Changes: John Milton

Revision as of 17:56, 28 March 2015

SS Botany Bay-library — Two copies of *Paradise Lost* (top middle, and second from the left) aboard the SS *Botany Bay*

John Milton was a historical figure from Earth history. He was the author of the poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.

In 2267, Khan Noonien Singh referred to Milton in reply to Captain Kirk's inquiry as to whether he could "tame a world." Unsure what Khan meant, Montgomery Scott later stated to Kirk, "It's a shame for a good Scotsman to admit it, but I'm not up on Milton." To which, Kirk replied, quoting from Paradise Lost a statement made by Lucifer when he fell into the pit, "It is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven." (TOS: "Space Seed")

In 2285, two late 20th century books - one containing the poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, the other only Paradise Lost - were among the small collection of books found aboard the SS Botany Bay. Milton's name was seen on the spine of one of the books. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

In 2368, Berlinghoff Rasmussen mentioned Milton to Geordi La Forge as an individual who was blind. (TNG: "A Matter of Time")

In 2370, when Maques was injured by a rose in the USS Enterprise-D's arboretum, Counselor Troi recited a verse from Milton's Paradise Lost to him: "Flowers of all hue and without thorn the rose." (TNG: "Dark Page")

Why Scotty should have found it shameful for a Scotsman not to be "up on Milton" was unclear. His country and England were not merged into the kingdom of Great Britain until the 18th century, and Milton was – in every sense of the word – an English poet. If not nationalist, then, Scotty's embarrassment may be religious: Milton was strongly influenced by Calvinism in his years over on the European mainland, and Calvinism was a prime ingredient in Presbyterianism, a powerful force in Scotland's culture.

However, this was most likely a plot device to give Kirk a reason to explain the comment, as it was very likely that the audience would not be familiar with the quote from Paradise Lost.

External link

John Milton at Wikipedia

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+[[File:SS Botany Bay-library.jpg|thumb|Two copies of ''Paradise Lost'' (top middle, and second from the left) aboard the {{SS|Botany Bay}}]]
-'''John Milton''' was a [[human]] [[poetry|poet]] of [[British]] descent from [[Earth]], who wrote during the [[17th century]]. His works include the literary classic ''[[Paradise Lost (poem)|Paradise Lost]]'', and it's sequel, ''[[Paradise Regained]]''.
+'''John Milton''' was a historical figure from [[Earth]] history. He was the [[author]] of the [[poetry|poems]] ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' and ''[[Paradise Regained]]''.
-In [[2267]], [[Khan Noonien Singh]] referred to Milton in reply to [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk's]] inquiry as to whether he could "tame [[Ceti Alpha V|a world]]." Unsure what Khan ment, [[Scotty]] later stated to Kirk, "It's a shame for a good [[Scotsman]] to admit it, but I'm not up on Milton." To which, Kirk replied, quoting from ''Paradise Lost'' a statement made by [[Lucifer]] when he fell into the pit, "It is better to rule in [[hell]] than serve in [[heaven]]." ([[TOS]]: "[[Space Seed]]")
+In [[2267]], [[Khan Noonien Singh]] referred to Milton in reply to [[Captain]] [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]]'s inquiry as to whether he could "tame [[Ceti Alpha V|a world]]." Unsure what Khan meant, [[Montgomery Scott]] later stated to Kirk, "''It's a shame for a good [[Scotsman]] to admit it, but I'm not up on Milton.''" To which, Kirk replied, quoting from ''Paradise Lost'' a statement made by [[Lucifer]] when he fell into the pit, "''It is better to rule in [[hell]] than serve in [[heaven]].''" ({{TOS|Space Seed}})
-In [[2286]], a copies of Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' and ''Paradise Regained'' were among the small collection of [[book]]s found aboard the [[SS Botany Bay|SS ''Botany Bay'']]. (''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'')
+In [[2285]], two late [[20th century]] books - one containing the poems ''Paradise Lost'' and ''Paradise Regained'', the other only ''Paradise Lost'' - were among the small collection of [[book]]s found aboard the {{SS|Botany Bay}}. Milton's name was seen on the spine of one of the books. ({{film|2}})
-In [[2368]] [[Berlinghoff Rasmussen]] mentioned Milton to [[Geordi La Forge]] as a historical figure who was blind. ([[TNG]]: "[[A Matter of Time]]")
+In [[2368]], [[Berlinghoff Rasmussen]] mentioned Milton to [[Geordi La Forge]] as an individual who was [[blindness|blind]]. ({{TNG|A Matter of Time}})
-In [[2370]], when [[Maques]] was injured by a [[rose]] in the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|''USS Enterprise-D'']]'s [[arboretum]], [[Counselor]] [[Deanna Troi|Troi]] recited a verse from Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' to him: ''"Flowers of all hue and without thorn the rose."'' ([[TNG]]: "[[Dark Page]]")
+In [[2370]], when [[Maques]] was injured by a [[rose]] in the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}}'s [[arboretum]], [[Counselor]] [[Deanna Troi|Troi]] recited a verse from Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' to him: "''Flowers of all hue and without thorn the rose.''" ({{TNG|Dark Page}})
+{{bginfo|Why Scotty should have found it shameful for a Scotsman not to be "up on Milton" was unclear. [[Scotland|His country]] and England were not merged into the kingdom of [[Great Britain]] until the [[18th century]], and Milton was &ndash; in every sense of the word &ndash; an English poet. If not nationalist, then, Scotty's embarrassment may be religious: Milton was strongly influenced by Calvinism in his years over on the European mainland, and Calvinism was a prime ingredient in Presbyterianism, a powerful force in Scotland's culture.|However, this was most likely a plot device to give Kirk a reason to explain the comment, as it was very likely that the ''audience'' would not be familiar with the quote from ''Paradise Lost''.}}
-==External Links==
-* {{Wikipedia|John Milton}}
+== External link ==
-[[Category:Humans|Milton, John]][[Category:Authors|Milton, John]]
+* {{Wikipedia}}
+[[de:John Milton]]
+[[fr:John Milton]]
+[[Category:Humans|Milton, John]]
+[[Category:Authors|Milton, John]]