On the Trinity

On the Trinity and its parody in "Paradise Lost": A Position Paper

            In Book II of "Paradise Lost," Milton provides description of Sin and Death beginning at line 648 and continuing a couple hundred lines to around 870, when the gates of hell are finally opened.  An interpretive uncertainty is revealed in a note at the bottom of Hughes's edition on page 252.  In this note it is suggested that Satan, Sin, and Death be viewed as "a kind of infernal Trinity in contrast with its heavenly counterpart," and also that "the entire allegory of Satan's paternity of Sin and Death is a perfect parody of orthodox theology."  The idea of the parodied, or unholy, trinity is mentioned in the introduction to the poem as well where the suggestion is that the figures of Satan, Sin, and Death are the antitypes of the heavenly Trinity, each representing God the Father, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit, respectively.

            In a slightly twisted way this analogy can work.  The representations of the antitypes to what is considered the true form of the Trinity are accurate, and the idea that Satan begat Sin and Death and that they live in accord with each other, in the sense that they have a similar goal in the corruption of man, and that their intentions are the same is also acceptable.  But the issue is that they cannot form a true trinity and thus cannot be viewed as a "perfect parody" of anything.  First, Satan, Sin, and Death can act in unison in their efforts to corrupt man, but they cannot have a true unity among them.  The idea of the heavenly Trinity is that all three entities that make up the Trinity are indeed all equal in substance, all eternal, coexisting with the same authority and power, and live in unison with each other in a relationship of communion.  The parodied trinity, however, cannot have a true triune relationship as they are by their very nature in conflict with each other.  The first confrontation comes at line 681:

                                    Whence and what art thou, execrable shape,

                        That dar'st, though grim and terrible, advance,

                        Thy miscreated Front thwart my way,

                        To yonder gates? through them I mean to pass,

                        That be assured, without leave askt of thee:

                        Retire, or taste thy folly, and learn by proof,

                        Hell-born, not to contend with the Spirits of Heav'n.

Here is seen Satan confronting Death in an aggressive manner, not knowing who Death is and insisting that he will pass unrestrained.  What is evident is that they first do not recognize each other, and second, that they are not of the same source.  Satan is an angel created in heaven and Death is his offspring, but no angel.  They are not of the same substance and thus cannot be in communion with each other in the same way the members of Trinity are.  The idea that Milton believed of the Trinity, that the Son is begotten of the Father and was not from eternity and therefore they are not exactly the same in every way, is indeed an heresy, and also mirrored in Death being begotten by Satan, but it is irrelevant in the sense that they are not of the same substance.  One could argue, in Milton's view of the begotten Son, that the Son proceeds from the Father, but in this respect, they are both heavenly and could at least share the same attributes and live in communion with each other.  But as Satan calls Death "Hell-born" and warns him "not to contend with the Spirits of Heav'n" in line 688, this underscores the fact that they cannot form a trinity of any kind, even as a parody.  Conflict here is illustrated in that Satan and Death are not of the same source and each is ready to oppose the other in a quickly escalating confrontation.

            The confrontation escalates after Death responds to Satan and at line 721 is seen the climax:

                        For never but once more was either like

                        To meet so great a foe: and now great deeds

                        Had been achiev'd, whereof all Hell had rung,

                        Had not the Snaky Sorceress that sat

                        Fast by Hell Gate, and kept the fatal Key,

                        Ris'n, and with hideous outcry rush'd between.

Here Satan and Death are referred to as foes completely ready for battle and would have warred to the point that hell would have rung in their "dark Encounter" ("Paradise Lost" Book II 718).  Satan is at odds with Death- and Sin as well- and thus the suggestion of a trinity of any type is defeated.  There cannot be trinity without unity and Satan, Sin, and Death do not, and indeed cannot, possess it.  Also, Sin prevents the encounter and further confuses Satan in telling him that Death is his son to which Satan replies "I know thee not, nor ever saw till now/ Sight more detestable than him and thee" ("Paradise Lost" Book II 744-745).  Satan does not recognize either Sin or Death and views them as "detestable."  One must consider then how Satan sees himself.  He is a fallen angel, and he is hell itself, but he sees himself different from Sin and Death.  He is "Other."  If Satan is beautiful, which, created as an angel, he is, then his recognition of Sin and Death as "detestable" signals that they are not trinitarian by nature.  Initially, they do not know each other, they hate each other- though Sin is of Satan and Death is begotten of Satan and Sin- and they have different appearances, none of which allow for a trinity, even as parody, because they do not represent unity, even in a hellish sort of way.  The Trinity represents an ideal and as such draws men to itself.  It is beautiful, it is complete, it is self-sustaining and self-existing, it is perfection in all its forms, especially relational.  In this regard, the unholy trinity cannot be a trinity at all.  Without unity, it is nothing.

            Another illustration of this "trinity" being a perversion of the heavenly Trinity, and thus not one at all, is that it is incestuous.  Nowhere in the Trinity can it be suggested that the relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit can be seen in this manner.  But in Book II of "Paradise Lost", we see this:

                        I fled, be he persu'd (though more, it seems,

                        Inflam'd with lust than rage) and swifter far,

                        Mee overtook his mother all dismay'd,

                        And in embraces forcible and foul

                        Ingend'ring with me, of that rape begot

                        These yelling Monsters that with ceasless cry

                        Surround me, as thou saw'st, hourly conceiv'd

                        And hourly born, with sorrow infinite

                        To me, for when they list, into the womb

                        That bred them they return, and howl and gnaw

                        My bowels, thir repast; then bursting forth

                        Afresh with conscious terrors vex me round,

                        That rest of intermission none  find.

                                                                                    (790-802)

Death rapes his mother and thus are begotten the Hell-hounds.  He pursued her, was forcible with her, and raped her.  The hounds then repeatedly rape her ceaselessly.  This graphic, violent description of this heinous act- among other examples rampant in the text- cannot denote unity, and thus deflects any notion of a trinity existing among Satan, Sin, and Death.

            A final issue is that the hellish trinity is always subject to God and His decrees.  The trinity cannot operate independent from God.  Anything they do and anyone they corrupt and anywhere they go to tempt people, all is permissible by God.  They, like humans, are created beings and thus cannot act without God allowing it.  One must consider then the power, or lack thereof, that the trinity possesses.  Power does not necessarily define a trinity and the workings therein, but it does play a role in how one operates in both the spiritual and physical world.  Subjection cannot equal power and underscores a lack of authority.  Without unison, communion, and power, a trinity as some suggest among Satan, Sin, and Death cannot be true and cannot function as it should.

            Admittedly, though, there do exist parallels.  The fact that God the Son is of God the Father and proceeding from them is God the Holy Spirit is indeed represented in the fact that Satan is a father, Sin is from Satan, and Death proceeds as a result from them.  But in this unholy trinity, the difference lies in that  each seems to act on their own will, on their accord, and each functions in a different way.  Each member functions in a specific capacity separate from the others, though, of course, with one overall goal in mind; Satan is tempter, Sin is offence against God, and Death is a wage of sin.  But here again unity is lacking, and thus a proper trinity cannot be represented. 

            The significance of a proper interpretation of Satan, Sin, and Death comprising a trinity that either mirrors or parodies the Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit is that this point in Book II sets the expectation for how the reader views the idea of trinity in the rest of the poem.  The position that suggests that the unholy trinity is indeed a trinity sets up for the reader, especially one without a theological base, the idea that Satan and his demons are as powerful, or nearly as powerful,  as God.  Yes, one can recognize that Satan is subject to God's authority, but in reading the poem, this posited position of unholy trinity as Trinity does seem to suggest that Satan is powerful and underhandedly leads the reader to believe (or hope?) that he can function independent of God, which is an issue, because he cannot.  At least in the first four books of the poem, and especially in the first two, the reader can sympathize with Satan and his dismissal from heaven.  As he is fallen, so is man.  Both are separated from God and thus share a fallen state.  (One must recognize that man is redeemable in Christ and Satan is not, but for this present argument it is not relevant, though worth a mention.)  The danger created for the reader, then, is that the reader can view two trinities, different, unequal, though similar, and the line can be blurred and the reading of the poem can be skewed in this way. 

            Perhaps Milton intended to represent the parallels between the two ideas, Satan and God, heaven and hell, but to suggest that the Satan, Sin, and Death represent a trinity in any way is not supported by the text enough to be viable.  There exists too much discontinuity, too much discord, and too much independent desire to allow that position, though it exists; it is, however, a stretch of imagination to connect the details.  Some, admittedly, may find issue with the above position, but would be hard pressed to defend the use of the word trinity in relation to Satan, Sin, and Death; the word does not fit the relationship and the poem does not support its use.

Works Cited

Milton, John.  "Paradise Lost"  Complete Poems and Major Prose.  Ed. Merritt Y. Hughes.  Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2003.  211-469.  Print.