De Doctrina Christiana (Milton)

De Doctrina Christiana (Christian Doctrine) is a Latin manuscript found in 1823 and attributed to John Milton, who died 148 years prior. Since Milton was blind by the time of the work's creation, this attribution assumes that an amanuensis aided the author.

The history and style of Christian Doctrine have created much controversy. Critics have argued about the authority of the text as representative of Milton's philosophy based on possible problems with its authorship, its production, and over what its content actually means. As Lieb has shown "... I do not think we shall ever know conclusively whether or not Milton authored all of the De Doctrina Christiana, part of it, or none of it."

Both Charles R. Sumner and John Carey have translated the work into English. Sumner's edition was first printed in 1825. This was the only translation until Carey's in 1973.

The only manuscript of Christian Doctrine was found during 1823 in London's Old State Paper Office (at the Middle Treasury Gallery in Whitehall). The work was one of many in a bundle of state papers written by John Milton while he served as Secretary of Foreign Tongues under Oliver Cromwell. The manuscript was provided with a prefatory epistle that explains the background and history to the formation of the work. If it is genuine, the manuscript is the same work referred to in Milton's Commonplace Book and in an account by Edward Phillips, Milton's nephew, of a theological "tractate".

Because Milton was blind, the manuscript of De Doctrina Christiana was the work of two people: Daniel Skinner and Jeremie Picard. Picard first copied the manuscript from previous works and Skinner prepared the work to be copied for typesetting, although there are a few unidentified editors who made changes to the manuscript. After Milton died in 1674, Daniel Skinner was given Christian Doctrine along with Milton's other manuscripts. In 1675, Skinner attempted to publish the work in Amsterdam, but it was rejected, and in 1677 he was pressured by the English government to hand over the document upon which it was then hidden.

There have been three published translations of De Doctrina Christiana. The first was the Charles edition first produced in 1825, titled A treatise on Christian doctrine compiled from the Holy Scriptures alone. The original Latin text was included alongside the English translation. However, the next translation produced by Carey was not in a dual language format. The latest translation, a collaborative work between John Hale and J. Donald Cullington, works from a new transcription of the original manuscript, and publishes the Latin and English translation in a facing-page format. All three of these translations identify Milton as the author.

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