Better to Reign in Hell?: Paradise Twice Lost

Abstract

In Paradise Lost, Satan utters the assertion, “Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven,” but Satan is the Prince of Liars. This study finds that he is rationalizing. The evidence shows that he finds no joy in Hell and resorts to schemes to leave the place at the first opportunity. As the brightest of God’s angels, Lucifer was in the Paradise of Heavenly delight. When he served God, he had the respect and admiration of all the other angels. While the motivation for his rebellion against God may be the subject of some disagreements—the most likely reason being his envy of the Son—his cause was lost from the start against an omnipotent God. Having lost his war in Heaven, Lucifer (now called Satan) and his followers were cast out of Heaven—out of Paradise—and plunged into Hell, chained to a lake of fire that emitted no light, and condemned
to an eternity of pain and suffering. The assertion that such a condition could in any sense be “better” would seem preposterous, but then again, Satan is a liar, and the assertion may be considered a classic example of psychological rationalization.