Two of the most influential pieces of epic literature ever written – John Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy – have much more in common than it doesn't seem like it at first glance. Upon closer examination of the two epics, it becomes clear that Milton appears to be embarking on a sort of mission to create the next great Christian epic and to redefine and renew some of the themes and sacred truths evoked by Dante in The Divine Comedy . . One of these dominant truths was the role of justice, both in the realm of humanity and in the structure of the divine universe. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay It is clear that the two novels have very distinct definitions and roles of justice. Throughout Dante's epic, justice is depicted as perfect, divine, and infallible, particularly in the realms of Paradise. Paradise Lost, on the other hand, presents the role of justice as much more diverse and complex than that of humanity, especially since the book continually seems to present God as a tyrannical and omnipotent figure. If God is so righteous and omniscient, the reader asks, then why does He allow man to fall? Or Satan to give in to the temptation of power? To answer these questions, we must give due respect to an often overlooked yet extremely important character: the Son of God. The Son represents Milton's compromise between two puzzling theological truths: the omnipotence and omnipotence of God's will, and the necessity of free will in the existence of humanity. By consistently portraying the Son as separate and distinct from God, and through the Son's various displays of mercy and love, Milton succeeds in capturing both of these theological truths. This is why the justice of God – in order to be understood by the minds of humanity and not to be seen as some kind of tyrannical mystical law – is distributed by the loving and more human hands of the Son. From the beginning of the epic, the eternity of God's justice is clearly demonstrated in the question of angelic warfare. When Satan awakens in the pits of Hell, Milton writes of the banishment of the fallen angels, saying: "Such a place as eternal justice had prepared/ For the rebels their prison was here ordained/ In darkness total” (1.70-72). By highlighting such a predetermined and omnipotent aspect of God's character, Milton raises the question of God's omnipotence from the very beginning of his poem. The reader of book 1 is overcome with pity and lament for Satan, and wonders how God can seem so tyrannical. God's omnipotence and tyrannical nature, however, are quickly forgotten in Michael's account of angelic warfare in his story to Adam. The text clearly shows that even before the angelic war began, God knew that Satan would fall into temptation and lead his comrades into war. Milton emphasizes this by saying "And from within the golden lamps that burn/The night before Him saw without their light/The rebellion arose" (5.713-715), thus emphasizing the knowledge that God possessed even before the war began. takes place. In doing so, Milton once again raises the question of whether God's intentions are tyrannical, or whether grace and love even exist in God's eternal justice. The role of justice in war, however, becomes relevant in the following lines when God, "smiling upon His only Son" (5.718) informs him of the impending war and how He (the Son) will stop it. When God gives the Son the orderto stop the war in book 6, his words reveal the necessity of the Son's role in dispensing justice. “Into You such virtue and grace/Immense I have transfused,” says God, showing that by becoming the separate entity of the Son, God ends the angelic war not with severe punishment and complete annihilation , but by “virtue and grace”. of the Son (6.703-704). Although banishment to hell may not be the most merciful representation of God's love through justice, it ultimately represents His concern for the importance of freedom throughout the universe. The extent of God's will seems to have no boundaries throughout the epic, except in regard to one aspect: the importance of free will. The Angels, instead of being completely defeated or annihilated, are sent to a place where, even though they suffer eternal punishment, they can continue to have free will. Besides angelic warfare, the other clear example of God exercising His justice through the love and grace of the Son is in the chastisement of man after his fall. Even before the creation of man, God knew of their impending downfall. When He sees Satan traveling to Earth in order to "pervert by some false trick", He recognizes that Satan will succeed and that Man will fall under the temptation of Satan and his "unfaithful offspring". (3.92-96). God's omniscience regarding man's fall may seem to complicate matters regarding their punishment. Knowing full well that man sinned because of his free will, God is faced with the task of punishing humanity while paying attention to the fact that He knew of their fall all along. Man's free will was his own creation, so it is not surprising that he felt at least a small part of responsibility for their downfall. Therefore, God sends his Son to demonstrate the mercy and love necessary to implement his justice. In sending him to judge man, God calls the Son "the friend of man, his mediator" (10:60), thereby drawing attention to the Son's unique role as a loving exponent of the righteousness of God towards humanity. Even the Son himself notes how he will “temper this justice with mercy” (10.80) and thus become God's instrument for distributing divine justice on Earth. Besides these two specific examples of God using the Son to illustrate the loving side of His justice, the Son's volunteering to save humanity in book 3 also represents one of the most striking and touching examples of God implementing his justice through love. As God and the Son sit in heaven and watch Satan travel to Earth, their conversation about free will and the destiny of man becomes an early centerpiece of some of the epic's major themes. One of the most important themes of this conversation, however, is God's discussion of how, although God knows that his glory will excel throughout the universe, he realizes that "mercy, first and last, will shine the most.” (3.133). Therefore, God makes the decision to ask what being in all Heaven would be willing to become mortal to show this mercy, and "just, but unjust to save?" (3.215). It is therefore not surprising that the only heavenly being capable of perfectly interpreting and distributing God's justice is in fact God Himself, or in this case the person of the Son. When the Son volunteers, God makes the difficult decision not only to save a lesser race through his love, but also to stoop to the depths of humanity. God's sacrifice to save man proves to be the centerpiece of the theme. of justice in Paradise Lost. Ultimately, justice is not something..