formation, dedicated to a friend. In the firft of these he fhews, by orderly. fteps, from HENRY the eighth's reign, what were all along the real impediments in this kingdom to a perfect reformation, which in general he reduces to two heads, that is, our retaining of ceremonies, and confining the power of ordination to diocefan bishops exclufively of the people. "Our ceremonies, he says,

are fenfless in themselves, and ferve for nothing "but either to facilitat our return to popery; or 66 to hide the defects of better knowlege, and to "fet off the pomp of prelacy." As for the bishops, many of whom he denys not to have bin good men, tho not infallible, nor above all human frailties, he affirms," that at the beginning, tho they had re"nounc'd the pope, they hug'd the popedom, "and fhard the authority among themselves." In king EDWARD the fixth's time, he affirms, "they 66 were with their proftitute gravities the common "ftales to countenance every politic fetch that "was then on foot. If a toleration for mass were to be beg'd of the king for his fifter MARY, left "CHARLES the fifth fhould be angry; who but the 66 grave prelats, CRANMER and RIDLEY, fhould "be fent to extort it from the young king? When "the lord SUDLEY, admiral of England, and the "protector's brother, was wrongfully to lofe his "life, no man could be found fitter than LATIMER

to divulge in his fermon the forg'd accufations "laid to his charge, therby to defame him with "the people. CRANMER, one of king HRNRY'S

executors, and the other bishops, did, to gratify "the ambition of a traytor, confent to exclude " from

from the fucceffion, not only MARY the papift, "but alfo ELIZABETH the proteftant, tho before "declar'd by themfelves the lawful iffue of their

late mafter." In queen ELIZABETH's reign he imputes the obftructions of a further reformation ftill to the bishops, and then procedes from antiquity to prove that all ecclefiaftical elections belong'd to the people; but that if those ages had favor'd epifcopacy, we should not be much concern'd, fince the best times were spreadingly infected, the best men of thofe times foully tainted, and the best writings of thofe men dangerously adulterated; which propofitions he labors to prove at large. In the fecond book he continues his difcourfe of prelatical epifcopacy, difplays the politics of the fame; which, according to him, are always oppofit to liberty he deduces the hiftory of it down from its remoteft original, and fhews, that in England particularly it is so far from being, as they commonly allege, the only form of church-difciplin agreable to monarchy, that the mortallest diseases and convulfions of the government did ever procede from the craft of the prelats, or was occafion'd by their pride. Then he incourages the English and Scots to purfue their begun contest for liberty by this exhortation. "Go on both, hand "in hand, O nations, never to be difunited. Be "the praise and the heroic fong of all pofterity. "Merit this; but feek only virtue, not to extend your limits for what need you win a fading "triumphant laurel out of the tears of wretched 66 men; but to fettle the pure worship of God in "his church, and juftice in the ftate? Then fhall "the

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"the hardest difficulties fmooth out themselves be"fore you; envy fhall fink to hell, craft and ma"lice be confounded, whether it be homebred

mischief, or outlandish cunning: yea other na"tions will then covet to ferve you; for lordship " and victory are but the pages of justice and vir"tue. Commit fecurely to true wisdom the van"quifhing and uncafing of craft and fubtilty, " which are but her two runnagates. Join your "invincible might to do worthy and Godlike "deeds, and then he that feeks to break your union, a cleaving curfe be his inheritance to all generations."

AFTER this, certain minifters having written a treatise against episcopacy, the title Smedtymnuus, confifting of the initial letters of their names, and a bishop of no fmall authority having beftow'd an answer upon it, MILTON, to use his own words, fuppofing himself not lefs able to write for truth, than others for their profit or unjust power, publifh'd his piece of prelatical epifcopacy. In this book he proves against the famous USHER (for he would not readily ingage a meaner adversary) that diocefan episcopacy, or a fuperior order to the common miniftry, cannot be deduc'd from the apoftolical times by the force of such testimonies as are alleg'd to that purpose. Now USHER's chief talent lying in much reading, and being a great editor and admirer of old writings, MILTON fhews the infufficiency, inconveniency, and impiety of this method to establish any part of christianity; and blames those perfons who cannot think any doubt refolv'd, or any doctrin confirm'd, un efs they run

to

to that indigested heap and fry of authors which they call antiquity. "Whatfoever either time

(fays he) or the heedlefs hand of blind chance, "has drawn down to this present in her huge

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dragnet, whether fifh or feaweed, fhells or "fhrubs, unpick'd, unchofen, thofe are the fa"thers." And fo he chides the good bifhop for divulging useless treatifes, ftuft with the fpecious names of IGNATIUS and POLYCARPUS, with fragments of old martyrologies and legends, to distract and stagger the multitude of credulous readers.

His next performance was the reason of churchgovernment urg'd against prelacy, in two books, principally intended against the fame USHER'S account of the original of epifcopacy. The eloquence is mafculin, the method is natural, the fentiments are free, and the whole (God knows) appears to have a very different force from what the nonconformift divines wrote in those days, or fince that time, on the fame fubject. In the beginning of the fecond book he mentions his design of writing an epic poem, but continues ftill unrefolv'd, whether his hero fhould be fom prince before the conqueft, or the argument be borrow'd from the fcripture or the antient heathen hiftory. But because the account he gives of what the poet fhould propofe by fuch a work is exactly just, and withal fo properly exprest, I shall not grudg to transcribe it in this place. "These abilities (fays he, fpeaking "of invention and compofition) wherfoever they "be found, are the infpir'd gift of God; rarely bestow'd, but yet to fom (tho most abuse them)

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"in every nation, and are of power to breed and "cherish in a great people the feeds of virtue and "public civility, to allay the perturbations of the mind, and fet the affections in a right tune;-or

laftly, whatsoever is in religion holy and fublime, "in virtue amiable or grave, whatsoever has paf"fion or admiration in all the changes of that "which is call'd fortune from without, or the

wily fubtilties and refluxes of mans thoughts "from within, all these things with a folid and "treatable smoothness to paint out and defcribe. "Teaching over the whole book of fanctity and "virtue thro all the inflances of example, and "with fuch delight, to thofe efpecially of a foft " and delicious temper (who will not fo much as "look upon truth herfelf, unless they fee her ele

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gantly dreft) that wheras the paths of honefty' "and good life appear now rugged and difficult, "tho they be indeed eafy and pleasant; they "would then appear to all men both easy and "pleafant, tho they were rugged and difficult

indeed. And what a benefit this would be to our youth and gentry, may be foon guest by "what we know of the corruption and bane which they fuck in daily from the writings and interludes "of libidinous and ignorant poetafters; who having fcarce ever heard of that which is the main "confiftence of a true poem, the choice of fuch perfons as they ought to introduce, and what is "moral and decent to each one, do for the most part lap up vitious principles in sweet pills to be "fwallow'd down, and make the taste of virtuous ❝ documents