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tranflation; and Mr. Richardfon the fon faw another at Florence in manufcript, by the learned Abbé Salvini, who tranflated Addifon's Cato into Italian. One William Hog or Hogaus tranflated Paradife Loft, Paradife Regain'd, and Samfon Agoniftes, into Latin verfe, in 1690; but his verfion is very unworthy of the originals. There is a better tranflation of the Paradife Loft by Mr. Thomas Power, Fellow of Trinitycollege, Cambridge, the first book of which was printed in 1691, and the rest in inanufcript is in the library of that college. The learned Dr. Trapp has allo published a translation into Latin verfe; and the world is in expectation of another, that will furpafs all the reft, by Mr. William Dobfon of New-college, Oxford. So that, by one means or other, Milton is now confidered as an English claffic; and the Paradife Loft is generally esteemed the nobleft and moft fublime of modern poems, and equal at leaft to the best of the ancient; the honour of this country, and the envy and admiration of all others!

In 1670 Milton published his Hiftory of Britain, that part efpecially now called England. He began it above twenty years before, but was frequently interrupted by other avocations; and he defigned to have brought it down to his own times, but ftopt at the Norman conqueft; for indeed he was not well able to purfue it any further by reafon of his blindnets, and he was engaged in other more delightful ftudies, having a genius turned for poetry rather than hiftory. Bp. Kennet begins his complete hiftory of England with this work of Milton, as being the best draught, the cleareft and moft authentic account of thofe early times; and his ftyle is freer and eafier than in most of his other works, more plain and fimple, lefs figurative and metaphorical, and better fuited to the nature of hiftory, has enough of the Latin turn and idiom to give it an air of antiquity, and fometimes rifes to a furprising dignity and majesty.

In 1670 his Paradife Regain'd and Samson Agonistes were licensed together, but were not published till the year following. The first thought of Paradife Regain'd

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was owing to Elwood the Quaker. When Milton had. lent him the manufcript of Paradife Loft at St. Giles Chalfont, and he returned it, Milton afked him how he liked it, and, what he thought of it?" Which I modeftly, but freely told him," fays Elwood; " and "after fome further difcourfe about it, I pleáfantly "faid to him, Thou haft faid much of Paradife Loft, "but what haft thou to say of l'aradife Found? He "made me no answer, but fat fome time in a muse; "then broke off that difcourfe, and fell upon another

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fubject." When Elwood afterwards waited upon him in London, Milton fhowed him his Paradise Regain'd, and in a pleasant tone faid to him, "This is owing to you, for you put it into my head by the "queftion you put me at Chalfont, which before I. "had not thought of." This poem has also been tranflated into French, together with fome other pieces of Milton, Lycidas, L'Alegro, Il Penferofo, and the Ode on Christ's nativity. In 1732 was printed a critical differtation with notes upon Paradife Regain'd, pointing out the beauties of it, written by Mr. Meadowcourt, Canon of Worcester: And 'the very learn. ed and ingenious Mr. Jortin has added some obfervations upon this work at the end of his excellent remarks upon Spenfer, published in 1734: And indeed this poem of Milton, to be more admired, needs only to be better known. His Samfon Agonistes is the only tragedy that he has finifhed, though he has fketched out the plans of feveral, and propofed the fubjects of more, in his manufcript preferved in Trinity college library. We may fuppofe that he was determined to the choice. of this particular fubject by the fimilitude of his own circumstances to thofe of Samfon, blind and among the Philistines; and it feems to be the last of his poetical pieces. It has been brought upon the ftage in the form of an oratorio; and Mr. Handel's mufic is never employed to greater advantage, than when it is adapted to Milton's words. That great artist has done e qual juftice to our Author's L'Allegro and II Penferofo, as if the fame fpirit poffeffed both mafters, and as if the god of mulic and of verfe was still one and the fame,

There

There are alfo fome other pieces of Milton, for he continued publishing to the laft. In 1672 he publish ed Artis logica plenior inftitutio ad Petri Rami metho dum concinnata, An institution of logic after the method of Petrus Ramus; and the year following, A treatife of true religion, and the best means to prevent the growth of Popery, which had greatly increafed through the connivance of the King, and the more open encouragement of the Duke of York; and the fame year his poems, which had been printed in 1645, were reprinted with the addition of feveral others. His faniliar epiftles and fome academical exercifes, Epiftolarum familiarum, lib. I. et prolufiones quædam oratoria in collegio Chrifti habita, were printed in 1674; as was alfo his tranflation out of Latin into English of the Poles declaration concerning the election of their King John III, fetting forth the virtues and merits of that prince. He wrote also a brief history of Mufcovy, col· lected from the relations of feveral travellers; but it was not printed till after his death in 1682. He had likewife his ftate-letters tranfcribed at the request of the Danish resident; but neither were they printed till after his death in 1676, and were tranflated into Englifh in 1694. To that translation a Life of Milton was prefixed by his nephew Mr. Edward Philips; and at the end of that life his excellent fonnets to Fairfax, Cromwell, Sir Henry Vane, and Cyriac Skinner on his blindness, were firft printed. Befides thefe works which were publifhed, he wrote a fyftem of divinity, which Mr. Toland fays was in the hands of his friend Cyriac Skinner; but where at present, is uncertain. And Mr. Philips fays, that he had prepared for the prefs an answer to fome little fcribbling quack in London, who had written a fcurrilous libel against him: But whether by the diffuafion of friends, as thinking him a fellow not worth his notice, or for what other caufe Mr. Philips knoweth not, this answer was never published. And indeed the best vindicator of him and his writings hath been Time. Pofterity hath univerfally paid that honour to his merits, which was denied him by great part of his contemporaries.

After

After a life thus fpent in study and labours for the public, he died of the gout at his house in BunhiltRow, on or about the 10th of November 1674, when he had within a month completed the fixty-fixth year of his age. It is not known when he was first attacked by the gout; but he was grievoufly afflicted with it feveral of the last years of his life, and was weakened to fuch a degree, that he died without a groan, and thofe in the room perceived not when he expired. His body was decently interred near that of his father, who had died very aged about the year 1647, in the chancel of the church of St. Giles's, Cripplegate; and all his great and learned friends in London, not without a frendly concourfe of the common people, paid their last refpects in attending it to the grave. It does not appear, that any monument was erected to his memory, till 1737, in which one was erected in Weftminster-abbey by Auditor Benfon. But the best monument of him is his writings.

In his youth he was esteemed extremely handsome; so that while he was a ftudent at Cambridge, he was called the lady of Chrift's college. He had a very fine fkin and fresh complexion; his hair was of a light brown, and parted on the foretop hung down in curls waving upon his fhoulders; his features were exact and regular; his voice agreeable and mufical; his habit clean and neat; his deportment erect and manly. He was middle-fized and well proportioned, neither tall nor fhort, neither too lean nor too corpulent, Arong and active in his younger years; and though afflicted with frequent headachs, blindnefs, and gout, was yet a comely and well looking man to the laft His eyes were of a light blue colour, and from the first are faid to have been none of the brightest; but after he loft the fight of them, (which happened about the 43d year of his age), they ftill appeared without fpot or blemish, and at firft view, and at a little distance, it was not eafy to know that he was blind. But there is the lefs need to be particular in the defeription of his perfon, as the idea of his face and countenance is pretty well known from the numerous prints, pictures,

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bufts, medals, and other reprefentations which have been made of him.

In his way of living he was an example of fobriety and temperance. He was very fparing in the use of wine or ftrong liquors of any kind. Let meaner poets make use of fuch expedients to raise their fancy, and kindle their imagination. He wanted not any artificial spirits; he had a natural fire, and poetic warmth enough of his own. He was likewife very abftemious in his diet, not faftidiously nice or delicate in the choice of his dishes, but content with any thing that was most in feafon, or eafieft to be procured, eating and drinking (according to the diftinction of the philofopher) that he might live, and not living that he might eat and drink. So that probably his gout defcended by inheritance from one or other of his parents; or if it was of his own acquiring, it must have been owing to his ftudious and fedentary life. And yet he delighted fometimes in walking and ufing exercife, but we hear nothing of his riding or hunting. Having learned to fence, he was fuch a mafter of his fword, that he was not afraid of refenting an affront from any man. Before he loft his fight, his principal recreation was the exercise of his arms; but after he was confined by age and blindness, he had a machine to fwing in for the prefervation of his health. In his youth he was accustomed to fit up late at his ftudies, and feldom went to bed before midnight; but afterwards, finding it to be the ruin of his eyes, and looking on this cuftom as very pernicious to health at any time, he ufed to go to reft early, feldom later than nine; and would be ftirring in the fummer at four, and in the winter at five in the morning; but if he was not difpofed to rife at his ufual hours, he still did not lie fleeping, but had fome body or other by his bedfide to read to him. At his first rifing he had ufually a chapter read to him out of the Hebrew Bible; and he commonly ftudied all the morning till twelve, then used fome exercise for an hour, afterwards dined, and after dinner played on the organ, and either fung himself or made his wife fing, who (he faid) had a good voice but no ear: then

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