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DogmatismThe dogmatism of the characters, especially evident in the words of the archangelRaphael and the patriarch Noah, is demonstrated particularly in the oppositionbetween their behaviour and such basic social mores as consideration for thesufferings of others: that generalised love for humanity which is labelled ‘sympathy’or ‘compassion’ is, for some characters, mitigated by adherence to an ideologicalcode, which is to say that concern for other people is placed into competition withallegiance to an idea. This conflict creates such bigoted reactions as the antipathytowards exogamy, and it further has implications for the representation of therighteousness of God.Raphael is determinedly orthodox, considering “impious” even his own wish thatSatan could be forgiven (1.3.584). Thus, he departs from the scene saying, “Farewell,thou earth! ye wretched sons of clay, /I cannot, must not aid you. ’Tis decreed!”(1.3.804-5). The doubling of the modal auxiliary, the transfer from the negateddynamic (“cannot” ) to the negated deontic (“must not”), bespeaks the true nature ofthe situation: the archangel will not assist the humans, because their deaths aredecreed. Obedience is more important to him than sympathy is. This motif is alsovisible in the contrast between his urging Noah not to condemn his own son, saying,“Patriarch, be still a father! smoothe thy brow” (1.3.764), and his own shortlysubsequent behaviour towards Azaziel, interrupting the latter’s attempt to reassure thefrightened Anah with the denunciation, “Rebel! thy words are wicked, as thy deeds/Shall henceforth be but weak” (1.3.784-5).Noah, described by Samiasa as “the patriarch, who hath ever been /Upright before hisGod” (1.3.340-1) and by Japhet as being righteous enough to save his children(1.3.380-2), is similar to Raphael, but even more rabidly dogmatic, and this is mostfrequently demonstrated in contrast with his own son. As E H Coleridge famouslysays, “Byron said that it was difficult to make Lucifer talk ‘like a clergyman.’ He349