ritable, and yet moft Injur'd, Statute of Mofes: not Repeal'd ever by Him who Only had the Authority, but thrown Afide with much Inconfiderate Neglect, under the Rubbish of Canonical Ignorance; as once the Whole Law was by fome fuch like Conveyance in Jofiah's time. And He who fhall endeavour the Amendment of any Old Neglected Grievance in Church or State, or in the Daily Courfe of Life, if he be Gifted with Abilities of Mind that may raife him to fo High an Undertaking, I grant he hath Already Much whereof Not to Repent him; yet let me areed him not to be Fore-man of any Misjudg'd Opinion, unless his Refolutions be Firmly Seated in a Square and Conftant Mind, not Confcious to itself of any Deferved Blame, and Regardless of Ungrounded Sufpicions.

For Himself, he seems to have had little Regard to the Exteriour of Religion; We hear of Nothing of That even in his Laft hours; and whatever he did in the Former Parts of his Life, he frequented no Publick Worship in his Latter Years, nor used any Religious Rite in his Own Little Family. it feems very Probable that as he was Always very Anti-Epifcopal, and no Lover of Our Establish'dChurch, neither could he bear with the Tolerated Preachers after the Restoration; Thofe of whom he speaks, when he fays, that they were seen under Subtle Hypocrify to have Preached their Own Follies, most of them not the Gospel, Time-fervers, Covetous, Illiterate

Per

Perfecutors, not Lovers of the Truth, Like in all things whereof they accufed their Predecefors: This Paffage I have from a Fragment that was not Printed till feveral Years after Milton's Death, Anno 1681. 'twas a Part of his History of England, and Expung'd, it being but a Sort of Digreffion, and to avoid giving Offence to a Party quite Subdu'd, and whofe Faults the Government was then Willing to Have Forgotten. there is a great deal more to This Purpose, as alfo on the Villanous Abuse of Power in Mony-Matters of Thefe People, and of That Party which Himfelf notwithstanding his great Merits with them had Tafted of Severely.

his Averfion to, and Contempt of Thefe Pretended Divines, I am the more perfuaded of from a Story I well remember to have heard Many Years Since, in Such a manner, as to make it Credible, though Otherwise, and without what we learn from the little Tract just now Cited, I should ftill wish it was not true. Milton had a Servant, who was a very Honeft, Silly Fellow, and a Zealous and Conftant Follower of thefe Teachers; when he came from the Meeting, his Master would frequently Ask him What he had heard, and Divert Himself with Ridiculing Their Fooleries, or (it may be) the Poor Fellow's Understanding; both One and t'other Probably; However This was fo Grievous to the Good Creature, that he left his Service upon it.

Now that I am Conjecturing, I will go on a little farther. Poffibly Milton thought All National Churches or Publick Religions had Somthing in them Political, Somthing Corrupted from the Simplicity that is in Chrift, 2 Cor. xi. 3. This is what he feems More than to Intimate, when in that Florid Discourse, his Areopagitica, (and which by the way, he wrote as a Specimen of the Oratorian Style) he fays, Truth indeed came Once into the World with her Divine Mafter, and was a Perfect Shape moft Glorious to look on; but when He afcended, and his Apoftles after him were laid Afleep, then frait arofe a Wicked Race of Deceivers, who as that Story goes of the Egyptian Typhon with his Confpirators, how they dealt with the good Ofiris, took the Virgin Truth, hew'd her Lovely Form into a thousand Pieces, and scatter'd them to the four Winds. from That time ever Since, the Sad Friends of Truth, fuch as durft appear Imitating the Careful Search that Ifis made for the Mangl'd Body of Ofiris, went up and down gathering up Limb by Limb ftill as they could find them. Wee have not yet found them All, Lords and Commons, (this was Written Anno 1644) nor ever fhall do till her Master's Second Coming; Hee fhall bring together every Joynt and Member, and fhall Mould them into an immortal Feature of Loveliness and Perfection.

the Sincerity I have Profeft in Drawing This Picture, and which as I refolve to Prac

tice, will not permit me to Pafs over in Silence Another Conjecture which Some have made; Ì mean that Milton was an Arian; and This is built on Certain Paffages in Par. Loft. Some of Thofe I am pretty Well Affur'd are very Capable of an Orthodox Conftruction, as All of them are for Ought I know. But as I neither Care to Meddle with a Difpute which I am not well acquainted with; and as 'tis no Other than a Conjecture, which lies against him, and feems to be Over-rul'd by So many Pious and Learned Divines (Sound in This Fundamental Article) having Approv'd and Encourag'd the Book; and as Two have very Lately Exprefsly Acquitted him of That Charge; and as Moreover 'tis Certain, that in his Middle-Age he has shown he was Right as to This Point, I wave it, and claim in his Behalf that he be Efteem'd as Continuing So to the Laft. the Paffage I mention'd is in his Difcourfe of Reformation, juft at the Close of it; 'tis Thus. Thou therefore that fitft in Light and Glory Unapproachable, Parent of Angels and Men! Next thee I implore, Omnipotent King, Redeemer of that Loft Remnant whofe Nature Thou didst Allume, Ineffable and Everlasting Love! and Thou the Third Subfiftence of Divine Infinitude, Illuminating Spirit, the foy and Solace of Created things! One Tri-Perfonal GODHEAD! Look upon, &c.

Milton had Always a Firm Belief of the Being of a God, and a Mind which could not fail from

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from his Existence to Infer his Government of the Universe, and all This in fuch a One must Produce True Piety, Veneration, Submiffion, Dependance, Love mix'd with Filial Awe, Joy, &c. This Appears Perpetually to every Observing Reader of his Works, Verfe or Profe. His Other Speculative Religious Opinions whereby he is Diftinguish'd, are rather Political than Religious, Such as relate to the Circumftantials rather than to the Effentials or Subftance of Religion; ChurchGovernment, Church-Communion, Ceremonies, the Millennium, &c. on which 'tis not neceffary to Enlarge, and I am Glad it

is not.

What is Practical comes Next to be Confider'd. I will Select a Few Remarkable Paffages of This Sort, and from his Profe Works as Those are not fo commonly known, though not lefs Excellent in their Kind for Great and Noble Thoughts and Expreffions; his Poetical Works Abound with Morality, as well as Piety, and in Particular Paradife Loft. One of Thofe Paffages I am Now upon is cited in our Note on v. 583 of the XIIth Book of "That Poem, to which I not only Refer you, but Recommend it to your Confideration: Here let me add what he fays in p. 321 Tol. Edit.- Let him not open his Lips against the Providence of Heaven, or tax the Ways of God and his Divine Truth, for they are Equal, Eafy, and not Burthenfome; nor do they ever Cros

the