“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven…”
John Milton, Paradise Lost.
He was born on this day in 1608. Possibly England’s greatest poet. He also fought against censorship. He would be disappointed to discover that censorship yet lives. Instead of Mr. Milton (he died before photography), I offer you a photo of a much lesser poet- me.
C. T. Suddeth 
You provoked me, I want you to know, to pull my dusty Milton off the shelf. I stayed up half the night reading favorite passages, once again awed and fully engrossed by his reach, talent and intimidating learning. His reference to the classics, the early Christian writers, the scholastics, the history of science, all of philosophy and history dwarfs any contemporary poet, even makes Shakespeare seem a somewhat half-educated rube and mostly faking it, making it up as he went along. Thank you. Milton’s moral sense is a mystery to me, the strength of it and his eloquent confidence in advancing it, amazes me more today than ever before.
Milton’s moral sense and his opposition of censorship impressed me enough to post about him. Sorry about your lost sleep, but Milton is worth it.
How right you are, and many thanks for jogging my memory;)
I remember in school, I was arrogant enough to attempt an analysis. I quickly realized I was out of my league. Thank you for sharing this post.