「그리스도 탄생하신 날 아침에」에 나타나는 밀턴의 시간관: ‘아기 하나님’의 개념을 중심으로

Abstract

Milton uses 'the infant God' as the expression for Jesus Christ who came to this world as a saviour in his "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." The expression, 'the infant God' is a kind of oxymoron which cannot be explained logically, but through this name Milton shows that Jesus Christ is the one who intersects eternity and time. From the perspective of time, God is being of eternity and man is being of time. Therefore, 'the infant God' meaning 'God-man' indicates that Jesus Christ is both being of time and being of eternity. He is generally called the son of God. However, strictly speaking, he is the one of 'Word made flesh'. His birth is the significant incident in which God, the eternal being, has descended into this world of time. Therefore his birth, that is, his forsaking 'the courts of everlasting day' and choosing a 'darksome house of clay' can be interpreted as showing eternity has come into time. It is through eternity's coming into the world of time that the destructiveness and meaninglessness of time are conquered, as a result, all human beings are able to get the opportunity to be redeemed. Milton describes Jesus Christ who was born as a baby will dispel the whole darkness spreading this world. His birth changes the old order into a new one. It brings the new order and the new time which are centered on God's providence and government to this world. His coming has the power of changing misery into delight, war into peace, and curse into happiness. Especially, it makes the destructive time disappear and the redeemed time appear in this world. Through Jesus Christ who is to work as scapegoat and judge of all human beings, all the evil powers are also destroyed, and man can return to golden age. In a word, Milton shows us that Jesus Christ, 'the infant God', is the focal point of time and history in this poem.