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he was with his conquefts over Julius Cæfar, and the More; which infolence his muse, like the other assasfins of Cæfar, † severely revenged on herself; and not long after her triumph became her own executioner. Nor is it unworthy our observation, that though, perhaps, no one of our English poets hath excited to many admirers to imitate his manner, yet I think never any was known to aspire to emulation: even the late ingenious Mr. Philips, who in the colours of stile, came the nearest of all the copiers to refemble the great original, made his distant advances with a filial reverence: and reftrained his ambition within the fame bounds which Lucretius prescribed to his own imitation:

Non ita certandi cupidus, quam propter amorem Quod TE imitari aveo: quid enim contendat birundo Cycnis?

AND now perhaps it may pafs for fiction, what with great veracity I affirm to be fact, that MILTON, after having, with much difficulty, prevailed to have this divine poem licensed for the prefs, could fell the copy for no more than fifteen pounds: the payment of which valuable confideration depended on the fale of three numerous impreffions. So unreafonable may perfonal prejudice affect the most excellent performances !

ABOUT § two years after, together An. Atat. 63. with SAMSON AGONISTES (a tragedy

not unworthy the Grecian ftage when Athens was in her glory) he publifh'd PARADISE REGAIN'D. But, Ob! what a falling off was there !Of which I will fay no more, than that there is scarely a more remarkVide EDGAR.

They were licenfed July 28, 1670, but not printed before the year enfuing.

B

able inftance of the frailty of human reafon, than our author gave, in preferring this poem to PARADISE LOST; nor a more inftructive caution to the best writers, to be very diffident in deciding the merit of their own productions.

AND thus having attended him to the fixty fixth year of his age, as closely as such imperfe&t lights, as men of letters and retirement ufually leave to guide our inquiry, would allow; it now only An. Etat. 6 remains to be recorded, that in the year 1674, the gout put a period to his life at Bunhill near London; from whence his body was conveyed to St. Giles's church by Cripplegate, where it lies interr'd in the chancel; but neither has, nor wants, a monument to perpetuate his memory.

In his youth he is faid to have been extremely handfome the colour of his hair was a light-brown: the fymmetry of his features exact; enlivened with an agreeable air, and a beautiful mixture of fair and ruddy : which occafioned the marquis of Villa to give his § epigram the fame turn of thought, which Gregory, arch-deacon of Rome, had employed above a thousand years before, in praifing the amiable complexions of fome English youths, before their converfion to Chriftianity. His ftature (+ as we find it measured by himfelf) did not exceed the middle fize; neither too lean, nor corpulent his limbs well proportion'd, nervous, and active; ferviceable in all refpects to his exercising the fword, in which he much delighted; and wanted neither skill, nor courage, to resent an affront from men of the most athletic conftitutions. In his diet he was abftemious; not delicate in the choice of his dishes ;

§ Ut mens, forma, decor, facies, mos, fi pietas fic,
Non Anglus, verum hercle Angelus ipfe fores.
t Defenfio fecunda. p. 87. Fol.

and ftrong liquors of all kinds were his averfion. Being too fadly convinced how much his health had fuffered by night-studies in his younger years, he used to go early, feldom later than nine, to reft; and rofe commonly before five in the morning. It is reported, (and there is a paffage in one of his Latin elegies to counténance the tradition) that his fancy made the happieit flights in the fpring: but one of his nephews ufed to deliver it as MILTON's own obfervation, that his invention was in its highest perfection from September to the Vernal Equinox: however it was, the great inequalities to be found in his compofures are incontest= able proofs, that in some seasons he was but one of the people. When blindness reftrain'd him from other exercifes, he had a machine to fwing in, for the prefervation of his health; and diverted himfelf in his chamber with playing on an organ. His deportment was erect, open, affable; his converfation eafy, chearful, inftructive; his wit on all occafions at command, facetious, grave, or fatirical, as the subject required. His judgment, when difengaged from religious and political fpeculations, was just and penetrating; his apprehenfion, quick; his memory, tenacious of what he read; his reading, only not to extenfive as his genius, for that was univerfal. And having treasured up fuch immense stores of science, perhaps the faculties of his foul grew more vigorous after he was deprived of his fight and his imagination (naturally fublime, and inlarged by reading romances, † of which he was much enamour'd in his youth) when it was wholly abftra&ted from material obje&s, was more at liberty to make fuch amazing excurfions into the ideal world, when, in compofing his divine work, he was tempted to range

+ His apology for Sme&ymnuus. p. 177. Fol.

Beyond the vifible diurnal Sphère.

With fo many accomplishments, not to have had fome faults and misfortunes, to be laid in the balance with the fame, and felicity, of writing PARADISE LOST, would have been too great a portion for humanity.

ELIJAH FENTON.

THE

VER S E.

By MILTON.

THE measure is English heroic verfe without rime, as that of Homer in Greek, and of Virgil in Latin; rime being no necessary adjun& or true ornament of poem or good verfe, in longer works especially, but the invention of a barbarous age, to fet off wretched matter and lame metre; graced indeed fince by the ufe of fome famous modern poets, carried away by custom, but much to their own vexation, hinderance, and contraint to express many things otherwise, and for the most part worse than elfe they would have expreffed them. Not without cause therefore fome both Italian and Spanish poets of prime note have rejected rime both in longer and fhorter works, as have also long fince our best English tragedies, as a thing of itfelf, to all judicious ears, trivial and of no true mufical delight, which confifts only in apt numbers, fit quantity of fyllables, and the fenfe variously drawn out from one verse into another, not in the jingling found of like endings, a fault avoided by the learned ancients both in poetry and all good oratory. This neglect then of rime fo little is to be taken for a defect, though it may feem fo perhaps to vulgar readers, that it rather, is to be esteemed an example fet, the first in English, of ancient liberty recovered to heroic poem, from the troublesome and modern bondage of riming. B3

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