Sunday, November 7, 2021

day no. 15,721: revenge begins sweet, but goes down bitter

O foul descent! that I who erst contended
With Gods to sit the highest, am now constraind
Into a Beast, and mixt with bestial slime, 
This essence to incarnate and imbrute,
That to the hight of Deitie aspir'd;
But what will not Ambition and Revenge
Descend to? who aspires must down as low
As high he soard, obnoxious first or last 
To basest things. Revenge, at first though sweet,
Bitter ere long back on it self recoiles;
-- John Milton, Paradise Lost

Satan aimed at Deity and ended up a dragon. His reach exceeded his grasp of reality. He aspired to the divine and found himself descending to the lowest depths. He who wanted to be the ultimate good became one willing to do the pettiest evil in order to get revenge. Pride transformed an angel of light into a demon of darkness. Envy and bitterness, wrath and revenge consume anyone who wants to be worshiped who is not worthy of such admiration. Only God can command worship without sinking to sin to acquire it. Revenge begins sweet, but goes down bitter.

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