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Life and Times of John Milton

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Life and Times of John Milton LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN MILTON. BY W. CARLOS MARTYN, ESQ. PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by the American Tbact Society, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of the State of New York. GIFT j4^^ jvldi--wyi- PREFACE. A NUMBER of years ago, Southey declared that a life of Jolin Milton was "yet a desideratum iu Brit- ish literature." This is uo longer true of what may be distinctively termed, English letters ; but it is still true of American literature, which, up to this date, has never produced a biography of that illustrious republican and poet. Before the recent appearance of Mr. Masson's admirable and elaborate Life of Milton, of which an American firm undertook some years ago to give a reprint, but of which only the first volume has been published, those who were curious to acquaint them- selves with the details of his eventful and beneficent career, were obliged to glean their scanty informa- tion fi'om some six or eight outline sketches, usual- ly prefixed as introductory memoirs to the various editions of his works. But these, however useful as summaries of fact, are far below the dignity of independent biography. Mr. Masson's Life has supplied the English peo- ple with an accurate and complete account of the immortal author of "Paradise Lost f but even should its publication be completed in America, it can never, owing to its voluminous and costly char- acter—it consists of three bulky volumes, each con- taining upwards of seven hundred pages—become 575 4 PREFACE. in any proper sense a pipidar life of Milton, but Avill remain of value chiefly as a book of reference. A careful perusal of most of tlie so called "lives" of Milton, revealed the fact that they "were almost exclusively devoted to criticisms upon Milton the jjoet, while Milton the statesman, Milton the contro- versialist, antl Milton the j^^'^se icrifer, is either treated with neglect, or with supercilious contempt. Written mostly by authors connected with the Eng- lish establishment, when Milton's political and relig- ious opinions are touched upon, it is ajiologetically and deprecatingly. Since, on this side of the Atlantic, the republi- can ideas and the ecclesiastical truths which Milton so ardently espoused and so ably exi)ounded, have effected a fixed and lasting lodgment, and since it may, in some sense, be said that religious and polit- ical America sprang from his brain, it is somewhat singular that no American should have undertaken to present Milton's life to his fellow-countrymen, for the edification and instruction of those who stand so heavil}' in his debt. It certainlj- seems that this republic, based largely upon his ideas, and wedded enthusiastically to his religious opinions, owes John Milton at least the tribute and the gi-ate- ful recognition of a biographical record. This debt it has been the purpose of this biog- raphy, in a humble and unostentatious way, to pay. No special claim to originality is made for it, the desire of the author having been, not so much to Avrite an original life, as, by levying freely upon the existing and authentic data, to gi'oup in one volume those numerous and authentic historical, TKEFACE. r^ biographical, and anecdotal incidents wliicli now lie scattered through a variety of obscure and rare manuscripts and scanty lives, and to present these from an American stand-point. Milton's connection with the stirring events of the Eevolution of 16-iO was intimate and influential. Acting as Secretarj' of State during the ten years of the Commonwealth and the Protectorate, that galaxy of glorious and statesmanlike measures which made England during that whole decade the arbiter of Europe, either originated with him, or received from his pen their justification and defence. Yet this period, so rich and fertile in his life, is, as we have said, passed by in comparative silence by most of his biographers; they entertaining no sympathy with his republicanism, while, captivated by his poetic splendors, they ignore even the inter- esting incidents of his youth. Thus Ivime}^ the only dissenting clergyman who has written Milton's biogi'aphy, though he has not suppressed the facts of his political career, whirls Milton on through all the scenes of his boyhood, through his college life, through his continental tour, to the commencement of the Revolution, in one short chapter of six pages. In these respects it is confidently believed that this volume will be found a decided improvement upon most of its predecessors. Considerable space is devoted to the incidents of his youth and early manhood, not only because these phases of his life are interesting in themselves, but because it is in- structive to learn the foundations upon which that august life was laid. An attempt has also been made in tliese pages G PREFACE. to rescue from comparative obscurity the magnifi- cent prose writings of John Milton. "It is to be regi'etted," says Macauley, " that the prose writings of Milton should in our time be so little read. As compositions, they deserve the attention of every man who wishes to become acquainted with the full power of the English language. They abound with passages, compared with which the finest dec- lamations of Burke sink into insignificance. They are a perfect field of cloth of gold. The style is stifi' with gorgeous embroidery. Not even in the earlier books of 'Paradise Losf has he ever risen higher than in those parts of his controversial works in which his feelmgs, excited by conflict, find a vent in bursts of devotional and lyric rapture. It is, to borrow his own majestic language, 'a seven-fold " chorus of hallelujahs and harping symphonies.' Since other biographers have ampl}' descanted upon Milton's transcendent merits as a poet, this biography contents itself, in most cases, with mere- ly mentioning the poems in the chronological order in which they were written, while large space is allotted to characteristic extracts from his religious and political pamphlets. It is perhaps proper to say that care has been taken to exclude from this volume, so far as could be, every thing of a partisan bias. Engaged in heated controversy at the most exciting period of English history, Milton's ardent temperament occa- sionally hurried him into rhetorical excesses which in his cooler moments no one was more ready to condemn than himself. He belongs to no single sect in religion, and to no single party in politics. PREFACE. 7 In the broadest sense, Eeligiou and Liberty unite to claim him as their well-loved son. Wedded himseH not to party, but to principle, he was impartial in his defence of what he esteemed truth, came the assault from open foe or professed friend. Thus he opposed Archbishop Laud when that prelate* un- dertook to stifle freedom of discussion. In the same spirit he lashed the inconsistencies of the Puritans, when, themselves in power, they continued to shackle the press. He was earnest not to elevate a party, but to elevate mankind. In his fourfold character of Christian, states- man, poet, and man, Milton deserves all the respect that he has ever received. His sj)lendid genius and steadfast devotion to liberty and progress compel the homage of all generous and api^reciative souls. God grant that these pages, devoted to the delinea- tion of the life of one of the grandest teachers and benefactors ever lent the human race, may persuade all readers, to the extent of their ability, to emulate his virtues, and to be as faithful to Christianity and freedom in their day and generation, as John Mil- ton was in his. The authorities consulted in the compilation of this biography have been numerous and diverse. Milton's own works, and his letters of state have, of coui'se, been liberally used ; but the author wishes * It is j)roiDer to say that when the word '^prelaie " occiu's in the follo'ning pages, it is used, not in its modern and more legitimate EngHsh and American sense, but as it was under- stood in Milton's age, as synonymous -ndth that extreme and intolerant high-churchism which bordered on the Vatican, and of which Archbishop Laud and his associates were the fitting representatives. 8 PREFACE. to express Lis special indebtedness to the -works of Masson, Symmons, Todd, Ivimey, and Tolaud; and to Wood's curions " History and Antiquities of Oxford," to Philips' interesting Life, to Aubrey's quaint work, to the Gleanings of Mr. Hunter, to Keightley's Memoir, Edmunds' Biography, John- son's life, and to the very valuable papers of Mr. Marsh relating to Milton's later years. Besides these and some other authorities, a number of col- lateral works bearing upon the ecclesiastical and civil history of that age, have been consulted from time to time, as necessity arose or convenience sug- gested. It is believed that the notes attached to this vol- ume will be found interesting and instructive to some readers. And now this book, the result of much thought and careful labor, is committed to the public with a prayer that it may be esteemed in some sort wor- thy of its illustrious subject; and that it may be instrumental in kindlino; in the bosoms of all who peruse its pages, that ardent love of truth, that up- right devotion to justice, that pure morality, and that passion for Christian liberty wliieh so prei'mi- nently distinguished the splendid and beneficent career of John Milton.
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