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A58493 Remarks on The life of Mr. Milton, as publish'd by J.T. with a character of the author and his party : in a letter to a member of Parliament. R. E. 1699 (1699) Wing R933; ESTC R13741 33,766 88

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and that the Liturgies and Canons c. father'd upon some of the Apostles are rejected by many But to question the Divine Authority of any of those Books of the Old and New Testament that by Christians in General are received as Canonical has a dangerous Tendency And we have the more Reason to suspect J. T 's Words because of the Heterodox Opinions he hath already publish'd That another of the Party did sometime ago write a Book call'd The Oracles of Reason with a design to ridicule Revelation and that it is certainly the Interest of the Socinians to do so because they are not able to withstand the irresistible 〈◊〉 Force of those Arguments which are brought against them from the Old and New Testament But in the mean time what Occasion was there for J. T. in his Account of Mr. Milton's Life to advance such Propositions or to trouble the World with his own silly Thoughts and malicious Reflections Mr. Milton's Name is indeed sufficient to procure some Regard to the Text but I don't know any Reason why the World should have the least Esteem for J. T 's Comment We have seen enough of the Vomit that J. T. hath disgorged from his foul stomach against Religion and the Ordinance of the Ministry and shall in the next place take notice of another design he has upon our Morals and that is about the Affair of Marriage and Divorce p. 55. c. where he gives an account of Mr. Milton's Opinion concerning Divorce occasioned by his Wifes refusing to come to him when sent for c. as mentioned before I shall not now enter upon the dispute at large that point being handled by many Authors and of late in a Book call'd Concubinage and Poligamy disprov'd in Answer to Butler's Defence of Concubinage But this is evident that if other Causes be assign'd for Divorce than Adultery and wilful Desertion which are the only two Cases we find mentioned in the N. Testament it will be attended with horrid consequences and especially if the Party be allow'd to be judge in their own Case as J. T. represents Mr. Milton to have been in his and in defence of his Practice to have laid down this Position viz. That Indisposition Unfitness or contrary Humours proceeding from any unchangeable Cause in Nature hindring and always likewise to hinder the main ends and benefits of Conjugal Society that is to say Peace and Delight are greater Reasons of Divorce than Adultery or Natural ●…rigidity provided there be a mutual Consent for Separation Whether J. T. represents Mr. Milton's Argument fairly or not I know not but any one may see that admitting those Causes to be sufficient there 's this great defect in the Position viz. That there 's no mention of having the Allowance of the Church and Civil Magistrate nor indeed of so much as asking it which if neglected in such a Case would quickly fill the Kingdom with Fornication Adultery and a Spurious Issue Many things might be objected against the Position it self as that it is contrary to Scripture which assigns a Meet help and the Propagating of a Godly Seed as the chief ends of Marriage Gen. 2. 18. 1. 2. 8. Mal. 2. 15. whereas Peace and Delight might have been had without it the Man could not have fallen into Strife when there was no other Human Creature for him to disagree with and he had the Perfections of God and himself and all the Beauties of the Creation to delight in without the Woman But this is the mischief on 't when Men will become Wise above what is written they do but discover their own Folly and Weakness Then again for Indisposition to be a cause of Divorce is Unreasonable as well as Unchristian It is unreasonable for at that rate Sickly and Indispos'd Persons must be expos'd to unavoidable Calamities and the hazard o●… being neglected by all others when abandon'd by so near a Relation It is an addition unto or rather an overwhelming them with Grief must expose their Children to Contempt and occasion fatal Discord in Families betwixt Children of different Mothers and Fathers and their Relations and by consequence is inconsistent with that Peace and Profit which J. T. says are the main ends of Conjugal Society It would be Unchristian as contrary to our Saviours Rule of doing as we would be done by and of making any other Cause of Divorce but Adultery and Desertion It would be as Unnatural as for a sound part of the Body to neglect a wounded Limb seeing the Scripture tells us that a Man and his Wife become one Flesh. Contrary Humours is yet less tolerable for in that Case either of the Parties when they had a mind to change would be sure to be cross humour'd on purpose Then as to unchangeable Causes in Nature hindring the ends of Conjugal Society they are sooner pretended than determin'd and not always easie to be discover'd As to the Mutual Consent I have already said that it is not enough without the Approbation of the Church and Civil Magistrate and besides it may be obtain'd by force from the Injur'd Party who may be rendred so uneasie that they will chuse rather to Consent than to live in perpetual vexation and danger These are some obvious Objections which occur to me immediately upon reading what J. T. calls Mr. Milton's grand Position as to his own I think them unworthy of a Reply or any further Remark than that he had nothing to do to mix his own Impertinent Jargon with Mr. Milton's Life but it is Natural for one who does all he can to sap the Foundations of Christianity to be a Patron of Immorality He knows how grateful a Doctrine it is to Libertines which he lays down of himself p. 56. That the Marriage Covenant may be undone when the Persons find things otherwise than they promise themselves and that it is Tyranny to punish their so doing The Sparks of the Town will no doubt congratulate his happy Invention for such a plausible way of changing Wives into Misses for at this rate when any distaste arises betwixt them and their Wives there 's no more to do but for both Parties to draw Stakes as he words it and leave Matters as they were before If this be the Purity of the Socinian Doctrine we may rationally conclude it never came down from Heaven Another and which I suppose is his main design is to promote the Cause of a Commonwealth but remember it was objected against the late King James's Regulation that he imployed mean and unfit Persons in the Design and therefore it was generally concluded it would not succeed I am far from thinking that J. T. is imployed by the bulk of the Commonwealth Party whatever he may be by a few but this I think I may venture to say That his Management and Concern will add no Reputation to their Cause If the advancement of Socinianism and Immorality and an unlimited Toleration to Heresies of all