40 THE NEW SCIENCE AND ENGLISH LITERATURE 



The music-of-the-spheres idea finds repeated expression. Further- 

 more, when IMilton was tutor to his nephews, 1642-7, he taught 

 them astronomy from John Holyrood's De Sphaera. This man 

 was a thirteenth century scientist, "entirely and especially Ptole- 

 maic".^^ In a word, Milton had his mind filled with the old natur- 

 al philosophy when he began "brooding over the subject of his great 

 epic". 



The new philosophy, however, was not unknown to him. In 

 1638-9, he made a journey to Italy where he "saw and conversed 

 with Galileo".^* From this interview it may be assumed that he 

 gained a fairly clear idea of the epoch-making work of that scien- 

 tist. That his mind was interested in scientific research is shown 

 by his Tractate on Education, where he urges a greater study of 

 science.^^ From 1642 to 1665, while Paradise Lost lay in abeyance, 

 the new experimental philosophy made great progress in England. 

 Astronomy, as has been shown, was being revolutionized, and men's 

 conceptions of the heavens were rapidly changing. Scientific in- 

 quiry had become popular in London; Sorbiere found a public 

 telescope set up in St. James Park.^*' The time was drawing near 

 for Newton to demonstrate the truth of the Copernican theory and 

 define with accuracy the laws of gravitation at which Hookc and 

 others had broadly hinted. 



In the midst of this scientific readjustment Milton came to the 

 writing of Paradise Lost. As might have been anticipated, the 

 whole background of his cosmology is made up of the old science. 

 There are suggestions of the spheres of Dante's world ;^^ there are 

 spirits that walk the earth unseen f^ there are planets that are in- 

 habited by the monstrous and abortive births from this world;" 

 the stars move in a "mystic dance, and not without song";®*' the 

 rolling heavens turn on a great axle f^ the stars shed their old-time 



^ Masson, David, Life of Milton, vol. VI, p. 534. 



" Ibid. 



"s Milton urges in this paper a further study of science for practical purposeB. 



w Sorbiere, Relation D'Un Voyage en Angleterre, p. 32, 



^"i Par. Lost, III, 416. 



"Ibid. IV, 677. 



wibid. Ill, 455-62. 



•"Ibid. V, 175-9; 18-27. 



•ilbid. V, 577-9; VII, 380-5. 



