n two years; an uncommon
example, he asserts, of the prevalence of genius in opposition to so
much recent enmity as Milton's public conduct had excited. But, be it
remembered that, if Milton's political and religious opinions, and the
manner in which he announced them had raised him many enemies, they had
procured him numerous friends; who, as all personal danger was passed
away at the time of publication, would be eager to procure the
master-work of a man whom they revered, and whom they would be proud of
praising. Take, from the number of purchasers, persons of this class,
and also those who wished to possess the Poem as a religious work, and
but few I fear would be left who sought for it on account of its
poetical merits. The demand did not immediately increase; 'for,' says
Dr. Johnson, 'many more readers' (he means persons in the habit of
reading poetry) 'than were supplied at first the Nation did not afford.'
How careless must a writer be who can make this assertion in the face of
so many existing title-pages to belie it! Turning to my own shelves, I
find the folio of Cowley, seventh edition, 1681. A book near it is
Flatman's Poems, fourth edition, 1686; Waller, fifth edition, same date.
The Poems of Norris of Bemerton not long after went, I believe, through
nine editions. What further demand there might be for these works I do
not know; but I well remember, that, twenty-five years ago, the
booksellers' stalls in London swarmed with the folios of Cowley. This is
not mentioned in disparagement of that able writer and amiable man; but
merely to show--that, if Milton's work were not more read, it was not
because readers did not exist at the time. The early editions of the
'Paradise Lost' were printed in a shape which allowed them to be sold at
a low price, yet only three thousand copies of the Work were sold in
eleven years; and the Nation, says Dr. Johnson, had been satisfied from
1623 to 1664, that is, forty-one years, with only two editions of the
Works of Shakspeare; which probably did not together make one thousand
Copies; facts adduced by the critic to prove the 'paucity of
Readers.'--There were readers in multitudes; but their money went for
other purposes, as their admiration was fixed elsewhere. We are
authorized, then, to affirm, that the reception of the 'Paradise Lost,'
and the slow progress of its fame, are proofs as striking as can be
desired that the positions which I am attempting to establish are not
e