Quote by John Milton: “License they mean when they cry liberty.”

This critical observation suggests that some individuals use the call for 'liberty' as a pretext for unchecked self-indulgence or moral laxity. It distinguishes genuine freedom, which comes with responsibility, from mere license, which prioritizes personal gratification without regard for order or consequence.

Written during the English Civil War, this sonnet expresses Milton's frustration with those who misused the concept of liberty for self-serving or immoral ends, particularly in the context of divorce reform debates.

English poet and intellectual who served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost.