Milton’s Eden: A Vulnerable Paradise? Jonathan Cook College

In 1759, Voltaire published his magnum opus, Candide—nearly a century after Milton first published his own masterpiece, Paradise Lost. Upon finally settling on a farm with his dearest friends, Candide concludes the text by saying “we must cultivate our garden.” The purpose of “cultivating” one’s garden is to avoid three great evils: boredom, vice and poverty. It seems likely that while writing Candide, Voltaire related his perception of this garden to the Garden of Eden, as depicted in the old testament and in Paradise Lost. Although Voltaire’s garden analogy advocates for an isolationist approach to living one’s life, the same ideal of cultivating a garden to achieve purpose in life lies in each author’s respective conception of their garden. Eden is depicted in both the book of Genesis and in Paradise Lost to be a sort of heaven on Earth, and is commonly referred to as Paradise. In reading Paradise Lost, however, it becomes apparent that Paradise has various attributes that indicate the garden’s vulnerability. While Eden is inherently vulnerable, it is important to understand that these vulnerabilities are not equivalent to flaws; the challenges to which Adam and Eve are subjected are ultimately beneficial for each of them,...