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The Ready and Easy way to Establish a Free Commonwealth. Edited With Introd., Notes, and Glossary
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
- GenresNonfiction
276 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1660
About the author
John Milton
3,800 books2,330 followersPeople best know John Milton, English scholar, for
Paradise Lost
, the epic poem of 1667 and an account of fall of humanity from grace.
Beelzebub, one fallen angel in Paradise Lost, of John Milton, lay in power next to Satan.
Belial, one fallen angel, rebelled against God in Paradise Lost of John Milton.
John Milton, polemicist, man of letters, served the civil Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote in blank verse at a time of religious flux and political upheaval.
Prose of John Milton reflects deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. He wrote in Latin, Greek, and Italian and achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644) in condemnation of censorship before publication among most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and the press of history.
William Hayley in biography of 1796 called and generally regarded John Milton, the "greatest ... author," "as one of the preeminent writers in the ... language," though since his death, critical reception oscillated often on his republicanism in the centuries. Samuel Johnson praised, "with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the ... mind," though he, a Tory and recipient of royal patronage, described politics of Milton, an "acrimonious and surly republican."
Because of his republicanism, centuries of British partisanship subjected John Milton.
Beelzebub, one fallen angel in Paradise Lost, of John Milton, lay in power next to Satan.
Belial, one fallen angel, rebelled against God in Paradise Lost of John Milton.
John Milton, polemicist, man of letters, served the civil Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote in blank verse at a time of religious flux and political upheaval.
Prose of John Milton reflects deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. He wrote in Latin, Greek, and Italian and achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644) in condemnation of censorship before publication among most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and the press of history.
William Hayley in biography of 1796 called and generally regarded John Milton, the "greatest ... author," "as one of the preeminent writers in the ... language," though since his death, critical reception oscillated often on his republicanism in the centuries. Samuel Johnson praised, "with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the ... mind," though he, a Tory and recipient of royal patronage, described politics of Milton, an "acrimonious and surly republican."
Because of his republicanism, centuries of British partisanship subjected John Milton.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 2, 2025
I read this book...or probably pamphlet would be a better description...and wondered what difference this tract might have made if it had been published in 1650 rather than in 1660 after the restoration of the monarchy. It would have been another idea to throw into the maelstrom of competing factions milling around after the execution of King Charles I.
As it is, it was a brave decision to publish it in 1660 given the sense of vengeance the Royalists would have had against the supporters of Cromwell's Commonwealth of the previous eleven years. The reason I say this is because a monarch doesn't feature in John Milton's way to establish a Free Commonwealth.
I won't tell you what Milton proposes other than to say it's not the most democratic idea I've ever heard...
As it is, it was a brave decision to publish it in 1660 given the sense of vengeance the Royalists would have had against the supporters of Cromwell's Commonwealth of the previous eleven years. The reason I say this is because a monarch doesn't feature in John Milton's way to establish a Free Commonwealth.
I won't tell you what Milton proposes other than to say it's not the most democratic idea I've ever heard...
March 9, 2017
John Milton's warning to the English people against restoring the monarchy. Charles I had been executed and Milton was a strong supporter of Oliver Cromwell and of a Free Commonwealth system. But since the death of Charles I, such a system had been slow in the making and the English people were on the verge of returning to a monarchical system of governance, restoring the throne to Charles II. Milton, obviously, thought this a very pernicious idea, feeling that the English people, if they gave up the freedom and ground they had gained, might never after be able to break free from monarchical rule. And so in this piece, not only does he argue against the restoration of the monarchy, but he also lays forth several principles for how to establish a new form of government and raise the position of England on a global scale.
"And what will [the world] say of us and of the whole English name but scoffingly, as of that foolish builder, mentioned by our Savior, who began to build a tower and was not able to finish it? Where is this goodly tower of a commonwealth which the English boasted they would build to overshadow kings and be another Rome in the west?"
As was common for him, here again Milton drew upon Scripture and ancient history in support of his arguments, as evident from the passage above. Throughout there are other biblical references to Christ and to monarchical rule among the Israelites and again references to Greek and Roman history and philosophy; as elsewhere in his oeuvre, Aristotle's Politics serves as a major source.
And as in Eikonklastes here too Milton rails against the idea of people putting all their stock in one single person, believing this dangerous to the nation and the good of the people. While it was common in those days for Royalists to compare human life to the life of bees, demonstrating the usefulness of monarchical rule to the smooth functioning of society, Milton instead urges us to be like the ants, "which having no prince, ruler, or lord, provides here meat in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest," striving for a "frugal and self-governing democracy or commonwealth."
Of course, as demonstrated in The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, the Presbyterians who condoned the killing of the king soon repented for their sins, and when he published Eikonoklastes public sentiment favored the Royalists. Shortly after the second edition of this work was published (the first being very hastily printed) Charles II was restored to the English throne. And the rest is, as they say, history.
"And what will [the world] say of us and of the whole English name but scoffingly, as of that foolish builder, mentioned by our Savior, who began to build a tower and was not able to finish it? Where is this goodly tower of a commonwealth which the English boasted they would build to overshadow kings and be another Rome in the west?"
As was common for him, here again Milton drew upon Scripture and ancient history in support of his arguments, as evident from the passage above. Throughout there are other biblical references to Christ and to monarchical rule among the Israelites and again references to Greek and Roman history and philosophy; as elsewhere in his oeuvre, Aristotle's Politics serves as a major source.
And as in Eikonklastes here too Milton rails against the idea of people putting all their stock in one single person, believing this dangerous to the nation and the good of the people. While it was common in those days for Royalists to compare human life to the life of bees, demonstrating the usefulness of monarchical rule to the smooth functioning of society, Milton instead urges us to be like the ants, "which having no prince, ruler, or lord, provides here meat in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest," striving for a "frugal and self-governing democracy or commonwealth."
Of course, as demonstrated in The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, the Presbyterians who condoned the killing of the king soon repented for their sins, and when he published Eikonoklastes public sentiment favored the Royalists. Shortly after the second edition of this work was published (the first being very hastily printed) Charles II was restored to the English throne. And the rest is, as they say, history.
October 6, 2021
It isn’t as hard-hitting as Areopagitica, but still pretty good.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews