Discussion of literary philosophy

"Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven" - John Milton, Paradise Lost

That is one of my favorite literary quotes of all time. In context, the devil is saying it after being cast out of heaven. However, while I like it, I disagree with it because in my opinion it is like -∞ may have a greater absolute value, but in the end it is still undeniably less than +1. I was wondering what other peoples views were? Is it better to be evil and high up, or good and in service?

insertwackynamehere said:

I disagree with it because in my opinion it is like -∞ may have a greater absolute value, but in the end it is still undeniably less than +1.

Deep stuff.

It would depend if you liked power and control over being virtuous. I don't think one could be objectively "better" or "worse" than the other since it is just personal taste.

,

What the fuck is this

I've always wanted to read Paradise Lost, after a high school classmate explained the poem in a presentation.

Psyonisis said:
What the hell does this have to do with the quote? Or anything?

The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven

Hell, it can even make a literary quote out of context a pseudo-mathematical consideration.

its metaphorical, cause like negative represents evil and infity represents rule, while + is good and 1 is lowest. maybe it isnt the best but its the only way I could think of to describe it. No matter what +1 is greater. I dunno, if you cant figure it out it really isnt my problem.

The only occult meaning that things have is that they don't have any occult meaning at all.

keep in mind i dont mean this in heaven/hell sense only. like just good/bad in general. For example, a hit man who has a mansion because he kills people for money, or a poor social worker who gets a government salary for helping kids not turn to gangs in bad neighborhoods?

How do you know you have to serve in heaven? How do you know that you can rule in hell?

insertwackynamehere said:

its metaphorical, cause like negative represents evil and infity represents rule, while + is good and 1 is lowest. maybe it isnt the best but its the only way I could think of to describe it. No matter what +1 is greater. I dunno, if you cant figure it out it really isnt my problem.

I don't understand how you could possibly quantify certain actions or behaviors with number values. Seriously, how exactly did you calculate the value of "evil" to be negative infinity? What does 0 equal?

Quast said:

What does 0 equal?

The value of wackys life lol.

'evil' is simply a perception in a group of social animals. Is someone 'evil' if they have not experianced rules that make a society possible? Is a lion evil for killing cubs it has not fathered? What about that wasp that lays eggs in caterpillars which hatch and eat the poor thing alive?

The definition of evil is so vague and relative and changes all the time. Most people consider the Bible a good book, but these days I'm sure none of us would stone our child if they swore at us, or support slavery. Even obeying "the word of God" would land you in jail these days...

insertwackynamehere said:

keep in mind i dont mean this in heaven/hell sense only. like just good/bad in general. For example, a hit man who has a mansion because he kills people for money, or a poor social worker who gets a government salary for helping kids not turn to gangs in bad neighborhoods?

Crime pays. Invest in it!