€04 
M I L 
otherwise than the Francifcan and Dominican licenfers 
thought.” On his leaving Florence, our traveller pro¬ 
ceeded through Sienna to Rome; and then viiited Naples, 
where he was kindly regeived by Manfo marquis of Villa. 
At Rome he was introduced, by Holftenius, keeper of the 
Vatican library, to the attentions of cardinal Barberini, 
who at that time pofiefted the whole delegated fovereignty 
of Rome under his uncle, Urban VIII. At a great ran- 
fical entertainment which the cardinal gave, he looked 
for our traveller among the crowd at the door, and 
brought him, almoft by the hand, into the affembly. It 
is fuppofed, that it was at this concert Milton was firft 
ftruck with the charms and the inimitable voice of Leo¬ 
nora Baroni, which had been made the general theme of 
praife by the contemporary poets of Italy: and the is 
probably the perfon who has been celebrated by Milton in 
her own language, and who was the fubjeCt of his Italian 
fonnets. 
Having completed his intended refidence at Naples, Mil- 
ton began to make preparations- for the execution of the 
remaining part of his plan of travel, which extended to Si¬ 
cily and Greece ; but, while he was engaged in this bufi- 
nels, he received letters from England, acquainting him 
with the diftraCted iiate of his country, and with the near 
profpeCt of a civil war; he determined to return. “As 
I was defirous,” he fays, “ to pafs into Sicily and Greece, 
the melancholy intelligence from -England of the civil 
war recalled me ; for I elleemed it difhonourable for me 
to be lingering abroad, even for the improvement of my 
mind, when my fellow-citizens were contending for their 
liberty at home.” He, however, refolved to revifitRome, 
where he remained two months. From Rome he went to 
Florence; and his lecond vifit to this city, which the 
kindnefs of his friends made a fpecies of home to him, 
was of equal duration with his firft. When he departed 
from Florence, he crofted the Apennines, and travelled 
through Bologna and Ferrara to Venice. He fpent a 
month in viewing the curiofities of this celebrated city, 
and then purfued his returning courl'e through Verona 
qnd Milan, over the Alps, and by Lake Lemanus to Ge¬ 
neva. Here he contracted an acquaintance with two 
learned divines, John Diodati and Frederic Spahheim. 
He now returned through France to England, having 
been abfent about fifteen months. On his arrival he 
found the civil commotions of his country haftening to a 
crifis; and, as he had exprefted impatience to be prefent 
on the theatre of thefe difputes, it has been thought ex¬ 
traordinary that he did not inftantly take upon himfelf 
fome aCtive part. But his taftes and habits were altoge¬ 
ther literary; and he had been long pondering upon fome 
fubjeCt ofEngiifn poetry worthy of his genius, and. capa¬ 
ble of being made.a pafl'port to the immortality to which 
lie afpired. For the prefent, therefore, he fixed himfelf in 
the metropolis, and undertook the education of his filler’s 
Ions, of the name of Philip?. Shortly after, he was ap¬ 
plied to by feveral parents to admit their children to the 
benefit of his tuition, to which he affented, and there¬ 
fore took a houfe in a garden in Alderfgate-ftreet, and 
■opened an academy for board and education. As he dis¬ 
approved the plan followed in the public Schools and uni- 
verfities, he deviated from it as widely as poftible. In¬ 
stead. of the common claftics, he put into the hands of 
his Scholars Such Latin and Greek authors as treated on 
the arts and Sciences, and pliilofophy, thus expeCting to 
inftil the knowledge of things with that of words. It is 
Singular that one who had himfelf drunk l'o deeply at the 
mufes’ fount, fhould withhold the draught from others ; 
and it is certain that the abftrufe works which he fubfti- 
tuted to thole of the poets and common hiftorians, were 
ill calculated to render learning pleafant to beginners; 
not to fay, that, from the imperfect ftate of ancient fei- 
<‘ence, Such a courfe was as likely to inculcate error as 
truth. He performed the duty of inftruClion with great 
afhduity ; and Set the example of hard ftudy and fpare diet 
T O N. 
to his pupils, whom he feems to have disciplined with the 
Severity of old times. 
But Milton did not long deferve the cenfure of having 
forgotten the public caufe in his private purfuits. His 
principles made it no matter of doubt which fide he 
would efpoufe in the contentions of his country ; and in 
164.1 he published four treatifes relative to church-govern¬ 
ment, in which he attacked epifcopacy, and fupported the 
caufe of the puritans. They were followed by another in 
the next year relative to the fame controversy; and he 
numbered among his antagonifls fuch men as bif’nop Hall 
and archbifhop Uflier. His father, who had been difturbed 
in his refidence by the king’s troops, came to live with 
him, and fpent his latter years in tranquillity under his 
Son’s roof. It now became definable that fo large a fa¬ 
mily fhould have a female head ; and accordingly, in 1643, 
Milton united himfelf in marriage with Mary, daughter 
of Richard Powell, efq. a magiftrate, at Forefi-hill, near 
Shotover, in Oxfordfhire. (See Gent. Mag. Jan. 1815.) In 
more than one rel'peCt this was an unfuitable connexion 5 
for the father-in-law was a zealous royalift, and the 
daughter had been accuftomed to the jovial hol'pitality of 
the country gentlemen of that party. She had not been 
above a month in her hufband’s houfe, before the contrail 
in every refpeCt that fine experienced completely difgufted 
her; and, having procured a requeft from her friends for 
permiflion to pay them a vifit, She went to her father’s 
houfe to Spend the remainder of the Summer. Milton’s 
letters and meffages to bring her back at the appointed 
time were treated with contempt. Juftly incenfed at this 
ul'age, he began to confider her conduCt as a defertion 
which broke the nuptial contract, and he determined to 
punifh it by repudiation. His learning Soon Supplied him 
with arguments for Such ameafure; and, in order to juftify 
it to the world, hepublifhed, in 1644, “The DoCtrine and 
Discipline of Divorce,” which was followed by “ The 
Judgment of Martin Bucer concerning Divorce.” In 
the next year appeared his “ Tetrackordon, or Expofitions 
upon the four chief Places in Scripture which treat of 
Marriage;” in which he endeavoured to obviate the ob¬ 
jections to divorce which might be drawn from the New 
Teflament. The prefbyterian divines then fitting at 
Wellminfter were alarmed at tliis novelty, and procured 
the writer to be Summoned before thedioufe of lords; but 
that body did not choofe to enter into the queftion, and 
foon diimiffed him. Milton now refolved to put his doc¬ 
trine into praftice ; and began to pay his court to a young 
lady of great accomplifnments, the daughter of a Dr. 
Davies. The rumour of this intended alliance effected 
what his remonftrances had been unable to do. As he 
was paying a vifit to a neighbour and kinfman, he was 
furpriied with the fudden entrance'of his wife from an¬ 
other room, who threw herfelf at his feet and implored 
forgivenei's. After a Ihort Struggle of refentment he re¬ 
lented, and again took^her to his bofoin. The recon¬ 
ciliation was Sincere and lafting; and Milton nobly Sealed 
it by opening his houfe to her father and brothers, when 
they had been driven from home by the triumph of the 
republican arms. He was now obliged to take a larger 
maniion, and removed to Barbican. In this afylum his 
wife’s relations continued, till the queftion refpeCling 
their property was adjufted with the government, and till 
a period fublequent to the death of Milton’s father. 
Under the prefture of thefe domeftic embarralfments, 
and of the public intereft, the intellect of our author, 
obedient to a heart actuated by the pureft benevolence, 
was bufy in promoting the welfare of the human race. In 
the year 1644, he imparted to the world his ideas on the 
SubjeCl-of education; and defended, with a power which 
has never been exceeded, that guardian of liberty and 
truth, the freedom of the prefs. His TraClate on Edu¬ 
cation, addrefled to Mr. Hartlib, the friend of fir William 
Petty, contains his thoughts on that important fubjeCt. 
From this it appears, he conceived it pollible to initiate 
1 the 
