16 G

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

. had been grievously mutilated by Lestrange, and at last sup-pressed by orders from Lestrange’s superior the Bishop of Lon-don.* Bohun ivas a scarcely less severe critic than Lestrange.Blount therefore began to make war on the censorship and thecensor. The hostilities were commenced by a tract which cameforth without any license, and which is entitled A Just Vindica-tion of Learning and of theLiberty of thePress,byPhilopatris.**"Whoever reads this piece, and is not aware that Blount was oneof the most unscrupulous plagiaries that ever lived, will be sur-prised to find, mingled with the poor thoughts and poor w'ordsof a thirdrate pamphleteer, passages so elevated in sentimentand style that they would be worthy of the greatest name inletters. The truth is that the Just Vindication consists chieflyof garbled extracts from the Areopagitica of Milton. Thatnoble discourse had been neglected by the generation to whichit was addressed, had sunk into oblivion, and was at the mercyof every pilferer. The literary workmanship of Blount resembledthe architectural workmanship of those barbarians who usedthe Coliseum and the Theatre of Pompey as quarries, who builthovels out of Ionian friezes and propped cowhouses on pillarsof lazulite. Blount concluded, as Milton had done, by re-commending that any book might be printed without a license,provided that the name of the author or publisher were re-gistered.*** The Just Vindication was well received. The blowwas speedily followed up. There still remained in the Areopa-gitica many fine passages which Blount had not used in his first

* Wood’s Atheme Oxonienses, under the name Henry Blount (CharlesBlount’s father), Lestrange’s Obsorvator, No. 290.

** This piece was reprinted by Gildon in 1695 among Blount’s Works.

*** That the plagiarism of Blount should have been detected by few ofiiis contemporaries is not wonderful. But it is wonderful that in the Bio-graphia Britannica his Just Vindication should be warmly extolled, withoutthe slightest hint that every thing good in it is stolen. The Areopagitica isnot the only work which he pillaged on this occasion. He took a noblepassage from Bacon without acknowledgment.