Guiltless of fire had formed
Milton, Paradise Lost, Book IX, 392
These people, with their tools of stone,
Have no prospect of the sin
That takes hold of my brethren
Born in their stony hearths.
In rising above mere nature
Abundance was destroyed
And so from afar I admire
The bliss of those people guiltless of fire.
***
Dear readers,
When I read the line that praised Adam and Eve’s innocence of fire, I was reminded of Enlightenment discussions of far-off lands like Tahiti, where they praised (Somewhat condescendingly) the lack of technology there. Many writers, such as Diderot, considered that this ‘natural’ lifestyle was more conducive to happiness – it is interesting to see it here, centuries before those works were written.
Kind regards,
The Hapless Neo-Romantic
