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diff --git a/16757-8.txt b/16757-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9d176aa --- /dev/null +++ b/16757-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9215 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of John Milton, by Richard Garnett + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Life of John Milton + +Author: Richard Garnett + +Release Date: September 26, 2005 [EBook #16757] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF JOHN MILTON *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Louise Pryor and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. +Produced from page images provided by Internet +Archive/Canadian Libraries +(http://www.archive.org/details/toronto). + + + + + + + +"Great Writers." +EDITED BY +PROFESSOR ERIC S. ROBERTSON, M.A. + + * * * * * + +_LIFE OF MILTON._ + + + + +LIFE + +OF + +JOHN MILTON + +BY + +RICHARD GARNETT, LL.D. + + + +LONDON +WALTER SCOTT, 24, WARWICK LANE +1890 +(_All rights reserved._) + + + + +NOTE. + + +The number of miniature "Lives" of Milton is great; great also is the +merit of some of them. With one exception, nevertheless, they are all +dismissed to the shelf by the publication of Professor Masson's +monumental and authoritative biography, without perpetual reference to +which no satisfactory memoir can henceforth be composed. One recent +biography has enjoyed this advantage. Its author, the late Mark +Pattison, wanted neither this nor any other qualification except a +keener sense of the importance of the religious and political +controversies of Milton's time. His indifference 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 yet another miniature "Life of Milton," +notwithstanding the intellectual subtlety and scholarly refinement +which render Pattison's memorable. It should be noted that the recent +German biography by Stern, if adding little to Professor Masson'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 has 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 has provided him with an index. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. 11 + + Milton born in Bread Street, Cheapside, December 9, 1608; + 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 surrounded + his boyhood; enters St. Paul's School, 1620; distinguished for + compositions in prose and verse; matriculates at Cambridge, 1625; + condition of the University at the period; his misunderstandings + with his tutor; graduates B.A., 1629, M.A., 1632; his relations + with the University; declines to take orders or follow a + profession; his first poems; retires to Horton, in + Buckinghamshire, where his father had settled, 1632 + +CHAPTER II. 35 + + Horton, its scenery and associations with Milton; Milton's studies + and poetical aspirations; exceptional nature of his poetical + development; his Latin poems; "Arcades" and "Comus" composed and + represented at the instance of Henry Lawes, 1633 and 1634; "Comus" + printed in 1637; Sir Henry Wootton's opinion of it; "Lycidas" + written in the same year, on occasion of the death of Edward King; + published in 1638; criticism on "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso," + "Lycidas" and "Comus"; Milton's departure for Italy, April, 1638. + +CHAPTER III. 57 + + State of Italy at the period of Milton's visit; his acquaintance + with Italian literati at Florence; visit to Galileo; at Rome and + Naples; returns to England, July, 1639; settles in St. Bride's + Churchyard, and devotes himself to the education of his nephews; + his elegy on his friend Diodati; removes to Aldersgate Street, + 1640; his pamphlets on ecclesiastical affairs, 1641 and 1642; his + tract on Education his "Areopagitica," November, 1644; attacks the + Presbyterians. + +CHAPTER IV. 83 + + Milton as a Parliamentarian; his sonnet, "When the Assault was + intended to the City," November, 1642; goes on a visit to the + Powell family in Oxfordshire, and returns with Mary Powell as his + wife, May and June, 1643; his domestic unhappiness; Mary Milton + leaves him, and refuses to return, July to September, 1643; + publication of his "Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce," August, + 1643, and February, 1644; his father comes to live 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, 1645; he removes to the Barbican, + September, 1645; publication of his collected poems, January, + 1646; he receives his wife's relatives under his roof; death of + his father, March, 1647; he writes "The Tenure of Kings and + Magistrates," February, 1649; becomes Latin Secretary to the + Commonwealth, March, 1649. + +CHAPTER V. 104 + + 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 Basilike"; controversy on the + authorship of this work; Milton's "Eikonoklastes" published, + October, 1649; Salmasius and his "Defensio Regia pro Carolo I."; + Milton undertakes to answer Salmasius, February, 1650; publication + of his "Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio," March, 1651; character and + complete controversial success of this work; Milton becomes + totally blind, March, 1652; his wife dies, leaving him three + daughters, May, 1652; his controversy with Morus and other + defenders of Salmasius, 1652-1655; his characters of the eminent + men of the Commonwealth; adheres to Cromwell; his views on + politics; general character of his official writings: his marriage + to Elizabeth Woodcock, and death of his wife, November, + 1656-March, 1658; his nephews; his friends and recreations. + +CHAPTER VI. 128 + + Milton's poetical projects after his return from Italy; drafts of + "Paradise Lost" among them; the poem originally designed as a + masque or miracle-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 "Considerations on the likeliest means to remove + Hirelings out of the Church"; Royalist reaction in the winter of + 1659-60; Milton writes his "Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free + Commonwealth"; conceals himself in anticipation of the + Restoration, May 7, 1660; his writings ordered to be burned by the + hangman, June 16; escapes proscription, nevertheless; arrested by + the Serjeant-at-Arms, but released by order of the Commons, + December 15; removes to Holborn; his pecuniary losses and + misfortunes; the undutiful behaviour of his daughters; marries + Elizabeth Minshull, February, 1663; lives successively in Jewin + Street and in Artillery Walk, Bunhill Fields; particulars of his + private life; "Paradise Lost" completed in or about 1663; + agreement for its publication with Samuel Symmons; difficulties + with the licenser; poem published in August, 1667. + +CHAPTER VII. 152 + + Place 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 poetry; his similes; his + descriptions of Paradise; inevitable falling off of the later + books; minor critical objections mostly groundless; his diction; + his indebtedness to other poets for thoughts as well as phrases; + this 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 English poetry. + +CHAPTER VIII. 173 + + Milton's migration to Chalfont St. Giles to escape the plague in + London, July, 1665; subject of "Paradise Regained" suggested to + him by the Quaker Ellwood; his losses by the Great Fire, 1666; + first edition of "Paradise Lost" entirely sold by April, 1669; + "Paradise Regained" and "Samson Agonistes" published, 1671; + criticism on these poems; Samson partly a personification of + Milton himself, partly of the English people; Milton's life in + Bunhill Fields; his daughters live apart from him; Dryden adapts + "Paradise Lost" as an opera; Milton's "History of Britain," 1670; + second editions of his poems, 1673, and of "Paradise Lost," 1674; + his "Treatise on Christian Doctrine"; fate of the manuscript; + Milton's mature religious opinions; his death and burial, 1674; + subsequent history of his widow and descendants; his personal + character. + +INDEX 199 + + + + +LIFE OF MILTON. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +John Milton was born on December 9, 1608, when Shakespeare had lately +produced "Antony and Cleopatra," when Bacon was writing his "Wisdom of +the Ancients" and Ralegh 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 half hewn. Some literatures, like the Latin and the +French, rise gradually to the crest of their perfection; others, like +the Greek and the English, place themselves almost from the first on +their loftiest pinnacle, leaving vast gaps to be subsequently filled in. +Homer was not less the supreme 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 Bible less at the head of European literature because +they must have 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 altitudes, +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 time when the palm of popularity +decorated Sidney's "Arcadia" to that when it adorned Defoe and Bunyan, +would impress us even more powerfully if the interval were not engrossed +by a colossal figure, the last of the old school in the erudite +magnificence of his 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 called in a different connection, was John Milton: whose +character and life-work, carefully analyzed, resolve themselves into +pairs of equally vivid contrasts. A stern Puritan, he is none the less a +freethinker in the highest and best sense of the term. The recipient of +direct poetical inspiration in a measure vouchsafed to few, he +notwithstanding studies to make himself a poet; writes little until no +other occupation than writing remains to him; and, in general, while +exhibiting even more than the usual confidence, shows less than the +usual exultation and affluence of conscious genius. Professing to +recognize 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 compassion 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 forgotten the citizen in the man of letters. Happy, at all +events, it is that this and similar problems occupy in Milton's life 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 life 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 maintain 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, yet 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 indebted to a +devoted diligence he never could have emulated; how painfully Professor +Masson's successors must resemble the Turk who builds his cabin out of +Grecian or Roman ruins. + +Milton's genealogy has taxed the zeal and acumen of many investigators. +He himself merely claims a respectable ancestry (_ex genere honesto_). +His nephew Phillips professed to have come upon the root of the family +tree at Great Milton, in Oxfordshire, where tombs attested the residence +of the clan, and tradition its proscription and impoverishment in the +Wars of the Roses. Monuments, station, and confiscation have vanished +before the scrutiny of the Rev. Joseph Hunter; it can only be safely +concluded that Milton'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 grandfather's name was John, Mr. Hyde Clarke's researches in +the registers of the Scriveners' Company have proved that Mr. Hunter and +Professor Masson were right in identifying him with Richard Milton, of +Stanton St. John, near Holton; and Professor Masson has traced the +family a generation further back to Henry Milton, whose will, dated +November 21, 1558, attests a condition of plain comfort, nearer poverty +than riches. Henry Milton's goods at his death were inventoried at £6 +19s.; when his widow's will is proved, two years afterwards, the +estimate is £7 4s. 4d. Richard, his son, is stated, but not proved, to +have been an under-ranger of Shotover Forest. He appears to have married +a widow named Jeffrey, whose maiden name had been Haughton, and who had +some connection with a Cheshire family of station. He would also seem to +have 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 1562 or 1563. Aubrey, indeed, next to Phillips and Milton himself, +the chief contemporary authority, says that he was for a time at Christ +Church, Oxford--a statement in itself improbable, but slightly confirmed +by his apparent acquaintance with Latin, and the family tradition that +his course of life was diverted by a quarrel with his father. Queen +Mary's stakes and faggots had not affected Richard Milton as they +affected most Englishmen. Though churchwarden in 1582, he must have +continued to adhere to the ancient faith, for he was twice fined for +recusancy in 1601, 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 Mr. 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 Milton'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 well and truly done after my learning, +skill, and science," and with due regard to the interests of more +exalted personages. "Neither for haste nor covetousness I shall take +upon me to make any deed whereof I have not cunning, without good advice +and information of counsel." Such a calling offered excellent +opportunities for investments; and John Milton, a man of strict +integrity and frugality, came to possess a "plentiful estate." Among his +possessions 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 from 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 1600 to a lady whose name 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, Christopher, 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 appeals to him in vain. Yet the influences which +moulded his childhood must have been rather moral and intellectual than +merely natural:-- + + "The starlight smile of children, the sweet looks + Of women, the fair 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 the wild flowers." + +Paramount to all 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 life had set the son the +example from which the latter never swerved, and from him the younger +Milton derived not only the independence of thought which was 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:-- + + "Ipse volens Phoebus se dispertire duobus, + Altera dona mihi, dedit altera dona parenti." + +As a composer, the circumspect, and, as many no doubt thought prosaic +scrivener, took rank among the best of his day. One of his +compositions, now lost, was rewarded with a gold medal by a Polish +prince (Aubrey says the Landgrave of Hesse), and he appears among the +contributors to _The Triumphs of Oriana_, 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 Byrd, Bull, Dowland, Orlando Gibbons, certainly +figure, and three of them were composed by the elder Milton. He also +harmonized the Norwich and York psalm tunes, which were adapted to six +of the Psalms in Ravenscroft's Collection. Such performance bespeaks not +only musical accomplishment, 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 have taught by precept, but the one extant specimen +of his Muse is enough to prove that he could never have taught it by +example. + +We have therefore to picture Milton growing up in a narrow street amid a +strict Puritan household, but not secluded from 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 +her neighbours, and a father who had discerned his promise from the very +first. Given this 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 suffer," 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 Nonconformist in Essex, "who," says Aubrey, "cut his +hair short." His own hair? or his pupil's? queries Biography. We boldly +reply, Both. 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 ruff. + +After leaving his Essex pedagogue, Milton came under the private tuition +of Thomas Young, a Scotchman from St. Andrews, who afterwards rose to be +master 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 +have been admitted by 1620 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 +admirable scholar, though, as Aubrey records, "he had his whipping +fits." His fitful severity was probably more tolerable than the +systematic cruelty of his predecessor Mulcaster (Spenser's schoolmaster +when he presided over Merchant Taylors'), of whom Fuller approvingly +records: "Atropos might be persuaded to pity as soon as he to pardon +where he found 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." Milton's +father, though by no means "cockering," would not have tolerated such +discipline, and the passionate ardour with which Milton threw himself +into the studious life of the school is the best proof that he was +exempt from tyranny. "From the twelfth year of my age," he says, "I +scarcely ever went from my lessons to bed before 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 have the +prompting, and perhaps the aid, of the younger Gill, assistant to his +father, who, while at the University, had especially distinguished +himself by his skill in versification. Gill must also have been a man of +letters, affable and communicative, for Milton in after-years reminds +him of their "almost constant conversations," and declares that he had +never left his company without a manifest accession of literary +knowledge. The Latin school exercises have 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 attributed to him are +probably mere coincidences, but there is still enough to evince +acquaintance with "Sylvester, Spenser, Drummond, Drayton, Chaucer, +Fairfax, and Buchanan." 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:--"It was found that whether aught was imposed me by them that +had the overlooking, or betaken to of mine 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 live." + +Among the incidents of Milton's life at St. Paul's School should not 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 not only as Milton's +tenderest and his first, but as one which quickened his instinctive love +of Italian literature, enhanced the pleasure, if it did not suggest the +undertaking, of his Italian pilgrimage, and doubtless helped to inspire +the execration which he launched in after 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 +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, 1625; +the greatest poetic name in an University roll already including +Spenser, and destined to include Dryden, Gray, Wordsworth, Coleridge, +Byron, and Tennyson. Why Oxford was not preferred has been much debated. +The father may have taken advice from the younger Gill, whose Liberalism +had got him into trouble at that University. He may also have been +unwilling to place his son in the neighbourhood of his estranged +relatives. Shortly before Milton's matriculation his sister had married +Mr. Edward Phillips, of the office of the Clerk of the Crown, 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 probably 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, from 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 they need but divert +Trumpington Brook into Clare Ditch to render their town as elegant as +any in the universe. 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 ill-humour with his +university:-- + + "Nuda nec arva placent, umbrasque negantia molles, + Quam male Phoebicolis convenit 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 unpublished when he +wrote, Ball's life of Dr. John Preston, Master of Emmanuel, vestige of +an entire continent of submerged Puritanism, also contributes much to +the appreciation of the place and time. We can here but briefly +characterize the University as an institution undergoing modification, +rather by the decay of the old than by the intrusion of the new. The +revolution by which mathematics became the principal instrument of +culture was still to be deferred forty years. Milton, who tells 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 his Alma Mater. The scholastic philosophy, however, still +reigned. But even here tradition was shaky and undermined; and in +matters of discipline the rigid code which nominally governed the +University was practically much relaxed. The teaching staff was +respectable in character and ability, including many future bishops. But +while the academical credentials of the tutors were unimpeachable, +perhaps not one among them all could show a commission 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 independent soul of Milton, even at this +susceptible period of his life; failing any approach to such external +influence, he would be likely to leave Cambridge the same 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, meagre +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 Milton was the last man to be flogged at college. But +Aubrey can hardly mean anything more than that Chappell on some occasion +struck or beat his pupil, and this interpretation is supported by +Milton's verses to Diodati, written in the spring of 1626, in which, +while acknowledging that he had been directed to withdraw from Cambridge +("_nec dudum vetiti me laris angit amor_") he expresses his intention +of speedily returning:-- + + "Stat quoque juncosas Cami remeare paludes, + Atque iterum raucae murmur 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 not having been mulcted of a term's residence, his absence +notwithstanding, and from the still more significant fact that Chappell +lost his pupil. His successor was Nathaniel Tovey, in whom his +patroness, the Countess of Bedford, had discerned "excellent talent." +What Milton thought of him there is nothing to show. + +This temporary interruption of the smoothness of Milton's University +life 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 regularity 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, March, 1629, and +proceeded Master in July, 1632. His general relations with the +University during the period may be gathered partly from his own account +in after years, when perhaps he in some degree "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 Mitford. +Professor Masson, however, ascertained the date, which is all important. +We must picture Milton "affable, erect, and manly," as Wood describes +him, speaking from a low pulpit 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 term +is the summer of 1628, about nine months before his graduation; the +words were Latin, but we resort to the version of Professor Masson:-- + + "Then also there drew and invited me, in no ordinary degree, to + undertake this part your very recently discovered 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 mine would be the reverse of + agreeable to you, and would have more merciful judges in Aeacus + and Minos 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 misconstrue much that is + blamelessly done, yet then sharp and hostile enmity did not grudge + to interpret much that was perchance erroneous, and not 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 unpopularity "on account of +disagreements in our studies," which can scarcely mean anything else +than his disapprobation of the University system. Notwithstanding this +he had been received on a former occasion with unexpected favour, and on +the present is able to say, "I triumph as one placed among the stars +that so many men, eminent for erudition, and nearly the whole University +have flocked 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 1642, "Which [University] as in the time of her +better health and mine own younger judgment, I never greatly admired, so +now much less." But, on the other hand, we see his 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 indispensable. Cambridge had all +imaginable complacency in the scholar, it was towards the reformer that +she assumed, as afterwards towards Wordsworth, the attitude of + + "Blind 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 found 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, at 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 before 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 Milton sacrificed to Apollo in them or not, it +is certain that in them Wordsworth sacrificed to Bacchus. + +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 instructing 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 of 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 of twenty-three saw many +things differently from the boy of sixteen. The service of God was still +as much as ever the aim of his 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 difficult 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, Chillingworth, Falkland. But he +must have disapproved of the Church's discipline, for he disapproved of +all discipline. He would not put himself in the position of those Irish +clergymen whom Strafford frightened out of their conscientious +convictions by reminding them of their canonical obedience. This was +undoubtedly what he meant when he afterwards wrote: "Perceiving that he +who would take orders must subscribe slave." Speaking of himself a +little further on as "Church-outed by the prelates," he implies that he +would not have refused orders if he could have had them on his own +terms. 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 +invested 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 Williams, had for +years been in disgrace, and the Church was ruled by the well-meaning, +but sour, despotic, meddlesome 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 completely under his control, he was fast filling it with +his partisans and creatures, he was working it for every end which +Milton most abhorred, and was, in particular, allying it with a king who +in 1632 had governed three years without a Parliament. The mere thought +that he must call this hierarch his Father in God, the mere foresight +that he might probably come 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 Milton's could hardly contemplate 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, regardless, and unprofitable +sin of curiosity should be able to withhold?" And what of the "desire of +honour and repute and immortal fame seated in the breast of every true +scholar?" That his correspondent may the better understand him, he +encloses a "Petrarchean sonnet," recently composed, on his twenty-third +birthday, not one of his best, but precious as the first of his frequent +reckonings with himself:-- + + "How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth, + Stolen on his wing my three-and-twentieth year! + My hasting days fly on with full career; + But my late spring no bud or blossom shew'th. + Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth, + That I to manhood am arrived so near; + And inward ripeness doth much less 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 same lot, however mean or high, + Towards which Time leads me, and the Will of Heaven. + All is, if I have grace to use it so, + As ever in my great Taskmaster's eye." + +The poetical temperament is especially liable to misgiving and +despondency, and from this Milton evidently was not exempt. Yet he is +the same Milton who proclaimed a quarter of a century afterwards-- + + "I argue not + 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 with which, after +so fully admitting to himself that his promise is yet unfulfilled, and +that appearances are against him, he recurs to his purpose, frankly +owning the while that the gift he craves is Heaven's, and his only the +application. He had received a lesson against over-confidence in the +failure of his solitary effort up to this time 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 Babe to rest; + Time is our 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 + Bright harnessed Angels sit in order serviceable." + +In some degree this magnificent composition loses force in our day from +its discordance with modern sentiment. We look upon religions as +members of the same 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 1628, 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 fair Infant dying of a cough;" and the famous panegyric of +Shakespeare, a fancy made impressive by dignity and sonority of +utterance. + +With such earnest of a true 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 1632, +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 1626 Milton tells Diodati-- + + "Nos quoque lucus habet vicina consitus ulmo, + Atque suburbani nobilis umbra loci." + +And in a college declamation, which cannot have been later than 1632, 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. + + +Doctor Johnson deemed "the knowledge of nature half the task of a poet," +but not until he had written all his poetry did he repair to the +Highlands. Milton allows natural science and the observation of the +picturesque no place among the elements of a poetical self-education, +and his practice differs entirely from that which would in our day be +adopted by an aspirant happy in equal leisure. Such an one would +probably have seen no inconsiderable portion of the globe ere he could +resolve to bury himself in a tiny hamlet for five years. The poems which +Milton composed 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 not be exactly proportioned to its grandeur. + +The beauties of Horton are characterized by Professor Masson as those of +"rich, teeming, verdurous flat, charming by its appearance of plenty, +and by the goodly show of wood along the fields and pastures, in the +nooks where the houses nestle, and everywhere in all directions to the +sky-bound verge of the landscape." 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 swimming." 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, it is very remarkable +that the writer of an account of Horton in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ +for August, 1791, who speaks of Milton with veneration, and transcribes +his mother's epitaph, does not allude to the existence of his house. Its +site is traditionally identified with that of Berkyn 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 +Bulstrode, the lord of the manor, and chief personage in the village. +The Miltons still kept a footing in the metropolis. Christopher Milton, +on his admission to the Inner Temple in September, 1632, is described as +second son of John Milton of London, and subsequent legal proceedings +disclose that the father, with the aid of his partner, was still doing +business as a scrivener in 1637. It may be guessed that the veteran cit +would not be sorry to find himself occasionally back in town. What with +social exclusiveness, political and religious controversy, and +uncongeniality of tastes, the Miltons' country circle of acquaintance +was probably narrow. After five years of country life the younger Milton +at all events thought seriously of taking refuge in an Inn of Court, +"wherever there is a pleasant and shady walk," and tells Diodati, "Where +I am now I live obscurely and in a cramped manner." He had only just +made 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 five years at Horton were nevertheless the happiest of his +life. It must have been an unspeakable relief to him to be at length +emancipated from compulsory 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 from 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 fulfilment of +the ordinary duties of a parent, my debt is heavier (_me poscunt +majora_). Thou hast neither made me a merchant nor a barrister":-- + + "Neque enim, pater, ire jubebas + Qua via lata patet, qua pronior area lucri, + Certaque condendi fulget spes aurea nummi: + Nec rapis ad leges, male custoditaque gentis + Jura, nec insulsis damnas clamoribus aures." + +The stroke at the subserviency of the lawyers to the Crown (_male +custodita jura gentis_) would be appreciated by the elder Milton, nor +can we doubt that the old Puritan fully approved his son's resilience +from a church denied by Arminianism and prelacy. He would not 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 smooth +his repugnance away. He was soon to have stronger proofs that his son +had not 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 "Comus" was produced, and its subsequent +publication with the extorted consent of the author, show that Milton +did not wholly want encouragement and sympathy. The insertion of his +lines on Shakespeare in the Second Folio (1632) also denotes some +reputation as a wit. In the main, however, remote from urban circles and +literary cliques, with few correspondents and no second self in +sweetheart or friend, he must have led a solitary intellectual life, +alone with his great ambition, and probably pitied by his acquaintance. +"The world," says Emerson to the Poet, "is full of renunciations and +apprenticeships, and this is thine; thou must pass for a fool and a +churl for a long season. This is the screen and sheath in which Pan has +protected his well-beloved flower." The special nature of Milton's +studies cannot now be exactly ascertained. Of his manner of studying he +informs Diodati, "No delay, no rest, no care or thought almost of +anything 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: "God 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 am wont day and night to seek for the idea of the +beautiful through all 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 +commonplace book contains copious extracts from historians, and he tells +Diodati that he has read Greek history to the fall of Constantinople. He +speaks of having occasionally repaired to London for instruction in +mathematics and music. His own programme, promulgated eight years later, +but without doubt perfectly appropriate to his Horton period, names +before all else--"Devout prayer to the Holy Spirit, that can enrich with +all utterance and knowledge, and send out His Seraphim with the hallowed +fire 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 generous arts and affairs, till which in some measure be +compassed, I refuse not to sustain this expectation." This is not the +ideal of a mere scholar, as Mark Paulson thinks he at one time was, and +would wish him to have remained. "Affairs" are placed fully on a level +with "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 vires, impatientiam 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 usually sings +freely in adolescence; he who is really visited by a true 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 "Penseroso" 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, write +incessantly; whatever care they may bestow upon composition, the +impulse 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 work 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 + Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain, + Before that books, in high piled charactery, + Hold 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, "can say, 'I will compose poetry.'" If he cannot say this +of himself to-day, still less can 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 preparation was shown by his narrow +escape from poetical shipwreck when the duty of the patriot became +paramount to that of the poet. The Civil War confounded 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. + +It is 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 all, 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 Wordsworth, the frequent inanity of the youthful +Coleridge and the youthful Byron, Shelley's extravagance, Keats's +cockneyism, 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 made 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 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 fame, though they cannot, even as exercises, be placed in the +highest rank. There are two roads to excellence in Latin verse--to write +it as a scholar, or to write it as a Roman. England has once, and only +once, produced a poet so entirely imbued with the Roman spirit that +Latin seemed to come to him like the language of some prior state of +existence, rather remembered 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 made +themselves so. "With a great sum obtained I this freedom." His Latin +compositions are delightful, but precisely from the qualities least +characteristic of his genius as an English poet. Sublimity and +imagination are infrequent; what we have most commonly 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 have to recur to it. + +Except for his formal incorporation with the University of Oxford, by +proceeding M.A. there in 1635, and the death of his mother on April 3, +1637, 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," all probably written in 1633; +"Arcades," probably, and "Comus" certainly written in 1634; "Lycidas" in +1637. The first three only are, or seem to be, 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. Before entering on any criticism, it will be convenient +to state the originating 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 +Bridgewater 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 + Words 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, 1634. Lawes, as a Court musician, took a leading part in this +representation, and became in request on similar occasions. The person +intended to be 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 1600. 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 1634. 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 days Milton had no more of the Puritanic aversion to +the theatre-- + + "Then to the well-trod stage anon, + If Jonson's learned sock be on, + Or sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child, + Warble his native wood-notes wild," + +than to the pomps and solemnities of cathedral ritual:-- + + "But let my due feet never fail + To walk the studious cloisters pale, + And love the high-embowed roof, + With antique pillars massy proof, + And storied windows richly dight, + Casting a dim 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 mine eyes." + +He therefore readily fell in with Lawes's proposal to write a masque to +celebrate Lord Bridgewater's assumption of the Lord Presidency of the +Welsh Marches. The Earl had entered upon the office in October, 1633, +and "Comus" was written some time between this and the following +September. Singular coincidences frequently linked Milton's fate with +the north-west Midlands, from which his grandmother's family and his +brother-in-law and his third wife sprung, whither the latter retired, +where his friend Diodati lived, and his friend King died, and where now +the greatest of his early works was to be represented in the +time-hallowed precincts of Ludlow Castle, where it was performed on +Michaelmas night, in 1634. If, as we should like to think, he was +himself present, the scene must have enriched his memory and his mind. +The castle--in which Prince Arthur had spent with his Spanish bride the +six months of life which alone remained to him, in which eighteen years +before the performance Charles the First had been installed Prince of +Wales with extraordinary magnificence, and which, curiously enough, was +to be the residence of the Cavalier poet, Butler--would be a place of +resort for English tourists, if it adorned any country but their own. +The dismantled keep is still an imposing object, lowering from a steep +hill around whose base the curving Teme alternately boils and gushes +with tumultuous speed. The scene within must have realized the lines in +the "Allegro ": + + "Pomp, and feast, and revelry, + Mask and antique pageantry, + Where throngs of knights and barons bold, + In weeds of peace high triumphs hold, + With store of ladies, whose bright eyes + Rain influence." + +Lawes himself acted the attendant Spirit, the Lady and the Brothers +were performed by Lord Bridgewater's youthful children, whose own +nocturnal bewilderment in Haywood 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' Tale," 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 commend 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 yet nothing parallel in +our language." "Although not openly acknowledged by the author," says +Lawes in his 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 mark of Milton's participation +except a motto, which none but the author could have selected, +intimating a fear that publication is premature. The title is simply "A +Maske presented at Ludlow Castle," nor did the piece receive the name of +"Comus" until after Milton's death. + +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 gives no sign of poetical life 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 10, +1637. King, a Fellow of Milton's college, had left Chester, on a voyage +to Ireland, in the stillest summer weather:-- + + "The air was calm, and on the level brine + Sleek Panope and all 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 himself, 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 +languages, but not enough to inspire any of the contributors, except +Milton, with a poetical thought, while many are so ridiculous 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 relation 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 which he was becoming more and more inspired by the +circumstances of the time. By 1637 the country had been eight years +without a parliament, and the persecution of Puritans had attained its +acme. In that year Laud's new Episcopalian service book was forced, or +rather was attempted to be forced, upon Scotland; Prynne lost his ears; +and Bishop Williams was fined eighteen thousand pounds and ordered to be +imprisoned during the King's pleasure. Hence the striking, if +incongruous, introduction of "The pilot of the Galilean lake," to +bewail, in the character of a shepherd, 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 Italy. + +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 +antagonism between the states of mind depicted; and no rational lover, +whether of contemplation or of recreation, would find any difficulty in +combining 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, accustomed to the photography of our Brownings and Patmores. +Milton would probably have made light of them, and perhaps we owe him +some thanks for thus practically refuting the heresy that inspiration +implies infallibility. Yet the poetry of his blindness abounds with +proof that he had made 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 Macaulay--and 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 in the treatment +of landscape, but in the general conception and machinery. An initial +effort of the imagination is required to feel with the poet; it is not +wonderful that no such wing bore up the solid Johnson. Talk of Milton +and his fellow-collegian as shepherds! "We know that they never drove +afield, and that they had no flocks to batten." There is, in fact, +according to Johnson, neither nature nor truth nor art nor pathos in the +poem, for all these things are inconsistent with the introduction 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 calm +as "sleek Panope and all 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 +the high-water mark of English Poesy and of Milton's own production." +Its innumerable beauties are rather exquisite than magnificent. It is an +elegy, and cannot, therefore, rank as high as an equally consummate +example of epic, lyric, or dramatic art. Even as elegy it is surpassed +by the other great English masterpiece, "Adonais," in fire and grandeur. +There is no incongruity in "Adonais" like the introduction of "the pilot +of the Galilean lake"; 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" beginning, "Go +thou to Rome." But the balance is redressed by the fact that the +beauties of "Adonais" are the inimitable. Shelley's eloquence is even +too splendid for elegy. It wants the dainty thrills and tremors of +subtle versification, and the witcheries of verbal magic in which +"Lycidas" is so rich--"the opening eyelids of the morn;" "smooth-sliding +Mincius, crowned with vocal reeds;" Camus's garment, "inwrought with +figures dim;" "the great vision of the guarded mount;" "the tender stops +of various quills;" "with eager thought warbling his Doric lay." It will +be noticed that these exquisite phrases have little to do with Lycidas +himself, and it is a fact not to be ignored, that though Milton and +Shelley doubtless felt more deeply than Dryden when he composed his +scarcely inferior threnody on Anne Killegrew, whom he had never seen, +both might have found subjects of grief that touched them more nearly. +Shelley tells us frankly that "in another's woe he wept his own." We +cannot doubt of whom Milton was thinking when he wrote: + + "Fame 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. 'But not the praise,' + Phoebus replied, and touched my trembling ears; + 'Fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil, + Nor in the glistering foil + Set off to the world, nor in broad rumour lies; + But lives and spreads aloft by those pure eyes, + And perfect witness of all-judging Jove; + As he pronounces lastly on each deed, + much fame 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 enthusiasm 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 solemn 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 they represent the +nature of Milton as it was then, noble and disinterested to the height +of imagination, but self-assertive, unmellowed, angular. They disappear +entirely when he expatiates in the regions of exalted fancy, as in the +introductory discourse of the Spirit, and the invocation 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 the mines of other poets: great as Milton's +obligations, to Nature were, his obligations to books were greater. But +he has made all his own by the alchemy of his genius, and borrows little +but to improve. The most remarkable coincidence is with a piece +certainly unknown to him--Calderon's "Magico Prodigioso," which was +first acted in 1637, 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 Daphne was, + Root-bound, that fled Apollo. + + _Lady._ Fool, do not boast + Thou can'st not touch the freedom of my mind + With all thy charms, although this corporal rind + Thou hast immanacled, while Heaven sees good." + + + "_Justina._ Thought is not in my power, but action is. + I will not move my foot to follow thee. + + _Demon._ But a far mightier wisdom than thine own + Exerts itself within thee, with such power + Compelling thee to that which it inclines + That it shall force thy step; how wilt thou then + Resist, Justina? + + _Justina._ By my free will. + + _Demon._ I + Must force thy will. + + _Justina._ It is invincible. + It were not free if thou had'st power upon it." + +It must be admitted that where the Spaniard and the Englishman come +directly into competition the former excels. The dispute between the +Lady and Comus may be, as Johnson 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, 1637, 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 tie to home had been severed by +the death of his mother in the preceding April; 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 impotent patriot; and Milton may have come 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 allurement to a poet and scholar? His +father, trustful and unselfish as of old, found the considerable sum +requisite for a prolonged foreign tour; and in April, 1638, Milton, +provided with excellent introductions from Sir Henry Wootton and others, +seeks the enrichment and renovation of his genius in Italy:-- + + "And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore + Flames in the forehead of the morning sky." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Four times has a great English poet taken up his abode in "the paradise +of exiles," and remained there until deeply imbued 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 done their utmost for him; and +he did not stay long enough to master the secret of Italian life. A real +enthusiasm for Italy's classical associations is indicated by his +original purpose of extending his travels to Greece, an enterprise at +that period requiring 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 Milton's visit Italian +letters and arts sloped midway in their descent from 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 as a consequence, though the physical sciences still +numbered 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 +made them less suspicious, surly, and austere. Spanish power was visibly +decaying. The long line of _zelanti_ Popes had come to an end; and it +was thought that if the bosom of the actual incumbent could be +scrutinized, no little complacency in Swedish victories over the Faith's +defenders would be found. An atmosphere 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, and gregarious literati, banded to +play at authorship in academies, like the seven Swabians leagued to kill +the hare. For the rest, the Italy of Milton's day, its superstition 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 found depicted by sympathetic +genius in the second volume of "John Inglesant." + +Milton arrived in Paris about the end of April or beginning of May. Of +his short stay there it is only known that he was received with +distinction by the English Ambassador, Lord Scudamore, and owed to him +an introduction to one of the greatest men 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 beginning 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, with 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, Frescobaldi, Coltellini, Bonmattei, Chimentelli, +and Francini, of all of whom a full account will be found in Masson. Two +of them, Dati and Francini, have linked their names with Milton's by +their encomiums on him inserted in his works. The key-note of these +surprising productions is struck by Francini when 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 foreign +tour to the travelled Ulysses; and Francini in declaring that Thames +rivals Helicon in virtue of Milton's Latin poems, which alone the +panegyrist could read. Truly, as Smollett says, Italian is the language +of compliments. If ludicrous, however, the flattery is not nauseous, for +it is not wholly insincere. Amid all conventional exaggerations there is +an under-note of genuine feeling, showing that the writers really had +received a deep impression from Milton, deeper than they could well +explain or understand. The bow drawn at a venture did not miss the mark, +but it is a curious reflection that those of his performances which +would really have justified their utmost enthusiasm were hieroglyphical +to them. Such of his literary exercises as they could understand +consisted, he says, of "some trifles which I had in memory 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 among them" +may have been is unknown. It is curious enough that his acquaintance +with the Italian literati should have been the means of preserving one +of their own compositions, the "Tina" of Antonio Malatesti, a series of +fifty sonnets on a mistress, sent to him in manuscript by the author, +with a dedication to the _illustrissimo signore et padrone +osservatissimo_. The pieces were not 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 Malatesti from the list of his Italian +acquaintance. He carried the MS. home, nevertheless, and a copy of it, +finding its way back to Italy in the eighteenth century, restored +Malatesti'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 among their learned men," he says, "and +been counted happy to be born in such a place of philosophic freedom as +they supposed England 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 her degradation, though for a century and a half +to come she could only protest in such conventicles as those frequented +by Milton. + +The very type and emblem of the free spirit of Italy, crushed 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 have 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 +him. The meeting between the two great blind men of their century is one +of the most picturesque in history; it would have been more pathetic +still if Galileo could have known that his name would be written in +"Paradise Lost," or Milton could have foreseen that within thirteen +years he too would see 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 comparison +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 +Copernicus:-- + + "Whether the sun predominant in heaven + Rise on the earth, or earth rise 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 soft 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 +Bargrave encountered at Florence, but whom Milton does not mention. The +next stage in his pilgrimage was the Eternal City, by this time resigned +to live upon its past. The revenues of which Protestant revolt had +deprived it were compensated by the voluntary contributions 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 +architectural 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 Barberini, 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 Baroni, to +whom he inscribed three Latin epigrams, omitted from the fifty-six +compositions in honour of her published in the following year. But we +may see her as he saw her in the frontispiece, reproduced in Ademollo's +monograph upon her. The face is full of sensibility, but not handsome. +She lived to be a great lady, and if any one spoke of her artist days +she would say, _Chi le ricercava queste memorie?_ Next to hers, the name +most entwined with Milton's Roman residence is that of Lucas Holstenius, +a librarian of the Vatican. Milton can have had little respect for a man +who had changed his religion to become the dependant 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 +immortal 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 name 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 Marini. He now entertained 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 fame, 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 Britain was not wholly +barbarous, for the Druids were really very considerable poets. He is +silent on Chaucer and Shakespeare. Manso requited the eulogium with an +epigram and two richly-wrought cups, and told Milton that he would have +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 volto sciolto, i pensieri stretti_. "I had made this +resolution with myself," he says, "not of my own accord to introduce +conversation about religion; but, if interrogated respecting the faith, +whatsoever I should suffer, to dissemble nothing." To this resolution he +adhered, he says, during his second two months' visit to Rome, +notwithstanding threats of Jesuit molestation, which probably were not +serious. At Florence his friends received him with no less warmth than +if they had been his countrymen, and with them he spent another two +months. His way to Venice lay through Bologna and Ferrara, and if his +sonnets in the Italian language were written in Italy, and all addressed +to the same person, it was probably at Bologna, 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 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 that their +autobiographical character is at least doubtful. That nominally +inscribed to Diodati, however, would well suit Leonora Baroni. Diodati +had been buried in Blackfriars on August 27, 1638, but Milton certainly +did not learn the fact until after his visit to Naples, and possibly not +until he came to pass some time at Geneva with Diodati's uncle. He had +come to Geneva from Venice, where 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 assume, he found awaiting +him when he again set foot on his native soil, about the end of July, +1639. + +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 lament 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 whatever cause, it was thought best +that the education of the sons should be conducted by their uncle. So it +came to pass that "he took him a lodging in St. Bride's Churchyard, at +the house of one Russel, a tailor;" Christopher Milton continuing to +live with his father. + +We may well believe that when the first cares of resettlement were over, +Milton found 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 by +true manly grief. In Diodati he had lost perhaps the only friend whom, +in the most sacred sense of the term, 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. _Bis ille miser qui serus amavit._ +All this is expressed with earnest emotion in truth and tenderness, +surpassing "Lycidas," though void of the varied 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 impulses +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, 1638, prevailed +upon Milton to abandon his projected visit to Sicily and Greece, were no +doubt those of the 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 return, 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, 1640) of +the Long Parliament, which sent Laud to the Tower and Strafford to the +block, cleared away servile judges 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 not 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 1657, "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 not 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 + 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 Parliament. When it had +met, + + "Perceiving that the true way to liberty followed on from these + beginnings, inasmuch also as I had so prepared myself from my + youth that, above all things, I could not be ignorant what is of + Divine and what of human right, I resolved, though I was then + meditating certain other matters, to transfer into this struggle + all my genius and all the strength of my industry." + +Milton'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 fierce political and religious +broils. But to regret with Pattison that Milton 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 Milton 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 "made 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 sides entirely with +one of the two great parties in the State, it is not as its instrument, +but as its prophet and monitor. He himself tells us that controversy is +highly repugnant to him. + + "I trust to make it manifest with what small 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 from beholding the bright countenance of truth in + the quiet and still air of delightful studies, to come in to the + dim 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 her insulting enemies, and thou bewailest, What matters it + for thee or thy bewailing? When time was, thou would'st not find a + syllable of all that thou hast read or studied to utter on her + behalf. Yet ease and leisure was given thee for thy retired + thoughts, but of the sweat of other men. 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 He could hear thy voice among His + zealous servants, but thou wert dumb as a beast; from henceforward + be that which thine own brutish silence hath made 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 upon Ruskin? + + "Thou, therefore, that sittest in light and glory unapproachable. + Parent of angels and men! next, Thee I implore, Omnipotent King, + Redeemer of that lost remnant whose nature Thou didst assume, + ineffable and everlasting Love! And Thou, the third subsistence 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 not thus a prey to + these importunate wolves, that wait and think long till they + devour Thy tender flock; these wild boars that have broke into Thy + vineyard, and left the print of their polluting hoofs on the souls + of Thy servants. O let them not bring about their damned designs + that stand now at the entrance of the bottomless pit, expecting + the watchword to open and let out those dreadful locusts and + scorpions to reinvolve us in that pitchy cloud of infernal + darkness, where we shall never more see the sun of Thy truth + again, never hope for the cheerful dawn, never more hear the bird + of morning sing. Be moved with pity at the afflicted state of this + our shaken monarchy, that now lies labouring under her throes, and + struggling against the grudges of more dreaded calamities. + + "O Thou, that, after the impetuous rage of five bloody + inundations, and the succeeding sword of intestine war, soaking + the land in her own gore, didst pity the sad and ceaseless + revolution of our swift and thick-coming sorrows; when we were + quite breathless of Thy free grace didst motion peace and terms of + covenant with us; and, having first well-nigh freed us from + anti-Christian thraldom, didst build up this Britannic Empire to a + glorious and enviable height, with all her daughter-islands about + her; stay us in this felicity, let not the obstinacy of our + 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 our peace; but let her cast her abortive + spawn without the danger of this travailing and throbbing kingdom: + that we may still remember in our 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 Hell ransacked, and made to give up her concealed destruction, + ere she could vent it in that horrible and damned blast. + + "O how much more glorious will those former deliverances appear, + when we shall know them not only to have saved us from greatest + miseries past, but to have reserved us for greatest happiness to + come? Hitherto Thou hast but freed us, and that not fully, from + the unjust and tyrannous claim of Thy foes, now unite us entirely + and appropriate us to Thyself, tie us everlastingly in willing + homage to the prerogative of Thy eternal throne. + + "And now we know, O Thou, our most certain hope and defence, that + Thine enemies have been consulting all the sorceries of the great + whore, and have joined their plots with that sad, intelligencing + tyrant that mischiefs the world with his mines of Ophir, and lies + thirsting to revenge his naval ruins that have larded our seas: + but let them all take counsel together, and let it come to nought; + let them decree, and do Thou cancel it; let them gather + themselves, and be scattered; let them embattle themselves, and be + broken; let them embattle, and be broken, for Thou art with us. + + "Then amidst the hymns 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 found 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 distributing national honours and rewards to religious + and just commonwealths, shall put an end to all earthly tyrannies, + proclaiming Thy universal and mild monarchy through heaven and + 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, and + 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. + + "But they contrary, that by the impairing and diminution of the + true faith, the distresses and servitude of their country, aspire + to high dignity, rule and promotion here, after a shameful end in + this life (which God grant them), shall be thrown down eternally + into the darkest and deepest gulf of Hell, 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 remain in that plight for ever, the + basest, the lowermost, the most dejected, most underfoot, and + down-trodden vassals of perdition." + +The five 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 1641, when the question of episcopacy was fiercely agitated. +Two--"The Reason of Church Government urged against Prelacy," and "The +Apology for Smectymnuus,"[1] belong to the early part of 1642, when the +bishops had just been excluded from the House of Lords. To be just to +Milton 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 Milton's contemporaries. Many may protest against +Episcopacy receiving especial recognition 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 hurled 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 have 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 +exceedingly weak. 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 ideality or +enthusiasm can help confessing that Milton has risen to a transcendent +height, and he may imagine that it has 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 involved 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 requiring 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 faithful 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, with + healing in his wings, and new light to break in upon the chill and + gloomy hearts of his hearers, raising out of darksome barrenness a + delicious and fragrant spring of saving knowledge and good works. + Can a man thus employed find himself discontented or dishonoured + for want of admittance to have a pragmatical voice at sessions and + jail deliveries? or because he may not as 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 loin, car il croit +tout ce qu'il dit_, it was probably meant that he would attain the chief +place in the State. It might have been said of Milton in the 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 publications in chronological order, but is +so entwined with his domestic life that it will be best to postpone it +until we again take up the 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 +fruit 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 not at this time been induced but by your earnest +entreaties and serious conjurements." The efficient cause thus referred +to existed in the person of Samuel Hartlib, philanthropist and +polypragmatist, precursor of the Franklins and Rumfords of the +succeeding century. The son of a Polish exile of German extraction, +Hartlib had settled in England about 1627. He found the country +behindhand both economically and socially, and with benign fervour +applied himself to its regeneration. Agriculture was 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 contributions 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 the methods of Comenius. This Moravian pastor, the +Pestalozzi of his 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 nevertheless imbued with the Moravian's +principles. His aim, like Comenius's, is to provide for the instruction +of all, "before the years of puberty, in all things belonging to the +present and future life." His view is as strictly utilitarian as +Comenius's. "Language is but the instrument conveying to us things +useful to be known." Of 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. Whatever we may think of the +system of teaching which in our 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 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 Milton by +his own intellectual greatness. He legislates for a college of Miltons. +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 puts it aside. He has not provided for Italian, but can +it not "be easily learned at any odd hour"? "Ere this time the Hebrew +tongue" (of which we have not hitherto 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 resources 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, Milton's tract, doubtless, has delivered many +a teacher and scholar from bondage to routine; and no man's aims are so +high or his thoughts so generous that he might not 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 concrete, 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 not wanting in capacity, and +assiduously taught, leave 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 him. We +owe the "Areopagitica," 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 found itself, in 1643, with respect to the Press, +very much in the position of Lord Canning's government in India 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 Presbyterian orthodoxy should be published in England.[2] +Other departments, not forgetting poetry and 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 1st +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 have been taken until the election of a new Master of +the Stationers' Company, about the middle of 1644. The Company had an +interest in the enforcement of the ordinance, which was aimed at piracy +as well as sedition and heresy; and whether for this reason, or at the +instigation of Milton's adversaries, they (August 24th) petitioned +Parliament to call him to account. The matter was referred to a +committee, 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 discourse 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 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 +calmly, 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 grievous hindrance to good ones; that it destroys the +sense of independence and responsibility essential to a manly and +fruitful literature. We hear less than might have been expected about +first principles, of the sacredness of conscience, of the obligation on +every man to manifest 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 embodiments of vital truths. "Revolutions of ages do not oft +recover the loss of a rejected truth." "A dram of well-doing should be +preferred before many times as much the forcible hindrance 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 +knowledge in the making." "A man maybe a heretic in the truth." Towards +the end the argument takes a wider sweep, and Milton, 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 house of liberty, encompassed +and surrounded with His protection; the shop of war hath not 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 not 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. +Presbyterianism had indeed been weighed in the balance and found +wanting, and Milton's pamphlet was the handwriting on the wall. The fine +gold must have become very dim 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 whole managing of his religious affairs; some +divine of note and estimation 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 +religion--esteems his associating with him a sufficient evidence and +commendation of his own piety. So that a man may say his religion is now +no more within himself, but is become a dividual movable, and goes and +comes near him according as that good man frequents the house. He +entertains him, gives him gifts, feasts him, lodges him, his religion +comes 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 He whose morning appetite would +have gladly fed on green figs between Bethany and Jerusalem, his +religion walks abroad at eight, and leaves his kind entertainer in the +shop, trading all day without his religion." This is a startling +passage. We should have pronounced hitherto that Milton's one hopeless, +congenital, irremediable want, alike in literature and in life, was +humour. And now, surely as ever Saul was among the prophets, behold +Milton among the wits. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +Ranging 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 convocation of the Long +Parliament in November, 1640. 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, refrains." + +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 with exultation, and when at length civil war broke out in +September, 1642, Parliament had no more zealous champion. His zeal, +however, did not carry him into the ranks, for which some biographers +blame him. But if he thought that he could serve his cause better with a +pamphlet than with a musket, surely he had good reason for what he +thought. It should seem, moreover, that if Milton detested the enemy's +principles, he respected his pikes and guns:-- + +WHEN THE ASSAULT WAS INTENDED TO THE CITY [NOVEMBER, 1642.] + + Captain, or Colonel, or Knight in arms, + Whose chance on these defenceless doors may seize, + If deed of honour did thee ever please, + Guard them, and him within protect from harms. + He can requite thee, for he knows the charms + That call fame on such gentle acts as these, + And he can spread thy name o'er lands and seas, + Whatever clime the sun's bright circle warms. + Lift not thy spear against the Muse's bower: + The great Emathian conqueror bid spare + The house of Pindarus, when temple and tower + Went 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 life, and the most +irreconcilable with the conventional opinion of him. Up to this time +this heroic existence must have seemed dull to many, for it has been a +life without love. He has indeed, in his beautiful Sonnet to the +Nightingale (about 1632), professed himself a follower of Love: but if +so, he has hitherto followed at a most respectful distance. Yet he had +not erred, when in the Italian sonnet, so finely rendered in Professor +Masson's biography, he declared the heart his vulnerable point:-- + + "Young, 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 found, + 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 not so sound + Where Love hath 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 1643. +Escorted, we must fear, by a chorus of mocking cuckoos, Milton, about +May 21st, rode into the country on a mysterious errand. It is a ghoulish +and ogreish idea, but it really seems as if the elder Milton quartered +his progeny upon his debtors, as the ichneumon fly quarters hers upon +caterpillars. Milton had, at all events for the last sixteen years, been +regularly drawing interest from an Oxfordshire 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 with +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 went down on this eventful Whitsuntide 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 seventeen 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 five miles 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 judgment was partly overcome by "the persuasion of +friends, that acquaintance, as it increases, will amend all." It is +possible, too, that he had long been intimate with his debtor's family, +and that Mary had previously made an impression upon him. If not, 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 and sang and +feasted for a week in the quiet Puritan house, 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 straightforward one until Professor +Masson remarked what had before escaped attention. According to +Phillips, an inmate of the house at the period--"By that time she had +for a month, or thereabouts, led a philosophical life (after having been +used to a great house, and much company and joviality), her friends, +possibly incited by her own desire, made earnest suit by letter to have +her company the remaining part of the summer, which was granted, on +condition of her return at the time appointed, Michaelmas or thereabout. +Michaelmas being come, 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 unanswered, 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 her again after such a +repulse, and accordingly wrote two treatises," &c. Here 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 have been written after Michaelmas. But the +copy in the British Museum belonged to the bookseller Thomason, who +always inscribed the date of publication on every tract in his +collection, when it was known to him, and his date, as Professor Masson +discovered, is August 1. Must we believe that Phillips's account is a +misrepresentation? Must 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 Milton 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 life, 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 not 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 convictions +until caught by the contagious enthusiasm of a revolution. If any +incident in his life could ever have 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 servant, to +forfeit the hope of sympathy and companionship 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 Milton learned +in suffering would no doubt have been taught in song. But pamphlets were +then the order of the day, and Milton's "Doctrine and Discipline of +Divorce," in its first edition, is as much the outpouring of an +overburdened heart as any poem could have been. It bears every mark of a +hasty composition, such as may well have been written and printed within +the last days of July, following Mary Milton's departure. It is short. +It deals with the most obvious aspects of the question. It is meagre in +references and citations; two authors only are somewhat vaguely alleged, +Grotius and Beza. It does not contain the least allusion to his domestic +circumstances, nor anything 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 incompatibility becoming +manifest; but that he had not yet arrived at the point of demanding the +application of his general principle to his own special case. That point +would be reached when Mary Milton deliberately refused to return, and +the chronology of the greatly enlarged second edition, published in the +following February, entirely confirms Phillips's account. In one point +only he must be wrong. Mary Milton's return to her father's house cannot +have been a voluntary concession on Milton's part, but must have been +wrung from him after bitter contentions. Could we look into the +household during those weeks of wretchedness, we should probably find +Milton exceedingly deficient in consideration for the inexperienced girl +of half his age, brought from a gay circle of friends and kindred to a +grave, studious house. But it could not well have been otherwise. Milton +was constitutionally unfit "to soothe and fondle," and his theories +cannot have contributed to correct his practice. His "He for God only, +she for God in him," condenses every fallacy about woman's true relation +to her husband and her Maker. In his Tractate on Education there is not +a word on the education of girls, and yet he wanted an intellectual +female companion. Where should the woman be found at once submissive +enough and learned enough to meet such inconsistent exigencies? It might +have been said to him as afterwards to Byron: "You talk like a +Rosicrucian, who will love nothing but a sylph, who does not believe in +the existence of a sylph, and who yet quarrels with the whole universe +for not containing a sylph." + +If Milton's first tract on divorce had not been a mere impromptu, +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 +divines. In one of his principal points all Protestants and philosophers +will confess him to be right, his reference of the matter to Scripture +and reason, and repudiation of the mediæval canon law. It is not here, +nevertheless, that Milton is most at home. The strength of his position +is his lofty idealism, his magnificent conception of the institution he +discusses, and his disdain for whatever degrades it to conventionality +or mere expediency. "His ideal of true and perfect marriage," says Mr. +Ernest Myers, "appeared to him so sacred that he could not admit 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 "doctrine and discipline" shall have +been sanctioned by lawgivers, we may be sure that the world is already +much better, or much worse. + +As the girl-wife vanishes from Milton'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. Christopher 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 Parliamentary forces in April, 1643, involved his +"dissettlement," and the migration of his father to the house of John, +with whom he was moreover better in accord in religion and politics. +Little external change resulted, "the old gentleman," says Phillips, +"being wholly retired to his rest and devotion, with the least trouble +imaginable." About the same time the household received other additions +in the shape of pupils, admitted, Phillips is careful to assure us, by +way of favour, as M. 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 have profited much by the +support, however practical, of a certain Mrs. Attaway, who thought that +"she, for her part, would look more into it, for she had an unsanctified +husband, that did not 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 +have already seen that he had incurred danger of prosecution from the +Stationers' Company, and in July, 1644, he was denounced by name from +the pulpit by a divine of much note, Herbert Palmer, author of a book +long attributed to Bacon. But, if criticised, he was read. By 1645 his +Divorce tract was in the third edition, and he had added three more +pamphlets--one to prove that the revered Martin Bucer 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 have been a somewhat contemptible 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 count no woman to due conversation accessible, as to you, +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 "it is no small glory to man that a creature so like him should be +made subject to him," and that "particular exceptions may have place, if +she exceed her husband in prudence and dexterity, and he contentedly +yield; for then a superior and more natural law comes 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 times. 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 have 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 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 unnumbered "Comuses." The excerpter of Amesius +and Wollebius, as we have so often insisted, needed great stimulus for +great achievements. Such stimulus would probably have come +superabundantly if he could at this time have 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 to be dissolved for mere +incompatibility; his case must have seemed much stronger now that +incompatibility had produced desertion. He was not the man to shrink +from acting on his opinion when the fit season seemed to him to have +arrived; and in the summer of 1645 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, it +is clear that Miss Davis could not be expected to entertain Milton's +proposals 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 in Oxfordshire. Her position as a nominal +wife must have been most uncomfortable, but there is no indication of +any effort on her part to alter it, until the Civil War was virtually +terminated by the Battle of Naseby, June, 1645. 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 +merciful dispensation. Rumours 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, 1645, Milton, paying his usual call on a kinsman named +Blackborough,[3] not otherwise mentioned in his life, who lived in St. +Martin's-le-Grand Lane, where 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 before him." There are two +similar scenes in his writings, of which this may have formed the +groundwork, Dalila's visit to her betrayed husband in "Samson +Agonistes," and Eve's repentance in the tenth book of "Paradise Lost." +Samson replies, "Out, out, hyæna!" Eve's "lowly plight" + + "in Adam wrought + Commiseration;... + As one disarmed, his anger all he lost, + And thus with peaceful words upraised her soon." + +Phillips appears to intimate that the penitent's reception 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 friends 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 made no deeper +impression than he seems to have done upon "the handsome and witty +gentlewoman." 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 +September joined her husband in the more commodious house in the +Barbican whither he was migrating at the time of the reconciliation. It +stood till 1864, 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. It is a remarkable proof both of his habitual +cunctativeness 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 Moseley. The transaction is most honourable to the +latter. "It is not any private respect of gain," he affirms; "for the +slightest pamphlet is nowadays more vendible than the works of +learnedest men, but it is the love I bear to our own language.... I know +not thy palate, how it relishes such dainties, nor how harmonious 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 true a birth as the Muses have brought forth +since our famous Spenser wrote." The volume was published on Jan. 2, +1646. It is divided into two parts, with separate title-pages, the first +containing the English poems, the second the Latin. They were probably +sold separately. The frontispiece, engraved by Marshall, is +unfortunately a sour and silly countenance, passing as Milton's, but +against which he protests in four lines of Greek appended, which the +worthy Marshall seems to have engraved without understanding them. The +British Museum copy in the King's Library contains an additional MS. +poem of considerable 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 1647, 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. + +Milton was now to learn what he afterwards taught, that "they also serve +who only stand and wait." He had challenged obloquy in vindication of +what he deemed right: the cross actually laid upon him was to fill his +house with inimical and uncongenial dependants 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, 1646. +The family estate was only saved from sequestration by a friendly +neighbour taking possession of it under cover of his rights 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" timber went to rebuild the good town of Banbury. It was +impossible for the Powells to remain in Oxfordshire, and Milton opened +his doors to them 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 tie 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 chief instigator of her daughter's "frowardness," +may have been partly due to the situation of the latter, who gave him a +daughter on July 29, 1646. In January, 1647, 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 the consequent improvement in Milton'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 +removing 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 me, and contriving, though burdened with taxes in the main +rather oppressive, to lead my frugal life." The traces of his literary +activity at this time are few--preparations 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, which +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 Williams had been in America. +The moment was most favourable. Presbyterianism had got itself +established, but could not pretend to represent the majority 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 +toleration, 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. 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 particular application of it. +Milton might have added the better half of Locke's fame to his own, and +compelled the French philosophers to sit at the feet of a Bible-loving +Englishman. But unfortunately no external impulse stirred him to action, +as in the case of the "Areopagitica." Presbyterians 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 term, no Puritan, +but a most free and independent thinker, the vast sweep of whose thought +happened to coincide for a while with the narrow orbit of so-called +Puritanism. + +Impulse to work of another sort was at hand. On January 30, 1649, +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 when +possessed by an overmastering idea. The title propounds two theses with +very different titles to acceptance. "The Tenure of Kings and +Magistrates proving that it is lawful, and hath been held so through all +ages, for any who have the power to call to account a tyrant or wicked +king, and after due conviction to depose and put him to death: if the +ordinary magistrate have neglected or denied to do it." That kings have +no more immunity than others from the consequences of evil doing is a +proposition which seemed monstrous to many in Milton's day, but which +will command general assent in ours. But to lay it down that "any who +has the power" may interpose to correct what he chooses to consider the +laches of the lawful magistrate 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. Milton'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 his party had 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. His +argument, therefore, is inconclusive, except that portion of it which +modern opinion allows to pass without argument. He seems indeed to admit +in his "Defensio Secunda" that the tract was written less to vindicate +the King's execution than to saddle the protesting Presbyterians with a +share of the responsibility. The diction, though robust and spirited, 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 +enough in the intensity of his private convictions. + +He had flung himself into a perilous breach. "Eikon Basilike"--most +timely of manifestoes--had been published only four days before the +appearance of "The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates." Between its +literary seduction and the horror generally excited by the King's +execution, the tide of public opinion was turning fast. Milton no doubt +felt that no claim upon him could be equal to that which the State had a +right to prefer. He accepted the 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 +time governed. Vane, Whitelocke, 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 Briton, Edward Phillips, +"scorning to carry on their affairs in the wheedling, lisping jargon of +the cringing French." But it must have been understood that Milton's pen +would also be at the service of the Government outside the narrow range +of official correspondence. The salary was handsome for the time--£288, +equivalent to about £900 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 accomplished Latinists, +and when Blake's cannon was not to be the mouthpiece, the Commonwealth's +message needed a silver trumpet. It was also as likely as any employment +to make a scholar a statesman. If in some respects it opposed new +obstacles to the 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 not 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, not 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 experience of +public affairs had been slight; he does not seem to have enjoyed the +intimate acquaintance of any man then active in the making of history. +In our day he would probably have 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. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +Milton was appointed Secretary for Foreign Tongues on March 15, 1649. He +removed from High Holborn to Spring Gardens to be near the scene of his +labours, and was soon afterwards provided with an official residence in +Whitehall Palace, a huge intricacy of passages and chambers, of which +but a fragment now remains. His first performance was in some measure a +false start; for the epistle offering amity to the Senate of Hamburg, +clothed in his best Latin, was so unamiably 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, Dorislaus, by refugee +Cavaliers, had a better reception; and Milton was soon engaged in +drafting, not merely translating, 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 Belfast. The commentary was published in May, along +with the documents. It is a spirited manifesto, cogent in enforcing the +necessity of the campaign about to be undertaken by 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 +confusion. 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 have reconciled him to a task so +invidious; and there is some evidence of what might well have been +believed without evidence--that he mitigated the severity of the +censorship as far as in him lay. He was not 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 Parliamentarian according +as his verdict inclined to Charles I. or Bishop 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 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 not far +more numerous. On the other hand, the internal evidence seems at first +sight to make for the king. The style is not dissimilar to that of the +reputed royal author; the sentiments are such as would have well become +him; the assumed character is supported throughout with consistency; and +there are none of the slips which a fabricator might have been thought +hardly able to avoid. The supposed personator of the King was +unquestionably an unprincipled time-server. Is it not an axiom that a +worthy book can only proceed from a worthy mind? + + "If this fail, + The pillared firmament is rottenness, + And earth's base built on stubble!" + +Against such considerations we have to set the stubborn facts that +Bishop Gauden did actually claim the authorship that he preferred his +claim to the very persons who had the strongest interest in exploding +it; that he invoked the testimony of those who must have known the +truth, and could most easily have crushed the lie; that he convinced not +only Clarendon, but Charles's own children, and received a substantial +reward. In the face of these undeniable facts, the numerous +circumstances used with skill and ingenuity by Dr. Wordsworth to +invalidate his claim, are of little weight. The stronger the apparent +objections, the more certain that the proofs in Gauden's hands must have +been overwhelming, and the greater the presumption that he was merely +urging what had always been known to several persons about the late +king. When, with this conviction, we recur 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" have been pointed +out by Todd, and the most searching modern investigator, Doble. We may +also discover one marked intellectual resemblance. Nothing is more +characteristic in the "Eikon" than its indirectness. The writer is full +of qualifications, limitations, allowances; he fences and guards +himself, and seems always 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 element. 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 +unmistakably 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 acknowledges, or +is made to acknowledge. When to these considerations is added that any +scrap of the "Eikon" in the King's handwriting 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 time was the +King's book, for everybody thought it so. Milton hints some vague +suspicions, but refrains from impugning it seriously, and indeed the +defenders of its authenticity will be quite justified in asserting that +if Gauden had been dumb, Criticism would have been blind. + +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 affected." 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 have been, but it was necessarily 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 have swept all +before it in a discussion of general principles is frittered away in +tiresome wrangling over a multitude of minutiæ. 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 enthralled the popular imagination. +Milton's "Eikonoklastes" 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, however, was not 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 eminent +classical scholar of the age. To us the idea of commissioning a +political manifesto from a philologist seems eccentric; but erudition +and the erudite were never so highly prized as in the seventeenth +century. Men's minds were still enchained by authority, and the +precedents of Agis, or Brutus, or Nehemiah, weighed like dicta of +Solomon or Justinian. The man of Greek, or 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. +All these qualifications were combined in Claudius Salmasius, a +Frenchman, who had laid scholars under an eternal obligation by his +discovery of the Palatine MS. of the Anthology at Heidelberg, and who, +having embraced Protestantism from conviction, lived in splendid style +at Leyden, where the mere light of his 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, not a "Paradise Lost" or a "Werther" was +the _sic itur ad astra_ of the time. On the strength of such Salmasius +had pronounced _ex cathedra_ on a multiplicity of topics, from +episcopacy to hair-powder, and there was no bishop and no perfumer +between the Black Sea and the Irish who would not rather have 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 not 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 forthcoming or not, +Salmasius's undertaking was none the less a commission from Charles II., +and the circumstance put him into a false position, and increased the +difficulty of his task. Human feeling is not easily reconciled to the +execution of a bad magistrate, unless he has 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 had honestly +believed his usurpations within the limits of his prerogative; and his +breaches of faith were committed against insurgents whom he regarded as +seamen look upon pirates, or shepherds upon wolves. Salmasius, however, +pleading by commission from Charles's son, can urge no such mitigating +plea. He is compelled to maintain 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 nineteenth 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. But this was a theme for an Englishman to handle. Salmasius +cannot think himself into it, nor had he sufficient imagination to be +inspired by Charles as Burke (who, nevertheless, has borrowed from him) +was to be inspired by Marie Antoinette. + +His book--entitled "Defensio Regia pro Carolo I."--appeared in October +or November, 1649. On January 8, 1650, it was ordered by the Council of +State "that Mr. Milton do prepare something in answer to the Book 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 conclusive 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 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 have produced a work more sublime than "Paradise Lost." + +This, of course, was not possible. The efficiency of a controversialist +in the seventeenth century was almost 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, Salmasius had come 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 his +own unlucky head. They seared and scathed a literary dictator whom +jealous enemies had long sighed to behold insulted and humiliated, while +surprise 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; not 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 presumptuous +intermeddler who has dared to libel the people of England is ten +thousand times more real than Salmasius's official indignation at the +execution of Charles. His contempt for Salmasius's pedantry is quite +genuine; and he revels in ecstasies of savage glee when taunting the +apologist of tyranny with his 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 offer; and his views on the wider question of the general +responsibility of kings, sound and noble in themselves, suffer 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 Salmasius +should at length have met with his match. The book, published in or +about March, 1651, 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 congratulate +him, or took the opportunity of a casual meeting. By May, says Heinsius, +five editions were printed or printing 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 confiscated." Parisian magistrates burned it +on their own responsibility. Salmasius himself was then at Stockholm, +where Queen Christina, who did not, like Catherine II., recognize the +necessity of "standing by her order," could not help letting him see +that she regarded Milton as the victor. Vexation, some thought, +contributed as much as climate to determine his return to Holland. He +died in September, 1653, at Spa, as, remote from books, but making his +memory his library, he was penning his answer. This unfinished +production, edited by his son, appeared after the Restoration, when the +very embers of the controversy had grown cold, and the palm of literary +victory had been irrevocably adjudged to Milton. + +Milton could hear the plaudits, he could not see the wreaths. The total +loss of his sight may be dated from March, 1652, a year after the +publication of his reply. It was then necessary to provide him with an +assistant--that no change should have been made 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 his country. "The choice lay before me," he writes, "between +dereliction of a supreme duty and loss of eyesight; in such a case I +could not listen to the physician, not if Æsculapius himself had spoken +from his sanctuary; I could not but obey that inward monitor, I know not +what, that spoke to me from heaven." In September, 1654, 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 appeared 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 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 not 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," hesitates between amaurosis ("drop +serene") and cataract ("suffusion"). Nothing is said of his having been +recommended to use glasses or other precautionary contrivances. +Cheselden was not 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 same, as in a +case quite incurable, I prepare and compose myself accordingly. My +darkness hitherto, by the singular kindness of God, amid rest and +studies, and the voices and greetings of friends, has been much easier +to bear than that deathly one. But if, as is written, 'Man doth not 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 +providence? 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 life, I shall willingly, since it hath seemed good to Him, have +given my eyes their long holiday. And to you I now bid farewell, with a +mind not less brave and steadfast than if I were Lynceus himself for +keenness of sight." Religion and philosophy, of which no brighter +example was ever given, did not, in this sore trial, disdain the support +of a manly pride:-- + + "What supports me, dost thou ask? + The conscience, friend, to have lost them overplied + In liberty's defence, my noble task, + O! which all Europe rings from side to side; + This thought might lead me through 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 1646, his wife had given him three more children--a +daughter, born in October, 1648; a son, born in March, 1650, who died +shortly afterwards; and another daughter, born in May, 1652. The birth +of this child may have been connected with the death of the mother in +the same or the following month. The household had apparently been +peaceful, but it is unlikely that Mary Milton can have been a companion +to her husband, or sympathized with such fraction of his mind as it was +given her to understand. She must have become considerably emancipated +from the creeds of her girlhood if his later writings could have been +anything but detestable to her; and, on the whole, much as one pities +her probably wasted life, her disappearance from the scene, if tragic +in her ignorance to the last of the destiny that might have been hers, +is not unaccompanied with a sense of relief. Great, nevertheless, must +have been the blind poet's embarrassment as the father of three little +daughters. Much evil, it is to be feared, had already been sown; and his +temperament, his affliction, and his circumstances alike nurtured the +evil yet to come. 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 house stood +till 1877, a forlorn 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 Milton to indulge in autobiography, and to record +his estimate of some of the heroes of the Commonwealth. Among various +replies to his "Defensio," not deserving of notice here, appeared one of +especial acrimony, "Regii Sanguinis Clamor ad Coelum," published about +August, 1652. It was a prodigy of scurrilous invective, bettering the +bad example which Milton had set (but which hundreds in that age had set +him) of ridiculing Salmasius's foibles when he should have been +answering his arguments. Having been in Italy, he was taxed with Italian +vices: he would have been accused of cannibalism had his path lain +towards the Caribee Islands. A fulsome dedication to Salmasius tended +to fix the suspicion of authorship upon Alexander Morus, a Frenchman of +Scotch extraction, Professor of Sacred History at Amsterdam, and pastor +of the Walloon Church, then an inmate of Salmasius's house, who actually +had written the dedication and corrected the proof. The real author, +however, was Peter Du Moulin, ex-rector of Wheldrake, in Yorkshire. The +dedicatory ink was hardly dry ere Morus was involved in a desperate +quarrel with Salmasius through the latter's imperious 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 Morus marry the damsel, she sought to deprive him of his +ecclesiastical and professorial dignities. The correspondence of +Heinsius and Vossius shows what intense amusement the affair occasioned +to such among the scholars of the period as were unkindly affected +towards Salmasius. Morus was ultimately acquitted, but his position in +Holland had become uncomfortable, and he was glad to accept an +invitation from the congregation at Charenton, celebrated for its +lunatics. Understanding, meanwhile, that Milton was preparing a reply, +and being naturally unwilling to brave invective in the cause of a book +which he had not written, and of a patron who had cast him off, he +protested his innocence of the authorship, and sought to ward off the +coming storm by every means short of disclosing the writer. Milton, +however, esteeming his Latin of much more importance than Morus's +character, and justly considering with Voltaire, "que cet Habacuc était +capable de tout," persisted in exhibiting himself as the blind Cyclop +dealing blows amiss. His reply appeared in May, 1654, and a rejoinder by +Morus produced a final retort in August, 1655. Both are full of +personalities, including a spirited description of the scratching of +Morus'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 +alleviations:--"Let the calumniators of God's judgments cease to revile +me, and to forge their superstitious dreams about me. Let them be +assured that I neither regret my lot nor am 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 +strengthening 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 not 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 same." He adds that his +friends cherish him, study his wants, favour him 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 life in the Prytaneum. + +Milton's tract is also interesting for its pen-portraits of some of the +worthies of the Commonwealth, and its indications of his own views on +the politics 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 his tribunal, but +is judging him all his life." 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 +statesmanship, as Milton deemed it, is not only extenuated, but is made +to usher in the more commanding personality of Cromwell. Cæsar, says +Johnson, had not more elegant flattery than Cromwell received from +Milton: nor Augustus, he might have added, encomiums 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 1653,--how unfit for 1660 remained to be +discovered by him. Under its influence he had successively swallowed +Pride's Purge, the execution 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 1641. 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 own brilliant hopes, and some alarm at the +condition of the vessel of the State reduced to her last plank. +Authority actually had come into the hands of the kingliest man in +England, valiant and prudent, magnanimous and merciful. But Cromwell's +life was precarious, and what after Cromwell? Was the ancient +constitution, with its halo of antiquity, its settled methods, and its +substantial safeguards, wisely exchanged for one life, already the mark +for a thousand bullets? Milton 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 what he is. The name of Protector even +is a stumbling-block, though one _can_ get over it. "You have, by +assuming a title likest that of Father of your Country, allowed yourself +to be, one cannot say elevated, but rather brought down so many stages +from your real sublimity, and as it were forced into rank for the public +convenience." But there must be no question of a higher title:-- + + "You have, in your far higher majesty, scorned the title of King. + And surely with justice: for if in your present greatness you were + to be taken with that name which you were able when 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." + +This warning, occurring in the midst of a magnificent panegyric, +sufficiently vindicates Milton against the charge of servile flattery. +The frank advice which he gives Cromwell on questions of policy is less +conclusive evidence: for, except on the point of disestablishment, it +was such as Cromwell had already given himself. Professor Masson's +excellent summary of it may be further condensed thus--1. Reliance on a +council of well-selected associates. 2. Absolute voluntaryism in +religion. 3. Legislation not to be meddlesome or over-puritanical. 4. +University and scholastic endowments to be made 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 Milton's official +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 freely tendering Cromwell what might have 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 department of Foreign Affairs was neither +one which he 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. Before Milton's loss +of sight his duties included attendance upon foreign envoys on State +occasions, of which he must afterwards have been to a considerable +extent relieved. The collection of his official correspondence published +in 1676 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 Miltonic style +of the greater letters," says Professor Masson, "utterly precludes 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 English 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 Roeskilde; 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 Dunkirk. Of all his +letters, none can have 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 (1655); but the document is +dignified and measured in tone. His emotion found relief in his greatest +sonnet; blending, as Wordsworth implies, trumpet notes with his habitual +organ-music; the most memorable example in our language of the fire and +passion which may inspire a poetical form which some have deemed only +fit to celebrate a "mistress's eyebrow"[4]:-- + + "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 our fathers worshipped stocks and stones. + Forget not: in Thy book record their groans + Who were Thy sheep, and in their ancient fold + Slain 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 all 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 emoluments had been reduced, in April, 1655, from £288 to +£150 a year, but the diminished allowance was made perpetual instead of +annual, and seems to have been intended as a retiring pension. He +nevertheless continued to work, drawing salary at the rate of £200 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, 1658, and February, 1659. With two +letters for the restored Parliament after Richard's abdication, written +in May, 1659, Milton, though his formal supersession was yet to come, +virtually bade adieu to the Civil Service:-- + + "God doth not need + Either man's work, or his own gifts; who best + Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best: His state + Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed, + And post o'er land and ocean without rest; + They also serve who only stand and wait." + +The principal domestic events in Milton's life, meanwhile, had been his +marriage with Katherine, daughter of an unidentified Captain Woodcock, +in November, 1656; and the successive loss of her and an infant daughter +in February and March, 1658. 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 time, +much may be conjectured, but nothing is known; his nephews, whose +education had cost him such anxious care, though not undutiful in their +personal relations with him, were sources of uneasiness from their own +misadventures, and might have been even more so as sinister omens of the +ways in which the rising generation was to walk. The fruits of their +bringing up upon the egregious Lucretius and Manilius were apparently +"Satyr against Hypocrites," _i.e._, Puritans; "Mysteries of Love and +Eloquence;" "Sportive Wit or Muses' Merriment," which last brought the +Council down upon John Phillips as a propagator of immorality. In his +nephews Milton might have seen, though we may be sure he did not 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 old pupil Cyriack Skinner; Lady Ranelagh; +Oldenburg, the Bremen envoy, destined to fame as Secretary of the Royal +Society and the correspondent of Spinoza; and a choice band of +"enthusiastic young men who accounted it a privilege to read to him, or +act as his amanuenses, or hear him talk." A sonnet inscribed to one of +these, Henry Lawrence, gives a pleasing picture of the British Homer in +his Horatian hour:-- + + "Lawrence, of virtuous father virtuous son, + Now that the fields are dank, and ways are mire, + Where shall we sometimes meet, and by the fire + Help waste a sullen day, what may be won + From the hard season gaining? Time will run + On smoother, till Favonius re-inspire + The frozen earth, and clothe in fresh attire + The lily and rose, that neither sowed nor spun. + What neat repast shall feast us, light and choice, + Of Attic taste, with wine, whence we may rise + To hear the lute well touched, or artful voice + Warble immortal notes and Tuscan air? + He who of those delights can judge, and spare + To interpose them oft, is not 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." + +These lines, slightly altered from Shelley, are more applicable to the +slow growth and sudden apparition of "Paradise Lost" than to most of +those births of genius whose maturity has required a long gestation. In +most such instances the work, however obstructed, has not seemed asleep. +In Milton's case the germ slumbered in the soil seventeen or eighteen +years before the appearance of a blade, save one of the minutest. After +two or three years he ceased, so far as external indications evince, to +consciously occupy himself with the idea of "Paradise Lost." His country +might well claim the best part of his energies, but even the intervals +of literary leisure were given to Amesius and Wollebius rather than +Thamyris and Mæonides. 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 life. +Remanded thus to solemn meditation, he would gradually rise to the +height of his great argument; he would reflect with alarm how little, in +comparison with his powers, he had yet done to "sustain the expectation +he had not refused:" and he would come little by little to the point +when he could unfold his wings upon his own impulse, instead of needing, +as always hitherto, the impulse of others. We cannot tell what influence +finally launched this high-piled avalanche of thrice-sifted snow. The +time is better ascertained. Aubrey refers it to 1658, the last year of +Oliver's Protectorate. As Cromwell's death virtually closed Milton's +official 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 Milton, is afforded by +the precious manuscripts given to Trinity College, Cambridge, by Sir +Henry Newton Puckering (we know not how he got them), and preserved by +the pious care of Charles Mason and Sir Thomas Clarke. By the portion of +the MSS. relating to Milton's drafts of projected poems, which date +about 1640-1642, we see that the form of his work was to have been +dramatic, and that, in respect of subject, the swift 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 +impracticable, 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 Banquo's, and seemingly taken a share in the action. +"Arthur," so much in his mind when he wrote the "Epitaphium Damonis," +does not appear at all. Two of the drafts of "Paradise Lost" are mere +lists of _dramatis personæ_, but the others indicate the shape which the +conception had then assumed in Milton's mind as the nucleus of a +religious drama on the pattern of the mediæval mystery or miracle play. +Could he have had any vague knowledge of the autos of Calderon? In the +second and more complete draft Gabriel speaks the prologue. Lucifer +bemoans his fall and altercates with the Chorus of Angels. Eve's +temptation apparently takes place off the stage, an arrangement which +Milton would probably have 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 life and world," a conception traceable in the eleventh book of +"Paradise Lost." But it is grievously cramped in comparison with the +freedom 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 plan in 1642 or 1643, would have formed the +exordium of his tragedy. Of the literary sources which may have +originated or enriched 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 palpably allude to the ecclesiastical and political incidents of +his time, while one is strikingly prophetic of his own defence of the +execution of Charles I. "The contention between the father of Zimri and +Eleazar whether he ought to have slain his son without law; next the +ambassadors 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 all arguments +driven home, then the word of the Lord may be brought, acquitting and +approving Phineas." It was his earnest aim at all events to compose +something "doctrinal and exemplary to a nation." "Whatsoever," he says +in 1641, "whatsoever in religion is holy and sublime, in virtue amiable +or grave, whatsoever hath passion or admiration in all the changes of +that which is called fortune from without, or the wily subtleties and +refluxes 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 her +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 cosmogony and anthropology of "Paradise +Lost." + +If it is true--and the fact seems well attested--that Milton's poetical +vein flowed only from the autumnal equinox to the vernal[5], he cannot +well have commenced "Paradise Lost" before the death of Cromwell, or +have made very 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 from Cromwell was that of a State +Church; Cromwell, the practical man, perceiving its necessity, and +Milton, the idealist, seeing only its want of logic. Unfortunately, this +inconsequence existed only for the few thinkers who could in that age +rise to the acceptance of Milton's premises. In his "Treatise of Civil +Power in Ecclesiastical Causes," published in February, 1659, 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, half his labour +might be spared and the commonwealth better tended." It is to be +regretted that he had not entered upon this great subject at an earlier +period. The little tract, addressed to the Republican members of +Parliament, is designedly homely in style, and the magnificence of +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 simple and efficacious--cease to hire them, and +they will cease to be hirelings. Suppress all ecclesiastical endowments, +and let the clergyman be supported by free-will offerings. The fact that +this would have consigned about half 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 to +be remarked that Milton scarcely allowed the ministry to be followed as +a profession, and that his views on ecclesiastical organization had come +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, 1659. The Commonwealth was +no doubt dead as a Republic. "Pride's Purge," the execution of Charles, +and Cromwell's expulsion of the remnant of the Commons, had long ago +given it mortal wounds. It was not necessarily defunct as a +Protectorate, or a renovated Monarchy: the history of England might have +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 practical good sense, pronounced for the restoration of +Charles the Second. It is impossible to think without anger and grief of +the declension which was to ensue, from Cromwell enforcing toleration +for Protestants 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 not decline from Milton's +standard, for they had never attained to it; they did not accept the +turpitudes of the new government, for they did not anticipate them. So +far as sentiment inspired them, it was not love of license, but +compassion for the misfortunes 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 not have had even that if the +leading military chief had not been a man of homely sense and vulgar +aims; such an one as Milton afterwards drew in-- + + "Mammon, the least erected spirit 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 was the stout soldier, +acquitting himself of his military duty most punctually. In his +political conduct he laid himself out for titles 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 laboured. "Great things," said Edward Gibbon +Wakefield, "are begun by men with great souls and little +breeches-pockets, and ended by men with great breeches-pockets and +little souls." + +Milton 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 narratives and comments of passionate or interested +reporters. At last something occurred which none could misunderstand or +misrepresent. On February 11th, 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 at one view tell thirty-one fires. In King +Street, seven or eight; and all around burning, roasting, and drinking +for rumps. 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. At one end of the street you would +think there was a whole lane of fire, 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 +have 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 rests 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 invectives against the inhuman pride and +hollow ceremonial of kingship, and his encomiums of the simple order +when the ruler's main distinction from the ruled is the severity of his +toil. "Whereas they who are the greatest are perpetual servants and +drudges to the public at their own cost and charges, neglect their own +affairs, yet are not elevated above their brethren; live soberly in +their families, walk 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 Milton thought it +attainable. His panacea was a permanent Parliament or Council of State, +self-elected for life, or renewable at most only in definite +proportions, at stated times. The whole history of England for the last +twelve years was a commentary on the 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 legislation 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 the official enthronement 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 century. + +One quality of Milton's pamphlet claims 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 exclusion of his family from the throne. When all was lost, it +was no disgrace to quit the field. His pamphlet appeared on March 3, +1660; a second edition, with considerable alterations, was for the time +suppressed. On March 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 1st, "the happiest May-day," says that ardent Royalist _du +lendemain_, Pepys, "that hath been many a year to England," Charles +II.'s letter was read to a Parliament that none could deny to have been +freely chosen, and acclaimed, "without so much as one No." On May 7th, +as is conjectured by the date of an assignment made to Cyriack Skinner +as security for a loan, Milton quitted his house, and concealed himself +in Bartholomew Close, Smithfield. Charles re-entered his kingdom on May +29th, and the hue and cry after regicides and their abettors began. The +King had wisely left the business to Parliament, 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 +imprisonment 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 16th his writings +against Charles I. were ordered to be burned by the hangman, which +sentence was performed on August 27th. A Government proclamation +enjoining their destruction had been issued on August 13th, and may now +be read in the King's Library 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 Marvell, Secretary Morrice, +and Sir Thomas Clarges, Monk'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 Shakespeare, but one +tale is no better authenticated than the other. The simplest explanation +is that twenty people were found more hated than Milton: it may also +have seemed invidious to persecute a blind man. It is certainly +remarkable that the authorities should have failed to find the +hiding-place of so recognizable 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 29th 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 16th, and detained him, +charging exorbitant fees, until compelled to abate his demands by the +Commons' resolution of December 15th. 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 unmitigated 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 name infamous, his principles execrated, his property +seriously impaired by the vicissitudes of the times. He had been +deprived of his appointment and salary as Latin Secretary, even before +the Restoration: and he was now fleeced of two thousand pounds, invested +in some kind of Government security, which was repudiated in spite of +powerful intercession. Another "great sum" is said by Phillips to have +been lost "by mismanagement and want of good advice," whether at this +precise time is uncertain. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster +reclaimed a considerable 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, Milton appears to +have saved about £1500 from the wreck of his fortunes, and to have +possessed about £200 income from the interest of this fund and other +sources, destined to be 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 Antigone 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 to be damned to everlasting fame, not merely as +neglectful of their father, but as embittering his existence. The +shocking speech attributed to one of them is, we may hope, not a fact; +and it may not 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: + + "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. He +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 her name; and it is but a poor excuse +to say that, though good-looking, she was deformed, and afflicted 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: we 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 minds of two of the +daughters, and the two chiefly named as undutiful, had been formed by +their mother. Mistress Milton cannot have greatly cherished her husband, +and what she wanted in love must have been made up in fear. She must +have abhorred his principles and his writings, and probably gave free +course to her feelings whenever she could have speech with a +sympathizer, without caring whether the girls were within hearing. +Milton himself, we know, was cheerful in congenial society, but he were +no poet if he had not been reserved with the uncongenial. To them the +silent, abstracted, often 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 Mistress Milton departed this life, she had intentionally or +unintentionally avenged all the injuries she could imagine herself to +have received from 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 Milton girls that they were at least +not calculating in their undutifulness. Had they reflected, they must +have 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 his excellent physician Dr. Paget, +he married Elizabeth Minshull, daughter of a yeoman of Wistaston in +Cheshire, a distant relation of Dr. Paget's own, and exactly thirty +years younger than Milton. "A genteel person, 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 +life. 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 life, 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 of the Hebrew +Bible. Such erudition in a serving-man almost surpasses credibility: the +English Bible probably sufficed both. It is easier to believe that some +one read to him or wrote for him from seven till dinner time: if, +however, "the writing was nearly as much as the reading," much that +Milton dictated must have been lost. His 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 resource of +blindness. 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 faithful 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 imagine 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 understood what I read and when I +did not, and accordingly 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 substantially his own. 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 not 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 fate" 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 observation." We know but little +of the history of the greatest works of genius. That something more than +usual should be known of "Paradise Lost" must be ascribed to the +author's blindness, and consequent dependence upon amanuenses. When +inspiration came upon him 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 already heard from him that Milton's season +of inspiration lasted from the autumnal equinox to the vernal: the +remainder of the year doubtless contributed much to the matter of his +poem, if nothing to the form. His habits of composition appear to be +shadowed forth by himself in the induction to the Third Book:-- + + "Thee, Sion, and the flowery brooks beneath + That wash thy hallowed feet, and warbling flow, + Nightly I visit--" + + "Then feed on thoughts that voluntary move + Harmonious numbers; as the wakeful bird + Sings darkling, and in shadiest covert hid + Tunes her nocturnal note." + +This is something more precise than a mere poetical allusion to his +blindness, and the inference is strengthened 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. Respecting 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, notwithstanding the terrible +hindrances of the years 1659 and 1660, have been, as Aubrey thinks, +completed by 1663. It would still require mature revision, which we know +from Ellwood that it had received by the summer of 1665. Internal +evidence of the chronology of the poem is very scanty. Professor Masson +thinks that the first two books were probably written before the +Restoration. In support of this view it may be urged that lines 500-505 +of Book i. wear the appearance of an insertion after the Restoration, +and that in the invocation to the Third Book Milton may be thought to +allude to the dangers his life and liberty had afterwards encountered, +figured by the regions of nether darkness which he had traversed as a +poet. + + "Hail 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 fallen on evil days, + On evil days though fallen and evil tongues; + In darkness, and with dangers compassed round, + And solitude; yet not 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 rout that tore the Thracian bard." + +This allusion to the licentiousness of the Restoration literature could +hardly have been made until its tendencies had been plainly developed. +At this time "Paradise Lost" was half finished. ("Half yet remains +unsung.") The remark permits us to conclude that Milton conceived and +executed 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 1665 London was a city of the dying and the dead; in 1666 +the better part of it was laid in ashes. One remarkable incident of the +calamity was the destruction of the stocks of the booksellers, 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 + Uplifted spurned the ground." + +but the negotiations for its publication were not complete until April +27, 1667, on which day John Milton, "in consideration of five pounds to +him now paid by Samuel Symmons, and other the considerations herein +mentioned," assigned to the said Symmons, "all that book, copy, or +manuscript of a poem intituled 'Paradise Lost,' or by whatsoever ether +title or name the same is or shall be called or distinguished, now +lately licensed to be printed." The other considerations were the +payment of the like sum of five pounds upon the entire sale of each of +the first three impressions, each impression to consist of thirteen +hundred copies. "According to the present value of money," says +Professor Masson, "it was as if Milton had received £17 10s. down, and +was to expect £70 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 +1680 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 have 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 than immortality. + +It will have been observed that in the contract with Symmons "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 +refused 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 live, though scrupling somewhat when he found "perplexity" and +"fear of change" imputed to "monarchs." His objections were overcome, +and on August 20, 1667--three weeks after the death of Cowley, and eight +days after Pepys had heard the deceased extolled as the greatest of +English poets--John Milton came forth clad as with adamantine mail in +the approbation 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 slowly--Tomkyns and all--towards an era of liberty +and reason when Tomkyns's imprimatur would be accounted Tomkyns's +impertinence. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +The 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 master. 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 not, in general, relied so much upon the +wealth of pre-existing materials as upon the capabilities of a single +circumstance. Such are the epics of Virgil, Camoens, Tasso, Milton; +Dante, perhaps, standing alone as the one epic poet (for we cannot rank +Ariosto and Spenser in this class) who owes everything but his creed to +his own invention. The traditional 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 has +become one of paramount interest, the literary epic has been in danger +of neglect. Yet it must be allowed that to evolve an epic out of a +single incident is a greater intellectual achievement than to weave one +out of a host of ballads. We must also admit that, leaving the unique +Dante out of account, Milton essayed a more arduous enterprise than any +of his predecessors, and in this point of view may claim 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 +difficulty and audacity of the undertaking. To paint the bloom of +Paradise with the same brush that has depicted the flames and blackness +of the nether world; to make the Enemy of Mankind, while preserving this +character, an heroic figure, not without claims 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 +historical personage, "Paradise Lost" need not be much affected by +general disbelief in the personality of Satan, and universal disbelief +in that of Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. A far more vulnerable point is +the failure of the purpose so ostentatiously proclaimed, "To justify the +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 +him. The conduct of the Deity who allows his adversary to ruin his +innocent creature from the purely malignant motive + + "That with reiterated crimes he might + Heap 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. Uriel, after threatening to +drag Satan in chains back to Tartarus, and learning by a celestial +portent that he actually has the power to fulfil his threat, +considerately draws the fiend's attention to the circumstance, and +advises him to take himself 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 + + "Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve, + Assaying by his devilish art to reach + The organs of her 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 _in_, to the beings in the +universe most interested in letting him _out_. The sole but sufficient +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 have written at all; common sense on the part of the angels would +have 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. It is true that the Evil One is the hero of +the epic. Attempts have been made 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 his 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 holiness--a fact of which +Milton cannot have been unaware, but he had no liberty to forsake the +Scripture narrative. Satan remains, therefore, the only possible hero, +and it is one of the inevitable blemishes of the poem that he should +disappear almost entirely from the latter books. + +These defects, and many more which might be adduced, are abundantly +compensated by the poet's vital relation to the religion of his age. No +poet whose fame is co-extensive with the civilised world, except +Shakespeare and Goethe, has ever been greatly in advance of his times. +Had Milton been so, he might have avoided many faults, but he would not +have 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 which +he lived, and of the ages which followed it, developing itself in +correspondence with their development." Hence it is that in the +"Adonais," Shelley calls Milton "the third among 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 indispensable for a correct understanding of "Paradise +Lost." The best service to be rendered to the reader within such limits +as ours is to direct him to Professor Masson's discussion of Milton's +cosmology in his "Life of Milton," and also in his edition of the +Poetical Works. Generally speaking, it may be said that Milton's +conception of the universe is Ptolemaic, that for him sun and moon and +planets revolve around the central earth, 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 imagination 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 blackness +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 sublimity, 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 immeasurably the more stimulating to the spirit, +but when made 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 + 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 magnitude close by the moon." + +This pendant world, observe, is not the earth, as Addison understood it, +but the entire sidereal universe, depicted not as the infinity we now +know it to be, but as a definite object, so insulated in the vastness of +space as to be 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 +representation, 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 perfectly 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 "Paradise Lost" is a poem in which +every artifice of invention is consciously employed--not a single fact +being conceived as tenable by any living faith. Milton undoubtedly +believed most fully in the actual existence of all his chief personages, +natural and supernatural, and was sure that, however he might have +indulged his imagination in the invention of incidents, he had +represented 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 Almighty +perfection. He is, moreover, no longer a Calvinist: Satan and Adam both +possess 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 personages, and its system of +philosophy and theology. Its poetical beauties can 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 1687 a royalist wrote that "his fame 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 seems this Creation's first law, and we feel like pigmies +transported to a world of giants. There is nothing forced or affected +in this grandeur, no visible effort, no barbaric 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 from behind the moon, + In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds + On half the nations." + +When such a being voyages through space it is 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 off at 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, have equalled them with an equal subject. +Dante's treatment is altogether different; the microscopic intensity of +perception in which he so far surpasses Homer and Milton affords, in +our opinion, no adequate compensation for his inferiority in +magnificence. That the theme of "Paradise Lost" should have evoked such +grandeur is 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 elements of his under-world are comparatively simple, +fire 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 her 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 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 Milton'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 +greater 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. Milton compares +unfavourably with Homer in this; his epic begins at its zenith, and +after a while visibly and continually declines. His genius is +unimpaired, but his skill transcends his stuff. The fall of man and its +consequences could not by any device be made as interesting as the fall +of Satan, of which it is itself but a consequence. It was, moreover, +absolutely inevitable that Adam's fall, the proper catastrophe 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 Cæsar," +which, having proceeded with matchless vigour up to the flight of the +conspirators after Antony's speech, becomes comparatively tame and +languid, and cannot be revived even by such a masterpiece as the +contention between Brutus and Cassius. It is to be regretted that +Milton's extreme devotion to the letter of Scripture has not permitted +him to enrich his latter books with any corresponding episode. 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 gate + With dreadful faces thronged and fiery arms. + Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon. + The world was all before them, where to choose + Their place of rest, 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 Morland,[6] a splenetic critic, who had incurred Milton's +contempt by his treachery to Cromwell and Thurloe. Warfare, however, +there must be: war cannot be made 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 ridiculous is scarcely to be +demanded from a Milton. After all, he was borrowing from good poets,[7] +whose thought in itself is correct, and even profound; it is only when +artillery antedates humanity that the ascription of its 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 +not after all 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 progeny must not 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., +481-497), 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 have 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 our +greatest modern master of unadorned Saxon speech, John Bright. But it +is freighted with classic allusion--not alone from the ancient +classics--and comes to us rich with gathered sweets, like a wind laden +with the scent of many flowers. "It is," says Pattison, "the elaborated +outcome of all the best words of all antecedent poetry--the language of +one who lives in the companionship of the great and the wise of past +time." "Words," the same writer reminds us, "over and above their +dictionary signification, connote all the feeling which has gathered +round them by reason of their employment through a hundred generations +of song." So it is, every word seems instinct with its own peculiar +beauty, and fraught with its own peculiar association, and yet each +detail is strictly subordinate to the general effect. No poet of +Milton's rank, probably, has been equally indebted to his predecessors, +not only for his vocabulary, but for his thoughts. Reminiscences throng +upon him, and he takes all that comes, knowing that he can make it +lawfully his own. The comparison of Satan's shield to the moon, for +instance, is borrowed from the similar comparison of the shield of +Achilles in the Iliad, but what goes in Homer comes out Milton. Homer +merely says that the huge and massy shield emitted a lustre like that of +the moon in heaven. Milton heightens the resemblance by giving the +shield shape, calls in the telescope to endow it with what would seem +preternatural dimensions to the naked eye, and enlarges even these by +the suggestion of more than the telescope can disclose-- + + "His ponderous shield, + Ethereal temper, massy, large, and round + 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 the top of Fesole, + Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands, + Rivers or mountains in her spotty globe." + +Thus does Milton appropriate the wealth of past literature, secure of +being able to recoin it with his own image and superscription. The +accumulated learning which might have choked the native fire of a +feebler spirit was but nourishment to his. The polished stones and +shining jewels of his 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. +It is 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 his power to the full unless his theme also rivalled +the magnificence of Milton's. Milton, on his part, would have been quite +content to have written such blank verse as Wordsworth's "Yew Trees," or +as the exordium of "Alastor," or as most of Coleridge's idylls, had his +subject been less than epical. The organ-like solemnity of his 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 +made the metrical unit, "so that each line in a period shall carry its +proper burden of sound, but the burden shall be differently distributed +in the successive verses." Hence lines which taken singly seem almost +unmetrical, in combination with their associates appear indispensable +parts of the general harmony. Mr. Symonds gives some striking instances. +Milton's versification is that of a learned poet, profound in thought +and burdened with the further care of ordering his thoughts: it is +therefore only suited to sublimity of a solemn 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 +sweetness than the description of the coming on of Night in the Fourth +Book:-- + + "Now came still evening on, and twilight grey + Had in her sober livery all things clad; + Silence accompanied; for beast and bird, + They to their grassy couch, these to their nests, + Were slunk, all but the wakeful nightingale; + She all night long her amorous descant sung; + Silence was pleased: now glowed the firmament + With living sapphires; Hesperus that led + The stary host rose brightest, till the moon, + Rising in clouded majesty, at length + Apparent queen unveiled her peerless light, + And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw." + +How exquisite the indication of the pauseless continuity of the +nightingale's song by the transition from short sentences, cut up by +commas and semicolons, to the "linked sweetness long drawn out" of "She +all night long her amorous descant sung"! The poem is full of similar +felicities, none perhaps more noteworthy than the sequence of +monosyllables that paints the enormous bulk of the prostrate Satan:-- + + "So stretched out huge in length the Arch-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 have owed to him. "El Magico Prodigioso," already +cited as affording a remarkable parallel to "Comus," though performed in +1637, was not printed until 1663, when "Paradise Lost" was already +completed.[8] 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 beginning Adam," + +might well have passed as the original draft of Milton's Satan:-- + + "In myself I am + A world of happiness and misery; + This I have lost, and that I must lament + For ever. In my attributes I stood + So high and so heroically great, + In lineage so supreme, and with a genius + Which penetrated with a glance the world + Beneath my feet, that, won by my high merit, + A King--whom I may call the King of Kings, + Because all others tremble in their pride + Before 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 me 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 now + 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 + By 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 + Hailed 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 commentators; +but four luminaries 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 Vondel. Caedmon, first printed in 1655, 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 with Hayley that "his fancy caught +fire 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 Milton 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, not merely between Vondel's Lucifer and +"Paradise Lost," but between his Samson and "Samson Agonistes." Milton's +indebtedness, so long ago as 1829, attracted the attention of an English +poet of genius, Thomas Lovell Beddoes, who pointed out that his +lightning-speech, "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven," was a +thunderbolt condensed from a brace of Vondel's clumsy Alexandrines, +which Beddoes renders thus:-- + + "And rather the first prince at an inferior court + Than in the blessed light the second or still less." + +Mr. Gosse followed up the inquiry, which eventually became the subject +of a monograph by Mr. George Edmundson ("Milton and Vondel," 1885). That +Milton should have 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, his obligations to predecessors are not to be +overlooked, they are in general only for the most obvious ideas and +expressions, lying right in the path of any poet treating the subject. +_Je l'aurais bien pris sans toi._ When, as in the instance above quoted, +he borrows anything 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 not entirely apply to the Italian +reformer, Bernardino Ochino, to whom, 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 +lawfulness 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 Milton's, announces a masterstroke of genius. "God sent +His Son into the world, and I will send my son." Antichrist accordingly +comes 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 me," he remarks, "lest when +Antichrist shall die, and come down hither to hell, that as he passeth +us in wickedness, so he will be above us in dignity." Prescience worthy +of him who + + "In his rising seemed + A pillar of state; deep on his front engraven + Deliberation sat, and public care; + And princely counsel in his face yet shone." + +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 made 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 Book 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 move," + +across which the spirit of ancient poetry has travelled to modern times, +and by which the continuity of great English literature has remained +unbroken. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +In recording the publication of "Paradise Lost" in 1667, we have passed +over the interval of Milton's life immediately subsequent to the +completion of the poem in 1663. The first incident of any importance is +his migration to Chalfont St. Giles, near Beaconsfield, in +Buckinghamshire, about July, 1665, to escape the plague then devastating +London. Ell wood, 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 away towards Giles-Chalfont." +According to the same authority, Chalfont well deserves the name of +Sleepy Hollow, lying at the bottom of a leafy dell. Milton's cottage, +alone of his residences, still exists, though divided into two +tenements. It is a two-storey dwelling, with a garden, is built of +brick, with wooden beams, musters nine rooms--though a question arises +whether 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 casement 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 pleasant villages and farms + Adjoined, from each new thing conceives delight, + The smell of grain, or tedded grass, or kine, + Or dairy, each rural sight, each rural sound." + +Milton was probably no stranger to the neighbourhood, 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 of decorous solemnities--a Quaker +funeral. When released, about the end of August or the beginning of +September, he waited upon Milton, who, "after some discourses, called +for a manuscript of his; which he delivered to me, bidding me 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 virtually completed and ready for press. When the manuscript was +returned, Ellwood, after "modestly, but freely, imparting his judgment," +observed, "Thou hast said much here of Paradise Lost, but what hast thou +to say of Paradise 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 sufficiently 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 regarded 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 1738, when they were first published. + +The public calamity of 1666 affected Milton more nearly than that of +1665. The Great Fire came within a quarter of a mile of his house, and +though he happily escaped the fate 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, have 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 +different issues, as fresh batches were successively bound up, with +frequent alterations of title-page as reasonable cause became apparent +to the strategic Symmons. First Milton's name is given in full, then he +is reduced to initials, then restored; Symmons's own name, 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 important 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 not." 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 five pounds, April 26, +1669--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 Milton'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 English 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, inasmuch as by the suffrages of many not + unqualified to judge, it is reputed to have reached the perfection + of this kind of poetry." + +The "many not unqualified" undoubtedly included 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 pleasant tone said to me, 'This is +owing to you; for you put it into my head by the question you 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 composed after the publication of +"Paradise Lost"; but it seems unlikely that the conception should have +slumbered so long in Milton's mind, and the most probable date is +between Michaelmas, 1665, and Lady-day, 1666. Phillips records that +Milton could never hear with patience "Paradise Regained" "censured to +be much inferior" to "Paradise Lost." "The most judicious," he adds, +agreed with him, while allowing that "the subject might not afford such +variety of invention," which 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, 1670, but +did not appear until 1671. They were published in the same volume, but +with distinct title-pages and paginations; 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 confutation of a +celebrated but eccentric definition of poetry as a "criticism of life." +If this were true it would be a greater work than "Paradise Lost," which +must be violently strained to admit a definition not wholly inapplicable +to the minor poem. If, again, Wordsworth and Coleridge are right in +pronouncing "Paradise Regained" the most perfect of Milton's works in +point of execution, the proof is afforded that perfect execution is not +the chief test of poetic excellence. Whatever these great men may have +propounded in theory, it cannot 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 not be. Perhaps to "the visual nerve +purged with euphrasy and rue" the spectacle of the human soul +successfully resisting supernatural temptation would be more impressive +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 fire 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 when 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 episodes with which Milton's +consummate art and opulent fancy have veiled the bareness of his +subject. The description of the Parthian military expedition; 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 made Greece dear to humanity--these 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 entirely exempt +from formality and dulness. The baffled Satan, beaten at his own +weapons, is necessarily a much less interesting personage than the +heroic adventurer of "Paradise Lost." Milton has done what can be done +by softening Satan's reprobate mood with exquisite strokes of pathos:-- + + "Though I have lost + Much lustre of my native brightness, lost + To be beloved of God, I have not lost + To love, at least contemplate and admire + What I see excellent in good or fair, + Or virtuous; I should so have 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 of-- + + "I would be at the worst, worst is my best, + My harbour, and my ultimate repose." + +The general sobriety of the style of "Paradise Regained" 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 Regained," and yet more markedly in "Samson +Agonistes," Milton seems to have 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 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 instance, would not have been poetry in Pope; it is poetry +in Milton:-- + + "Who reads + Incessantly, and to his reading brings not + A spirit and judgment equal or superior + (And what 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 have 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 life is noticeable, +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 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."[9] Behold 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, principally 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 +farewell of Dalila:-- + + "Fame if not double-faced is double-mouthed, + And with contrary blast proclaims most deeds; + On both his wings, one black, the other white, + Bears 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 falsehood 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 solemn festivals, + Living and dead recorded, who to save + Her country from a fierce destroyer, chose + Above the faith of wedlock-bands; my tomb + With odours visited and annual flowers." + +The scheme of "Samson Agonistes" is that of the 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 +Miltonisms 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 made the +Greek drama so inexpressibly significant to Greeks. Consummate art is +shown in the invention of the Philistine 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 conceivably 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 intermixing comic stuff +with tragic sadness and gravity; or introducing trivial and vulgar +persons, which by all judicious 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 more rightly than either when he said: "The +modern practice of blending comedy with tragedy is undoubtedly an +extension of the dramatic circle; but the comedy should be as in 'King +Lear,' universal, ideal, and sublime." On the whole, "Samson 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 essential characteristics of our +tumultous, undisciplined, irrepressible national life. + +In one point of view, however, "Samson Agonistes" deserves to be +esteemed a national poem, pregnant with a deeper allusiveness than has +always been recognized. Samson's impersonation of the author himself can +escape no one. Old, blind, captive, helpless, mocked, decried, miserable +in the failure of all his ideals, upheld only by faith and his own +unconquerable spirit, Milton is the counterpart of his hero. Particular +references to the circumstances of his life are not wanting: his bitter +self-condemnation 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 Hebrew prophets Israel sometimes denotes a person, sometimes a +nation, Samson seems no less the representative of the English people in +the age of Charles the Second. His heaviest burden is his remorse, a +remorse which could 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 chief affliction, shame, and sorrow, + The anguish of my soul, that suffers not + My eye to harbour sleep, or thoughts to rest." + +Milton might reproach himself for having taken a Philistine wife, but +not 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 Heaven. "This extolled and magnified +nation, regardless 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 our triumphing enemies, who will now think +they wisely discerned and justly censured us and all our actions as +rash, rebellious, hypocritical, and impious!" These things, which Milton +refused to contemplate as possible when he wrote his "Ready Way to +establish a Free Commonwealth," had actually come 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 life 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 +Bunhill Fields, 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 Dr. +Wright, in Richardson's time an aged clergyman in Dorsetshire, who found +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 suffer 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 1670, 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 have 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 have "coveted +Milton's society and converse" very much if, as Phillips reports, he +often came all the way to Bunhill Fields to enjoy it; and Dryden, whose +generous admiration does not 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 that Milton would let him 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 his +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 upon it and afterwards. It is 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 it is even more unlikely that Dryden should have +written a play not intended for the stage. The same 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 admiration almost counterweighs derision. +Dryden could not have made 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 him half enough. The +reverence which he felt even in 1674 for "one of the greatest, most +noble, and most sublime poems which either this age or nation has +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 fame a little owes, + For Milton did the wealthy mine disclose, + And rudely cast what you could well dispose. + He roughly drew, on an old-fashioned ground, + A chaos, for no perfect world was found, + Till through the heap your mighty genius shined; + He was the golden ore, which you refined." + +These later years also produced several little publications 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 1669; and his "Artis Logicae Plenior Institutio; or The Method of +Ramus," 1672. The first is insignificant; and the second even Professor +Masson pronounces, "as a digest of logic, disorderly and unedifying." +Both apparently belong to his school-keeping days: the little tract, "Of +True Religion, Heresy, Schism, Toleration," (1673) is, on the other +hand, contemporary with a period of great public excitement, when +Parliament (March, 1673) compelled the king to revoke his edict of +toleration 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 suspected him +of insidiously aiming at the re-establishment of Roman Catholicism, and +even the persecuted Nonconformists patriotically joined with High +Churchmen 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 admit that he could not well avoid +making Roman Catholics an exception to the broad tolerance he claims for +all denominations of Protestants. And, after all, has not the Roman +Catholic Church's notion of tolerance always been that which Macaulay +imputes to Southey, that everybody should tolerate her, and that she +should tolerate nobody? + +A more important work, though scarcely worthy of Milton's industry, was +his "History of Britain" (1670). 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 performance, making no pretensions to the +character of a philosophical history, but a clear, easy narrative, +sometimes interrupted by sententious disquisition, of transactions down +to the Conquest. Like Grote, though not precisely for the same reason, +Milton hands down picturesque 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 crayon sketch. + + "No one," says Professor Masson, "can desire a more impressive and + authentic portrait of Milton in his later life. 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 what you are; there is a severe composure in + the beautiful oval of the whole countenance, disturbed only by the + singular pouting of the rich mouth; and the entire expression is + that of English intrepidity mixed with unutterable sorrow." + +Milton's care to set his house in order extended to his poetical +writings. In 1673 the poems published in 1645, both English and Latin, +appeared in a second edition, disclosing _novas frondes_ in one or two +of Milton's earliest unprinted poems, and such of the sonnets as +political considerations did not exclude; and _non sua poma_ in the +Tractate of Education, curiously grafted on at the end. An even more +important publication was the second edition of "Paradise Lost" (1674) +with the original ten books for the first time divided into twelve as we +now have 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 (1674), would not tolerate the letters he had written as +secretary to the Commonwealth, 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 1675, the +year following Milton's death, the 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, however, a +clandestine but correct edition of the State letters appeared in London, +probably by the agency of Edward Phillips. 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 1823, Mr. Robert Lemon, rummaging in the State +Paper Office, came upon the identical parcel addressed by Elzevir to +Daniel Skinner's father which contained his son's transcript 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 have been a tower of strength to the liberal +eighteenth-century clergy inside and outside the Establishment. It +should indeed have been sufficiently manifest that "Paradise Lost" could +not have been written by a Trinitarian or a Calvinist; but theological +partisanship is even slower than secular partisanship to see what it +does not choose to see; and Milton's Arianism was not generally admitted +until it was here avouched under his own hand. The general principle of +the book is undoubting reliance on the authority of Scripture, with +which such an acquaintance is manifested as could only have 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 practically this illumination seems seldom to have guided Milton to +any sense but the most obvious. Hence, with the intrepid consistency +that belongs to him, he is not only an Arian, but a tolerator of +polygamy, finding that practice nowhere condemned in Scripture, but even +recommended by respectable examples; an Anthropomorphist, who takes the +ascription of human passion to the Deity in the sense certainly intended +by those who made 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 it is not made a substitute for spiritual +religion. Liturgies are evil, and tithes abominable. His exposition of +social duty tempers Puritan 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 + and richest possession.... And whereas the greater part of those + who have written most largely on these subjects have been wont to + fill whole pages with 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. Particular opinions +will be diversely judged; but if anything could increase our reverence +for Milton it would be that his last 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 with 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 was 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 constitution than in +years. In July, 1674, he was anticipating death; but about the middle of +October, "he was 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, "with so little pain that the time of his expiring was +not perceived by those in the room." On November 12th, "all his learned +and great friends in London, not 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 1864, the church was restored in +honour of the great enemy of religious establishments. "The animosities +die, but the humanities live 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 +left, exclusive of household goods, about £900, which, by a nuncupative +will made in July, 1674, 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 administered on this occasion +afford the best clue to the condition of Milton's affairs and household. +At length the dispute was compromised, the nuncupative will, a kind of +document 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 have 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 September, 1727. The +inventory of her effects, amounting to £38 8s. 4d., is preserved, and +includes: "Mr. Milton's pictures and coat of arms, valued at ten +guineas;" and "two Books of Paradise," valued at ten shillings. Of the +daughters, Anne married "a master-builder," and died in childbirth some +time before 1678; Mary was dead when Phillips wrote in 1694; and Deborah +survived until August 24, 1727, dying within a few days of her +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 whom lived to receive, in 1750, the proceeds of +a theatrical benefit promoted 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 her "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 her +father had revived. When shown Faithorne's crayon portrait (not the one +engraved in Milton's lifetime, but one exceedingly like it) she +exclaimed, "in a transport, ''Tis my dear father, I see him, 'tis him!' +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, to be room for modification. In the popular conception of +Milton the poet and the man are imperfectly combined. We allow his +greatness as a poet, but deny him the poetical temperament which alone +could have 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 confusion and +inconsistency. To us, on the contrary, Milton, with all 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 appeal to 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 all, to his splendid ideals of regenerated +human life, such as poets alone either conceive or realize. To overlook +all this is to affirm that Milton wrote great poetry without being truly +a poet. One more remark may be added, though not 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:-- + + "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 + Gathered 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 Milton. + + +THE END. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: 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 Young. The "Remonstrant" to whom Milton replied was +Bishop Hall.] + +[Footnote 2: This principle admitted of general application. For +example, astrological books were to be licensed by John Booker, who +could by no means see his way to pass the prognostications of his rival +Lilly without "many impertinent obliterations," which made Lilly +exceeding wroth.] + +[Footnote 3: Two persons of this uncommon name are mentioned in the +State Papers of Milton's time--one a merchant who imported a cargo of +timber; the other a leatherseller. The name also occurs once in Pepys.] + +[Footnote 4: Rossetti's sonnet, "On the Refusal of Aid between Nations," +is an almost equally remarkable instance.] + +[Footnote 5: The same is recorded of Friedrich Hebbel, the most original +of modern German dramatists.] + +[Footnote 6: In his "Urim of Conscience," 1695. This curious book +contains 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.] + +[Footnote 7: Ariosto and Marcellus Palingenius. Both these wrote before +Ronsard, to whom the thought is traced by Pattison, and Valvasone, to +whom Hayley deems Milton indebted for it.] + +[Footnote 8: We cannot agree with Mr. Edmundson that Milton was in any +respect indebted to Vondel's "Adam's Banishment," published in 1664.] + +[Footnote 9: Theocritus, Idyll I.; Lang's translation.] + + + + +INDEX. + + +A. + +Adam, not the hero of "Paradise Lost," 155 + +Adonais compared with Lycidas, 51 + +Aldersgate Street, Milton's home in, 67, 83 + +"Allegro, L.," 49-50 + +Andreini, his "Adamo" supposed to have suggested "Paradise Lost," 169 + +Anglesey, Earl of, visits Milton, 186 + +"Animadversions upon the Remonstrant," 72 + +"Apology for Smectymnuus," 72 + +"Arcades," 44 + +"Areopagitica, the," 78; + argument of, 79-82 + +Arian opinions of Milton, 159, 191 + +Ariosto, Milton borrows from, 164 + +Artillery Walk, Milton's last house, 144 + +"At a Solemn Music," 33 + +Aubrey's biographical notices of Milton, 14, 15, 19, 24, 129, 144, 145 + + +B. + +Ball's Life of Preston, 23 + +Barbican, Milton's house in the, 96 + +Baroni, Leonora, admired by Milton, 62 + +Beddoes, T.L., on Milton and Vondel, 170 + +Benrath on Ochino's "Divine Tragedy," 171 + +Blake on Milton, 179 + +Bradshaw, Milton's praise of, 120 + +Bread Street, Milton born in, 16 + +Bridgewater, Lord, "Comus" written in his honour, 45 + +Bright, John, his admiration for Milton, 164. + +British Museum, copy of Milton's poems in, 97; + proclamation against Milton's books preserved in the, 139 + +Buckhurst, Lord, his admiration of "Paradise Lost," 177 + + +C. + +Caedmon, question of Milton's indebtedness to, 169 + +Calderon's "Magico Prodigioso" compared with "Comus," 54; + with "Paradise Lost," 163 + +Cambridge in Milton's time, 22 + +Cardinal Barberini receives Milton, 62 + +Caroline, Princess, her kindness to Milton's daughter, 195 + +Chalfont St. Giles, Milton's residence at, 173 + +Chappell, W., Milton's college tutor, 24 + +Charles I., illegal government of, 30; + expedition against the Scots, 67; + execution of, 100; + alleged authorship of "Eikon Basilike," 105-107; + a bad king, but not a bad man, 110 + +Charles II., restoration of, 138; + favour to Roman Catholics, 188 + +Christ's College, Milton at, 22 + +"Christian Doctrine," Milton's treatise on, 99, 190-193 + +"Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes," 132 + +Clarke, Deborah, Milton's youngest daughter; + her reminiscences of her father, 195 + +Clarke, Mr. Hyde, his discoveries respecting Milton's ancestry, 14, 15 + +Clarke, Sir T., Milton's MSS. preserved by, 129 + +Coleridge, Milton compared with, 41; + on Milton's taste for music, 63; + on "Paradise Regained," 178 + +Comenius, educational method of, 76 + +Commonwealth, Milton's views of a free, 136 + +"Comus," production of, 38, 44, 46; + criticism on, 53-55 + +"Considerations on the likeliest means to remove Hirelings out of the +Church," 133 + +Copernican theory only partly adopted in "Paradise Lost," 158 + +Cosmogony of Milton, 157 + +Cromwell, Milton's character of, 121; + Milton's advice to, 122 + + +D. + +Dante and Milton compared, 160 + +Daughters, character of Milton's, 142 + +Davis, Miss, Milton's suit to, 94 + +Deity, imperfect conception of, in "Paradise Lost," 154 + +Denham, Sir J., his admiration of "Paradise Lost," 177 + +Diodati, Milton's friendship with, 21; + verses to, 25; + letters to, 39, 41, 55; + death of, 65; + Milton's elegy on, 43, 67 + +"Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce," 79, 87-91 + +Dryden, on "Paradise Lost," 177; + visits Milton, 187; + dramatizes "Paradise Lost," 187 + +Du Moulin, Peter, author of "Regii Sanguinis Clamor ad Coelum," 118 + + +E. + +Edmundson, Mr. G., on Milton and Vondel, 170 + +Education, Milton's tract on, 75-77 + +"Eikon Basilike," authorship of, 105-107 + +"Eikonoklastes," Milton's reply to "Eikon Basilike," 108 + +Ellwood, Thomas, the Quaker, reads to Milton, 145; + suggests "Paradise Regained," 175 + +Elzevir, Daniel, receives and gives up the MS. of "State Letters" and +the "Treatise on Christian Doctrine," 191 + + +F. + +Fairfax, Milton's character of, 120 + +Faithorne's portrait of Milton, 189 + + +G. + +Galileo, Milton's visit to, 61 + +Gauden, Bishop, author of "Eikon Basilike," 106 + +_Gentleman's Magazine_, account of Horton in, 36 + +Goethe on "Samson Agonistes," 181 + +Gill, Mr., Milton's master at St. Paul's school, 20 + +Gosse, Mr., on Milton and Vondel, 170 + +Greek, influence of, on Milton, 33, 39 + +Grotius, Hugo, Milton introduced to, 59; + Milton's study of, 169 + + +H. + +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 compared, 2; + and compared with Milton, 160, 165, 167 + +Horton, Milton retires to, 33; + poems written at, 44 + +Hunter, Rev. Joseph, on Milton's ancestors, 14 + +"Hymn on the Nativity," 32 + + +I. + +Italian sonnets by Milton, 64 + +Italy, Milton's journey to, 56-65 + + +J. + +Jansen, Cornelius, paints Milton's portrait, 19 + +Jeffrey, Sarah, Milton's mother, 16 + +Jewin Street, Milton's house in, 144 + +Johnson, Dr., on "Lycidas," 51; + benefits Milton's granddaughter, 195 + + +K. + +Keats, Milton contrasted with, 41 + +King, Edward, "Lycidas," an elegy on his death, 48 + + +L. + +Landor, his Latin verse compared with Milton's, 43 + +Latin grammar by Milton, 188 + +Latin Secretaryship to the Commonwealth, Milton's appointment to, 102 + +Laud, Archbishop, Church government of, 30; + Milton's veiled attack on, 49 + +Lawes, Henry, writes music to "Comus" and "Arcades," 44; + edits "Comus," 47 + +Lee, Nathaniel, his verses on Milton, 188 + +Lemon, Mr. Robert, discovers MS. of "State Letters" and the "Treatise +on Christian Doctrine," 191 + +Letters, Milton's official, 123 + +Logic, Milton's tract on, 188 + +Long Parliament, meeting of the, 68; + licensing of books by, 78 + +Lucifer, Vondel's, 170 + +Ludlow Castle, "Comus" first performed at, 46 + +"Lycidas," origin of, 40, 48; + analysis of, criticism on, 50, 52 + + +M. + +Manso, Marquis, poem on, 64 + +Marshall, Milton's portrait engraved by, 97 + +Marriage, Milton's views on, 94 + +Martineau, Harriet, reads "Paradise Lost" at seven years of age, 176 + +Mason, C., Milton's MSS. preserved by, 129 + +Masson, Prof. David, his monumental biography of Milton, 14; + on Milton's ancestors, _ib._; + on Milton's college career, 23, 25; + on the scenery of Horton, 35; + on date of Divorce pamphlet, 87; + on date of "Paradise Lost," 147; + on money received for "Paradise Lost," 150; + on Milton's cosmogony, 156; + his description of Chalfont, 173; + on Milton's portrait, 189 + +Milton, Christopher, John Milton's younger brother, birth of, 16; + a Royalist, 91; + a Roman Catholic, and one of James the Second's judges, 194 + +Milton, John, the elder, birth, 15; + a scrivener by profession, _ib._; + musical compositions of, 18; + retirement to Horton, 33; + his noble confidence in his son, 37, 45; + comes to live with his son, 91; + dies, 98 + +Milton, John, birth, 11; + genealogy of, 14; + birthplace, 16; + his father, 17; + his education, 18-27; + knowledge of Italian, 21; + at Cambridge, 22-28; + rusticated, 25; + his degree, 1629; 25; + will not enter the church, 29; + early poems, 32; + writes "Comus," 38; + required incitement to write, 40, 48; + correctness of his early poems, 42; + his life at Horton, 44-55; + his "Comus" and "Arcades," 44-48; + his "Lycidas," 48; + his mother's death, 55; + goes to Italy, 56; + his Italian friends, 59; + visits Galileo, 61; + Italian sonnets, 64; + educates his nephews, 65; + elegy to Diodati, 67; + eighteen years' poetic silence, 68; + takes part with the Commonwealth, 68; + pamphlets on Church government, 72; + tract on Education, 75; + "Areopagitica," 79; + Italian sonnet, 85; + his first marriage, 86; + deserted by his wife, his treatise on Divorce, 87; + his pupils, 91; + return of his wife, 96; + his daughter born, 98; + becomes Secretary for Foreign Tongues, 102; + his State papers, 104; + licenses pamphlets, 105; + answers "Eikon Basilike," 108; + answers Salmasius, 111; + loses his sight, 114; + death of his wife, 116; + reply to Morus, 119; + his official duties 122; + his retirement and second marriage, 125; + projected ninety-nine themes preparatory to "Paradise Lost," 129; + wrote chiefly from autumn to spring, 132; + his views of a republic, 136; + escapes proscription at Restoration, 139; + unhappy relations with his daughters, 141; + third marriage, 143; + writing "Paradise Lost," 147-150; + analysis of his work, 152-172; + compared with modern poets, 166; + his indebtedness to earlier poets, 169; + retires to Chalfont to escape the plague, 173; + he suffers from the Great Fire, 175; + his "Paradise Regained," 177; + his "Samson Agonistes," 180-85; + his later life, 186; + his later tracts, 188, 190; + his "History of Britain," 189; + his Arian opinions, 192; + his death, 193; + his will, 194; + his widow and daughters, 195; + estimate of his character, 196 + +Milton, Richard, Milton's grandfather, 14, 15 + +Minshull, Elizabeth, Milton's third wife, 143; + Milton's will in favour of, 194; + death, _ib._ + +Monk, General, character of, 135 + +Morland, Sir Samuel, on "Paradise Lost," 163 + +Morus, A., his controversy with Milton, 118-119 + +Myers, Mr. E., on Milton's views of marriage, 91 + + +N. + +Newton, Bishop, benefits Milton's granddaughter, 195 + + +O. + +Ochino, B., Milton's indebtedness to, 171 + +"On a fair Infant," 33 + + +P. + +Paget, Dr., Milton's physician, 143, 145 + +Palingenius, Marcellus, Milton borrows from, 164 + +Pamphlets, Milton's, 72, 75, 78, 79, 87, 99, 100, 108, 113, 132, 133, 136-8 + +"Paradise Lost," 128; + four schemes for, 129; + first conceived as drama, 130; + manner of composition, 147; + dates of, 147-150; + critique of, 152-172; + successive publications of, 176 + +"Paradise Regained," 177; + criticism on, 178-180 + +"Passion of Christ," 32 + +Pattison, Mark, on "Lycidas," 51; + on Milton's political career, 68; + on fanaticism of Commonwealth, 133; + on "Paradise Lost," 159; + on Milton's diction, 165 + +"Penseroso, Il," 40, 49 + +Pepys, S., on Restoration, 135, 138 + +Petty France, Westminster, Milton's home in, 117 + +Philaras, Milton's Greek friend, 114 + +Phillips, E., Milton's brother-in-law, 22, 65 + +Phillips, Edward, Milton's nephew, on Milton's ancestry, 14; + educated by his uncle, 65; + his account of Milton's separation from his first wife, 87; + of their reconciliation, 96; + becomes a Royalist, 129; + his attention to his uncle, 145; + on "Paradise Lost," 176; + on "Paradise Regained," 177 + +"Pilot of the Galilean Lake," 49 + +"Plymouth Brethren," resemblance of Milton's views to, 133 + +Powell, Mary, Milton marries, 86; + she leaves him, 87; + returns to him, 95; + her family live with Milton, 98; + her death, 116; + probable bad influence on her daughters, 163 + +"Prelatical Episcopacy" pamphlet, 72 + +"Pro Populo" pamphlet, 113 + +Ptolemaic system followed by Milton in "Paradise Lost," 157 + +Puckering, Sir H., gave Milton's MSS. to the University of Cambridge, 129 + + +R. + +Reading, surrender of to Parliamentary army, 91 + +"Ready way to establish a Commonwealth," 136 + +"Reason of Church Government" pamphlet, 72 + +"Reformation touching Church Discipline" pamphlet, 72 + +Restoration, consequences to Milton of the, 138-141 + +Richardson, J., on Milton's later life, 186 + +Rome, Milton in, 62 + +Rump, burning of the, 136 + + +S. + +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, 109; + author of "Defensio Regia," 111; + Milton's controversy with, 112, 114 + +Samson, Vondel's, 170 + +"Samson Agonistes," 141, 178; + criticism on, 180-185 + +Satan, the hero of "Paradise Lost," 155 + +Shakespeare, 2; + Milton's panegyric on, 33, 38; + his view of tragedy compared with Milton's, 183 + +Shelley, on poetical inspiration, 41; + his estimate of Milton, 156; + on tragedy and comedy, 183; + quoted, 17, 197 + +Skinner, Cyriack, his loan to Milton, 138 + +Skinner, David, endeavours to publish "State Letters" and + "Treatise on Christian Doctrine," 191 + +Sonnet, "When the assault was intended to the City," 84; + from the Italian, 85; + on Vaudois Protestants, 124; + to his second wife, 125; + to Henry Lawrence, 126; + inscribed on a window-pane, 175 + +"State Letters," 191 + +Stationers' Company and Milton, 92 + +Symmons, S., publisher of "Paradise Lost," 149, 175 + +Symonds, Mr. J.A., on metre of "Paradise Lost," 166 + + +T. + +Tennyson, on Milton's Eden, 162 + +"Tenure of Kings and Magistrates," 100 + +"Tina," by Antonio Malatesti, 68 + +Tomkyns, Thomas, licenses "Paradise Lost," 151; + and the poems, 178 + +Tovey, Nathaniel, Milton's college tutor, 25 + +Treatise on Christian Doctrine, 190 + + +U. + +Ulster Protestants, Milton's subscription for, 83 + + +V. + +Vernon Lee, 57 + +Vondel, Milton's indebtedness to, 170 + + +W. + +Wakefield, E.G., on the champions of great causes, 135 + +Wood, Anthony, on Restoration, 133 + +Woodcock, Katherine, Milton's second wife, her marriage and death, 125 + +Wootton, Sir H., on "Comus," 47 + +Wordsworth, quoted, 27, 65; + Milton contrasted with, 41; + on "Paradise Regained," 178 + +Wright, Dr., reminiscence of his visit to Milton, 186 + + +Y. + +Young, Thomas, Milton's private tutor, 14 + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY. + +BY + +JOHN P. ANDERSON + +(_British Museum_). + + * * * * * + + I. WORKS. + + II. POETICAL WORKS. + +III. PROSE WORKS. + + IV. SINGLE WORKS. + + V. SELECTIONS. + + VI. APPENDIX-- + Biography, Criticism, etc. + Magazine Articles, etc. + +VII. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS. + + * * * * * + +I. WORKS. + +The Works of John Milton in verse and prose, printed from the original +editions, with a life of the author by J. Mitford. 8 vols. London, 1851, +8vo. + + +II. POETICAL WORKS. + +Poems of Mr. John Milton, both English and Latin, compos'd at several +times. Printed by his true copies. London [January 2], 1645, 8vo. + First collective edition, and the first work bearing Milton's + name. + +---- Poems, etc., upon several occasions, both English and Latin, etc., +composed at several times. With a small Tractate of Education to Mr. +Hartlib. 2 parts. London, 1673, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. Containing Paradise Lost, +Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and his poems on several occasions. +Together with explanatory notes on each book of the Paradise Lost [by +P.H., _i.e._, Patrick Hume]. 5 parts. London, 1695, folio. + +---- The Poetical Remains of Mr Milton, etc. By C. Gildon. London, 1698, +8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. 2 vols. London, 1707, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of Mr. John Milton. (Notes upon the twelve +books of Paradise Lost, by Mr. Addison. A small Tractate of Education to +Mr. Hartlib.) 2 vols. London, 1720, 4to. + +---- Another edition. 2 vols. London, 1721, 12mo. + +---- Another edition. 2 vols. London, 1727, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. 2 vols. London, 1730, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. 2 vols. London, 1731, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. 4 vols. London, 1746, 12mo. + +---- Another edition, with notes of various authors, by Thomas Newton, +bishop of Bristol. 3 vols. London, 1749-52, 4to. + +---- The Poetical Works of Milton, etc. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1762, 8vo. + +---- Another edition, by Newton. 4 vols. London, 1763, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. 4 vols. London, 1766, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of Milton. With prefatory characters of the +several pieces; the life of Milton, a glossary, etc. Edinburgh, 1767, +8vo. + +---- Another edition. 4 vols, London, 1770, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. 4 vols. London, 1773, 8vo. + +---- Poems on several occasions. (_British Poets_, vol. iv.) Edinburgh, +1773, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. 3 vols. London, 1775, 4to. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. From the text of Dr. Newton. +(_Bell's Poets of Great Britain_, vols. 35-38.) Edinburgh, 1776, 12mo. + +---- The Poems of Milton. (_Johnson's Works of the English Poets_, vols. +3-5.) London, 1779, 8vo. + +---- Poems upon several occasions, English, Italian, and Latin, with +translations: viz., Lycidas, L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, Arcades, Comus, +Odes, Sonnets, Miscellanies, English Psalms, Elegiarum Liber, +Epigrammatum Liber, Sylvarum Liber. With notes critical and explanatory, +and other illustrations, by T. Warton. London, 1785, 8vo. + +---- Second edition, with many alterations, and large additions. London, +1791, 8vo. + +---- Poems. Another edition. (_Johnson's Works of the English Poets_, +vols. 10-12.) London, 1790, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. To which is prefixed the life of +the author. (_Anderson's Poets of Great Britain_, vol. v.) Edinburgh, +1792, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With a life of the author, by W. +Hayley [and engravings after Westall]. 3 vols. London, 1794-97, folio. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, from the text of Dr. Newton. +With the life of the author, and a critique on Paradise Lost, by J. +Addison. Cooke's edition. Embellished with engravings. 2 vols. London, +1795-96, 12mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With the principal notes of +various 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. Johnson's Remarks on Milton's Versification. Dr. +C. Burney's observations on the Greek verses of Milton.) 6 vols. London, +1801, 8vo. + +---- Second edition, with considerable additions, and with a verbal +index to the whole of Milton's poetry, etc. 7 vols. London, 1809, 8vo. + +---- Third edition, with other illustrations, etc. 6 vols. London, 1826, +8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With a preface, biographical and +critical, by J. Aikin. (Life of Milton by Dr. Johnson.) 3 vols. London, +1805, 8vo. + Vols. xii.-xv. of an edition of "The Works of the English Poets. + With preface 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, M.D. 3 vols. London, 1806, 12mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. 2 vols. London, 1806, 16mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. 4 vols. (_Park's Works of the +British Poets_, vols. i.-iii.) London, 1808, 16mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, with the life of the author. By +S. Johnson. 3 vols. London, 1809, 16mo. + +---- Cowper's Milton. [Edited, with a life of Milton, by W. Hayley. +Together with "Adam: a sacred drama, translated from the Italian of G.B. +Andreini," by W. Cowper and W. Hayley.] 4 vols. Chichester, 1810, 8vo. + The British Museum copy contains MS. notes by J. Mitford. + +---- The Poems of John Milton. (_Chalmers' Works of the English Poets_, +vol. vii.) London, 1810, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With the life of the author, by +S. Johnson. (_Select British Poets_.) London, 1810, 8vo. + +---- Poems on several occasions. Lycidas, L'Allegro, Il Penseroso. +London, 1817, 12mo. + +---- Another edition, with Fenton's life and Dr. Johnson's criticism. 2 +vols. London, 1817, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton; to which is prefixed the life of +the author. London, 1818, 12mo. + This forms part of "Walker's British Classics." + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, with a life of the author, by E. +Sanford. (_Works of the British Poets_, vols. vii., viii.) 2 vols. +Philadelphia, 1819, 12mo. + +---- The Poems of John Milton. (_British Poets_, vols. xvi.-xviii.) +Chiswick, 1822, 12mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, with notes of various authors, +principally from the editions of T. Newton, C. Dunster, and T. Warton; +to which is prefixed Newton's life of Milton. By E. Hawkins. 4 vols. +Oxford, 1824, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost. A new edition, with notes, critical and explanatory, +by J.D. Williams. (Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and Poems.) 2 +vols. London, 1824, 12mo. + The British Museum copy contains copious MS. notes by the editor. + +---- Poetical Works, with Cowper's Translations of the Latin and +Italian poems, and life of Milton by his nephew, E. Philips, etc. 3 +vols. London, 1826, 8vo. + +---- Poems on several occasions. [With Westall's plates.] London, 1827, +16mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. [Edited by J. Mitford, with life +of Milton by the editor.] 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 life by E. Philips. Leipzig, +1834, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. Edited by Sir Egerton Brydges, +Bart. [With a life of Milton, by Sir E.B.] 6 vols. London, 1835, 8vo. + +---- The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton: with explanatory notes +and a life of the author, by the Rev. H. Stebbing. To which is prefixed +Dr. Channing's essay on the poetical genius of Milton. London, 1839, +12mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, J. Thomson, and E. Young. Edited +by H.F. Cary. With a biographical notice of each author. 3 pts. London, +1841, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, with a memoir and critical +remarks on his genius and writings, by J. Montgomery, and one hundred +and twenty engravings from drawings by W. Harvey. 2 vols. London, 1843, +8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton: with life and notes. Edinburgh +[1848], 24mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. (_Tauchnitz Collection of +British Authors_, vol. 194.) Leipzig, 1850, 8vo. + +---- Poetical Works. (_Cabinet Edition of the British Poets_, vol. i.) +London, 1851, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, with notes and a life by the +Rev. H. Stebbing, etc. London, 1851, 12mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. (_Universal Library_. _Poetry_, +vol. i.) London, 1853, 8vo. + +---- Milton's Poetical Works. With life, critical dissertation, and +notes by G. Gilfillan. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1853, 8vo. + One of a series entitled, "Library Edition of the British Poets." + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, with life. London, 1853, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton: with a life of the author, +preliminary dissertations on each poem, notes critical and explanatory, +and a verbal index. Edited by C.D. Cleveland. Philadelphia, 1853, 12mo. + +---- The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton, with life. Edinburgh +[1855], 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With a life by J. Mitford. 3 +vols. Boston [U.S.], 1856, 8vo. + +---- The Poems of John Milton, with notes by T. Keightley. 2 vols. +London, 1859, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, with a memoir and critical +remarks on his genius and writings, by J. Montgomery, and one hundred +and twenty engravings. New edition, etc. 2 vols. (_Bohn's Illustrated +Library_.) 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, with life, introduction, and +selected notes, by R.C. Browne. (_Clarendon Press Series_.) 2 vols. +Oxford, 1870, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. Illustrated by F. Gilbert. [With +life of Milton.] London, 1870, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. Edited, with a critical memoir, +by W.M. Rossetti. Illustrated by T. Seccombe. London [1871], 8vo. + Reprinted in 1880 and 1881. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With life of the author, and an +appendix containing Addison's Critique upon the Paradise Lost, and Dr. +Channing's Essay on the poetical genius of Milton. With illustrations. +London [1872], 8vo. + +---- The Complete Poetical Works of Milton and Young. London [1872], 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. (_Chandos Classics_.) London +[1872], 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, printed from the original +editions, with a life of the author by A. Chalmers. London [1873], 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With life, critical +dissertation, and explanatory notes [by G. Gilfillan], The text edited +by C.C. Clarke. 2 vols. London [1874], 8vo. + Part of "Cassell's Library Edition of British Poets." + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton: edited, with introductions, +notes, and an essay on Milton's English, by D. Masson. [With portraits.] +3 vols. London, 1874, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With introductions and notes by +D. Masson. 2 vols. London, 1874, 8vo. + Forming part of the "Golden Treasury Series." + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. Edited by Sir E. Brydges, Bart. +Illustrated. A new edition. London [1876], 8vo. + +---- The Globe edition. The Poetical Works of John Milton. With +introductions by D. Masson. London, 1877, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. London [1878], 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. Edited, with Notes, explanatory +and philological, by J. Bradshaw. 2 vols. London, 1878, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of Milton and Marvell. With a memoir of each +[that of Milton by D. Masson. With notes to the poems of Milton by J. +Mitford]. 4 vols. in 2. Boston, 1878, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. 2 vols. London, 1880, 16mo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. A new edition revised from the +text of T. Newton [by T.A.W. Buckley]. London [1880], 8vo. + Part of the "Excelsior Series." + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With life, etc. Edinburgh +[1881], 8vo. + Part of "The Landscape Series of Poets." + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, printed from the original +editions. With a life 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 Milton's English and +Versification, by D. Masson. 3 vols. London, 1882, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. With biographical notice. New +York [1884], 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton, edited by J. Bradshaw. Second +edition. 2 vols. London, 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, 12mo. + One of the "Canterbury Poets" Series. + +---- Poetical Works. 2 vols. London, 1887, 8vo. + +---- The Poetical Works of John Milton. Edited by J. Bradshaw. Paradise +Regained. Minor Poems. London, 1888, 8vo. + One of the "Canterbury Poets" Series. + + * * * * * + +Paradise Lost, etc. The life of John Milton. [By E. Fenton.] Paradise +Regained.--Poems upon several occasions.--Sonnets.--Of Education. 2 +vols. London, 1751, 12mo. + The copy in the British Museum Library contains MS. Notes by C. + Lamb. + +Milton's Italian Poems, translated and addressed to a gentleman of +Italy. By Dr. Langhorne. London, 1776, 4to. + +Milton's Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. With explanatory notes by +J. Edmondston. London, 1854, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1855, 16mo. + +Paradise Lost, etc. (Paradise Regained: and other Poems.--The Life of +John Milton [by E. Fenton.]) 2 vols. London, 1855, 32mo. + +Paradise Regained. To which is added Samson Agonistes: and poems upon +several occasions. A new edition. By T. Newton. London, 1777, 4to. + +Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and the Minor English Poems. +London, 1886, 16mo. + Part of the "Religious Tract Society Library." + +Latin and Italian poems of Milton translated into English verse, and a +fragment of a commentary on Paradise Lost, by the late W. Cowper, with a +preface and notes by the Editor (W. Hayley), and notes of various +authors. Chichester, 1808, 4to. + +The Latin and Italian Poems of Milton. Translated into English verse by +J.G. Strutt. London, 1814, 8vo. + +Milton's Samson Agonistes and Lycidas. With illustrative notes by J. +Hunter. London, 1870, 8vo. + +Milton's Earlier Poems, including the translations by William Cowper of +those written in Latin and Italian. (_Cassell's National Library_, vol. +xxxiv.) London, 1886, 8vo. + +Miscellaneous Poems, Sonnets, and Psalms, etc. London [1886], 8vo. + Part of "Ward, Lock, & Co.'s Popular Library of Literary + Treasures." + +The Minor Poems of John Milton, Edited, with notes, by W.J. Rolfe. New +York, 1887, 8vo. + +The Sonnets of John Milton. Edited by Mark Pattison. London, 1883, 8vo. + Part of the "Parchment Library." + +L'Allegro, Il Penseroso [revised by C. Jennens], ed il Moderato [by C. +Jennens]. Set to musick by Mr. Handel. London, 1740, 4to. + The words only. + +---- Another edition. London, 1740, 4to. + +---- L'Allegro, Il Penseroso as set to musick. [London, 1750], 8vo. + +---- L'Allegro ed Il Penseroso. [Arranged for music.] [London, 1779], 8vo. + +L'Allegro ed Il Penseroso. And a song for St. Cecilia's day, by Dryden. +Set to musick by G.F. Handel. London, 1754, 4to. + The words without the music. + +L'Allegro ed Il Penseroso. Another edition. London [1754], 4to. + +L'Allegro and Il Penseroso. Glasgow, 1751, 4to. + +L'Allegro and Il Penseroso. With thirty illustrations designed expressly +for the Art Union of London [by G. Scharf, H. O'Neil, and others]. +[London], 1848, 4to. + +Milton's L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, illustrated with [Thirty] Etchings +on Steel by B. Foster. London, 1855, 8vo. + There is a copy in the British Museum Library which contains the + autographs and photographs of George Cruikshank and his wife. + +L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, illustrated by engravings on steel after +designs by Birket Foster. London, 1860, 8vo. + +L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, and other poems. Illustrated. Boston, 1877, +16mo. + +Milton's L'Allegro and Il Penseroso. With notes by J. Aikin. Poona +[1881], 8vo. + +L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, and the Hymn on the Nativity. Illustrated. +London, 1885, 8vo. + +Milton's Comus, L'Allegro, and Il Penseroso. With numerous illustrative +notes adapted 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. + +Milton's Arcades and Sonnets. With notes by J. Hunter. London, 1880, +12mo. + +The Lycidas and Epitaphium Damonis. Edited, with notes and introduction +(including a reprint of the rare Latin version of the Lycidas, by W. +Hogg, 1694), by C.S. Jarram. London, 1874, 8vo. + +---- Second edition, revised. London, 1881, 8vo. + + +III. PROSE WORKS. + +The Works of Mr. John Milton. [In English Prose.] [London], 1697, fol. + Not mentioned by Lowndes or Watt, but a copy is in the British + Museum. + +A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous +Works of John Milton, both English and Latin. With some papers never +before publish'd. To which is prefixed the life of the author, etc. [By +J. Toland]. 3 vols. Amsterdam [London], 1698, fol. + +A Complete Collection of Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works +of John Milton, correctly printed from the original editions, with an +account of the life and writings of the author (by T. Birch), containing +several original papers of his never before published. 2 vols. London, +1738, fol. + +The Works of John Milton, Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous. Now +more correctly printed from the originals than in any former edition, +and many passages restored which have been hitherto omitted. To which 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, interspersed +with translations and critical remarks, by C. Symmons. 7 vols. London, +1806, 8vo. + +The Prose Works of John Milton. With an introductory review by R. +Fletcher. London, 1833, 8vo. + +Select Prose Works of Milton. Account of his studies. Apology for his +early life and writings. Tractate on Education. Areopagitica. Tenure of +Kings. Eikonoclastes. Divisions of the Commonwealth. Delineation of a +Commonwealth. Mode of establishing a Commonwealth. Familiar Letters. +With a preliminary discourse and notes by J.A. St. John. (_Masterpieces +of English Prose Literature._) 2 vols. London, 1836, 8vo. + +Extracts from the Prose Works of John Milton, containing the whole of +his writings on the church question. Now first published separately. +Edinburgh, 1836, 12mo. + +The Prose Works of John Milton. With a biographical introduction by R.W. +Griswold. 2 vols. New York, 1847, 8vo. + +The Prose Works of John Milton, with a preface, preliminary remarks, and +notes by J.A. St. John. 5 vols. (_Bohn's Standard Library._) London, +1848-53, 8vo. + +Areopagitica, Letter on Education, Sonnets and Psalms. (_Cassell's +National Library_, vol. cxxi.) London, 1888, 8vo. + + + + +IV. SINGLE WORKS. + +Accedence commenc't Grammar, supply'd with sufficient rules, for the use +of such as are desirous to attain the Latin tongue with little teaching +and their own industry. London, 1669, 12mo. + +An account of an original autograph sonnet by John Milton, contained in +a copy of Mel Heliconium written by Alexander Rosse, 1642, etc. London, +1859, 8vo. + +L'Allegro, illustrated by the Etching Club. London, 1849, fol. + +---- L'Allegro. [With illustrations engraved by W.J. Linton.] London, +1859, 8vo. + +---- L'Allegro. [With illustrations.] London [1875], 8vo. + Forming part of "The Choice Series." + +---- Milton's L'Allegro. Edited, with interpretation, notes, and +derivations, by F. Main. London, 1877, 8vo. + +Animadversions upon the Remonstrant's defence [_i.e._, the defence of J. +Hall, Bishop of Norwich?] against Smectymnuus. London, 1641, 4to. + +Apographum literarum serenissimi protectoris, etc. [Leyden?] 1656, 4to. + +An apology against a Pamphlet [by J. Hall?] called A Modest Confutation +of the Animadversions upon the Remonstrant against Smectymnuus. London, +1641, 4to. + +Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the liberty of Unlicenc'd +Printing, to the Parliament of England. London, 1644, 4to. + +---- Areopagitica Another edition. With a preface by another hand. +London, 1738, 8vo. + +---- Another edition, with prefatory remarks, copious 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, 1791, 8vo. + +---- Areopagitica. (_Occasional Essays_, etc.) London, 1809, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London [1834], 8vo. + +---- Areopagitica, etc. London, 1840, 8vo. + _Tracts for the People_, No. 10. + +---- English Reprints. John Milton. Areopagitica. Carefully edited by +Edward Arber. London, 1868, 18mo. + +---- English Reprints. John Milton. Areopagitica. Carefully edited by +Edward Arber. London, 1869, 8vo. + +---- A Modern Version of Milton's Areopagitica: with notes, appendix, +and tables. By S. Lobb. Calcutta, 1872, 12mo. + +---- Milton, Areopagitica. Edited, with introduction and notes, by J.W. +Hales. Oxford, 1874, 8vo. + +---- Milton's Areopagitica. (_Morley's Universal Library_, vol. 43.) +London, 1886, 8vo. + +Autobiography of John Milton: or Milton's Life in his own words. Edited +by J.J.G. Graham. London, 1872, 8vo. + +A brief history of Moscovia; and other less known countries lying +eastward of Russia as far as Cathay. Gather'd from the writings of +several eye-witnesses. London, 1682, 8vo. + +The Cabinet-Council; containing the Chief Arts of Empire, and Mysteries +of State discabineted. By Sir Walter Raleigh, published by John Milton. +London, 1658, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. The Arts of Empire and Mysteries of State +discabineted. By Sir Walter Raleigh, published by John Milton. London, +1692, 8vo. + +Colasterion, a reply to a nameles [_sic_] answer against "The Doctrine +and Discipline of Divorce." By the former author, J[ohn] M[ilton]. +[London] 1645, 4to. + +A Common-Place Book of John Milton, and a Latin essay and Latin verses +presumed to be by Milton. Edited from the original MSS. in the +possession of Sir F.W. Graham, Bart., by A.J. Horwood. London, 1876, 4to. + Printed for the Camden Society. + +---- Revised edition. London, 1877, 4to. + +A Maske [Comus] presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: on Michaelmasse night, +before the right honorable John, Earle of Bridgewater, Viscount Brackly, +Lord President of Wales. [Edited by H. Lawes.] London, 1637, 4to. + The first edition of Comus. + +---- Comus: a mask, etc. Glasgow, 1747, 12mo. + +---- Comus, a mask presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634, before the Earl of +Bridgewater, with notes critical and explanations by various +commentators, and with preliminary illustrations; to which is added a +copy of the mask from a manuscript belonging to his Grace the Duke of +Bridgewater; by H.J. Todd. Canterbury, 1798, 8vo. + +---- Comus, a mask; presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634. To 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. (_Cumberland's British Theatre_, vol. 32.) London +[1829], 12mo. + +---- Comus. A mask with thirty illustrations by Pickersgill, B. Foster, +H. Weir, etc. London, 1858, 4to. + +---- Milton's Comus. Published under the direction of the Committee +appointed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. London +[1860], 12mo. + +---- Comus: a mask. With explanatory notes. Published under the +direction of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. London +[1861], 12mo. + +---- Milton's Comus. With notes [by W. Wallace]. London, 1871, 16mo. + +---- The Mask of Comus. Edited, with copious notes, by H.B. Sprague. New +York, 1876, 8vo. + +---- Milton's "Comus" annotated, with a glossary and notes. With three +introductory essays upon the masque proper, and upon the origin and +history of the poem. By B.M. Ranking and D.F. Ranking. London, 1878, 8vo. + +---- Milton's Comus, with introduction and notes. London, 1884, 8vo. + Forming part of "Chambers's Reprints of English Classics." + +---- Milton's Comus. Edited, with introduction and notes, by A.M. +Williams. London, 1888, 8vo. + +---- ---- Songs, Duets, Choruses, etc., in Milton's Comus: a masque in +two acts, with additions from the author's poem "L'Allegro," and from +Dryden's opera of "King Arthur." London [1842], 8vo. + +Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove Hirelings out of +the Church. Wherein is also discourc'd of Tithes, Church-Fees, +Church-Revenues, and whether any maintenance of ministers can be settl'd +by law. The author J. M[ilton]. London, 1659, 12mo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1717, 12mo. + +Another edition. London, 1723, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London [1834], 8vo. + +A Declaration, or Letters Patents of the Election of this present King +of Poland, John the Third. Translated [by John Milton]. London, 1674, +4to. + +The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce restor'd to the good of both +sexes from the Bondage of Canon Law and other mistakes to Christian +freedom, guided by the rule of charity, etc. London, 1643, 4to. + +---- The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce. Now the second time revis'd +and much augmented. London, 1644, 4to. + +---- Another edition. London, 1645, 4to. + +Eikonoklastes, in answer to a book intitl'd Eikon Basilike, the +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. Published now the second time, and much enlarg'd. +London, 1650, 4to. + +---- Eikonoklastes in answer to 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 to a book intitled Eikon Basilikon, the +portraiture of his sacred majesty in his solitudes and sufferings. Now +first published from the author's second edition, printed in 1650; with +many enlargements, by R. Baron. With a preface shewing the transcendent +excellency of Milton's prose works. To which is added an original Letter +[from J. Wall] to Milton, never before published. London, 1756, 4to. + +---- A new edition, corrected by the late Reverend R. Baron. London, +1770, 8vo. + +The History of Britain, that part especially now call'd England, from +the first traditional beginning, continu'd to the Norman Conquest. +Collected out of the antientest and best authors by John Milton. London, +1670, 4to. + +The History of Britain. Another edition. London, 1677, 8vo. + +---- Second edition. London, 1678, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1695, 8vo. + +Il Penseroso. With designs by J.E.G.; etched by J.E.G. and H.P.G. on +India paper. London, 1844, folio. + +---- Milton. Il Penseroso. (_Clarendon Press Series_.) Oxford, 1874, +8vo. + +Joannis Miltoni Angli, Artis Logicæ Plenior Institutio, ad Petri Rami +Methodum concinnata. Adjecta est Praxis Analytica and P. Rami vita. +Londini, 1672, 12mo. + +Joannis Miltoni Angli de Doctrina Christiana libri duo posthumi, quos ex +schedis manuscriptis deprompsit, et typis mandari primus curavit C.R. +Sumner. Cantabrigiæ, 1825, 4to. + +---- Another edition. Brunsvigae, 1827, 8vo. + +---- A Treatise of Christian Doctrine, compiled from the Holy Scriptures +alone. Translated from the original by C.R. Sumner. Cambridge, 1825, 4to. + +---- John Milton's last thoughts on the Trinity. Extracted from his +Treatise on Christian Doctrine. London, 1828, 12mo. + +---- New edition. London, 1859, 8vo. + +Joannis Miltonii Angli Epistolarum familiarium liber unus: quibus +accesserunt ejusdem jam olim in collegio adolescentis prolusiones quædam +oratoriæ. Londini, 1674, 12mo. + +---- Milton's familiar letters. Translated from the Latin, with notes, +by J. Hall. Philadelphia, 1829, 8vo. + +Joannis Miltoni Angli pro populo Anglicano defensio, contra Claudii +Anonymi, aliàs Salmasii, defensionem regiam. Cum indice. Londini, 1651, +12mo. + +---- Another edition. Londini, 1651, 4to. + +---- Another edition. Londini, 1651, 12mo. + +---- Editio emendatior. Londini, 1651, folio. + +---- Another edition. Londini, 1652, 12mo. + +---- Editio correctior et auctior, ab autore denuo recognita. Londini, +1658, 8vo. + +---- A Defense of the People of England in answer to Salmasius's defence +of the king. [Translated from the Latin by Mr. Washington, of the +Temple.] [London?] 1692, 8vo. + +Joannis Miltoni pro populo Anglicano defensio secunda. Contra infamem +libellum anonymum [by P. Du Moulin] cui titulus, Regii sanguinis clamor +ad coelum adversus parricidas Anglicanos. Londini, 1654, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. [With preface by G. Crantzius.] 2 parts. Hagæ +Comitum, 1654, 12mo. + +---- Milton's Second Defence of the People of England [translated by +Archdeacon Wrangham]. London, 1816, 8vo. + Included in _Scraps_ by the Rev. Francis Wrangham. + +Joanni Miltoni pro se defensio contra Alexandrum Morum Ecclesiastes [or +rather P. Du Moulin] Libelli famosi, cui titulus, Regii sanguinis clamor +ad coelum adversus Parricidas Anglicanos, authorem recte dictum. +Londini, 1655, 8vo. + +The judgement of Martin Bucer concerning divorce, now Englisht [by John +Milton]. Wherein a late book [by John Milton] restoring the doctrine and +discipline of divorce is heer confirm'd, etc. London, 1644, 4to. + +A Letter written to a Gentleman in the Country, touching the dissolution +of the late Parliament, and the reasons thereof. [By John Milton, signed +N. Ll.] London [May 26], 1653, 4to. + +Literæ ab Olivario protectore ad sacram regiam majestem Sueciæ. +[Leyden?] 1656, 4to. + +Literæ Pseudo-Senatus Anglicani, Cromwellii, reliquorumque Perduellium +nomine ac jussu conscriptæ a Joanne Miltono. [London] 1676, 12mo. + +---- Another edition. Literæ nomine Senatus Anglicani Cromwellii +Richardique ad diversos in Europa principes et Respublicas exaratæ a +Joanne Miltono, quas nunc primum in Germania recudi fecit J.G. Pritius. +Lipsiæ 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 Mr. John Milton to most of the +Sovereign princes and Republicks 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. London, 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. [First edition.] (_Justa Edouardo King naufrago, ab Amicis +moerentibus_, etc.) 2 pts. Cantabrigiæ, 1638, 4to. + Part II., "Obsequies to the Memorie of Mr. Edward King," has a + distinct title-page and pagination, and contains the first edition + of Lycidas. + +---- Milton's Lycidas, with notes, critical, explanatory, and +grammatical, by a Graduate. Melbourne, 1869, 8vo. + +---- Lycidas. Reprinted from the first edition of 1638, and collated +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 introduction and notes. By T.D. Hall. +Manchester [1876], 8vo. + +---- Second edition. London [1880], 8vo. + +---- Milton's Lycidas. Edited, with interpretation and notes, by F. +Main, etc. London, 1876, 8vo. + +---- Second edition. London, 1876, 8vo. + +Mr. John Milton'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. + +Milton's Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity. Illustrated by +eminent artists. London, 1868, 8vo. + +Mr. John Milton's Satyre against hypocrites. Written whilst he was Latin +secretary to Oliver Cromwell. [By John Phillips?] London, 1710, 8vo. + +Milton's unpublished Poem, corrected by J.E. Wall from a defective copy +found by Mr. Morley in the British Museum. Epitaph on a Rose Tree +confined in a Garden Tub. [London, 1873?] s. sh. 8vo. + The original is in the King's Library, British Museum, and is + written on the last leaf of a copy of "Poems of Mr. John Milton," + 1646. + +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. (_Articles of Peace made and concluded with the Irish +Rebels, by James Earle of Ormond, etc._) London, 1649, 4to. + +Of Education. To Master S. Hartlib. [London, 1644] 4to. + +---- Milton's Tractate on Education. A facsimile reprint from the +edition of 1673. Edited by Oscar Browning. (_Pitt Press Series_.) +Cambridge, 1883, 8vo. + +Original Letters and Papers of State, addressed to Oliver Cromwell, +concerning the affairs of Great Britain from 1649 to 1658, found among +the political collections of John Milton, 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 purpose in some late Treatises of James, Archbishop of Armagh. +London, 1641, 4to. + +Of Reformation touching Church-Discipline in England: and the causes +that hitherto have hindred it. London, 1641, 4to. + +Of True Religion, Hæresie, Schism, Toleration, and what best means may +be used against the growth of Popery. The author J[ohn] M[ilton]. +London, 1673, 4to. + +---- New edition, with preface by Bp. Burgess. London, 1826, 8vo. + +Paradise Lost. A poem written in ten books by John Milton. Licensed and +entred according to order. London, 1667, 4to. + First edition. Without argument or preface. There are nine + distinct variations of the title and preliminary pages. + +---- Paradise Lost. A poem in ten books. The author J. Milton. (The +argument. The verse.) London, 1668, 4to. + The same edition as the preceding, with a new title-page, and with + the addition of the argument. + +---- Paradise Lost. A poem in ten books. The author John Milton. London, +1669, 4to. + The same edition as the two preceding, with a new title-page and + some slight alterations in the text. There is another copy in the + British Museum which differs slightly. It has also the title-page + dated 1668, and Marvell's commendatory verses in MS. + +---- Paradise Lost. A poem, in twelve books. The author John Milton. +Second edition, revised and augmented by the same author. London, +1674, 8vo. + To this edition are prefixed the commendatory verses of Barrow and + Marvell. In another copy in the British Museum conjectural + emendations from the quarto edition, 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 same author. +London, 1678, 8vo. + +---- The fourth edition. Adorn'd with sculptures. London, 1688, folio. + The first illustrated edition. + +---- Another edition [with cuts]. London, 1692, folio. + +---- Another edition. With copious and learned notes by P[atrick] +H[ume]. London, 1695, folio. + +---- Seventh edition. Adorn'd with sculptures. London, 1705, 8vo. + +---- Eighth edition. Adorn'd with sculptures. 2 vols. London, 1707, 8vo. + +---- Ninth edition. Adorn'd with sculptures. London, 1711, 12mo. + The British Museum copy is said to be the only one on thick paper. + +---- Tenth edition. With sculptures. London, 1719, 12mo. + +---- Another edition. Dublin, 1724, 8vo. + +---- Twelfth edition. To which is prefixed an account of his life [by E. +Fenton]. London, 1725, 12mo. + +---- Thirteenth edition. To which is prefixed an account of his life [by +E. Fenton]. London, 1727, 8vo. + +---- Fourteenth edition. To 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, 4to. + One of the copies in the British Museum contains MS. notes by B. + Stillingfleet, and another MS. notes by W. Cole. A third copy has + inserted plates, a pencil sketch of Milton's house at Chalfont St. + Giles, and a cutting from the _Literary Gazette_, May 29th, 1830, + relating to Bentley. + +---- Another edition. London, 1737, 8vo. + +---- Another edition [with life 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. + +---- Another edition. Compared and revised by John Hawkey. Dublin, +1748, 8vo. + +---- New edition. With notes of various authors, by T. Newton. (The life +of Milton [by the editor]. A critique on Paradise Lost. By Mr. Addison.) +2 vols. London, 1749, 4to. + +---- Another edition. According to the author's last edition, in the +year 1672. Glasgow, 1750, 8vo. + +---- Second edition. With notes of various authors, by T. Newton. 2 +vols. London, 1750, 8vo. + +---- Third edition. With notes of various authors, by T. Newton. 2 vols. +London, 1754, 4to. + +Paradise Lost. Another edition. With notes, etymological, critical, +classical, and explanatory; collected from Dr. Bentley, Dr. Pearce, +Richardson and Son, Addison, Paterson, Newton, and other authors. By J. +Marchant. London, 1751, 12mo. + +---- Another edition. 2 vols. London, 1752, 51, 12mo. + Vol. ii. is a duplicate of the corresponding vol. of the previous + edition. + +---- Another edition. [To which is prefixed the life of Milton, by E. +Fenton.] London, 1753, 12mo. + +---- Another edition. [With the life of Milton, by E. Fenton, and a +glossary.] 2 vols. Paris, 1754, 16mo. + +---- Another edition [in prose]. With historical, critical, and +explanatory notes. From Raymond de St. Maur. London, 1755, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. From the text of T. Newton. Birmingham, 1758, 4to. + +---- Another edition. From the text of T. Newton. Birmingham, 1759, 4to. + +---- Another edition. (The life of Milton [by T. Newton]). London, +1760, 12mo. + +---- Another edition. [With the life of John Milton, by E. Fenton. +Illustrated.] London, 1761, 8vo. + +---- Sixth edition. With notes of various authors, by T. Newton. 2 vols. +London, 1763, 8vo. + +---- Seventh edition. With notes of various authors, by T. Newton. 2 +vols. London, 1770, 8vo. + +---- New edition. To which is added the life of the author, by E. +Fenton. Edinburgh, 1765, 12mo. + +---- New edition. To which is added historical, philosophical, and +explanatory notes, translated from the French of Raymond de St. Maur. +[Edited by John Wood, and preceded by a life of Milton by E. Fenton.] +Edinburgh, 1765, 12mo. + +---- Another edition [in prose]. With historical, philosophical, +critical, and explanatory notes, from Raymond de St. Maur. Embellished +with fourteen copper-plates. London, 1767, 8vo. + +---- Second edition, adorned with copper-plates. London [1770], 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost, a poem. The author, John Milton. Glasgow, 1770, +folio. + The copy in the British Museum was presented to George III. by the + binder, J. Scott. + +---- Paradise Lost. (The life of Milton, by Dr. Newton.) London, 1770, +12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost, a poem in twelve books. 2 vols. Glasgow, 1771, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. (_British Poets_, vols. i.-ii.) Edinburgh, 1773, 8vo. + +---- New edition. 2 vols. London, 1775, 12mo. + +---- Another edition, from the text of T. Newton. London, 1777, 12mo. + +---- Eighth edition, with notes of various authors, by T. Newton. 2 +vols. London, 1778, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost. (The Life of Milton, by Dr. Newton.) London, 1778, +12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. With a biographical and critical account of the +author and his writings [by E. Fenton]. Kilmarnock, 1785, 12mo. + +---- Another edition, illustrated with texts of Scripture by J. Gillies. +[With life by E. Fenton.] London, 1788, 12mo. + +---- Ninth edition, with notes of various authors, by T. Newton [and a +portrait of Milton], 2 vols. London, 1790, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. Printed from the first and second editions +collated. The original system of orthography restored, the punctuation +corrected and extended. With various readings; and notes, chiefly +rythmical. By Capel Lofft. [Book i.] Bury St. Edmunds, 1792, 4to. + +---- Paradise Lost. Books i.-iv. [London, 1792-95], 4to. + The British Museum copy contains the first four books only. With + illustrations after Stothard, engraved by Bartolozzi. Without + title-page. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost, illustrated with texts of Scripture by J. +Gillies. Second edition. [With life by E. Fenton.] London, 1793, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost; a poem, in twelve books. [With engravings.] London, +1794, 4to. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost. (The Life of John Milton [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.M.] 3 vols. London, 1795, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost, with notes selected from Newton and others. With a +critical dissertation on the poetical works of Milton by S. Johnson. 2 +vols. London, 1796, 8vo. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost, with a life of the author [by J. Evans]. To +which is prefixed the celebrated critique by S. Johnson. London, +1799, 8vo. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost. A new edition. Adorned with plates +[engraved chiefly by F. Bartolozzi, from designs by W. Hamilton and H. +Fuseli.] 2 vols. London, 1802, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost, with a life of the author [by E. Fenton], and a +critique on the poem [by S. Johnson]. A new edition. London, 1802, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost. A new edition. London, 1803, 12mo. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost, illustrated with texts of Scripture, by J. +Gillies. Third edition, with additions. [Life of Milton, by E. Fenton.] +London, 1804, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. A poem. Printed from the text of Tonson's correct +edition of 1711. London, 1804, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. Printed from the text of Tonson's edition of 1711. A +new edition, with plates, etc. London, 1808, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost, a poem, etc. (The life of Milton [by E. Fenton].) +London, 1805, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost, a poem. (The life of Milton [by E. Fenton].) London, +1812, 16mo. + +---- Another edition. To which is prefixed the life of the author [by E. +Fenton]. London, 1813, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost, a poem in twelve books. [With the life of John +Milton by E. Fenton, and "A critique upon the Paradise Lost" by J. +Addison.] Romsey, 1816, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost. To which are prefixed the life of the author [by E. +Fenton]; and a criticism on the poem by S. Johnson. London, 1817, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost. London, 1817, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. [With engravings from the designs of R. Westall.] 2 +vols. London, 1817, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. To which is prefixed a life of the author [by E. +Fenton]. London, 1818, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. To which is prefixed the life of the author [by E. +Fenton]. London, 1820, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. [With a life of the author, by E. Fenton.] Boston, +1820, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. To 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 Milton, with illustrations designed and +engraved by J. Martin. 2 vols. London, 1827, folio. + +---- Paradise Lost, etc. [With the life of J. Milton, by E. Fenton.] +London [1830], 16mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. With a memoir of the author [by E. Fenton]. New +edition. London, 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.] +[London], 1846, 16mo. + +---- The Paradise Lost, with notes explanatory and critical. Edited by +J.R. Boyd. New York, 1851, 12mo. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost, with notes, critical and explanatory, +original and selected, by J.R. Major. London, 1853, 8vo. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost. Published under the direction of the +Committee of General Literature and Education [appointed by the Society +for Promoting Christian Knowledge]. London [1859], 8vo. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost. In twelve books. London, 1861, 16mo. + One of "Bell & Daldy's Pocket Volumes." + +---- Paradise Lost. To which is prefixed a life of the author, and Dr. +Channing's Essay on the poetical genius of Milton. London, 1862, 12mo. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost. Illustrated 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, 1873, 4to. + +---- Paradise Lost, as originally published, being a fac-simile of the +first edition. With an introduction by D. Masson. London, 1877 [1876], +4to. + +---- Paradise Lost. Illustrated by thirty-eight designs in outline by F. +Thrupp. [Containing only fragments of the text.] London, 1879, obl. +folio. + +---- Milton's Paradise Lost. Illustrated by Gustave Doré. Edited, with +notes and a life of Milton, by R. Vaughan. London, 1882, 4to. + Re-issued in 1888. + +---- Paradise Lost. The text emended, with notes and preface by M. +Hull. London, 1884, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost. London, 1887, 16 mo. + Part of "Routledge's Pocket Library." + +---- Paradise Lost. (_Cassell's National Library_, vols. 162, 163.) +London, 1889, 8vo. + +---- ---- The Story of our first Parents; selected from Milton's +Paradise Lost: for the use of young persons. By Mrs. Siddons. London, +1822, 8vo. + +Paradise Regain'd. A Poem in four books. To which is added Samson +Agonistes. The author, J. Milton. 2 pts. London, 1671, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd. To 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. To which is added Samson Agonistes, and poems +upon several occasions, compos'd at several times. Fourth edition. +London, 1705, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd. To which is added Samson Agonistes, etc. The +fifth edition. London, 1707, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd. To which is added Samson Agonistes, etc. Fifth +edition. Adorned with cuts. London, 1713, 12mo. + +---- Sixth edition, corrected. London, 1725, 8vo. + +---- Seventh edition, corrected. 3 pts. London, 1727, 8vo. + +---- Seventh edition, corrected. London, 1730, 12mo. + +---- Eighth edition. London, 1743, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. London, 1747, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. Glasgow, 1747, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. A new edition. With notes of various +authors, by T. Newton. London, 1752, 4to. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. Glasgow, 1752, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. The second edition, with notes of various +authors, by T. Newton. 2 vols. London, 1753, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. London, 1753, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. London, 1756, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Regained, etc. Birmingham, 1758, 4to. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. London, 1760, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd (_British Poets_, vol. iii.). Edinburgh, 1773, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. 2 vols. Glasgow, 1772, 12mo. + +---- A new edition. 2 vols. London, 1773, 8vo. + +---- A new edition. By T. Newton. London, 1777, 4to. + +---- A new edition, with notes of various authors, by T. Newton. 2 vols. +London, 1785, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. London, 1779, 12mo. + +---- Paradise Regain'd, etc. Alnwick, 1793, 12mo. + +---- A new edition, with notes of various authors, by C. Dunster. +London. 1795. 4to. + +---- Another edition. London [1800], 4to. + +---- Milton's Paradise Regained; with select notes subjoined: to which +is added a complete collection of his Miscellaneous 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 Regained, and other poems. London, 1823, 16mo. + +---- Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, Comus, and Arcades. [With +Westall's plates.] London, 1827, 16mo. + +---- Paradise Regained; and other poems. London, 1832, 16mo. + +---- Milton's Paradise Regained, and other poems. London, 1861, 16mo. + One of "Bell & Daldy's Pocket Volumes." + +The readie and easie way to establish a free Commonwealth, and the +excellence thereof, compar'd with the inconveniences and dangers of +re-admitting Kingship in this nation. The author J[ohn] M[ilton]. +London, 1660, 4to. + +The Reason of Church-Government urg'd against Prelaty. In two books. +London, 1641, 4to. + +Samson Agonistes. London, 1688, folio. + First appeared with the Paradise Regained in 1671. + +---- Samson Agonistes. London, 1695, folio. + Reprinted from the preceding edition. + +---- Samson Agonistes. (_Bell's British Theatre_, vol. 34.) London, +1797, 8vo. + +---- Samson Agonistes. London [1869], 8vo. + +---- Milton. Samson Agonistes. Edited by John Churton Collins. +(_Clarendon Press Series_.) Oxford, 1883, 8vo. + +Scriptum Dom. Protectoris contra Hispanos. [By John Milton.] Londini, +1655, 4to. + +---- A Manifesto of the Lord Protector against the Depredations of the +Spaniards. Written in Latin by John Milton. London, 1738, 8vo. + +---- A true Copy of Oliver Cromwell's Manifesto against Spain, dated +October 26, 1655 [written by John Milton]. London, 1741, 4to. + +The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates; proving that it is lawfull, and +hath been held so through all ages, for any, who have the power, to call +to account a tyrant or wicked king, and after due conviction to depose +and put him to death, etc. The author J[ohn] M[ilton]. London, 1649, +4to. + +---- Another edition, with additions. London, 1650, 4to. + +Tetrachordon: expositions upon the foure chief places in Scripture which +treat of mariage, or nullities in manage, wherein the doctrine and +discipline of divorce, as was lately publish'd, is confirm'd. By the +former author J. M[ilton]. London, 1645 [1644 O.S.], 4to. + The author's name appears in full at the end of the address "To + the Parliament." + +A Treatise on Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes; shewing that it is +not lawfull for any power on earth to compell in matter of religion. +The author J[ohn] M[ilton]. London, 1659, 12mo. + +---- A Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes. First printed +anno 1659. London, reprinted 1790, 8vo. + +---- A Treatise on Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes, etc. London, +1839, 8vo. + _Tracts for the People_, No. I. + +---- On the Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes; and on the likeliest +means to remove Hirelings out of the Church. London, 1851, 8vo. + Part XI. of "Buried Treasures." + + +V. SELECTIONS. + +The Beauties of Milton, Thomson, and Young. Dublin, 1783, 12mo. + +The Beauties of Milton; consisting of selections from his poetry and +prose, by A. Howard. London [1834], 12mo. + +The Poetry of Milton's Prose; selected from his various writings; with +notes, and an introductory essay [by C.]. London, 1827, 12mo. + +Readings from Milton. 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 introductory essay by E. +Myers. London, 1883, 8vo. + Fifty copies only printed. + +Selections from the Prose Writings of John Milton. Edited, with memoir, +notes, and analyses, by S. Manning. 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 Milton Reader; being scenes and other extracts from the +writings of Shakespeare and Milton, etc. London [1883], 8vo. + + +VI. APPENDIX. + + +BIOGRAPHY, CRITICISM, ETC. + +Acton, Rev. Henry.--Religious opinions and examples of Milton, Locke, +and Newton. A lecture, with notes. London, 1833, 8vo. + +Addison, Rt. Hon. Joseph.--Notes upon the twelve books of Paradise Lost. +Collected from the _Spectator_. London, 1719, 12mo. + Appeared originally in the _Spectator_, Dec. 31, 1711--May 3, + 1712. + +Ademollo, A.--La Leonora di Milton e di Clemente IX. Milano [1886], 8vo. + +Andrews, Samuel.--Our Great Writers; or, Popular chapters on some +leading authors. London, 1884, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 84-112. + +Arnold, Matthew.--Mixed 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. London, 1884, 8vo. + +Balfour, Clara Lucas.--Sketches of English Literature, etc. London, +1852, 8vo. + Milton and his Literary Contemporaries, pp. 151-173. + +Barron, William.--Lectures on Belles Lettres and Logic. 2 vols. London, +1806, 8vo. + Milton, vol. ii., pp. 281-300. + +Baumgarten, Dr.--John Milton und das Verlorene Paradies. Coburg [1875], +4to. + +Bayne, Peter.--The Chief Actors in the Puritan Revolution. London, +1878, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 297-346. + +Bentley, Richard.--Dr. Bentley's emendations on the twelve books of +Milton's Paradise Lost. London, 1732, 12mo. + +Bickersteth, E.H.--Milton's Paradise Lost. (_The St. James's Lectures, +Second Series_.) London, 1876, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1877, 8vo. + +Birrell, Augustine.--Obiter Dicta. Second series. London, 1887, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 1-50. + +Blackburne, Francis.--Remarks on Johnson's Life of Milton. To which are +added Milton's Tractate of Education and Areopagitica. London, 1780, 16mo. + +Blair, 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. Bodmer's critische Abhandlung, von dem +Wunderbaren in der Poesie in einer Vertheidigung des Gedichtes J. +Milton's von dem verlohrnen Paradiese, etc. Zürich, 1740, 8vo. + +Bradburn, Eliza W.--The Story of Paradise Lost, for children. Portland, +1830, 16mo. + +Brooke, Stopford A.--Milton. [An account of his life and works.] +London, 1879, 8vo. + Part of the series entitled _Classical Writers_, ed. J.R. Green. + +Bruce, Archibald.--A critical account of the life, character, and +discourses of Mr. Alexander Morus, in which the attack made upon him in +the writings of Milton is particularly considered. Edinburgh, 1813, 8vo. + +Brydges, Sir Samuel Egerton.--The Life of John Milton. London [1835], 8vo. + +Bulwer Lytton, E.--The Siamese Twins, etc. London, 1831, 8vo. + Milton, a poem, pp. 315-362. + +Burney, Charles.--Remarks on the Greek Verses of Milton. [London, 1790], +8vo. + +Buckland, Anna.--The Story of English Literature. London, 1882, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 230-296. + +Callander, John.--Letter and Report respecting the Unpublished +Commentary on Milton's Paradise Lost, by the late John Callander, of +Craigforth, Esq., in the possession of the Society. (_Archæologia +Scotica_, vol. iii., 1831, pp. 83-91.) Edinburgh, 1831, 4to. + +Camerini, Eugenio.--Profili Letterari. Firenze, 1870, 8vo. + Milton e l'Italia, pp. 264-274. + +Cann, Miss Christian.--A scriptural and allegorical glossary to +Milton's Paradise Lost. London [1828], 8vo. + +Carpenter, William.--The Life and Times of John Milton. London [1836], 8vo. + +Channing, William Ellery.--Remarks on the Character and Writings of John +Milton; occasioned by the publication of his lately discovered +"Treatise on Christian Doctrine." From the _Christian Examiner_, vol. +iii., No. 1. Boston, 1826, 8vo. + +Charles I.--By the King. A Proclamation for calling in and suppressing +of two books written by John Milton: the one Intituled Johannis Miltoni +Angli pro Populo Anglicano defensio, etc., and the other, The +Pourtraicture of his Sacred Majesty, etc. London, 1660, s. sh. fol. + +---- The Life and Reigne of King Charls; or, the Pseudo-Martyr +discovered, etc. London, 1651, 8vo. + In the Bodleian Catalogue this work is erroneously stated to be by + John Milton. + +Chassang, A., and Marcou, F.L.--Les Chefs-d'Oeuvre Épiques de tous les +peuples. Paris, 1879, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 279-297. + +Clarke, Samuel.--Some reflections on that part of a book called Amyntor, +or the defence of Milton's life, which relates to the writings of the +primitive fathers, etc. (_Letter to Mr. Dodwell_, etc., pp. 451-475.) +London, 1781, 8vo. + +Cleveland, C.D.--A Complete Concordance to the Poetical Works of John +Milton. London, 1867, 8vo. + +Coleridge, Samuel Taylor.--Seven lectures on Shakespeare and Milton, +etc. London, 1856, 8vo. + +Darby, Samuel.--A letter to T. Warton, on his late edition of Milton's +Juvenile Poems [entitled "Poems upon several occasions, English, +Italian, and Latin."] London, 1785, 8vo. + +Dawson, George.--Biographical Lectures. London, 1886, 8vo. + John Milton, pp. 82-88. + +De Morgan, J.--John Milton considered as a Politician. (_Men of the +Commonwealth_, No. 1.) [London, 1875], 16mo. + +Dennis, John.--Heroes of Literature. English Poets. London, 1883, 8vo. + John Milton, pp. 114-147. + +De Quincey, T.--Works. 16 vols. London, 1853-60, 8vo. + Milton, vol. vi., pp. 311-325; Life of Milton, vol. x., pp. 79-98. + +Des Essarts, E.--De Veterum poetarum tum Græciæ tum Romæ apud Miltonem +imitatione thesim proponebat E. Des Essarts. Parisiis, 1871, 8vo. + +Diderot, Denis.--An Essay on Blindness, etc. Interspersed with several +anecdotes of Sanderson, Milton, and others. Translated from the French. +London [1750], 12mo. + +Dobson, W.T.--The Classic Poets, their lives and their times, etc. +London, 1879, 8vo. + Milton's Paradise Lost, pp. 394-446; Paradise Regained, + pp. 446-452. + +Donoughue, Edward Jones.--Milton: a lecture. London, 1843, 8vo. + +Douglas, John.--Milton vindicated from the charge of plagiarism brought +against him by Mr. Lauder, etc. London, 1751, 8vo. + +---- Milton no plagiary; or, a detection of the forgeries contained in +Lauder's essay, etc. Second edition. London, 1756, 8vo. + +Dowden, Edward.--Transcripts and Studies. London, 1888, 8vo. + The Idealism of Milton, pp. 454-473. + +Dowling, William.--Poets and Statesmen; their homes and haunts in the +neighbourhood of Eton and Windsor. London, 1857, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 1-39. + +Dryden, John.--The State of Innocence, and Fall of Man; an opera, etc. +London, 1677, 4to. + +Du Moulin, P.--Regii sanguinis clamor ad coelum adversus parricidas +Anglicanos. [A reply to Milton's "Defensio pro populo Anglicano."] Hagæ +Comitum, 1652, 4to. + +---- Editio secunda. Hagæ Comitum, 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 designed to +exhibit the ecclesiastical principles of that illustrious man. London, +1851, 8vo. + +Edmundson, George.--Milton and Vondel. A curiosity of literature. +London, 1885, 8vo. + +Ellwood, Thomas.--Reflections of [Thomas Ellwood] with John Milton +(_Arber's English Garner_, vol. iii., pp. 473-486). London, 1880, 8vo. + +English Poets.--Cursory remarks on some of the ancient English poets, +particularly Milton. [By P. Neve.] London, 1789, 8vo. + +Epigoniad.--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 originall of Government +upon Mr. Hobs Leviathan, Mr. Milton against Salmasius, H. Grotius De +Jure Belli. London, 1652, 4to. + +---- The Free-holders grand inquest, etc. (Reflections concerning the +Original of Government upon Mr. Milton 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 and poetic, and the +character, public and personal, of John Milton. London, 1838, 8vo. + +Geffroy, Mathieu A.--Étude sur les pamphlets 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 Heroes, 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 life of Milton, by J. +Aubrey, printed from the manuscript copy in the Ashmolean Museum. II. +The Life of Milton, by E. Philips, printed 1694. London, 1815, 4to. + +Goodwin, Thomas.--The Student's Practical Grammar of the English +Language; together with a commentary on the first book of Milton's +Paradise Lost. London, 1855, 12mo. + +Greenwood, F.W.P.--The Miscellaneous Writings of F.W.P. Greenwood. +Boston, 1846, 8vo. + Milton's Prose Works, pp. 208-226. + +Grotius, H. de.--The Adamus Exul of Grotius; or, the prototype of +Paradise Lost. Translated from the Latin, by Francis Barham. London, +1839, 8vo. + +Guerle, Edmond de.--Milton, sa vie et ses oeuvres. Paris, 1868, 8vo. + +Güntzer, C.--Dissertationis ad quaedam loca Miltoni pars posterior. +Argentorati, 1657, 4to. + +Hamilton, W. Douglas.--Original Papers, illustrative of the life and +writings of John Milton, including sixteen letters of State written by +him, now first published from MSS. in the State Paper Office, etc. +London, 1859, 4to. + Printed for the Camden Society. + +Hamilton, Walter.--Parodies of the Works of English and American +Authors, collected and annotated by W. Hamilton. London, 1885, 4to. + John Milton, vol. ii., pp. 217-236. + +Hare, Julius Charles.--Essays and Tales. 2 vols. London, 1848, 8vo. + Milton, vol. i., pp. 73-86. + +Harrington, James.--The Censure of the Rota upon Mr. Milton's book, +entitled The Ready and Easie Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth. +[Signed J. H(arrington); a satire.] London, 1660, 4to. + Reprinted in the Harleian Miscellany. + +Hayley, William.--The Life of Milton; to which are added conjectures on +the origin of Paradise Lost. (The second edition enlarged.) London, +1796, 4to. + This life appeared originally in 1794 in vol. i. of Milton's + Poetical Works. + +Hillebrand, C.--De sacro apud Christianos carmine epico dissertationem +seu Dantis, Miltonis, Klopstockii poetarum collationem proponebat C. +Hillebrand, Parisiis, 1861, 8vo. + +Hodgson, Shadworth H.--Outcast Essays, etc. London, 1881, 8vo. + The supernatural in English poetry; Shakespere; Milton; Wordsworth + Tennyson, pp. 99-180. + +Holloway, Laura C.--The Mothers of Great Men and Women, etc. New York, +1884, 8vo. + Milton's Wives, pp. 457-478. + +Hood, Edwin Paxton.--John Milton: the Patriot and Poet. London, 1852, +18mo. + +Hopkins, J.--Milton's Paradise Lost, imitated in rhyme; in the fourth, +sixth, and ninth books, etc. London, 1699, 8vo. + +Howitt, William.--Homes and Haunts of the most eminent British Poets. +Third edition. London, 1857, 8vo. + John Milton, pp. 46-68. + +Huet, C.B.--Litterarische Fantasien en Kritieken. Haarlem [1883], 8vo. + Milton, 12th Deel, pp. 150-220. + +Hunt, Theodore W.--Representative English Prose and Prose Writers. New +York, 1887, 8vo. + The prose style of John Milton, pp. 246-264. + +Hutton, Laurence.--Literary Landmarks of London. London, 1885, 8vo. + John Milton, pp. 210-216, etc. + +Ivimey, Joseph.--John Milton; his life and times; religious and +political opinions; with an appendix, containing animadversions upon Dr. +Johnson's Life of Milton, etc. London, 1833, 8vo. + +Jackson, W.--Lycidas: a musical entertainment. The words altered from +Milton. London, 1767, 8vo. + +Jane, Joseph.--The Image Unbroaken a perspective of the Impudence, +Falshood, Vanitie, and Prophannes, in a Libell entitled Eikonoklastes. +[London], 1651, 4to. + +Johnson, Samuel.--Prefaces to Milton and Butler. (_Prefaces to the Works +of the English Poets_, vol. ii.) London, 1779, 8vo. + +---- Court and Country: a paraphrase upon Milton. [In a dialogue.] By +the author of Hurlothrumbo [_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 Life, Opinions, and Writings of +John Milton. With an introduction to Paradise Lost. London, 1855, 8vo. + +Keogh, Rt. Hon. William.--Milton's Prose. (_Afternoon Lectures on +Literature and Art, delivered in the Theatre of the Museum of Industry, +Dublin_, 1865, 3rd Series.) London, 1866, 8vo. + +Lamartine, M.L.A. de.--Héloïse et Abélard [Biographies]. Paris, 1864, 12mo. + Includes a biography of Milton, pp. 113-215. + +Lauder, William.--An essay on Milton's use and imitation of the moderns +in his Paradise Lost. [With a preface by Dr. Johnson.] London, 1750, 8vo. + +---- A letter to the reverend Mr. Douglas, occasioned by his vindication +of Milton, etc. [Written by Dr. Johnson.] London, 1751, 4to. + +---- An apology for Mr. Lauder [written by himself] in a letter most +humbly addressed to his grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. London, +1751, 8vo. + +---- Delectus auctorum sacrorum, Miltono facem prælucentium. 2 tom. +London, 1752, 8vo. + +---- King Charles I. vindicated from the charge of plagiarism brought +against him by Milton, etc. To the whole is subjoined the Judgment of +several learned and impartial authors concerning Milton's political +writings. London, 1754, 8vo. + +L'Estrange, R.--No Blind Guides, in answer to a seditious pamphlet of +Milton's, intituled Brief notes upon a late sermon titl'd The fear of +God and the King, preach'd and since publish'd. By M. Griffith, etc. +London, 1660, 4to. + +Letters.--Letters concerning poetical translations and Virgil's and +Milton's Arts of Verse, etc. London, 1739, 8vo. + +Liebert, Gustav.--Milton. Studien zur Geschichte des englischen Geistes. +Hamburg, 1860, 8vo. + +Lotheissen, Ferdinand.--Studien über John Milton's poetische Werke. +Budingen, 1860, 4to. + +Lowell, James Russell.--Among my Books. Second series. London, 1876, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 252-302. + +M.J.A.--An introduction to the Study of Shakespeare and Milton. [By +J.A.M. With selections from their works.] London [1884], 8vo. + +Macaulay, Thomas Babington.--Critical and historical essays contributed +to the Edinburgh Review. 2 vols. London, 1854, 8vo. + Milton, vol. i., pp. 1-28. + +---- The Miscellaneous Writings of Lord Macaulay. London, 1860, 8vo. + Conversation between Mr. Abraham Cowley and Mr. John Milton + touching the great Civil War, vol. i., pp. 101-124. + +---- An Essay on the Life and Works of John Milton, together with the +imaginary conversation between him and H. Cowley. London, 1868, 8vo. + +---- Milton's Essay on Milton. From the Edinburgh Review. With +introductory notice and notes. London, 1872, 16mo. + +---- John Milton. [A biographical sketch.] Boston, 1877, 16mo. + +---- Macaulay's Milton, edited to illustrate the laws of Rhetoric and +Composition, by Alexander Mackie. London, 1884, 8vo. + +Maceuen, Malcolm.--Celebrities of the Past and Present. Philadelphia, +1874, 8vo. + Milton and Poetry, pp. 195-202. + +Mackenzie, Sir George.--Jus Regium: or, the just and solid foundations +of monarchy in general maintain'd against Buchanan, Dolman, Milton, etc. +Edinburgh, 1684, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1684, 8vo. + +McNicoll, Thomas.--Essays on English Literature. London, 1861, 8vo. + Milton and Pollok, pp. 65-111. + +Marquis, G.A.--Select Poetical Pieces, with a logical arrangement, or +practical commentary on Milton's Paradise Lost. Second edition enlarged. +Paris, 1842, 12mo. + +Marsh, John F.--Papers connected with the affairs of Milton and his +family. Edited by J.F. Marsh. Manchester, 1851, 4to. + In vol. i. of the Chetham Miscellanies, published by the Chetham + Society. + +---- Notice of the inventory of the effects of Mrs. Milton, widow of the +poet. Liverpool, 1855, 8vo. + Extracted from the proceedings of the Historic Society of + Lancashire and Cheshire. + +---- On the engraved portrait and pretended portraits of Milton. +Extracted from the Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire +and Cheshire. Liverpool, 1860, 8vo. + +Martyn, W. Carlos.--Life and Times of John Milton. [Published by the +"American Tract Society." With portrait.] New York [1866], 12mo. + +Mason, W.--Musæus; a monody to the memory of Mr. Pope in imitation of +Milton's Lycidas. London, 1747, 4to. + +Massey, William.--Remarks upon Milton's Paradise Lost, etc. London, +1761, 12mo. + +Masson, David.--Essays biographical and critical: chiefly on English +poets. Cambridge, 1856, 8vo. + Milton's Youth, pp. 37-52; The Three Devils: Luther's, Milton's, + and Goethe's, pp. 53-87. + +---- The Three Devils: Luther's, Milton's, and Goethe's. London, 1874, 8vo. + +---- The Life of John Milton; narrated in connexion with the political, +ecclesiastical, and literary history of his time. 6 vols. Cambridge, +1859-80, 8vo. + +---- New and revised edition. London, 1881, etc., 8vo. + +---- John Milton. (_Encyclopædia Britannica_, vol. xvi., pp. 324-340.) +London, 1883, 4to. + +Meadowcourt, Richard.--A critique on Milton's Paradise Regained. London, +1732, 4to. + +---- A Critical Dissertation, with notes, on Milton's Paradise Regain'd. +The second edition corrected. London, 1748, 8vo. + +Milton, John.--An answer to a book [by John Milton], intituled, The +Divorce and Discipline of Divorce, etc. London, 1644, 4to. + +---- Carolus I. Britanniarum Rex, a Securi et Calamo Miltonii +vindicatus. Dublini, 1652, 12mo. + +---- Areopagitica Secunda: or, speech of the shade of John Milton on Mr. +Sergeant Talfourd's Copyright Extension Bill. London, 1838, 8vo. + +---- Comus, a mask: (now adapted to the stage) as alter'd [by J. Dalton] +from Milton's Mask. London, 1738, 8vo. + +---- Second edition. London, 1738, 8vo. + +---- Third edition. London, 1738, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. Dublin, 1738, 8vo. + +---- Sixth edition. London, 1741, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1750, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1759, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1760, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1762, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1777, 8vo. + +---- Comus, a masque [altered by J. Dalton from John Milton], London, +1791, 8vo. + In vol. i. of "Bell's Theatre." + +---- Comus [altered from Milton by J. Dalton]. London, 1811, 8vo. + In the "Modern British Drama," vol. ii. + +---- Comus: a mask, altered from Milton. [By J. Dalton.] London, 1815, +16mo. + In vol. x. of Dibdin's "London Theatre." + +---- Comus. [Adapted to the stage by J. Dalton.] London, 1826, 8vo. + In the "British Drama," vol. ii. + +---- Comus: a masque [in two acts]. Altered from Milton [by G. Colman]. +As performed at the Theatre-Royal in Covent Garden. The musick composed +by Dr. Arne. London, 1772, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1774, 8vo. + +---- Comus: a masque. Altered by Mr. Colman. (_Bell's British Theatre_, +vol. ix.) London, 1777, 12mo. + +---- Comus: a masque. Altered from Milton [by G. Colman]. Edinburgh, +1786, 12mo. + Vol. iv. of the "British Stage." + +---- Comus. Altered for the stage by Colman. (_Modern British Drama_, +vol. v.) London, 1811, 8vo. + +---- Comus: a masque. Altered from Milton, by G. Colman. (_Inchbald's +Collection of Farces_, vol. vii.) London, 1815, 12mo. + +---- Milton's Comus: a masque, in two acts [altered from Milton], as +revised at Covent Garden, April 28, 1815. London, 1815, 8vo. + There is a copy in the British Museum with the autograph of Sir + Henry Bishop. + +---- Comus: a masque. Altered from Milton [by G. Colman]. London [1824], +8vo. + Vol. ii. of "The London Stage." + +---- Comus. Altered from Milton. [By G. Colman, the elder.] London, +1872, 8vo. + In the "British Drama," vol. xii. + +---- Comus: a masque. Altered from Milton. (_Supplement to Bell's +British Theatre_, vol. iv.) London, 1784, 12mo. + +---- Miltonis epistola ad Pollionem. Edidit et notis illustravit F.S. +Cantabrigiensis. Londini, 1738, folio. + +---- Editio altera. Londini, 1738, folio. + +---- Milton's Epistle to Pollio. Translated from the Latin, and +illustrated with notes. London, 1740, folio. + +---- Milton restor'd and Bentley depos'd, containing, I. Some +observations on Dr. Bentley's preface. II. His various readings and +notes on Paradise Lost and Milton's text, set in opposite columns, with +remarks therein. III. Paradise Lost, attempted in rime. Book I., Numb. +I. From Dean Swift. London, 1732, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost: a poem attempted in Rhime. [Altered from Milton.] +London, 1740, 8vo. + +---- Paradise Lost. An oratorio [in three acts and in verse] altered and +adapted to the stage from Milton [by B. Stillingfleet]. London, 1760, 4to. + +---- Paradise Lost. An oratorio in four parts. The words selected from +the works of Milton by J.L. Ellerton. London [1862], 12mo. + +---- Paradise Lost. Oratorio in three parts, from the poem of Milton. +English version by J. Pittman. London [1880], 8vo. + +---- The State of Innocence and Fall of Man described in Milton's +Paradise Lost. Render'd into prose with notes from the French of Raymond +[or rather Nicolas Francois Dupré] de St. Maur. By a gentleman of Oxford +[George Smith Green?]. London, 1745, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. Aberdeen, 1770, 12mo. + +---- A verbal Index to Milton's Paradise Lost; adapted to every edition +but the first, etc. London, 1741, 12mo. + +---- An essay upon Milton's imitations of the Ancients in his Paradise +Lost. With some observations on the Paradise Regain'd. London, 1741, +8vo. + +---- A new occasional Oratorio [on the suppression of the Rebellion], +the words taken from Milton, Spenser, etc., and set to musick by Mr. +Handel. London, 1746, 4to. + The words only. + +---- The Progress of Envy, a poem occasioned by Lauder's attack on the +character of Milton. London, 1751, 4to. + +---- A familiar explanation of the poetical works of Milton. To which is +prefixed Mr. Addison's criticism on Paradise Lost. With a preface by +Rev. Mr. Dodd. London, 1672, 12mo. + +---- The Recovery of Man: or, Milton's Paradise Regained. In Prose. +After the manner of the Archbishop of Cambray. To which is prefixed the +life of the author. [London], 1771, 12mo. + +---- Samson. An Oratorio [in three acts]. As it is performed at the +Theatres-royal. Altered from the Samson Agonistes of Milton [by N. +Hamilton]. Set to musick by Mr. Handel. London [1742], 8vo. + The words only. + +---- Another edition. London [1742], 4to. + +---- Another edition. London [1742], 4to. + +---- Another edition. London, 1743, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1751, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1759, 4to. + +---- Samson: an oratorio [altered and adapted to the stage from the +Samson Agonistes by N. Hamilton]. [Oxford], 1749, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1762, 4to. + +---- Samson. Set to musick by Mr. Handel. London, 1762, 4to. + +---- Samson. An oratorio [altered from the Samson Agonistes, by N. +Hamilton]. Salisbury, 1765, 8vo. + +---- Handel's oratorio, Samson. The words chiefly from Milton. [Compiled +by T. Morell.] London [1840], 4to. + +---- The Life of John Milton. Published under the direction of the +Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. London [1861], 8vo. + +---- A Milton Memorial. A sketch of the life of John Milton, compiled +with reference to the proposed restoration of the Church of St. Giles, +Cripplegate (where he was buried). By Antiquitatis historicæ studiosus. +London, 1862, 8vo. + +Mirabeau, Count de.--Théorie de la Royauté d'après la Doctrine de +Milton. [Translated from the Defence of the People of England. With a +preliminary dissertation, "Sur Milton et ses ouvrages"; by H.G. +Riquetti, Comte de Mirabeau?] [Paris], 1789, 8vo. + +Moers, F. Josephus.--De fontibus Paradisi Amissi Miltoniani. Dissertatio +philologica, etc. Bonnae [1865], 8vo. + +Morris, Joseph W.--John Milton: a vindication, specially from the charge +of Arianism. London [1862], 8vo. + +Mortimer, Charles Edward.--An historical memoir of the Political Life of +John Milton. London, 1805, 4to. + +Morus, Alexander.--A. Mori Fides Publica, contra calumnias Joannis +Miltoni. Hagæ-Comitum, 1654, 12mo. + +Mouron, H.--Jean Milton. Conférence. Deuxième édition. Strasbourg, 1875, +8vo. + +Munkácsy, M.--Opinions of the Continental Press on M. Munkácsy and his +latest picture, "Milton dictating Paradise Lost to his daughters." +Paris, 1879, 8vo. + +Neve, Philip.--A narrative of the disinterment of Milton's coffin in the +Parish Church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, 4th August 1790; and of the +treatment of the corpse during that and the following day. London, 1790, +8vo. + +Nicoll, Henry J.--Landmarks of English Literature. London, 1883, 8vo. + John Milton, pp. 112-125. + +Paterson, James.--A complete commentary on Milton's Paradise Lost, etc. +London, 1744, 8vo. + +Pattison, Mark.--Milton. [An account of his life and works.] London, +1879, 8vo. + One of the "English Men of Letters" series. + +Pauli, Reinhold.--Aufsätze zur Englischen Geschichte. Leipzig, 1869, 8vo. + John Milton, pp. 348-391. + +Pearce, Z., _Bishop of Rochester_.--A review of the text of Milton's +Paradise Lost; in which the chief of Dr. Bentley's Emendations are +consider'd; and several other emendations and observations are offer'd +to the public. London, 1732, 8vo. + +---- Another edition. London, 1733, 8vo. + +Peck, Francis.--New Memoirs of the Life and Poetical Works of Mr. John +Milton, etc. London, 1740, 4to. + +---- Memoirs of the life and actions of Oliver Cromwell: as delivered in +three panegyrics of him. The first, as said, by Don Juan Rodriguez de +Saa Meneses; the second, as affirmed by a certain Jesuit; yet both, it +is thought, composed by Mr. John Milton, as was the third, etc. London, +1740, 4to. + +Penn, John.--Critical, poetical, and dramatic works. 2 vols. London, +1798, 8vo. + Samson Agonistes, vol. ii., pp. 213-263. + +Philips, John.--Poems attempted in the style of Milton, etc. London, +1762, 12mo. + +Philo-Milton, _pseud._--Milton's Sublimity asserted: in a poem +occasion'd by a late piece entituled Cyder, a poem [by J. Philips]. In +blank verse. London, 1709, 4to. + +---- A vindication of the Paradise Lost from the charge of exculpating +Lord Byron's "Cain, a Mystery." London, 1822, 8vo. + +Plaint.--The Plaint of Freedom. (To the Memory of Milton. In verse.) +Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1852, 4to. + +Prendergast, G.L.--A complete concordance to the poetical works of +Milton. Madras, 1856-57, 4to. + +Prodromus.--Verax Prodromus in Delirum. [An invective against John +Milton.] [Amsterdam? 1656?] 4to. + +R * *--Lettres critiques à Mr. le comte * * * sur le Paradis perdu, et +reconquis, de Milton, par R * * [outh]. Paris, 1731, 8vo. + +Reed, Henry.--Lectures on the British Poets. 2 vols. Philadelphia, +1858, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 199-232. + +Rice, Allen Thorndike.--Essays from the North American Review. New York, +1879, 8vo. + John Milton, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, pp. 99-122. + +Richardson, Jonathan.--Explanatory notes and remarks on Milton's +Paradise Lost. By J. Richardson, father and son. London, 1734, 8vo. + +Richardson, Jonathan.--Zoilomastix; or, a vindication of Milton from +all the invidious charges of W. Lauder. With several new remarks on +Paradise Lost. London, 1747, 8vo. + +Ring, Max.--John Milton und seine Zeit. Historischer Roman. Frankfurt a. +Main, 1857, 8vo. + +---- John Milton and his times, a historical novel. Translated by J. +Jefferson. Manchester, 1889, 8vo. + +Rolli, P.--Sabrina; an opera [in three acts and in verse. Founded on the +"Comus" of Milton]. _Ital._ and _Eng._ London, 1737, 8vo. + +Rossetti, William Michael.--Lives of Famous Poets. London, 1878, 8vo. + John Milton, pp. 65-79. + +Rowland, J.--Pro Rege et Populo Anglicano apologia, contra Joannis +Polypragmatici (alias Miltoni Angli) defensionem destructivam Regis et +Populi Anglicani. Antwerpiæ, 1651, 12mo. + +---- Another edition. Antwerpiæ, 1652, 12mo. + +S.G.--The dignity of Kingship asserted: in answer to Mr. Milton's Ready +and Easie way to establish a free Commonwealth. By G.S. (George +Searle?), a lover of loyalty. London, 1660, 8vo. + +Saintsbury, George.--A History of Elizabethan Literature. London, +1887, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 315-329. + +Salmasius, Claudius de.--Claudii Salmasii ad Johannem Miltonum +Responsio. Opus posthumum. Londini, 1660, 12mo. + +Say, Samuel.--Poems on several occasions: and two critical Essays--viz., +the first on the harmony, variety, and power of numbers, whether in +prose or verse; the second, on the numbers of Paradise Lost. [With a +portrait of Milton, etched by J. Richardson.] London, 1745, 4to. + +Scherer, Edmond.--Études sur la Littérature Contemporaine. Paris, +1882, 8vo. + Milton et le _Paradis Perdu_, tom. vi., pp. 161-194. + +Scolari, Filippo.--Saggio di Critica sul Paradiso Perduto, Poema di +Giovanni Milton, e sulle annotazioni a quello di Giuseppe Addison. +Aggiuntovi l'Adamo sacra rappresentazione di G.B. Andreini, etc. +Venezia, 1818, 8vo. + +Scott, John.--Critical Essays on some of the poems of several English +poets, etc. London, 1785, 8vo. + On Milton's Lycidas, pp. 37-64. + +Seeley, J.R.--Lectures and Essays. London, 1870, 8vo. + Milton's Political Opinions, pp. 89-119; Milton's Poetry, + pp. 120-154. + +Shenston, J.B.--The Authority of Jehovah asserted, ... with some remarks +on the article on Milton's Essay on the Sabbath and the Lord's Day, +which appeared in the Evangelical Review, 1826. London, 1826, 8vo. + +Smectymnuus, _pseud._ [_i.e._, Stephen Marshall, Edmund Calamy etc.]--A +modest confutation of a slanderous and scurrilous libell, entituled, +Animadversions [by John Milton] upon the remonstrants' defense against +Smectymnuus. [London] 1642, 4to. + +Sotheby, Samuel Leigh.--Ramblings in the elucidation of the Autograph +of Milton. [With plates.] London, 1861, 4to. + +Steel, David.--Elements of Punctuation, and critical observations on +some passages in Milton. London, 1786, 8vo. + +Stern, Alfred.--Milton und seine Zeit. 2 Thle. Leipzig, 1877-79, 8vo. + +---- Milton und Cromwell. Berlin, 1875, 8vo. + Serie x., Hft. 236 of Virchow and Holtzendorff's "Sammlung + gemeinverständlicher wissenschaftlicher Vorträge, etc." + +Symmons, Charles.--The Life of John Milton, etc. London, 1806, 8vo. + +---- Second edition. London, 1810, 8vo. + +---- Third edition. London, 1882, 8vo. + +Taine, H.A.--Histoire de la Littérature Anglaise. 4 tom. Paris, 1863-4, +8vo. + Milton, tom, ii., pp. 327-435. + +---- History of English Literature. Translated by H. Van Laun. 4 vols. +Edinburgh, 1873-4, 8vo. + Milton, vol. ii., pp. 239-318. + +Tasso, Torquato.--Il Tasso, a dialogue. The speakers, John Milton, +Torquato Tasso. London, 1762, 8vo. + +Todd, Henry John.--Some account of the life and writings of John Milton. +Second edition, with additions, and with a verbal index to the whole of +Milton's poetry. London, 1809, 8vo. + This forms vol. i. of the 1809 edition of Todd's Milton; a certain + number of copies being printed off with a distinct title-page. + +---- Some account of the life and writings of John Milton, derived +principally from documents in His Majesty's State-paper Office, now +first published. London, 1826, 8vo. + +Toland, John.--The Life of John Milton, containing, besides the history +of his works, several extraordinary characters of men and books, sects, +parties, and opinions. [Signed J.T., _i.e._ J. Toland.] London, 1699, 8vo. + +---- Amyntor; or, a Defence of Milton's Life, etc. London, 1699, 8vo. + +---- The Life of John Milton; with Amyntor; or a Defence of Milton's +Life, etc. London, 1761, 8vo. + +Tomlinson, John.--Three Household Poets--viz., Milton, Cowper, Burns, +etc. London, 1869, 8vo. + +Tulloch, John.--English Puritanism and its leaders, Cromwell, Milton, +Baxter, Bunyan. Edinburgh, 1861, 8vo. + +Vericour, Raymond de.--Milton et la poésie épique, etc. Paris, 1838, 8vo. + +Ward, Thomas H.--The English Poets; selections, with critical +introductions, etc. 4 vols. London, 1880, 8vo. + John Milton, by Mark Pattison, vol. ii., pp. 293-379. + +Warton, Thomas.--A Letter to T. Warton on his editon of Milton's +juvenile poems. [By S. Darby?] London, 1785, 8vo. + +White, Thomas Holt.--A Review of Johnson's criticism on the style of +Milton's English Prose, etc. London, 1818, 8vo. + +Wilson, J.--Vindiciæ Carolinæ; or a defence of Eikon Basilike, etc. +London, 1692, 8vo. + +Yonge, Charles Duke.--Three Centuries of English Literature. London, +1872, 8vo. + Milton, pp. 185-210. + +Zicari da Paola, F.--Sulla scoverta dell' originale Italiano da cui +Milton trasse il suo poema del Paradiso Perduto. Napoli, 1844, 12mo. + +Ziegler, C.--C. Ziegleri circa regicidium Anglorum exercitationes. +Accedit Jacobi Schalleri Dissertatio ad loca quædam Miltoni. Lugd. +Batavorum, 1653, 12mo. + + + + +MAGAZINE ARTICLES, ETC. + + +Milton, John.--Edinburgh Review, by T.B. Macaulay, vol. 42, 1825, +pp. 304-346. + --Christian Examiner, by W.E. Channing, vol. 3, 1826, pp. 29-77; + same article, Pamphleteer, vol. 29, pp. 507-547. + --United States Literary Gazette, vol. 4, 1826, pp. 278-293. + --Quarterly Review, by J.J. Blunt, vol. 36, 1827, pp. 29-61. + --American Quarterly Review, vol. 5, 1829, pp. 301-310. + --American Quarterly Observer, vol. 1, 1833, pp. 115-125. + --Congregational Magazine, vol. 9, 1833, pp. 193-211. + --North American Review, by R.W. Emerson, vol. 47, 1838, pp. 56-73. + --Blackwood's Magazine, vol. 46, 1839, pp. 775-780. + --Penny Magazine, vol. 10, 1841, pp. 97-101. + --National Review, vol. 9, 1859, pp. 150-186. + --Chambers's Journal, vol. 11, 1859, pp. 117-119. + --Radical, by B.W. Wall, vol. 3, 1868, pp. 718-723. + --Contemporary Review, by P. Bayne, vol. 22, 1873, pp. 427-460; + same article, Eclectic Magazine, vol. 18 N.S., pp. 565-585; + Littell's Living Age, vol. 3, 5th ser., pp. 643-662. + --New Monthly Magazine, vol. 4 N.S., 1873, pp. 27-35. + --Congregationalist, by T.H. Gill, vol. 3, 1874, pp. 705-714. + --Macmillan's Magazine, by Mark Pattison, vol. 31, 1875, pp. 380-387; + same article, Littell's Living Age, vol. 10, 5th ser., pp. 323-329. + --Western, by H.H. Morgan, vol. 5, 1879, pp. 107-138. + --Modern Review, by H. New, vol. 2, 1881, pp. 103-128; + same article, Littell's Living Age, vol. 148, pp. 515-525. + +---- _and the Commonwealth_. British Quarterly Review, vol. 10, 1849, +pp. 224-254; + same article, Eclectic Magazine, vol. 18, pp. 346-362. + +---- _and Dante_. St. James's Magazine, vol. 15, 1866, pp. 243-250. + +---- _and Galileo_. Fraser's Magazine, by Sir Richard Owen, vol. 79, +1869, pp. 678-684. + +---- _and his daughters_. People's Journal, by Mrs. Leman Gillies, +vol. 5, 1848, pp. 227, 228. + +---- _and Homer contrasted_. Analectic Magazine, vol. 14, 1819, +pp. 224-229. + +---- _and Macaulay_. De Bow's Review, by G. Fitzhugh, vol. 28, 1860, +pp. 667-679. + +---- _and Masenius_. Month, vol. 8, 1868, pp. 542-550. + +---- _and the Daughters of Eve_. St. Paul's, vol. 13, 1873, pp. 405-418. + +---- _and Vondel_. Academy, by Edmund Gosse and G. Edmundson, vol. 28, +1885, pp. 265, 266, 293, 294, 342; and by J.R. Mac Ilraith, pp. 308, 309. + --Athenæum, Nov. 7, 1885, pp. 599, 600. + --Nation, vol. 42, 1886, pp. 264, 265. + +---- _and Wordsworth_. Temple Bar, vol. 60, 1880, pp. 106-115. + +---- _Angels of_. New Englander, by John A. Himes, vol. 43, 1884, +pp. 527-543. + +---- _Areopagitica_. Retrospective Review, vol. 9, 1824, pp. 1-19. + +---- _as a Reformer_. Methodist Quarterly Review, by F.H. Newhall, +vol. 39, 1857, pp. 542-559. + +---- _At Cambridge_. American Journal of Education, vol. 28, 1878, +pp. 383-400. + +---- _Bibliographical account of his works_. Retrospective Review, +vol. 14, 1826, pp. 282-305. + +---- _Blank Verse of_. Fortnightly Review, by J.A. Symonds, vol. 16 +N.S., 1874, pp. 767-781. + +---- _Blindness of_. Chambers's Journal, vol. 3 N.S., 1845, pp. 392-394. + +---- _Byron and Southey_. De Bow's Review, by G. Fitzhugh, vol. 29, +1860, pp. 430-440. + +---- _Channing on_. Edinburgh Review, 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. + --North 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 N.S., 1826, pp. 1-18, 114-141. + +---- _Comus_. New Monthly Magazine, vol. 7, 1823, pp. 222-229. + +---- _Comus_, _and Fletcher's Faithful Shepherdess_. Manchester +Quarterly, by W.E.A. Axon, vol. 1, 1882, pp. 285-295. + +---- _Dante and Æschylus_. Tait's Edinburgh Magazine, vol. 20 N.S., +1853, pp. 513-525, 577-587, 641-650. + +---- _De Vericour's Lectures on_. Monthly Review, vol. 2 N.S., 1838, +pp. 342-351. + +---- _Doctrinal Error of his later life_. Bibliotheca Sacra, by T. Hunt, +vol. 42, 1885, pp. 251-269. + +---- _Doctrine of Divorce_. Monthly Review, vol. 93, 1820, pp. 144-158. + +---- _Early Life_. Methodist Quarterly Review, by P. Church, vol. 48, +1866, pp. 580-595. + +---- _Effigies of_. Historical Magazine, vol. 2, 1858, pp. 230-233. + +---- _Familiar Letters_. Southern Review, vol. 6, 1830, pp. 198-206. + --American Quarterly Review, vol. 5, 1829, pp. 301-310. + +---- _French Critic on_. Quarterly Review, vol. 143, 1877, pp. 186-204; + same article, Littell's Living Age, vol. 132, 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_. Retrospective Review, vol. 6, 1822, +pp. 87-100. + +---- _Hollis' Bust of_. Scribner's Monthly, by C. Cook, vol. 11, 1876, +pp. 472-476. + +---- _Home, School, and College 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; + same article, Littell's Living Age, vol. 112, 1872, pp. 408-414. + +---- _in our Day_. Christian Examiner, by S. Good, vol. 57, 1854, +pp. 323-340. + +---- _Italian Element in_. Penn Monthly Magazine, by O.H. Kendall, +vol. 1, 1870, pp. 388-400. + +---- _Keble's Estimate of_. Macmillan's Magazine, by J.C. Shairp, +vol. 31, 1875, pp. 554-560. + +---- _Keightley's Life of_. North American Review, by H.A. Whitney, vol. +82, 1856, pp. 388-404. Littell's Living Age (from the _Saturday +Review_), vol. 63, 1859, pp. 226-229. + +---- _Lamartine on_. Littell's Living Age (from the _Literary Gazette_), +vol. 44, 1855, pp. 497-499. + +---- _Latin Poems of, Cowper's Translations_. Eclectic Review, Sept. +1808, pp. 780-791. + +---- _Life of_. North British Review, by D. Masson, vol. 16, 1852, +pp. 295-335; + same article, Eclectic Magazine, vol. 25, 1852, pp. 433-447. + --New Quarterly Review, vol. 8, 1859, pp. 40-54. + +---- _Life and Poetry of_. Hogg's Instructor, vol. 1 N.S., 1853, pp. +234-242; + same article, Eclectic Magazine, vol. 30, pp. 364-372. + +---- _Lycidas_. American Monthly Magazine, vol. 5 N.S., 1838, pp. 341-353. + --Quarterly Review, vol. 158, 1884, pp. 162-183. + +---- ---- _Language of Lycidas_. Sharpe's London Magazine, vol. 25 N.S., +1864, pp. 293-296. + +---- ---- _Notes on Lycidas_. Journal of Speculative Philosophy, by A.C. +Brackett, vol. 1, 1867, pp. 87-90. + +---- _Masson's Life 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; + same article, Littell's Living Age, vol. 61, pp. 731-747. + --Dublin University Magazine, vol. 53, 1859, pp. 609-623. + --New Monthly Magazine, vol. 115, 1859, pp. 163-172. + --Eclectic Review, vol. 1 N.S., 1859, pp. 1-21. + --Christian Examiner, by G.E. Ellis, vol. 66, 1859, pp. 401-431. + --Old and New, vol. 4, 1871, pp. 704-708. + --Nation, by W.F. Allen, vol. 13, 1871, 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. + --Quarterly Review, vol. 132, 1872, pp. 393-423. + --Presbyterian Quarterly, by E.H. Gillett, vol. 1, 1872, pp. 382-394. + --North American Review, by J.R. Lowell, vol. 114, 1872, pp. 204-218. + --Macmillan's Magazine, by G.B. Smith, vol. 28, 1873, pp. 536-547. + --Christian Observer, vol. 73, 1873, pp. 815-834. + --International Review, vol. 1, 1874, pp. 131-135. + --North American Review, vol. 126, 1878, pp. 537-542. + --Nation, by J.L. Dyman, vol. 26, 1878, pp. 342-344. + --Westminster Review, vol. 57 N.S., 1880, pp. 365-385. + +---- _Minor Poems_. Dublin University Magazine, vol. 63, 1864, +pp. 619-625. + +---- _Mitford's Life of_. New Monthly Magazine, vol. 34, 1832, +pp. 581, 582. + +---- _Nephews of_. Edinburgh Review, by Sir J. Mackintosh, vol. 25, +1815, pp. 485-501. + +---- _Newly-discovered Prose Writings of_. Hours at Home, by E.H. +Gillett, vol. 9, 1869, pp. 532-536. + +---- _Ode to_. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, by A.A. Lipscomb, vol. 20, +1860, pp. 771-778. + +---- _On the Divinity of Christ_. Christian Examiner, vol. 2, 1825, +pp. 423-429. + +---- _Paradise Lost_. Journal of Sacred Literature, by F.A. Cox, vol. 1, +1848, pp. 236-257. + +---- ---- _Chateaubriand's Translation of Paradise Lost_. Foreign +Quarterly Review, vol. 19, 1837, pp. 35-50. + +---- ---- _Cosmology of Paradise Lost_. Lutheran Quarterly, by J.A. +Himes, vol. 6, p. 187, etc. + +---- ---- _De Lille's Translation of Paradise Lost_. Edinburgh Review, +vol. 8, 1806, pp. 167-190. + +---- ---- _First Edition of Paradise Lost_. Book-Lore, vol. 3, 1886, pp. +72-75. Leisure Hour, April 28, 1877, pp. 269, 270. + +---- ---- _Moral Estimate of the Paradise Lost_. Christian Observer, +vol. 22, 1822, pp. 211-218, 278-284. + +---- ---- _Mull's edition of Paradise Lost_. Spectator, December 6, +1884, pp. 1635, 1636. + --Saturday Review, vol. 58, pp. 570, 571. + +---- ---- _Origin of the Paradise Lost_. North American Review, by L.E. +Dubois, vol. 91, 1860, pp. 539-555. + +---- ---- _Plan of Paradise Lost_. New Englander, by Professor Himes, +vol. 42, 1883, pp. 196-211. + +---- ---- _Prendeville's edition of Paradise Lost_. Blackwood's +Edinburgh Magazine, vol. 47, 1840, pp. 691-716. + +---- ---- _Sorelli's Italian Translation of Paradise Lost_. Foreign +Quarterly Review, vol. 10, 1832, pp. 508-513. + +---- ---- _Theism of the Paradise Lost_. Unitarian Review, by H. +Carpenter, vol. 5, pp. 302, etc. + +---- _Poetry of_. Edinburgh Review, vol. 42, 1825, pp. 304-324. + --Selections from the Edinburgh Review, vol. 2, 1835, pp. 34-64. + --Macmillan's Magazine, by J.R. Seeley, vol. 17, 1868, pp. 299-311; + vol. 19, pp. 407-421. + --Temple Bar, vol. 39, 1873, pp. 458-473. + +---- _Political Writings_. Nation, by Goldwin Smith, vol. 30, 1880, +pp. 30-32. + +---- _Prose Writings of_. New Monthly Magazine, vol. 40, 1834, pp. 39-50. + --Congregational Magazine, vol. 10 N.S., 1834, pp. 217-224. + --American Monthly Magazine, vol. 1 N.S., 1836, pp. 142-146. + --Eclectic Review, vol. 25 N.S., 1849, pp. 507-521. + --Spectator, Oct. 3, 1885, pp. 1317, 1318. + --Athenæum, Sept. 20, 1884, pp. 359, 360. + +---- _Public Conduct of_. Edinburgh Review, vol. 42, 1825, pp. 324-346. + --Selections from the Edinburgh Review, vol. 2, 1835, pp. 48-64. + +---- _Relics of, at Cambridge_. Chambers's Journal, vol. 8, 1857, pp. +319, 320. + +---- _Religious Life and Opinions of_. Bibliotheca Sacra, by A.D. +Barber, vol. 16, 1859, pp. 557-603; vol. 17, pp. 1-42. + +---- _Rural Scenes of_. Fraser's Magazine, vol. 23, 1841, pp. 519-528. + +---- _Satan of._ Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, vol. 1, 1817, pp. 140-142. + +---- ---- _and Lucifer of Byron Compared._ Knickerbocker, vol. 30, 1847, +pp. 150-155. + +---- ---- _Satan of Paradise Lost._ Dublin University Magazine, vol. 88, +1876, pp. 707-714. + +---- _Select Prose Works._ Boston Quarterly Review, vol. 5, 1842, +pp. 322-342. + +---- _Shadow 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. + --Athenæum, Sept. 1, 1883, pp. 263-265. + +---- _Spenser, and Shakspere._ Victoria Magazine, vol. 25, 1875, pp. +856-868, 1059-1065; vol. 26, pp. 24-31, 108-117. + +---- _State Papers relating to._ London Magazine, vol. 6 N.S., 1826, +pp. 377-396. + +---- _Theology of._ Boston Monthly Magazine, vol. 1, 1825, pp. 489-491. + +---- _Todd's Life of._ Quarterly Review, vol. 36, 1827, pp. 29-61. + --Monthly Review, vol. 3 N.S., 1826, pp. 258-273. + --Museum of Foreign Literature, vol. 10, p. 67, etc.; vol. 11, pp. 114, + etc., 385, etc. + --Congregational Magazine, vol. 3, 1827, pp. 33-40. + +---- _Treatise on Christian Doctrine._ Evangelical Magazine, vol. 4 +N.S., 1826, pp. 371-375. + +---- _versus Robert Montgomery._ Knickerbocker, vol. 3, 1834, pp. +120-134. + +---- _Works of._ American Church Review, by J.H. Hanson, vol. 2, pp. +153, etc. + +---- _Youth of_. Edinburgh Review, vol. 111, 1860, pp. 312-347; + same article, Littell's Living Age, vol. 65, pp. 579-597. + --Argosy, vol. 6, 1868, pp. 267-273. + + * * * * * + + +VII. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS. + +A Maske [Comus] 1637 + +Lycidas 1638 + (In _Justa Edouardo King Naufrago_) + +Of Reformation touching Church-Discipline in England 1641 + +Of Prelatical Episcopacy 1641 + +Animadversions upon the Remonstrant's defence against Smectymnuus 1641 + +The Reason of Church-Government urg'd against Prelaty 1641 + +Apology against a Pamphlet called A Modest Confutation of the +Animadversions, etc. 1641 + +Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce 1643 + +Of Education. To Master S. Hartlib 1644 + +The Judgment of Martin Bucer, now Englisht 1644 + +Areopagitica 1644 + +Tetrachordon 1644 + +Colasterion 1645 + +Poems 1645 + +Tenure of Kings and Magistrates 1649 + +Observations upon the Articles of Peace with the Irish Rebels +(_Articles of Peace_, etc.) 1649 + +Eikonoklastes 1649 + +Pro populo Anglicano defensio contra Salmasium 1651 + +A Letter touching the Dissolution of the late Parliament 1653 + +Pro populo Anglicano defensio secunda 1654 + +Scriptum Dom-Protectoris contra Hispanos 1655 + +Pro se defensio contra A. Morum 1655 + +Treatise on Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes 1659 + +Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove Hirelings +out of the Church 1659 + +Ready and easy way to establish a free Commonwealth 1660 + +Paradise Lost 1667 + +Accedence commenc't Grammar 1669 + +History of Britain 1670 + +Paradise Regained 1671 + +Samson Agonistes 1671 + (_With preceding work_) + +Artis Logicæ plenior Institutio 1672 + +Of true Religion, Heresie, Schism, Toleration, and what best means +may be used against the growth of Popery 1673 + +Epistolarum familiarium liber 1674 + +Declaration or Letters Patents of the Election of this present +King of Poland, John the Third 1674 + + * * * * * + +Literæ Pseudo-Senatus Anglicani, Cromwellii, etc. 1676 + +Character of the Long 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 Papers of State addressed to Oliver Cromwell 1743 + +De Doctrina Christiana 1825 + +Common Place Book 1876 + + +_Printed by _WALTER SCOTT_, Felling, Newcastle-on-Tyne._ + + + + + +_Crown 8vo, Cloth. Price 3s. 6d. per Vol.; Hlf. Mor. 6s. 6d._ + +THE CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE SERIES. + +EDITED BY HAVELOCK ELLIS. + +_Most of the vols. will be illustrated, containing between 300 and 400 +pp. The first vol. will be issued on Oct. 25, 1889. Others to follow at +short intervals._ + + * * * * * + +The contemporary science series will bring within general reach of the +English-speaking public the best that is known and thought in all +departments of modern scientific research. The influence of the +scientific spirit is now rapidly spreading in every field of human +activity. Social progress, it is felt, must be guided and accompanied by +accurate knowledge,--knowledge which is, in many departments, not yet +open to the English reader. In the Contemporary Science Series all the +questions of modern life--the various social and politico-economical +problems of to-day, the most recent researches in the knowledge of man, +the past and present experiences of the race, and the nature of its +environment--will be frankly investigated and clearly presented. + + * * * * * + +The first volumes of the Series will be:-- + +THE EVOLUTION OF SEX. By Prof. PATRICK GEDDES and J. ARTHUR +THOMSON. With 90 Illustrations, and about 300 pages. [_Now Ready._ + +ELECTRICITY IN MODERN LIFE. By G.W. DE TUNZELMANN. With 88 +Illustrations. [_Ready 25th November._ + +THE ORIGIN OF THE ARYANS. By Dr. ISAAC TAYLOR. With numerous +Illustrations. [_Ready 25th December._ + +The following Writers, among others, are preparing volumes for this +Series:-- + +Prof. E.D. Cope, Prof. G.F. Fitzgerald, Prof. J. Geikie, G.L. Gomme, +E.C.K. Gonner, Prof. J. Jastrow (Wisconsin), E Sidney Hartland, Prof. +C.H. Herford, J. Bland Sutton, Dr. C. Mercier, Sidney Webb, Dr. Sims +Woodhead, Dr. C.M. Woodward (St. Louis, Mo.), etc. + + * * * * * + +LONDON: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. + + + + + +GREAT WRITERS. + +A NEW SERIES OF CRITICAL BIOGRAPHIES. + +Edited by Professor ERIC S. ROBERTSON, M.A. + +MONTHLY SHILLING VOLUMES. + +_VOLUMES ALREADY ISSUED_-- + + +LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. By Prof. Eric S. Robertson. +"A most readable little work."--_Liverpool Mercury._ + +LIFE OF COLERIDGE. By Hall Caine. +"Brief and vigorous, written throughout with spirit and great literary +skill."--_Scotsman._ + +LIFE OF DICKENS. By Frank T. Marzials. +"Notwithstanding the mass of matter that has been printed relating to +Dickens and his works ... we should, until we came across this volume, +have been at a loss to recommend any popular life of England's most +popular novelist as being really satisfactory. The difficulty is removed +by Mr. Marzials's little book."--_Athenæum._ + +LIFE OF DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI By J. Knight. +"Mr. Knight's picture of the great poet and painter is the fullest and +best yet presented to the public."--_The Graphic._ + +LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON. By Colonel F. Grant. +"Colonel Grant has performed his task with diligence, sound judgment +good taste, and accuracy."--_Illustrated London News._ + +LIFE OF DARWIN. By G.T. Bettany. +"Mr. G.T. Bettany's _Life of Darwin_ is a sound and conscientious +work."--_Saturday Review._ + +LIFE OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË. By A. Birrell. +"Those who know much of Charlotte Brontë will learn more, and those who +know nothing about her will find all that is best worth learning in Mr. +Birrell's pleasant book."--_St. James' Gazette._ + +LIFE OF THOMAS CARLYLE. By R. Garnett, LL.D. +"This is an admirable book. Nothing could be more felicitous and fairer +than the way in which he takes us through Carlyle's life and +works."--_Pall Mall Gazette._ + +LIFE OF ADAM SMITH. By R.B. Haldane, M.P. +"Written with a perspicuity seldom exemplified when dealing with +economic science."--_Scotsman._ + +LIFE OF KEATS. By W.M. Rossetti. +"Valuable for the ample information which it contains."--_Cambridge +Independent._ + +LIFE OF SHELLEY. By William Sharp. +"The criticisms ... entitle this capital monograph to be ranked with the +best biographies of Shelley."--_Westminster Review._ + +LIFE OF SMOLLETT. By David Hannay. +"A capable record of a writer who still remains one of the great masters +of the English novel"--_Saturday Review._ + +LIFE OF GOLDSMITH. By Austin Dobson. +"The story of his literary and social life in London, with all its +humorous and pathetic vicissitudes, is here retold, as none could tell +it better."-_Daily News._ + +LIFE OF SCOTT. By Professor Yonge. +"For readers and lovers of the poems and novels of Sir Walter Scott, +this is a most enjoyable boot."--_Aberdeen Free Press._ + +LIFE OF BURNS. By Professor Blackie. +"The editor certainly made a hit when he persuaded Blackie to write +about Burns."--_Pall Mall Gazette._ + +LIFE OF VICTOR HUGO-By Frank T. Marzials. +"Mr. Marzials's volume presents to us, in a more handy form than any +English, or even French handbook gives, the summary of what, up to the +moment in which we write, is known or conjectured about the life of the +great poet."--_Saturday Review._ + +LIFE OF EMERSON. By Richard Garnett, LL.D. +"As to the larger section of the public, ... no record of Emerson's life +and work could be more desirable, both in breadth of treatment and +lucidity of style, than Dr. Garnett's."--_Saturday Review._ + +LIFE OF GOETHE. By James Sime. +"Mr. James Sime's competence as a biographer of Goethe, both in respect +of knowledge of his special subject, and of German literature generally, +is beyond question."--_Manchester Guardian._ + +LIFE OF CONGREVE. By Edmund Gosse. +"Mr. Gosse has written an admirable and most interesting biography of a +man of letters who is of particular interest to other men of +letters."-_The Academy._ + +LIFE OF BUNYAN. By Canon Venables. +"A most intelligent, appreciative, and valuable memoir."--_Scotsman._ + +LIFE OF CRABBE. By T.E. Kebbel. +"No English poet since Shakespeare has observed certain aspects of +nature and of human life more closely; ... Mr. Kebbel's monograph is +worthy of the subject."--_Athenæum._ + +LIFE OF HEINE. By William Sharp. +"This is an admirable monograph ... more fully written up to the level +of recent knowledge and criticism of its theme than any other English +work."--_Scotsman._ + +LIFE OF MILL. By W.L. Courtney. +"A most sympathetic and discriminating memoir."--_Glasgow Herald._ + +LIFE OF SCHILLER. By Henry W. Nevinson. +"Presents the leading facts of the poet's life in a neatly rounded +picture, and gives an adequate critical estimate of each of Schiller's +separate works and the effect of the whole upon literature."--_Scotsman._ + +LIFE OF CAPTAIN MARRYAT. By David Hannay. +"We have nothing but praise for the manner in which Mr. Hannay has done +justice to him whom he well calls 'one of the most brilliant and the +least fairly recognised of English novelists.'"--_Saturday Review._ + +Complete Bibliography to each volume, by J.P. ANDERSON, British Museum. + + * * * * * + +Volumes are in preparation by Goldwin Smith, Frederick Wedmore, Oscar +Browning, Arthur Symons, W.E. Henley, Hermann Merivale, H.E. Watts, T.W. +Rolleston, Cosmo Monkhouse, Dr. Garnett, Frank T. Marzials, W.H. +Pollock, John Addington Symonds, Stepniak, etc., etc. + + * * * * * + +LIBRARY EDITION OF "GREAT WRITERS."--Printed on large paper of extra +quality, in handsome binding, Demy 8vo, price 2s. 6d. + + * * * * * + +London: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. + + + + +_Monthly Shilling Volumes. Cloth, cut or uncut edges._ + +THE CAMELOT SERIES. + +EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS. VOLUMES ALREADY ISSUED-- + +ROMANCE OF KING ARTHUR. Edited by E. Rhys. +THOREAU'S WALDEN. Edited by W.H. Dircks. +ENGLISH OPIUM-EATER. Edited by William Sharp. +LANDOR'S CONVERSATIONS. Edited by H. Ellis. +PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Edited by B.J. Snell, M.A. +RELIGIO MEDICI, &c. Edited by J.A. Symonds. +SHELLEY'S LETTERS. Edited by Ernest Rhys. +PROSE WRITINGS OF SWIFT. Edited by W. Lewin. +MY STUDY WINDOWS. Edited by R. Garnett, LL.D. +GREAT 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. +GREAT MUSICAL COMPOSERS. Edited by E. Sharp. +MARCUS AURELIUS. Edited by Alice Zimmern. +SPECIMEN DAYS IN AMERICA. By Walt Whitman. +WHITE'S SELBORNE. Edited by Richard Jefferies. +DEFOE'S SINGLETON. Edited by H. Halliday Sparling. +MAZZINI'S ESSAYS. Edited by William Clarke. +PROSE WRITINGS OF HEINE. Edited by H. Ellis. +REYNOLDS' DISCOURSES. Edited by Helen Zimmern. +PAPERS OF STEELE & ADDISON. Edited by W. Lewin. +BURNS'S LETTERS. Edited by J. Logie Robertson, M.A. +VOLSUNGA SAGA. Edited by H.H. Sparling. +SARTOR RESARTUS. Edited by Ernest Rhys. +WRITINGS OF EMERSON. Edited by Percival Chubb. +SENECA'S MORALS. Edited by Walter Clode. +DEMOCRATIC VISTAS. By Walt Whitman. +LIFE OF LORD HERBERT. Edited by Will H. Dircks. +ENGLISH PROSE. Edited by Arthur Gallon. +IBSEN'S PILLARS OF SOCIETY. Edited by H. Ellis. +FAIRY AND FOLK TALES. Edited by W.B. Yeats. +EPICTETUS. Edited by T.W. Rolleston. +THE ENGLISH POETS. By James Russell Lowell. +ESSAYS OF DR. JOHNSON. Edited by Stuart T. Reid. +ESSAYS OF WILLIAM HAZLITT. Edited by F. Carr. +LANDOR'S PENTAMERON, &c. Edited by H. Ellis. +POE'S TALES AND ESSAYS. Edited by Ernest Rhys. +VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. By 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. Holmes. +JANE EYRE. By Charlotte Brontë. + + * * * * * + +London: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. + + + + +The Canterbury Poets. + +EDITED BY WILLIAM SHARP. + +In SHILLING Monthly Volumes, Square 8vo. Well printed on fine toned +paper, with Red-line Border, and strongly bound in Cloth. + +_Cloth, Red Edges_ 1s. +_Cloth, Uncut Edges_ 1s. +_Red Roan, Gilt Edges_ 2s. 6d. +_Pad. Morocco, Gilt Edges_ 5s. + + +_THE FOLLOWING VOLUMES ARE NOW READY_. + +KEBLE'S CHRISTIAN YEAR. +COLERIDGE. Ed. by J. Skipsey. +LONGFELLOW. Ed. by E. Hope. +CAMPBELL. Ed. by J. Hogben. +SHELLEY. Edited by J. Skipsey. +WORDSWORTH. Edited by A.J. Symington. +BLAKE. Ed. by Joseph Skipsey. +WHITTIER. Ed. by Eva Hope. +POE. Edited by Joseph Skipsey. +CHATTERTON. Edited by John Richmond. +BURNS. Poems} Edited by +BURNS. Songs} Joseph Skipsey. +MARLOWE. Ed. by P.E. Pinkerton. +KEATS. Edited by John Hogben. +HERBERT. Edited by E. Rhys. +HUGO. Trans. by Dean Carrington. +COWPER. Edited by Eva Hope. +SHAKESPEARE. + Songs, Poems, and Sonnets. Edited by William Sharp. +EMERSON. Edited by W. Lewin. +SONNETS of this CENTURY. Edited by William Sharp. +WHITMAN. Edited by E. Rhys. +SCOTT. Marmion, etc. +SCOTT. Lady of the Lake, etc. Edited by William Sharp. +PRAED. Edited by Fred. Cooper. +HOGG. By his Daughter, Mrs Garden. +GOLDSMITH. Ed. by W. Tirebuck. +MACKAY'S LOVE LETTERS. +SPENSER. Edited by Hon. R. Noel +CHILDREN OF THE POETS. Edited by Eric S. Robertson. +JONSON. Edited by J.A. Symonds. +BYRON (2 Vols.) Ed. by M. Blind. +THE SONNETS OF EUROPE. Edited by S. Waddington. +RAMSAY. Ed. by J.L. Robertson +DOBELL. Edited by Mrs. Dobell. +DAYS OF THE YEAR. With Introduction by Wm. Sharp. +POPE. Edited by John Hogben. +HEINE. Edited by Mrs. Kroeker. +BEAUMONT & FLETCHER. Edited by J.S. Fletcher. +BOWLES, LAMB, &c. Edited by William Tirebuck. +EARLY ENGLISH POETRY. Edited by H. Macaulay Fitzgibbon. +SEA MUSIC. Edited by Mrs Sharp. +HERRICK. Edited by Ernest Rhys. +BALLADES AND RONDEAUS. Edited by J. Gleeson White. +IRISH MINSTRELSY. Edited by H. Halliday Sparling. +MILTON'S PARADISE LOST. Edited by J. Bradshaw, M.A., LL.D. +JACOBITE BALLADS. Edited by G.S. Macquoid. +AUSTRALIAN BALLADS. Edited by D.B.W. Sladen, B.A. +MOORE. Edited by John Dorrian. +BORDER BALLADS. Edited by Graham R. Tomson. +SONG-TIDE. By P.B. Marston. +ODES OF HORACE. Translations by Sir S. de Vere, Bt. +OSSIAN. Edited by G.E. Todd. +ELFIN MUSIC. Ed. by A. Waite. +SOUTHEY. Ed. by S.R. Thompson. +CHAUCER. Edited by F.N. Paton. +POEMS OF WILD LIFE. Edited by Chas. G.D. Roberts, M.A. +PARADISE REGAINED. Edited by J. Bradshaw, M.A., LL.D. +CRABBE. Edited by E. Lamplough. +DORA GREENWELL. Edited by William Dorling. +FAUST. Edited by E. Craigmyle. +AMERICAN SONNETS. Edited by William Sharp. +LANDOR'S POEMS. Selected and Edited by E. Radford. +GREEK ANTHOLOGY. Edited by Graham R. Tomson. +HUNT AND HOOD. Edited by J. Harwood Panting. + +London: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. + + + + +_Crown 8vo, about 350 pp. each, Cloth Cover, 2s. 6d. per vol. +Half-polished Morocco, gilt top, 5s._ + +COUNT TOLSTOÏ'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 reading public will be introduced to an entirely +new series of works by one who is probably the greatest living master of +fiction in Europe. To those unfamiliar with the charm of Russian +fiction, and especially with the works of Count Tolstoï, these volumes +will come as a new revelation of power. + +_The following Volumes are already issued_-- + +A RUSSIAN PROPRIETOR. +THE COSSACKS. +IVAN ILYITCH, AND OTHER STORIES. +THE INVADERS, AND OTHER STORIES. +MY RELIGION. +LIFE. +MY CONFESSION. +CHILDHOOD, BOYHOOD, YOUTH. +THE PHYSIOLOGY OF WAR. +ANNA KARÉNINA. (2 VOLS.) +WHAT TO DO? +WAR AND PEACE. (4 VOLS.) + + * * * * * + +_Ready November 25th._ + +THE LONG EXILE, AND OTHER STORIES FOR CHILDREN. + +OTHERS TO FOLLOW. + + * * * * * + +London: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. + + + + +Small Crown 8vo. +Printed on Antique Laid Paper. Cloth Elegant, Gilt Edges, Price 3/6. + +SUMMER LEGENDS. + +BY RUDOLPH BAUMBACH. + +TRANSLATED BY MRS. HELEN B. DOLE. + +This is a collection of charming fanciful stories translated from the +German. In Germany they have enjoyed remarkable popularity, a large +number of editions having been sold. Rudolph Baumbach deals with a +wonderland which is all his own, though he suggests Hans Andersen in his +simplicity of treatment, and Heine 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: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane. + + + + +Windsor Series of Poetical Anthologies. + +_Printed on Antique Paper. Crown 8vo. Bound in Blue Cloth, each with +suitable Emblematic Design on Cover, Price 3s. 6d. Also in various Calf +and Morocco Bindings._ + + +Women's Voices. An Anthology of the most Characteristic Poems by +English, Scotch, and Irish Women. Edited by Mrs. William 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. + +Jacobite Songs and Ballads. Selected and Edited, with Notes, by G.S. +Macquoid. + +Irish Minstrelsy. Edited, with Notes and Introduction, by H. Halliday +Sparling. + +The Sonnets of Europe. A 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. + +Songs and Poems of the Sea. An Anthology of Poems Descriptive of the +Sea. Edited by Mrs. William Sharp. + +Songs and Poems of Fairyland. An Anthology of English Fairy Poetry, +selected and arranged, with an Introduction, by Arthur Edward Waite. + +Songs and Poems of the Great Dominion. Edited by W.D. Lighthall, of +Montreal. + + * * * * * + +London: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. + + + + +_RECENT VOLUMES OF VERSE._ + + +Edition de Luxe. Crown 4to, on Antique Paper, Price 12s. 6d. +SONNETS OF THIS CENTURY. +BY WILLIAM SHARP. + +Crown 8vo, Cloth, Bevelled Boards, Price 3s. 6d. each. +IN FANCY DRESS. +"IT IS THYSELF." +BY MARK ANDRE RAFFALOVICH. + +Crown 8vo, Cloth, Bevelled Boards, Price 3s. 6d. +CAROLS FROM THE COAL-FIELDS: AND OTHER SONGS AND BALLADS. +BY JOSEPH SKIPSEY. + +Cloth Gilt, Price 3s. +LAST YEAR'S LEAVES. +BY JOHN JERVIS BERESFORD, M.A. + +Crown 8vo, Cloth Gilt, Price 3s. 6d. +BALLADS AND OTHER POEMS. +BY GEORGE ROBERTS HEDLEY. + +Fourth Edition, Crown 8vo, Cloth Gilt, Price 3s. 6d. +TALES AND BALLADS OF WEARSIDE. +BY JOHN GREEN. + +Second Edition. Price 3s. +ROMANTIC BALLADS AND POEMS OF PHANTASY. +BY WILLIAM SHARP. + +Parchment Limp, 3s. +DEATH'S DISGUISES AND OTHER SONNETS. +BY FRANK T. MARZIALS. + + * * * * * + +London: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. + + + + +NEW BOOKLETS. + +_Crown 8vo, in White Embossed Boards, Gilt Lettering, +One Shilling each._ + +BY COUNT LEO TOLSTOÏ. + +WHERE LOVE IS, THERE GOD IS ALSO. +THE TWO PILGRIMS. +WHAT MEN LIVE BY. + +Published originally in Russia, as tracts for the people, these little +stories, which Mr. Walter Scott will issue separately early in February, +in "booklet" form, possess all the grace, naïveté, and power which +characterise the work of Count Tolstoï, 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 PRESENTATION AT EASTER._ + + * * * * * + +London: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of John Milton, by Richard Garnett + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF JOHN MILTON *** + +***** This file should be named 16757-8.txt or 16757-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/7/5/16757/ + +Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Louise Pryor and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. +Produced from page images provided by Internet +Archive/Canadian Libraries +(http://www.archive.org/details/toronto). + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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