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Isis
An Egyptian god who was killed by his brother and cut up into several pieces. The body of Osiris was scattered, and his wife, Isis, recovered each piece and wrapped Osiris back together. This myth is where the image of a wrapped mummy originated, but this is also how Milton sees truth. Truth, too, has been “hewed” and “scattered,” leaving humankind to search for the pieces like Isis, but Milton implies the pieces will never be fully recovered. This reflects Milton’s opinion of truth as subjective and multifaceted, not merely one absolute thing or another.
Osiris Quotes in Areopagitica
The Areopagitica quotes below are all either spoken by Osiris or refer to Osiris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Areopagitica
Quotes
Truth indeed came once into the world with her divine master, and was a perfect shape most glorious to look on: but when he ascended, and his apostles after him were laid asleep, then strait arose a wicked race of deceivers, who as that story goes of the Egyptian Typhon with his conspirators, how they dealt with the good Osiris, took the virgin truth, hewed her lovely form into a thousand pieces, and scattered them to the four winds. From that time ever since, the sad friends of truth, such as durst appear, imitating the careful search that Isis made for the mangled body of Osiris, went up and down gathering up limb by limb still as they could find them. We have not yet found them all. Lords and Commons, nor ever shall do, till her master’s second coming; he shall bring together every joint and member, and shall mould them into an immortal feature of loveliness and perfection.
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Osiris Quotes in Areopagitica
The Areopagitica quotes below are all either spoken by Osiris or refer to Osiris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Areopagitica
Quotes
Truth indeed came once into the world with her divine master, and was a perfect shape most glorious to look on: but when he ascended, and his apostles after him were laid asleep, then strait arose a wicked race of deceivers, who as that story goes of the Egyptian Typhon with his conspirators, how they dealt with the good Osiris, took the virgin truth, hewed her lovely form into a thousand pieces, and scattered them to the four winds. From that time ever since, the sad friends of truth, such as durst appear, imitating the careful search that Isis made for the mangled body of Osiris, went up and down gathering up limb by limb still as they could find them. We have not yet found them all. Lords and Commons, nor ever shall do, till her master’s second coming; he shall bring together every joint and member, and shall mould them into an immortal feature of loveliness and perfection.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Unlock explanations and citation info for this and every other Areopagitica quote.
Plus so much more...
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