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edition; 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 the bookfeller, who fhould best know, has informed us in his dedication of the fmaller editions to Lord Sommers. Since that time not only various editions have been printed, but also various notes and translations. The first person who wrote annotations upon Paradife Loft was P. H. or Patrick Hume, of whom we know nothing, unless his name may lead us to fome knowledge of his country, but he has the merit of being the first (as I fay) who wrote notes upon Paradise Loft, and his notes were printed at the end of the folio edition in 1695. Mr. Addifon's Spectators upon the subject contributed not a little to establishing the character, and illuftrating the beau ties of the poem. In 1732 appeared Dr. Bentley's new edition with notes: and the year following Dr. Pearce published his Review of the text, in which the chief of Dr. Bentley's emendations are considered, and several other emendations and obfervations are offered to the public. And the year after that Meffieurs Richardson, father and fon, published their Explanatory notes and remarks. The poem has also been tranflated into feveral languages, Latin, Italian, French, and Dutch; and proposals have been made for tranflating it into Greek. The Dutch tranflation is in blank verfe, and printed at Harlem. The French have a translation by Mons. Duprè de St. Maur; but nothing fhoweth the weakness and imperfection of their language more, than that they have few or no good poetical versions of the greatest poets; they are forced to tranflate Homer, Virgil, and Milton into profe: and blank verfe their language has not harmony and dignity enough to fupport; their tragedies, and many of their comedies are in rime. Rolli, the famous Italian-mafter here in England, made an Italian tranflation; and Mr. Richardfon the fon faw another at Florence

in manufcript by the learned Abbè Salvini, the fame who tranflated Addison's Cato into Italian. One William Hog or Hogæus tranflated Paradife Loft, Paradise Regain'd, and Samfon Agoniftes into Latin verfe in 1690; but this verfion is very unworthy of the originals. There is a better tranflation of the Paradife Loft by Mr. Thomas Power Fellow of Trinity College in Cambridge, the first book of which was printed in 1691, and the rest in manuscript is in the library of that College. The learned Dr. Trap has also published a tranflation into Latin verse; and the world is in expectation of another, that will furpass all the reft, by Mr. William Dobfon of New College in 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 least to the beft of the ancient; the honor of this country, and the envy and admiration of all other!

In 1670 he published his Hiftory of Britain, that part especially 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 stopped at the Norman conqueft; for indeed he was not well able to purfue it any farther by reafon of his blindness, and he was engaged in other more delightful ftudies; having a genius turned for poetry rather than history. When his Hiftory was printed, it was not printed perfect and entire; for the licenser expunged several paffages, which reflecting upon the pride and fuperftition of the Monks in the Saxon times, were understood as a concealed fatir upon the Bishops in Charles the fecond's reign. But the author himself gave a copy of his unlicenced papers to the Earl of Anglesea, who, as well as feveral of the nobility and gentry, conftantly visited him: and in 1681 a confiderable paffage which had been fuppreffed at the beginning of the third

book,

book, was published, containing a character of the Long Parlament and Affembly of Divines in 1641, which was inferted in its proper place in the laft edition of 1738. Bishop Kennet begins his Complete History of England with this work of Milton, as being the best draught, the cleareft and most authentic account of those early times: and his ftile is freer and easier than in most of his other works, more plain and fimple, less figurative and metaphorical, and better fuited to the nature of history, has enough of the Latin turn and idiom to give it an air of antiquity, and sometimes rifes to a furprising dignity and majefty.

In 1670 likewise his Paradife Regain'd and Samfon Agonistes were licenced together, but were not publifhed till the year following. It is fomewhat remarkable, that these two poems were not printed by Simmons, the fame who printed the Paradife Loft, but by J. M. for one Starkey in Fleetstreet: and what could induce Milton to have recourse to another printer? was it because the former was not enough encouraged by the Sale of Paradise Loft to become a purchaser of the other copies? The first thought of Paradife Regain'd was owing to Elwood the quaker, as he himself relates the occafion in the history of his life. When Milton had lent him the manufcript of Paradise Loft at St. Giles Chalfont, as we faid before, and he returned it, Milton asked him how he liked it, and what he thought of it: "Which I modeftly, but free"ly told him, fays Elwood; and after fome further dif"course about it, I pleasantly faid to him, Thou haft faid much of Paradise Loft, but what haft thou to say "of Paradife Found? He made me no answer, but fat "fome time in a muse; then broke off that discourse, and "fell upon another subject." 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

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"not thought of." It is commonly reported, that Milton himself preferred this poem to the Paradife Loft; but all that we can affert upon good authority is, that he could not endure to hear this poem cried down so much as it was, in comparison with the other. For certainly it is very worthy of the author, and contrary to what Mr. Toland relates, Milton may be feen in Paradife Regain'd as well as in Paradife Loft; if it is inferior in poetry, I know not whether it is not fuperior in fentiment; if it is lefs defcriptive, it is more argumentative; if it doth not fometimes rife fo high, neither doth it ever fink fo low; and it has not met with the approbation it deferves, only because it has not been more read and confidered. His fubject indeed is confined, and he has a narrow foundation to build upon; but he has raised as noble a fuperftructure, as fuch little room and fuch fcanty materials would allow. The great beauty of it is the contrast between the two characters of the Tempter and our Saviour, the artful fophiftry and fpecious infinuations of the one refuted by the ftrong fenfe and manly eloquence of the other. This poem has alfo been tranflated into French together with fome other pieces of Milton, Lycidas, L' Allegro, Il Penferofo, and the Ode on Chrift's nativity: and in 1732 was printed a Critical Differtation with notes upon Paradife Regain'd, pointing out the beauties of it, and written by Mr. Meadawcourt, Canon of Worcester: and the very learned and ingenious Mr. Jortin has added fome 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 Agoniftes is the only tragedy that he has finished, tho' he has fketched out the plans of feveral, and proposed the subjects of more, in his manuscript preferved in Trinity College library: and we may suppose that he was determined to the choice of this particular fubject by the fimilitude

of

of his own circumftancs to thofe of Samfon blind and among the Philiftines. This I conceive to be the last of his poetical pieces; and it is written in the very spirit of the Ancients, and equals, if not exceeds, any of the moft perfect tragedies, which were ever exhibited on the Athenian flage, when Greece was in its glory. As this work was never intended for the ftage, the divifion into acts and scenes is omitted. Bishop Atterbury had an intention of getting Mr. Pope to divide it into acts and scenes, and of having it acted by the King's Scholars at Westminster: but his commitment to the tower put an end to that defign. It has fince 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 equal justice to our author's L'Allegro and Il Penferofo, as if the fame fpirit poffeffed both mafters, and as if the God of mufic and of verse was ftill one and the fame.

There are alfo fome other pieces of Milton, for he continued publishing to the laft. In 1672 he published Artis Logicæ plenior Inftitutio ad Petri Rami methodum concinnata, an Inftitution of Logic after the method of Petrus Ramus; and the year following, a treatise of true Religion and the best means to prevent the growth of popery, which had greatly increafed thro' 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 familiar epiftles and fome academical exercises, Epiftolarum familiarium Lib. I. et Prolufiones quædam Oratoriæ in Collegio Christi habitæ, 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 alfo a brief History of Muscovy, collected from the relations of feveral

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