In Milton’s Book 9, he mentions the word “office” a lot. I wonder what he means by this? Like an actual enclosed space? He says:
“The skill of Artifice or Office mean,
Not that which justly gives Heroic name [ 40 ]
To Person or to Poem.” (Milton, 39-41).
and:
“The Sun was sunk, and after him the Starr
Of Hesperus, whose Office is to bring
Twilight upon the Earth, short Arbiter [ 50 ]
Twixt Day and Night,” (Milton, 48-51).
Obviously, now when we think of “office” we think of official, work, cubicles and offices with computers and notebooks or the entire set up of the show “The Office”. I wonder about what this word means in this context and if it is at all similar.
