This study takes a multidisciplinary approach in examining how Milton’s biblical scholarship informed his politics, and how both affected his writing. Lim (English, National U. of Singapore)
starts with how the works of Knox and others affected Milton’s political thought and concludes that Milton was closest to Buchanan in his evaluation of authority. He then turns to Milton’s work
on English identity as an element of parliamentary governance, evaluates Paradise Regained as a republican tract and compares it to Bacon’s Advancement of Learning, and shows how Samson
Agonistes allows for divinely sanctioned violence in the course of nation building. Further discussion compares Milton’s identity with that of the activist Lucy Hutchinson, and evaluates
Milton’s thoughts in the battle over imperial presence in Asia. The book is distributed by Associated University Presses. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
