158 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
you ? How is your innocence and loyalty the more cleared by your 
seeming so much to abhor the putting of the king to death? You 
yourselves, in the opinion of this everlasting talkative advocate of the 
king, your accuser, went more than half-way towards it. Woe 
he to you, in the first place, if ever Charles or his posterity recover 
the crown of England ; assure yourselves you are like to be 
placed in the black list.” He was not far wrong; but our friend 
Principal Baillie retained till the Restoration his ancient grudge 
against the Independents, and all their doings. He welcomes 
Charles II., in 1661, in words in which we hardly recognise 
the original. “ The king, in moderation, wisdom, piety, and grave 
carriage, giving huge satisfaction to all,” and takes his last leave of 
the Independents and our author, with this rather malignant 
chuckle, “It was but the justice of God, to disgrace the two 
Goodwins, blind Milton, Owen, Morris, and others of that maleficient 
crew.” 
I need not follow the fate of this controversy or the combatants 
farther. The dispute did not stop there; nor was the event 
fortunate for either. Milton lost his sight shortly afterwards in 
some measure from his labours in this cause. Salmasius lost both 
reputation and favour, and died within two years. The war of 
words was carried on, and Milton had to make another rejoinder to 
more ignoble antagonists, until the conflict degenerated into the 
lowest personal abuse. 
As an example of Milton’s power over the language he wielded, 
his “Defensio” is worthy of the highest praise. It is not the com- 
position of a man who thought in Latin, as Buchanan did ; and 
possibly Salmasius, who writes gravely, was more severely classical. 
But Milton’s power of Latin expression, for ease and ductility, is 
something wonderful, and proves a familiarity with all moods of 
the language which few have ever excelled.* 
The following anecdote, which I take from Todd’s preface to 
Milton’s works, is worthy the attention of scholars. Ellwood, the 
* “ The Swedish ambassador again complained of delay in his business, and 
that when he had desired to have the articles of this treaty put into Latin 
according to the custom for treaties, that it was fourteen days they made him 
stay for that translation, and sent it to one Mr Milton, to put them into 
Latin.” (Whiteloeke, p. 645, “Minutes of the House of Commons.”) 
