Paradise Lost: Books 7-8 (Cambridge Milton Series for Schools and Colleges)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1895 edition. Excerpt: ... INTRODUCTION. LIFE OF MILTON. MILTON'S life falls into three clearly defined divisions. The first period ends with the poet's return from Italy T/IS t/lree in 1639; the second at the Restoration in 1660, pmods in Milwhen release from the fetters of politics enabled him to remind the world that he was a great poet, if not a great controversialist; the third is brought to a close with his death in 1674. Paradise Lost belongs to the last of these periods; but we propose to summarise briefly the main events of all three. John Milton was born on December 9,1608, in London. He came, in his own words, ex genere honesto. A Born 16oS; the family of Miltons had been settled in Oxfordshire ** &*. since the reign of Elizabeth. The poet's father had been educated at an Oxford school, possibly as a chorister in one of the College choir-schools, and imbibing Anglican sympathies had conformed to the Established Church. For this he was disinherited by his father. He settled in London, following the profession of scrivener. A scrivener combined the occupations of lawyer and law-stationer. It appears to have been a lucrative calling; certainly John Milton (the poet was named after the father) attained to easy circumstances. He married about 1600, and had six children, of whom several died young. The third child was the poet. The elder Milton was evidently a man of considerable culture, in particular an accomplished musician, and a composer1 whose madrigals were deemed worthy of being printed side by side with those of Byrd, Orlando Gibbons and other leading musicians of the time. To him, no doubt, the poet owed the love of music of which we see frequent indications in the poems2. Realising, too, that in his son lay the promise and...