He was
also for some time during the autumn of 1660 in the custody of the
serjeant-at-arms, for on 15th December, there is an entry in the
Commons journals ordering his discharge. It is characteristic of
Milton that, even in this moment of peril, he stood up for his rights,
and refused to pay an overcharge, which the official thought he might
safely exact from a rebel and a covenanter.
THIRD PERIOD, 1660-1674.
CHAPTER XII.
BIOGRAPHICAL.--LITERARY OCCUPATION.--RELIGIOUS OPINIONS.
Revolutions are of two kinds; they are either progressive or
reactionary. A revolution of progress is often destructive, sweeping
away much which should have been preserved. But such a revolution has
a regenerating force; it renews the youth of a nation, and gives free
play to its vital powers. Lost limbs are replaced by new. A revolution
of reaction, on the other hand, is a benumbing influence, paralysing
effort, and levelling character. In such a conservative revolution,
the mean, the selfish, and the corrupt come to the top; man seeks
ease and enjoyment rather than duty; virtue, honour, patriotism, and
disinterestedness disappear altogether from a society which has ceased
to believe in them.
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