Words with the root “obedient” or “obedience” appear thirty-two times in John Milton's Paradise Lost, while the root “loyal” appears only four times. However, bonds of loyalty are central to the tale of man's first fall. Questions of character morality are determined not only through obedience to God, but by the loyalty that men, angels, and demons have among each other. Milton sees value in the loyalty that fallen angels have to Satan, even if they are disobedient and disloyal to God. Equally dynamic bonds of loyalty exist between Satan and God, Abdiel and God, and Adam and Eve. The ethical implications of loyalty are redefined in each relationship until Milton arrives at an ideal of voluntary, reasoned loyalty. Milton admires the virtue of loyalty regardless of obedience to God, such that characters who disobey God because of other loyalties are less guilty of their sins. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Obedience to God is the most explicit virtue proposed in Paradise Lost, although what God desires from his creations goes beyond obedience into the realm of loyalty. As the opening line states, this is the story “of man's first disobedience” (Milton 1.1). Obedience is defined as “The action or practice of obeying or doing what we are commanded; submission to the government or authority of another” (“obedience”). God commands Adam, and by extension Eve, not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. However, in his defense of the fall, God reveals higher expectations: “Unfree, what evidence could they have given of sincere / Of true faithfulness, steadfast faith and love?” (3.103-106). Rather than simply obeying a simple command, God desires “true faithfulness” more akin to loyalty than obedience. Obedience does not have the connotations of deliberate action and free choice that loyalty implies. Loyalty means “to give or show firm and constant support or loyalty to a person or institution” (“loyal”). The distinction between obedience and loyalty depends more on modern connotations than Milton's use of the words in Paradise Lost. Semantics aside, this distinction is vital to tracking morality and culpability in each character's actions. As we will see, Milton values ​​the voluntary, reasoned loyalty that even God desires over unconditional, unquestioning obedience. Satan is the most blameworthy sinner in Paradise Lost for his unprecedented betrayal, but Milton appreciates the loyalty of millions of demons who follow Satan. Satan disobeys God before all creations, untempted by any other character or allegiance. Although he cites seemingly rational reasons for rebelling against his followers, Raphael says that “envy against the Son of God” stimulated Satan's rebellion (5.662). On the road to Eden, Satan laments how his “'pride and a worse ambition have cast me down/Fighting in heaven'” (4:40-41). Devoid of loyalty to anyone but himself – not even faithful to the democratic ideals he espouses before his followers – Satan receives no mercy from God: “The first kind [all the fallen angels] by their own suggestion fell,/ tempted by themselves, depraved: man falls deceived / First by the other: therefore man will find grace, / The other none” (3,129-132). Unlike the character God, Milton has sympathy for Satan's followers. Prompted by Satan's former eminent role in Heaven and his persuasive orations, millions of angels were tempted to fall as man did. Milton describes them as such: "The companions of his crime, rather the followers /... Forever now will their lot in sorrow, /... For hisrevolted, yet faithful as they remained, / Their glory withered..." (1.607 -612). Milton alleviates the guilt of millions of rebels by labeling them "followers" rather than "comrades" and "his revolt" rather than "their revolt ” The idiom “yet” indicates a more optimistic or applause tone as Milton admires the demons' loyalty to Satan. Their loyalty does not save them from turning into tortured serpents in Book 10, but only Satan is given punishment individual: Eve's seed through Christ "will crush Satan's head, crush his strength / Defeat Sin and Death, his two chief weapons" (12.430-431). Therefore, Satan faces the harshest punishment as a sinner more guilty and less loyal than Paradise Lost. His followers are less reprehensible because of their belief in Satan's position, in reason before the fall, and in loyalty to Satan even after the fall. In contrast, Abdiel represents an ideal moral character in the his loyalty and obedience to God. His shining moment occurs at the end of Book 5, surrounded by millions of angels about to follow Satan: "Among the unfaithful, he alone is faithful; / Among countless falsehoods, impassive, / Unshakeable, unseduced, undaunted, / He maintained his loyalty, his love, his zeal;” (5,897-900). Notably, this is the unique use of the term “loyalty” in Paradise Lost. (The man is twice described as "disloyal" (3.204, 9.7) and "loyal" once describes marital love in Eden (4.755).) Referring to the definition of loyalty, Abdiel maintains his faith in circumstances extreme, his firmness accentuated by Milton's attitude many repetitions of the prefix “un-”. Abdiel has the option to disobey, but he maintains faith based on reason. Satan argues that angels were not created by God and therefore owe him no loyalty, a “'blasphemous, false, and proud argument!'” to which Abdiel promptly retorts (5.809). At no point does Abdiel seem inclined to disobey God, such is his level of obedience. The combination of deliberate, reason-based loyalty and unswerving obedience culminates in Abdiel's fiery "zeal." Adam embodies the median between Abdiel's loyalty and Satan's lack of it: Milton elaborates the fall of man recounted in Genesis such that Adam's primary incentive to disobey God is his loyalty to Eve. Adam's loyalty to Eve makes him less guilty of committing his own sin. The ramifications of this gender disparity extend far beyond the text of Paradise Lost and even Milton's era. Eve does not eat from the Tree out of loyalty and therefore receives a harsher punishment than Adam. A counterargument is that Adam follows Eve out of misguided obedience based on pleasure or "nature" rather than deliberate loyalty. At the end of Paradise Lost, the fall of man can be seen as "infinite goodness, immense goodness" for allowing humans to have loyalty to God rather than simple obedience (12.469). Before the fall, Adam and Eve obeyed, worshiped, and loved God. They did so instinctively, without ever considering an alternative. In the first moments of his life, Adam deduces that there is a “'great Creator'” and asks himself “'how can I know him, how can I worship him'” (8.278-280). Adam and Eve's original naivety, or blind faith, contrasts sharply with Abdiel's deliberate and reasoned loyalty as he faces the rebel angels. Adam addresses his lack of choice before the fall in this Job-inspired speech: “Have I asked thee, Creator, out of my clay / to fashion me man… or here set / In this delightful garden?” (10.743-746) Adam uses the language of an unconsciously made contract – “Your terms are too harsh,” “Penalty enough,” “ride the conditions” – while loyalty is by definition.