1 h 48 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the hardest battle is not against an army, but against an offer that sounds reasonable?
John Milton’s Paradise Regained is a short epic poem drawn from the Gospel account of Jesus’s forty days in the wilderness. It opens with baptism at the river Jordan, then follows Jesus into solitude. There, Satan prepares a contest fought not with armies, but with flattery, clever arguments and offers that test patience and purpose.
In Milton’s telling, hunger becomes an opening for temptation, and a banquet appears in the desert. Satan makes wealth, glory and power sound like paths toward good. Jesus meets him with patient thought and reason. This sequel to Paradise Lost explores obedience and redemption through a quieter struggle, asking what it means to refuse everything that might turn you from your path.
What you’ll discover
- A wilderness of thought Enter Jesus’s solitude, where Milton gives reflection room before Satan begins his arguments.
- A banquet amid hunger Encounter a feast in the desert that makes temptation concrete and immediate.
- A persuasive adversary Meet a Satan whose flattering, reasonable voice makes each offer worth examining.
- Power as a shortcut Consider how promises of glory can make a dangerous choice seem useful.
- The strength of refusal Discover an epic whose tension rests in patience, argument and the resolve to say no.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who enjoyed Paradise Lost and want its sequel, and anyone curious about the temptation story as a drama of ideas. If you want fast action or a large cast, you may find it slow and austere.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A baptism sets the contest in motion
- Alone in the wilderness, Jesus thinks
- Hunger and wealth are offered and refused
- Glory and power look like shortcuts to good
- Rome, Athens and a night of storm
- What the poem argues about temptation
- A short epic told through argument
Who’s who
- JesusThe newly baptized Son of God, who goes into the wilderness and faces Satan's offers with patience and reason.
- SatanThe fallen angel who sets out to test Jesus, using flattery, disguise and clever argument to turn him from his path.
- John the BaptistThe preacher at the river Jordan who baptizes Jesus and prepares the way for his mission.
- MaryThe mother of Jesus, who waits anxiously at home while her son is lost in the wilderness.
- GabrielThe angel to whom God explains why Satan will be allowed to test the Son.
- BelialA fallen spirit in Satan's council who proposes tempting Jesus with pleasure and women.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 1 h 48 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: USD 0.14 a day, then USD 0.27 a day, never raised. Or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Paradise Regained in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Poetry & DramaFree to read
Paradise Regained
by John Milton· 1671
Jesus faces Satan’s temptations during forty days in the wilderness.
Excellent
- The whole book free
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
Opens right away, on any device
Read the whole book freeNo sign-upNothing to pay
Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 7
A baptism sets the contest in motion
The poem opens by stating its plan. Milton, who once sang of paradise lost through one man's disobedience, now sings of paradise recovered through one man's firm obedience. He calls on the Spirit to help him, and then moves straight to the river Jordan, where John the Baptist is preaching.
Jesus comes to be baptized. The Spirit descends like a dove, and a voice from heaven names him as the Son of God. Satan hears it too. He has been wandering the world since his fall, and he now knows that a new human being has been marked out for something enormous.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
John Milton
1608–1674 · English poet
John Milton (1608–1674) was an English poet and civil servant who lived mainly in London. He wrote poetry and prose, including Comus (1634), Areopagitica (1644), Paradise Lost (1667), and Paradise Regained (1671). He served as secretary for foreign tongues under England’s Commonwealth government. He became blind in 1652.
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Paradise Regained
Is the whole book really free?
Yes. Paradise Regained is one of 200 complete books that are free to read and hear, with no sign-up and nothing to pay. Start free and you also get 200,000+ more classics, the 15-minute summaries, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is Paradise Regained about?
It retells the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. After his baptism, Jesus faces Satan, who offers him food, wealth, glory, power and learning. The poem shows how he answers each offer and what that says about true obedience.
Is Paradise Regained a sequel to Paradise Lost?
Yes, in theme if not in plot. Paradise Lost tells how humankind fell. Paradise Regained shows how Jesus resists Satan, and its opening lines present it as the answer to the earlier poem.
When was Paradise Regained written and published?
It was published in 1671 in a volume together with Samson Agonistes. Milton wrote it in his later years, after he had gone blind and after the political cause he supported had collapsed.
Popular in poetry and plays
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
