Explanation:
"Nor content with such
Audacious neighbourhood, the wisest heart
Of Solomon, he led by fraud to build
His temple is right against the temple of God
On that opprobrious hill, and made his grove
The pleasant valley of Hinnom, Tophet thence
And black Gehenna called, the type of Hell."
(Lines 399-405)
Answer: These lines occur in Milton's 'Paradise Lost' Book-I, the most notable epic in the English language. In these lines, the poet gives a vivid picture of Moloch, one of the fallen gods, who was worshipped by his followers by means of terribly cruel rites.
Though Moloch had a large number of followers and though he was worshipped by a large number of human beings, he was not satisfied with this. He was so puffed up with pride on account of his large number of followers that he became bold enough to get his temple built in a country that was close to Israel. Moloch had the audacity to go as far as to corrupt the heart of Solomon who was said to be the wisest among the kings of Israel. Milton had alluded to the fact that under the influence of his heathen wives, Solomon built a temple to Moloch on the infamous hill just in front of God at Jerusalem. Moloch, who was the very embodiment of cruelty, converted the beautiful valley of Hinnom into his groves where children were sacrificed to him on a high place called Tophet. The valley of Hinnom, therefore, came to be known as unholy Gehenna which became a symbol of hell or eternal damnation.
Moloch, the god of the Ammonites was worshipped with the sacrifice of children. It is said to have been a brazen image, with the face of a calf which was heated with fire, and the children were sacrificed by being placed in its fiery hands. The name means 'king' and is another name for Baal, the sun god.
){kind=link}
0 মন্তব্যসমূহ