Defensio Secunda
Encyclopedia
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, by then controlled by Oliver Cromwell
; and also defense of his own reputation against a royalist tract published under the name Salmasius in 1652, and others criticism lodged against him.
over England, Milton published a tract titled Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio Secunda. The work was one of the last times that Milton discussed Cromwell's character. It is a defence of the Parliamentary regime, controlled by Cromwell, and sought the support of a European audience. In addition to this purpose, the work serves a reply to the attacks on his Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce by Herbert Palmer
and attacks on his Defensio pro Populo Anglicano by Salmasius. A further anonymous pamphlet attack from the royalist side, Regii sanguinis clamor ad coelum, he rebutted with an ad hominem attack on Alexander Morus
, whom Milton wrongly took to be the actual author (who was in fact Pierre Du Moulin
). Milton used scurrilous gossip against Morus; scholars have decided that his sources of scandal were at least reasonable accurate.
However, the act of writing further strained his failing eyes, to the extent that he could no longer rely on his sight.
He continues by discussing parts of his life, and explains why he writes instead of fighting as a soldier:
After defending why he writes, Milton explains his purpose in writing:
After Milton was accused of being a worse person than Cromwell, he wrote in the work that it was "the highest praise you could bestow on me". Later in the tract, Milton discusses his Areopagitica
and argues that in the work, he warns against the idea of truth being determined by a limited few. Milton also discusses his early divorce tracts
, claiming that they were a discussion of religious freedom, domestic freedom, and civil freedom, the "three varieties of liberty without which civilized life is scarcely possible".
. Besides discussing his views on politics, Milton dwells on parts of his biography, including a description of his early years with education and literature.
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, a sequel to his Defensio pro Populo Anglicano
Defensio pro Populo Anglicano
Defensio pro Populo Anglicano is a Latin polemic by John Milton, published in 1651. The full title in English is John Milton an Englishman His Defence of the People of England. It was a piece of propaganda, and made political argument in support of what was at the time the government of...
. It is a defence of the Parliamentary regime, by then controlled by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
; and also defense of his own reputation against a royalist tract published under the name Salmasius in 1652, and others criticism lodged against him.
Background
Only a few months after Cromwell was made Lord ProtectorLord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
over England, Milton published a tract titled Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio Secunda. The work was one of the last times that Milton discussed Cromwell's character. It is a defence of the Parliamentary regime, controlled by Cromwell, and sought the support of a European audience. In addition to this purpose, the work serves a reply to the attacks on his Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce by Herbert Palmer
Herbert Palmer (Puritan)
Herbert Palmer was an English Puritan clergyman, member of the Westminster Assembly, and President of Queens’ College, Cambridge. He is now remembered for his work on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and as a leading opponent of John Milton's divorce tracts.-Biography:He was a younger son of Sir...
and attacks on his Defensio pro Populo Anglicano by Salmasius. A further anonymous pamphlet attack from the royalist side, Regii sanguinis clamor ad coelum, he rebutted with an ad hominem attack on Alexander Morus
Alexander Morus
Alexander Morus was a Franco-Scottish Calvinist preacher.-Biography:...
, whom Milton wrongly took to be the actual author (who was in fact Pierre Du Moulin
Pierre Du Moulin
Pierre Du Moulin was a Huguenot minister in France who also resided in England for some years.-Life:Born in Buhy in 1568, he was the son of Joachim Du Moulin, a Protestant minister in the Orleans area...
). Milton used scurrilous gossip against Morus; scholars have decided that his sources of scandal were at least reasonable accurate.
However, the act of writing further strained his failing eyes, to the extent that he could no longer rely on his sight.
Tract
Milton begins his work by addressing claiming to fight for truth and freedom who will help reform Europe:- "I have in the First Defence spoken out and shall in the Second speak again to the entire assembly and council of all the most influential men, cities, and nations everywhere".
He continues by discussing parts of his life, and explains why he writes instead of fighting as a soldier:
- "I did not avoid the toils and dangers of military service without rendering to my fellow citizens another kind of service that was much more useful and no less perilous".
After defending why he writes, Milton explains his purpose in writing:
It is the renewed cultivation of freedom and civic life that I disseminate throughout cities, kingdoms, and nations. But not entirely unknown, nor perhaps unwelcome, shall I return if I am he who disposed of the contentious satellite of tyrants, hitherto deemed unconquerable, both in the view of most men and in his own opinion. When he with insults was attacking us and our battle array, and our leaders looked first of all to me, I met him in single combat and plunged into his reviling throat this pen, the weapon of his choice.
After Milton was accused of being a worse person than Cromwell, he wrote in the work that it was "the highest praise you could bestow on me". Later in the tract, Milton discusses his Areopagitica
Areopagitica
Areopagitica: A speech of Mr. John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England is a 1644 prose polemical tract by English author John Milton against censorship...
and argues that in the work, he warns against the idea of truth being determined by a limited few. Milton also discusses his early divorce tracts
Milton's divorce tracts
Milton's divorce tracts refer to the four interlinked polemical pamphlets--The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, The Judgment of Martin Bucer, Tetrachordon, and Colasterion--written by John Milton from 1643-45 arguing for the legitimacy for divorce on grounds of spousal incompatibility...
, claiming that they were a discussion of religious freedom, domestic freedom, and civil freedom, the "three varieties of liberty without which civilized life is scarcely possible".
Themes
Milton, through the work, becomes a defender of the individual against the control of a government or religious authority. He also attacks the concept of titles and other forms of pomp, a theme that reoccurs later in the figure of Satan from his Paradise LostParadise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
. Besides discussing his views on politics, Milton dwells on parts of his biography, including a description of his early years with education and literature.