the confequence. With this refolution he went to Rome the fecond time, and ftaid there two months more, neither concealing his name, nor declining openly to defend the truth, if any thought proper to attack him: And yet, God's good providence protecting him, he came fafe to his kind friends at Florence, where he was received with as much joy and affection, as if he had returned into his own country.

Here likewife he ftaid two months, as he had done before, excepting only an excurfion of a few days to Lucca. From thence, crofing the Appenine, and paffing through Bologna and Ferrara, he went to Venice, in which city he spent a month; and having fhipped off the books which he had collected in his travels, and particularly a cheft or two of choice mufic books of the best masters flourishing at that time in Italy, he took his course through Verona, Milan, aud ̧ along the lake Leman, to Geneva. In this city he tarried fome time, meeting here with people of his own principles, and contracted an intimate friendship with Giovanni Diodati, the moft learned profeffor of divinity, whofe annotations upon the Bible are pubbifhed in English. From thence returning through France, the fame way that he had gone before, he arrived fafe in England, after a peregrination of one year and about three months, having feen more, and learned more, and converfed with more famous men, and made more real improvements, than most others in double the time.

His first bufinefs after his return was to pay his duty to his father, and to visit his other friends. But this pleasure was much diminished by the lofs of his dear friend and fchool-fellow Charles Diodati in his abfence. While he was abroad, he heard it reported that he was dead; and upon his coming home he found it but too true, and lamented his death in an excellent Latin eclogue, intitled, Epitaphium Damonis. This Diodati had a father originally of Lucca: but his mother was English. He was born and bred in England, ftudied phyfic, was an admirable fcholar, and no lefs remarkable for his fobriety and other virtues,

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virtues, than for his great learning and ingenuity. One or two of Milton's familiar epiftles are addreffed to him; and Mr. Toland fays, that he had in his hands two Greek letters of Diodati to Milton, very handfomely written. It may be right for scholars now and then to exercife themfelves in Greek and Latin; but we have much more frequent occafion to write letters in our own native language, and in that therefore we fhould principally endeavour to excel.

Milton, after his return, had taken a private lodging in St. Bride's church-yard, but foon after removed to a handfome garden houfe in Alderfgate-street, fituated at the end of an entry, which was the more agreeable to a ftudious man for its privacy, and freedom from noife and difturbance. In this houfe he continued feveral years. His fifter's two fons were put to board with him, first the younger, and afterwards the elder. Some other of his intimate friends requested of him the fame favour for their fons, especially fince there was little more trouble in inftructing half a dozen than two or three: and he, who could not eafily deny any thing to his friends, and who knew that the greatest men in all ages had delighted in teaching others the principles of knowledge and virtue, undertook the office; not out of any fordid and mercenary views, but merely from a benevolent difpofition, and a defire to do good. His method of education was as much above the pedantry and jargon of the common schools, as his genius was fuperior to that of a common fchoolmafter. One of his nephews has given us an account of the many authors, both Latin and Greek, which, (befides thofe ufually read in the fchools), through his excellent judgment and way of teaching, were run over within no greater compafs of time, than from ten to fifteen or fixteen years of age. Of the Latin, the four authors concerning hufbandry, Cato, Varro, Columella, and Palladius; alfo Cornelius Celfus the phyfician, a great part of Pliny's natural hiftory, the Architecture of Vitruvius, the Stratagems of Frontinus, and the philofophical poets Lucretius and Manilius. Of the

Greek,

Greek, Hefiod, Aratus's Phenomena and Diofemeia. Dionyfius Afer de fitù orbis, Oppian's Cynegetics and Halieutics, Quintus Calaber's Poem of the Trojan war continued from Homer, Apollonius Rhodius's Argonautics; and in profe Plutarch's Placita Philofophorum, and of the education of children, Xenophon's Cyropædia and Anabafis, Elian's Tactics, and the Stratagems of Polyænus. Nor did this application to the Greek and Latin tongues hinder the attaining to the chief oriental languages, the Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac, fo far as to go through the Pentateuch, or five books of Mofes, in Hebrew, to make a good entrance into the Targum or Chaldee paraphrafe, and to understand feveral chapters of St. Matthew in the Syriac Tellament, befides the modern languages, Italian and French, and a competent knowledge of the mathematics and aftronomy. The Sunday's exercise for his pupils was for the most part to read a chapter of the Greek Teftament, and to hear his learned expofition of it. The next work after this was to write from his dictation fome part of a fyftem of divinity, which he had collected from the ableft divines, who had written upon that fubje&t. Such were his academic inftitutions: And thus, by teaching others, he in fome measure enlarged his own knowledge; and, having the reading of fo many authors as it were by proxy, he might poffibly have preferved his fight, if he had not moreover been perpetually bufied in reading or writing fomething himself. It was certainly a very reclufe and ftudious life that both he and his pupils led: but the young men of that age were of a different turn from thofe of the prefent; and he himself gave an example to those under him of hard ftudy and fpare diet; only now and then, once in three weeks or a month, he made a gaudy day with fome young gentlemen of his acquaintance; the chief of whom, fays Mr. Philips, were Mr. Alphry and Mr. Miller, both of Gray's-inn, and two of the greatest beaus of thofe times.

But he was not fo fond of this academical life, as to be an indifferent fpectator of what was acted upon

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the

the public ftage of the world. The nation was now in a great ferment in 1641, and the clamour run high against the Bishops; when he joined loudly in the cry, to help the Puritan minifters, (as he fays himfelf,) they being inferior to the Bishops in learning and eloquence; and publifhed his two books, of reformation in England, written to a friend. About the fame time, certain minifters having published a treatife against Epifcopacy, in answer to the humble remonftrance of Dr. Jofeph Hall, bishop of Norwich, under the title of Smedtymnuus, a word confifting of the initial letters of their names, Stephen Marshal, Edmund Calamy, Thomas Young, Matthew Newcomen, and William Spurftow; and Abp. Ufher having published at Oxford a refutation of Sinectymnuus, in a tract concerning the original of bishops and metropolitans; Milton wrote his little piece, Of Prela tical Epifcopacy, in oppofition chiefly to Ufher; for he was for contending with the moft powerful adverfary; there would be either little difgrace in the defeat, or more glory in the victory. He handled the fubject more at large in his next performance; which was, The reafon of church-government urged against Prelaty, in two bocks. And Bp. Hall having publifhed a defence of the humble remonftrance, he wrote animadverfions upon it. All thefe treatifes he publifhed within the courfe of one year, 1641; which fhow how very diligent he was in the caule that he had undertaken. And the next year he fet forth his Apology for Smedtymnuus, in anfwer to the confutation of his animadverfions, written, as he thought himfelf, by Bp. Hall or his fon. And here very luckily ended a controverfy, which detained him from greater and better writings which he was meditating, more ufeful to the public, as well as more fuitable to his own genius and inclination: But he thought all this while that he was vindicating ecclefiaftical liberty.

In the year 1643, and the 35th of his age, he married Mary, the eldest daughter of Mr. Richard Powel of Forefthill, near Shotover, Oxfordfhire, a juftice of the peace, and a gentleman of good repute and figure

in that country; for his family, now growing numerous, required a miftrefs at the head of it, and his father was coming to live with him; which he did, and continued with him in tranquillity and devotion to his dying day. Mrs. Milton had not cohabited: with her husband above a month, before fhe was earneftly folicited by her relations to come and spend the remaining part of the fummer with them in the country. If it was not at her inftigation that her friends made this request, yet at least it was agreeable to her inclination; and the obtained her husband's confent, upon a promife of returning at Michaelmas. In the mean while his ftudies went on very vigorously; and his chief diverfion, after the bufinefs of the day, was now and then in an evening to vifit the Lady Margaret Lee, daughter of the Earl of Marlborough, Lord High Treasurer of England, and Prefident of the Privy Council to King James I. This Lady, being a woman of excellent wit and underftanding, had a particular honour for our author, and took great delight in his converfation; as likewife did her husband Capt. Hobfon, a very accomplished gentleman. And what a regard Milton again had for her, he has left upon record in a fonnet to her praife, extent among his other poems.

Michaelmas was now come, but he heard nothing of his wife's return. He wrote to her, but received no answer. He wrote again letter after letter, but received no answer to any of them. He then dispatched a meffenger with a letter deflring her to return;" but the pofitively refufed, and difmiffed the meffenger with contempt. Whether it was, that he had con-ceived any diflike to her husband's perfon or humour; or whether she could not conform to his retired and philofophical manner of life, having been accustomed to a house of much gaiety and company; or whether being of a family ftrongly attached to the royal caufe, fhe could not bear her husband's republican principles; or whether he was overperfuaded by her rela-tions, who poffibly might repent of having matched. the eldest daughter of the family to a man fo diftinguished:

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