밀턴의 자유론에 대한 역사적 재고

Abstract

This paper reconsiders the Renaissance meaning of freedom with a historical overview of John Milton's times and thereby reviews John Milton's conception of freedom, especially focusing on his Protestant individualist theology. The study examines the theological origin and the historical formation of the idea of freedom in Milton and reveals the religious nature of Renaissance culture of the time. Religion in the Renaissance was not merely an individual faith but a cultural dynamic that produced and reproduced every meaningful relation in society, the way of thinking, cultural life, and so forth. It is no exaggeration to say that Milton's theology and work are all about the idea of freedom. Milton not only expresses his own theological concept of the freedom of the will but also his faith in the freedom of religion, of the press, of divorce, and of protest against the tyranny of princes and prelates. As the main historical drive of the period, the word freedom was the key issue among the contemporary Europeans as well as Milton. It created a very sensitive reaction among people throughout the whole Europe. So far many studies on Milton's idea of freedom have been done from diverse perspectives, but most of them have dealt with it from a modern sense of freedom. There has not been much written on its religious nature. Milton's idea of freedom is a historical product that reflects the contemporary longing of English people for religious freedom. It is a final result from Milton's effort to rationalize the republic's secular policies in the face of the religious dissensions of the time.