literature which should uplift or inspire. The utter worldliness of this literature, reflecting the time, gives us a clew to the progress of the Puritan movement and to the final (though temporary) triumph of the "otherworldliness" to which reference has been made. The chief representative of the triumphant spirit was JOHN MILTON, 1608-1674 The opinion has been expressed above that Milton was not typical of Puritanism, and that certain sentiments in his early poems can hardly have met with Puritan approval. His whole-souled devotion to literature as an art, except during the time. of his government service, is another characteristic that shows lack of sympathy with his sect. His attitude toward life and toward his work is remote, indeed, from that of the Cavalier poets; but it is almost equally remote from anything expressed in literature. by members of the opposite party. The mirth of L'Allegro is not of close kin to that of Charles the First's poets; and the melancholy of Il Penseroso has equally slight resemblance to that of the followers of Cromwell. The former is always under the control of a cultured mind; the latter shows no trace of the long face or the whine of the Protector's psalm-singing "Ironsides." MILTON. Periods three reign trav for for works; thi Cajor poem Partly from his delicate beauty, partly from the correctness of his life, probably not at all from any effeminacy or excessive display of religion, he was nicknamed at the University "The Lady of Christ's." He himself expresses satisfaction at the more than ordinary respect" shown him in his College. Retirement at Horton; and Foreign Travel. - Though from an early age Milton had been designed for the ministry, he was not disposed, on graduation, to enter that calling. He was, in fact, not disposed to take up any remunerative occupation; and with his father's full consent, he spent the succeeding five years in self-directed study at Horton, a country place some twenty miles from London, where his father had settled on retiring from business. A desire to complete his education in accepted fashion led him to make a tour on the Continent. With excellent introductions to literary and learned circles, he left England in April, 1638, and spent sixteen months abroad, visiting Paris, Genoa, Florence, Rome, Naples, and meeting Grotius, the famous Swedish diplomat, and Galileo. Milton's original itinerary included Sicily and Greece; but at Naples, he received news of impending civil war in England, and turned back. "For I considered it base," said he, "that, while my countrymen were fighting at home for liberty, I should be travelling abroad at ease for intellectual culture." Poems of the First Period. With his landing in England in August, 1639, the first period of Milton's life ends. His writings during this time include some poems in Latin and Italian, paraphrases of two of the Psalms, two sonnets, and seventeen other English poems. Of these the most worthy of notice are L' Allegro and Il Penseroso, the companion pieces on mirth and melancholy already mentioned; On the Morn stand it. Perhaps the finest and certainly the most memorable passages in Lycidas are those dealing with the low state The first six entries are believed to be in his handwriting. of contemporary poetry (lines 64-83) and the corruption in aid these ted by destine |