John Milton, Paradise Lost
Uriel in Paradise Lost
Uriel is one of the seven spirits standing ready near God’s throne and carrying commands across Heaven and Earth. Satan approaches him disguised as a lesser angel seeking the new creation. The poem calls Uriel the sharpest-sighted spirit but says that goodness sees no ill where none appears. His initial deception follows a failure to imagine malice within an apparently worthy request.
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In the sources
Principal account
LiteraryUriel is one of the seven spirits standing ready near God’s throne and carrying commands across Heaven and Earth. Satan approaches him disguised as a lesser angel seeking the new creation.
Further detail
LiteraryThe poem calls Uriel the sharpest-sighted spirit but says that goodness sees no ill where none appears. His initial deception follows a failure to imagine malice within an apparently worthy request.
Context & interpretation
The entry follows Uriel’s solar encounter in Milton’s poem. The specific regency and deception are literary narrative features, without being offered as a complete account of Uriel across angelological traditions.
Original passages
Source 1
Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré
The Archangel Uriel, one of the sevenOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Milton, Paradise Lost, active reader leaf 97
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0115-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0115-E001-P0097
- Original scan leaf
- 98
- Recorded leaf number
- 98
- Current Reader position
- 93
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré
goodness thinks no ill Where no ill seemsOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Milton, Paradise Lost, active reader leaf 98
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0115-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0115-E001-P0098
- Original scan leaf
- 99
- Recorded leaf number
- 99
- Current Reader position
- 94
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Continue exploring
Abdiel
The solitary seraph who refuses the rebellion and returns through hostile scorn.
Same subject and traditionGabriel in Paradise Lost
The guardian who organises the night watch around Eden.
Same subject and traditionIthuriel
The searching angel whose spear reveals Satan’s true shape beside the sleeping Eve.
Same subject and traditionMichael in Paradise Lost
The prince of the celestial armies whose sword first wounds Satan.