Formulating Questions: Archangel Raphael Converses With Adam and Eve

Illustrious ideas and illustrations: The imagery of Gustav Doré

“Eastward among those trees, what glorious shape/Come this way moving?” (V. 309, 310),(detail) 1866, by Gustav Doré for John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” Engraving. Public Domain

In a world that rewards being right, it’s very difficult to not pursue and parrot answers. We even take pride in being right, in having the “right” answer. Some of us even use what we believe to be right to bully and beat those who we think are wrong: After all, why would we adopt ideas and beliefs if they weren’t right? And since we’re right, how could anyone be dumb enough to think differently from how we do? We love to cast stones.

Believing we have the absolute answer often devolves into the worst kind of zealotry, the kind of zealotry that leads to condemnation, inquisitions, and even genocide. Rather, were we to seek to formulate good questions as often as we wish to club people over the head with our “right” beliefs, our world would be much different.

In this series, we continue to search for that value and see if it can help us formulate questions that will be instrumental in our lives.

Eve Dreams of Satan

In John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” after Gabriel confronts Satan in the Garden of Eden, both go their separate ways. The night before, Satan, disguised as a toad, causes Eve to have a disturbing dream. She dreams of “one shaped and winged like those from Heav’n by us oft seen” (Book V, Lines 55–56).

Satan, now disguised as an angel, takes Eve to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and tells her to eat from it so that she may be like the beings in heaven. Satan gets close to her, grabs her, and takes flight into heaven from where she can see the earth from high above. He then disappears, and she falls back to earth. She awakens afraid and is happy it was only a dream.

Adam calms Eve’s fear about her dream. He tells her that our souls are complex, and just because she dreamed something dark or evil doesn’t mean that she’s dark or evil. Eve sheds a tear but is satisfied. They both watch the sun rise and sing songs of praise to their Creator while asking to dissolve evil and provide good:

Hail universal Lord, be bounteous still To give us only good; and if the night Have gathered aught of evil or concealed, Disperse it, as not light dispels the dark. So prayed they innocent, and to their thoughts Firm peace recovered soon and wonted calm. (Book V, Lines 205-210).

“Eastward among those trees, what glorious shape/Come this way moving?” (V. 309, 310), 1866, by Gustav Doré for John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” Engraving. Public Domain

The Majesty of the Angelic Raphael 

Meanwhile, God watches the whole scene unfold and calls to his archangel Raphael to assist Adam and Eve with heavenly advice.

Raphael flies to Eden. In a beautifully written passage, Milton describes Raphael’s journey. Raphael takes flight through the praises sung in Heaven, and on either side of him, the celestial choir sings the praises of God’s will. He makes it to the gates of Heaven, and they open by themselves so as to not impede his flight.

Raphael flies through the sky with nothing obstructing him, and the colors of his wings and the light he emits make him appear as if he is a phoenix in flight. Finally, he lands in Eden, resembling a six-winged seraph—an angel of the highest order in the nine levels of heaven. He shakes his wings and releases a fragrance that lets all know his rank and that he has arrived.

Adam sees Raphael coming in the distance and tells Eve to come look:

Haste hither Eve, and worth thy sight behold Eastward among the trees, what glorious shape Come this way moving; seems another morn Ris’n on mid-noon; some great behest from Heav’n To us perhaps he brings, and will vouchsafe This day to be our guest. But go with speed, And what thy stores contain, bring forth and pour Abundance, fit to honour and receive Our Heav’nly stranger. ... (Book V, Lines 308-316)

Adam compares Raphael’s luminance to a second morning during midday. In Gustav Doré’s illustration “Eastward among those trees, what glorious shape/Come this way moving?” Adam is shown leaning toward Eve in the bottom left area of the composition. He points up to Raphael, who’s shown almost as a white silhouette. Keep in mind the fact that Adam points here, because it will be relevant when we look at the next image.

The rest of the environment is shown as dark. This darkness isn’t to suggest that the Garden of Eden is dark, but that the light of the sun is dark compared to the brilliance of a heavenly being. The only way Doré can accomplish this is to darken the environment so that Raphael’s brightness stands out.

It’s also interesting that Adam and Eve bring forth their best in order to honor the archangel. They want to show their hospitality to their messenger, so they go and prepare the abundance of the garden to share with Raphael.

Raphael Speaks With Adam and Eve

“To whom the winged Hierarch replied:/O Adam, one Almighty is, from whom/All things proceed” (V. 468-470),1866, by Gustav Doré for John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” Engraving. Public Domain

Adam and Eve, in the company of Raphael, engage in fruitful dialogue. Adam, as the patriarch of mankind, still pure in spirit, doesn’t presume to have answers but asks questions:

In Adam, not to let th’ occasion pass Given him by this great conference to know Of things above his world, and of their being Who dwell in Heav’n. (Book V, Lines 453-456)

Adam asks about the things in Heaven compared with the things on earth. Raphael responds:

O Adam, one Almighty is, from whom All things process, and up to him return, If not depraved from good, created all Such to perfection … Your bodies may at last turn all to Spirit, Improved by tract of time, and winged ascend Ethereal, as we, or may at choice Here or in Heav’nly Paradises dwell; If ye be found obedient, and retain Unalterably firm his love entire Whose progeny you are. (Book V, Lines 469-473, 497-503)

Raphael tells Adam that God has created all things perfectly: They only have to maintain their perfection by remaining obedient to God and entirely committed to his love. In so doing, they can become close to God like the archangels and can move between the Heavenly Paradises and earth as they wish.

In the previous illustration, Adam points at Raphael. Milton has Adam turn to Eve and ask what comes their way. However, let’s imagine that Adam didn’t inquire at all but assumed to know, and his pointing was indicative of a delimited teaching instead of boundless learning: How different would the rest of this chapter be?

In Doré’s illustration “To whom the winged Hierarch replied:/O Adam, one Almighty is, from whom/All things proceed,” Raphael is shown pointing up in reply to Adam’s question. Since Adam recognizes his ignorance and asks sincere questions, Raphael helps deepen his understanding of God, of whom all of our knowledge is limited. Here, the communication between heavenly beings and earthly ones begins with the sincere question.

With that said, this chapter inspired these questions in me: Must we question not to attack but to deepen our understanding of God and God’s creation? Must we prepare our spirit to receive divine messages? Must we make our hearts and minds hospitable to God and all of creation?

Gustav Doré was a prolific illustrator of the 19th century. He created images for some of the greatest classical literature of the Western world, including “The Bible,” “Paradise Lost,” and “The Divine Comedy.” In this series, we'll take a deep dive into the thoughts that inspired Doré and the imagery those thoughts provoked. For the first article in the series, visit “Illustrious Ideas and Illustrations: The Imagery of Gustav Doré.”