Explanation:
"By falsities and lies the greatest part
Of mankind, they corrupted to forsake
God their Creator, and the invisible
Glory of Him that made them to transform
Oft to the image of a brute, adorned
With gay religions full of pomp and gold,
And devils to adore for deities."
(Lines 367-473)
Answer: These lines occur in Milton's 'Paradise Lost' Book-I, the greatest epic in the English language. In these lines, the poet gives his general remarks about the catalogue of the fallen angels who are now being worshipped by their followers on Earth.
It has been pointed out that the epic catalogue of the chief of the fallen angels is intended as a counterpart to Homer's catalogue of the ships and Virgil's lists of warriors. The chief of the fallen angels had no names in Hell by means of which they might be known to mankind. New names were given to them only when they were permitted by God to wander over the earth. God gave them permission to wander over the earth in order that human beings might be tried and tested. The idea is that it is by the temptations offered to human beings by devils that human virtue is put to proof. If there were no temptations to be resisted, there would be no means by which the good could be distinguished from the bad. The fallen angels succeeded in treacherously seducing large numbers of men as a consequence of which they forgot their God whose glory is always invisible. Instead of worshipping one God, men began to worship a large number of heathen gods. These gods were, in fact, devils in animal forms and they were worshipped by their followers with unholy rites.
In these lines, the poet has expressed his dislike of ceremony and ritual in worship. He says that these devils (the chief of the fallen angels) were identified with the heathen gods who were given various names and they were worshipped in various forms throughout the idol-worshipping world.
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