ancient Commonwealths had the fortune to abound
... All which you have outgone (according to your talent) in their
several ways: for you have done your feeble endeavour to rob the
Church, of the little which the rapine of the most sacrilegious
persons hath left, in your learned work against Tithes; you have
slandered the dead worse than envy itself, and thrown your dirty
outrage on the memory of a murdered Prince, as if the Hangman were
but your usher. These have been the attempts of your stiff formal
eloquence, which you arm accordingly with anything that lies in
your way, right or wrong,--not only begging but stealing questions,
and taking everything for granted that will serve your turn. For
you are not ashamed to rob O. Cromwell himself, and make use of his
canting assurances from Heaven and answering condescensions: the
most impious Mahometan doctrine that ever was vented among
Christians."...

This speaker having ended with a comment on Mr. Milton's remark that
Christ himself had put "the brand of Gentilism" upon Kingship, "a
young gentleman made answer that your writings are best interpreted
by themselves, and that be remembered, in that book wherein you fight
with the King's Picture, you call Sir Philip Sidney's Princess
Pamela, who was born and bred of Christian parents in England, 'a
heathen woman,' and therefore he thought that by _Heathenish_
you meant _English_, and that in calling Kingship heathenish you
inferred it was the only proper and natural government of the English
nation, as it hath been proved in all ages. To which another objected
that such a sense was quite contrary to your purpose; to which he
immediately replied that it was no new thing with you to write that
which is as well against as for your purpose. After much debate, they
agreed to put it to the ballot; and the young gentleman carried it
without contradiction." Then another critic fell foul of Mr. Milton's
Divinity and Church notions,--one of which, he said, was "that the
Church of Christ ought to have no head upon earth, but the monster of
many heads, the multitude," and another "that any man may turn away
his wife, and take another as oft as he pleases": to which last
accusation is added the comment, "As you have most learnedly proved
upon the fiddle [_Tetrachordon_], and practised in your life and
conversation; for which you have achieved the honour to be styled the
founder of a sect." The audience by th