as it was the custom o f the time. Гп 1638 he lefi England for a
European tour. He visited France and Italy. He met the great
Galileo, who was no longer a prisoner o f the Inquisition, but was
still watched by catholic churchmen. Milton succeeded in getting
into the house where Galileo was kept. His meeting witli the great
martyr o f science is mentioned in “Paradise Lost” and in the article
about the freedom o fth e press. In 1639 he returned to England,
ju st when the struggle between the king and the puritans began.
For som e time Milton had to do educational work, and the result
o f it was a treatise on education.
Milton kept a keen eye on the public affairs o f the time. The
years between 1640 and 1660, the second period in his literary
work, w ere the years when he wrote militant revolutionary
pamphlets. When the Republican Government under Cromwell
was established in 1649, Milton was appointed Latin Secretary to
the council o f state. The work consisted chiefly o f translating
diplomatic government papers into Latin and from Latin.
In his pamphlets, most o f which were written in Latin, Milton
supported the Parliamentary cause against the Royalists. During
his years as Latin Secretary and journalist Milton wrote only a
few sonnets.
Milton had weak eyes even as a child; in 1652 he lost his
eyesight completely. With the restoration o f the monarchy in 1660,
Milton was discharged from office. All his famous pamphlets were
burnt by the hangman. But the poet’s military spirit was not
crushed. He and his family moved to a small house not far from
London, and Milton again began to write poetry. M ilton’s years o f
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