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 SOME 
 
 ACCOUNT 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 Life and Writings 
 
 O F 
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 
 
 , ,1 1 1 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 I 7 S^i 
 
 MDCCLXXXIX. 

 
 1* H E 
 
 V 
 
 I 
 
 L IF E 
 
 O F 
 PHILIP MAS SINGER. 
 
 THOUGH Majfinger\ Claim to an emi- 
 nent Rank amongft the Englifh Drama- 
 si' tick Writers has never been contefled, and the 
 Criticks have placed him immediately after 
 Shakefpeare, B. Jo?ifon^ Beaumont and Fletcher-, 
 notwithftanding v/e have certain Evidence that 
 his Plays v^^ere much applauded in their Re- 
 prefentation, and warmly commended by co**- 
 temporary Writers, yet fuch has been the 
 ijnaccountable Fate of this excellent Author, 
 that the Name of Majjinger^ till within thefe 
 twenty Years, has been funk in Obfcurity, 
 and almoft buried in Oblivion. None of our 
 Stage Poets, from the Reftoration to the Be- 
 ginning of his prefent Majefty's Reign, have 
 taken the leafl Notice of him or his Writings *. 
 
 B The 
 
 * In the Year 1751 Propofals were printed for a new 
 Edition of /t/^w^-fr's Works with Notes and Oblervations
 
 2 . rhe 1.17 -E. of 
 
 The Silence of Dryden is not to be accomiited 
 for on any Principk of tleafon or Juftice. But 
 indeed the Man who could treat Shirley with 
 fuch Contempt as to rank him with the 
 Dunces of his Macfleckno, might wilh to ftifle 
 the Memory of a Writer, who was as much 
 fuperior to him in Dramatick Excellence, as 
 Dryden himfelf was above all other Writers of 
 his Time, in the Vigour, Harmony and Va- 
 riety of his Numbers. 
 
 Mr, Rowe has paid MaJpnger-SLVtry great Com- 
 pliment indeed, bt it muft be granted that it is 
 at the Expence of his own Candour and Honefty* 
 In his Tragedy of the Fair Penitent, he con- 
 defceixled to ileal the Plot, Cliara(fbers, and 
 Ibmetimes the Sentiments of the Fatal Dow- 
 ry* But this Condul was as weak as it 
 was unfair ; for a fmall Acknowledgement 
 of his Obligations to the original Author would 
 not only have faved him from the Diigrace of 
 a fhameful Detection, but have made that a 
 legal Prize which is now an A&. of Piracy. 
 
 We* are told indeed, that Rowe lived in the 
 Days of literary filching ; when Plagiarifm was 
 a fafhioaable 1 rick amongft Authors. Such an 
 
 in five Volumes i2mo, at the moderate Price of Two Shil- 
 lings and Sixpence per Vohimc, but the Subfcription went 
 fin fo'flowly that the Projcft was <iropt. 
 
 * It was the Fafliion with the Wits of the laft Age to 
 conceal the Places from whence they took their Hints or 
 their Suhjcds. 
 
 Coldfmith\ Life of Parrtell. 
 
 Excufe
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 3 
 
 Excufe 1 think ought no more to be admitted 
 in the Courts of Parnafus, than a Robber's juf- 
 tifying his Thefts by the great Number of 
 his Aflbciates and Companions, would be al- 
 lowed to be a good Plea in fFefimin/Ier Hall or 
 at the OU Bailey. 
 
 The little that can be known of MaJJinger, 
 I have principally gleaned from the fcanty 
 Materials which Antony IVood^ in his Athen^e 
 Oxonlenfes, and Mr. Langbaine in his Lives of 
 the Dramatick Poets, have afforded me. That 
 curious and laborious Searcher into Hiftory, 
 Biography and Antiquities, Mr. John OlJys, in 
 his MS. Notes on Langbaine* s Poets, has point- 
 ed out fome Miftakes of both thefe Authors 
 refpe^ling MaJJinger^ and has fometimes fug- 
 gefled Matter of Intelligence not unworthy of 
 Notice. To Mr. Reed of Staples Inn I am in- 
 debted for the frank Communication of thefe 
 MS. Notes, a complete Lift of the various 
 Editions of MaJJinger'' ?> Plays, and feveral ufeful 
 Hints relating to him and his Works. 
 
 Fhilip MaJJinger, the Son of* Philip Majjln- 
 ger, a Servant belonging to the Family of 
 Pembroke, was born at Salijhury in the Year 
 1584. He was entered a Commoner at St. 
 
 * I cannot guefs from what Information Oldys in his MS. 
 Notes gives the Chrijitan Name of Jrihur to MaJJinger' s Fa- 
 ther; nor why he Ihould reproach /-/^c J for calling him 
 I^hilip ; fince Moffmger himfelf, in the Dedication of the 
 Bondman to the Larl oi Montgomery^ fays exprefely that, hit 
 F'ather Philip Majfinger lived and died m the Service of the 
 Honourable Houle of Pembroke. 
 
 B 2 Albans
 
 4 l^he LIFE of 
 
 Alharis Hall, Oxford^ in the feventeenth Year of 
 bis Age, ill 1 6oi ; where, though encourage d in 
 his Studies by the Earl of Pembroke, yet, fays 
 IVood, he applied his Mind more to Poetry and 
 Romances for about four Years or more than 
 to Logick and Philofophy, which he ought to 
 have done, as he was patronized to that End. 
 
 By ftyling Majfinger" % Father a Servant, Wood 
 did not, I fuppofe, intend to convey any Mark 
 of Degradation, or any other Meaning than 
 that he was a Gentleman of the Earl of Pem- 
 broke^ ^ Retinue. It is certain that, in the Year 
 1597, he w^as employed by that Nobleman as a 
 Meflenger on no trifling Bufinefs to Queen JLli- 
 %aheth, whofe Chara5ler would admit of nothing 
 unimportant or infignificant in her Service. A- 
 mongft the Sydney Papers, publifhed by CoUinSy 
 there is a Letter of Rowland JVh'ite^ Efq; to 
 Sir Robert Sydney, in which he acquaints him 
 that Mr. MaJJinger y\7i^ newly come from the 
 Earl of Pembroke with Letters to the Queen for 
 his Lordfhip's Leave of Abfence on St. George's 
 Day. This carries a confiderable Proof that 
 the Bearer of Letters to Elizabeth, on a Matter 
 perhaps which fhe thought important, was no 
 mean Perfon ; for no Monarch ever exal:ed from 
 the Nobility in general, and the Officers of State 
 in particular, a more rigid and fcrupujous Com- 
 pliance to ftated Order than this Princcfs. 
 
 A different Relation of Majfinger'^s College 
 Education is given by Langbaine: He informs 
 us, that Majfingeri Father was a Gentleman be-. 
 
 longing
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 5 
 
 longing to the Earl of Montgomery *, in whole 
 Service, after having lived many Years, he 
 
 ^- Langbaine lias committed a Miftake refpefling the Title 
 of Montgomery, which did not belong to the Family of Pem- 
 broke till the T>cctz(c oi TFiUla)nY.2ix\oi Pe?nbrokey who died 
 1630, Clarendon^ in his Charafter of P/;/7//) Earl of J/s/- 
 goTKery.^who was afterwards Patron to Maffmger, informs us 
 that he was very young wlien "Jamesl, came to the Crown ; 
 that he was taken with Lord Herbert's Comiinefs of Perfon, 
 and his Skill in Riding and Hunting; and that after be- 
 llowing many Honours upon him, he c-reated him in 1605, 
 Earl of Montgomery, But Clarendon perhaps did not know 
 the real Caufe of Lord Herbert^ Advancement. The Be- 
 liaviour of the Scots to the EngUJh on "James's Acceffion to 
 the Throne of England \V3.s generally obnoxious and much 
 refented. At a Meeting of EngUJb and Scotch Gentlemen, 
 at a Horfe Race near Croyden^ a fudden Quarrel arofe between 
 them, occalioned by one Mr. Ramfays ftriking Philip Lord 
 Herbert in the Face with a Switch. The Englijh would 
 have fo far refented this Affront, as to have made inftantly 
 a national Quarrel of the Matter ; and one Gentleman, 
 Mr. Pinchbeck^ rode about the Field with a Dagger in his 
 Hand, crying out, ' Let us break our Fajl with them here^ 
 and Cine with them in London.' But Herbert not refentinoT this 
 contumacious Behaviour -of Ramfay^ the King was fo charm- 
 (Cd with his peaceable Difpofition, that he made him a 
 Knight, a Baron, a Vifcount and an Earl, all in one Day. 
 OJhorne, from whom I tranfcribe this, and who lived during 
 thefe Tranfaftions, intimates, that Herbert^ Cowardice pre- 
 vented not only that Day from being fatal to the Scots^ but 
 ever after through all England. The Mother of Herbert, 
 the renowned Countefs of Pembroke, to whom Sir Philip 
 Sydney, her Brotlier, dedicated his Arcadia, tore her Hair 
 when file heard the News of her Son's Difhonour. It is 
 certainly more probable, that King Jarnes Ihould rajfe Her" 
 lert to the Title of Earl for this pacitick Behaviour, which 
 prevented a national Quarrel, than that he fhould confer 
 that Honour upon him merely for his handfomc Face ; inore 
 efpecially as he v^'as never lufpe6led to be a Minion of 
 ya?n,es.
 
 6 n^ Lip^ of 
 
 died ; ffiat he bef^owed a liberal Education on 
 his Son, fending him to the Univerfity of O.v- 
 Jor^ 2Lt the Age of Eighteen, in 1602, where he 
 clofely purfued his Studies in ^/ban Hall for 
 three or four Years. 
 
 The Accounts of PP^oo^i and Langba'me are fb 
 contradictory, that it is impoffible to reconcile 
 them. Nor can we, perhaps, decide perempto- 
 rily which of thefe Guides we fhould follow. 
 Both were diligent Inveftigators of Truth, and 
 both we fhould imagine to be equally capable 
 of getting fuch Materials as were futFicient to 
 authenticate their Narratives. But, after feri- 
 oufly balancing their Merits, I believe the Rea- 
 der will be inclined to juftify my preferring 
 the A.uthority of Wood to Langbaine. The for- 
 mer lived nearer the Times of Mqfjinger than 
 the latter ; he was conftantly refident at Oxford^ 
 and had the beft Opportunities to know in 
 what Manner the Students then profccuted their 
 Studies, Befides, it was a Pradice familiar to 
 our ancient Nobility, to patronize and educate 
 the Children of Gentlemen who formed their 
 Retinue. The illuftrious Houfe oi Pembroke I 
 believe has ever diflinguifhed itfelf by the Love 
 and Encouragement of the fine Arts ; Shakefpeare'' s 
 and Beaumont and Fletcher's Works, and many 
 other Books of Poetry, dedicated to the Family 
 oi Herbert, give an irrefragable Proof of their 
 
 fenerous Dilpofitlon to favour and reward the 
 ollowers of the Mufes, 
 
 V IFood
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER, 7 
 
 Wood fays that Majfmger was fent to Oxford 
 in 1601 ; but according to Langbaine he was 
 not there before 1602. This feeming Diffe- 
 rence may be eafily reconciled ; for the Year 
 then began and ended according to that Mode 
 'of Reckoning which took place before the Al- 
 teration t)f the Style by Ad of Parliament 
 '752. 
 
 William Earl of Pembroke fucceeded his Fa- 
 ther Henry ^ who died January 19, 1601.-^ 
 Majinger mufh then, agreeably to PFood's Ac- 
 count, have been fupp^rted at the Univerfity 
 'by the Generofity of this Nobleman. But it 
 feems, our Author's Application to the more 
 luperficial, though alluring Studies of Poetry 
 and Romances, fruftrated the Intention of his 
 Patron, and difqualified him from receiving a 
 Degree; to obtain which, an Application to 
 L'Ogick and Philofophy was abfolutely necefla- 
 ly ; as the Candidate for that Honour muft pafs 
 through an Examination in both before he can 
 obtain it. 
 
 A Degree conferred upon a Scholar by ail 
 Univerfity is, in our Days, held a diftinguifhed 
 Mark of Merit ; and in thofe Times of fevere 
 Difcipline and ftrid Application to Learning, I 
 fuppofe it was efteemed a neceflary Appendage 
 to him, who was ambitious to rife either in 
 Church or Stal^e ; and perhaps it was thought 
 byPerfons of the graver Caft, a Kind of Dif- 
 grace in a Scholar to quit his College without 
 that Proof of Approbation. This fame Earl of 
 B 4 Fembroh
 
 8 ng J:.IFE of 
 
 Pembroke fecms to have exacted that Stamp of 
 Merit from William Brown, the Author of 
 Britannia s Pajiorah, who was educated at jEa:- 
 eier College, Oxford, much about the fame Time 
 our MaJJinger refided there. From Wood we 
 learn, that Brown left the Univerfity before he 
 had taken an Academical Degree, and retired 
 to the Inner Temple, London : That he return- 
 ed feveral Years after, viz. in 1624, to his 
 College with * Robert Dormer, his Pupih Oa 
 the 25th of March, in the fame Year, Brown 
 received PermifTion to be adlually created M. A. 
 although the Degree was not conferred upon him 
 till the November following: After he had left 
 College with his Pupil he was gladly received mto 
 the Family of V^\\)l\2.vs\ Earl ^'Pembroke, who 
 had a great Refpedlfor him, and there he made his 
 Fortune fo well that he purchafed an EJiafe f. 
 
 MaJJinger flayed at the Univerfity of Oxford 
 three or four Years, and then it feems he fet 
 put for London, <is if impatient to improve him- 
 felf in the Converfation of the eminent Wits 
 and Poets in that Metropolis : And now com- 
 menced the ^ra of his Misfortunes, as well 
 as his Fame. I can find no Trace of the pre- 
 cife Time when he began to write for the Stage. 
 The Oxford Hijlorian, I have fo often quoted, 
 
 * Robert Dormer afterwards Earl of Carnarvon ; he mar- 
 ried Lady Sophia Herbert^ Sifter of the Earl of Pembroke^ 
 and \va killed at the Battle of Najely, fighting for Charles 
 the Firft. 
 
 f frio^Ts Minna, Vol. I. 
 
 fays,
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 9 
 
 fhys, indeed, that after throwing himfelf out in 
 fhort Eflays, he ventured to try his AbiUties in 
 the writing of Plays : but what thefe Effays were, 
 whether Interlude, Mafque, Song, or any other 
 Entertainment of the Stage, we are left to con- 
 jedlure. The Virgin Martyr \N7i%^ I believe, one 
 of our Author's firft Pieces which he wrote in 
 Conjunction with Decker, and is far inferior to 
 any of his other Productions. The Plot and 
 Machinery are very extravagant ; and the Play 
 i-s difgraced by vulgar Dialogue and vile Obfce- 
 nity, Faults which cannot fairly be laid to Maf" 
 Jingers Charge, who, though occafionally licen- 
 tious, is never fo ofFenlive and diigufting. 
 
 Wood and Langbaine agree, that MaJJinger ^Vixz.- 
 matick Pieces were approved ; but whatever 
 might be their Succefs, he foon experienced the 
 unhappy Confequences of difobliging his Patron 
 the Earl oi Pembroke. This Nobleman's Cha- 
 racter is drawn at large by the copious and elo- 
 quent Pen of Lord Clarendon ; who ftyles him 
 one of the worthieft and heft beloved Men of the 
 Age in which he lived. ' He was a Man, fays 
 the noble Hiflorian, who converfed with Per- 
 fons of the moft pregnant Parts and Underftand- 
 ing ; and to fuch, w^ho needed Support or En- 
 couragement, if fairly recommended, he was 
 very liberal. How comes it to pafs, that Maf- 
 jinger, who was born in the Family oi Herbert y 
 and bred at the Univerfity of O.v/^r^, at the Ex- 
 pence of this amiable Man, fhould be fo totally 
 neglected, as it appears from himfelf that he 
 jreally was ? 
 
 It
 
 > T/je LIFE of 
 
 It is moft probable^ that our Autlior*s a6bing 
 hi Oppoiition to the Intention of his Pa- 
 tron, and leaving the Univerfity without his 
 Permiffion, was the leading Caule of that low 
 Dependence and Straitnels of Circumftances 
 which he lanaents fo paffionately in almoft all 
 his Applications to the great Men, whofe Pa- 
 tronage he feems rather to have implored than 
 Solicited. 
 
 It muft hurt a generous Mind to read the al- 
 fnoft fervile Supplications and humiliating 
 Acknowledgements with which moft of his 
 Dedications abound. In the EpiiHe dedica- 
 tory of his excellent Tragedy the Duke of 
 Milan^ he * intreats Lady Catherine Stanhope to 
 Juffer the Kxamplcs of more knowing ami experienced 
 Writers to plead his Pardon for addr effing his Play 
 to her^ the rather^ as his Mi fortunes have left him 
 no other Courfe to furfue.^ He frankly acquaints 
 Sit Rcl>ert IVifeman* ^ that he had but faintly fub^ 
 Jj/ied f he had not often tafed of his Bounty. The 
 like Acknowledgement of munificent Favour 
 he makes to Sir Francis Folianby f , and Sir T'ho^ 
 mas Bland. 1 n (hort, the fame Language, though 
 fomewhat varied, runs through thegreateft Part 
 of his Addrefles to his Patrons. The queru- 
 lous and petitionary Style is peculiar to MaJJin- 
 ger above all other Writers, 
 
 When we read the complimentary Eplflles 
 of this Author's Cotcmporaries, many of whom 
 
 * Dedication of the Great Duke of Florence, 
 t 'D^C2.\Aon.oi\X\c Maid of Honour, 
 
 were
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. ii 
 
 were diftlngulfhed for Wit and Learning, and 
 fbme of them Perfons of fuperior Rank, abound- 
 ing with the fulleft Approbation of his Merit, 
 and extolling the Force and Grandeur of h\^ 
 Genius, we are at a Lofs to account for fuch 
 a Man's unhappy Condition and dependent Si- 
 tuation. 
 
 What the Profits were which accrued to him 
 from the Reprefentation of his Plays, cannot 
 now be afcertained ; That the Dramatic Poets 
 were entitled to One Third Night's Profits in 
 the Days of Elizabeth and James the Firft* I 
 believe is not generally known, but can be au- 
 thenticated from a Prologue of Z)^r^^r to one of 
 his Plays, t 
 
 * The Progrefs of Liberality is flow; though after the R^ 
 ftoration, fome Plays were acted Twenty or Thirty Nights 
 without Interruption, and particularly Dryden^ Sir Martin 
 Marr-Ally yet the Poets could not obtain mofe than the Pro- 
 fits of one Night, till the latter End of the laft C-entury, 
 when, upon the great Succefs of a Play of Southern-, I believe 
 it was Oroonoko^ the Author obtained the Favour of two 
 Nights: But, in Juftice to the A<5lors, I muftobferve, that 
 before the Enlarging the Number of Benefits in Favour of 
 Authors, the Latter received the whole Money taken on their 
 Benefit Night without any Deduction for Charges; Dotvnety 
 in his Rofcius Anglicaniis^ acquaints us, that Shadwell re- 
 ceived for his Third Night of the Squire of Jlfatia., 130I 
 which, fays Downes, was the greateft Receipt they ever 
 had at that Houfe, [Drury Lane) in fingle Prices. A few 
 Years after Oroonoko was aded, Rowe^ by the Succefs of 
 one of his Tragedies, had the Honour to increafe the Poets 
 Nights to the Number of Three; fince that Time the Li- 
 berality of feveral Managers has frequently gone farther 
 than the ftated Rule, by giving four, and, I belic^^e, fome- 
 times five Nights to very fuccefsful Plays. 
 
 |~ If this be not a good Play the Devil's in it.
 
 12 ^ The LIFE 0/ 
 
 // is not Praife is fought for n.w, but Pence ^ 
 ^ough drop'' d from greafv apron d Audience ; 
 Clafd may he be with Thunder^ that plucks Bays 
 With fuchj Old Hands ^ and with fquiat Eyes does ga%^ 
 On Pallas' Shield, not caring though he gains 
 A crarndthird Night, what Filth drops from his 
 brains. 
 
 But we know how precarious the Benefit 
 Kights of Authors often are, even in this liberal 
 Age, for by a ftrange Perverfcnels of Fortune, 
 we fee the Boxes lefs frequented, when an Au- 
 thor's Pains and Merit ought to bp rewarded, 
 than at other Times, 
 
 Towards the Beginning of the laft Century 
 the Tafte for Plays became fo univerfal, that 
 the Number of Theatres, as Mr. Steevens aflures 
 me from the MSS. of Rymer the Hiflorio-r 
 grapher, amounted to no lefs than twenty 
 three.* 
 
 So many rival Theatres muft have confidera^ 
 bly diminiftied the Profits of them all. And 
 though fome of them, fuch as the Black Friars, 
 the Globe, tht Phanix, the PJayhoufe in ^'^///Z'i^ry 
 
 * Btforc the A<51 which limited the Number of Theatres 
 in 1736, we had in London no lefs than fix regular The- 
 atresThe Playhoufcs of Drury Lane, Covent Garden, Lin" 
 tolns Inn Fields, the King's Theatre, the little Theatre in the 
 Jiasmarket, and Goodman s Fields, were all open at one Time 
 and exhibited Plays, Operas, &c. bcfidcs a Playhoufe in 
 '^ames Street, called th Slaughter Houfe, and another in Fll- 
 liers Street, Yor.{ Buildings ; there was a Third at Iflndmill 
 Hill, and another .tt May Fair ; and in many of the great 
 Taverns of this Metropolis, particularly the Drjil Tavern, 
 Temple ^^, Plays were occafionally adlcd. 
 
 Court,
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. ij 
 
 Court, and the Cock Pit, were more efleemed and 
 frequented by the better Sort of People than 
 the others ; yet from the SmaUnefs of the Price 
 paid for the beft Seat, which was Half a Crown^ 
 we cannot fuppofe, that the Sum Total taken at 
 One of thele Theatres, upon an Average, 
 amounted to more than about 25 or 30/.* 
 
 From this Eftimation we may fairly conclude, 
 that it was impoffible for MaJJtnger to acquire a 
 competent Income from the Reprefentation of 
 his Plays. What Prefents his Dedications pro* 
 duced we cannot eafily conje6ture; but from 
 the precarious Circumftances of the Poet, it is 
 reafonable to fuppofe that they were rather fcanty 
 than generous. Nor could the Printer afford 
 a large Sum for the Copy of a Play confifling 
 of ten Sheets, which he fold at the Price of Six 
 Pence. This Information I learn from fome 
 Lines oiJV. B, to Majfinger, on his Bondman* 
 
 'Tis granted for yourTwelve Pence you did fit. 
 And fee and hear, and underjiood not yet \\ 
 
 The 
 
 % From the Diary of Edward Allen, a celebrated A6tor, 
 who founded a College at Dulwich, in the Reign of King 
 James the Firft, we find that the whole Amount of Money 
 taken at the Ailing of a Play at his own Theatre, called 
 The Fortune, was no more than 3I. and a few Shillings ; 
 the Diary fays, indeed that the Audience was very llender. 
 
 -Y This feems to be a much valued Compliment which 
 was frequently paid to our old Dramatic Authors. Beau^ 
 7nont tells B. 'Jonjon in fome vcrfes in praife of his Ca- 
 tal'mc, that he was fo deep in fenfe he would not be under- 
 ftood in three Ages An unhappy Panegy rick for a Dra- 
 matic Writer, whofe worft Pault muft be Obfcuritv. 
 
 ' Dr.
 
 14 ne hlFB of 
 
 The Author in a Chriftian Pity, takes 
 Care of your Good, and prints it for your Sake^, 
 That fuch as will but venture SixPefice imre. 
 May know what they but faw and heard before* 
 
 I am inclined to believe that * Shakefpeare^ 
 as a fharing A6tor, gained more Money than any 
 of his brother Poets did by the Profits of their 
 Plays. 
 
 Though Beaumont and Fletcher were the Sons 
 of Men dignified in the Church and the Law, 
 and confequently fuperior to Indigence ; yet I 
 do not find that they rejected any lucrative Ad- 
 vantages they could acquire by their Writings, 
 It was a Cuftom, fays Langbaine, with Fletcher^ 
 after he had written the three firft A6ls of a 
 Play, to Ihew them to the A(n:ors, and make 
 Terms with them for the whole. 
 
 Without any other Refource but his Pen, 
 and furrounded as he was with many Inconve- 
 niences, Majfinger might iudeed be permitted 
 to complain, that his Misfortunes obliged him 
 to write for the Stage. 
 
 But however mean the Gratifications which 
 he obtained from his Patrons, and however fmall 
 
 Dr. Pcrcy^ in an Appendix to the Firft Volume of his Re- 
 licks of Ancient Poetry, quotes, from GreerC s Groat' s ^Varth 
 efWtt^ a Paflage which will tend to confirm what I have 
 conjectured of Sbakej'peare^ Share as an Adlor. A Player is 
 introduced in this Pamphlet of Green^ boafting that his 
 Share in Stage Apparel would not be fold i\ji I'wo Hun- 
 dred Pounds. 
 
 the
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 15 
 
 the Profits were which arofe from the Ailing 
 and Printing of his Plays, he was by no mean? 
 wanting to himfelf ; he was not remifs in pur- 
 fuing his Intereft, or flow in making known hi^ 
 Pretenlions. He appHed to fuch noble Lords 
 and Ladies as were allied by Birth or Marri^ 
 age to the Pembroke Family, and laid Claim to 
 their Favour on Account of his Father's Con- 
 nelions with that noble Houfe. 
 
 The Earl of Montgomery being accidentally 
 at the Reprefentation of the Bondman^ and 
 openly approving it, furnifhed the Author w^th 
 a fair Pretence to dedicate that Plav to his 
 Lordihip. The Beginning of his Addrefs is 
 remarkable, and we may guefs from it that 
 the Dedicator had made fome fruitlefs Attempts 
 to be introduced to the Earl. 
 
 However I could never arrive at the Happinefs to 
 be made known to your Lordjjyip, a Dejire born with 
 ine^ to make a 'Tender of all Duties and Services to 
 the noble Fajnily of the Herberts, defcended to 
 me as an Inheritance from my dead Father^ Philip 
 Maffinger : many Years he happily [pent in the Ser- 
 vice of your honourable Houfe, and died a Servant 
 of it. 
 
 This claim to Patronage and Prote6lian is here 
 plainly, though modeftly, infinuated. What 
 Favour he afterwards experienced from this 
 Nobleman during the Life of his Brother Z/^//- 
 Ham Earl ai Pembroke y concernhig whom Maffm-
 
 !6 ne LIFfe of 
 
 ger always obferves the moft profound Silence'y 
 cannot now be known : But when, by the Death 
 of the * latter, the Earl of Montgomery acquired 
 the Title and Eftate oi Pembroke, there is reafon 
 to fuppofe that our Author's uneafy Circum- 
 ftanccs were happily relieved, for in a Copy of 
 Verfes written by him on the Death oi Charles 
 Lord Herbert, the Earl's Son, he addreffed hini 
 not only as his fingular good Lord, but his Pa^ 
 Iron. He likewife hints in a Prologue to the 
 Play oi^he Very JVoman, that he had revived 
 and altered that Piece in Obedience to the Corri" 
 mand of his Patron : 
 
 By Command 
 He undertook this Talk, nor could it fland 
 With his low Fortune, to ref ife to do 
 What by his Patron he was call'd unto i 
 For whofe Delight and yours, we hope with Care 
 He hath revived it. 
 
 It is not improbable, that the Refentment of 
 the Herbert Family to MqJJinger, which proceeded 
 from the Offence given to IVilHam Earl of Pern* 
 broke, and was merely Perfonal, expired with 
 that Nobleman. 
 
 That our Author was happy in the Acquaint- 
 ance of Men diftinguiflied by Superiority of 
 Rank, and efteemed for their Virtues, is un- 
 queflionable. If Dramatic Hiftory + had not 
 
 * IflUiam Earl of Pembroke^ to the great Regret of the 
 Public, died April loth, 1630. 
 + Lanfbaine'n Lives of the Poets. 
 
 told
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 17 
 
 told us that he was beloved for his Modefty, 
 Candour, AfFability, and other amiable Qualities 
 of the Mind, the Teftimonies of Sir AJion Cock- 
 ci'ine^ ^\r Henry Moore ^ Sir 'Thomas Jay, ofFW, 
 May ^Shirley and many Others,would hav^e proved 
 lading and honourable Records of the Good- 
 nefs of his Mind and the Extent of his Genius. 
 
 The Epithets of Addrefs conferred on our 
 Author by his Panegyrifts are remarkably af- 
 fectionate, beloved, much cjleemed, dear, ivorthy^ 
 deferving, honour'* d, long known and long loved Friend^ 
 convey the Sentiments oi MaJJinger $> Admirers 
 and Friends with an honell: Warmth, worthy of 
 him and the Congratulators. 
 
 The general Approbation given by the Pub* 
 lie to the Plays which were produced by the 
 united Efforts oi Beaumont and Fletcher, tempted 
 many other Dramatic Writers to follov/ their 
 Example, and to commence joint Traders in 
 Wit, but not with equal Fortune. Thefe 
 twin Stars of Dramatic Poetry were fo well 
 matched in Abilities, fo uniform in ftrength of 
 Sentiment, Brilhancy of Fancy, Elegance of 
 Diclion, Variety of Charader, and Oeconomy of 
 Plot, that the mofl: critical Reader could not 
 pretend to determine where Beaumont began or 
 where Fletcher ended. 
 
 But the Public might be eafiiy convinced, 
 that this Mode of uniting different Capacities 
 in the joint Fabrication of a Play, was a hazar- 
 dous Undertaking, which fuited very few Wri- 
 
 C ters
 
 i8 The LIFE of 
 
 tcrs, and indeed fcarce any but the great Origi- 
 nals themfelves. 
 
 The unequal Powers of Genius generally 
 produced an heterogenous Offspring, tor in no 
 Part of Compotition did the Partners aliimilatc 
 or harmonize. The whole Work was at beft 
 a Piece of tawdry Patchwork, and of as many 
 Colours as the Patriarch's Coat : The Elements 
 of Matter in Chaos were not more diflimilar 
 and difcordant than the feparate Scenes of thefe 
 hand-in-hand Writers.* 
 
 ^iici Corpore in Um 
 Trigidii pugnabant cjlidis, humeniiafccis, 
 Mollia cum duns ^ fine ponder e hahenUa pondm. 
 
 I have dwelt the longer upon this awkward 
 and ridiculous Partnership in Wit, becaufe our 
 Mciffingcr futtered greatly by the Practice. The 
 mixing his fine Oic with foreign Drofs, gave a 
 Credit to his Allies which they did not merit, 
 at the fame Time that his own pure Metal was 
 debafed below its genuine Standard. In this 
 Cenfure I do not mean to include Nathaniel 
 Fields who alfilfed our Author in writing his 
 Fatal Dowry-y the comic Scenes of this Writer 
 cannot eafily be feparated from MaJJinger^, 
 
 Wc 
 
 * I know of but one Comedy written fince the Times 
 of Beaumont and Fletcher^ where the Wit, Fancy, and Hu- 
 mour of two Authors unite fo happily, that the Texture of 
 the Whole may be fuppofed to be woven by one Hand : 
 The Reader will cafily guefs I mean the Clandcjhne Marriage,
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. i^ 
 
 We are told indeed that Mafjinger joined with 
 Vktcher in the Writing of a few Plays. Hap- 
 py fliould we be to difcover the Dramatick 
 Pieces in which thefe eminent Writers exerted 
 their mutual Talents ; for they were almoft 
 equally matched, and equally capable to earn 
 the Reward of fuperior Merit. But for this 
 interefting Fa6l, we have no other Proof than 
 the vague Teftimony of Sir AJlon Cockaine *, 
 who, in a profaick Copy of Verfes, addreffed 
 to the Publifhers of Beaumont and Fletcher, calls 
 upon them to point out which Plays thofe Au- 
 thors wrote jointly, and which feparately, and 
 to diftinguifli the Pieces which the united Mufes 
 of Fletcher and Mqffinger produced. But this 
 was no more than meer Hearfay ; for Sir AJiorH^ 
 Authority was founded, according to La?igbainey 
 upon fomething which he had heard in Con- 
 verfation from one who was Fletcher s intimate 
 Friend ; we cannot therefore rely on the Truth 
 of this Story. 
 
 Sir AJlon Coclalne was well acquainted with 
 Majfinger, who would, in all probability, have 
 communicated to his Friend, a Circumflance 
 which was fo honourable to himfelf. 
 
 * To Mr. Humphrey MoJJey and Mr. Humphrey Rohlnfon^ 
 In the large Book of Plays you late did print 
 In Beaumont and in Fletcher's Name ; why in't 
 Did you not juftice ? Give to each his due ? 
 For Beawmnt of thofe many writ but few : 
 And Mcijfinger in other few; the main 
 Being fweet IlTues of fweet Fletcher''^ Brain. 
 But how come I (you afk) fo much to know ? 
 Fletchers chief bolbm Friend * inform'd me fo. 
 * Mr. Cbarks Cotton, Author of Virgil Travejik. 
 
 Cz .We
 
 40 'The LIFE / 
 
 We can find no Footfteps of any Intimacy 
 or Acqualntaince between Shakefpeare and Maf- 
 finger ; though the latter leems to have much 
 admired the Works of the former, whom he 
 frequently imitated, and fometimes, indeed, he 
 has little more than tranfcribed him. But 
 Shakefpeare was older than our Poet by twenty 
 Years, and before MaJJinger could poffibly be 
 known to the Publick, the Father of the 
 Englijh Drama enjoyed that happy Affluence, 
 which enabled him to fpend the greatell: Part 
 of his Time at his beloved Stratford upon Avon ; 
 from whence he returned occahonally to the 
 Metropolis, to vifit his old Friends, and to ex- 
 hibit fome new Work which his Ixifure in the 
 Country had tempted him to write for the 
 Stage*.' 
 
 But we cannot fo eafily account for Ben yon- 
 fon^s Silence rtl'pevfling our Author, who out- 
 lived Jonfon only two Years. He, who was lb 
 ready to praife or cenlure all who fubmitted to, 
 'of queftioned his Authority, has not once men- 
 tioned the Man, who after Shakefpeare^ Beau- 
 7nonff and Fletcher, and himfelf, was the moll 
 diftinguilhed Name in Dramatick Poetry. 
 
 But this Poet Critit k, in Proportion as the 
 Faculties of his Mind decayed, fccms to have 
 been more urgent in his Claims to fupcrior 
 
 * That Shahfpf dtr wrote for the Stage till the Year 1614, 
 two Years, before his r)eath, has been proved by Mr. 
 iMubne in a Very laborious and \tt\\ cftablifhcd Account 
 of the fcvrml HLx-xs when his Plays wcr aded. Vide lafl; 
 Edit, or J<ihtf9n\ ShaJiefptartt 10 Vol. 8yo, 
 
 Merit ;
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 2^1 
 
 Merit ; and the publick Voice not according 
 with his own, it rendered him more petulant, 
 prefumptuoiis, and peeviih. He valued himfelf 
 much upon his Tragick Style, which was his 
 worft Species of Compofition. His Difappoint- 
 ment of Succefs in Sejunus, di<i not prevent him 
 from writing his beloved Catallne^ as I think my 
 Lord Dorfet lome where flyles it. The ill Fate 
 of this Play feems to have hurt his Mind, and 
 damped his Genius. For nothing which he 
 produced afterwards, if wc except fome Scenes 
 of an imperfect Piece, called the Sad Shepherd^ 
 is worth reading. Tradition informs us, th^t 
 he wrote his Bartholomew Fair, to revenge the 
 Infult offered to Catallne. But that Comedy does 
 no Honour to his Memory ; nor to that Publick, 
 who could endure fuch Scenes of vile Ribaldry, 
 low Humour, and vulgar Dialogue. Such a 
 Man, ruffled in his Temper, and dilgufted 
 with the World, would not temperately bear 
 lb luccefsful a Rival as MaJJinger^ who, in Dra- 
 matick Poetry, was equal to himfelf, and great- 
 ly fuperior to his two adopted Heirs, Ran- 
 dolph and Ciirtwright^ 
 
 Jonfon was, beyond all Controverfy, a Man 
 of coniiderable Abilities. He was an excellent 
 Scholar, and the firft Writer who taught the 
 \j{q of critical Learning in Dramatic Compo- 
 fition. His Humour, though confined to Cha- 
 racters of the lowefl Clafs, was genuine ; and 
 in the Conduct of his Scenes, he approached 
 ,nearer to the Simplicity of the Ancients than 
 any Play Wright of his own Times; but his 
 C 3 Subjedls
 
 22 The J.IY'E of 
 
 Subjels were often ill chofen ; and though bis 
 Portraits were correctly defigned, his Colour- 
 ing was dry and unpleafant, his Wit was fa- 
 ihionablc, and his Satire local. 
 
 His Reputation has funk in Proportion as 
 Shake fpeare has been known and admired. The 
 unlimited Obedience to his Stage Laws, which 
 yonfon exaled, not only from the People at 
 large, but from his contemporary Authors, 
 whether Inferiors or Equals, was, in his own 
 Age, often difputed with Warmth, and rejet- 
 cd with Indignation. 
 
 Who can forbear fmiling at the extravagant 
 and abfurd Commendations beftowed upon this 
 Man by Selden, Beaumont, Randolph, Chapmafiy 
 Cartwrighi, and others, his Admirers and Flat- 
 terers ? 
 
 His Son Randolph thus approaches his poeti- 
 cal Parent, with the moft profound and reve- 
 rential Awe : 
 
 When my Mufe upon obedient Knees 
 A(ks not a Father's Blefling, let her leefe 
 The Fame of her Adoption ; *tis a Curfe 
 I wi(h her, 'caufe I cannot think a worfe ! * 
 
 That his other Son, Cartwright, fhould pre- 
 fer Jonfon and Fletcher to Shakefpeare, and even 
 ridicule the Humour of the matchlefs Bard, 
 can be attributed to nothing but a bad Taftc, 
 or the groffeft Partiality, 
 
 That
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 23 
 
 That MaJJinger fcorned to bow the Knee to 
 this felf-ele(Sled Monarch, may be proved, I 
 think, from Ibme Lines in his Prologue to the 
 Bapfiil hover, 
 
 * Let others, building on their Merit, fay 
 Y'are in the wrong, if you move not that way 
 Which they prefcribe you ; as you were 
 
 bound to learn 
 Tlieir Maxims, but incapable to difcern 
 'Twixt Truth and Falfehood/ 
 
 This is the conflant Language of Jonfon, in 
 his Inductions, Prologues, and Epilogues. He 
 will not permit the Audience to decide for 
 themfelves ; he affures them that his Play is 
 good, and they ought to approve it. In the 
 Epilogue to Cynthia s Revels, he fwears to the 
 Excellence of his Workmanfhip. 
 
 I'll only ipeak what I have heard him fay. 
 By 'tis good, and if you like't you may. 
 
 When the Pradtice of adopting poetical OfF- 
 fpring iirft began, may be with more Rea- 
 dinefs conjciflured than afcertained. Jonforiy 
 who was as much delighted with an implicit 
 Homage to his Nod of Authority, as ever beau- 
 'tiful Woman was charmed with the Number 
 of her Adorers, was, I believe, the Parent of this 
 whimlical Cuftom. Beji was not a little fond 
 of the Delights which flow from ibcial Plea- 
 fure, and loved the brilk Circulation of the 
 Glafs. Some peculiar Rite muft have followed 
 the Chriftening of the poetical Brat, who, it is 
 likely, paid the Tribute of a fumptuous Dinner, 
 and fome Gallons of Sack, to his Revered Pa- 
 C 4 rentt
 
 44. 77;<? L I F E c/" 
 
 rent, for the much defired Bleffing of Adop- 
 tion. It were to be wifhed, that tiie Circum- 
 flances attending this Parnafllan Ceremony, had 
 been handed down* to us, and fet forth as ex- 
 pUcitly as the celebrated Leges Conviva/es, or 
 Ciu5 Laws of Jonfon, hung up in the Afollo^ at 
 the Devil Tavern, * 
 
 In Imitation of Bens Method of creating 
 Heirs of Genius, other Poets claimed an equal 
 Right of raifuig up j3oetical Offspring : Chap- 
 man adopted Nath. Field, and what may be 
 thought fomewhat furprizing, Richard Brome, 
 the Servant and Amanuenjis of Jonfon^ chofe for 
 his Parent, Dtcker, the avowed Antagonift of 
 his Mafter. Let us hear what Father Decker 
 fays to his Son Brome, in a congratulatory Poem 
 on his Northern Lajs. 
 
 To my Son Brome on his Lafs. 
 Which then of both fhall I commend ? 
 Or thee that art my Son and Friend, 
 Or her by thee begot ? 
 
 Majfinger was, I believe, the lafl of thefe 
 poetical Parents ; yames Shirley was the OtF- 
 ipring of his Choice ; and with Mr. Dryden*s 
 Leave, I will be bold to fay, he was not un- 
 
 * In the Beginning of the Reign oiCharks the Firft, or 
 fomc Time after, tliis Society was ellablilhcd l^y Ben Jon- 
 fofiy and all the Members who compofed it were called liis 
 Sons ; Dr. Morhy, afterwards Bifliop of IFinchfJler^ and 
 many Perfons of Rank and Merit, thought thcmlelves ho- 
 noured to be adopted into the Number of thcfc jolly Alib- 
 ciatcs at the Devil Tuvcrn^ 
 
 worthy
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 25 
 
 worthy to be chofen Succeflbr to a Man of 
 the moil approved Dramatical Abilities. As I 
 have given the whole Poem, written by the 
 Father to his adopted Heir, in its proper Place, 
 I fhall only quote here two Lines, "which may 
 lerve to prove Majfinger\ Opinion of his Child's 
 Abilities. 
 
 To his Son yames Shirley^ on his Minervay &c 
 
 Thou art my Son, in that my Choice is fpoke; 
 Thine, with thy Father's Mufe, flrikes equal 
 Stroke. 
 
 Here we fee the modeft Man, on this Occa- 
 fion, throwing off his ufual Referve, and af- 
 fuming a Dignity conformable to his Merit. 
 
 Amongft the Friends of MaJJinger^ I mufl 
 not forget to name Jofeph 'Taylor^ a Very emi- 
 nent Comedian ; who, in a Copy of Verfes, 
 complimented him on the great Succefs of his 
 Roman Actor ^ a Play in which Taylor reprefent- 
 ed the principal Character. In his Addrels, 
 he ftyles the Poet his long known and loved 
 Friend, Philip Majinger, 
 
 Goff^ in fome Latin Verfes, which he wrote 
 upon the fame Play, celebrates the Merit of 
 the Author and the Player. 
 
 Ecce Philipin^, celebrata Tragaedia, MufcCj 
 Quam Rofeus Britojium Rofa'us egit, adefl. 
 Semper fronde ambo vireant Parnaliide, Sec. 
 
 Taylor
 
 %6 ne LIFE of 
 
 'Taylor rcprefented the Part of Hamlet, origi- 
 nally ; from the Remembrance of whofe Adioii 
 in that Charater, Sir William Davenant is faid 
 to have taught Betterton to perform Wonders. 
 
 Taylor's Name is to be found in the Lift 
 of Aclors in Shakefpeare's and Beaumont and 
 Fletcher''^ Plays. After having lived above 
 forty Years the Admiration of the Publick, 
 in a Variety of principal Characters, he was 
 anhappily reduced to a State of Indigence. 
 It was his Misfortune to furvive the profperous 
 Days of the Theatre, which the breaking out 
 of the civil Wars in 1640, caufed to be fhut 
 up till the Reftoration of Charles II. a Period 
 of twenty Years. This excellent Ator died 
 very poor, at Richtmnd, in Surry, about the 
 Year 1655. 
 
 MaJJinger did not live to feel the Miferies of 
 that civil Conteft, which deftroyed the Go- 
 vernment of this Kingdom, in Church and 
 State ; he was happy in not feeing the Times 
 of Confufion and Tumult, which though 
 they afTcCl all Ranks of Society, are moft un- 
 friendly to the Mufes. Had he furvived, he 
 might, perhaps, have (bared the Fate of Toy* 
 hr ; or have been reduced, like his Son Shirley^ 
 to earn his Livelihood by teaching Grammar *. 
 
 Majfmger died in March 1640, according to 
 our piefentMode of reckoning, or 1639 agreea- 
 
 * Shirley died during the Rage of the great Fire of Lott- 
 don^ in 1666. The Terror and Kright which he and his 
 Wife fuffercd from this dreadful CoHllagration, precipitated 
 the Death of both.
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 27 
 
 bli^ to that Style which then prevailed. J'Tood 
 ana hanghaine both agree in the Manner of his 
 Death ; he went to bed in good Health, and 
 was found dead in the Mornipg, in his own 
 Houfe, on the Bankjide, SouthwOrk. The Come- 
 dians paid a juft Tribute to their deceafed 
 Friend by attending him to his Grave. He was 
 buried about the Middle of the Church-yard, 
 belonging to St. Saviour^ Church, commonly 
 called the Bull-head Church-yard. 
 
 ^vl AJlon Cockaine^ in an Epitaph which I here 
 tranfcribe from his Poems, publifhed in 1659, 
 acquaints us, that MaJJinger was buried in the 
 farae Grave with Fletcher, 
 
 An Epitaph on Mr. John Fletcher^ and Mr. 
 "Philip MaJJinger^ who lay both buried in one 
 Grave, in St. Mary Overy\ Church, in Soutl^ 
 *wark *. 
 
 In the fame Grave was Fletcher burled, here 
 Lies the Stage Poet, Philip MaJJinger ; 
 Plays they did write together, were great 
 
 Friends, 
 And now one Grave includes them in their ends. 
 So whom on Earth nothing could part, beneath 
 Jiere in their Fame they lie, in fpight of Death. 
 
 After what has been faid of our Author, by 
 the Editor, in his elegant Preface, and by the 
 judicious Writer of the Efl'ay on our Englijh 
 
 * The Regifter of that Church, according to Oldys.> in 
 his MS. Notes on Langbatne't Uih.oi Majftnger, records 
 that he was buried in one of the four Church Yards belong- 
 ing to the Bullf?f(id, 
 
 Dramatick
 
 S .' The l.\E of 
 
 Dramatick Poets, it may be thought fupcrflii-^ 
 ous, as well as impertinent in me, to add any 
 Thing farther upon the Subjed. 
 
 Notwithftanding, I hope I (hall be pardoned 
 if 1 endeavour to point out fome Peculiarities 
 ^JV'hich diftinguifh this Writer from his Con- 
 temporaries. 
 
 The Plots oiMqffmger^ like thofe of all our old 
 Dramatifts, are borrowed from lurpriziaig Tales, 
 and ftrange Adventures, from wild Romances 
 .and entertaining Novels, or from old Chronicles 
 and well known Hiftory. In the conducting of 
 his Fable, he is conliflently and invariably at- 
 tentive. 
 
 It is not his Cuflom, in Imitation of BeaU" 
 tnont and Fletcher^ to write two or three Ads 
 of a Play with uncommon Energy, and after 
 exciting Expectation, and promifmg Delight, 
 to dilappoint the Reader, by unpardonable 
 Negleft, or an utter Defertion of the Fable. I 
 "will not pretend to fay, that thefe valuable Au- 
 thors are always and equally deficient in work- 
 ing up the Cataib-ophes of their Plays ; but J 
 will appeal to their moft partial Readers, if 
 they are not often (hamefully forgetful and in- 
 dolent, where the Union of Genius and Judg- 
 ment is moft required *. 
 
 * T liavc either read or been informed that it was gene- 
 rally \lr. -FLtcherh Practice, after he had finiflu-tl three A6ls 
 of a Play, to fhew them to the Aftors ; and after they 
 had agreed upon Terms, he huddled up the two la-ft with- 
 out tliat proper Care which wliich was rcquifite. 
 
 Lauzbainc's Poets, p. 144. 
 
 la
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 29 
 
 In Majfmger^ Nature and Art are fo happily 
 conneded, that the one never feems to coun- 
 tcrad the other, and in whatever Rank he may 
 be placed by the Criticks, yet this Praife cannot 
 be refufed him, that his Genius operates equally 
 in every Part of his Compofition ; for the Powers 
 of his Mind are impartially diifufed through his 
 whole Performance ; no Part is purpofely de- 
 graded to Inlipidity, to m.ake another more 
 Iplendid and magnificent ; one Al of a Play 
 is not impoverished to enrich another. All the 
 Members of the Piece are cultivated and dii^ 
 pofed as Plot, Situation, and Charader require* 
 
 The Editor very juftly obferves, that Maffin- 
 ger excels Shahefpeare himfelf in an eafy con- 
 stant flow of harmonious Language ; nor ihould 
 it be forgotten, that the Current of his Style is 
 never interrupted by harfh, and obfcurePhrafe- 
 ology, or overloaded with figurative Exprei^ 
 lion. Nor does he indulge in the wanton and 
 licentious Ufe of mixed Modes in Speech ; he 
 is never at a Lofs for proper Words to cloath 
 his Ideas. And it muft be faid of him with 
 Truth, that if he does not always rife to Shake/- 
 feare\ Vigour of Sentiment, or Ardor of Ex- 
 preffion, neither does he link like him into 
 mean Quibble, and low Conceit. 
 
 There is a Difcrimination in the Chara<flers 
 o^ MiiJJinger, by which they are varied as dii- 
 tin^lly as thofe of Sbakefpeare, The Hero, the 
 Statefman, the Villain, the Fop, the Coward, 
 the Man of Humour, and the Gentleman, fpeak 
 
 aLaa*
 
 30 7'^^ LIFE / 
 
 a Language appropriated to their feveral Pcr- 
 Ibnages. 
 
 Sometimes he takes Pleafure in fmoothing 
 the Features of a Villain, and concealing his 
 real Character, till his Wickednefs breaks out 
 into Aclion; nor is this Peculiarity in our Au- 
 thor cfFeled by any conftrained or abrupt Con- 
 duct, but ftridlly conformable to Dramatick 
 Truth, and the Oeconomy of his Fable. Fran-" 
 cifcOy in the Duke of Milan, alfumes, during the 
 firft Acl, luch a Face of Honefty and Fidelity, 
 that the Reader mufl be furprized, though not 
 ihocked at the Change of his Behaviour in the 
 fecond Ad. The Villains oiMaJJinger are not 
 Monfters of Vice, who fin merely from the 
 Delight they feel in the Practice of Wickednefs.' 
 Tf-ancifco, like Dr. Totmg's Zanga, *, carries his 
 Refentment beyond the Limits of his Provo- 
 cation ; but a Sifter diihonoured, is, by an Ita- 
 iiaUy fuppofed to be a fufficient Caufe for pur- 
 fuing tiie deepeft Revenge. So MontrevUle^ in 
 the unnatural Combat, linothers his Rage for 
 the Injuries he had received from Af^/^/or/, with 
 whom he lives in great Familiarity, and the 
 higheft feeming Warmth of Friendlhip, till he 
 gams an Opportunity, towards the Clofe of the 
 Plav, to glut his Appetite of Revenge, by ra- 
 viflnng Malefort's Daughter, and upbraiding 
 him at the fame Time with the Wrongs which 
 he had fuffercd from him. 
 
 In the Tragedy of the Revenge^ Francifco has fome 
 Features not unlike thofe of the Moor. And I cannot help 
 thinking, that Young had read the Duke of Milan , and bor- 
 Towcd a few Hints from that Tragedy. 
 
 Majfmger^
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 3I 
 
 Mqjfinger is equally Ikilful in producing Co- 
 mick and Tragick Delight ; his Charadlers in 
 both Styles are ftamped by the Hand of Na- 
 ture. Eubulus^ in the Pidiure, is as true a Por- 
 trait of honeft Freedom, flirewd Obfervation, 
 and lingular Humour, as Shakefpeares ^nobar' 
 bus^ in Antony and Cleopatra, Durazzo^ in the 
 Guardian^ is inferior to no Character of agreea- 
 able Singularity in any Author. Joyous in Si- 
 tuations of the utmofl Peril, he is an impartial 
 Lover of Valour, in Friend or Foe ; he par- 
 dons the Follies of Youth, by a generous Re- 
 collection of his own. Durazzo forgives every 
 Thing but Cmvardicc of Spirit and Meannefs 
 of Behaviour ; a more animated and pidlurefque 
 Defcription of Field Sports than that given by 
 Durazzo is not to be found in any Author. 
 MaJJinger does not uie the Agency of Fools, 
 who in Shakefpeare^s Management produce fuch 
 admirable Scenes of Delight ; Graculo and Hi- 
 lario in the Dulze of Milan and the Figure feem 
 to partake fomething of the Spanijh Graciofo and 
 the JLngUJh Clovi^n ; and are employed by our 
 Author as Chorufles to condufl his Plots. 
 
 That Majfinger was no mean Scholar every 
 Reader of Tafte will difcern; his Knowledge in 
 Mythology, and Hiflory antient and modern, 
 appears to have been extenfivc ; nor was he a 
 mere Smatterer in Logic, and Philofophy, 
 though IVood informs us that he did not apply 
 himfelf to the Study of thefe Sciences when he 
 was at the Univerfity. That he was very con- 
 verfant wdth the Greek and Roman Claffics, his 
 
 frequent
 
 ga 7'be /LI F E of 
 
 frequent Allufions to poetical Fable, and his 
 interweaving fome of the choiceit Sentiments 
 of the beft antient Writers in his Plays, fuffi- 
 ciently demonftrate. What he borrowed from 
 the Claffics he paid back with Intereft, for he 
 <lignified their Sentiments by giving them a 
 aiew Luflre; while Jonfon^tht fuperftitious Ido- 
 later of the Antients, deforms his Style by 
 affe(fled Phrafeology and verbal Tranflation; 
 Jiis Knowledge was unaccompanied by true 
 Judgment and Elegance of Tafte, and in the 
 Incorporation of foreign Sentiments with his 
 own, he underflood not the Means to enricji 
 his Compolition by artfully borrowing from 
 the dead Languages. 
 
 It was a Fault common to our old Dramatic 
 Writers, in defcrlbing the Manners of differ- 
 ent Nations, to forget what Painters call the 
 Coftume ; if they laid their Plots in** FrancCy 
 Spalriy Italy y Germany,, or Turkey ^ the Charalers 
 were merely EngliJJj^ and the Cuftoms, Fa- 
 Ihions, Follies, and Vices of our great Metro- 
 polis were fure to be introduced, though the 
 Poet had laid liis Scene in Rome or Conjlanthwple, 
 
 This Incongruity in national Manners runs 
 through Shakefpeare, B. Jonfon^ and Beaumont 
 and FIclcher, as well as Majfingcr, But though, 
 in th-e Conduct of the Drama, this was a gicat 
 Impropriety, the Public, I believe, fuffered no 
 Injury trom it. The reigning Enormities and 
 falhionable Follies of the Times, were cenfured, 
 perhaps, with greater Freedom, when the Scene 
 
 was
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 35 
 
 was laid at Venice^ than if it had been placed in 
 London. 
 
 Although the Dramatic Poet is the moft 
 pleafing, he is at the fame Time the moil: pun- 
 gent Moralift, and a more powerful Reformer 
 of Vice and Folly than the profeft Satiriil 
 himfelf. What are the folemn Sermons oi Se- 
 neca^ the laughing Reproofs of Horace and the 
 grave Declamations of Juvenal, when compared 
 with the deep Refle<Slions of the melancholy 
 CardeneSy^ and the poignant StricSburcs of a mad 
 *Timon or a diftra^led Luear f Seneca dazzles the 
 Reafon, Horace amufes the Fancy, Juvenal 
 alarms the Paflions, hut Shakefpe are -^iW^MajJin' 
 ger warm and refine the Heart. 
 
 MaJJinger, though inferior in pointed Satire 
 to Shakefpeare, feizes every Opportunity to cruih 
 rifing Folly, and repel incroaching Vice. 
 
 When this Author lived, Luxury in Eating 
 and Finery in Drefs univerfally prevailed, to the 
 moft enormous Excefs. Thele Perverfions of 
 natural Appetite and decent Cuflom he combat- 
 ed with an uncommon Ardor of Refentment, and 
 applied to them the Force of Ridicule wherever 
 he fairly met them. In his City Madam he at- 
 tacks the Pride, Extravi^gance, and Aitedation 
 of the Citizens and their Wives ; he fixes the 
 Boundaries between the gay Splendors of a Court, 
 and the fober Cufloms of the City. The Ci- 
 
 * A Chara\er in the Play of the Very Woman.. 
 
 D tizens
 
 34 The LIFE of 
 
 tizens, by an awkward Imitation of Court Gai- 
 eties have always rendered themfelves Ridicu- 
 lous. But this is not all In abandoning their 
 own primitive Way of Living, they have loft 
 that Influence which can only be preferved by 
 Induftry, Wealth, Oeconomy, Simplicity, and 
 Plainnefs of Manners. 
 
 MaJJinger does not, like Shakefpeare and Jonfon^ 
 fport with Cowardice and Effeminacy ; he 
 confiders them not only as Defeats of Chara<5ter 
 but as Stains of Immorality: Romont's Reproof to 
 Noval, a Coward and a Fop, is fingular and bitter. 
 
 As if thou e'er wert angry 
 But with thy Taylor, and yet that poor Shred 
 Can bring more to the making up of a Man 
 Then can be hoped from thee Thou art his 
 
 Creature, 
 And did he not each Morn create thee, 
 
 ThouMft ftink and be forgotten. 1*11 not 
 
 change 
 One Syllable more with thee, until thou bring 
 Some Teftimony under good Men's Hands 
 Thou art a Chnjiian. I fufped thee ftrongly. 
 And will be fatisfied. 
 
 Fatal Dowry, A6t II. 
 
 But, befides the occafional Cenfure which 
 Majfinger pafled upon the growing Vices of 
 the Times in which lie lived he aimed at 
 higher Game. He boldy attacked the Faults 
 of Minifters and of Kings themfelves. He 
 
 pointed
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. ^s 
 
 pointed his Arrows againfl Carr and Bucking- 
 iam, agalnft yames and Charles the Firft. 
 
 The pufilanimous Temper of James expofed 
 inm to the Scorn of all Europe, and rendered him 
 contemptible in the Eyes of his owii Subje5ls. 
 The warlike Spirit of the Nation was fubdued 
 by the Cowardice of the Prince, He was call- 
 ed upon by the Voice of his People, and by 
 his Parliament, to affift his Son-in-Law, Fre- 
 derick, the Elecior Palatine, and King of 
 Bohemia, againfl the Emperor Ferdinand, who 
 deprived him at laft of the beft Part of his Do- 
 minions. James, inftead of furnifhing Troops 
 to Frederick, contented himfelf with fending 
 Ambafladors to the Aujlrian Court, the Futir 
 lity of which Conduct was ridiculed upon the 
 Stage at Brujfells. 
 
 Majfinger, though from the general Tenor of 
 his Writings, he appears to have '^^t\\ a firm 
 Friend of Monarchy, and warmly attached to 
 Government in Church and State, was not a 
 Favourer of Arbitrary Power, or inclined to 
 put an implicit Faith in the Word of Kings ; he 
 was averfe from embracing the Doctrines of Paf- 
 five Obedience and Non-Reiiftance *, fo much 
 
 * The Coudu(5l of B, and Fletcher fo far as it refpeds the 
 Duty which Subjects owe to Kings, deferves Notice : They 
 preach up the moft unreferved Submiflion to Princes, and 
 zealoufly inaintain 
 
 T'he Right Divine of Kings to govern Wrong. 
 Yet they make no Scruple of plotting againll, and deftroy- 
 ing tyrunuical Princes. 
 
 Vidi Thi Maid's Tragedy. 
 
 D 2 incul-
 
 ^6 516^ LIFE of 
 
 inculcated by yames, in his Speeches to Parlia- 
 ment, and his Court Divines in their Sermons. 
 Mofjinger was a good Subje6l, but not like 
 other Poets, his Contemporaries, a flaviili 
 Flatterer of Power, and an Abettor of defpo- 
 tick Principles. 
 
 Our Poet, in his Play of the Maid of Hon- 
 our^ under the Characters o{ Roberto, King of 
 Sicily, and Fulgefitio his Favourite, undoubtedly 
 drew the Portraits of fames and his Minion, 
 Carr or Buckingham, or perhaps both. 
 
 The Duke of Urbino, by his Ambafl'ador, 
 craves the Afliftance of the King of Sicily. 
 /^6^^r/o pleads in his Refufal, the Injuftice of 
 the Duke's Caufe. fames too, would not own 
 the Title of his Son-in-I^aw to Bohemia, though 
 he was chofen by the free Votes of the Eftatcs 
 of that Kingdom ; nor would he permit him 
 to receive the Honours due to his high Rank, 
 from pretended Scruples of Confcicnce or Mo- 
 tives of Honour. BcrtoUo, from many ipi- 
 rited Arguments, urges tlie King to grant the 
 Duke the requeued Aid. The following 
 Speech will, I believe, confirm my Conje(5lure 
 of the 5'/c/7/^;; Prince's Rcfemblance to our Bri- 
 tifi Monarch. 
 
 Mav you live long 
 
 * T^he King of Peace ; lb you deny not us 
 The Glory of the War ; let not our Nerves 
 
 * Rtx Pacifiius was a Title lliat James afFcftcd, and \va 
 liiv^hly plcalcd witli. 
 
 Shrink
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 2>1 
 
 Shrink up with Sloth, nor for Want of Em- 
 ployment 
 Make younger Brothers Thieves : 'Tis their 
 
 Sword, Sir, 
 Mufl fow and reap their Harveft. If Examples 
 May move you more than Arguments, look on 
 
 K?iglandy 
 T^he Emprefs of the European Ifies^ 
 Ufilo whom alone ours yields Precedence : 
 When didpefiourip fo as when fie was 
 ^he Miftrcfs of the Ocean f Her Navies 
 Puttijig a Girdle round about the World, 
 When the Iberian quak'd, her Worthies na in d"; 
 And the fair Fleur de Lis grew pale fet by 
 The RedRrfe and the White .^ Let not our A rmour 
 Hung up^ or our unriggd Armada make us 
 Ridiculous to the late poor Snakes, our Neighbours^ 
 Warmd in our Bofoms ; and to whom again 
 We may be terrible-, while we fpend our Hours 
 Without Variety, confined to Drink, 
 Dice, Cards, or Whores. 
 
 When this animated Speech was firft deliver- 
 ed by the Adlor, 1 cannot doubt but that it was 
 heard by the Audience w^ith Rapture, and uni- 
 verfally applauded. The Poet fpoke the genuine 
 Senfe of the Nation. James, unhappily for him- 
 felf and his Poilerity, inflead of giving free Li- 
 berty to the generous Spirit of his Subjects, and 
 indulging the favourite Paffion of the Nation 
 in the brilk Profecution of a foreign W^ar, by 
 which he might have gained their Love and 
 fecured their Allegiance, cheriflied the Cockle 
 of Difcontent and Sedition, wdiich broke out 
 
 D 3 with 
 
 ^v r. -I (\ \
 
 38 the l.l^'E. of 
 
 with Violence in the Reign of his Succeflbr, and 
 caufed the Ruin of the King and Kingdom. 
 
 Of Fulgetitio, K^ii"^g Roberto'^ Favourite, Ber^ 
 ioldo fpeaks with the utmofl: Contempt: 
 
 Let him keep his Smiles 
 
 Tor his Slate Catamite. 
 
 Though James was fuppofed to be averle 
 from the Fair Sex, and was unfufpccled of any 
 Intrigue with Women, yet he was extremely 
 felicitous to gratify the amorous Paflions of his 
 two great Favourites, Somcrfet and Buckingham, 
 To forward the former's Marriage with the 
 Countefs of //^.v, he undertook to prove the 
 Neceflity of a Divorce between her and the 
 Earl her Hufband, propter frigiditatem. Many 
 learned Arguments did he make, and feveral 
 obfcene Expreliions did he ufe, in the Profccu- 
 tion of this unkingly Buflnefs. But if we may 
 credit Sir Edward Peyton^ James carried his 
 Complaifance ta his Minion Buckingham {lill 
 farther, even to a fhameful Degree of Pan- 
 darifm. 
 
 " The King entertained Sir John Crofts and 
 his Daughter, a beautiful Lafs, at Newmarket^ 
 that Buckingham might have the eafier Means to 
 vitiate her. And one Mrs, Dorothy Gawdry be- 
 ing a rare Creature, the King carried Bucking- 
 ham to Cuford^ that he might have his Will 
 of her : But Sir Nicholas Bacons Sons and Pey^ 
 ton himfelf, contrived to fecure the Lady from 
 the King and Buckingham^ bafe Intentions *.*' 
 
 * Peyton s divine Cataftrophc of the Stuarts. 
 
 In
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 39 
 
 In the fame I^hy of the Maid of Honour, King 
 Roberto, willing to fecond the Paffions of his 
 {^.YOxxYht Fulgentio, employs his Influence to for- 
 ward his Match with Camiola. For that Pur- 
 pofe, he fends her a Ring by the Minion 
 himlelf ; but the Lady treats Fulgentio with 
 that proper Contempt which his Charadler de- 
 serves : 
 
 Camiola. Excufe me, Sir, if I 
 Deliver Reafons, why upon no Terms 
 I'll marry you. 
 
 Fulgentio, Come, your wife Reafons. 
 
 Cam. Such as they are, pray you take them; 
 Firft, I am doubtful whether you are a Man ; 
 Since for a Shape, irimd up in "Ladys DreJJing^ 
 Tou might pa f for a Woman *. Now I love 
 T'o deal on Certainties ; and for the Fairnefs 
 Of your Complediion, which you think will take me, 
 ^ he Colour I mufi tell you in a Man, 
 Is weak and faint. 
 Then as you are a Courtier, 
 A graced one too, I fear you have been too for- 
 ward. 
 And fo much for your Perfon. Rich you arc, 
 Dev'lifh rich, as 'tis reported, and furely have 
 The Aids of Satan's little Fiends to get it : 
 And what is got upon his Back, mult be 
 Spent, you know where. 
 
 * I have fcen Somerfet and Buckingham labour to refem- 
 ble Ladies in the Effeminacy of their Dreffings ; though 
 in whorifh Looks and wanton Gcftures, they exceeded any 
 Fart of Womankind, my Converfation did cope withall. 
 
 Ofbornei Memoir i of James L 
 
 D 4 But
 
 40 The LIF1. of 
 
 But Mqffinger did not confine his Cenfurc to 
 perfonal Defects or Vices in the Prince and his 
 Minifters. He extended his Satire to an open 
 Attack upon Mal-adminiftration, and the 
 Abufes of Government. 
 
 The Admirers of the two firft Stuarts, Charles 
 and JanKs^ will confefs, that though they af- 
 fedled to defpife, yet they greatly dreaded, and 
 cordially hated Parliaments ; Aflemblies that 
 were obnoxious to them, becnufe they endea- 
 voured to fix proper Bounds to their Power, 
 and inquired rigoroufly into national Grievan- 
 ces. During their Reigns, Patents, Monopo- 
 lies, Loans, and Benevolences, were the Abufes 
 univerfally exclaimed againft. All thefe raged 
 in full Force, when the Dread of a Houfe pf 
 Commons was withdrawn. 
 
 In the Emperor of the Eaft, a Play av51:ed by 
 the Command o( Charles I. Mojjlnger vindicates 
 the Caufe of the Nation againlt unjufl: and 
 exorbitant Impofitions, and the Excefles of regal 
 and minifterial Authority. A Scene between 
 the Projeiftors and Pulcheria, the Guardian of 
 the Kingdom, in whofe Character I think he 
 intended a Compliment to the Memory of Queen 
 Elizabeth, gave the Author an Opportunity to 
 fpeak the public Senfc upon the Stage ; 
 
 Pulcheria. Projecflor, I treat firft 
 pf you and your Difciples ; you roar out, 
 u^ll is the King's ; his IVilFs above his Laws, 
 And that fit Tributes are too gentle Yokes 
 
 For
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 41 
 
 For h's poor Subjects ; whifpering in his Ear, 
 If they would have his Fear, no Man fhould 
 
 dare 
 To bring a Sallad from his Country Garden 
 Without the paying Gabel ; kill a Hen 
 Without Excife ; or if he delire 
 To have his Children or his Servants wear 
 Their Heads upon their Shoulders, you affirm 
 In Policy, 'tis fit the Owner fhould 
 Pay for them by the Poll ; or if the Prince 
 Want a certain Sum, he may command a City 
 Lnpojfibilities ; and for Nonperformance, 
 Compel it to fuhmit to any Fine 
 His Officers fliall impofe, &c. 
 
 The Reader of public Tranfidions, during 
 the whole Reign oifames, and the greateft Part 
 of Charles I. will acknowledge the Juftice of 
 MaJJingers Cenfure. I fhall only obferve, that 
 the City of London was frequently the Obje6l of 
 courtly Impofition and arbitrary Taxation. 
 From the Authority of Camden, in his An- 
 nals of James I. we learn, that that Mo- 
 narch, in the Year 1620, demanded of the 
 City of London Twenty Thoufand Pounds. 
 As there was no legal Pretence for the Tax, 
 the Citizens did not entirely comply with 
 the royal Mnndate ; but willingly, as the fame 
 Author afllires us, gave the King Ten Thou- 
 land Pounds. But enough on this Subject. 
 
 In a peculiar Strain of Eloquence, and mofl: 
 pathetick Art of Perfuaiion, MaJJinger equals, 
 if not excells, all Dramatick Writers, ancient 
 
 and
 
 41 r>5tf LIFE cf ' 
 
 and modern ; whether he undertakes the De- 
 fence of injured Virtue, avenges the Wrongs 
 of fufFering Beauty, or pleads the Caufe of 
 infulted Merit ; would he footh, hj^ gentle Inli- 
 nuation, or prevail hy Strength of Argument, 
 and the Irradiations of Truth I Does he ar- 
 raign, fupplicate, reproach, threaten or con- 
 demn ! He is equally powerful, victorious 
 
 and triumphant. What are all the laboured 
 Defences of the Stage, when compared to Pa- 
 ris^ eloquent Vindication of fcenical Exhibition 
 before the Roman Senate, in the Tragedy of the 
 Roman Adlorf Would the Reader feel the Ef- 
 fects of filial Piety, in its moft amiable and en- 
 thufiaftick Excefs, let him read Charolois plead- 
 ing in Behalf of his dead Father, and claiming 
 a Right to his Body, by giving up his own in 
 Exchange, in the Tatal Do^ry. The fame 
 Charolois^ juflifying himfelf from the Charge of 
 Cruelty, in putting to Death an adulterous 
 Wife, exhibits a ftill ftrongcr Proof of that 
 inimitable Art, which our Author fo perfectly 
 enjoyed, to move the Paflions, by an irrefiftible 
 Stream of eloquent and pathetick Language. 
 
 Majfmger is the avowed Champion of the 
 Fair Sex. He lived at a Time when the Spirit 
 of Chivalry, which owed its Inftitutlon to the 
 Honours due to the beautiful Part of the Crea- 
 tion, was not quite extinguiihed. And however 
 theExcefl'esof Knight Errantry may be ridicul- 
 ed, there is fomethmg noble in the Idea of pro- 
 telling Beauty in Diltrefs, and reibuing female 
 Innocence from Opprefiion. Our Author always 
 rifes above himlclf, when he dclcribes Beauty 
 
 and
 
 PHILIP MASSINGER. 43 
 
 and its fifFels. When a fine Woman is the Sub- 
 jed, his Verfes run with a fweet Fervour, and 
 pleafing Rapidity ; like Milton, when ruminat- 
 ing on the divine Verfes of Homer and other 
 fublime Poets, Majfingers Ideas when feeding 
 on his favourite Subjed. - 
 
 Voluntary mov 
 Harmonious Numbers. 
 
 The Females of Beaumont and Fletcher are: 
 for the moil: Part violent in their Paflions, ca- 
 pricious in their Manners, licentious, and even 
 indecent in their Language. 
 
 MqlJingers Fair Ones are cafl: in a very dif- 
 ferent Mold ; they partake juft fo much of the 
 male Virtues, Conllancy and Courage, as to 
 render their feminine Qualities more amiable 
 and attradlive. 
 
 Four of our Author's Plays are profelTedly 
 written in Honour of the Fair Sex. TheBon^- 
 man, the Bapful Lover, the Picture, and the 
 Maid of Honour, are fo many beautiful Wreaths, 
 compofed of the choiceft poetical Flowers, and 
 offered on the Shrine of Beauty. 
 
 I have been tempted by my Veneration for 
 this admirable Writer, to go greater Lengths 
 than I intended, in the Inveltigation of his pe- 
 culiar Excellencies. Mci[Jinger,t\it more he is read 
 will certainly be more eiteemed and approved,for 
 no Author will better bear the flricleft Exami- 
 nation ; the enjoying the Beauties of this Wri- 
 ter will be attended, perhaps, with fome little 
 
 Mur-
 
 44 7^/^^ LIFE of 
 
 Murmuring and Self- upbraiding ; Surprize will 
 be accompanied with Indignation, and Delight 
 with Regret; moft Readers will lament the 
 having had fuch a noble Treafure within their 
 Reach, without having once looked upon its 
 Luftre ; and in Proportion as their Negligence 
 has been, will be the Profufion of their Praife 
 and Admiration ! 
 
 Though it mufl: be granted, that Mqffinger^ 
 in Compliance with the Times in which he 
 lived, and in Conformity to the Pradice of 
 contemporary Writers, did occafionally pro- 
 duce low Charaders, and write Scenes of li- 
 centious and reprehenfible Dialogue ; yet we 
 muft remember to his Honour, that he never 
 iports with Religion by prophane Rants or idle 
 Jefting; nor does he once infult the Clergy, by 
 petulant Witticifm or Common-place Abufe. 
 
 ^JP^
 
 T O 
 
 Dr. SAMUEL JOHNSON, 
 
 THIS LIFE of MASSINGER, 
 Is mofl: refpedtfully infcribed, 
 As a fmall but finccre Tribute 
 To his liberal and extenfive Learning; 
 
 His great and uncommon Genius; 
 And his univerfal and adtive Benevolence ; 
 
 By his much obliged 
 
 And mofl obedient Servant, 
 
 THOMAS DAVIES.
 
 Speedfiy will he delivered^ 
 
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 With a Critical REVIEW of his CHARACTERS, 
 
 And thofe of many eminent DRAMATIC POETS, 
 
 A reprefcntcd on the Stage 
 
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 And other celebrated COMEDIANS; 
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