or of all being/Fountain of light, thyself invisible/..." (III, 376-7) Here God is portrayed as the great originator of everything in all of creation. To be the "author" of something is to be the creator, much the same way as Milton himself is creating the world of the poem. In virtually every instance the act of "authoring", is associated with images of primacy and legitimacy. The ultimate act of creation, that of shaping the physical world itself, brings about another reference to this idea. As the story of the creation is retold, God is called the,"Author and end of all things, . . ." (VII, 591) In reference to God, the word author is used, to describe the timelessness of God's rule. He authored the world by creating it, and will be there to see it end. God looks over the world as a literal father does over his own children.
             However, as the poem shows the readers, one of His children went bad. Satan, the other main power in the book, also shares references to the act of authoring. In very similar phrasing to the description of God's authorship, the fallen angel's personality is described as:
             ...Satan, and in part proposed: for whence,
             But from the author of all ill could spring
             So deep a malice, to confound the race
             Of mankind in one root, and earth with hell
             To mingle and involve, done all to spite
             The great Creator? . . . (II, 380-5)
             This passage links the creative power of Satan to the abounding evil within his character. It is not because of this evilness alone that humankind is destined to Sin and Death. It is through the way in which Satan has created himself, that he can hold so much power over the rest of God's creation. In this passage, Satan is shown as an author which has the ability to create a hell of the very Paradise which is earth. The creative power of God
             ...