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 in Western thought, and both have contributed greatly to the evolving history of ideas. Plato's idea of ​​the good is more or less equated with the concept of God. The Good differs in its nature from everything else in that the being that possesses it always and in everything has the most perfect sufficiency and never lacks any something else. The fullness of the established properties - self-sufficiency, adequacy and completeness - is what distinguishes the Absolute Being from all others. God eternally possesses Good in the highest degree. Whenever something reaches its 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 pinnacle of the hierarchy of being, creates another universe outside of Paradise. The not-so-good - not to say bad, but not on the same level of good as God - must be perceived as derived from the Idea of ​​Good. God is the ultimate and only completely satisfying object of contemplation and worship. He is therefore the goal of every desire as well as the source of the creatures who desire him (Lovejoy 42, 45). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an 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. Thus, the universe that God created must be a plenum formarum in which the range of conceivable diversity of types of living beings is exemplified (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 any two 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. This, of course, could not be so, for 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 of which the universe is composed range in hierarchical order from the most naked type of existence to the ens perfectionism, or God. Aristotle suggested to the naturalists and philosophers of the time the idea of ​​arranging all animals in a single natural scale graduated according to their degree of perfection (Lovejoy 58). Throughout the Middle Ages and until the end of the 18th century, many philosophers, men of science, and educated men in general accepted the structure of the universe as a Great Chain of Being. They believed that the universe was composed of an infinite number of links ranging in hierarchical order from the lowest forms of existence (barely escaping non-existence) of every possible degree up to the absolute highest type of creature. Each creature differs from those immediately above and immediately below 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 within his epic poem. The most obvious, yet exquisite, application of the Great Chain of Being in Paradise Lost is seen in the character ofSatan. 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 God's right-hand man before the creation of the Son. After his fall, he is still an imposing figure compared to the “sea beast / Leviathan, whom God of all his works / created the greatest that swam in the ocean current” (1.200). While Satan maintains his size at this point, his luster has faded. When Satan is caught trespassing on the newly created Earth, he is shocked and horrified that his former fellow angels do not recognize him. The angel Zephon answers him: Do not think, rebellious spirit, that the form is the same, or the splendor unchanged, to be known as when you stood in heaven upright and pure; that glory then, when you were no longer good, you left. from you, and you now resemble your sin and your dark and disgusting place of condemnation (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 further and further down the Great Chain of Being. Satan takes the form of a toad to whisper a dream in Eve's ear. Milton emphasizes Satan's shape-shifting by describing him as "stubby as a toad..." "Squat" implies that Satan is very close to the ground. Toads are essentially earth creatures, thriving in mud, dirt and grime. Furthermore, Satan takes the form of a serpent. This creature is one of the shortest animals on Earth because it does not stand, walk or crawl; crawls on the belly. 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. However, there is another form, which is inferior to all these previous forms. After Satan has already been discovered by the angels guarding Heaven, he has to hide even better than before. He then chooses to envelop himself “in the mist / Of midnight steam…” and slips unnoticed into the night air. In this case Satan takes the form of something lower than all beasts: a mere 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 the rest of God's creations. On Earth Man is closest to God in reference to the hierarchical chain; therefore, he is closest to the image of God. When Satan first comes to Earth, he notices all kinds of living creatures that he has never seen before: two of much nobler form, erect and tall, erect like God , with native honor dressed in naked majesty they seemed lords of all, and worthy they seemed, for in their divine appearanceThe image of their glorious Creator shone... (4.288-92)The most significant difference between God and Man is the self-sufficiency. God is completely self-sufficient and theoretically has no need for the service of others. He has no need for affection or a 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 / Every 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 to be alone for all eternity because He knows no one who is second to Him, or like Him in any way, and yet He is happy. Adam then responds to God in this way: You are perfect in yourself, and no deficiency is found in you; not so is man, but to a degree, the cause of hisdesire, through conversation with his peers, to help, or to console his defects. There is no need for you to propagate, already infinite, and through all absolute numbers, though one... Here, Adam is explaining that Man is perfect only in his position, which is the one that requires a partner. God has complete and infinite parts manifested as one. Man, however, is imperfect and his unity is defective. Consequently, Man needs another being to multiply his image. In this sense, Man does not reach the essence of Good in ordinary human experience, because he is not autonomous but instead seeks dependence on what is external to his individual self. After hearing Adam's request, God agrees 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 the same. The way in which Eve is made from Adam's rib recalls the creation of Adam by God. In this way Adam places himself as an intermediary between Eve and God: Hence the true authority in men; though both are not the same, for their sex did not seem the same; for contemplation he and valor were formed, for sweetness she and sweet attractive grace, he alone for God, 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 preferred the relative / Before the angel, and asked about him / She chose rather...". Milton strongly suggests that the Chain of Being is full; nothing can be changed because everything is connected to everything else. In Paradise Lost, when a character attempts to alter his position on the Great Chain of Being, terrible consequences befall him. The first example follows Eva's actions. The serpent tells Eve that if she eats the fruit of the forbidden tree, her degree of life will increase. This pleases Eve, as she desires to be equal to Adam. After eating the fruit, Eve internally debates whether she should tell Adam about the fruit's power: I will make him know my change again, and give him the chance to share full happiness with me, or rather not, but I will keep the chances of knowledge in my powerWithout a partner? Then add what he wants in the female sex, all the more to attract his love, and make me more equal, and perhaps, which is not undesirable, sometimes superior; for the inferior who is free? Because Eve chose to disobey God in order to ascend the hierarchy of beings, she also caused the entire human race to fall. He sought to alter God's perfect creation and as a result allowed Death and Sin to enter the world. Nimrod is another character who sought to climb the Great Chain of Being and claim a higher ring. Nimrod was not satisfied with just equality and therefore claimed “undeserved dominion . About his brothers...” . He did not stop at tyranny over men, but proceeded to build a tower "whose top may reach to Heaven...". However, as Nimrod attempted to rise to the level of God, God put “on their tongues a varied spirit to raze their native tongue to the ground and, instead, to sow a shrill noise of unknown words” so that Nimrod and his men would not managed to complete the construction of the tower. Adam responds to this story of Nimrod with disgust: O execrable son, to aspire thus above his brothers, assuming to himself usurped authority, not given by God: he has given us only over beasts, fishes and birds, absolute dominion ; we keep that right with your donation; but he did not create man upon men as,, 2007. 292-630.