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Discussion 1 to Meditation 633
Milton's view

by: Will Petillo

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Among the Christians who have given some thought to sex in the afterlife was the poet John Milton, who seemed to have taken a slightly different view on the matter.  In the following excerpt from Paradise Lost, (near the end of Book VIII) Adam asks the Angel Raphael about angel sex.  Here is Raphael’s response:

To whom the Angel with a smile that glow'd
Celestial rosie red, Loves proper hue,
Answer'd. Let it suffice thee that thou know'st
Us happie, and without Love no happiness.
Whatever pure thou in the body enjoy'st
(And pure thou wert created) we enjoy
In eminence, and obstacle find none
Of membrane, joynt, or limb, exclusive barrs:
Easier then Air with Air, if Spirits embrace,
Total they mix, Union of Pure with Pure
Desiring; nor restrain'd conveyance need
As Flesh to mix with Flesh, or Soul with Soul.

An interesting side note: although, in Milton ’s work, angels are not technically gendered in the way humans are, they are all male when they take on human form.  Also, everything in Milton ’s universe is made up of physical matter (though some of it seems to defy various laws of modern physics and can shape-shift with ease), no ghosties.  I should also note here that Milton’s view of the cosmos was rather unorthodox—even for his time—and therefore does not necessarily represent the views of modern Christians.