G

XI.

Alli ex concubitu gravidam te, Pontia, Mori,
Quis bene moratam, morigeramque neget *?

the claffics. I do not mean to make a general comparison: but Chriftina's pretenfions to learned criticifm, and to a decifion even in works of profound philofophical science, at leaft remind us of the affectations of a queen of England, who was deep in the most abftrufe mysteries of theology, and who held folemn conferences with Clarke, Waterland, and Hoadly, on the doctrine of the Trinity.

See Notes on the last Epigram.

Salmafius's Reply was pofthumous, and did not appear till after the Restoration and his DEFENSIO had no fecond edition.

:

*From Milton's DEFENSIO SECUNDA, ut fupr. ii. 320. And his RESPONSIO to Morus's Supplement, ibid. ii. 383. This diftich was occafioned by a report, that Morus had debauched a favourite waiting maid of the wife of Salmafius, Milton's antagonist. See Burman's SYLLOG. EPIST. iii. 307. Milton pretends that he picked it up by accident, and that it was written at Leyden. It appeared firft, as I think, in the MERCURIUS POLITICUS, a fort of newspaper published at London once a week in two fheets in quarto, and commencing in June 1649, by Marchmont Nedham, a virulent but verfatile party fcribbler, who fometimes libelled the republicans and fometimes the royalifts with an equal degree of fcurrility, and who is called by Wood a great crony of Milton. Thefe papers, in or after the year 1654, perhaps at the inftigation of our author, contain many pafquinades on Morus. Bayle, in the article MORUS, cites a Letter from Tanaquil Faber. Where Faber, fo late as 1658, under the words calumniole and rumufculi, alludes to fome of Morus's gallantries: perhaps to this epigram, which ferved to keep them alive, and was ftill very popular. Morus laid himself open to Milton's humour, in afferting that he mistook the true fpelling of the girl's name. "BONTIAM, fateor, aliud apud me manufcriptum habet. Sed prima "utrobique litera, quæ fola variat, ejufdem fere apud vos poteftatis. "eft. Alterum ego nomen, ut notius et elegantius, falvo criticorum "jure, præpofui." AUTOR. PRO SE, &c. ut fupr. ii. 383. And the is called BONTIA in a citation of this Epigram in a letter of N. Heinfius, dated 1653. SYLLOG. ut fupr. iii. 307. Where fays the critic, "Agnofcis in illo Ouweniani acuminis ineptias." He adds, that the Epigram was fhewn him by Ulac, from the London newfpapers, Gazettis Londinenfibus, where it was preceded by this unlucky anecdote of our amorous ecclefiaftic. And in another, dated 1652. “Ga"zettæ certe Londinenfes fabellam narrant lepidiffimam, &c." Ibid. p. 305. Again, in a Letter from J. Voffius to N. Heinfus, dated

1652. "Mihi fane Ethiops [Morus] multo rectius facturus fuiffe vi"detur, fi ex Ovidii tui præcepto a Domina incepiffet. Minor qui"dem voluptas illa fuiffet, fed longe majorem iniviffet gratiam. Di"vulgata eft paffim hæc fabella, etiam in gazettis publicis Londinen"fibus. Addita etiam EPIGRAMMATA." Ibid. p. 649. Again, from J. Ulitius at the Hague to N. Heinfius, dated 1652. "Prodiit liber cui tit. CLAMOR, &c. Angli Morum pro autore habentes, nupero "Novorum [News] Schedio cum vehementer perftrinxere, inter alia "facinora objicientes adulterium cum Salmafiana pediffequa, dame "fuivante, quam hoc epigrammate notarunt, Galli a concubitu, &c." Ibid. p. 746. See alfo p. 665. M. Colomies fays, that Milton wrote, among other things against Morus, "un fanglant diftique Latin dans "la gazete de Londres, qui couroit alors toutes les femaines." BIBL. CHOIS. A La Rochelle, 1682. p. 19. 12mo.

In 1654, Milton publifhed his DEFENSIO SECUNDA abovementioned, against Morus, or Alexander More, a Scotchman, a proteftant clergyman in Languedoc, an excellent fcholar, and a man of intrigue, although an admired preacher. Morus was strongly fufpected to have written REGII SANGUINIS CLAMOR AD CELUM, in 1652, an appendix to Salmafius against the king's murther. But the book was really written by Peter du Moulin the younger, afterwards prebendary of Canterbury, who had tranfmitted the manufcript to Salmafius, Morus's friend. Morus was only the publisher, except that he wrote a Dedication to Charles the fecond. Afterwards Salmafius and Morus had an irreconcileable quarrel about the divifion of fixty copies, which the printer had agreed to give to the one or the other. Burman's SYLLOG. EPIST. iii. 648. Du Moulin actually owns the REGII SANGUINIS CLAMOR, in his REPLY TO A PERSON OF HO

66

NOUR, &c. Lond. 1675. 4to. p. 10. 45. "I had fuch a jealoufie
"to fee that Traytor [Milton] praised for his language, that I writ
against him CLAMOR, &c." A curious Letter in Thurlow's STATE-
PAPERS, relating to this bufinefs, has been overlooked, from Bourdeaux,
the French embaffadour in England, to Morus, dated Aug. 7. 1764.
"Sir, at my arrival here, I found Milton's book fo publick, that I
"perceived it was impofiible to fupprefs it. This man [Milton] hath
"been told, that you were not the author of the book which he
"refuted; to which he anfwered, that he was at leaft affured, that
"you had caused it to be imprinted that you had writ the Preface,
"and, he believes, fome of the verfes that are in it: and that, that
" is enough to justify him for fetting upon you. He doth alfo add,
"he is very angry that he did not know feveral things, which he
"hath heard fince, being far worse, as he fays, than any he put forth
"in his book; but he doth referve them for another, if fo be you
"answer this. I am very forry for this quarrel which will have a long
"fequence, as I perceive; for after you have anfwered this, you
may be fure he will reply with a more bloody one: for your ad-
" versary hath met with foinebody here, who hath told him ftrange
Rrr
"ftories

66

་

R

XII. Apologus de Ruftico et Hero *. Ufticus ex malo fapidiffima poma quotannis

Legit, et urbano lecta dedit Domino :

"stories of you." Vol. ii. p. 529. Morus replied in FIDES PUBLICA, chiefly containing teftimonies of his morals and orthodoxy and Milton answered in his AUTHORIS PRO SE DEFENSIO, publifhed 1655. Morus then published a SUPPLEMENTUM to his FIDES PUBLICA: and Milton, in a fhort RESPONSIO, foon clofed the controversy. See also a Letter of intelligence from the Hague to Thurlow, dated Jul.3, 1654. Ibid. p. 394. "They have here two or three copies of Milton "against the famous Profeffour Morus, who doth all he can to fupprefs the book. Madam de Saumaife [Salmafius's wife] hath a great 66 many letters of Morus, which the hath ordered to be printed to "render him fo much the more ridiculous. He faith now, that he is "not the author of the Preface [Dedication] to the CLAMOR: but we know very well the contrary. One Ulack [the printer of the "CLAMOR] a printer, is reprinting Milton's book, with an apology "for himself: but Ulack holds it for an honour to be reckoned on "that fide of Salmafius and Morus.- Morus doth all he can to per"fuade him from printing it." Salmafius's wife, faid to have been a fcold, and called Juno by his brother-critics, was highly indignant at Morus's familiarity with her femme de chambre, and threatened him with a profecution, which I believe was carried into execution. See SYLLOG. ut fupr. iii. 324. Perhaps Morus was too inattentive to the miftrefs. Heinfius relates no very decent hiftory, of her whipping one of the young valets of the family, a boy about feventeen; a piece of difcipline with which he fays fhe was highly delighted, and which undoubtedly fhe thought more efficacious when inflicted by herself in perfon. It appears, that our waiting maid, whom Heinfius calls Hebe Caledonia, affitted. Burman's SYLLOG. iii. p. 670. Voffius calls the girl Anglicana puella, Ibid. p. 643. 650. 651. See alfo p. 647.658. 662. 663. And ii. 748.

This diftich is inconfiftent with our author's ufual delicacy. But revenge too naturally feeks gratification at the expence of propriety. And the fame apology must be made, for a few other obfcene ambiguities on the name of More, in the profe part of our author's two Replies to More. I take this opportunity of obferving, that Fenton, in a Mifcellany which he published, called the OXFORD MISCEL LANY, AND CAMBRIDGE POEMS, has printed a very loofe but witty English Epigram under the name of Milton, which had long before appeared among the poems of Lord Rochefter, who has every pretenfion to be its right owner. To this Mifcellany Fenton has prefixed a long Dedication to Lord Dorfet. See p. 286.

This piece first appeared in the edition 1673.

Hinc

Hinc incredibili fructus dulcedine captus,
Malum ipfam in proprias tranftulit areolas.
Hactenus illa ferax, fed longo debilis ævo,

5

Mota folo affueto, protenus aret iners.
Quod tandem ut patuit Domino, fpe lufus inani,
Damnavit celeres in fua damna manus ;
Atque ait, Heu quanto fatius fuit illa Coloni,
Parva licet, grato dona tuliffe animo!
Poffem ego avaritiam frænare, gulamque voracem:
Nunc periere mihi et fœtus, et ipfe parens.

ΤΟ

XIII. Ad CHRISTINAM SUECORUM REGINAM, nomine CROMWELLI*,

BEllipotens virgo, feptem regina trionum,

Chriftina, Arctoi lucida ftella poli!

Cernis, quas merui dura fub caffide rugas,
Utque fenex armis impiger ora tero :

*These lines are fimple and finewy. They prefent Cromwell in a new and pleasing light, and throw an air of amiable dignity on his rough and obftinate character. They are too great a compliment to Chriftina, who was contemptible both as a queen and a woman. The uncrowned Cromwell had no reafon to approach a princess with fo much reverence, who had renounced her crown. The frolics of other whimsical modern queens have been often only romantic. The pranks of Christina had neither elegance nor even decency to deferve fo candid an appellation. An ample and lively picture of her court, politics, religion, intrigues, rambles, and mafquerades, is to be gathered from Thurlow's STATE PAPERS. Of her travels through feveral cities in a fantastic mafculine drefs, I felect the following anecdotes, from various Letters of that collection, about the years 1654, 1655. This

lucid

Invia fatorum dum per veftigia nitor,

Exequor et populi fortia juffa manu.

5

lucid far of the northern pole foon deferted her bright station, and be. came a defultory meteor. "The queen when he came into the inn '[at Elfineur], had boots on, and a carbine about her neck." Vol. ii. 404. "We hear [at Bologne] ftrange ftories of the Swedish queen "with her Amazonian behaviour: in her difcourfe fhe talks loud "and sweareth notably." Ibid. 546. "The queen came this week to "Antwerp in man's apparel, difguifed as a page to one of her own "fervants: not fo much as a maid befides in her company." Ibid. P. 449. "She arrived at Bruffels laft week, more man like than wo"man. Her train here yet confifts of two earls, two men-fervants, "and one woman." Ibid. p. 536. "She travails a hors back lyk a "man, being clad fo from middle upwards, with doublet, caflack, "band, hat, fether, in fo much that the Italians fay fhe is an Her"mofrodyte." Ibid. vol. iv. 172. "In her paffing through the mul"titude [at Franck fort] fhe made feveral ftrange grimaces and faces, "and was not able to keep her countenance long. When the ap"proached the forts, the fat in the right boot of the coach, in a black "velvet coat, and a hat with feathers, &c.- Coming nearer to the "city itself, fhe fuddenly changed her black coat, and put on a grey, "with a black hood about her head, and gott to the left boot, &c." Ibid. p. 89. She had all the failings of her own fex, without any of the virtues of the fex which the affected to imitate. She abdicated her kingdom in 1654. So that this Epigram could not have been written after that time. It was fent to the queen with Cromwell's picture, on which it was infcribed. It is fuppofed to be spoken by the portrait. Doctor Newton, whofe opinion is weighty, afcribes thefe lines to Milton, as coinciding with his department of Latin Secretary to Cromwell. See alfo Birch's LIEE of Milton, p. lxii. Toland, by whom they were first printed, from common report, indecifively gives them either to Milton or to Andrew Marvell. LIFE, p. 38. PROSEWORKS, vol.i. p. 38. Tol. I fufpect, that Milton's habit of facility in elegiac latinity had long ago ceafed and I am inclined to attribute them to Marvell, fo good a fcholar, as to be thought a fit affiftant to Milton in the Latin Secretaryship, and who, as Wood fays, "was very "intimate and converfant with that perfon." ATH. OXON. ii. 818. Again, he calls Marvell, "fometimes one of John Milton's compa"nions." Ibid. p. 8.7. And he adds, that Marvell was "cried up "as the main witmonger furviving to the fanatical party." In other words,Marvel! fatirifed the diffipations and profligate amours of Charles the fecond with much wit and freedom.

Of Marveli's refpect and friendship for Milton fome proofs appear, among other anecdotes of Milton and his friends not generally known, in the SECOND PART of Marvell's REHEARSALL TRANSPROSED.

Lond.