New-York tribune., 1868-08-27

purpose, Milton uses it at least twice. In Paradise
"T6e mind is us own place, and in Itself
Can make heaven OF he'll, a he'll Of heaven
and again, Paradise Lost, IY, ol3:
go" no falsehOOd can endure
Touch Of celestial temper, bul returns
OF force 10 as own likeness"
Mr. Dixon is especially struck with the lines
A seminal form within the deeps
.. OF this little chaos sleeps" I n
But in case these two hnes, ith one that pre-
DistIleth down so plenteousy"
seemed 10 us, at the rs very suspicious and IN all
three we still find something modern that plaques
us To our ear they are not like Milton. but they re-
call rather the tone Of Andrew Marvells verse, and
il may be- coincidence worth mentioning that after M
initials were A. NJ instead OF NJ we should
he very willing TO believe that they written by
Andrew Marye an excellent poet. and the friend OF
Milton. Two persons in England IT seems have made
tho same observation. one of whom Is " w V. H."
which initials we believe are those of Mr.. vernon
IIarcourt. IIistoucus' who does not believe that
Milton composed the poem.
Infant nature Graded here
In It's principles appear"
gives Lord Winchesea great deal of trouble, but t
does not appear 10 us "A point Ol slich importance
as he makes IT, and as Mr.. David Mason agrees with
hum in thinking 1t. we may ADMIT WllneHt stle'IH
haud that wrote the lines. made clerical error or
that the cOpyist did So which, Ot course, w0uld DO
tho moro likely. i may even 1e acknowledged Win
out too many apologies. that Milton made q mistake
in grammar here. as no has done elsewhere. One
writer indeed thinks that the semi-colOn Which both
Mr. Morley and Mr. Bond print at the end OF the
second line may provo on examination To be the
needed 50 and if this should DO the case. one Oi the
most teasing difficulties would disappear from the
question.
the authenticity OF "1he EpaOh' IN the fact that
when Milton, in the year 1919, the year before ms
DEATH reprinted his Juvenile Poems, no dld not IN
clude "'Ihe Epitaphp among the numerous additions
that he made to the English poems of the edition
published ia lGbJ the one in copy OF which Is Mr
Morleys treasuretrOve. Professor brewer says that
IN the edition of 1913 Milton showed desire 10
gather up everything that lac had written not NTH
ertO published even including his college exercises
and that under these circumstances MS leaving out
The Epitaph ~ strong point against lts anthem
ticitV Certainly, this il point Oi lWpOftanCe but
until it can be shown either that Milton has, some-
where clearly expressed determination 10 include
in the edition Of 1913 every poem that he had written
up 10 that date aud that still remained unpublished
OF tlat, excepting The Epltaph," every pOum that
he ever wrote has now been publishedi Professor
Brewers objection can hardly be considered u vital
one IL Is not an impossible snPpoSllI0n that Mito9
may have forgotten M 1913 little poem thaL ne had
written on the blank page OF book published twen-
tg-siX years before and which lad never been any
We do not think Unnecessary TO do for American
readers what Professor Morley mas Thought II We'll
To- do iOr EnglIshmeu, to make paraphldse OF the
whole pOem IN order 10 render It's meaning clear we
do not believe that any one could be found here
venturng TO call himself a scholar or critic VINO
would not be ashamed 10 put his name 10 state
ment as ord WnchllSea has done. that the last
ten lines of the LptIph are a Jumbie from Bed
lan.n We find II hard so comprehend how any one
couid have found difficulty in understanding the
meaning OF the poem Oh nrst reading lt, Dut no
doubt Professor Morley knows his audience, and
they ought to be grateful to hun for his clear and
beautiful rendering OF IL into the prose That better
meets their capacities.
The reader may expect us to give adccded opinion
as TO the authenticity Of The Epltaph,' but this
we hardly feel able to do. Certainly, 10 is not un-
worthy Of Milton; the manner - ms, The phrase
ology Is his and what Is OF moro Importance. tho
Thought is his. It Is. no doubt as Mr.. Morley as
6eIts "a sketch wanting IN some places the last
touches of the MASTER And YETI be asks, who
but Milton could have left Us such sketch !" 80
far We entirely agree with him, but II ls question
whether il may not Do a forgery. To tins We ven
turo 20 reply that We might think 80 were t not for
the sinking Resemblance between II aud the Epl-
taph on Shakespeare written hlteen years be-
fore A fOrgur would hardly have put together
scraps in tins way from an earlier poem OF hls
antlor lie would have made has coat of new cloth
May IL not be that IN the affinity between the Two
poems is found the strongest proof yet brought for
ward of Millions authorship of the one for whose dls
coYery We are indebted to Professor Morley q. c.