''Defensio pro Populo Anglicano'' is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topic ...

by John Milton, published in 1651. The full title in English is ''John Milton an Englishman His Defence of the People of England.'' It was a piece of propaganda, and made political argument in support of what was at the time the government of England.

Background

This work was commissioned by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

during

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

's protectorate of England, as a response to a work by

Claudius Salmasius Claude Saumaise (15 April 1588 – 3 September 1653), also known by the Latin name Claudius Salmasius, was a French classical scholar. Life Salmasius was born at Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy. His father, a counsellor of the parlement of Dijon, se ...

entitled ''Defensio Regia pro Carolo I'' ("Royal Defence on behalf of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

"). Salmasius argued that the rebels led by Cromwell were guilty of

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

for executing King Charles. Milton responded with a detailed justification of the parliamentary party.

Style

The work includes invective against Salmasius and accusations of that scholar's inconsistency for taking contradictory positions. Milton also claims Salmasius wrote his work only due to being bribed with a "hundred Jacobuses" by the exiled son of Charles, who would later become King Charles II of England. The level of ''ad hominem'' attack is high and much unlike what one would expect from a serious contemporary

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

r even on a controversial topic. Here is an excerpt from the beginning of Chapter VIII, where Milton sarcastically asks Salmasius what concern the latter has with what the English do among themselves: Despite the level of insult employed, Milton's polemic provided an effective response, both rhetorically and argumentatively, to Salmasius' volume. As John Alvis notes, Milton "ridicule his adversary for having changed sides in a controversy, for meddling in the affairs of a nation foreign to him, and for having written in the pay of the son of the king he champions." At the same time, some critics such as George Saintsbury in the ''Cambridge History of English and American Literature'' have condemned this work and Milton's later ''

Defensio Secunda ''Defension Secunda'' was a 1654 political tract by John Milton, a sequel to his '' Defensio pro Populo Anglicano''. It is a defence of the Parliamentary regime, by then controlled by Oliver Cromwell; and also defense of his own reputation agains ...

,'' asserting that they show, in Saintbury's words, "a good deal of bandying of authority and of wearisome rebutting on particular points."

Further controversy

Salmasius published no response during his lifetime, but a fragment of a reply was printed posthumously. A long anonymous reply, ''Pro Rege et Populo Anglicano,'' appeared later, in 1651 at Antwerp; this was authored by a royalist clergyman, John Rowland. It was answered on Milton's behalf by his nephew John Phillips, although Milton is reported to have given his nephew's work "Examination and Polishment" before publication.Barbara K. Lewalski, ''The Life of John Milton,'' ultiple cities Blackwell Publishing, 2000, . Pp.258–9.

Background

Style

Further controversy

References

Further reading