The epic of the fall of man; a comparative study of Caedmon, Dante and Milton . t of all Angelicintelligences. Exalted, by the sovereign will of theSupreme, he held the highest rank, Above all Principalities and PowersThat next to God Omnipotent he stood,Oer all created things, lone and supreme. The illumination or drawing which accompaniesthis part of the Junian manuscript, however, gives afar more accurate idea of the exalted position whichthe lone Archangel held in Heaven, than any verbaldescription could possibly give. Here, in our opin-ion, the artist of the Scriptorium has caught the tru
The epic of the fall of man; a comparative study of Caedmon, Dante and Milton . t of all Angelicintelligences. Exalted, by the sovereign will of theSupreme, he held the highest rank, Above all Principalities and PowersThat next to God Omnipotent he stood,Oer all created things, lone and supreme. The illumination or drawing which accompaniesthis part of the Junian manuscript, however, gives afar more accurate idea of the exalted position whichthe lone Archangel held in Heaven, than any verbaldescription could possibly give. Here, in our opin-ion, the artist of the Scriptorium has caught the truespirit of the poem. The Archangels transcendentphysical proportions, his high-born features, and hisregal bearing, plainly show his exalted rank, andcontrast strikingly with the corresponding character-istics of his followers, who, both by their plebeianlooks and servile bearing, clearly disclose theirinferior celestial status. This Ardiangel is represented in the poem as theone especially beloved by the Deity—the God whomade him; and, at first sight, it may seem remarka-. The Angel of Presumption 277 blc, almost improbable, that a bcintj who stood sohigh in favour at Heavens court,— ^a persona gratain the Empyrean,—should have been willing, forany consideration whatsoever, to chance the for-feiture of his high estate. And it is here that Caid-mons keen knowledge of the springs of action,intellectual and physical, becomes apparent. TheArchangels life or existence, as the Vicegerent orExecutive of the Almighty, was one of action as con-tradistinguished from one of adoration. What aneminent writer has said of Miltons Satan, can withfar greater truth be applied to Ca^dmons Angel ofPresumption : Rejoicing in his strength, walkingcolossal through Heaven, gigantic in his conceptions,incessant in his working, ever scheming, ever imagin-ing new enterprises, Satan was in his very naturethe most active of Gods Archangels. He was everdoing some great thing, and ever longing for som
Size: 1274px × 1962px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade18, booksubjectdantealighieri12651321
