Tract
The tract is a direct, personal attack upon Hall through use ofBut hee that shall bind himselfe to make Antiquity his rule, if hee read but part, besides the difficulty of choyce, his rule is deficient, and utterly unsatisfying; for there may bee other Writers of another mind which hee hath not seene, and if hee undertake all, the length of mans life cannot extent to give him a full and requisite knowledge of what was done in Antiquity.Milton continues to attack the authority of church governments and liturgies by emphasizing how an individual's reading of the Bible is more important than other considerations, and that personal prayers are more important than ancient forms of worship because the individual feels what he is thinking. The only type of religious structure that can work is a direct relationship between a preacher and a congregation without any set forms or rituals and with the preacher serving as a minister to the people.
Themes
Thomas Kranidas believes that Milton was focusing on persons, not theory, and claims that the "chief argument was not in fact 'Believe ''this'' ', but rather 'Believe ''me'' '".Kranidas 1983 p. 248Notes
References
* Kranidas, Thomas. "Words, Words, Words, and the Word: Milton's ''Of Prelatical Episcopacy''". ''Milton Studies'' 16 (1983): 153 * Milton, John. ''Complete Prose Works of John Milton'' Vol I ed. Don Wolfe. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953. * Wheeler, Elizabeth. "Early Political Prose" in ''A Companion to Milton''. Ed. Thomas Corns. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. {{John Milton Works by John Milton 1641 works