[]THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH POETRY.

SECT. XLIV.

MORE poetry was written in the ſingle reign of Elizabeth, than in the two preceding centuries. The ſame cauſes, among others already enumerated and explained, which called forth genius and imagination, ſuch as the new ſources of fiction opened by a ſtudy of the claſſics, a familiarity with the French Italian and Spaniſh writers, the growing elegancies of the Engliſh language, the diffuſion of poliſhed manners, the felicities of long peace and public proſ⯑perity, and a certain freedom and activity of mind which im⯑mediately followed the national emancipation from ſuperſtition, contributed alſo to produce innumerable compoſitions in poetry. In proſecuting my further examination of the poetical annals of this reign, it there [...]ore becomes neceſſary to reduce ſuch a latitude of materials to ſome ſort of methodical arrangement. On which account, I ſhall claſs and conſider the poets of this reign, under the general heads, or diviſions, of SATIRE, SON⯑NET, PASTORAL, and MISCELLANEOUS poetry. Spenſer will ſtand alone, without a claſs, and without a rival.

[2] Satire, ſpecifically ſo called, did not commence in England till the latter end of the reign of queen Elizabeth. We have ſeen, indeed, that eclogues, and allegories were made the vehicle of ſatire, and that many poems of a ſatirical tendency had been publiſhed, long ago. And here, the cenſure was rather confined to the corruptions of the clergy, than extended to popular follies and vices. But the firſt profeſſed Engliſh ſatiriſt, to ſpeak technically, is biſhop Joſeph Hall, ſucceſſive⯑ly biſhop of Exeter and Norwich, born at Briſtow-park within the pariſh of Aſhby de la Zouch in Leiceſterſhire, in the year 1574, and at the age of fifteen, in the year 1588, admitted into Emanuel-college at Cambridge, where he remained about eight years. He ſoon became eminent in the theology of thoſe times, preached againſt predeſtination before prince Henry with unrivalled applauſe, and diſcuſſed the doctrines of Armi⯑nianiſm in voluminous diſſertations. But ſo variable are our ſtudies, and ſo fickle is opinion, that the poet is better known to poſterity than the prelate or the polemic. His ſatires have outlived his ſermons at court, and his laborious confutations of the Browniſts. One of his later controverſial tracts is, however, remembered on account of the celebrity of its an⯑tagoniſt. When Milton deſcended from his dignity to plead the cauſe of fanaticiſm and ideal liberty, biſhop Hall was the defender of our hierarchical eſtabliſhment. Bayle, who knew Hall only as a theologiſt, ſeems to have written his life merely becauſe he was one of the Engliſh divines at the Synod of Dort, in 1618. From his inflexible and conſcientious attach⯑ment to the royal and epiſcopal cauſe under king Charles the firſt, he ſuffered in his old age the ſeverities of impriſonment and ſequeſtration; and lived to ſee his cathedral converted into a barrack, and his palace into an ale-houſe. His uncommon learning was meliorated with great penetration and knowledge of the world, and his mildneſs of manners and his humility were characteriſtical. He died, and was obſcurely buried with⯑out a memorial on his grave, in 1656, and in his eighty ſecond [3] year, at Heigham a ſmall village near Norwich, where he had ſought ſhelter from the ſtorms of uſurpation, and the intole⯑rance of preſbyterianiſm.

I have had the good fortune to ſee biſhop Hall's funeral⯑ſermon, preached ſome days after his interment, on the thir⯑tieth day of September, 1656, at ſaint Peter's church in Nor⯑wich, by one John Whitefoote, Maſter of Arts, and rector of Heigham. The preacher, no contemptible orator, before he proceeds to draw a parallel between our prelate and the pa⯑triarch Iſrael, thus illuſtrates that part of his character with which we are chiefly concerned, and which I am now haſten⯑ing to conſider. ‘"Two yeares together he was choſen rheto⯑rick profeſſor in the univerſitie of Cambridge, and perform⯑ed the office with extraordinary applauſe. He was noted for a ſingular wit from his youth: a moſt acute rhetorician, and an elegant poet. He underſtood many tongues; and in the rhetorick of his own, he was ſecond to none that lived in his time ^a."’ It is much to our preſent purpoſe to obſerve, that the ſtyle of his proſe is ſtrongly tinctured with the man⯑ner of Seneca. The writer of the ſatires is perceptible in ſome of his graveſt polemical or ſcriptural treatiſes; which are per⯑petually interſperſed with excurſive illuſtrations, familiar alluſions, and obſervations on life. Many of them were early tranſlated into French; and their character is well drawn by himſelf, in a dedication to James the firſt, who perhaps would have much better reliſhed a more ſedate and profound theology. ‘"Seldome any man hath offered to your royall hands a greater bundle of his owne thoughts, nor perhaps more varietie of diſcourſe. For here ſhall your maieſtie find Moralitie, like a good handmaid, waiting on Divinitie: and Divinitie, like ſome great lady, euery day in ſeuerall dreſſes. Speculation interchanged with experience, Poſitiue theo⯑logy with polemical, textuall with diſcurſorie, popular with ſcholaſticall ^b."’

[4] At the age of twenty-three, while a ſtudent at Emanuel⯑college, and in the year 1597, he publiſhed at London three Books of anonymous Satires, which he called Toothleſs SATYRS, poetical, academical, moral ^c. They were printed by Thomas Creede for Robert Dexter, and are not recited in the regiſters of the Stationers of London. The following year, and licenced by the ſtationers, three more books appeared, entitled, ‘"VIRGIDEMIARUM, The three laſt Bookes of Byting Satyres."’ Theſe are without his name, and were printed by Richard Bradock for Robert Dexter, in the ſize and letter of the laſt ^d. All the ſix Books were printed together in 1599, in the ſame form, with this title, ‘"VIRGIDEMIARUM, The three laſt Bookes of byting Satyres corrected and amended with ſome additions by J. H. [John Hall.] LONDON, for R. Dexter, &c. 1599."’ A moſt incomprehenſive and in⯑accurate title: for this edition, the laſt and the beſt, contains the three firſt as well as the three laſt Books ^e. It begins with the firſt three books: then at the end of the third book, follow the three laſt, but preceded by a new title, ‘"VIRGIDEMIA⯑RUM. The three laſt Bookes, of byting Satyres. Corrected and amended with ſome additions by J. H."’ For R. Dexter, as before, 1599. But the ſeventh of the fourth Book is here made a ſecond ſatire to the ſixth or laſt Book. Annexed are, ‘"Certaine worthye manvſcript poems of great antiquitie re⯑ſerued long ſince in the ſtudie of a Northfolke gentleman, And now firſt publiſhed by J. S. I. The ſtately tragedy of Guiſtard and Siſmond. II. The Northerne mother's bleſſing. [5] III. The way to Thrifte. Imprinted at London for R. D. 1597."’ Dedicated, ‘"to the worthieſt poet Maiſter Ed. Spenſer."’ To this identical impreſſion of Hall's Satires, and the Norfolk gentleman's manuſcript poems annexed, a falſe title appeared in 1602, ‘"VIRGIDEMIARUM. Sixe Bookes. Firſt three bookes, Of toothleſſe Satyrs. 1. POE⯑TICALL. 2. ACADEMICALL. 3. MORAL. London, Print⯑ed by John Hariſon, for Robert Dexter, 1602."’ All that follows is exactly what is in the edition of 1599. By VIR⯑GIDEMIA, an uncouth and uncommon word, we are to under⯑ſtand a Gathering or Harveſt of rods, in reference to the nature of the ſubject.

Theſe ſatires are marked with a claſſical preciſion, to which Engliſh poetry had yet rarely attained. They are replete with animation of ſtyle and ſentiment. The indignation of the ſatiriſt is always the reſult of good ſenſe. Nor are the thorns of ſevere invective unmixed with the flowers of pure poetry. The characters are delineated in ſtrong and lively colouring, and their diſcriminations are touched with the maſterly traces of genuine humour. The verſification is equally energetic and elegant, and the fabric of the couplets approaches to the mo⯑dern ſtandard. It is no inconſiderable proof of a genius pre⯑dominating over the general taſte of an age when every preacher was a punſter, to have written verſes, where laughter was to be raiſed, and the reader to be entertained with ſallies of pleaſantry, without quibbles and conceits. His chief fault is obſcurity, ariſing from a remote phraſeology, conſtrained combinations, unfamiliar alluſions, elleiptical apoſtrophes, and abruptneſs of expreſſion. Perhaps ſome will think, that his manner betrays too much of the laborious exactneſs and pe⯑dantic anxiety of the ſcholar and the ſtudent. Arioſto in Ita⯑lian, and Regnier in French, were now almoſt the only mo⯑dern writers of ſatire: and I believe there had been an Eng⯑liſh tranſlation of Arioſto's ſatires. But Hall's acknowledged patterns are Juvenal and Perſius, not without ſome touches of [6] the urbanity of Horace. His parodies of theſe poets, or rather his adaptations of antient to modern manners, a mode of imitation not unhappily practiced by Oldham, Ro⯑cheſter, and Pope, diſcover great facility and dexterity of invention. The moral gravity and the cenſorial declamation of Juvenal, he frequently enlivens with a train of more refined reflection, or adorns with a novelty and variety of images.

In the opening of his general PROLOGUE, he expreſſes a decent conſciouſneſs of the difficulty and danger of his new undertaking. The laurel which he ſought had been unworn, and it was not to be won without hazard.

His firſt book, containing nine ſatires, is aimed at the nu⯑merous impotent yet faſhionable ſcribblers with which his age was infeſted. It muſt be eſteemed a curious and valuable pic⯑ture, drawn from real life, of the abuſes of poetical compoſi⯑tion which then prevailed; and which our author has at once expoſed with the wit of a ſpirited ſatiriſt, and the good taſte of a judicious critic. Of Spenſer, who could not have been his cotemporary at Cambridge, as ſome have thought, but perhaps was his friend, he conſtantly ſpeaks with reſpect and applauſe.

I avail myſelf of a more minute analyſis of this Book, not only as diſplaying the critical talents of our ſatiriſt, but as hiſ⯑torical of the poetry of the preſent period, and illuſtrative of my general ſubject. And if in general, I ſhould be thought too copious and prolix in my examination of theſe ſatires, my apology muſt be, my wiſh to revive a neglected writer of real genius, and my opinion, that the firſt legitimate author in our language of a ſpecies of poetry of the moſt important and [7] popular utility, which our countrymen have ſo ſucceſsfully cultivated, and from which Pope derives his chief celebrity, deſerved to be diſtinguiſhed with a particular degree of attention.

From the firſt ſatire, which I ſhall exhibit at length, we learn what kinds of pieces were then moſt in faſhion, and in what manner they were written. They ſeem to have been, tales of love and chivalry, amatorial ſonnets, tragedies, come⯑dies, and paſtorals.

The compliment in the cloſe to Spenſer, is introduced and turned with ſingular addreſs and elegance. The alluſion is to Spenſer's beautiful epiſode of the marriage of Thames and Medway, recently publiſhed, in 1595, in the fourth book of the ſecond part of the FAIRY QUEEN ^q. But had I, ſays the poet, been inclined to invoke the aſſiſtance of a Muſe, what Muſe, even of a lower order, is there now to be found, who would condeſcend to ſit and ſing on the deſolated margin of the Cam? The Muſes frequent other rivers, ever ſince Spenſer celebrated the nuptials of Thames and Medway. Cam has now nothing on his banks but willows, the types of deſertion.

I obſerve here in general, that Thomas Hudſon and Henry Lock, were the Bavius and Mevius of this age. In the RE⯑TURN FROM PARNASSUS, 1606, they are thus conſigned to oblivion by Judicio. ‘"Locke and Hudſon, ſleep you quiet [9] ſhavers among the ſhavings of the preſs, and let your books lie in ſome old nook amongſt old boots and ſhoes, ſo you may avoid my cenſure ^r."’ Hudſon tranſlated into Engliſh Du Bartas's poem of JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES, in which is this couplet.

Yet he is commended by Harrington for making this tranſlation in a ‘"verie good and ſweet Engliſh verſe ^s,"’ and is largely cited in ENGLAND'S PARNASSUS, 1600. Lock applied the Sonnet to a ſpiritual purpoſe, and ſubſtituting chriſtian love in the place of amorous paſſion, made it the vehicle of humiliation, holy comfort, and thankſgiving. This book he dedicated, under the title of the PASSIONATE PRESENT to queen Elizabeth, who perhaps from the title expected to be entertained with a ſubject of very different nature ^t.

In the ſecond ſatire, our author poetically laments that the nine Muſes are no longer veſtal virgins.

He complains, that the rabble of rymeſters new have engraft⯑ed the myrtle on the bay; and that poetry, departing from its antient moral tendency, has been unnaturally perverted to the [10] purpoſes of corruption and impurity. The Muſes have chang⯑ed, in defiance of chaſtity,

While the pellucid ſpring of Pyrene is converted into a poiſon⯑ous and muddy puddle.

Marlow's OVID'S ELEGIES, and ſome of the diſſolute ſallies of Green and Naſh, ſeem to be here pointed out. I know not of any edition of Marſton's PYGMALION'S IMAGE before the year 1598, and the CALTHA POETARUM, or BUMBLE-BEE, one of the moſt exceptionable books of this kind, written by T. Cutwode, appeared in 1599 ^t. Shakeſpeare's VENUS AND ADONIS, publiſhed in 1593, had given great offence to the graver readers of Engliſh verſe ^u.

In the ſubſequent ſatire, our author more particularly cenſures the intemperance of his brethren; and illuſtrates their abſolute inability to write, till their imaginations were animated by wine, in the following apt and witty compariſon, which is worthy of Young.

In the ſucceeding lines, he confines his attack to Marlow, eminent for his drunken frolicks, who was both a player and a poet, and whoſe tragedy of TAMERLANE THE GREAT, repre⯑ſented before the year 1588, publiſhed in 1590, and confeſſed⯑ly one of the worſt of his plays, abounds in bombaſt. Its falſe ſplendour was alſo burleſqued by Beaumont and Fletcher in the COXCOMB; and it has theſe two lines, which are ridiculed by Piſtol, in Shakeſpeare's KING HENRY THE FOURTH ^w, addreſ⯑ſed to the captive princes who drew Tamerlane's chariot.

We ſhould, in the mean time, remember, that by many of the moſt ſkilful of our dramatic writers, tragedy was now thought almoſt eſſentially and ſolely to conſiſt, in the pomp of declamation, in ſounding expreſſions, and unnatural amplifica⯑tions of ſtyle. But to proceed.

But, adds the critical ſatiriſt, that the minds of the aſtoniſhed audience may not be too powerfully impreſſed with the terrours of tragic ſolemnity, a VICE, or buffoon, is ſuddenly and moſt ſeaſonably introduced.

[13] To complete theſe genuine and humorous anecdotes of the ſtate of our ſtage in the reign of Elizabeth, I make no apology for adding the paragraph immediately following, which records the infancy of theatric criticiſm.

In the beginning of the next ſatire, he reſumes this topic. He ſeems to have conceived a contempt for blank verſe; ob⯑ſerving that the Engliſh iambic is written with little trouble, and ſeems rather a ſpontaneous effuſion, than an artificial con⯑ſtruction.

To theſe antique tales he condemns the application of the extravagant enchantments of Arioſto's ORLANDO FURIOSO, particularly of ſuch licentious fictions as the removal of Merlin's tomb from Wales into France, or Tuſcany, by the magic ope⯑rations of the ſorcereſs Meliſſa ^c. The ORLANDO had been juſt now tranſlated by Harrington.

But he ſuddenly checks his career, and retracts his thought⯑leſs temerity in preſuming to blame ſuch themes as had been immortaliſed by the fairy muſe of Spenſer.

In the fifth, he ridicules the whining ghoſts of the MIRROUR OF MAGISTRATES, which the ungenerous and unpitying poet ſends back to hell, without a penny to pay Charon for their re⯑turn over the river Styx ^f.

In the ſixth, he laughs at the hexametrical verſification of the Roman proſody, ſo contrary to the genius of our language, lately introduced into Engliſh poetry by Stanihurſt the tranſlator of Virgil, and patroniſed by Gabriel Harvey and ſir Philip Sidney.

His own lines on the ſubject are a proof that Engliſh verſe wanted to borrow no graces from the Roman.

The falſe and fooliſh compliments of the ſonnet-writer, are the object of the ſeventh ſatire.

He judges it abſurd, that the world ſhould be troubled with the hiſtory of the ſmiles or frowns of a lady; as if all mankind were deeply intereſted in the privacies of a lover's heart, and the momentary revolutions of his hope and deſpair ^h.

In the eighth, our author inſinuates his diſapprobation of ſacred poetry, and the metrical verſions of ſcripture, which were encouraged and circulated by the puritans. He glances at Ro⯑bert Southwell's SAINT PETER'S COMPLAINT ⁱ, in which the ſaint weeps pure Helicon, publiſhed this year, and the ſame writer's FUNERALL TEARES of the two Maries. He then, but without mentioning his name, ridicules Markham's SION'S MUSE, a tranſlation of Solomon's Song ^k. Here, ſays our ſati⯑rical critic, Solomon aſſumes the character of a modern ſonnet⯑teer; and celebrates the ſacred ſpouſe of Chriſt with the levities and in the language of a lover ſinging the praiſes of his miſtreſs ^l.

The hero of the next ſatire I ſuſpect to be Robert Greene, who practiced the vices which he ſo freely diſplayed in his poems. Greene, however, died three or four years before the publication of theſe ſatires ^m. Nor is it very likely that he [16] ſhould have been, as Oldys has ſuggeſted in ſome manuſcript papers, Hall's cotemporary at Cambridge, for he was incorpo⯑rated into the Univerſity of Oxford, as a Maſter of Arts from Cambridge, in July, under the year 1588 ⁿ. But why ſhould we be ſollicitous to recover a name, which indecency, moſt probably joined with dulneſs, has long ago deſervedly delivered to oblivion? Whoever he was, he is ſurely unworthy of theſe elegant lines.

He then proceeds, with a liberal diſdain, and with an eye on the ſtately buildings of his univerſity, to reprobate the Muſes for this unworthy profanation of their dignity.

His execration of the infamy of adding to the miſchiefs of obſcenity, by making it the ſubject of a book, is ſtrongly ex⯑preſſed.

Our poets, too frequently the children of idleneſs, too naturally the lovers of pleaſure, began now to be men of the world, and affected to mingle in the diſſipations and debauche⯑ries of the metropolis. To ſupport a popularity of character, not ſo eaſily attainable in the obſcurities of retirement and ſtudy, they frequented taverns, became libertines and buffoons, and exhilarated the circles of the polite and the profligate. Their way of life gave the colour to their writings: and what had been the favourite topic of converſation, was ſure to pleaſe, when recommended by the graces of poetry. Add to this, that poets now began to write for hire, and a rapid ſale was to be obtained at the expence of the purity of the reader's mind ^*. The author of the RETURN FROM PARNASSUS, acted in 1606, ſays of Drayton a true genius, ‘"However, he wants one true note of a poet of our times, and that is this: he cannot ſwagger it well in a tavern ^q."’

The firſt ſatire of the ſecond Book properly belongs to the laſt. In it, our author continues his juſt and pointed animad⯑verſions on immodeſt poetry, and hints at ſome pernicious verſions from the FACETIAE of Poggius Florentinus, and from Rabelais. The laſt couplet of the paſſage I am going to tranſcribe, is moſt elegantly expreſſive.

By tauernings, he means the encreaſing faſhion of frequent⯑ing taverns, which ſeems to have multiplied with the play⯑hou [...]es. As new modes of entertainment ſprung up, and new places of public reſort became common, the people were more often called together, and the ſcale of convivial life in London was enlarged. From the play-houſe they went to the tavern. In one of Decker's pamphlets, printed in 1609, there is a curious chapter, ‘"How a yong Gallant ſhould behave himſelf in an Ordinarie ^t.’ One of the moſt expenſive and elegant meetings of this kind in London is here deſcribed. It appears that the company dined ſo very late, as at half an hour after eleven in the morning; and that it was the faſhion to ride to this polite ſympoſium on a Spaniſh jennet, a ſervant running before with his maſter's cloak. After dinner, they went on horſeback to the neweſt play. The ſame author in his BEL⯑MAN'S NIGHT WALKES ^u, a lively deſcription of London, almoſt two centuries ago, gives the following inſtructions. ‘"Haunt tavernes, there ſhalt thou find prodigalls: pay thy two pence to a player in his gallerie, there ſhalt thou ſit by an harlot. At ORDINARIES thou maiſt dine with ſilken fooles ^w."’

[19] In the ſecond ſatire, he celebrates the wiſdom and liberality of our anceſtors, in erecting magnificent manſions for the ac⯑commodation of ſcholars, which yet at preſent have little more uſe than that of reproaching the rich with their comparative neglect of learning. The verſes have much dignity, and are equal to the ſubject.

He concludes his complaint of the general diſregard of the literary profeſſion, with a ſpirited paraphraſe of that paſſage of Perſius, in which the philoſophy of the profound Arceſilaus and of the aerumnoſi Solones, is proved to be of ſo little uſe and eſtimation ^y.

[20] In the third, he laments the lucrative injuſtice of the law, while ingenuous ſcience is without emolument or reward. The exordium is a fine improvement of his original.

The interview between the anxious client and the rapacious lawyer, is drawn with much humour: and ſhews the authori⯑tative ſuperiority and the mean ſubordination ſubſiſting between the two characters, at that time.

The fourth diſplays the difficulties and diſcouragements of the phyſician. Here we learn, that the ſick lady and the gouty peer were then topics of the ridicule of the ſatiriſt.

He thus laughs at the quinteſſence of a ſublimated mineral elixir.

Imperial oils, golden cordials, and univerſal panaceas, are of high antiquity: and perhaps the puffs of quackery were former⯑ly more oſtentatious than even at preſent, before the profeſſion of medicine was freed from the operations of a ſpurious and ſuperſtitious alchemy, and when there were myſtics in philo⯑ſophy as well in religion. Paracelſus was the father of empericiſm.

From the fifth we learn, that advertiſements of a LIVING WANTED were affixed on one of the doors of Saint Paul's cathedral.

The ſixth, one of the moſt perſpicuous and eaſy, perhaps the moſt humorous, in the whole collection, and which I ſhall therefore give at length, exhibits the ſervile condition of a domeſtic preceptor in the family of an eſquire. Several of the [22] ſatires of this ſecond BOOK, are intended to ſhew the depreſſed ſtate of modeſt and true genius, and the inattention of men of fortune to literary merit.

From thoſe who deſpiſed learning, he makes a tranſition to thoſe who abuſed or degraded it by falſe pretences. Judicial aſtrology is the ſubject of the ſeventh ſatire. He ſuppoſes that aſtrology was the daughter of one of the Egyptian midwives, and that having been nurſed by Superſtition, ſhe aſſumed the garb of Science.

Again, of the believer in the ſtars, he ſays,

The numerous aſtrological tracts, particularly pieces called PROGNOSTICATIONS, publiſhed in the reign of queen Eliza⯑beth, are a proof how ſtrongly the people were infatuated with this ſort of divination. One of the moſt remarkable, was a treatiſe written in the year 1582, by Richard Harvey, brother to Gabriel Harvey, a learned aſtrologer of Cambridge, predic⯑ting the portentous conjunction of the primary planets, Saturn and Jupiter, which was to happen the next year. It had the immediate effect of throwing the whole kingdom into the moſt violent conſternation. When the fears of the people were [24] over, Naſh publiſhed a droll account of their opinions and apprehenſions while this formidable phenomenon was impend⯑ing; and Elderton a ballad-maker, and Tarleton the comedian, joined in the laugh. This was the beſt way of confuting the impertinencies of the ſcience of the ſtars. True knowledge muſt have been beginning to dawn, when theſe profound fooleries became the objects of wit and ridicule ⁱ.

SECT. XLV.

THE opening of the firſt ſatire of the third Book, which is a contraſt of antient parſimony with modern luxury, is ſo witty, ſo elegant, and ſo poetical an enlargement of a ſhining paſſage in Juvenal, that the reader will pardon another long quotation.

He then, in the proſecution of a ſort of poetical philoſophy, which prefers civilized to ſavage life, wiſhes for the nakedneſs or the furs of our ſimple anceſtors, in compariſon of the fantaſtic fopperies of the exotic apparel of his own age.

One of the vanities of the age of Elizabeth was the erection of monuments, equally coſtly and cumberſome, charged with a waſte of capricious decorations, and loaded with ſuperfluous and diſproportionate ſculpture. They ſucceeded to the rich ſolemnity of the gothic ſhrine, which yet, amid a profuſion of embelliſhments, preſerved uniform principles of architecture.

In the ſecond ſatire, our author moraliſes on theſe empty memorials, which were alike allotted to illuſtrious or infamous characters.

The third is the deſcription of a citizen's feaſt, to which he was invited,

But the great profuſion of the entertainment was not the effect of liberality, but a hint that no ſecond invitation muſt be expected. The effort was too great to be repeated. The gueſt who dined at this table often, had only a ſingle diſh ^f.

The fourth is an arraignment of oſtentatious piety, and of thoſe who ſtrove to puſh themſelves into notice and eſteem by petty pretenſions. The illuſtrations are highly humorous.

The ſame affectation appeared in dreſs.

The fifth is a droll portrait of the diſtreſs of a luſtie courtier, or fine gentleman, whoſe periwinkle, or peruke, was ſuddenly blown off by a boiſterous puff of wind while he was making his bows ^l.

[29] Theſe are our ſatiriſt's reflections on this diſgraceful accident.

In the next, is the figure of a famiſhed Gallant, or beau, which is much better drawn than in any of the comedies of thoſe times. His hand is perpetually on the hilt of his rapier. He picks his teeth, but has dined with duke Humphry ⁿ. He profeſſes to keep a plentiful and open houſe for every ſtraggling cavaliere, where the dinners are long and enlivened with muſic, and where many a gay youth, with a high-plumed hat, chuſes to dine, much rather than to pay his ſhilling. He is ſo ema⯑ciated for want of eating, that his ſword-belt hangs looſe over his hip, the effect of hunger and heavy iron. Yet he is dreſſed in the height of the faſhion,

He pretends to have been at the conqueſt of Cales, where the nuns worked his bonnet. His hair ſtands upright in the [30] French ſtyle, with one long lock hanging low on his ſhoulders, which, the ſatiriſt adds, puts us in mind of a native cord, the truely Engliſh rope which he probably will one day wear.

In the Prologue to this book, our author ſtrives to obviate the objections of certain critics who falſely and fooliſhly thought his ſatires too perſpicuous. Nothing could be more abſurd, than the notion, that becauſe Perſius is obſcure, therefore obſcurity muſt be neceſſarily one of the qualities of ſatire. If Perſius, under the ſeverities of a proſcriptive and ſanguinary government, was often obliged to conceal his meaning, this was not the caſe of Hall. But the darkneſs and difficulties of Perſius ariſe in great meaſure from his own affectation and falſe taſte. He would have been enigmatical under the mildeſt government. To be unintelligible can never naturally or properly belong to any ſpecies of writing. Hall of himſelf is certainly obſcure: yet he owes ſome of his obſcurity to an imitation of this ideal excellence of the Roman ſatiriſts.

The fourth Book breathes a ſtronger ſpirit of indignation, [31] and abounds with applications of Juvenal to modern manners, yet with the appearance of original and unborrowed ſatire.

The firſt is miſcellaneous and excurſive, but the ſubjects often lead to an unbecoming licentiouſneſs of language and images. In the following nervous lines, he has caught and finely heightened the force and manner of his maſter.

He thus enhances the value of certain novelties, by declaring them to be,

The alluſion is to Spenſer's Talus in the following couplet,

He adds, that the guilty perſon, when marked, deſtroys all diſtinction, like the cuttle-fiſh concealed in his own blackneſs.

He thus deſcribes the effect of his ſatire, and the enjoyment of his own ſucceſs in this ſpecies of poetry.

It is in Juvenal's ſtyle to make illuſtrations ſatirical. They are here very artfully and ingeniouſly introduced ^w.

The ſecond is the character of an old country ſquire, who ſtarves himſelf, to breed his ſon a lawyer and a gentleman. It appears, that the vanity or luxury of purchaſing dainties at an exorbitant price began early.

[34] He predicts, with no ſmall ſagacity, that Lollio's ſon's diſtant poſterity will rack their rents to a treble proportion,

Encloſures of waſte lands were among the great and national grievances of our author's age ^d. It may be preſumed, that the practice was then carried on with the moſt arbitrary ſpirit of oppreſſion and monopoly.

The third is on the pride of pedigree. The introduction is from Juvenal's eighth ſatire; and the ſubſtitution of the memo⯑rials of Engliſh anceſtry, ſuch as were then faſhionable, in the place of Juvenal's parade of family ſtatues without arms or ears, is remarkably happy. But the humour is half loſt, unleſs by recollecting the Roman original, the reader perceives the unexpected parallel.

Afterwards, ſome adventurers for raiſing a fortune are [35] introduced. One trades to Guiana for gold. This is a glance at ſir Walter Rawleigh's expedition to that country. Another, with more ſucceſs, ſeeks it in the philoſopher's ſtone.

Some well-known claſſical paſſages are thus happily mixed, moderniſed, and accommodated to his general purpoſe.

In the fourth, theſe diverſions of a delicate youth of faſhion and refined manners are mentioned, as oppoſed to the rougher employments of a military life.

He adds,

In the contraſt between the martial and effeminate life, which includes a general ridicule of the fooliſh paſſion which now pre⯑vailed, of making it a part of the education of our youth to bear arms in the wars of the Netherlands, are ſome of Hall's moſt ſpirited and nervous verſes.

[38] The fifth, the moſt obſcure of any, exhibits the extremes of prodigality and avarice, and affords the firſt inſtance I remem⯑ber to have ſeen, of nominal initials with daſhes. Yet in his POSTSCRIPT, he profeſſes to have avoided all perſonal applications ^a.

In the ſixth, from Juvenal's poſition that every man is naturally diſcontented, and wiſhes to change his proper condi⯑tion and character, he ingeniouſly takes occaſion to expoſe ſome of the new faſhions and affectations.

Beſide what is here ſaid, we have before ſeen, that perukes were now among the novelties in dreſs. From what follows it appears that coaches were now in common uſe ^c.

The ruſtic wiſhing to turn ſoldier, is pictured in theſe lively and poetical colours.

Another, fired with the flattering idea of ſeeing his name in print, abandons his occupation, and turns poet.

[41] Having traced various ſcenes of diſſatisfaction, and the deſultory purſuits of the world, he comes home to himſelf, and concludes, that real happineſs is only to be found in the aca⯑demic life. This was a natural concluſion from one who had experienced no other ſituation ^h.

The laſt of this Book, is a ſatire on the pageantries of the papal chair, and the ſuperſtitious practices of popery, with which it is eaſy to make ſport. But our author has done this, by an uncommon quickneſs of alluſion, poignancy of ridicule, and fertility of burleſque invention. Were Juvenal to appear at Rome, he ſays,

The following ludicrous ideas are annexed to the excluſive appropriation of the euchariſtic wine to the prieſt in the maſs.

But this ſort of ridicule is improper and dangerous. It has a tendency, even without an entire parity of circumſtances, to burleſque the celebration of this aweful ſolemnity in the re⯑formed church. In laughing at falſe religion, we may ſome⯑times hurt the true. Though the rites of the papiſtic eucha⯑riſt are erroneous and abſurd, yet great part of the ceremony, and above all the radical idea, belong alſo to the proteſtant communion.

SECT. XLVI.

THE argument of the firſt ſatire of the fifth Book, is the oppreſſive exaction of landlords, the conſequence of the growing decreaſe of the value of money. One of theſe had perhaps a poor grandſire, who grew rich by availing himſelf of the general rapine at the diſſolution of the monaſteries. There is great pleaſantry in one of the lines, that he

In the mean time, the old patrimonial manſion is deſolated; and even the pariſh-church unroofed and dilapidated, through the poverty of the inhabitants, and neglect or avarice of the patron.

[44] By an enumeration of real circumſtances, he gives us the following lively draught of the miſerable tenement, yet ample ſervices, of a poor copyholder.

The lord's acceptance of theſe preſents is touched with much humour.

In the ſecond ^f, he reprehends the incongruity of ſplendid edifices and worthleſs inhabitants.

He then beautifully drawes, and with a ſelection of the moſt pictureſque natural circumſtances, the inhoſpitality or rather deſertion of an old magnificent rural manſion.

Afterwards, the figure of FAMINE is thus imagined.

In the third, a ſatire is compared to the porcupine.

This ingenious thought, though founded on a vulgar errour, has been copied, among other paſſages, by Oldham. Of a true writer of ſatire, he ſays,

In the fourth and laſt of this Book, he enumerates the extravagancies of a married ſpendthrift, a farmer's heir, of twenty pounds a year. He rides with two liveries, and keeps a pack of hounds.

The laſt Book conſiſting of one long ſatire only, is a ſort of epilogue to the whole, and contains a humorous ironical de⯑ſcription of the effect of his ſatires, and a recapitulatory view of many of the characters and foibles which he had before delineated. But the ſcribblers ſeem to have the chief ſhare. The character of Labeo, already repeatedly mentioned, who was ſome cotemporary poet, a conſtant cenſurer of our author, and who from paſtoral proceeded to heroic poetry, is here more diſtinctly repreſented. He was a writer who affected compound epithets, which ſir Philip Sydney had imported from France, and firſt uſed in his ARCADIA ^p. The character in many reſpects ſuits Chapman, though I do not recollect that he wrote any paſtorals.

The arts of compoſition muſt have been much practiced, and a knowledge of critical niceties widely diffuſed, when ob⯑ſervations of this kind could be written. He proceeds to remark, it was now cuſtomary for every poet, before he attempted the dignity of heroic verſe, to try his ſtrength by writing paſtorals ^q.

Poems on petty ſubjects or occaſions, on the death of a favourite bird or dog, ſeem to have been as common in our author's age, as at preſent. He ſays,

[49] In the old comedy, the RETURN FROM PARNASSUS, we are told of a coxcomb who could bear no poetry ‘"but fly⯑blown ſonnets of his miſtreſs, and her loving pretty creatures her monkey and her parrot ^u."’

The following exquiſite couplet exhibits our ſatiriſt in another and a more delicate ſpecies of poetry.

One is ſurpriſed to recollect, that theſe ſatires are the production of a young man of twenty three. They rather ſeem the work of an experienced maſter, of long obſervation, of ſtudy and practice in compoſition.

They are recited among the beſt performances of the kind, and with applauſe, by Francis Meres, a cotemporary critic, [50] who wrote in 1598 ^x. But whatever fame they had acquired, it ſoon received a check, which was never recovered. They were condemned to the flames, as licentious and immoral, by an order of biſhop Bancroft in 1599. And this is obviouſly the chief reaſon why they are not named by our author, in the SPECIALITIES of his Life, written by himſelf after his preferment to a biſhoprick ^y. They were, however, admired and imitated by Oldham. And Pope, who moderniſed Donne, is ſaid to have wiſhed he had ſeen Hall's ſatires ſooner. But had Pope undertaken to moderniſe Hall, he muſt have adopt⯑ed, becauſe he could not have improved, many of his lines. Hall is too finiſhed and ſmooth for ſuch an operation. Donne, though he lived ſo many years later, was ſuſceptible of modern refinement, and his aſperities were ſuch as wanted and would bear the chiſſel.

I was informed, by the late learned biſhop of Gloceſter, that in a copy of Hall's Satires in Pope's library, the whole firſt ſatire of the ſixth book was corrected in the margin, or interlined, in Pope's own hadn; and that Pope had written at the head of that ſatire, OPTIMA SATIRA.

Milton who had a controverſy with Hall, as I have obſerved, in a remonſtrance called an APOLOGY FOR SMECTYMNUUS, publiſhed in 1641, rather unſuitably and diſingenuouſly goes out of his way, to attack theſe ſatires, a juvenile effort of his dignified adverſary, and under every conſideration alien to the diſpute. Milton's ſtrictures are more ſarcaſtic than critical; yet they deſerve to be cited, more eſpecially as they preſent a ſtriking ſpecimen of thoſe aukward attempts at humour and raillery, which diſgrace his proſe-works.

"Lighting upon this title of TOOTHLESS SATYRS, I will not conceal ye what I thought, readers, that ſure this [51] muſt be ſome ſucking ſatyr, who might have done better to have uſed his coral, and made an end of breeding ere he took upon him to wield a ſatyr's whip. But when I heard him talk of ſcouring the ſhields of elviſh knights ^z, do not blame me if I changed my thought, and concluded him ſome deſperate cutler. But why his ſcornful Muſe could never abide with tragick ſhoes her ancles for to hide ^a, the pace of the verſe told me, that her mawkin knuckles were never ſhapen to that royal buſkin. And turning by chance to the ſixth [ſeventh] Satyr of his ſecond Book, I was confirmed: where having begun loftily in heaven's univerſal alphabet, he falls down to that wretched poorneſs and frigidity as to talk of Bridge-ſtreet in heaven, and the oſtler of heaven ^b. And there wanting other matter to catch him a heat, (for certain he was on the frozen zone miſerably benummed,) with thoughts lower than any beadle's, betakes him to whip the ſign-poſts of Cambridge alehouſes, the ordinary ſubject of freſhmens tales, and in a ſtrain as pitiful. Which, for him [52] who would be counted the FIRST ENGLISH SATYRIST, to abaſe himſelfe to, who might have learned better among the Latin and Italian Satyriſts, and in our own tongue from the VISION AND CREEDE OF PIERCE PLOWMAN, beſides others before him, manifeſted a preſumptuous undertaking with weak and unexamined ſhoulders. For a Satyr is as it were born out of a Tragedy, ſo ought to reſemble his parentage, to ſtrike high, and adventure dangerouſly at the moſt eminent vices among the greateſt perſons, and not to creep into every blind taphouſe that fears a conſtable more than a ſatyr. But that ſuch a poem ſhould be TOOTHLESS, I ſtill affirm it to be a bull, taking away the eſſence of that which it calls itſelf. For if it bite neither the perſons nor the vices, how is it a ſatyr? And if it bite either, how is it toothleſs? So that TOOTHLESS SATYRS, are as much as if he had ſaid TOOTHLESS TEETH, &c ^c."

With Hall's SATIRES ſhould be ranked his MUNDUS ALTER ET IDEM, an ingenious ſatirical fiction in proſe, where under a pretended deſcription of the TERRA AUSTRALIS, he forms a pleaſant invective againſt the characteriſtic vices of various nations, and is remarkably ſevere on the church of Rome. This piece was written about the year 1600, before he had quitted the claſſics for the fathers, and publiſhed ſome years afterwards, againſt his conſent. Under the ſame claſs ſhould alſo be mentioned his CHARACTERISMES OF VER⯑TUES, a ſet of ſenſible and lively moral eſſays, which contain traces of the ſatires ^d.

[53] I take the opportunity of obſerving here, that among Hall's proſe-works are ſome metaphraſtic verſions in metre of a few of David's Pſalms ^e, and three anthems or hymns written for the uſe of his cathedral. Hall, in his Satires, had condemned this ſort of poetry.

An able inquirer into the literature of this period has affirm⯑ed, that Hall's Epiſtles, written before the year 1613 ^f, are the firſt example of epiſtolary compoſition which England had ſeen. ‘"Biſhop Hall, he ſays, was not only our firſt ſatiriſt, but was the firſt who brought epiſtolary writing to the view of the public: which was common in that age to other parts of Europe, but not practiced in England till he publiſhed his own Epiſtles ^g."’ And Hall himſelf in the Dedication of his Epiſtles to Prince Henry obſerves, ‘"Your grace ſhall herein perceiue a new faſhion of diſcourſe by EPISTLES, new to our language, vſuall to others: and, as nouelty is neuer without plea of vſe, more free, more familiar ^h."’

The firſt of our countrymen, however, who publiſhed a ſet of his own Letters, though not in Engliſh, was Roger Aſcham, who flouriſhed about the time of the Reformation; and when that mode of writing had been cultivated by the beſt ſcholars in various parts of Europe, was celebrated for the terſeneſs of [54] his epiſtolary ſtyle. I believe the ſecond publiſhed correſpon⯑dence of this kind, and in our own language, at leaſt of any importance after Hall, will be found to be EPISTOLAE HOE⯑LIANAE, or the Letters of James Howell, a great traveller, an intimate friend of Jonſon, and the firſt who bore the office of the royal hiſtoriographer, which diſcover a variety of literature, and abound with much entertaining and uſeful information ⁱ.

SECT. XLVII.

IN the ſame year, 1598, ſoon after the appearance of Hall's Satires, John Marſton, probably educated at Cambridge, a dramatic writer who roſe above mediocrity, and the friend and coadjutor of Jonſon, publiſhed ‘"The metamorphoſis of Pig⯑malion's image. And Certaine Satyres. By John Marſton. At London, printed for Edmond Matts ^a, and are to be ſold at the ſigne of the hand and plough in Fleetſtreete, 1598 ^b."’ I have nothing to do with PIGMALIONS IMAGE, one of Ovid's transformations heightened with much paraphraſtic obſcenity ^c. The Satires here ſpecified are only four in number. In Charles Fitzgeoffry's AFFANIAE, a ſet of Latin epigrams, printed at Oxford in 1601, he is not inelegantly complimented as the ſecond Engliſh Satiriſt, or rather as dividing the palm of priority and excellence in Engliſh ſatire with Hall.

In general it is not eaſy to give a ſpecimen of Marſton's ſatires, as his ſtrongeſt lines are either openly vitiated with groſs expreſſion, or pervaded with a hidden vain of impure ſentiment. The following humorous portrait of a ſick inamorato is in his beſt, at leaſt in his chaſteſt, manner of drawing a character.

[57] In theſe lines there is great elegance of alluſion, and vigour of expreſſion. He addreſſes the objects of his ſatire, as the ſons of the giants,

In the ſame ſatire he calls himſelf,

Marſton ſeems to have been the poetic rival of Hall at Cambridge, whom he repeatedly cenſures or ridicules. In the fourth ſatire, he ſuppoſes Hall's criticiſms on Dubartas, the verſions of David's Pſalms by Sternhold and king James, Southwell's MARY and SAINT PETER'S TEARS, the MIR⯑ROUR OF MAGISTRATES, and other pieces of equal reputa⯑tion, to be the production of pedantry or malignity. And the remainder of this ſatire is no unpleaſant parody of Hall's prefatory ſtanzas againſt envy ^k.

A Thraſonical captain, freſh from the ſiege of Cadiz, is delineated in this lively colouring.

Marſton's alluſions often want truth and accuracy. In deſcribing the ruff of a beau, he ſays,

The compariſon of the workmanſhip of a laced and plaited ruff, to the laboured nicety of the ſteel-work of Woodſtock, is juſt. He adds, with an appearance of wit,

This was no exaggeration. The ſhield of Ajax was only ſevenfold. To ſay nothing of one of the leading ideas, the delicacy of con⯑texture, which could not belong to ſuch a ſhield.

[59] But Marſton is much better known as a ſatiriſt by a larger and a ſeparate collection, yet entirely in the ſtrain of the laſt, called the SCOURGE OF VILLANY, publiſhed the ſame year. I will give the title exactly and at length. ‘"The SCOVRGE OF VILLANIE. Three Bookes of SATYRES. [No Name of the Author.]—Nec ſcombros metuentia carmina nec thus. At London, Printed by I. R. [James Roberts,] and are to be ſold by John Buzbie, in Pawles churchyard, at the ſigne of of the Crane, 1598 ^k."’ He here aſſumes the appellation of KINSAYDER, by which he is recogniſed among other cotempo⯑rary poets in the RETURN FROM PARNASSUS. In his metrical introduction, he wiſhes all readers of faſhion would paſs over his poetry, and rather examine the play-bills paſted on every poſt, or buy ſome ballad about the fairy king, and king Cophe⯑tua and the female beggar. Inſtead of a Muſe, he invocates REPROOF, in this elegant and animated addreſs.

The paſſage reminds us of a witty line in Young's UNIVER⯑SAL PASSION, I know not if borrowed from hence.

Part of the following nervous paragraph has been copied either by Dryden or Oldham.

In an invocation to RIME, while he is not inelegantly illuſtrating the pleaſingneſs of an eaſy aſſociation of conſonant ſyllables, he artfully intermixes the ſeverities of ſatire.

He thus wages war with his brother-bards, eſpecially the dreamers in fairy land.

The following line is a ridicule on the poetical language of his time, which ſeems rather intended for certain ſtrains of modern poetry.

He ſuppoſes himſelf talking with Eſop, and alludes to the ſtory of his coming into the ſtreets of Athens to look for a man ^u. This idea introduces ſeveral ridiculous characters. Among the reſt a fine lady.

[66] He thus nervouſly deſcribes the ſtrength of cuſtom.

Of the influence of the drama, which now began to be the moſt polite and popular diverſion, on converſation, we have the following inſtance.

He appears to have been a violent enemy of the puritans.

It is not that I am afraid of being tedious, that I find myſelf obliged to refrain from producing any more citations. There are however, a few more paſſages which may ſafely be quoted, but which I chooſe to reſerve for future illuſtration.

There is a careleſſneſs and laxity in Marſton's verſification, but there is a freedom and facility, which Hall has too fre⯑quently miſſed, by labouring to confine the ſenſe to the couplet. Hall's meaſures are more muſical, not becauſe the muſic of verſe conſiſts in uniformity of pauſe, and regularity of cadence. Hall had a correcter ear; and his lines have a tuneful ſtrength, in proportion as his language is more poliſhed, his phraſeology more ſelect, and his ſtructure more ſtudied. Hall's meaning, among other reaſons, is not always ſo ſoon apprehended, on account of his compreſſion both in ſentiment and diction. Marſton is more perſpicuous, as he thinks leſs and writes haſtily. Hall is ſuperiour in penetration, accurate conception of character, acuteneſs of reflection, and the ac⯑cumulation of thoughts and images. Hall has more humour, Marſton more acrimony. Hall often draws his materials from books and the diligent peruſal of other ſatiriſts, Marſton from real life. Yet Hall has a larger variety of characters. He poſſeſſed the talent of borrowing with addreſs, and of giving originality to his copies. On the whole, Hall is more elegant, exact, and elaborate.

[68] It is Marſton's misfortune, that he can never keep clear of the impurities of the brothel. His ſtream of poetry, if ſome⯑times bright and unpolluted, almoſt always betrays a muddy bottom. The ſatiriſt who too freely indulges himſelf in the diſplay of that licentiouſneſs which he means to proſcribe, ab⯑ſolutely defeats his own deſign. He inflames thoſe paſſions which he profeſſes to ſuppreſs, gratifies the depravations of a prurient curioſity, and ſeduces innocent minds to an acquaint⯑ance with ideas which they might never have known.

The ſatires of Hall and Marſton were condemned to the ſame flame and by the ſame authority. But Hall certainly deſerved a milder ſentence. Hall expoſes vice, not in the wantonneſs of deſcription, but with the reſerve of a cautious yet lively moraliſt. Perhaps every cenſurer of obſcenity does ſome harm, by turning the attention to an immodeſt object. But this effect is to be counteracted by the force and propriety of his reproof, by ſhewing the pernicious conſequences of volup⯑tuous exceſſes, by ſuggeſting motives to an oppoſite conduct, and by making the picture diſguſtful by daſhes of deformity. When Vice is led forth to be ſacrificed at the ſhrine of virtue, the victim ſhould not be too richly dreſſed.

SECT. XLVIII.

THE popularity of Hall's and Marſton's Satires, notwithſtanding their proſcription or rather extermi⯑nation by ſpiritual authority, produced an innumerable crop of SATIRISTS, and of a ſet of writers, differing but little more than in name, and now properly belonging to the ſame ſpecies, EPIGRAMMATISTS.

In 1598, printed at London, appeared ‘"SKIALETHEIA, or a Shadowe of Truth in certaine Epigrams and Satyres."’ The ſame year, SEUEN SATIRES, applied to the week, in⯑cluding the world's ridiculous follies ^a. This form was an imitation of the SEMAINES of Du Bartas, juſt tranſlated into Engliſh by Deliſle. The ſame year, ‘"A SHADOWE of TRUTH in certaine Epigrams and Satires. ^b."’ This year alſo, as I conjecture, were publiſhed Epigrams by ſir John Davies, author of NOSCE TEIPSUM ^c. Theſe muſt not be confounded with the SCOURGE OF FOLLY, by John Davies of Hereford, printed in 1611. In 1598 alſo, was publiſhed in quarto, ‘"Tyros roaring Megge, planted againſt the walls of Melan⯑choly, London, 1598."’ With two Decads of Epigrams ^d. The author appears to have been of Cambridge. Tyro is perhaps a real name. The dedication is to Maſter John Lucas.

[70] In the year 1598, was alſo publiſhed, under the general title of CHRESTOLOROS, ſeven Books of Epigrams, by Thomas Baſtard ^e. Baſtard, a native of Blandford in Dorſetſhire, was removed from a fellowſhip of New-College Oxford, in 1591, being, as Wood ſays, ‘"much guilty of the vices belonging to the poets, "and given to libelling ^f."’ Harrington, the tranſlator of Arioſto, has an Epigram addreſſed to ‘"Maſter Baſtard, a mi⯑niſter, that made a pleaſant Booke of Engliſh Epigrams ^g."’ Wood, in his manuſcript Collection of Oxford libels and lampoons, which perhaps he took as much pleaſure in collect⯑ing as the authors in writing, now remaining in the Aſhmolean Muſeum, and compoſed by various ſtudents of Oxford in the reign of queen Elizabeth, has preſerved two of Baſtard's ſa⯑tyrical pieces ^h. By the patronage or favour of lord treaſurer Suffolk, he was made vicar of Bere-regis, and rector of Hamer, in Dorſetſhire; and from writing ſmart epigrams in his youth, became in his graver years a quaint preacher ⁱ. He died a pri⯑ſoner for debt, in Dorcheſter-gaol, April 19, 1618. He was an elegant claſſic ſcholar, and appears to have been better qua⯑lified for that ſpecies of the occaſional pointed Latin epigram eſtabliſhed by his fellow-collegian John Owen, than for any ſort of Engliſh verſification.

In 1599, appeared ‘"MICROCYNICON ſixe ſnarling ſatyres by T. M. Gentleman,"’ perhaps Thomas Middleton. About the ſame time appeared, without date, in quarto, written by [71] William Goddard, ‘"A MASTIF WHELP, with other ruff-i⯑land-like currs fetcht from amongſt the Antipedes, which bite and barke at the fantaſtical humouriſts and abuſers of the time. Imprinted at the Antipedes, and are to be bought where they are to be ſold."’ It contains eighty-five ſatires. To theſe is added, ‘"Dogges from the Antipedes,"’ containing forty one ^k.

A ſatyrical piece in ſtanzas, which has conſiderable merit, called PASQUILL'S MAD-CAP, was printed at London in quarto, for V. S. in the year 1600 ^l. With Paſquill's MESSAGE. [72] Alſo by the ſame author, perhaps Nicholas Breton, Paſquill's FOOLE-CAP, printed for T. Johnes in the ſame year, the dedication ſigned, N. B. At the end is ‘"Paſquill's paſſion for the world's waiwardneſſe ^m."’ In the year 1601, was publiſhed in duodecimo, ‘"The whipper of the Satyre, his pennance in a white ſheete, Or the Beadles Confutation, Imprinted at London, by John Faſket, 1601."’ And by way of reply, ‘"No whippinge nor trippinge, but a kind of ſnippinge, London, 1601."’ Again, ‘"The whipping of the SATYRE, Imprinted at London for John Flaſket, 1601 ⁿ."’ About the ſame time, as I conjecture, were publiſhed, ‘"Epi⯑grams ſerved out in fifty-two ſeverall diſhes, for every man to taſte without ſurfeting. By I. C. gentleman."’ At London, without date. In 1608, ‘"Epigrams, or Humour's Lottery ^o."’ The ſame year, ‘"A Century of Epigrams, by R. W. Bachelor of Arts, Oxon ^p."’ The ſame year, ‘"Satyres, by Richard Myddleton, gentleman, of Yorke ^q."’ In 1619, ‘"Newe [73] Epigrams, having in their Companie a mad ſatyre, by Joſeph Martin, London, for Elde ^r."’ In 1613, were pub⯑liſhed two books of epigrams, written by Henry Perrot, entitled, ‘"LAQUEI RIDICULOSI, or Springes for Woodcockes. Caveat emptor. Lond. for J. Buſbie, 1613 ^s."’ Many of them are worthy to be revived in modern collections. I am tempted to tranſcribe a ſpecimen.

John Weaver, I believe the antiquary who wrote ANTIENT FUNERAL MONUMENTS, publiſhed a book of Epigrams, in 1599, or rather 1600, which are ranked among the beſt, by Jonſon ^w. Thomas Freeman, a ſtudent in Magdalen college Oxford, about the year 1607, who appears to have enjoyed the friendſhip and encouragement of Owen, Shakeſpeare, Daniel, Donne, Chapman, and Heywood the dramatiſt, printed in quarto, ‘"RUB AND A GREAT CAST. In one hundred Epi⯑grams, London, 1614 ^x."’ To theſe is annexed, ‘"RUB AND [74] A GREAT CAST. The ſecond Bowl in an hundred Epi⯑grams."’ Both ſets are dedicated to Thomas Lord, Windſor. Thomas Wroth of Gloceſter-Hall, Oxford, about 1603, pub⯑liſhed at London, in quarto, 1620, ‘"An Abortive of an idle Hour, or a century of Epigrams ^y."’

To the opening of 1600, I would alſo aſſign ‘"The MASTIVE or young Whelpe of the old dogge. Epigrams and Satyres. London, printed by Thomas Creede. In quarto, without date."’ The Advertiſement to the reader is ſubſcribed H. P ^z. We are ſure that they were at leaſt written after Churchyard's death: for in the third Epigram, the writer ſays, that Haywood was held for EPIGRAMS the beſt when Churchyard wrote ^a.

[75] Some of the critics of the author's days are thus deſcribed.

In theſe days, the young ſtudents of the Inns of Court, ſeem to have been the moſt formidable of the critics ^e.

The figure and ſtratagems of the hungry captain, freſh from abroad, are thus expoſed.

The wars in Spain and the Low-countries filled the metropolis with a ſet of needy military adventurers, returning from thoſe expeditions, who were a mixture of ſwaggering and ſubmiſſion, of flattery and ferocity, of cow⯑ardice and courage, who aſſumed a ſort of profeſſional magna⯑nimity, yet ſtooped to the moſt ignominious inſults, who endeavoured to attract the attention of the public, by the ſplendour of martial habiliments, were ready for any adven⯑tures of riot and debauchery, and inſinuated themſelves into favour by hyperbolical narrations of their hazardous atchieve⯑ments. Jonſon's Bobadill was of this race of heroic rakes. We have ſeen one of them admirably deſcribed by Marſton ⁱ.

[77] In 1600 appeared, a mixture of Satires and Epigrams, ‘"THE LETTING OF HUMOURS BLOOD IN THE HEAD VAINE, with a new moriſco daunced by ſeauen ſatyrs, upon the bottom of Diogenes tubbe,"’ written by Samuel Row⯑lands, and printed by William White ^h.

In a panegyric on Charnico, a potation mentioned by Shakeſpeare, he alludes to the unfortunate death of three co⯑temporary poets, two of which are perhaps Green and Mar⯑lowe, or perhaps George Peele ^k.

[78] The rotation of faſhionable pleaſures, and the mode of paſſing a day of polite diſſipation in the metropolis, are thus repreſented. The ſpeaker is SIR REVELL, who is elegantly dreſſed in a diſh-crowned hat and ſquare-toed ſhoes.

In another we have the accompliſhed faſhion-monger ^q.

In another, of a beau ſtill more affected, he ſays,

One of the ſwaggerers of the times, who in his rambles about the town, viſits the Royal Exchange as a mercantile traveller, is not unluckily delineated.

Gabriel Harvey, in his Four Letters printed in 1592, quotes ſome Engliſh hexameters, from ‘"thoſe vnſatyrical Satyres, which Mr. Spencer long ſince embraced in an overloving ſonnet ^y."’ This paſſage ſeems to indicate a ſet of ſatires, now unknown, to which Spenſer had prefixed the undeſerved honour of a recommendatory ſonnet, now equally forgotten.

Meres, who wrote in 1598, obſerves, ‘"As Horace, Lucilius, Juvenal, Perſius, and Lucullus, are the beſt for SATYRE among the Latins, ſo with us, in the ſame faculty theſe are chiefe: Piers PLOWMAN, Lodge, Hall of Emanuel colledge in Cambridge, the author of PIGMALION'S IMAGE AND CERTAINE SATYRES ^z, the author of SHIALETHIA ^a."’ And in another place, having cited ſome of Marſton's ſatires, he adds Rankins as a ſatiriſt ^b. I have never elſewhere ſeen the name of Rankins. Nor have I ſeen Lodge's Satires, unleſs his ‘[81] "ALARUM AGAINST USURERS, containing tried experiences againſt worldly abuſes,"’ and its appendix his Hiſtory of Forbonius and Priſaeria, printed at London, in 1584, may be conſidered under that character.

Wood alſo, a great dealer in the works of our old minor poets, yet at the ſame time a frequent tranſcriber from Meres, ſtill more embarraſſes this matter, where he ſays, that Lodge, after he left Trinity college at Oxford, about the year 1576, and ‘"had ſpent ſome time in exerciſing his fancy among the poets in the great city, he was eſteemed, not Joſeph Hall of Emanuel college excepted, the beſt for ſatyr among Engliſh men ^c."’ Lodge was fitted for a different mode of compoſition. He was chiefly noted for paſtorals, madrigals, and ſonnets; and for his EUPHUES GOLDEN LEGACY, which furniſhed the plot of the AS YOU LIKE IT of Shakeſpeare. In an extended acceptation, many of the proſe-pamphlets written about this period, by Greene and Decker, which paint or expoſe popular foibles and faſhions, particularly Decker's GUL'S HORN-BOOK, a manual or directory for initiating an unexperienced ſpendthrift into the gaieties of the metropolis, might claim the appellation of ſatires ^d. That the rage of writing ſatires, and ſatirical epigrams, continued long, will appear from a piece of ſome humour, called ‘"An Inquiſition againſt Paper-perſecutors,"’ written in 1625 ^e. But of this, more diſtinct proofs will appear in the progreſs of our hiſtory.

[82] It muſt not be forgotten, that a ſecond impreſſion of an Engliſh verſion of Arioſto's Satires, which contain many anecdotes of his life and circumſtances, and ſome humourous tales, and which are marked with a ſtrong vein of free reprehenſion, but with much leſs obſcenity than might be expected from ſatires written by the author of ORLANDO FURIOSO, appeared in long verſe, by an anonymous tranſlator, in 1611 ^c. I believe theſe ſatires are but little known or eſteemed by the Italians.

[83] For the ſake of juxtapoſition, I will here anticipate in throwing together the titles of ſome others of the moſt re⯑markable collections of ſatires and ſatirical epigrams, publiſhed between 1600 and 1620, meaning to conſider hereafter thoſe that beſt deſerve, more critically and diſtinctly ^f. The COURT OF CONSCIENCE, or Dick Whipper's Seſſions, appeared in 1607. More fooles yet, a collection of Epigrams in quarto, by R. S. perhaps Richard Smith, in 1610. The moſt elegant and wittie Epigrams of ſir James Harrington, the tranſlator of Arioſto, in four books, in 1611 ^g. Jonſon's EPIGRAMS, in 1616 ^h. Henry Fitzgeoffry's SATIRES in 1617 ⁱ. PHILOMYTHIE or PHILO⯑MYTHOLOGIE, wherein outlandiſh birds, beaſts, and fiſhes, are taught to ſpeake true Engliſh plainely, By T. SCOT. gentleman, [84] including ſatires in long Engliſh verſe, in 1616 ^k. The ſecond part of PHILOMYTHIE, containing certaine Tales of True Libertie, Falſe Friendſhip, Power United, Faction and Ambition, by the ſame, 1616 ^l. Certaine Pieces of this age parabolized, by the ſame, in 1616 ^m. George Wither, of Manydowne in Hamſhire, educated at Magdalene College, in Oxford, and at Lincolns inn, afterwards an officer in Cromwell's army, and popular even among the puritans as a poet, publiſhed ABUSES ſtript and whipt, or Satyricall Eſſayes. Divided into two Bookes. in 1613 ⁿ. For this publication, which was too licentious in attacking eſtabliſhments, and has a vein of ſeverity unſeaſoned by wit, he ſuffered an impriſonment for many months in the Marſhalſea. Not being debarred the uſe of paper, pens and ink, he wrote during his confinement, an apology to James the firſt, under the title of A SATYRE, printed the following year, for his cenſures of the government in his firſt book. But, like Prynne in the pillory railing at the biſhops, inſtead of the lenient language of recantation and conceſſion, in this piece he ſtill perſeveres in his invectives againſt the court ^o. Being taken priſoner in the rebellion, by the royaliſts, he was ſentenced to be hanged; but ſir John Denham the poet, prevailed with the king to ſpare his life, by telling his majeſty, So long as Wither lives, I ſhall not be the worſt poet in England. The revenge of our ſatiriſt was held ſo cheap, that he was lampooned by Taylor the water-poet ^p. Richard Brathwayte, a native of Northum⯑berland, [85] admitted at Oriel college, Oxford, in 1604, and after⯑wards a ſtudent at Cambridge, chiefly remembered, if remem⯑bered at all, as one of the minor paſtoral poets of the reign of James the firſt, publiſhed in 1619, ‘"NATVRES embaſſie, or the Wilde-mans meaſures, danced naked, by twelve Satyres, with ſundry others, &c ^q."’—Donne's SATIRES were written early in the reign of James the firſt, though they were not pub⯑liſhed till after his death, in the year 1633. Jonſon ſends one of his Epigrams to Lucy Counteſs of Bedford, with MR. DONNES SATYRES ^r. It is conjectured by Wood, that a lively ſatirical piece, on the literature of the times, which I have already cited, with Donne's initials, and connected with another poem of the ſame caſt, is one of Donne's juvenile performances. I had ſuppoſed John Davies. But I will again ex⯑hibit the whole title of the Bodleian edition. ‘"A Scourge for paper-perſecutors, by I. D. With an Inquiſition againſt paper-perſecutors, by A. H. London, for H. H. 1625,"’ in quarto. But Wood had ſeen a detached edition of the former piece. He ſays, ‘"Quaere, whether John Donne publiſhed A Scourge for Paper Perſecutors, printed in quarto, tempore Jacobi [86] primi. The running title at the top of every page is PAPER'S COMPLAINT, in three ſheets and a half. The date on the title pared out at the bottom ^s."’ This muſt have been an older edition, than that in which it appears connected, from ſimilarity of ſubject, with its companion, An Inquiſition againſt paper-perſecutors, in the year 1625, as I have juſt noticed.

Owen's idea of an epigram points out the notion which now prevailed of this kind of compoſition, and ſhews the propriety of blending the epigrams and ſatires of theſe times, under one claſs. A ſatire, he ſays, is an epigram on a larger ſcale. Epi⯑grams are only ſatires in miniature. An epigram muſt be ſatyrical, and a ſatire epigrammatical ^t. And Jonſon, in the Dedication of his EPIGRAMS to Lord Pembroke, was ſo far from viewing this ſpecies of verſe, in its original plan, as the moſt harmleſs and inoffenſive ſpecies of verſe, that he ſuppoſes it to be converſant above the likeneſſe of vice and facts, and is conſcious that epigrams carry danger in the ſound. Yet in one of his epigrams, addreſſed TO THE MEERE ENGLISH CENSVRER, [87] he profeſſes not exactly to follow the track of the late and moſt celebrated epigrammatiſts.

This, however, diſcovers the opinion of the general reader.

Of the popularity of the epigram about the year 1600, if no ſpecimens had remained, a proof may be drawn, together with evidences of the nature of the compoſition, from Marſton's humourous character of Tuſcus, a retailer of wit.

And the ſame author ſays, in his Poſtſcript to PIGMALION,

One of Harrington's Epigrams, is a compariſon of the Sonnet and the Epigram.

In the RETURN FROM PARNASSUS, acted 1616, perhaps written fome time before, Sir Roderick ſays, ‘"I hope at length England will be wiſe enough: then an old knight may haue his wench in a corner, without any SATIRES or EPI⯑GRAMS ^y."’ In Decker's VNTRUSSING OF THE HUMOROUS POET, Horace, that is Jonſon, exclaims in a paſſion, ‘"Sirrah! I'll compoſe an EPIGRAM vpon him ſhall go thus—^z."’