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Apology for Smectymnuus, or An Apology for a Pamphlet, was published by John Milton in April 1642. It was the final of his antiprelatical tracts which criticize the structure of the Church of England.
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Apology for Smectymnuus, or An Apology for a Pamphlet, was published by John Milton in April 1642. It was the final of his antiprelatical tracts which criticize the structure of the Church of England.
The Apology was published in April 1642 as An Apology against a Pamphlet Called a Modest Confutation of the Animadversions upon the Remonstrant against Smectymnvvs and is his final antiprelatical tract. The tract was written as a response to a refutation by Bishop Joseph Hall. [1]
Milton argues that the defense of truth makes one vulnerable to personal attacks and emphasizes that role of personal integrity, especially his own: [2] "as a member incorporate into that truth whereof I was perswaded". [3] Milton defends his own integrity when he later writes: [4] "that indeed according to art is most eloquent, which returns and approaches neerest to nature from whence it came; and they expresse nature best, who in their lives least wander from her safe leading, which may be call'd regenerate reason". [5] This idea is expanded further when he says:
he who would not be frustrated of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things, ought him selfe to bee a true Poem, that is, a composition, and patterne of the best and honourable things; not presuming to sing high praises of heroick men, or famous Cities, unlesse he have in himselfe the experience and the practice of all that which is praise-worthy. [6]
The Apology, like many of Milton's other tracts, praises Parliament and emphasizes that they are reformers and the basis of the country. [7] The tract also connects truth of words with the individual's character. [4] Paul Stevens emphasizes that the tract reflects how "Milton's self is produced in the process of writing" and that his self is put through "a series of culturally approved laterall transformations". [8] In particular, Elizabeth Wheeler points out that the tract contains "Milton's understanding of Aristotle's definition of man as a political animal. Heroism lies in the risk of changing and being changed in verbal exchange." [9]
John Milton was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem Paradise Lost, written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political upheaval. It addressed the fall of man, including the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and God's expulsion of them from the Garden of Eden. Paradise Lost elevated Milton's reputation as one of history's greatest poets. He also served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell.
Smectymnuus was the nom de plume of a group of Puritan clergymen active in England in 1641. It comprised four leading English churchmen, and one Scottish minister. They went on to provide leadership for the anti-episcopal forces in the Church of England, continuing into the Westminster Assembly, where they also opposed the Independent movement.
The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates is a book by John Milton, in which he defends the right of people to execute a guilty sovereign, whether tyrannical or not.
Tetrachordon was published by John Milton with his Colasterion on 4 March 1645. The title symbolizes Milton's attempt to connect four passages of Biblical scripture to rationalize the legalization of divorce.
Colasterion was published by John Milton with his Tetrachordon on 4 March 1645. The tract is a response to an anonymous pamphlet attacking the first edition of The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce. Milton makes no new arguments, but harshly takes to task the "trivial author".
Judgement of Martin Bucer by John Milton was published on 15 July 1644. The work consists mostly of Milton's translations of pro-divorce arguments from Martin Bucer's De Regno Christi. By finding support for his views among orthodox writers, Milton hoped to sway the members of Parliament Protestant ministers who had condemned him.
The Reason of Church-Government Urged against Prelaty is an essay by English poet John Milton distributed as one of a series of religious pamphlets by the writer. Published in 1642, the political work details Milton's preference for a Presbyterian approach to the Church of England over approaches favoured by the episcopal organization of the time. Milton states that this form of worship stems from Hebrew scriptures. The essay was meant as a response to the beliefs of Bishop Joseph Hall and Archbishop James Ussher.
Eikonoklastes is a book by John Milton, published October 1649. In it he provides a justification for the execution of Charles I, which had taken place on 30 January 1649. The book's title is taken from the Greek, and means "Iconoclast" or "breaker of the icon", and refers to Eikon Basilike, a Royalist propaganda work. The translation of Eikon Basilike is "icon of the King"; it was published immediately after the execution. Milton's book is therefore usually seen as Parliamentarian propaganda, explicitly designed to counter the Royalist arguments.
Of Reformation is a 1641 pamphlet by John Milton, and his debut in the public arena. Its full title is Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England.
Defension Secunda was a 1654 political tract by John Milton, a sequel to his Defensio pro Populo Anglicano. It is a defence of the Parliamentary regime, then controlled by Oliver Cromwell; and also defense of his own reputation against a royalist tract published under the name Salmasius in 1652, and other criticism lodged against him.
Of Prelatical Episcopacy is a religious tract written by John Milton in either June or July 1641.
Animadversions is the third of John Milton's antiprelatical tracts, in the form of a response to the works and claims of Bishop Joseph Hall. The tract was published in July 1641 under the title Animadversions upon The Remonstrants Defence Against Smectymnuus.
A Treatise of Civil Power was published by John Milton in February 1659. The work argues over the definition and nature of heresy and free thought, and Milton tries to convince the new English Parliament to further his cause.
The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth was a political tract by John Milton published in London at the end of February 1660. The full title is "The readie & easie way to establish a Free Commonwealth, and the excellence therof compar'd with the inconveniences and dangers of readmitting kingship in this nation. The author J[ohn] M[ilton]". In the tract, Milton warns against the dangers inherent in a monarchical form of government. A second edition, published in March 1660, steps up the prophetic rhetoric against a monarchy. The book can seen as an expression of Milton's own antimonarchism.
John Milton's antiprelatical tracts are a series of five political pamphlets that attack the episcopal form of church leadership.
The religious views of John Milton influenced many of his works focusing on the nature of religion and of the divine. He differed in important ways from the Calvinism with which he is associated, particularly concerning the doctrines of grace and predestination. The unusual nature of his own Protestant Christianity has been characterized as both Puritan and Independent.
John Milton wrote poetry during the English Renaissance. He was born on 9 December 1608 to John and Sara Milton. Only three of their children survived infancy. Anne was the oldest, John was the middle child, and Christopher was the youngest.
John Milton was involved in many relationships, romantic and not, that impacted his various works and writings.
Politics were an important part of John Milton's life. Milton enjoyed little wide-scale early success, either in prose or poetry, until the production of his later, controversial political works starting with The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates and Eikonoklastes.
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| Poetry | ||
| Antiprelatical tracts | ||
| Divorce tracts | ||
| Political tracts | ||
| Other writings | ||
| Individual sonnets | ||
| Disputed | ||
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