of sin and death, however, is unequivocally a divine  
decree according to Milton. So Sin and Death (both allegorical  
characters--not creations of God) have no will to speak of, especially  
one that could compel them to go to the earth and do what they do.  
Remember, they are not things of God, unlike humans and the angels  
(even the fallen). Also, we must remember that Milton believes, in  
accordance with St. Augustine, that evil is a non-entity and thus  
can't be imbued with the characteristics of those who have being--i.e.  
free will, intellection, etc. (see Stephen Fallon's wonderful chapter  
on this topic in Milton Among the Philosophers).

Well, I'm checking out for the weekend. Look forward to catching up on  
the discussion on Monday.

Best,
	Mitch


On Nov 7, 2008, at 3:14 PM, Horace Jeffery Hodges wrote:

> Mitch, about this:
> And know not that I called and drew them thither
> My Hell-hounds, to lick up the draff and filth
> Which man's polluting sin with taint hath shed
> On what was pure . . . (10.629-32)
> It's an interesting passage, but it 'compels' us to ask how God  
> "drew them thither." Did God intervene to do so, or does this refer  
> to God's foreknowledge of possible worlds, with this particular one  
> having been chosen?
>
> I recall Abdiel stating that Satan and the other fallen angels are  
> enslaved to their own natures. They are not externally compelled --  
> and in that sense are free -- but an inner chain of 'natural'  
> necessity stemming from their character forces their hand once  
> they've become fallen.
>
> Jeffery Hodges
>
> --- On Fri, 11/7/08, Mitchell M. Harris <mitchell.harris at augie.edu>  
> wrote:
> From: Mitchell M. Harris <mitchell.harris at augie.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Milton-L] Knowledge, free will, etc.
> To: "John Milton Discussion List" <milton-l at lists.richmond.edu>
> Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 11:06 AM
>
> I'd disagree, Campbell. Raphael does say it is "higher"--"Differing  
> but in degree, of kind the same" (5.490). As for how Satan knows the  
> tree, Jim Rovira's post is spot on.
>
> I also want to join Marlene and Michael in saying that God clearly  
> compels Satan to do what he does, but I want to qualify that claim  
> by arguing that he compels him by way of his decree regarding free  
> will. Milton best expresses this theological idea in Christian  
> Doctrine--specifically in the nuanced moments of his sections on  
> God's decrees, predestination, and election, and the hardening of  
> hearts. Satan's compelled will (which, according to Christian  
> Doctrine, still is a free will), however, clearly does not negate  
> that Adam and Eve's free will can remain intact so long as they obey  
> God's command.
>
> I think these concepts (God's decrees, predestination, election,  
> etc.) are expressed more cogently in Book 10 when Sin has some sort  
> of inner feeling that compels her to leave Hell and start building  
> the road to earth with Death:
>
> Methinks I feel new strength within me rise,
> Wings growing, and dominion giv'n me large
> Beyond this deep; whatever draws me on,
> Or sympathy, or some connatural force
> Powerful at greatest distance to unite
> With secret amity things of like kind
> By secretest conveyance. (10.243-49)
>
> Later, however, God reveals that it is he, in fact, who called them  
> to this work:
>
> And know not that I called and drew them thither
> My Hell-hounds, to lick up the draff and filth
> Which man's polluting sin with taint hath shed
> On what was pure . . . (10.629-32)
>
> So in this instance, Sin does not have free will, because God had  
> decreed that on the day Adam ate of the fruit, he would sin and die.  
> But, once again, he never decreed that Adam and Eve had to eat the  
> fruit.
>
> Best,
> Mitch Harris
>
> Mitchell M. Harris
> Assistant Professor
> Department of English
> Augustana College
> 2001 S. Summit Ave.
> Sioux Falls, SD 57197
> (605) 274-4699
> mitchell.harris at augie.edu
>
> "Alack, when once our grace we have forgot,
> Nothing goes right . . ."
>    - William Shakespeare
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