were shown to him and some others as defigned for the beginning of the tragedy, feveral years before the Poem was begun: And many other paffages might be produced, which plainly appear to have been originally intended for the fcene, and are not fo properly of the épic, as of the tragic ftrain. After he was difengaged from the Salmafian controverfy, in 1655, he began to mold the Paradise Loft in its present form, and after the Restoration he profecuted the work with clofer application. Mr. Philips relates a very remarkable cir. cumftance in the compofure of this Poem, which was told him by Milton himself, that his vein never happily flowed but from the autumnal equinox to the vernal, and that what he attempted at other times was not to his fatisfaction, though he courted his fancy never fo much. Mr. Toland imagines that Philips might be mistaken as to the time, because Milton, in his Latin Elegy, written in his 20th year, upon the approach of the Spring, feemeth to fay just the contrary, as if he could not make any verses to his fatisfaction till the Spring begun: And he fays further, that a judicious friend of Milton's informed him, that he could never compose well but in Spring and Autumn. But Mr. Richardson cannot comprehend, that either of these accounts is exactly true, or that a man with fuch a work in his head can fufpend it for fix months together, or only for one; it may go on more flowly, but it must go on: And this laying it afide is contrary to that eagerness to finish what was begun, which he fays was his temper in an epiftle to Diodati. After all, Mr. Philips, who had the perufal of the Poem from the beginning, by twenty or thirty verfes at a time, as it was compofed, and having not been fhown any for a confiderable while as the Summer came on; inquired of the author the reason of it, could hardly be mistaken with regard to the time: And it is eafy to conceive, that the Poem might go on much more flowly in Summer than in other parts of the year; for, notwithstanding all that the poets may fay of the pleasures of that feafon, I imagine most perfons find by experience, that they can compofe better

at

at any other time, with more facility and with more fpirit, than during the heat and languor of Summer. Whenever the poem was wrote, it was finished in 1665: and confidering the difficulties which the author lay under, his uneafinefs on account of the public affairs and his own, his age and infirmities, his gout and blindness, his not being in circumstances to maintain an amanuenfis, but obliged to make ufe of any hand that came next to write his verfes as he made them, it is really wonderful, that he fhould have the fpirit to undertake fuch a work, and much more, that he fhould ever bring it to perfection. After the poem was finished, still new difficulties retarded the publication of it. It was in danger of being fuppreffed through the malice or ignorance of the licenfer, who took exception at fome paffages, and particularly at that noble fimile, in the first book, of the fun in an eclipfe, in which he fancied that he had discovered treafon. It was with difficulty too that the author could fell the copy; and he fold it at last only for five pounds; but was to receive five pounds more after the fale of 1300 of the first impreffion, five pounds more after the fale of as many of the fecond impreffion, and five more after the fale of as many of the third; and the number of each impreffion was not to exceed 1500. What a poor confideration was this for fuch an inestimable performance and how much more do others get by the works of great authors than the authors themselves! This original contract with Samuel Simmons the printer is dated April 27, 1667, and is in the hands of Mr. Tonfon the bookfeller. The firft edition in ten books was printed in a small qnarto; and before it could be difpofed of, had three or more different title-pages of the years 1667, 1668, and; 1669; and two years almoft elapfed before 1300 copies could be fold, or before the author was intitled to his fecond five pounds, for which his receipt, still in. being, is dated April 26, 1669. This was probably all that he received; for he lived not to enjoy the benefits of the fecond edition, which was not published till 1674, in which year he died. The second edition

E. 3

was

was printed in a small octavo; was corrected by the author himself, and the number of books was augmented from ten to twelve, with the addition of some few verses: and this alteration was made with great judgment, not for the fake of fuch a fanciful beauty as refembling the number of books in the Æneid, but for the more regular difpofition of the poem, because the feventh and tenth books were before too long, and are more fitly divided each into two. The third edition

was published in 1678; and it appears that Milton had left his remaining right in the copy to his widow; and the agreed with Simmons the printer to accept eight pounds in full of all demands. Her receipt for the money is dated Dec. 21, 1680. A little before this Simmons had covenanted to affign the whole right of copy to Brabazon Aylmer the bookfeller for twentyfive pounds; and Aylmer afterwards fold it to old Jacob Tonfon, at two different times; one half Aug. 17, 1683, and the other half March 24, 1690. By the laft affignment it appears, that the book was growing into repute and rifing in valuation. And to what perverfenefs could it be owing, that it was not better received at firft? We conceive there were principally two reafons: The prejudices against the author on account of his principles and party; and many no doubt were offended with the novelty of a poem that was not in rhyme. Rhymer, who was a redoubted critic in those days, would not fo much as allow it to be a poem on this account; and declared war against Milton as well as against Shakespeare; and threatened that he would write reflections upon the Paradife Loft, which fome (fays he *) are pleased to call a poem, and would affert rhyme against the flender sophistry wherewith the author attacks it. Such a man as Bp. Burnet maketh it a fort of objection to Milton, that he affected to write in blank verfe without rhyme. The fame reafon induced Dryden to turn the principal parts of Paradife Loft into rhyme in his opera, called, The State of Innocence and fall of Man; to tag his lines,

See Rhymer's Tragedies of the last age confidered, p. 143.

as

as Milton himself expreffed it, alluding to the fashion then of wearing tags of metal at the end of their ribands. We are told indeed by Mr. Richardson, that Sir George Hungerford, an ancient member of parliament, told him, that Sir John Denham came into the House one morning with a fheet of Paradife Loft wet from the prefs in his hand; and being afked what he had there, faid that he had part of the nobleft poem that ever was written in any language or in any age. However, it is certain that the book was unknown till about two years after, when the Earl of Dorfet looking about for books in Little Britain, accidentally met with Paradise Loft; and being furprised at fome paffages in dipping here and there, bought it. The bookfeller begged his Lordfhip to fpeak in its favour if he liked it, for the impreffion lay on his hands as wafte paper. The Earl having read it, fent it to Dryden; who in a fhort time returned it with this anfwer, "This man cuts us all out, and the ancients too." Dryden's epigram upon Milton is well known; and fo are the Latin verfes by Dr. Barrow, and the English ones by Andrew Marvel, Efq; which are ufually prefixed to the Paradife Loft, and were published with the fecond Edition. But ftill the poem was not generally known and efteemed, nor met with the deferved applaufe, till after the folio edition in 1688. The Duke of Buckingham in his Effay on Poetry prefers Taffo and Spenfer to Milton; and it is related in the life of the witty Earl of Rochefter, that he had no notion of a better poet than Cowley. And it may furprise any reader, that Sir William Temple, in his Effay on Poetry published in 1686, or thereabout, takes no notice at all of Milton: nay he faith exprefsly, that after Ariofto, Taffo, and Spenfer, he knoweth none of the moderns who have made any achievements in heroic poetry worth recording. And what can we think, that he had not read or heard of the Paradife Loft, or that the author's politics had prejudiced him against his poetry? It was happy that all great men were not of his mind. The bookfeller was advifed and encouraged to undertake the folio edition by Mr. Sommers, afterwards

afterwards Lord Sommers, who not only fubfcribed himself, but was zealous in promoting the fubfcription: And in the list of subscribers are fome of the most eminent names of that time; and amongst the rest Sir Roger L'Etrange, though he had formerly written a piece, intitled, No blind guides, &c. against Milton's Notes on Dr. Griffith's fermon. There were two editions more in folio; one in 1692, the other in 1695, which was the fixth: For the poem was now fo well received, that, notwithstanding the price of it was four times greater than before, the fale increased double the number every year, as we find from the dedication of the finaller editions to Lord, Sommers. Since that time not only various editions have been printed, but-alfo various notes and translations. Patrick Hume, a Scotfman, was the first who wrote annotations upon Paradife Loft; and his notes were printed at the end of the folio edition in 1695. Mr. Addifon's Spectators upon the fubject contributed not a little to eftablifhing the character and illustrating the beauties of the poem. In 1732 appeared Dr. Bentley's new edition with notes; and the year following Dr. Pearce, the prefent Bishop of Bangor, publifhed his review of the text, in which the chief of Dr. Bentley's emendations are confidered, and feveral other emendations and obfervations are offered to the public. And the year after that Meff, Richardfon; father and fon, publifhed their explanatory notes and remarks. The poem has alfo been tranflated into feveral languages, Latin, Italian, French, and Dutch; and propofals have been made for tranflating it into Greck. The Dutch tranflation is in blank verfe, and printed at Harlem. The French have a tranflation by M. Dupré de S. Maur; but nothing fhoweth the weaknefs and imperfection of their language more, than that they have few or no good poetical verfions of the greatest poets; they are forced to tranflate Homer, Virgil, and Milton into profe, and blank verse their language has not harmony and dignity enough to fupport; their tragedies, and many of their comedies, are in rhyme. Rolli, the famous Italian mafter in England, made an Italian tranflation;