Free Paradise Lost (Modern Library Classics) by John Milton, William Kerrigan, John Rumrich, Stephen M. Fallon Page B
Milton dies November 9 or 10 and is buried in St. Giles, Cripplegate.
M INUTES OF THE L IFE OF M R . J OHN M ILTON
John Aubrey
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.
[H IS PARENTAGE ]
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.
[H IS BIRTH ]
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)
[H IS PRECOCITY ]
Anno Domini 1619, he was ten years old, as by his picture; and was then a poet.
[S CHOOL, COLLEGE, AND TRAVEL ]
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
hispoems). He was acquainted with Sir Henry Wotton, ambassador at Venice, who delighted in his company. He was several years
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
M INUTES OF THE L IFE OF M R . J OHN M ILTON
John Aubrey
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.
[H IS PARENTAGE ]
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.
[H IS BIRTH ]
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)
[H IS PRECOCITY ]
Anno Domini 1619, he was ten years old, as by his picture; and was then a poet.
[S CHOOL, COLLEGE, AND TRAVEL ]
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
hispoems). He was acquainted with Sir Henry Wotton, ambassador at Venice, who delighted in his company. He was several years
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
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