Paradise Lost (Modern Library Classics) (9 page)

There are several seventeenth-century Milton biographers, including the anonymous biographer (most likely Milton’s friend Cyriack Skinner), the Oxford historian Anthony à Wood, Milton’s nephew and former student Edward Phillips, and the deist John Toland. One can find their works in Helen Darbishire’s
The Early Lives of Milton
(1932), which attributes the anonymous biography to Edward Phillips’s brother, John. We choose to print the biographical notes gathered by the antiquarian John Aubrey, which are notable for their author’s extraordinary attention to personal details and efforts to verify his information by consulting those who knew Milton well, including the poet’s widow, his brother, and some of his friends.

Aubrey’s manuscript notes are loosely organized, partly chronologically and partly by the person interviewed. Our text follows the chronologically arranged version established by Andrew Clark (2:62–72). Those wanting to identify the sources of individual comments may consult Clark’s edition or Darbishire’s. We have reproduced Clark’s interpolated headings, but we have in some places made different choices in our inclusions and exclusions. We have also modernized the text, changing punctuation and spelling. Aubrey’s notes are peppered with ellipses, where he leaves blanks to be filled in should further information appear. Bracketed ellipses in our text indicate places where we omit material found in Clark’s edition; otherwise the ellipses are Aubrey’s.

His mother was a Bradshaw.

Mr. John Milton was of an Oxfordshire family.

His grandfather, …, (a Roman Catholic), of Holton, in Oxfordshire, near Shotover.

His father was brought up in the University of Oxon, at Christ Church, and his grandfather disinherited him because he kept not to the Catholic religion (he found a Bible in English in his chamber). So thereupon he came to London, and became a scrivener (brought up by a friend of his; was not an apprentice) and got a plentiful estate by it, and left it off many years before he died. He was an ingenious man; delighted in music; composed many songs now in print, especially that of
Oriana
.
¹

I have been told that the father composed a song of fourscore parts for the Landgrave of Hesse, for which [his] highness sent a medal of gold, or a noble present. He died about 1647; buried in Cripplegate church, from his house in the Barbican.

His son John was born in Bread Street, in London, at the Spread Eagle, which was his house (he had also in that street another house, the Rose, and other houses in other places).

He was born Anno Domini … the … day of …, about … o’clock in the …

(John Milton was born the 9th of December, 1608,
die Veneris
,
²
half an hour after 6 in the morning.)

Portrait of Milton at age ten, by Cornelius Janssen.
(illustration credit fm3.1)

Anno Domini 1619, he was ten years old, as by his picture; and was then a poet.

His schoolmaster then was a Puritan, in Essex, who cut his hair short.

He went to school to old Mr. Gill, at Paul’s School. Went at his own charge only to Christ’s College in Cambridge at fifteen, where he stayed eight years at least. Then he traveled into France and Italy (had Sir H. Wotton’s commendatory letters). At Geneva he contracted a great friendship with the learned Dr. Diodati of Geneva (
vide
his
poems). He was acquainted with Sir Henry Wotton, ambassador at Venice, who delighted in his company. He was several years
, how many?
Resp.
, two years> beyond sea, and returned to England just upon the breaking out of the civil wars.

From his brother, Christopher Milton: When he went to school, when he was very young, he studied very hard and sat up very late, commonly till twelve or one o’clock at night, and his father ordered the maid to sit up for him; and in those years (10) composed many copies of verses which might well become a riper age. And was a very hard student in the university, and performed all his exercises there with very good applause. His first tutor there was Mr. Chapell; from whom receiving some unkindness ; he was afterwards (though it seemed contrary to the rules of the college) transferred to the tuition of one Mr. Tovell,
³
who died parson of Lutterworth.

He went to travel about the year 1638 and was abroad about a year’s space, chiefly in Italy.

Immediately after his return he took a lodging at Mr. Russell’s, a tailor, in St. Bride’s churchyard, and took into his tuition his [Milton’s] sister’s two sons, Edward and John Phillips, the first 10, the other 9 years of age; and in a year’s time made them capable of interpreting a Latin author at sight, etc., and within three years they went through the best of Latin and Greek poets: Lucretius and Manilius of the Latins; Hesiod, Aratus, Dionysius Afer, Oppian, Apollonii
Argonautica
, and Quintus Calaber. Cato, Varro, and Columella
De re rustica
were the very first authors they learned. As he was severe on the one hand, so he was most familiar and free in his conversation to those to whom most sour in his way of education. N.B. he made his nephews songsters, and sing, from the time they were with him.

He married his first wife, Mary Powell of Fosthill,
⁴
at Shotover, in Oxonshire, Anno Domini …; by whom he had four children. [He] hath two daughters living: Deborah was his amanuensis (he taught her Latin, and to read Greeke to him when he had lost his eyesight, which was anno Domini …).

She went from him to her mother’s at … in the king’s quarters, near Oxford, anno Domini …; and wrote the
Triplechord
about divorce.
⁵

Two opinions do not well on the same bolster. She was a … Royalist, and went to her mother to the King’s quarters, near Oxford. I have perhaps so much charity to her that she might not wrong his bed: but what man, especially contemplative, would like to have a young wife environed and stormed by the sons of Mars, and those of the enemy party?

His first wife (Mrs. Powell, a Royalist) was brought up and lived where there was a great deal of company and merriment . And when she came to live with her husband, at Mr. Russell’s in St. Bride’s churchyard, she found it very solitary; no company came to her; oftentimes heard his nephews beaten and cry. This life was irksome to her, and so she went to her parents at Fosthill. He sent for her, after some time; and I think his servant was evilly entreated: but as for manner of wronging his bed, I never heard the least suspicions; nor had he, of that, any jealousy.

He had a middle wife, whose name was Katharine Woodcock. No child living by her.

He married his second [sic] wife, Elizabeth Minshull, anno … (the year before the sickness): a gentle person, a peaceful and agreeable humor.

He was Latin secretary to the Parliament.

His sight began to fail him at first upon his writing against Salmasius, and before ’twas full completed one eye absolutely failed. Upon the writing of other books after that, his other eye decayed.

His eyesight was decaying about 20 years before his death. His father read without spectacles at 84. His mother had very weak eyes, and used spectacles presently after she was thirty years old.

After he was blind he wrote these following books, viz.:
Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Grammar, Dictionary
(imperfect).

I heard that after he was blind that he was writing a Latin dictionary (in the hands of Moses Pitt).
Vidua affirmat
⁶
she gave all his papers (among which this dictionary, imperfect) to his nephew, a sister’s son, that he brought up … Phillips, who lives near the Maypole in the Strand. She has a great many letters by her from learned men, his acquaintance, both of England and beyond the sea.

He lived in several places, e.g., Holborn near Kingsgate. He died in Bunhill, opposite the Artillery-garden wall.

He died of the gout, struck in the 9th or 10th of November, 1674, as appears by his apothecary’s book.

He lies buried in St. Giles Cripplegate, upper end of the chancel at the right hand,
vide
his gravestone. Memorandum: his stone is now removed, for about two years since (now 1681) the two steps to the communion table were raised. I guess John Speed
⁷
and he lie together.

His harmonical and ingenious soul did lodge in a beautiful and well-proportioned body—
“In toto nusquam corpore menda fuit,”
Ovid.
⁸

He was a spare man. He was scarce so tall as I am, […] of middle stature.

He had auburn hair. His complexion exceeding fair—he was so fair that they called him
the Lady of Christ’s College
. Oval face. His eye a dark gray.

He had a delicate tuneable voice, and had good skill. His father instructed him. He had an organ in his house; he played on that most.

Of a very cheerful humor. He would be cheerful even in his gout-fits, and sing.

He was very healthy and free from all diseases: seldom took any physic (only sometimes he took manna):
⁹
only towards his latter end he was visited with the gout, spring and fall.

He had a very good memory; but I believe that his excellent method of thinking and disposing did much to help his memory.

He pronounced the letter R
¹⁰
> very hard (a certain sign of a satirical wit—from John Dryden.).

Write his name in red letters on his pictures, with his widow, to preserve.
¹¹

His widow has his picture, drawn very well and like, when a Cambridge-scholar, which ought to be engraven; for the pictures before his books are not
at all
like him.

His exercise was chiefly walking.

He was an early riser
. at 4 a clock
manè
¹²
>; yea, after he lost his sight. He had a man read to him. The first thing he read was the Hebrew bible, and that was at 4 h.
manè
, 1/2 h. plus. Then he contemplated.

At 7 his man came to him again, and then read to him again and wrote till dinner; the writing was as much as the reading. His (2nd) daughter, Deborah, could read to him in Latin, Italian and French, and Greek. [She] married in Dublin to one Mr. Clarke ; very like her father. The other sister is Mary, more like her mother.

After dinner he used to walk 3 or 4 hours at a time (he always had a garden where he lived); went to bed about 9.

Temperate man, rarely drank between meals.

Extreme pleasant in his conversation and at dinner, supper, etc; but satirical.

From Mr. E. Phillips:—All the time of writing his
Paradise Lost
, his vein began at the autumnal equinoctial, and ceased at the vernal or thereabouts (I believe about May); and this was 4 or 5 years of his doing it. He began about 2 years before the king came in, and finished about three years after the king’s restoration.
¹³