Paradise Lost Book Summary

Book 2 opens with Satan sitting on his throne; he addresses his

legions, saying2 that he still hopes to regain Heaven.
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He says that now they must debate about the most effective way to
fight God; he asks whether all out war or something more subtle is
better.
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Moloch speaks first; he's in favor of open war with God. They should
just batter God's throne with all they've got because things can't be
possibly get any worse.
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Belial
–
a really clever speaker
–
is up next. He's not in favor of open war because Heaven is too well-
fortified and will easily expel the foreign invaders.
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And besides, being an angel, even in Hell, is better than

death; things could be worse. They could be burned alive by the
fires of Hell, chained to the burning lake, etc.
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Actually, Belial is against any form of war because God will

figure out their plans and defeat them. Who knows? Maybe God
will relax his punishment if they just put up with it for a while.
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Mammon is up next; he says it is impossible to defeat God and, even

if He forgives everybody, they'll have to be slaves and pay tribute to
Him. Not worth it.
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They should just do what they want in Hell, because they're free
there. With a little hard work, they can make the best of their
situation.
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There is applause after this speech; the fallen angels are afraid of
another war, and would rather build an empire in Hell to rival
Heaven's.
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Beelzebub rises up; he says it's a joke to think they can have their
own empire in Hell. God will eventually exert his dominion over it
too.
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There will be no peace, but they don't necessarily have to assault

Heaven. Rumor has it that God is building a new world. They should
check it out.
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Maybe they can destroy mankind, or "Seduce them to our [the

devil's] party" (2.368).
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The fal
len angels vote in favor of Beelzebub's plan…supposedly. It sounds
rigged.

He resumes his speech and asks who is bold enough to try and find
this new world?
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Nobody volunteers, and all the angels are afraid; this is a bold,
important, and dangerous task.
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Satan stands up and addresses the council. He says Hell is a really

strong prison and it's hard to get out; if one gets out, then one has to
deal with a dark place that has no being ("unessential Night"). It's like
stepping off the planet into something unknown.
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He says he wouldn't be a good sovereign, though, if he were afraid of

doing something. He's the leader and should brave more dangers.
He'll look for the new world.
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He tells the angels to make Hell cozier while he's away.

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The fallen angels greatly resp

ect their leader; they treat him like a "God…equal to the highest in
Heav'n" (2.479). He's risking his own life for their sake after
all.
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They shouldn't get too excited; this prospect is kind of like a gleam of
sunshine when it's clearly going to rain.
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The highest-ranking angels emerge from Pandemonium with Satan,

who is surrounded by a group of heavily-armed soldiers.
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Trumpets made of fake gold proclaim the result of the council; Hell
resounds with cheering.
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The leaders each go their own way, to relax or chill out

–
to find "truce for [their] restless thoughts''
–
while they wait for Satan to return.
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Some angels tear up rocks and create a huge ruckus; some of them go
off and sing songs. Still others go off in the hills to meditate on
philosophical subjects. Some even have races!
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One group assembles into platoons and goes in search of an "easier

habitation"
–
i.e., a nicer place to live. Each group travels along the banks of one
of the four rivers of Hell (Styx, Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegeton).
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Beyond these is the river of forgetfulness, Lethe. And beyond that,

the platoons discover that Hell is a frozen wasteland. Huh?
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That's right, it's snowing and there's hail. Basically it's like Antarctica.
It's so cold, though, it almost burns. "Cold performs the effect of
Fire," Milton says.