pute, Milton was flattered with the credit of deftroying him.

Cromwell had now difmiffed the parliament by the authority of which he had deftroyed monarchy, and commenced monarch himself, under the title of Protector, but with kingly and more than kingly power. That his authority was lawful, never was pretended; he himself founded his right only in neceffity; but Milton, having now tafted the honey of publick employment, would not return to hunger and philofophy, but, continuing to exercife his office under a manifeft ufurpation, betrayed to his power that liberty which he had defended. Nothing can be more just than that rebellion fhould end in flavery; that he who had justified the murder of his king, for fome acts which to him feemed unlawful, fhould now fell his fervices, and his flatteries, to a tyrant, of whom it was evident that he could do nothing lawful.

He had now been blind for fome years; but his vigour of intellect was fuch, that he was not difabled to discharge his office of Latin fecretary, or continue his controverfies. His mind was too eager to be diverted, and too ftrong to be fubdued.

About this time his firft wife died in child-bed, having left him three daughters. As he probably did not much love her, he did not long continue the appearance of lamenting her; but after a fhort time. married Catherine, the daughter of one captain Woodcock of Hackney; a woman doubtless educated in opinions like his own. She died, within a year, of childbirth, or fome diftemper that followed

it; and her hufband honoured her memory with a poor fonnet.

The first reply to Milton's Defenfio Populi was published in 1651, called Apologia pro Rege & Populo Anglicano, contra Johannis Polypragmatici (alias Miltoni) defenfionem deftructivam Regis & Populi. Of this the author was not known; but Milton and his nephew Philips, under whose name he published an answer fo much corrected by him, that it might be called his own, imputed it to Bramhal; and, knowing him no friend to regicides, thought themselves at liberty to treat him as if they had known what they only fufpected.

Next year appeared Regii Sanguinis clamor ad Cælum. Of this the author was Peter du Moulin, who was afterwards prebendary of Canterbury; but Morus, or More, à French minister, having the care of its pub. lication, was treated as the writer by Milton in his Defenfio Secunda, and overwhelmed by fuch violence of invective, that he began to fhrink under the tempest, and gave his perfecutors the means of knowing the true author. Du Moulin was now in great danger; but Milton's pride operated against his malignity; and both he and his friends were more willing that Du Moulin fhould efcape than that he fhould be convicted of mistake.

.

In this fecond Defence he fhews that his eloquence is not merely fatirical; the rudeness of his invective is equalled by the groffnefs of his flattery. "De"ferimur, Cromuelle, tu folus fuperes, ad te fumma "noftrarum rerum rediit, in te folo confiftit, infuperabili tue virtuti cedimus cuncti, nemine vel "obloquente, nifi qui æquales inæqualis ipfe honores

"fibi quærit, aut digniori conceffos invidet, aut non intelligit nihil effe in focietate hominum magis vel "Deo gratum, vel rationi confentaneum, effe in "civitate nihil æquius, nihil utilius, quam potiri "rerum digniffimum. digniffimum. Eum te agnofcunt omnes, "Cromuelle, ea tu civis maximus & gloriofiffimus, "dux publici confilii, exercituum fortiffimorum imperator, pater patriæ geffifti. Sic tu fpontanea "bonorum omnium & animitus miffa voce falu"taris."

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Cæfar, when he affumed the perpetual dictatorship, had not more fervile or more elegant flattery. A tranflation may fhew its fervility; but its elegance is less attainable. Having expofed the unfkilfulness or selfishness of the former government, "We were " left," fays Milton, to ourselves: the whole na"tional intereft fell into your hands, and fubfifts

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only in your abilities. To your virtue, over"powering and refiftlefs, every man gives way, ex

cept fome who, without equal qualifications, afpire "to equal honours, who envy the diftinctions of "merit greater than their own, or who have yet to "learn, that in the coalition of human fociety no

thing is more pleafing to God, or more agreeable to "reason, than that the higheft mind fhould have the fovereign power. Such, Sir, are you by general "confeffion; fuch are the things atchieved by you, "the greatest and most glorious of our countrymen, "the director of our publick councils, the leader of

It may be doubted whether gloriofiffimus be here ufed with Milton's boailed purity. Res glorioja is an illuftrious thing; but vir gloriofus is commonly a braggart, as in miles gloriofus. Dr. J.

VOL. IX.

Ι

66 un

"unconquered armies, the father of your country "for by that title does every good man hail "fincere and voluntary praife.'

you, with Next year, having defended all that wanted defence, he found leisure to defend himself. He undertook his own vindication against More, whom he declares in his title to be justly called the author of the Regii Sanguinis clamor. In this there is no want of vehemence or eloquence, nor does he forget his wonted wit. "Morus es? an Momus ? an "uterque idem eft ?" He then remembers that Morus is Latin for a Mulberry tree, and hints at the known transformation;

-Poma alba ferebat

Quæ poft nigra tulit Morus.

With this piece ended his controverfies: and he from this time gave himself up to his private ftudies and his civil employment.

As fecretary to the Protector he is fuppofed to have written the Declaration of the reafons for a war with Spain. His agency was confidered as of great importance; for when a treaty with Sweden was artfully fufpended, the delay was publickly imputed to Mr. Milton's indifpofition; and the Swedish agent was provoked to exprefs his wonder, that only one man in England could write Latin, and that man blind.

Being now forty-feven years old, and seeing himself disencumbered from external interruptions, he feems to have recollected his former purposes, and to have refumed three great works which he had planned for his future employment; an epick poem, the

hiftory

hiftory of his country, and a dictionary of the Latin tongue.

To collect a dictionary, feems a work of all others least practicable in a state of blindnefs, because it depends upon perpetual and minute infpection and collation. Nor would Milton probably have begun it, after he had loft his eyes; but having had it always before him, he continued it, fays Philips, almoft to his dying-day; but the papers were fo difcompofed and deficient, that they could not be fitted for the prefs. The compilers of the Latin dictionary, printed at Cambridge, had the use of thofe collections in three folios; but what was their fate afterwards is not known *.

To compile a history from various authors, when they can only be confulted by other eyes, is not easy, nor poffible, but with more skilful and attentive help than can be commonly obtained; and it was probably the difficulty of confulting and comparing that stopped Milton's narrative at the Conqueft; a period at which

* The Cambridge Dictionary, publifhed in 4to, 1693, is no other than a copy, with fome finall additions, of that of Dr. Adam Littleton in 1685, by fundry perfons, of whom, though their names are concealed, there is great reason to conjecture that Milton's nephew, Edward Philips, is one; for it is exprefsly faid by Wood, Fasti, vol. I. p. 266, that Milton's "Thefaurus" came to his hands; and it is afferted, in the preface thereto, that the editors thereof had the use of three large folios in manuscript, col. lected and digested into alphabetical order by Mr. John Milton.

It has been remarked, that the additions, together with the preface above-mentioned, and a large part of the title of the "Cam"bridge Dictionary," have been incorporated and printed with the fubfequent editions of "Littleton's Dictionary," till that of 1735. Vid. Biogr. Brit. 2985, in not. So that, for aught that appears to the contrary, Philips was the laft poffeffor of Milton's MS. H.