Explanation:
"...If then his providence
Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,
Our labour must be to pervert that end,
And out of good still to find means of evil;
Which oft times may succeed, so as perhaps
His inmost counsels from their destined aim."
(Lines 162-168)
Answer: These lines have been taken from 'Paradise Lost' Book I, the world-famous English epic by John Milton, the most distinguished poet in English literature. These lines constitute a part of the speech by Satan to Beelzebub in answer to the latter's plea that fighting against God will be of no use since He is all-powerful in the Universe.
In his first speech before Beelzebub, Satan laid emphasis on their angelic immortality and their determination to wage an endless war with the tyrannical God who has become the sole ruler of Heaven after hurling them headlong into Hell. Beelzebub concedes in his reply that the spirits are immortal and will soon recover their diminished strength but expresses his fear that God may use them as his thralls by right of war, and may employ them in His own service. Arguing against Beelzebub's apprehensions, Satan says that their sole delight will always be to counteract God's designs by converting well into evil. In the lines under reference, Satan shifts the argument from the plane of power to the plane of Providence. He asserts that if God's providence aims at bringing good out of their evil, they must try to pervert this attempt and bring evil out of good. He hopes that many a time they will succeed in their efforts and will be able to upset God's mind by perverting the desired aims of His actions. Satan's policy here is that even if the fallen angels are not able to defeat their enemy, they can at least show their spirit of revenge by preventing God's good deeds from bearing any fruit.
In the present passage, Million's Satan appears as an evil incarnate. Once he has chosen the path of evil and wickedness he does not want to depart from it. He is a creature of 'obdurate pride' and 'steadfast hate'.
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