A Satyr Against Hypocrites

A Satyr Against Hypocrites was John Phillips' anonymous poem entered in the Stationers' Register on March 14, 1654-55 as the work of his brother Edward Phillips. It was considered a bitter attack on Puritanism at that time. A Satyr Against Hypocrites, in reality, was regarded a little more than the irresponsible outburst of an immature man of twenty-three who was tired of discipline, dissatisfied in his expectations of political advancement, and furious with the sort of people who had taken over the country but who seemed incapable of appreciating his peculiar merits. In 1661 A Satyr Against Hypocrites was republished as The Religion of the Hypocritical Presbyterians, which was assumed to be no more than an attempt to lure new interest with a title that would appeal to the post-Restoration preference to criticize the strongest of the Puritan sects. It is believed that John Phillips was an unofficial secretary to Milton but, was unable to obtain regular political employment