According to Wikipedia: "John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, author, polemicist and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England. He is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. He was a scholarly man of letters, a polemical writer, and an official serving under Oliver Cromwell. Milton is believed to have been a Calvinist and the question of predestination and freedom was crucial to his intellectual orientation. He wrote at a time of religious and political flux in England, and his poetry and prose reflect deep convictions, often reacting to contemporary circumstances such as his treatise condemning censorship, Areopagitica. As well as English, he wrote in Latin and Italian, and had an international reputation during his lifetime."
