in manufcript by the learned Abbè Salvini, the same who tranflated Addison's Cato into Italian. One William Hog or Hogæus tranflated Paradife Loft, Paradife Regain'd, and Samfon Agonistes into Latin verse 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 manufcript 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 rest, by Mr. William Dobson of New College in Oxford. So that by one means or other Milton is now confidered as an English classic; and the Paradife Loft is generally esteemed the nobleft and most fublime of modern poems, and equal at least to the best of the ancient; the honor of this country, and the envy and admiration of all other!

In 1670 he published his History of Britain, that part especially now called England. He began it above twenty years before, but was frequently interrupted by other avocations; and he designed to have brought it down to his own times, but stopped at the Norman conqueft; for indeed he was not well able to pursue it any farther by reason of his blindness, and he was engaged in other more delightful studies; having a genius turned for poetry rather than history. When his History was printed, it was not printed perfect and entire; for the licenser expunged several passages, 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 second'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, constantly visited him: and in 1681 a confiderable passage which had been fuppreffed at the beginning of the third book, book, was published, containing a character of the Long Parlament and Assembly of Divines in 1641, which was inferted in its proper place in the last edition of 1738. Bishop Kennet begins his Complete History of England with this work of Milton, as being the best draught, the clearest and most authentic account of those early times: and his stile is freer and easier than in most of his other works, more plain and simple, less 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 sometimes rises to a surprising dignity and majesty.

In 1670 likewife his Paradise Regain'd and Samfon Agonistes were licenced together, but were not published till the year following. It is somewhat 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 Paradife 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 occasion in the history of his life. When Milton had lent him the manufcript of Paradife 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 some further dif"course about it, I pleasantly faid to him, Thou hast " said much of Paradife Loft, but what haft thou to fay " of paradife Found? He made me no answer, but fat " some time in a muse; then broke off that discourse, and " fell upon another subject." When Elwood afterwards waited upon him in London, Milton showed him his Paradise Regain' d, and in a pleasant tone said to him, "This " is owing to You, for You put it into my head by the question 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 seen in Paradife Regain'd as well as in Paradise Lost; if it is inferior in poetry, I know not whether it is not fuperior in sentiment; if it is less defcriptive, it is more argumentative; if it doth not sometimes rise so high, neither doth it ever fink fo low; and it has not met with the approbation it deserves, 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 superstructure, as fuch little room and fuch scanty materials would allow. The great beauty of it is the contraft between the two characters of the Tempter and our Saviour, the artful fophistry and specious infinuations of the one refuted by the strong sense and manly eloquence of the other. This poem has also been tranflated into French together with some 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 observations upon this work at the end of his excellent Remarks upon Spenser, 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 finished, tho' he has sketched out the plans of feveral, and propofed the fubjects of more, in his manufcript preserved in Trinity College library: and we may suppose that he was determined to the choice of this particular subject by the fimilitude

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of his own circumstancs to those of Samfon blind and among the Philistines. 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 most perfect tragedies, which were ever exhibited on the Athenian stage, when Greece was in its glory. As this work was never intended for the stage, the division 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 since been brought upon the stage 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 same spirit possessed both masters, and as if the God of music and of verse was still one and the fame.

There are also some other pieces of Milton, for he continued publishing to the last. In 1672 he published Artis Logicæ plenior Institutio ad Petri Rami methodum concinnata, an Institution 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 increased 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 several others. His familiar epistles and some academical exercises, Epistolarum familiarium Lib. I. et Prolufiones quædam Oratoriæ in Collegio Christi habitæ, were printed in 1674; as was also his tranflation out of Latin into English of the Poles Declaration concerning the election of their King John III, setting forth the virtues and merits of that prince. He wrote also a brief History of Muscovy, collected from the relations of several

travellers; but it was not printed till after his death in 1682. He had likewise his stateletters transcribed at the request of the Danish resident, but neither were they printed till after his death in 1676, and were translated into English in 1694; and to that tranflation a life of Milton was prefixed by his nephew Mr. Edward Philips, and at the end of that life his excellent sonnets to Fairfax, Cromwell, Sir Henry Vane, and Cyriac Skinner on his blindness were first printed. Besides these works which were published, he wrote his system of divinity, which Mr. Toland says was in the hands of his friend Cyriac Skinner, but where at present is uncertain. And Mr. Philips says, that he had prepared for the press and anfwer to fome little scribbling 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 cause, Mr. Philips knoweth not, this answer was never published. And indeed the best vindicator of him and his writings hath been Time, Posterity hath universally paid that honor to his merits, which was denied him by great part of his contemporaries.

After a life thus spent in study and labors for the public he died of the gout at his house in Bunhill Row 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 grievously afflicted with it several of the laft years of his life, and was weakened to fuch a degree, that he died without a groan, and those 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 friendly concourse of the common people, paid their last respects in attending it to the grave.