The Power of Good Over Evil
John Milton’s Paradise Lost tells the story of Satan’s fall from Heaven and the resulting conflicts between Heaven and Hell. Milton characterizes Satan as jealous, bitter, angry, and deceiving; essentially the epitome of evil. In lines 106–108, Milton writes that Satan claims, “All is not lost; the unconquerable Will, And study of revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield.” Such dialogue is a testament to Satan’s stubbornness and resentment towards all that is good.
Satan’s evil tendencies are his only defining characteristics, and so, it would be fair to say that Satan’s character acts as a representative of evil. Using the same logic that is used to conclude that Satan is the representative for evil, it can also be assumed that God would be the representative of good, as Satan and God are rivals, similar to how good and evil are rivals. Additionally, since God came before everything, he must have been the first entity to have practiced good. Therefore, he must also have the most knowledge and wisdom of goodness and all that it entails, so it could be said that God is the ruler of good. And using that logic once more, Satan, if he were the first to participate in evil, must be the ruler of all that is evil. So, Milton’s work not only tells the story of Satan versus God, but also, simply, of good versus evil.
Milton also makes it clear that Satan believes he is powerful, and that before he was fallen, he believed he was wiser than God and would be able to defeat him, choosing to, “[revolt] from God, and [draw] to his side many Legions of Angels,” (the argument). However, after he is fallen, Satan and his closest adviser seem to admit that they are not as powerful as God, saying, “sad overthrow and foul defeat Hath lost us Heav’n,” (lines 136–137), and referencing God as, “ he Who now is Sovran,” (line 246). They also seem to recognize God’s power over them when they say, “he our Conquerour, (whom I now Of force believe Almighty, since no less Then such could hav orepow’rd such force as ours),” in lines 143–145. So, logically, Milton suggests through his writings that even the ruler of all that is evil recognizes that his power is not as great as that of the ruler of all that is good, and so, good is more powerful than evil.
The power of good over evil is one that can be seen not only in Milton’s work, but in everyday life, as well. Though most people tend to either focus on the negatives in their lives or focus on the positives, if life were to be looked at from an objective view, it would not be difficult to see that good almost always prevails over evil. There are many examples of this, and the fact that good can be found in every situation proves that good is always there and can always win. For example, a highly discussed period of time at the moment is the Spanish Flu Pandemic. Because of its similarities to the Covid-19 Pandemic, it’s being referenced regularly. Like Covid-19, the Spanish Flu took many, many lives and disrupted normalcy for citizens across the globe while the pandemic raged on. However, good prevailed in the end in that situation. The pandemic disappeared and normalcy returned. Though some will argue that if a pandemic happens at all, surely that cannot be considered a triumph for the good, but consider what a triumph for evil would’ve looked like in this situation. If evil had won out in the case of the Spanish Flu, it is likely that it would’ve continued to spread and destroyed human civilization. Evil does not take half wins, and neither does good. If evil had won, the pandemic would’ve destroyed everything, but since good won, the pandemic was stopped. Good was more powerful than evil in this situation, and this was not an isolated example.
In the above video, Erin Gruwell, a teacher, says the line, “Evil prevails when good people do nothing.” This statement suggests that without the presence of good, evil can win, but with the presence of good, evil cannot prevail. When there is good, evil will not triumph.
The idea that good has power over evil is not a new idea, and it has been supported by examples throughout hundreds of years of literature and daily life. Milton’s Paradise Lost highlights this idea, but is not the only place where the idea can be seen. The struggle between good and evil will always exist, and there may be moments where it seems that evil could win, but there are many battles within a war, and a momentary victory for evil does not mean that it will prevail. Milton seemed to know this, Erin Gruwell knows this, and I know this as well. Good will always win.
