The philosophy of Milton's time focuses primarily on the idea of ​​hierarchy. Hierarchy is necessary in thought because all categories of being indicate how things are ordered and demonstrate degrees in all dimensions (Kuntz 8). The ideas of Plato and Aristotle have had a pervasive influence on Western thought, and both have contributed greatly to the ever-evolving history of ideas. Plato's idea of ​​the Good is more or less assimilated to the concept of God. The Good differs in its nature from all the rest, in that the being who possesses it is always and in all respects the most perfect sufficiency and never lacks anything else. The fullness of defined properties – self-sufficiency, adequacy and completeness – is what distinguishes the Absolute Being from all others. God eternally possesses Good in the highest degree. Whenever a thing achieves its own perfection, it cannot bear to remain in itself, but generates and produces something else (Lovejoy 62). We see this in Milton's Paradise Lost, when God, the apex of the hierarchy of being, creates another universe outside of Heaven. The less good – not to say the bad, but by no means on the same level of good as God – must be seen as derived from the Idea of ​​the Good. God is the ultimate and only object of fully satisfying contemplation and worship. Therefore, he is the goal of all desire as well as the source of creatures who desire it (Lovejoy 42, 45). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Great Chain of Being is based on three fundamental principles. The first principle is that of fullness. The extent and abundance of creation must be as great as the perfect and inexhaustible source from which it was created, and the world is better the more things it contains. Therefore, the universe that God created must be a plenum formarum in which the imaginable range of diversity of types of living things is illustrated (Lovejoy 52). The principle of continuity is another characteristic of the Great Chain of Being. This principle simply states that all quantities must be continuous. That is to say that between two given natural species, there exists an intermediate type; otherwise, there would be gaps in the universe and the universe would not be as full as it could be. Of course, this could not be the case, because it implies that the Author of such a universe is not perfect. The third principle is the principle of linear gradation. According to this principle, the infinite series of forms that make up the universe extend in hierarchical order from the simplest type of existence to the ens perfectissimum, or God. Aristotle suggested to naturalists and philosophers of the time the idea of ​​classifying all animals in a single natural scale according to their degree of perfection (Lovejoy 58). Throughout the Middle Ages and into the late 18th century, many philosophers, scientists, and educated men in general accepted the structure of the universe as one great chain of being. They believed that the universe was composed of an infinite number of links running in hierarchical order from the lowest forms of existence (barely escaping non-existence) of all possible levels to species of highest creatures. Each creature differs from those immediately above and immediately below it by the smallest possible degree of difference (Lovejoy 59). The hierarchy of beings is a dominant theme in Paradise Lost. Milton implements his philosophical acceptance of the Great Chain of Being to establish a solid cosmology in his epic poem.The most obvious, yet exquisite, application of the Great Chain of Being in Paradise Lost is seen in the character of Satan. This character physically experiences a fall from the highest link in the chain to the absolute lowest. Satan begins as one of the highest angels in heaven. He could even be considered the right hand of God before the creation of the Son. After his fall, he is still a massive figure compared to the "sea beast / Leviathan, whom God of all his works / created the greatest that swims in the ocean current" (1.200). Although Satan retains his size at this point, his shine has faded. When Satan is caught entering the newly created Earth, he is shocked and dismayed that his former fellow angels do not recognize him. The angel Zephon answers him: Do not think, O rebellious Spirit, that the form is the same, or the brightness intact, to be known as when you stood in the sky straight and pure; that glory then, when you were no longer good, departed. of you, and you now resemble your sin and your dark and filthy place of woe (4.835-40). Satan is moving further and further away from God in a spiritual sense as well as in a literal sense. As this spiritual degradation occurs, Satan also begins to take the form of beings lower and lower in the Great Chain of Being. Satan takes the form of a toad to whisper a dream into Eve's ear. Milton highlights Satan's shapeshifting by describing him as "crouching like a toad..." "Crouching" implies that Satan is very close to the ground. Toads are primarily terrestrial creatures, thriving in mud, dirt, and grime. Furthermore, Satan takes the form of a serpent. This creature is one of the lowest animals on Earth as it does not stand, walk or crawl; he crawls on his stomach. Satan takes this form at his lowest moment, when he goes to the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. There is, however, another form, inferior to all these previous forms. Once Satan has already been discovered by the angels guarding Heaven, he must hide even better than before. He therefore chooses to wrap himself “in the mist / Of the vapor of midnight…” and slips unnoticed into the night air. In this case, Satan takes the form of something lower than all beasts: a simple vapor. At this point, Satan is so low in the hierarchy of beings that he barely exists. The relationship between God and Man is also an important point where the Great Chain of Being comes into play. Man is created in the image of God to rule over all of God's other creations. On Earth, Man is closest to God in reference to the hierarchical chain; he is therefore closest to the image of God. When Satan first arrives on Earth, he notices all kinds of living creatures he has never seen before: Two of much nobler form, straight and tall, erect like God, clothed in native honor. In their naked majesty seemed the lords of all, and worthy seemed, for in their seeming divine The image of their glorious Creator shone... (4.288-92)The most significant difference between God and man is self-sufficiency. God is completely self-sufficient and theoretically has no need for the service of others. He does not need affection or social life, since he is capable of living alone. Adam tells God that he cannot be happy or find true contentment in solitude. He asks for a companion "fit to participate / All rational pleasure, in which the brute / Cannot be a human consort...". God does not seem to understand this concept, despite his inherent omniscience. God claims that He is alone for all eternity because He knows of none who are equal to Him orsimilar to Him, and yet He is happy. Adam then responds to God in this way: You are perfect in yourself, and in you there is no deficiency; not thus man, but in degree, the cause of his desire By conversation with his fellow men to help him, Or console his faults. No need for you to spread yourself, already infinite, and through all absolute numbers, although a... Here Adam explains that man is only perfect in his station, which is the one that requires a partner . God has complete and infinite parts manifested as one. Man, on the other hand, is imperfect and his unity is defective. Consequently, Man needs another being to multiply his image. In this sense, Man does not attain the essence of Good in ordinary human experience, because he is not autonomous but rather seeks to depend on that which is external to his individual self. Hearing Adam's request, God agreed to create a partner for him. The creation of Eve provides another link in the chain. Although Adam and Eve are considered the same species, they are not equal. The way Eve was created from Adam's rib is similar to the creation of Adam from God. In this way, Adam acts as intermediary between Eve and God: Hence the true authority among men; although the two were not equal, for their sexes did not seem equal; for contemplation he and his worth formed, for gentleness she and sweet attractive grace, he for God only, she for God in him... Adam's role as mediator between the heavens and Eve continues. . When Raphael descends from Heaven to answer Adam's cosmological questions, Eve excuses herself from the discussion. She does not apologize because she is intellectually unfit to understand and participate in the discussion, but because "her husband the narrator she preferred / Before the angel, and it was up to him to ask / Choosed instead." ..” .Milton strongly suggests that the chain of being is full; nothing can be changed because everything is linked to everything else. In Paradise Lost, when a character attempts to change their position on the Great Chain of Being, terrible consequences befall them. The first example follows the actions of Eve. The serpent tells Eve that if she eats the fruit of the forbidden tree, her level of life will increase. This pleases Eve, since she desires to be Adam's equal. After eating the fruit, Eve internally wonders if she should speak to Adam about the power of the fruit: Should I make him aware of my change and give him to share full happiness with me, or rather not, but keep the chances of knowledge in me? my powerWithout a co-partner? So add what you want in the female sex, to attract more her love, and make me more equal, and perhaps, a not undesirable thing, sometimes superior; for the inferior, who is free? Because Eve chose to disobey God in order to advance in the hierarchy of beings, she also brought about the downfall of the entire human race. She tried to alter God's perfect creation and therefore allowed death and sin to enter the world. Nimrod is another character who sought to ascend the Great Chain of Being and claim a higher link. Nimrod was not satisfied with just equality and therefore claimed “undeserved dominion…”. On his brothers…”. He did not stop at the tyranny of men, but began to build a tower "the top of which can reach the sky...". However, because Nimrod attempted to elevate himself to God's level, God placed "upon their tongues a different spirit to raze... their native tongue, and instead... to sow a tinkling noise of unknown words" so that Nimrod and his men could not complete the erection of the tower. Adam responds with disgust to this story of Nimrod: O execrable son, long for,, 2007. 292-630.