Diez claves para entender la investigación de los “Paradise papers”

Blanco, Grasso, Escudero, García

www.plazapublica.com.gt / 051117

En el marco de una investigación internacional coordinada por el Consorcio Internacional de Periodistas de Investigación (ICIJ), empezamos este domingo a publicar los resultados de un año de trabajo. Estas son las preguntas clave para poder entender los Paradise Papers y su alcance.

1. ¿Qué son los Paradise Papers?

Paradise Papers es el nombre de una investigación periodística basada en una filtración múltiple. Incluye 13,4 millones de documentos procedentes de:

Dos bufetes de abogados dedicados a proveer servicios 'offshore': Appleby, fundada en Bermudas, y Asiaciti Trust, en Singapur. Del primero provienen siete millones de documentos; del segundo, cerca de medio millón.

Los registros mercantiles de 19 jurisdicciones opacas: Antigua y Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermudas, Islas Caimán, Dominica, Granada, San Cristóbal y Nieves, Santa Lucía, Isla de San Vicente y Trinidad y Tobago (Caribe); Islas Cook, Islas Marshall, Samoa y Vanuatu (Oceanía); Malta (Europa), Líbano (Oriente Próximo) y Labuán, territorio federal de Malasia (Asia).

La documentación ha sido obtenida por el diario alemán Süddeutsche Zeitungy compartida con el Consorcio Internacional de Periodistas de Investigación (ICIJ), Plaza Pública, El Confidencial y La Sexta en España y otros 93 medios internacionales, entre ellos The New York Times, Univisión, The Guardian, BBC, Le Monde o La Nación de Argentina. En total, más de 380 periodistas de 67 países han investigado durante un año los 1,4 terabytes de información recibidos.

2. ¿Qué información aparece en esta nueva filtración masiva?

Paradise Papers desvela la ocultación de patrimonio y el movimiento de grandes cantidades de dinero lejos de los ojos del fisco por parte de multimillonarios y multinacionales. No en vano, la oferta básica de Appleby se basa en servicios corporativos, constitución de trust y gestión de fondos de inversión. Entre los nombres más ilustres que aparecen en los 13,4 millones de documentos de esta nueva filtración figura el entorno de Donald Trump y sus lazos con inversores rusos; el recaudador de la campaña electoral del primer ministro de Canadá, Justin Trudeau, o la reina Isabel II de Reino Unido, además de famosos de talla mundial como los cantantes Bono de U2 o Madonna.

Las multinacionales más importantes a nivel global, como Glencore, Apple o Nike, también tienen un lugar destacado en esta nueva investigación coordinada por el ICIJ. Para abrir boca: a la firma deportiva le basta una pequeña pila de documentos en las oficinas de Appleby en Bermudas para cobrar en el país caribeño los derechos del mítico logo sin apenas pagar impuestos. Detalles de esta y otras prácticas de elusión fiscal serán desvelados por El Confidencial y La Sexta durante los próximos días.

3. ¿Qué son y a qué se dedican Appleby y Asiaciti?

Fundado en el país caribeño de Bermudas a finales del siglo XIX, Appleby es un despacho de abogados que ofrece servicios offshore a sus clientes. Cuenta con diez oficinas alrededor del mundo, todas en países que ofrecen baja o nula fiscalidad y absoluta opacidad a los propietarios reales de las sociedades pantalla, como las islas Vírgenes Británicas, las islas Caimán, las islas del Canal o Hong Kong. Appleby forma parte del denominado ‘círculo mágico offshore’ –término acuñado a raíz de un artículo publicado en la revista 'Legal Business' en 2008–, el selecto grupo de los nueve despachos más prestigiosos y con más recursos para proveer servicios offshore. Sus clientes suelen ser individuos con fortunas a partir de los 30 millones de dólares, conocidos popularmente como UHNWI (del inglés 'ultra-high-net-worth individual).

Con sede en Singapur, Asiaciti Trust es también un despacho que crea compañías y estructuras fiscales opacas, pero con una gestión familiar. Cuenta con oficinas en países como Samoa o San Cristóbal y Nieves. Según cálculos del economista Gabriel Zucman, el 10% de la riqueza mundial se oculta en paraísos fiscales.

4. ¿Qué significa proveedores de servicios offshore?

Los bufetes implicados se dedican a crear complejas estructuras societarias para ocultar el verdadero beneficiario de unos bienes, lograr una mejor optimización fiscal o incluso evadir el pago de impuestos. Lo hacen principalmente a través de sociedades, trust y fundaciones de interés privado.

Una sociedad offshore es cualquier entidad jurídica creada según las leyes de un Estado extranjero y cuya actividad se realiza fuera de la jurisdicción en la que está registrada. El término se utiliza para denominar aquellas empresas creadas en un paraíso fiscal, donde no llevan a cabo ninguna actividad comercial y carecen de empleados. A cambio, se aprovechan de las ventajas fiscales y el secretismo del país.

Estas sociedades se pueden utilizar simplemente para acumular patrimonio, pero a menudo tienen otros fines, como comprar acciones, inmuebles, cuadros o desviar beneficios personales o de una empresa. Como revelaron la lista Falciani y los Papeles de Panamá, uno de sus usos más habituales consiste en la apertura de cuentas bancarias en otros países a nombre de estas sociedades. Los beneficiarios últimos pueden ocultar su identidad –y por consiguiente no declararlas a Hacienda– para así eludir el pago de impuestos. De ahí que estas compañías se conozcan también como 'sociedades pantalla', puesto que su único fin es ocultar el verdadero dueño del patrimonio. A la sombra de estas compañías se han cobijado jefes de Estado, políticos, narcotraficantes y criminales de todo el mundo.

Un trust o fideicomiso, por su parte, es una figura jurídica procedente del derecho anglosajón que permite administrar bienes y activos transferidos por uno o varios constituyentes, denominados 'settlor' o 'grantor'. El trust suele ser administrado por un agente gestor 'offshore' ('trustee'), del cual se beneficia una serie de personas o sociedades designadas en la escritura de constitución del fideicomiso. Se trata, en resumen, de una cesión de bienes o capital procedentes de personas físicas o jurídicas, pero con la diferencia de que ese poder legal se ejecuta en una jurisdicción 'offshore'. De esta forma, este entramado se beneficia de los privilegios y el secretismo de los paraísos fiscales.

En España, la figura del trust no está reconocida jurídicamente. Es decir, no existe una normativa que la ampare, por lo que se trata de una entidad jurídica al margen de la legalidad.

5. ¿Y los 19 registros? ¿Qué información contienen?

La filtración incluye seis millones de documentos procedentes de los registros mercantiles de 19 jurisdicciones opacas, territorios considerados como paraísos fiscales en alguna de las listas internacionales elaboradas al respecto. Independientemente del país en el que estén radicadas, estas sociedades offshore se suelen utilizar para ocultar el dueño real de unos bienes, eludir el pago de impuestos o elaborar esquemas fiscales transnacionales que resulten en una menor carga fiscal sobre los resultados de las grandes empresas. Estos documentos administrativos contienen información sobre los accionistas, administradores y representantes legales de estas compañías.

6. ¿Pero los registros mercantiles no son públicos?

En Reino Unido, Bulgaria y Dinamarca, por poner algunos ejemplos, sí. En cambio, Bermudas, Malta o Aruba se consideran jurisdicciones secretas. Es decir, sus registros mercantiles no cumplen con los mínimos de accesibilidad y publicidad. La información puede ser de pago o restringida a elección de sus administradores.

Según el índice Open Company Data, que analiza el nivel de publicidad de los registros mercantiles en función de su accesibilidad, gratuidad y otras variables, ninguno de los 19 registros mercantiles de los Paradise Papers cumple con al menos la mitad de los requisitos para ser considerado público. De hecho, la mayoría no cumple con ninguno de ellos.

7. ¿Por qué Malta, un país de la Unión Europea, es considerada una jurisdicción opaca?

Lo primero que hay que decir es que la Unión Europea no considera paraíso fiscal a ninguno de sus 28 Estados miembros. En cambio, la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE) sí incluye a dos países de la UE en su lista de países comprometidos con mejorar su transparencia y el intercambio de información fiscal: Malta y Chipre. En esta relación también aparecen otros ocho territorios europeos: Andorra, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isla de Man, Liechtenstein, Mónaco y San Marino.

En Malta, el tipo impositivo para el impuesto de sociedades es del 35%. Pero existe un sistema de créditos y devoluciones para los accionistas que reduce el impuesto entre a cerca del 5% (varía en función del tipo de sociedad que se crea). Además, la isla no impone ninguna retención al pago de dividendos e intereses.

Varios organismos internacionales y entidades sociales como Oxfam incluyen a Luxemburgo, Países Bajos, Irlanda y, en menor medida, Bélgica dentro del grupo de países con grandes ventajas fiscales. Otro país europeo, Suiza, también aparece en este tipo de listados, en este caso por su secreto bancario.

8. ¿Es ilegal el uso de sociedades offshore y trust?

No, es legal siempre y cuando el beneficiario último lo declare a las autoridades fiscales del país en el que reside. Según un estudio del Banco Mundial, "en la gran mayoría de casos de corrupción, financiación del terrorismo, lavado de dinero y fraude, los vehículos corporativos (ya sean compañías, fideicomisos o cualquier otro tipo de estructura) se utilizan para esconder la identidad de las personas involucradas en la corrupción".

El uso de este tipo de instrumentos tiene además un impacto directo sobre la riqueza de los países. De acuerdo con las estimaciones del economista Gabriel Zucman, las multinacionales redistribuyen artificialmente alrededor de 600.000 millones de euros cada año utilizando los paraísos fiscales, una cifra equivalente a la mitad del PIB español. Según los cálculos de Zucman, el 10% de la riqueza mundial se oculta en jurisdicciones secretas. Para paliar este déficit de ingresos, los Estados tienen a su disposición dos tipos de políticas: la subida de impuestos –que afectará sobre todo a aquellas personas que no pueden permitirse estos instrumentos de ocultación en paraísos fiscales– o el recorte del gasto público.

9. ¿Lo que hace Appleby es lo mismo que hacía Mossack Fonseca, el despacho de los Papeles de Panamá?

Mossack Fonseca y Appleby proporcionan servicios offshore a sus clientes, pero en diferentes niveles. Mientras el primero se dedica en exclusiva a la constitución de sociedades, el segundo incorpora la planificación fiscal en su catálogo de servicios. Además, las dos firmas no juegan al mismo nivel. Los clientes de Appleby son principalmente grandes fortunas y multinacionales. Su operativa es mucho más intrincada y compleja en comparación con la firma panameña, que ya había estado en el centro de varios escándalos –por su relación con personajes sospechosos, desde el dictador libio Muamar el Gadafi hasta el expresidente de la Comunidad de Madrid, Ignacio González– antes de la publicación de los Papeles de Panamá. Appleby, en cambio, tiene una reputación y unos recursos muy por encima de los del bufete panameño, además de diversificar su oferta hacia los trust y los fondos de inversión, vehículos muy habituales en la gestión de grandes patrimonios.

10. ¿Cuáles son las diferencias de esta investigación con los Papeles de Panamá?

Si Mossack Fonseca era el bar de la esquina, Appleby es un restaurante con tres estrellas Michelin. Por lo tanto, si los Papeles de Panamá permitieron conocer en detalle el funcionamiento básico del mundo offshore por primera vez, Paradise Papers va un paso más allá y se introduce de lleno en el mundo de la planificación fiscal. Revela un sistema muy complejo para reducir o eludir las obligaciones fiscales, especialmente por parte de las grandes fortunas y las multinacionales más importantes. Esta investigación deja patente, además, cómo se cuelan operaciones al margen de la legalidad incluso en prestigiosos bufetes que aseguran cumplir con los mayores estándares de control, como es el caso de Appleby.

Los Paradise Papers derriban además el muro de opacidad de 19 registros mercantiles a los que hasta ahora apenas se podía acceder. Esta información, que el ICIJ publicará en su página web durante el mes de noviembre, quedará así a disposición de los ciudadanos y de las autoridades de cada país.

John Milton, poet, 8 November 1674

John Milton was born in London in 1608 (seven and a half years before the death of Shakespeare). His grandfather was a Roman Catholic who had disowned Milton's father when the latter turned Protestant. The boy was sent to St. Paul's school, perhaps when twelve, perhaps earlier. From the beginning, Milton was an eager student (he tells us that from the time he was twelve, he seldom stopped reading before midnight), and he learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and began to try to write verse. In 1625 he enrolled at Christ's College, Cambridge, clashed with his tutor the following year and was suspended, returned and was given another tutor, and graduated on schedule. The University in those days still undertook to teach largely by rote memorization, and Milton thought his training there of little value. He undertook to give himself a liberal education by wide reading. His father had hoped to make a lawyer of him, but took it very well when his son announced that he intended to make the writing of poetry his life's work.

In 1629 (when he was 21 years old) he wrote a short poem, "On the morning of Christ's Nativity," his first memorable work, still widely read at Christmas.

A few years later, he wrote a masque (or mask), which was presented in 1634, at Ludlow Castle, near the Welsh border, in honor of the Earl of Bridgewater.

In August 1637, a classmate of Milton's, Edward King, who had written some poetry himself, was drowned, and several of his friends resolved to write poems in his memory and publish a collection of them. Milton was asked to contribute. His poem was called Lycidas.

Between 1641 and 1660, Milton wrote almost no poetry. This was the time when the English Puritans were setting out to overthrow the English monarchy on the grounds that it was levying taxes unlawfully (and was, moreover, in league with the wicked English Church), and to overthrow the English Church on the grounds that, while nominally breaking with Rome, it had retained many Romish customs, such as white gowns for the clergy (instead of the black gowns worn by Puritan clergy, which were obviously more seemly) and that the English Church was therefore just as bad as the Church or Rome (and was, moreover, in league with the wicked English monarchy). Milton believed wholeheartedly in the Puritan cause, and set aside his poetry to write pamphlets in defense of various aspects of liberty as he saw it.

One work that Milton wrote but never published was a theological treatise called De Doctrina Christiana ("On Christian Doctrine"). It is for the most part straightforward Protestant theology, but includes some departures from the mainstream position, and Milton carefully labels them as such. First, and most seriously, Milton was an Arian. That is, he believed that the Father exists eternally, and that He begat the Son (and "before he was begotten, he was not"), and that the Son then created the physical universe. Thus, the Son is far from being a mere human. He is the second greatest of all things. But he is not co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, and is not, in the fullest sense, God. Since the publication of the Doctrina in 1825, critics have looked for indications of heretical beliefs in Milton's Paradise Lost and other published works. Such indications, if they are there, are few, minor, obscure, and doubtful. It is not even certain that Arianism was Milton's settled view. A man writing a paper for his own eyes, to clarify or examine his views, may very well set forth in it the case for a position that he does not hold, simply to see what can be said for it.

In 1642, at the age of 33, Milton married Mary Powell, a girl of 16 from a royalist family. Her family had been large and sociable. Milton's was small and studious. In a few months, she went home to her family. Milton reacted by writing a treatise, "On the Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce," in which he argued that incompatibility of temperament and personality was a sufficient reason for dissolving a marriage. Both Royalists and Puritans found the idea disgraceful, and the pamphlet had no discernible effect in Milton's day. However, it is noteworthy for the importance that Milton here attaches to friendship and companionship and the meeting of minds (as opposed to the mere meeting of bodies) as an essential ingredient in a successful marriage. In 1645 friends brought about a reconciliation, and Mary returned to her husband. In 1646, when the Civil War had gone against the Royalists and the Powells were homeless, he took the ten of them into his own home for a year. Mary bore John three daughters, and died in 1652.

In 1644, Milton published two pamphlets much admired today. The first was called "Of Education," and outlines a course of study for producing an enlightened citizenry. Studies are to include the Bible, the classics, and science. He also published in 1644 his most famous pamphlet, Areopagetica (air-ee-opp-a-JET-i-ca). Those who have read the Book of Acts in the King James translation will remember that while in Athens, Paul is said to have preached on Mars' Hill. In fact, he spoke before the Areopagus, a council of citizens that got its name from its meeting place, a temple of Ares (or Mars), and that was responsible for censorship and the safeguarding of public morals. Milton's pamphlet was written in protest against the setting up by the Cromwell government of a board of Censorship for all printed works. It is an eloquent and forceful argument for freedom of the press. Every college library or large public library will normally have a copy, and most large bookstores will have a paperback copy or be able to order one.

Milton's dismay on finding that the new revolutionary government, undertaken in the name of liberty, could be just as intolerant of dissent as the monarchy it replaced, found expression not only in the "Areopagetica," but also in poetry. He wrote a 24-line poem titled, "On the new forcers of Conscience under the Long Parliament," ending with the line, "New Presbyter is but Old Priest writ Large."

In February 1649, just after the beheading of King Charles I, Milton published a pamphlet called "the Tenure of Kings and Magistrates," arguing that power resides in the people, who may give it to governors, but are free to withdraw it again. He was invited to become Secretary for Foreign Languages in Cromwell's Council of State. As such, he continued to write pamphlets defending the Republic, the killing of the King, and the rule of Cromwell. He was no mere server of those in power. He was still publishing a month before Charles II was brought back from exile to take the throne, at a time when it must have been obvious that the cause was lost, when every consideration of personal safety demanded that he adopt a policy of silence, if not of outright reversal of position.

After 1660, with the monarchy restored, Milton's political dreams lay in ruins under the double blow of the collapse of the Puritan Republic and the failure of said republic to uphold freedom while it lasted. Milton retired to private life and returned to his true vocation, the writing of poetry. He had gone blind while serving as secretary to Cromwell, and now sat composing his poems in his head, and dictating each day to his daughters the portion that he had composed. It was in this retirement that he produced his three long poems, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes. He died 8 November 1674.

So much for a summary of Milton's life. Now for comments on some of his poems.

Paradise Lost: Milton's Long Epic

By far his best-known poem is Paradise Lost, an epic in twelve books in the tradition of Virgil's Aeneid, recounting the story of Satan's rebellion against God, and of the disobedience and fall of Adam and Eve, led astray by Satan's lies. The story of Satan's rebellion is not found in the Bible, except in passing allusions capable of more than one interpretation. I will therefore pause to sketch the story as it was generally accepted in Milton's day.

Satan, originally called Lucifer ("light-bearer") was one of the greatest of the angelic beings who serve God in Heaven. However, every created being with intellect and will has a choice whether to put God first or to put himself first, and Satan chose to put himself first. He was not content to be a subordinate. He proposed to be equal to the Most High. (See Isaiah 14:12-15, a passage which probably refers to the King of Babylon (see verse 3), but which has often been applied to Satan.) He rebelled against God, and persuaded one third of the angels to join him. (The number is based on Revelation 12:4, where a dragon is said to draw one third of the stars out of heaven. If we take the dragon to be Satan, and the stars to be angels, we get the result. However, there are numerous references on the book of Revelation to the destruction of one third of something or other, and it is arguable that this is a conventional poetic expression rather than a statistic.) In Milton's account (I am not sure whether this particular idea is Milton's own invention), the event that rouses Satan to rebellion is God's proclamation of His only Son as the ruler of all created things, to whom all angels and the whole universe must pay homage. God says in this connection:

This day have I begot whom I declare,

My only Son....

This is a quotation from Psalm 2:7, which in some manuscripts is quoted in connection with the Baptism of Christ. If we take "beget" as "bring into existence," this would mean that the Son is created after the angels, which is nonsense, since Milton makes it explicit that it is only through the Son that the angels and all other things are created (John 1:3). However, the Hebrew verb "yalad", translated "beget", also has the meaning of "to publicly acknowledge as one's heir." Thus, when we are told (Genesis 50:23) that Joseph's great-grandchildren were begotten on Joseph's knees, this does not mean what you are thinking. It means that soon after the child was born, Joseph, in his capacity as head of the family, took the child on his knees and accepted it before witnesses as a member of the family.

So, God the Father proclaims the glory of the Son and commands all the angels to worship Him (see Hebrews 1:6). At this Satan rebels, and leads other angels into rebellion with him. They fight against the loyal angels, led by Michael, and are defeated and cast out of Heaven (see Revelation 12:7-9). Satan, who has heard rumors that God intends to create a race of humans, then plots to obtain his revenge by destroying their happiness and their delighted obedience to God. And the rest of the story is found in Genesis chapters 2 and 3, except that these chapters make no mention of Satan, and say simply that the sepent deceived Eve. Milton tells us that the serpent was really Satan disguised as a serpent.

The modern reader of this poem is likely to run into two general sorts of difficulties.

First, he may not understand what sort of poem Milton is writing, or the basic ideas underlying the poem. For this, the best remedy I know is the book, A Preface to Paradise Lost, by C S Lewis. It is available in hardback and in paperback (Oxford University Press), and should be in any large library. I suggest reading it before reading the poem, or after reading the poem, or sandwiched between sessions of reading the poem. In addition to discussing the literary background of the poem, its roots in Homer and Virgil and in Beowulf, the reasons for the style of the poem, and so on, Lewis discusses the character of Satan, the implications of his choice, and so on. It is a valuable antidote to the work of many modern critics who say that Satan is the real hero of the poem, and that he deserves our admiration (and had Milton's) for rebelling against the "establishment."

Second, the reader may find himself bewildered by the many references and allusions that Milton throws out. If your copy of Milton has footnotes explaining all the references, fine. If it doesn't, just keep reading and don't worry about them. For example, in line 15 of the poem, Milton tells us that his epic will soar "above the Aonian Mount." If you have a profusely footnoted edition, you will be told that this mount is Helicon, in Boetia, a mountain sacred to the Muses and therefore a symbol of poetic inspiration. If you do not have any footnotes, and do not already know about Helicon, there is really no problem. You gather from the context that Milton means that he is promising you a first-rate poem, a poem that will fly, a poem that will lift your imagination to behold great things. And, as you read on, you will find that he keeps his promise.

And so the poem begins:

Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit 

of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 

brought death into the world, and all our woe 

(with loss of Eden, till one greater Man 

restore us, and regain the blissful seat), 

sing, Heavenly Muse, that on the secret top 

of Horeb, or of Sinai, didst inspire 

that Shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed 

in the beginning how the heavens and earth 

rose out of Chaos, or if Zion's hill 

delight thee more, and Siloa's brook that flowed 

fast by the oracle of God; I thence 

invoke thy aid to my adventurous song, 

that with no middle flight intends to soar 

above the Aonian Mount, while it pursues 

things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme. 

And chiefly Thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer 

before all temples the upright heart and pure, 

instruct me, for Thou knowest; Thou from the first 

wast present, and with mighty wings outspread 

dove-like satst brooding o'er the vast abyss 

and madest it pregnant: what in me is dark 

illumine, what is low, raise and support, 

that to the height of this great argument 

I may assert Eternal Providence, 

and justify the ways of God to men. 

Say first, for Heaven hides nothing from Thy view 

nor the deep tract of Hell, say first what cause 

moved our grand parents in that happy state, 

favored of Heaven so highly, to fall off 

from their Creator, and transgress His will, 

for one restraint, lords of the World besides? 

Who first seduced them to that foul revolt? 

The infernal serpent; he it was, whose guile 

stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived 

the mother of mankind, what time his pride 

had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host 

of rebel angels, by whose aid aspiring 

to set himself in glory above his peers, 

he trusted to have equalled the Most High, 

if he opposed; and with ambitious aim 

against the throne and monarchy of God 

raised impious war in Heaven and battle proud 

with vain attempt.

                           Him the Almighty Power 

hurled headlong flaming from th' eternal sky 

with hideous ruin and combustion down 

to bottomless perdition, there to dwell 

in adamantine chains and penal fire, 

who durst defy the Omnipotent to arms. 

Here again, if you recognize that "adamant" is an old word for "diamond," and that diamonds are among the hardest objects known, and that the adjective means "extraordinarily hard, unyielding," so much the better. But if you do not know this, you will still get the idea that "adamantine chains" are special, and that anyone bound with adamantine chains has a real problem. And that is all you really need to know. Again, you may feel that Milton's sentences are much too long and complicated for you, that it is a real effort to disentangle them. But again, you will find that this is not a problem. Milton carefully introduces his ideas in the order in which he wants you to encounter them. In lines 6-10 we read

Sing, heavenly Muse, that on the secret top 

of Horeb, or of Sinai, didst inspire 

that shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed 

in the beginning, how the heavens and earth 

rose out of chaos.... 

The reference is to Moses, to whom God spoke on Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai (considered to be two names for the same mountain), and who is considered to be the author of the book of Genesis, and in particular of the account of Creation in Genesis 1. But if you miss this reference, you still have a mental picture of a secret mountain top, followed by a glimpse of a wise shepherd, followed by a picture of the heavens and the earth rising out of chaos. And this is the picture sequence that Milton wants you to have here. So, if you do not have footnotes, and do not have as much classical background as you would like to have, don't worry, just read and enjoy. Even if you have footnotes, I suggest ignoring them at first reading. Consulting them will break your concentration, will interrupt the flow of the poem and not give it a chance to speak to you.

So set aside some time and read Milton's Paradise Lost, and with it C.S.Lewis's A Preface to Paradise Lost. You'll be glad you did.

Comus: Milton's Masque

A masque is a particular kind of theatrical performance, traditionally performed before royalty or other distinguished persons, in which the characters of the drama usually wear masks and represent abstract qualities. Those of you who saw the six-part series on public television called The Six Wives of Henry VIII (starring Keith Mitchell) and the following six-part series called Elizabeth R (starring Glenda Jackson) will remember that Play 6 (I think) of the latter series opens with a brief portion of a masque being presented before Queen Elizabeth (Tudor), in which the speaker is Death. A friend of mine wrote a masque in 1955 or thereabouts to be presented at Oxford before the present Queen. Some of the characters represented Peace, Prosperity, and the like, while others represented Tyranny abroad and Discord and Idleness (=Unemployment) at home, and after each had given suitable speeches, Tyranny, Discord, and Idleness announced that they had been defeated and would surrender and go quietly away. Obviously, it is not meant to be judged by the criteria that one would apply to an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Milton's play (to which he gave no title except "A Masque") was performed at Ludlow Castle near the Welsh border, before the lord of that castle, the Earl of Bridgewater. The roles of the humans in the play were performed by the Earl's 15-year-old daughter and her brothers, 9 and 11. (Their tutor, Mr. Lawes, was a friend of Milton's.) The play concernes a young lady who is travelling through the forest with her brothers to reach her father's castle. She meets an evil spirit called Comus (the son of Circe and Bacchus) who is disguised as a simple shepherd and offers her the hospitality of his humble cottage for the night. He thus traps her and tries to persuade her to drink from a magic chalice, which turns all who drink from it into beasts. (It probably symbolizes unchastity.) He argues that Nature has filled the world with pleasures, and that it is ungrateful to refuse the gifts of Nature. The Lady replies that gluttony and starvation are not the only options, and that the right choice is the temperate and wise use of Nature's gifts in accordance with the ends for which Nature's God created them. The evil spirit is defeated, the Lady freed, and she and her brothers are led safely to the castle, their goal (whether Ludlow Castle, or Heaven, or both).

Lycidas: Milton's Pastoral Elegy

Edward King was a fellow student of Milton's, a Puritan youth who had written some poetry and was intending to become a preacher. He was on a ship in the Irish Sea when it sank, and he was drowned. Several of his friends decided to write poems in his memory and publish the collection. Milton's contribution, Lycidas, belongs to a tradition going back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. It is a pastoral. That is, the poet and the persons he writes about are all treated as shepherds (or shepherdesses) living in the hillsides and pastures of ancient Greece. Edward King is renamed Lycidas, and Milton mourns his death.

For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime, 

young Lycidas, and hath not left his peer: 

Who would not sing for Lycidas? he knew 

himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme. 

He must not float upon his watery bier 

unwept, and welter to the parching wind 

without the meed of some melodious tear.... 

Now thou art gone, and never must return! 

Thee, shepherd, thee the woods and desert caves 

with wild thyme and the gadding vine o'ergrown, 

and all their echoes mourn.... 

The mourner goes on to ask the proper response to the knowledge that anyone can die at any time, with all his goals unachieved. Ought we to seek pleasure and forget all else? Is fame worth pursuing, and does it really convey a kind of immortality? And so through many like questions, hinted at rather than stated explicitly, so that much of the poem is not so much an examination of Milton's uncertainties as a device to bring to the forefront some of the uncertainties lurking in the mind of the reader. (A footnoted edition helps, since it is worth knowing, for example, that the site of King's drowning was overlooked (from a distance) by a mountain with a statue of the Archangel Michael--hence the reference to the "guarded mount" and the plea, "Look homeward, Angel, now, and melt with ruth." However, not knowing this should not spoil the poem for you. You do not have to know very much about Eleanor Rigby to enjoy the Beatles' song of that name.) Finally, the poet compares Lycidas to the sun, which sinks only to rise again, and then concludes on an explicitly Christian note of comfort.

So Lycidas sunk low, but mounted high, 

through the dear might of him that walked the waves 

He speaks of Lycidas in Heaven, where all tears are wiped from his eyes, and closes with the image of the shepherd, his mourning for Lycidas ended, arising and going on his way comforted.

The poem is just under 200 lines long. One critic has said: "It may be the most beautiful short poem in the language."

Paradise Regained: Milton's Short Epic

After writing about the fall of the human race through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, Milton undertook to write about the restoration of the human race through the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ. His short epic, Paradise Regained, does not deal with the Crucifixion, but with the Temptation in the wilderness, and the epic features a debate between Christ and Satan, just as Paradise Lost features a debate between Abdiel and Satan, and another between Eve and Satan, and the Masque a debate between Comus and the Lady, and the twin poems L'Allegro and Il Penseroso a debate between merriment and thoughtfulness, and Lycidas between competing possible responses to life and death, and Samson Agonistes debates between Samson and the Danites, Samson and Manoah, Samson and Delilah, and Samson and Harapha. The alert reader may detect a pattern here.

Christ triumphs over Satan, rejecting his temptations and refuting his arguments. When Satan withdraws defeated, the angels hail the triumph of Christ, and bid him now begin his work of reconciling and redeeming mankind.

Some critics think the poem an inferior sequel to Paradise Lost. Others think that it is even better than its predecessor. It is a different kind of poem, and thus perhaps neither better nor worse.

Samson Agonistes: Milton's Tragedy

While Paradise Lost is written in the manner of Virgil's epic poem, the Aeneid, the story of the events leading up to the founding of the city of Rome, Samson Agonistes (ag-o-NIS-teez) is written in the manner of the Greek tragedies. The story of Samson is found in the Book of Judges, 13-16. Milton's drama covers only the last few hours of Samson's life, when, after a lifetime of being undefeatable in battle and irresistible in strength, and a lifetime of misusing and wasting the powers that God had given him for the deliverance of his people from the Philistines, he has lost everything, and is a blinded captive and slave. In his captivity, he is visited by his father Manoah, by spokesmen for his tribe, by his wife Dalila (Delilah), and by a Philistine warrior Harapha. By his dialogue with each in turn he moves slowly from self-pity and despair to renewed trust that God has accepted his repentance and has work for him to do. Finally, acting in accordance with what he takes to be the will of God, he sacrifices his own life in destroying the chief oppressors of his people, and so achieves in death more than he had in life.

Some critics think this Milton's best work. Almost all are agreed that it is by far the best English tragedy ever written on the Greek model. No other work comes close.

LinK: http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/home.html

John Christian Frederick Heyer, missionary, 7 November 1873

(From the Lutheran Calendar.)

John Christian Frederick Heyer was the first missionary sent out by Lutherans in America. He was born in Germany in 1793, and after his confirmation in 1897 his parents sent him to relatives in America (Napoleon was then active in Europe). He studied theology in Philadelphia, and in 1814 went back to Germany, to the University of Goettingen. Back in America, he was licensed as a lay preacher (a home missionary) and preached in Pennsylvania, Missouria, and intermediate points. In 1819 he married, in 1820 he was ordained, and for twenty years he preached, established Sunday schools, and taught at Gettysburg College and Seminary.

After 20 years of marriage, his wife died. Heyer decided to become a foreign missionary. He learned a little Sanskrit and a little medicine, and sailed for India, where there were already Lutheran missions at Tinnevelly, Tranquebar, and Madras (See Ziegenbalg on 23 February). He spent fifteen years (1842-1857) founding missions in the region of Andhra, with time out to obtain an M.D. degree from what was later Johns Hopkins University. His health failed and he returned to organize churches in America, particularly Minnesota. In 1869 he returned to Andhra for two years, where his personal example renewed the spirit of the mission. He returned to Philadelphia so serve as chaplain of the new Lutheran seminary there, until his death on 7 November 1873.

Link: http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/home.html

Willibrord of Utrecht, archbishop and missionary, November 7 739

Willibrord, first Archbishop of Utrecht, is one of the missionaries sent out by the Anglo-Saxon Christians about a century after they had themselves been Christianized by missionaries in the south and east of England from Rome and the Continent, and in the north and west from the Celtic peoples of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

Our information about Willibrord comes to us from the Venerable Bede (History of the English Church and People, v. 10-11) and from a biography by his younger kinsman Alcuin (20 May), Minister of Education under the Emperor Charlemagne. Willibrord was born in Northumbria in England about 658, and studied in France and Ireland. In 690 he set out with 12 companions to preach to the pagans of Frisia (a region roughly coextensive with the province of Friesland in the Netherlands, including some adjacent territories and the Frisian islands in the North Sea). His work was interrupted several times by wars, and he left for a while to preach to the Danes instead. He died 7 November 739.

Willibrord is a symbol of ties between the Christians of England and those of Holland. Today the historic See of Utrecht is in full communion with the Church of England.

Link: http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/home.html