English literature in the seventeenth century covered many
fields. Shakespeare and Bacon, the two chief literary ornaments of the
Elizabethan Age, did some of their best work during the reign of James I. In
1611 A.D. appeared the Authorized Version of the Bible, sometimes called the
King James Version because it was dedicated to that monarch. The simplicity,
dignity, and eloquence of this translation have never been excelled, and it
still remains in ordinary use among Protestants throughout the English-
speaking world. [32] The Puritan poet, John Milton, composed his epic of Paradise
Lost during the reign of Charles II. About the same time another Puritan,
John Bunyan, wrote the immortal Pilgrim's Progress, a book which gives
an equal though different pleasure to children and adults, to the ignorant and
the learned. But these are only a few of the eminent poets and prose writers of
the age.
[32] Many important corrections were embodied in the
Revised Version, published in 1881-1885 A.D. by a committee of English
scholars.
POSITION OF ENGLAND
Thus, aside from its political importance, the seventeenth
century formed a noteworthy period in English history. England until this time
had been, on the whole, a follower rather than a leader of Europe. The defeat
of the Spanish Armada, the overthrow of Stuart absolutism, and the check
administered to the aggressive designs of Louis XIV were so many indications
that England had risen to a place of first importance in European affairs.
During this century, too, the American colonies of England began to lay the
basis for Anglo-Saxon predominance in the New World.
