John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England. He is best known for his epic poem 'Paradise Lost'. He was a scholarly man of letters, a polemical writer, and an official serving under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval in England, and his poetry and prose reflect deep convictions and deal with contemporary issues, such as his treatise condemning licensing, 'Areopagitica'. He wrote in Latin and Italian as well as in English, and had an international reputation during his lifetime. After his death, Milton's critical reception oscillated, a state of affairs that continued through the centuries. Samuel Johnson wrote unfavourably of his politics as those of 'an acrimonious and surly republican'; but praised 'Paradise Lost', 'a poem which, considered with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the human mind'.