John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court, who reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodied
1677 portrait
Elizabeth Wilmot (Malet) by Peter Lely
c. 1665–1670 portrait of Rochester by Jacob Huysmans
Portrait of Rochester by Sir Godfrey Kneller
Libertine
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A libertine is a person questioning and challenging most moral principles, such as responsibility or sexual restraints, and will often declare these traits as unnecessary, undesirable or evil. A liber
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
…1920s onwards, with reappraisals from noted literary figures such as Graham Greene and Ezra Pound. The critic Vivian de Sola Pinto linked Rochester's libertinism to Hobbesian materialism. During his lifetime Rochester was best known for A Satyr Against Reason and Mankind and it remains among his best-known works…
Marquis de Sade by Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo