"It
affords," says Godwin, "unequivocal indication of the company now kept
by the author with cavaliers, and _bon vivans_, and demireps, and men
of ruined fortunes." Edward Phillips, the elder brother, followed suit
with the _Mysteries of Love and Eloquence_ (1658), a book, according
to Godwin, "entitled to no insignificant rank among the multifarious
productions issued from the press, to debauch the manners of the
nation, and to bring back the King." Truly, a man's worst vexations
come to him from his own relations. Milton had the double annoyance
of the public exposure before the Council of State, and the private
reflection on the failure of his own system of education.
The homage which was wanting to the prophet in his own country was
more liberally tendered by foreigners. Milton, it must be remembered,
was yet only known in England as the pamphleteer of strong republican,
but somewhat eccentric, opinions. On the continent he was the answerer
of Salmasius, the vindicator of liberty against despotic power.
"Learned foreigners of note," Phillips tells us, "could not part
out of this city without giving a visit" to his uncle.
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