ABSTRACT
John Milton, one of the great English poets, also became well known for his 1644 essay "Areopagitica: A Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing to the Parliament of England". He was a humanist, a firm believer in the value of scientific inquiry, and a devoutly religious man who lived during a time of religious and political turmoil. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Puritanism developed as a movement to reform the Church of England. The Puritans in England gained political power between 1640 and 1660 as a result of the English civil war. The major religious and political factions during the civil war were the Presbyterians and the Independents. Milton initially supported the Presbyterian faction and its attempt to reform the Church of England. In 1648, when the commonwealth was established, Milton worked in Oliver Cromwell's government as Latin secretary for foreign affairs.
