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The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets,
The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets Author:Samuel Johnson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: MILTON. TH E Life of Milton has been already written in fo many forms? ancl with fuch minute enquiry, that I might perhaps more properly have contented myfelf... more » with the addition of a few notes to Mr. Fenton's elegant Abridgement, but that a new narra- rative was thought neceflary to the uniformity of this edition. JOHN MILTON was by birth a gentleman, defcended from the proprietors of Milton near Thame in Oxfordmire, one of whom forfeited his eftate in the times of York and Lancafter. Which fide he took I know not; his defcendant inherited no veneration for th White Rofe, His grandfather John was keeper of the foreft of Shotover, a zealous papift, who difinherited his fon, becaufe he had forfaken the religion of his anceftors, His father, John, who was the fon difin- herited, had recourfe for his fupport to the profeffion of a fcrivener. He was a man eminent for his fkill in mufick, many of his compofitions being ftill to be found ; and his reputation in his profeffion was fuch? that he grew rich, and retired to an eftate. He had probably more than common literature, as his fon addrefles him in one of his moft elaborate Latin poems. He married a gentlewoman of the name of Carton, a Welfh family, by whom he had two fons, John the poet, and Chriftopher who ftudied the law, and adhered, as the law taught him, to the King's party, for which he was awhile perfe- cuted; but having, by his brother's intereft, obtained permiffion to live in quiet, he fup- ported himfelf fo honourably by chamber- practice, that, foon after the acceffion of King James, he was knighted and made a Judge; but, his conftitution being too weak for bufinefs, he retired before any difreputable compliances became neceflary. He had likewife a daughter Anne, whom he married with a confiderable fortu...« less