“For the Sake of Liberty” 1652–1654I have borne witness, I might almost say I have erected a monument that will not soon
pass away, to those deeds that were illustrious, that were glorious, that were almost
beyond any praise.... Moreover, just as the epic poet... undertakes to extole, not
the whole life of the hero... but usually one event of his life (the exploits of Achilles
at Troy, let us say, or the return of Ulysses, or the arrival of Aeneas in Italy) and passes
over the rest, so let it suffice me too... to have celebrated at least one heroic achieve-
ment of my countrymen. (685)In form and tone, the Defensio Secunda is more heroic than the first, joining, as
David Loewenstein notes, “epic vision to revolutionary polemics” to create a
mythopoeic vision of an imagined social order.^150 The vignettes of Cromwell, Fairfax,
Bradshaw, Queen Christina, Overton, John Lambert, Charles Fleetwood, and the
other officers and statesmen singled out for praise are like a catalogue of epic heroes
with distinctly epic virtues: martial prowess often, but more importantly, wisdom,
courage, magnanimity, prudence, justice, and pietas. They also exhibit the higher
virtues demanded of Christians: temperance, self-control, forgiveness of enemies,
and conquest over ambition, fears, desires, and passions. The moral qualities neces-
sary for political leadership are emphasized, since in the History of Britain Milton had
found his countrymen fearless and strong in war but inept at governance. Christina
is a peaceful Penthesilea or Camilla: she is a “heroine” of “exalted virtue and mag-
nanimity,” “fairness and justice,” and “vigorous mind”; and she even surpasses her
father Gustavus Adolphus, a martial hero, “as wisdom excels strength, and the arts
of peace the craft of war” (604–6). Bradshaw is “an alert defender of liberty and the
people,” an “incorruptible judge” who presided over the king’s trial with “loyalty,
sobriety, dignity,” an “affable and serene... hospitable and generous” friend, and
an “able and fearless” patron (638–9). Among the thirteen other named worthies
six are army officers, all “brave and fearless” and two (Lambert and Overton) are
praised for specific battlefield exploits. But their other qualities are more important:
Fairfax joined “supreme courage” with “supreme modesty and supreme holiness,”
Fleetwood has exhibited “civility, gentleness, and courtesy” from his earliest days,
Overton is remarkable for the “sweetness” of his disposition and his mercy to the
conquered (669, 675, 76). The other seven are “men famous in private life and the
arts of peace,” of whom two (Edward Montague and Henry Lawrence) Milton
knows to be “men of supreme genius, cultivated in the liberal arts” (676–7). Milton’s
lengthy tribute to these men alongside Cromwell reconfigures the Protectorate as
an aristocratic republic with power shared among good men.
A long encomium of Cromwell identifies him as a superlative epic and Christian
hero, “supremely excellent” in prowess on the battlefield and skill in governance as
well as in personal virtue. He came “of renowned and illustrious stock,” and was
long known for “devotion to the Puritan religion and his upright life” (666–7). As
captain of an army troop his victories soon surpassed those of the greatest generals
because he had already won those victories over the self which Milton always makes
the fundamental condition for any public leadership role: