The Christian Doctrine

Joannis Miltoni Angli, De Doctrina Christiana libri duo posthumi: quos ex schedis manuscriptis deprompsit, et typis mandari primus curavit (London, 1825)

The manuscript of Milton's longest surviving work, De Doctrina Christiana (London, National Archives, SP 9/16), was discovered in 1823. It was, Milton wrote in the introduction, his "best and richest possession." Yet it languished for over a century in a state of near oblivion. Milton probably hoped that it would be possible to publish the treatise, but the views in it were considered heretical by his contemporaries, and when the Restoration of the monarchy occurred in 1660, Milton and his views fell under a shadow of scrutiny. He probably sought to hide the manuscript at the Restoration. If the manuscript of De Doctrina Christiana had not been discovered, our understanding of Milton's theological beliefs would stand on far more speculative grounds, and in many cases take an entirely different form. This is the first printed edition of Milton's work.