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Milton's Paradise Regained.(John Milton)(Critical essay)

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From: The Explicator
Date: 20060622
Author:Mulryan, John

After Satan subjects the Son to the subtle and appealing temptation to learning in the fourth book of Milton's Paradise Regained, the Son replies:

 
    Think not but that I know these things, or think 
    I know them not; not therefore am I short 
    Of knowing what I ought: he who receives 
    Light from above, from the fountain of light, 
    No other doctrine needs, though granted true; 
    But these are false [...]. (286-91) 

It is difficult to unravel this cluster of negatives, combining litotes (denying the negative to assert the positive, which in this case is ...

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