The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1878-02-14

now and so generally held IN this coun-
try. He next wrote his works OH Di-
vorce, of which we have before spoken,
and we see here also how much lie was
in advance of his times. These were
followed by his ''Tractate on sEduca-
ton" and his 'sSpeech forthe Unlicens-
I'd Liberty of Printing" This treatise
in favor of the liberty of the press is
pronounced his finest prose work.
Here, however, he lost the support of
the Presbyterians. While lie was bat
Ting against the Established Church,
they were with him, but now that they
were gaining power they began ut once
to clap on the gag and opposed Milton's
demand for full liberty of the press. In
1889. he publisheda work to show that
the execution of Cllas. I. was justifiH-
bic. The son of the executed King en-
ployed a learned Professor in the Uni
versity of Leyden, named Salmatius,
to write a defence of the late King and
his monarchy. All eyes now turned
to Milton to answer it. His eyes had
always suffered from his severe studies,
and his physician now told him that
blindness would follow if he undertook
any severe literary labor. Milton says:
Il did not long balance wl,ethermy du-
ty should be preferred to my eyes" lie
wrote the reply. which was so crushing
that Salmatius even lost the favor of
his own Royalist Party and died Of NOR
tification Il year afterwards. We can
only understand these controversies by
comparing them with such debates as
those of Webster and Hayne in our own
country. But Milton paid dearly for
this triumph and his unintentional hon.
ocide of Salmatius. lie lost his eyes,
as his physician had warned him he
would, and never recovered his sight.
A GREAT LEADER.
We see thus that Milton was far in
advance of his time. lie was at that
early day, (while the Pilgrims were
hewing out clearings in re woods of
New England) making the world ring
with demands for full civil and religi-
GUS liberty; for full liberty Of the press:
for the ''voluntary princi pie" in church
government and support, and, in short.
for Democracy and Rep,rblicanism as
we enjoy them to-day.
HIS GENIUS.
Milton's genius is generally admitted
to have been the loftiest and sublimest
of any uninspired writer whatever.
Indeed. it is thought by some that he
was inspired in the same sense that D:.-
vid was, though of course not with
view to the utterance of prophecy. His
sublime thoughts were doubtless inspir-
ed and aided by that Holy Spirit whom
he invoked III the beginning of Paradise
Lost. lie had led q pure and a devout
life, as we have seen, and was !: man
whom God would select to write the
great Christian epic, Paradise Lost.
PARADISE LOST.
Milton began Paradise Lost at the
age OF so, and finished it in about seven
years. lie was then poor and blind and
suffering from the ingratitude of his
daughters. The Restoration had come,
and he and the Puritans were under a
ban. One of the leading men of that
day, to whose attention Milton had
brought the Paradise Lost, said. in a
letter to q friend. 1.-THE old blind school
master, John Milton. has written to-
dious poem on the fall of man.'' That
TEDIOUS poem" has become probably
the greatest epic OF the world, and an
enthusiastic minister has said that Mil
tons description of Adam and Eve in
PARADISE had done more to make home
happy than all the sermons that had
been preached in England.
we cannot Of course go into full ex
animation of Paradise Lost. AS is well
known, it reconnts the Temptation and
Fall of Man, giving, by way OF episode,
events supposed t, have transpired be-
fore in the heavens The revolt and
overthrow of Satan and lis host is de-
scrlbed. Their existence in hell, their
plotting to overthrow man, the success
Of their plot, and I'LL this with u power
of invention and Il sustained flight
which is absolutely wonderful. Moth.
ing was too great for Millions genius
to venture upon. For those who wish
to make more minute examination of
the beauties and defects of Paradise
Lost, we refer them to Addison's Crit
icisms in the Spectator, which are alto
gether the hest which have been pub
lished. Dr.. johnson, who did not like
MiIton's Democratic views, has not
treated him fairly, and, as some one
has said. the trail of the serpent of de-
traction is over all that johnson has
saN OF Milton. But have never read
a criticism at once so bold, presumptu-
Gus and selfconii.lent as Johnson S on
Milton: A cat playing with 4 mouse
which it intends III due time to swal-
low, could not be more confident and
cruel than is Johnson in disposing of
this mighty poet.
TIE HERO.
One or two questions of interest con-
corning Paradise Lost ought to be con-
!. Who is the hero? At first glance,
it would seem that Adam is the hero.
But as lie is not the principle actor, but
the principle victim Of the action, some
ave held that he is notthe hero. Dry
den held that, according to epic rules,
Satan is the real hero, for lie is the
leading actor and is triumphant. But
Addison thinks that Christ, or the Mes
siah, is the true hero, for he is the on
| who in vision is shown as restoring
| Adam to greater bliss than he could
have enjoyed without the fall.
| POETIC sATANs.
2. It would he interesting to look at
Milton's splendid creation of Satan and
compare him with the same creation by
other poets. Milton s Satan is certain
1y most magnificent creature, Il sun
shorn Of his beams, as the poet de-
scribes him. He was of enormous size
and his body ''lay floating many a
rood7' on the waves of hell. When lie
stood up his stature reached the sky.
He was a fallen angel, and Milton rep.
resents him as weeping when he saw
gather before him the millions of spir.
it's whom he had involved in ruin, and
.. as not being able to look at the limo.
cence and happiness Of Adam and Eve
in Paradise. lie turned his head away.
Dante's Satan is huge monster chain
ed in the centre of the earth, half his
body on one side of the centre and half
IN the other (x0et hn,s s.: fan or.}ov;1