Areopagitica
P. 48. Galileo: b. 1564, d. 1642; he was seventy-four years old when Milton visited him in 1638; whether he was actually imprisoned at the time is somewhat uncertain; he may have been, as Hales suggests, in libera custodia, i.e. ‘only kept under a certain restraint, as that he should not move away from a specified neighborhood, or perhaps a special house.’
P. 48. never be forgotten by any revolution of time: i.e. as Hales explains, caused to be forgotten.
P. 48. other parts: i.e. of the world.
P. 48. in time of parliament: there was no parliament assembled from 1629 to 1640.
P. 48. without envy: without exciting any odium against me.—Hales.
P. 48. he whom an honest quæstorship: Cicero, 75 B.C.
P. 48. Verres: pro-prætor in Sicily, 73-71 B.C. Cicero’s Verrine orations were directed against his extortions and exactions.