formation, he far excelled Salmasius in the correctness of his judgment, the distribution of his knowledge, and the more luminous arrangement of his erudition. Grotius was an enlightened philosopher, as well as a profound scholar; and the names of these two illustrious men were in commendation not often disjoined. Selden speaks of Grotius, as the greatest, the chief of men,' and of Salmasius as 'most admirable;' to whom he wished much more to be like than to be the most eminent person for riches and honour in the world; and Cardinal Richelieu declared, that Bignonius, Grotius, and Salmasius were the only persons of that age, whom he looked upon as arrived at the highest pitch of learning. Such was the antagonist whom Milton had been commanded to meet. The work which the exiled monarch required from the critic was probably somewhat beyond the circle of his studies; he wrote also on the unpopular side; and some among his friends neither admired the motive, ejus ac quieti multum officiebat uxor imperiosa Anna Mercera,' and then he proceeds to give an account how Salmasius's wife insisted, when he was presented at the court of Christina, in dressing him in scarlet breeches and gloves, with a black cap and white feather. Salmasius told him he was very ill with the gout the whole time he was in Sweden; that Christina used to come to his bed; and one morning found him reading 'Libellum Subturpiculum,' which the affrighted professor hid under the bedclothes; but Christina searched for it and got it; and, being delighted with it, called in a young and beautiful lady of the name of 'Sparra,' whom she made to read aloud the passages that pleased her; and while the girl blushed at her task, the Queen and her attendants were convulsed with laughter. Huet saw at Salmasius's house the girl Pontia,' and says she was satis elegans.' His account of the amour of Morus with this girl is not so unfavourable as Milton's; in fact, he made Morus sign a paper to marry her, but the passion and intemperance of Salmasius's wife rendered all interference unsuccessful. Morus was ill in Salmasius's house, and Pontia nursed him, which was the beginning of the acquaintance. An epitaph on Salmasius is given in V. Paravicini Sing. de Viris Erud. (1713) p. 201, in the bombastic style of the time. Ingens exigua jacet hac sub mole sepultus Finivit Spade vitam Salmasius hospes Trajectum cineres ossaque triste tenet. Quod mortale fuit periit, pars altera cœlis Reddita, fit major, doctior esse nequit. For Letters from Christina to Salmasius in the Ottoboni Palace at Rome, see Keysler's Travels, vol. iii. p. 147. nor anticipated the success of his undertaking.93 Hobbes says, 'he is unable to decide whose language is best, or whose argument worst,' and certainly the question is too often lost sight of in discussing the niceties of verbal construction, or in personal altercation; nor is the argument disposed with the calm and comprehensive views of the statesman and philosopher. That Milton's fame, however, was widely and honourably extended by this performance, no doubt can be entertained; it was In Liberty's defence, a noble task, Of which all Europe rang from side to side: but that Salmasius suffered disgrace at the court of Christina; that he was dismissed with contempt, or considered as defeated with 93 See Sarravii Epistolas. p. 224; his love and admiration of Salmasius evince quali ties in that great man that commanded esteem. 'De Salmasio quid dicam? Precipiti Octobri in amplexus ejus iri. Cum eo vivere ameni et obeam libenter, vis plura? Si per impossibile cuiquam mortalium erigantur unquam altaria, mihi, deus, deus ille de omnigena doctrina, moribusque humanissimis tibi comperta narrare nihil attinet.' p. 32. See also his 51st Epistle to Al. More. In his 140th, speaking of the death of Grotius, he says, 'Utri vestrum debeatur hujus sæculi principatus literarius, decernet ventura ætas! In the 198th Letters Serravius first mentions the subject of Salmasius's defence, which he applauds. Laudo animi tui generosum propositum, quo nefandum scelus aperte damnare sustines.' Then he mentions that Bochart intended 'eandem spartam ornare,' but had been dissuaded. In the 208th, 'de tuo pro infelici Rege apoligetico soleres facis, qui facis quod libet, et amicorum consilia spernis.' In the 214th, he has seen his work' Omnino magnus est iste tuus labor, et istam materiam profunde meditatus es.' In the 216th, he says, 'Tuam defensionem quod spectat dolendum esset in ipsis nascendi primordiis interire.' In the 222d, he speaks of the fifth edition of Salmasius's work in the 223d, he complains that a copy had not been sent to Charles's widow. 'Quamvis enim sit in re minime lauta, tamen potuisse solvere pretium tabellarii, qui illud attulisset.' The 228th is the letter so often quoted, beginning, 'Te ergo habemus reum fatentem.' Sarravius differed from him in his defence of Episcopacy. July, 1648, he tells him 'vos amis se plaignent que vous ne faites rien de ce dont ils vous prient, et que vos ennemis au contraire ont l'avantage de vous faire écrire de ce qu'il leur plait.' From a careful perusal of the correspondence connected with this subject, I am convinced that the effect said to be produced by Milton's defence on Salmasius, and on his reputation, has been prodigiously overrated. Salmasius seems at that time to have been as much interested about other works which he had in hand, and especially about conducting safely and commodiously his journey to Sweden, and preserving his health in that cold climate. It must also be observed that, whatever More's moral character was, he stood in high esteem and reputation in the learned world, and that Milton's attack therefore affected him deeply. See Tan. Fabri. Epistol. Ixvi. lib. i. ed. 1674, p. 219. A full and impartial account of him may be read in Bayle's Dict. Art. Morus.' Archd. Blackburne calls More the Atterbury, or rather the Dodd, of his age. v. Mem. of Hollis, p. 522. dishonour, rests upon no valid authority. Milton in his second defence expressly allowed, that the queen, attentive to the dignity of her station, let the stranger experience no diminution of her former kindness, or munificence. The health of that illustrious scholar had long been languishing under his unremitted labours. He was afflicted with gout, if not with stone, and he went to seek relief from the mineral waters of Spa (which he was supposed to have drunk improperly), where he died. The queen had offered him large appointments94 to remain in Sweden, and greatly regretted his departure; but the coldness. of the climate was injurious to him and after his death, she wrote a letter full of concern for his loss, and respect for his memory; the slander first thrown out in the Mercurius Politicus, and so frequently repeated, ought no longer to be believed. Salmasius went full of years and honours to his grave. The purpose of Salmasius95 was to support the doctrine of the divine rights of kings: to prove that the king is a person. with whom the supreme power of the kingdom resides, and who is answerable to God alone. Milton asserted the undisputed sovereignty of the people. This he terms agreeable to 94 He had a pension of 40,000 livres from Sweden. It will astonish some of my readers to know that Salmasius was a republican, 'Placebat Salmasio libera respublica.' He was invited by the University of Oxford to settle there on very handsome terms: 'and' says his biographer, 'he would have gone 'nisi aliquid ab eo petiissent, quamvis beatissima conditione, quod cum ad nationis utilitatem spectaret, non erat tamen ad genium ipsius;' but so far was Salmasius, as all Milton's biographers assert, from being a slavish admirer of kings or regal governments, that 'Bataviam hâc in parte præ Anglia preferebat quod majorem semper in respublica quam in regno libertatem esse judicaret.' v. Vit. Salmas. p. xvi. It was not solely on account of his superior learning that Salmasius was selected by the adherents of Charles, but that some of his previous writings on matters connected with the church and the sects, had produced much effect in England. Dissertatio de episcopis et presbyteris multum juverat optime sentientes (in Britannia) in abrogando jure Episcoporum, quod multi ex proceribus, et viris primariis ultro cum gratiarum actione testati sunt:' and it appears that he was in the habit of being consulted on ecclesiastical affairs by the persons of rank and influence in England, 'Consilium Salmasii sæpius per deputationes implorarunt regni proceres.' 95 Dr. Symmons has allowed the skill and eloquence displayed in the work of Salmasius, vide Life, p. 356, and has shown how much Burke was indebted to it. In that strange rambling work, T. Hollis's Memoirs, there is an engraving by Cipriani, representing Milton's head on a terminus, on which is a medallion suspended inclosing the portrait of Salmasius; this was a print emblematical of Mltons's victory. v. p. 383, the laws of God and of nature. That by the laws of God, by those of nations, and by the municipal laws of our own country, a king of England may be brought to trial and to death; that the laws of God do in this exactly agree with the laws of nature; and that this is a settled maxim of the law of nature, never to be shaken, that the senate and the people are superior to kings; and that, if asked by what law, by what right or justice, the king was dethroned, the answer is, by that law which God and nature have created; that whatever things are for the universal good of the whole state, are for that reason lawful and just; and that a people obliged by an oath is discharged of that obligation, when a lawful prince becomes a tyrant, or gives himself over to sloth and voluptuousness. The rule of justice, the very law of nature, dispenses with such a people's allegiance. That these doctrines have been always acknowledged by the common consent of mankind, he endeavours to prove from the history of ancient nations. Thus the kings of the Jews were subject to the very same laws as the people. He traces a similar belief through Egypt and Persia, through the Grecian history, and the annals of the Roman empire. He alleges the authority of the ancient Scriptures, the gospel, and the fathers. He then finds his doctrine supported by the usage and constitution of our government from the period of the British history, through the Saxon and Norman times, and traces the supreme power of the legislative assembly to the reign of Charles. Such is a faint outline of his argument; in this work he openly accuses Buckingham of having poisoned King James, and afterwards even makes a bolder assertion, that Charles was accessory to the crime. The first reply to Milton's Defensio Populi96 was published in 1651. Milton, who assisted his nephew Philips in the answer, was willing to consider it as the production of that distinguished prelate, Bramhall, whom he treats with the same coarseness of 96 In the original editions of the Defensio Populi, and Defensio Secunda, the name of the author is printed Joannis MiltonI, i. e. Miltonii; he therefore differed from those who would render the English termination 'on,' by 'onus' in Latin. sarcasm, and violence of invective, which had been employed against Salmasius, imputing to him the greatest excesses, and the practice of the most degrading vices. Bramhall97 had disowned the writing imputed to him, but the real author was not discovered till the industry of Mr. Todd brought the secret to light. He proves to be one John Rowland, and calls himself 'Pastor Ecclesiæ particularis.' In this tract the accusation of the death of James the First by poison is repeated. Next year appeared Regii Sanguinis clamor ad cœlum:' this work was written by Peter du Moulin, a Frenchman, afterwards prebendary of Canterbury; but A. More, who had the care of the publication, was treated by Milton as the real author. The mistake was afterwards discovered, but Milton had exhausted his invective against More, and suffered Du Moulin to escape. Alexander More was a Scotchman by birth, settled in France, and was the son of the principal of the Protestant College of Castres in Languedoc. He was a person of talent and learning, but more eminently distinguished as a brilliant though eccentric preacher. It was an unfortunate hour for him when he threw the shield of his name to protect Du Moulin's writings, for More's personal character was open to remark. He had, it appears, entered into a love-intrigue at Leyden, with an English girl, who is called Pontia, and who was waiting-maid to the wife of Salmasius.98 This occasioned much domestic dispute and 97 See extract from Bishop Bramhall's Letter to his son, May, 1654. That silly book, which he ascribes to me, was written by one John Rowland, who since hath replied upon him. I never read a word either of the first book or the reply in my life.' v. Todd's Life, p. 83. 98 The wife of Salmasius was a great shrew, but she had a high opinion of her hus. band. Il se laissoit dominer par une femme hautaine et chagrine, qui se vantoit d'avoir pour mari, mais non pour maître le plus savant de tous les nobles, et le plus noble de tous les savans.' v. Huetiena, p. x. The 88th Letter of Sarravius opens a curious domestic picture of Salmasius's family. He had, it appears, applied to Sarravius to procure him some maid-servants, and his friend fairly answers him. Timeo ne itineris difficultates, cum uxoris tuæ moribus multas deterreant.' Salmasius was presented with the order of St. Michael by Louis XIII. hence Milton calls him' Eques.'-The biographers of Milton have taken their account of Salmasius chiefly from N. Heinsius, without keeping in mind that Heinsius was his bitter and implacable enemy. Not wishing to give offence, still I must say, that not one of those who have written on this controversy, seems to me to be really acquainted with the works or character of Salmasius. See also N. Heinsii Poem. Lat. 152. 165. |
