Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
Sources

Paradise Lost

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Paradise Lost, John Milton's 1667 poem printed by Samuel Simmons, is the primary literary text that fixed the now standard English distinction between Lucifer as the name before the fall and Satan as the name after, a distinction with no basis in the Hebrew or Greek biblical text. Its strength for this atlas is exactly that: it is the poem itself. Its limit, stated on the record, is that it is a seventeenth century poetic work, not a doctrinal or theological source, and no url is given because the work is verified as a text in its own right rather than through one web edition.

Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier
2
John Milton's Paradise Lost, printed by Samuel Simmons in 1667, the middle tier reflecting that it is the primary literary text itself, the actual source of the Lucifer-before, Satan-after distinction, weighed against its character as a seventeenth century poetic work rather than a doctrinal or theological source.
Notes
1667. Not a source for doctrine. Its distinction between Lucifer as the name before the fall and Satan as the name after is a poetic invention that has shaped English-language assumptions ever since.
Citation
Author
John Milton
Publisher
Samuel Simmons
London, 1667 first edition.
Publication Year
1667
Source Type
primary-text
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Lucifer, Figures

This source names Lucifer directly: "standard English distinction between Lucifer as the name before the fall and Satan as the name after, a distinction with no basis in the Hebrew or Greek biblical text."

Source Paradise LostJohn Milton
Satan, Figures

This source names Satan directly: "as the name before the fall and Satan as the name after, a distinction with no basis in the Hebrew or Greek biblical text."

Source Paradise LostJohn Milton
Claims Backed By This Source (12 claims)

This source backs 12 claims across the atlas. As facts: 7 well-attested. As cited relationships: 2 holds. Plus 3 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

  • Sources, 9 claims: 7 well-attested, 2 holds.
  • Figures, 2 claims: 2 general references.
  • Realms, 1 claims: 1 general references.

Well-attested

7

Holds

2

General References

3
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