Ever since Thomas Warton, nearly two hundred years ago, decided that the Theatrum Poetarum of Edward Phillips contained “criticisms far above the taste of that period” and therefore revealed “many touches of Milton's hand,” scholars have sought evidence to substantiate this opinion. Sir Egerton Brydges, in 1800, delcared in the preface of his abridged edition of the Theatrum that “the very expressions of Milton break out in every page,” and only recently Harris Fletcher, who has made a minute study of Milton's reading, wrote that “perhaps as much as nine-tenths of the work was almost beyond doubt done by Milton.” A careful study of the sources and methods of composition of this book has convinced me that not only did Milton have no hand in the work but that even his influence, if any, was negligible. Actually, the Theatrum was a hasty, careless piece of hack work, derived for the most part from a few convenient reference works, with a minimum of effort on the part of the compiler.