“I... Steer Right Onward” 1654–1658them, and that he retained his strong distaste for the university ethos. His letter to
Jones was a response to a letter from him (now lost), which Lady Ranelagh carried
but did not deliver for some fifteen days. After noting with pleasure and reciprocat-
ing the young man’s expressions of affection, Milton, in the role of teacher, corrects
his values and attitudes. He warns Jones that the beauty of Oxford he so praises will
not be truly felicitous unless Oxford contributes “as much to the character of the
inhabitants as it does to their delight” (CPW VII, 489). And the Bodleian Library
might more properly be called “a storeroom of books than a library” unless students
come from it “furnished with the best education.” He urges Jones to display “zeal
and industry,” to obey Oldenburg’s “firm and friendly precepts,” and to take as an
example of virtue and piety “that most excellent woman your mother.” Jones vis-
ited Milton on June 25, carrying a letter from Oldenburg and taking back Milton’s
reply. Oldenburg also waxed eloquent about Oxford’s natural beauty and pro-
claimed his desire to study nature “really closely,” to eschew controversy and pur-
sue truth. Oxford, he assures Milton, has men devoted to the study of both nature
and the liberal arts, though many “still tread the customary path, and never stop
brawling over both divine and natural subjects.” He ends by commenting on new
evidence from an ancient Chinese calendar telling against the theory that humans
existed on earth before Adam (490–1). Milton excuses his brief reply (he was “quite
busy” when Jones brought Oldenburg’s letter), but he again voices skepticism about
Oxford’s value for them: “what that retreat contributes except plenty of books, I do
not know, and I should think the companions of your studies whom you have
found there would be such because of the very nature of the place rather than
because of its instruction” (492). He agrees about the “empty quibbling” so many
engage in, “lest they seem to be doing absolutely nothing worthy of the many taxes
by which they are supported at grievous public expense.” But he does not think the
ancient Chinese calendar can add any authority to the Mosaic books. He passes
along greetings from Cyriack Skinner, reciprocating Oldenburg’s – a further indi-
cation that Skinner was often in Milton’s company during these years.
About three months later (September 21) Milton answered another letter from
Jones, now lost, sending it by Lady Ranelagh, who was about to leave for Ireland
where she was to remain for several years tending to family business. Her departure,
Milton wrote, “must grieve us both extremely,” since “to me also she has stood in
the place of all relations.”^72 That Milton parallels his relationship with her to that of
mother and son indicates how much he will miss this dear friend. In his mentor
role, Milton assures Jones that his fondness for him will increase “the more you
show me of your sincere disposition and worthwhile accomplishments” (CPW VII,
493–4). He approves Jones’s confidence about success in his studies, but not his
continued pleasure in Oxford: “Your saying that Oxford does not displease you
does not lead me to believe that you have become any more proficient or wiser
there: that you will have to show me by far different proofs.” Moreover, Jones
seems to admire overmuch the victories of princes “and similar matters in which