Spencer McDaniel
@spencermcdaniel.bsky.social
Studies ancient Greek cultural and social history, BA history and classical studies @IUBloomington, MA @BrandeisCLAS, she/her.
Yes, I knew about your book! I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it is on my list of books to read, and I'm excited for when I have the chance.
November 15, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Yes, I knew about your book! I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it is on my list of books to read, and I'm excited for when I have the chance.
Two of the most striking features of Milton's Satan are his mendacity and sophistry. In Milton's portrayal, he is truly "a liar and the father of lies."
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November 11, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Two of the most striking features of Milton's Satan are his mendacity and sophistry. In Milton's portrayal, he is truly "a liar and the father of lies."
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Oh, it's not delusional; it's *propaganda*.
The thing most people miss about the context of Satan's speech in Book I is that Satan delivers it to rally his followers, and Milton quickly reveals that Satan himself doesn't actually believe a word of it.
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talesoftimesforgotten.com/2020/02/20/d...
The thing most people miss about the context of Satan's speech in Book I is that Satan delivers it to rally his followers, and Milton quickly reveals that Satan himself doesn't actually believe a word of it.
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talesoftimesforgotten.com/2020/02/20/d...
Did John Milton Really Sympathize with Satan? - Tales of Times Forgotten
For those of you who do not know, Paradise Lost is an epic poem about the Fall of Man that was written by the English poet John Milton (lived 1608 – 1674) and first published in 1667. Even though John...
talesoftimesforgotten.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Oh, it's not delusional; it's *propaganda*.
The thing most people miss about the context of Satan's speech in Book I is that Satan delivers it to rally his followers, and Milton quickly reveals that Satan himself doesn't actually believe a word of it.
1/
talesoftimesforgotten.com/2020/02/20/d...
The thing most people miss about the context of Satan's speech in Book I is that Satan delivers it to rally his followers, and Milton quickly reveals that Satan himself doesn't actually believe a word of it.
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talesoftimesforgotten.com/2020/02/20/d...
This is genuinely one of the best parts of the epic, and it puts Satan's more famous speech in Book I, lines 242–270, in a very different light: "The mind is its own place, and in it self / can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n" indeed.
November 11, 2025 at 8:15 AM
This is genuinely one of the best parts of the epic, and it puts Satan's more famous speech in Book I, lines 242–270, in a very different light: "The mind is its own place, and in it self / can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n" indeed.
Thanks! I think it is fascinating too, since it goes so against what most people's natural assumption is.
October 28, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Thanks! I think it is fascinating too, since it goes so against what most people's natural assumption is.
I just got back from the No Kings protest in Kokomo, Indiana, and one of the slogans that the massed protesters chanted was "Free, Free Palestine." I also saw at least one person wearing a keffiyeh.
October 18, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I just got back from the No Kings protest in Kokomo, Indiana, and one of the slogans that the massed protesters chanted was "Free, Free Palestine." I also saw at least one person wearing a keffiyeh.
Obviously, this is *not* behavior that anyone should admire or seek to emulate, but it is a reminder that the gospels do not always portray Jesus as the perfect, all-loving, compassionate figure that modern popular culture has made him out to be. He has a nasty side and is sometimes xenophobic.
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October 2, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Obviously, this is *not* behavior that anyone should admire or seek to emulate, but it is a reminder that the gospels do not always portray Jesus as the perfect, all-loving, compassionate figure that modern popular culture has made him out to be. He has a nasty side and is sometimes xenophobic.
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A lot of people forget that, in a real gospel passage (Mark 7:24–30 and Matthew 15:21–28), a woman begs Jesus to exorcise a demon from her daughter, and Jesus initially refuses and compares the woman to a dog because she is a Gentile. He only belatedly relents and agrees to exorcise the demon.
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October 2, 2025 at 9:58 PM
A lot of people forget that, in a real gospel passage (Mark 7:24–30 and Matthew 15:21–28), a woman begs Jesus to exorcise a demon from her daughter, and Jesus initially refuses and compares the woman to a dog because she is a Gentile. He only belatedly relents and agrees to exorcise the demon.
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