Life and writings of John Milton

• STUC)lA IIl.

THE LIBRARY
of
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY
Toronto

"rcat ritcr"
EDITED BX r
PROFESSOR ERIC S. ROBERTSON,

MoAo

L1.F.E OF AIIL TO

LIFE

OF

JOHN

MILTON.

BY
RICHARD GARNETT, LL.D.

LoNDON
WALTER SCOTT, -'24, WARWICK LANE
89o
(AI1 ri£1«ts reserz,ed.)

NOTE.

HE number of miniature "Lives" of Milton is
great ; great also is the merit of some of them.
XVith one exception, nevertheless, they are all dismissed
to the shelf by the publication of Professor Masson's
monumental and authoritative biography, without per-
petual reference to ',vhich no satisfactory memoir can
henceforth be composed. One recent biography has
enjoyed this advantage. Its author, the late Mark
Pattison, ,aanted neither this nor any other qualification
except a keener sense of the importance of the religious
and political controversies of Milton's time. His in-
difference to matters so momentous in Milton's own
estimation has, in our opinion, vitiated his conception
of his hero, who is represented as persistently yielding to
party what was meant for mankind. We think, on the
contrary, that such a mere man of letters as Pattison
wishes that Milton had been, could never have produced
a "Paradise Lost." If this view is well-founded, there
is not only room but need for 3"et another miniature
"Life of Milton," notwithstanding the intellectual subtlety

NOTE.

and scholarly refinement which render Pattison's melno-
rable. It should be noted that the recent German
biography by Stern, if adding little to Professor lfasson's
facts, contributes much valuable literary illustration ; and
that Keighley's analysis of Milton's opinions occupies a
position of its own, of which no subsequent biographical
discoveries can deprive it. The present writer bas further
to express his deep obligations to Professor Masson for
his great kindness in reading and remarking upon the
proofs--not thereby rendering himself responsible for
anything in these pages; and also to the helpful friend
who bas provided him with an index.

CONTENTS.

CIIAI'TER I.

Milton born in Bread Street, Cheapside, December 9, I6o8 ;
condition of English literature at his birth; part in its
development assigned to him ; materials available for his
biography ; his ancestry ; his father ; influences that sur-
rounded his boyhood ; enters St. Paul's School, I62o;
distinguished for compositions in prose and verse ; matricu-
lates at Cambridge, I625 ; condition of the University at
the period ; his Inisunderstandings with his tutor ; graduates
B.A., 629, M.A., I632 ; lais relations with the Univer-
sity ; dedines to take orders or follow a profession; his
first poems ; retires to lIorton, in Buckinghamshire, where
his tather had settled, x632

PAGE

1I

CtlAPTER II.

Itorton, its scenery and associations with Milton ; Milton'
studies and poetical aspirations ; exceptional nature of his
poetical developlnent ; his Latin poems ; " Arcades " and
"Comus " composed and represented at the instance of
Henry Lawes, I633 and I634 ; "Comus " printed in
637 ; Sir Henry Wootton's opinion of it ; "Lycidas"
written in the same year, on occasion of the death of
Edward King ; published in 163S ; criticism on "L'Allegro"
and " Il Penseroso," " Lycidas " and "Comus" ; blilton's
departure for Italy, April, I638 .

35

8 CO A'TEArTS"

CIIAPTER III.

State of Italy at the period of lIilton's visit ; lais acquaintance
vith Italian literati at Florence ; visit to Galileo ; at Rome
and Naples; returns to England, July, 639; settles in
St. Bride's Churchyard, and devotes himself to the educa-
tion of his nephevs; his elegy on his friend Diodati ;
removes fo Aldersgate Street, 64o; his pamphlets on
ecclesiastical affairs, I641 and I64" ; his tract on Educa-
tion: hls " Areopagitica," November, I644 ; attacks thc
Presbyterians .

57

CIIAPTER IV.
Milton as a Parliamentarlan : his sonnet, «'x,Vhen the Assault
was intended to the City," November, 642 ; goes on a
visit to the Powell family in Oxfordshire, and returns with
Mary Powell as his vife, lXlay and June, I643; his
domestic unhappiness ; /Ial 3" /ilton leaves him, and
refuses to return, July to September, I643 : publication of
hi.q «' Doctrine and Disciplin'e of Divorce," August, 643,
and February, I644 ; his father cornes to lire with him ;
he takes additional pupils ; his system of education ; he
courts the daughter of Dr. Davis; his wife, alarmed,
returns, and is reconciled to him, August, 645 ; he re-
moves to the Barbican, September, I645; publication of
his collected poems, January, I646; he receives his vife's
relatives under his roof ; death of his father, /arch, I647 ;
he writes "The Tenure of Kings and lIagistrates," Feb-
ruary, I649 ; becomes Latin Secretary to the Common-
wealth, March, I649

83

CHAPTER V.

Milton's duties as Latin Secretary ; he drafts manifesto on the
state of Ireland ; occasionally employed as licenser of the
press ; commissioned to answer " Eikon 13asilike"; con-
troversy on the authorship of this work ; lIilton's
" Eikonoklastes" published, October, I649; Salmasius
and his " Defensio Regia pro Carolo I."; Milton under-
takes to answer Salmasius, February, I65o ; publication
of his " Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio," Marcla, I65I ;
character and complete controx-ersial success of this work ;
Milton becomes totallv blind, March, I652 ; hls wife diesœ

CONTENTS.

leaving him three daughters, May, 1652 ; his controversy
with Morus and other defenders of Sahnasius, 165--1655 ;
his characters of the eminent men of the Commonveahh ;
adheres to Cromwell ; his views on politics ; gencral cha-
racter of his official writings ; lais marriage to Elizabeth
Woodcock, and death of his wifc, Novembcr, 1656-
Match, I65S ; his nephews ; his friends and recreations

PAGE

IO4

CHAI'TER VI.

Milton's poetical projects afler his rcturn from Italy; drafts
of " Paradise Lost" mnong them; the poem originally
designed as a masque or miraclc-play ; commenced as an
epic in 1658 ;its composition speedily interrupted by
ecclesiastical and political controversies ; Milton's" Treatise
of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes," and "Considera-
tions on the likeliest means to remove I[irclings out of the
Church"; Royalist reaction in the wintcr of I659-6o ;
Milton writes his '" Ready and Easy Vay to Establish a
Free Commonwealth "; conceals himself in anticipation of
the Restoration, May 7, I66O ; his writings ordered tobe
burned by the hangman, June I6; escapes proscription,
nevertheless ; arrested by the Serjeant-at-Arms, but re-
leased by order of the Commons, December I5 ; removes
to Holborn ; his pecunim T losses and misfortunes ; the
undutiful behaviour of his daughters ; marries Elizabeth
Minshull, Februmy, I663: lires successively in Jewin
Street and in Artille T Walk, Bunhill Fields ; particulars
of his private life ; " Paradise Lost " completed in or
about I663 ; agreement for its publication with Smnuel
Symmons ; difficulties with the licenser ; poem published
in August, 667

CHAPTER VII.

l'lace of " Paradise Lost " among the great epics of the world ;
not rendered obsolete by changes in belief; the inevitable
defects of its plan compensated by the poet's vital relation
to the religion of his age ; Milton's conception of the
physical universe ; his theology; magnificence of his
poehT ; his similes ; his descriptions of Paradise ; inevit-
able falling off of the later books ; minor critical objections
mostly groundless ; his diction ; his indebtedness to )ther

10

CONTENTS.

poets for thoughts as well as phrases; thls is not plagiarism ;
his versification ; his Satan compared with Calderon's
Lucifer ; plan of his epic, whether in any way suggested
by Andreini, Vondel, or Ochino ; his majestic and unique
position in Engllsh poetry .

PAGE

CHAPTER VIII.

lIilton's migration to Chalfont St. Giles to escape the plague
in London, July, I665; subject of " Paradise Regained "
suggested to him by the Quaker Ellwood ; his losses by
the Great Fire, I666 ; first edition of " Paradise Lost "
entirely sold l»y April, I669 ; " t'aradise Regained " and
" Samson Agonistes" published, I671 ; criticism on these
poems ; Samson partly a personification of Milton himself,
partly of the English peoplc ; Milton's life in Bunhill
Fields ; his daughters lire apart from him ; Dryden adapts
" Paradise Lost" as an opera ; Milton's " History of
]3ritain," I67O ; second editions of his poems, I673, and
of " Paradise Lost," I674; his "Treatise on Christian
Doctrine"; rate of the manuscript ; lIilton's mature
religious opinions ; his death and burial, I674 ; subse-
quent history of his widow and descendants ; his personal
character .

I73

INDEX . x9 9

LIFE OF IILTON.

CHAPTER I.

OHN MILTON was born on December 9, 6o8,
when Shakespeare had lately produced "Antony
and Cleopatra," when Bacon was writing his "Wis-
dom of the Ancients" and P, alegh his " History of the
World," when the English Bible was hastening into
print; when, nevertheless, in the opinion of most
foreigners and many natives, England was intellectually
unpolished, and her literature almost barbarous.
The preposterousness of this judgment as a whole
must not blind us to the fragment of truth which it
included. England's literature was, in many respects,
very imperfect and chaotic. Her "singing masons" had
already built her "roofs of gold" ; Hooker and one or
two other great prose-writers stood like towers: but the
less exalted portions of the edifice were still hall hewn.
Some literatures, like the Latin and the French, fise
gradually to the crest of their perfection ; others, like the
Greek and the English, place themselves ahnost from the
first on their loftiest pinnacle, leaving vast gaps to be
subsequently filled in. Homer was not less the supreme

12 LIFE OF

poet because history was for him literally an old song,
because he would have lacked understanding for Plato
and relish for Aristophanes. Nor were Shakespeare and
the translators of the 13ible less at the head of Eropean
literature because they must bave failed as conspicuously
as Homer would have failed in all things save those to
which they had a call, which chanced to be the greatest.
Literature, however, cannot remain isolated at such alti-
tudes, it must expand or perish. As Homer's epic
passed through Pindar and the lyrical poets into drama
history and philosophy, continually fitting itself more
and more to become an instrument in the ordinary affairs
of life, so it was needful that English lettered discourse
should become popular and pliant, a power in the
State as well as in the study. The magnitude of the
change, from the rime when the palm of popularity
decorated Sidney's "Arcadia" to that when it adorned
Defoe and 13unyan, would impress us even more
powerfully if the interval were hot engrossed by a
colossal figure, the last of the old school in the erudite
magnificence of lais style in prose and verse; the first of
the new, inasmuch as English poetry, hitherto romantic,
became in his hands classical. This "splendid bridge
from the old world to the new," as Gibbon has been
callcd in a different connection, was John iIilton : whose
character and life-work, carefully analyzed, resolve them-
selves into pairs of equally vivid contrasts. A stern
Puritan, he is none the less a freethinker in the highest
and best sense of the terre. The recipient of direct
poetical inspiration in a measure vouchsafed to few, he
notwithstanding studies to make himself a poet; writes

«IIIL TOiV. 18

little until no other occupation than writing remains to
hirn; and, in general, while exhibiting even more than the
usual confidence, shows less than the usuai exultation
and affluence of conscious genius. Professing to recog-
nize his life's work in poetry, he nevertheless suffers
himself to be diverted for many a long year into political
and theological controversy, to the scandal and con»
passion of one of his most competent and attached
biographers. Whether this biographer is right or wrong,
is a most interesting subject for discussion. We deem
him wrong, and shall not cease to reiterate that Milton
would not have been Milton if he could have for-
gotten the citizen in the man of letters. Happy, at
all events, it is that this and similar problems occupy
in Milton's lire the space which too frequently has
to be spent upon the removal of misconception, or
the refutation of calumny. Little of a sordid sort
disturbs the sentiment of solemn reverence with which,
more even than Shakespeare's, his lire is approached
by his countrymen; a feeling doubtless mainly due
to the sacred nature of his principal theme, but equally
merited by the religious consecration of his whole
existence. It is the easier for the biographer to main-
tain this reverential attitude, inasmuch as the prayer
of Agur has been fulfilled in him, he has been given
neither poverty nor riches. He is not called upon to
deal with an enormous mass of material, too extensive
to arrange, )'et too important to neglect. Nor is he, like
Shakespeare's biographer, reduced to choose between the
starvation of nescience and the windy diet of conjecture.
If a humbling thought intrudes, it is how largely he is

14 .LIF.E OF

indebted to a devoted diligence he never could have
emulated ; how painfully Professor lX[asson's successors
must resemble the Turk who builds his cabin out of
Grecian or Roman ruins.
3,filton's genealogy has taxed the zeal and acumen of
many investigators. He himself merely claires a respect-
able ancestry (ex genere honeslo). His nephew Phillips
professed to have come upon the root of the family tree
at Great Iilton, in Oxfordshire, where tombs attested
the residence of the clan, and tradition its proscription
and inapoverishment in the Wars of the Roses. lXIonu-
ments, station, and confiscation have vanished before
the scrutiny of the Rev. Joseph Hunter ; it can only be
safely concluded that lXlilton's ancestors dwelt in or near
the village of Holton, by Shotover Forest, in Oxfordshire,
and that their rank in life was probably that of yeomen.
Notwithstanding Aubrey's statement that Milton's grand-
father's naine was John, lXIr. Hyde Clarke's researches
in the registers of the Scriveners' Company have proved
that lXlr. Hunter and Professor Masson were right in
identifying him with Richard lXiilton, of Stanton St.
John, near Holton; and Professor Iasson has traced
the family a generation further back to Henry lXiilton,
whose will, dated November 2I, I558 , attests a con-
dition of plain comfort, nearer poverty than riches.
Henry lXIilton's goods at his death were inventoried at
.6 I9S. ; when his widow's will is proved, two years
afterwards, the estinaate is ./'7 4s. 4d. Richard, his son,
is stated, but hot proved, to have been an under-ranger of
Shotover Forest. He appears to have married a widow
named Jeffrey, whose maiden naine had been Haughton,

and who had sorne connection with a Cheshire family
of station. He would also seem to bave improved his
circumstances by the match, which may account for
the superior education of his son John, whose birth is
fixed by an affidavit to i562 or i563. Aubrey, indeed,
next to Phillips and lXlilton hilnself, the chier contem-
porary authority, says that he was for a time at
Christ Church, Oxford--a statelnent in itself improb-
able, but slightly confirmed by his apparent acquaint-
ance with Latin, and the family tradition that his
course of lire was diverted by a quarrel with his
father. Queen lXlary's stakes and faggots had not
affected Richard Milton as they affected most Eng-
lishmen. Though churchwarden in i58..- , he must bave
continued to adhere to the ancient faith, for he was
twice fined for recusancy in i6oi, which lends credit to
the statement that his son was cast off by him for
Protestantism. "Found him reading the Bible in his
chamber," says Aubrey, who adds that the younger
Milton never was a scrivener's apprentice; but this is
shown to be an error by lXIr. Hyde Clarke's discovery of
his admission to the Scriveners' Company in 1599, where
he is stated to have been apprentice to James Colborn.
Colborn himself had been only four years in business,
instead of the seven which would usually be required for
an apprentice to serve out his indenture--which suggests
that some formalities may have been dispensed with on
account of John lXlilton's age. A scrivener was a kind
of cross between an attorney and a law stationer, whose
principal business was the preparation of deeds, "to be
.«ell and truly done after my'learning, skill, and science,"

16 LIF£ OF

and with due regard to the interests of more exalted
"Neither for haste nor covetousness I shall
personages.
take upon me to make any deed whereof I have not
cunning, without good advice and information of coun-
sel." Such a calling offered excellent opportunities for
investments ; and John l[ilton, a man of strict integrity
and frugality, came to possess a " plentiful estate."
Among his passessions was the house in Bread Street
destroyed in the Great Fire. The tenement where the
poet was born, being a shop, required a sign, for which
he chose The Spread Eagle, either fron the crest of
such among the Miltons as had a right to bear arms,
among whom he may have reckoned himself; or as the
device of the Scriveners' Company. He had been
married about i6oo to a lady whose naine has been but
lately ascertained to have been Sarah Jeffrey. John
Milton the younger was the third of six children, only
three of whom survived infancy. He grew up between
a sister, Anne, several years older, and a brother, Chris-
topher, seven years younger than himself.
Milton's birth and nurture were thus in the centre of
London ; but the London of that day had not half the
population of the Liverpool of ours. Even now the
fragrance of the hay in far-off meadows may be inhaled
in Bread Street on a balmy summer's night; then the
meadows were near the doors, and the undefiled sky was
reflected by an unpolluted stream. There seems no
reason to conclude that Milton, in his early boyhood,
enjoyed any further opportunities of resort to rural
scenery than the vicinity of London could afford  but if
the city is his native element, natural beauty never

IIL 7-OA: 17
appeals to him in vain. Yet the influences which
moulded his childhood must bave been rather moral
and intellectual than merely natural :--

" The starlight smile of children, the sweet looks
Of women, the fait breast from which I fed,"

played a greater part in the education of this poet than

" The murmur of the unreposing brooks,
And the green light which, shifting overhead,
Some tangled bower of vines around me shed,
The shells on the sea-sand, and thè wild flowers."

Paramount to ail other influences must have been the
character of his father, a "mute" but by no means an
" inglorious" Milton, the preface and foreshadowing of
the son. His great step in lire had set the son the
example from which the latter never swerved, and from
him the younger Milton derived hot only the indepen-
dence of thought which vas to lead him into moral and
social heresy, and the fidelity to principle which was to
make him the Abdiel of the Commonwealth, but no
mean share of his poetical faculty also. His mastery of
verbal harmony was but a new phase of his father's
mastery of music, which he himself recognizes as the
complement of his own poetical gift :m

" Ipse volens Phoebus se dispertire duobus,
.-kltera dona mihi, dedit altera dona parenti."

"L¢As a composer, the circumspect, and, as many no
doubt thought prosaic scrivener, took tank among the
2

18 LIFE OF

best of lais da)'. One of lais compositions, now lost,
was rewarded with a gold medal by a Polish prince
(Aubrey says the Landgrave of Hesse), and he appears
anaong the contributors to ïhe Tr[ull¢hs of
a set of twenty-five madrigals composed in honour of
Queen Elizabeth. "The Teares and Lamentations of a
Sorrowful Soule"--dolorous sacred songs, Professor
Masson calls them--were, according to their editor, the
production of "famous artists," among whom ]3yrd,
13ull, Dowland, Orlando Gibbons, certainly figure, and
three of them were composed by the elder Milton. He
also harmonized the Norwich mad York psalm tunes, which
were adapted to six of the l'sahns in Ravenscroft's Collec-
tion. Such performance bespeaks hOt only musical accom-
plishment, but a refined nature; and we may well believe
that Milton's love of learning, as well as his love of
music, was hereditary in its origin, and fostered by his
contact with his father. Aubrey distinctly affirms that
Milton's skill on the organ was directly imparted to him
by his father, and there would be nothing surprising if
the first rudiments of knowledge were also instilled by
him. Poetry he may bave taught by precept, but the
one extant specimen of his Muse is enough to prove that
he could never bave taught it by example.
We have therefore to picture Milton growing up in a
narrow street amid a strict Puritan household, but hot
secluded frona the influences of nature or uncheered by
melodious recreations; and tenderly watched over by
exemplary parents--a mother noted, he tells us, for her
charities among ber neighbours, and a father who had
discerned his promise from the very first. Given thi.s

2IIL TO_A r. 19

perception in the head of a religious household, it almost
followed in that age that the future poet should receive
the education of a divine. Happily, the sacerdotal caste
had ceased to exist, and the education of a clergyman
meant not that of a priest, but that of a scholar. Milton
was instructed daily, he says, both at grammar schools
and under private masters, "as my age would surfer," he
adds, in acknowledgment of his father's considerateness.
Like Disraeli two centuries afterwards (perhaps the single
point of resemblance), he went for schooling to a Non-
conformist in Essex, "who," says Aubrey, "cut his hair
short." His own hair ? or his pupil's ? queries ]3iography.
We boldly reply, ]3oth. Undoubtedly Milton's hair is
short in the miniature painted of him at the age of ten
by, as is believed, Cornelius Jansen. A thoughtful little
face, that of a well-nurtured, towardly boy ; lacking the
poetry and spirituality of the portrait of eleven years
later, where the long hair flows down upon the turf.
After leaving his Essex pedagogue, Milton came under
the private tuition of Thomas Young, a Scotchman from
St. Andrews, who afterwards rose to be toaster of Jesus
College, Cambridge. It would appear from the elegies
subsequently addressed to him by his pupil that he first
taught Milton to write Latin verse. This instruction
was no doubt intended to be preliminary to the youth's
entrance at St. Paul's School, where he must bave been
admitted by x62o at the latest.
At the time of Milton's entry, St. Paul's stood high
among the schools of the metropolis, competing with
Merchant Taylors', Westminster, and the now extinct
St. Anthony's. The headmaster, Dr. Gill, was an

20 LIFE OF

admirable scholar, though, as Aubrey records, "he had
his whipping lits." His fitful severity was probably
more tolerable than the systematic cruelty of his pre-
decessor Mulcaster .Spenser's schoolmaster when he
presided over lerchant Taylors'), of whom Fuller
approvingly records: "._tropos might be persuaded to
pity as soon as he to pardon where he round just fault.
The prayers of cockering mothers prevailed with him
as much as the requests of indulgent fathers, rather
increasing than mitigating his severity on their offending
children." l[ilton's father, though by no means
" cockering," would not have tolerated such discipline,
and the passionate ardour with which lXIilton threw him-
self into the studious life of the school is the best proof
1hat he was exempt from tyranny. "From the twelfth
year of my age," he says, " I scarcely ever went from my
lessons to bed belote midnight." The ordinary school
tasks cannot have exacted so much time from so gifted
a boy: he must have read largely outside the regular
curriculum, and probably he practised himself diligently
in Latin verse. For this he would bave the prornpting,
and perhaps the aid, of the younger Gill, assistant to his
father, who, while at the University, had especially dis-
tinguished himself by his skill in versification. Gill must
also have been a man of letters, affable and communi-
cative, for Milton in after-years reminds him of their
"ahnost constant conversations," and declares that he
had never left his company without a manifest accession
of literary knowledge. The Latin school exercises bave
perished, but two English productions of the period,
paraphrases of Psalms executed at fifteen, remain to

attest the boy's proficiency in contemporary English
literature. Some of the unconscious borrowings attri-
buted to him are probably mere coincidences, but there
is still enough to evince acquaintance with "Sylvester,
Spenser, Drummond, Drayton, Chaucer, Fairfax, and
]3uchanan." The literary merit of these versions seems
to us to have been underrated. There may be no
individual phrase beyond the compass of an apt and
sensitive boy with a turn for verse-making; but the
general tone is masculine and emphatic. There is not
much to say, but what is said is delivered with a "large
utterance," prophetic of the "os magna soniturum," and
justifying his own report of his youthful promise :p" It
was found that whether aught was imposed me by them
that had the overlooking, or betaken to of naine own
choice, in English or other tongue, prosing or versing,
but chiefly by this latter, the style, by certain vital signs
it had, was likely to lire."
Among the incidents of 3lilton's lire at St. Paul's
School should hot be forgotten his friendship with
Charles Diodati, the son of a Genevese physician settled
in England, whose father had been exiled from Italy for
his Protestantism. A friendship memorable hot only as
3Iilton's tenderest and his first, but as one which
quickened his instinctive love of Italian literature, en-
hanced the pleasure, if it did not suggest the undertaking,
of his Italian pilgrimage, and doubtless helped to in-
spire the execration g'hich he launched in af ter years
against the slayers of the Vaudois. The Italian language
is named by him among three which, about the time of
his migration to the University, he had added to the

22 LIFE OF

classical and the vernacular, the other two being French
and Hebrew. It has been remarked, however, that his
use of "Penseroso," incorrect both in orthography and
signification, shows that prior to his visit to Italy he was
unacquainted with the niceties of the language. He
entered as "a lesser pensioner" at Christ's College,
Cambridge, on February 12, I625; the greatest poetic
naine in an University roll already including Spenser,
and destined to include Dryden, Gray, Wordsworth, Cle-
ridge, Byron, and Tennyson. Why Oxford was not
preferred bas been much debated. The father may have
taken advice from the younger Gill, whosc Liberalism
had got him into trouble at that University. He may
also have been unwilling to place lais son in the neigh-
bourhood of his estranged relatives. Shortly before
Milton's matriculation his sister had lnarried 1kit. Edward
Phillips, of the office of the Cerk of the Cown, now
abolished, then charged with the issue of Parliamentary
and judicial writs. From this marriage were to spring
the young men who were to find an instructor in Milton,
as he in one of them a biographer.
The external aspect of Milton's Cambridge is pro-
bably not ill represented by Lyne's coloured map of
half a century earlier, now exhibited in the King's
Library at the British Museum. Piles of stately
architecture, froln King's College Chapel downward,
tower all about, over narrow, tortuous, pebble-paved
streets, bordered with diminutive, white-fronted, red-
tiled dwellings, mere dolls' houses in comparison. So
modest, however, is the chartographer's standard, that a
flowery Latin inscription assures the men of Cambridge

IIIL 7 0,\: °-3

they need but divert Trumpington lrook into Clare
Ditch to render their town as elegant as nny in the
aniverse. Sheep and swine perambulate the environs;
and green spaces are interspersed among the colleges,
sparsely set with trees, so pollarded as to justify Milton's
taunt when in an iii-humour with lais university :!

" Biuda nec arva placent, umbrasque negantia molles,
Quam maie Phoebicolis convenir ille locus !"

His own college stands conspicuous at the meeting of
three ways, aptly suggestive of Hecate and infernal
things. Its spiritual and intellectual physiognomy, and
that of the university in general, must be learned from
the exhaustive pages of Professor Masson. A book un-
published when he wrote, lall's lire of Dr. John Preston,
Master of Emmanuel, vestige of an entire continent
of sublnerged Puritanism, also contributes much
to the appreciation of the place and rime. We can
here but briefly characterize the University as an insti-
tution undergoing modification, rather by the decay of
the old than by the intrusion of the new. The revolu-
tion by which mathematics became the principal
instrument of culture was still to be deferred forty
years. Milton, who tclls us that he delighted in
mathematics, might have been nearly ignorant of
that subject if he pleased, and hardly could become
proficient in it by the help of lais Alma Mater. The
scholastic philosophy, however, still reigned. But even
here tradition was shaky and undermined; and in
mntters of discipline the rigid code which nominally

 ZIFE 0t:

governed the University was practically nauch relaxe&
The teaching staff was respectable in character and ability,
including many future bishops. But while the acade-
mical credentials of the tutors were unimpeachable,
perhaps not one among them all cou!d show a com-
mission from the Spirit. No one then at Cambridge
seems to have been in the least degree capable of
arousing enthusiasm. It might not indeed have been
easy for a Newman or a Green to captivate the in-
dependent soul of Milton, even at this susceptible
period of his lire; failing any approach to such
external influence, he would be likely to leave Cam-
bridge the saine man as he entered it. Ere, indeed, he
had completed a year's residence, his studies were
interrupted by a temporary rupture with the University,
probably attributable to his having been at first placed
under an uncongenial tutor. William Chappell was an
Arminian and a tool of Laud, who afterwards procured
him preferment in Ireland, and, as Professor Masson
judges from his treatise on homiletics, "a man of dry,
rneagre nature." His relations with such a pupil could
not well be harmonious ; and Aubrey charges him with
unkindness, a vague accusation rendered tangible by the
interlined gloss, "Whipt him." Hence the legend, so
dear to Johnson, that lXlilton was the last man to be
flogged at college. But Aubrey tan hardly mean any-
thing more than that Chappell on some occasion struck
or beat his pupil, and this interpretation is supported by
lXlilton's verses to Diodati, written in the spring of 1626,
in which, while acknowledging that he had been directed
to withdraw from Cambridge ("nec dudu»t c'clin me

laris atil amor") he expresses his intention of speedily
returning :q

" Stat quoque juncosas Cami remeare paludes,
Atque iterum raucae murmnr adire scholae."

A short rustication would be just the notice the
University would be likely to take of the conduct of
a pupil who had been engaged in a scuffle with his
tutor, in which the fault was not wholly or chiefly his.
Formal corporal punishment would have rendered
rustication unnecessary. That Milton was not thought
wholly in the wrong appears from his hot having been
mulcted of a term's residence, his absence notwith-
standing, and from the still more significant fact that
Chappell lost his pupil. His successor was Nathaniel
Tovey, in whom his patroness, the Countess of ]3edford,
had discerned "excellent talent." What Milton thought
of him there is nothing to show.
This temporary interruption of the smoothness of
Milton's University lire occurred, as has been seen,
quite early in its course. Had it indeed implied a
stigma upon him or the University, the blot would
in either case have been effaced by the perfect regu-
larity of his subsequent career. He went steadily
through the academic course, which to attain the
degree of Master of Arts, then required seven years'
residence. He graduated as Bachelor at the proper
time, Match, 629, and proceeded 3[aster in July,
632. I-Ils general relations with the University during
the period may be gathered partly from his own ac-
count in after years, when perhaps he in some degree

26 .L[[;'.E OF

" confounded the present feelings with the past," partly
from a remarkable passage in one of his academical
exercises, fortunately preserved to us, the importance of
which was first discerned by his editor and biographer
iIitford. Professor iIasson, however, ascertained the
date, which is all important. We must picture lilton
"affable, erect, and manly," as Wood describes him,
speaking frona a low pul»it in the hall of Christ's
College, to an audience of various standing, from grave
doctors to skittish undergraduates, with most of whom
he was in daily intercourse. The terre is the summer
of 628, about nine months before his graduation;
the words were Latin, but we resort to the version
of Professor lasson :--

"Then also there drew and invited me, in no ordinary
degree, to undertake this part your very recently dis-
covered graciousness to me. For when, some few
months ago, I was about to perform an oratorical office
before you, and was under the impression that any
lucubrations whatsoever of naine would be the reverse of
agreeable to )ou, and would have more merciful judges
in Aeacus and lIinos than almost any of you would
prove, truly, beyond my fancy, beyond my hope if I
had any, they were, as I heard, nay, as I myself felt,
received with the not ordinary applause of all--yea,
of those who at other times were, on account of
disagreements in our studies, altogether of an angry
and unfriendly spirit towards me. A generous mode
of exercising rivalry this, and not unworthy of a royal
breast, if, when friendship itself is wont often to nais-

]rlL TOW. o.,oE

construe much that is blamelessly done, yet then sharp
and hostile emnity did hOt grudge to interpret much
that was perchance erroneous, and hOt a little,
doubtless, that was unskilfully said, more clemently
than I merited."

It is sufficiently manifest from this that after two years'
residence Milton had incurred much anger and unpopu-
larity "on account of disagreements in out studies,"
which can scarcely mean anything else than lais dis-
approbation of the Univcrsity system. Notwithstanding
this he had been received on a former occasion with un-
expected favour, and on the present is able to say, "I
triumph as one placed among the stars that so lnany lnen,
eminent for erudition, and nearly the whole University
have fiocked hither." We have thus a miniature history
of Milton's connection with his Alma Mater. We see
him giving offence by the freedom of his strictures on
the established practices, and misliking them so much as
to write in I642, "Which [University] as in the time of
her better health and naine own younger judgment, I
never greatly admired, so now much less." But, on the
other hand, we see lais intellectual revolt overlooked on
account of his unimpeachable conduct and his brilliant
talents, and himself selected to represent his college on
an occasion when an able representative was indispen-
sable. Cambridge had ail imaginable complacency in
the scholar, it was towards the reformer that she assumed,
as afterwards towards Wordsworth, the attitude of

" I31ind Authority beating with his staff
The child that would have led him."

The University and Milton made a practical covenant
like Frederick the Great and his subjects : she did what
she pleased, and he thought what he pleased. In sharp
contrast with his failure to influence her educational
methods is "that more than ordinary respect which I
round above any of my equals at the hands of those
courteous and learned men, the Fellows of that College
wherein I spent seven years ; who, ,t my parting, after I
had taken two degrees, as the manner is, signified many
ways how much better it would content them that I
would stay; as by many letters full of kindness and
loving respect, both b»fore that time and long after, I
was assured of their singular good affection toward me."
It may be added here that his comeliness and his chastity
gained him the appellation of "Lady" from his fellow
collegians: and the rooms at Christ's alleged to have
been his are still pointed out as deserving the veneration
of poets in any event ; for whether lIilton sacrificed to
Apollo in them or hot, it is certain that in them Words-
worth sacrificed to acchus.
For Milton's own sake and ours his departure from the
University was the best thing that could have happened
to him. It saved him from wasting his time in instruct-
ing others when he ought to be instructing himself.
From the point of view of advantage to the University,
it is perhaps the most signal instance of the mischief o[
strictly clerical fellowships, now happily things of the
past. Only one fellowship at Christ's was tenable by a
layman : to continue in academical society, therefore, he
must have taken orders. Such had been his intention
when he first repaired to Cambridge, but the young man

.IIL TOA:

of ttventy-three saw many things differently from the boy
ofsixteen. The service of God was still as much as ever
the aire of lais existence, but he now thought that not all
service was church service. How far he had become
consciously alienated from the Church's creed it is difiï-
cult to say. He was able, at all events, to subscribe the
Articles on taking his degree, and no trace of Arianism

appears in his writings for many years. As late as
1641 he speaks of "the tri-personal Deity." Curiously
enough, indeed, the ecclesiastical freethought of the

day was then almost entirely confined to moderate
Royalists, Hales, Chillingxvorth, Falkland. But he rnust
bave disapproved of the Church's discipline, for he dis-
approved of all discipline. He would hot put himself
in the position of those Irish clergylnen whom Strafford
frightened out of their conscientious con-ictions by
reminding them of their canonical obedience. This
was undoubtedly vhat he meant when he afterwards
wrote : "Perceiving that he who 'ould take orders must
subscribe slave." Speaking of himse]f a little further on
as "Church-outed by the prelates," he implies that he
would hot have refused orders if he could have had them
on his own terres. As regarded Milton personally this
attitude was reasonable, he had a right to feel himself
above the restraints of mere formularies; but he spoke
unadvisedly if he meant to contend that a priest should
be in'ested with the freedom of a Prophet. His words,
however, must be taken in connection with the peculiar
circumstances of the time. It was an era of High
Church reaction, which was fast becoming a shameful
persecution. The two moderate prelates, Abbot and

130 L I.FF OF

Williams, had for years been in disgrace, and the Church
was ruled by the well-meaning, but sour, despotic, med
dlesome bigot whom wise King James long refused to
make a bishop because "he could not see when matters
were well." But if Laud was infatuated as a statesman,
he was astute as a manager ; he had the Church com-
pletely under his control, he was fast filling it with his
partisans and creatures, he was working it for every end
which iX[ilton most abhorred, and was, in particular, allying
it with a king who in i63 2 had governed three years with-
out a Parliament. The mere thought that he must call
this hierarch his Father in God, the mere foresight that
he might probably corne into collision with him, and that
if he did his must be the fate of the earthen vessel,
would alone have sufficed to deter Milton from entering
the Church.
Even so resolute a spirit as [ilton's could hardly con-
template the relinquishment of every definite calling in
life without misgiving, and his friends could hardly let it
pass without remonstrance. There exists in his hand
the draft of a letter of reply to the verbal admonition of
some well-wisher, to whom he evidently feels that he
owes deference. His friend seems to have thought that
he was yielding to the allurements of aimless study,
neglecting to return as service what he had absorbed as
knowledge. Milton pleads that his motive must be
higher than the love of lettered ease, for that alone could
never overcome the incentives that urge him to action.
"Why should not all the hopes that forward youth and
vanity are afledge with, together with gain, pride, and
ambition, call me forward more powerfully than a poor,

3IIL TO N. - 1

regardless, and unprofitable sin of curiosity should be
able to withhold ?" And what of the "desire of honour
and repute and immortal faine seated in the breast of

every true scholar ?" That his correspondent may the
better understand him, he encloses a " Petrarchean
sonnet," recently composed, on lais twenty-third birth-

day, not one of his best, but precious as the first of his
frequent reckonings with himself :--

" IIow soon hath Time, the subtle thlef of youth,
Stolen on his wing my three-and-twentieth year !
My hasting days fly on with flfil career ;
But my late spring no bud or blossom shew'th.
Pêrhaps my semblance might deceive the truth,
That I to manhood am arrived so near ;
And inward ripeness doth much lêss appear,
Than some more timely-happy spirits indu'th.
Yet be it less or more, or soon or slow,
It shall be still in strictest measure even
To that saine lot, however mean or high,
Towards which Time leads me, and the Will of IIeaven.
Al! is, if I have grace to use it so,
As ever in my great Taskmastcr's eye."

The poetical temperament is especially liable to mis-
giving and despondency, and from this Milton evidently
was not exempt. Yet he is the saine Milton who pro-
claimed a quarter of a century afterwards

" I argue hot
Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot
Of heart or hope ; but still bear up and steer
Right onward."

There is something very fine in the steady resolution

32 LHrE OF

with which, after so fully admitting to himself that his
promise is yet unfulfilled, and that appearances are against
him, he recurs to lais purpose, frankly owning the while
that the gift he craves is Heaven's, and his only the appli-
cation. He had received a lesson against over-confidence
in the failure of lais solitary effort up to this rime to
achieve a work on a large scale. To the eighth and last
stanza of his poem, "The Passion of Christ," is appended
the note : "This subject the author finding to be above
the years he had when he wrote it, and nothing satisfied
with what was begun, left it unfinished." It nevertheless
begins nobly, but soon deviates into conceits, bespeaking
a fatigued imagination. The " Hymn on the Nativity,"
on the other hand, begins with two stanzas of far-fetched
prettiness, and goes on ringing and thundering through
strophes of ever-increasing grandeur, until the sweetness
of Virgin and Child seem in danger of being swallowed
up in the glory of Christianity; when suddenly, by an
exquisite turn, the poet sinks back into his original key,
and finally harmonizes his strain by the divine repose of
concluding picture worthy of Correggio :--

" But see, the Virgin blest
Hath laid the 13abe to rest ;
Time is out tedious song should here have ending ;
Heaven's youngest-teemed star
Hath fixed her polished car,
Her sleeping Lord with handmaid lamp attending ;
And all about the courtly stable
t3right harnessed Angels sit in order serviceable."

In some degree this magnificent composition loses
foce in out day from its discordance with modern senti-

IIIL OiV. 83

ment. Ve look upon religions as members of the saine
family, and are more interested in their resemblances
than their antagonisms. Moloch and Dagon themselves
appear no longer as incarnate fiends, but as the spiritual
counterparts of antediluvian monsters; and Milton's
treatment of the Olympian deities jars upon us who
remember his obligations to them. If the most Hebrew
of modern poets, he still owed more to Greece than to
Palestine. How living a thing Greek mythology was to him
from his earliest years appears from his college vacation
exercise of i628, where there are lines which, if one did
not know to be Milton's, one would declare to be Keats's.
Among his other compositions by the time of his quitting
Cambridge are to be named the superb verses, "At a
Solemn Music," perhaps the most perfect expression of
his ideal of song ; the pretty but over fanciful lines, " On
a fait Infant dying of a cough;" and the famous panegyric
of Shakespeare, a fancy ruade impressive by dignity and
sonority of utterance.
With such earnest of a truc vocation, Milton betook
himself to retirement at Horton, a village between
Colnbrook and Datchet, in the south-eastern corner of
Buckinghamshire, county of nightingales, where his
father had settled himself on his retirement from

business. This retreat of the elder Milton may be
supposed to have taken place in I63-', for in that
year he took his clerk into partnership, probably
devolving the larger part of the business upon him.
But it may have been earlier, for in I626 Milton
tells Diodatim

LIFE OF I'IIL TON.

" Nos quoque lucus habet vicina consitus ulmo,
Atque suburbani nobilis umbra loci."

And in a college declamation, which cannot have been
later than 632 , he "calls to witness the groves and
rivers, and the beloved village elms, under which in
the last past summer I remember having had supreme
delight with the Muses, when I too, among rural scenes
and remote forests, seemed as if I could have grown and
vegetated through a hidden eternity."

CHAPTER II.

OCTOR JOHNSON deemed " the knowlcdge of
nature half the task of a poet," but hOt until
he had written ail his poetry did he repair to the High-
tands. Milton allows natural science and the observa-
tion of the picturesque no place among the elements of
a poetical self-education, and his practice differs entirely
from that which would in out day be adopted by an
aspirant happy in equal leisure. Such an one would
probably ha, ve seen no inconsiderable portion of the
globe ere he could resolve to bury himself in a tiny
hamlet for rive years. The poems which Milton com-
posed at Horton owe so much of their beauty to his
country residence as to convict him of error in attaching
no more importance to the influences of scenery. But
this very excellence suggests that the spell of scenery
need hOt be cxactly proportioned toits grandeur.
The beauties of Horton are characterized by Professor
lXIasson as those of "a rich, teeming, verdurous fiat,
charming by its appearance of plenty, and by the
goodly shov of wood along the fields and pastures,
in the nooks where the houses nestle, and everywhere

6 IFE OF

in ail directions to the sky-bound verge of the land-
scape." He also notices "the canal-like abundance
and distribution of water. There are rivulets brimming
through the meadows among rushes and water-plants ;
and by the very sides of the ways, in lieu of ditches,
there are slow runnels, in which one can see the
minnows swimrning." The distant keep of Windsor,
"bosomed high in tufted trees," is the only visible
object that appeals to the imagination, or speaks of
anything outside of rural peace and contentment.
Milton's house, as Todd was informed by the vicar
of the parish, stood till about 1798. If so, however,
itis very remarkable that the writer of an account of
Horton in the GeMlc»mJz's AI'agazbze for August, 1791,
who speaks of Milton 'ith veneration, and transcribes
his mother's epitaph, does hOt allude to the existence
of his house. Its site is traditionally identified with
that of 13erkyn Manor, near the church, and an old
pigeon-house is asserted to be a remnant of the original
building. The elder Milton was no doubt merely the
tenant; his landlord is said to have been the Earl of
Bridgewater, but as there is no evidence of the Earl
having possessed property in Horton, the statement
may be merely an inference from Milton's poetical
connection with the family. If not Bridgewater, the
landlord was probably 13ulstrode, the lord of the
manor, and chier personage in the village. The
Miltons still kept a footing in the metropolis.
Christopher Milton, on his admission to the Inner
Temple in September, 163_-, , is described as second
son of John Milton of London, and subsequent legal

MIL TOb: 7

proceedings disclose that the father, with the aid of
his partner, was still doing business as a scrivener in
637. It rnay be guessed that the veteran cit would not
be sorry to find himself occasionally back in town. What
vith social exclusiveness, political and religious contro-
versy, and uncongeniality of tastes, the lXIiltons' country
circle of acquaintance was probably narrow. After rive
years of country lire the younger Milton at ail events
thought eriously of taking refuge in an Inn of Court,
"wherever there is a pleasant and shady walk," and tells
Diodati, "Where I ara now I live obscurely and in
a cramped manner." He had only just ruade the
acquaintance of his distinguished neighbour, Sir Henry
Wotton, Provost of Eton, by the beginning of 1638 ,
though it appears that he was previously acquainted
with John Hales.
Milton's rive years at Horton were nevertheless the
happiest of his lire. It nlust have been an unspeakable
relief to him to be at length emancipated from con»
pulsory exercises, and to build up his mind without nod
or beck from any quarter. For these blessings he was
chiefly indebted to his father, whose industry and
prudence had procured his independence and his rural
retirement, and whose tender indulgence and noble
confidence dispensed him front what most would have
deemed the reasonable condition that he should at least
earn his own living. " I will not," he exclaims to his
father, " praise thee for thy fulfillnent of the ordinary
duties of a parent, my debt is heavier (»zc poscunt
majoî'a). Thou hast neither ruade me a merchant nor
a barrister" "

88 LIFE OF

"Neque enim, pater, ire jubebas
Qua via lata patet, qua pronior area lucri.
Certaque condendi fulget spes aurea nummi :
Nec tapis ad loges, male custoditaque gentis
Jura, nec insulsis damnas clamoribus aures."

The stroke at the subserviency of the lawyers to the
Crown (maie cuslodil, t jttra genlis) would be appreciated
by the elder Milton, nor can we doubt that the old
Puritan fully approved lais son's resilience from a church
defiled by Arminianism and prelacy. He would hOt
so easily understand the dedication of a life to poetry,
and the poem from which the above citation is taken
seems to have been partly composed to slnooth his
repugnance away. He was soon to havê stronger proofs
that his son had hOt mistaken his vocation : it would be
pleasant to be assured that the old man was capable of
valuing "Comus" and "Lycidas" at their worth. The
circumstances under which "Ccmus" was produced, and
its subsequent publication with the extorted consent of
the author, show that Milton did not whol!y want en-
couragement and sympathy. The insertion of his lines
on Shakespeare in the Second Folio (i632) also denotes
some reputation as a wit. In the main, however,
remote from urban circles and liter5ry cliques, with
few correspondents and no second self in sweetheart
or friend, he must have led a solitary intellectual life,
alone v,ith his great ambition, and probably pitied by
his acquaintancê. "The world," says Emerson to the
Poet, "is full of renunciatiens and apprenticeships, and
this is thine ; thou must pass for a fool and a churl for
a long season. This is the screcn and sheath in which

lllIL TON. 89

Pan has protected his well-beloved flower." The special
nature of Milton's studies cannot nov be exactly ascer-
tained. Of his manner of studying he informs Diodati,
"No delay, no rest, no care or thought almost of any-
thing holds me aside until I reach the end I am making
for, and round off, as it were, some great period of my
studies." Of his object he says: "Goal has instilled
into me, at all events, a vehement love of the beautiful.
Not with so much labour is Ceres said to have sought
Proserpine as I ana wont day and night to seek for the
idea of the beautiful through ail the forms and faces of
things, and to follow it leading me on as with certain
assured traces." We may be sure that he read the
classics of all the languages which he understood.
His copies of Euripides, Pindar, Aratus, and Lycophron,
are, or have been recently, extant, with marginal notes,
proving that he weighed what he read. A common-
place book contains copious extracts from historians,
and he teIIs Diodati that he has read Greek history to
the fall of Constantinople. He speaks of having occa-
sionally repaired to London for instruction in mathema-
tics and music. His own programme, promulgated eight
years later, but without doubt perfectly appropriate to
his Horton period, names before all elsew"Devout
prayer to the Holy Spirit, that can enrich with all
utterance and knowledge, and send out His Seraphim
with the hallowed tire of His altar, to touch and purify
the lips of whom He pleases. To this must be added
select reading, steady observation, and insight into all
seemly and generoas arts and affairs, till which in some
measure be compassed, I refuse hot to sustain this

40 LI'FE OF

expectation." This is not the ideal of a mere scholar,
as Mark Pattison thinka he atone time was, and would
wish him to bave remained. " Affairs" are placed fully
on a level wilh "arts." Milton was kept from politics in
his youth, not by any notion of their incompatibility
with poetry; but by the more cogent arguments at
their command "under whose inquisitious and tyrannical
duncery no free and splendid wit can flourish."
Milton's poetical development is, in many respects,
exceptional. Most poets would no doubt, in theory,
agree with Landor, "febriculis non indicari rires, im-
patientiam ab ignorantia non differre," but their faith
will not be proved by lack of works, as Landor's
precept and example require. He, who like Milton lisps
in numbers usuallysings freely in adolescence; he who
is really visited by a truc inspiration generally depends
on mood rather than on circumstance. Milton, on
the other hand, until fairly embarked on his great
epic, was comparatively an unproductive, and literally
an occasional poet. Most of his pieces, whether
English or Latin, owe their existence to some impulse
from without: "Comus" to the solicitation of a
patron, "Lycidas" to the death of a friend. The
"Allegro " and the " Pênseroso" seem almost the only
two written at the urgency of an internal impulse; and
perhaps, if we knew their history, we should discover that
they too were prompted by extraneous suggestion or
provoked into being by accident. Such is the way with
Court poets like Dryden and Claudian ; it is unlike the
usual procedure of Milton's spiritual kindred. Byron,
Shelley, Tennyson, mite incessantly ; whatever tare they

lllIL TON. 41

may bestow upon composition, the ilnpulse to produce is
never absent. With Milton it is commonly dormant or
ineffectual ; he is always studying, but the fertility of his
mind bears no apparent proportion to the pains devoted
to its cultivation. He is not, like Wordsworth, labouring
at a great wok whose secret progress fills him with a
majestic confidence; or, like Coleridge, dreaming of
works which he lacks the energy to undertake ; or, save
once, does he seem to have felt with Keats :--

" Fears that I may cease to be
13efore my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
]3efore that books, in high piled charactery,
I[old in rich garners the full ripened grain."

He neither writes nor wishes to write ; he simply studies,
piling up the wood on the altar, and conscious of the
power to call down fire from Heaven when he will.
There is something sublime in this assured confidence ;
yet its wisdom is less evident than its grandeur. " No
man," says Shelley, "tan say, ' I will compose poetry.'"
If he cannot say this of himself to-day, still less tan he
say it of himself to-morrow. He cannot tell whether
the illusions of youth will forsake him wholly ; whether
the joy of creation will cease to thrill ; what unpropitious
blight he may encounter in an enemy or a creditor, or
harbour in an uncongenial mate. Milton, no doubt,
entirely meant what he said when he told Diodati: " I
am letting my wings grow and preparing to fly, but my
Pegasus has not yet feathers enough to soar aloft in the
fields of air." But the danger of this protracted prepa-
ration was shown by his narrow escape from poetical

4")_, LIFtF, OF

shipwreck when the duty of the patriot became
paramount to that of the poet. The Civil 1Var con-
founded his anticipations of leisurely composition, and
but for the disguised blessing of his blindness, the
mountain of his attainment might have been Pisgah
rather than Parnassus.
Itis in keeping with the infrequency of Milton's
moods of overmastering inspiration, and the strength of
will which enabled him to write steadily or abstain from
writing at ail, that his early compositions should be, in
general, so much more correct than those of other
English poets of the first rank. The childish bombast of
"Titus Andronicus," the commonplace of Wordswortb,
the frequent inanity of the youthful Coleridge and the
youthful Byron, Shelley's extravagance, Keats's cockney-
ism, Tennyson's mawkishness, find no counterpart in
Milton's early compositions. All these great writers,
though the span of some of them was but short, lived
long enough to blush for much of what they had in
the days of their ignorance taken for poetry. The
mature Milton had no cause to be ashamed of anything
written by the immature Milton, reasonable allowance
being ruade for the inevitable infection of contemporary
false taste. As a general rule, the youthful exuberance
of a Shakespeare would be a better sign ; faults, no less
than beauties, often indicate the richness of the soil.
But Milton was born to confute established opinions.
Among other divergencies from usage, he was at this
time a rare example of an English poet whose faculty was,
in large measure, to be estimated by his essays in Latin
verse. England had up to this time produced no

.]IIL TO2V. 4-3

distinguished Latin poet, though Scotland had: and
had Milton's Latin poems been accessible, they would
certainly have occupied a larger place in the estimation
of his contemporaries than his English compositions.
Even now they contribute no trifling addition to his
fanle, though they cannot, even as exercises, be placed
in the highest tank. There are two roads to excellence
in Latin verse--to write it as a scholar, or to write it as
a Roman. England bas once, and only once, produced
a poet so entirely imbued with the Roman spirit that
Latin seemed to corne to him like the language of some
prior state of existence, rather rernembered than learned.
Landor's Latin verse is hence greatly superior to
Milton's, not, perhaps, in scholarly elegance, but in
absolute vitality. It would be poor praise to commend
it for fidelity to the antique, for it is the antique. Milton
stands at the head of the numerous class who, not being
actually born Romans, have all but ruade themselves so.
"With a great sum obtained I this freedom." His
Latin compositions are delightful, but precisely from
the qualifies least characteristic of his genius as an
English poet. Sublimity and imagination are infrequent ;
what we have most conamonly to admire are grace,
ease, polish, and felicitous phrases rather concise in
expression than weighty with matter. Of these merits
the elegies to his friend Diodati, and the lines addressed
to his father and to Manso, are admirable examples.
The " Epitaphium Damonis" is in a higher strain, and
we shall bave to recur to it.
Except for his forrnal incorporation with the University
of Oxford, by proceeding M.A. there in i635 , and the

44, L1FE OF

death of his mother on April 3, 637, Milton's life during
his residence at Horton, as known to us, is entirely in
his writings. These comprise the " Sonnet to the
Nightingale," "L'Allegro," "Il Penseroso," ai1 probably
written in 633 ; "Arcades," probably, and " Comus"
certainly written in 634 ; "Lycidas" in 637. The first
three only are, or seem tobe, spontaneous overflowings
of the poetic mind : the others are composed in response
to external invitations, and in two instances it is these
which stand highest in poetic desert. Belote entering
on any criticism, it will be convenient to state the origi-
nating circumstances of each piece.
"Arcades" and " Comus" both owe their existence to
the musician Henry Lawes, unless the elder Milton's
tenancy of his house from the Earl of Bridgewater can
be accepted as a fact. Both were written for the Bridge-
water family, and if Milton felt no special devotion to
this house, his only motive could have been to aid the
musical performance of his friend Henry Lawes, whose
music is discommended by Burney, but who, Milton
declares :

" First taught our English music how to span
,Vords with just note and accent."

Masques were then the order of the day, especially
after the splendid exhibition of the Inns of Court in
honour of the King and Queen, February, 634.
Lawes, as a Court musician, took a leading part in
this representation, and became in request on similar
occasions. The person intended tobe honoured by the
"Arcades" was the dowager Countess of Derby, mother-

in-law of the Earl of Bridgewater, whose father, Lord
Keeper Egerton, she had married in 6oo. The aged
lady, to whom more than forty years before Spenser had
dedicated his "Teares of" the Muses," and who had ever
since been an object of poetic flattery and homage,
lived at Harefield, about four miles from Uxbridge ; and
there the "Arcades " were exhibited, probably in 634.
Milton's melodious verses were only one feature in a
more ample entertainment. That they pleased we
may be sure, for we find him shortly afterwards engaged
on a similar undertaking of much greater importance,
commissioned by the Bridgewater family. In those da.ys
Milton had no more of the Puritanic aversion to the

than to the pomps and solemnities of cathedral ritual :--
" But let my due feet never rail
To walk the studious cloisters pale,
And love the high-embowed roof,
\Vith antique pillars massy proof,
And storied windows richly dight,
Casting a dira religious light :
There let the pealing organ blow,
To the full-voic'd quire below,
In service high and anthems clear,
As may with sweetness through mine ear
Dissolve me into ecstacies,
And bring all heaven before naine eyes."
He therefore readily fell in with Lawes's proposal to
write a masque to celebrate Lord Bridgewater's assump-

Then to the well-trod stage anon,
If Jonson's learned sock be on,
Or sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child,
\Varble his native wood-notes wild,"

IIL TOA'. 45

theatre

,16 LIFE OF
tion ot" the Lord Presidency of the Welsh Marches.
The Earl had entered upon the office in October, i633,
and "Comus" was written some rime between this and the
following September. Singular coincidcnces frequently
]inked Milton's rate with the north-west iidlands, from
'hich his grandmother's family and his brother-in-law
and his third 'ife sprung, whither the latter retired,
vhere his friend Diodati lived» and his friend King died,
and vhere now the greatest of his early works was to be
represented in the time-hallowed precincts of Ludlow
Castle, whcre it was performed oa Michaelmas night, it
634. If, as we should like to think, he was himself
present, the scene must have enrichcd his memory and
his mind. The castlein which Prince Arthur had spent
with his Spanish bride the six months of lire which alone
remained to him, in vhich eighteen years before the
performance Charles the First had been installed Prince
of Wales with extraordinary magnificence, and which,
curiously enough, vas to be the residence of the Cavalier
poet, 13utlerwould be a place of resort for English
tourists, if it adorned an)" country but their own. The
dismantled keep is still an imposing object, lovering
ffoto a steep hill around whose base the curving Terne
alternately boils and gushes with tumultuous speed.
The scene 'ithin must have realized the lines in the
"Allegro" :
"Pomp, and feast, and revelry,
Mask and antique pageant'y,
\Vhere throngs of l¢nights and barons bold,
In weeds of peace high triumphs hold,
With store of ladies, whose bright eyes
Rain influence."

.MIL TOW 47

Lawes himself acted the attendant Spirit, the Lady and
the 13rothers were performed by Lord Bridgewater's
youthful children, whose own noctarnal bewilderment in
I-Iaywood Forest, could we trust a tradition, doubted
by the critics, but supported by the choice of the
neighbourhood of Severn as the scene of the drama,
had suggested his theme to Milton. He is evidently
indebted for many incidents and ideas to Peele's "Old
Wives' Talc," and the " Comus " of Erycius Puteanus ;
but there is little morality in the former production and
little fancy in the latter. The peculiar blending of the
highest morality with the noblest imagination is as much
Milton's own as the incomparable diction. "I," wrote
Sir Henry Wootton on receiving a copy of the anonymous
edition printed by Lawes in 1637, "should much com-
mend the tragical part if the lyrical did not ravish me
with a certain Dorique delicacy in your songs and odes,
whereunto I must plainly confess to have seen )-et
nothing parallel in out language." "Although not
openly acknowledged by the author," says Lawes in
lais apology for printing prefixed to the poem, "it is
a legitimate offspring, so lovely and so much desired
that the often copying of it hath tired my pen to give
my several friends satisfaction, and brought me to a
necessity of producing it to the public view." The
publication is anonymous, and bears no lnark of
Milton's participation except a motto, which none but
the author could bave selected, intimating a fear that
publication is premature. The title is simply "_A_
Maske presented at Ludlow Castle," nor did the piece
receive the naine of "Comus" until after Milton's death.

48 LIFE OF

It has been remarked that one of the most
characteristic traits of Milton's genius, until he laid
hand to "Paradise Lost," is the dependence of his
activity upon promptings from without. "Comus"
once off his mind, he g[ves no sign of poetical lire
for three years, nor would have given any then but
for the inaccurate chart or unskilful seamanship which
proved fatal to his friend Edward King, August i%
i637. t,2ing, a Fellow of Milton's college, had leff
Chester, on a voyage to Ireland, in the stillest summer
weather :--

"The air was calm, and on the level brine
Sleek Panope and ail her sisters played."

Suddenly the vessel struck on a rock, foundered, and all
on board perished except some few who escaped in a
boat. Of King it was reported that he refused to save
himse]f, and sank to the abyss with hands folded in
prayer. Great sympathy was excited among his friends
at Cambridge, enough at least to evoke a volume of
thirty-six elegies in various Ianguages, but not enougI
to inspire any of the contributors, except MiIton, with
a poetical thought, while many are so ridicuIous that
quotation would be an affront to King's memory. But
the thirty-sixth is " Lycidas." The original manuscript
remains, and is dated in November. Of the elegy's rela-
tion to Milton's biography it may be said that it sums
up the two influences which had been chiefly moulding
his mind of late years, the natural influences of which
he had been the passive recipient during his residence at
Horton, and the political and theological passion with

IIL TOW. 49
which he was becoming more and more inspired by the
circumstances of the time. By i637 the country had
been eight years without a parliament, and the persecu-
tion of Puritans had attained its acme. In that year
Laud's new Episcopalian service book -as forced, or
rather was attempted to be forced, upon Scotland ;
Prynne lost his ears; and ]3ishop Williams was fined
eighteen thousand pounds and ordered to be imprisoned
during the King's pleasure. Hence the striking, if in-
congruous, introduction of "The pilot of the Galilean
lake," to bewail, in the character of a shephcrd, the
drowned swain in conjunction with Triton, Hippotades,
and Camus. "The author," wrote Milton afterwards,
"by occasion, foretells the ruin of the corrupted clergy,
then in their height." It was a Parthian dart, for the
volume was printed at the University Press in 1638 ,
probably a little before his departure for ltaly.
The "Penseroso" and the "Allegro," notwithstanding
that each piece is the antithesis of the other, are
complementary rather than contrary, and may be, in
a sense, regarded as one poem, whose theme is the
praise of the reasonable life. It resembles one of those
pictures in which the effect is gained by contrasted
masses of light and shade, but each is more nicely
mellowed and interfused with the qualities of the
other than it lies within the resources of pictorial
skill to effect. Mirth has an undertone of gravity,
and melancholy of cheerfulness. There is no antago-
nism between the states of mind depicted ; and no
rational lover, whether of contemplation or of
recreation, would find any difficulty in combining
4

0 L1Ft OF

the two. The limpidity of the diction is even
more striking than its beauty. Never were ideas of
such dignity embodied in verse so easy and familiar,
and with such apparent absence of effort. The
landscape-painting is that of the seventeenth century,
absolutely true in broad effects, sometimes ill-defined
and even inaccurate in minute details. Some of these
blemishes are terrible in nineteenth-century eyes, accus-
tomed to the photography of our Brownings and Pat-
mores. Milton would probably have ruade light of them,
and perhaps we owe hiln some thanks for thus practically
• efuting the heresy that inspiration implies infallibility.
Yet the poetry of his blindness abounds with proof that
he had ruade excellent use of his eyes while he had
them, and no part of his poetry wants instances of subtle
and delicate observation worthy of the most scrutinizing
modern :
"Thee, chantress, oft the woods among,
I woo, to hear thy evensong ;
And, missing thee, I walk unseen
On the dry, smooth-shaven green."

«The song of the nightingale," remarks Peacock,
"ceases about the time the grass is mown." The
charm, however, is less in such detached beauties,
however exquisite, than in the condensed opulence--
"every epithet a text for a canto," says Macaulaywand
in the general impression of "plain living and high
thinking," pursued in the midst of every charm of
nature and every refinement of culture, combining the
ideal of Horton with the ideal of Cambridge.
"Lycidas" is far more boldly conventional, not merely

3IIL TOW. 1

• in the treatment of lan:lscape, but in the general con..
¢eption and machinery. An initial effort of the imagina-
tion is required to feel with the poet ; itis not wonderful
that no such wing bore up the solid Johnson. Talk of
Milton and his fellov-collegian as shepherds! " We
know that they never drove afield, and that they had no
flocks to batten." There is, in fact, according to John-
son, neither nature nor truth nor art nor pathos in the
poem, for ail these things are inconsistent with the intro-
duction of a shepherd of souls in the character of a
-shepherd of sheep. A nineteenth-century reader, it
may be hoped, finds no more difficulty in idealizing
Edward King as a shepherd than in personifying the
ocean cahn as "sleek Panope and ail her sisters," which,
to be sure, may have been a trouble to Johnson. If,
however, Johnson is deplorably prosaic, neither can we
agree with Pattison that "in ' Lycidas' we have reached
• he high-water mark of English Poesy and of Milton's
-own production." Its innmnerable beauties are rather
exquisite than magnificent. Itis an elegy, and cannot,
therefore, rank as high as an equally consummate
example of epic, lyric, or dramatic art. Even as elegy
itis surpassed by the other great English masterpiece,
"Adonais," in tire and grandeur. There is no incon-
gruity in "Adonais" like the introduction of "the pilot
of the Galilean lake"j its invective and indignation pour
naturally out of the subject; their expression is not, as
in " Lycidas," a splendid excrescence. There is no
such example of sustained eloquence in "Lycidas"
as the seven concluding stanzas of "Adonais" be-
ginning, " Go thou to Rome." But the balance is

52 LIF OF

redressed by the fact that the beauties of " Adonais" are
rnostly of the imitable sort, and those of "Lycidas" of
S '
the inimitable. ,_helley s eloqu¢nce is even too splendid
for elegy. It wants the dainty thrills and tremors of
subtle versif, cation, and tl:e witcheries of 'erbal rnagic in
which "Lycidas" is so rich--" the opening eyelids of the
rnorn;" "srncoth-sliding ?,Iicius, crowned with vocal
reeds;" Camus's garment, "inwrought ith figures
dira ; " "the great vision er the guarded rnount ;" "the
tender stops of varicus quills ;" "ith eger thought
warbling his Doric lay." It vill be noticed that these
exquisite phrases bave little to do with Lycidas hirnself,
and it is a fact hot to be ignored, that though Milton and
Shelley doubtless felt more deeply than Dryden -hen he
cornl;osed his scarcely inferior threr, ody on Arme Kille-
grew, -hom he had never seen, both might ha'e round
subjects of grief that touched them more nearly. Shelley
tells us frankly that "in another's voe ge wept his on."
We cannot doubt of 'horn ?,Iilton was thinking when he
wrote :

" Faine is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise,
(That last infirmity of noble mind)
To scorn delights, and live laborious days ;
But the fair guerdon when we hope to find,
And think to burst out into sudden blaze,
Comes the blind Fury with the abhorred shears
And slits the thin-spun life.  Eut hot the praise,'
I)hoebus replied, and touched my trembling ears ;
' Faine is no plant that grows on mortal soil,
Nor in the glistering foil
Set off fo the world, nor in broad rumour lies ;
]But lires and spreads aloft by those pure eyes,
And perfect witness of all-judging Jove ;

IlL TOW.
As he pronounces lastly on each deed,
Of so much faine in heaven expect thy meed.'"

" Comus," the richest fruit of Milton's early genius, is
"the epitome of the man at the age at which he wrote it.
It bespeaks the scholar and idealist, whose sacred enthu-
siasm is in some danger of contracting a taint of pedantry
for want of acquaintance with men and affairs. The
Elder Brother is a prig, and his dialogues with his junior
reveal the same sole.nn insensibility to the humorous
which characterizes the kindred genius of Wordsworth,
and would have provoked the kindly smile of Shakespeare.
It is singular to find the inevitable flaw of" Paradise Lost "
prefigured here, and the wicked enchanter made the real
hero of the piece. These defects are interesting, because
the), represent the nature of Milton as it was then, noble
an]. disinterested to the height of imagination, but self-
as»ertive, unmellowed, angular. They disappear entirely
when he expatiates in the regions of exalted fancy, as in
the introductory discourse of the Spirit, and the invoca-
tion to Sabrina. They recur when he moralizes; and
his morality is too interwoven with the texture of his
piece to be other than obtrusive. He fatigues with
virtue, as Lucan fatigues with liberty ; in both instances
the scarcely avoidable error of a young preacher. What
glorious morality it is no one need be told ; nor is there
any poem in the language where beauties of thought,
diction, and description spring up more thickly than in
" Comus." No drama out of Shakespeare has furnished
such a number of the noblest familiar quotations. It is,
indeed, true that many of these jewels are fetched from

54 LIFE OF

the mines of other poets: great as Milton's obligations.
to Nature were, his obligations to books were greater.
But he bas ruade all his own by the alchemy of his.
genius, and borrows little but to improve. The most
remarkable coincidence is with a piece certainly un-
known to him--Calderon's "Magico Prodigioso," which,
was first acted in 637 , the year of the publication of
"Comus," a great year in the history of the drama, for
the "Cid" appeared in it also. The similarity of the
situations of Justina tempted by the Demon, and the
Lady in the power of Comus, has naturally begotten a
like train of thought in both poets.

' Comus. Nay, Lady, sit; if I but wave this wand,
Your nerves are all chained up in alabaster,
And you a statue, or, as l)aphne was,
Root-bound, that fled Apollo.
Lady. Fool, do hOt boast
Thou can'st hOt touch the freedoln of my mind
W'ith all thy charms, although this corporal rind
Thou hast immanacled, while Iteaven sees good."

" usthza. Thought is hot in my power, but action is..
I will hot more my foot to follow thee.
29emon. Iut a far mighfier wisdom than thine own
Exerts itself within thee, with such power
Compçlling thee to that which if inclines
That it shall force thy step ; how wilt thou then
Resist, Justina ?
tstina. Iy my free will.
Dcmon. I
Must force thy will.
tslbct. It is invincible.
It were hot free if thou had'st power upon it.

21IIL TON ,55

It must be admitted that where the Spaniard and the
Englishman corne directly into competition the former
excels. The dispute between the Lady and Comus may
be, as Johnon says it is, "the most animating and
affecting scene in the drama ;" but, tried by the dramatic
test which Calderon bears so well, it is below the
exigencies and the possibilities of the subject. Nor
does the poetry here, quite so abundantly as in the other
scenes in this unrivalled "suite of speeches," atone for
the deficiencies of the play.
It is a just remark of Pattison's that "in a mind of
the consistent texture of Milton's, motives are secretly
influential before they emerge in consciousness." In
September, 637, Milton had complained to Diodati of
his cramped situation in the country, and talked of taking
chambers in London. Within a few months we find this
vague project matured into a settled scheme of foreign
travel. One fie to home had been severed by the death
of his mother in the preceding _A_pril.; and his father was
to find another prop of his old age in his second son,
Christopher, about to marry and reside with him.
"Lycidas" had appeared meanwhile, or was to appear,
and its bold denunciation of the Romanizing clergy
might well offend the ruling powers. The atmosphere
at home was, at all events, difficult breathing for an ina-
potent patriot ; and Milton may have corne to see what
we so clearly see in " Comus," that his asperities and
limitations needed contact with the world. Why speak
of the charms of Italy, in themselves sufficient allure-
ment to a poet and scholar ? His father, trustful and
unselfish as of old, round the considerable sure requisite

6 .LIFt?. OF AII.L TOW.

for a prolonged foreign tour; and in April, x638, Milton,
lrovided with excellent introductions from Sir Henry
Wootton and others, seeks the enrichment and renova-
tion of his genius in Italy :--

" And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore
Flames in the forehead of the morning sky."

CHAPTER III.

OUR times has a great English poet taken up his
abode in "the paradise of exiles," and remained
there until deeply ilnbued with the spirit of the land.
The Italian residence of Byron and Shelley, of Landor
and Browning, has infused into English literature a new
element which has mingled with its inmost essence.
Milton's brief visit could not be of equal moment.
Italian letters had already donc their utmost for him;
and he did not star/long enough to toaster the secret of
Italian lire. A real enthusiasm for Italy's classical asso-
ciations is indicated by his original purpose of extending
his travels to Greece, an enterprise at that period requir-
ing no little disdain of hardship and peril. But it would
have been an anachronism if he could have contemplated
the comprehensive and scientific scheme of self-culture
by Italian influences of every kind which, a hundred and
fifty years later, was conceived and executed by Goethe.
At the time of lIilton's visit Italian letters and arts
sloped midway in their descent froln the Renaissance
to the hideous but humorous rococo so graphically
described by Vernon Lee. Free thought had perished
along with free institutions in the preceding century, and

8 LIFE OF

as a consequence, though the physical sciences still num-
bered successful cultivators, originality of mind was all
but extinct. Things, nevertheless, wore a gayer aspect
than of late. The very completeness of the triumph of
secular and spiritual despotism had ruade them less sus-
picious, surly, and austere. Spanish power was visibly
decaying. The long line of ,clatti Popes had corne to
an end; and it was thought that if the bosom of the
actual incumbent could be scrutinized, no little compla-
cency in Swedish victories over the Faith's defenders
would be found. An atrnosphere of toleration was
diffusing itself, bigotry was imperceptibly getting old--
fashioned, the most illustrious victim of the Inquisition
was to be well-nigh the last. If the noble and the
serious could not be permitted, there was no ban upon
the amiable and the frivolous : never had the land been,
so full of petty rhymesters, antiquarian triflers, andL
gregarious literati, banded to play at authorship in.
academies, like the seven Swabians leagued to kill the
hare. For the rest, the Italy of M ilton's day, its super-
stition and its scepticism, and the sophistry that strove
to make the two as one ; its monks and its bravoes ; its
processions and its pantomimes; its cult of the Passion
and its cult of Paganism ; the opulence of its past and.
the impotence of its present ; will be round depicted by
sympathetic genius in the second volume of "John
Inglesant."
lXlilton arrived in Paris about the end of April or-
beginning of lXlay. Of his short stay there it is only
known that he was received with distinction by the
English Ambassadcr, Lord Scudamore, and owed te,

.IIL TON.

him an introduction to one of the greatest rnen in
Europe, Hugo Grotius, then residing at Paris as envoy
from Christina of Sweden. Travelling by way of Nice
Genoa, Leghorn, and Pisa, he arrived about the begin-
ning of August at Florence ; where, probably by the aid
of good recommendations, he "immediately contracted
the acquaintance of many noble and learned," and
doubtless found, vith the author of "John Inglesant,"
that "nothing can be more delightful than the first few
days of life in Italy in the company of polished and
congenial men." The Florentine academies, he implies,
answered one of the purposes of modern clubs, and
enabled the traveller to multiply one good introduction
into many. He especially mentions Gaddi, Dati, Fres-
cobaldi, Coltellini, ]3onmattei, Chimentelli, and 'rancini,.
of all of whom a full account will be found in Masson.
Tvo of them, Dati and Francini, have linked their
names with Milton's by their encomiunas on him
inserted in his works. The key-note of these sur-
prising productions is struck by Francini vhen he
remarks that the heroes of England are accounted in
Italy superhuman. If this is so, Dati may be justified
in comparing a young man on his first and last foreig
tour to the travelled Ulysses ; and Francini in declaring
that Thames rivals I-Ielicon in virtue of Milton's Latin
poems, -hich alone the panegyrist could read. Truly»
as Smollett says, Italian is the language of conapliments.
If ludicrous, however, the flattely is not nauseous, for
it is not wholly insincere. Amid all conventional exag--
gerations there is an under-note of genuine feeling,
showing that the writers really had received a deep.

60 LIFE OF

impression from Milton, deeper than they could well
explain or understand. The bow drawn ata venture did
not miss the mark, but it is a curious reftection that
those of his performances which would really bave
justified their utmost enthusiasm were hieroglyphical to
them. Such of his literary exercises as they could un-
derstand consisted, he says, of " some trifles which I
had in lnenaory composed at under twenty or thereabout;
and other things which I had shifted, in scarcity of books
and conveniences, to patch up among them." The
former class of compositions may no doubt be partly
identified with his college declamations and Latin verses.
What the "things patched up anaong them " may have
been is unknown. It is curious enough that his ac-
quaintance with the Italian literati should have been the
means of preserving one of their own compositions, the
"Tina" of Antonio lXlalatesti, a series of fifty sonnets
on a mistress, sent to him in manuscript by the author,
with a dedication to the illuslrissimo sigzore et 2adrone
sservatissimo. The pieces were hot of a kind to be
approved by the laureate of chastity, and annoyance at
the implied slur upon his morals may account for his
omission of lIalatesti from the list of his Italian ac-
quaintance. He carried the IIS. hoirie, nevertheless,
and a copy of it, finding its way back to Italy in the
eighteenth century, restored lIalatesti's fifty indiscretions
to the Italian Parnassus. That his intercourse with men
of culture involved freedom of another sort we learn
from himself. "I have sate aanong their learned lnen,"
he says, "and been counted happy to be born in such a
place of philosophic freedom as they supposed England

_alIL TON. 61

was, while they themselves did nothing but bemoan the
servile condition into which learning amongst them was
brought, that this was it which had damped the glory of
Italian wits; that nothing had been written there now
these many years but flattery and fustian." Italy had
never acquiesced in ber degradation, though for a century
and a hall to tome she could only protest in such con-
venticles as those frequented by Milton.
The very type and emblem of the free spirit of Italy,
crtshed but not conquered, then inhabited Florence in
the person of «the starry Galileo," lately released from
confinement at Arcetri, and allowed to dwell in the
city under such severe restraint of the Inquisition
that no Protestant should bave been able to gain access
to him. It may not have been until Milton's second
visit in March, 1639 , when Galileo had returned to his
villa, that the English stranger stood unseen before hirn.
The meeting between the two great blind men of their
century is one of the most picturesque in history;
it would bave been more pathetic still if Galileo could
bave known that his name would be written in "Para-
dise Lost," or Milton could bave foreseen that within
thirteen years he too would sec only with the inner eye,
but that the calamity which disabled the astronomer
would restore inspiration to the poet. How deeply he
was impressed appears, not merely from the famous com-
parison of Satan's shield to the moon enlarged in "the
Tuscan artist's optic glass," but by the ventilation in
the fourth and eighth books of "Paradise Lost," of
the points at issue between Ptolemy and Coper-
nicus :--

LIFE OF

Whether the sun predominant in heaven
Rise on the earth, or earth fise on the sun,
He from the east his flaming road begin,
Or she from west her silent course advance
With inoffensive pace, that spinning sleeps
On her soft axle, while she paces even,
And bears thee soif with the smooth air along."

It would be interesting to know if Milton's Florentine
.acquaintance included that romantic adventurer, Robert
Dudley, strange prototype of Shelley in face and fortune,
whom Lord Herbert of Cherbury and Dean ]3argrave
encountered at Florence, but whom Milton does not
mention. The next stage in his pilgrimage was the
Eternal City, by this time resigned t'o live upon
its past. The revenues of which Protestant revolt had
deprived it were compensated by the voluntary con-
tributions of the lovers of antiquity and art ; and it had
become under Paul V. one of the centres of European
finance. Recent Popes had added splendid architec-
tural embellishments, and the tendency to secular display
was well represented by Urban VIII., a great gatherer
and a great dispenser of wealth, an accomplished amateur
in many arts, and surrounded by a tribe Of nephews,
inordinately enriched by their indulgent uncle. Milton
arrived early in October. The most vivid trace of his
visit is his presence at a magnificent concert given
by Cardinal ]3arberini, who, "himself waiting at the
doors, and seeking me out in so great a crowd, nay,
almost laying hold of me by the hand, admitted me
within in a truly most honourable manner." There he
heard the singer, Leonora ]3aroni, to whom he inscribed

HL TOV. ç8

three Latin epigrams, omitted from the fifly-six coin-
positions in honour of her published in the following
year. But we may sec ber as he saw her in the frontis-
piece, reproduced in Ademollo's monograph upon her.
The face is full of sensibility, but not handsolne. She
lived to be a great lady, and if any one spoke of her
artist days she would say, Chi le ricercaz,a flzeste memorie ?
Next to hers, the naine most entwined with Milton's
Roman residence is that of Lucas Holstenius, a librarian
of the Vatican. Milton can bave had little respect for a
man who had changed his religion to become the depen-
riant of Cardinal Barberini, but Holstenius's obliging
reception of him extorted his gratitude, expressed in an
eloquent letter. Of the venerable ruins and masterpieces
of ancient and modern art which have inspired so many
àmmortal compositions, Milton tells us nothing, and but
one allusion to them is discoverable in his writings. The
study of antiquity, as distinguished from that of classical
authors, was not yet a living element in European culture:
there is also truth in Coleridge's observation that music
always had a greater attraction for Milton than plastic
art.
After two months' stay in Rome, Milton proceeded to
Naples, whence, after two months' residence, he was
recalled by tidings of the impending troubles at home,
just as he was about to extend his travels to Sicily and
Greece. The only naine associated with his at Naples
is that of the Marquis Manso, then passing his seventy-
ninth year with the halo of reverence due to a veteran
who fifty years ago had soothed and shielded Tasso,
and since had protected 1Iarini. He now entertained

64 £IFE OF

Milton with equal kindness, little dreaming that in
return for hospitality he was receiving immortality.
Milton celebrated his desert as the friend of poets, in a
Latin poem of singular elegance, praying for a like
guardian of his own faine, in lines which should never
be absent from the memory of his biographers. He also
unfolded the project which he then cherished of an epic
on King Arthur, and assured Manso that 13ritain was
not wholly barbarous, for the Druids were really very
considerable poets. He is silent on Chaucer and Shake-
speare. Manso requited the eulogium with an epigram
and two richly-wrought cups, and told Milton that he
would bave shown him more observance still if he could
have abstained from religious controversy. Milton had
not acted on Sir Henry Wootton's advice to him, il z'olto
scidlo, i 2esieri slrdlt: "I had ruade this resolution
with myself," he says, "not of my own accord to intro-
duce conversation about religion ; but, if interrogated
respecting the faith, whatsoever I should suffer, to dis-
semble nothing." To this resolution he adhered, he
says, during his second two months' visit to Rome, not-
withstanding threats of Jesuit molestation, which probably
were hot serious. At Florence his friends received him
with no less wannth than if they had been his country-
men, and with them he spent another two months. His
way to Venice lay through 13ologna and Ferrara, and if
his sonnets in the Italian language were written in Italy,
and all addressed to the saine person, it was probably
at 13ologna, since the lady is spoken of as an inhabitant
of "Reno's grassy vale," and the Reno is a river
between Bologna and Ferrara. But there are many

I1L TON. 6
difficulties in the way of this theory, and, on the whole,
it seems most reasonable to conclude that the sonnets
were composed in England, and tbat their autobio-
graphical character is at least doubtful. That nominally
inscribed to Diodati, however, would well suit Leonora
13aroni. Diodati had been buried in ]31ackfriars on
August 27, 638 , but Milton certainly did not learn the
fact until after his visit to Naples, and possibly hot until
he came to pass some rime at Geneva with Diodati's
uncle. He had come to Geneva from Venice, vhere he
had made some stay, shipping off to England a cargo
of books collected in Italy, among which were many
of " immortal notes and Tuscan air." These, we may
assmne, he round awaiting him when he again set foot
on his native soil, about the end of July, 639.
Milton's conduct on his return justifies Wordsworth's
commendation :--
" Thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay."

Full, as his notebooks of the period attest, of magnificent
aspiration for "flights above the Aonian mount," he yet
quietly sat down to educate his nephews, and ]ament
his friend. His brother-in-law Phillips had been dead
eight years, leaving two boys, Edward and John, now
about nine and eight respectively. Mrs. Phillips's second
marriage had added two daughters to the family, and
from whate-¢er cause, it was thought best that the educa-
tion of the sons should be conducted by their uncle.
So it came to pass that "he took him a lodging in St.
13ride's Churchyard, at the house of one Russel, a
5

¢:6 LIFE Ot 

tailor ;" Christopher Milton continuing to live with his
father.
We may well believe that when the first cares ot
resettlement were over, Milton round no more urgent
.duty than the bestowal of a funeral tribute upon his
friend Diodati. The "Epitaphium Damonis" is the
finest of his Latin poems, marvellously picturesque in
expression, and inspired bytrue manly grief. In Diodati
he had lost perhaps the only friend whom, in the most
:sacred sense of the terre, he had ever possessed; lost
him when far away and unsuspicious of the already
accomplished stroke; lost him when returning to his
side with aspirations to be imparted, and intellectual
treasures to be shared. gis ille miser qui serus amavit.
Ail this is expressed with earnest emotion in truth and
tenderness, surpassing "Lycidas," though void of the
'aried music and exquisite felicities which could not well
,be present in the conventionalized idiom of a modern
Latin poet. The most pathetic passage is that in which
he contrasts the general complacency of animals in their
kind with man's dependence for sympathy on a single
breast; the most biographically interesting where he
speaks of his plans for an epic on the story of Arthur,
which he seems about to undertake in earnest. But the
ilnpulses from without which generally directed the
course of this seemingly autocratic, but really susceptible,
nature, urged him in quite a different direction:for
some time yet he was to live, not make a poem.
The tidings which, arriving at Naples about Christmas,
638 , prevailed upon Milton to abandon his projected
visit to Sicily and Greece, were no doubt those of the

.]IIL TON. 67
revolt of Scotland, and Charles's resolution to quell it
by force of arms. Ere he had yet quitted Italy, the
King's impotence had been sufficiently demonstrated,
and about a month ere he stood on English soil the
royal army had "disbanded like the break-up of a
school." Milton may possibly have regretted his hasty
• eturn, but before many months had passed it was plain
that the revolution was only beginning. Charles's
ineffable infatuation brought on a second Scottish war,
ten times more ridiculously disastrous than the first, and
its result left him no alternative but the convocation
(November, i54o) of the Long Parliament, which scnt
Laud to the Tower and Strafford to the block, cleared
away servile j udges and corrupt ministers, and made the
persecuted Puritans persecutors in their turn. Not a
member of this grave assemblage, perhaps, but would
have laughed if told that hot its least memorable feat was
to have prevented a young schoolmaster from writing an
.epic.
Milton had by this time found the lodgings in St.
Bride's Churchyard insufficient for him, and had taken
a house in Aldersgate Street, beyond the City wall, and
suburban enough to allow him a garden. "This street,"
writes Howell, in i657 , "resembleth an Italian street
more than any other in London, by reason of the
spaciousness and uniformity of the buildings and
straightness thereof, with the convenient distance of
the houses." He did hot at this time contemplate
mixing actively in political or religious controversy.
"I looked about to see if I could get any place that would hold

ç8 LIFE" OF

myself and my books, and so I took a house of sufficient'size in the
city; and there with no small delight I resumed my intermitted
studies ; cheerfully leaving the event of public affairs, first to God,
and then to those to whom the people had committed that task."

But this was before the convocation of the Long Par-
liament. When it had met,

', Perceiving that the true ,vay to liberty f»llo,ved on ri'oto these
beglnnings, inasmuch also as I had so prepared myself from my
youth that, above ail things, I could not be ignorant hat is of
Divine and hat of human right, I resolved, though I was then
meditating certain other matters, to transfer into lhis struggle all'
my genius and all the strength of my industw."

Nilton's note-books, to be referred to in another place,
prove that he did not even then cease to meditate themes
for poetry, but practically he for eighteen years ceased
to be a poet.
There is no doubt something grating and unwelcome
in the descent of the scholar from regions of serene
culture to tierce political and religious broils. But to
regret with Pattison that 3,Iilton should, at this crisis of
the State, have turned aside from poetry to controversy
is to regret that " Paradise Lost" should exist. Such a
work could not have proceeded from one indifferent
to the public weal, and if Nilton had been capable of
forgetting the citizen in the man of letters we may be
sure that "a little grain of conscience" would ere long
have " ruade him sour." It is sheer literary fanaticism
to speak with Pattison of "the prostitution of genius to
political party." Milton is as much the idealist in his
prose as in his verse ; and although in his pamphlets he

IIL TOW. 69

sides entirely with one of the two great parties in the
State, itis not as its instrument, but as its prophet and
monitor. He himself tells us that controversy is highly
repugnant to him.

" I trust to lnake it nmnifest with what slnall willingness I endure
to interrupt the pursuit of no less hopes than these, and leave a
calm and pleasing solitariness, fed with cheerful and confident
thoughts, to embark in a troubled sea of noises and hoarse disputes,
put froln beholding the bright countenancd of truth in the quiet and
still air of delightful studies, to corne in to the dira reflection of
hollow antiquities sold by the seeming bulk."

But he felt that if he allowed such motives to prevail
with him, it would be said to him :

" Timorous and ungrateful, the Church'-of God is now again at
the foot of ber insulting enemies, and thou bewailest, What
matters it for thee or thy bewailing? "When tilne was, thou
would'st hot find a syllable of ail that thou hast read or studied to
utter on her behalf. Yet ease and leisure was given thee for thy
xetired thoughts, but of the sweat of other lnen. Thou hast the
diligence, the parts, the language of a man, if a vain subject were
to be adorned or beautified ; but when the cause of God and His
Church was to be pleaded, for which purpose that tongue was
.given thee which thou hast, God listened if Ite could hear thy voice
alnong His zealous servants, but thou wert dumb as a beast ; fronl
henceforward be that which thine own brutish silence hath lnade
thee."

A man with "Paradise Lost" in him must needs so
think and act, and, much as it would have been to have
• had another "Comus" or "Lycidas," were not even such
well exchanged for a hymn like this, the high-water mark
of English impassioned prose ere Milton's mantle fell
apon Ruskin ?

7O LIF.E OF

"Thou, therefore, that sittest in Iight and glory unapproachable,
Parent of angels and men! next, Thee I implore, Omnipotent
1,2ing, Redeemer of that lost remnant whose nature Thou didst
assume, ineffable and everlasting Love! And Thou, the third
sulsistence of Divine Infinitude, illuminating Spirit, the joy and
solace of created things ! one Tri-personal godhead ! look upon this.
Thy poor and almost spent and expiring Church, leave her hot thus
a l'rey to Ihese importunate wolves, that "tait and think long till
they devour Thy tender ftock ; flaese wild boars that bave broke
into Thy vineyard, and left the print of their polluting hoofs on the
souls of Thy servants. O let them hot bring about their damned
designs that stand now at the entrance of the bottomless pit,
expecfing the watchword to open and let out those dreadful locusts
and scorpions to reinvolve us in that pitchy cloud of infernal dark-
ness, where we shall never more see the sun of Thy truth again,
never hope for the cheerfuI davn, never more hear the bird of
morning sing. Ile moved with pity at the affticted state of this
out shaken monarchy, that now lies labouring under her throes, and
struggling against the grudges of more dreaded calamities.
"0 Thou, that, after the impetuous rage of rive bloody inunda-
tions, and the succeeding sword of intestine war, soaking the land
in her own gore, didst piy he sad and ceaseless revolufion of our
swift and thick-coming sorrows ; when we were quite breathless of
Thy free grace didst motion peace and terres of covenant with us ;
,and, having first well-nigh freed us from anti-Christian thraldom,
didst build up this tritannic Empire to a glorious and enviable
height, with all her daughter-islands about her; stay us in this.
felicity, let hot the obstinacy of out half-obedience and will-worship
bring forth that viper of sedition, that for these fourscore years hath
been breeding to eat through the entrails of out peace ; but let
ber cast her abortive spawn without the danger of this travailing
and throbbing kingdom : that we may still remember in out solemn
thanksgivings, how, for us, the northern ocean, even to the frozen
Thule, was scattered with the proud shipwrecks of the Spanish
Armada, and the very maw of HeI1 ransacked, and ruade to give
up her concealed destruction, ere she could vent it in that horrible
and damned blast.
" 0 how much more glorious will those former deliverance

IIL TON..
appear, when we shall know them hOt only to have saved us.
from greatest miseries past, but to bave reserved us for greatest
happiness to corne? Hitherto Thou hast but freed us, and that not
fully, from the unjust and tyrannous claire of Thy foes, now unite
.us entirely and approprlate us to Thyself, tic us everlastingly in
willing homage to the prerogative of Thy eternal throne.
"And now we know, 0 Thotl, out most certain hope and defence,
that Thine enemies have been consulting ail the sorceries of the
great whore, and have joined their plots with that sad, intelligenc-
ing tyrant that mischiefs the world with his mines of Ophir, and
lies thirsting to revenge hls naval ruins that have larded out seas :.
but let them ail take counsel together, and let it corne to nought ;
let them decree, and do Thou cancel it ; let them gather them-
selves, and be scattered ; let them elnbattle then;selves, and be
broken ; let them embattle, and be broken, for Thou art with
IlS.
"Then amidst the hynms and hallelujahs of saints, some one may
perhaps be heard offering at high strains in new and lofty measures,
to sing and celebrate Thy Divine mercies and marvellous judgments.
in this land throughout all ages ; whereby this great and warlike
nation, instructed and inured to the fervent and continual practice
of truth and righteousness, and casting far from her the rags of her
old vices, may press on hard to that high and happy emulation to
be round the soberest, wisest, and most Christian people at that
day, when Thou, the Eternal and shortly-expected King, shalt open
the clouds to judge the several kingdoms of the world, and dis-
tributing national honours and rewards to religious and just
commonwealths, shall put an end to all earthly tyrannies, pro-
claiming Thy universal and mild monarchy through heaven anti
earth ; where they undoubtedly, that by their labours, counsels,.
and prayers, have been earnest for the common good of religion,
and their country, shall receive above the inferior orders of the
blessed, the regal addition of principalities, legions, .nd thrones
into their glorious titles, and in supereminence of beatific vision,
progressing the dateless and irrevoluble circle of eternity, shall
clasp inseparable hands with joy and bliss, in over-measure for
ever.
' t3ut they contrary, that by the impairing and diminution of the

7. o, LIFE OF

true faith, the distresses and servitude of their country, aspire to
high dignity, rule and promotion here, after a shameful end in this
lire (which God grant them), shall be thrown down eternally into
the darkest and deepest gulf of ttell, where, under the despiteful
control, the trample and spurn of all the other damned, that in the
anguish of their torture, shall have no other ease than to exercise a
raving and bestial tyranny over them as their slaves and negroes,
they shall rcmain in that plight for ever, the basest, the lower-
most, the most dejected, most underfoot, and down-trodden vassals
of perdition."

The rive pamphlets in which Milton enunciated his
views on Church Government fall into two well-marked
,chronological divisions. Three -- " Of Reformation
touching Church Discipline in England," " Of Prelatical
Episcopacy," "Animadversions upon the Remonstrant's
Defence against Smectymnuus "--which appeared almost
simultaneously, belong to the middle of 64, when the
• question of episcopacy was fiercely agitated. Two--
"The Reason of Church Government urged against
Prelacy," and "The Apology for Smectymnuus," • belong
to the early part of I64, when the bishops had just been
excluded from the House of Lords. To be just to
Iilton we must put ourselves in his position. At the
present day forms of church government are usually
debated on the ground of expediency, and even those
to whom they seem important cannot regard them as
they were regarded by lIilton's contemporaries. Many
may protest against Episcopacy receiving especial recog-

 A famous Presbyterian tract of the day, so called from the
combined initials of the authors, one of whom was Milton's old
instructor, Thomas 'oung. The "Remonstrant " to whom Milton
xeplied was Eishop Hall.

21IIL TON.

nition from the State, but no one dreams of abolishing
it, or of endowing another form of ecclesiastical
administration in its room. It is no longer contended
that the national religion should be changed, the
.contention is that no religion should be national, but
that all should be placed on an impartial footing. But
Milton at this time desired a theocracy, and nothing
doubted that he could produce a pattern agreeable in
every respect to the Divine will if only Prelacy could be
!aurled after Popery. The controversy, therefore, assumed
far grander proportions than would be possible in our
day, when it is three-fourths a protest against the airs of
superiority which the alleged successors of the Apostles
think it becoming to assume towards teachers whose
.education and circumstances approach more closely than
their own to the Apostolic model. What would seem
exaggerated now was then perfectly in place. Milton, in
his own estimation, had a theme for which the cloven
tongues of Pentecost were none too fiery, or the tongues
of angels too melodious. As bursts of impassioned
prose-poetry the finest passages in these writings bave
never been surpassed, nor ever will be equalled so long
as short sentences prevail, and the interminable period
must not unfold itself in heights and hollows like the
incoming tide of ocean, nor peal forth melodious thunder
like a mighty organ. But, considered as argumentative
compositions, they are exceedinglyweak. No masculine
head could be affected by them  but a manly heart may
easily imbibe the generous contagion of their noble
enthusiastic idealism. No man with a single fibre of
,deality or enthusiasm can help confessing that lIilton

74 LIFE OF

has risen to a transcendent height, and he may imagine
that it bas been attained by the ladder of reason rather
than the pinion of poetry. Such an one may easily
find reasons for agreeing with Milton in many inspired
outbursts of eloquence simulating the logic that is in
fact lacking to them. The following splendid passage,
for instance, and there are very many like it, merely
proves that a seat in the House of Lords is not essential
to the episcopal office, which no one ever denied. It
would have considerable force if the question in-
volved the nineteenth century one of the Pope's temporal
sovereignty :--

" Certainly there is no employment more honourable, more
worthy to take up a great spirit, more requiling a generous and free
nurture, than to be the messenger and herald of heavenly truth from
God to man, and by the faithful work of holy doctrine to procreate
a number of faithfifl men, making a kind of creation like to God's
by infusing his spirit and likeness into them, to their salvation, as
God did into him ; arising to what climate soever he turn him, like
that Sun of Righteousness that sent him, vith healing in his vings,
and new light to break in upon the chill and gloomy hearts of his
hearers, raising out of darksome barrenness a delicious and fragrant
swing of saving knowledge and good works. Can a man thus
employed find himself discontented or dishonoured for want of ad-
mittance to bave a pram-natieal voice at sessions and jail deliveries ?
or because he may not a a judge sit out the wrangling noise of
litigious courts to shrive the purses of unconfessing and unmortified
sinners, and not their souls, or be discouraged though men call him
not lord, whereas the due performance of his office would gain him,
even from lords and princes, the voluntary title of father ? "

When it was said of Robespierre, cet homme ira bien
loi¢, car il croit tout ce qu'il dit, it was probably meant
that he would attain the chief place in the State. It

illIL TOA : 75
might bave been said of Milton in lhe literal sense.
The idealist was about to apply his principles of church
polity to family life, to the horror of many nominal allies.
His treatise on Divorce was the next of his publica-
tions in chronological order, but is so entwined with his
domestic lire that it will be best to postpone it until we-
again take up tbe thread of his personal history, and to
pass on for the present to his next considerable writings,
his tracts on education and on the freedom of the
press.
Milton's tract on Education, like so many of his
performances, was the ffuit of an impulse from without.
"Though it be one of the greatest and noblest designs
that can be thought on, and for want of which this
nation perishes, I had hOt at this rime been induced but
by your earnest entreaties and serious conjurements."
The efficient cause thus referred to existed in the person
of Sanauel Hartlib, philanthropist and polypragmatist,
precursor of the Franklins and Rumfords of the succeed-
ing century. The son of a Polish exile of German
extraction, Hartlib had settled in England about 6-"7.
He round the country behindhand both economically
and socially, and with benign fervour applied himself to
its regeneration. Agriculture 'as his principal hobby,
and he effected much towards its improvement in
England, rather however by editing the unpublished
treatises of Weston and Child than by any direct con-
tributions of his own. Next among the undertakings to
which he devoted himself were two of no less moment
than the union of British and foreign Protestants, and
the reform of English education by the introduction of

76 LIFE OF

the methods of Comenius. This Moravian pastor, the
Pestalozzi of lais age, had first of men grasped the idea
that the ordinary school methods were better adapted to
instil a knowledge of words than a knowledge of things.
He was, in a word, the inventor of object lessons. He
also strove to organize education as a connected whole
from the infant school to the last touch of polish from
foreign travel. Milton alludes almost scornfully to
Comenius in his preface to Hartlib, but his tract is never-
theless imbued with the lIoravian's principles. His
aim, like Comenius's, is to provide for the instruction of
ail, "before the years of puberty, in ail things belonging
to the present and future life." His view is as strictly
utilitarian as Comenius's. "Language is but the instru-
ment conveying to us things useful to be known."
the study of language as intellectual discipline he says
nothing, and his whole course of instruction is governed
by the desire of imparting useful knowledge. XVhatever
we may think of the system of teaching which in out
day allows a youth to leave school disgracefully ignorant
-of physical and political geography, of history and foreign
languages, it cannot be denied that Milton goes into the
opposite extreme, and would overload the young mind
with more information than it could possibly digest. His
scheme is further vitiated by a fault which we should not
have looked for in him, indiscriminate reverence for the
classical writers, extending to subjects in which they were
but children compared with the moderns. It moves
something more than a smile to find ingenuous youth
referred to Pliny and Solinus for instruction in physical
science ; and one wonders what the agricultural Hartlib

AIIL TON. 77

thought of the proposed course of " Cato, Varro, and
Columella," whose precepts are adapted for the climate
of Italy. Another error, obvious to any dunce, was
concealed from 5Iilton by his own intellectual great-
ness. He legislates for a college of 1Iiltons. He never
suspects that the course he is prescribing would be
beyond the abilities of nine hundred and ninety-nine
scholars in a thousand, and that the thousandth would
die of it. If a difficulty occurs he contemptuously purs
it aside. He has hOt provided for Italian, but can it not
"be easily learned at any odd hour " ? " Ere this time
the Hebrew tongue" (of which we have hot hithertc
heard a syllable), "might have been gained, whereto it
would be no impossibility to add the Chaldee and the
Syrian dialect." This sublime confidence in the re-
sources of the human intellect is grand, but it marks out
Milton as an idealist, whose mission it was rather to
animate mankind by the greatness of his thoughts than
to devise practical schemes for human improvement.
As an ode or poem on education, 5Iilton's tract, doubt-
less, has delivered many a teacher and scholar from
bondage to routine ; and no man's aires are so high or
his thoughts so generous that he might hot be further
profited and stimulated by reading it. As a practical
treatise it is only valuable for its emphatic denunciation
of the folly of teasing youth, whose element is the con-
crete, with grammatical abstractions, and the advice to
proceed to translation as soon as possible, and to keep it
up steadily throughout the whole course. Neglect of
this precept is the principal reason why so many youths
hOt wanting in capacity, and assiduously taught, leave

78 LIFE OF

school with hardly any knowledge of languages. Milton's
scheme is also remarkable for its bold dealing with
day schools and universities, which it would have
entirely superseded.
The next publication of Milton's is another instance
of the dependence of his intellectual workings upon the
course of events outside hiln. We owe the "Areo-
pagitica," not to the lonely overflowings of his soul, or
even to the disinterested observation of public affairs,
but to the real jeopardy he had incurred by his neglect
to get his books licensed. The Long Parliament had
round itself, in I643, with respect to the Press, very
much in the position of Lord Canning's government in
!ndia at the time of the Mutiny. It marks the progress
of public opinion that, whereas the Indian Government
only ventured to take power to prevent inopportune
publication with many apologies, and as a temporary
measure, the Parliament assumed it as self-evident that
"forged, scandalous, seditious, libellous, and unlicensed
papers, pamphlets, and books" had no right to exist, and
should be nipped in the bud by the appointment of
licensers. Twelve London ministers, therefore, were
nominated to license books in divinity, which was
equivalent to enacting that nothing contrary to Pres-
byterian orthodoxy should be published in Eng-
land. I Other departments, not forgetting poetry and

x This principle admitted of general application. For example,
astrological books were to be licensed by John ]3ooker, who could by
no means see his way to pass the prognostications of his rival Lilly
without " many impertinent obliterations," which ruade Lilly ex-
ceeding wroth.

3IIL TON. 79

fiction, were similarly provided for. The ordinance is
dated June 14, 1643. Milton had always contemned
the licensing regulations previously existing, and within
a month his brain was busy with speculations which
no reverend licenser could have been expected to
• confirm with an imprimatur. About August ist the
" Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce" appeared, with
no recognition of or from a licenser ; and the second
edition, published in the following February, equally
infringed the Parliamentary ordinance. No notice
appears to bave been taken until the election of a new
lIaster of the Stationers' Company, about the middle of
1644. The Company had an interest in the enforce-
ment of the ordinance, which was aimed at piracy as well
as sedition and heresy; and whether for this reason,
or at the instigation of lXlilton's adversaries, they (August
24th) petitioned Parliament to call him to account. The
marrer was referred to a com,nittee, but more urgent
business thrust it out of sight. Milton, nevertheless,
'had received his marching orders, and on November 24,
1644, appeared "Areopagitica ; a Speech for the Liberty
• of Unlicensed Printing": itself unlicensed.
The "Areopagitica" is by far the best known of
Milton's prose writings, being the only one whose topic
is not obsolete. It is also composed with more care and art
than the others. Elsewhere he seeks to overwhelm, but
here to persuade. He could without insincerity profess
veneration for the Lords and Commons to whom his dis-
.course is addressed, and he spares no pains to give them
.a favourable opinion both of his dutifulness and his
reasonableness. More than anywhere else he affects the

80 LIFE OF

character of a practical man, pressing home arguments
addressed to the understanding rather than to the pure
reason. He points out sensibly, and for him ca!mly,
that the censorship is a Papal invention, contrary to the
precedents of antiquity ; that while it cannot prevent the
circulation of bad books, it is a ,rievous hindrance to
good ones ; that it destroys the sense of independence
and responsibility essential to a lnanly and fruitful litera-
ture. We hear less than lnight have been expected
about first principles, of the sacredness of conscience, of
the obligation on every man to nmnifest the truth as it is
within him. He does not dispute that the magistrate
may suppress opinions esteemed dangerous to society
after they have been published; what he maintains is
that publication must not be prevented by a board of
licensers. He strikes at the censor, not at the Attorney-
General. This judicious caution cramped Milton's
eloquence; for while the "Areopagitica" is the best
example he has given us of his ability as an advocate,
the diction is less magnificent than usual. Yet nothing
penned by him in prose is better known than the passage
beginning, "Methinks I see in my mind a noble and
puissant nation ;" and none of his writings contain so
many seminal sentences, pithy embodilnents of vital
truths. "Revolutions of ages do not oft recover the loss
of a rejected truth." "A drain of well-doing should be
preferred before many tilnes as rntlch the forcible hind-
rance of evil doing-. For God more esteems the growth
and completing of one virtuous person than the restraint
of ten vicious." " Opinion in good men is but know-
ledge in the making." "A man may be a heretic in

.IIIL TOA r. 81

the truth." Towards the end the argument takes a wider
sweep, and Iilton, again the poet and the seer, hails
with exultation the approach of the time he thinks he
discerns when all the Lord's people shall be prophets.
"Behold now this vast city, a city of refuge, the mansion
bouse of liberty, encompassed and surrounded with His
protection  the shop of war bath hOt there more anvils
and hammers working to fashion out the plates and
instruments of armed justice in defence of beleaguered
truth, than there be pens and heads there, sitting by their
studious lamps, musing, searching, revolving new notions
and ideas wherewith to present, as with their homage
and their fealty, the approaching reformation." He
clearly indicates that he regards the licensing ordinance
as hot really the offspring of an honest though mistaken
concern for religion and morality, but as a device of"
Presbyterianism to restrain this outpouring of the spirit
and silence Independents as well as Royalists. Pres-
byterianism had indeed been weighed in the balance and
found wanting, and lIilton's pamphlet was the hand-
writing on the wall. The fine gold must have become
very dira ere a Puritan pen could bring itself to indite
that scathing satire on the "factor to whose care and
credit the wealthy man may commit the who!e managing
cf his religious affairs i some divine of note and estima-
tion that must be. To him he adheres; resigns the
whole warehouse of his religion, with all the locks and
keys into his custody; and, indeed, makes the very
person of that man his religionesteems his associating
with him a sufficient eidence and commendation of his
own piety. So that a man mai" say his religion is now
6

8 LIFE OF IlIL TON.

no more within himself, but is become a dividual
movable, and goes and cornes near him according as
that good man frequents the bouse. Ite entertains him,
gives him gifts, feasts him, lodges him, his religion cornes
home at night, prays, is liberally supped and sumptuously
laid to sleep, rises, is saluted ; and after the malmsey or
some well-spiced brewage, and better breakfasted than
Ite whose morning appetite would bave gladly' fêd on
green figs between ]3ethany and Jerusalem, his religion
walks abroad at eight, and leaves his kind entertainer in
the shop, trading all day without his religicn." This is a
startling passage. We should bave pronounced hitherto
that Milton's one hopeless, congenital, irremediable want,
alike in literature and in lire, was humour. And now,
surely as ever Saul was among the prophets, bêhold
lIilton among the wits.

CHAPTER IV.

ANGING with Milton's spirit over the " fresh
woods and pastures new," foreshadowed in the-
closing verse of " Lycidas," we have left his mortal part
in its suburban dwelling in Aldersgate Street, which he-
seems to have first inhabited shortly before the con-
vocation of the Long Parliament in November, .164o.
His visible occupations are study and the instruction
of his nephews; by and by he becomes involved in
the revolutionary tempest that rages around ; and, while
living like a pedagogue, is writing like a prophet. He
is none the less cherishing lofty projects for epic and
drama ; and we also learn from Phillips that his society
included "some young sparks," and may assume that
he then, as afterwards--

Disapproved that care, though wise in show,
That with superfluous burden loads the day,
And, when God sends a cheerful hour, terrains."

There is eloquent testimony of his interest in public
affairs in his subscription of four pounds, a large sum
in those days, for the relief of the homeless Protestants
of Ulster. The progress of events must have filled him

84 L[FE OF

with exultation, and when at length civil war broke out
in September, i642, Parliament had no more zealous
champion. His zeal, however, did hot carry him into
the ranks, for which some biographers blame him. But
if he thought that he could serve lais cause better with
a pamphlet than with a musket, surely he had good
reason for what he thought. It should seem, moreover,
that if l\Iilton detested the enemy's principles, he
respected lais pikes and guns :--

WHEN TItE ASSAULT WAS INTENDED TO TIIE
CITY [NOVEMBER, 1642.]

Captain, or Colonel, or Knight in arms,
X,qose chance on these defenceless doors may seize,
If deed of honour did thee ever please,
Guard them, and him within protect from barres.
llc can requite thee, for he knows the charms
That call faine on such gentle acts as these,
And he can spread thy naine o'er lands and seas,
Whatever clime the sun's bright circle warms.
Lift hot thy spear against the Muse's bower :
The great Emathian conqueror bid spare
The house of Pindarus, when temple and tower
Wênt to the ground ; and the repeated air
Of sad Electra's poet had the power
To save the Athenian walls from ruin bare.

If this strain seems deficient in the fierceness befitting
a besieged patriot, let it be remembered that Milton's
doors were literally defenceless, being outside the
rampart of the City.
We now approach the most curious episode of
Milton's lire, and the most irreconcilable with the
conventional opinion of him. Up to this time this

AII TO.X I 85

heroic existence must have seemed dull to many, for
it bas been a lire without love. He has indeed, in his
beautiful Sonnet to the Nightingale (about I632), pro-
fessed himself a follower of Love: but if so, he has
hitherto followed at a most respectful distance. Ver
he had not erred, when in the Italian sonnet, so finely
rendered in Professor Masson's biography, he declared
the heart his vulnerable point :--

" Voung, gentle-natured, and a simple wooer,
Since from myself I stand in doubt to fly,
Lady, to thee my heart's poor gift would I
Offer devoutly ; and by tokens sure
I know it faithful, fearless, constant, pure,
In its conceptions graceful good, and high.
When the world roars, and flames the startled sky ;
In its own adamant it rests secure ;
.As free from chance and malice ever round,
And fears and hopes that vulgar minds confuse,
As it is loyal to each manly thing
And to the sounding lyre and to the Muse.
Only in that part is it hOt so sound
Where Love bath set in it his cureless sting."

It is highly probable that the very reaction from party
strife turned the young man's fancies to thoughts of love
in the spring of I643. Escorted, we must fear, by a
chorus of lnocking cuckoos, Milton, about sMay zlst,
rode into the country on a mysterious errand. It is
a ghoulish and ogreish idea, but it really seems as if the
elder 3Iilton quartered lais progeny upon his debtors,
as the ichneumon fly quarters hers upon caterpillars.
Iilton had, at all events for the last sixteen years,
been regularly drawing interest from an Oxfordshire

86 LIF.E OF

squire, Richard Powell of Forest Hill, who owed him
.£500, which must have been originally advanced by
the elder Milton. The Civil War had no doubt
interfered ,«ith Mr. Powell's ability to pay interest,
but, on the other hand, must have equally impaired
Milton's ability to exact it; for the Powells were
Cavaliers, and the Parliament's writ would run but
lamely in loyal Oxfordshire. Whether Milton vent
down on this eventful Vhitsuntide in the capacity of a
creditor cannot now be known ; and a like uncertainty
envelops the precise manner of the metamorphosis of
Mary Powell into Mary Milton. The maiden of seven-
teen may have charmed him by her contrast to the
damsels of the metropolis, she may have shielded him
from some peril, such as might easily beset him within
rive toiles of the Royalist headquarters, she may have
won his heart while pleading for her harassed father;
he may have fancied hers a mind he could mould to
perfect symmetry and deck with every accomplishment,
as the Gods fashioned and decorated Pandora. Milton
also seems to imply that his, or his bride's, better judg-
ment was partly overcome by "the persuasion of friends,
that acquaintance, as it increases, will amend all." It
is possible, too, that he had long b.een intimate with
his debtor's family, and that Mary had previously ruade
an impression upon him. If hot, his was the most
preposterously precipitate of poets' marriages; for a
month after leaving home he presented a mistress to
his astounded nephews and housekeeper. The newly-
wedded pair were accompanied or quickly followed by
a bevy of the bride's friends and relatives, who danced

3IIL TO1V. 87

and sang and feasted for a week in the quiet Puritan
bouse, then departed--and after a few weeks Milton
finds himself moved to compose his tract on the
"Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce."
How many weeks? The story seemed a straight-
forward one until Professor Masson remarked what
had before escaped attention. According to Phillips,
an inmate of the bouse at the period--" By that time
she had for a month, or thereabouts, led a philosophical
lire (after having been used to a great house, and nmch
company and joviality), ber friends, possibly incited by
ber own desire, made earnest suit by letter to have her
company the remaining part of the SUlnmer, which was
granted, on condition of ber return at the time ap-
pointed, Michaelmas or thereabout. Michaelmas being
corne, and no news of his wife's return, he sent for her
by letter, and receiving no answer sent several other
letters, which were also unansvered, so that at last he
dispatched down a foot-messenger; but the messenger
came back without an answer. He thought it would be
dishonourable ever to receive ber again after such a
repulse, and accordingly wrote two treatises," &c. Hem
we are distinctly assured that Mary Milton's desertion of
her husband, about Michaelmas, was the occasion of his
treatise on divorce. It follows that Milton's tract must
bave been written after Michaelmas. But the copy in
the British Museum belongcd to the bookseller
Thomason, who always inscribed the date of publica-
tion on every tract in his collection, when it was known
to him, and his date, as Professor Masson discovered,
is August L Must we believe that Phillips's account

88 LIFE OF

is a misrepresentation? lIust we, in Pattison's words,
"suppose that Milton was occupying himself with a
vehement and impassioned argument in favour of
divorce for incompatibility of temper, during the
honeymoon"? It would certainly seem so, and if
lIilton is to be vindicated it can only be by attention
to traits in his character, invisible on its surface, but
plainly discoverable in his actions.
The grandeur of Milton's poetry, and the dignity and
austerity of his private lire, naturally incline us to regard
him as a man of iron will, living by rule and reason, and
exempt from the sway of passionate impulse. The
incident of his marriage, and hot this incident alone,
refutes this conception of his character ; his nature was
as lyrical and mobile as a poet's should be. We have
seen "Comus" and "Lycidas" arise at another's bidding,
we shall see a casual remark beget " Paradise Regained."
He never attempts to utter his deepest religious con-
victions until caught by the contagious enthusiasm of
a revolution. If any incident in his lire could ever bave
compelled him to speak or die it must have been the
humiliating issue of his matrimonial adventure. To be
cast off after a month's trial like an unsatisfactory
ser-ant, to forfeit the hope of sympathy and companion-
ship which had allured him into the married state, to
forfeit it, unless the law could be altered, for ever!
The feelings of any sensitive man must find some
sort of expression in such an emergency. At another
period what Iilton learned in suffering would no doubt
bave been taught in song. But-pamphlets were then
the order of the day, and Milton's "Doctrine and

.]IIL TO,XC 89

Discipline of Divorce," in its first edition, is as much
the outpouring of an overburdened heart as any poem
could bave been. It bears every mark of a hastycom-
position, such as may well bave been written and printed
within the last days of July, following ZMary ZMilton's
departure. It is short. It deals with the most obvious
aspects of the question. Itis meagre in references
and citations ; two authors only are somevhat vaguely
alleged, Grotius and Beza. It does hot contain the
least allusion to his domestic circumstances, nor any-
thing unless the thesis itself, that could hinder his
wife's return. Everything Betokens that it was composed
in the bitterness of wounded feeling upon the incom-
patibility becoming manifest; but that he had hot yet
arrived at the point of demanding the application of
his general principle to his own special case. That
point would be reached when lary Alilton deliberately
refused to retum, and the chronology of the greatly
enlarged second edition, published in the following
February, entirely confirms ZPhillips's accourir. In one
point only he must be wrong. Ziary lilton's return to
ber father's house cannot have been a voluntary con-
cession on Ziilton's part, but must bave been wrung
from him after bitter contentions. Could we look into
the household during those weeks of wretchedness, we
should probably find lXlilton exceedingly deficient in
considération for the inexperienced girl of half his
age, brought from a gay circle of friends and kindred
to a grave, studious bouse. ]3ut it could not well
bave been otherwise. lilton was constitutionally un-
fit " to soothe and fondle," and his theories cannot

90 IFE OF

have contributed to correct lais practice. Itis "
for God only, she for God in hiln," condenses every
fallacy about -oman's truc relation to ber husband
and her Maker. In his Tractate on Education there is
nota word on the education of girls, and yet he wanted
an intellectual female companion. Where should the
woman be round at once submissive enough and learned
enough to meet such inconsistent exigencies? It might
have been said to him as afterwards to P, yron: "You
talk like a Rosicrucian, who will love nothing but a
sylph, who does hot believe in the existence of a sylph,
and who yet quarrels with the -hole universe for not
containing a sylph."
If Milton's first tract on divorce had not been a
mere ilnpromptu, extorted by the misery of finding "an
image of earth and phlegm" in her "with whom he
looked to be the co-partner of a sweet and gladsome
society," he would certainly have rendered his argument
more cogent and elaborate. The tract, in its inspired
portions, is a fine impassioned poem, fitter for the
Parliament of Love than the Parliament at Westminster.
The second edition is far more satisfactory as regards
that class of arguments which alone were likely to
impress the men of his generation, those derived from
the authority of the Scriptures and of dMnes. In
one of his principal points all Protestants and philoso-
phers will confess hirn to be right, his reference of the
marrer to Scripture and reason, and repudiation of the
medioeval canon law. It is hot here, nevertheless, that
Milton is most at home. The strength of his position
is Iris lofty idealism, his magnificent conception of the

AIIL TON. 91

institution he discusses, and his disdain for whatever
degrades it to conventionality or mere expediency.
"His idem of truc and perfect marriage," says lIr.
Ernest Myers, "appeared to him so sacred that he
could not adroit that considerations of expediency might
justify the law in maintaining sacred any meaner kind,
or at least any kind in which the vital element of
spiritual harmony was not." Here he is impregnable and
above criticism, but his handling of the more sublunary
departments of the subject must be unsatisfactory
to legislators, who have usually deemed his sublime
idealism fitter for the societies of the blest than for the
imperfect communities of mankind. When his "doc-
trine and discipline" shall bave been sanctioned by
lawgivers, we may be sure that the world is already
lauch better, or much worse.
As the girl-wife vanishes from lIilton's household her
place is taken by the venerable figure of his father.
The aged man had removed with his son Christopher
to Reading, probably before August, 1641 , when the
birth of a child of his name--Christopher's offspring as
it should seem--appears in the Reading register. Chris-
topher was to exemplify the law of reversion to a
primitive type. Though not yet a Roman Catholic
like his grandfather, he had retrograded into Royalism,
without becoming on that account estranged from his
elder brother. The surrender of Reading to the Parlia-
mentary forces in April, 1643, involved his " dissettle-
ment," and the lnigration of his father to the bouse of
John, with whom he was moreover better in accord
in religion and politics. Little external change resulted,

92 I.[:.E OF

"the old gentleman," says Phillips, "being wholly re-
tired to his test and devotion, with the least trouble
imaginable." About the saine time the household re-
ceived other additions in the shape of pupils, admitted,
Phillips is careful to assure us, by way of favour, as 3,I.
Jourdain selected stuffs for his friends. Milton's pamphlet
was perhaps not yet published, or not generally known
to be his, or his friends were indifferent to public
sentiment. Opinion was unquestionably against Milton,
nor can he bave profited much by the support, how-
ever practical, of a certain Irs. Attaway, who thought
that "she, for ber part, would look more into it, for
she had an unsanctified husband, that did hot walk
in the way of Sion, nor speak the language of Canaan,"
and by and by actually did what Milton only talked
of doing. We bave already seen that he had incurred
danger of prosecution from the Stationers' Company,
and in July, I644, he was denounced by name from the
pulpit by a divine of much note, Herbert t'almer,
author of a book long attributed to Bacon. But, if
criticised, he was read. 13y x645 lais Divorce tract was
in the third edition, and he had added three more
pamphletsmone to prove that the revered Martin ]3ucer
had agreed with him: two, the "Tetrachordon" and
"Colasterion," directed against his principal opponents,
Palmer, Featley, Caryl, Prynne, and an anonymous
pamphleteer, who seems to bave been a somewhat con-
temptible person, a serving-man turned attorney, but
whose production contains some not unwelcome hints
on the personal aspects of Milton's controversy. "We
believe you courir no woman to due conversation acces-

sible, as to )'ou, except she can speak Hebrew, Greek,
Latin, and French. and dispute against the canon law
as well as you." Milton's later tracts are not specially
interesting, except for the reiteration of his fine and
bold idealism on the institution of marriage, qualified
only by his no less strenuous insistance on the subjection
of woman. He allows, however, that " itis no small
glory to man that a creature so like him should be ruade
subject to him," and that "particular exceptions may
have place, if she exceed her llusband in prudence and
dexterity, and he contentedly yield ; for then a superior
and more natural law cornes in, that the wiser should
govern the less wise, whether male or female."
Milton's seminary, meanwhile, was prospering to such
a degree as to compel him to take a more commodious
house. Was it necessity or enthusiasm that kept him
to a task so little compatible with the repose he must
have needed even for such intellectual exercise as the
"Areopagitica," much more for the high designs he
had not ceased to meditate in verse? Enthusiasm,
one would certainly say, only that it is impossible to
tell to what extent his father's income, chiefly derived
from money out at interest, may have been impaired
by the confusion of the rimes. Whether he had done
rightly or wrongly in taking the duties of a preceptor
upon himself, his nephew's account attests the self-
sacrificing zeal with which he discharged them: we
groan as we read of hours which should bave been
devoted to lonely musing or noble composition passed
in "increasing as it were by proxy" his knowledge of
"Frontinus his Stratagems, with the two egregious poets

94 LIFF_, OF

Lucretius and Manilius." He might also have been
better employed than in dictating "A tractate he thought
fit to collect from the ablest of divines who have written
on that subject of atheism, Amesius, Wollebius," &c.
Here should be comfort for those who fear with Pattison
that Milton's addiction to politics deprived us of un-
numbered "Comuses." The excerpter of Amesius and
Wollebius, as we have so often insisted, needed great
stimulus for great achievements. Such stimulus would
probably bave corne superabundantly if he cçld at this
time bave had his way, for the most moral of men was
bent on assuming a direct antagonism to conventional
morality. He had maintained that marriage ought tobe
dissolved for mere incompatibility; his case Inust have
seemed much stronger now that incompatibility had pro-
duced desertion. He was hOt the man to shrink from
acting on his opinion when the fit season seemed to him
to have arrived; and in the summer of I645 he was
openly paying his addresses to "a very handsome and
witty gentlewoman, one of Dr. Davis's daughters."
Considering the consequences to the female partner to
the contract, itis clear that Miss Davis could hot be
expected to entertain Milton's proposais unless her
affection for him was very strong indeed. It is equally
clear that he cannot be acquitted of selfishness in urging
his suit unless he was quite sure of this, and his own
heart also was deeply interested. An event was about
to occur which seems to prove that these conditions
were wanting.
Nearly two years have passed since we have heard
of Mary Milton, who has been living with her parents

JIIL TOA . 9.3

in Oxfordshire. Her position as a nonainal wife must
have been most uncomfortable, but there is no indica-
tion of any effort on ber part to alter it, until the
Civil War was virtually terminated by the Battle of
Naseby, June, x645. Obstinate malignants had then
nothing to expect but fine and forfeiture, and their
son-in-law's Puritanism may have presented itself to
the Powells in the light of a rnerciful dispensation.
P-,.umours of Milton's suit to Miss Davis may also have
reached them; and they would know that an illegal
tie would be as fatal to all hopes of reconciliation as a
legal one. So, one day in July or August, x645, Milton,
paying lais usual calI on a. kinsman named Blackborough,"
not otherwise mentioned in his life, who lived in St.
Martin's-le-Grand Lane, u'here the General Post Office
now stands, "was surprised to see one whom he thought
to have never seen more, making submission and
begging pardon on her knees belote him." There are
two similar scenes in his writings, of which this may
have formed the groundwork, Dalila's visit to ber
betrayed husband in " Samson Agonistes," and Eve's
repentante in the tenth book of " Paradise Lost."
Samson replies, "Out, out, hyoena ! " Eve's "lowly
plight "
"in Adam wrought
Commiseration ; . . .
As one disarmed, his anger all he lost,
And thus with peaceful words upraised her soon."

' Two persons of this uncommon naine are mentioned in the State
Papers of 3Iilton's timeone a merchant who imported a cargo
of tituber ; the other a leatherseller. The name also occurs once in
Pepys.

96 LIFE OF

PhiIlips appears to intimate that the penitent's recep-
tion began like Dalila's and ended like Eve's. "He
might probably at first make some show of aversion
and rejection; but partly his own generous nature,
more inclinable to reconciliation than to perseverance
in anger and revenge, and partly the strong intercession
of fiiends on both sides, soon brought him to an act
of oblivion, and a firm league of peace for the future."
With a man of his magnanimous temper, conscious no
doubt that he had himself been far from blameless, such
a result was to be expected. But it was certainly well
that he had ruade no deeper impression than he seems
to bave donc upon "the handsome and witty gentle-
woman." One would like to know whether she and
Mistress Milton ever met, and what they said to and
thought of each other. For the present, Mary Milton
dwelt with Christopher's mother-in-law, and about Sep-
tember joined her husband in the more commodious
house in the Barbican whither he was migrating at the
rime of the reconciliation. It stood till 864, when
it was destroyed by a railway company.
Soon after removing to the Barbican, Milton set his
Muse's house in order, by publishing such poems,
English and Latin, as he deemed worthy of presentation.
Itis a remarkable proof both of his habitual cunc-
tativeness and his dependence on the suggestions of
others, that he should so long have allowed such
pieces to remain uncollected, and should only have
collected them at all at the solicitation of the publisher,
Humphrey l{oseley. The transaction is most honour-
able to the latter. "It is not any private respect of

«IIIL TON. 7
gain," he affirms  "for the slightest pamphlet is nowa-
days more-«endible than the works of learnedest men, but
itis the love I bear to our own language.. I know
not thy palate, how it relishes such dainties, nur how
hanuonious thy soul is: perhaps more trivial airs may
please better. Let the event guide itself which
way it will, I shall deserve of the age by bringing forth
into the light as truc a birth as the Muses have brought
forth since our famous Spenser wrote." The volume
was published on Jan. 2, x646. It is divided into
two parts, with separate title-page», the first containing
the English poems, the second the Latin. They were
probably sold separately. The frontispiece, engraved by
3,Iarshall, is unfortunately a sour and silly countenance»
passing as Milton's, but against hich he protests in
four lines of Greek appended, which the worthy
Marshall seems to have engraved without understand-
ing them. The 13ritish Museum copy in the King's
Library contains an additional IIS. poem of consider-
able merit, in a hand which some have thought like
Milton's, but few now believe it to have been either
written or transcribed by him. It is dated 647, but for
which circumstance one might indulge the fancy that the
copy had been a gift from him to some Italian friend,
for the binding is Italian, and the book must have seen
Italy.
_[ilton was now to learn what he afterwards taugk, t,
that "they also serve vho only stand and wait." He
had challenged obioquy in vindication of what he
deemed right" the cro»s actually laid upon hiln was
to fill his house with inimical and uncongenial depen-
7

98 LIFt OF

dants on his bounty and protection. The overthrow of
the Royalist cause was utterly ruinous to the Powells.
All went to wreck on the surrender of Oxford in June,
x646. The family estate was only saved from seques-
tration by a friendly neighbour taking possession of
it under cover of lais rîghts as creditor ; the family
mansion was occupied by the Parliamentarians, and the
household stuff sold to the harpies that followed in
their train ; the "malignant's" tituber went to rebuild
the good town of Banbury. It was impossible for the
Powells to remain in Oxfordshire, and Milton opened his
doors to theln as freely as though there had never been
any estrangement. Father, mother, several sons and
daughters came to dwell in a house already full of
pupils, with what inconvenience from want of room
and disquiet from clashing opinions may be conjectured.
"Those whom the mere necessity of neighbourhood,
or something else of a useless kind," he says to Dati,
"has closely conjoined with me, whether by accident
or the fie of law, they are the persons who sit daily in
my company, weary me, nay, by heaven, almost plague
me to death whenever they are jointly in the humour
for it." Milton's readiness to receive the mother,
deemed the chier instigator of her daughter's "froward-
ness," may have been partly due to the situation of
the latter, who gave him a daughter on July -"9, x646.
In January, x647, Mr. Powell died, leaving his affairs
in dire confusion. Two months afterwards Milton's
father followed him at the age of eighty-four, partly
cognisant, we will hope, of the gift he had bestowed
on his country in his son. It was probably owing to

2ZIL TOA . 99

the consequent ilnprovement in lXlilton's circumstances
that he about this time gave up his pupils, except his
nephews, and removed to a smaller house in High
Holborn, not since identified; the Powells also re-
moving to another dwelling. " No one," he says of
himself at this period, "ever saw me going about, no
one ever saw me asking anything among my friends,
or stationed at the doors of the Court with a petitioner's
face. I kept myself almost entirely at home, managing
on my own resources, though in this civil tumult they
were often in great part kept from inc. and contriving,
though burdened with taxes in the main rather op-
pressive, to lead my frugal life." The traces of his
literary activity at this time are fewpreparations for
a history of England, published long afterwards, an
ode, a sonnet, correspondence with Dati, some not very
successful versions of the Psalms. He seems to have
been partly engaged in preparing the treatise on
Christian Doctrine, vhich was fortunately reserved
for a serener day. In undertaking it at this period
he was missing a great opportunity. He might have
been the apostle of toleration in England, as Roger
Williains had been in America. The moment was
most favourable. Presbyterianism had got itself estab-
lished, but could hot pretend to represent the ma]ority
of the nation. It had been branded by Milton himself
in the memorable line: "New Presbyter is but old
Priest writ large." The Independents were for tolera-
tion, the Episcopalians had been for the time humbled
by adversity, the best minds in the nation, including
Cromwell, were Seekers or Latitude men, or sceptics.

100 ZIFE OF

Here was invitation enough for a work as much greater
than the "Areopagitica " as the principle of freedom of
thought is greater than the most august particu]ar appli-
cation ofit. Milton might have added the better half
of Locke's faine to lais own, and compelled the French
philosophers to sit at the feet of a ]3ible-loving English-
man. But unfortunately no external impulse stirred him
to action, as in the case of the "Areopagitica." l'resby-
terians growled at him occasionally  they did not fine
or imprison him, or put him out of the synagogue.
Thus his pen slumbered, and we are in danger of
forgetting that he was, in the ordinary sense of that
much-abused terre, no luritan, but a most free and
independent thinker, the vast sweep of whose thought
happened to coinclde for a while 'ith the narrow orbit
of so-called luritanism.
Impulse to work of another sort vas at hand. On
January 3% 649, Charles the First's head rolled on
the scaffold. On February 13th was published a pamphlet
from Milton's hand, which cannot have been begun
before the King's trial, another proof of his feverish
impetuosity vhen possessed by an overmastering idea.
The tit!e propounds two theses with very different titles
to acceptance. "The Tenure of Kings and Magis-
trates: proving that it is la'fu], and hath been held so
through all ages, for any vho bave the power to call to
account a tyrant or vicked king, and after due con-
viction to depose and put him to death : if the ordinary
magistrate have neglected or denied to do it." That
kings haxe no more immunity than others from the
consequences of evil doilg is a proposition which

illL TO.V. 101

seen'.ed monstrous to many in MiIton's day, but
which will command general assent in ours. But to
lay it down that " any uho bas the power" may
interpose to correct what he chooses to consider the
Iaches of the lawful magislrate is to hand over the
administration of the law to Judge Lynch--rather too
high a price to pay for the satisfaction of bringing even
a bad king to the block, lIilton's sneer at "vulgar
and irrational men, contesting for privileges, customs,
forms, and that old entanglement of iniquity, their
gibberish laws," is equivalent to an admission that
lis party Imd put itself beyond the pale of the law.
The only defence would be to show that it had
acted under great and overwhelming necessity; but
this he takes for granted, though knowing well that
it was denied by more than half the nation. I-Ils
argument, therefore, is inconclusive, except that portion
of if which modern opinion allows to pass without
argument. I-Ie seems indeed to adroit in his "Defen-
sio Secunda" that the tract was written less to vindicate
the King's execution than to saddle the protesting
Presbyterians with a share of tb.e responsibility. The
diction, though robust and sp!ritcd, is not his best,
and, on the whole, the most admirable feature in his
pamphlet is his courage in writing it. He was to speak
yet again on this theme as the mouthpiece of the
Commonwealth, thus earning honour and reward; it
was well to have shown first that he did not need
this incentive to expose himself to Royalist vengeance,
but had prompting enotgh in the intensity of his
private convictiens.

10 . LIFE OF

He had flung himself into a perilous breach. " Eikon
13asilike"--most timely of manifestoes--had been pub-
lished only four days belote the appearance of "The
Tenure of Kings and Magistrates." 13etween its literary
seduction and the horror gencrally excited by the
King's execution, the tide of public opinion was
turning fast. Milton no doubt felt that no claire upon
him could be equal to that which the State had a
right to prefer. He accepted thc office of "Secretary
for Foreign Tongues" to the Committee of Foreign
Affairs, a delegation from the Council of State of
forty-one members, by which the country was at that
rime governed. Vane, Whitclocke, and Marten were
among the members of the committee. The specified
duties of the post were the preparation and translation of
despatches from and to foreign governments. These were
always in Latin,--the Council, says that sturdy ]3riton,
Edward Phillips, " scorning to carry on their affairs in
the wheedling, ]isping jargon of the cringing French."
But it rnust have been understood that Milton's pen
would also be at the service of the Government outside
the narrow range of oflïcial correspondence. The salary
was handsome for the time--.2SS, equivalent to about
.£9oo of our money. It was an honourable post, on
the manner of whose discharge the credit of England
abroad somewhat depended; the foreign chanceries
were full of accomplishcd Latinists, and when I31ake's
cannon was not to be the mouthpiece, the Common-
wealth's message needed a silver trumpet. If was also as
likely as any employment to make a scholar a statesman.
If in some respects it opposed new obstacles to the

21IIL TON. 108

fulfilment of Milton's aspirations as a poet, he might
still feel that it would help him to the experience
which he had declared to be essential: "He who
would hot be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter
in laudable things, ought himself to be a true poem,
that is, a composition and pattern of the best and
honourablest things, hot presuming to sing high praises
of heroic men or famous cities, unless he have within
himself the experience and the practice of all that
which is praiseworthy." Up to this time Milton's ex-
perience of public affairs had been slight; he does not
seem to have enjoyed the intimŒEte acquaintance of
any man then active in the making of history. In our
day he would probably bave entered Parliament, but
that was impossible under a dispensation which allowed
a Parliament to sit till a Protector turned it out of
doors. He was, therefore, only acting upon his own
theory, and he seems to us to have been acting wisely
as well as courageously, when he consented to become
a humble but necessary wheel of the machinery of
administration, the Orpheus among the Argonauts of
the Commonwealth.

C HAPTER V.

ILTON was appointed Secretary for Foreign
Tongues on March 5, 649. He removed
from High Holborn to Spring Gardens to be near the
scene of his labours, and waa soon afterwards provided
with an official residence in Whitehall Palace, a huge
intricacy of passages and chambers, of which but a frag-
ment now remains. His first performance was in some
measure a false start ; for the epistle offering amity to the
Senate of Harnburg, clothed in his best Latin, was so un-
amiably regarded by that body that the English envoy
never formally delivered it. An epistle to the Dutch on
the murder of the Commonwealth's ambassador, Doris-
]aus, by refugee Cavaliers, had a better reception; and
Milton was soon engaged in drafting, not merely trans-
lating, a State paper designed for the press--observations
on the peace concluded by Ormond, the Royalist
commander in Ireland, with the confederated Catholics
in that country, and on the protest against the execution
of Charles I. volunteered by the Presbytery of ]3elfast.
The commentary was published in May, along 'ith the
documents. It is a spirited manifesto, cogent in enforcing
the necessity of the campaign about to be undertaken by

LIFF_ OF 3IIL TOit:

105

Cromwell. Ireland had at the moment exactly as many
factions as provinces; and never, perhaps, since the
days of Strongbow had been in a state of such utter con-
fusion. Employed in work like this, Milton did not
cease to be "an eagle towering in his pride of place,"
but he may seem to have degenerated into the "mousing
owl" when he pounced upon newswriters and ferreted
unlicensed pamphlets for sedition. True, there was
nothing in this occupation formally inconsistent with
anything he had written in the "Areopagitica"; yet one
wishes that the Council of State had provided otherwise
for this particular department of the public service.
Nothing but a sense of duty can bave reconciled him to
a task so invidious ; and there is some evidence of what
might well bave been believed without evidence--that
he mitigated the severity of the censorship as far as in
him lay. He was hOt to want for better occupation, for
the Council of State was about to devolve upon him the
charge of answering the great Royalist manifesto, "Eikon
Basilike."
The controversy respecting the authorship of the
" Eikon Basilike" is a remarkable instance of the degree
in which literary judgment may be biassed by political
prepossession. In the absence of other testimony one
might almost stamp a writer as Royalist or Parlia-
mentarian according as his verdict inclined to Charles I.
or ]3ishop Gauden. In fact, it is no easy matter to
balance the respective claims of two entirely different
kinds of testimony. The external evidence of Charles's
authorship is worth nothing. It is almost confined to
the assertions, forty years after the publication, of a few

106 ZIF.E OF

aged Cavaliers, who were all morally certain that Charles
wrote the book, and to whom a fiction supplying the
accidental lack of external testimony would have seemed
laudable and pious. The only wonder is that such
legends are hot far more numerous. On the other hand,
the internal evidence seems at first sight to make for the
king. The style is hot dissimilar to that of the reputed
royal author; the sentiments are such as would bave
well become him ; the assumed character is supported
throughout with consistency  and there are none of the
slips which a fabricator might bave been thought hardly
able to avoid. The supposed personator of the King
was unquestionably an unprincipled time-server. Is it
hot an axiom that a worthy book tan only proceed from
a worthy mind ?
"If this rail,
The pillared firmament is rottenness,
And earth's base built on stubble ! "

Against such considerations we have to set the stubborn
facts that ]3ishop Gauden did actually claire the author-
ship ; that he preferred his claire to the very loersons
who had the strongest interest in exploding it ; that he
invoked the testimony of those who must bave known
the truth, and could most easily have crushed the lie.;
that he convinced hot only Clarendon, but Charles's
own children, and received a substantial reward. In the
face of these undeniable facts, the numerous circum-
stances used with skill and ingenuity by Dr. Wordsworth
to invalidate his claire, are of little weight. The stronger
the apparent objections, the more certain that the loroofs
in Gauden's hands must have been overwhelming, and the

illIZ TOA . 107

greater the presumption that he was merely urging what
had always been known to several persons about the late
king. When, vdth this conviction, we rccur to the
"Eikon," and examine it in connection with Gauden's
acknowledged writings, the internal testimony against
him no longer seems so absolutely conclusive. Gauden's
style is by no means so bad as Hume represents it.
Many remarkable parallels between it and the diction
of the "Eikon" bave been pointcd out by Todd, and
the most searching modern investigator, Doblc. We
may also discover one matked intellectual tesemblance.
Nothing is more characteristic in the " Eikon " than its
indirectness. The writer is full of qualifications, limita-
tions, allowances; he fences and guards himself, and
seelns ahvays on the point of taking back what he has
said, but never does ; and veers and tacks, tacks and
veers, until he has worked himself into port. The like
peculiarity is very observable in Gauden, especially in his
once-popular " Companion to the Altar." There is also
a strong internal argument against Charles's authorship
in the preponderance of the theological elemcnt. That
this should occupy an important place in the writings
of a martyr for the Church of England was certainly to
be expected, but the theology of the "Eikon" has an
umnistakably professional flavour. Let any man read it
with an unbiassed mind, and then say whether he has
been listening to a king or to a chaplain. "One of us,"
pithily comments Archbishop Herring. " I write rather
like a divine than a prince," the assumed author acknow-
ledges, or is ruade to acknowledge. When to these con-
siderations is added that any scrap of the "Eikon "in the

108 LIFE OF

King's handvriting would have been treasured as an
inestimable relic, and that no scrap was ever produced,
there can be little question as to the verdict of criticism.
For all practical purposes, nevertheless, the "Eikon" in
Milton's rime was the King's book, for everybody thought
it so. lIilton hints some vague suspicions, but refrains
from impugning it seriously, and indeed the defenders

of its authent[city will be quite
that if Gauden had been dumb,
been blind.

jtlstified in asserting
Criticism would bave

According to Selden's biographer, Cromwell was at
first anxious that the "Eikon" should be answered by that
consummate jurist, and it was only on his declining the
task that it came into Milton's hands. That he also
would have declined it but for his official position may
be inferred from his own words : "I take it on me as a
work assigned, rather than by me chosen or affecte&"
His distaste may further be gauged by his tardiness ; while
"The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates" had been written
in little more than a week, his "Eikonoklastes," a reply to a
book published in February, did not appear until October
6th. His reluctance may be partly explained by his feeling
that "to descant on the misfortunes of a person fallen
from so high a dignity, who hath also paid his final debt
both to nature and his faults, is neither of itself a thing
commendable, nor the intention of this discourse."
The intention it may not bave been, but it was neces-
sarily the performance. The scheme of the " Eikon"
required the respondent to take up the case article by
article, a thing impossible to be done without abundant
"descant" of the kind which Milton deprecates. He is

compelled to fight the adversary on the latter's chosen
ground, and the eloquence which might bave swept ail
before it in a discussion of general principles is frit-
tered away in tiresome wrangling over a multitude of
minutize. His vigorous blows avail but little against
the impalpable ideal with which he is contending; his
arguments might frequently convince a court of justice,
but could do nothing to dispel the sorcery which en-
thralled the popular imagination. Iilton's "Eikono-
klastes" had only three editions, including a translation,
within the year; the "Eikon Basilike" is said to have
had fifty.
Milton's reputation as a political controversialist, how-
ever, was hOt to rest upon " Eikonoklastes," or to be
determined by a merely English public. The Royalists
had felt the necessity of appealing to the general verdict
of Europe, and had entrusted their cause to the most
enainent classical scholar of the age. "Fo us the idea
of commissioning a political manifesto from a philologist
seems eccentric; but erudition and the eruditc were
never so highly prized as in the seventeenth century.
3Ien's minds were still enchained by authority, and the
precedents of Agis, or ]3rutus, or Nehemiah, weighed
like dicta of Solomon or Justinian. The man of Greek,
r Latin, or Hebrew learning was, therefore, a person of
much greater consequence than he is now, and so much
the more if he enjoyed a high reputation and wrote
good Latin. Ail these qualifications were combined
in Claudius Salmasius, a Frenchman, ho had laid
scholars under an eternal obligatio'.a by his discovery
of the Palatine MS. of the Anthology at Heidelbe.rg, and

I10 LII«E OF

who, having embraced Protestantism from conviction,
lived in splendid style at Leyden, where the mere light
ofhis countenance--for he did not teach--was valued
by the University at three thousand livres a year. It
seems marvellous that a man should become dictator of
the republic of letters by editing "Solinus " and "The
Augustan History," however ably; but an achievement
like this, hot a "Paradise Lost" or a "Werther"
was the sic ilur ad asl'ra of the time. On the strength of
such Salmasius had pronounced ex cathedra on a multi-
plicity of topics, from episcopacy to hair-powder, and
there was no bishop and no perfumer between the Elack
Sea and the Irish who would hot rather bave the scholar
for him than against him. A man, too, to be named
with respect; no mere annotator, but a most sagacious
critic; peevish, it might be, but had he hot seven
grievous disorders at once ? One who had shown such
independence and integrity in various transactions of his
life, that we may be very sure that Charles II.'s hundred
Jacobuses, if ever given or even promised, were the very
least of the inducements that called him into the field
against the executioners of Charles I.
Whether, however, the hundred Jacobuses were forth-
coming or hOt, Salmasius's undertaking was none the
less a commission from Charles Ix., and the circumo
stance put him into a false position, and increased the
difficulty of his task. Human feeling is not easily recon-
ciled to the execution of a bad magistrate, unless he bas
also been a bad man. Charles I. was by no means a
bad man, only a mistaken one. He had been guilty of
many usurpations and much perfidy: but he b.ad

21IZL TO W 111

honestly believed his usurpations within the limits of
his prerogative ; and lais breaches of faith were com-
mitted against insurgents whom he regarded as seamen
look upon pirates, or shepherds upon wolves. Salma-
sius, however, pleading by commission from Charles's
son, can urge no such mitigating plea. He is compelled to
lnaintain the inviolability even of wicked sovereigns,
and spends two-thirds of his treatise in supporting a
proposition to state which is to refute it in the nine-
teenth century. In the latter part he is on stronger
ground. Charles had unquestionably been tried and
condemned by a tribunal destitute of legal authority,
and executed contrary to the wish and will of the great
majority of his subjects. ]3ut this was a theme for an
Englishman to handle. Sahnasius cannot think himself
into it, nor had he sufficient imagination to be inspired
by Charles as ]3urke (who, nevertheless, has borrowed
from him) was to be inspired by Marie Antoinette.
His bookmentitled "Defensio Regia pro Carolo I."
appeared in October or November, 649. On January
8, 65o , it was ordered by the Council of State "that
Mr. Milton do prepare something in answer to the tlook
of Salmasius, and when he hath done it bring it to the
Council." There were many reasons why he should be
entrusted with this commission, and only one why he
should not ; but one which would have seemed conclu-
sire to most men. His sight had long been failing.
He had already lost the use of one eye, and was warned
that if he imposed this additional strain upon his sight,
that of the other would follow. He had seen the
greatest astronomer of the age condemned to inactivity

112 LIFE OF

and helplessness, and could measure his own by the
misery of Galileo. He calmly accepted his duty along
with its penalty, without complaint or reluctance. If he
could have performed his task in the spirit with which
he undertook it, he would bave produced a work more
sublime than "Paradise Lost.':
This, of course, was hot possible. The efficiency of
a controversialist in the seventeenth century was ahnost
estimated in the ratio of his scurrility, especially when
he wrote Latin. From this point of view Milton had
got his opponent at a tremendous disadvantage. With
the best will in the world, Sahnasius had corne short in
personal abuse, for, as the initiator of the dispute, he
had no personal antagonist. In denouncing the general
herd of regicides and parricides he had hurt nobody in
particular, while concentrating all Milton's lightnings
on lais own unlucky head. They seared and scathed
a literary dictator whom jealous enemies had long
sighed to behold insulted and humiliated, while sur-
prise equalled delight at seeing the blow dealt from a
quarter so utterly unexpected. There is no comparison
between the invective of Milton and of Salmasius ; hot
so much from Milton's superiority as a controversialist,
though this is very evident, as because he writes under
the inspiration of a true passion. His scorn of the pre-
sumptuous intermeddler who bas dared to libel the
people of England is ten thousand times more real than
Sahnasius's official indignation at the execution of
Charles. His contempt for Salmasius's pedantry is
quite genuine; and he revels in ecstasies ot savage
glee when taunting the apologist cf tylanny with his

.Il!I_. TO A ç 11

own notorious subjection to a tyrannical wife. But the
reviler in Milton is too far ahead of the reasoner. He
seems to set more store by his personalities than by his
principles. On the question of the legality of Charles's
execution he has indeed little argument to on'er; and
his views on the wider question of the general responsi-
bility of kings, sound and noble in themselves, surfer
from the mass of irrelevant quotation with which it was
in that age necessary to prop them up. The great
success of his reply (" Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio "
arose mainly from the general satisfaction that Sahnasius
should at length have met with his match. The book,
published in or about lIarch, x65x , instantly won over
European public opinion, so far as the question was a
literary one. Every distinguished foreigner then resident
in London, Milton says, either called upon him to con-
gratulate him, or took the opportunity of a casual meeting.
13y May, says Heinsius, rive editions were printed or print-
ing in Holland, and two translations. "I had expected
nothing of such quality from the Englishman," writes
"Vossius. The Diet of Ratisbon ordered "that all the
books of Miltonius should be searched for and confis-
cated." Parisian magistrates burned it on their own re-
sponsibility. Salmasius himself was then at Stockholm,
where Queen Christina, who did hOt, like Catherine II.,
recognize the necessity of "standing by her order," could
hot help letting him see that she regarded Milton as th.e
victor. Vexation, some thought, contributed as much as
climate to determine his return to Holland. He died
in September, i653, at Spa, as, remote from books, but
making his memory lais library, he was penning his answer.

114 LIFF_. OF

This unfinished production, edited by his son, appeared
after the Restoration, when the very embers of the
controversy had grown cold, and the palrn of literary
victory had been irrevocably adjudged to lXIilton.
lXlilton could hear the plaudits, he could hot see the
wreaths. The total Ioss of his sight may be dated from
lXlarch, 65_'2 , a year after the publication of his reply.
It was then necessary to provide him with an assistant--
that no change should have been ruade in his position or
salary shows either the value attached to his services or
the feeling that special consideration was due to one who
had voluntarily given his eyes for lais country. "The
choice lay before me," he writes, "between dereliction
of a supreme duty and loss of eyesight ; in such a case
I could hot listen to the physician, hot if -Esculapius
himself had spoken from his sanctuary ; I could hot but
obey that inward monitor, I know not what, that spoke
to me from heaven." In Septernber, 654 , he described
the symptoms of his infirmity to his friend, the Greek
Philaras, who had flattered him with hopes of cure from
the dexterity of the French oculist Thevenot. He tells
him how his sight began to fail about ten years before ;
how in the morning he felt his eyes shrinking from the
effort to read anything; how the light of a candle ap-
peared like a spectrum of various colours ; how, little by
little, darkness crept over the left eye; and objects
beheld by the right seemed to waver to and fro ; how this
was accompanied by a kind of dizziness and heaviness
which weighed upon him throughout the afternoon.
"Yet the darkness which is perpetually before me seems
always nearer to a whitish than to a blackish, and such

.MIL TO2V. 115

that, when the eye rolls itself, there is admitted, as through
a small chink, a certain little trifle of light." Elsewhere
he says that his eyes are hot disfigured :

" Clear
To outward view of blemish or of spot."

These symptoms have been pronounced to resemble those
of glaucoma. Milton himself, in " Paradise Lost," hesi-
tates between amaurosis (" drop serene ") and cataract
("suffusion "). Nothing is said of his having been
recommended to use glasses or other precautionary con-
trivances. Cheselden was hot yet, and the oculist's art
was probably not well understood. The sufferer himself,
while not repining or despairing of medical assistance,
evidently has little hope from it. "Whatever ray of hope
may be for me from your famous physician, all the saine,
as in a case quite incurable, I prepare and compose
myself accordingly. My darkness hitherto, by the singular
kindness of God, amid test and studies, and the voices
and greetings of friends, bas been much casier to bear
than that deathly one. Eut if, as is written, ' Man doth
hot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God,' what should prevent me from
resting in the belief that eyesight lies not in eyes alone,
but enough for all purposes in God's leading and provi-
dence ? Verily, while only He looks out for me, and
provides for me, as He doth; teaching me and leading
me forth with His hand through my whole lire, I shall
willingly, since it bath seemed good to Him, have given
my eyes their long holiday. And to you I now bid fare-
well, with a mind hot less brave and steadfast than if I

116 I_IFi OF
were Lynceus himself for keenness of sight." eligion
and philosophy, of which no brighter example was ever
given, did hot, in this sore trial, disdain the support of a
manly pride :--
" What supports me, dost thou ask ?
The conscience, friend, to have lost :hem overplied
In liberty's defence, my noble task,
O.-which all Europe rings from side to side :
Th!s thought might lead me throtgh the world's vain mask,
Content though blind, had I no better guide."
Noble words, and Milton might well triumph in his
victory in the field of intellectual combat. But if his
pamphlet could have put Charles the First's head on
again, then, and then only, could it have been of real
political service to his party.
Milton's loss of sight was accompanied by domestic
sorrow, though perhaps not felt with special acuteness.
Since the birth of his eldest daughter in 646, his wife
had given him three more children--a daughter, born in
October, 648 ; a son, born in March, 650 , who died
shortly afterwards ; and another daughter, born in May,
65-',. The birth of this child may have been connected
with the death of the mother in the saine or the fo!low-
ing month. The household had apparently been peace-
ful, but it is unlikely that 5Iary lIilton can bave been a
companion to her husband, or syrnpathized with such
fraction of his mind as it was given ber to under-
stand. She must have become considerab!y emancipated
from the creeds of her girlhood if his later writings
could have been anything but detestable to ber ; and, on
the whole, much as one pities hcr probably wasted lire,

.I:'iL TO.V. 117
her disppearance from the scene, if trgic in ber igno-
rance to the lst of the destny that might bave been
hers, is not unccompanied wlth a sense of relief. Great,
nevertheless, nmst bave been the blind poet's embarrass-
ment as the father of three little daughters. luch evil,
it is to be feared, had already been sown; and his
temperament, his affliction, and his circumstances alike
nurtured the evil yet to corne. He was then living in
Petty France, Westminster, having been obliged, either
by the necessities of his health or of the public service,
to give up his apartments in Whitehall. The bouse
stood till i877 , a foflorn tenement in these latter years;
far different, probably, when the neighbourhood was
fashionable and the back windows looked on St. James's
Park. It is associated with other celebrated names,
having been owned by Bentham and occupied by
Hazlitt.
The controversy with Salmasius had an epilogue,
chiefly memorable in so far as it occasioned iXIilton
to indulge in autobiography, and to record his estimate
of some of the heroes of the Colnlnonwealth. Among
 arious replies to his "Defensio," not deserving of notice
here, appeared one of especial acrimony, "Regii San-
guinis Clamor ad Coelum," published about August,
I652. It was a prodigy of scurrilous invective, bettering
the bad example which Iilton had set (but which hun-
dreds in that age had set him) of ridicu!ing Salmasius's
foibles when he should bave been answering his argu-
ments. Having been in Italy, he was taxed with Italian
vices : he would have been accused of cannibalisln had
his path lain towards the Caribee Islands. A fulsome

118 LIF2 OF

dedication to Sahnasius tended to fix the suspicion of
authorship upon Alexander Morus, a Frenchman of
Scotch extraction, Professor of Sacred History at Amster-
dam, and pastor of the Walloon Church, then an inmate
of Salmasius's house, who actuaIly had written the dedi-
cation and corrected the proof. The real author, how-
ever, was Peter Du Moulin, ex-rector of Wheldrake, in
Yorkshire. The dedicatory ink was hardly dry ere
Morus was invol,«ed in a desperate quarrel with Salmasius
through the latter's impelious wife, who accused Morus
of having been over-attentive to her English waiting-
maid, whose patronymic is lost to history under the
Latinized form of -Bontia. Failing to make 3Iorus
marry the damsel, she sought to deprive him of his
ecclesiastical and professorial dignities. The correspon-
dence of Heinsius and Vossius shmvs what intense
amusement the affair occasioned to such among the
scholars of the period as were unkindly affected towards
Salmasius. Morus was ultimateiy acquitted, but his
position in Holland had become uncomfortable, and he
was glad to accept an im,'itatior from the congregation at
Charenton, celebrated for its lunatics. Understanding,
meanwhile, that Milton was preparing a reply, and being
naturally unwiiling to brave invective in the cause of a
book which he had hOt written, and of a patron who had
cast him off, he pro:ested his innocence of the autlmrship,
and sought to ward off the coming stonn by every means
short of disclosing the writer. Milton, however, es-
teeming his Latin of llll.lch more importance than Morus's
character, and justly considering with Voltaire, " que
cet Habacuc était capable de tout," persisted in ex-

MILTO2V'. 119

hibiting himself as thc blind Cyclop dealing blows amiss.
His reply appeared in May, x654 , and a rejoinder by
lIorus produced a final retort in August, x655. Both
are full of personalities, including a spirited description
of the scratching of !Iorus's face by the injured Bontia.
These may sink into oblivion, while we may be grateful
for the occasion which led Milton to express himself with
such fortitude and dignity on his affliction and its allevia-
tions :--" Let the calumniators of God's judgments cease
to revile rne, and to forge their superstitious dreams about
me. Let them be assured that I neither regret my lot
nor ara ashamed of it, that I remain unmoved and
fixed in my opinion, that I neither believe nor feel
myself an object of God's anger, but actually experience
and acknowledge His fatherly mercy and kindness to me
in all matters of greatest moment--especially in that
I am able, through His consolation and His strengthen-
ing of my spirit, to acquiesce in His divine will, thinking
oftener of what He has bestowed upon me than of what
He has withheld : finally, that I would hot exchange the
consciousness of what I have done with that of any
deed of theirs, however righteous, or part with my always
pleasant and tranquil recollection of the saine." He
adds that his friends cherish him, study his wants,
favour hiln with their society more assiduously even
than before, and that the Commonwealth treats him
with as much honour as if, according to the customs of
the _Athenians of old, it had decreed him public support
for his lire in the Prytaneum.
Iilton's tract is also interesting for its pen-portraits
of some of the worthies of the Commonwealth, and its

1OEo L1FE OF

indications of his own views on the pohtics of his
troubled times. Bradshaw is eulogized with great
elegance and equal truth for his manly courage and
strict consistency. " Always equal to himself, and like
a consul re-elected for another year, so that you would
say he not only judged the King from lais tribunal,
but is judging him all his lire." This was matter of
notoriety : one may hope that Milton had equal reason
for his praise of Bradshaw's affability, munificence, and
placability. The comparison of Fairfax to the elder
Scipio Africanus is more accurate than is always or
often the case with historical parallels, and by a
dexterous turn, surprising if we have forgotten the
scholar in the controversialist, Fairfax's failure in
statesnaanship, as Milton deemed it, is not only ex-
tenuated, but is ruade to usher in the more commanding
personality of Cromwell. Cœesar, says Johnson, had not
more elegant flattery than Cromwell received from
Milton- nor Augustus, he might have added, enco-
miums more heartfelt and sincere. Milton was one
• of the innumerable proofs that a man may be very
much of a Republican without being anything of a
Liberal. He was as firm a believer in right divine
as any Cavalier, save that in his view such right was
vested in the worthiest ; that is, practically, the strongest.
An admirable doctrine for i653,--how unfit for 66o
remained to be discovered by him. Under its influence
he had successively swallowed Pride's Purge, the execu-
tion of Charles I. by a self-constituted tribunal, and
Cromwell's expulsion of the scanty remnant of what
had once seemed the more than Roman senate of 64I.

,IIIL TO.V. 121

There is great reason to believe with Professor Masson
that a tract vindicating this violence was actually taken
down from his lips. It is impossible to say that he was
wrong. Cromwell really was standing between England
and anarchy. But Milton might have been expected to
manifest some compunction at the disappointment of his
on brilliant hopes, and some alarm at the condition
of the vessel of the State reduced to ber last plank.
Authority actually had corne into the hands of the king-
liest man in England, valiant and prudent, magnanimous
and merciful. But Cromwell's lire was precarious, and
what af ter Cromwell? Was the ancient constitution,
with its halo of antiquity, its settled methods, and its
substantial safeguards, -isely exchanged for one lire,
already the mark for a thousand bullets? lXIilton did
not reflect, or he kept his reflections to himself. The
one point on which he does seem nervous is lest his
hero should call himself vhat he is. OEhe naine of
Protector even is a stumbling-block, though one tan
get over it. "You kave, by ass:ming a title likest that
of Father of ycur Country, allowed ycurself to be, one
cannot say elevated, but rather brought down so many
stages frcm yeur real sublimity, and as it were forced
into tank for the public convenier.ce." But there must
be no question of a higher title :

" You bave, in your far higher majesty, scerned the tit!e of King.
And surely uith justice : for if in your l;resent greatness you were
to be taken ith that naine hicla you -ere able hen a private
man to reduce and bring to nothing, it would be almost as if,
when by the help of the true God you had subdued some idolatrous
nation, you were to worship the gods you had yourself overcome."

125 Lll,'lz" OF

This warning, occurring in the midst of a magnificent
panegyric, sufficiently vindicates lIilton against the
charge of servile flattery. The frank advice which
he gives Cromwell on questions of policy is less con-
clusive evidence: for, except on the point of disestab-
lishment, it was such as Cromwell had already given
himself. Professor Masson's excellent summary of it
may be further condensed thus--. Reliance on a
council of well-selected associates. _. Absolute volun-
taryism in religion. 3- Legislation not to be meddle-
some or over-puritanical. 4. University and scholastic
cndowments to be ruade the rewards of approved
merit. 5- Entire liberty of publication at the risk of
the publisher. 6. Constant inclination towards the
generous view of things. The advice of an enthusiastic
idealist, Puritan by the accident of his times, but
whose true affinities were with Mill and Shelley
and Rousseau.
An interesting question arises in connection with
Iilton's oncial duties: had he any real influence on
the counsels of Government? or was he a mere
secretary? It would be pleasing to conceive of him
as Vizier to the only Englishman of the day whose
greatness can be compared with his; to imagine him
playing Aristotle to Cromwell's Alexander. We have
seen him ffeely tendering Cromwell what might bave
been unpalatable advice, and learn from Du Moulin's
lampoon that he was accused of having behaved to the
Protector with something of dictatorial rudeness. But
it seems impossible to point to any direct influence
of his mind in the administration; and his own depart-

ment of Foreign Affairs was neither one which hc was
peculiarly qualified to direct, nor one in which he
was likely to differ from the ruling powers. "A
spirited foreign policy " was then the motto of all the
leading men of England. ]3efore Milton's loss of sight
his duties included attendance upon foreign envoys
on State occasions, of which he must afterwards have
been to a considêrable extent relieved. The collection
of his official correspondence published in 676 is
less remarkable for the quantity of work than the
quality. The letters are not very numerous, but are
mostly written on occasions requiring a choice dignity
of expression. "The uniformly Mihonic style of the
greater letters," says Professor Masson, "utterly pre-
cludes the idea that Milton was only the translator
of drafts furnished him." We seem to see him sitting
down to dictate, weighing out the fine gold of his
Latin sentences to the stately accompaniment, it may
be, of his chamber-organ. War is declared against the
Dutch; the Spanish ambassador is reproved for his
protraction of business; the Grand Duke of Tuscany
is warmly thanked for protecting English ships in the
harbour of Leghorn ; the French king is admonished
to indemnify F.nglish merchants for wrongful seizure ;
the Protestant Swiss cantons are encouraged to fight
for their religion; the King of Sweden is felicitated on
the birth of a son and heir, and on the Treaty of Roes-
kilde; the King of Portugal is pressed to use more
diligence in investigating the attempted assassination
of the English minister; an ambassador is accredited
to Russia; Mazarin is congratulated on the capture of

124 LIFE OF

Dunkirk. Of all his letters, none can bave stirred
Milton's personal feelings so deeply as the epistle
of remonstrance to the Duke of Savoy on the atrocious
massacre of the Vaudois Protestants (655); but the
document is dignified and measured in tone. His
emotion round relief in his greatest sonnet ; blending,
as Wordsworth implies, trumpet notes with his habitual
organ-music; the most memorable example in out
language of the tire and passion which may inspire a
poetical form which some have deemed only fit to cele-
brate a "mistress's eyebrow "' "--

'. Avenge, O Lord, Thy slaughtered saints, whose bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold ;
Even them who kept Thy truth so pure of old,
When all out fathers worshipped stocks and stones.
Forget not : in Thy book record their groans
Who were Thy sheep, and in their ancient fold
Slaln by the bloody Piemontese that rolled
Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans
The vales redoubled to the hills, and they
To Heaven. Their martyred blood and ashes sow
O'er ail the Italian fields, where still doth sway
The triple tyrant ; that from these may grow
A hundredfold, who, having learned Thy way,
Early may fly the Babylonian woe."

This is what Johnson calls "carving heads upon
cherry-stones !"
Milton's calamity had, of course, required special
assistance. He had first had Weckherlin as coadjutor,
then Philip Meadows, finally Andrew Marvell. His

 Rossetti's sonnet, "On the Refusal of Aid between Nations,"
is an almost equally rêmarkable instance.

emoluments had been reduced, in April, i655 , from
"£288 to .£15o a year, but the diminished allowance was
ruade perpetual instead of annual, and seems to bave
been intended as a retiring pension. He nevertheless
continued to work, drawing salary at the rate of .£2oo a
year, and his pen was never more active than during the
last months of Oliver's Protectorate. He continued to
serve under Richard, writing eleven letters between
September, i658 , and February, i659. With two letters
for the restored Parliament afler Richard's abdication,
written in May, i659 , Milton, though his formal super-
session was yet to corne, virtually bade adieu to the Civil
Service :--

" God doth not need
Either man's work, or his own girls ; who best
Bear Itis mild yoke, they serve tlim best : His state
kingly ; thousands at His bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without test ;
They also serve who only stand and wait."

The principal domestic events in Milton's lire, mean-
while, had been his marriage with Katherine, daughter
of an unidentified Captain Woodcock, in November,
i656 ; and the successive loss of her and an infant
daughter in February and Match, i658. It is probable
that Milton literally never saw his wife, whose worth
and the consequent happiness of the fifteen months
of their too brief union, are sufficiently attested by
his sonnet on the dream in which he fancied her restored
to him, with the striking conclusion, "Day brought back
my night." Of his daughters at the rime, much may

126 LIF OF

be conjectured, but nothing is known ; his nephews,
whose education had cost him such anxious tare, though
not undutifuI in their personaI reIations with him, were
sources of uneasiness from their own misadventures, and
might bave been even more so as sinister omens of the
ways in which the rising generation was to walk. The
fiuits of their bringing up upon the egregious Lucretius
and ManiIius were apparently" Satyr against Hypocrites,"
Le., Puritans; " Mysteries of Love and Eloquence;"
"Sportive Wit or Muses' Merriment," which last brought
the Council down upon John Phillips as a propagator of
ilnmorality. In his nephews MiIton might have seen,
though we may be sure he did hot see, how fatally the
austerity of the Commonwealth had alienated those who
would soon determine whether the Commonwealth should
exist. Unconscious of the "engine at the door," he
could spend happy social hours with attached friends
Andrew Marvell, his assistant in the secretaryship and
poetical satellite; his oId pupil Cyriack Skinner; Lady
RaneIagh; 01denburg, the Bremen envoy, destined to
faine as Secretary of the Royal Society and the corre-
spondent of Spinoza ; and a choice hand of" enthusiastic
young mon who accounted ita privilege to read to him,
or act as his arnanuenses, or hear him talk." A sonnet
inscribed to one of these, Henry Lawrence, gives a
pleasing picture of the ]3ritish Homer in his Horatian
hour :

" Lavrence, of virtuous father virtuous son,
Now that the fields are dank, and vays are mire,
\Yhere shall we sometimes meet, and by the tire
IIelp waste a sullen day, what may be won

[IL TOA :

127

From the hard season gaining ? Time will run
On smoother, till Fuvonius re-inspire
The frozen earth, and clothe in fresh attire
The lily and rose, that neither sowed nor spun.
What neat rcpast shall feast us, light and choice,
Of Attic taste, with wine, whence we may rise
To hear the lute well touched, or artful voice
V'arble immortal notes and Tuscan air ?
He who of those delights can judge, and spare
To interpose them oft, is hot unwise."

CHAPTER VI.

"Thought by thought in heaven-defying minds
.As flake by flake is piled, till some great truth
Is loosened, and the nations echo round."

HESE lines, slightly altered from Shelley, are more
applicable to the slow growth and sudden appari-
tion of " Paradise Lost" than to most of those births of
genius whose maturity has required a long gestation. In
most such instances the work, hoxvever obstructed, has
not seemed asleep. In *Iilton's case the germ slumbered
in the soil seventeen or eighteen years before the ap-
pearance of a blade, save one of the minutest. Af ter
two or three years he ceased, so far as external indi-
cations evince, to consciously occupy himself with the
idea of "Paradise Lost." His country might well claire
the best part of his energies, but even the intervals of
literary leisure were given to Amesius and Wollebius
rather than Thamyris and Moeonides. Yet the material
of his immortal poem must have gone on accumulating,
or inspiration, when it came at last, could not so soon
have been transmuted into song. It can hardly be
doubted that his cruel affliction was, in truth, the crowning
blessing of his lire. lemanded thus to solemn medi-

] [IL TOIV. 129
ration, he would gradually fise to the height of his great
argument; he would reflect with alarm how little, in
comparison with his powers, he had yet done to "sus-
tain the expectation he had hot rcfused:" and he
would corne little by little to the point when he could
unfold his wings upon his own impulse, instead of need-
ing, as al-ays hitherto, the impulse of others. We
cannot tell what influence finally launched this high-piled
avalanche of thrice-sifted SHOW. The time is better
ascertained. Aubrey refers it to 1558 , the last year of
Oliver's Protectorate. As Cromwell's death virtually
closed 5Iilton's ofiïcial labours, a Genie, overshadowing
land and sea, arose from the shattered vase of the Latin
Secretaryship.
Nothing is more interesting than to observe the first
gropings of genius in pursuit of its aim. Ample
insight, as regards 5[ilton, is afforded by the precious
manuscripts given to Trinity College, Cambridge, by Sir
Henry Newton Puckering (we know hot how he got
them), and preserved by the pious care of Charles iXlason
and Sir Thomas Clarke. By the portion of the MSS.
relating to Milton's draffs of projected poems, which
date about 164o-I642, we see that the form of his
work was to bave been dramatic, and that, iii respect of
subject, the s'iff mind was divided between Scripture
and British History. No fewer than ninety-nine possible
themes--sixty-one Scriptural, and thirty-eight historical
or legendary--are jotted down by him. Four of these
relate to "Paradise Lost." Among the most remarkable
of the other subjects are " Sodom" (the plan is detailed
at considerable length, and, though evidently im-
9

130 ZI:'E 0/;

practicable, is interesting as a counterpart of " Comus"),
"Samson Marrying," "Ahab," "John the Baptist,"
"Christus Patiens," "Vortigern," "Alfred the Great,"
"Harold," "Athirco" (a very striking subject from a
Scotch legend), and "Macbeth," where Duncan's ghost
was to have appeared instead of 13anquo's, and seemingly
taken a share in the action. "Arthur," so much in his
mind when he wrote the " Epitaphium Damonis," does
hot appear at all. Two of the drafts of "Paradise Lost"
are mere lists of dramatis ersonce, but the others in-
dicate the shape which the conception had then assumed
in Milton's mind as the nucleus of a religious drama on
the pattern of the medizeval mystery or miracle play.
Could he bave had any vague knowledge of the
autos of Calderon? In the second and more com-
plete draft Gabriel speaks the prologue. Lucifer
moans hi fall and altercates with the Chorus
Angels. Eve's temptation apparently takes place off
the stage, an arrangement which Milton would probably
bave reconsidered. The plan would have given scope
for much splendid poetry, especially where, before
Adam's expulsion, "the Angel causes to pass before his
eyes a masque of all the evils of this lire and world,"
a conception traceable in the eleventh book of "Para-
dise Lost." But it is grievously cramped in comparison
with the ffeedom of the epic, as Milton must soon have
discovered. That he worked upon it appears from the
extremely interesting fact, preserved by Phillips, that
Satan's address to the Sun is part of a dramatic speech
which, according to Milton's p!an in 1642 or 1643, would
have formed the exordium of his tragedy. Of the

IIIL TON. 18].

literary sources which may have originated or enriche:l
the conception of "Paradise Lost" in Milton's mind we
shall speak hereafter. It must suffice for the present to
remark that his purpose had from the first been didactic.
This is particularly visible in the notes of alternative
subjects in his manuscripts, many of which palpaby
allude to the ecclesiastical and political incidents of his
rime, while one is strikingly prophetic of his own
defence of the execution of Charles I. "The conten-
tion between the father of Zimri and Eleazar whether he
ought to bave slain his son without law ; next the ana-
bassadors of the Moabites expostulating about Cosbi, a
stranger and a noblewoman, slain by Phineas. It may
be argued about reformation and punishment illegal, and,
as it were, by tumult. After ail arguments driven home,
then the word of the Lord may be brought, acquitting
and approving Phineas." It was his earnest aire at ail
events to compose something "doctrinal and exemplary
to a nation." "Whatsoever," he says in 64, "vhat-
soever in religion is holy and sublime, in virtue amiable
or grave, whatsoever bath passion or admiration in ail
the changes of that which is called fortune from without,
or the wily subtleties and reftuxes of man's thoughts
from within--all these things with a solid and treatable
smoothness to paint out and describe; teaching over
the whole book of sanctity and virtue, through all the
instances of example, with much delight, to those
especially of soft and delicious temper who will not so
much as look upon Truth herself unless they see ber
elegantly drest, that, whereas the paths of honesty and
good life appear more rugged and difficult, though

they be indeed easy and pleasant, they would then
appear to all men easy and pleasant though they were
rugged and difficult in deed." An easier task than that
of "justifying the ways of God to man" by the cosmo-
gony and anthropology of " Paradise Lost."
If it is true--and the fact seems well attested--that
Milton's poetical rein flowed only from the autumnal
equinox to the vernal,' he cannot well bave commenced
"Paradise Lost" before the death of Cromwell, or bave
nade vcry great progress with it ere his conception of
his duty called him away to questions of ecclesiastical
policy. The one point on which he had irreconcilably
differed flom Cromwell was that of a State Church ;
Cromwell, the practical man, perceiving its necessity, and
Milton, the idealist, seeing only its want of logic. Un-
fortunately, this inconsequence existed only for the few
thinkers who could in that age rise to the acceptance of
Milton's prelnises. In his "Treatise of Civil Power in
Ecclesiastical Causes," published in February, I659, he
emphatically insists that the civil magistrate has neither
the right nor the power to interfere in matters of religion,
and concludes: "The defence only of the Church belongs
to the magistrate. Had he once learnt not further
to concern himself with Church affairs, hall his labour
might be spared and the comlnonwealth better tended."
Itis to be regretted that he had hot entered upon this
great subject at an earlier period. The little tract, ad-
dressed to the Republican members of Parliament, is
designedly homely in style, and the magnificence of
 The same is recorded of Friedrich Hebbel, the most original of
modern German drarnatists.

.]IIL TO,V. 133

Milton's diction is still further tamed down by the
necessity of resorting to dictation. It is nevertheless a
powerful piece of argument, in its own sphere of abstract
reason unanswerable, and only questionable in that lower
sphere of expediency which Milton disdained. In the
following August appeared a sequel with the sarcastic
title, "Considerations on the likeliest means to remove
Hirelings out of the Church." The recipe is silnple and
efficacious--cease to hire them, and thcy will cease to be
hirelings. Suppress ail ecclesiastical endowments, and
let the clergyman be supported by free-will offerings.
The fact that this would have consigned about hall the
established clergy to beggary does not trouble him ; nor
were they likely to be greatly troubled by a proposal
so sublimely impracticable. Vested interests can only
be over-ridden in times of revolution, and 1659 , in
outward appearance a year of anarchy, was in truth a
year of reaction. For the rest, it is tobe remarked that
Milton scarcely allowed the ministry to be followed as a
profession, and that his views on ecclesiastical organiza-
tion had corne to coincide very nearly with those now
held by the Plymouth Brethren.
There is much plausibility in Pattison's comparison
of the men of the Commonwealth disputing about
matters of this sort on the eve of the Restoration, to
the Greeks of Constantinople contending about the
Azymite controversy while the Turks were breaching
their walls. In fact, however, this blindness was not
confined to one party. Anthony Wood, a Royalist,
writing thirty years afterwards, speaks of the Restoration
as an event which no man expected in September, 659.

134 LIFE OF

The Commonwealth was no doubt dead as a Republic.
"Pride's Purge," the execution of Charles, and Crom-
well's expulsion of the renanant of the Commons, had
long ago given it mortal wounds. It was hot necessarily
defunct as a Protectorate, or a renovated lonarchy:
tbe history of England might bave been very different
if Oliver had bequeathed his power to Henry instead
of to Richard. No such vigorous hand taking the helm,
and the vessel of the State drifting more and more into
anarchy, the great mass of Englishmen, to the frustration
of many generous ideals, but to the credit of their
praetical good sense, pronounced for the restoration
of Charles the Second. It is impossible to think with-
out anger and grief of the declension which was to
ensue, from Cromwell enforcing toleration for Pro-
testants to Charles selling himself to France for a
pension, from Blake at Tunis to the Dutch at Chatham.
But the Restoration was no national apostasy. The
people as a body did hot decline from Iilton's standard,
for they had never attained to it; they did hot accept
the turpitudes of the new government, for they did hot
anticipate them. So far as sentiment inspired them,
it was hot love of license, but compassion for the mis-
fortunes of an innocent prince. Common sense, however,
had much more to do with prompting their action, and
common sense plainly informed them that they had
no choice between a restored king and a military despot.
They would hot bave had even that if the leading
military chief had hOt been a man of homely sense
and vulgar aims ; such an one as Iilton afterwards drew

.IILTOA .

135

" Mammon, the lcast erected Sl-.irit that fell
From heaven, for even in heaven his looks and thoughts
Were always downward bent, admiring more
The riches of heaven's pavement, trodden gold."

In the field, or on the quarter-deck, George Monk
'as the stout soldier, acquitting himself of his military
duty most punctually. In his political conduct he laid
himself out for rit!es and money, as little of the
ambitious usurper as of the self-denying patriot. Such
are they for whom more generous spirits, imprudently
forward in revolutions, usually find that they have
laboure& "Great things," said Edward Gibbon Wake-
field, "are begun by men with great souls and little
breeches-pockets, and ended by men with great breeches-
pockets and little souls."
lIilton would not have been Milton if he could have
acquiesced in an ever so needful Henry Cromwell or
Charles Stuart. Never quick to detect the course of
public opinion, he was now still further disabled by his
blindness. There is great pathos in the thought of the
sightless patriot hungering for tidings, "as the Red Sea
for ghosts," and swayed hither and thither by the narra-
tives and comments of passionate or interested reporters.
At last something occurred which none could misunder-
stand or misrepresent. On February ith, about ten at
night, Mr. Samuel Pepys, being in Cheapside, heard
"all the bells in all the churches a-ringing. But the
common joy that was everywhere to be seen! The
number of bonfires, there being fourteen between St.
Dunstan's and Temple Bar, and at Strand Bridge I
could atone view tell thirty-one rires. In King Street,

136 LIF.E OF

seven or eight ; and all around burning, roasting, and
drinking for rulnps. There being rumps tied upon
sticks and carried up and down. The butchers at the
May Pole in the Strand_ rang a merry peal with their
knives when they were going to sacrifice their rump.
On Ludgate Hill there was one turning of the spit that
had a rump tied upon it, and another basting of it.
Indeed, it was past imagination, both the greatness and
the suddenness of it. Atone end of the street you
would think there was a whole lane of tire, and so
hot that we were fain to keep on the further side."
•
This burning of the Rump meant that the attempt of
a miserable minority to pose as King, Lords, and
Commons, had broken down, and that the restoration
of Charles, for good or ill, was the decree of the people.
A modern Republican might without disgrace bave
bowed to the gale, for such an one, unless hopelessly
fanatical, denies the divine right of republics equally
with that of kings, and allows no other title than that
of the consent of the majority of citizens. But Milton
had never admitted the rights of the majority: and in
his supreme effort for the Republic, "The Ready and
Easy Way to establish a free Commonwealth," he ignores
the Royalist plurality, and assumes that the virtuous
part of the nation, to whom alone he allows a voice,
is as desirous as himself of the establishment of a
Republic, and only needs to be shown the way. As
this was by no means the case, the whole pamphlet
tests upon sand: though in days when public opinion
was guided not from the press but from the rostrum,
many might have been won by the eloquence of Milton's

IIL TOAI ] 87

invectives against the inhuman pride and hollow cere-
monial of kingship, and his encomiums of the simple
order when the ruler's main distinction from the ruled
is the sevêrity of his toil. "Wherêas they who are the
greatest are perpetual servants and drudges to thê
public at their own cost and charges, nêglect their own
affairs, yet are not elevated above their brethren; lire
soberly in their families, 'alk the street as other men,
may be spoken to freely, familiarly, friendly without
adoration." Whatever generous glow for equality such
words might kindle, was only too likely to be quenched
when the reader came to learn on what conditions
llilton thought it attainable. His panacêa was a per-
manent Parliament or Council of State, self-elected for
lire, or renewable at most only in definite proportions,
at stated times. The whole history of England for the
last twelvê years was a commentary on thê impotence
of a Parliament that had outlived its mandate, and every
line of the lesson had been lost upon Milton. He does
indeed, near the end, betray a suspicion that the people
may object to hand over the whole business of legisla-
tion to a self-elected and irresponsible body, and is led
to make a remarkable suggestion, prefiguring the federal
constitution of the United States, and in a measure the
Home Rule and Communal agitations of our own day.
He would make every county independent in so far
as regards the execution of justice between man and
man. The districts might make their own laws in this
department, subject only to a moderate amount of
control from the supreme council. This must have
seemed to Milton's contemporaries thê oncial enthrone-

138 L[FE OF

ment of anarchy, and, in fact, his proposal, thrown off
at a heat with the feverish impetuosity that characterizes
the whole pamphlet, is only valuable as an aid to
reflection. Yet, in proclaiming the superiority of healthy
municipal life to a centralized administration, he has
anticipated the judgment of the wisest publicists of our
day, and shown a greater insight than was possessed by
the more scientific statesmen of the eighteenth centur)'.
One quality of Milton's parnphlet clairns the highest
admiration, its audacious courage. On the very eve of
the Restoration, and with full though tardy recognition of
its probable imminence, he protests as loudly as ever the
righteousness of Charles's execution, and of the perpetual
exclusior, of his family from the throne. When all was
lost, it was no disgrace to quit the field. His pamphlet
appeared on Match 3, x66o  a second edition, with con-
siderable alterations, was for the rime suppressed. On
Iarch 28th the publisher was imprisoned for vending
treasonable books, among which the pamphlet was no
doubt included. Every ensuing day added something
to the discomfiture of the Republicans, until on May ist,
"the happiest Iay-day," says that ardent Royalist dt«
lendemain, Pepys, "that bath been many a year to Eng-
land," Charles II.'s letter was read to a Parliament that
none could dêny to have been freel), chosen, and
acclaimed, "without so much as one No." On May 7th,
as is conjectured by the date of an assignment ruade to
Cyriack Skinner as security for a loan, Milton quitted
his house, and conceaIed himself in Bartholomew Close,
Smithfield. Charles re-entered his kingdom on Iay 29th ,
and the hue and cry after regic,des and their abettors

.IlIL TOA . 139

began. The King had wisely left the business to Parlia-
ment, and, when the circumstances of the times, and
the sincere horror in which good men held what they
called regicide and sacrilege are duly considered, it must
be owned that Parliament acted with humanity and
moderation. Still, in the nature of things, proscription
on a small scale was inevitable. Besides the regicides
proper, twenty persons were to be named for imprison-
ment and permanent incapacitation for office then, and
liable to prosecution and possibly capital punishment
hereafter. It seemed almost inevitable that Milton
should be included. On June 6th his writings against
Charles I. were ordered to be burned by the hangman,
which sentence was performed on August 2Tth. A Govern-
ment proclamation enjoining their destruction had been
issued on August 3th, and may now be read in the King's
Librm 3, at the British Museum. He had not, then,
escaped notice, and how he escaped proscription it is
hard to say. Interest was certainly made for him.
Andrew lXlarvell, Secretary Morrice, and Sir Thomas
Clarges, lXIonk's brother-in-law, are named as active on
his behalf; his brother and his nephew both belonged to
the Royalist party, and there is a romantic story of Sir
William Davenant having requited a like obligation
under which he lay to Milton himself. More to his
honour this than to have been the offspring of Shake-
speare, but one tale is no better authenticated than
the other. The simplest explanation is that twenty
people were found more hated than hIilton: it may
also have seemed invidious to persecute a blind man.
It is certainly remarkable that the authorities should

140 LIFE OF

have failed to find the hiding-place of so recogniz-
able a person, if they really looked for it. Whether
by his own adroitness or their connivance, he avoided
arrest until the amnesty resolution of August 2 9th restored
him to the world without even being incapacitated from
office. He still had to run the gauntlet of the Serjeant-
at-Arms, who at some period unknown arrested him as
obnoxious to the resolution of June i6th, and detained
him, charging exorbitant fees, until compelled to abate
his demands by the Commons' resolution of December
lSth. Milton relinquished his house in Westminster, and
formed a temporary refuge on the north side of Holborn.
His nerves were shaken ; he started in his broken sleep
with the apprehension and bewilderment natural to one
for whom, physically and politically, all had become
darkness.
His condition, in sooth, was one of well-nigh un-
mitigated misfortune, and his bearing up against it is
not more of a proof of stoic fortitude than of innate
cheerfulness. His cause lost, his ideals in the dust, his
enemies triumphant, his friends dead on the scaffold, or
exiled, or imprisoned, his naine infamous, his principles
execrated, his property seriously impaired by the vicissi-
tudes of the rimes. He had been deprived of his
appointment and salary as Latin Secretary, even before
the Restoration : and he was now fleeced of two thou-
sand pounds, invested in some kind of Government
security, which was repudiated in spite of powerful
intercession. Another "great sure" is said by Phillips
to bave been lost "by mismanagement and want of good
advice," whether at this precise time is uncertain. The

Jl'IL TO.: 141

Dean and Chapter of Westminster reclaimcd a consider-
able property which had passed out of their hands in the
Civil War. The Serjeant-at-Arms had no doubt made
all out of his captive that the Commons would let him.
On the whole, lilton appears to have saved about
.'5oo from the wreck of his fortunes, and to have
possessed about .'_oo income from the interest of this
fund and other sources, destined tobe yet further
reduced within a few years. The value of money being
then about three and a half times as great as now, this
modest income was still a fair competence for one of his
frugal habits, even when burdened with the care of three
daughters. The history of his relations with these
daughters is the saddest page of his life. "I looked
that my vineyard should bring forth grapes, and it
brought forth wild grapes." If any lot on earth could
have seemed enviable to an imaginative mind and an
affectionate heart, it would have been that of an Anti-
gone or a Romola to a Milton. Milton's daughters
chose to reject the fair repute that the simple fulfilment
of evident duty would have brought them, and tobe
damned to everlasting faine, hOt merely as neglectful of
their father, but as embittering his existence. The
shocking speech attributed to one of them is, we may
hope, hOt a fact ; and it may hot be true to the letter
that they conspired to rob him, and sold his books to the
ragpickers. The course of events down to his death,
nevertheless, is sufficient evidence of the unhappiness
of his household. Writing "Samson Agonistes" in
calmer days, he lets us see how deep the iron had
entered into his soul:

142 .L I.F.E OF

" I dark in light exposed
To daily fraud, contempt, abuse, and wrong,
Within doors, or without, still as a fool
In power of others, never in my own."

He probably never understood how greatly he was
himself to blame. I-le had, in the first place, neglected
to give his daughters the education which might have
qualified them in some measure to appreciate him. The
eldest, Anne, could not even write ber naine ; and it is
but a poor excuse to say that, though good-looking, she
was deformed, and affticted with an impediment in her
speech. The second, Mary, who resembled her mother,
and the third, Deborah, the most like her father, were
better taught ; but still not to the degree that could make
them intelligent doers of the work they had to perform
for him. They were so drilled in foreign languages,
including Greek and Latin (Hebrew and Syriac are also
mentioned, but this is difficult of belief), that they could
read aloud to him without any comprehension of the
meaning of the text. Sixty years afterwards, passages
of Homer and Ovid were found lingering as melodious
sounds in the memory of the youngest. Such a task,
inexpressibly delightful to affection, must have been
intolerably repulsive to dislike or indifference: "«e can
scarcely wonder that two of these children (of the
youngest we have a better report), abhorred the father
who exacted so much and imparted so little. Yet, before
visiting any of the parties with inexorable condemnation,
we should consider the strong probability that much of
the misery grew out of an antecedent state of things,
for which none of them were responsible. The infant

MIL TO.V. 143

minds of two of the daughters, and the two chietly
named as undutiful, had been formed by their mother.
Mistress Milton cannot bave greatly cherished ber bus-
hand, and what she wanted in love must have been ruade
up in fear. She must bave abhorred his principles and
his writings, and probably gave free course to ber feelings
whenever she cou!d bave speech with a sympathizer,
without caring whether the girls were within hearing.
Milton himself, we know, 'as cheerful in congenial
society, but he were no poet if he had hot been reserved
with the uncongenial. To them the silent, abstracted,
offen irritable, and finally sightless father would seem
awful and forbidding. It is impossible to exaggerate the
susceptibility of young minds to first impressions. The
probability is that ere 3listress Milton departed this life,
she had intentional!y or unintentionally avenged all the
injuries she could imagine herself to have received flore
her husband, and furnished him with a stronger argument
than any that had found a place in the " Doctrine and
Discipline of Divorce."
It is something in favour of the 3Iilton girls that they
wereat least not calculating in their undutifulness. Had
they reflected, they must bave seen that their behaviour
was little to their interest. If they brought a stepmother
upon themselves, the blame was theirs. Something
must certainly be done to keep Milton's library from the
rag-women ; and in February, 1663, by the advice of lais
excellent physician Dr. Paget, he marrieà Elizabettl
Minshull, daughter of a yeoman of Wistaston in Ces-
hire, a distant relation of Dr. Paget's own, and exactly
thirty years younger than Milton. "A genteel person,

144 Z..I'FE OF

a peaceful and agreeable woman," says Aubrey, who
knew her, and refutes by anticipation Richardson's
anonymous informant, perhaps Deborah Clarke, who
libelled her as "a termagant." She was pretty, and had
golden hair, which one connects pleasantly with the late
sunshine she brought into Milton's lire. She sang to his
accompaniment on the organ and bass-viol, but is not
recorded to have read or written for him; the only
direct testimony we have of her care of him is his
verbal acknowledgment of her attention to his creature
comforts. Yet Aubrey's memoranda show that she
could talk with her husband about Hobbes, and she
treasured the letters he had received from distinguished
foreigners. At the time of their marriage Milton was
living in Jewin Street, Aldersgate, from which he soon
afterwards removed to Artillery Walk, Bunhill Fields,
his last residence. He lodged in the interim with
Millington, the book auctioneer, a man of superior
ability, whom an informant of Richardson's had often
met in the streets leading his inmate by the hand.
It is at this era of Milton's history that we obtain the
fullest details of his daily lire, as being nearer to the
recollection of those from whom information was sought
after his death. His household was larger than might
have been expected in his reduced circumstances ; he
had a man-servant, Greene, and a maid, named Fisher.
That true hero-worshipper, Aubrey, tells us that he
generally rose at four, and was even then attended
by his "man" who read to him out o the Hebrew
Bible. Such erudition in a serving-man almost sur-
passes credibility: the English Bible probably suftïced

JIIL TO.: 145
#
both. Itis easier to believe that some one read to him
or wrote for him from seven till dnner rime: if, how-
ever, "the writing was nearly as much as the readin,"
much that Milton dictated must bave been Iost.
recreations were walking in his garden, never wanting to
any of his residences, where he would continue for three
or four hours at a time ; swinging in a chair when weather
prevented open-air exercise ; and music, that blissful re-
source ofblindness. His instrument was usually the organ,
the counterpart of the stately harmony of his own verse.
To these relaxations must be added the society of faith-
ful friends, among whom Andrew Marvell, Dr. Paget,
and Cyriack Skinner are particularly named. Nor did
Edward Phillips neglect his uncle, finding him, as Aubrey
implies, " most familiar and free in his conversation to
those to whom most sour in his way of education."
Milton had made him "a songster," and we can itnagine
the "sober, silent, and most harmless person " (Evelyn)
opening his lips to accompany his uncle's music. Of
Milton's manner Aubrey says, " Extreme pleasant in his
conversation, and at dinner, supper, etc., but satirical."
Visitors usually came from six till eight, if at all, and the
day concluded with a light supper, sometimes of olives,
which we may well imagine fraught for him with
Tuscan memories, a pipe, and a glass of water. This
picture of plain living and high thinking is confirmed by
the testimony of the Quaker Thomas Ellwood, who for a
short time read to him, and who describes the kindness
of his demeanour, and the pains he took to teach the
foreign method of pronouncing Latin. Even more ;
" having a curious ear, he understood by my tone when I
I0

146 ZIF.E OF

understood what I read and when I did not, and accord-
ingly would stop me, examine me, and open the most
difficult passages to me." Milton must have felt a special
tenderness for the Quakers, whose religious opinions,
divested of the shell of eccentricity which the vulgar
have always mistaken for the kernel, had become sub-
stantially his ovn. He had outgrown Independency as
formerly Presbyterianism. His blindness served to
excuse his absence from public worship ; to which, so
long at least as Clarendon's intolerance prevailed in the
councils of Charles the Second, might be added the
difficulty of finding edification in the pulpit, had he
needed it. But these reasons, though hot imaginary,
were not those which really actuated him. He had
ceased to value rites and forms of any kind, and, had
his religious views been known, he would have been
"equalled in rate" with his contemporary Spinoza. Yet
he was writing a book which orthodox Protestantism has
accepted as but a little lower than the Scriptures.
"The kingdom of heaven cometh not with observa-
tion." We know but little of the history of the greatest
works of genius. That something more than usual
should be klaown of "Paradise Lost " must be ascribed
to the author's blindness, and consequent dependence
upon amanuenses. When inspiration carne upon hirn
any one at hand would be called upon to preserve the
precious verses, hence the progress of the poem was
known to many, and Phillips can speak of "parcels
of ten, twenty, or thirty verses at a time." We
have aheady heard from him that 3Iilton's season of
inspiration lasted from the autumnal equinox to the

)IIIL TON. 147
vernal : thc rcmainder of thc year doubtless contributed
much fo thc matter of his poem, if nothing fo the form.
His habits of composition appear fo bc shadowed forth
by himself in thc induction fo thc Third Book :--
' Thee, Sion, and the flowery brooks beneath
That wash thy haIIowed feet, and warbling flow,
Nightly I visit--"
' Then feed on thoughts that voluntary more
tIarmonious numbers ; as the vakeful bird
Sings darkling, and in shadiest covcrt hid
Tunes her nocturnal note."
This is something more precise than a mere poetical
allusion to his blindness, and the inference is strength-
ened by the anecdote that when "his celestial patroness"
"Deigned nightly visitation unimplored," his daughters
were frequently called at night to take down the verses,
not one of which the whole world could have replaced.
This was as it should be. Grand indeed is the thought
of the unequalled strain poured forth when every other
voice was hushed in the mighty city, to no meaner
accompaniment than the music of the spheres. Respect-
ing the date of composition, we may trust Aubrey's
statement that the poem was commenced in 1658 , and
when the rapidity of Milton's composition is considered
("Easy my unpremeditated verse") it may, notwith-
standing the terrible hindrances of the years I659 and
x66o, have been, as Aubrey thinks, completed by I663.
It would still require mature revision, which we know
from Ellwood that it had received by the summer of
I665. Internal evidence of the chronology of the poem
is very scanty. Professor Masson thinks that the first

two l»ooks were probably written before the Restora-
tion. In support of this view it may be urged that
lines 500-505 of Book i. wear the appearance of an inser-
tion after the Restoration, and that in the invocation
to the Third 13ook Milton may be thought to allude to
the dangers lais life and liberty had afterwards encoun-
tered, figured by the regions of nether darkness which he
had traversed as a poet.

"llail holy Light ! . . .
Thee I revisit now with bolder wing,
Escaped the Stygian pool, though long detained
In that obscure sojourn, while in my flight
Through utter and through middle darkness borne."

The only other passage important in this respect is the
famous one from the invocation to the Seventh Book,
manifestly describing the poet's condition under the
Restoration :

"Standing on earth, not rapt above the pole,
More safe I sing with mortal voice, unchanged
To hoarse or mute, though fallên on evil days,
On evil days though fallen and evil tongues ;
In darkness, and with dangers compassed round,
And solitude ; yet hot alone, while thou
Visitest my slumbers nightly, or when morn
Purples the east. Still govern thou my song,
Urania, and fit audience find, though few.
But drive far off the barbarous dissonance
Of Bacchus and his revellers, the race
Of that wild tout that tore the Thracian bard."

This allusion to the licentiousness of the Restoration
literature could hardly bave been ruade until its tenden-

3IIL TOA:

149

cies had been plainly developed.
dise Lost" was half finished.
unsung.") The remark permits
Milton conceived and executed

At this time "Para-
("Half yet remains
us to conclude that
his poem as a whole,

going steadily through it, and not leaving gaps to be
supplied at higher or lower levels of inspiration. There
is no evidence of any resort to older material, except
in the case of Satan's address to the Sun.
The publication of "Paradise Lost " was impeded like
the birth of Hercules. In i665 London was a city of
the dying and the dead; in i666 the better part of it
was laid in ashes. One remarkable incident of the
calamity was the destruction of the stocks of the book-
sellers, which had been brought into the vaults of St.
Paul's for safety, and perished with the cathedral.
"Paradise Lost" might have easily, like its hero--

" In the singing smoke
UFlifted spurned the ground."

but the negotiations for its publication were not complete
until April -'7, I667, on which day John Milton, "in.
consideration of rive pounds to him now paid by
Samuel Sylnmons, and other the considerations herein
mentioned," assigneà to the said Symmons, "all that
book, copy, or manuscript of a poem intituled ' Paradise-
Lost,' or by whatsoever ether title or name the saine is
or shall be called or distinguished, now lately licensed tc
be pfinted." The other considerations were the payment
of the like sum of rive pounds upon the entire sale of each
of the first three impressions, each impression to consist
ofthirteen hundredcopies. " According to the present

150 LFE OF

value of money," says Professor lIasson, "it was as if
Nilton had received 7 os. down, and was to expect
.'7o in all. That was on the supposition of a sale
of 3,900 copies." He lived to receive ten pounds
altogether; and his widow in I68O parted with all
her interest in the copyright for eight pounds, Symmons
shortly afterwards reselling it for twenty-five. He is
not, therefore, to be enumerated among those publishers
who bave fattened upon their authors, and when the size
of the book and the unfashionableness of the writer are
considered, his enterprise may perhaps appear the most
remarkable feature of the transaction. As for Milton,
we may almost rejoice that he should have reaped no
meaner reward tban immortality.
It will have been observed that in the contract with Sym-
ruons "Paradise Lost" is said to have been "lately licensed
• tO be printed." The censorship named in "Areopagitica"
still prevailed, with the difference that prelates now sat
in judgment upon Puritans. The Archbishop gave or
• efused license through his chaplains, and could not be
ignored as Milton had ignored the little Presbyterian
Popes; Geneva in his person must repair to Lambeth.
Chaplain Tomkyns, who took cognisance of "Paradise
Lost," was fortunately a broad-minded man, disposed to
live and let lire, though scrupling somewhat when he round
"perplexity" and "fear of change " imputed to "mon-
archs." His objections were overcome, and on August
o, x667--three weeks after the death of Cowley, and
eight days after Pepys had heard the deceased extolled
as the greatest of English poetsJohn Milton came
forth clad as with adamantine mail in the approbation

IHL TOW. 151

of Thomas Tomkyns. The moment beseemed the
event, it was a crisis in English history, when heaven's
"golden scales" for weighing evil against good were
hung--
" Betwixt Astrea and the Scorpion sign,"

one weighted with a consuming fleet, the other
with a falling minister. The Dutch had just burned
the English navy at Chatham; on the other hand,
the reign of respectable bigotry was about to pass
away with Clarendon. Far less reputable men were
to succeed, but men whose laxity of principle at
least excluded intolerance. The people were on the
move, if not, as Milton would have wished, "a noble
and puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man
after sleep," at least a faint and weary nation creeping
slowlymTomkyns and all--towards an era of liberty and
reason when Tomkyns's imprimatur would be accounted
Tomkyns's impertinence.

CHAPTER ¥II.

HE world's great epics group themselves in two
divisions, which may be roughly defined as the
natural and the artificial. The spontaneous or self-
created epic is a confluence of traditions, reduced to
symmetry by the hand of a toaster. Such are the Iliad,
the Odyssey, the great Indian and Persian epics, the
Nibelungen Lied. In such instances it may be fairly
said that the theme has chosen the poet, rather than the
poet the theme. When the epic is a work of reflection,
the poet has deliberately selected his subject, and has
hot, in general, relied so much upon the wealth of pre-
existing materials as upon the capabilities of a single
circmnstance. Such are the epics of ¥irgil, Camoens,
Tasso, Milton ; lï)ante, perhaps, standing alone as the
one epic poet (for we cannot tank Ariosto and Spenser in
this class) who owes everything but his creed to his own
invention. The traditiotaal epic, created by the people
and only moulded by the minstrel, is so infinitely the
more important for the history of culture, that, since this
new field of investigation bas become one of paramount
interest, the literary epic has been in danger of neglect.
Yet it must be allowed that to evol-e an epic out of a

ZIFE OF .IIIL TOA . 157,

single incident is a greater intellectual achievement than
to weave one out of a host of ballads. We must also
adroit that, leaving the unique Dante out of accourir,
Milton essayed a more arduous enterprise than any
of his predecessors, and in this point of view may claire
to stand above them all. We are so accustomed to
regard the existence of "Paradise Lost" as an ultimate
fact, that we but imperfectly realize the gigantic diffi-
culty and audacity of the undertaking. To paint the
bloom of Paradise with the saine brush that has de-
ticted the flames and blackness of the nether world;
to make the Enemy of Mankind, while preserving this
character, an heroic figure, not without claires on
sympathy and admiration ; to lend fit speech to the
father and mother of humanity, to angels and archangels,
and even Deity itself;--these achievements required a
Michael Angelo shorn of his strength in every other
province of art, that all might be concentrated in song.
It is easy to represent "Paradise Lost "as obsolete by
pointing out that its demonology and angelology have
for us become mere mythology. This criticism is more
formidable in appearance than in reality. The vital
question for the poet is his own belief, not the belief of
his readers. If the Iliad has survived not merely the
decay of faith in the Olympian divinities, but the
criticism which has pulverized Achilles as a hîstorical
personage, "Paradise Lost" need not be much affected
by general disbelief in the personality of Satan, and
universal disbelief in that of Gabriel, P.aphael, and UrieL
A far more vulnerable point is the failure of the
purpose so ostentatiously proclaimed, "To justify the

154 LIFE OF

ways of God to men." This problem was absolutely
insoluble on Milton's data, except by denying the divine
foreknowledge, a course not open to hiln. The conduct
of the Deity who allows lais adversary to ruin his innocent
creature from the pureIy malignant motive

" That with reiterated crimes he might
Ileap on himself damnation,"

without further interposition than a warning which he
foresees will be fruitless, implies a grievous deficiency
either in wisdom or in goodness, or at best falsifies the
declaration :

" Necessity and chance
Approach me not, and what I will is fate."

The like flaw runs through the entire poem, where Satan
alone is resolute and rational. Nothing can exceed the
imbecility of the angelic guard to which Man's defence
is entrusted. UrieI, after threatening to drag Satan in
chains back to Tartarus, and learning by a celestial
portent that he actually bas the power to fulfil his threat,
considerately draws the fiend's attention to the circum-
stance, and advises him to take hilnself off, which Satan
judiciously does, with the intention of returning as
soon as convenient. The angels take all possible pains
to prevent his gaining an entrance into Paradise, but
omit to keep Adam and Eve themselves in sight,
notwithstanding the strong hint they have received by
finding the intruder

[IL TO.V.

155

" Squat like a toad, close at the car of Eve,
Assaying by his devilish art to reach
The organs of ber fancy, and with them forge
Illusions as he list, phantasms and dreams."

If anything more infatuated can be imagined, it is the
simplicity of the All-Wise Himself in entrusting the
wardership of the gate of Hell, and consequently the
charge of keeping Satan i1, to the beings in the universe
most interested in letting him ottt. The sole but
suflîcient excuse is that these faults are inherent in the
subject. If Milton had not thought that he could justify
the ways of Jehovah to man he would not bave written
at all; common sense on the part of the angels would
bave paralysed the action of the poem ; we should, if
conscious of our loss, have lamented the irrefragable
criticism that should have stifled the magnificent allegory
of Sin and Death. Another critical thrust is equally
impossible to parry. Itis truc that the Evil One is the
hero of the epic. Attempts bave been lnade to invest
Adam with this character. He is, indeed, a great figure
to contemplate, and such as might represent the ideal of
humanity till summoned to act and suffer. When, indeed,
he partakes of the forbidden fruit in disobedience to his
Maker, but in compassion to hi mate, he does seem for
a moment to fulfil the canon which decrees that the hero
shall not always be faultless, but always shall be noble.
The moment, however, that he begins to wrangle with
Eve about their respective shares of blame, he forfeits
his estate of heroism more irretrievably than his estate
of hotiness--a fact of which Milton cannot have been
unaware, but he had no liberty to forsake the Scripture

16 LIFE OF

narrative. Satan remains, therefore, the only possible
hero, and itis one of the inevitable blemishes of the
poem that he should disappear almost entirely from the
latter books.
These defects, and many more vhich might be adduced,
are abundantly compensated by the poet's vital relation
to the religion of his age. No poet hose faine is co-
extensive with the civilised world, except Shakespeare
and Goethe, has ever been greatly in advance of his
rime». Had Milton been so, he might have avoided
many faults, but he would not ha,ce been a representative
poet; nor could Shelley have classed him with Homer
and Dante, and above Virgil, as "the third epic poet 
that is, the third poet the series of whose creations bore
a defined and intelligible relation to the knowledge and
sentiment and religion of the age in 'hich he lived, and
of the ages which followed it, developing itself in cor-
respondence with their development." Hence it is that
in the "Adonais," Shelley calls Milton "the third tmong
the sons of light."
A clear conception of the universe as Milton's inner
eye beheld it, and of his religious and philosophical
opinions in so far as they appear in the poem, is indis-
pensable for a correct understanding of " laradise Lost."
The best service tobe rendered to the reader within
such limits as ours is to direct him to l"rofessor Masson's
discussion of Milton's cosmology in his "Life of Mil-
ton," and also in his edition of the Poetical Works.
Generally speaking, it may be said that Milton's con-
ception of the universe is Ytolemaic, that for him sun
and moon and planers revolve around the central earth,

AIIL TOA: 17

rapt by the revolution of the crystal spheres in which,
sphere enveloping sphere, they are successively located.
But the light which had broken in upon him from the
discoveries of Galileo has led him to introduce features
not irreconcilable with the solar centre and ethereal
infinity of Copernicus ; so that "the poet would expect
the effective permanence of his work in the imagi-
nation of the world, whether Ptolemy or Copernicus
should prevail." So Professor Masson, who finely and
justly adds that Milton's blindness helped him " by
having already converted all external space in his
own sensations into an infinite of circumambient black-
ness through which he could flash brilliance at his
pleasure." His inclination as a thinker is evidently
towards the Copernican theory, but he saw that the
Ptolemaic, however inferior in sub'.imity, was better
adapted to the purpose of a poem requiring a definite
theatre of action. For rapturous contemplation of the
glory of God in nature, the Copernican system is im-
measurably the more stimulating to the spirit, but when
ruade the theatre of an action the universe fatigues with
its infinitude--

" Millions have meaning ; after this
Cyphers forget the integer."

An infinite sidereal universe would have stultified the
noble description how Satan--

" In the emptier waste, resembling air,
Weighs his spread wings, at leisure to behold
Far off the empyreal heaven, extended wide

1,58 I3F. OF

In circuit, undetermined square or round,
With opal towers and battlements adorned
Of living sapphire, once his native seat ;
And fast by, hanging in a golden chain,
This pendant world, in bigness as a star
Of smallest mgnitudc close by the moon."

This pendant world, observe, is hot the earth, as
Addison understood it, but the entire sidereal universe,
depicted hot as the infinity we now know it tobe, but
as a definite object, so insulated in the vastness of space
as tobe perceptible to the distant Fiend as a minute
star, and no larger in comparison with the courts of
Heaven--themselves not wholly seen--than such a
twinkler matched with the full-orbed moon. Such a re-
presentation, if it diminishes the grandeur of the universe
accessible to sense, exalts that of the supersensual and
extramundane regions where the action takes its birth,
and where Milton's gigantic imagination is most pedectly
at home.
There is no such compromise between religious creeds
in Milton's mind as he saw good to make between
Ptolemy and Copernicus. The matter was, in his
estimation, far too serious, Never was there a more
unaccountable misstatement than Ruskin's, that " Para-
dise Lost" is a poem in which every artifice of invention
is consciously employed--not a single fact being con-
ceived as tenable by any living faith. Milton undoubt-
edly believed most fully in the actuaI existence of all
his chief personages, natural and supernatural, and was
sure that, however he might bave indulged his imagina-
tion in the invention of incidents, he had represented

MIL TON. 159

character with the fidelity of a conscientious historian.
His religious views, moreover, are such as he could
never have thought it right to publish if he had not been
intimately convinced of their truth. He has strayed
far from the creed of Puritanism. He is an Arian ; his
Son of God, though an unspeakably exalted being, is
dependent, inferior, not self-existent, and could be merged
in the Father's person or obliterated entirely without the
least diminution of Ahnighty perfection. He is, more-
over, no longer a Calvinist : Satan and Adam both pos-
sess free will, and neither need have fallen. The reader
must accept these views, as well as Milton's conception
of the materiality of the spiritual world, if he is to read
to good purpose. "If his imagination," says Pattison,
pithily, "is not active enough to assist the poet, he must
at least not resist him."
This is excellent advice as respects the general plan
of " Paradise Lost," the materiality of its spiritual per-
sonages, and its system of philosophy and theology. Its
poetical beauties tan only be resisted where they are
not perceived. They have repeated the miracles of
Orpheus and Amphion, metamorphosing one most
bitterly obnoxious, of whom so late as 687 a royalist
wrote that "his lame is gone out like a candle in a
snuff, and his memory will always stink," into an object
of universal veneration. From the first instant of perusal
the imagination is led in captivity, and for the first four
books at least stroke upon stroke of sublimity follows
with such continuous and undeviating regularity that
sublimity seelns this Creation's first law, and we feel like
pigmies transported to a world of giants. There is

160 LIFE OF

nothing forced or affected in this grandeur, no visible
effort, no barbarie profusion, everything proceeds with
a severe and majestic order, controlled by the strength
that called it into being. The similes and other poetical
ornaments, though inexpressibly magnificent, seem no
more so than the greatness of the general conception
demands. Grant that Satan in his fall is not" less than
archangel ruined," and it is no exaggeration but the
simplest truth to depict his mien--

" As when the sun, new risen,
Looks through the horizontal misty air,
Shorn of his beams ; or ri'oto behind the moon,
In dim eclipse, disastrous txvilight sheds
On hall the nations."

When such a being voyages through space itis no
hyperbole to compare him to a whole fleet, judiciously
shown at such distance as to suppress every minute detail
that could diminish the grandeur of the image--

" As when far offat sea a fleet descried
Hangs in the clouds, by equinoctial winds
Close sailing from Bengala, or the isles
Of Ternate and Tidore, whence merchants bring
Their spicy drugs : they on the trading flood,
Through the wide Ethiopian to the Cape,
Ply stemming nightly towards the pole : so seemed
Far off the flying Fiend."

These similes, and an infinity of others, are grander
than anything in Homer, who would, however, bave
equalled them with an equal subject. Dante's treatment
is altogether different; the microscopic intensity of per-
ception in which he so far surpasses Homer and

|IIL TO W. I 81

Milton affords, in our opinion, no adequate compensation
for his inferiority in magnificence. That the theme of
" Paradise Lost" should have evoked such grandeur
i a sufficient compensation for its incurable flaws and
the utter breakdown of its ostensible moral purpose.
There is yet another department of the poem where
Milton writes as he could have written on nothing else.
The elelnents of his under-world are comparative]y
silnple, tire and darkness, fallen angels now huddled
thick as leaves in Vallombrosa ; anon,

"A forest huge of spears and thronging helms,"

charming their painful steps over the burning marl by

" The Dorian mood
Of flutes and soft recorders ; "

the dazzling magnificence of Pandemonium ; the ineffable
welter of Chaos ; proudly eminent over all like a tower,
the colossal personality of Satan. The description of
Paradise and the story of Creation, if making less
demand on the poet's creative power, required greater
resources of knowledge, and more consummate skill in
combination. Nature must yield up ber treasures,
whatever of fair and stately the animal and vegetable
kingdoms can afford must be brought together, blended
in gorgeous masses or marshalled in infinite procession.
Here Milton is as profuse as he has hitherto been severe,
and with good cause ; it is possible to make Hell too
repulsive for art, it is not possible to make Eden too
enchanting. In his descriptions of the former the effect
II

is produced by a perpetual succession of isolated images
of awful majesty; in his Paradise and Creation the
universal landscape is bathed in a general atmosphere
of lustrous splendour. This portion of his work is
accordingly less great in detached passages, but is little
inferior in general greatness. No less an authority than
Tennyson, indeed, expresses a preference for the "bowery
loneliness" of Eden over the "Titan angels" of the
"deep-domed Empyrean." If this only means that
l[ilton's Eden is finer than his war in heaven, we must
concur ; but if a wider application be intended, it does
seem to us that his Pandemonium exalts him to a greate
height above every other poet than his Paradise exalts
him above his predecessor, and in some measure, his
exemplar, Spenser.
To remain at such an elevation was impossible.
lIilton compares unfavourably with Homer in this; his
epic begins at its zenith, and after a while visibly and
continuaily declines. His genius is unimpaired, but his
skill transcends his stuff. The fall of man and its con-
sequences could not by any device be made as in-
teresting as the fall of Satan, of which it is itself but
a consequence. It was, moreover, absolutely inevitable
that Adam's fall, the proper catastrople of the poem,
should occur some time before the conclusion, otherwise
there would have been no space for the unfolding of the
scheme of Redemption, equally essential from the point
of view of orthodoxy and of art. The effect is the same
as in the case of Shakespeare's "Julius Coesar," which,
having proceeded with matchless vigour up to the flight
of the conspirators af ter Antony's speech, becomes com

.,IIIL TOA\ 163

paratively tame and languid, and cannot be revived even
by such a masterpiece as the contention between 13rutus
and Cassius. It is to be regretted that Milton's extreme
devotion to the letter of Scripture bas not permitted him
to enrich his latter books with any corresponding epi-
sode. It is not until the very end that he is again truly
himself--

They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld
Of Paradise, so late their happy seat,
Waved over by that flaming brand ; the gare
With dreadful faces thronged and fiery arm..
Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon.
The world was all belote them, where to choose
Their place of test, and Providence their guide.
They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow,
Through Eden took their solitary way."

Some minor objections may be briefly noticed. The
materiality of Milton's celestial warfare has been censured
by every one from the days of Sir Samuel lIorland, 
a splenetic critic, who had incurred Milton's contempt by
his treachery to Cromwell and Thurloe. Warfare, how-
ever, there must be; war cannot be ruade without
weapons ; and Milton's only fault is that he has rather
exaggerated than minimized the difficulties of his
subject. A sense of humour would have spiked his
celestial artillery, but a lively perception of the ridicu-
lous is scarcely to be demanded from a Milton. After

 In his "Urim of Conscience," I695. This curious book con-
tains one of the first English accounts of Buddha, whom the
author calls Chacabout (Sakhya Buddha, apparently), and of the
Christians of St. John "' at Bassora.

164 LIFE Off

all, he was borrowing t"1o111 good poets,  whose thought
in itself is correct, and even profound; itis only when
artillery antedates hmnanity that the ascription of
invention to the Tempter seems out of place. The
metamorphosis of the demons into serpents has been
censured as grotesque; but it was imperatively necessary to
manifest by some unmistakable outward sign that victory
did hot after ail remain with Satan, and the critics may
be challenged to find one more appropriate. The bridge
built by Sin and Death is equally essential. Satan's
progcny must hot be dismissed without some exploit
worthy of their parentage. The one passage where
Milton's taste seems to us entirely at fault is the
description of the Paradise of Fools (iii., 48-497),
where his scorn of

" Reliques, beads,
Indulgences, dispenses, pardons, bulls,"

has tempted him to chequer the sublime with the
ludicrous.
No subject but a Biblical one would bave insured
Milton universal popularity among his countrymen, for
his style is that of an ancient classic .transplanted, like
Aladdin's palace set down with all its magnificence in
the heart of Africa; and his diction, the delight of the
educated, is the despair of the ignorant man. Not that
this diction is in any respect affected or pedantic.
Milton was the darling poet of out greatest modern
 _Ariosto and _Marcellus 1-'alingeniùs. Both these wrote before
Ronsard, to vhom the thought is traced by Pattison, and Valvasone,
to vhom Hayley deems 3Iilton indebted for it.

,ll lL TO.V. IG5
toaster of unadorncd Saxon speech, [ohn Bright. but
if is freighted with classic alIusio--not alone from the
ancient c|assics--and cornes fo us rich with gathered
sweets, like a wind laden with the sccnt of many flowers.
" It s," sys Pattison, "the elaborated outcome of all
the best -ods of all antecedent poetrythe language of
one ho lires in the companionship of the great and the
vise of p.st time.  " Words," the saine writer remnds
us, "over and above their dictloary sigfication, con-
note all the feeling which bas gathered roud them by
reason of ther emI»1oyment through a hundred genera-
tions of song.  So h is, every word seems instinct with
its own peculiar beauty, and fraught wth ts own peculiar
association, and yet each detafl s strctly subordinate to
the general effect. No poet of B[flton's tank, probabl)',
bas been equally indebted to his predecessors, not only
for his vocabulary, but for his thoughts. 1-1emhiscences
throng upon him, and he takes all that cornes, knowing
that he can make it lawfully his own. The compadson
of Satan's shield to the moon, for instance, is borrowed
from the sh-ilar comloarison of the sheld of Achilles n
the lliad, but what goes in Homer cornes out BIilton.
Homer merely says that the hug. and massy shield
_emitted a lustre like that of the moon in heaven.
BIilton heightens the resemblance by giving the shield
shape, ca1|s in the telescope to endow if wth what would
seem preternatural dimensions to the n.ked eye, and
enlarges even these by the sutgestion of more than the
telescope can disclose
"IIis ponderous sheld,
Ehere.l teml)er, m.s.y, lare, and round

166

LIFE OF

Behind him cast ; the broad circumference
Hung on his shoulders like the moon, whose orb
Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views
At evening, from thc top of Fesole,
Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands,
Rivers or mountains in ber spotty globe."

Thus does h[ilton appropriate the wealth of past
literature, secure of being able to recoin it with lais
own image and superscription. The accumulated learn-
ing which might have choked the native tire of a feebler
spirit was but nourishment to lais. The polished stones
and shining jewels of lais superb mosaic are often
borrowed, but its plan and pattern are his own.
One of the greatest charms of " Paradise Lost " is
the incomparable metre, which, after Coleridge and
Tennyson have done their utmost, remains without
equal in our language for the combination of majesty
and music. Itis true that this majesty is to a certain
extent inherent in the subject, and that the poet who
could rival it would scarcely be well advised to exert lais
power to the full unless his theme also rivalled the mag-
nificenceofh[ilton's. Milton,on his part, would bave been
quite content to have written such blank verse as Words-
worth's "Yew Trees," or as the exordium of "Alastor,"
or as most of Coleridge's idylls, had lais subject been less
than epical. The organ-like solemnity of lais verbal
music is obtained partly by extreme attention to variety
of pause, but chiefly, as Wordsworth told Klopstock,
and as Mr. Addington Symonds points out more at
length, by the period, not the individual line, being ruade
the metrical unit, " so that each line in a period shal

carry its prol, er burden of sound, but the burden shall
be differently distributed in the successive verses."
Hence lines which taken sing]y seeln ahnost unmetrical,
in combination with their associates appear indis-
pensable parts of the general harmonv. Mr. Svmends
gives some striking instances. Milton's versification is
that of a learned poet, profound in thought and burdened
with the further tare of ordering his thoughts" it is
therefore only suited to sublirnity of a solenm or

meditative cast, and most unsuitable to render the
unstudied sublimity of Homer. Perhaps no passage
is better adapted to display its dignity, complicated
artifice, perpetual retarding movement, concerted
harmony, and grave but ravishing sveetness than
the description of the coming on of Night in the
Fourh Book :

Now came still evenlng on, and :wilight grey
Itad in ber sober livery all things clad ;
SiIence accompanied ; for beast and bird,
They to their grassy couch, these to their nests,
\Vere slunk, all but the wakeful nightingale ;
She all night long her amorous descant sung ;
Silence was pleased : now glowed the firmament
\Vith living sapphires ; Hesperus that led
The stary host rose brightest, till the moon,
Iising in clouded majesty, nt length
Apparent queen unveiled ber peerless light,
\nd o'er the dark her silver mantle threw."

How exquisite ihe indication of the pauseless con-
tinuity of the nightingales song by the transition from
short sentences, clat up by commas and semicolons, to
the "linked sweetness long drawn out " of "She all night

168 LIFE OF

long her amorous descant sung" ! The poem is full
of similar felicities, none perhaps more noteworthy
than the sequence of monosyllables that paints the
enorlnous bulk of the prostrate Satan :--
"So stretched out huge in length the .oErch-fiend lay."

It is a most interesting subject for inquiry from what
sources, other than the Scriptures, Milton drew aid in the
composition of "Paradise Lost." The most striking
counterpart is Calderon, to whom he owed as little
as Calderon can bave owed to him. "E1 Magico Pro-
digioso," already cited as affgrding a remarkable
parallel to " Comus," though performed in 1637 , was
hot printed until 663, when " Paradise Lost" was
already completed.  The two great religious poets have
naturally conceived the Evil One much in the same
manner, and Calderon's Lucifer,

" Like the red outline of b¢ginning Adam,"

m]ght well have passed as the original draft of Milton's
Satan :
" In myself I ana
A world of happiness and misery ;
This I bave lost, and that I must lainent
For ever, In my attibutes I stood
So high and so heroically great,
in lineage so supreme, and with a genius
Which penetrated with a glance the world
13eneath my feet, that, won by my high mcrit,
A King--whom I may call the King of Kings,
Because all others tremble in their pride

 We cannot agree with Mr. Edmundson that Milton was in any re-
spect indebted to Vondel's "Adam's 13anishment," published in 664.

3I/L TOA . 169

tefore the terrors of his countenance--
In his high palace, roofed with brightest gems
Of living light--call them the stars of heaven--
Named me his counsellor. But the high praise
Stung nie with pride and envy, and I rose
In mighty competition, to ascend
His seat, and place my foot triumphantly
Upon his subject thrones. Chastised, I know
The depth to which ambition falls. For mad
Was the attempt ; and yet more mad were nov
Repentance of the irrevocable deed.
Therefore I chose this ruin with the glory
Of not to be subdued, before the shame
Of reconciling me with him who reigns
]3y coward cession. Nor was I alone,
Nor am I now, nor shall I be, alone.
And there was hope, and there may still be hope ;
For many suffrages among his vassals
Itailed me their lord and king, and many still
Are mine, and many more perchance shall be.'

A striking proof that resemblance does not necessarily
imply plagiarism. Milton's affinity to Calderon has been
overlooked by his comlnentators; but four lunainaries
have been named from which he is alleged to have
drawn, however sparingly, in his golden urn--Caedmon,
the Adamus Exul of Grotius, the Adamo of the Italian
dramatist Andreini, and the Lucifer of the Dutch poet
¥ondel. Caedlnon, first printed in 655, it is but barely
possible that he should have known, and ere he could
have known him the conception of "Paradise Lost"
was firmly implanted in his mind. External evidence
proves his acquaintance with Grotius, internal evidence
his knowledge of Andreini: and small as are his direct
obligations to the Italian drama, we can easily believe

170 LIFE OF

with I:[ayley that "his fancy caught tire from that spirited,
though irregular and fantastic composition." Vondel's
Lucifer---whose subject is not the fall of Adam, but the
fall of Satan--was acted and published in 1654 , when
M-ilton is known to have been studying Dutch, but when
the plan of "Paradise Lost'" must have been substantially
formed. There can, nevertheless, be no question of the
frequent verbal correspondences, hot merely between
Vondel's Lucifer and " Paradise Lost," but between lais
Samson and "Samson Agonistes." 31-ilton's indebted-
ness, so long ago as I829, attracted the attention of an
English poet of genius, Thomas Lovell 13eddoes, who
pointed out that his lightning-speech, " 13etter to reign
in hell than serve in heaven," was a thunderbolt con-
densed from a brace of VondeI's clumsy Alexandrines,
which 13eddoes renders thus :

"And rather the first prince at an inferior court
Than in the blessed light the second or still less."

Mr. Gosse folloved up the inquiry, which eventually
became the subject of a monograph by Mr. George
Edmundson {" Milton and Vondel," i885). That Milton
should bave had, as he must have had, Vondel's works
translated aloud to him, is a most interesting proof,
alike of his ardour in the enrichment of his own
mind, and of his esteem for the Dutch poet. Although,
however, lais obligations to predecessors are not to be
overlooked, they are in general only for the nl0st obvious
ideas and expressions, lying right in the path of any
poet treating the sub)ect. JWl'aura[à l, io fris sas toL
When, as in the instance above quoted, he borrows any-

.IIL TOA . 171

thing more recondite, he so exalts and transforms it that
it passes from the original author to him like an angel
the former has entertained unawares. This may hot
entirely apply to the Italian reformer, Bernardino
Ochino, to wholn, rather than to Tasso, Milton seems
indebted for the conception of his diabolical council.
Ochino, in many respects a kindred spirit to Milton,
must have been well known to him as the first who had
dared to ventilate the perilous question of the ]awfulness
of polygamy. In Ochino's "Divine Tragedy,"' which
he may have read either in the Latin original or in the
nervous translation of Bishop Poynet, Milton would find
a hint for his infernal senate. "The introduction to the
first dialogue," says Ochino's biographer Benrath, "is
highly dramatic, and reminds us of Job and Faust."
Ochino's arch-fiend, like lXIilton's, announces a master-
stroke of genius. " God sent His Son into the world,
and I will send my son." Antichrist accordingly cornes
to light in the shape of the Pope, and works infinite
havoc until Henry VIII. is divinely commissioned for
his discomfiture. It is a token, not only of Milton's, but
of Vondel's, indebtedness, that, with Ochino as with
them, Beelzebub holds the second place in the council,
and even admonishes his leader. " I fear nie," he
remarks, '" lest when Antichrist shall die, and corne down
hither to hell, that as he passeth us in wickedness, so he
will be above us in dignity." Prescience worthy of hilll
who
• " In his rising seemed
.\ pillar of state ; deep on hls front engraven
Deliberation sat, and public care ;
And princely counsel in his face yet shone."

172

LIFE OF ,1IIL TOA:

Milton's borrowings, nevertheless, nowise impair his
greatness. The obligation is rather theirs, of whose
stores he has condescended to avail himself. He may
be compared to his native country, which, fertile
originally in little but enterprise, has ruade the riches
of the earth her own. He has given her a national epic,
inferior to no other, and unlike most others, founded on
no merely local circumstance, but such as must find
access to every nation acquainted with the most widely-
circulated 13ook in the world. He has further enriched
his native literature with an imperishable monument of
majestic diction, an example potent to counteract that
wasting agency of familiar usage by which language is
reduced to vulgarity, as sea-water wears cliffs to shingle.
He has reconciled, as no other poet has ever done, the
Hellenic spirit with the Hebraic, the Bible with the
Renaissance. And, finally, as we began by saying, his
poem is the mighty bridge--

" Bound with Gorgonian rigour not to more,"

across which the spirit of ancient poetry has travelled to
modern times, and by which the continuity of great
English literature kas remained unbroken.

CHAPTER VIII.

N recording the publication of "Paradise Lost" in
667, we bave passed over the interval of Milton's
lire immediately subsequent to the completion of the
poem in 663. The first incident of any importance is
his migration to Chalfont St. Giles, near Beaconsfield, in
Buckinghamshire, about July, 665, to escape the plague
thon devastating London. Ellvood, whose family lived
in the neighbourhood of Chalfont, had at his request
taken for him "a pretty box" in that village; and we
are, says Professor Masson, " to imagine Milton's house
in Artillery Walk shuttered up, and a coach and a large
waggon brought to the door, and the blind man helped
in, and the wife and the three daughters following, with
a servant to look after the books and other things they
have taken with them, and the whole party driven
a'ay towards Giles-Chalfont." According to the saine
authority, Chalfont well deserves the name of Sleepy
Hollow, lying at the bottom of a leafy dell. lIilton's
cottage, alone of his residences, still exists, though
divided into two tenements. It is a two-store- dwelling,
with a garden, is built of brick, with wooden beams,
musters nine roomsthough a question arises whether

174 L_TFE OF

some of them ought not rather to be described as closets ;
the porch in which Milton may have breathed the summer
air is gone, but the parlour retains the latticed casernent
at which he sat, though through it he could not see.
His infirmity rendered the confined situation less of a
drawback, and there are abundance of pleasant lanes,
along which he could be conducted in his sightless
strolls :--

" As one who long in populous city pent,
Where houses thick and sewers annoy the air,
Forth issuing on a summer's morn to breathe
Among the pleasanç villages and farms
Adjolned, from each new thing conceives delight,
The smell of grain, or tedded grass, or kine,
Or dairy, each rural sight, each rural sound."

lXlilton was probably no stranger to the neighbour-
hood, having lived within thirteen miles of it when he
dwelt at Horton. Ellwood could not welcome him on
his arrival, being in prison on account of an affray at
what should have been the paragon ot decorous
solemnitiesma Quaker funeral. When released, about
the end of August or the beginning of September, he
waited upon !XIilton, who, "after some discourses, called
for a manuscript of his; which he delivered to me,
bidding laie take it home with me and read it at my
leisure. When I set myself to read it, I found it was
that excellent poem which he entitled ' Paradise Lost.' "
Professor Masson justly remarks that Milton would not have
trusted the worthy Quaker adolescent with the only copy
of his epic ; we may be sure, therefore, that other copies

existed, and that the poem was at this date virtualh"
completed and ready for press. When the manuscript
was returned, Ellwood, after " modestly, but freely, im-
parting his judgment," observed, "Thou hast said much
here of Paradise Lost, but what hast thou to say of
t'aradise Found? He made no answer, but sat some
time in a muse; then brake off that discourse, and fell
on another subject." The plague was then at its height,
and did not abate suflïciently for Milton to return to
town with safety until about February in the following
year, leaving, it has been asserted, a record of himself at
Chalfont in the shape of a sonnet on the pestilence
,egarded as a judgment for the sins of the King, written
with a diamond on a window-pane--as if the blind poet
could write even with a pen ! The verses, nevertheless,
may not impossibly be genuine: they are almost too
Miltonic for an imitator between 1665 and 7.38, when

they were first published.
The public calamity of
nearly than that of 1665.

666 affected Milton more
The Great Fire came within

a quarter of a mile of his house, and though he happily
escaped the rate of Shirley, and did not make one of the
helpless crowd of the homeless and destitute, his means
were seriously abridged by the destruction of the house
in Bread Street where he had first seen the light, and
which he had retained through all the vicissitudes of his
fortunes. He could not, probably, bave published
" Paradise Lost" without the co-operation of Samuel
Symmons. Symmons's endeavours to push the sale of
the book make the bibliographical history of the first
edition unusually interesting. There were at least nine

176 .LIFE OF

different issues, as fresh batches were successively bound
up, with frequent alterations of title-page as reasonable
cause became apparent to the strategic Svmmons. First
lIilton's naine is given in full, then he is reduced to
initiais, then restored ; Symmons's own naine, at first
suppressed, by and by appears ; his agents are frequently
changed ; and the title is altered to suit the year of issue,
that the book may seem a novelty. The most im-
portant of all these alterations is one in which the author
must have actively participated--the introduction of the
Argument which, a hundred and forty years afterwards,
was to cause Harriet Martineau to take up " Paradise
Lost" at the age of seven, and of the Note on the metre
conveying "a reason of that which stumbled many, why
this poem rimes hot." Partly, perhaps, by help of these
devices, certainly without any aid from advertising or
reviewing, the impression of thirteen hundred copies
was disposed of within twenty months, as attested by
Milton's receipt for his second rive pounds, April 26,
i669--two years, less one day, since the signature of the
original contract. The first printed notice appeared
after the edition had been entirely sold. It was by
lIilton's nephew, Edward Phillips, and was contained
in a little Latin essay appended to Buchlerus's "Treasury
of Poetical Phrases."

"John .Milton, in addition to other most elegant writings of his,
both in Eglish and Latin, has recently published ' Paradise Lost,'
a poem which, whether we regard the sublimity of the subject, or
the combined pleasantness and majesty of the style, or the sublimity
of the invention, or the beauty of its images and descriptions of
nature, will, if I mistake not, receive the name of truly heroic,

,IIL TOA, 177
inasmuch as by th¢ suffrages of many hot unqualificd to judge, it is
reputed to bave reach¢d th¢ perfection of this kind of poetry."

The "many hOt unqualified" undoubtedly includcd the
first critic of the age, Dryden. Lord Buckhurst is also
named as an admirer--pleasing anecdotes respecting the
practical expression of his admiration, and of Sir John
Denham's, seem apocryphal.
While "Paradise Lost" was thus slowly upbearing its
author to the highest heaven of fame, Milton was
achieving other titles to renown, one of which he
deemed nothing inferior. We shall remember Ellwood's
hint that he might find something to say about Paradise
Found, and the "muse" into which it cast him. When,
says the Quaker, he waited upon Milton after the latter's
return to London, Milton "showed me his second poem,
called ' Paradise Regained,' and in a plcasant tone said
to me, 'This is owing to you; for you put it into my
head by the question 3'ou put to me at Chalfont ; which
before I had not thought of." Ellwood does not tell us
the date of this visit, and Phillips may be right in
believing that "Paradise Regained" was entirely com-
posed after the publication of "Paradise Lost "; but iL
seems uniikely that the conception should have slum-
bered so long in Milton's mind, and the most probable
date is between Michaelmas, I665, and Lady-day, i666.
Phillips records that Milton could never hear with
patience "Paradise Regained" "censured to be much
inferior" to "Paradise Lost." "The most judmious,"
he adds, agreed with him, while allowing that "the sub-
ject might not afford such varietv of invention," which
I2

178 LIITE OF

was probably all that the injudicious meant. There is
no external evidence of the date of his next and last
poem, "Samson Agonistes," but its development of
Miltonic mannerisms would incline us to assign it to
the latest period possible. The poems were licensed
by Milton's old friend, Thomas Tomkyns, July 2, 167o,
but did hOt appear until i67I. They were published in
the saine volume, but with distinct title-pages and pagina-
tions; the publisher was John Starkey; the printer an
anonymous "J. M.," who was far from equalling Symmons
in elegance and correctness.
"Paradise Regained" is in one point of view the con-
futation of a celebrated but eccentric definition of poetry
as a "criticism of life." If this were truc it would be
a greater work than "Paradise Lost," which must be
violently strained to adroit a definition not wholly in-
applicable to the minor poem. If, again, Wordsworth
and Coleridge are right in pronouncing "Paradise
Regained" the most perfêct of Milton's works in point
of execution, the proof is afforded that perfect execution
is not the chier test of poetic excellence. Whatever
these great men may bave propounded in theory, it can-
not be believed that they would not have rather written
the first two books of " Paradise Lost" than ten such
poems as "Paradise Regained," and yet they affirm that
Milton's power is even more advantageously exhibited
in the latter work than in the other. There can be no
solution except that greatness in poetry depends mainly
upon the subject, and that the subject of "Paradise
Lost" is infinitely the finer. Perhaps this should hot
be. Perhaps to "the visual nerve purged with euphrasy

IILTOIV. 179

and rue "the spectacle of the human soul successfully
resisting supernatural temptation would be more im-
pressive than the material sublimities of " Paradise
Lost," but ordinary vision sees otherwise. Satan
"floating many a rood" on the sulphurous lake, or
"up to the fiery concave towering high," or confronting
Death at the gate of Hell, kindles the imagination with
quite other tire than the sage circumspection and the
meek fortitude of the Son of God. "The reason,"
says Blake, "why Milton wrote in fetters when he
wrote of Angels and God, and at liberty hen of
Devils and Hell, is because he was a true Poet, and of
the Devil's party without knowing it." The passages in
"Paradise Regained " which most nearly approach the
magnificence of "Paradise Lost," are those least closely
connected with the proper action of the poem, the epi-
sodes with which Milton's consummate art and opulent
fancy bave veiled the bareness of his subject. The
description of the Parthian military expedîti¢)n; the
picture, equally gorgeous and accurate, of the Roman
Empire at the zenith of its greatness; the condensation
into a single speech of all that has ruade Greece dear to
humanitymthese are the shining peaks of the regained
"Paradise," marvels of art and eloquence, yet, unlike
"Paradise Lost," beautiful rather than awful. The
faults inherent in the theme cannot be imputed to the
poet. No human skill could make the second Adam as
great an object of sympathy as the first: it is enough,
and it is wonderful, that spotless virtue should be so
entire|y exempt from formallty and dulness. The baffled
Satan, beaten at h[s own weapons, is necessarily a much

180 .L.IF.E OF

less interesting personage than the heroic adventurer of
"Paradise Lost." Milton bas done what can be done
by softening Satan's reprobate mood with exquisite
strokes of pathos :m

"Though I have lost
Much lustre of my native brightness, lost
To be beloved of God, I bave hot lost
To love, at least contemplate and admire
What I see excellent in good or fair,
Or virtuous ; I should so bave lost all sense."

These words, though spoken with a deceitful intention,
express a truth. Milton's Satan is a long way from
Goethe's Mephistopheles. Profound, too, is the pathos

"I would be at the worst, worst is my best,
My harbour, and my ultimate repose."

The general sobriety of the style of "Paradise P-,e-
gained" is a fertile theme for the critics. It is, indeed,
carried to the verge of baldness; frigidity, used by
Pattison, is too strong a word. This does not seem to
be any token of a decay of poetical power. As writers
advance in life their characteristics usually grow upon
them, and develop into mannerisms. In "Paradise Re-
gained," and yet more markedly in "Samson Agonistes,"
Milton seems to bave prided himself on showing how
independent he could be of the ordinary poetical stock-
in-trade. Except in his splendid episodical descriptions
he seeks to impress by the massy substance of his verse.
It is a great proof of the essentially poetical quality of
his mind that though he thus often becomes jejune, he

3IIL TO_Ar. 181

is never prosaic. He is ever unmistakably the poet,
even when his beauties are rather those of the orator
or the moralist. The following sound remark, for in-
stance, would not have been poetry in Pope; it is
poetry in Milton :--
" Vho reads
Incessantly, and to his reading brings not
A spirit and judgment equal or superior
(And hat he brings what need he elsewhere seek ?)
Uncertain and unsettled still remains ?
Deep versed in books and shallow in himself."

Perhaps, too, the sparse flowers of pure poetry are
more exquisite from their contrast with the general
austerity :

" The field, all iron, cast a gleaming brown."

" Morning fair
Came forth with pilgrim steps in amice gray."

Poetic magic these, and Milton is still Milton.
" I bave lately read his Samson, which has more of
the antique spirit than any production of any other
modern poet. He is very great." Thus Goethe to
Eckermann, in his old age. The period of lire is notice-
able, for " Samson Agonistes " is an old man's poem as
respects author and reader alike. There is much to
repel, little to attract a young reader; no wonder that
Macaulay, fresh from college, put it so far below "Comus,"
to which the more mature taste is disposed to equal it.
It is related to the earlier work as sculpture is to painting,
but sculpture of the severest school, all sinewy strength ;
studious, above all, of impressive truth. "Beyond these

8 ZIFE OF

an ancient fisherman and a rock are fashioned, a rugged
rock, whereon with might and main the old man drags
a great net from his cast, as one that labours stoutly.
Thou wouldest say that he is fishing with all the might
of his limbs, so big the sinews swell all about his neck,
grey-haired though he is, but his strength is as the
strength of youth. ''I t3ehold here the Milton of "Samson
Agonistes," a work whose beauty is of metal rather than
of marble, hard, bright, and receptive of an ineffaceable
die. The great fault is the frequent harshness of the
style, principaliy in the choruses, where some strophes
are almost uncouth. In the blank verse speeches perfect
grace is often united to perfect dignity : as in the fare-
well of Dalila :--

"Fame if not double-faced is double-mouthed,
.And v, ith contrary blast proclaims most deeds
On both lais ings, one black, the othcr white,
]3ears greatest names in his wild aery flights.
My name perhaps among the circumcised,
In Dan, in Judah, and the bordering tribes,
To all posterity may stand defamed,
With malediction mentioned, and the blot
Of falsehod most unconjugal traduced.
But in my country where I most desire,
In Ecron, Gaza, .Asdod, and in Gath,
I shall be named among the famousest
Of women, sung at solelnn festivals,
Living and dead recorded, who to save
Iter country from a tierce destroyer, chose
Above the faith of wedlock-bands; my tomb
Vith odours visited and annual flowers."

The scheme of "Samson Agonistes" is that of the
• Theocfitus, Idyll I.  Lang's translation.

2111L TOW. 188

Greek drama, the only one appropriate to an action of
such extreme simplicity, admitting so few personages, and
these only as foils to the hero. It is, but for its Milton-
isms of style and autobiographic and political allusion,
just such a drama as Sophocles or Euripides would
have written on the subject, and has all that
depth of patriotic and religious sentiment which lnade
the Greek drama so inexpressibly significant to Greeks.
Consulnmate art is shown in the invention of the Philis-
fine giant, Harapha, who not only enriches the meagre
action, and brings out strong features in the character of
Samson, but also prepares the reader for the catastrophe.
We must say reader, for though the drama might con-
ceivably be acted with effect on a Court or University
stage, the real living theatre has been no place for it
since the days of Greece. Milton confesses as much
when in his preface he assails "the poet's error of inter-
mixing comic stuff with tragic sadness and gravity or
introducing trivial and vulgar persons, which by all judi-
cious hath been counted absurd and brought in without
discretion, corruptly to gratify the people." In his view
tragedy should be eclectic in Shakespeare's it should
be all embracing. Shelley, perhaps, judged mote rightly
than either when he said: "The modern practice of
blending COlnedy with tragedy is undoubtedly an exten-
sion of the dramatic circle; but the comedy should be
as in 'King Lear,' universal, ideal, and sublime." On
the whole, "Salnson Agonistes" is a noble example of
a style which we may hope will in no generation be
entirely lacking to our literature, but which must always
be exotic, from its want of harmony with the more

184 LIFE OF

essential characteristics of out turnultous, undisciplined,
irrepressible national life.
In one point of view, kowever, "Samson Agonistes"
deserves to be esteemed a national poem, pregnant with
a deeper allusiveness than has always been recognized.
Salnson's impersonation of the author himself can escape
no one. Old, blind, captive, helpless, mocked, decried,
miserable in the failure of all lais ideals, upheld only by
faith and lais own unconquerable spirit, Milton is the
counterpart of lais hero. Particular references to the
circumstances of lais life are not wanting- his bitter
self-condcmnation for having chosen his first wife in the
camp of the enemy, and his surprise that near the close
of an austere life he should be afflicted by the malady
appointed to chastise intemperance. But, as in the
Hebrev prophets Israel sometimes denotes a person,
sometimes a nation, Samson seems no less the repre-
sentative of the English people in the age of Charles
the Second. His heaviest burden is his remorse, a
remorse which cou!d not weigh on Milton :--

"I do acknowledge and confess
That I this honour, I this pomp have brought
To Dagon, and advanced his praises high
Among the heathen round ; to God have brought
Dishonour, obloquy, and oped the mouths
Of idolists and atheists ; have brought scandal
To Israel, diffidence of God, and doubt
In feeble hearts, propense enough before
To waver, to fall off, and join with idols ;
Which is my chier affliction, shame, and sorrow,
The anguisl of my soul, that suffers not
My eye to harbour sleep, or thoughts to test."

185

Milton might reproach himself for having taken a
Philistine wife, but hot with having suffered her to
shear him. But the same could not be said of the
English nation, which had in his view most foully
apostatized from its pure creed, and most perfidiously
betrayed the high commission it had received from
I-Ieaven. " This extolled and magnified nation, regard-
less both of honour won, or deliverances vouchsafed, to
fall back, or rather to creep back, so poorly as it seems
the multitude would, to their once abjured and detested
thraldom of kingship! To be ourselves the slanderers
of our own just and religious deeds ! To verify all the
bitter predictions of out triumphing enemies, who will
now think they wisely discerned and justly censured us
and all out actions as rash, rebellious, hypocritical, and
impious !" These things, which Milton refused to con-
template as possible when he wrote his "Ready Way
to establish a Free Commonwealth," had actually corne
to pass. The English nation is to him the enslaved and
erring Samson--a Samson, however, yet to burst his
bonds, and bring down ruin upon Philistia. " Samson
Agonistes" is thus a prophetic drama, the English
counterpart of the world-drama of "Prometheus Bound."
Goethe says that our final impression of any one is
derived from the last circumstances in which we have
beheld him. Let us, therefore, endeavour to behold
Milton as he appeared about the time of the publication
of his last poems, to which period of his lire the
descriptions we possess seem to apply. Richardson
heard of his sitting habitually "in a grey coarse cloth
coat at the door of his house near 13unhill Fields,

186 .LIFE OF

in warm sunny weather to enjoy the fresh air"--
a suggestive picture. What thoughts must have been
travelling through his mind, undisturbed by external
things! How many of the passers knew that they
flitted past the greatest glory of the age of Newton,
Locke, and Wren? For one who would reverence the
author of "Paradise Lost," there were probably twenty
who would have been ready with a curse for the apologist
of the killing of the King. In-doors he was seen by
l)r. Wright, in Richardson's time an aged clergyman in
I)orsetshire, who round him up one pair of.stairs, in
a room hung with rusty green "sitting in an elbow chair,
black clothes, and neat enough, pale but not cadaverous .;
his hands and fingers gouty and with chalk-stones."
Gout was the enemy of Milton's latter days.; we have
seen that he had begun to surfer from it before he wrote
"Samson Agonistes." Without it, he said, he could find
blindness tolerable. Yet even in the fit he would be
cheerful, and would sing. It is grievous to write that,
about 67o , the departure of his daughters promoted
the comfort of his household. They were sent out to
learn embroidery as a means of future support--a proper
step in itself, and one which would appear to have
entailed considerable expense upon Milton. But they
might perfectly well bave remained inmates of the family,
and the inference is that domestic discord had at length
grown unbearable to all. Friends, or at least visitors,
were, on the other hand, more numerous than of late
years. The most interesting were the "subtle, cunning,
and reserved" Earl of Anglesey, who must bave "coveted
Milton's society and converse" very much if, as Phillips

AIIL TOA : 187

reports, he often came all the way to Bunhill Fields to
enjoy it; and Dryden, whose generous admiration does
hot seem to have been affected by Milton's over-hasty
sentence upon him as "a good rhymester, but no poet."
One of Dryden's visits is famous in literary history, when
he came with the modest request tl-.at Milton would
let hiln turn his epic into an opera. "Aye," responded
Milton, equal to the occasion, "tag my verses if you
will"--to tag being to put a shining metal point--
compared in Milton's fancy to a rhyme--at the end
of a lace or cord. Dryden took him at lais word,
and in due time "Paradise Lost" had become an
opera under the title of "The State of Innocence
and Fall of Man," which may also be interpreted
as referring to the condition of the poem before
Dryden laid hands UpOll it and afterwards. Itis a
puzzling performance altogether; one sees not any
more than Sir Walter Scott could see how a drama
requiring paradisiacal costume could have been acted
even in the age of Nell Gwyn ; and yet itis even more
unlikely that Dryden should bave written a play not
intended for the stage. The saine contradiction prevails
in the piece itself; it would not be unfair to call it the
most absurd burlesque ever written without burlesque
intention ; and yet it displays such intellectual resources,
such vigour, bustle, adroitness, and bright impudence,
that adlniration alnost counterweighs derision. Dryden
could not have ruade such an exhibition of Milton and
himself twenty years afterwards, when he said that,
much as he had always admired Milton, he felt that
he had not admired hirn hall enough. The reverence

188 LIFE OF

which he felt even in i674 for "one of the greatest,
most noble, and most sublime poems which either this
age or nation bas produced," contrasts finely with the
ordinary Restoration estimate of Milton conveyed in the
complimentary verses by Lee,'prefixed to "The State
of Innocence ":--
"To the dead bard your faine a little owes,
For Milton did the wealthy naine disclose,
And rudely cast v,hat you could well dispose.
He roughly drew, on an old-fashioned ground,
A chaos, for no perfect world was round,
Till through the heap your mighty genius shined :
IIe was the golden ore, which you refined."
These later years also produced several little publica-
tions of Milton's own, mostly of manuscripts long lying
by him, now slightly revised and fitted for the press.
Such were his miniature Latin grammar, published in
x669; and his "Artis Logicae Plenior Institutio; or The
Method of Ramus," 67. . The first is insignificant;
and the second even Professor Masson pronounces, "as
a digest of logic, disorderly and unedifying." ]3oth
apparently belong to his school-keeping days: the little
tract, "Of True Religion, Heresy, Schism, Toleration,"
(673) is, on the other hand, contemporary with a period
of great public excitement, when Parliament (March,
673) compelled the king to revoke his edict of tolera-
tion autocratically promulgated in the preceding year,
and to assent to a severe Test Act against Roman
Catholics. The good sense and good nature which
inclined Charles to toleration were unfortunately alloyed
with less creditable motives. Protestants justly sus-
pected him of insidiously aiming at the re-establish-

.]IIL TON. 189

ment of Roman Catholicism, and even the persecuted
Nonconformists patriotically joined with High Church-
men to adjourn their own deliverance until the country
should be safe from the common enemy. The wisdom
and necessity of this course were abundantly evinced
under the next reign, and while we must regret that
Milton contributed his superfluous aid to restrictions
only defensible on the ground of expediency, we must
adroit that he could hot well avoid making Roman
Catholics an exception to the broad tolerance he
claims for ail denominations of Protestants. And, after
all, has hot the Roman Catholic Church's notion of
tolerance always been that which Iacaulay imputes to
Southey, that everybody should tolerate ber, and that
she should tolerate nobody ?
A more important work, though scarcely worthy of
]lilton's industry, was his "History of ]3ritain" (67o).
This was a comparatively early labour, four of the six
books having been written before he entered upon the
Latin Secretaryship, and two under the Commonwealth.
From its own point of view, this is a meritorious per-
formance, making no pretensions to the character of a
philosophical history, but a clear, easy narrative, some-
rimes interrupted by sententious disquisition, of trans-
actions down to the Conquest. Like Grote, though not
precisely for the saine reason, Milton hands down pictu-
resque legendary matter as he finds it, and it is to those
who would see English history in its romantic aspect
that, in these days of exact research, his work is chiefly
to be recommended. It is also memorable for what he
never saw himself, the engraved portrait, after Faithorne's
cracon sketch.

190 LIFE Ot r

"No one," says Professor Masson, "can desire a more impresslve
and authentic portrait of Milton in his later lire. The face is such
as has been given to no other human being ; it was and is uniquely
Milton's. Underneath the broad forehead and arched temples there
are the great rings of eye-socket, with the blind, unblemished eyes
in them, drawn straight upon you by your voice, and speculating
who and xvhat you are ; there is a severe composure in the beautiful
oral of the hole countenance, disturbed onl¥ b¥ the singular
poufing of the rich mouth ; and the entire expression is that of
English intepidity mixed with unutterable sorrow. »

Milton's care to set his house in order extended to his
poetical writings. In I673 the poems published in I645,
both English and Latin, appeared in a second edition,
disclosing az'as frondes in one or two of Milton's earliest
unprinted poems, and such of the sonnets as political
considerations did not exclude ; and ton sua2Oomct in the
Tractate of Education, curiously grafted on at the end.
An even more important publication was the second
edition of "Paradise Lost" (I674) with the original ten
books for the first time divided into twelve as we now
bave them. Nor did this exhaust the list of Milton's
literary undertakings. He was desirous of giving to the
world his correspondence when Latin Secretary, and the
"Treatise on Christian Doctrine" which had employed
so much of his thoughts at various periods of his life. The
Government, though allowing the publication of his
familiar Latin correspondence (I674), would hot tolerate
the letters he had written as secretary to the Comrnon-
wealth, and the "Treatise on Christian Doctrine " was
still less likely to propitiate the licenser. Holland was
in that day the one secure asylum of free thought, and
thither, in I675, the year following Milton's death, te

MIL TOA

manuscripts were taken or sent by Daniel Skinner, a
nephew of Cyriack's, to Daniel Elzevir, who agreed to
publish them. Before publication could take place, how-
ever, a clandestine but correct edition of the State letters
appeared in London, probably by the agency of Edward
Ihillips. Skinner, in his vexation, appealed to the
authorities to suppress this edition: they took the hint,
and suppressed his instead. Elzevir delivered up the
manuscripts, which the Secretary of State pigeon-holed
until their existence was forgotten. At last, in 83, Mr.
Robert Lemon, rummaging in the State Iaper Office,
came upon the identical parcel addressed by Elzevir to
Daniel Skinner's father which contained his son's tran-
script of the State Letters and the "Treatise on Christian
Doctrine." Times had changed, and the heretical work
was edited and translated by George the Fourth's
favourite chaplain, and published at his Majesty's
expense.
The "Treatise on Christian Doctrine " is by far the
most remarkable of all Milton's later prose publications,
and would have exerted a great influence on opinion if
it had appeared when the author designed. Milton's
name would bave been a tower of strength to the liberal
eighteenth-century clergy inside and outside the Es-
tablishment. It should indeed have been sufficiently
manifest that "Paradise Lost" could not have been written
by a Trlnitarian or a Calvinist ; but theological partisan-
ship is even slower than secular partisanship to sec what
it does not choose to sec; and lIilton's Arianism was hot
generally admitted until it was here avouched under his
own hand. The general principle of the book is un-

1 L1FE OF
doubting reliance on the authority of Scripture, with
'hich such an acquaintance is manifested as could only
bave been gained by years of intense study. It is true
that the doctrine of the inward light as the interpreter of
Scripture is asserted with equal conviction ; but practi-
eally this illumination seems seldom to have guided
Milton to any sense but the most obvious. Hence, with
the intrepid ¢onsistency that belongs to him, he is not
only an Arian, but a tolerator of polygamy, finding that
10factice nowhere condemned in Scripture, but even
recommended by respectable examples; an Anthropomor-
phist, who takes the ascription of human passion to the
l)eity in the sense certainly intended by those ,,«ho ruade
it ; a believer in the materiality and natural mortality
of the soul, and in the suspension of consciousness
between death and the resurrection. Where less fettered
by the literal Word he thinks boldly; unable to conceive
creation out of nothing, he regards all existence as an
emanation from the Deity, thus entitling himself to the
designation of Pantheist. He reiterates his doctrine of
divorce  and is as strong an Anti-Sabbatarian as Luther
himself. On the Atonement and Original Sin, however,
he is entirely Evangelical; and he commends public
worship so long as itis not ruade a substitute for
spiritual religion. Liturgies are evil, and tithes abomin-
able. I--Iis exposition of social duty tempers lPuritan
strictness with Cavalier high-breeding, and the urbanity
of a man of the world. Of his motives for publication
and method of composition he says :--
"It is with a friendly and benignant feeling towards mankind
that I give as wide a circulation as possible to what I esteem my best

«IIL TOV. 10'8
and richest possession .... And whereas the greater part of those
ho have written most largely on these subjects have been wont to
fill whole pages -ith explanations of their own opinions, thrusting
into the margin the texts in support of their doctrines, I have
chosen, on the contrary, to fill my pages even to redundance with
quotations from Scripture, so that as little space as possible might
be left for my own words, even when they arise from the context of
revelation itself."
There is consequently little scope for eloquence in a
treatise consisting to so large an extent of quotations;
but it is pervaded by a moral sublimity, more easily felt
than expressed, larticular opinions will be diversely
judged ; but if anything could increase our reverence for
Milton it would be that his las.t years should have been
devoted to a labour so manifestly inspired by disinterested
benevolence and hazardous love of truth.
His life's work was now finished, and finished vith
entire success as far as depended upon his own will and
power. He had left nothing unwritten, nothing undone,
nor was he ignorant what manner of monument he had
raised for himself, It vas only the condition of the
State that afflicted him, and this, looking forward, he saw
in more gloomy colours than it appears to us who look
back. Had he attained his father's age his apprehensions
would have been dispelled by the Revolution : but he
had evidently for some time past been older in constitu-
tion than in years. In July, x674, he was anticipating
death ; but about the middle of October, "he vas very
merry and seemed to be in good health of body." Early
in November "the gout struck in," and he died on
November 8th, late at night, ",«ith so little pain that the
time of his expiring was not perceived by those in the
I3

194 LIFE OF

room." On November I2th, "ail his learned and great
friends in London, hot without a concourse of the vulgar,
accompanied his body to the church of St. Giles, near
Cripplegate, where he was buried in the chancel." In
864, the church was restored in honour of the great
enemy of religious establishments. "The animosities die,
but the humanities lire for ever."

Milton's resources had been greatly impaired in his
latter years by losses, and the expense of providing for
his daughters. He nevertheless leff, exclusi,,-e of house-
hold goods, about .£9o% which, by a nuncupative will
made in July, I674, he had wholly bequeathed to his wife.
His daughters, he told his brother Christopher (now a
Roman Catholic, and on the road to become one of James
the Second's judges, but always on friendly terms with
John), had been undutiful, and he thought that he had
,done enough for them. They naturally thought otherwise,
and threatened litigation. The interrogatories adminis-
tered on this occasion afford the best clue to the condition
.of Milton's affairs and household. At length the dispute
was COlnpromised, the nuncupative will, a kind of docu-
ment always regarded with suspicion, was given up, and
the widow received two-thirds of the estate instead of the
whole, probably the fairest settlement that could ha-e
been arrived at. After residing some years in London
she retired to Nantwich in her native county, where
divers glimpses reveal her as leading the decent existence
of a poor but comfortable gentlewoman as late as August
or Septelnber, I7"-7. The inventory of her effects,
amounting to .£38 Ss. 4d., is preserved, and includes :

[I'L TO.V. 195

" Mr. Milton's pictures and coat of arms, valued at ten
guineas ;" and "two Books of Paradise," valued at ter
shillings. Of the daughters, Anne married "a master-
builder," and died in childbirth some rime before 1678 ;
Mary was dead when Phillips wrote in 1694 ; and Deborah
survived until August -'4, 1727, dying within a few days
of ber stepmother. She had married Abraham Clarke,
a weaver and mercer in Dublin, who took refuge in
England during the Irish troubles under James the
Second, and carried on his business in Spitalfields. She
had several children by him, one of whorn lived to
receive, in 175o, the proceeds of a theatrical benefit pro-
moted by Bishop Newton and Samuel Johnson. Deborah
herself was brought into notice by Addison, and was
visited by Professor Ward of Gresham College, who
found ber "bearing the inconveniences of a low fortune
with decency and prudence." Her last days were made
comfortable by the generosity of Princess Caroline and
others: it is more pleasant still to know that her
affection for ber father had revived. When shown
Faithorne's crayon portrait (hot the one engraved in
Milton's lifêtime, but one exceedingly like it) she
exclaimed, "in a transport, ' 'Tis my dear father, I see
him, 'ris himl' and then she put her hands to several
parts of her face, ' 'Tis the very man, here ! here !'"

Milton's character is one of the things which "securus
judicat orbis terrarum." On one point only there seems
to us, as we have frequently implied, tobe room for
modification. In the popular conception of Milton the

196 2 Ifi'. Off"

poet and the man are imperfectly combined. We allow
his greatness as a poet, but deny him the poetical tem-
perament which alone coulà bave enabled him to attain
it. He is looked upon as a great, good, reverend,
austere, not very amiable, and not very sensitive man.
The author and the book are thus set at variance, and
the attempt to conceive the character as a whole results
in ccnfusion and inconsistency. To us, on the contrary,
Milton, with ail his strength of will and regularity of life,
seems as perfect a representative as any of his compeers
of the sensitiveness and impulsive passion of the poetical
temperament. We appealto his remarkable dependence
upon external prompting for his compositions; to the
rapidity of his work under excitement, and his long
intervals of unproductiveness; to the heat and fury of his
polemics; to the simplicity with which, fortunately for
us, he inscribes small particulars of his own life side by
side with weightiest utterances on Church and State;
to the amazing precipitancy of his marriage and its
rupture; to his sudden pliability upon appeal to his
generosity; to his romantic self-sacrifice when his
country demanded his eyes from him ; above ail, to his
splendid ideals of regenerated human life, such as poets
alone either conceive or realize. To overlook all this is
to affiÆm that Milton wrote great poetry without being
truly a poet. One more remark may be added, though
hot required by thinking readers. We must beware of
confounding the essential with the accidental Milton--
the pure vital spirit with the casual vesture of the creeds
and circumstances of the era in which it became
clothed with mortality :m

2IIIL TON. 197

"They are still immortal
Who, through birth's orient portal
And death's dark chasm hurrying to and fro,
Clothe their unceasing flight
In the brief dust and light
Gatlaered around their chariots as they go.
New shapes they still may weave,
New gods, new laws, receive."

If we knew for certain which of the many causes
that have enlisted noble minds in our age would array
Milton's spirit "in brief dust and light," supposing it
returned to earth in this nineteenth century, we should
know which was the noblest of them all, but we should
be as far as ever from knowing a final and stereotyped
5Iilton.

THE END.

INDEX.

,AB
Adam, not the hero of " Paradise
Lost," x55
Adonais compaxed with Lycidas,
Aldersgate Street Milton's home
in, 67 , 83
"Allegro, L.," 49-5o
Andreini, his "Adamo" supposed
to bave suggested " Paradise
Lost," x69
Anglesey, Earl of, visits Milton,
186
"Animadversions upon the Re-
monstrant»" 7 a
*« Apology for Smectymnuus," 72
"Arcades," 44
" Areopagitica, the," 78 ; argu-
ment of, 79--$2
Arian opinions of Milton, 59,
Ariosto, Milton borrows from, i64
Artillery V'alk, Mi]ton's last
bouse, i44
"At a Solemn Music," 53
Aubrey's biographical notices of

Milton 14, 15, 19, 24, 129, I44,
x45

Ball's Lire of Preston, 23
Barbican, Milton's house in the,
96
Baroni, Leonora, admired by
Milton, 62
Beddoes, T. L., on Milton and
Von-del, 17o
Benrath on Ochino's " Divine
Tragedy," 171
Blake on Milton, I79
Bradshaw, Milton's praise of,
Bread Street, Milton born in, i6
Bridgewater, Lord, " Comus"
written in his honour, 45
Brightç John, his admiration for
Milton, i6¢
British Museum, copy of Milton's
poems in, 97 ; proclamation
against Milton's books pre-
served in the 139
Buckhurst, Lord, his admiration
of ' Paradise Lost," 177

0

Cg
Caedmon, question of Milton's
indebtedness to, I69
Calderon's " Magico Prodigioso "
compared with " Comus," 54 ;
with " Paradise Lost," 63
Camb,'idge in Milton's rime, 22
Cardinal Barberini receives Milton,
62
Caroline, Prineess, lier kindness to
Milton's daughter, 195
Calfont St. Giles, Milton's
residence at,
Chappell, ,V., Milton's college
tutor, 24
Carles I., illegal government of,
3o ; expedition against the
cots, 67; execution of, IOO;
alleged authorship of " Eikon
Basilike," o5-o7 ; a badking,
but hot a bad man, **o
Charles II., restoration of, ,38;
favour to Roman Catholies, r88
6hrist's College, Milton at, 22
"Christian Doctrine," Milton's
t.reatise on, 99, I9°-'93
"Civil Power in Ecclesitieal
Causes," i32
Clarke, Deborah, Milton's young-
est daughter ; ber reminiscenees
of lier thther, 195
Clarke, Mr. Hyde, his discoveries
respecting Milton's ancestry,
14, 15
Clarke, Sir T.0 Milton's MSS.
preserved by, t29
Coleridge, Mihon compared with,
4 ; on Milton's taste for music,
63 ; on " Paradise Regained,"

Comenius, educational method of,
76
Commonwealth, Milton's views
of a free, 36
" Comus," production of, 38 ; 44.
46 ; criticism on, 53-55
"Considerations on the likeliest
means to remove Hirelings out
of the Church," 33
Coperniean theory only partly
adopted in «' Paradise Lost,"
58
Cosmogony of Milton0 57
Cromwell, Miiton's eharacter of,
x2x ; Milton's advice to,
D.
Dante and Milton compared, x6o
Daughters, eharaeter of Milton's,
Davis, Miss, *Iihon's suit to, 94
Deity, imperfect conception of, in
" Paradise I.ost," 54
Denham, Sir J., his admiration of
' Paxadise Lost," 77
Diodati, Milton's friendship with,
2x ; verses to, 25 ; letters to,
.39, 4, 55 ; death of, 65 ; Mil-
ton's elegy on, 43, 67
C'Doctrine and Discipline of
Divorce," 79, 87-9
Dryden, on 'Paradise Lost,"
77; visits Milton, 87; dra-
matizes " Paradise Lost," z87
Du Moulin, Peter, author of
" Regii Sanguinis Clamor ad
Coelum,"
E.
Edmundson, Mr. G., on Milton
and Vondel, x7o

INDEX. 201

Education, Milton's tract on,
75-77
" Eikon Basilike," authorship of,
Io5-Io7
" Eikonoklastes," Milton's reply
to "Eikon Basilike," io8
Ellwood, Thomas, the Quaker,
reads to Milton, 145; suggests
" Paradise Regained," I75
Elzevir, Daniel. receives and
gives up the MS. of "State
Letters " and the "Treatise on
Çhristian Doctrine," 19I

Fo
Fairfax, Milton's character of, i2o
Faithorne's portrait of Milton, 189

G.
Galileo, Milton's visit to, 6i
Gauden, Bishop, author of
" Eikon Basilike," lO6
Gentleman's 2lragazine, account
of Horton in, 36
Goethe on " Samson Agonistes,"
i8I
Gill, Mr., Milton's toaster at St.
Paui's school, 2o
Gosse, Mr., on Milton and
Vondel, 17o
Greek, influence of, on Milton, 33,
39
Grotius, Hugo, Milton introduced
to, 59 ; Milton's study of, xfO

Hartlib, S., Milton's tract on
Education inspired by, 75
"' History of Britain " by Milton,
99, 189

Holstenius, Lucas, librarian of
the Vatican, 63
Homer and Shakespeare com-
pared, 2; and compared with
Milton, I6o, I65, i67
Horton, Milton retires to, 33;
poems written at, 44
Humer, Rev. Joseph, on Milton's
ancestors, I4
' Hymn on the Nativity," 32

Italian sonnets by Milton, 64
Italy, Milton's iourney to, 56-65
J.
Jansen, Cornelius, paints Milton's
portrait, I9
Jeffrey, Sarah, Milton's mother,
16
Jewin Street, Milton's house in,
I44
Johnson, Dr., on ' Lycidas," 5 I
benefits Milton's granddaugh-
ter, I95
K.
Keats, Milton contrasted with, 4I
King, Edward, ' Lycidas," an
elegy on his death, 48

Lo
Landor, his Latin verse compared
with Milton's, 43
Latin grammar by Milton, x88
Latin Secretaryship to the Com-
monwealth, Milton's appoint-
ment to, o2
Laud, Archbishop, Church govern-
ment of, 3 ° ; Milton's veiled
attack on, 49

202,

Lawes, Henry, writes music to
"Comus" and "Arcades," 44 ;
edits "Comus," 47
Lee, Nathaniel, his verses on
Milton, x88
Lemon, Mr. Robert, discovers
MS. of "State Letters" and
the "Treatise on Christian
Doctrine," x9x
Letters, Milton's officia], 23
Logic, Milton's tract on, x88
Long Parliament, meeting of the,
68 ; licensing of books by, 78
Lucifer, Vondel's, 7o
Lud]ow Castle, "Comus" first
performed at, 46
"Lycidas," origin of, 4 o, 48;
analysis of, criticism on, 5o, 2
M.
Manso, Marquis, poem on, 64
Marshall, Milton's portrait en-
graved by, 97
Marriage, Milton's views on, 94
Martineau, Harriet, reads" Para-
dise Lost" at seven years of
age, i76
Mason, C., Milton's MSS. pre-
served by, x29
Masson, Prof. David, his monu-
mental biography of Milton, 14 ;
on Milton's ancestors, lb. ; on
Milton's college career, 23, 25;
on the scenery of Horton, 35 ;
on date of Divorce pamphlet,
87 ; on date of "Paradise
Lost," x47 ; on money received
for " Paradise Lost," 5o ; on
Milton's cosmogony, x56 ; his
description of Chalfont, x73 ;
on Milton's iortrait, x89

Mi]ton, Christopher, John Milton's
younger brother, birth of, i6 ; a
Royalist, 9 ; a Roman Catho-
lic, and one of James the
Second's judges,
Mllton, John, the elder, birth, 5 ;
a scrivener by profession, i. ;
musical compositions of, 8;
retirement to Horton, 33; his
loble confidence in his son, 37,
45 ; cornes to lire with his son,
9 ; dies, 98
Milton, John, birth, x x ; genealogy
of, 4 ; birthplace, 6 ; his
father, 7; his education, x8-27 ;
knowledge of Italian, -"; at
Cambridge, 22-28 ; rusticated,
-5; his degree, 629; will hot
enter the church, -9; early
poems: 32" ; writes "Comus," 38 ;
required incitement to write,
40, 48 ; correctness of his early
poems, 42 ; his lire at Horton,
44-55 ; his "Comus" and
"Arcades," 44-48 ; his " Ly-
cidas," 48 ; his mother's
death, 55 ; goes to Italy,
56 ; his Italian friends, 59 ;
visits Galileo, 6x; Italian son-
nets, 64 ; educates his nephews,
65; elegy to Diodati, 67;
eighteen years' poetic silence,
68; takes part with the Com-
monwealth, 68; pamphlets n
Church government, 72 ; tract
on Education, 75; " Areopagi-
tica," 79; ltalian sonnet, 85;
his first marriage, ;6; deserted
by hs wife, his treatise on
Divorce, 8 ; his pupils, 9  ;

IIVDX. 9

return of his vife, 96; his
daughter born, 98; becomes
Secretaxy for Foreign Tonffues,
xo2 ; his State papers, xo4 ; li-
censes pamphlets, xo 5; answers
" Eikon t3asilike," xo8 ; answers
Salmasius, I ; loses his sight,
x4 ; death ofhis wife, xx6 ; reply
to Morus;i 9 ; his oflîcial duties
--2 ; his retirement and second
marriage 25; projected ninety-
nine themes preparatory to
"Paradise Losb" 9 ; wrote
chiefly from autumn to spring,
x3  ; his views ofa republic, x36 ;
escapes proscription at Resto-
ration, 39; unhappy relations
with his daughters 41 ; third
marriage, 43; writing "Para-
dise Lost," x47-xSO; analysis
of his work, x52-x72 ; com-
pared vith modern poets, x66;
his indebtedness to earlier poets,
x69 ; retires to Chalfont to
escape the plague, x73; he
suffers from the Great Fire, x75 ;
his "Paradise Regained,'" x77 ;
his "Samson Agonistes," x8o-
85; his later lire, x86; his later
tracts, 88, 9 o ; his " History
of Britain," x89 ; his Arian
opinions, x92 ; his death, x93 ;
his will, x94 ; his widow and
daughters, x95 ; estimate of his
character, i96
Milton, Richard, Milton's grand-
father, x4, x5
i%Iinshull, Elizabeth, Milton's
third wife, 43; .Milton's will
in favour of, 94 ; death, lb.

Monk, General, character of, x35
Morland, Sir Samucl, on " Para-
dise Lost," x63
Morus, A., his controversy with
Milton, IX8-IX 9
Myers, Mr. E., on Milton's views
of marriage, 9 x
N.
Newton, Bishop, benefits Milton's
granddaughter, x95

Ochino, B., Miltons indebtedness
fo, XTX
°' On a fair Infant," 33

Po
Paget, Dr., Milton's physician,
x43, 45
Palingenius, Marcellus, Milton
borrows from, x64
Pamphlets, Milton's, 72, 75, 78,
79, 87, 99, xoo, xoS, x3, x3-',
33, 36-8
°'Paradise Lost," I8 ; four
schemes for, i29; first con-
ceived as drama, I3O; manner
of composition, 47 ; dates of,
"r47-5o ; critique of, 52-i72 ;
successive publications of, x76
"Paradise Regained," x77 ; criti-
cism on, i78-i8o
" Passion of Christ," 32
Pattison, .Mark, on «Lycidas,"
5x ; on Milton's political career,
68 ; on fanaticism of Common-
wealth, a33 ; on " Paradise
Lost," x59 ; on Milton's diction,
" Penseroso, Il," 4o, 49

INDEX.

Pepys, S., on Restoration, 135,
138
Petty France, Westminster, Mil-
ton's home in, 117
Philaras, Milton's Greek friend,
114
Phillips, E., bIilton's brother-in-
law, 22, 65
Phillips, Edward, Milton's ne-
phew, on Mi!ton's ancestry,
14 ; educatêd by his uncle, 65 ;
his account of Milton's separa-
tion from his first wife, 87; of
their reconciliation, 96 ; be-
cornes a Royalist, 129; his at-
tention to his uncle, 145; on
" Paradise Lost," 176 ; on
" Paradise Regained," 177
"Pilot of the Galilean Lake," 49
"Plymouth Brethren," resem-
blance of Milton's views to, 133
Powell, Mary, Milton marries,
86 ; she leaves him, 87 ; returns
to him, 95 ; her family hve with
Milton, 98; her death, ix6;
probable bad influence on her
daughters, 163
" Prelatical Episcopacy" pamph-
let, 72
" Pro Populo " pamphlet, 1i 3
Ptolemaic system followed by
Milton in " Paxadise Lost,"
157
Puckering, Sir H., gave Milton's
MSS. to the University of Cam-
bridge, 129

Ro
Reading, surrender of to Parlia-
mentary arrny, 91

" Ready way to establish a Com-
monwealth," I36
"Reason of Church Government"
pamphlet, 72
" Reformation touching Church
Discipline" pamphlet, 72
Restoration, consequences to Mil-
ton of the, 138-141
Richardson, J., on Milton's later
life, i86
Rome, Milton in, 62
Rump, burning of the, 136

So
St. Bride's Churchyard, Milton
lodges in, 65
St. Giles's Cripplegate, Milton's
grave in, 194
St. Paul's school, Milton at. 19
Salmasius, Claudius, his character,
io 9; author of "Defensio
Regia," 111; Milton's contro-
versy with, ii2, 1i 4
Samson, Vondel's, 17o
"Samson Agonistes," 141, 178;
criticism on, 18o-185
Satan, the hero of "Pardise
Lost," 155
Shakespeare, 2 ; Milton's paneg3 -
tic on, 33, 38; his view of
tragedy compared with Milton's,
183
Shelley, on poetical inspiration,
41 ; his estimate of Milton, i56 ;
on tragedy and comedy, i83;
quoted, 17, I97
Skinner, Cyriack, his loan to Mil-
ton, 138
Skinner, David, endeavours to
publish "State Letters " and

"Treatise on Christian Doc-
trine," 191
Sonnet, " When the assault was
intended to the City," 84 ; from
the Italian, 85; on Vaudois
Protestants, 124 ; to his second
wife, x25; to Henry Lawrence,
i26 ; inscribed on a window-
pane, 175
"State Letters," i9i
Stationers' Company and Milton,
92
Symmons, S., publisher of " Para-
dise Lost," i49, x75
Symonds, Air. J. A., on mette of
" Paradise Lost," 166
T.
Tennyson, on Milton's Eden, 162
"Tenure of Kings and Magis-
trates," xoo
"Tina," by Antonio Malatesti, 68
Tomkyns, Thomas, licenses
" Paradise Lost," xS ; and the
poems, 78
Tovey, Nathaniel, Milton's col-
lege tutor, 25
Treatise on Christian Doctrine,

Ulster Protestants, Milton's sub-
scription for, 83

V.
Vernon Lee, 57
Vondel, Milton's indebtedness to,
xTo

\V.
.Vakefield, E. G., on the cham-
pions of great causes, x35
.Vood, Anthony, on Restoration,
x33
XVoodcock, Katherine, Milton's
second wife, her marriage and
death, 25
.Vootton, Sir H., on " Comus," 47
,Vordsworth, quoted, -"7, 65 ;
Milton contrasted with, 4t ; on
" Paradise Regained," 78
V'right, Dr., reminiscence of his
visit to Milton, 186

Vo
Young, Thomas, Milton's private
tutor, x 4

BIBLIOGRAPHY.
BV
JOHN P. ANDERSON
( British ,IIuseu fa).

I. WOUKS.
Il. POETICAL WORKS.
III. Paos WORKS.
IV. SINGLE WOnKS.
V. SELECTIONS.

VI. APPENDIXq
Biography» Criticism, etc.
Magazine Articles, etc.
VIL CaOOLOGICAL LIST OF
WORKS.

I. WORKS.

The Work. of John Milton in
verse and prose, p,inte,1 ffoto
the original editions, with a
lire of the author by J. Nitford.
8 vols. London, 1851, 8vo.

II. POETICAL WORXS.

Poems of Mr. John Milton, both
Euglish and Latin, compos'd at
several rimes. Printed by his
truc copies. London [January
2], 1645, 8vo.
First collective edition, and tho
flrst work bearing Mi[ton's n;tme.
Poems, etc., u|,on several occa-
sions, both English ami Latin,
etc., composed at sevetal times.

With a small Tractate of Educa-
tion to Mr. Hartlib. 2 parts.
Lomton, 1673, 8vo.
--The l'oetical Wotks of John
Nilton. Containing Paradise
Lost, Paradise l:e..-ained, Sain-
Son Agonistes, and his poems
on several occasions. Together
with explanatory notes on each
book of the Paradise Lost [by
P. H.» i.e., Patrick Hum@ 5
parts. London, 1695, folio.
The Poetical Remains of Mr
Milton, etc. By C. Gildon.
Loudon, 1698» 8vo.
T}le Poetical Works of John
51ilton. 2vols. London, 1707,
8vo.
The Poetical Works of Ir.
John Milton. (lgotes upon the

il

BIBLIOGRAPH Y.

twelve books of Paradise Lost,
by Mr. Addison. A small
'ïractate of Eduoation to 5If.
Hartlib.) 2 vols. London,
1720, 4to.
Anotber edifion. 2 vols.
London, 1721, 12mOo
Another edition. 2 vols.
London, 17-°7, 8vo.
Another edition. 2 vols.
London, 1730, 8vo.
The Poetieal Works of John
Milton. 2 vols. London, 1731,
8vO.
Another editi(m. 4 vols.
London, 1746, 12mo.
Another edition, with notes
of various authors, hy Thomas
]\rewton, bi»hop of Bristol. 3
vols. London, 174-5, tto.
The Poetieal Works o! Milton,
etc.  vols. Edinburgh, 162,
8vo.
Another edifion, by l'ewon.
4 vols. London, 1763, 8vo.
.Another edition.  vols.
London, 1766, 8fo.
The Poetieal Works of llil-
ton. With preatory eharaeters
of the several pieces; the life
of lXlilton, a glossary, etc. Edin-
burgh, 1767, 8vo.
Another edition. 4 vols.
London, 1770, 8vo.
Another edition. 4 vols.
London, lî73, 8vo.
Poems on several occaian..
(Britis o«t«, vol. iv.) Edin-
burgh, 177, 8vo.
Another edition. 3 vois.
London, 1775, 4to.
-----Tbe Pçetical Work of J,hn
Iilton. From the text o! Dr.
:Newton. (t:ell's Poets of reat
Brihtin, vols. 85-38.) Edin-
burgh, 1776, 12mo.
-- The Poems of Milton.
(Johnson's IVorks of the English

lo«ts, vols. 8-5.) London, 1779,
--Poems upon several occasions,
English Italian, and Latin,
wi h t anslations : viz., Lycidas,
L'Allegro, Il Pqnseroso, Arcades,
Cornu% Ode% Sonnets, 1IL-cel-
]anies, English Psa]ms, Elegia-
ru,n Liber, Epigrammat um
Liber, Sylvarum Liber. With
otes critical and explanator)',
and other illustrations, by T.
Warton. Lodon, 17S5, 8vo.
Second edition, with many
alterations, and large additions.
London, 1791, 8vo.
Poems. Another edition.
(Johnson's lYorks of the English
l'oets, vols. 10-12.) London,
lî90, 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of John
hli!ton. To which is prefixed
the lire of tbe author. (Ander-
son's Poets of Great JBritain, vol.
v.) Edinburgh, 1792, 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of John
]lilton. With a lire of the
author, by W. Hayley [and
engravings after Westall]. 3
vols. Lond6n, lîgt-97, folio.
--Tlm Poetical Works of John
Milton, lrom the text of 1)r.
ewton. With the lire of the
author, and a critique on
l'aradise Lost, by J. Addison.
Cooke's edition. Embellished
with engravings. 9. vols. Lon-
don, 1795-96, 12mo.
--The Poctical Works of John
hldton. With the principal
notes of rations commentators.
To which are added illustrations,
with some account of the life of
Milton. By H. J. Todd. (Mr.
Addison's criticism on the
Paradise Lost. Dr. Johnon'a
Remarks on Mil:ou's ¥rsifica-

BIBLIOGR4PH Y.

111

tion. Dr. C. Burney's observa-
tions on tho Greek verses of
Iilton.) 6 vols. London,
1801, 8vo.
Second edition, with consider-
able additions, and with a ver-
bal index te the whole of
lIilton's poetry, etc. 7 vols.
London, 1809, 8vo.
Third edition, with other
illustrations, etc. 6 vols. Lon-
don, 1826, 8vo.
The Poeticl Works of John
ilton. With a preface, bio-
graphical and critical, by J.
Aikin. (Lire of Milton by Dr.
Johnson.) 3 vols. London,
1805, 8vo.
Vols. xii.-xv, of an edition of "Tho
Works of the English Poets. With
prefaco by Dr. Johnson."
The Poetical Works of John
Milton. With a preface,
biographical and critical, by S.
Johnson. Re-edited, with new
biographical and critical matter,
by J. Aikin, II.D. 3 vols.
London, 1806, 12me.
-----The Poetical Works of John
lIilton. 2 vols. London, 1806,
16me.
The Poetical Works of John
lIilton. 4 vols. (XParI¢'s Vorks
of the Br[tish Poets, vols. i.-iii.)
London, 1808, 16me.
The Poetical Works of John
lIilton, with the life of the
author. By S. Johnson.
vols. London, 1809, 16me.
--Cowper's Milton. [Edited,
with a lire of ]Iilton, by
W. I-Iayley. Together with
"Adam: a sacred drama,
translated frein the Italian of
G. B. Andreini," by W. Cowper
and W. Hayley.] 4 vols.
Chichester, 18].0, 8vo.
The British Museum copycontains
IIS. notes by J. Mitford.

--The Poems of John Milton.
( Chalmers' W'orks of the English
/)oets, vol. viL) Lindin, 1810,
8vo.
----The Poetical Works of John
Milton. With tho life of tho
author, by S. Johnson. (Select
British t)oets.} London, 1810,
8VO.
Poems on several occasions.
Lycidas, L'Allegro, Il Pense-
rose. London» 1817, 12me.
Another edition» with Fen-
ton's life and Dr. Johnson's
criticism. 2 vols. London,
1817, 8vo.
--Tho Poetical Works of John
Milton ; te which is prefixed
the lire of the author. London,
1818, 12me.
This ferres pr of "Walker's
British çlassics."
--The Poetical Works of John
hlilton, with a life of the author,
by E. Sanford. (W'orks of the
British T'oets, vols. viL, viii.)
2 vols. Phfladelphia, 1819,
12me.
--The Poems of John Iilton.
(ritish t)oets, vols. xvi.-xviii.)
Chiswick, 1822, 12me.
The Poetical Works of John
Iilton, with notes of various
authors, principally frein the
editions of T. lqewton, C.
Dunster, and T. Warton ; te.
which is prefixed lqewton's
life of Milton. By E. Hawkins.
4 vols. Oxford, 1824, 8vo.
--Paradiso Lest. A new edi-
tion, with notes, critical and
explanatory, by J. D. Williams.
(Paradise Regained, Samson
Agonistes, and Poems.) 2 vols.
London, 1824, 12me.
The British luseum copy contains
copious MS. notes by the editor.

iv

t'IBLIO GRA PH Y.

--Poetical Works, with Cow-
per's Translations of the Latin
and Italian poems, and lire of
hiilton by his nephew, E.
Philips, etc.  vols. London,
1826, 8vo.
loems on several occasions.
[With Westall's plates.] Lori-
don, 1827, 16mo.
--The Poetical Works of John
hIilton. [Edited by J. Mitford,
with life of Milton by the edi-
tor.] 3 vols. London, 1832,
8vO.
Part of the "Aldine Edition of
the British Poets.'"
--Another edition. 3 vols.
London, 1866, 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of John
Milton. Printed from the text
of Todd and others. A new
edition. With the poet's lire
by E. Philips. Leipzig, 1834,
8vo.
The Poetical Works of John
hlilton. Edited by Sir Egerton
Brydges, Bart. [With a lire of
hIilton, by Sir E. B.] 6 vols.
London, 1835, 8vo.
--The Complete Poetical Works
of John 1Iilton : with explana-
tory notes and a lire of the
author, by the Rev. tt. Steb-
bing. To which is prefixed Dr.
Cha.nning's essay on the poetical
genms of Iilton. London»
1839, 12mo.
--The Poetical Works of John
Milton, J. Thomson, and E.
Young. Edited by I-I. F. Cary.
With a biographical notice of
each author. 3 pts. London,
1841, 8vo.
-----The Poetical Works of John
Iilton, with a memoir and
critical remarks on his genius
and writings, by J. Mont-
gomery, and one hundred and

twenty engravings from draw-
ings by W. Harvey. 2 vols.
London, 1843, 8vo.
The Poetical Works of John
5Iilton: with life and notes.
Edinburgh [1848], 24mo.
The Poetical Works of John
lIilton. ( Tauchnitz Collection
of British Authors, vol. 194.)
Leipzig, 1850, 8vo.
.Poetical Works. (Cabinet
Edition of the llritish Poets, vol.
i.) London, 1851, 8vo.
The Poetical Works of John
1Iilton, with notes and a lire
by the Rev. tt. Stebbing, etc.
London, 1851, 12mo.
--The Poetical Works of John
hlilton. (Universal Zibrary.
Poetry, vol. i.) London, 1853,
8vo.
Milton's Poetical Works.
With liïe, critical dissertation,
and notes by G. Gilfillan. 2
vols. Edinburgh, 1853, 8o.
One of a series entitled, "Library
Edition of the British Poets.'"
--The Poetical Works of John
lIilton, with lire. London,
1858, 8vo.
The Poetical Works of John
Milton: with a lire of the
author, preliminary disserta-
tions on each poem, notes
critical and explanatory, and a
verbal index. Edited by C. D.
Cleveland. Philadelphia, 1858,
12mo.
----The Complete Poetical Works
of John Milton, with lire.
Edinburgh [1855], 8vo.
----The Poetical Works of John
1Iiltom With a lire by J.
hlitford. 8 vols. Boston[U.S.],
1856, 8vo.
-----The Poems of John hIilton,
with notes by T. Keightley.
2 vols. London» 1859, 8vo.

BIBLIO GR PH Y.

The Poetical Works of John
]Iilton, with a memoir and
critical remarks on his genius
and writings, by J. ]Iontgomery,
and one hundred an.2 twenty
engravings. :New edition, etc.
9. vols. (Boh's lllustrated
Zibrary.) London, 1861, 8vo.
The Poetical Works of John
Milton. With illustrations
by C. H..Corbould and J.
Gilbert. London, 1864, 8vo.
.English Poems by John
Milton. Edited, wih life, in-
troduction» and seleeted notes,
by R. C. Browne. (oEarendon
Press Stries.) 2 vols. Oxford,
1870, 8vo.
.The Poetical Works of John
Milton. Illustrated by F.
Gilbert. [With life of ]Iilton.]
London, 1870, 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of John
Milton. Edited, with a critical
memoir, by W. ]I. Rossetti.
Illustrated by T. Seccombe.
London [1871], 8vo.
Reprinted in 1880 and 1881.
The Poetical Works of John
]Iilton. With life of the
author, and an appendix con-
taining Addison's Critique upon
the Paradise Lost, and Dr.
Channing's Essay ou the poeti-
cal genius of Milton. With
illustrations. London [1872],
8vo.
-----The Complete Poetical "Vorks
of ]Iilton and Young. London
[I872], 8vo.
Part of "Blackwood's Universal
Library of Standard Authors."
-----The Poetical Works of John
Milton. Reprinted from the
Chandos Poets. With memoir,
explanatory notes, etc. (Chan-
dos Classics.) London [1872],
8vo.

---The Poetical Works of John
Milton, printed frein the
original editions, with a lire of
the author by A. Chahners.
London [1873], 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of John
]Iilton. With lire, critical
dissertation, and explanatory
notes [by G. Gilfillan]. The
text edited by C. C. Clarke. 2
vols. London [1874], 8vo.
Part of "Casselrs Library Edition
of British Poets."
The Poetical Works of John
Milton: edited, with introduc-
tions, notes, and an essay on
Milton's English, by D. Masson.
[With portraits.] 3 vols. Lori-
don, 1874, 8vo.
The Poetical Works of John
Milton. With introductions
and notes by D. Masson. 2
vols. London, 1874, 8vo.
Forming part of tho "Golden
Treasury Serl'es."
--The Poetical Works of John
]Iilton. Edited by Sir E.
Brydges, Bart. Illustrated. A
new edition. London [1876],
8vo.
--The Globe edition. Tlle
Poetical Works of John lIilton.
With introductions by D.
Masson. London, 1877, 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of John
Milton. London [1878], 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of John
Mflton. Edited, with :Notes,
explana¢ory and philological,
by J. Bradshaw. 2 vols.
London, 18î8, 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of Milton
and Marvell. With a memoir of
each [that of ]Iilton by D.
Masson. With notes te the
poems of ]Iilton by J. Mitford].
4 vols. in 2. Boston, 1878,
8vo.

ri

BIBLIOGRPtIY.

The Poetical Works of John
bliiton. 2 vols. London, 1880,
16mo.
The Poetical Works of John
Milton. A new edition revised
from the text of T. lewton [by
T. A. W. Buckley]. London
[1880], 8vo.
Part of the «' Excelsior Series."
The Poetical Works of John
Milton. With lire, etc. Edin-
burgh [1881], 8vo.
Part of "Tho Landscape Sories of
Poets."
The Poetical Works of John
Milton, printed from the origi-
nal editions. With a lire of
the author by A. Chalmers.
With twelve illustrations by R.
Westall. London, 1881, 8vo.
-----The Poetical Works of John
Milton; edited, with memoir,
introductions, notes, and an
essay on ]Iilton's English and
Versification, by D. hIasson. 3
vols. London, 1882, 8vo.
The Poetical Works of John
lIilton. With biographical
notice, lew York [1884], 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of John
Milton, edited by J. Bradshaw.
Second edition. 2 vols. Lon-
don, 1885, 8vo.
--The Poetical Works of John
Milton. 2 vols. London [1886],
24mo.
The Poetical Works of John
Milton, with biographical notice
by J. Bradshaw. London,
1887, 12me.
One of the "Canterbury Poets"
Series.
Poctical Works. 2 vols.
London, 1887, 8vo.
The Poetical Works of John
Milton. Edited by J. Brad-
shaw. Paradiso Regained.

Miner Poems. London, 1888,
8vo.
One of the "Canterbury Poets"
Series.

Paradise Lest, etc. The lire o|
John Milton. [By E. Fenton.]
Paradise Regained.- Poems
upon several occasions.--Son.
nets.--Of Education. 2 vois.
London, 1751, 12me.
The copy in the British Museum
Library contains MS. Notes by C.
Lamb.
hlilton's Italian Poems, translated
and addressed te a gentleman
of Italy. By Dr. Langhorne.
London, 1776, 4te.
Milton's Paradise Lest and Para-
dise Regained. With explan-
atory notes by J. Edmondston.
London, 1854, 8vo.
Another edition. London,
1855, 16me.
Paradise Lest, etc. (Paradiso
Regained : and other Poems.--
The Life of John Milton [by
E. Fenton.]) 2 vols. London,
1855, 32mo.
Paradise Regained. Te which is
added Samson Agonistes : and
poems upon several occasions.
A new edition. By T. lewton.
London, 1777, 4te.
Paradise Regained, Samson Agon-
istes, and the Miner English
Poems. London, 1886, 16me.
Part of the "Religious Trac
Society Library."
Latin and Italian poems of Milton
translated into English verse,
and a fragment of a commen-
tary on Paradise Lest, by the
late W. Cowper, with a preface
and notes .bY the Editor (W.
Hayley), and notes of various
authors. Chichester, 1808, 4te.

BIBLIO GRt PH Y.

vii

The Latin and Italian Poems of
]Iilton. Translated into English
verse hyJ. G. Strutt. London,
1814, 8vo.
]Iilton's Samson Agonistes and
Lycidas. With illustrative notes
by J. Hunter. London, 1870,
8vo.
-Iilton's Earlier Poems, including
the translations by William
Cowper of those written in
Latin and Italian. (Cassell's
-hational Zibrary, vol. xxxiv.)
London, 1886, 8vo.
-hliscellaneous Poems, Sonnets, and
Psalms, etc. London [1886],
8VO.
Part of "Ward, Lock, & Co.'s
Popul:tr Library of Literary Trea-
Silr0S. '
The lIinor Poems of John Iilton,
Edited, ivith notes, bv W. J.
Rolfe. New York, 187, 8vo.
The Sonnets of John Milton.
Edited by l[ark Pattison. Lon-
don, 1883, 8vo.
Part of the "Parchment Library. »
L'Allegr% Il Penseroso [revised by
C. Jennens], ed il Ioderato [by
C. Jemmns]. Set to musick by
Mr. Handel. London, 1740,
4to.
The words only.
Another edition. London
1740, to.
L'Allegro, Il Penseroso as set
to musiek. [London, 1750],
8vo.
L'Allegro ed I1 Penseroso.
[Arranged for music.] [London,
1779], 8vo.
L'Allegro ed I1 Penseroso. And
a song for St. Cecilia's day
by Dryden. Set fo musick by
O. F. Handel. London, 175,
4to..
The words without the music.

L'Allegro ed I1 Penseroso. Another
edition. London [1754], 4to.
L'Allegro and I1 Penseroso. Glas-
gow, 1751, 4to.
L'Allegro and I1 Penseroso. With
thirty illustrations designed
expressly for the Art Union of
London [by G. Scharf, H.
O'Neil, and others]. [London],
188, 4to.
hIilton's L'Allegro and Il Pense-
roso, illustrated with [Thirty]
Etchings on Steel by B. Foster.
L¢mdon, 1855, 8vo.
There is a copy in the British
lIuseum Library which contains
the autogmphs and photographs of
George Cruikshank and his wife.
L'Allegro and I1 Penseroso, illus-
trated by engravings on steel
after designs by Birket Foster.
London, 1860, 8vo.
L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, and other
poems. Illustrated. Boston,
1877, 16mo.
hIilton's L'Allegro and I1 Pense-
roso. With notes by J. Aikin.
Poona [1881], 8vo.
L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, and the
Hymn on the Nativity. Illus-
trated. London, 1885, 8vo.
hIilton's Comus, L'Allegro, and
Il Penseroso. With numerous
illustrative notes adapte4 for
use in training colleges. By
John Hunter. London, 1864,
12mo.
Revised edition. London
[1874], 8vo.
Comus, Lycidas, L'Allegro, Il
Penseroso, and selected Sonnets.
With notes by H. R. Huckin.
London, 1871, 16mo.
hIilton's Arcades and Sonnets.
With notes by J. Hunter.
London, 1880, 12mo.
The Lycidas and Eiitaphium

Vill

tItLIOGR.,4PHY.

Damonis. Edited, with notes
and introduction (including a
reprint of the rare Latin version
of the Lycidas, by W. /-/ogg,
1694), by C. S. Jarram. Lori-
don, 1874, 8vo.
Second edition, revised. Lon-
don» 1881, 8vo.

III. PROSE WORKS.

The Vorks of Mr. John Milton.
[In English Prose.] [London],
1697, fol.
Net mentioned by Lowndes or
Watt, but a copy is in tho ]3ritish
lIuseum.
A Complete Collection of the
/tistorical, Political, and Miscel-
laneous Works of John llilton,
both English and Latin. With
some papers never before pub-
lish'd. Te which is prefixed the
life of the author, etc. [By J.
Toland]. 3 vols. Amsterdam
[London], 1698, fol.
A Complete Collection of Histori-
cal, Political, and Miscellaneous
Works of JohnMilton, correctly
printed frein the original
editions, with an account of
the lire and writings of the
author (by T. ]Jirch), containing
several original papers of his
never before published. 2vols.
London, 1738, fol.
The Works of John lIilton,
Historical, Political, and Miscel-
]aneous. low more correctly
.printed frein the orinals than
in any former edition, and many
passages restored which bave
been hitherto omitted. Te
vhich is prefixed an account of
his life and writings (by T.

Birch). (Edited by T. Birch
and R. Barron?). London,
1753, 8vo.
The Prose Works of John Milton ;
with a life of the author, inter-
spersed with translations and
critical remarks, by C. Sym-
mens. 7 vols. London, 1806,
8vo.
The Prose Works of John ]Iiltom
With an introductory review
by R. Fletcher. London, 1833,
8VO.
Select Prose Works of Milton.
Account ofhis studies. Apology
for his early liïo and writings.
Tractate on Education. Areo-
pagitica. Tenure of Kings.
Eikonoclastes. Divisions of tho
Commonwealth. Delineation of
a Commonwealth. Mode of
establishing a Commonwealth.
Familiar Letters. With a prelim-
inary discourse and notes by
J. A. St. John. (Master2ieces
of English Prose Literature.) 2
vols. London» 1836, 8vo.
Extracts ïrom the Prose Works of
John llilton, containing the
whole of hïs writings on the
church question. New first
published separately. Edin-
burgh, 1836, 12mo.
The Prose Works of John Milton.
With a biographical introduc-
tion by R.W. Griswold. 2 vols.
New York, 18t7, 8vo.
The Prose Works of John lIilton,
with a preface, preliminary
remarks, and notes by J. A.
St. John. 5 vols. (Bohn'$
Elandard Library.) London,
1848-53» 8vo.
Areopagitica, Letter on Educa-
tion, Sonnets and Psalms.
( Cassell' s lationl Library» vol.
cxxi.) London, 1888» 8vo.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

ix

IV. SINGLE WORKS.

ltccedenco commenc't Grammar,
supply'd with sufficient rules,
for the use of such as are
desirons fo attaîn the Latin
tongue with little teaching and
their own industry. London,
1669, 12mo.
An account of an original auto-
graph sonnet by John ]Iilton,
contained in a copy of Mel
Hcliconium written by Alex-
ander Rosse, 1642, etc. Lori-
don, 1859, 8vo.
L'Allegro, illustrated by the
Etching Club. London, 1849,
fol.
L'Allegro. [With illustra-
tionsengravedby W. J. Linton.]
London, 1859, 8vo.
L'Allegro. [With illustra-
tions.] London [1875], 8vo.
Forming part of "The Choice
Series. »
hlilton's L'Allegro. Edited,
with interpretation, notes, and
derivations, by-F. ]Iain. Lori-
don, 1877, 8vo.
Animadversions upon the Remon-
stran's defence [i.e., tho de-
fence of J. Hall, Bishop of
lorwich ?] against Smectym-
nuus. London, 1641, 4to.
Zpographum literarum serenissimi
protectoris, etc. [Leyden ?] !656,
gto.
An apology against a Pamphlet
[by J. Hall ?] caIled A hlodest
Confutation of the Animadver-
sions upon the Remonstrant
against Smectymnuus. Lon-
don, 1641, 4to.
Zreopagitica ; a Speech of
John ]Iilton fo' the liberty of
Unlicenc'd Printing, to the
Parliament of England. Lori-
don, 1644» 4to.

Areopagitica. Another edition.
With a preface by another hand.
London, 1738, 8vo.
Another edition, with pre-
fatory remarks, copions notes,
and excursive illustrations, by
T. Holt White, etc. London,
1819, 8vo.
------Another edition. London,
1772, 8vo.
Another edition. London,
1780, 12mo.
Another edition, edited by
James Losh. London, t791,
8VO.
Areopagitica. ( Occasonal
Essays, etc.) London, 1809,
8VO,
Another edition. London
[1834], 8vo.
----Areopagitica, etc. London,
1840, 8vo.
Tracts for the People, No. 10.
-----English Reprints. John
ilton. Areopagitica.. Care-
fully edited by Edward Arber.
London, 1868, 18mo.
English Reprints. John
Milton. Areopagitica. Care-
fully edited by Edward Arber.
London, 1869, 8vo.
A Modern Version of Iilton's
Areopagitica : with notes, ap-
pendix, and tables. By 8.
Lobb. Caleutta, 1872, 12mo.
hIilton. Areopagitica. Edited,
with introduction and notes,
by J. W. Hales. Oxford, 1874,
8VO.
-----Iilton's Areopagitica. (Mor-
ley's Universal Library, vol.
43.) London, 1886, 8vo.
Autobiography of John ]Iilton :
or ]Iilton's Lire in his own
words. Edited by J. J. G.
Graham. London, 1879., 8vo.
brief history of ]loscovia ; and
other less known eountries

X

BIBLIOGRPHY.

lying eastward of Russia as far
as Cathay. Gather'd frein the
writings of 8everal eye-wit-
nesses. London, 1682, 8vo.
The Cabinet-Council ; containing
the Chier Arts of Empire, and
hlysteries of State discabineted.
By Sir Walter Raleigh, pub-
lished by John ilton. Lon-
don, 1658, 8vo.
--Another edition. The Arts
of Empire and hlysteries of
State discabineted. By Sir
Walter Raleigh, published by
John Milton. London, 1692,
8vo.
Colastcrion, a reply te a nameles
[sic] answer against "The
Doctrine and Discipline of
Divorce." By tho former
author, J[ohn] bl[ilton]. [Lori-
don] 1645, 4te.
A Common-Place Book of John
]ffilton, and a Latin essay and
Latin verses presumed te be by
Milton. -Edited frein the
original hISS. in the possession
of Sir F. W. Graham, Bart., by
A. J. Horwood. London,
1876, 4te.
lrinted for the Camden Society.
Revised edition. London,
1877, 4te.
A ]laske [Comus] presented af
Ludlow Castle, 1634 : on
hlichaelmasse night, beforo the
right honorable John, Earle of
Bridgewater, Viscount Brackly,
Lord President of Wales.
[Edited by H. Lawes.] Lori-
don. 1637, 4te.
The first edition of Comus.
Comus : a mask, etc. Glas-
gow, 1747, 12me.
Comus, a mask presented af
Ludlow Castle, 1634, before the
Earl of Bridgewater, with notes
critical and ex,lapent, by

various commentators, and with
preliminary illustrations ; te
which is added a copy of the
mask frein a manuscript belong-
ing te his Grace the Duke of
Bridgewater; by tt. J. Todd.
Canterbury, 1798, 8vo.
Comus, a mask ; presented
af Ludlow Castle, 1634. Te
which are added, L'Allegro and
Il Penseroso ; and Mr. Warton's
account of the origin of Comus.
London, 1799, 8vo.
Comus: a mask. With
annotations. London, 1808,
8vo.
Comus : a.masque. (Cumber-
land's Bri[ish 2'heatre, vol. 32.)
London [1829], 12me.
Comus. A mask with thirty
illustrations by P.ickersgill, B.
Foster, I-I. Weir, etc. London,
1858, 4te.
ilton's Comus. Published
under the direction of the
Committee appointed by the
Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge. London [1860],
12me.
Comus : a mask. With ex-
planatory notes. Published
under the direction of the
Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge. London [1861],
12me.
]Iilton's Comus. With notes
[by W. Wallace]. London,
1871, 16me.
The hlask of Comus. Edited,
with copious notes, by I-I. B.
Sprague. Tew York, 1876,
8VO.
Milton's "Comus" anno-
tated, with a glossary and notes.
With three introductory essays
uion the masque proper, and
upon the origin and history et
the poem. By B. bi. Ranking

t ItLIO GRA PH Y.

xi

lad D. F. Ranking. London,
1878, 8vo.
----Milton's Comus, with intro-
duction and notes. London»
1884, 8vo.
Forming part of "Ch.mbers's
Reprint of English Classics."
------ilton's Comus. Edited, with
introduction and notes, by A.
lI. Williams. London, 1888,
8VO.
.Songs, Duets, Choruses,
etc., in Milton's Comus: a masque
in two acts, with additions frein
the author's poem "L'Allegro,"
and frein Dryden's opera of
"King Arthur." London [1842],
8vo.
Considerations touching the like-
liest means te remove Hirelings
out of the Church. Wherein
is also discourc'd of Tithes,
Church-Fees, Church-Revennes,
and whether any maintenance
of ministers can be settl'd by
law. The author J. M[ilton].
London, 1659, 12me.
Another edition. London,
1717, 12me.
Another edition. London,
1723, 8vo.
.Another edition. London
[1834], 8vo.
Dêclaration, or Letters Patents
of the E]ection of this present
King of Poland, John the Third.
Translated [by John lIilton].
London, 1674, 4te.
The Doctrine and Discipline of
Divorce restor'd te the good of
both sexes frein the Bondage of
Canon Law and other mistakes
te Christian freedom, guided by
the rule of charity, etc. Lon-
don, 1643, 4te.
The Doctrine and Discipline
of Divorce. ow tho second

time revis'd and much aug-
mented. London, 1644, 4te.
--Another edition. London,
1645, 4te.
Eikonoklastes, in answer te a
book intitl'd iikon Basilike,
thë Portrature of his Sacred
Majesty in his solitudes and
sufferings. [By J. Gauden,
Bishop of Exeter ?] The author
J[ohn] M[ilton]. London,
1649, 4to.
--Eikonoklastes. Publish'd new
the second rime» and much
enlarg'd. London, 1650, 4te.
-----Eikonoklastes in answer te a
book entitled Eikon Basilike,
the-Portraiture of his sacred
majesty King Charles the first
in his solitudes and sufferings.
Amsterdam, 1690, 8vo.
--Eikonoklastes: in answer te a
book intitled Eikon Basilikon,
the portraiture of his sacred
majesty in his solitudes and
sufferings, lffow first published
from the author's second edi-
tion» printed in 1650 ; with
many enlargements, by
Baron. With a preface shew-
ing the transcendent excellency
of hlilton's prose works. Te
which is added an original
Letter [frein J. Wall] te hlilton,
never before published. Lon-
don, 1756, 4te.
--A new edition, corrected by
the late Reverend R. Baron.
London, 1770, 8vo.
The History of Britain, that part
especially new call'd England,
from the first traditional begin-
ning, continu'd te the lfforman
Conquest. Collected out of the
antientest and best authors by
John ]lilton. London» 1670,
4te.

xii

BIBLIO GRt Pli Y.

The ttistory of ]3ritain. Another
edition. London, 1677, 8vo.

Second edition. London,
1678, 8vo.
.Another edition. London,
1695, 8vo.
Il Penseroso. With designs by
J. E. G.; etehed by J. E. G.

and H. P. G. on India paper.
London, 1844, folio.
--Milton. Il Penseroso. (Claren-
don ]gress ,.çeries. ) Oxford,
1874, 8vo.
Joannis lIiltoni hngli, hrtis
Logicoe PIenior Institutio, ad
Petri lami Methodum concin-
nata. Adjecta est Praxis
hnalytica and P. Rami ,Ata.
Londini, 1672, 12me.
Joannis/liltoni hngli de I)octrina
Christiana libri duo posthumi,
ques ex schedis manuscriptis
deprompsit, et typis mandari
primus curavit C. R, Sumner.
Cantabrigioe, 1825, 4te.
--Another edition. Brunsvigae,
1827, 8eo.
.A Treatise of Christian
Doctrine, compiled frein the
Holy Scriptures alerte. Trans-
lated from the original by C.
R. Sumner. Cambridgë» 1825,
4te.
-----John lIilton's last thoughts
on the Trinity. Extracted
from his Treatise on Christian
Doctrine. London, 1828,
12mo.
-----New edition. London, 1859,
8rO.
Joannia l[iltonii Angli Episto-
larum familiarium liber unus:
quibus accesserunt ejusdem
jam olim in collegio adolescentis
prolusiones quoedam oratorioe.
Londini, 1674, 12me.
--Milton's familiar letters.
Translated from tho Latin,

with notes, by J. Hall. Phila-
delphia, 1829, 8vo.
Joannis Miltoni Angli pro populo
Anglicane defensio, contra
Claudii Anonymi, aliks Sal-
masii, defensionem regiam.
Cum indice. Londini, 1651,
12me.
----Another edition. Londini,
1.651, 4te.
--Another edition. Londini,
1651, 12me.
Editio emendatior. Londini,
1651, folio.
Another edition. Londini,
1652, 12me.
Editio correctior et auctior,
ab aurore denuo recognita.
Londini, 1658, 8vo.
--A I)efense of the People of
England in answer te Salma-
sius's defence of the king.
[Translated from the Latin by
/Ir. Washington, ofthe Temple.]
[London ?] 1692, 8vo.
Joannis lIiltoni pro populo Angli-
cane defensio secunda. Contra
infamem libellum anonymum
[by P. Du /Ioulin] cui titulus,
Regii sanguifiis clamer ad
ccelum adversus parricidas
Anglicanos. Londini, 1654,
8vo.
Another edition. [With pre-
face by G. Crantzius.] 2 parts.
Hagoe Comitum, 1654, 12mo.
--lIilton's Second I)efence of
the People of England [trans-
lated by Archdeacon Wrang-
ham]. London, 1816, 8vo.
Included in Scraps by the Rev.
Froncis Wrangham.
Joanni Miltoni pro se defensio
contra Alexandrum lIorum
ecclesiasten [or rather P. I)u
/Ioulin] Libelli famosi, cul
titulus, Regii sanguinis clamer

tltLIO GRI PH Y.

XIII

a<l ccelum adversus Parricidas
Anglicanos, authorem recte
dictum. Londini, 1655, 8vo.
The judgement of Martin Bucer
concerning divorce, now En-
glisht [by John hiilton]. Where-
in a late book [by John ]lilton]
restoring the doctrine and dis-
cipline of divorce is heer con-
firm'd, etc. London, 1644,
4to.
A Letter written toa Gentleman
in the Country, touching the
dissolution of the late Parlia-
ment, and the reasons thereof.
[By John ]Iilton, signed N.
Ll.] London []Iay 26], 1653,
4to.
Literoe ab Olivario protectore ad
sacram regiam majestem Suecioe.
[Leyden ?J 1656, 4to.
Literoe Pseudo-Senatus Angli-
cani, Cromwellii, reliquorumque
Perduellium nomine ac jussu
conscriptoe a Joanne ]Iiltono.
[London] 1676, 12mo.
.Another edition. Literoe
omine Senatus Anglicani
Cromwellii Richardique ad
diversos in Europa principes
et Respublicas exaratoe a
Joanne hliltono, quas nunc
primum in Germania recudi
fecit J. G. Pritius. Lipsioe
& Francofurti, 1690, 12mo.
--Milton's Republican-Letters,
or a collection of such as were
written by Comand of the late
Commonwealth of England, etc.
[Amsterdam?] 1682, 4to.
--Letters of State written by
hIr. John hlilton to most of the
Sovereign princes and Repub-
licks of Europe, from the year
1649 till 1659. To which is
added an Account of his Life
[by E. Phillips], together with

several of his poems, etc. Lon-
don, 1694, 12mo.
The "several poems" consist of
four sonnets only.
Oliver Cromwell's Letters to
Foreign Princes and States for
strengthening and preserving
the Protestant Religion, etc.
[Translated from the Latin of
John Milton.] London, 1700,
4to.
Lycidas. [Firstedition.] (Justa
Edouardo King naufrago, ab
.,4micis qncerentibus, etc.) 2
pts. Cantabrigiœe, 1638, 4to.
Part II., "Obsequies to the
lIemorie of lIr. Edward Kin," has
a distinct title-page and pagination,
and contains the first edition-of
Lycidas.
--Milton's Lycidas, with notes,
critical, explanatory, and gram-
matical» by a Graduate. Mel-
bourne, 1869, 8vo.
--Lycidas. Reprinted from the
first edition of 1638, and col-
lated with the autograph copy
in the library of Trinity College,
Cambridge. With a version in
Latin hexameters. By F. A.
Paley. London, 1874, 8vo.
--Milton. Lycidas. With in-
troduction and notes. By T.
D. Hall. Manchester[1876],8vo.
Second edition. London
[1880], 8vo.
]Iilton's Lyeidas. Edited,
with interpretation and notes,
by F. Main, etc. London,
1876, 8vo.
Second edition. London,
1876, 8vo.
]Ir. John ]Iilton's character of
the Long Parliament and
Assembly of Divines, in 1641.
Omitted in his other works, and
never printed. [Edited by J.
Tyrrell ? or by Arthur, Earl of
Anglesey ?] London 1681, 4to.

xiv

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Milton's Ode on the Morning of
Christ's Nativity. Illustrated
by eminent artists. London,
1868, 8vo.
Mr. John lIilton's Satyre against
hypocrites. Written whilst he
was Latin secretary to Oliver
Cromwell. [By John. Phillips ?]
London, 1710, 8vo.
hIilton's unpublished Poem, cor-
rected by J. E. Wall from a
defective copy found by lIr.
Morley in the British lIuseum.
Epitaph on a Rose Tree con-
fined in a Garden Tub. [Lon-
don, 1873 ?] s. sh. 8vo.
The original is in the King's Lib-
rary, British Museum, and is written
on the last leoEf of a copy of "Poems
of Mr. John Milton," 1645.
Observations upon the Articles of
Peace with the Irish Rebels, on
the Letter of Ormond to Col.
Jones, and the Representation
of the Presbytery at Belfast.
(trticles of Peace qwde and
concluded with the Irsh l:ebels,
by James Learle of Ormond, etc. )
London, 1649, 4to.
Of Education. To Iaster S.
Hartlib. [London, 1644] 4to.
--Milton's Tractate on Educa-
tion. A facsimile reprint from
the edition of 1673. Edited by
Oscar Browning. (Pitt Pvess
Series.) Cambridge, 1883, 8vo.
Original Letters and Papers of
State, addressed to Oliver
Cromwell, concerning the
affairs of Great Britain from
1649 to 1648, round among the
political collections of John
ilton, published from the
originals. By John Nickolls.
London, 1743, folio.
Of Prelatical Episcopacy, and
whether it may be deduc'd
from the Apostolical times by
vertue of those Testimonies

which are alledg'd to that pur-
pose in some late Treatises of
James, Archbishop of Armagh.
London, 1641, 4fo.
Of Reformation touching Church-
Discipline in England : and the
causes that hitherto have hin-
dred it. London, 1641, 4to.
Of True Religion, Hoeresie, Schism,
Toleration, and what best means
may be used against the growth
of Popery. The author J[ohn]
lI[ilton]. London, 1673, 4to.
--New edition, with preface by
Bp. Burgess. London, 1826,
8vo.
Paradise Lost. A poem written
in ten books by John lIilton.
Licensed and entred according
to order. London, 1667, 4to.
First edition. Without argumen
or preface. There are nine distinct
variations of the title and prelimi-
nary pages.
----Paradise Lost. A poem in
ten books. The author J.
1Kilton. (The argument. The
verse.) London, 1668, 4to.
The same edition as thepreceding,
with a new title-page, andwih the
addition of the argument.
--Paradise Lost. A poem in
ten books. The author John
lIilton. London, 1669, 4fo.
The saine edition as the two pre-
ceding, with a new title-page and
some slight a]terations in the text.
There is another copy in the British
lIuseum which differs slightly.
bas also the title-page dated 1668,
and Marvell's commendatory verses
in MS.
--Paradise Lost. A poem, in
twelve books. The author John
]lilton. Second edition, revised
and augmented by the saine
author. London, 1674, 8vo.
To this edition are prefixed the
commendatory verses of Barrow and
MarvelL In another copy in the
British Museum conjectural emen-
dations from the quarto edit/on,

BIBLIOGRAPtt Y.

1749, and the octavo edition, 1674,
corrected by the quarto edition,
1668, printed on two leaves, have
been inserted.
--The third edition. Revised
and augmented by the saine
author. London, 1678, 8vo.
--The fourth edition. Adorn'd
with sculptures. London, 1688,
folio.
The first illustrated edition.
Another edition [with cuts].

London, 1692, tblio.
Another edition. With copi-
eus and learned notes by
P[atrick] H[ume]. London,
1695, folio.
Seventh edition. Adorn'd

with sculptures. London, 1705,
8vo.
Eighth edition. dorn'd
with seulptures. 2 vols. Lon-
don, lï07, 8vo.
linth edition. dorn'd
with sculptures. London, lî11,
12mo.
The British lluseum copy is said
te be the only one on thick paper.
Tenth edition. Vith sculp-
tures. London, 1719, 12me.
-Another edition. Dublin,
1724, 8vo.
Twelfth edition. Te which
is prefixed an account of his life
[by E. Fenton]. London, 1725,
12me.
Thirteenth edition. Te which
is prefixed an account of his lire
[by E. Fenton]. London, 1727,
8vo.
--Fourteenth edition. Te which
is prefixed an account of his life
[by E. Fenton]. London, 1730,
8vo.
New edition [with notes and
proposed emendations] by R.
Bentley. London, 1732, 4te.
One of the copies in the British
Museum contains IIS. notes by B.
8tillingfleet, and another MS. notes

by W. Cole. A third copy has in-
serted plates, a pencil ketch of
iIilton's house af Chalfont St.
Gies, and a cutting frein tlm
Literary Gazette, llay 29th, 1830,
relating te Bentley.
--Another edition. London,
1737, 8vo.
--Another edition [with lire by
E. Fenton]. London, 1738,
8vo.
Another edition. (The life
of John Milton by E. Fenton.)
2 vols. London, 1746, 1747,
12mo.
Another edition. Dublin,
1747, 8vo.
nother edition. Compared
and revised by John Hawkey.
Dublin, 1748, 8vo.
---New edition. With notes of
various authors, by T. lewton.
(The life of lIilton [by the
editor]. A critique on Paradise
Lest. By hlr. Addison.) 2
vols. Lond0n, 1749, 4te.
Another edition. According
te the author's last edition, in
the year 1672. Glasgow, 1750,
8vo.
--Second edition. With notes
of various authors, by T. lew-
ton. 2 vols. London, 1750,
8VO.
Third edition. With notes
of various authors, by T. ew-
ton. 2 vols. London, lï54,
4te.
Paradise Lest. Another edition.
With notes, etymological, criti-
cal, classical, and explanatory;
collected from Dr. Bentley, Dr.
learce, Richardson and Son,
Addison, Paterson, Newton, and
other authors. By J. hIarchant.
London, 1751, 12me.
Another edition. 2vols. Lori-
don, 1752, 51, 12no.
Vol. ii. is a duplicate of the

xvi

BiBLIOGRAPHY.

corresponding vol. of the previous
ediion.
Auotheredition. [To which
is prefixed tha lire of ]ilton,
by E. Fenton.] London, 1753,
12mo.
Another edition. [With tho
lifo of lXlilton, by E. Fenton,
and a glossary.] 2 vols. Paris,
1754, 16mo.
Another edition [in proseJ.
With historical, critical, and
explanatory notes. From Ray-
mond do St. Iaur. London,

1755, 8vo.
--Another edition. From tho
text of T. lewton. Birming-
ham, 1758» 4to.
----Another edition. From the
text of T. :Newton. Birming-
ham, 1759, 4fo.
Another edition. (Tho lifo
of lIilton [by T. :Newton]).

London, 1760 12mo.
• Another edition. [With the
lire of John Milton, by E.
Fonton. Illustrated. ] Lon-
don, 1761,.8vo.
--.Sixth edition. With notes
of various authors, by T. lew-
ton. 2 vols. London, 1763,
--Soventh edition. With notes
of various authors, by T. :Now-
ton. 2 vols. London, 1770,
8vo.
-:New editiom To whieh is
added the lifo of tho author, by
E. Fenton. Edinburgh, 1765,
12mo.
ew edition. To which i
added historical, philosophica],
and exphnatory notes, trans-
hted from tho French of y-
ond do St. laur. [Edi[ed by
ohn Wood, and preceded by a
lifo of Milton by E. Fenton.]
Edinburgh» 176» 12mo.

Another edition [in prose].
With historical, philosophical,
critical, and explanatory notes,
from Raymond de St. ]Iaur.
Embellished with fourteen top-
per-plates. London, 1767, 8vo.
--Second edition, adorned with
copper-plates. London [1770],
8VO.
Paradiso Lost, a poem. Tho
author, John Milton. Glasgow,
1770, folio.
The copy in tho Brifish Museum
was presented o Georgo III. by ho
bindor, J. Score.
Paradiso Lost. (Tho lifo of
Milton, by Dr. Tewton.) Lon-
don, 1770, 12mo.
Paradiso Lost,  poem in
twelve books. 2 vols. Glasgow»
1771, 12mo.
--Paradiso Lost. (t?ritish Poets,
vols. i.-ii.) Edinburgh, 1773,
8vo.
--New edition. 2 vols. Lon-
don, 1775» 12mo.
--Another edition, from tho
text of T. lewton. London»
1777, 12mo.
--Eighth edition, with notes of
various authors, by T. lewton.
2 vols. London, 1778» 8vo.
--Paradiso Lost. (Tho Lifo of
llilton, by Dr. lewton.) Lori-
don, 1778, 12mo.
--Paradiso Lost. With a
biographical and critical account
of the author and his writings
[by E. Fenton]. Kilmarnock,
1785, 12mo.
--Another edition, illustrate4
with texts of Scripture by J.
Gillies. [With lifo by
Fenton.] London, 1788, 12mo.
Ninth edition, with notes
of various authors, by T.
ton [and a portrait of Milton].
2 vols. London, 1790, 8vo.

BIBLIOGR4PHY.

xvii

-- Another edition. Printed
from the first and second
editions collated. The originl
system of orthography restored,
tho punctuation corrected and
extended. With various read-
ings ; and notes, chiefly rythmi-
cal. By Capel Lofft. [Book i.]
Bury St. Edmunds, 1792, 4to.
--Paradise Lost. Books L-iv.
[London, 1792-95], 4to.
The British Museum copy con-
t,ins the first four books only.
With illustrations after tothard,
engraved by Bartolozzi. Without
title-pago.
--Milton's Paradiso Lost, illus-
trated with texts of Scripture
by J. Gillies. Second edition.
[With life by E. Fenton.] Lori-
don, 1793, 12mo.
Lost; a poem, in
twelvo books. [With engrav-
ings.] London, 1794, 4fo.
Milton's Paradiso Lost. (Tho
Lifo of John hlilton [by E.
Fenton]. Criticism on Paradise
Lost by S. Johnson.} London»
1795, 8vo.
--Paradise Lost. Printed from
the text of Tonson's edition of
1711. With notes and the life
of the author by T. Newton and
others. [Edited by C. ]I.]
3 vols. London, 1795, 12mo.
Paradise Lost, with notes
selected from Newton and others.
With a critical dissertation bn
the poetical works of Milton by
S. Johnson. 2 vols. London,
1796, 8vo.
Milton's Paradise Lost, with a
life of tho author [by J. Evans].
To which is prefixed tho cele-
brated critiquo by S. Johnson.
London, 1799, 8vo.
Milton's Paradiso Lost. A
new edition. Adorned with
plates [engraved chiefly by F.

Bartolozzi, from designs by
W. Hamilton and H. Fuseli.J
2 vols. London, 1802, 8vo.
--Paradiso Lost. with a lifo of
tho author [by E. Fenton], and
a critique on tho poem [by S.
Johnson]. A new edition.
London, 1802, 8vo.
Paradise Lost. A now edition.
London, 1803, 12mo.
--Milton's Paradise Lost, illus-
trated with texts of Scripture,
by J. Gillies. Third edition,
with additions. [Life of ]Iilton,
by E. Fe.nton.J London, 1804,
12mo.
Paradiso Lost. A poom.
Printed from the text of Ton-
son's correct edition of 1711.
London, 1804, 12mo.
--Paradiso Lost. Printed from
the text of Tonson's edition of
1711. A new edition, with
plates, etc. London, 1808,
8vO.
Paradiso Lost, a poem, etc.
(Tho lifo of ]Iilton [by E.
Fenton].) London, 1806, 12mo.
Paradiso Lost, a poem. (Tho
lire of ]Iilton [by E. Fenton].}
London, 1812, 16mo.
Another edition. To which
is prefixed the lire of the author
[by E. Fenton]. London, 1813»
12mo.
Paradiso Lost, a poem in
twelvo books. [With the lire
of John Milton by E. Fenton,
and "A critique upon the Para-
dise Lost" by J. Addison.]
Romsey, 1816, 8vo.
Faradiso Lost. To which ara
prefixed the lire of the author
[by E. Fenton] ; and a criticism
on tho poem by S. Johnson.
London, 1817, 8vo.
Paradiso Lost. London, 1817,
12mo.

B1BLIOGRAPH Y.

--Paradise Lost. [With
ravings from the designs of R.
Westall.] 2 vols. London,
1817, 12mo.
--Paradise Lost. T. which is
prefixed a lire of the author [by
E. Fenton]. London, 1818,
12mo.
--Paradise Lost. T. which is
prefixed the life of the author
[by E. Fenton]. London, 1820,
12mo.
--Paradise Lost. [Witb a life
of the author, by E. Fenton.J
Boston, 1820, 12mo.
--Paradise Lost. T, which are
prefixed the life of the author
by E. Fenton, and a criticism
of the poem by Dr. Johnson.
London, 1821, 8vo.
--Paradise Lost, etc. 2 vols.
London, 1825, 12mo.
The Paradise Lost of lIilton,
with illustrations designed and
engraved by J. lIartin. 2 vols.
London, 1827, folio.
--Paradise Lost, etc. [With
the life of J. ]Iilton, by E. Fen-
ton.] London [1830], 16mo.
Paradise Lost. With a
memoir of the author [by E.
Fenton]. lew edition. Lon-
don, 1833, 8vo.
--Paradise Lost : with copious
notes, also a memoir of his life
by J. Prendeville. London,
1840, 8vo.
[Paradise Lost. Edited by A.
J. Ellis ? Phonetically printed.J
[London], 1846, 16mo.
.The Paradise Lost, with notes
expIanatory and critical. Edited
by J. R. Boyd. lew York,
1851, 12mo.
--]Iilton's Paradise Lost, with
notes, critical and expIanatory,
original and selected, by J. R.
lIajor. London, 1853, 8vo.

--Milton's Paradise Lost. Pub-
lished nnder the direction of
the Committee of General Liter-
ature and Education [appointed
by the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge]. London
[1859], 8vo.
--Milton's Paradise Lost. In
twelve books. London, 1861,
16mo.
,ne of "BeH & Daldy's Pockot
Volumes."
--Paradise Lost. T. which is
prefixed a life of the author, and
Dr. Channing's Essay on the
poetical genius of Milton. Lori-
don, 1862, 12mo.
--]Iilton's Paradise Lost. Illus-
trated by Gustave Doré. Edited,
with notes and a life of Milton,
by R. Vaughan. London [1866],
folio.
A re-issue appeared in 1871-72.
--Paradise Lost, in ten books`
The text exactly reproduced
from the first edition of 1667.
With an appendix containing
the additions made in later
issues and a monograph on the
original publication of the
poem. [By R. H. S., i.e., R. H.
Shepherd ?] London, 1878, 4to.
--Paradise Lost, as originally
published, being a fac-simile of
the first edition. With an
introduction by D. liasson.
London, 1877 [1876], 4to.
--Paradise Lost. Illustrated
by thirty-eight designs.in out-
line by F. Thrupp. [Containing
only fragments of the text.]
London, 1879, obl. folio.
Milton's Paradise Lost. Illus-
trated by Gustave Doré. Edited,
with notes and a life of Milton,
by R. Yaughan. London, 1882,
4to.
Re-issued in 1888.

.BI.BI_.IO GR.,4 PH V.

xix

Paradise Lest. The text
emcnded, with notes and pre-
face by lI. Hull. London,
1884, 8vo.
Paradise Lest. London, 1887,
16me.
Part of "Routledge's Pocket
Library."
Paradise Lest. (Cassell's
National Iibra'y, vols. 162,
163.) London, 1889, 8vo.
The Story of our first
Parents; selected from hliltoa's
Paradise Lst : for the use of
young persons. By hlrs. Sid-
dons. London, 1822, 8vo.
Paradise Regain'd. A room in
four books. Te which is added
Samson Agonistes. The author,
J. Milton. 2 pts. London,
1671, 8vo.
Paradise Regain'd. Te which
is added Samson Agonistes.
London 1680, 8vo.
Another edition. London
1688, folio.
Paradise Regained. Samson
Agonistes,. and the smaller
poems. Sixth edition. London,
1695, folio.
Paradise Regain'd. Te which
is added Samson Agonistes, and
poems upon several occasions,
comoos'd at several times.
Fourthedition. London, 1705,
8vo.
.Paradise Regain'd. Te which
is added Samson Agonistes, etc.
The fifth edition. London, 1707,
8VO.
Paradise Regain'd. Te which
is added Samson Agonistes, etc.
Fifth edition. Adorned with
cuts. London, 1713, 12me.
 Sixth edition, corrected.
London, 1725, 8vo.

Seventh edition, corrected.
3 pts. London, 1727, 8vo.
Seventh edition, corrected.
London, 1730, 12me.
Eighth edition. London,
1743, 8vo.
Paradise Regain'd, etc. Lon-
don, 1747, 12mo.
Paradise Regain'd, etc. Glas.
gow, 1747, 12me.
Paradise Regain'd, etc. A
new edition. With notes of
various authors, by T. Newton.
London, 1752, 4te.
Paradise Regain'd, etc. Glas-
gow, 1752, 12me.
Paradise Regain'd, etc. The
second edition, with notes of
various authors, by T. Newton.
9. vols. London, 1753, 8vo.
-----Paradise Regain'd, etc. Lon-
don, 1753, 12me.
--Paradise Regain'd, etc. Lon-
don, 1756, 12me.
--I-'aradise Regained, etc. Bir-
mingham, 1758, 4te.
Paradise Regain'd, etc. Lon-
don, 1760, 12me.
--Paradise Regain'd (Brth
Poctz, vol. iii.}. Edinburgh,
1773, 8vo.
Paradise Regain'd, etc. 2
vols. Glasgow, 1772, 12me.
A new edition. 2 vols.
London, 1773, 8vo.
A new edition. By T.
Newton. London, 1777, 4te.
 new edition, with notes of
various authors, by T. Newton.
2 vols. London, 1785, 8vo.
Paradise Regain'd, etc. Lon-
don, 1779, 12me.
Paradise Regain'd, etc. Aln-
wick, 1793, 12me.
A new edition, with notes of
various authors, by C. Dunster.
London, 1795, 4to.

BIBLIOGRAPttY.

Another edition. London
[1800], 4to.
--lilton's Paradise Regained ;
with select notes subjoined : to
which is added a complete col-
lection of his lIiscellaneous
Poems, both English and Latin.
London, 1796, 8vo.
Paradise Regained. With
select notes subjoined, etc.
London, 1817, 8vo.
--Paradise Regained, Samson
Agonistes, Comus, and Arcades.
London, 1817, 12mo.
--Paradise Regaincd, and other
poems. London, 1823, 16mo.
--Paradise Regained, Samson
Agonistes, Comus, and Arcades.
[With Westall's plates.] Lon-
don, 1827, 16mo.
---Paradise Regained; and other
poems. London, 1832, 16mo.
--liilton's Paradise Regained,
and other poems. London,
1861, 16mo.
One of "Bell & Daldy's Pocket
Volumes."
The readie and easie way to estab-
lish a free Commonwealth, and
the excellence thereof, com-
par'd with the inconveniences
and dangers of re-admitting
Kingship in this nation. The
author J[ohn] hI[ilton]. Lon-
don, 1660, 4to.
The Reason of Church-Govern-
ment urg'd against Prelaty.
In two books. London, 1641,
4to. -.
Samson Agonistes. London, 1688,
folio.
First appeared with the Paradise
legained in 1671.
Samson Agonistes. London,
1695, folio.
tteprinted from the preceding
edition.
Samson Agonistesi (.Bell's

British Theatre, vol. 34.) Lori-
don, 1797, 8vo.
--Samson Agonistes. London
[1869], 8vo.
--lV[ilton. Samson Agonistes.
Edited by John Churton Col-
lins. ( Clarendon Press Sertes.)
Oxford, 1883, 8vo.
Scriptum Dom. Protectoris contra
Hispanos. [By John lV[ilton.]
Londini, 1655, 4to.
--A 1V[anifesto of the Lord
Protector against the Depreda-
tions of the Spaniards. Written
in Latin by John hlilton.
London, 1738, 8vo.
--A true Copy of Oliver Crom-
well's hianifesto against Spain,
dated October 26, 1655 [written
by John lIilton]. London,
1741, 4to.
The Tenure of Kings and lIagis-
trates ; proving that it is law-
full, and bath been held so
through all ages, for any, who
bave the power to call to
account a tyrant or wicked king,
and after due conviction to
depose and put him fo deatb,
etc. The author J[ohn] lI[il-
ton]. London, 1649, 4to.
--Another edition, with addi-
tions. London, 1650, 4to.
Tetrachordon: expositions upon
the foure chief places in Scrip-
ture which treat of mariage,
or nullities in mariage, wherein
the doctrine and discipline of
divorce, as was lately publish'd,
is confirm'd. By the former
autbor J. ]I[ilton]. London,
1645 [1644 O. S.], 4to.
The attthor's name appears in
full af the end of the address "To
the Parliament."
A Treatise on Civil Power in
Ecclesiastical Causes ; shewing
that if is hot lawfull for any

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

power on earth te compell in
matter of religion. Tho author
J[ohn] M[ilton]. London,
1659, 12me.
A Treatise of Civil Power in
Ecclesiastical Causes. First
priuted arme 1659. London,
reprinted 1790, 8vo.
• A Treatise on Civil Power in
Ecclesiastical Causes, etc. Leu-
don, 1839, 8vo.
Tracts for the People, No. I.
On the Civil Power in Eccle-
siastical Causes ; and on the
likeliest means te remove
Hirelings out of the Church.
London, 1851, 8vo.
Part XI. of "Buried Tresures."

V. SELECTIONS.

The Beauties of ]Kilton, Thomson»
and Young. Dublin, 1783,
12me.
The Beauties of ]Kilton ; con-
sisting of selections from his
poetry and prose, by A. Howard.
London [1834], 12me.
The Poetry of Milton's Prose ;
selected frein his rations
writings ; with notes, and an
introductory essay [by C.].
London, 1827, 12me.
Readings frein ]lilton. With an
introduction by Bishop H. W.
Warren. Boston, 1886, 8vo.
Part of the "Chatauqua Library--
Garnet Series."
Selected Prose Writings of John
Milton, with an iutroductory
essay by E. hIyers. London,
1883, 8vo.
Fifty copies only printed.
Selections frein the Prose Writings
of John lIilton. Edited, with
memoir, notes, and analyses,
by S. lianning. London, 1862,
8vo.

Selections from the Prose Works
of John Milton. With critical
remarks and elucidations.
Edited by J. J. G. Graham.
London, 1870, 8vo.
Shakespeare and lIilton Reader;
being scenes and other extracts
frein the writings of Shake-
speare and lIilton, etc. London
[1883]» 8vo.

VI. APPENDIX.

]IOGRAPHY, CRITICISM, ETC.

Acton, Rev. Henry. -- Religious
opinions and examples of ]lil-
ton, Locke, and Newton. A
lecture, with notes. London,
1833, 8vo.
Addison, Rt. Hon. Joseph.--Notes
upon the twelve books of Para-
dise Lest. Collected from tho
8Tectator. London, 1719, 12me.
Appeared originally in the Specta.
ter, Dec. 31, 1711--May 3, 1712.
Ademollo, A. -- La Leonora di
]Iilton o di Clemente IX.
]lilano [1886], 8vo.
Andrews, Samuel. -- Our Great
Writers ; or, Popular chapters
on seine leading authors. Lori-
don, 1884, 8vo.
lIilton, pp. 84-112.
Arnold, ]latthew.4Mixed Essays.
London, 1879, 8vo.
A French Critic on Milton, pp.
237-273.
Essays in Criticism. Second
Series. London, 1888, 8vo.
Milton, pp. 56-68.
Bagehot, Walter. -- Literary
Studies. 2 vols. London»
1879, 8vo.
John Milton, vol. i., pp. 173-220.
----Third edition. 2 vols. Lori-
don, 1884, 8vo.
Balfour, Clara Lucas.--Sketches

xxii

JIBLIOGRAPHY.

of English Literature, etc.
London, 1852, 8vo.
Milton and his Literary Contem-
poraries, pp. 151-173.
Barron, William. -- Lectures on
Belles Lettres aud Logic. 2
vols. London, 1806, 8vo.
lIilton, vol. ii., pp. 281-300.
Bamngarten, Dr.--John Iilton
und das Verlorene Paradies.
Coburg [1875], 4to.
Bayne, Peter.--The Chief Actors
in the Puritan Revolution.
Lomlon, 1878, 8vo.
lIilton, pp. 297-346.
Bentley, Richard.--Dr. Bentley's
emendations on the twelve
books of lIilton's Paradise
Lost. London, 1732, 12mo.
Bickersteth, E. H. -- Iilton's
Paradise Lost. ( The St. James's
Lectu'es, ,.%cond ,S'e'ies. Lon-
don, 1876, 8vo.
--Another edition. London,
1877, 8vo.
Birrell, Augustine.--Obiter Dicta.
Second series. London, 1887,
8vo.
lIilton, pp. 1-50.
B]ackburne, Francis. -- lemarks
on Johnson's Life of Mi]ton.
To which are added Iilton's
Tractate of Education and
Areopagitica. London, 1780,
16mo.
tlair, Hugh. -- Lectures on
Rhetoric and Belles Lettres,
etc. 2 vols. London, 1783,
4to.
Paradise Lost, vol. ii., pp. 471-476.
Bodmer, J. Jacob.--J. J. Bod-
mer's cri{ische Abhandlung,
von dera Vunderbaren in der
Poesie in einer Yertheidigung
des Gedichtes J. hlilton's von
dem verlohrnen Paradiese, etc.
Ziirich, 1740, 8vo.
Bradburn, Eliza W.--The Story

of Paradise Lost, for children.
Portland, 1830, 16mo.
Brooke, Stopford A.--]Iilton.
[An account of his life and
works.] London, 1879, 8vo.
Part of the series entitled Classica
Writers, ed. J. R. Green.
Bruce, Archibald. -- A critical
account of the lire, character,
and discourses of hlr. Alexander
]Iorus, in which the attack
ruade upon him in the writings
of lIilton is particularly con-
sidered. Edinburgh, 1813, 8vo.
Brydges, Sir Samuel Egerton.--
The Life of John hlilton. Lori-
don [1835], 8vo.
Bulwer Lytton, E.--The Siamese
Twins, etc. London, 1S31, 8vo.
llilt.on, a poem, pp. 315-362.
Burney, Charles. -- Remarks on
the Greek Versos of ]Iilton.
[London, 1790], 8vo.
Buckland, Anna.--The Story of
English Literature. London,
1882, 8vo.
lIilton, pp. 230-296.
Callander, John. -- Letter and
Report respecting the Unpub-
lished Commentary on ]Iilton's
t'aradise Lost, by the late John
Callander, of Craigforth, Esq.,
in the possession of the Society.
( l'chceologia Scotica, vol. iii.,
1831, pp. 83-91.) Edinburgh,
1831, 4to.
Camerini, Eugenio.--Profili Let-
terari. Firenze, 1870, 8vo.
Milton e rItalia, pp. 264-274.
Cann, Iiss Christian.--A scrip-
tural and al]egorical glossary to
Milton's Paradise Lost. Lon-
don [1828], 8vo.
Carpenter, Williar6.  The Life
and Times of John ]Iilton.
London [1836], 8vo.
Channing, William Ellery.Re-
marks on the Character and
Writings of John ]Iilton ;

BIBLIOGRtPHY.

XXIII

occasioned by the publication
of his lately discovered "Trea-
tise on Christian Doctrine."
From the Chrisian Examiner,
vol. iii., No. 1. Boston, 1826,
8VO.
(harles I.mBy the King. A
Proclamation for calling in and
suppressing of two books written
by John Milton : the one Intit-
nled Johannis Miltoni Angli
pro Populo Anglicano defensio,
etc., and the other, The Pour-
traicture of his Sacred ]Iajesty
etc. London, 1660, s. sh.
fol.
--The Life and Reigne of King
Charls ; or, the Pseudo-Martyr
discovered, etc. London, 1651,
8vo.
In tho Bodleian Catalom this
work is erroneously sçted to bo by
John lIilton.
Chassang, A., and hlarco.u, F.
Les Chefs-d'oEuvre Eldques de
tous les peuples, laris, 1879,
8vo.
llilton, pp. 2î9-297.
Clarke, Samuel.--Some reflections
on that part of a book called
Amyntor, or the defence of
' lIilton's lire, which relates to
the writings of the primitive
t'athers, etc. (Latter to
odwcll, etc., pl ), 451-475.)
London, 1781, 8vo.
Cleveland, C. D.--A Complete
Concordance to the Poetical
Woks of John ilton. Lori-
don, 1867 8vo.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor.--Seven
lectures on Shakespeare and
hlilton, etc. London, 1856,
8vo.
Darby, Samuel.--A letter to T.
Warton, on his late edition of
lIilton's Juvenile Poems [en-
titled "Poems upon several

occasions, English, Italian, and
Latin."] London, 1785, 8vo.
Dawson, George. -- Biographical
Lectures. London, 1886, 8vo.
John Milton, pp. 82-88.
De liorgan, J.mJohn l[ilton con-
sidered as a Politician. (Men
of the Commonwealth, No. 1.)
[Loudon, 1875], 16mo.
Dennis, John.--Heroes of Litera-
turc. English Poets. London,
1883, 8vo.
John lIilton, pp. 114-147.
De Quincey, T.--Vorks. 16 vols.
Lomlon, 1853-60, 8vo.
lIilton, vol ni., pp. 311-325 ;
of lIiIton, vol x., pp. 79-98.
Des Essarts, E.--De Yeterum
poetarum tum Groecioe tutu
Romoe apud ]liltonem imita-
tione thesim proponebat E. Des
Essarts. Parisiis, 1871, 8vo.
Diderot, Denis.--An Essay on
Blindness, etc. Intersperscd
with several anecdotes of
Sanderson, Milton, and others.
Translated from the French.
London [1750], 12mo.
Dobson, W. T.--The Classic
Poets, their lines and their
times, etc. London, 1879,
8vo.
Milton's lredise Lost, pp. 394-
446; t)mdiso Regained, pp. 446-
452.
Donoughue, Edward Jones.
]Iilton : a lecture. London,
1843, 8vo.
Douglas, John.--liilton vindi-
cated from the charge of
plagiarism brought against him
by Mr. Lauder, etc. London,
1751, 8vo.
hlilton no plagiary; or, a
detection of the forgeries con-
tained in Lauder's essay, etc.
Second edition. London, 1756,
8vo.

xxv

BIBLIOGRtPttY.

Dowden, Edward.--Transcripts
and Studies. London 1888,
8çOo
The Idelism of lIilton, pp. 454-
473.
Dowling, William.--Poets and
Statesmen; their homes and
haunts in the neighbourhood
of Eton and Windsor. London,
1857, 8vo.
lIilton, pp. 1-39.
Dryden, John.--The Stateof Inno-
cence, and Fall of Maa; aa
opera, etc. London, 1677, 4to.
Du Moulin, P.--Regii sanguinis
clamor ad coelum adversus
parricidas Anglicanos. lA reply
to Milton's "Defensio pro
populo Anglicano."] Hagoe
Comitum, 1652, 4to.
Editiosecunda. HagoeComi-
tum, 1661, 12mo.
Dunster, C.--Considerations on
Milton's early reading, and the
prima stamina of his Paradise
Lost, etc. London, 1800, 8vo.
Edmonds, Cyrus R.--John Milton;
a biography. Especially de-
signed to exhibit the eccle-
siastical principles of that
illustrious man. London, lbS1,
8vo.
Edmundson, George.--Milton and
Vondel. A curiosity of litera-
ture. London, 1885, 8vo.
Ellwood, Thomas.--Reflections of
[Thomas Ellwood] with John
]Iilton (_4rbcr's English Garncr,
vol. iii., pp. 473-486). London,
1880, 8vo.
English Poets.--Cursory remarks
on some of the ancient English
poets, particularly Milton. [By
P. leve.] London, 1789, 8vo.
F.pigoniad.--A critical essay on
the Epigoniad wherein the
author's abuse of Milton is
examined. Edinburgh 1757,
8VO.

Eyre, Charles.--The Fall of Adam,
from Milton's Paradise Lost.
London [1852], 8vo.
Filmer, Sir Robert.--Observations
concerning the origiaall of
Governmeat upon Mr. Hobs
Leviathan, Mr. Milton against
Salmasius, H. Grotius De Juro
Belli. London, 1652, 4to.
The Free-holders grand
inquest, etc. (Reflections con-
cerning the Original of Govern-
ment upon Mr. lIilton against
Salmasius.) London, 1679, 8vo.
Flatters, J. J.--The Paradise Lost
of Milton, translated into fifty-
four designs, by J. J. Flatters,
sculptor. London, 1843, folio.
Without letterpress.
Fry, Alfred A.--A lecture on the
writings, prose aad poetic, and
the character, public and per-
sonal ofJohaMilton. London,
1838, 8vo. ,
Geffroy, Mathieu A.--Etude sur
les pamphIets politiques et
religieux de Milton. Paris,
1848, 8vo.
Gilfillan, George. --A Second
Gallery of Literary Portraits.
London, 1850, 8vo.
John Milton, pp. 1-39.
 Modern Christian tIeroes,
etc. London, 1869, 8vo.
John Milton, pp. 81-118.
Giraud Jane E.--Flowers of
Milton. London, 1850, 4to.
Godwin, William.--Lives of E.
and J. Philips, nephews and
pupils of Milton, to which are
added : I. Collections for the
lire of Milton, by J. Aubrey,
printed from the manuscript
copy in the Ashmolean Museum.
II. The Life of lqilton, by E.
Philips, printed 1694. Lori-
don, 1815, 4to.
Goodwin, Thomas.--The Student's
Practical Grammar of the

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

xxv

English Language; together
with a commentary on the first
book of hIilton's Paradise Lest.
London, 1855, 12me.
Greenwood, F. W. P.--The
h[iscellaneous Writings of F.
W. P. Greenwood. Boston,
1846, 8vo.
hIilton's Prose Works, pp. 208-226.
Grotius, H. de.--The AdamusExul
of Grotius ; or, the prototype oï
Paradise Lest. Translated from
the Latin, by Francis Barbare.
London, 1839, 8vo.
Guerle, Edmond de.--Milton, sa
vie et ses œuvres. Paris, 1868,
8vo.
Gfintzer, C.--Dissertationis ad
quaedam loca hliltoni pars
posterior. Argentorati, 1657,
4te.
Hamilton, W. Douglas.--Original
Papers, illustrative of the life
and writings of John hIilton,
including sixteen letters of
State written by him, new first
published from hISS. in the
State Paper Office, etc. Lon-
don, 1859, 4te.
Printed for the Camden Society.
Hamilton, Walter.--Parodies of
the Works of English and
American Authors, collected
and annotated by W. Hamilton.
London, 1885, 4te.
John lIilton, vol. il., pp. 217-236.
Hare, Julius Charles.--Essays and
Tales. 2 vols. London, 1848,
8vo.
Milton, vol. i., pp. 73-86.
I-Iarrington, James.--The Censure
of the Rota upon lIr. lIilton's
book, entitled The Ready and
Easie Way to Establish a Free
Commonwealth. [Signed J.
tt(arrington) ; a satire.] Lori-
don, 1660, 4to.
Reprinted in the Harleian Mis-
cellany.

Hayley, William.mThe Lire of
hlilton; te which are added
conjectures on the origin of
Paradise Lest. (The second
edition enlarged.} London,
1796, 4te.
This life appeared originally in
1794 in vol. i. of BIilton's Poetical
Works.
Hillebrand, C.mDe sacro apucl
Christianos carmine epico
dissertationem seu Dantis,
Miltonis, Klopstockii poetarum
collationem proponebat C.
Hillebrand, Parisiis, 1861, 8vo.
Hodgson, Shadworth H.--Out-
cast Essays, etc. London, 1881,
8vo.
The supernatural in English
poetry ; Shakespere ; Milton ; Words-
worth ; Tennyson, pp. 99-180.
I-Iolloway, Laura C.--The lIothers
of Great lIen and Women, etc.
New York, 1884, 8vo.
Milton's Wives, pp. 457-478.
I-Iood, Edwin Paxton.---5ohn
lIilton: the Patriot and Poet.
London, 1852, 18mo.
Hopkins, J.--Milton's Paradise
Lest, imitated in rhyme ; in the
fourth, sixth, and ninth books,
etc. London, 1699, 8vo.
Howitt, William.--Homes and
tIaunts of the most eminent
British Poets. Third edition.
London, 1857, 8vo.
John hlilton, pp. 46-68.
I-Iuet, C. B.--Litterarische Fan-
tasien en Kritieken. Haarlem
[1883], 8vo.
Milton, 12th Deel, pp. 150-220.
Hunt, Theodoro W.--Representa-
tire English Prose and Prose
Writers. New York, 1887»
8vo.
The prose style of John hIilton,
pp. 246-264.
I-Iutton, Laurence. -- Literary
Landmarks of London. Lon-
don, 1885, 8vo.
John Milton, pp. 210-216, etc.

xxv

.BI.BLIOGRAPHY.

Ivimey, Joseph.--John Milton ;
his lire and times ; religious
and political opinions ; with an
appendix, containing animad-
versions upon Dr. Johnson's
Lire of Milton, etc. London,
1833, 8vo.
Jackson, W.--Lycidas : a musical
entertainment. The words
altered frein Milton. London,
1767, 8vo.
Jane, Joseph.--The Image Un-
broaken ; a perspective of the
Impudence, Falshood, Vanitie,
and Prophannes, in a Libell
entitled Eikonoklastes. [Lon-
don], 1651, 4fo.
Johnson, Samuel.--Prefaces fo
Milton and Butler. {Prefaccs
te the IVorks of the English
Poets, vol. ii.) London, 1779,
8VO.
----Court and Country: a para-
phrase upon ]Ii]ton. lin a
dialogue.] By the author of
tIurlothrumbo [i.e., Samuel
Johnson]. London [1780], 8vo.
Jortin, John. -- Remarks on
Spenser's Poems. London,
1734, 8vo.
Remarks on Milton, pp. 171-186.
Keightley, Thomas.--An account
of the Lire, Opinions, and
Writings of John ]Iilton.
With an introduction te Para-
dise Lest. London, 1855, 8vo.
Keogh, Rt. Hon; William.--
lIilton's Prose. {Afternoon
Zcctures on Ziteraure and Art,
dclivered in the Theatre of the
2Iuseum of Industry, 1)ublin,
1865, 3rd Series.) London,
1866, 8vo.
Lamartine, 1I. L. A. de.--ttdloïse
et Abélard [Biographies]. Paris,
1864, 12me.
Includes a biogTaphy of llilton,
pp. 113-215.

Lauder, William.--An essay or,
]lilton's use and imitation of
the moderns in his Paradise
Lost. [With a preface by Dr.
Johnson.] London, 1750, 8vo.
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pp. 565-585 ; LitteIl's Living
Age, vol. 8, 5th ser., pp.
643-662.New Mouthly Maga-
zine, vol. 4 :N.S., 1873, pp.
27-35. -- Congrogationa]ist, by

Milton, John.
T. H. Gill, vol. 8, 1874, pp.
705-714.-- Macmillan's Maga-
zine, by Mark Pattison, vol. 31,
1875, pp. 380-387 ; saine article,
LitteII's Living Age, vol. I0,
5th ser. , pp. 323-329. Western,
by H. H. Morgan, vol. 5, 1879,
pp. 107-138.--Modorn Review,
by tt. New, vol. 2, 1881, pp.
103-128 ; saine article, Littell's
Living Age, vol. 148» pp. 515-
525.
 and the Commonwealth.
British Quarterly Review, vol.
10, 1849, pp. 224-254; samo
article, Eclectic Magazine, vol
18, pp. 346-362.
--and .Dante. St. James's
]lagazine, vol. 15, 1866,
243-250.
-----and Galileo. Fraser's Maga-
zine, by Sir Richard Owen, vol.
79, 1869, pp. 678-684.
-----and his daughte's. People's
Journal, by Mrs. Leman Gillies,
vol. 5, 1848, pp. 227, 228.
--and Home" contrasted. Ana-
lectic Magazine» vol. 14, 1819,
pp. 224-229.
and Macaulay. De Bow's
Review, by G. Fitzhugh, vol.
28, 1860, pp. 667-679.
and Masegtins. Month» vol.
8, 1868, pp. 542-550.
and the .Daughters of Eve.
St. Paul's, vol. 13, 1873, pp.
405-418.
and lrondcL Academy, byEd-
round Gosse and G. Edmundson,
vol. 28, 1885, pp. 265, 266,
293, 294, 342; and by J. R.
Mac Ilraith, pp. 308, 809.--
Athenmum, Nov. 7, 1885, pp.
599, 600.--lation» vol. 42»
1886, pp. 264, 265.
-----and Wo'dsworth. Temple
Bar, vol. 60, 1880, pp. 106-115.

IIILIOGR.4 PH Y.

Milton, John.
-----Angel» of. New Englander,
by John A. Himes, vol. 43,
1884, pp. 527-543.
-4reoTagitica. Retrospective
Review, vol. 9, 182.4, pp. 1-19.
--as a .Reformer. Methodist
Quarterly Review» by F. H.
Newhall, vol. 39» 1851» pp.
542-559.
-----At Cambridge. American
Journal of Education» vol. 28,
1878, pp. 383-400.
-----Biblographical accourir of
works. Retrospective Review»
vol. 14, 1826, pp. 282-305.
-----Blank Verse of. Fortnightly
Review, by J. A. Symonds,
vo]. 16 /q.S.,. 1874, pp. 767-
781.
-----Blindness of. Chambers's
Journal, vo]. 3 N.S.» 1845»
pp. 392-394.
• Byron and outhey. De
Bow's Review, by G. Fitzhugh,
vol. 29» 1860, pp. 430-440.
--Channing on. Edinburgh Re-
view, by H. Brougham, vol. 69»
1839, pp. 214-230.--Monthly
Review, vol. 7 N.S., 1828, pp.
471-478.--Fraser's Magazine»
vol. 17, 1838, pp. 627-635.
Christian Doctrine. Quarterly
Review, vol. 32, 1835, pp. 442-
457.--lorth American Review,
by S. Willard, vol. 22, 1826,
pp. 364-373.--United States
Literary Gazette, vol. 3, 1826,
pp. 321-327.--Monthly Review,
vol. 107, 1825, pp. 273-294.--
Congregational Magazine, vol.
8, 1825, pp. 588-592.--Eclectic
Review, vol. 25 I.S.» 1826»
pp. 1-18, 114-141.
omus. New Monthly Maga-
zine, vol. 7, 1823, pp. 222-229.
omus, and VTetcher's Faithful
,Yhepherdess. Manchester Quar-

Milton, John.
terly, by W. E. A. Axon, vol.
1, 1882, pp. 285-295.
--Dante and ,ZEschylus. Tait's
Edinburgh Magazine» vol. 20
/q.S., 1853, pp. 513-525, 577-
587» 641-650.
D¢ l, rericour' s Zectures on.
Monthly Review, vol. 2 N.S.»
1838, pp. 342-351.
Doctrinal Error of his latcr
lire. Bibliotheca Sacra, by T.
Hunt, vol. 42, 1885, pp. 251-
269.
Doctrine of Divorce. Monthly
Review, vol. 93, 1820, pp: 144-
158.
--Early Zife. Methodist Quar-
terly Review» by P. Church,
vol. 48, 1866, pp. 580-595.
--E.ygies of. Historical Maga-
zine, vol. 2» 1858, pp. 230-233.
Familiar Zetters. Southern
Review, vol. 6, 1830, pp. 198-
206.--American Quarterly Re-
view, vol. 5, 1829» pp. 301-310.
French Critic on. Quarterly
Review, vol. 143, 1877, pp. 186-
204 ; same article, Littell's Liv-
ing Age, vol. 13, ,pp. 579-589.
--Genius of. Tait s Edinburgh
Magazine, by G. Gilfillan, vol.
15 N.S., 1848, pp. 511-522 ;
same article, Eclectic Magazine»
vol. 15, pp. 196-212.
--History 'of England. Retro-
slective Review» vol. 6» 1822»
pp. 87-100.
Hollis' Bust of. Scribner's
.hIonthly» by C. Cook» vol. 11,
1876, PO. 472-476.
Home, School, and Collcg
Training of. American Journal
of Education, vol. 14» 1864, pp.
159-190.
Idealism of. Contemporary
Review, by E. Dowden» vol. 19»
1872, pp. 198-209 ; saine article»

XXXV

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Hilton, John.
Littell's Liviug Age vol 112»
1872, pp. 408-414.
-----/n out ])«y. Christ/an Ex-
aminer, by S. Good, vol. 57,
1854, pp. 323-340.
It«lian Element in. Penn
Honthly Magazine, by O. H.
Kendall, vol. 1, 1870, pp. 388-
400.
.---IEeble's Estimate of. Macmil-
lau's Magazine» by J. C. Shairp,
vol. 31, 1875, pp. 554-560.
--Keightley's I, ife of. North
American Review, by tt. A.
Whitney vol. 82, 1856» pp.
388-404. Littell's Living Age
(from the 8aturday leview),
vol. 63, 1859, pp. 226-229.
-----Zamartine on. Littell's Liv-
ing Age (from the I, iterary
(zette), vol. 44, 1855, pp.
497-499.
--Latin _Poems of, Cow2cr's
Translations. Eclectic Review,
Sept. 1808, pp. 780-791.
----Zife of. Iqorth British
view, by D. Masson, vol. 16,
1852, pp. 295-335 ; saine article,
Eclectic Magaziue, vol. 25, 1852,
pp. 433-447.New Quarterly
Review, vol. 8, 1859, pp. 40-54.
--Lire and toetry of. Hogg's
Instructor, vol. 1 N.S., 1853, pp.
234-242 ; saine article, Eclectic
Magazine, vol. 30, pp. 364-312.
--Lycidas. American Monthly
Magazine, vol. 5 N.S., 1838,
pp. 341-353.- Quarterly
view, vol. 158, 1884, pp. 162-
183.
.Zanguage Of Zycidas.
Sharpe's London Magazine, vol
25 N.S., 1864, pp. 293-296.
• lotes on I, ycidas. Jour-
nal of Speculative Philosophy
by A. C. Brackett, vol. 1» 1867
pp. 87-90.

Milton, Johu.
Masson's Iife of. British
Quarterly Review vol. 29, 1859
pp. 185-214; vol. 59, 1874, pp.
81-100.--North British Review
vol. 30, 1859, pp. 281-308;
saine article, Littelrs Living
Age, vol. 61, pp. 731-141.--
Dublin University Magazine
vol. 53, 1859, pl ) . 609-623.--
New Honthly Magazine, vol.
115 1859, pp. 163- 172.--
Eclectic Review, vol. 1 N.S,
1859, pp. 1-21.--Christian Ex-
aminer, by G. E. Ellis, vol.
66, 1859» pp. 401-431.Old
and New vol. 4, 1811, pp. 704-
708.--Nation, by W. F. Allen
vol. 13, 1811, pp. 91, 92; vol.
17, 1873 pp. 165, 166 ; vol. 31
1880, pp. 15, 16.International
Review, by H. C. Lodge, vol.
9, 1880, pp. 125-135.--Quar,
te»ly Review vol. 132, 1872,
pp. 393-423. -- Presbyterian
Quarterly by E. H. Gillett,
vol. 1 1812, pp. 382-394.
--North American Review
by J. R. Lowell, vol. 114» 1872
pp. 204-218. -- Macmillau's
Hagazine, by G. B. Smith, vol.
28» 1873, pp. 536-541.--Chris-
tian Observer, vol. 73, 1873 pp.
815-834. --Iu ternational Review
vol I» 1814, pp. 131-135.--
North American Review, vol.
126, 1878, pp. 531-542.-
Nation, by J. L. Dyman, vol.
26, 1878, pp. 342-344.--West-
miuster Review, vol. 57 N.S.»
1880, pp. 365-385.
Minor Foems. Dublin Uni-
versity Magazine, vol. 63, 1864»
pp. 619-625.
--Mitford's Zife of. New
Monthly Magazine» vol. 84»
1832, pp. 581, 582.

BlEZIO GRAPH Y.

xxxvii

ilton, John.
NeThews of. Edinburgh
Review, by Sir J. Mackintosh,
vol. 25, 1815, pp. 485-501.
Newly-discovered Prose V/'rt-
6gs of. Hours at Home, by
E. H. Gillett, vol. 9, 1869, pp.
532-536.
Ode to. Harper's New
lIonthly Magazine, by A. A.
Lipscomb, vol. 20, 1860, pp.
771-778.
--On the 2)ivinity of Christ.
Christian Examiner» vol. 2,
1825, pp. 423-429.
--Paradise Zost. Journal of
Sacred Literature, by F. A. Cox,
vol. 1, 1848, pp. 236-257.
Chateaubriand's Trans-
lation of Paradise Zost. Foreign
Quarterly Review, vol. 19,
1837, pp. 35-50.
Cosmology of Paradise
Zost. Lutheran Quarterly, by
J. A. Himes, vol. 6, p. 187, etc.
.29e Lille's Translation of
t)aradise Zost. Edinburgh Re-
view, vol. 8, 1806, pp. 167-190.
Eirst Edition of l'aradise
Zost. Book-Lore, vol. 3, 1886,
pp. 72-75. Leisure Hour, April
28, 1877, pp. 269, 270.
• Moral Estimate of the
t'aradise Zost. Christian Ob-
server, vol. 22, 1822, pp. 211-
218, 278-284.
.MulFs editlon of l'aradise
Iost. Spectator, December 6,
1884, pp. 1635, 1636.--Saturday
Review, vol. 58, pp. 570, 571.
Origiu of the l'aradise
Lost. North American Review,
by L. E. Dubois, vol. 91, 1860,
pp. .39-555.
Plan of Paradise Zost.
New Englander, by Professor
Himes,vol. 42,1853,pp. 196-211.
Prendcvillc'e edit[on of

Miltbn, John.
t'arad[se JSost. Blackwood's
Edinburgh Magazine, vol. 7,
1840, pp. 691-716.
.Sorelli's [talian Trans-
lation of Paradise JSost. Foreign
Quarterly Review, vol. 10, 1832,
pp. 508-513.
Theism of the Paradise
Zost. Unitarian Review, by H.
Carpenter, vol. 5, pp. 302, etc.
--Poctry of. Edinburgh Re-
view, vol. 2, 1825, pp. 304-
324.--Selections from the Edin-
burgh Review, vol. 2, 1835, pp.
34-64.--Macmillan's Magazine,
by J. R. Seeley, vol. 17, 1868,
pp. °.99-311 ; vol. 19, pp. 407-
421.--Temple Bar, vol. 39
1873, pp. 458-473.
Political llTritings. /gation,
by Goldwin Smith, vol. 30,
1880, pp. 80-32.
Prose 1Vritings of. lçew
Monthly Magazine, vol. 40,
1834, pp. 39-50.--Congrega-
tional llagazine, vol. 10 T.S.,
1834, pp. 217-224.American
Blonthly Magazine, vol. 1 lg.S.,
1836, p. 142-146.--Eclectic
Review, Pvol. 25 /g.S., 1849,
pp. 507-521.--Spectator, Oct.
3, 1885, pp. 1317, 1318.
Athenoeum, Sept. 20, 1884, pp.
359, 360.
--Public Conduct of. Edin-
burgh Review, vol. 42, 1825,
pp. 324-346.Sehctions from
the Edinburgh R.eview, vol. 2»
1835, pp. 48-64.
------lics of, a Cambridge.
Chambers's Journal» vol. 8,
1857, pp. 319, 320.
--2cligious Iife and OTinions
of. Bibliotheca Sacra, by A.
D. Barber, vol. 16, 1859, pp.
557-603 ; vol. 17, pp. 1-42.
2ural Scenes of. Frase's

XXXVII!

Milton, John.
Magazine, vol 23, 1841, pp.
519-528.
Satan of. Blackwood's Edin-
burgh Magazine» vol. 1» 1817»
pp. 140-142.
.and Ludfer of Byron
Compared. Knickerbocker, vol.
30, 1847, pp. 150-155.
Satan of Paradise Zost.
Dublin University Magazine,
vol. 88, 1876» pp. 707-714.
--Select Prose Forks. Boston
Quarterly Review, vol. 5, 1842,
pp. 322-342.
8hadow of the Puritan War
in. Catholic Presbyterian» by
A. Macleod, vol. 9» 1883, pp.
169-176, 321-330.
Sonnets of, Pattison' s edition.
Academy, by J. A. Noble, vol.
24, 1883, pp. 57, 58.--Saturday
Review, vol. 56, 1883, pp. 252»
253.--Spectator, Aug. 18, 1883,
pp. 1062, 1063. -- Athenoeum,
Sept. 1, 1883, pp. 263-265.
--Speer, and Shakspere.
Victoria Magazine, vol. 25,
1875, pp. 856-868, 1059-1065;
vol. 26, pp. 24-31, 108-117.

Milton, John.
--State Papers relatlng to. Lon-
don Magazine» vol. 6
1826, pp. 377-396.
Theologyofi Boston Monthly
lIagazine» vol. 1» 1825» pl 3.
489-491.
Todd's Lire of. Quarterly
Review, vol. 36, 1827, pp. 29-
61.--Monthly Review, vol. 3.
lg.S., 1826, pp. 258-273.--
Museum of Foreign Literature»
vol. 10, p. 67, etc. ; vol. 11, pp.
114, etc., 385, etc.--Congre-
gational Magazine» vol. 3, 1827»
pp. 33-40.
-- Treatise on Chrislian Doctrine.
Evangelical Magazine, vol. 4
T.S.» 1826» pp. 371-375.
--versus obert Montgomery.
Knickerbocker» vol. 3, 1834,
pp. 120-134.
 lVorks of. American Church
Review, by J. H. Hanson, vol.
2» pp. 153» etc.
Youth of. Edinburgh
view, vol. 111, 1860» pp. 312-
347 ; same article» Littelrs
Living Age, vol. 65, pp.
579-597.--Argosy» vol. 6, 1868»
pp. 9.67-273.

Vil. CHROlgOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS.

A Maske [Comus] 1637
Lycidas . . .
(In Justa Edouardo Iing 1638
Araufrago)
Of Reformation touchin.g
Church-Discipline m
England . • 1641
Of Prelatical Episcol,acy 1641
Animadversions upon thé
Remonstrant's defence
against Smectymnuus . ]641

The Reason of Church-
Governmenturg'd against
Prelaty . . 1641
Apology against a "Pam'-
phlet called A Modest
Confutation of the Ani-
madversions, etc.. . 1641
Doctrine and Discipline of
Divorce. 1643
Of Education. "To lIaste
S. Hartlib . . . 1644

BIBLIOGRPHY.

The Judgment of ]Iartin
Bucer, new Englisht .
Areopagitica .

1644
1644
1644
1645
1645

Tetrachordon .
Colasterion . .
Poems
Tenure if lings" an
Magistrates . 1649
Observations upon th
Article- of Peace with
the Irish Rebels (4rticles
of Peace, etc. ) . 1649
Eikonoklastes . . . 1649
Pro populo Anlicano de-
fensio contra 8ahnasium 1651
A Letter touching the Dis-
solution of the late Par-
liament 1653
]Pro populo Anglicane de:
fensio secunda 1654
Scriptum Dom-Protëctori
contra Hispanos . 1655
Pro se defensio contra Ai
Morum . 1655
Treatise on Civil Pover i
Ecclesiastical Causes 1659
Considerations touching th
likeliest means te remove
Hirelings out of the
Church . . 1659
Ready and easy way te
establish a free Common-
wealth . 1660
Paradise Iost 1667
Acceaence comnenc'
Grammar . • . 1669

xxxix

History of Britain 1670
Paradise Regained . 1671
Samson Agonistes 1671
( With Freceding"
Artis Logicoe plenior Insti-
tutio • . 1672
Of truc R'eligio'n, Heresie,
Schism, Toleration, and
what best meaus may be
used against the growth
of Popery . . . 1673
Epistolarum familiarium
liber . . 1674
Declaration or Ietter
Patents of the Election
of this present King of
Poland, John the Third 1674

Literoe Pseudo - Senatus
Auglicani, Cromwellii,
etc. .
1676
Character of "th« "Lon
Parliament and Assembly
of Divines in 1641 . . 1681
Brief History of Moscovia . 1682
Works [in prose] . 1697
Historical, political» and
miscellaneous works 1698
Original Letters and Paper
of State addressed te
Oliver Cromwell 1743
De Doctrina Christiaa . 1825
Common Place Book. . 1876

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ROMANCE OF KING ARTHUR. Edited by E. Rh),s.
THOREAU'S WALDEN. Edited by %V. H. Dircks.
ENGLISH OPIUM-EATER. Edited by William Sharp.
LANDOR'S CNVERSATIONS. Edited by H. Ellis.
PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Edited by B. J. Snell, M.A.
RELIGIO MEDICI,. &o. Edited by J. A. Symonds.
HELLEY'S LETTERS. Edited by Ernest Rhys.
PROSE WRITINGS OF SWIFT. Edited by W. Lewin.
MY STUDY WINDOWS. Edited by R. Gamett, LL.D.
OREAT ENGLISH PAINTERS. Edited by W. Sharp.
LORD BYRON'S LETTERS. Edited by M. Blind.
ESSAYS BY LEIGH HUNT. Edited by A. Symons.
LONGFELLOW'S PROSE. Edited by W. Tirebuck.
(3"REAT MUSICAL COMPOSERS. Edited by E. Sharp.
MARCUS AURELIUS. Edited by Alice Zimmern.
SPECIMEN DAYS IN AMERICA. By Walt Whitman.
WHITE'S SELBORNE. Edited by Richa, d Jefferies.
DEFOE'S SINGLETON. Edited by H. Halliday Sparling.
MAZZINrS ESSAYS. Edited by William Clarke.
PROSE WRITINGS OF HEINE. Edited by H. Ellis.
REYNOLDS' DISCOURSES. Edited by Helen Zimmern.
PAPERS OF STEELE & ADDISON. Editedby W. Lewin.
BURNS' LETTERS. Edited by J. Logie Robertson, M.A.
VOLSUNGA SAGA. Edited by H. H. Sparling.

SARTOR RESARTUS.
WRITINGS OF EMERSON.
SENECA'S MORALS.
DEMOCRATIC VISTAS.
LIFE OF LORD HERBERT.

Edited by Ernest Rhys.
Edited by Percival Chubb.
Edited by Walter Clode.
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ENGLISH PROSE. Edited by Arthur Galton.
IBSEN'S PILLARS OF SOCIETY. Edited by H. Ellis.
FAIRY AND FOLK TALES. Edited by W. ]3. Yeats.
EPICTETUS. Edited by T. W. Rolleston.
THE ENGLISH POETS. ]3y James Russell Lowell.
ESSAYS OF DR. JOHNSON. Edited by Stuart J. Reid.
ESSAYS OF WILLIAM HAZLITT. Edited byF. Carr.
LANDOR'S PENTAMERON, &c. Edited by H. Ellis.
POE'S TALES AND ESSAYS. Edited by Ernest Rhys.
VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. ]3y Oliver Goldsmith.
POLITICAL ORATIONS. Edited by William Clarke.
CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS. Selected by C. Sayle.
THOREAU'S WEEK. Edited by Will H. Dircks.
STORIES from CARLETON Edited by W. B. Yeats.
Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. By O. W. [-Iolmes.
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WORDSWORTH.
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BLAIKE. Ed. by Joseph Skipsey.
WHITTIER. Ed. by Eva Hope.
IOE. Edited by Joseph Skipsey.
CHATTERTON.
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IIARLOVE. Ed.by P.E.Pinkerton.
KEATS. Edited by John Hogben.
ERBERT. Edited by E. Rhys.
UGO. Trans. by Dean Carringto
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JONSON. Editedby J. A. Symonds.
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IOORE. Edited by John Dorrian.
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EOUNT

TOLSTOI'S

WORKS,

Arrangements have been made to publish, in Monthly Volumes, a
series of translations of works by the eminent Russian Novelist, Count
Lyof. N. Tolstoï. The English ïeading public will be introduced to
an entirely new series of works by one who is probably the greatest
living toaster of fiction in Europe. To those unfamiliai with the
charm of Russian fiction, and especially with the works of Count
Tolstoï, these volumes will corne as a new revelation of power.
27te followfng Volumes are already issued--
A RUSSIAN PROPRIETOR.
THE COSSACKS.
IVAN ILYITCH,  OTHER S'ORES.
THE INVADERS, AND OTHER STORIES.
M¥ RELIGION.
LIFE.

ML CONFESSION.
CHILDHOOD, BOYHOOD, YOUTI-I.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF WAR.
ANNA KARENINA. (2 VOLS.)
WHAT TO DO?
WAR AND PLACE. (4 VOLS.)

Ready November .5lh.
THE LONG EXILE, AID OTI-/ER SOEORIES FOR CHILI)REN.

OTHERS TO FOLLOW.

London : WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row.

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SUMMER LEGENDS.

Bv RUDOLPH BAUMBACH.

TRANSLATED BY MRS. HELEN B. DOLE.

This is a collection of charming fanciful stories
translated from the German. In Germany they bave
enjoyed remarkable popularity, a large number of
editions having been sol& Rudolph Baumbach deals
with a wonderland which is all his own, though he
suggests Hans Andersen in his simplicity of treatment,
and IIeine in his delicacy, grace, and humour. These
are stories which will appeal vividly to the childish
imagination, while the older reader will discern the
satirical or humorous application that underlies them.

London : ¥ALTER SCOTT» 4 Varwick Lane.

WJl)dSO[ Selles of POelil]al gl]ltologies.

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Women's Voices. An Anthology of the
most Characteristic Poems by English, Scotch, and Irish Women.
Edited by Mrs. WilIiam Sharp«
Sonnets of this Century. With an
Exhaustive Essay on the Sonnet. Edited by Wm. Sharp.
The Children of the Poets. 'An Anthology
from English and American Writers of Three Centuries. Edited
by Professor Eric S. Robertson.
Sacred Song. A Volume of Religious
Verse. Selected and arranged by Samuel Waddington.
A Century of Australian Song, Selected
and Edited by Douglas B. W. Sladen, B.A., Oxon.
Selected

dacobite Songs and Ballads.
and Edited, with lIotes, by G. S. Macquoid.
Irish Minstrelsy. Edited, with
Introduction, by H. Halliday Sparling.
The Sonnets of Europe. A

Notes and

Volume -of
Translations. Selected and arranged by Samuel Waddington.
Early English and Scottish Poetry.
Selected and Edited by H. Macaulay Fitzgibbon.
Ballads of the North Countrie. Edited,
with Introduction, by Graham R. Tomson.
$ongs and Poems of the Sea. An
Anthology of Poems Descriptive of the Sea. Edited by lirs.
William Sharp.
Songs and Poems of Fairyland. An
Anthology of English Falry Poetry, selected and arranged, with
an Introduction, by Arthur Edward Waite.
$ongs and Poems of the Great Dominion.
Edited by W. D. Lighthall, of Montreal.
Lndon : WALTER SCOTTj 2 4 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row.

2CIWT VOL UJg:ES 01 VERSE.
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SONNETS OF THIS CENTUR¥.
B WILLIAM SHARP.
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IN FANCY DRESS.
"IT IS THYSELF."
BY MARK ANDRE RAFFALOVICH.
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ÇAROLS FROM THE COAL-FIELDS:
AND OTHER SONGS AND BALLADS.
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LAST YEAR'S LEAVES.
BY JOHN JERVIS BERESFORD, M.A.
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BALLADS AND OTHER POEMS.
B GEORGE ROBERTS HEDLEY.
Fourth Edition» Crown 8vo» Cloth Gilt» Price 3s. 6d.
TALES AND BALLADS OF WEARSIDE.
B JOHN GREEN.
Second Edition. Priee 3s.
ROMANTIC BALLADS AND POEMS
OF PHANTASY.
B WILLIAM SHARP.
Parchment Limp, 3s.
DEATH'S DISGUISES AND OTHER SONNETS.
B FRANK T. MARZIALS.

London: WJrR Sco% 24 Warvick Lane, Paternoster low.

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Crown 8vo, in I/Vtdte Embossed Boards, Gilt Letlerin,
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B', r COUNT LEO TOLSTOÏ.

WHERE LOVE IS, THERE GOD

IS ALSO.

THE TWO PILGRIMS.

WHAT MEN LIVE BY.

Published orlginally in Russia, as tracts for the people,
these little stories, which Mr. Walter Scott wilI issue
separately early in February, in « booklet" form, possess all
the grace, naivet, and power which characterise the work of
Count Tolstoi, and while inculcating in the most penetrating
way the Christian ideas of love, humility, and charity, are
perfect in their art form as stories pure and simple.

ADAPTED FOR PRESENTA TION A T EASTER.

London: WALTER SCOTT, 2 4 Warwick Lama

VICTORIA UNIVERSiTY LIBRAR



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