John Milton (1608–1674) The Reason of Church Government, urg’d against prelaty (London: John Rothwell, 1641 [i.e. 1642]). Ee.3.4, title page.

The Reason of Church Government is one of Milton’s earliest series of political pamphlets, which argue against  ‘prelaty’ (that is, the government of the church by bishops) in favour of independent congregations. Each of the works in this series, including Of Reformation (1641) and An Apology (1642), was launched in response to a pamphlet released by the opposing side. In these anti-episcopal tracts, Milton weighs into the notorious Smectymnuus controversy, so-called because of the pseudonym used by its radical authors, which they composed from their combined initials (Stephen Marshall, Edmund Calamy, Thomas Young, Matthew Newcomen, and William Spurstowe).