LIFE 0 1r MILTON. 439 houfhold goods, which was no incompetent fubfiftence for him, who was as great a philofopher as a poet. To this account of Milton it may be proper to add fomething concerning his family. We Paid before, that he had a younger bro- ther and a fitter. His brother Chriftopher Milton was a man of totally oppofite principles ; was a ftroag royalift, and after the civil war made his compofition thro' his brother's interefi ; had been entered young a ftudent in the Inner Temple, of which he lived to be an ancient bencher ; and being a profeffed papift, was in the reign of James II. made a judge and knighted ; but loon obtained his quietus by reafon of his age and infirmities, and retired to Ipfwich, where he lived all the latter part of his life. His lifter Anne Milton had a confiderable fortune given her by her father in marriage with Mr. Edward Philips (fon of Mr, Edward Philips of Shrewlbury) who coming young to London, was bred up in the Crown Office in Chan- cery, and at length became fecondary of the office under Mr. Bembo. By him the had, befides other children, who died infants, two fons Edward and John, whom we have had frequent occafion to mention. before. Among our author's juvenile poems there is a copy of verfes on the death of a fair infant, a nephew, or rather niece of his, dying of a cough; and this being written in his 17th year, as it is laid in the title, it may be naturally inferred that Mrs. Philips was elder than either of her brothers. She had likewife two daughters, Mary who died very young, and Anne who was living in 1694, by a fecond buffiand Mr. Thomas Agar, who fucceeded his intimate friend Mr. Philips in his place in the Crown Office, which he enjoyed many years, and left to Mr. Thomas Milton, fon of Sir Chriftopher before mentioned. As for Milton himfelf he appears to have been no enemy to the fair fex by having had three wives. What fortune he had with any of them is no where faid, but they were gentlemen's daughters ; and it is remarkable that he married them all maidens, for (as he Pays in his Apology for Smeetymnuus, whichwas written before he married at all) he " thought with them, who
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