Glorification through Gifts - John Milton

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"These abilities, wheresoever they be found, are the inspired gift of God, rarely bestowed, but yet to some (though most abuse) in every nation; and are of power, beside the office of a pulpit, to inbreed and cherish in a great people the seeds of virtue, and public civility, to allay the perturbations of the mind and set the affections in right tune; to celebrate in glorious and lofty hymns the throne and equipage of God's almightiness and what he works" (Milton 170). In the parable of the talents, Matthew tells the story of three servants who are given a specific number of talents reflecting their abilities. When their master returns, each of the servants reports back their earnings from the talents. Two of the three servants doubled their talents in the absence of their master, but one only buried his, fearing his master. Both of the servants who earned money were proudly received by their master, while the servant who had only buried his talent, was chided for his laziness (Matthew 25). This parable resonates through much of Milton's work including "Sonnet XVI" and "The Reason of Church Government." In each of these texts, the lessons learned from Matthew 25 serve as the foundation for their argument. Milton toys with the double meaning of talent as both money and ability as he retells this parable in a more subtle way. Along with retransmitting this parable, Milton uses both "Sonnet XVI" and "The Reason of Church Government" to relate his triumph over disabling blindness to still praise God. By explicitly choosing "talent", Milton unequivocally draws the parable of the talents into his sonnet. The direct metaphor of talent as money in the parable of the talents is immediately evoked in "Sonnet XVI" as Milton proclaims that burying the talent "is death to hide." (Milton 81 ln. 3). The servant who chose to hide his talent was thrown to the street and away from the master, facing a certain death. Milton again explores the waste of talent in "The Reason of Church Government" when he Here, Milton establishes the frame for the sonnet from which, Milton is able to translate the tale in the context of his blindness. His load becomes more difficult to bear due to his disability, and he makes that known in the sonnet. Although his world is "dark and wide", Milton still follows the call of the Lord without resignation (Milton 81 ln 2).

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