John Milton Quotes About Evil

Quotes about: Evil

• For neither man nor angel can discern hypocrisy, the only evil that walks invisible, except to God alone.

  John Milton

  Hypocrite, Angel, Men

  'Paradise Lost' (1667) bk. 3, l. 682

• But pain is perfect misery, the worst Of evils, and excessive, overturns All patience.

  John Milton

  Patience, Pain, Evil

  1665 Paradise Lost (published1667), bk.6, l.461-3.

• And out of good still to find means of evil.

  John Milton

  Mean, Evil, Find Me

  'Paradise Lost' (1667) bk. 1, l. 165

• That space the Evil One abstracted stood From his own evil, and for the time remained Stupidly good, of enmity disarmed, Of guile, of hate, of envy, of revenge .

  John Milton

  Time, Revenge, Hate

  1665 Satan gazes upon Eve. Paradise Lost (published1667), bk.9, l.463-6.

• Some say no evil thing that walks by night, In fog or fire, by lake or moorish fen, Blue meagre hag, or stubborn unlaid ghost That breaks his magic chains at curfew time, No goblin, or swart fairy of the mine, Hath hurtful power o'er true virginity.

  John Milton

  Time, Power, Night

  John Milton (1859). “The poems of John Milton”, p.98

• These evils I deserve, and more . . . . Justly, yet despair not of his final pardon, Whose ear is ever open, and his eye Gracious to re-admit the suppliant.

  John Milton

  Forgiveness, Eye, Evil

  John Milton (1848). “The Poetical Works of John Milton: With a Memoir, and Critical Remarks on His Genius and Writings”, p.131

• So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear,Farewell remorse: all good to me is lost;Evil,be thou my good.

  John Milton

  Hope, Fear, Farewell

  'Paradise Lost' (1667) bk. 4, l. 108

• Hail universal Lord, be bounteous still To give us only good; and if the night Have gathered aught of evil or concealed, Disperse it, as now light dispels the dark.

  John Milton

  Dark, Night, Light

  John Milton (1837). “Paradis perdu: de Milton”, p.338

• Evil, be thou my good.

  John Milton

  Evil

  Paradise Lost bk. 4, l. 110 (1667)

• For evil news rides post, while good news baits.

  John Milton

  Evil, Bait, News

  'Samson Agonistes' (1671) l. 1538

• It was from out the rind of one apple tasted, that the knowledge of good and evil, as two twins cleaving together, leaped forth into the world.

  John Milton

  Two, Apples, Evil

  'Areopagitica' (1644) p. 12

• Promiscuous reading is necessary to the constituting of human nature. The attempt to keep out evil doctrine by licensing is like the exploit of that gallant man who thought to keep out the crows by shutting the park gate.

  John Milton

  Reading, Men, Evil

  1644 Areopagitica: a speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing.

• As therefore the state of man now is, what wisdom can there be to choose, what continence to forbear, without the knowledge of good and evil?

  John Milton

  Men, Evil, Good And Evil

  1644 Areopagitica: a speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing.

• More safe I sing with mortal voice, unchang'd To hoarse or mute, though fall'n on evil days, On evil days though fall'n, and evil tongues.

  John Milton

  Fall, Voice, Evil

  John Milton (1757). “Paradise Lost: A Poem, in Twelve Books”, p.8

• That virtue therefore which is but a youngling in the contemplation of evil, and knows not the utmost that vice promises to her followers, and rejects it, is but a blank virtue, not a pure; her whiteness is but an excremental whiteness.

  John Milton

  Evil, Promise, Vices

  1644 Areopagitica: a speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing.

• What wisdom can there be to choose, what continence to forbear without the knowledge of evil? He that can apprehend and consider vice with all her baits and seeming pleasures, and yet abstain, and yet distinguish, and yet prefer that which is truly better, he is the true wayfaring Christian.

  John Milton

  Christian, Evil, Vices

  John Milton (2016). “Areopagitica and Other Prose Works”, p.13, Courier Dover Publications

• Sense of pleasure we may well
  Spare out of life perhaps, and not repine,
  But live content, which is the calmest life;
  But pain is perfect misery, the worst
  Of evils, and excessive, overturns
  All patience.

  John Milton

  Pain, Evil, Perfect

  John Milton, Elijah Fenton, Samuel Johnson (1821). “Paradise lost”, p.182

• Evil on itself shall back recoil.

  John Milton

  Evil, Recoil

  John Milton (1829). “Paradise Lost: Paradise Regained”

• For books are as meats and viands are; some of good, some of evil sub-stance.

  John Milton

  Book, Evil, Meat

  John Milton (1859). “The prose works of John Milton”, p.173

• O visions ill foreseen! Better had I Liv'd ignorant of future, so had borne My part of evil only.

  John Milton

  Evil, Ignorant, Vision

  John Milton, Henry John Todd (1852). “The Poetical Works of John Milton: With Notes of Various Authors; and with Some Account of the Life and Writings of Milton, Derived Principally from Original Documents in Her Majesty's State-paper Office”, p.508

• Evil into the mind of god or man may come and go, so unapproved, and leave no spot or blame behind.

  John Milton

  Men, Evil, Mind

  John Milton, James BUCHANAN (Grammarian.) (1773). “The First Six Books of Milton's Paradise Lost, Rendered Into Grammatical Construction ... With Notes ... To which are Prefixed Remarks on Ellipsis and Transposition ... By J. Buchanan”, p.321

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