As astonishing as it may seem, the great Puritan poet, John Milton, seems to have become a Catholic several years before his death, and to have remained a papist until his death. Evidence that Milton is amongst the illustrious list of literary converts is given in a footnote on p. 71 of my book, Through Shakespeare’s Eyes.
Here is the full text of the footnote :
Intriguingly, and astonishingly, a letter to the Tablet, published May 23, 1908, less than a year after Chesterton wrote these words, provides documentary evidence of the unthinkable fact that Milton may also have died a Catholic. As unbelievable as this may seem, the evidence is provided by the respected historian W. H. Gratton Flood from a reputable source. While searching in the seventh report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission, Gratton Flood came across the following statement from the autobiography of Sir John Percival, in volume 2 of the Egmont Papers: “Milton, the poet, died a Papist. Dr Charlotte, Master of University College, Oxford, told me lately at Bath that he remembers to have heard from Dr Binks that he was at an entertainment in King James’ reign, when Sir Christopher Milton, one of the Judges, and elder brother to the famous Mr Milton, the poet, was present; that the Judge did then say publicly his brother was a Papist some years before he died, and that he died so. I am still more persuaded of it from what Dr English told me that he often heard Mr Prior, the poet, say that the late Earl of Dorset told him the same thing.”
In inquiries of this nature, ought not any conclusion we reach rely on something better than fourth-hand information? Percival heard from Charlotte who heard from Binks who heard from Milton the Elder? And even if we accept this chain of distant witnesses as gospel truth, does Milton’s purported late life conversion really alter the religious coloring of his written work? Napoleon is said to have received the Last Rites of the Church when he passed away on St. Helena. Yet it would remain an historical distortion of enormous magnitude to speak of “Bonaparte, the great Catholic general and tactical theorist.” What a man does on his deathbed or in his dotage does not retrospectively change the nature of his life’s actions that led up to his last moments, be those good or evil. It seems to me that “Milton the Catholic” must remain a chimera.
Pax vobiscum.
Thomas,
I can’t imagine why you–or anyone–would think Milton’s conversion to Catholicism irrelevant. The post’s topic was not a revelation of how that conversion changed/didn’t change any part of his work or anyone’s perception of it. The topic was simply the conversion–that’s all–and it’s frankly absolutely fascinating news–for its own sake.
How curious that Napoleon received Last Rites. I didn’t know that. Interesting.
That would make quite an ending to Milton’s story if he did indeed convert!
How trustworthy is this bit of information? And is it really that unknown of a fact?
@Dena
Yes, Napoleon did indeed receive Extreme Unction and Viaticum before one, Father Ange Vignali. It is interesting, isn’t it?!
However I’m not exactly sure what to make of it. Napoleon, even though raised in the faith, never believed in it, though he respected it (especially for civilizational/social reasons, the Catholic Church, builder of civilization and all that), he was a deist. Not to mention a card carrying memeber of the Revolution. He was also known for his religious opportunism.
I would like to think that he came back to the faith in the end, but who knows with this guy.
Come to think of it, perhaps it was an appropriate end for this man of contradictions. A rather small fellow with gigantic ambitions, an Italian who ruled a French empire, a card carrying member of the revolution who as a general overturned the traditional order where ever he went, yet also restored the Church to it’s rightful place in society (after the godless french revolutionaries tried to dismantle and do away with it, years earlier). The list goes on and on.
Perhaps it was genuine after all, I see know reason why he should have faked it, he did not need to end his life that way. Then again maybe it was just hus sense of things, he had been born a Catholic, he ruled a Catholic people, he used Catholicism whenever it suited him, so maybe he just figured he had a duty to go out like a Catholic. Like I said earlier, who knows with this guy.
On what theological basis would Milton convert? I do find that hard to believe, but even if true, does it make any difference? The core of Milton’s writing so protestant that it would just be a footnote that he converted.
@A Recent Convert-
Along with Lee, Bonaparte was strangely enigmatic for a soldier. He certainly understood the power religion must permanently hold over the human imagination, which understanding accounts in part for some of his pragmatic decisions regarding the Catholic Church during his reign. He knew that the Mass offered some fascination which the Enlightenment could not replace.