| Chapter |
|---|
| 1. | Introduction |
| 2. | Overview of 17th Century Thought
on Liberty and Individualism |
| The struggle for power and liberty |
| Risks and excesses of libertarian ideas |
| The uneven achievement of freedom in the 17th century |
| The Place of John Milton among his contemporaries |
| Moving from right to left |
| Milton as a democratic reformer |
| 3. | Milton's Writings on Liberty |
| The early period of Milton's writings: Milton
the zealot for freedom |
| Writings of Milton's middle period: Milton
the patrician politician |
| Milton's golden years: the mature poet
and political realist |
| 4. | Areopagitica, or How Not
to Kill a Book or an Idea |
| Milton's borrowed analogy from the ancient
Athenian court on the Areopagus |
| Milton's development of thought in Areopagitica |
| Current interest in freedom of the press as
noted in Milton's Areopagitica. |
| 5. | A Comparison of John Milton and Roger Williams on Freedom,
Toleration, and Separation of Church and State |
| The toleration of religious minorities |
| Separation of church and state: "You cannot
legislate righteousness" |
| The legacy of John Milton and Roger Williams for our times |
| 6. | Conclusion |
| Both John Milton and Roger Williams
had their shortcomings |
| Mankind has made tremendous progress in the
last 400 years |
| Liberty in the USA today: is the religious
right wrong? |
| The work of liberty is never done |
|
| Appendix |
|---|
| Suggested Reading List |