“Thy temperance invincible”: Humanism in Book II of The Faerie Queene and Paradise Regained
Sung-Kyun, Yim
Early Modern Literary Studies 9.1 (May 2003)
Abstract
This essay argues that Spenser and Milton, as humanist artists and at the same time devout Protestants, struggle to cope with the obvious conflict between what they believe to be an ultimate truth and aesthetically sound way to present it. Their ultimate truth is Christian, yet humanist morality and aesthetics are the only way that they can present the truth. By examining, in particular, the temptations Guyon and Jesus confront in Book II of The Faerie Queene and Paradise Regained and how they react against them, we will get to an understanding that the two poets share the same conviction to educate the reader. Guyon, despite his limitations, maintains humanist-Christian virtue of temperance and thus shows by example how Christian must act in this world. To Spenser, humanism is simply an appropriate way to educate the reader to become a good Christian. Milton, however, is keenly aware of the inadequacy of employing humanist ideas and aesthetics in his depiction of the ultimate Christian hero. Humanism must be rejected for Jesus to reveal himself as the victor over Satanic power. Perhaps, Milton’s England makes the author of the brief epic more severe towards the humanist tradition he has inherited than Elizabethan England does for Spenser. Nevertheless, in his belief that man is capable of imitating Christ, we can find the humanist spirit alive in the heart of the poet whose beliefs in human nature may have been shattered by the Restoration.
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