Life Of John Milton by Richard Garnett (free children's online books TXT) 📕

"No," Replied The Boy Crossly.

John Pinched His Red Cheek.  "Naughty Boy!  Good Boys Always Like To

Hear About God."

"But Not Always To Read About Him!" Said The Little One.  "The Haggadah

Tires Me To Death."

Then Said Jesus: "He Is Of The Unhappy Ones For Whom God Is Spoiled By

The Mere Letter Of The Word.  Would You Rather Stay With Me,  Children,

Than Go And Read The Haggadah?"

"Yes,  Yes,  We'll Stay With You."  And All Three Hung Round His Neck.

And Martha Sought The Mother And Told Her: "They Are Reading The

Haggadah With Six Arms."

Two Days Were Spent In This Quiet,  Cheerful Fashion.  Then Jesus Said

To The Disciples: "It Is Over; We Must Return To Jerusalem."

They Were To Spend The Festival In The City,  And James Had Hired A Room

In Which The Master And His Twelve Faithful Friends Could Solemnly

Celebrate The Passover.  His Disciples Again Gathered Round Him; But

They Looked Anxious.  For They Had Had Unpleasant Experiences In Their

Walks Through The Town.  The Mood Of The People Had Entirely Changed;

They Spoke Little Of The Messiah But Rather Of The Demagogue And

Betrayer Of The People,  Just In The Same Tone As Had Been Used In

Galilee.  Only Here The Expressions Were More Forcible,  And Accompanied

With Threatening Gestures.  In Front Of The Town Gates,  Where There Was

A Rocky Hill,  Thomas Had Watched Two Carpenters Na  In Front Of The Town Gates,  Wheon From The State,  But No One

Dreams Of Abolishing It,  Or Of Endowing Another Form Of Ecclesiastical

Administration In Its Room. It Is No Longer Contended That The National

Religion Should Be Changed,  The Contention Is That No Religion Should Be

National,  But That All Should Be Placed On An Impartial Footing. But

Milton At This Time Desired A Theocracy,  And Nothing Doubted That He

Could Produce A Pattern Agreeable In Every Respect To The Divine Will If

Only Prelacy Could Be Hurled After Popery. The Controversy,  Therefore,

Assumed Far Grander Proportions Than Would Be Possible In Our Day,  When

It Is Three-Fourths A Protest Against The Airs Of Superiority Which The

Alleged Successors Of The Apostles Think It Becoming To Assume Towards

Teachers Whose Education And Circumstances Approach More Closely Than

Their Own To The Apostolic Model. What Would Seem Exaggerated Now Was

Then Perfectly In Place. Milton,  In His Own Estimation,  Had A Theme For

Which The Cloven Tongues Of Pentecost Were None Too Fiery,  Or The

Tongues Of Angels Too Melodious. As Bursts Of Impassioned Prose-Poetry

The Finest Passages In These Writings Have Never Been Surpassed,  Nor

Ever Will Be Equalled So Long As Short Sentences Prevail,  And The

Interminable Period Must Not Unfold Itself In Heights And Hollows Like

The Incoming Tide Of Ocean,  Nor Peal Forth Melodious Thunder Like A

Mighty Organ. But,  Considered As Argumentative Compositions,  They Are

Exceedingly Weak. No Masculine Head Could Be Affected By Them; But A

Manly Heart May Easily Imbibe The Generous Contagion Of Their Noble

Enthusiastic Idealism. No Man With A Single Fibre Of Ideality Or

Enthusiasm Can Help Confessing That Milton Has Risen To A Transcendent

Height,  And He May Imagine That It Has Been Attained By The Ladder Of

Reason Rather Than The Pinion Of Poetry. Such An One May Easily Find

Reasons For Agreeing With Milton In Many Inspired Outbursts Of Eloquence

Simulating The Logic That Is In Fact Lacking To Them. The Following

Splendid Passage,  For Instance,  And There Are Very Many Like It,  Merely

Proves That A Seat In The House Of Lords Is Not Essential To The

Episcopal Office,  Which No One Ever Denied. It Would Have Considerable

Force If The Question Involved The Nineteenth Century One Of The Pope's

Temporal Sovereignty:--

      "Certainly There Is No Employment More Honourable,  More Worthy To

      Take Up A Great Spirit,  More Requiring A Generous And Free

      Nurture,  Than To Be The Messenger And Herald Of Heavenly Truth

      From God To Man,  And By The Faithful Work Of Holy Doctrine To

      Procreate A Number Of Faithful Men,  Making A Kind Of Creation Like

      To God's By Infusing His Spirit And Likeness Into Them,  To Their

      Salvation,  As God Did Into Him; Arising To What Climate Soever He

      Turn Him,  Like That Sun Of Righteousness That Sent Him,  With

      Healing In His Wings,  And New Light To Break In Upon The Chill And

      Gloomy Hearts Of His Hearers,  Raising Out Of Darksome Barrenness A

      Delicious And Fragrant Spring Of Saving Knowledge And Good Works.

      Can A Man Thus Employed Find Himself Discontented Or Dishonoured

      For Want Of Admittance To Have A Pragmatical Voice At Sessions And

      Jail Deliveries? Or Because He May Not As A Judge Sit Out The

      Wrangling Noise Of Litigious Courts To Shrive The Purses Of

      Unconfessing And Unmortified Sinners,  And Not Their Souls,  Or Be

      Discouraged Though Men Call Him Not Lord,  Whereas The Due

      Performance Of His Office Would Gain Him,  Even From Lords And

      Princes,  The Voluntary Title Of Father?"

When It Was Said Of Robespierre,  _Cet Homme Ira Bien Loin,  Car Il Croit

Tout Ce Qu'il Dit_,  It Was Probably Meant That He Would Attain The Chief

Place In The State. It Might Have Been Said Of Milton In The Literal

Sense. The Idealist Was About To Apply His Principles Of Church Polity

To Family Life,  To The Horror Of Many Nominal Allies. His Treatise On

Divorce Was The Next Of His Publications In Chronological Order,  But Is

So Entwine Heavens Bow Down.

And Now Something Extraordinary Happened.  It Was Not A Miracle,  It Was

More Than A Miracle.  Jesus Stood Up,  Took A Towel And A Washing-Bowl,

Knelt Before Each,  And Washed His Feet.  In Their Astonishment They

Offered No Resistance.  When He Came To Peter,  Peter Said,  "No,  Master,

You Shall Not Wash My Feet."

To Which Jesus Replied: "If I Do Not,  Then You Are Not Mine."

Said Peter: "If That Is So,  Then Wash My Face And Hands,  Too,  O Lord!

So That It May Be Evident How Utterly I Am Yours."

Then Jesus Said: "You Call Me Lord,  And Yet I Wash Your Feet.  I Do

This So That You May Know That Among Men There Is No Lord,  That All Are

Brethren Who Shall Serve One Another.  See How I Love You.  No One Can

Give A Greater Proof Of His Love Than To Die So That His Friends May

Live.  So I Leave You This Legacy: Brothers,  Love One Another.  As I

Love You,  Love One Another."

John,  Overcome By Those Words,  Sank On His Knees,  And,  Sobbing,  Laid

His Head Upon His Bosom.  And Jesus Said Once More: "Children,  Love One

Another."

Then He Again Sat Down With Them At The Table.  They Were All Silent.

Jesus Took Bread In His Hand,  Lifted It A Little Towards Heaven That It

Might Be Blessed,  And Broke It In Two.  He Handed The Pieces To The

Right And Left Of Him,  And Said: "Take It And Eat.  It Is My Body That

Will Be Broken For You."

They Took It.  Then He Took The Beaker Of Wine,  Lifted It To Heaven

That It Might Be Blessed,  Passed It Round,  And Said: "Take It And

Drink.  It Is My Blood That Will Be Shed For You."

And When They Had All Drunk.  He Added: "Do This In Remembrance Of Me."

When The Disciples Separated After The Meal,  Notwithstanding Their

Fears,  They Did Not Realise That It Was A Farewell.  They Sought Their

Lodgings.  Only John,  Peter,  And James Accompanied The Master When He

Left The Town In The Dark Night And Descended The Valley To The Foot Of

The Mount Of Olives.  There Was A Garden There.  White Stones Lay

Between The Savin Trees And The Weeping Cypresses,  Fresh Spring Grass

Covered The Ground.  Jesus Said To His Companions: "Stay Here A

Little."  He Himself Went Farther Into The Garden.  The Sky Was Covered

By A Thin Veil Of Cloud,  So That The Moon Shed A Pale Light Over The

Earth.  The Town On The Mountain Rose Up Dark And Still; No Sound Was

To Be Heard Except The Rippling Of The Brook Kedron In The Valley.

Jesus Stood And Looked Up Through The Trees Towards Heaven.  He

Breathed Heavily,  And Drops Of Perspiration Stood On His Brow.  He Felt

A Great Agony,  An Agony He Had Never Before Known.  Had He Not Often

Thought Of Death,  And In His Mind Felt Quite Reconciled To It?  Did He

Not Know That The Heavenly Father Would Receive Him?  Only He Still

Belonged To This Sweet Life Below,  And Still The Way Was Open To Him To

Escape Death.  Is His Soul So Weak Now That It Is Troubled By The

Prospect Of The Enemy At Hand,