Towards Harmony

Despite the vast research on Milton's freedom, there is still the deficiency in explaining what Milton's freedom really is. Various angles, theological, political, and historic among others, are employed in studying Milton's freedom, and yet there is the tendency of overshadowing the connotation of Milton's freedom with other issues in discussion. Milton is first a poet, from the analysis of his literary works related to freedom the meaning of his freedom is shown.Profound as Milton's thoughts, his notion of freedom concerns human's soul and its future. He does not hesitate in allocating freedom to "wise and virtuous man," for he believes in reason and virtue. Milton's God creates with reason to install order and he intends this harmonious order to sustain, not only in physical world but more importantly in spiritual realm. Man's freedom resides in man's rational mind to keep the right order which should face challenges. And virtue is there to keep the purity of the soul and thus the proper order. These two meaning-laden words, reason and virtue, which Milton frequently emphasizes with his expression of freedom, enable us to find that Milton's freedom could not be realized unless the state of harmony inside is established. Harmony, a word familiar to a man like Milton is a great indicator and summation of right order, and while harmony presents one possible understanding to Milton's true freedom, it may also hopefully provide some perspectives possible to other relating areas of Miltonic research and of human.