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MILTON COLLEGE 238 MILWAUKEE are closely linked. "Paradise Lost," like Dante's great poem, sums up an epoch. The sacred dramas of the Middle Ages had dealt with the scheme of salvation, he rebellion of Lucifer, the temptation and fall of man, the coming of the Christ who was to make atonement. In the 16th and 17th centuries every country in Europe produced dramas and epics upon the theme. To this theme Milton added a profound philosophy, the fruit of many years of study. He cast his poem on Vergilian lines. He used in it, besides the conventional elements of the story, his knowledge of the classi- cal literature and philosophy; it was colored by his experience with life, his idea of the relation between liberty and discipline, and his interest, characteristic of the time, in the relation of man to nature. His purpose, "to justify the ways of God to Man," is thus seen to be not merely theological; it includes the whole mystery of man's relation to God, to his fellows, and to external nature. The twelve books of which it is composed may thus be studied as the high water mark of Renaissance epic, as a summary of thought and philosophy for centuries, and as the revelation of one of the most powerful personalities the world has pro- duced. The blank verse in which it is vv'ritten, different from Shakespeare's, but not less flexible, the sublimity of the imagination of an action carried on throughout a universe, the characteri- zation of titanic personages, the descrip- tions, the similes, the lists of charmed names, the loftiness of the style — all com- bine to place the poem securely in the small list of the world's immortals, with Homer and Vergil and Dante, and in the very highest rank of poetry in the English tongue. "Of "Paradise Regained" and "Sam- son Agonistes" it must suffice to say that though in widely different ways they illustrate the same transcendent power. The first, an epic in four books, com- pletes the theme of "Paradise Lost" by showing how the "Greater Man" is to bring salvation. The second, a tragedy cast in Greek mold, treats the Biblical story in the massive style of Sophocles. After these supreme expressions of his genius Milton did little more. A few revisions, leading to new editions of his minor poems, and a few more prose pieces, notably a "History of Britain," complete the story. He died Nov. 8, 1674, and was buried in St. Giles' Church, Cripplegate. MILTON" COLLEGE, a coeducational institution in Milton, Wis.; founded in 1867 under the auspices of the Seventh Day Advennsts; reported at the close of 1919: Professors and instructors, 118; students, 178; volumes in the library, 7,895; productive funds, $83,244; grounds and buildings valued at $31,000; income, $10,473; number of graduates, 280; presi- dent, Rev. W. C. Daland, A. M., D. D. MILWAUKEE, a city, port of entry, county-seat of Milwaukee co., Wis., and the largest city in population and impor- tance in the State; on the W. side of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Mil- waukee river; 85 miles N. by W. of Chi- cago and 83 miles E. of Madison; area, 22 square miles; pop. (1910) 373,857; (1920) 457,147. It has a beautiful har- bor with many extensive piers used by steamboat lines; and has regular com- munication by water and rail with all the chief cities on the Great Lakes. Topography. — The Milwaukee river ex- tends through the principal part of the city, and with the Menomonee and Kin- nickinnic rivers, with which it connects, divides it into three sections, knovm re- spectively as the East, West, and South sides. All of these rivers are navigable for the largest lake vessels. On the W. side of the Milwaukee river the surface has an elevation of 125 feet, and between the lake and the river, 80 feet. There are wide and beautiful streets, which, with the exception of those in the busi- ness quarter, are usually^ well shaded. The principal streets include East Water street. West Water street. Third street, Wisconsin street, and Grand avenue. Municipal Improvements. — The water- works receive their supply from the lake. The consumption averages 54,000,000 gallons per day. There are about 500 miles of streets, of which 421 are paved. There is an excellent sewerage system. Notable Buildings, — The chief public buildings are the County Court House, a building of brown sandstone; the Mitch- ell, Northwestern Life Insurance, Wells, and Germania Sentinel buildings; the City Hall; the Northwestern Soldiers* National Home; the Federal building, containing the Postoffice and Custom House; the Public Library and Museum Building; the Layton Art Gallery. Be- sides these, there are many hospitals and similar institutions and many charitable and benevolent asylums. The city is also the seat of a Protestant Episcopal bishop and of a Roman Catholic archbishop. The most notable church edifices include St. Paul's Episcopal, St. James Episco- pal, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John, the Church of Gesu, St. Jose- phat's Catholic and the Trinity Lutheran Churches.