Deferted me it hath not been for Idly Withering in Lazyness, but in Facing the Greatest Dan gers with Activity, and among the First for Liberty.

But it may be faid This was in 54, the Cafe was Alter'd after the Reftoration when 'tis Exceeding Probable, or rather Certain, Paradife Loft was what he was Mostly Employ'd upon. the Friends of a Good Man are Ufually Good Men; He had Doubtless Always Such who Still Lov'd him for What he had Not Loft, however his Fortune and Figure in the World might be Chang'd; and who Lov'd him the More as he More stood in Need of their Affiftance. That Party, whatever their Guilt was, was never Charg'd with Sordid Self-Interestedness. But fuppofe they had been Bafe, As well as Rebels and Republicans, he was Otherwife Affifted in relation to what we are Upon. Thus we are Affur'd from T. Elwood, p. 154. "This Per"fon [Milton] having filled a Publick Station "in the Former Times, lived Now a Private "and Retired Life in London: and having

Wholly loft his Sight, kept Always a Man to Read to him; which Ufually was the "Son of Some Gentleman of his Acquain

tance, whom, in Kindness, he took to "Improve in his Learning." This was in · 1662.

Elwood Himself was One of Those who So Affifted him; Nor was it Eafy for Such

to

to get Admittance on Thofe Terms, So many were Glad of the Office for their Own Sakes, as this Honest Writer goes on to fay. Himfelf was forc'd to wait Some time e'er he could have the Privilege to be receiv'd to This Service; and This (let it be Obferv'd) was in Thofe years in which Paradife Loft was Wrote and Publish'd; for his Acquaintance with Milton, which Began in 62, Improv'd into a Continu'd Friendship; and no Wonder, Elwood was a Most Honeft Sincere Man, had Learning, and Lov'd it, and Try'd alfo to be a Poet, He, or Some Other of These Young Gentlemen were Able by Milton's Direction to do all that is faid to be Wanting, and Would Gladly, as well as Write for him. Nor can it be Suppos'd in a Work, which he had almoft All his Life confider'd as One of the Chief Bufineffes of it, Milton would fail to take Care, in All that was Material to its Perfection, as the Correct Pointing and Printing, moft Certainly is, as well as the Writing. One that Writes for the Publick Good, or Fame, has done but Half what he Intended if This is not taken Sufficient Care of, Rather if his Work is Noble, he Thus Exposes a Beautiful Offspring on the Mountains to be Mangled by Savage Beafts; or Chang'd into a Monster by the Circaan Wand of Some Accurfed Comus. Milton would no doubt provide against This as far as Human Wisdom Could Then Foresee.

He fpar'd not his Pains; as he wanted not Ability to do what I am faying. He Did much the Same for Others. Elwood, a Moft Honeft Creature, and a Hearty Admirer and Lover of his Mafter (as he calls him) fays having a Curious Ear, he un"derstood by my Tone when I Understood "what I Read, and when I did not: and accordingly would ftop me, and Examine me, and open the most Difficult Paffages " to me."

that

but what we learn from Milton Himself fets us at Perfect Eafe on This Article. Thus he Writes, concluding a Latin Letter to Heimbachius, Counsellor of the Elector of Brandenburg. 'twas in the year 1666— I will finish, but must first beg you to Excufe it if you find any thing Wrong Written, or not Rightly Pointed, because I have only a Boy which I Dictate to, who knows nothing of Latin, and to whom I was forc'd with Great Uneafynefs and Pain to Count every Letter. by the way, Paradife Loft was Finish'd the Year before This, and Printed the Year after; This appears to have been an Accident, he did not Ufe to be Thus Deftitute; but it shows Milton's Exactness even in the Pointing of a Familiar Letter. That Such Accidents must needs have been very Rare is Manifeft by what has been faid juft Now; but what is This to Paradife Loft? That was of Another Sort of Concernment, and might be taken

Care

Care of when the time was Proper, and all the Neceffary Helps Ready.

What has been alledg'd as Probabilities, appears in Fact to be Certain. That the Original MS. was of the Hand-Writing of Several is Agreed, but does That appear by the Printed Book? Nothing Lefs; 'tis Uniform Throughout: it must have Then been Revis'd and Corrected by Some One, Directed at leaft. and that This was Milton himself is Evident by its Exact Conformity with his Spelling and Pointing in What he Publish'd when he had his Sight; as alfo with his Other Works after That was gone. for full Satiffaction, Those that please may have recourse to Thofe Works, the Original Editions, for They are to be had. in the Mean time if they will give Me Credit, they will be Affured, that not only the Printing is Equally Accurate with what is to be found in Any of them, but 'tis rather More So than in most of the reft. as indeed 'tis of more Importance, that it should be Juft Here than in Any of his Other Works, as 'tis his Principal One, and That in which even the Points Direct and Determine the Sense most Often and most Remarkably. We have found, in Several Inftances, that what feem'd at first Sight to be the True One, was far Inferiour to what was indeed So, but would not have been Difcover'd, unless by following Thofe Guides, Almoft Univerfally Faithful.

There are Some Peculiarities in the Spel ling of certain Words in Paradife Loft, not by Accident, but from One End to the Other; the Same is in what he Wrote with his Own

Hand Years before. to go into a Detail of These would be Dry to the Reader, nor is it Agreeable to Me; but One remarkable Instance I will give: the Word Their in This Poem, as in Many of his Writings, is Thir. What led him to This way of Spelling this Word I know not, but he began it long After he was a Publisher, though long Before Paradife Loft. 'tis not an Ancient Way of Writing, it was Always Their or Theyr.

Several Other Particularities of This Kind are to be found in Milton's Works, Which let any One perufe, they will be Convinc'd that there is Such a Similitude of Spelling between Those Published when he was Blind, and Those Before, that fhows they were All under the fame Direction. Had we not known it Otherwise the Author would not have been fufpected to be Blind by Any want of Exactnefs in This.

In Paradife Loft Care has been taken of the Orthography where the Senfe was in no Danger, and meerly for the fake of Accuracy; as in the Word Scent Thus Always Spelt, to diftinguish it from Sent. to Smell is Sentir (Fr.) Sentire (It.) Thence we have Scent, but as no c is in the Word we borrow from, Milton rejects it. So the Word Rhime