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ceeded in particular exigences. In one word, he determined to write his Life. There are no men fo excellent who have not fome perfonal or cafual defect in their bodily frame, fome aukward peculiarity in their manners or converfation, fome fcandalous calumny tacked to their private hiftory, or fome of those natural failings which diftinguish human from angelic beings.

On the other hand, few men are so totally abandoned and depraved as to have no remnants of grace and goodness, no intervals of sobriety, no touches of regret for departed innocence, no fenfe of those generous paffions which animate the wife and good to praise-worthy actions, or no natural or acquired abilities to abate

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the refentment of the reputable public, and to atone, in fome degree, for their immoralities.

A man of genius, who has words and will to deprefs or raife fuch characters refpectively, will confider little in his operations upon them, but the motives and occafions which call for his prefent interference; and the world who know the artificer will make it no wonder that the encomiaft and apologist of the profligate Richard Savage fhould employ his pen to fatyrize and calumniate the virtuous John Milton.

"The Life of Milton," fays Dr. Johnfon, "has been already written in so 66 many forms, with fuch minute enqui

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ry, that I might perhaps more pro

"perly

xt

perly have contented myself with the addition of a few notes to Mr. Fen"ton's elegant Abridgement; but that a

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new narrative was thought neceffary to "the uniformity of this edition *."

The uniformity of editions is commonly the bookfeller's care, and the neceffity of fuch uniformity generally arises from the taste of the public; of which, among the number of names exhibited in the title-pages of these volumes, there must be many competent judges. It would be a pity however that a conformity to this taste should engage Dr. Johnfon in writing this Life, to go beyond what would more properly have contented! himself; the leaft intimation from the

Life of Milton, p.1.

Biographer of the impropriety of a nerv narrative would, we are perfuaded, have made the undertakers of the edition contented with the Doctor's plan.

He might not indeed have found the means to introduce certain particulars, which embellish his new narrative, into his notes on Mr. Fenton's abridgement, in which there is a vein of candor that does the writer more honour than the ingenuity of his performance; not to mention the different judgment, from that of Dr. Johnson, formed by Mr. Fenton, on fome of Milton's poetical pieces.

We therefore believe this new narrative was calculated rather for Dr. Johnfon's private contentment than the neceffities of the edition.

A few

A few inftances will ferve to fhew the probability of this furmife.

All the writers of Milton's Life before Dr. Johnfon fpeak of the efteem with which Milton was honoured by his fellow-members of Chrift's College at Cambridge. Milton values himself upon it at a time when the under-workers of the royalifts, who fent different accounts to the defenders of Salmafius abroad, might have effectually confuted him. Let us now. obferve the contraft.

"Of the exercises which the rules of "the univerfity required, fome were

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published by him in his maturer

years. They had been undoubtedly

applauded, for they were fuch as few

can perform; yet there is reafon to

" fuf

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