WHY SCIENTISTS SHOULD READ MILTON
(AND VISIT MILTON’S COTTAGE)
As his only surviving residence, it may seem
counter-intuitive to New Scientist regulars to
read about the place where Milton completed
his religious epic Paradise Lost.
But from the 17th century to the
present-day, major scientists have been
inspired by Milton’s work. Florence Nightingale
revered him, Darwin carried a copy of Paradise
Lost on board the Beagle, and Nobel Prize
winning geneticist Sir Paul Nurse gives lectures
on this visionary writer.
NEW SCIENTISTS OF THE 17TH CENTURY
Milton himself kept up with the new science
of the 17th century and even met Galileo, by
then under house arrest. This meeting made
quite an impact: the great Italian astronomer
is his only contemporary mentioned by Milton
in Paradise Lost.
THE FIRST WORK OF SCIENCE FICTION?
Perhaps because of this encounter, Milton’s
poetry abounds in scientific references - and in
Paradise Lost he wrote what is arguably the first
work of science fiction in Western literature. His
anti-hero, Satan, travels outside of space and
time to get revenge on God, and Milton coined
the term ‘outer-space’ to describe this journey.
His work has inspired our greatest science
fiction and fantasy writers, including Mary Shelley,
J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Isaac Asimov, Philip
Pullman and Neil Gaiman to name just a few.MILTON’S LEGACY TODAY
As if that’s not enough, Milton’s political prose
has been a major influence on our parliamentary
democracy, as well as the American Declaration
of Independence and the French Revolution. He
also introduced 630 words into English, from
satanic to self-esteem – more than anyone,
including Shakespeare!Signal Boost
INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION
We want to use Milton’s writing to continue
inspiring people today. From a summer film
school to citizen science projects in our garden
(planted with trees, flowers and fruits referenced
in Milton’s poetry) our education programme
seeks to creatively engage young people with his
extraordinary life, literature and legacy.
We’ve even worked with them to co-design a
new augmented reality app that’s transforming
one of the world’s oldest writer’s house
museums through new technology.Want to help?
You can visit Milton’s Cottage, in
Buckinghamshire, from 1st April to 31st
October, Wed – Sunday, 2 – 5pm. You can also
support our creative learning activities by
becoming a Friend of Milton’s Cottage,
from £26 per year. For further information
please visit http://www.miltonscottage.orgWelcome to our Signal Boost project – a page for charitable
organisations to get their message out to a global audience, free of
charge. Today, a message from Milton’s Cottage
A museum that’s out of this world