Life Of John Milton by Richard Garnett (best free novels TXT) 📖
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- Author: Richard Garnett
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Gentlewoman." One Would Like To Know Whether She And Mistress Milton
Ever Met, And What They Said To And Thought Of Each Other. For The
Present, Mary Milton Dwelt With Christopher's Mother-In-Law, And About
September Joined Her Husband In The More Commodious House In The
Barbican Whither He Was Migrating At The Time Of The Reconciliation. It
Stood Till 1864, When It Was Destroyed By A Railway Company.
Soon After Removing To The Barbican, Milton Set His Muse's House In
Order, By Publishing Such Poems, English And Latin, As He Deemed Worthy
Chapter 5 Pg 53Of Presentation. It Is A Remarkable Proof Both Of His Habitual
Cunctativeness And His Dependence On The Suggestions Of Others, That He
Should So Long Have Allowed Such Pieces To Remain Uncollected, And
Should Only Have Collected Them At All At The Solicitation Of The
Publisher, Humphrey Moseley. The Transaction Is Most Honourable To The
Latter. "It Is Not Any Private Respect Of Gain," He Affirms; "For The
Slightest Pamphlet Is Nowadays More Vendible Than The Works Of
Learnedest Men, But It Is The Love I Bear To Our Own Language.... I Know
Not Thy Palate, How It Relishes Such Dainties, Nor How Harmonious Thy
Soul Is: Perhaps More Trivial Airs May Please Better.... Let The Event
Guide Itself Which Way It Will, I Shall Deserve Of The Age By Bringing
Forth Into The Light As True A Birth As The Muses Have Brought Forth
Since Our Famous Spenser Wrote." The Volume Was Published On Jan. 2,
1646. It Is Divided Into Two Parts, With Separate Title-Pages, The First
Containing The English Poems, The Second The Latin. They Were Probably
Sold Separately. The Frontispiece, Engraved By Marshall, Is
Unfortunately A Sour And Silly Countenance, Passing As Milton's, But
Against Which He Protests In Four Lines Of Greek Appended, Which The
Worthy Marshall Seems To Have Engraved Without Understanding Them. The
British Museum Copy In The King's Library Contains An Additional Ms.
Poem Of Considerable Merit, In A Hand Which Some Have Thought Like
Milton's, But Few Now Believe It To Have Been Either Written Or
Transcribed By Him. It Is Dated 1647, But For Which Circumstance One
Might Indulge The Fancy That The Copy Had Been A Gift From Him To Some
Italian Friend, For The Binding Is Italian, And The Book Must Have Seen
Italy.
Milton Was Now To Learn What He Afterwards Taught, That "They Also Serve
Who Only Stand And Wait." He Had Challenged Obloquy In Vindication Of
What He Deemed Right: The Cross Actually Laid Upon Him Was To Fill His
House With Inimical And Uncongenial Dependants On His Bounty And
Protection. The Overthrow Of The Royalist Cause Was Utterly Ruinous To
The Powells. All Went To Wreck On The Surrender Of Oxford In June, 1646.
The Family Estate Was Only Saved From Sequestration By A Friendly
Neighbour Taking Possession Of It Under Cover Of His Rights As Creditor;
The Family Mansion Was Occupied By The Parliamentarians, And The
Household Stuff Sold To The Harpies That Followed In Their Train; The
"Malignant's" Timber Went To Rebuild The Good Town Of Banbury. It Was
Impossible For The Powells To Remain In Oxfordshire, And Milton Opened
His Doors To Them As Freely As Though There Had Never Been Any
Estrangement. Father, Mother, Several Sons And Daughters Came To Dwell
In A House Already Full Of Pupils,The Executioners Caught Him
And Laid Him On The Cross.
Suddenly The Crowd Drew Back. Many Did Not Want To See What Was Going
On. They Were Dumb. They Had Never Dreamed Of This. The Gentleness
With Which He Bore All The Torture, The Scorn, The Death Before His
Eyes, This Heroic Calm Weighed Like A Mountain On Their Hard Hearts.
Those Who Had Formerly Despised Him Now Wanted To Hate Him, But They
Could Not. They Were Powerless Before This Overwhelming Gentleness.
What A Sound! That Of A Hammer Beating On Iron! "How The Blood
Spurts!" Whispered Someone. Two Hammers Hit The Nails, And At Each
Blow Heaven And Earth Trembled. The Crowd Held Its Breath, And Not A
Sound Was Heard From The Town. Nothing But The Ringing Of The Hammer.
Chapter 5 Pg 54Then Suddenly A Heartrending Cry Was Heard In The Crowd. It Came From
A Strange Woman Who Had Pushed Through It And Sank To The Ground. The
Mass Of People Drew Away More And More, No One Would Stand In Front,
Yet Each Stretched His Neck So As To See Over The Others' Heads. They
Saw The Stake Lifted Up And Then Sink Again. The Captain's Orders
Could Be Heard Plainly And Clearly. Then The Cross Stood Up Straight.
At First The Long Stake Was Seen Above Their Heads, Bearing A White
Placard. Then The Cross-Beams Appeared On Which Trembling Human Arms
Were Seen, Then The Head Moving In Agonising Pain. Thus Did The Cross
With The Naked Human Body Rise In The Air. Slowly It Rose, Supported
By Poles, And As Soon As It Stood Straight The Foot Of The Cross Was
Set So Roughly In Its Hole That The Body Shook With A Dull Groan. The
Wounds Made By The Nails In The Hands And Feet Were Torn Open, The
Blood Ran In Dark Streams Over The White Body, Down The Stake, And
Dropped On The Ground. And From The Lips Of Him On The Cross This Loud
Cry Was Heard, "O, Father, Forgive Them, Forgive Them! For They Know
Not What They Do."
A Strange Murmur Arose In The Crowd, And Those Who Had Not Understood
The Cry Asked Their Neighbours To Repeat It. "He Asks Pardon For His
Enemies? For His Enemies? He Is Praying For His Enemies?"
"Then--Then He Cannot Be Human!"
"He Forgives Those Who Despised, Slandered, Scorned, Beat, Crucified
Him? When Dying He Thinks Of His Enemies And Pardons Them? Then It Is
As He Said, He Is Indeed The Christ! I Always Thought He Was The
Christ. I Said So Only Last Sabbath!" The Voices Grew Louder.
Schobal, The Old Clothes Dealer, Pushed About In The Crowd And Offered
The Messiah's Coat For Twenty Pence.
"If He Is The Messiah," Shouted A Rabbi Hoarsely, "Let Him Free
Himself. He Who Wants To Help Others And Cannot Help Himself Is A Poor
Sort Of Messiah."
"Now, Master," Exclaimed A Pharisee, "If You Would Rebuild The
Shattered Temple, Now's The Time. Come Down From The Cross, And We'll
Believe In You." The Man On The Cross Looked At The Two Mockers In
Deep Sadness, And They Became Silent. Suddenly A Passage In The
Scriptures Flashed Into Their Minds: "He Was Wounded For Our
Transgressions!"
When They Had All Drawn Back From The Cross, And The Executioners Were
Preparing To Raise Up The Two Desert Robbers, The Woman Who Had
Swooned, Supported By The Disciple John, Tottered Up To The Tall Cross
And Put Her Arms Round Its Trunk So That The Blood Ran Down Upon Her.
So Infinite Was Her Pain That It Seemed As If Seven Swords Had Pierced
Her Heart. Jesus Looked Down, And How Muffled Was The Voice In Which
He Said: "John, Take Care Of My Mother! Mother, Here Is John, Your
Son!"
A Murmur Arose In The Crowd: "His Mother? Is That His Mother? Oh,
Poor Things! And The Handsome Young Man His Brother? The Poor
Creatures! Look How He Turns To Them As If He Would Comfort Them."
Chapter 5 Pg 55Many A Man Passed His Hand Over His Eyes, The Women Sobbed Aloud. And
A Dull Lamentation Began To Go Through The People--The Same People Who
Had So Angrily Demanded His Death. And They Talked Together.
"He Can't Suffer Much Longer."
"No, I've Had Some Experience. I've Been Here Every Passover. But
This Time----"
"If I Onome Experience. Ily Knew What Is Written On The Tablet."
"Over His Head? My Sight Seems To Have Gone."
"Inri!" Exclaimed Somebody,
"Inri! Somebody Calls Out 'Inri.'"
"Those Are The Letters On The Tablet."
"But The Man's Name's Not Inri."
"Something Quite Different, My Friend. That Is Pilate's Joke. _Jesus
Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum_."
"Don't Talk To Me In That Accursed Latin Tongue."
"In Good Hebrew: Jesus Of Nazareth, King Of The Jews."
"Now, They've Got Him In The Middle," Said Another, For The Two Robbers
Had Been Hoisted Up To The Right And Left Of Him. The One On The Left
Stretched Out His Neck, And Mocked At Jesus With A Distorted Face: "I
Suppose, Neighbour, That You Too Are One Of Those Who Get Executed Just
Because They Are Weaklings. Jump From The Cross, Rush Among Them, And
The Wretches Will Idolise You!"
Jesus Did Not Answer Him. He Turned His Head Towards The Man Who Hung
On His Right Who Saw The Moment Approaching When His Legs Would Be
Broken. In The Agony Of Death, And In Penitence For His Ill-Spent
Life, He Turned To Him Whom They Called Messiah And Christ. And When
He Saw The Expression With Which Jesus Looked At Him, A Curious Shudder
Passed Through The Criminal's Heart. How The Man On The Cross Gazed At
Him, With His Fading Eyes--My God!--It Was The Never-To-Be-Forgotten
Holy Look Which A Little Child Had Given Him In The Days Of His Youth.
Dismas Began To Weep, And Said: "Lord, You Are From Heaven! When You
Return Home, Remember Me."
And Jesus Said To Him: "There Is Mercy For All Who Repent! To-Day,
Dismas, You And I Will Be Together At The Heavenly Father's Home."
"He Is From Heaven!" Was Heard In The Crowd. "He Is From Heaven!" One
Of The Roman Soldiers Threw His Spear Away, And Exclaimed In Immense
Excitement: "Verily, He Is The Son Of God!"
Chapter 5 Pg 56
"The Son Of God! The Son Of God! Set Him Free! It Is The Son
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