Milton's poetry is one of the glories of the English language, and yet it owes everything to Milton's widespread knowledge of other languages: he knew ten and wrote in four. In Milton's Languages, John K. Hale examines Milton's language-related arts, giving all relevant texts in the original and in translation, and then traces the impact of Milton's multilingualism on his major English poems. Hale argues convincingly that only by understanding Milton's choice among languages can we grasp where Milton's own unique--and highly influential--form of English originated.

Milton's poetry is one of the glories of the English language, and yet it owes everything to Milton's widespread knowledge of other languages: he knew ten and wrote in four. In Milton's Languages, John K. Hale examines Milton's language-related arts, giving all relevant texts in the original and in translation, and then traces the impact of Milton's multilingualism on his major English poems. Hale argues convincingly that only by understanding Milton's choice among languages can we grasp where Milton's own unique--and highly influential--form of English originated.

The second of eleven volumes of Milton's Complete Works to be published contains his systematic theology, De Doctrina Christiana. It is his longest work and was, Milton said, his dearest possession. In it, he works out his religious beliefs from Scripture; what Scripture does not mention, such as the Trinity, he energetically refutes. The work exists in manuscript and was written in Latin for European as well as home consumption. Its chapters are conceived and arranged according to the binarizing logic devised by the Protestant martyr Ramus.
De Doctrina Christiana first appeared in print...