Abdiel and Lucifer on the Question of Freedom

Illustrious Ideas and Illustrations: The Imagery of Gustave Doré

“This greeting on thy impious crest receive” (VI. 188), 1866, by Gustave Doré for John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” Engraving. (Public Domain)

What is freedom? Is freedom the ability to do whatever we want whenever we want? Or is freedom directly connected to our ability to control ourselves? Does freedom occur when we can guarantee equal outcomes for all? Or does freedom have more to do with recognizing the supremacy of God’s righteousness?

As we continue our series on John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” we will explore the idea of freedom.

Lucifer Proposes Equality and Freedom

As he talks with the archangel Raphael, Adam becomes interested in Heaven’s war. Raphael uses this as an opportunity to warn Adam about the potential consequences of his free will.

Raphael begins the story at the moment God informs the angels that his son, Jesus, will be their lord. The angels in Heaven were excited at this wonderful news: They celebrated, sang, and danced, and God enjoyed their jubilance.

Some of the angels, however, weren’t pleased. One angel in particular, Lucifer, didn’t take kindly to having to bow to another being he considered an equal. Lucifer rallied a bunch of his followers to come with him in secret to the northernmost place in Heaven. Here, he begins his outward defiance of God.

Upon a hill surrounded by golden towers and pyramids of diamonds, he sat on a throne and thanklessly complained that he and his followers, despite being some of the most powerful beings in Heaven, had to bow twice now—once to God and again to Jesus.

This only to consult how we may best With what may be devised of honours new Receive him coming to receive from us Knee-tribute yet unpaid, prostration vile, Too much to one, but double how endured, To one and to his image now proclaimed? (Book V, Lines 779–784)

Lucifer’s pride makes him unwilling to be subservient to anyone, even God. Milton shows that Lucifer’s intentions are more nuanced. Here, Lucifer is going against God by promoting a specific type of equality and freedom:

Will ye submit your necks, and choose to bend The supple knee? ye will not, if I trust To know ye right, or if ye know yourselves Natives and sons of Heav'n possessed before By none, and if not equal all, yet free, Equally free ... Who can in reason then or right assume Monarchy over such as live by right His equals, if in power and splendour less, In freedom equal? (Book V, Lines 787–792, 794–797)

Lucifer suggests that not all may be equal in all aspects, but all are equally free, and anyone who tries to infringe upon this equality is a tyrant and must be resisted.

Lucifer and Abdiel Debate Equality and Freedom

It’s at this point that an angel in the audience, Abdiel, protests Lucifer’s blasphemous remarks. Abdiel wants to remind the angels that their subordination to God does not compromise their freedom:

All things, ev‘n thee, and all the Spirits of Heav’n By him created in their bright degrees, Crowned them with glory, and to their glory named ... nor by his reign obscured, But more illustrious made ... His laws our laws, all honour to him done Returns our own. (Book V, Lines 837–839, 841–845)

Abdiel suggests that all of the angels in attendance, even Lucifer, were created by God with all of their glory, and the supreme power of God has never obscured their glory since their glory is God’s expression. To oppress them would be, in essence, to oppress himself.

In other words, all of them are expressions of God’s power, and the more powerful God is, the more powerful they are. The very power, equality, and freedom that Lucifer wants is already possessed through being close to God. He could get the elevation he seeks not by defying God, but by praising God.

Of course, Lucifer doesn’t agree with this and says:

We know no time when we were not as now; Know none before us, self-begot, self-raised By our own quick'ning power ... (Book V, Lines 859–861)

Lucifer’s response is that none of them remembers that God created them. Instead, being the first to appear as if from their own power, their glory seems to come from something innate within themselves. Thus, they don’t need to pay homage to anything or anyone outside of themselves.

Upon seeing that none of the other angels are taking Abdiel’s side, Lucifer’s confidence grows, and he cockily tells Abdiel to run back to his new king so that he can continue to be a slave. The angels who follow Lucifer explode into applause and scowl at Abdiel as he leaves to return to God.

God already knows all of Lucifer’s plans and sees the whole resistance unfold, so all of God’s angels are preparing for battle. God and his angels see Abdiel resist Lucifer, and they celebrate him when he returns. God says to him:

... Well hast thou fought The better fight, who single has maintained Against revolted multitudes the cause Of truth, in word mightier than they in arms; And for testimony of truth hast borne Universal reproach, far worse to bear Than violence: for this was all thy care To stand approved in sight of God, though worlds Judged thee perverse ... (Book VI, Lines 29–37)

God tells Abdiel that this test was a difficult one. It’s very difficult to pursue truth and care only for God’s approval. Those angels who scowled at him were once his friends, and he had to take a lonely walk of shame through their looks of disapproval as he journeyed back to God.

God says that this kind of shunning can be even more difficult to endure than violence. But Abdiel passed the test, and the next test will be much easier because Abdiel will have God’s whole army with him.

The First Blow

God’s army is led by the archangels Michael and Gabriel to find Lucifer’s army and thwart their rebellion. They find Lucifer planning a surprise attack. He’s held high on a chariot in the middle of golden angels with golden shields. The two armies line up against each other and await commands.

Abdiel is filled with disgust at Lucifer’s presenting himself as so grand despite how evil he has become. Lucifer gets off of his chariot and walks to the front of the line, where he’s met by Abdiel. They exchange heated words, and Lucifer says:

At first I thought that liberty and Heav‘n To Heav’nly souls had been all one; but now I see that most through sloth had rather serve, Minist‘ring Spirits, trained up in feast and song; Such hast thou armed, the minstrelsy of Heav’n, Servility with freedom to contend. (Book VI, Lines 164–169)

Lucifer insults all of God’s angels. He tells them that they confuse freedom with being able to sing and dance in praise of God, but this is merely a jester’s performance, a minstrel show not to be confused with true freedom.

Abdiel responds that serving God isn’t the same as lacking freedom. True enslavement comes from making unwise decisions and following those who would rebel against God by being enthralled with themselves. Enslavement is equated with narcissism:

This is servitude, To serve th' unwise, or him who hath rebelled Against his worthier, as thine now serve thee, Thyself not free, but to thyself enthralled. (Book VI, Lines 178–181)

At this moment, Abdiel throws the first strike, which lands on Lucifer’s shield and pushes him back 10 paces. Here, Michael blows the trumpet, and the actual battle begins.

In his illustration “This greeting on thy impious crest receive,” Gustave Doré depicts the moment that Abdiel lifts his sword to attack Lucifer. Lucifer looks as if he is going to draw his spear. The angels of God are around Abdiel and can be seen silhouetted in the background. Lucifer’s angels, however, are slightly darker in value, and two at the bottom right corner shield themselves or turn their back to the oncoming onslaught. Is their lack of courage an expression of their freedom?

The Question of Freedom

All of this brings up the question of true freedom.

Between the lines, Milton seems to suggest a difference between free will and true freedom. Raphael begins the story as a warning to Adam about the potential consequences of free will: We reap what we sow, but we sow what we will. Here, freedom seems to be bound to what we reap; it’s a consequence of how we employ our free will; freedom is our reward for sowing righteously.

Abdiel uses his free will to defy Lucifer and praise God, and he receives the type of praise Lucifer desperately wants.

Lucifer, however, is using free will to claim and fight for absolute equality with God irrespective of his place in the divine hierarchy. His divine rank is lower than God’s and Jesus’s, but he feels he should be treated like they are nonetheless: He wants power and praise to be equally distributed. Free will can be likened to equality of opportunity. Lucifer wants equality of outcome, and he plans to destroy everything that gets in his way.

In all of his self-praise, Lucifer fails to see that he’s enslaved by his own pride, a pride that follows him everywhere as a hell he can’t escape.

“This greeting on thy impious crest receive” (VI. 188), 1868, by Gustave Doré for John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” Engraving. (Public Domain)

Gustave Doré was a prolific illustrator of the 19th century. He created images for some of the greatest classical literature of the Western world, including the Bible, “Paradise Lost,” and “The Divine Comedy.” In this series, we’ll take a deep dive into the thoughts that inspired Doré and the imagery those thoughts provoked. For the first article in the series, visit “Illustrious Ideas and Illustrations: The Imagery of Gustave Doré.”