SIR PHILIP SIDNEY Apologie for Poetrie 1595 F.S.A. ETC. LATE EXAMINER IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON I WESTMINSTER A. CONSTABLE AND CO., LTD. 1901 CONTENTS CHRONICLE of the Life, &c., of Sir P. Sidney, . . 3 INTRODUCTION, 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY, 13 AN APOLOGIE FOR POETRIE, . . 15 1. To the Reader 16 2. Four Sonnets by Henry Conftable, . . . . 17 3. ARGUMENT ANDDEFINITIONS. John PietroPugliano, 19 Poetry is of all human learning the moft ancient,and of mofl fatherly antiquity. Fromitfprangallotherknowledge, 20 Poetry is fo univerfal, that no learned nation defpifes it, and no barbarous nation is without it, . . . 22 Etymology of Poetry, pp. 23 29. ThePfalms[=fongs] 23 Both Romans and Greeks gaue divine names to it, the one of prophecying, the other of making, . . 24 Indeed, that name of making is fit for Poefy. Whereas other arts retain themfelves within their fubject, and receive as it were their being from it ; the Poet only, brings his own ftuff, does not learn a conceit out of a matter, but makes matter for a conceit, ... 24 Poefy is an art of imitation, for fo Ariflotle terms it in his word Afimefts, i.e. a reprefenting, counterfeiting or figuring forth ; to fpeake metaphorically, a fpeaking picture : with this end to teach and delight, . . 20 Of this there have been three kinds, i. Sacred poe- try, in the Scriptures and hymns to the Heathen gods. 2. Philofophical poetry. 3. 'The right poets,' they which moft properly do imitate to teach and delight, . 27 ' Verfe is but an ornament and no caufe to Poetry,' 28 Although indeed, the Senate of Poets have chofen verfe as their fitted raiment ; meaning, that as in matter, they palfed all in all, fo in manner to go beyond them, 29 Anatomy of "the effufls of "Poetry, pp. 29-43. 'This puri- fying of wit, enriching of memory, enabling of judgement andenlargingof conceit, whichcommonlywecalllearning' 29 The endingendof all earthly-learning is vertuuus action . In this moft excellent work, Poetry is the moft excellent workman, . 29 Anatomy of the parts of Poetry t pp. 43 48 Objfftions to Poetry anfwered, pp. 48 60. \Jt Obi. A man might better fpenu his time. Ans. ' I utterlydenythereisfprungoutamorefruitful knowledge,' 51 2nd Obj. It is the mother of lies. Ans. The Poet affirms nothing, and therefore never lies, . . . 51 ^rd Obj. It is the nurfe of abufe. Ans. Man's wit abufes Poetry, not Poetry man's wit, S3 4/A Obj. Plato banifhed Poets out of his republic. Ans. Hebanilhtd theabufeof Poetry, not the thing itfelf, 56 Criticifm of the then exijling Engiijh poetry, pp. 60- 7 1 . Its matter p. 60. Its diclion, ... 68 Peroration, . 71 CHRONICLE of feme of the principal events in the LIFE, WORKS, and TIMES of Master, afterwards Sir PHILIP SIDNEY, Courtier, Ambassador, Poet, Romancist, Critic, and Soldier. Probable or approximate dates. 1553. Julp 6. fasrp succeetts to ti)e crotnn. '554- July 2 S- Queen Mary marries Philip. King of Spain. Nov. 29. PHILIP SIDNEY ' was son of Sir Hen. Sidney by the lady Mary his wife, eldest daughter of Joh. Dudley duke at Northumberland, was born, as 'tis supposed, at Penshurst in Kent, 29 Nov. 1554, and had his Christian name given to him by his father, from K. Philip, then lately married to Queen Mary.' Wood, Ath. Oxon. i. 517. Ed. 1813. Philip is the eldest of three sons, and four daughters. 1558. f.oti. 17. iSUjabcHj begins to reign. i j6o. Sir Henry Sidney is made Lord President of Wales, which office he holds till his death. He resides, when in the Principality, chiefly at Ludlow. He is three times Lord Deputy of Ireland, between 1565-67, 1568-71 and 1577-^8. He is installed K. G. May 14. 1564. 1564. Oct. 17. Philip Sidney and Fulke Greville, both of the same age, at. 9. and who became friends for life, enter Shrewsbury School on the same day. ' Anno Domini 1564. 16 Cal. Nov. Fhilippus Sidney filirts et hares Henrici Sidney Militis de Pensarst in Comit. Cantioi, et Domini Prae- sidis confinivm Cambriae, nee nan Ordinis Garterii Militis. Foulkits Greyvell filius et haeres Foulki Greyveli Armigeri de Beauchamp Courte in Comit. Warwici. eodem die. School Register : see Sidneiana Roxburghe Cube 1837. Fulke Greville thus testifies of his schoolfellow "of whose Youth I will report no other wonder, but thus ; That though I lived with him, and knew him from a child, yet I never knew him other than a man : with such staiednesse of mind, lovely, and fami- liar gravity, as carried grace, and reverence above greater years. His talk ever of knowledge, and his very play tending to enrich his mind : So as even his teachers found something in him to observe, and learn, above that which they had usually read, or taught. Which eminence, by nature, and industry, made his worthy Father stile Sir Philip in my hearing Uhpugh I unseen) Lumen fmntilix suce." F. Greville, in his posthumous Life of Sir P. Sidney, p. 7. Ed. 1652. 'ij68* Midsummer. " While he was very young, he was sent to Christ i-t. 13 Ch. to be improved in all sorts of learning, and was con- temporary there with Rich Carew author of The Sur- vey of Corn-wall, where continuing till he was about 17 years of age, under the tuition of Dr. Tho. Thornton, canon of that house." Wood t idem. 2056679 CHRONICLE. . May 25. The Queen grants Philip Sidney, license to go abroad act. 17. with three servants and four horses: (May 26) Leaves London, in the train of the Earl of Lincoln, Ambassador to the French King : (Aug. 9) Charles ix. makes him one of the gentlemen of his Chamber : (Aug. 24) The Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Sidney being in the house of the English Ambassador, Sir Francis Walsing- ham, is safe ; He however soon leaves Paris, journeys by Heidelberg to Frankfort, where he meets Hubert Languet, set. 54. He stays at Frankfort about nine 1573. Summer, months. They two then go to Vienna : where, aftersome trips to Hungary, Sidney leaves Languet, and spends eight months in Italy ; chiefly in Venice, Padua, and IJ74. Genoa. He returns to Vienna in Nov. Spends his 1575. May 31. winter there (see p. 19), and coming home through the Low Countries ; reaches England (May 31. 1575). 1375. t ao. Introduced to Court, by his uncle, the E. of Leicester. See p. 6. July 9-27. Is at the famous reception given by his uncle to the Queen, at Kenilwprth. The Court moves to Chartley castle, where Philip is supposed first to have seen Stella (Penelope, act. 17, daughter of Lord Essex, and after- wards Lady Rich). The sonnets Astrophel and Stella go on for the next five or six years. : S77- *t. 33. Sidney is sent as Ambassador, with messages of condo- Feb. *2. lence to Rodolph II. the new Emperor of Germany, at June 8. Prague; and to the two sons of the Frederic III. late Elector Palatine : viz. Lewis (now Elector) and John Casimir. at Heidelberg. 1578. May. On the Court coming to his uncle's, at Wanstead, Sidney writes a masque The Lady of the May. Sidney becomes acquainted with Gabriel Harvey, and through him with Edmund Spenser. 1579. August. Stephen Gosspn publishes the The Schoole of Abuse. Oct. 16. E. Spenser writes to G. Harvey, Sidney's idea of it. Dec. [Ent.Stat. HaUsI)ec.]Spenser'$SAeAAerasCaIenc. The Phylofopher (fayth hee) teacheth a difputa- tiue vertue, but I doe an acliue : his vertue is ex- cellent in the dangerleffe Academic of Plato, but mine fheweth foorth her honorable face, in the battailes of Marathon, Pharfalia, Poitiers, and Agin court. Hee teacheth vertue by certaine abftracl: confiderations, but I onely bid you follow the footing of them that haue gone before you. Olde-aged experience, goeth beyond the fine-witted Phylofopher, but I giue the experience of many ages. Laftly, if he make the Song-booke, I put the learners hande to the Lute : and if hee be the guide, I am the light. Then woulde hee alledge you innumerable ex- amples, conferring ftorie by ftorie, how much the wifeft Senatours and Princes, haue beene directed by the credite of hiftory, as Brutus, Alphonfnsot Aragon, and who not, if need bee ? At length, the long lyne 3* AN APOLOGIE of theyr difputation maketh a poynt in thys, that tne one giueth the precept, and the other the example. Nowe, whom mall wee finde (fith the queftion Aandeth for the higheft forme in the Schoole of learn- ing) to bee Moderator? Trulie, as me feemeth, the Poet; and if not a Moderator, euen the man that ought to carrie the title from them both, and much more from all other feruing Sciences. Therefore compare we the Poet with the Hiftorian, and with the Morrall Phylofopher, and, if hee goe beyond them both, no other humaine (kill can match him. For as for the Diuine, with all reuerence it is euer to be excepted, not only for hauing his fcope as far beyonde any of thefe, as eternitie exceedeth a moment, but euen for pafsing each of thefe in themfelues. And for the Lawyer, though lus bee the Daughter of luflice, and luftice the chiefe of Vertues, yet becaufe hee feeketh to make men good, rather Formi- dincpcence, then Virtutis amore, or to fay tighter, dooth not indeuour to make men good, but that their euill hurt not others : hauing no care fo hee be a good Citti' zen ; how bad a man he be. Therefore, as our wick- ednefle maketh him necefsarie, and necefsitie maketh him honorable, fo is hee not in the deepefl trueth to ftande in rancke with thefe ; who all indeuour to take naughtines away, and plant goodnefle euen in the fecreteft cabinet of our foules. And thefe foure are all, that any way deale in that confideration of mens manners, which beeing the fupreme knowledge, they that befl breed it, deferue the befl commendation. The Philofopher therfore and the Hiftorian, are they which would win the gole : the one by precept, the other by example. But both not hauing both, doe both halte. For the Philofopher, fetting downe with thorny argument the bare rule, is fo hard ot vtterance, and fo miflie to bee conceiued, that one that hath no other guide but him, (hall wade in him till hee be olde, before he (hall finde fufficient caufe to bee honed : for his knowledge (landeth fo vpon the abflracl and generall, that happie is that man who FOR POETRIE, 33 may vnderflande him, and more happie, that can applye what hee dooth vnderftand. On the other fide, the Hiftorian wanting the precept, is fo tyed, not to what Ihoulde bee, but to what is, to the particuler truth of things, and not to the general rea- fon of things, that hys example draweth no neceffary confequence, and therefore a leffe fruitfull doctrine. Nowe dooth the peerelefle Poet performe both : for whatfoeuer the Philofopher fayth fhoulde be doone, hee giueth a perfect picture of it in fome one, by whom hee prefuppofeth it was done. So as hee coup- leth the generall notion with the particuler example. A perfect picture I fay, for hee yeeldeth to the powers of the minde, an image of that whereof the Philofo- pher befloweth but a woordifh defcription : which dooth neyther strike, pierce, nor poffeffe the fight of the foule, fo much as that other dooth. For as in outward things, to a man that had neuer feene an Elephant or a Rinoceros, who mould tell him mofl exquifitely all theyr ftiapes, cullour, bignefle, and perticular markes : or of a gorgeous Pallace, the Architecture, with declaring the full beauties, might well make the hearer able to repeate as it were by rote, all hee had heard, yet mould neuer fatiffie his in- ward conceits, with being witnes to it felfe of a true liuely knowledge : but the fame man, as foone as hee might fee thofe beafls well painted, or the houfe wel in moddel, mould flraightwaies grow without need of any defcription, to a Judicial comprehending of them, fo no doubt the Philofopher with his learned definition, bee it of vertue, vices, matters of publick policie, or priuat gouernment, replenifheth the memory with many infallible grounds of wifdom : which notwithflanding, lye darke before the imaginatiue and iudging powre, if they bee not illuminated or figured foorth by the ipeaking picture of Poefie. Tullie taketh much paynes and many times not without poeticall helpes, to make vs knowe the force loue of our Countrey hath in vs. Let vs but heare c 34 AN APOLOGIE old Anchifes fpeaking in the middefl of Troyes flames, or fee Vliffes in the fulnes of all Calipfo's delights, bewayle his abfence from barraine and beggerly Ithaca. Anger the Stoicks say, was a short maddnes, let but Sophocles bring you Aiax on a ftage, killing and whipping Sheepe and Oxen, thinking them the Army of Greeks, with theyr Chiefetaines Agamemnon and Menelaus, and tell mee if you haue not a more familiar infight into anger, then finding in the Schoole- men his Genus and difference. See whether wifdome and temperance in Vliffes and Diomedes, valure in Achilles, friendfhip in JVtfus, and Eurialus, euen to an ignoraunt man, carry not an apparent fhyning: and contrarily, the remorfe of confcience in Oedipus, the foone repenting pride of Agamemnon, the felfe- deuouring crueltie in his Father Atreus, the violence of ambition in the two Theban brothers, the fowre- fweetnes of reuenge in Medcea, and to fall lower, the Terentian Gnato, and our Chaucers Pandar, fo ex- preft, that we nowe vfe their names to fignifie their trades. And finally, all vertues, vices, and pafsions, so in their own naturall feates layd to the viewe, that wee feeme not to heare of them, but cleerely to fee through them. But euen in the moft excellent deter- mination of goodnes, what Philofophers counfell can fo redily direct a Prince, as the fayned Cyrus in Xenophonl or a vertuous man in all fortunes, as Aeneas in Virgill? or a whole Common-wealth, as the way of Sir Thomas Moorcs Eutopia ? I fay the way, becaufe where Sir Thomas Moore erred, it was the fault of the man and not of the Poet, for that way of patterning a Common-wealth was mofl. abfolute, though hee per- chaunce hath not fo abfolutely perfourmed it : for the queflion is, whether the fayned image of Poefie, or the regular inflruction of Philofophy, hath the more force in teaching : wherein if the Philofophers haue more rightly fhewed themfelues Philofophers, then the Poets haue obtained to the high top of their jiro- feffion, as in truth, FOR POETRIE. 35 -Mediocribus effe foetls, Non Dij, non homines, non conceffere Columns: It is I fay againe, not the fault of the Art, but that by fewe men that Arte can bee accomplifhed. Certainly, euen our Sauiour Chrift could as well haue giuen, the morrall common places of vncharitablenes and humblenes, as the diuine narration of Dines and Lazarus: or of difobedience and mercy, as that heauenly difcourfe of the loft Child and the gratious Father; but that hys through -fearching wifdom, knewe the eftate of Dines burning in hell, and of Lazarus being in Abrahams bofome, would more conflantly (as it were) inhabit both the memory and iudgment. Truly, for my felfe, mee feemes I fee be- fore my eyes the loft Childes difdainefull prodigality, turned to enuie a Swines dinner : which by the learned Diuines, are thought not hiftoricall acts, but inftru cling Parables. Forconclufion, Ifay the Philosopher teach eth, but he teacheth obfcurely, fo as the learned onely can vnderftande him : that is to fay, he teacheth them that are already taught, but the Poet is the foode for the tendereft ftomacks, the Poet is indeed the right Popular Philofopher, whereof Efops tales giue good proofs : whofe pretty Allegories, ftealing vnder the formall tales of Beafles, make many, more beaflly then Beafts, begin to heare the found of vertue from thefe dumbe fpeakers. But now may it be alledged, that if this imagining of matters be fo fitte for the imagination, then muft the Hiftorian needs furpaffe, who bringeth you images of true matters, fuch as indeede were doone, and not fuch as fantaftically or falfely may be fuggefted to haue been doone. Truely Arijlotle himfelfe in his difcourfe of Poefie, plainely determineth this queftion, faying, that Poetry is Philofoptwteron and Spoudaioteron, that is to fay, it is more Philofophicall, and more ftudioufiy ferious, then hiflory. His reafon is, becaufe Poefie dealeth with Katholou, that is to fay, with the vniuerfall confideration ; and the hiflory with Katfa- 36 AN APOLOGIE kajlon, the perticuler ; nowe fayth he, the vniuerfall wayes what is fit to bee fayd or done, eyther in likeli- hood or necefsity, (which the Poefie confidereth in his impofed names,) and the perticuler, onely mark's, whether Alcibiades did, or fuffered, this or that. Thus farre Ariftotle : which reafon of his, (as all his) is moft full of reafon. For indeed, if the queflion were whether it were better to haue a perticular acte truly or falfly fet down : there is no doubt which is to be chofen, no more then whether you had rather haue Vefpafians picture right as hee was, or at the Painters pleafure nothing refembling. But if the queftion be for your owne vfe and learning, whether it be better to haue it fet downe as it mould be, or as it was : then certainely is more doctrinable the fained Cirus QiXenophon then the true Cyrus in lujline: and the fayned Aeneas in Virgil, then the right Aeneas in Dares Phrigius. As to a Lady that defired to fafhion her counten- ance to the beft grace, a Painter mould more benefite her to portraite a moft fweet face, wryting Canidia vpon it, then to paynt Canidia as me was, who Horace fweareth, was foule and ill fauoured. If the Poet doe his part a-right, he will (hew you in Tantalus, Atreus, and fuch like, nothing that is not to be fhunned. In Cyrus, Aeneas, Vliffes, each thing to be followed ; where the Hiftorian, bound to tell things as things were, cannot be liberall (without hee will be poeticall) of a perfect patterne : but as in Alexander or Scipio himfelfe, mew dooings, fome to be liked, fome to be mifliked. And then how will you difcerne what to followe but by your owne difcretion, which you had without reading Quintus Curtiusf And whereas a man may fay, though in vniuerfall confideration of doctrine the Poet preuaileth ; yet that the hiflorie, in his faying fuch a thing was doone, doth warrant a man more in that hee (hall follow. The aunfwere is manifeft, that if hee flande vpon that was ; as if hee mould argue, becaufe it rayned yefterday, therefore it fhoulde rayne to day, then FOR FOE TRIE. 37 indeede it hath fome aduantage to a grofe conceite : but if he know an example onlie, informes a coniedlured likelihood, and fo goe by reafon, the Poet dooth fo farre exceede him, as hee is to frame his example to that which is mod reafonable : be it in warlike, politick, or priuate matters ; where the His- torian in his bare VVas, hath many times that which wee call fortune, to ouer-rule the beft wifedome. Manie times, he muft tell euents, whereof he can yeelde no caufe : or if hee doe, it muft be poeticall ; for that a fayned example, hath afmuch force to teach, as a true example : (for as for to mooue, it is cleere, fith the fayned may bee tuned to the higheft key of pafsion) let vs take one example, wherein a Poet and a Hiftorian doe concur. Herodotus and hi/line do both teftifie, that Zopirus, King Darius faithful feruaunt, feeing his Maifter long refitted by the rebellious Babilonians, fayned himfelfe in extreame difgrace of his King : for verifying of which, he caufed his own nofe and eares to be cut off: and fo flying to the Babylonians, was receiued : and for his knowne valour, fo far credited, that hee did finde meanes to deliuer them ouer to Darius. Much like matter doth Liuie record of Tarquinius and his fonne. Xenophon excellently faineth fuch another (Iratageme, performed by Abradates in Cyrus behalfe. Now would I fayne know, if occafion bee prefented vnto you, to ferue your Prince by fuch an honeft difsimulation, why you doe not as well learne it of Xenophons fi<5lion, as of the others verity : and truely fo much the better, as you (hall faue your nofe by the bargaine : for Abradates did not counterfet fo far. So then the bed of the Hiftorian, is fubiedl to the Poet ; for whatfoeuer adlion, or faction, whatfoeuer counfell, pollicy, or warre ftratagem, the Hiflorian is bound to recite, that may the Poet (if he lift) with his imitation make his own ; beautifying it both for further teaching, and more delighting, as it pleafeth him : hauing all, from Dante his heauen, to hys hell, vnder the authoritie 38 AN APOLOCIE of his penne. Which if I be asked what Poets haue done fo, as I might well name fome, yet fay I, and fay againe, I fpeak of the Arte, and not of the Artificer. Nowe, to that which commonly is attributed to the prayfe of hiftories, in refpeft of the notable learning is gotten by marking the fucceffe, as though therein a man mould fee vertue exalted, and vice punifhed. Truely that commendation ikJ peculiar to Poetrie, and farre of from Hiflory. For indeede Poetrie euer fetteth vertue fo out in her beft cullours, making Fortune her wel-wayting hand-mayd, that one mufl needs be enamored of her. Well may you fee Vliffes in a florme, and in other hard plights ; but they are but exercifes of patience and magnanimitie, to make them mine the more in the neere-following profperitie. And of the contrarie part, if euill men come to the ftage, they euer goe out (as the Tragedie Writer anfwered, to one that mifliked the fhew of fuch perfons) fo manacled, as they little animate folkes to followe them. But the Hiftorian, beeing cap. tiued to the trueth of a foolifh world, is many times a terror from well dooing, and an incouragement to vn- brideled wickednes. For, fee wee not valiant Milriadesiot in his fetters? The iuft Phocion, and the accomplifheil Socrates, put to death like Traytors? The cruell Seuerus Hue profperoufly? The excellent Seuerus miferably mur- thered ? Sylla and Marius dying in theyr beddes ? Pompey and Cicero flaine then, when they would haue thought exile a happineffe ? See wee not vertuous Cato driuen to kyll himfelfe ? and rebell Ctzfar fo aduaunced, that his name yet after 1600. yeares, lafleth in the highefl honor ? And marke but euen Cafars own words of the fore-named Sylla, (who in that onely did honeftly, to put downe his difhoneft tyrannic,) Literas nefciuit, as if want of learning caufed him to doe well. Hee meant it not by Poetrie, which not content with earthly plagues, deuifeth new punifhments in hel for Tyrants : nor yet FOR POETRIE. 39 by Philofophie, which teacheth Ocddendos effe> but no doubt by fkill in Hiflorie : for that indeede can aftbord your Cipfelus, Per lander , Phalaris, Dioni/ius, and I know not how many more of the fame kennell, that speede well enough in theyr abhominable vniuflice or vfurpation. I conclude therefore, that hee excel- leth Hiflorie, not onely in furnifliing the minde with knowledge, but in fetting it forward, to that which deferueth to be called and accounted good : which fet- ting forward, and moouing to well dooing, indeed fet- teth the Lawrell crowne vpon the Poet as victorious, not onely of the Hiftorian, but ouer the Phylofopher : howfoeuer in teaching it may bee queftionable. For fuppofe it be granted, (that which I fuppofe with great reafon may be denied,) that the Philofo- pher in refpecl of his methodical proceeding, doth teach more perfectly then the Poet : yet do I thinke, that no man is fo much Philophilofophos, as to compare the Philofopher in moouing, with the Poet. And that moouing is of a higher degree ther. teaching, it may by this appeare : that it is wel nigh the caufe and the effect of teaching. For who will be taught, if hee bee not mooued with defire to be taught ? and what fo much good doth that teaching bring forth, (I fpeak ftill of morrall doctrine) as that it mooueth one to doe that which it dooth teach ? for as Arijlotle fayth, it is not Gnofis, but Praxis muft be the fruit. And howe Praxis cannot be, without being mooued to practife, it is no hard matter to confider. The Philofopher Iheweth you the way, hee infor- meth you of the particularities, as well of the tedious- nes of the way, as of the pleafant lodging you fhall haue when your iourney is ended, as of the many by- turnings that may diuert you from your way. But this is to no man but to him that will read him, and read him with attentiue fludious painfulnes. VVhich conftant defire, whofoeuer hath in him, hath already paft halfe the hardnes of the way, and therefore is be- holding to the Philofopher but for the other halfe. 40 AN APOLOGtB Nay tmely, learned men haue learnedly thought, that where once reafon hath fo much ouer-maftred pafsion, as that the minde hath a free defire to doe well, the inward light each minde hath in it selfe, is as good as a Philofophers booke ; feeing in nature we know it is wel, to doe well, and what is well, and what is euill, although not in the words of Arte, which Philofophers beflowe vpon vs. For out of naturall conceit, the Philofophers drew it, but to be moued to doe that which we know, or to be mooued with defire to knowe, Hoc opus : Hie labor eft. Nowe therein of all Sciences, (I fpeak ftill of humane, and according to the humane conceits) is our Poet the Monarch. For he dooth not only (how the way, but giueth fo fweete a profpecl into the way, as will intice any man to enter into it. Nay, he dooth as if your iourney should lye through a fayre Vineyard, at the firfl giue you a clutter of Grapes : that full of that tatte, you may long to paffe further. He begin- neth not with obfcure definitions, which mutt blur the margent with interpretations, and load the memory with doubtfulneffe : but hee commeth to you with words sent in delightfull proportion, either accompanied with, or prepared for the well inchaunting skill of Muficke ; and with a tale forfooth he commeth vnto you : with a tale which holdeth children from play, and old men from the chimney corner. And pretending no more, doth intende the winning of the mind from wicked- nefle to vertue : euen as the childe is often brought to take mod wholfom things, by hiding them in such other as haue a pleafant taft : which if one mould beginne to tell them, the nature of Aloes, or Rubarb they fhoulde receiue, woulde fooner take their Phificke at their eares, then at their mouth. So is it in men (mod of which are childifh in the bed things, till they bee cradled in their graues,) glad they will be to heare the tales of Hercules, Achilles, Cyrus, and Aeneas; and hearing them, mufl needs heare the right defcrip- tion of wifdom, valure, and iuflice ; which, if they had FOR POETRIE. 41 been barely, that is to fay, Philofophically fet out, they would fweare they bee brought to fchoole againe. That imitation wherof Poetry is, hath the moll con- ueniency to Nature of all other, in fomuch, that as Arijlotle fayth, thofe things which in themfelues are horrible, as cruell battailes, vnnaturall Monflers, are made in poeticall imitation delightfull. Truely I haue knowen men, that euen with reading Amadis de Gaule, (which God knoweth wanteth much of a perfect Poefie) haue found their harts mooued to the exercife of courtefie, liberalise, and efpecially courage. Who readeth Aeneas carrying olde Anchifes on his back, that wilheth not it were his fortune to perfourme fo excellent an ac~le ? Whom doe not the words of Turnus mooue ? (the tale of Turnus, hauing planted his image in the imagination,) -Fugientem hcec terra videbit. Vfque adeone mori miferum eft ? Where the Philofophers, as they fcorne to delight, fo muft they bee content little to mooue : fauing wrang- ling, whether Vertue bee the chiefe, or the onely good : whether the contemplatiue, or the actiue life doe ex- cell : which Plato and Boethius well knew, and there- fore made Miftres Philofophy, very often borrow the mafking rayment of Poefie. For euen thofe harde harted euill men, who thinke vertue a fchoole name, and knowe no other good, but indulgere genio, and therefore defpife the auftere admonitions of the Philo- fopher, and feele not the inward reafon they ftand vpon ; yet will be content to be delighted : which is al, the good felow Poet feemeth to promife : and fo fteale to fee the forme of goodnes (which feene they cannot but loue) ere themfelues be aware, as if they tooke a medicine of Cherries. Infinite proofes of the ftrange effects of this poeticall inuention might be alledged, onely two mail ferue, which are fo often remembred, as I thinke all men knowe them. The one of Menenius Agri^a, who when the whole 4* AN APOLOGIE people of Rome had refolutely deuided themfeluea from the Senate, with apparant mew of vtter ruine : though hee were (for that time) an excellent Oratour, came not among them, vpon truft of figuratiue fpeeches, or cunning infmuations : and much leffe, with farre fet Maximes of Phylofophie, which (efpecially if they were Platonick^) they mufl haue learned Geometric before they could well haue conceiued : but forfooth he behaues himfelfe, like a homely, and familiar Poet. Hee telleth them a tale, that there was a time, when all the parts of the body made a mutinous confpiracie againfl the belly, which they thought deuoured the fruits of each others labour: they concluded they would let fo vnprofitable a fpen- der starue. In the end, to be fhort, (for the tale is notorious, and as notorious that it was a tale,) with punifhing the belly, they plagued themfelues. This applied by him, wrought fuch effect in the people, as I neuer read, that euer words brought forth but then, fo. fuddaine and fo good an alteration ; for vpon rea- fonable conditions, a perfect reconcilement enfued. The other is of Nathan the Prophet, who when the holie Dauid had fo far forfaken God, as to confirme adulterie with murther : when hee was to doe the ten- dered office of a friende, in laying his owne fliame before his eyes, fent by God to call againe fo chofen a feruant : how doth he it ? but by telling of a man, whose beloued Lambe was vngratefullie taken from his bofome : the applycation moft diuinely true, but the difcourfe it felfe, fayned : which made Dauid, (I fpeake of the fecond and inftrumentall caufe) as in a glaffe, to fee his own filthines, as that heauenly Pfalme of mercie wel teftifieth. By thefe therefore examples and reafons, I think it may be manifeft, that the Poet with that fame hand of delight, doth draw the mind more effectually, then any other Arte dooth, and fo a conclufion not vnfitlie enfueth : that as vertue is the moft excellent refting place for all worldlie learning to make his end of: fo FOR POETRIE. 43 Poetrie, beeing the mofl familiar to teach it, ana moft princelie to moue towards it, in the mofl excellent work, is the mofl excellent workman. But I am content, not onely to decipher him by his workes, (although works in commendation or difprayfe, mufl euer holde an high authority,) but more narrowly will examine his parts : fo that (as in a man) though al- together may carry a prefence ful of maieflie and beautie, perchance in fome one defectious peece, we may find a blemifh : now in his parts, kindes, or Species, (as you lift to terme them) it is to be noted, that fome Poefies haue coupled together two or three kindes, as Tragicall and Comicall, wher-vpon is rifen, the Tragi-comicall. Some in the like manner haue mingled Profe and Verfe, as Sanazzar and Boelius. Some haue mingled matters Heroicall and Paftorall. But that commeth all to one in this queflion, for if feuered they be good, the coniundlion cannot be hurt- full. Therefore perchaunce forgetting fome, and leauing fome as needlefle to be remembred, it (hall not be amiffe in a worde to cite the fpeciall kindes, to fee what faults may be found in the right vfe of them. Is it then the Paftorall Poem which is mifliked? (for perchance, where the hedge is loweft, they will fooneft leape ouer.) Is the poore pype difdained, which fometime out of Mclibeus mouth, can fhewe the miferie of people, vnder hard Lords, or rauening Soul- diours? And again, by Titirus, what bleffednes is deriued to them that lye lowefl from the goodneffe of them that fit higheft ? Sometimes, vnder the prettie tales of VVolues and Sheepe, can include the whole con- fiderations of wrong dooing and patience. Sometimes fhew, that contention for trifles, can get but a trifling victorie. Where perchaunce a man may fee, thateuen Alexander and Darius, when they flraue who fhould be Cocke of thys worlds dunghill, the benefit they got, was, that the after-liners may fay, Hoc memini et mElum fruftra contendere Thirfin: Ex illo Condon^ Coridon eft tempore nobis. 44 AN APOLOGIE Or is it the lamenting Elegiack, which in a kinde hart would mooue rather pitty then blame, who bewailes with the great Philofopher Heraclitus, the weakenes of man-kind, and the wretchednes of the world : who furely is to be prayfed, either for compafsionate accom- panying iuft caufes of lamentation, or for rightly paynt- ing out how weake be the pafsions of wofulnefie. Is it the bitter, but wholfome lambick, which rubs the galled minde, in making mame the trumpet of villanie, with bolde and open crying out againft naughtines ; Or the Satirick, who Omne vafer vitium, ridenti tangit amico ? Who fportingly neuer leaueth, vntil hee make a man laugh at folly, and at length afhamed, to laugh at him- felfe : which he cannot auoyd, without auoyding the follie. Who while Circum preecordia ludit. giueth vs to feele, how many head-aches a paffionate life bringeth vs to. How when all is done, EJl vlubris animus ft nos non deficit cequus ? No perchance it is the Comick, whom naughtie Play-makers and Stage-keepers, have iuflly made odious. To the argument of abufe, I will anfwer after. Onely thus much now is to be faid, that the Comedy is an imitation of the common errors of our life, which he reprefenteth, in the mofl ridiculous and fcornefull fort that may be. So as it is impofsible, that any be- holder can be content to be fuch a one. Now, as in Geometry, the oblique mufl bee knowne as wel as the right : and in Arithmetick, the odde afwell as the euen, fo in the actions of our life, who feeth not the filthines of euil, wanteth a great foile to perceiue the beauty of vertue. This doth the Comedy handle fo in our priuate and domeflical matters, as with hearing it, we get as it were an experience, what is to be looked for of a nigardly JDemea : of a crafty Danus; of a flattering Gnato\ of a vaine glorious FOR POETRIE. 43 Tlirajo : and not onely to know what effects are to be expelled, but to know who be fuch, by the fignifying badge giuen them by the Comedian. And little reafon hath any man to fay, that men learne euill by feeing it so fet out : fith as I fayd before, there is no man liuing, but by the force trueth hath in nature, no fooner feeth thefe men play their parts, but wifheth them in Piflrinum : although perchance the fack of his owne faults, lye fo behinde hys back, that he feeth not himfelfe daunce the fame meafure : whereto, yet no- thing can more open his eyes, then to finde his own actions contemptibly fet forth. So that the right vfe of Comedy will (I thinke) by no body be blamed, and much leffe of the high and excellent Tragedy, that openeth the greateft wounds, and fheweth forth the Vicers, that are couered with Tiffue : that maketh Kinges feare to be Tyrants, and Tyrants manifeft their tirannicall humors : that with fturring the affects of admiration and commiferation, teacheth, the vncer- tainety of this world, and vpon how weake foundations guilden roofes are builded. That maketh vs knowe, Quifceptrafauus, duro imperio regit, Timet timentes, metus in authorem redit. But how much it can mooue, Plutarch yeeldeth a notable teftimonie, of the abhominable Tyrant, Alexander Pherceus ; from whofe eyes, a Tragedy wel made, and reprefented, drewe aboundance of teares : who without all pitty, had murthered infinite nombers, and fome of his owne blood. So as he, that was not afhamed to make matters for Tragedies, yet coulde not refift the fweet violence of a Tragedie. And if it wrought no further good in him, it was, that he in defpight of himfelfe, withdrewe himfelfe from harkening to that, which might mollifie his hardened heart. But it is not the Tragedy they doe miflike : For it were too abfurd to cafl out fo excel- lent a reprefentation of whatfoeuer is moft worthy to be learned. Is it the Liricke that mofl difpleafeth, 46 AN APOLOGIE who with his tuned Lyre, and wel accorded voyce, giueth praife, the reward of vertue, to vertuous a6ls ? who giues morrall precepts, and naturall Problemes, who fometimes rayfeth vp his voice to the height of the heauens, in fmging the laudes of the immortall God. Certainly I mufl confeffe my own barbaroufnes, I neuer heard the olde song of Percy and Dug/as, that I found not my heart mooued more then with a Trumpet : and yet is it fung but by fome blinde Crouder, with no rougher voyce, then rude ftile : which being fo euill apparrelled in the dud and cob- webbes of that vnciuill age, what would it worke trymmed in the gorgeous eloquence of Pindar ? In Hungary I haue feene it the manner at all Feafls, and other fuch meetings, to haue fonges of their Aun- ceflours valour ; which that right Souldier-like Nation thinck the chiefefl kindlers ofbraue courage. The incomparable Lacedemonians, did not only carry that kinde of Muficke euer with them to the field, but euen at home, as fuch fongs were made, fo were they all content to bee the fingers of them, when the ludy men were to tell what they dyd, the olde men, what they had done, and the young men what they wold doe And where a man may fay, that Pindar many times prayfeth highly victories of fmall moment, matters rather of fport then vertue : as it may be aunfwered, it was the fault of the Poet, and not of the Poetry ; fo indeede, the chiefe fault was in the tyme and cudome of the Greekes, who fet thofe toyes at fo high a price, that Phillip of Macedon reckoned a horfe-race wonne at Olimpusy among hys three fearefull felicities. But as the vnimitable Pindar often did, fo is that kinde mod capable and mod fit, to awake the thoughts from the deep of idlenes, to imbrace honorable enter- prifes. There reds the Heroicall, whofe very name (I thinke) mould Haunt all back-biters ; for by what conceit can a tongue be direcled to fpeake euill of that, which draweth with it, no leflfe Champions FOR POETRTE. 47 then Achilles, Cyrus, Aeneas, 2'urnus, Tideus, and Rinaldo ? who doth not onely teach and moue to a truth, but teach eth and mooueth to the mod high and excellent truth. Who maketh magnanimity and iuf- tice mine, throughout all mifty fearefulnes and foggy defires. Who, if the faying of Plato and Tullie bee true, that who could fee Vertue, would be wonderfully rauifhed with the loue of her beauty : this man fets her out to- make her more louely in her holyday apparell, to the eye of any that will daine, not to dif- daine, vntill they vnderftand. But if any thing be already fayd in the defence of fweete Poetry, all con- curreth to the maintaining the Heroicall, which is not onely a kinde, but the beft, and moft accomplifhed kinde of Poetry. For as the image of each action ftyrreth and inflrucleth the mind, fo the loftie image of fuch Worthies, moft inflameth the mind with defire to be worthy, and informes with counfel how to be worthy. Only let Aeneas be worne in the tablet of your memory, how he gouerneth himfelfe in the ruine of his Country, in the preferuing his old Father, and carrying away his religious ceremonies : in obey- ing the Gods commandement to leaue Dido, though not onely all pafsionate kindenes, but euen the humane confideration of vertuous gratefulnes, would haue craued other of him. How in ftorms, howe in fports, howe in warre, howe in peace, how a fugitiue, how victorious, how befiedged, how befiedging, howe to ftrangers, howe to allyes, how to enemies, howe to his owne : laftly,how in his inward felfc, and howin his outward gouernment. And I thinke, in a minde not prejudiced with a preiudicating humor, hee will be found in excellencie fruitefull : yea, euen as Horace fayth Melius Chrijlppo et Crantore. But truely I imagine, it falleth out with thefe Poet- whyppers, as with fome good women, who often are ficke, but in fayth they cannot tel where. So the name of Poetrie is odious to /hem, but neither his caufe, nor effects, neither the fum that containes him, 1? AN APOLOGIE nor the particularities descending from him, giue any faft handle to their carping difprayfe. Sith then Poetrie is of all humane learning the mofl auncient, and of mod fatherly antiquitie, as from whence other learnings haue taken theyr beginnings : fith it is fo vniuerfall, that no learned Nation dooth defpife it, nor no barbarous Nation is without it : fith both Roman and Greek gaue diuine names vnto it: the one of prophecying, the other of making. And that indeede, that name of making is fit for him ; con- fidering, that where as other Arts retaine themfelues within their fubieft, and receiue as it were, their beeing from it: the Poet onely, bringeth his owne fluffe, and dooth not learne a conceite out of a matter, but maketh matter for a conceite : Sith neither his defcription, nor his ende, contayneth any euill, the thing defcribed cannot be euill : Sith his effects be fo good as to teach goodnes and to delight the learners : Sith therein, (namely in morrall doctrine, the chiefe of all knowledges,) hee dooth not onely farre paffe the Hiflorian, but for inftruc~ling, is well nigh comparable to the Philofopher: and for mouing, leaues him behind him : Sith the holy fcripture (wherein there is no vncleannes) hath whole parts in it poeticall. And that euen our Sauiour Chrift, vouchfafed to vfe the flowers of it : Sith all his kindes are not onlie in their vnited formes, but in their feuered diffedlions fully commendable, I think, (and think I thinke rightly) the Lawrell crowne appointed for tryumphing Captaines, doth worthilie (of al other learnings) honor the Poets tryumph. But becaufe wee haue eares afwell as tongues, and that the lighteft reafons that may be, will feeme to weigh greatly, if nothing be put hi the counter-ballance : let vs heare, and afwell as wee can ponder, what obie<5lions may bee made againft this Arte, which may be worthy, eyther of yeelding, or anfwering. Firfl truely I note, not onely in thefe Myfomoufoi Poet-haters, but in all that kinde of people, who feek FOR POETRIE, 49 a prayfe by difprayfing others, that they doe prodi- gally fpend a great many wandering wordes, in quips, and fcoffes; carping and taunting at each thing, which by ftyrring the Spleene, may flay the braine from a through beholding the worthines of the fubieft. Thofe kinde of obiec~lions, as they are full of very idle eafines, fith there is nothing of fo facred a ma- ieflie, but that an itching tongue may rubbe it felfe vpon it : fo deferue they no other anfwer, but in fteed of laughing at the iefl, to laugh at the iefler. Wee know a playing wit, can prayfe the difcretion of an Affe ; the comfortablenes of being in debt, and the iolly commoditie of beeing fick of the plague. So of the contrary fide, if we will turne Quids verfe, Vt lateat virtus, proximitate malt, that good lye hid in neereneffe of the euill : Agrippa, will be as merry in mewing the vanitie of Science, as Erafmus was in commending of follie. Neyther mail any man or matter efcape fome touch of thefe fmyling raylers. But for Erafmus and Agrippa, they had another foundation then the superficiall part would promife. Mary, thefe other pleafant Fault-finders, who wil correct the Verbe, before they vnderftande the Noune, and confute others knowledge before they confirme theyr owne : I would haue them onely remember, that fcoffing commeth not of wifedom. So as the beft title in true Englifh they gette with their merriments, is to be called good fooles : for fo haue our graue Fore-fathers euer termed that humorous kinde of ieflers : but that which gyueth greatefl fcope to their fcorning humors, is ryming and verfing. It is already fayde (and as I think, trulie fayde) it is not ryming and verfing, that maketh Poefie. One may bee a Poet without verfing, and a verfifier without Poetry. But yet, prefuppofe it were infeparable (as indeede it feemeth Scaliger iudgeth) truelie it were an infeparable commendation. For if Oratio, next to Ratio, Speech next to Reafon, bee the greatefl gyft jo AN APOLOG1E bellowed vpon mortalitie : that can not be praifeleffe, which dooth mod pollifh that blefsing of fpeech, which confiders each word, not only (as a man may fay) by his forcible qualitie, but by his bell meafured quantitie, carrying euen in themfelues, a Harmonic : (without (perchaunce) Number, Meafure, Order, Pro- portion, be in our time growne odious.) But lay 2 fide the iuft prayfe it hath, by beeing the onely fit fpeech for Mufick, (Mufick I fay, the moft diuine ftriker of the fences :) thus much is vndoubtedly true, that if reading bee foolifh, without remembring, memorie being the onely treafurer of knowled[g]e, those words which are fitteft for memory, are likewife moft conuenient for knowledge. Now, that Verfe farre exceedeth Profe in the knit- ting vp of the memory, the reafon is manifeft. The words, (befides theyr delight which hath a great affi- nitie to memory,) beeing fo fet, as one word cannot be loft, but the whole worke failes : which accufeth it felfe, calleth the remembrance backe to it felfe, and fo moft ftrongly confirmeth it ; befides, one word fo as it were begetting another, as be it in ryme or meafured verfe, by the former a man (hall haue a neere geffe to the follower : laftly, euen they that haue taught the Art of memory, haue fhewed nothing fo apt for it, as a certaine roome deuided into many places well and throughly knowne. Now, that hath the verfe in effect perfectly : euery word hauing his naturall feate, which feate, mud needes make the words remembred. But what needeth more in a thing fo knowne to all men ? who is it that euer was a fcholler, that doth not carry away fome verfes of Virgill, Horace, or Cato, which in his youth he learned, and euen to his old age ferue him for howrely leffons? but the nines it hath for memory, is notably proued by all deliuery of Arts : wherein for the moft part, from Grammer, to Logick, Mathematick, Phifick, and the refl, the rules chiefely neceffary to bee borne away, are compiled in verfes. So that, verfe being in it felfe fweete and orderly, and beeing beft for memory, the FOR POETRIE. 51 onely handle of knowledge, it mufl be in iefl that any man can fpeake againfl it. Nowe then goe wee to the mofl important imputations laid to the poore Poets, for ought I can yet learne, they are thefe, firfl, that there beeing many other more fruitefull know- ledges, a man might better fpend his tyme in them, then in this. Secondly, that it is the mother of lyes. Thirdly, that it is the Nurfe of abufe, infe6ling vs with many peftilent defires : with a Syrens fweetnes, draw- ing the mind to the Serpents tayle of fmfull fancy. And heerein efpecially, Comedies giue the largeft field to erre, as Chaucer sayth : howe both in other Nations and in ours, before Poets did foften vs, we were full of courage, giuen to martiall exercifes ; the pillers of manlyke liberty, and not lulled a fleepe in fhady idlenes with Poets paftimes. And laftly, and chiefely, they cry out with an open mouth, as if they out (hot Robin Hood, that Plato banifhed them out oi hys Common-wealth. Truely, this is much, if there be much truth in it. Firfl to the firft : that a man might better fpend his tyme, is a reafon indeede : but it doth (as they fay) but Petere principium : for if it be as I affirme, that no learning is fo good, as that which teacheth and mooueth to vertue ; and that none can both teach and moue thereto fo much as Poetry : then is the conclufion manifefl, that Incke and Paper cannot be to a more profitable purpofe employed. And certainly, though a man mould graunt their firfl affumption, it mould followe (me thinkes) very unwill- ingly, that good is not good, becaufe better is better. But I flill and vtterly denye, that there is sprong out of earth a more fruitefull knowledge. To the fecond therefore, that they mould be the principall lyars ; I aunfwere paradoxically, but truely, I thinke truely ; that of all VVriters vnder the funne, the Poet is the leaft Her : and though he would, as a Poet can fcarcely be a Iyer, the Aflronomer, with his cofen the Geometri- cian, can hardly efcape, when they take vpon them t, as men that had rather red Louers writings ; and fo caught vp certaine fwelling phrafes, which hang together, like a man which once tolde mee, the winde was at North, Weft, and by South, becaufe he would be fure to name windes enovve : then that in truth they feele thofe pafsions, which eafily (as I think) may be bewrayed, by that fame forciblenes, or Energia, (as the Greekes caJ it) of the 6* AN APOLOGIE writer. But let this bee a fufficient, though fliort note, that wee mifle the right vfe of the materiall point of Poefie. Now, for the out-fide of it, which is words, or (as I may tearme it) Diflion, it is euen well worfe. So is that honny-flowing Matron Eloquence, apparelled, or rather difguifed, in a Curtizan-like painted affectation : one time with fo farre fette words, they may feeme Monflers: but mufl feeme ftraungers to any poore Englifh man. Another tyme, with courfing of a Let- ter, as if they were bound to followe the method of a Dictionary : an other tyme, with figures and flowers, extreamelie winter-flarued. But I would this fault were only peculier to Veriifiers, and had not as large poflefiion among Profe-printers ; and, (which is to be meruailed) among many Schollers ; and, (which is to be pittied) among fome Preachers. Truly I could wifh, if at leafl I might be so bold, to wifh in a thing beyond the reach of my capacity, the diligent imita- tors of TulZic, and Demofthenes, (mod worthy to be imitated) did not fo much keep, Nizolian Paper-bookes of their figures and phrafes, as by attentiue tranflation (as it were) deuoure them whole, and make them wholly theirs : For nowe they cafl Sugar and Spice, vpon euery dim that is ferued to the table ; Like thofe Indians, not content to weare eare-rings at the fit and naturall place of the eares, but they will thrufl lewels through their nofe, and lippes becaufe they will be fure to be fine. Tutlie, when he was to driue out Cateline, as it were with a Thunder-bolt of eloquence, often vfed that figure of repitition, Viuit -viuit ? imo Senatum venit fc. Indeed, inflamed with a well-grounded rage, hee would haue his words (as it were) double out of his mouth : and fo doe that artificially, which we fee men doe in choller naturally. And wee, hauing noted the grace of thofe words, hale them in fometime to a familier Epiftle, when it were to too much choller to be chollerick. Fow for fimilitudes, in certaine printed difcourfes, I thinke all Herbarifls, all flories of Beads, Foules, and Fiflies, are rifled vp, that they come in FOR FOE TRIE. 69 multitudes, to waite vpon any of our conceits ; wftich certainly is as abfurd a furfet to the eares, as is pofsible : for the force of a fimilitude, not being to prooue any- thing to a contrary Difputer, but onely to explane to a willing hearer, when that is done, the reft is a moft tedious pratling: rather ouer-fwaying the memory from the purpofe whereto they were applyed, then any whit informing the iudgement, already eyther fatis- fied, or by fimilitudes not to be fatif-fied. For my part, I doe not doubt, when Antonius and Craffus, the great forefathers of Cicero in eloquence, the one (as Cicero teflifieth of them) pretended not to know Arte, the other, not to fet by it : becaufe with a playne fenfiblenes, they mightwin credit of popular eares; which credit, is the neereft ftep to perfwafion : which perfwafion, is the chiefe marke of Oratory ; I doe not doubt (I fay) but that they vfed thefe tracks very fparingly, which who doth generally vfe, any man may fee doth daunce to his owne mufick : and fo be noted by the audience, more careful to fpeake curioufly, then to fpeake truly. Vndoubtedly, (at leafl to my opinion vndoubtedly,) I haue found in diuers finally learned Courtiers, a more founde ftile, then in some profeffors of learning: of which I can gefle no other caufe, but that the Courtier following that which by praclife hee findeth fitteft to nature, there- in, (though he know it not,) doth according to Art, though not by Art : where the other, vfmg Art to shew Art, and not to hide Art, (as in thefe cafes he mould doe) flyeth from nature, and indeede abufeth Art. But what ? me thinkes I deferue to be pounded, foi ftraying from Poetrie to Oratorie : but both haue fuch an affinity in this wordim confideration, that I thinke this digrefsion, will make my meaning receiue the fuller vnderftanding : which is not to take vpon me to teach Poets hovve they mould doe, but onely finding my felfe fick among the reft, to fhewe fome one or two fpots of the common infection, growne among the moft part of Writers : that acknowledging our felues fomewhat awry, we may bend to the right vfe both of 70 AN APOLOGIE matter and manner ; whereto our language gyueth vs great occafion, beeing indeed capable of any excellent exercifing of it. I know, fome will fay it is a mingled language. And why not fo much the better, taking the befl of both the other? Another will fay it wanteth Grammer. Nay truly, it hath that prayfe, that it wanteth not Grammer : for Grammer it might haue, but it needes it not; beeing so eafie of it felfe, and fo voyd of thofe cumberfome differences of Cafes, Genders, Moodes, and Tenfes, which I thinke was a peece of the Tower of Babilons curfe, that a man mould be put to fchoole to learne his mother-tongue. But for the vttering fweetly, and properly the conceits of the minde, which is the end of fpeech, that hath it equally with any other tongue in the world : and is parti- culerly happy, in compofitions of two or three words together, neere the Greeke, far beyond the Latine: which is one of the greateft beauties can be in a language. Now, of verfifying there are two forts, the one Auncient, the other Moderne : the Auncient marked the quantitie of each filable, and according to that, framed his verfe : the Moderne, obferuing onely number, (with fome regarde of the accent,) the chiefe life of it, flandeth in that lyke founding of the words, which wee call Ryme. VVhether of thefe be the mod excellent, would beare many fpeeches. The Auncient, (no doubt) more fit for Mufick, both words and tune obferuing quantity, and more fit liuely to expreffe diuers pafsions, by the low and lofty founde of the well-weyed filable The latter likewife, with hys Ryme, ftriketh a certaine mufick to the eare : and in fine, fith it dooth delight, though by another way, it obtaines the fame purpofe: there beeing in .eyther fweetnes, and wanting in neither maieflie. Truely the Englifh, before any other vulgar language I know, is fit for both forts : for, for the Ancient, the Italian is fo full of Vowels, that it mufl euer be cumbred with Elifions. The Dutch, fo of the other fide with Confo- nants, that they cannot jeeld the fvveet flyding, fit fox FOR POETRIE. 71 a Verfe. The French, in his whole language, hath not one word, that hath his accent in the laft (liable, fauing two, called Antepenultima, and little more hath the Spanifh : and therefore, very gracelefly may they vfe Dattiles. The Englifh is fubiect to none of thefe defects. Nowe, for the ryme, though wee doe not obferue quantity, yet wee obferue the accent very precifely : which other languages, eyther cannot doe, or will not doe fo abfolutely. That Cafura, or breathing place in the middefl of the verfe, neither Italian nor Spanifh haue, the French, and we, neuer almoft fayle of. Laftly, euen the very ryme it felfe, the Italian cannot put in the laft filable, by the French named the Mas- culine ryme, but ftill in the next to the laft, which the French call the Female; or the next before that, which the Italians terme Sdrucciola. The example of the former, is Buono, Suono, of the Sdrucciola, Femina, Semina. The French, of the other fide, hath both the Male, as Bon, Son, and the Female, as Plaife, Taife. But the Sdrucciola, hee hath not: where the Englifh hath all three, as Due, True,Father,Rather,Motion, Potion; with much more which might be fayd, but that I finde already, the triflingnes of this difcourfe, is much too much en- larged. Sothatfiththeeuer-praife-worthyPoefie, is full of vertue-breeding delightfulnes, and voyde of no gyfte, that ought to be in the noble name of learning : fith the blames laid againft it, are either falfe, or feeble : fith the caufe why it is not efteemed in Englande, is the fault of Poet-apes, not Poets : fith laftly, our tongue is moft fit to honor Poefie, and to bee honored by Poefie, I coniure you all, that haue had the euill lucke to reade this incke- wafting toy of mine, euen in the name of the nyne Mufes, no more to fcorne the facred mifteries of Poefie : no more to laugh at the name of Poets, as though they were next inheritours to Fooles : no more to ieft at the reuerent title of a Rymer : but to beleeue with Ariftotle, that they were the auncient Treafurers, of the Grecians Diuinity. To beleeue with Bembus, that they were firft bringers 72 AN APOLOGIE FOR POETRIE. in of all ciuilitie. To beleeue with Scaligcr, that no Philofophers precepts can fooner make you an honed man, then the reading of Virgill. To beleeue with ClauferuSy the Translator of Cornufus, that it pleafed the heauenly Deitie, by Heftod and Homer y vnder the vayle of fables, to giue vs all knowledge, Logick, Rethorick, Philofophy, naturall, and morall ; and Quid nonf To beleeue with me, that there are many mifleries contained in Poetrie, which of purpofe were written darkely, leaft by prophane wits, it mould bee abufed. To beleeue with Landin, that they are fo beloued of the Gods, that whatfoeuer they write, proceeds of a diuine fury. Laftly, to beleeue themfelues, when they tell you they will make you immortall, by their verfes. Thus doing, your name fhal florifh in the Printers fhoppes ; thus doing, you mail bee of kinne to many a poeticall Preface ; thus doing, you mall be moft fayre, moft ritch, moft wife, moft all, you mall dwell vpon Superlatiues. Thus dooing, though you be Liber- tinopatre natus, you mall fuddenly grow Hercules proles : Si quid mea carmina poffunt. Thus doing, your soule fhal be placed with Dantes Beatrix, or Virgils Anchifes. But if, (fie of fuch a but) you be borne fo neere the dull making Cataphraft of Nilus, that you cannot heare the Plannet-like Mufick of Poetrie, if you haue fo earth-creeping a mind, that it cannot lift it felfe vp, to looke to the Iky of Poetry : or rather, by a certaine rufticall difdaine, will become fuch a Mome, as to be a Momus of Poetry : then, though I will not wifh vnto you, the Affes eares of Midas y nor to bee driuen by a Poets verfes, (as Bubonax was) to hang himfelfe, nor to be rimed to death, as is fayd to be doone in Ireland: yet thus much curfe I muft fend you, in the behalfe of all Poets, that while you Hue, you Hue in loue, and neuer get fauour, for lacking fkill of a Sonnet : and when you die, your memory die from the earth, for want of an Epitaph. FINIS. 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