Magifter artis venter, et Jacobæi Cantabit ultrò Cardinalitium melos. Ver. 4. King Charles the fecond, now in exile, and sheltered in Holland, gave Salmafius, who was a profeffor at Leyden, one hundred Jacobufes to write his Defence, 1649. Wood afferts that Salmafius had no reward for his book. He fays, that at Leyden the King sent doctor Morley, afterwards bishop, to the apologist, with his thanks, "but not with a purfe of gold, as John Milton the impudent lyer reported," Ath. Oxon. ii. 770. WARTON. Ver. 6. This topick of ridicule, drawn from the poverty of the exiled king, is feverely reprobated by doctor Johnson, as what might be expected from the favageness of Milton." Life of Addifon. Oldmixon, he adds, had meanness enough to delight in bilking an alderman of London, who had more money than the Pretender. Warton. Ver. 8. This Epigram, as Mr. Warton has pointed out, is an imitation of part of the Prologue to Perfius's Satires. "Quis expedivit pfittaco fuum xaige, X. In SALMASIUM. * GAUDETE fcombri, et quicquid eft pifcium falo, Qui frigidâ hyeme incolitis algentes freta! *This is in the Defenfio fecunda. It is introduced with the following ridicule on Morus, the subject of the next Epigram, for having predicted the wonders to be worked by Salmafius's new edition, or rather reply. "Tu igitur, ut pifciculus ille anteambulo, præcurris Balenam Salmafium." Mr. Steevens obferves, that this is an idea analogous to Falstaff's "Here do I walk before thee, &c." although reversed as to the imagery. WARTON. Ver. 7. Mr. Warton obferves, that Milton here fneers at a circumftance which was true: Salmafius was really of an ancient and noble family.-I may add, that Milton feems fond of fneering at Salmafius's rank, as an "eques:" He was prefented with the order of St. Michael, by Louis XIII. Thus Milton calls him mancipium equeftre," Defenf. cap. v. Again, "O equitem ergaftularium & mangonem," &c. Ib. cap. vi. 66 Ver. 9. Cubito mungentium, a cant appellation among the Romans for Fishmongers. It was faid to Horace, of his father, by way of laughing at his low birth, "Quoties ego Quoties ego vidi patrem tuum cubito emungentem ?" Sueton. Vit. Horat. p. 525. Lipf. 1748. Horace's father was a feller of fish. The joke is, that Cubito virorum, et capfulis, gratiffimos. * 10 the fheets of Salmafius's new book, would be fit for nothing better than to wrap up fish; that they should be configned to the ftalls and fhelves of fishmongers. He applies the fame to his Confuter who defended epifcopacy, Apol. Smetymn. §. viii. "Whose best folios are predeftined to no better purpose, than to making winding fheets in Lent for pilchards." WARTON. * Christina, queen of Sweden, among other learned men who fed her vanity, had invited Salmafius to her court, where he wrote his Defenfio. She had peftered him with Latin letters feven pages long, and told him she would fet out for Holland to fetch him, if he did not come. When he arrived, he was often indifpofed on account of the coldness of the climate and on these occafions, the queen would herself call on him in a morning; and, locking the door of his apartment, used to light his fire, give him breakfaft, and ftay with him fome hours. This behaviour gave rife to fcandalous ftories, and our critick's wife grew jealous. It is feemingly a flander, what was first thrown out in the Mercurius Politicus, that Chriftina, when Salmafius had published his work, difmiffed him with contempt, as a parafite and an advocate of tyranny. See also Milton against More, Profe-works, ii. 317. 329. and Philips, ibid. p. 397. But the cafe was, to say nothing that Christina loved both to be flattered and to tyrannife, Salmafius had now been long preparing to return to Holland, to fulfill his engagements with the university of Leyden: fhe offered him large rewards and appointments to remain in Sweden, and greatly regretted his departure. And on his death, very shortly afterwards, fhe wrote his widow a letter in French, full of concern for his lofs, and refpect for his memory. See his Vita and Epiftola, by Ant. Clementius, pp. 52, 71. Lugd. Bat. 1656. 4to. Such, however was Chriftina's levity, or hypocrify, or caprice, that it is poffible fhe might have acted inconfiftently in fome parts of this bufinefs. For what I have faid, I have quoted a good authority. It appears indeed from fome of Voffius's Epiftles, that at least she commended the wit and ftyle of Milton's performance: merely perhaps for the idle pleasure of piquing Salmafius. See Burman's Syllog. Epiftol. vol. iii. p. 196, 259, 270, 271, 313,663, 665. Of her majesty's oftentatious or rather accidental attentions to learning, fome traits appear in a letter from Cromwell's envoy at Upfall, 1653. Thurlow's State-Papers, vol. ii. 104. "While The was more bookishly given, she had it in her thoughts to institute an Order of Parnaffus; but thee being of late more addicted to the court than scholars, and having in a pastoral comedie herselfe acted a fhepheardeffe part called Amaranta: fhee in the creation invefts with a fearfe, &c." Her learned schemes were fometimes interrupted by an amour with a prime minifter, or foreign ambaffadour unless perhaps any of her literary fycophants had the good fortune to poffefs fome other pleafing arts, and knew how to intrigue as well as to write. She fhowed neither taste nor judgement in rewarding the degrees or kinds of the merit of the authors with which fhe was furrounded: and the fometimes careffed buffoons of ability, who entertained the court with a burlesque of her most favourite literary characters. It is perhaps hardly pof fible to read any thing more ridiculous, more unworthy of a fcholar, or more difgraceful to learning itself, than Nicholas Heinfius's epiftles to Chriftina. In which, to fay nothing of the abject expreffions of adulation, he pays the moft fervile compli ments to her royal knowledge, in confulting her majesty on various matters of erudition, in telling her what libraries he had examined, what Greek manufcripts he had collated, what Roman infcriptions he had collected for her inspection, and what conjectural emendations he had made on difficult paffages of the clafficks. I do not mean to make a general comparison: but Chriftina's pretenfions to learned criticism, and to a decifion even in works of profound philofophical science, at leaft remind us of the affectations of a queen of England, who was deep in the most abftruse myfteries of theology, and who held folemn conferences with Clarke, Waterland, and Hoadly, on the doctrine of the Trinity. See Notes on the laft Epigram, Ad Chriftinam, &c. Salmafius's Reply was pofthumous, and did not appear till after the Reftoration; and his Defenfio had no fecond edition. WARTON. There are feveral editions of Salmafius's Defenfio, in folio, quarto, and fmaller fizes. There is alfo an edition of the work in French. XI. In MORUM *. GALLI ex concubitu gravidam te, Pontia, Mori, Quis benè moratam, morigerámque, neget? *From Milton's Defenfio Secunda, and his Refponfio to Morus's Supplement. This diftich was occafioned by a report, that Morus had debauched a favourite waiting maid of the wife of Salmafius, Milton's antagonist. See Burman's Syllog. Epift, iii, 307. Milton pretends that he picked it up by accident, and that it was written at Leyden. It appeared firft, as I think, in the Mercurius Politicus, a fort of newspaper published at London once a week in two sheets in quarto, and commencing in June 1649, by Marchmont Needham, a virulent but versatile party fcribbler, who fometimes libelled the republicans, and sometimes the royalifts, with an equal degree of fcurrility; and who is called by Wood a great crony of Milton. These papers, in or after the year 1654, per. haps at the inftigation of our author, contain many pasquinades on Morus. Bayle, in the article Morus, cites a Letter from Tanaquil Faber. Where Faber, fo late as 1658, under the words calumniolæ and rumufculi, alludes to fome of Morus's gallantries; perhaps to this epigram, which ferved to keep them alive, and was ftill very popular. Morus laid himself open to Milton's humour, in afferting that he mistook the true fpelling of the girl's name, "Bontiam, fateor, aliud apud me manufcriptum habet, Sed prima utrobique litera, quæ fola variat, ejufdem ferè apud vos poteftatis eft. Alterum ego nomen, ut notius et elegantius, falvo criticorum jure, præpofui." Autor. pro fe, &c. ut fupr. ii. 383. And she is called Bontia in a citation of this Epigram in a letter of N. Heinfius, dated 1653. Syllog, ut fupr. iii. 307. Where says the critick, "Agnofcis in illo Ouweniani acuminis ineptias." He adds, that the Epigram was shown him by Ulac, from the London newfpapers, Gazettis Londinenfibus, where it was preceded by this unlucky anecdote of our amorous ecclefiaftick, And in another, dated 1652, “Gazettæ certè Londinenfes fabel、 |