In Milton's sonnet "When the Assault," in Aereopagitica, and in Paradise Regained, Milton juxtaposes a series of deliberately reluctant and ambivalent soldiers as his heroes, protagonists, and spokesmen. Creating a military culture which disavows its own violence, these works carefully balance aggression, warfare, and militarism against ethical martyrdom, seclusion, and hermit-like devotional withdrawal. As Jesus in Paradise Regained alternates between mercy and judgment, assertion, power, and resignation, his manhood is at stake. Aereopagitica likewise imagines both a soldier and a martyr, a fighter and a mourner, as Miltonic personae. As a white knight who reluctantly fights, Milton makes himself the perfect ethical warrior.