The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660: Narrated in Connexion with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of His TimeMasson, David
History
The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660: Narrated in Connexion with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of His Time
Masson, David
Milton, John, 1608-1674; Poets, English -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- Biography
produced some of these testimonials to disprove Milton's assertion
that he had been ejected by the Middleburg church, Milton explains
that he had not said _ejected_, but only _turned adrift_,
and that this was substantially the fact. Now, however, if Durie's
report is correct, not only would the single Middleburg church, but
nearly the whole Walloon Synod also, willingly _eject_
him.--Milton's greatest difficulty is with the three Amsterdam
testimonials of July 1654. He has to admit that they prove him to
have been misinformed when he said that the Amsterdam authorities had
interdicted Morus from the pulpit, just as he had been wrong in
calling Morus's Amsterdam professorship that of Greek. That admission
made (and it was hard for Milton ever to admit he was wrong, even in
a trifle), he contents himself with quoting sentences from the
Amsterdam testimonials to show how merely formal they were, how
little hearty, and with this characteristic observation about the
Amsterdam dignitaries, tossing their testimony aside in any case:
"_Et id nescio_, [Greek: aristindên] _an_ [Greek:
ploutindên], _virtute an censu, magistratum ilium in civitate suâ
obtineant_: And I know not, moreover, whether it is by merit or by
wealth that the gentlemen hold that magistracy in their city." This
is, doubtless, Milton's return for the slighting mention of himself
in the Amsterdam testimonials.[1]
[Footnote 1: A Hague correspondent of Thurloe, commenting on the
appearance of the first part of Morus's _Fides Publica_ and its
abrupt ending had written, Nov. 3, 1654, thus: "The truth is Morus
durst not add the sentence [text of the judicial finding] against
Pontia; for the charges are recompensed [costs allowed her], and
where there is payment of charges that is to say that the action of
Pontia is good, but that the proofs fail.... The attestations of his
life at Amsterdam and at the Hague, he could not get them to his
fancy" (Thurloe, 11.708).]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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