Status Updates From A Preface to Paradise Lost....

"Before considering the character of Milton's Satan it may be desirable to remove an ambiguity by noticing that Jane Austen's Miss Bates could be described either as a verv entertaining or a very tedious person..."

And thus you know the chapter on Satan is going to be pretty good...

"The modern idea that we can choose between hierarchy and equality...is mere moonshine. The real alternative is tyranny. If you will not have authority, you will find yourself obeying brute force."

"For though the human heart is not unchanging...the laws of causation are. When poisons become fashionable they do not cease to kill."

So many mic drops in this chapter 💥

“The modern habit of doing ceremonial things unceremoniously is no proof of humility; rather it proves the offender’s inability to forget himself in the rite, and his readiness to spoil for everyone else the proper pleasure of ritual.” (22)
Understanding the purpose of rituals would help believers make better sense of the biblical story and better sense of other cultures.

I'm seriously dumbfounded like- I just wanted an introduction for Milton's poetry. But apparently I can't even describe what I've just read other than "HOW do I rate this 6 STARS." because genuinely what-

"When these reservations have been made, the case of the advocatus diaboli against Paradise Lost is, I believe, complete."

My man how do you not have a million reviews here???? THIS is literature, what-