All 5 Uses of
servile
in
Paradise Lost
- Suppose he should relent And publish grace to all, on promise made Of new subjection; with what eyes could we Stand in his presence humble, and receive Strict laws imposed, to celebrate his throne With warbled hymns, and to his Godhead sing Forced hallelujahs, while he lordly sits Our envied sovereign, and his altar breathes Ambrosial odours and ambrosial flowers, Our servile offerings?†
Book 2
- Let us not then pursue, By force impossible, by leave obtained Unacceptable, though in Heaven, our state Of splendid vassalage; but rather seek Our own good from ourselves, and from our own Live to ourselves, though in this vast recess, Free and to none accountable, preferring Hard liberty before the easy yoke Of servile pomp.†
Book 2
- And thou, sly hypocrite, who now wouldst seem Patron of liberty, who more than thou Once fawned, and cringed, and servilely adored Heaven's awful Monarch? wherefore, but in hope To dispossess him, and thyself to reign?†
Book 4
- Such hast thou armed, the minstrelsy of Heaven, Servility with freedom to contend, As both their deeds compared this day shall prove.†
Book 6
- From imposition of strict laws to free
Acceptance of large grace; from servile fear
To filial;
Book 12 *servile = excessively submissive -- with no self-respect
Definition:
-
(servile) submissive -- typically excessively so (so submissive or eager to serve and please that one seems to have no self-respect)
or:
relating to the work that requires obeying demeaning commands
or:
slave-like or relating to slaves