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which might render his name illuftrious in these ilands, though he fhould be obfcure and inglorious to the rest of the world. And in other parts of his works, after he had engaged in the controverfies of the times, he still promised to produce fome noble poem or other at a fitter feafon; but it doth not appear that he had then determined upon the subject, and King Arthur had another fate, being reserved for the pen of Sir Richard Blackmore. The first hint of Paradife Loft is faid to have been taken from an Italian tragedy; and it is certain, that he first defigned it a tragedy himself, and there are feveral plans of it in the form of a tragedy still to be seen in the author's own manufcript preferved in the library of Trinity College Cambridge. And it is probable, that he did not barely sketch out the plans, but also wrote some parts of the drama itself. His nephew Philips informs us, that fome of the verfes at the beginning of Satan's fpeech, addreffed to the fun in the fourth book, were fhown to him and fome others as defigned for the beginning of the tragedy, feveral years before the poem was begun: and many other paffages might be produced, which plainly appear to have been originally intended for the fcene, and are not fo properly of the epic, as of the tragic ftrain. It was not till after he was difengaged from the Salmafian controverfy, which ended in 1655, that he began to mold the Paradife Loft in its prefent form; but after the Restoration, when he was difmiffed from public business, and freed from controversy of every kind, he profecuted the work with closer application. Mr. Philips relates a very remarkable circumftance in the composure of this

poem,

poem, which he fays he had reafon to remember, as it was told him by Milton himself, that his vein never happily flowed but from the autumnal equinox to the vernal, and that what he attempted at other times was not to his fatisfaction, tho' he courted his fancy never fo much. Mr. Toland imagins that Philips might be mistaken as to the time, because our author, in his Latin elegy, written in his twentieth year, upon the approach of the fpring, feemeth to fay juft the contrary, as if he could not make any verfes to his fatisfaction till the fpring begun and he fays farther that a judicious friend of Milton's informed him, that he could never compose well but in fpring and autumn. But Mr. Richardson cannot comprehend, that either of these accounts is exactly true, or that a man with fuch a work in his head can fufpend it for fix months together, or only for one; it may go on more flowly, but it must go on: and this laying it afide is contrary to that eagerness to finish what was begun, which he fays was his temper in his epiftle to Deodati dated Sept. 2. 1637. After all Mr. Philips, who had the perufal of the poem from the beginning, by twenty or thirty verfes at a time, as it was compofed, and having not been shown any for a confiderable while as the fummer came on, inquired of the author the reafon of it, could hardly be mistaken with regard to the time and it is eafy to conceive, that the poem might go on much more flowly in fummer than in other parts of the year; for notwithstanding all that poets may say of the pleasures of that feafon, I imagin most persons find by experience, that they can compofe better at

any

any other time, with more facility and with more, fpirit, than during the heat and languor of fummer, Whenever the poem was wrote, it was finished in 1665, and as Elwood fays was fhown to him that fame year at St. Giles Chalfont, whither Milton had retired to avoid the plague, and it was lent to him to peruse it and give his judgment of it: and confidering the difficulties which the author lay under, his uneafinefs on account of the public affairs and his own, his age and infirmities, his gout and blindnefs, his not being in circumftances to maintain an amanuenfis, but obliged to make use of any hand that came next to write his verfes as he made them, it is really wonderful, that he should have the spirit to undertake fuch a work, and much more, that he should ever bring it to perfection. And after the poem was finished, ftill new difficulties retarded the publication of it. It was in danger of being fuppreffed thro' the malice or ignorance of the licencer, who took exception at fome paffages, and particularly at that noble fimile, in the first book, of the fun in an eclipfe, in which he fancied that he had discovered treafon. It was with difficulty too that the author could fell the copy; and he fold it at laft only for five pounds, but was to receive five pounds more after the fale of 1300 of the first impreffion, and five pounds more after the fale of as many of the fecond impreffion, and five more after the fale of as many of the third, and the number of each impreffion was not to exceed 1500. And what a poor confideration was this for fuch an ineftimable performance! and how much more do others get by the works of great authors, than

the

the authors themselves! This original contract with Samuel Simmons the printer is dated April 27. 1667, and is in the hands of Mr. Tonfon the bookfeller, as is likewife the manufcript of the first book copied fair for the prefs, with the Imprimatur by Thomas Tomkyns chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury: fo that tho' Milton was forced to make use of different hands to write his verfes from time to time as he had occafion, yet we may fuppofe that the copy for the prefs was written all, or at least each book by the fame hand. The first edition in ten books was printed in a fmall quarto; and before it could be difpofed of, had three or more different title pages of the years 1667, 1668, and 1669. The first fort was without the name of Simmons the printer, and began with the poem immediately following the title without any page, argument, or preface, or table of errata: to others was prefixed a fhort advertisement of the printer to the reader concerning the argument and the reafon why the poem rimes not; and then followed the argument of the feveral books, and the preface concerning the kind of verfe, and the table of errata: others again had the argument, and the preface, and the table of errata, without that fhort advertisement of the printer to the reader: and this was all the difference between them, except now and then of a point or a letter, which were altered as the fheets were printing off. So that, notwithftanding these variations, there was ftill only one impreffion in quarto; and two years almost elapfed, before 1300 copies could be fold, or before the author was intitled to his fecond five pounds, for

which his receipt is ftill in being, and is dated April 26. 1669. And this was probably all that he received; for he lived not to enjoy the benefits of the fecond edition, which was not published till the year 1674, and that fame year he died. The fecond edition was printed in a small octavo, and was corrected by the author himself, and the number of books was augmented from ten to twelve, with the addition of fome few verfes: and this alteration was made with great judgment, not for the fake of fuch a fanciful beauty as refembling the number of books in the Eneid, but for the more regular difpofition of the poem, because the seventh and tenth books were before too long, and are more fitly divided each into two. The third edition was published in 1678; and it appears that Milton had left his remaining right in the copy to his widow, and the agreed with Simmons the printer to accept eight pounds in full of all demands, and her receipt for the money is dated December 21. 1680. a little before this Simmons had covenanted to affign the whole right of copy to Brabazon Aylmer the bookfeller for twenty five pounds; and Aylmer afterwards fold it to old Jacob Tonfon at two different times, one half on the 17th of August 1683, and the other half on the 24th of March 1690, with a confiderable advance of the price; and except one fourth of it which has been affign'd to feveral perfons, his family have enjoyed the right of copy ever fince. By the laft affignment it appears, that the book was growing into repute and rifing in valuation; and to what perverfenefs could it be owing that it was not better received at first? We con

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