Darkness Quote by Milton
““Samson Agonistes" Blind among enemies, O worse then chains, Dungeon, or beggery, or decrepit age! Light the prime work of God to me is extinct, [ 70 ] And all her various objects of delight Annull'd, which might in part my grief have eas'd, Inferiour to the vilest now become Of man or worm; the vilest here excel me, They creep, yet see, I dark in light expos'd [ 75 ] To daily fraud, contempt, abuse and wrong, Within doors, or without, still as a fool, In power of others, never in my own; Scarce half I seem to live, dead more then half. O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon, [ 80 ] Irrecoverably dark, total Eclipse Without all hope of day! O first created Beam, and thou great Word, Let there be light, and light was over all; Why am I thus bereav'd thy prime decree? [ 85 ] The Sun to me is dark And silent as the Moon, When she deserts the night Hid in her vacant interlunar cave. Since light so necessary is to life, [ 90 ] And almost life itself, if it be true That light is in the Soul, She all in every part; why was the sight To such a tender ball as th' eye confin'd? So obvious and so easie to be quench't, [ 95 ] And not as feeling through all parts diffus'd, That she might look at will through every pore? Then had I not been thus exil'd from light; As in the land of darkness yet in light, To live a life half dead, a living death, [ 100 ] And buried; but O yet more miserable!””
About This Quote
Source Poem: Samson Agonistes, 1671
The speaker laments profound spiritual darkness, feeling trapped by inner turmoil and external oppression, yearning for divine illumination.
In simple terms: Feeling trapped in darkness, longing for light.
Seek inner light despite external darkness.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- prayer in hardship
- meditating on suffering
- writing personal lament
- discussing religious doubt
- art therapy
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What inner light can you nurture in dark times?
- How does acknowledging darkness empower you?
Hope may feel distant when darkness dominates perception.