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Part.2 . Wealth. 6tf

and damned age,) our Poets arc foly or

chiefly maintained, countenanced and

patronized.

In the infancy ofGreece, they that

handled in the audience ofthe people ,graue&neceflary matters, werecalled

wife men or eloquent men, which theyment by Vates : fo the reft, which fang©floue matters, or other lighter deuifes

alluring vnto pleafure and delight,Werecalled Poeta or makers;

As the holy Prophets and fan&ifiedApoftles could neuer haue foretold nor

fpoken of fuch fupernaturall matters

,

vnlelfe they had beene infpired ofGod?fo Qicero in his Tufcalane queftions isof that mind, that a Poet cannot ex*preffe verfes aboundantly, fufficiently,

and fully, neither his eloquence canflow pleafantly

,or his words found

well and plenteoufly,without celeftiall

inftin

6*6 Wits Common Part.'2 .'

lamenting the decay ofPoetry at thefedayes , faith moft fwectly to the fame;The make ihee wings ofthine ajpiring wi

t

oAnck -whence thou . cameft fije backe toHeauenapace.&c.

As a long Gownemaketh hot ah Ad*nocace, although aGownebee a fit or-nament for him : fo riming nor verfingmaketh a Poet

,albeit the Senate of

Poets hath chofcn vetfc as their fitteft

rayment;but it is that faining notable

images of vertues,

vices, or whatelfe, with that dclightfull teaching,

which muftbe the right deferibing note

to know a Poet by. Sir Thilip Sidneyin his f^Aplegjfor Poetry.

\Acomparatiue difeourfe ofour Englifh

Poets}with the (freekg , Latine^and

Italian Poets.

AS Greece had three Poets ofgrearantiquity , Orpheus , Linus antiMufatss ; and Italy , other three anci-

ent Poets, Linius Andronisut•, Ennius

and Plautus

:

fo hath England three

ancient PoetssChaucer

,Gower and

Pit,

fLjdgate.

Part.2 . Wealth. $iy

As Homer is reputed the Prince ofGreeke Poets j and Petrach ofItalian

Poets : fo Chaucer is accounted the

God ofEngliflh Poets.As Homervfza the firft that adorned

taeGreeke tongue with truequantityj:

Piers Plowman was the firft that ob-ferued the true quantity of yerfe with-

out the curiofitieofRinie:

0«;Wwrita Chronicle from the be-

ginning of the World to his ownctime, that is, to the raigne ofAugufimthe Empereur : fo hath Harding the

Cronicler (after his manerofold harlh

riming) from aAdam to his time, thatis , to the raigtieofKjng Edward thefourth.

As Sotadet Afaronitesthc IambickePoet gauehimfelfe wholy to writeim-pure and laciuious things : fo Skelton

( I know not for what great worthi-r.effe, furnaiped the Poet Laurear)ap-

plyed his wit to fcurnlides and ridicu-lous matters

,fuchamongthe Greckes

were Called Pantomimi}

with vsJBuffons,

As C°nfaluo Periz. that excellentlearned man

,and Secratary of King

• Part.2. Wealth. 019

famous and eloquent by Homer, He/iod

E/tripedes, Aefcbilus Sophocles,Pinda-

rus,Phocylides and

620 WitsCommon Part.2 1

whatmore excellent ©r exquificePoemmay bee written.

As tsfchtlles had the aduantageofHe£lor> becaufe it was his fortune to beextolled and renowned by the heauen-iy verfe of Homer : fo Spencers Slifathe Fairy £h*ce»e hath the aduantage

ofalJ the Queenes in the world,to bee

eternized by fo diuineaPoec.

As Theocritus is famoufcd for hisJdyllia in Greekc , and Virgill for hisEtlogs in Lacine :fo Spencer their imi-

tatour in his Shepheards Calender,

is

renowned for the like argument, andhonoured for fine Poeticallinuention,

andmoft exquifit wit*As Partheniw Nicaus excellently

fang the prayfes ofhis tArete :[oDa-»»e/hath diuinelyfonetted the match-

lefle beauty cfhis Deltai

As euery one mourneth , when heeheareth of the lamentable plangors of

Thracian Orphans for his deareft Eu-ridice: foeuery one pafiionateth,whenhe readeth the afflidted death of Da-niels diftrefled Rofamond.

As Lucan hath mournefully de-

parted the ciuillwarsoffiw/^andCafar :

Part.2 .' Wealth. 6zi

'Capstr: fo hath *Daniel the ciuell warres

efYorkcandLancafter; and Drayton

the ciuell warres ofEdward the fecond,and the Barons*

As Virgil doth imitate Catullm inthe like matter of tAriadne for his

ftory of Qiieene Dido : fo Michael

622 VPitfCommon Part.2 ,graphicall and Hydrographicall ofailtheforefts, woods, mountaincs, foun-tains, riuers, lakes, fiouds, bathes

and fprings that be in England.As AuIhs Perfins Flaccns is repor-

ted among all writers to be ofan honeftlife and vpright conuerfation : fo Mi-chaelDrayton ( quern toties honoris&amoris caufa nominoJamong Schollers,Souldiours

,Poets and all forts of

people, is held fora man ofvcrtuousdifpofition

,honeft conuerfation

,and

wcllgouerncd cariage, which is almoftmiraculous among good wits in thefedeclining and corrupt times, whenthere is nothing but rogery in villanous

men, and when cheating andcrafti-nefleis counted the deaneft wit, and

foundeft wifdome.

As Dicitts Aufonius Galius inlibrisFajlorum

,penned the occurrences of <

the world from the firft creation ofit ,

to his time, that* is, to theraigneof i

the Emperour ^rattan:,fo Warner in \his abl'olute Albtcns Eng/andhzth moft J

admirably penned the Hiftoric of his jownc countrey from Noah to his time,that is, to the raigne of Queene »Elizabeth',

I

part.2 . Wealth* 61%

Elizabeth ; I haue heard him termed of

t-hebeft wits ofboth our Vniuerfi ties

,

our Engiifh Homer.

As Euripedet is the mod fentemiouSamong the GreekePoets : fo is (Varneramong our Engiifh Poets.

As the foulc of Euphorbia wasthought to liue in Pjthagoru: : fo the

fwcete wittie foulc of Ouid Hues inmellifluous and hony-tohgued Shake-

j^ff

b ^£

ft

j

63*4 WitsCotnmon Part.2 .

they would fpeake Latine : fo I fay thatthe Mufes would fpeakc with Sbake-fpeares fine filed phrafc, if they wouldipeakc Engliih.

As Aiufxus, who wrote the loueofHero and Leunder

,had two excel-

lent SchoilersfThatnaras and Hercules

:

To hath hee in England two excellentJPoets

, imitators of him in the fame

argument, and fubie&, ChristopherAShakeft>eares , and

Warners workes

*

Non louts ir

a

: imbres • Mart : fer-rum

:fiammatfene£tus3

Hoc opus vnda : lues : turbo: venend

ruent.

£t quanejuam ad plucherrimum hocetui

ft,

Part.2. Wealth. $i 5

opus eitertendutn tresiUi Ty conjpiraibunty Cronust Vttlcantis } &pater tpfegentis

;

Non tstmen annorumJeriet,nonflam-tna

ynec enjis

,

t/Eternumpotmthoc abolereDecns.

As Italy hid DantetBoccace, Pe-

tracht TojfoyCeUano and t/frioilo : (bEngland had Mathew Ropdon

yTho-

mas AtcheloWy Thomas Watfon y Tho-mas Kid , Robert Greene and CjcorgePeebe.

As there are eightfamous and chiefclanguages

,Hebrew Greece

,Latine t

Sjnackty Arabicke t Italian , Spanijh

isjnd French : fo there are eight notable

f^ucrall kinds ofPoets , Heroic Lj-rscklyTragiche, Comicke , Satmche ,ijjambick Elegiacke and Taftoral.

As Homer and Virgil among the1 Grcekcs and Latines are the chiefc

l HeroickePoetstfo Spencer and Warnerbe our chiefcHeroicail Makers.

, As Fir,darns , Anacreon and Calli-machusamong thcGrcekes

;and Ho-

) race and Catnllus among the Latinesare the beft Lyricke Poets : foin this

(faculty the beft among our Poets are

u .. E c Spencer

6t6 Wits Common Partin

Spencer (who cxcclleth in alJ kinds )Daniel,Drayton,Shake(peare,Bretton.

As thefeTragicke Poets flouriflrcd

in Greece, Acfchylus, Euripides^Sopho-

cles,Alexander tAetolus

,Achans

Erithriaus,tAjlydamas Athenienjis

Apollodorus Tarfenjis , Nicomachus

Thrjgins, TideJpis Atticus, zh&TimonApolloniates

•

and tbefe among theLatines, Acctus, M, sAttilttts , Pern-ponius Secundus and Seneca : fo theft

are our befi for Tragedie, the Lord

Buckhnrfi,Do6ior Leg ofCambridge,

Do£ier Edes ofOxford,ma fter Edward

.Ferres , the Authour of the Mirrour

for LMagittrateSjAtarhnr, PetlefVat*

fonjKidyShakejpeare, Drayton,Chap-

man, ‘Decker , and Beniamin lohnfjytr?]

As Cftt.eArtncus Lucamts writfvvoexcellentTragedieSjOne called Mediaythe other de incendio Troia cum Priamicalamitate'So Do&or Leg hath pennedtwo famous tragedies, rhe out olRi-chard the third

,

the otherof the dc-

iirudUon oflerujdlem.

The beft Poets for Comedy amongthe Greekes are theft, CMenandcr, A-rijlopbanes

iEapelie Athcnicrifis,Alexis i

Termst

Pirt.2. Wealth* Czy

Terins, Ntcofiratus, tAmipJtas *Athe>-menJis,Anaxandrides

tRhodius, Arifio-

nymus, tArchippus, cAthenienfts andCallias Athentenjts and among theLatines, Plautus, Terence, T^attius ,Sext*Turpiltus, Ltcinius Imbrex, andVtrgilius Romanus : fo the beft forComedy amongft vs be, Edward EarleofOxford, Do&or Gager ofOxford ,Mafter Rowley once a rare Scholler oflearned Pembrooke Hall in Cam-bridge, Mafter Edwards one of herMaieftics Chappell

,eloquent and

wittie Iohn Lilly, Lodge, Gafcoyne ,Greene , Shakejpeare , Thomas Najh,Thomas Heywood

, Anthony Mmdyour beft plotter

,Chapman , Porter ,

IVilfon,Hathway, and Henry Qhettle*

As Horace, LuciliusJuuenall , Per-fins and Luculltts^rz the beft forSa-tyreamong the Latines: fo with vs inthefame faculty thde are chiefe , PiirtPlowman,Lohge HatlofImauuall Col-Icdge in Cambridge,- the Authours ofPigmaltones Image , and certaine Sa~tyrs

;t he AuthorofSktalietheia,

Among the GreekesI will namebuttwo for Iambichs, Archilochus Partus, -

E c 2 ' and

*28 Wits CmtMon Part.2.

and Hippanax Ephejius : fo amorig vs Iname but twolambicall Poits, GabrielHyruey, and RichatcdjStanyhurft , bc-

caufe I baue feme no mce in this kind*As- thefe are famous among the

Greeks forElegie, Melanthus Mym•nerus Colephonius , Olymp'tus Myfius ,Tarthenius Nicetas , Philetas Cous 3Tbeogenes Megarenjis^xi\ Pigres Ha-{icartMjfaus-; and thefe among the La-tines, Mecanas, Omd, Tibullus, Pro-fertiustT*Valgiusy (^aJJius SetterusandClodius Sabinus: fo thefe arc themoft

paffionate among vstobewaile &be-moancthe perplexities ofLoue, HenryHoward Earle ofSurrey

,fir Thomas

Wyat the elder, fir Francis Brian*,fir

PhilipSedney, fir Walter Rayleighyfir

Edward'Dyer, SpencerfDawfltDray-tottyShakefpeare

,Wbetjlone, Cfafcoyne ,

Samuell Page fometimes fellow of

Corpus ffiriJH Collcdge in Oxford

,

Churchyard, Bretton,As Theocritus in Greeke, Virgil

and Mantuan in Latinc, Sanazar inItalian, the Authour ofAmynu Cjaudiaand Walfwghams Melibteus are the beftforpaftorall; lb amongftv* the beftin

Part.2.' Wealth.

this kind are fir Philip Sidney ] mafter

Challener, Spencer, Stephen Goffon tjibraham Fraunce and Bernefield.

THefe and many other Epigramma-

tifis the Latinetongue hath,^CatulusPorcitis Etcwins ,Quintus Cornifictus,Martial, Cneus, Cjetuhcus, and wittie

fir Thomas Moore : fo in English weehauethefe, Heywood Drante, Kendal,BafiardD antes*

As noble Mec&nas that fprung fromthe tietrufcan Kings not only graced

Poets by his bounty, but alfo by beingaPoethimfelfe; and as lames thefixth,

in times paft King ofScotland was not

onely a fauorer ofPoets, but a Poet,

as my friend mafter Richard Berne-field hath in this Diftickcpaffing weft,

recorded:

TheKing ofScots(thenbeing)wasa Poet

cAt his Lepanto, and hisfuries fhow it*fo Elizabeth that Soueraigne and gra-

eracious Qiieene. was not onely a li-

Berall Patroncffe vnto Poets , but an

excellent Poet her fclfe, whofelearncd

and noble Mufe furmounteth,becit in

Olde, Elegy , Epigram, or in any other-

! kind ofPoem Heroicke, or Lyricke.E e 3 Ottawa

Parti. Wealth. 6ft

Preachers haue giuen them their righthands in fellovvfliip

,Beza and Me-

lanStloon.

As the learned Phylofophers Fra-cadorius and Scaliger haue highly

prized them : fo haue the eloquent O-rators Pentanus and Muretus very glo-rioufly eftjmated them.

As Georgius Buckanantts lephtfc.amongft all moderne Tragedies is acre

to abide the touch of sMrtftotles pre

cepts j and Surtpedes examples : fo is

Btjhop Watfons Abjalon.

As Terence for his tranflations outof Apollodorus and Menander,andAquilius for his tranflation out ofMe-nander

,and C.Germanicus Anguflu

for his out of Aratus,and Aufonius

for his tranflated Epigrams out

Greeke,and Doftor lohnfon form

Frogge-fight out ofHomer

,

and Wat'S

fon for his Antigone out of Sophocl^haue gotgood commendations: fo thfcfe

verfiners for their learned tranflations

areofgood note among vs, Pbaer for

c/£neads , (jotting for O/tids (Jtfeta^

morpbojis , Harington for his OrUndo

Furiofo,

the tranflators of Senecats

E$4

6yz Wits Common Part.2 .

*Tragedies, Barnabe Googe for Palin.

gemus , Turberuile for Ouids Efifilesand Mantuan , and Chapman for hisinchoateHomer.

As the Latines haue thefe £mble~

matifis, Andreas tsflciatus3Reufnerus9and Sambucus : fo wee haue thefe

,

Geffrey ivhitney , Andrew Wtllet3 and"Thomas Combe .

As Nonnas Panapolita writ theGofpell of Saint Ioh» inGreekeHexa-tnetrs: Ierms (JMarkham hath written

-^Salomons Canticles in Englifh veife.

if As C: Plimns writ the life ofPom-ptnitss Becundsu : fo young Charles

Estz-Ieffrey y that high towring Fal-

con,hath moft glorioufly penned the

honourable life and death ofworthy firfrancis Drake. 1

As HeJfodviTit learnedly ofhusban-

dry in Greeke I fo hath Tuffer veryWittily and experimentally writtenof

it in Englifh,

p As Antipater Sidonius was famousfor extemporal verfe in Greek,& Ostidfor his Quicqnid conabar dicert verfuserat : fo was our Tarleton

,of whom

Devour Cafe that learned Phyfitionthus

I

Part.2. WeM.thus fpeakcth in thefcaucnthBooke,

and feuenteenth chapter of his Poli-tickes * Ariftotelesfnur» Theoderetutn

laudauit quendam peritttm Tragcedia*rem attoretn ; Cicero futon Rofciumznos ngltT(trletcHum

3in cuius voce&

vuttuomnesiocofiaffe&tu, in cuius cire-

brofo capite lepideefacetiahabitant.Andfo now our wittie wilfon

,who, for-

learning and extemporall wit in thisfaculty, is without compare orcora-peere, as to his great and eternall com-mendations heemanifeftcdin his cha-

ienge at the Swanne on the Bankefide.

As &Achilles tortured the dead bo^dy ofHeftor

,and as Antonins, and his

wife Ftiluia tormented the liueleilc

Corps of Cicero ‘So Gabrieli Harney hath

fliewed the fameinhumanitieto Greenethat lies full low in his graue.As Eupolis of Athens vied great II-'-

bertie in taxing the vices of men : fc»doth Thomas 2{j*fo witneffe the broodofthe Harneys.As Afiaon vns wooried of hisowne

hounds : fo is Tom NafhofW\sIle 'of-Dvgges. D.ogges were the death oi

E e $, EtiH*-

&34 WitsCommon Part.2 . I

Suripedestbut be notdifcenfolate gal- !

lent young Ittuenall, Linus, thefonncof tApolio dyed the fame death. YetGod forbid that fo brauea wit fiiouldfo bafely perifh thine are but paper

dogges j neither is thy banifhmentlikc

Ouidsyeternally to conuetfe with the:

barbarous getes. Therefore comfort

thy fclfe fweete Tom. with Cicerosglorious returneto Rome, and with thecounfell of Aeneas giuen to his Sea-

beaten Souldiours./^.i .Aeneid.

Plucke vp thy heart, and driuefrontthence both feareand careaway:

To thsnke on this may pleasurebeperdhaps another day,

Durato , & temet rebus feruatofecundis.

As Anacreon died by the pot : foGeorgeiWcby the pox.As Arehefilaus Trytar.&us perifhed

by wine at a drunken feaft , as Her-mippus teftifieth in Diogenes: fo Robert

greene died ofa furfct taken at Pickeld

Herrings, and Rhenifh wine, as wit-neffcth Thomas Na/b

twho was at the

fatall banquet.

As lodetle,^ French tragicall Poetbeing

part.2 . Wealth, 6fjbeing an Epicure, and an Atheift, madea pittifull end : fo our tragical! Poet(Jtfarlow for his Epicurifme and A-thiefme had a tragicali death; you mayread ofthis tJMarlow more at large inthe Theatre of Godsiudgments, in the

35. Chaptcrentreating ofEpicures andAtheifts.

As the Poet Jjjcofhron was (hot todeath by a certaine riuail of his : fo(fhriftopher (JMarlovo was flabd todeath by a bawdy Setuing-man,ari-uall ofhis in his lewde loue.

Painters,

APellet painted a Mare and a Dogfo liuely, that Horfes and Doggespalling by would neigh , and barkeat them • he grew fo famousfor his ex-cellent Art, that great Alexander evens.

often to his fhop to vifit him,and

commanded that none other fhouidpaint hini;at his death he left Venue vn-

finifiied , neither was any euer found,, ,thatdurft perfect, what he had begun*Zexes was fo excellent in paincing

,

chat it was eafier for any man to view v

S$6 Wits Common Par?*z.

bis pi&ures3thentoimitatethcm,wha

tfi make an excellent Table , had fiueAgrigentine Virgin* naked by him ;be painted Grapes (b liuely, that Birds

did fiie to catc them. Parrhajtus painted

a Shecccfo artificially,that Zeuxis took

k for a Sheetc in deed , and comman-ded it to bee taken away to fee thepidlurc, that he thought it had vayled jas learned and skilful! Greece had thefe

excellently renowned for their lim-

ning : fo England had thefe : Hiliard >Ifaac 0liner, and Iohn de Creetes,very,famous for their painting*

As Greece inoreouer had thefe Pain-ters

j Ttmatttes, Phidias , Pol'tgmtns 3Pattens, Bularckns , Enmarns, CimonCleon^ns,Pjthis

,Apollodorns &4ihs-

menjis, tsfrtfttdcsThehanus Nicopha-Ties, Perfens, Antiphilm, and Nicear-

cbusjo in England we hauc alfo thefejWilliam and Francis Segar brethren^.

’Thomas and Iahn Bettes,Lackey^ Lync>Peake, Peter Cole , tsfrnoldy Marcus ,Jaqnes de Bray,firnelius , "peter GoU

Part.2. Wealth. €37wcc haue thefe engrauers, Rogers,QhriftoperSwitzer, and

Muftcke.

THc Load-ftonedrawech Iron vntoit*but the ftoneof ^Ethiopia calledTheamedes driueth it away : lo therels

a kind of Mulicke that doth alfawge

andappeafe theaffe&ions, and a kind

rhat doth kindle and prouoke the paf»

lions.

As there is no Law that hath lb-ueraintie ouer lone : fo there is no heart

that hath rule ouer Mulicke, but Mu-Ikke fubdues it*

As one day takesfrom vs the credit

ofanother : fo one ftraine ofMulickeextin&sthcplcafure ofanother.

As the heart ruleth oner ail the mem-,bers : lb Mulicke ouercommeth theheart.

As beauty is no beautie without ver*tue rfo Mulicke is no Mulicke withoutArt*

As all things louetheir likes : fo the.mofl curious care the delkateft Mu-licke,

As

Wits Common Part *.As too much (peaking hurts • too

much gailing(marts : fo too muchMu.fickc gluts and diftempereth.

As Plato and Arihatle are countedPrinces in Phylofophie and Logicke

:

Hippocrates and Cjalert in Phyficke

;

Ttolomie in Aftrologie , Euclide in

Gcometrie , and Qicero iacloquence

:

Co Boetius is efteemed a Prince andCaptainein Muficke.

As Vriefis where famous among theEgyptians

;Magi among the Calde.

ansj and Gymnof^pbijles among theIndians : fo Mufitians flouriflred a-

mong the Grecians,and therefore E-

paminondas was accounted more vn-learned then Themift9clest becauic hee

had no skill in Muficke,

As Mercurieby his eloquence re-claymed men from their barbarouf-neffe and crueltie : fo Orpheus by his

Mulickefubdued ficrcebeaftsjand wild

Birds.

As Demofihenes , Ifecrates , andCicero excelled in Oratorie : fo Or-pheus

,AmphioMymA Linus>Curpaffed

inrMuficke.

As.Greece had thefe excellent Mu-fitians

Part.2. Wealth 639

fitians;tArion Doceus , Timotheus

Meleftus , Chryfogenus , Terpandcr,Lesbuis, Simon Mapuefius, Philamon ,Linus, Stratonicus Ariftonus, Chiron

,

AchillesyCltnias, EumoniusyDemodo-

chusy and Rufinus . fo England hath

theftj tMafter Cooper y Mafter Fair*

fax,Mafter Tallisy Mafter Taverner,Mafter Blithman , (Mafter Bird ,DoftorTie/DoftorDallisyDotlor Bully

M.Thomas Mudyfometimes fellow of

Pembrooke Hal in Cambridge,M*

Edward Iohnfon,Mafter Blanket,Ma-fterR andall,(MafterPhilips

y(Mafter

Dowlandyzi\& Mafter Morlej.

S he runneth farre that neuer re-

turnethtfohefinneth deadly that

neuer repenteth. Porters and Cariers

when they are called tocarry a burdenon their fhoulders, full they iookediligently vpon it

,and then they peife

and lift it vp, and trie whether theyare able to vndergo? it

,and whether

they can cary it : fo before we finnejWe-£hould conftder whether wee bee able

Sinne.

XQn> '

640 WitsCommon Part.VTto carry the burthenofit , that is, thepuniftiment

,which is Hell firc»-Zod&.

Gratmnt.lib»uDuciepeccat.

As the palate , that iscorrupted anddiftempefed by ill humours, cannottaft the fweetnclTe of meatc

,for chat

which is fweete feemeth bitter,and that-which is bitter fwcece : lo a foulc cor-rupted with the humors of vices andinordinate affediions, and accuftomed'totheflclbpotsof«x£^pr, cannot taft

Manna, northebreadofAngels*-Ibid*.Euen as in a country, whereallare

borne Ethiopians;

it is not an vgly

thing to be blacke, and as where all are

drunke, it is no ignominy nor flanderto bee drunke :fothcmonftrousferui-

tudeandflauerieoffinne,bccaufeitis

fo familiar and common to theworld

,

fearfly is knowne or noted in any mac.Ibidem.

As fwine are a certainc heard ofbeafts,that delight inmyre and durte,.and are nourifbed with the bafeft andmoft. vneleane meates : fo. the filthy

foules of finners-are delighted with noother thing,except with the moft filthy ,

durte and carnal! pleafure$.i£»Wew.

' /

\

7