One of England's most famous men of letters, Milton was the son of a prosperous scrivener. A Puritan, he was hostile to Catholics and the Stuarts. In 1638-1639, he visited Italy. His meeting with Galileo (1564-1642), which would have taken place in 1638, is now regarded as apocryphal. Author of the epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), he also was a pamphleteer and supporter of Olivier Cromwell (1599-1658). In 1652, he became totally blind. At the Stuart Restoration, he was briefly arrested.