and learning. But whoever was the author of it, Milton did not think it worth his while to animadvert upon it himself, but employed the younger of his nephews to answer it; but he fupervised and corrected the answer fo much before it went to the prefs, that it may in a manner be called his own. It came forth in 1652 under this title, Johannis Philippi Angli Refponfio ad Apologiam anonymi cujufdam tenebrionis pro rege et populo Anglicano infantiffimam; and it is printed with Milton's works; and throughout the whole Mr. Philips treats Bishop Bramhall with great severity as the author of the Apology, thinking probably that fo confiderable an adversary would make the answer more confiderable.

Sir Robert Filmer likewife publifhed fome animadverfions upon Milton's Defense of the people, in a piece printed in 1652, and intitled Obfervations concerning the original of government, upon Mr. Hobbes's Leviathan, Mr. Milton against Salmafius, and Hugo Grotius de Jure belli: but I do not find that Milton or any of his friends took any notice of it; but Milton's quarrel was afterwards fufficiently avenged by Mr. Locke, who wrote against Sir Robert Filmer's principles of government, more I fuppofe in condefcenfion to the prejudices of the age, than out of any regard to the weight or importance of Filmer's arguments.

It is probable that Milton, when he was firft made Latin Secretary, removed from his houfe in High Holborn to be nearer Whitehall: and for fome time he had lodgings at one Thomson's next door to the Bullhead tavern. at Charing Cross, opening into Spring-garden, till the apartment, appointed for him in Scotland-Yard, could be got ready for his reception. He then removed thither; and there his third child, a fon was born and named John, who thro' the ill usage or bad conftitution of the nurse died an infant. His own health too was greatly impaired; and for the benefit of the air, he removed from his

apart

apartment in Scotland-Yard to a house in Petty-France Westminster, which was next door to Lord Scudamore's, and opened into St. James's Park; and there he remained eight years, from the year 1652 till within a few weeks of the King's restoration. In this house he had not been fettled long, before his firft wife died in child-bed; and his condition rcquiring fome care and attendance, he was easily induced after a proper interval of time to marry a second, who was Catharine daughter of Captain Woodcock of Hackney: and fhe too died in child-bed within a year after their marriage, and her child, who was a daughter, died in a month after her; and her hufband has done honor to her memory in one of his fon

nets.

Two or three years before this fecond marriage he had totally loft his fight. And his enemies triumphed in his blindness, and imputed it as a judgment upon him for writing against the King: but his fight had been decaying several years before, thro' his close application to study, and the frequent head-akes to which he had been subject from his childhood, and his continual tampering with phyfic, which perhaps was more pernicious than all the reft: and he himself has informed us in his fecond Defense, that when he was appointed by authority to write his Defense of the people against Salmafius, he had almost loft the fight of one eye, and the physicians declared to him, that if he undertook that work, he would alfo lose the fight of the other: but he was nothing difcouraged, and chose rather to lose both his eyes than desert what he thought his duty. It was the fight of his left eye that he loft firft: and at the defire of his friend Leonard Philaras, the Duke of Parma's minister at Paris, he fent him a particular account of his case, and of the manner of his growing blind, for him to confult Thevenot the Physician, who was reckoned famous in cafes of the eyes. The letter is the fifteenth of his familier epiftles,

c

epiftles, is dated Septemb. 28, 1654; and is thus translated by Mr. Richardson.

" Since you advise me not to fling away all hopes of recovering my fight, for that you have a friend at Pa"ris, Thevenot the Physician, particularly famous for "the eyes, whom you offer to confult in my behalf if you receive from me an account by which he may judge "of the causes and symptoms of my disease, I will do "what you advise me to, that I may not feem to refuse any assistance that is offer'd, perhaps from God.

66

"I think 'tis about ten years, more or lefs, fince I began to perceive that my eye-fight grew weak and dim, " and at the same time my spleen and bowels to be oppreft and troubled with Flatus; and in the morning when I began to read, according to cuftom, my eyes grew painful immediately, and to refuse reading, "but were refresh'd after a moderate exercife of the

66

tr

body. A certain Iris began to furround the light of "the candle if I look'd at it; foon after which, on the " left part of the left eye (for that was fome years fooner clouded) a mift arose which hid every thing on "that fide; and looking forward if I fhut my right eye, objects appear'd smaller. My other eye alfo, for these "laft three years, failing by degrees, fome months before "all fight was abolished things which I looked upon “seemed to swim to the right and left; certain inveterate vapors seem to poffess my forehead and temples, which "after meat especially, quite to evening, generally, urge and depress my eyes with a fleepy heaviness. "would I omit that whilft there was as yet fome remain"der of fight, I no fooner lay down in my bed, and "turn'd on my fide, but a copious light dazzled out of 66 my shut eyes; and as my fight diminish'd every day "colours gradually more obfcure flash'd out with vehemence; but now that the lucid is in a manner whol. "ly

Nor

wholly extinct, a direct blackness, or else spotted, and, as "it were, woven with afh-colour, is us'd to pour itself in. Nevertheless the conftant and fettled darkness that is "before me as well by night as by day, feems nearer to "the whitish than the blackish; and the eye rolling itself a little, feems to admit I know not what little fmallness "of light as through a chink."

But it does not appear what answer he received; we may prefume, none that administered any relief. His blindnefs however did not difable him entirely from performing the business of his office. An affiftant was allowed him, and his salary as secretary still continued to him.

And there was farther occafion for his fervice befides dictating of letters. For the controversy with Salmafius did not die with him, and there was published at the Hague in 1652 a book intitled the Cry of the King's blood &c, Regii fanguinis Clamor ad cœlum adverfus Parricidas Anglicanos. The true author of this book was Peter du Moulin the younger, who was afterwards prebendary of Canterbury: and he transmitted his papers to Salmafius; and Salmafius intrufted them to the care of Alexander Morus, a French minister; and Morus published them with a dedication to King Charles II. in the name of Adrian Ulac the printer, from whence he came to be reputed the author of the whole. This Morus was the fon of a learned Scotfman, who was prefident of the college, which the proteftants had formerly at Caftres in Languedoc; and he is said to have been a man of a most haughty difpofition, and immoderately addicted to women, hasty, ambitious, full of himself and his own performances, and fatirical upon all others. He was however efteemed one of the moft eminent preachers of that age among the proteftants; but as Monfieur Bayle obferves, his chief talent must have confifted in the gracefulnefs of his delivery, or in thofe fallies of imagination

and quaint turns and allufions, whereof his fermons are full; for they retain not those charms in reading, which they were faid to have formerly in the pulpit. Against this man therefore, as the reputed author of Regii sanguinis Clamor &c, Milton published by authority his Second Defense of the people of England, Defenfio Secunda pro populo Anglicano, in 1654, and treats Morus with such severity as nothing could have excused, if he had not been provoked to it by fo much abuse poured upon himself. There is one piece of his wit, which had been published before in the news-papers at London, a distich upon Morus for getting Pontia the maid-fervant of his friend Salmafius with child.

Galli ex concubitu gravidam te, Pontia, Mori

Quis bene moratam morigeramque neget?

Upon this Morus published his Fides Publica in answer to Milton in which he inferted several teftimonies of his orthodoxy and morals figned by the confiftories, academies, synods, and magistrates of the places where he had lived; and difowned his being the author of the book imputed to him, and appealed to two gentlemen of great credit with the Parlament party, who knew the real author. This brought Du Moulin, who was then in England, into great danger; but the government fuffered him to escape with impunity, rather than they would publicly contradict the great patron of their cause. For he ftill perfifted in his accufation, and endevored to make it good in his Defense of himself, Autoris pro fe Defenfio, which was published in 1655, wherein he opposed to the teftimonies in favor of Morus other teftimonies against him; and Morus replied no more.

After this controverfy was ended, he was at leisure again to purfue his own private ftudies, which were the Hiftory of England before mentioned, and a new Thefaurus of the Latin tongue, intended as an improvement

upon