MILTON
JOHN MILTON，who stands without a rival at the head of English epic poets，lived from 1608to 1674.His principal work，Paradise Lost ，was composed after he became blind.
1.MILTON rose at four o‘clock in the morning during summer，and at five in the winter.He wore almost invariably a dress of coarse gray cloth；studied till noon，dined frugally，walked with a guide，and，John Miltonin the evening，sung，accompanying himself on some instrument.He understood harmony，and had a fine voice.He，for a long time，addicted himself to the practice of fencing.To judge by Paradise Lost，he must have been passionately fond of music and the perfume of flowers.He supped off five or six olives and a little water，retired to rest at nine，and composed at night，in bed.When he had made some verses，he sung，and dictated to his wife or daughters.
2.He had been very handsome，and was so even in his age.The portrait of Adam is his own.His hair was admirable，his eyes of extraordinary clearness，no defect could be perceived in them；it would have been impossible to guess that he was blind.If we were not aware what party rage can do，could we believe that it would make it a crime for a man to be blind？But let us thank this abominable hate；we owe to it some exquisite lines.Milton first replies，that he lost his sight inthe defense of liberty，then adds these passages，full of sublimity and tenderness.
3.“In the night that surrounds me，the light of the Divine presence shines the more brightly for me.God beholds me with greater tenderness and compassion because I can see naught but him.The Divine law ought not only to shield me from injury，but render me more sacred；not on account of the loss of sight，but because I am under the shadow of the Divine wings，which seem to produce this darkness in me.To this I attribute the affectionate assiduities of my friends，their soothing attentions，their kind visits，and their respectful behavior.”
4.We see to what shifts he was reduced in writing，by a passage in one of his letters to Peter Hiembach：“That virtue of mine which you call political virtue，and which I would rather you would have called devotion to my country，patriotism，enchanting me with her captivating name，almost，I may say，expatriated me.In finishing my letter，let me beg of you this favor，that if you find some parts incorrectly written，you will impute the fault to the boy who writes for me；he is utterly ignorant of Latin，and I am obliged，wretchedly enough，to spell every word I dictate.”
5.The miseries of Milton were still more aggravated by domestic griefs.He lost his first wife，Mary Powell，who died suddenly；as，also，after a year’s marriage，did his second wife，Catharine Woodcock，of Hackney.His third wife，Elizabeth Minshell，survived him，and had used him well.He appears not to have been loved；his daughters，who played such poetical parts in his life，deceived him，and secretly sold his books.He complains of this.Unfortunately，his character seems to have had the inflexibility of his genius.Johnson has said，with precision and truth that Milton believed woman only for obedience，and man for rebellion.