ors of the Biographia Dramatica observe, that, as a writer, sir George Etherege was certainly born a poet, and appears to have been possessed of a genius, the vivacity
Rehearsal
” had been
hatching, by the duke of Buckingham, before it appeared:
but we meet with nothing more of our author’s writing for
the stage. There are extant some other letters of his in
prose, which were written also from Ratisbon; two of
which he sent to the duke of Buckingham when he was in
his recess. As for his other compositions, such as have
been printed, they consist, for the greatest part, of little
airy sonnets, lampoons, and panegyrics, of no great
poetical merit, although suited to the gay and careless taste
of the times. All that we have met with, of his prose, is a
short piece, entitled “An Account of the rejoycing at the
diet of Ratisbonne, performed by sir George Etherege,
knight, residing therefrom his majesty of Great Britain;
upon occasion of the birth of the prince of Wales. In a
letter from himself.
” Printed in the Savoy, Comical Revenge
” succeeded very
well upon the stage, and met with general approbation for
a considerable time, it is now justly laid aside on account
of its immorality. This is the case, likewise, with regard
to sir George’s other plays. Of the “She would if she
could,
” the critic Dennis says, that though it was esteemed by men of sense for the trueness of some of its characters, and the purity, freeness, and easy grace of its dialogue, yet, on its first appearance, it was barbarously treated by the audience. If the auditors were offended with
the licentiousness of the comedy, their barbarity did them
honour; but it is probable that, at that period, they were
influenced by some other consideration. Exclusively of
its loose tendency, the play is pronounced to be undoubtedly a very good one; and it was esteemed as one of the
first rank at the time in which it was written. However,
ShadwelPs encomium upon it will be judged to be too extravagant.
lled in vocal and instrumental music, eminent for his knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages, a poet, and, above all, a physician. There are musical compositions
, or Etheridge, or, as in Latin he
writes himself, Edrycus, probably an ancestor of the preceding, was born at Thame in Oxfordshire, and admitted
of Corpus Christi college, Oxford, in 1534; of which he
was made probationer fellow in 1539. In 1543 he was
licensed to proceed in arts; and, two years after, admitted
to read any of the books of Hippocrates’s aphorisms. At
length, being esteemed an excellent Grecian, he was
made the king’s professor of that language about 1553,
and so continued till some time after Elizabeth came to the
crown, when, on account of his joining in the persecution
of the protestants in Mary’s reign, was forced to leave it.
He practised medicine with great success in Oxford, where
he mostly lived; and also took under his care the sons of
many popish gentlemen, to be instructed in the several
arts and sciences; among whom was William Gifford, afterwards archbishop of Rheims. He was reckoned a very
sincere man, and adhered to the last to the catholic religion, though he suffered exceedingly by it. Wood tells
us, that he was living an ancient man in 1588; but does
not know when he died. He was a great mathematician,
skilled in vocal and instrumental music, eminent for his
knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages, a poet,
and, above all, a physician. There are musical compositions and Latin poems of his still extant in manuscript. In
manuscript also he presented to queen Elizabeth, when she
was at Oxford in 1566, “Acta Henrici Octavi, carmine
Graeco.
” He also turned the psalms into a short form of
Hebrew verse; and translated the works of Justin Martyn
into Latin. In 1588 was published by him in 8vo, “Hypomnemata quasdam in aliquot libros Pauli Æginetae, seu
observationes medicamentorum qui hue aetate in usu sunt.
”
The antiquary Leland was his intimate friend, and in his
life-time celebrated his praises in these lines:
, the son of Polymnestus of Chalcis in Fubcca, a Greek poet and historian, was born, according to Suidas, in the 26th olympiad,
, the son of Polymnestus of Chalcis in Fubcca, a Greek poet and historian, was born, according to Suidas, in the 26th olympiad, at the time when Pyrrhns was defeated by the Romans, which was in the third year of that olympiad, or B. C. 274. Although his person was not captivating, he is said to have been beloved by Nicia, the wife of Alexander the king of his country. Towards the latter end of his life, he grew rich, and became librarian to Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, at the time of whose accession he was above fifty years of age. The time of his death is uncertain. He wrote in heroic verse, some few fragments of which are still extant. Cicero speaks of his compositions as obscure: but he was highly esteemed by the emperor Tiberius, who imitated his style, and placed statues of him in the libraries of Rome. There was also another Euphphoron, a son of Æschylus, who gained prizes at Athens for some posthumous tragedies of his father’s; and wrote a few himself; and a third, author of some Greek epigrams in the Authologia, who flourished in the 126th olympiad.
, was an Athenian comic poet, who flourished about the year 435 before Christ, in the time
, was an Athenian comic poet, who flourished
about the year 435 before Christ, in the time of the old
comedy. (See Cratinus). His play of “Numeniae
” was
acted in this year, and his “Flatterers,
” about the year
Baptae
”
against him; others, that he was shipwrecked in a military
expedition in the Hellespont, which produced, says Suidas,
a decree, that no poet should perform military service. He
obtained seven prizes in the theatres of Athens. His first
drama was produced at the age of seventeen. There are
some remarks on this poet in Cumberland’s “Observer,
”
but which are now known to have been Bentley’s.
, a celebrated tragic poet, the contemporary and rival of Sophocles, was born of a creditable
, a celebrated tragic poet, the contemporary and rival of Sophocles, was born of a creditable Athenian family; especially on his mother Clito’s side, whom Suidas reports to have been nobly descended, though Aristophanes in jest calls her a cabbage-seller, and Valerius Maximus has recorded it in earnest. He was born in the island Salamis, whither his father and mother had fled, with a great many other eminent families of Athens, upon the formidable invasion of Greece by Xerxes: and his birth is supposed to have happened in the first year of the 75th olympiad, 480 years before Christ. His name is supposed to have been formed from the Euripus, or narrow sea, in which the battle of Salamis was fought, and the Persians defeated. It is said, that while his mother was with child, her husband Mnesarchus consulted the oracle of Apollo, to know what he might hope for; and that he received in answer, that the child who should be born to him would reach the summit of glory, and gain the honour of the sacred garland. Mnesarchus merely interpreting this promise of the oracle, that his son should win the prize in the Olympic games, took care to educate him in the same manner with those whom the Greeks designed for athletae or wrestlers: but Euripides, though he made so good a progress in these feats of the body, as to gain the crown at the Athenian sports in honour of Ceres and Theseus, had always a more laudable ambition: and therefore, while his father was labouring to have him perfect in the paltcstra, became a constant auditor of Anaxagoras in philosophy, and Prodicus in rhetoric; and diverted his leisure hours by studying painting, which some will have to have been at first his profession. It is not probable, that Euripides learnt morality of Socrates, as Gellius reports: Socrates was ten or twelve years younger than Euripides, and therefore is more likely to have profited by him; but it is certain that fchey were friends, and Socrates is thought to have been consulted by him in the composition of his dramas. Socrates very rarely frequented the theatre, except when the pieces of Euripides were represented. In the character of Palamedes, Euripides is supposed to have delineated that of his friend, and some verses are quoted addressing the Greeks as having slain the best and wisest of thir nation, which the audience are said to have applied to the fate of Socrates, and to have burst into tears at the recollection of their crime. This, however, seems rather to savour of conjecture, and if the Athenians were ever thus affected, it must have been at some representation of the play subsequent to the death of Socrates, who survived Euripides some years, and therefore, in the character of Palamedes could have only alluded to his death, as the probable result of the jealousy and rashness of the Athenians.
s had for him, than his resenting some personal insults of one Decamnichus offered to Euripides. Our poet was seventy-two years of age when he went to that court, and
About a year after the Sicilian defeat, Euripides left
Athens, and went to the Macedonian court, to which king
Archelaus, who was fond of learned men, invited them by
acts of munificence, gave them a gracious reception, and
often raised them to very high honours. Euripides, if
Solinus may be credited, he made his prime minister.
Kpthing can, be a more express proof of the high esteem,
Archelaus had for him, than his resenting some personal
insults of one Decamnichus offered to Euripides. Our
poet was seventy-two years of age when he went to that
court, and had passed but few years there, when an unhappy accident concluded his life. He was walking in a
wood, and, according to his usual manner, in deep meditation; when unfortunately meeting with Archelaus’s
hounds, he was by them torn to pieces. Every account
gives him the same end, though it differs from the rest in
some minute circumstances. Some indeed relate that he
was pulled to pieces by women, to revenge the honour of
their sex; but this is a fable, copied from that of Orpheus,
who is said to have been destroyed by Bacchanals. It is
not certain, whether his death happened by chance, or
through envy of some of the courtiers. The anthor of an
epigram in the Anthology denies all these accounts, and
ascribes his death to a decay of nature. Archelaus, however, buried him with great magnificence; and not contented with solemnizing his funeral obsequies, he also cut
his hair, and assumed all the marks of grief. The Athenians
were so moved with his death, that the whole city went
into mourning; and one of his friends, named Philemon,
declared that, could he be persuaded that the dead enjoy a
sense of things, he would hang himself, in order to be with
Euripides. The Athenians also sent ambassadors to Macedonia, to request of Archelaus that his body might be removed to his native country; but the king refused their
demand, and erected in memory of the poet a noble monument in the vicinity of Pella, his chief city. Disappointed of this, the Athenians testified their respect for
Euripides by a cenotaph on the road leading from the city
to the Pirjcus. Thucydides the historian is said to have
written an epitaph on him, to this purpose “All Greece
is the monument of Euripides the Macedonian land possesses his bones, for there he reached the boundary of his
life. His country is Athens, the Greece of Greece. Having afforded general delight by his muse, he enjoys the recompense of general praise.
” That he was the friend of
Socrates, may be thought a circumstance which strongly
testifies the virtues of his private character. He seems not
to have possessed the social qualities which distinguished his
rival Sophocles. Both Euripides and his fellow-disciple
Pericles are said to have imitated the austere manners of
their master Auaxagoras. An ancient noet, Alexander
Ætolus, quoted by Gellius, says of him, that he was
morose in social intercourse, averse from laughter, and
even during the festivity of the banquet, ignorant how to
promote hilarity; but that whatever he wrote he tempered
with the sweetness of honey, and the charms of the Sirens.
He has been charged with a professed antipathy to the fair
sex. This should seem to be contradicted by his having
been twice married; but it appears that he was unhappily
married in both instances, and may from his own experience have contracted some degree of prejudice against
the sex in general. Yet although he seems eager to take
every opportunity of uttering a bitter or malignant sentiment against women, Sophocles is said to have observed,
that the hatred which he expressed against them was confined to the stage. And even there our countryman,
Barnes, observes that if he has described some females
with all the vices incident to human nature, yet he has delineated many others with all the virtues that can adorn their
sex. He was near seventy-five years old when he died; and,
notwithstanding some aspersions recorded by Athenaeus, he
was, according to the best accounts, a man of great gravity
and severity in his conduct, and regardless of pleasures.
had delivered his sentiments craftily in the person of Sisyphus; and that this should be our tragic poet’s opinion, since no man ever had a deeper sense of religion
He is, of all writers, the most remarkable for having interspersed moral reflections and philosophical aphorisms in
his dramatic pieces; and, it is generally thought, he has
done it too frequently. Though he had the fate of Anaxagoras before his eyes, yet he was not always so well
guarded in his maxims as he should have been. He
Hazarded one, relating to the sanctity of an oath, in his
Hippolytus, which brought him in danger: “My tongue
has sworn, but still my mind is free.
” For this verse he
was impeached of impiety, as teaching and defending perjury; but it does not appear that he was punished for it.
The answer he made to the accuser is left on record by
Aristotle: “that it was a very unreasonable thing to bring
a cause into a court of judicature, which belonged only to
the cognizance of a theatre, and the liberty of a public
festival; that, when these words were spoken on the stage,
there went along with them some reason to justify them,
and that he was ready to justify them, whenever the bill
should be preferred in the right place.
” Another time, Seneca informs us, he incensed the audience highly, by making Bellerophon dogmatize too gravely in favour of avarice;
Kg highly, that they would have driven the actor from the
stage, if Euripides himself had not appeared, and besought
them to have a little patience, by assuring them, that they
would soon see the unhappy end of the miser, whose maxims had so strongly disgusted the audience. Plutarch relates, that at another time such offence was taken at the two
first verses of his Menaiippus, which seemed to doubt the
existence of Jupiter himself, that he was forced to change
them: and others have concluded him to be an atheist, from
impious speeches uttered in his plays. His error seems to
have been his giving a turn, more offensive than necessary,
to those impious sentiments which he was obliged to put into
the mouths of his vicious characters. His editor Barnes
observes, that, to support the character of Sisyphus, ha
was obliged to make him reason as an atheist; and that
therefore Plutarch had no just cause to suspect there the
artifices of an author, of giving vent to his own thoughts
under another man’s name. “I wonder very much,
” says
Barnes, “what it was could make so great a man believe,
that Euripides had delivered his sentiments craftily in the
person of Sisyphus; and that this should be our tragic
poet’s opinion, since no man ever had a deeper sense of
religion than Euripides, as is manifest from numberless passages in his works; and it very justly suited the character of
Sisyphus to speak impiously, as I observed on Bellerophon.
”
He used to shut himself up in a gloomy cave, and there
compose his works. This cave was in the isle of Salamis,
and Aulus Gellius had the curiosity to go into it. He
composed his verses with great difficulty. He one day
complained to the poet Alcestis, that in the three last days
he had been able to write but three verses, though he had
laboured with all his might. Alcestis observed, with an
air of high vanity, that he had written an hundred with the
utmost ease. “Ay, but,
” says Euripides, “you don't
consider the difference: your verses are made to live no
longer than these three days, whereas mine are to continue
for ever.
” The works of Euripides, as well as Sophocles,
were transmitted to king Ptolemy, when he was founding
the Alexandrian library, a circumstance thus related by
Galen: “King Ptolemy,
”, says he, “sent to the Athenians to borrow the original manuscripts of Sophocles,
Æschylus, and Euripides, in order to transcribe them for
his library; laying down in their hands fifteen talents of
silver, by way of security. Upon receipt of the books, he
look care to have them written out on the fairest
parchment, and set off with the richest ornaments: and then,
keeping the originals, he sent the copies to Athens, with
this message, viz. that the king had desired the city to accept of those books, and of the fifteen talents which he had
left in their hands: that they had no reason to be angry,
since, if he had neither sent them the originals nor the
copies, he had done them no injury, inasmuch as they
themselves, by taking a security, supposed it a sufficient
reparation for the loss.
”
arratives; but yet his beauties are more striking than his faults, and he was in the highest sense a poet, and by the ancients was placed at the head of the tragic writers.
There are now extant but nineteen of his tragedies, and part pf a twentieth though according to Suidas he composed ninety-two according to others, seventy-five only; but Barnes found the titles of eighty-four. It seems to be generally agreed, that in the construction of his plots, and the delineation of his characters, Euripides is inferior to Sophocles his introductory prologues are inartificial, and too much impair the interest of the catastrophe his incidents are frequently improbable, and he sometimes throws parts of his subject into long and tedious narratives; but yet his beauties are more striking than his faults, and he was in the highest sense a poet, and by the ancients was placed at the head of the tragic writers. Besides his plays, five letters are ascribed to Euripides, three of which are addressed to king Archelaus, and the two others to Sophocles and Cephisophon; but these are consigned by Bentley to the same condemnation with the epistles of Phalaris, and other forgeries of the ancient sophists.
, an English poet, descended from a good family in Ireland, was son of Dr. Eusden,
, an English poet, descended
from a good family in Ireland, was son of Dr. Eusden,
rector of Spotsworth in Yorkshire, and was educated at
Trinity college, Cambridge; after which he went into
orders, and was for some time chaplain to Richard lord
Willoughby de Broke. His first patron was the celebrated
lord Halifax, whose poem “On the Battle of the Boyne,
”
Eusden translated into Latin. He was also esteemed by
the duke of Newcastle, on whose marriage with lady Henrietta Godolphin he wrote an Epithalamium, for which,
upon the death of Rowe, he was by his grace (who was then lord chamberlain, and considered the verses as an elegant compliment) preferred in 1718 to the laureatship. He had
several enemies; and, among others, Pope, who put him
into his Dunciad; though we do not know what provocation he gave to any of them, unless by being raised to the
dignity of the laurel. Cooke, in his “Battle of the Poets,
”
speaks thus of him:
And Oldmixon, in his “Art of Logic and Rhetoric,” p. 413, is not sparing of his reflexions on the poet and his patron. His censures, however, are plainly those of
And Oldmixon, in his “Art of Logic and Rhetoric,
”
p. Session of the
Poets:
”
September, 1730; and left behind him in ms. a translation of the works of Tasso, with a life of that poet, Some of his best poems may be seen in Nichols’s “Select” Collection."
Eusden has been mentioned among the writers of the
Spectators and Guardians, but only one or two trifles can
be attributed to him on good authority. Gray, in a letter
to Mason, says that Eusden set out well in life, but afterwards turned out a drunkard, and besotted his faculties
away. He died at his rectory at Coningsby, Lincolnshire,
the 27th of September, 1730; and left behind him in ms.
a translation of the works of Tasso, with a life of that poet,
Some of his best poems may be seen in Nichols’s “Select
” Collection."
s upon Homer and Dionysius Periegetes.” His “Commentaries upon Homer” were first published with that poet at Rome in 1550, under the pontificate of Julius Hi. to whom
The learned works for which he is chiefly memorable
are his “Commentaries upon Homer and Dionysius Periegetes.
” His “Commentaries upon Homer
” were first
published with that poet at Rome in wonders
that Eustathius, who was a Christian and an archbishop,
should never mention Holy Scripture, and very seldom the
ecclesiastical writers, throughout his Commentaries, though
he had so many opportunities of introducing both. Fabricius, however, imputes this silence to his having collected
the materials of them from the more ancient commentators upon Homer, who knew nothing of the sacred books,
which is not improbable. Eustatliius’s
” Commentaries
upon the Periegesis of Dionysius,“were first published at
Paris in 1577, but very imperfectly; they were afterwards
greatly augmented by Fabricius, who supplied a hiatus
between verses 889 and 917; and this addition was inserted in its proper place by Hudson, in his edition at Oxford, 1697, 8vo. From the similarity of the name, the
” Loves of Ismenias and Ismene“have very unjustly been
attributed to him.
” Eustathii Comment, in Hexaemeron,“Leyden, 1629, has also by some been attributed to him,
but the real author and the time he lived are unknown.
Among the Mss. in the library of the Escurial, are two discourses attributed to him; the one,
” Oratio ad eos qui in
templo erant Sancti Myroblytæ, id est Demetrii, in principio indictionis, anno mundi 670.2 (A. C. 1194);“the
other,
” Oratio ad Michaelem Stathmitem, Saccularium et
Chartophylacem, quod saepe cum melodiis celebrare debeaut inemoriam Sancti martyris Demetrii.“Oudin, who
informs us of these manuscripts, adds, that among the Mss.
upon paper in the library of Basil, theVe is a very beautiful oije in Greek, of the quarto size, whii'h is titled
” The
Homilies of Eustathius the metropolitan of Thessalo.iica,“and in the Bodleian are some Mss. attributed to him, as,
an
” Oratio in Imperatorem Em. Comnenuin;“” Supplicatio,“as it appears to be,
” ad eundem Imperatorem, nomine civitatis cum siccitate laboiMvit,“&
” Lamentatio in
obitu fratris." In the same collection also, are two funeral
orations delivered on the death of Eustathius, one of which,
Fabricius assures us was by Michael Chonita Acominat,
archbishop of Athens; the other bears the name of Euthymius, who, according to Fabricius and Oudin, was Eutbynius Zigubeaus, or Zigadenus, who flourished under
Alexis Camnenus, but this is doubtful. Du Cange notices
a correspondence between Eustathius and Michael Psellus
in the French king’s library, and in that of Vienna is a
commentary by him on John of Damascus’s hymn for the
day of Pentecost. In Aldus’s collection of Greek grammarians is a treatise by him on the dialects used by Homer. The manuscript copies of his Commentary on Homer
are not scarce in France, and there are some in Italy, of
which Polito availed himself when he began his new edition of Eustathius in 1730, &c. but he finished only the
first five books of the Iliad. The only complete editions
are those mentioned above.
, a Welch divine and poet, was born at Cynhavvdrew, in Cardiganshire, about 1730, and
, a Welch divine and poet, was born at
Cynhavvdrew, in Cardiganshire, about 1730, and was entered of Jesus college, Oxford, about the beginning of
1751, where he probably took a bachelor’s degree, but
left college after taking orders, and officiated as curate in
several places, particularly Newick in Kent, Llanvair
Talhaiarn in Denbighshire, and Towyn in Merion. He
was at the same time an assiduous student of Welch literature, employing all his leisure hours in transcribing an
cient manuscripts, of which labour he left behind him
about an hundred volumes of various sizes. Having passed
a great part of his life in such pursuits, without being able
to procure the smallest promotion in the church, his fortitude deserted him, and, to chase away his vexations, he
fell into that which increased them, a habit of drinking,
which at times produced symptoms of derangement, and
precluded his chance of obtaining any new friends. He
inherited a small freehold in Cardiganshire, which he conveyed over to a younger brother to raise money to support
himself at the university. Such a sacrifice to the laudable
ambition of learning ought not to have gone unrewarded.
Mr. Evans died at his birth-place in 1790. lu 1764 he
published a 4to vol. “Dissertatio de Bardis,
” or “Some
Specimens of the Poetry of the ancient Welch Bards.
Translated into English, with explanatory notes on the
historical passages, and a short account of the men and
places mentioned by the Bards; in order to give the curious some idea of the taste and sentiments of our ancestors,
and their manner of writing,
” 4to. Although these specimens appeared to considerable disadvantage in a translation, yet Mr. Evans’s Latin Dissertation proved his very
intimate acquaintance with the subject, and that his researches into the history of his poetical countrymen had
been profound and successful. His other works were an
English poem called “The Love of our Country, with
historical notes,
” Diddanwch Tenluaidd,
” and two volumes
of Sermons by Tillotson and others, translated into Welch.
All the manuscripts that Mr. Evans possessed at his death
became the property of Paul Pan ton, esq. of Plas Gwyn,
in Mona, in consideration of an annuity of twenty pounds,
which that gentleman settled upon him.
to a certain Evax but Salmasius has remarked, that this piece was first cited by Marbodee, a French poet of the eleventh century, and therefore spurious in regard to
, a king of the Arabs, is said to have lived in the
first century, and to have applied himself with great industry to the study of medicine. Pliny mentions that he
wrote a book “De simplicium effectibus,
” which he dedicated to Nero. But it is proved, both by Salmasius and
Hardouin, that this account is not found in the best manuscripts of Pliny for which reason the former delivers it as
his opinion, that by an error of transcribers, from Cratevas,
who in some copies is also named Cratevax, this Evax has
arisen. A manuscript is still found in several libraries
“On the properties and effects of precious stones,
” which
is attributed to a certain Evax but Salmasius has remarked, that this piece was first cited by Marbodee, a
French poet of the eleventh century, and therefore spurious in regard to its pretended antiquity. It was published
by Henry llantzovius at Leipsic in 1585, 4to. under the
title “De Gemmis scriptum, olim a poeta quodam non
infeliciter carmine redditum, et mine primuin in lucem
editum.
”
ities to inquire after in his travels. March 20, 1646, he left Venice in company with Mr. Waller the poet, and went to Milan, taking Vincenza and Verona in his way; from
Mr. Evelyn’s tour is thus chronicled by himself: “July
26, 1643, he went to France, and having passed the remainder of the year, with the winter and next spring, at
Paris, ia which time he made an excursion into Normandy,
and saw Rouen, April 25, 1644, he set out for Orleans,
and after visiting Blois, Tours, Anjou, and all the fine
places on the Loire, together with the town and palace
built by the great cardinal Richelieu, and called by his
name, he arrived Sept. 2 at Lyons, and went from thence
by Avignon to Marseilles, and so along the coast to a little
town called Canes, where (in Oct.) he embarked and arrived at Genoa, the curiosities of which having viewed, he
proceeded to Pisa, Leghorn, Florence, Sienna, and so came
(Nov. 4) to Rome, where he spent the winter in seeing all
the antiquities and curiosities of that famous city, making
an excursion (Jan. 27, 1644-5) to Naples, and returning
Feb. 7. May 18 he left Rome, and passing through Bologna
and Ferrara, came (in June) to Venice, where he spent the
remaining part of the year, and sometimes going to Padua,
where the earl of Arundel was, the great collector of pictures, statues, &c. whom he was acquainted with, and who,
at his taking leave of him, gave him directions written
with his own hand, what curiosities to inquire after in his
travels. March 20, 1646, he left Venice in company with
Mr. Waller the poet, and went to Milan, taking Vincenza
and Verona in his way; from hence he passed the Alps,
and came to Geneva. In July he departed from Geneva,
and in October got to Paris again by the way of Orleans.
”
to these arts. For such of old were Lucius Manilius, and Fabius, noble Romans, Pacuvius, the tragic poet, nephew to Ennius. Socrates, the wisest of men, and Plato himself,
As considerable light is thrown on the history and merits
of Mr. Evelyn from the account given of his works, little
apology need be made for the length of the article, taken
principally from the Biographia Britannica. These were,
1. His treatise “Of Liberty and Servitude,
” A Character of England, as it
was lately presented in a letter to a nobleman of France,
with reflections upon Callus Castratus,
” The State of France,
” London, An Essay on the First Book of Titus Lucretius
Carus, de renim natura, interpreted, and made into English verse, by J. Evelyn, esq.
” London, Never
was book so abominably misused by printer; never copy
so negligently surveied by one who undertooke to looke
over the proofe-sheetes with all exactnesse and care, naqely
Dr. Triplet, well knowne for his abiilitie, and who pretended,
to oblige me in Hiv absence, and so readily offer'd himselfe. This good yet I received by it, that publishing it
vaiiu-ly, its ill succese at the printer’s discouraged me with
troubling the world with the rest.
” 5. “The French Gardener, instructing how to cultivate all sorts of fruit-trees
and herbs for the garden, together with directions to dry
and conserve them in their natural,
” &c. Lond. The English Vineyard vindicated, by John Rose,
gardener to his majesty king Charles II. with a' tract of the
making and ordering of wines in France.
” The third edition
of this French Gardener, which came out in 1676, was illustrated with sculptures. 6. “The golden book of St.
Oh ry sos torn, concerning the Education of Children.
” Lond.
An Apology for the Royal Party, c.
” The late News or Message from
Brussels unmasked,
” Instructions concerning the erecting of a Library, written by Gabriel Naude
”, published in
English, with some improvements,“Lond. 1661, 8vo. ll.
” Fumifugium or the inconveniences of the air and the
smoke of London dissipated together with some remedies
humbly proposed,“London, 1661, 4to, in five sheets, addressed to the king and parliament, and published by hisma
jesty’s express command. Of this there was a late edition
in 1772. 12.
” Tyrannies or the Mode in a discourse of
sumptuary laws“Lond. 1661, 8vo. 13.
” Sculptnra; or
the history a-id art of Chalcography and Engraving in Copper, with an ample enumeration of the most renowned
masters and their works; to which is annexed, a new manner of engraving, or mezzo-tinto,. communicated by his
highness prince Rupert to the author of this treatise,“Lond. 1662, 8vo. In the dedication to Mr. Robert Boyle,
dated: at Sayes-court, April 5th, 1662, he observes, that
he wrote this treatise at the reiterated instance of that
gentleman. The first chapter treats of sculpture, howderived and distinguished, with the styles and instruments
belonging to it. The second, of the original of sculpture
in general. la this chapter our author observes, that
letters, and consequently sculpture, were lon.g before the
flood, Suidas ascribing both letters and all the rest of
the sciences to Adam. After the flood, as he supposes,
there were but few who make any considerable question,
that it might not be propagated by Noah to his posterity, though some admit of none before Moses. The
third chapter treats of the reputation and progress of
sculpture among the Greeks and Romans down to the
middle ages, with a discussion of some pretensions to
the invention of copper cuts and their impressions. The
fourth, of the invention and progress of chalcography in particular, together with an ample enumeration of the most renowned masters and their works. The fifth, of drawing and
design previous to the art of chalcography, and of the use
of pictures in order to theeducation of children. In this
chapter, our author, in honour of the art upon which he
writes, discourses thus:
” It was in the former chapter
that we made rehearsal of the most renowned gravers and
their works, not that we had no more to add to that number, but because we would not mingle these illustrious
names and qualities there, which we purposely reserved for
the crown of this discourse. We did, therefore, forbear
to mention what his highness prince Rupert’s own hands
have contributed to the dignity of that art, performing
things in graving, of which some enrich our collection,
comparable to the greatest masters; such a spirit and address there appears in all that he touches, and especially
in that of the mezzotinto, of which we shall speak hereafter more at large, having first enumerated those incomparable gravings of that his new and inimitable style, in
both the great and little decollations of St. John the Baptist, the soldier holding a spear and leaning his hand on a
shield, the two Mary Magdalens, the old man’s head, that
of Titian, &c. after the same Titian, Georgion, and others.
We have also seen a plate etched by the present French
king, and other great persons; the right honourable the
earl of Sandwich, sometimes, as we are told, diverting
himself with the burine, and herein imitating those ancient
and renowned heroes, whose names are loud in the trumpet
of fame for their skill and particular affection to these arts.
For such of old were Lucius Manilius, and Fabius, noble
Romans, Pacuvius, the tragic poet, nephew to Ennius.
Socrates, the wisest of men, and Plato himself, Metrodorus and Pyrrhus the philosopher, did both desigii and
paint and so did Valentinian, Adrian, and Severus, emperors so as the great Paulus ^milius esteemed it of
such high importance, that he would needs have his son to
be instructed in it, as in one of the most worthy and excellent accomplishments belonging to a prince. For the
art of graving, Quintilian likewise celebrates Euphranor,
a polite and rarely endowed person; and Pliny, in that
chapter where he treats of the same art, observes that there
was never any one famous in it, but who was by birth or education a gentleman. Therefore he and Galen in their recension of the liberal arts, mention that of graving in particular,
amongst the most permanent; and in the same catalogue,
number it with rhetoric, geometry, logic, astronomy, yea, r
grammar itself, because there is in these arts, say they,
more of fancy and invention, than strength of hand, more
of the spirit than of the body. Hence Aristotle informs
us, that the Grecians did universally institute their children
in the art of painting and drawing, for an oeconomique
reason there signified, as well as to produce proportions in
the mind. Varro makes it part of the ladies 1 education,
that they might have the better skill in the works of
embroidery, &c. and for this cause is his daughter Martia
celebrated among those of her fair sex. We have already
mentioned the learned Anna Schurman; but the princess
Louisa has done wonders of this kind, and is famous
throughout Europe for the many pieces which enrich our
cabinets, examples sufficient to vindicate its dignity, and
the value that has been set upon it, since both emperors,
kings, and philosophers, the great and the wise, have not
disdained to cultivate and cherish this honourable quality
of old, so nobly reputed, that amongst the Greeks a slave
might not be taught it. How passionately does Pereskius,
that admirable and universal genius, deplore his want of
dexterity in this art Baptista Alberti, Aldus Pomponius,
Guaricus Durer, and Rubens, were politely learned and
knowing men, and it is hardly to be imagined of how great
use and conducible a competent address in this art of
drawing and designing is to the several advantages which
occur, and especially to the more noble mathematical
sciences, as we have already instanced in the lunary works
of Hevelius, and are no less obliged to celebrate some of
ur own countrymen famous for their dexterity in this incomparable art. Such was that Blagrave, who himself cut
those diagrams in his Mathematical Jewel; and such at
present is that rare and early prodigy of universal science,
Dr. Chr. Wren, our worthy and accomplished friend.
For, if the study of eloquence and rhetoric were cultivated
by the greatest geniuses and heroic persons which the
world has produced, and that, by the suffrage of the most
knowing, to be a perfect orator a man ought to be universally instructed, a quality so becoming and useful should
never be neglected.“In the sixth chapter he discourses
of the new way of engraving or mezzotinto, invented and
communicated by prince Rupert and he therein observes,
” that his highness did indulge him the liberty of publishing the whole manner and address of this new way of
engraving; but when I had well considered it, says he (so much having been already expressed, which may suffice to give the hint to all ingenious persons how it is to be performed), I did not think it necessary that an art so curious, and as yet so little vulgar, and which indeed does
not succeed where the workman is not an accomplished
designer, and has a competent talent in painting likewise,
was to be prostituted at so cheap a rate as the more naked
describing of it here would too soon have exposed it to.
Upon these considerations then, it is, that vvg leave it thus
enigmatical; and yet that this may appear no disingenuous
rhodomontade in me, or invidious excuse, I profess myself to be always most ready sub sigillo, and by his highness’s permission, to gratify any curious and worthy person with as full and perfect a demonstration of the entire
art as my talent and address will reach to, if what I am
now preparing to be reserved in the archives of the royal
society concerning it be not sufficiently instructive.“There
came, however, into the hands of the communicative and
learned Richard Micldleton Massey, M. D. and F. 11. S. the
original manuscript, written by Mr. Evelyn, and designed
for the royal society, entitled
” Prince Rupert’s new way
of engraving, communicated by his highness to Mr. Evelyn;“in the margin of which is this note:
” This I prepared to be registered in the royal society, but I have not
yet given it in, so as it still continues a secret.“In this
manuscript he first describes the two instruments employed
in this new manner of engraving, viz. the hatcher and the
style, and then proceeds to explain the method of using
them. He concludes with the following words:
” This
invention, or new manner of chalcography, was the result
of chance, and improved by a German soldier, who,
espying some scrape on the barrel of his musket, and being
of an ingenious spirit, refined upon it, till it produced the
effects you have seen, and which indeed is, for the delicacy thereof, much superior to anyinvention extant of
this art, for the imitation of those masterly drawings, and,
as the Italians call it, that morhidezza expressed in the best
of their designs. I have had the honour to be the first of
the English to whom it has been yet communicated, and
by a special indulgence of his highness, who with his own
hands was pleased to direct me with permission to publish
it to the world; but I have esteemed it a thing so curious,
that I thought it would be to profane it, before I had first
offered it to this illustrious society. There is another way
of engraving, by rowelling a plate with an instrument
made like that which our scriveners and clerks use to direct
their rulers by on parchment, only the points are thicker
set into the rowel. And when the plate is sufficiently
freckled with the frequent reciprocation of it, upon the
polished surface, so as to render the ground dark enough,
it is to be abated with the style, and treated as we have already described. Of this sort I have seen a head of the
queen Christina, graved, if I mistake not, as big as the
life, but not comparable to the mezzotinto of prince Rupert, so deservedly celebrated by J. Evelyn."
it was in the third edition, was dedicated to Cowley, with great compliments from our author to that poet, to whom it had been communicated before; which occasioned Cowley’s
Mr. Evelyn’s next publication was the most important
of all his works: 15. “Sylva; or, a dicourse of Foresttrees, and the propagation of timber in his majesty’s dominions 5 as it was delivered in the royal society the 15th
of October, 1662, Upon occasion of certain queries propounded to that illustrious assembly by the honourable the
principal officers and commissioners of the navy.
” To
which is annexed, “Pomona, or, an appendix concerning
fruit-trees, in relation to cider, the making and several
ways of ordering it: published by express order of the
royal society,
” Lond. 1664, fol. This was the first work
written by the command, and published in virtue of an
order, of the royal society, signed by the lord viscount
Brouncker, their president, and dedicated to the king.
The second edition of it was published in 1669, with a
new dedication to king Charles II. dated from Sayes-court,
Aug. 24; the first paragraph of which deserves the reader’s
notice. “Sir, This second edition of Sylva, after more
than a thousand copies had been bought up and dispersed
of the first impression, in much less than two years space
(which booksellers assure us is a very extraordinary thing in volumes of this bulk), conies now again to pay its homage
to your serene majesty, to whose auspices alone it owes the
favourable acceptance which it has received in the world.
But it is not that alone which it presumes to tell your majesty, but to acquaint you that it has been the sole occasion for furnishing your almost exhausted dominions with
more, I dare say, than two millions of timber-trees, besides infinite others, which have been propagated within
the three nations at the instigation and by the direction
of this work; and that the author of it is able, if need require, to make it out by a competent volume of letters
and acknowledgments, which are come to his hands, from
several persons of the most eminent quality, many of
them illustrious, and divers of them unknoun to him, in
justification of what he asserts; which he the rather preserves with the more care, because they are testimonials
from so many honourable persons ‘of the benefit they have
received from the endeavours of the royal society, which
now-a-days passes through so many censures; but she has
yet your majesty for her founder and patron, and is therefore
the’ less concerned, since no man of worth can lightly speak
ill of an assembly v.hich your majesty has thought fit to dignify by so signal a relation to it.
” The third edition, with
great additions and improvements, was published in 1G79;
the fourth in 1705, and the fifth in 1729, both very incorrect. In 1776 a new edition of the “Sylva
” was published in
4to, by Dr. Andrew Hunter, of York, a gentleman eminently qualified for the undertaking. Under the care of
this gentleman the work appeared with every possible advantage; and was enriched by the judicious editor with
ample and copious notes, and adorned with a set of fine
engravings. A head of Mr. Evelyn is prefixed, drawn and
engraved by Battolozzi. Dr. Hunter’s edition of the Sylva
has been four times reprinted. The edition of 1812 contains the deceased editor’s last corrections . 16. “A
parallel of the antient architecture with the modern, in a
collection of ten principal authors who have written upon
the five orders, viz. Palladio and Scammozzi, Serlio and
Vignola D. Barbaro and Cataneo L. B. Alberti and
Viola, Bullant and De Lorme compared with one another.
The three Greek orders, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian,
comprise the first part of this treatise, and the two Latin,
Tuscan and Composite, the latter written in French by
Roland Freart, sieur de Chambray made English for the
benefit, of builders to which is added, an account of architects and architecture^ in an historical and etymological
explanation of certain terms, particularly affected by architects; with Leon Baptista Alberti’s treatise of statues,
”
London, I know none, indeed,
to whom I could more aptly inscribe a discourse of building, than to so royal a builder, whose august attempts
have already given so great a splendour to our imperial
city, and so illustrious an example to the nation It is
from this contemplation, sir, that after I had, by the commands of the royal society, endeavoured the improvement
of timber and the planting of trees, I have advanced to that
of building, as its proper and mutual consequent, not
with a presumption to incite or instruct your majesty, which
were a vanity unpardonable, but, by it, to take occasion
of celebrating your majesty’s great example, who use your
empire and authority so worthily, as fortune seems to have
consulted her reason, when she poured her favours upon
you; so as I never cast my eyes on that generous designation in the epigram, Ut donem pastor K tedificem, without
immediate reflection on your majesty, who seem only to
value those royal advantages you have above others, that
you may oblige, and that you may build. And certainly,
sir, your majesty has consulted the noblest way of establishing your greatness, and of perpetuating your memory,
since, while stones can preserve inscriptions, your name
will be famous to posterity; and, when those materials
fail, the benefits that are engraven in our hearts will outlast those of marble. It will be no paradox, but a truth,
to affirm, that your majesty has already built and repaired
more in three or four years, notwithstanding the difficulties
and the necessity of an extraordinary ceconomy for the
public concernment, than all your enemies have destroyed
in twenty, nay than all your majesty’s predecessors have
advanced in an hundred, as I could easily make out, not
only by what your majesty has so magnificently designed
and carried on at that your ancient honour of Greenwich,
under the conduct of your most industrious and worthy
surveyor, but in those splendid apartments and other useful reformations for security and delight about your majesty’s palace at Whitehall the chargeable covering first,
then paving and reformation of Westminster-hall care and
preparation for rebuilding St. Paul’s, by the impiety and
iniquity of the late confusions almost dilapidated; what her
majesty the queen-mother has added to her palace at Somerset-house, in a structure becoming her royal grandeur,
and the due veneration of all your majesty’s subjects, for
the lioirnir she has done both this your native city, and the
whole nation. Nor may I here omit, what I so much desire to transmit to posterity, those noble and profitable
amoenities of your majesty’s plantations, wherein you most
resemble the divine architect, because your majesty has
proposed in it such a pattern to your subjects, as merit
their imitation and protoundest acknowledgments, in one
of the most worthy and kingly improvements tbat nature is
capable of. 1 know not what they talk of former ages, and
of the now contemporary princes with your majesty these
things are visible and should I here descend to more particulars, which yet were not foreign to the subject of this
discourse, I would provoke the whole world to produce me
an example parallel with your majesty, for your exact
judgment and marvellous ability in all that belongs to the
naval architecture, both as to its proper terms and more
solid use, in which your majesty is master of one of the
most noble and profitable arts that can be wished, in a
prince to whom God has designed the dominion of the
ocean, which renders your majesty’s empire universal;
where, by exercising your royal talent and knowledge that
way, you can bring even the antipodes to meet, and the
poles to kiss each other; for so likewise, not in a metaphorical but natural sense, your equal and prudent government of this nation has made it good, whilst your majesty
has so prosperously guided this giddy bark, through such
a storm, as no hand, save your majesty’s, could touch the
helm, but at the price of their temerity.
” There is also
another dedication to sir John Denham, knight of the bath,
superintendent and surveyor of all his majesty’s buildings
and works, in which there are several matters of fact worth
knowing, as indeed there are in all Mr. Evelyn’s dedications; for, though no man was naturally more civil, or
more capable of making a compliment handsomely, yet his
merit was always conspicuous in his good manners; and he
never thought that the swelling sound of a well-turned
period could atone for want of sense. It appears from the
dedication of the second edition of the Sylva to king
Charles II. that there was a second edition of this work
also in the same year, viz. 1669, as there was a third in
1697, which was the last in the author’s life-time. In this
third edition, which is very much improved, “the account
of Architects and Architecture,
” which is an original work
of Mr. Evelyn’s, and a most excellent one of its kind, is
dedicated to sir Christopher Wren, surveyor to his majesty’s buildings and works; and there is in it another of
those incidental passages that concern the personal history
of our author. Having said in the first paragraph, that, if
the whole art of building were lost, it might be found
again in the noble works of that great architect, which,
though a very high, is no unjust compliment, more especially, continues our author, St. Paul’s church and the
Monument; he then adds, “I have named St. Paul’s,
and truly not without admiration, as oft as I recall to mind,
as frequently I do, the sad and deplorable condition it was
in, when, after it had been made a stable of horses and a
den of thieves, you, with other gentlemen and myself,
were, by the late king Charles, named commissioners to
survey the dilapidations, and to make report to his majesty,
in order to a speedy reparation. You will not, I am sure,
forget the struggle we had with some who were for patching it up any how, so the steeple might stand, instead of
new-building, which it altogether needed: when, to put
an end to the contest, five days after (August 27, Sept. 1666), that dreadful conflagration happened, out of whose
this phoenix is risen, and was by providence designed
for you. The circumstance is too remarkable, that I could
not pass it over without notice. I will now add no more,
but beg your pardon for this confidence of mine, after I
have acquainted you that the parallel to which this was annexed being out of print, I was importuned by the bookseller to add something to a new impression, but to which
I was no way inclined; till, not long since, going to St.
Paul’s, to contemplate that august pile, and the progress
you have made, some of your chief workmen gratefully acknowledging the assistance it had afforded them, I took
this opportunity of doing myself this honour.
” The fourth
edition of this work, printed long after our author’s death,
viz. in 1733, was in folio, as well as the rest; to which is
added “The Elements of Architecture,
” by sir Henry
Wotton, and some other things, of which, however, hints
were met with in our author’s pieces. 17. “Mwrtyj/ov Tjjj
AvaiMos; that is, another part of the mystery of Jesuitism,
or the new heresy of the Jesuits, publicly maintained at
Paris, in the college of Clermont, the twelfth of December,
1661, declared to all the bishops of France, according to
the copy printed at Paris. Together with the imaginary
heresy, in three letters; with divers other particulars relating to this abominable mystery never before published in
English;
” Lond. 1664, 8vo. This, indeed, has not our
author’s name to it; but that it is really his, and that he
had reasons for not owning it more publicly, appears from
a letter from him to Mr. Boyle. 18. “Kalendarium Hortense, or the gardener’s almanac, directing what he is to
do monthly throughout the year, and what fruits and flowers
are in prime,
” Lond. The Garden.
” This passed through at least nine editions.
The author made many additions as long as he lived and
the best was that printed by way of appendix to the fourth
and last edition of the Sylva in his life-time. 19. “The
history of the three late famous impostors, viz. Padre Ottotnano, pretended son and heir to the late grand signior;
Mahomet Bei, a pretended prince of the Ottoman family,
but, in truth, a Wallachian counterfeit: and Sabbatai Sevi,
the supposed Messiah of the Jews, in the year 1666; with
a brief account of the ground and occasion of tjie present
war between the Turk and the Venetian: together with the
cause of the final extirpation, destruction, and exile, of the
Jews out of the empire of Persia,
” Lond. 1668, 8vo. This
piece is dedicated to Henry earl of Arlington, and the dedication is subscribed J. E. and, if Mr. Wood had seen it,
he would not have said, “I know nothing yet to the contrary but this may be a translation.
” The nature and value
of this little piece were much better known abroad: one of
the best literary journals, “Act. Eruditorum Lipsiensiutn,
”
A. D. Public employment and an active life
preferred to solitude, in a reply to a late ingenious essay
of a contrary title,
” Lond. Sylva,
” Philosoph.
Trans. No. 53; and the reader will find some ingenious
strictures on “Public employment, &c.
” in vol. 1. of the
Censura Literaria, by one who knows well how to improve
solitude. 21. “An idea of the perfection of painting,
demonstrated from the principles of art, and by examples
conformable to the observations which Pliny and Quintilian have made upon the most celebrated pieces of the ancient painters, paralleled with some works of the most famous modern painters, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Julio
Romano, and N. Poussin. Written in French by Roland
Freart, Sieur de Cambray, and rendered English by J. E.
esquire, fellow of the royal society;
” Lond. 1668, 8vo,
This translation is dedicated to Henry Howard, of Norfolk,
heir apparent to that dukedom and the dedication is dated
from Say es-court, June the 24th, 1668, 8vo. This piece,
like most of Mr. Evelyn’s works, is now become exceeding
scarce. In the preface he observes, that the reader will
find in this discourse divers useful, remarks, especially
where the author “treats of costume, which we, continues
he, have interpreted decorum, as the nearest expression
our language would bear to it. And I was glad our author
had reproved it in so many instances, because it not only
grows daily more licentious, but even ridiculous and intolerable. But it is hoped this may universally be reformed! when our modern workmen shall consider, that
neither the exactness of their design, nor skilfulness in
colouring, ha.s been able to defend their greatest predecessors from just reproaches, who have been faulty in this
particular. I could exemplify in many others, whom our
author has omitted; and there is none but takes notice
what injury it has done the fame of some of our best reputed painters, and how indecorous it is to introduce circumstances, wholly improper to the usages and genius of
the places where our histories are supposed to. have beeq
acted.
” Mr. Evelyn then remarks, that this was not only
the fault of Bassano, who would be ever bringing in his
wife, children, and servants, his dog and his cat, and very
kitchen-stuff, after the Paduan mode; but of the great
Titian himself, Georgipn, Tintoret, and the rest; as Paulo
Veronese is observed also to have done, in his story of
Pharaoh’s daughter drawing Moses out of the river, attended with a guard of Swisses. Malvogius likewise, in a
picture then in the king’s gallery at Whitehall, not only
represents our first parents with navels upon their bellies,
but has placed an artificial stone fountain, carved with
imagery, in the midst of his paradise. Nor does that excellent and learned painter, Rubens, escape without censure, not only for making most of his figures of the shapes
of brawny Flemings, but for other sphalmata and circumstances of the like nature, though in some he has acquitted
himself to admiration, in the due observation of costume,
particularly in his crucifixes, &c. Raphael Urbino was,
doubtless, one of the first who reformed these inadvertencies; but it was more conspicuous in his latter than in his
former pieces. “As for Michael Angelo,
” continues Mr.
Evelyn, “though I heartily consent with our critic in reproving that almost idolatrous veneration of his works, who
hath certainly prodigiously abused the art, not only in the
table this discourse arraigns him for, but several more
which I have seen; yet I conceive he might have omitted
some of those embittered reproaches he has reviled him
with, who doubtless was one of the greatest masters of his
time, and however he might succeed as to the decorum,
was hardly exceeded for what he performed in sculpture
and the statuary art by many even of the ancients themselves, and haply by none of the moderns: witness his
Moses, Christus in Gremio, and several other figures at
Rome to say nothing of his talent in architecture, and
the obligation the world has to his memory, for recovering
many of its most useful ornaments and members out of the
neglected fragments, which lay so long buried, and for
vindicating that antique and magnificent manner of building from the trifling of Goths and barbarians.
” He observes next, that the usual reproach of painting has been
the want of judgment in perspective, and bringing more
into history than is justifiable upon one aspect, without
turning the eye to each figure in particular, and multiplying the points of sight, which is a point even monsieur
Freart, for all the pains he has taken to magnify that celebrated Decision of Paris, has failed in. For the knowing
in that art easily perceive, that even Raphael himself has
not so exactly observed it, since, instead of one, as monsieur Freart takes it to be, and as indeed it ought to have
been, there are no less than four or five; as du Bosse hath
well observed in his treatise of “The converted painter,
”
where, by the way also, he judiciously numbers amongst
the faults against costume, those landscapes, grotesque
figures, &c. which we frequently find abroad especially
for, in our country, we have few or none of those graceful
supplements of steeples painted, horizontally and vertically
on the vaults and ceilings of cupolas, since we have no
examples for it from the ancients, who allowed no more
than a frett to the most magnificent and costly of those
which they erected. But, would you know whence this
universal caution in most of their works proceeded, and
that the best of our modern painters and architects have
succeeded better than others of that profession, it must be
considered, that they were learned men, good historians,
and generally skilled in the best antiquities; such were
Raphael, and doubtless his scholar Julio; and, if Polydore
arrived not to the glory of letters, he yet attained to a rare
habit of the ancient gusto, as may be interpreted from most
of his designs and paintings. Leon Baptist Alberti was
skilled in all the politer parts of learning to a prodigy, and
has written several curious things in the Latin tongue. We
know that, of later times, Rubens was a person universally
learned, as may be seen in several Latin epistles of his to
the greatest scholars of his age. And Nicholas Poussin, the
Frenchman, who is so much celebrated and so deservedly,
did, it seems, arrive to this by his indefatigable industry
“as the present famous statuary, Bernini, now living,
”
says Mr. Evelyn, “has also done so universal a mastery,
that, not many years since, he is reported to have built a
theatre at Rome, for the adornment whereof he not only
cut the figures and painted the scenes, but wrote the play,
and composed the music, which was all in recitative. And
I am persuaded, that all this is not yet by far so much as
that miracle and ornament of our age and country, Dr.
Christopher Wren, were able to perform, if he were so
disposed, and so encouraged, because he is master of so
many admirable advantages beyond them. I alledge these
examples partly to incite, and partly to shew the dignity
and vast comprehension of this rare art, and that for a man
to arrive to its utmost perfection, he should be almost as
universal as the orator in Cicero, and the architect in Vitruvius. But, certainly, some tincture in history, the optics and anatomy, are absolutely requisite, and more, iri
the opinion of our author, than to be a steady designer,
and skilled in the tempering and applying of colours,
which, amongst most of our modern workmen, go now for
the only accomplishments of a painter.
”
n the abbot’s poetical epistle, in which he objected to the comparison between himself and the Roman poet. “Ovid,” said he, “was the most witty and the most unfortunate
St. Evremond now thought of passing the remainder of
his days in Holland but, in 1670, sir William Temple
delivered to him letters from the earl of Arlington, by
which he was informed, that king Charles -II. desired his
return to England. This induced him to change his intentions; and, on his arrival in England, the king conferred
on him a pension o:' three hundred pounds a-year. In
1675, the duchess of Mazarin arrived in England; and we
are told, that “her house was the usual rendezvous of the
politest persons in England; and in these assemblies the
people of fashion found an agreeable amusement, and the
learned an excellent pattern of politeness.
” It is added,
that, in her house, “all manner of subjects were discoursed
upon, as philosophy, religion, history, pieces of wit and
gallantry, plays, and authors ancient and modern.
” St.
Evremond spent much of his time at the house of the duchess of Mazarin, and appears to have had a great friendship for her. He was also on very friendly terms with the
celebrated Ninon de PEnclos, with whom he often corresponded. He sometimes passed the summer season with
the court at Windsor, where he conversed much with Isaac
Vossius, who had been made one of the prebendaries of
Windsor by king Charles II. By the death of that prince,
St. Evremond lost his pension; but, in 1686, the earl of
Sunderland proposed to king James II. to create for him
an office of secretary of the cabinet, whose province should
be to write the king’s private letters to foreign princes.
The king agreed to the proposal, but St. Evremond declined accepting the office. He made his acknowledgments to lord Sunderland, and to the king; and said, “he
should account himself very happy to be able to serve his
majesty; but that a man of his age ought to think of nothing,
but how to husband the little time he had to live, and to
spend it in ease and tranquillity.
” After the Revolution,
he was so well treated in England by king William, that
he declined returning again to his own country, though
the French king now gave him permission, and even promised him a favourable reception. Yet king William’s
characteristic address to him, when first introduced at
court, could not be very acceptable to a man who valued
himself on his literary reputation “I think you was a
major-general in the French service
” About Ovid,
” said he, “was the
most witty and the most unfortunate man of his time. I
am not like him, either as to wit or misfortunes. He was
exiled among barbarians, where he made fine verses; but
so doleful and melancholy, that they excite as much
contempt for his weakness as compassion for his disgrace.
Where I am, I daily see the duchess of Mazarin. I lire
among sociable people, who have a great deal of merit and
a great deal of wit. I make very indifferent verses; but
so gay, that they make my humour to be envied, while
they make my poetry to be laughed at. I have too little
money but I love to be in a country where there is
enough besides, the nse of it ends with our lives and
the consideration of a greater evil is a sort of remedy
against a lesser. Thus you see I have several advantages
over Ovid. It is true, that he was more fortunate at Rome
with Julia than I have been at London with Hortensia: but
the favours of Julia were the occasion of his misfortune;
and the rigours of Hortensia do not make a man of my age
uneasy.
”
, a Danish poet of considerable reputation in his own country, was born at Copenhagen
, a Danish poet of considerable reputation in his own country, was born at Copenhagen in 1743,
and had to contend with adversity during the greater part
of his life. For some years he was a common soldier in the
Prussian and Austrian service, and lived in a state of comparative indigence until his death, which happened at Copenhagen March 17, 1781. He acquired his first reputatation by a work in prose, entitled “The Temple of Goodness,
” and afterwards wrote some dramas, as his countrymen say, in the style of Ossian and Shakspeare. His works
were printed at Copenhagen, 1781 1791, 4 vols. 8vo, with
engravings by Chodowicki, but are not known in this
country.
ble proof of his learning, which was by no means confined. He. was an orator, lawyer, historian, and poet, a man of excellent private character, and a liberal patron
, president of the parliament of
Grenoble, was born Dec. 22, 1561, at Voiron in Dauphiny.
His father Claude Expilli had acquired great reputation in
the army. This his son studied first at Turin, and in 1581
and 1582 went through a course of law studies at Padua,
where he became acquainted with many of the most learned
men of his time, particularly Speroni, Torniel, Decianus,
I'ancirollus, Pinelli, Zabarella, Picolomini, &c. On his
return to France, he took his doctor’s degree at Bourges,
where the celebrated James Cujas bestowed high praise on.
him. He then settled at Grenoble, and acquired such distinction among the advocates of the parliament, that the
king Henry IV. considered him as fit for the highest offices
in law. Expilli was accordingly promoted to that of king’s
procurator in the chamber of finances, king’s advocate in
parliament, and lastly that of president. The same monarch, as well as Louis XIII. employed him in many important affairs in thecomte Venaissin, Piedmont, and Savoy,
where he was first president of the parliament of Chamberi, after that city was taken in 1C 30. Three years after,
the king made use of his services at Piguerol; but on his
return to Grenoble, he died July 22 or 23, 1636, in the
seventy- fifth year of his age. James Philip Thomasini,
bishop of Citta Nova, wrote his eloge, and his life was
written by Antony Boniel de Catilhon, his nephew, and
advocate general of the chamber of accounts in Dauphiny.
It was printed at Grenoble in 1660, 4to. Cherier, in his
History of that province, says of him, that his works are an
incontestable proof of his learning, which was by no means
confined. He. was an orator, lawyer, historian, and poet,
a man of excellent private character, and a liberal patron
of merit, which alone was a sure introduction to his favour.
His works are both in prose and verse. His “Pleadings
” were printed at Paris, French orthography,
” Lyons,
, a Dutch Latin poet and historian, was born at Delft in Holland, of a family of
, a Dutch Latin
poet and historian, was born at Delft in Holland, of a family of men of the sword. He embraced the same profession himself, and was a captain of cuirassiers in the
Dutch service. With no less zeal he courted the muses,
and acquired considerable reputation, both as a soldier and
poet. In 1611 a quarto volume of his Latin poems was
printed at Leyden, containing “Nugarum liber unus:
Belli Flandrici libri duo; Senatus convivalis, Mars exul,
&c.
” He also wrote a treatise “De Saltationibusveterum,
”
which he dedicated to Joseph Scaliger. Eyndius died at
his castle at Helmstede, in the isle of Schowen in Zeland,
Sept. 11, 1614. After his death the states of Zeland ordered his “Chronicon Zelandiae
” to be published at Middleburgh, Jacobus Eyndius de pace a Batavis anno
1609 oblata,
” Leyden,
, a Jew, was a Greek poet, who wrote tragedies on subjects of the sacred history. Large
, a Jew, was a Greek poet, who wrote tragedies on subjects of the sacred history. Large fragments of a tragedy by him, on the departure of Israel from Egypt, have been preserved by Clemens of Alexandria, and Eusebius. Various opinions are held concerning the time in which he lived. Eusebius introduces a Demetrius as quoting him; and if that was (as an eminent writer of the present day supposes) Demetrius Phalereus, he must have lived near 300 years before the birth of our Saviour. Others bring him down to a century after that period. He must, at all events, have been prior to Clemens, who quotes him; and certain it is, that there are some remarkable expressions concerning the divine Logos in his fragments. 3
phy by his parents, whom he quitted in his youth, and became by turns a painter, musician, engraver, poet, and actor. He performed on the stages of Versailles, Brussels,
,
one of the agents in the French revolution, was born at
Carcassane, Dec. 28, 1755, and was educated in polite
literature and natural philosophy by his parents, whom he
quitted in his youth, and became by turns a painter, musician, engraver, poet, and actor. He performed on the
stages of Versailles, Brussels, and Lyons, but with no
great success. As a writer for the stage, however, he was
allowed considerable merit, and obtained, on one occasion,
at the Floral ia, the prize of the Eglantine, the name of
which he added to his own. In 1786 he published in a
French periodical work, “Les Etrennes du Parnasse,
” a
little poem called “Chalons sur Marne,
” in which he
drew a very charming picture of the moral pleasures that
were to be found in that place and its neighbourhood.
This piece, however, fell very short of the celebrity to
which he afterwards attained. In 1789 and 1790 he published two comedies, “Le Philinte,
” and “L'Intrigue
Epistolaire,
” the former of which was reckoned one of the
best French pieces of the last century.
tor of the music at St.Paul'p in Leipsic, organist of the church of St. Nicholas in that city, and a poet and a man of letters, as appears by a work be published in 1657,
, one of the most eminenjt
and laborious scholars of his time in Europe, was descended
both by the father’s and mother’s side from a family originally of Holstein. His father, Werner Fabricius, a native
of Itzhoa, in Holstein, was director of the music at St.Paul'p
in Leipsic, organist of the church of St. Nicholas in that
city, and a poet and a man of letters, as appears by a work
be published in 1657, entitled “Delicias Harmonicas.
”
His mother was Martha Corthum, the daughter of John
Corthum, a clergyman of Bergedorff, and the descendant
of a series of protestant clergymen from the time of the
reformation. He was born at Leipsic Nov. 11, 1668. His
mother died in 1674, and his father in 1679; but the latter, while he lived, had begun to instruct him, and on hig
death-bed recommended him to the care of Valentine
Albert, an eminent divine and philosopher, who employed,
as his first master, Wenceslau* Buhl, whom Mayer calls
the common Msecenas of orphans; and he appears to have
been taught by him for about five years. He also received
instructions at the same time under Jo. Goth. Herrichius,
rector of the Nicolaitan school at Leipsic, an able Greek
and Latin scholar, whose services Fabricius amply acknowledges in the preface to Herrichius’s “Poemata Graeca et
Latina,
” which he published in Adversaria,
” and the first edition of Morhoff’s “Polyhistor,
” which he himself informs us, gave the first direction to his mind as to that species of literary history and
research which he afterwards carried beyond all his predecessors, and in which, if we regard the extent and accuracy
of his labours, he has never had an equal. Schmidt had
accidentally shown him Barthius^, and requested him to
look into it; but it seemed to open to him such a wide
field of instruction and pleasure, that he requested to take
it to his room and study it at leisure, and from this he conceived the first thought, although, perhaps, at that timfe,
indistinct, of his celebrated Bibliothecas. After his return,
to Leipsic in 1686, he met with Morhoff, who, he says,
gave his new-formed inclination an additional spur. He
now was matriculated in the college of Leipsic, and was
entirely under the care of his guardian Valentine Albert,
one of the professors, with whom he lodged for seven years.
During this time he attended the lectures of Carpzovius,
Olearius, Feller, Rechenberg, Ittigius, Menckenius, &c.
and other learned professors, and acknowledges hisobligations in particular to Ittigius, who introduced him to a
knowledge of the Christian fathers, and of ecclesiastical
history. It is perhaps unnecessary to add of one who has
given such striking proofs of the fact, that his application
to his various studies was incessant and successful. His
reading was various and extensive, and, like most scholars
of his class, he read with a pen in his hand.
nd for the civil employments with which he was honoured, was born at Hamburgh in 1613. He was a good poet, an able physician, a great orator, and a learned civilian.
, a man eminent for wit and
learning, and for the civil employments with which he was
honoured, was born at Hamburgh in 1613. He was a
good poet, an able physician, a great orator, and a learned
civilian. He gained the esteem of all the learned in Holland while he studied at Leyden; and they liked his Latin
poems so well, that they advised him to print them. He
was for some time counsellor to the bishop of Lubec, and
afterwards syndic of the city of Dantzic. This city also
honoured him with the dignity of burgomaster^ and sent
him thirteen times deputy in Poland. He died at Warsaw,
during the diet of the kingdom, in 1667. The first edition
of his poems, in 1632, was printed upon the encouragement of Daniel Heinsius, at whose house he lodged. He
published a second in 1638, with corrections and additions:
to which he added a satire in prose, entitled “Pransus
Paratus,
” which he dedicated to Salmasius; and in which
he keenly ridiculed the poets who spend their time in
making anagrams, or licentious verses, as also those who
affect to despise poets. The most complete edition of his
poems is that of Leipsic, 1685, published under the direction of his son. It contains also Orations of our author,
made to the kings of Poland; an Oration spoken at Leyden in 1632, concerning the siege and deliverance of that
city and the Medical Theses, which were the subject of
his public disputations at Leyden in 1634, &c.
“Syntagmata.” He wrote also some works in theology and morals, and had the ambition to be thought a poet, but his biographer Fabroni thinks that in this he was not successful.
, a learned Italian orator and
grammarian, was born Jan. 4, 1682, at Toreglia, and studied principally at Padua, where he took his degree of
doctor in divinity in 1704, and taught for some time, and
afterwards was professor of philosophy for three years. He
was then appointed regent of the schools. As the Greek
and Latin languages were now his particular department,
he bestowed much pains in providing his scholars with
suitable assistance, and with that view, reviewed and published new and improved editions of the Lexicons of Calepinus, Nizolius, and Schrevelius. Some years after he
was promoted to be logic professor, and in that as well as
the former situation, endeavoured to introduce a more correct and useful mode of teaching, and published a work on
the subject for the use of his students. In 1739, when the
business of teaching metaphysics was united to that of
logic, Facciolati was desirous of resigning, that he might
return to his original employment; but the magistrates of
Padua would by no means allow that their university should
be deprived of his name, and therefore, allowing him to
retain his title and salary, only wished him to take in hand
the history of the university of Padua, which Papadopoli
had written, and continue it down to the present time.
This appears, from a deficiency of proper records, a very
arduous task, yet by dint of perseverance he accomplished
it in a manner, which although not perfectly satisfactory,
as far as regards the “Fasti Gymnastici,
” yet was entirely
so in the “Syntagmata.
” He wrote also some works in
theology and morals, and had the ambition to be thought a
poet, but his biographer Fabroni thinks that in this he was
not successful. His principal excellence was as a classical
scholar and critic, especially in the Latin, and his high
fame procured him an invitation from the king of Portugal
to superintend a college for the young nobility at Lisbon,
but he excused himself on account of his advanced age.
Fabroni mentions a set of china sent to him by this sovereign, which he says was a very acceptable present, and
corresponded to the elegant furniture of Facciolati’s house.
He had a garden in which he admitted no plants or fruittrees but what were of the most choice and rare kind, and
four or five apples from Facciolati’s garden was thought no
mean present. In every thing he was liberal to his friends,
and most benevolent to the poor. He died in advanced
age of the iliac passion, Aug. 27, 1769.
, an elegant Latin poet and philologist, was born at Cremona in the early part of the
, an elegant Latin poet and philologist, was born at Cremona in the early part of the sixteenth century, and by his accomplishments in polite
literature, gained the esteem and friendship of the cardinal de Medicis, afterwards pope Pius IV. and of his nephew the cardinal Borromeo. Having acquired a critical
knowledge of the Latin language, he was enabled to display much judgment in the correction of the Roman classics, and in the collation of ancient manuscripts on which
he was frequently employed, and indeed had an office of
that kind in the Vatican library. Ghilini says that he was
equally learned in the Greek language, but Muret asserts
that he was quite unacquainted with the Greek. That he
was a very elegant Latin poet, however, is amply proved
by his “Fables,
” and perhaps his being accused of stealing from Phgedrus may be regarded as a compliment to his
style. Thuanus appears to have first suggested this
accusation. He says that the learned world was greatly obliged
to him, yet had been more so, if, instead of suppressing,
he had been content with imitating the Fables of Phaedrus,
and asserts that Faeruo dealt unfairly with the public concerning Phoedrus, who was then unknown; having a manuscript of that author, which he concealed from the world
for fear of lessening the value of the Latin fables he had
made in imitation of Æsop. Perrault, however, who published a translation of Faerno’s Fables into French verse at
Paris in 1699, has defended his author from Thuanus’s
imputation. His words in the preface are as follow
“Faerno has been called a second Phsedrus, by reason of
the excellent style of his Fables, though he never saw
Phaedrus, who did not come to our knowledge till above
thirty years after his death; for Pithoeus, having found
that manuscript in the dust of an old library, published it
in the beginning of this century, Thuanus, who makes
very honourable mention of our author in his history, pretends, that Phcedrus was not unknown to him; and even
blames him for having suppressed that author, to conceal
what he had stolen from him. But there is no ground for
what he says; and it is only the effect of the strong persuasion of all those who are so great admirers of antiquity
as to think that a modern author can do nothing that is
excellent, unless he has an ancient author for his model.
Out of the hundred fables which Faerno published in Latin
verse, there are but five that had been treated by Phsedrus $
and out of those five there are but one or two that have
been managed nearly in the same manner: which happened only because it is impossible that two men, who
treat on the same subject, should not agree sometimes in
the same thoughts, or in the same expressions.
”
said to have given offence to some of the upstart families. To the works of Goudelin of Toulouse, a poet, published in 1678, 12mo, he prefixed a life, and criticism
, a French topographical
writer, was born at Castelnaudari in Upper Languedoc,
Oct. 30, 1616. after going through a course of studies at
Toulouse, he was in 1638 appointed king’s advocate to
the presidial of his native city, which office he resigned in
1655 on being chosen syndic to the city of Toulouse, and
came to reside in the latter, where he was enabled to cultivate his taste for the belles lettres; and during the discharge of the duties of his office, which he executed with
zeal and disinterestedness, the opportunity he had of inspecting the archives suggested to him the design of writing
the annals of Toulouse. On making known his intentions,
the parliament granted him permission to examine its registers, and the city undertook to defray the expense of
printing his work. Having been advanced to the rank of
capitoul, or alderman of the city, which office he served
for the third time in 1673, he communicated to his brethren
a plan of ornamenting their capitolium, or town -hall, with
busts of the most distinguished personages who had filled
the offices of magistracy, and they having allowed him to
make choice of the proper objects, a gallery was completed
in 1677 with the busts of thirty persons whom he had selected as meriting that honour. This, and other services
which he rendered to the citizens of Toulouse, induced
them to confer a handsome pension on him, and likewise
to bestow the reversion of the place of syndic on his nephew, who dying before La Faille, they gave it to his
grand-nephew. In 1694 the academy of the “Jeux Floraux
” elected him their secretary, a situation which he
filled for sixteen years with much reputation; for, besides
the fame he had acquired as an historian and magistrate,
he possessed considerable literary taste and talents, and
even in his ninetieth year produced some poetical pieces
in which there was more spirit and vivacity than could
have been expected at that very advanced period. He
died at Toulouse Nov. 12, 1711, in his ninety-sixth year.
His “Annales de la ville de Toulouse
” were published
there in 2 vols. fol. 1687 and 1701. The style, although;
somewhat incorrect, is lively and concise. The annals are
brought down only to 1610, the author being afraid, if he
proceeded nearer to his own times, that he might be
tempted to violate the impartiality which he had hitherto
endeavoured to preserve. He published also “Traité de
la noblesse des Capitouls,
” Journal de Verdun,
” for May
, an ingenious poet, who flourished: in the reigns of queen Elizabeth and king James
, an ingenious poet, who flourished: in the reigns of queen Elizabeth and king James the First, was the second son of sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, Yorkshire, by Dorothy his wife, daughter of George Gale, of Ascham-Grange, esq. treasurer to the Mint at York. In what year he was born is not related. The family from which he sprang was of a very military turn. His father had passed his youth in the wars of Europe, and was with Charles duke of Bourbon, at the sacking of Rome, in 1527. His engaging in this expedition is said to have g'lYen such offence to sir William Fairfax, that he was disinherited; but this is not reconcileable to the fact of his succeeding to the family estate at Denton, which he transmitted to his descendants. It was in 1577, or, according to Douglas, in 1579, when far advanced in years, that he was knighted by queen Elizabeth. The poet’s eldest brother, Thomas, who in process of time became the first lord Fairfax of Cameron, received the honour of knighthood before Rouen in Normandy, in 1591, for his bravery in the army sent to the assistance of Henry the Fourth of France; and he afterwards signalized himself on many occasions in Germany against the house of Austria. A younger brother of Edward Fairfax, sir Charles, was a captain under sir Francis Vere, at the battle of Newport, fought in 1600; and in the famous three years’ siege of Ostend, commanded al) the English in that town for some time before it surrendered. Here he received a wound in his face, from the piece of a skull of a marshal of France, killed near him by a cannon-ball, and was himself killed in 1604.
Such are the few particulars that are related concerning the private life of Fairfax. But it is as a poet that he is principally entitled to attention; and in this respect
Such are the few particulars that are related concerning
the private life of Fairfax. But it is as a poet that he is
principally entitled to attention; and in this respect he is
held in jqst reputation, and deserves to have his name
transmitted with honour to posterity. His principal work
was his translation of Tasso’s heroic poem of “Godfrey of
Bologne
” out of Italian into English verse; and what adds
to the merit of the work is, that it was his first essay in
poetry, and executed when he was very young. On its
appearance, it was dedicated to queen Elizabeth. The
book was highly commended by the best judges and wits
of the age in which it was written, and their judgment has
been sanctioned by the approbation of succeeding critics.
King James valued it above all other English poetry; and
king Charles used to divert himself with reading it in the time
of his confinement. All who mention Fairfax, do him the
justice to allow that he was an accomplished genius. Dryden introduces Spenser and Fairfax almost on the level, as
the leading authors of their times, and Waller confessed
that he owed the music of his numbers to Fairfax’s Godfrey
of Bologne. “The truth is,
” says the author of Cibber’s
Lives, “this gentleman is, perhaps, the only writer down
to sir William Davenant, who needs no apology to be made
for him on account of the age in which he lived. His diction is so pure, elegant, and full of graces, and the turn of
his lines so perfectly melodious, that one cannot read it
without rapture; and we can scarcely imagine the original
Italian has greatly the advantage in either: nor is it very
probable, that while Fairfax can be read, any author will
attempt a new translation of Tasso with success.
” Without disputing the general truth of this eulogium (which, however, might somewhat have been softened), it cannot
fail to be observed, how much the biographer has been
mistaken in his concluding conjecture. A new translation
of Tasso has not only been attempted, but executed, by
Mr. Hoole, with remarkable success and with distinguished
excellence; and indeed in such a manner, that in the opinion of Dr. Johnson, Fairfax’s work will perhaps not soon
be reprinted. Of Fairfax, it has been justly said that he
had the powers of genius and fancy, and broke through
that servile custom of translation which prevailed in his
time. His liberal elegance rendered his versions more
agreeable than the dry ness of Jonson, and the dull fidelity
of Sandys and May; and he would have translated Tasso
with success, had he not unhappily chosen a species of versification which was ill adapted to the English language.
Mr. Hoole, in assigning the reasons for his giving a new
version of Tasso’s “Jerusalem Delivered,
” remarks that
Fairfax’s stanzas cannot be read with pleasure by the generality of those who have a taste for English poetry: of which
no other proof is necessary than that it appears scarcely to
have been read at all. It is not only unpleasant, but irksome, in such a degree as to surmount curiosity, and more
than counterbalance all the beauty of expression and sentiment, which is to be found in that work. He does not,
however, flatter himself that he has excelled Fairfax, except in measure and versification; and, even of these, the
principal recommendation is, that they are more modern, and
better adapted to the ear of all readers of English poetry,
except of the very few vtho have acquired a taste for the
phrases and cadencies of those times, when our verse, if
not our language, was in its rudiments.“The author of iris
life in the Biog. Britannica, however, is of opinion that it
was not necessary to the justification of Mr. Hoole’s new
version, that he should pass so severe a censure on Fairfax’s measure. To say that
” it is not only unpleasant, but
irksome, in such a degree as to surmount curiosity, and
more than counterbalance all the beauty of expression
which is to be found in the work,“appears to be very unjust The perspicuity and harmony of Fairfax’s ver>ification are indeed extraordinary, considering the time in
which he wrote; and in this respect he ranks nearly with
Spenser. Nothing but a fine fancy and an elegant mind
could have enabled him, in that period, to have made such
advances towards perfection. Hume seems to be nearly
of the same opinion.
” Fairfax,“says that historian,
” has
translated Tasso with an elegance and ease, and at the
same time with an exactness, which for that age are surprising. Each line in the original-is faithfully rendered by
a correspondent line in the translation. Harrington’s translation of Ariosto is not likewise without its merit. It is to
be regretted, that these poets should have imitated the
Italians in their stanza, which has a prolixity and uniformity in it that displeases in long performances. They had
otherwise, as well as Spenser, contributed much to the polishing and refining of English versification.
ch is the rather to be regretted as it might hence have more distinctly been discerned what were our poet’s powers of original invention. The eclogues were composed in
Mr. Fairfax’s poetical exertions did not end with his
translation of Tasso. He wrote the history of Edward the
black prince, and a number of eclogues. No part of the
history of Edward the black prince has, we believe, ever
been laid before the public; which is the rather to be regretted as it might hence have more distinctly been discerned what were our poet’s powers of original invention.
The eclogues were composed in the first year of the reiga
of king James, and, after their being finished, lay neglected ten years in the author’s study, until Lodowic, duke
of Richmond and Lenox, desired a sight of them, which
occasioned Mr. Fairfax to transcribe them for his grace’s use.
That copy was seen and approved by many learned men;
and Dr. Field, afterwards bishop of Hereford, wrote verses
upon it. But the book itself, and Dr. Field’s encomium,
perished in the fire, when the banqueiing-house at Whitehall was burnt, and with it part of the duke of Richmond’s
lodgings. Mr. William Fairfax, however, our author’s son,
recovered the eclogues out of his father’s loose papers.
These eclogues were twelve in number, and were composed on important subjects, relating to the manners, characters, and incidents of the times. They were pointed
with many fine strokes of satire; dignified with wholesome
lessons of morality and policy to those of the highest ranks;
and some modest hints were given even to majesty itself.
With respect to poetry, they were entitled to high commendation; and the learning they contained was so various
and extensive, that, according to the evidence of his son,
who wrote large annotations on each, no man’s reading
beside the author’s own was sufficient to explain his references effectually. The fourth eclogue was printed, by
Mrs. Cooper, in “The Muses Library,
” published in
rd has introduced lord Fairfax among his “Royal and Noble Authors,” “not only as an historian, but a poet. In Mr. Thoresby’s museum were preserved in manuscript the following
Hitherto, the crafty and ambitious Cromwell had permitted him to enjoy in all respects the supreme command,
at least to outward appearance. And, under his conduct,
the army’s rapid success, after their new model, had much
surpassed the expectation of the most sanguine of their
masters, the parliament* The question now was, to disband the majority of them after their work was done, and
to employ a part of the rest in the reduction of Ireland.
But either of the two appeared to all of them intolerable.
For, many having, from the dregs of the people, risen to
the highest commands, and by plunderings and violence
amassing daily great treasures, they could not bear the
thoughts of losing such great advantages. To maintain
themselves therefore in the possession of them, Cromwell,
and his son-in-law Ireton, as good a contriver as himself,
but a much better writer and speaker, devised how to raise
a mutiny in the army against the parliament. To this end
they spread a whisper among the soldiery, “that the parliament, now they had the king, intended to disband
them; to cheat them of their arrears; and to send them,
into Ireland, to be destroyed by the Irish.
” The army,
enraged at this, were taught by Ireton to erect a council
among themselves, of two soldiers out of every troop and
every company, to consult for the good of the army, and
to assist at the council of war, and advise for the peace and
safety of the kingdom. These, who were called adjutators,
or agitators, were wholly under Cromwell’s influence and
direction, the most active of them being his avowed creatures. Sir Thomas saw with uneasiness his power on the
army usurped by these agitators, the forerunners of confusion and anarchy, whose design (as he observes) was to
raise their own fortunes upon the public ruin; and that
made him resolve to lay down his commission. But he
was over-persuaded by the heads of the Independent faction to hold it till he had accomplished their desperate
projects, of rendering themselves masters not only of the
parliament, but of the whole kingdom; for, he joined in
the several petitions and proceedings of the army that
tended to destroy the parliament’s power. About the beginning of June, he advanced towards London, to awe the
parliament, though both houses desired his army might not
come within fifteen miles of the same; June 15, he was a
party in the charge against eleven of the members of the
house of commons; in August, he espoused the speakers
of both houses, and the sixty -six members that had fled to
the army, and betrayed the privileges of parliament: and,
entering London, August 6, restored them in a kind of
triumph; for which he received the thanks of both
houses, and was appointed constable of the Tower. On
the other hand it is said that he was no way concerned in,
the violent removal of the king from Holmby, by cornet
Joyce, on the 3d of June; and waited with great respect
upon his majesty at sir John Cutts’s house near Cambridge.
Being ordered, on the 15th of the same month, by the
parliament, to deliver the person of the king to such persons as both houses should appoint; that he might be brought
to Richmond, where propositions were to be presented to
him for a safe and well-grounded peace; instead of complying (though he seemed to do so) he carried his majesty
from place to place, according to the several motions of
the army, outwardly expressing, upon most occasions, a
due respect for him, but, not having the will or resolution
to oppose what he had not power enough to prevent, he
resigned himself entirely to Cromwell. It was this undoubtedly that made him concur, Jan. 9, 1647-8, in that
infamous declaration of the army, of “No further addresses or application to the king; and resolved to stand by
the parliament, in what should be further necessary for
settling and securing the parliament and kingdom, without
the king and against him.
” His father dying at York,
March 13, he became possessed of his title and estate
and was appointed keeper of Pontefract-castle, custos
rotulorum of Yorkshire, &c. in his room. But his father’s
death made no alteration in his conduct, he remaining
the same servile or deluded tool to Cromwell’s ambition.
He not only sent extraordinary supplies, and took all
pains imaginable for reducing colonel Poyer in Wales, but
also quelled, with the utmost zeal and industry, an insurrection of apprentices and others in London, April 9, who
had declared for God and king Charles. The 1st of the
same month he removed his head-quarters to St. EdmundV
bury; and, upon the royalists seizing Berwick and Carlisle,
and the apprehension of the Scots entering England, he
was desired, May 9, by the parliament, to advance in person into the North, to reduce those places, and to prevent
any danger from the threatened invasion. Accordingly
he began to march that way the 20th. But he was soon
recalled to quell an insurrection in Kent, headed by George
Goring, earl of Norwich, and sir William Waller. Advancing therefore against them from London in the latter
end of May, he defeated a considerable party of them at
Maidstone, June 2, with his usual valour. But the earl
and about 500 of the royalists, getting over the Thames at
Greenwich into Essex, June 3, they were joined by several
parties brought by sir Charles Lucas, and Arthur lord
Capel, which made up their numbers about 400; and went
and shut themselves up in Colchester on the 12th of June.
Lord Fairfax, informed of their motions, passed over with
his forces at Gravesend with so much expedition, that he
arrived before Colchester June 13. Immediately he summons the royalists to surrender; which they refusing, he
attacks them the same afternoon with the utmost fury,
but, being repulsed, he resolved, June 14, to block up
the place in order to starve the royalists into a compliance.
These endured a severe and tedious siege of eleven weeks,
not surrendering till August 28, and feeding for about five
weeks chiefly on horse-flesh; all their endeavours for obtaining peace on honourable terms being ineffectual. This
affair is the most exceptionable part in lord Fairfax’s
conduct, if it admits of degrees, for he granted worse
terms to that poor town than to any other in the whole
course of the war he endeavoured to destroy it as much
as possible he laid an exorbitant fine, or ransom, of
J2,000l. upon the inhabitants, to excuse them from being
plundered; and he vented his revenge and fury upon sir
Charles Lucas and sir George Lisle, who had behaved in
the most inoffensive manner during the siege, sparing that
buffoon the earl of Norwich, whose behaviour had been
quite different: so that his name and memory there ought
to be for ever detestable. After these mighty exploits
against a poor and unfortified town, he made a kind of
triumphant progress to Ipswich, Yarmouth, Norwich, St.
Edmund’s-bui y, Harwich, Mersey, and Maldon. About
the beginning of December he came to London, to awe
thatcity and the parliament, and to forward the proceedings against the king quartering himself in the royal
palace of Whitehall: and it was by especial order from
him and the council of the army, that several members of
the house of commons were secluded and imprisoned, the
6th and 7th of that month; he being, as Wood expresses
it, lulled in a kind of stupidity. Yet, although his name
stood foremost in the list of the king’s judges, he refused
to act, probably by his lady’s persuasion. Feb. 14, 1648-9,
he was voted to be one of the new council of state, but
on the 19th he refused to subscribe the test, appointed
by parliament, for approving all that was done concerning
the king and kingship. March 31 he was voted general
of all the forces in England and Ireland; and in May he
inarched against the levellers, who were grown very numerous, and began to be troublesome and formidable in
Oxfordshire, and utterly routed them atBurford. Thence,
on the 22d of the same month, he repaired to Oxford with
Oliver Cromwell, and other officers, where he was highly
feasted, and created LL.D. Next, upon apprehension of
the like risings in other places, he went and viewed the
castles and fortifications in the Isle of Wight, and at Southampton, and Portsmouth; and near Guildford had a rendezvous of the army, which he exhorted to obedience.
June 4, he was entertained, with other officers, &c. by the
city of London, and presented with a large and weighty
bason and ewer of beaten gold. In June 1650, upon the
Scots declaring for king Charles II. the juncto of the
council of state having taken a resolution to be beforehand,
and not to stay to be invaded from Scotland, but to carry
first the war into that kingdom; general Fairfax, being
consulted, seemed to approve of the design: but afterwards,
by the persuasions of his lady, and of the presbyterian
ministers, he declared himself unsatisfied that there was a
just ground for the parliament of England to send their
army to invade Scotland and resolved to lay down his
commission rather than engage in that affair and on the
26th that high trust was immediately committed to Oliver
Cromwell, who was glad to see him removed, as being no
longer necessary, but rather an obstacle to his farther ambitious designs. Being thus released from all public employment, he went and lived quietly at his own house in
Nun-Appleton in Yorkshire; always earnestly wishing and
praying (as we are assured) for the restitution of the royal
family, and fully resolved to lay hold on the first opportunity to contribute his part towards it, which made him
always looked upon with a jealous eye by the usurpers of
that time. As soon as he was invited by general Monk to
assist him against Lambert’s army, he cheerfully embraced
the occasion, and appeared, on the 3d of December 1659,
at the head of a body of gentlemen of Yorkshire and,
upon the reputation and authority of his name, the Irish
brigade of 1200 horse forsook Lambert’s army, and joined
him. The consequence was, the immediate breaking of
all Lambert’s forces, which gave general Monk an easy
inarch into England. The 1st of January 1659-60, his
lordship made himself master of York; and, on the 2d of
the same month, was chosen by the rump parliament one
of the council of state, as he was again on the 23d of February ensuing. March '29 he was elected one of the
knights for the county of York, in the healing parliament;
and was at the head of the committee appointed May 3,
by the house of commons, to go and attend king Charles
II. at the Hague, to desire him to make a speedy return
to his parliament, and to the exercise of his kingly office.
May 16 he waited upon his majesty with the rest, and
endeavoured to atone in some measure for all past offences,
by readily concurring and assisting in his restoration. After
the dissolution of the short healing parliament, he retired
again to his seat in the country, where he lived in a private
manner till his death, which happened November 12, 1671,
in the sixtieth year of his age. Several letters,
remonstrances, and other papers, subscribed with his name, are
preserved in Rushworth and other collections, being published during the time he was general; but he disowned
most of them. After his decease, some “short memorials,
written by himself,
” were published in 1699, 8vo, by
Brian Fairfax, esq. but do his lordship no great honour,
either as to principle, style, or accuracy. Lord Fairfax,
as to his person, was tall, but not above the just proportion,
and of a gloomy and melancholy disposition. He stammered a little, and was a bad orator ou the most plausible
occasions. As to the qualities of his mind, he was of a
good natural disposition; a great lover of learning, having
contributed to the edition of the Polygiott, and other large
works; and a particular admirer of the History and Antiquities of Great Britain, as appears by the encouragement
he gave to Mr. Dodsvrorth. In religion he professed Presbyterianismn, but where he first learned that, unless ia
the army, does not appear. He was of a meek and humble
carriage, and but of few words in discourse and council;
yet, when his judgment and reason were satisfied, he was
unalterable; and often ordered things expressly contrary
to the judgment of all his council. His valour was unquestionable. He was daring, and regardless of self-interest, and, we are told, in the field he appeared so highly
transported, that scarcely any durst speak a word to him,
and he would seem like a man distracted and furious. Had
not the more successful ambition and progress of Cromwell
eclipsed lord Fairfax’s exploits, he would have been considered as the greatest of the parliamentary commanders;
and one of the greatest heroes of the rebellion, had not
the extreme narrowness of his genius, in every thing but
war, obstructed his shining as a statesman. We have already noticed that he had some taste for literature, and
that both at York and at Oxford he endeavoured to
preserve the libraries from being pillaged. He also presented
twenty-nine ancient Mss. to the Bodleian library, one of
which is a beautiful ms. of -Cower' s “Confessio Amantis.
”
When at Oxford we do not find that he countenanced any
of the outrages committed there, but on the contrary,
exerted his utmost diligence in preserving the Bodleian
from pillage; and, in fact, as Mr. Warton observes, that
valuable repository suffered less than when the city was in'
the possession of the royalists. Lord Orford has introduced lord Fairfax among his “Royal and Noble Authors,
”
“not only as an historian, but a poet. In Mr. Thoresby’s museum were preserved in manuscript the following
pieces:
” The Psalms of David;“”The Song of Solomon“” The Canticles;“and
” Songs of Moses, Exod.
15. and Deut. 32.“and other parts of scripture versified.
” Poem on Solitude.“Besides which, in the same collection were preserved
” Notes of Sermons by his lordship, by his lady, and by their daughter Mary,“the wife
of the second duke of Buckingham; and
” A Treatise on
the Shortness of Life.“But, of all lord Fairfax’s works,
by far the most remarkable were some verses which he
wrote on the horse on which Charles the Second rode to
liis coronation, and which had been bred and presented to
the king by his lordship. How must that merry monarch,
not apt to keep his countenance on more serious occasions,
have smiled at this awkward homage from the old victorious
hero of republicanism and the covenant
” Besides these,
several of his Mss. are preserved in the library at Denton,
of which Mr. Park has given a list in his new edition of the
“Royal and Noble Authors.
”
, an ingenious poet, was born about 1730, and was the son of a poor but industrious
, an ingenious poet, was born about 1730, and was the son of a poor but industrious barber at Edinburgh, all of whose children, with the exception ofour author, were either deaf or dumb. William received such common education as might qualify him for some inferior employment, and appears to have contracted a taste for reading, and a desire for higher attainments than his situation permitted. In the character of Arion, unquestionably intended for his own, he hints at a farther progress in study than his biographers have been able to trace
discovered in Falconer talents worthy of cultivation; and when the latter distinguished himself as a poet, used to repeat with some pride, that he had once been his scholar.
It must indeed have been with reluctance that a boy who had begun to taste the sweets of literature, consented to serve an apprenticeship on board a merchant vessel at Leith, which we are told he did when very young. He was afterwards in the capacity of a servant to Campbell, the author of Lexiphanes, when purser of a ship. Campbell is said to have discovered in Falconer talents worthy of cultivation; and when the latter distinguished himself as a poet, used to repeat with some pride, that he had once been his scholar.
As a poet, Falconer’s fame must rest entirely on “The Shipwreck.” His
As a poet, Falconer’s fame must rest entirely on “The
Shipwreck.
” His other pieces could never have survived
the occasion which produced them, and could have ranked
him only among the versifiers of a day^ while the Shipwreck bids fair for immortality. In the powers of description, he has scarcely a superior, and has excluded comparison by choosing a subject with which accident only can
make a poet acquainted, a subject which may be described,
for he has described it in all its awful dignity, but which
surpasses the common reach of imagination. The distant
ocean, and its grand phenomena, have often employed
the pens of the most eminent poets, but they have generally
produced an effect by indefinite outlines and imaginary
incidents. In Falconer, we have the painting of a great
artist taken on the spot, with such minute fidelity as well
as picturesque effect, that we are chained to the scene
with all the feelings of actual terror.
er displays original powers. His Sun-set, Midnight, Morning, &c. are not such as have descended from poet to poet. He beheld these objects under circumstances in which
In the use of imagery, Falconer displays original powers. His Sun-set, Midnight, Morning, &c. are not such as have descended from poet to poet. He beheld these objects under circumstances in which it is the lot of few to be placed. His images cannot, therefore, be transferred or borrowed; they have an appropriation which must not be disturbed, nor can we trace them to any source but that of genuine poetry. Although we may suspect that he had studied the Æneid, there are no marks of servile imitation, while he has the high merit of enriching English poetry by a new train of ideas, and conducting the imagination into an undiscovered country.
his whole design, the objection may admit of some apology even from those who will yet regret that a poet of such genuine skill should have narrowed his fame by writing
With such views it was impossible to exclude a language
which is uncouth only where it is not understood, and
which as being the language of those heroes who have
elevated the character of their country beyond all precedent and all comparison, merits higher veneration than the
technical terms of common mechanics; nor, upon this account, ought the Shipwreck to involve the blame which
attaches to the “Cyder
” of Philips, or the “Fleece
” of
Dyer. No art can give dignity to such subjects, nor did
they demand the aid of poetry to render them more useful
or more pleasing. Falconer’s subject was one of the most
sublime inflictions of Providence. He described it for
those who might be destined to behold it, and he knew
that if among sailors he found no acute critics, he would
find intelligent and sympathizing readers. When therefore we consider his whole design, the objection may admit of some apology even from those who will yet regret
that a poet of such genuine skill should have narrowed his
fame by writing for a class.
red history from the creation to the deluge; and the history of Christ, in verses selected from that poet, introduced by a few lines of her own. Authors have sometimes
, a Roman poetess, who flourished
about 395, under the emperor Honorius, was a native of
Horta, or Hortanum, in Etruria. There is still extant by
her, a cento from Virgil, giving the sacred history from
the creation to the deluge; and the history of Christ, in
verses selected from that poet, introduced by a few lines
of her own. Authors have sometimes confounded her with
Anicia Falconia Proba, the mother of three consuls: and
some have said she was that Valeria Proba, who was the
wife of Adelfius, a proconsul. Her poem was first published with Ausonius, at Venice, 1472, under the title
“Probae Falconiae, cento ^Virgilianus, seu Centimetrum
de Christo, versibus Virgilianis compaginatum.
” The
last edition is that of Wolfius in the “Mulierum Grxcarum
Frag.
” Hamb.
, an Italian poet of the sixteenth century, was a native of Savona, in the state
, an Italian poet of the sixteenth
century, was a native of Savona, in the state of Genoa.
He published in 1557 a poem, in ottava rima, on the wars
of Charles V. in Flanders, and other miscellaneous poems;
and in 1558, twelve of his orations were published at Venice by Aldus, in folio. He wrote on the causes of the
German war under Charles V. and an Italian translation of
Athenagoras on the resurrection, 1556, 4to. He was also
one of the authors of the celebrated collection under the
title of “Polyanthea.
” He was distinguished as a statesman, an orator, and an historian, as well as a poet, and
was deputed on an embassy to Venice by Hercules Antestini, duke of Ferrara.
, a statesman, negociator, and poet of the last century, was the youngest son, and tenth child,
, a statesman, negociator, and poet of the last century, was the youngest son, and tenth child, of sir Henry Fanshawe, knt. remembrancer of the exchequer, and brother of lord viscount Fanshawe, of Dromore, in the kingdom of Ireland, and was born at Ware-park in Hertfordshire, in the month of June 1608. Being only seven years of age when his father died, the care of his education devolved upon his mother, who placed him under the famous schoolmaster Thomas Farnaby. November 12, 1623, he was admitted a fellow-commoner of Jesus college, Cambridge, under the tuition of Dr. Beale, where he prosecuted his studies with success, and discovered a genius for classical learning. Thence he was removed to the Inner Temple, Jan. 22, 1626; but at his mother’s death he resolved to pursue a line of life better adapted to his genius and inclination, and accordingly he travelled to France and Spain, for the purpose of acquiring the languages, and studying the manners of those countries. On his return home he was appointed secretary to the embassy at Madrid, under lord Aston, and was left resident there from the time of lord Aston’s resignation to the appointment of sir Arthur Hopton in 1638.
, a French wit and poet, was born in 1600 at Bourg en Bresse, and going very young to
, a French wit and poet, was born
in 1600 at Bourg en Bresse, and going very young to Paris,
attached himself to Vaugeias, Boisrobert, and Coeffetau;
and was afterwards made secretary to the count d'Harcourt,
and then steward of his house. Faret was one of the first
members of the French academy, and employed to settle
its statutes. He was very intimate with St. Amand, who
celebrates him in his verses, as an illustrious debauchee,
inertly to furnish a rhyme to Cabaret. He was at length
appointed secretary to the king, and died at Paris in September 1640, leaving several children by two marriages.
His works are, a translation of Eutropius; “L'Honnete
Homme,
” taken from the Italian of Castiglione, J2mo;
“Vertus necessaires a un Prince;
” and several poems in
the collections of his time. He also left a life of Rene II.
dhke of Lorraine, and Memoirs of the famous count d'Harcourt, ms.
ulars of our famous school-master’s life, and asserts that he was the chief grammarian, rhetorician, poet, Latinist, and Grecian, of his time. Wood adds, that his school
After a course of years, on account of some differences
with his landlords, and the frequent sicknesses which occurred in the city, Mr. Farnabie determined, in 1636, to
quit London, and reside at Sevenoaks in Kent, in the
neighbourhood of which town (at Otford) he had purchased
an estate. Here he renewed his former occupation, and,
from the number of noblemen’s and gentlemen’s sons who
boarded with him, grew o rich as to add considerably to his
landed property. One of the estates purchased by him was
near Horsham in Sussex. His works, which have transmitted
his name with honour to posterity, were not only well received at home, but abroad, and have been applauded by
several eminent foreign scholars. When the civil commotions broke out, in 1641, our author was esteemed to be
ill-affected to the parliament, because, on occasion of the
protestation’s being urged that year, he had said, that “it
was better to have one king than five hundred.
” Being
afterwards suspected of having favoured the rising of the
county for the king about Tunbridge, in 1643, he was
imprisoned in Newgate, and thence carried on shipboard.
It was even debated in the house of commons whether he
should be sent to America; but this motion being rejected,
he was removed to Ely-house in Holborn, where he remained for a considerable time. It is insinuated by Anthony Wood, that some of the members of both houses,
who had been his scholars, were amongst those who urged
his being treated with severity. Mr. Farnabie departed
this life on the twelfth of June, 1647, aged seventy-two,
and was interred in the chancel of the church ut Sevenoaks.
He was twice married. His first wife was Susanna, daughter of John Pierce, of Launcells, in Cornwall, gent. By
her he had a son named John, who becaoie a captain in
king Charles’s army, and inherited his father’s estate in
Sussex, where he lived in good esteem, and died about
the beginning of 1673. Mr. Farnabie’s second wife was
Anne, the daughter of Dr. John Howson, bishop of Durham, by whom he had several children. One of them,
Francis", succeeded to his father’s estate at Kippington, in
the parish of Sevenoaks. From this gentleman Anthony
Wood derived his information concerning the particulars
of our famous school-master’s life, and asserts that he was
the chief grammarian, rhetorician, poet, Latinist, and Grecian, of his time. Wood adds, that his school was so
much frequented, that more churchmen and statesmen
issued from it, than from any school taught by one man in
England.1
mated by his gesture and vivacity of spirit, that the player gained almost as much reputation as the poet. Towards the end of this year, Farquhar was in Holland, probably
Soon after this, having now no inducement to remain at
Dublin, he went to London, where, in 1696, the
celebrated actor Wilks prevailed upon him to write a play, and,
knowing his humour and abilities, assured him, that he
was considered by all as fitter to furnish compositions for
the stage, than to act those of other writers. Another encouragement, which suffered him to exercise his genius at
leisure, he owed to the earl of Orrery, a patron as well as
a master of letters, who conferred a lieutenant’s commission upon him in his own regiment in Ireland, which Farquhar held several years, and gave several proofs both of
courage and conduct. In 1698, his first comedy, called
“Love in a Bottle,
” appeared on the stage; and for its
sprightly dialogue and busy scenes, was well received
by the audience. In 1700 he produced his “Constant
Couple, or, Trip to the Jubilee,
” it being then the jubilee
year at Rome, when persons of all countries flocked
thither, for pardons or amusements. In the character of
sir Harry Wildair, our author drew so gay and airy a character, so suited to Wilks’s talents, and so animated by his
gesture and vivacity of spirit, that the player gained almost
as much reputation as the poet. Towards the end of this
year, Farquhar was in Holland, probably upon his military
duty: and he has given a very facetious description of
those places and people, in two of his letters, dated from
the Brill and from Leyden: in a third, dated from the
Hague, he very humourously relates how merry he was
there, at a treat made by the earl of Westmoreland; while
not only himself, but king William, and others of his subjects, were detained there by a violent storm. There is
also among his poems, an ingenious copy of verses to his
mistress upon the same subject. This mistress is supposed
to have been Mrs. Oldfield, whom he first recommended
to the stage. In 1701 he was a spectator, if not a mourner,
at Dryden’s, funeral; for the description he has given of it
in one of his letters, affords little indication of sorrow.
, in Latin Faber, was a profound lawyer and an author; in a few instances, a poet, for some quatrains by him remain among those of Pi brae, and
, in Latin Faber, was a profound lawyer and an author; in a few instances, a poet, for some
quatrains by him remain among those of Pi brae, and there
is a tragedy of his e.ytant, entitled “The Gortlians, or
ambition.
” He was born in
iodical selection of fugitive Verses which he published in conjunction with Mr. Woty, an indifferent poet of that time. In 1767 he published an eclogue, entitled “Partridge
In 1761 he published by subscription a volume of “Original Poems and Translations,
” by which he got more profit than fame. His subscribers amounted to nearly eight
hundred, but no second edition was called for. Some
other pieces by him are in Mr. Nichols’s Collection, and in
the “Poetical Calendar,
” a periodical selection of fugitive
Verses which he published in conjunction with Mr. Woty,
an indifferent poet of that time. In 1767 he published an
eclogue, entitled “Partridge Shooting,
” very inferior to
his other productions. He was the editor also of a “Family Bible,
” with notes, in 4to, which is a work of very
inconsiderable merit, but to which he probably contributed
only his name, a common trick among the retailers of
“Complete Family Bibles.
”
As an original poet, much cannot be said in his favour. His powers were confined
As an original poet, much cannot be said in his favour. His powers were confined to occasional slight and encomiastic verses, such as may be produced witbout great effort, and are supposed to answer every purpose when they have pleased those to whom they were addressed. The epithalamic ode may perhaps rank higher, if we could forget an obvious endeavour to imitate Dryden and Pope. In the elegy on the death of Dobbin, and one or two other pieces, there is a considerable portion of humour, which is a more legitimate proof of genius than one species of poets are disposed to allow. His principal defects are want of judgment and taste. These, however, are less discoverable in his translations, and it was probably a consciousness of limited powers which inclined him so much to translation. In this he every where displays a critical knowledge of his author, while his versification is smooth and elegant, and his expression remarkably clear. He was once esteemed the best translator since the days of Pope, a praise which, if now disallowed, it is much that it could in his own time have been bestowed with justice.
, an ingenious English poet, was born at Shelton, near Newcastle-under-Line, in Staffordshire,
, an ingenious English poet, was born at Shelton, near Newcastle-under-Line, in Staffordshire, May 20, 1683. His father, who was possessed of a competent estate, was of an ancient family in that county, an attorney at. law, and one of the coroners for the county of Stafford. He died in 1691, aged fifty-six. His mother is said to have descended in a direct line from one Mare, an officer irv the army of William the Conqueror. Being the youngest of twelve children, he was necessarily destined to some lucrative employment, and the church was fixed upon for his future profession. Accordingly, after going through a proper course of grammatical education, he was, July 1, 1700, admitted a pensioner of Jesus college, Cambridge, where he prosecuted his studies with remarkable diligence and assiduity; but after taking his bachelor’s degree, in 1704, he inclined to the sentiments of the nonjurors of that time, and consequently refusing to take the oaths to government, was obliged to quit the university, which, however, he is said to have done without separating from the church.
Fenton’s principal reputation as a poet rests on his “Mariamne,” and his share in the Odyssey; but his
Fenton’s principal reputation as a poet rests on his “Mariamne,
” and his share in the Odyssey; but his “Miscellaneous Poems,
” printed in
, a celebrated Persian poet, and, according to sir William Jones, at the head of all Persian
, a celebrated Persian poet, and, according
to sir William Jones, at the head of all Persian poets, was
a native of Tus or Meshed. He was originally a peasant,
but his talents procuring him distinction, he was admitted
to the court of the sultan Mahmud, who reigned in the
city of Gazna, at the close of the tenth and the beginning
of the eleventh centuries, and entertained several poets in
his palace. Ferdusi, happening to find a copy of an old
Persian history, read it with great eagerness, and found it
involved in fables, but bearing the marks of high antiquity.
The most ancient part of it, and principally the war of
Afrasiab and Kosru, or Cyrus, seemed to afford an excellent subject for an heroic poem, which he accordingly began to compose. Some of his episodes and descriptions
were shewn to the sultan, who commended them exceedingly, and ordered him to comprize the whole history of
Persia in a series of epic poems. The poet obeyed, and
after the happiest exertion of his fancy and art for near“thirty years, finished his work, which contained sixty thousand couplets in rhyme, all highly polished, with the spirit
of our Dryden, and the sweetness of Pope. He presented
an elegant transcript of his hook to Mahmud, who coldly
applauded his diligence, and dismissed him. Many months
elapsed, and Ferdusi heard no more of his work: he then
took occasion to remind the king of it by some little epigrams, which he contrived to let fall in the palace; but,
says sir William Jones,
” where an epic poem had failed,
what effect could be expected from an epigram“At
length the reward came, which consisted only of as many
small pieces of money, as there were couplets in the volume. The high-minded poet could not brook this insult;
he retired to his closet with bitterness in his heart, where
he wrote a most noble and animated invective against the
sultan, which he sealed up, and delivered to a courtier,
who, as he had reason to suspect, was his greatest enemy,
assuring him that it was
” a diverting tale,“and requesting
him to give it to Mahmud,
” when any affair of state or
bad success in war should make him more uneasy and
splenetic than usual." Having thus given vent to his indignation, he left Gazna in the night, and took refuge in
Bagdad, where the calif protected him from the sultan
Mahmud, who demanded him in a furious and menacing
letter. Ferdusi is supposed to have died in the 411th year
of the Hegira, or A. D. 1020.
, who at an early period of life obtained a considerable degree of celebrity as a Scotch poet, was born at Edinburgh Sept. 5, 1750, or 1751, and was educated
, who at an early period of
life obtained a considerable degree of celebrity as a Scotch
poet, was born at Edinburgh Sept. 5, 1750, or 1751, and
was educated partly in his native city, and partly at Dundee, from whence he was sent to the university of St. Andrew’s, where his diligent application, and probably his
turn for poetry, obtained him the patronage of Dr. Wilkie,
himself a poet, and author of the “Epigoniad,
” but some
gross irregularities having procured him to be expelled, he
returned to Edinburgh, without resolving on any permanent employment. Having an opulent relation, he visited
him in hopes, by his interest, to procure some sinecure
place, but at the end of six months, this relation ordered
him abruptly to leave his house, and Fergusson returned to
Edinburgh, stung with indignation; and as soon as he recovered from a severe illness, brought on by disappointment and the fatigue of his journey, he composed two
elegies, one on “The Decay of Friendship,
” and the other
“Against repining at Fortune.
” He was now so destitute,
that he submitted to copy papers in a public office, but
not liking the employment, and quarrelling with his employer, he soon left the office in disgust.
, a learned lawyer, a good historian, a celebrated poet, and a most accomplished courtier, in the reigns of Henry VIII.
, a learned lawyer, a good historian, a celebrated poet, and a most accomplished courtier,
in the reigns of Henry VIII. Edward VI. Mary, and Elizabeth, was descended from an ancient family in Hertfordshire, and born in a village near St. Alban’s, about
1512. He was bred at Oxford, and removed thence to
Lincoln’s-inn, where he applied himself with so much success to the study of the law, that he was soon taken notice of in Westminster-hall as an advocate, at the same
time that he was much admired at court for his wit and
good-breeding. His first rise in his profession, and at
court, was owing to Cromwell earl of Essex, who was
himself a man of great parts, and took a pleasure in countenancing and advancing others who had talents. Upon
the fall of this patron, he quitted the public exercise of his
profession as a lawyer; not, however, before he had given
evident testimonies of his knowledge and learning, as appears from, 1. “The double translation of Magna Charta
from French into Latin and English.
” 2. “Other laws enacted in the time of Henry III. and Edw. I. translated into
English.
”
, or Farrars, a Warwickshire gentleman of good family, bred at Oxford, a poet likewise, and much in the good graces of Henry VIII. Wood calls
, or Farrars, a Warwickshire gentleman of good family, bred at Oxford, a poet likewise, and much in the good graces of Henry VIII. Wood calls him a very ingenious man; and says, that he wrote several tragedies and comedies, none of which are extant. He died in the year 1564.
, of Vicenza, a poet and historian in the fourteenth century, was one of those who
, of Vicenza, a poet and historian in the fourteenth century, was one of those who Contributed to revive good taste in Europej and to banish barbarism. He wrote a history of his own times, from 1250 to 1318, in seven books, which was inserted by Muratori., in the ninth volume of the writers on the history of Italy. A Latin poem by him, on the actions of Can de la Scala, or Scaliger, is also extant. He is said to have produced many other works in prose and verse; but there is no account of his life extant.
edition of Anacreon, styles him “futilis Callus,” and affirms that our author in his notes upon that poet every where trifles, and with all his self-conceit and vanity
Huet, bishop of Avranches, assures us that our author
was well skilled in the Greek and Roman, and all the ancient learning. Niceron observes, that “his Latin style is
fine and delicate, without any points or affectation; every
thing is expressed very happily in it. He had likewise a
good genius for Greek and Latin poetry; and his verses
are worthy of the better ages. His French style has not
the graces of his Latin. He knew well enough the rules
of our language, but he did not truly understand the true
genius and natural propriety of it. As he lived in the
Province, that is, almost out of the world, he wrote
by study than custom, and he has not always observed the
French turn and idiom. Besides, he spoiled his style by
a vicious affectation, endeavouring to mix the serious of
Balzac with the hutnour and pleasantry of Voiture. Notwithstanding these defects, what he has written in our language will still please; and if his translations have not all
the elegance possible, they support themselves by their
accuracy, and the learned remarks which accompany them.
”
Mr. William Baxter, in the dedication of his edition of
Anacreon, styles him “futilis Callus,
” and affirms that
our author in his notes upon that poet every where trifles,
and with all his self-conceit and vanity has shewn himself
absolutely unfit for that task. In another place he writes
thus: ' Nugatur etiam Tanaquillus Faber, ut solet;“and
at last he styles him,
” Criticaster Callus." Some modern
critics have not been much more favourable to his critical
talents.
, a celebrated Italian poet, was born December 30, 1642, of a noble family at Florence.
, a celebrated Italian poet, was
born December 30, 1642, of a noble family at Florence.
He studied philosophy, law, and divinity five years at
Pisa, and took a doctor of law’s degree there. He then
returned to Florence, where, after several years spent in
his closet, with no other employment than poetry and the
belles-lettres, the grand duke appointed him senator. He
died September 27, 1707, aged sixty-five. Filicaia was
member or the academies della Crusca, and degli Arcadi.
His poems are much admired for their delicacy and noble
sentiments. They have been published together by Scipio
Filicaia, his son, under the title of “Poesie Toscane di
Vincenzo da Filicaia,
” &c.
, Florence (in Italian Firenze), though his family name was Nannini, was celebrated in his time as a poet, but his works are now in less repute, which, from their light
, so called from his native city, Florence (in Italian Firenze), though his family name was Nannini, was celebrated in his time as a poet, but his works are now in less repute, which, from their light character and indecencies, is not much to be regretted. He originally practised as an advocate at Rome, and then became an ecclesiastic of the congregation of Vallombrosa. He was personally esteemed by pope Clement VII. who was also an admirer of his works. He died at Rome in 1545. His works in prose were published in 8vo, at Florence, in 1548, and his poetry, the same size, in 1549. These editions, as well as his translation of the Golden Ass of Apuleius, are scarce, but a complete edition of his whole works was published at Florence, 4 vols. 8vo, in 1765-66, in which are some comedies, and other productions.
inst the cause which he had supported with his sword, and became such a favourite as to be accounted poet-laureat to Oliver Cromwell. After the restoration he endeavoured
, or as he usually styled himself in his
Latin compositions, Paganus Piscatok, was born at Warnford, in Dorsetshire, the seat of his maternal grandfather,
sir Thomas Neale, in 1616, and became a commoner of
Hart-hall, (now Hertford college), Oxford, in 1634. After
continuing there about three years, he removed to Magdalen college, Cambridge, where he took the degree of
B. A. and first discovered his turn for poetry. From Cambridge, having, as Wood says, “a rambling head,
” he
served for some time in the Netherlands, and soon after
returned and bore an ensign’s commission in the army
raised by Charles I. against the Scots in 1639; on the disbanding of which he went to Ireland, and obtained the
rank of captain, and on his return to England that of major. In July 1644 he served ut the siege of York, and was
present at the battle of Mars ton Moor, which he celebrated
in his first published poem. Soon after this he left his
command, for what reason does not very clearly appear,
and came to London, where he employed his pen against
the cause which he had supported with his sword, and became such a favourite as to be accounted poet-laureat to
Oliver Cromwell. After the restoration he endeavoured
to atone for all this, by flattering the men in power, but
without effect; and he henceforth lived, as Wood says,
on his wits, which appear to have procured him but a scanty
diet, arising chiefly from flattering dedications, and other
implements of literary supplication. He was frequently
in debt and in jail, and died at length, advanced in years,
at a coffee-house in the Old Bailey, April 2, 1693, and
was buried in St. Sepulchre’s church-yard.
e he was esteemed a grave and learned divine, as he was, while at the university, an excellent Latin poet. He died at his parsonage of St. Dominick, and was buried in
, a poetical writer of queen
Elizabeth’s reign, was the son of Alexander Fitzgeffrey,
of a good family in Cornwall, and born in 1575. He
became a commoner of Broadgate-ball, Oxford, in 1592,
took the degrees in arts, and entered into orders. At
length he became rector of St. Dominick, in his own county, where he was esteemed a grave and learned divine,
as he was, while at the university, an excellent Latin poet.
He died at his parsonage of St. Dominick, and was buried
in the chancel of the church therein 1636. His works
are, 1. “The Life and Death of Sir Francis Drake,
” which
being written in lofty verse, while he was A. B. he was
then called “the high towering Falcon.
” 2. “Affanias
sive epigrammata lib. III. and Cenotaphia, lib. I.
” Oxford,
1601, 8vo. 3. Several Sermcns. Wood has erroneously
ascribed to him a collection of poetry, under the title of
“Choice flowers and descriptions,
” which belongs to Allot, but he appears to have been the author of a prose tract
entitled “A curse for Corne-horders,
” The blessed Birth-day,
”
, was an ancient Latin poet, of whom our accounts are very imperfect. There are many places
, was an ancient Latin poet, of whom our accounts are very imperfect. There are many places that claim him, but Setia, now Sezzo, a town of Campania, seems to have the best title; and it is from thence that he bears the surname Setinus. Martial, who was his contemporary and friend, intimates that he lived at Padua, or at least was born there, as may be collected from" an epigram in which he advises him to quit the beggarly study of poetry, and to apply himself to the bar, as the more profitable profession of the two. He died when he was about thirty years of age, in the year 93 or 94, and before he had put the finishing hand to the poem which he left.
hem. This poem of the Argonautic expedition is an imitation, rather than a translation, of the Greek poet Apollonius, four books of whose poem upon the same subject are
Flaccus chose the history of the Argonautic expedition
for the subject of his poem; of which he lived to compose
no more than seven books, and part of an eighth. It is
addressed to the emperor Vespasian; and Flaccus takes
occasion at the same time to compliment Domitian on his
poetry, and Titus on his conquest of Judaea. The learned
world have been divided in their opinion of this author;
some not having scrupled to exalt him above all the Latin
poets, Virgil only excepted; while others have set him as
much below them. This poem of the Argonautic expedition is an imitation, rather than a translation, of the Greek
poet Apollonius, four books of whose poem upon the same
subject are yet remaining; and it has generally been agreed
that the Latin poet has succeeded best in those parts where
he had not the Greek in view. Apollonius has by no
means suffered where Flaccus has seemed to translate him,
none of his spirit having been lost in the transfusion; and
some have ranked him among the few whose copies have
rivalled their originals. He professedly imitated Virgil, and
is often successful. Upon the whole, he does not deserve
to be so neglected as he has been; especially while other
poets of antiquity have been thought worthy of notice,
who are not superior to him either for matter, style, or versification. Quintilian seems to have entertained the highest
opinion of his merit, by the short eulogium he has left of
him: “multum in Valeric Flacco nuper amisimus.
” After
several editions of this poet, with notes of the learned,
Nic. Heinsius published him at Amsterdam, in 1680,
12mo; which edition was republished in the same size, in
1702. But the best edition is that, “cum notis integris
variorum & Petri Burmanni,
” printed at Leyden, ia
1724, 4to.
It may be proper to mention, that John Baptista Pius, an Italian poet, completed the eighth book of the Argonautics, and added two
It may be proper to mention, that John Baptista Pius, an Italian poet, completed the eighth book of the Argonautics, and added two more, by way of supplement, partly from Apollonius; which supplement was also printed at the end of Flaccus, in Aldus’ s edition of 1523, and has been subjoined to all, or at least most of the subsequent editions.
, an eminent Latin poet, whose family name was Zarrabini, was born at Serevalle in 1498.
, an
eminent Latin poet, whose family name was Zarrabini,
was born at Serevalle in 1498. His father, John Anthony,
who first changed the family name to Flaminio on entering
a literary society at Venice, was himself a man of learning,
and professor of belles-lettres in different academies in
Italy, and has left some works both in prose and verse,
particularly twelve books of letters, in which are many particulars of literary history. He bestowed great pains on the instruction of his son, and sent him, when at the age of sixteen,
to Rome, with a poem addressed to Leo X. exhorting him
to make war against the Turks, and a critical work entitled
“Annotationum Sylvae.
” Leo appears to have been so
pleased with the appearance of young Flaminio, as to request that he might remain at Rome, promising to encourage his studies there; but although this did not take place,
in his after-visits to Rome, the pope patronized him with
great liberality, and Flaminio answered every expectation
that had been formed of his talents. In 1515 he accompanied the count Castiglione to Urbino, where he resided
some months, and was held in the highest esteem by that
accomplished nobleman for his amiable qualities and great
endowments, but particularly for his. early and astonishing
talents for Latin poetry. In this year he published at Fano,
the first specimen of his productions, with a few poems of
Marullus, not before printed, in a very rare volume in
8vo. entitled, “Michaelis Tardaaniotas Marulli Neniae.
Ejusdem epigrammata nunquarn alias impressa. M. Antonii Flaminii carminum libellus. Ejusdem Ecloga Thyrsis.
”
Of these poems some have been printed, often with variations, in the subsequent editions of his works; but several
pieces appear there which are not to be found in the edition by Mancurti, published at Padua, by Comino, in 1727,
which is considered as the most complete; whence it is
probable this early publication of Flaminio was not known
to his editors.
, an English poet, was born in Aldersgate-street, London, about 1633; and educated
, an English poet, was born in
Aldersgate-street, London, about 1633; and educated at
Winchester school. He went from thence to New college, in Oxford; but leaving the university without a degree, he removed to the Inner Temple, where in due time
he became a barrister. Jt does not appear that he ever
followed the profession of the law; but, having a turn for
the fine arts, he indulged his inclination, and made some
proficiency, both as a poet and a painter. He speaks of
himself as a painter, in a poem called “The Review,
” and
it appears from thence, that he drew in miniature. The
third edition of his poems, with additions and amendments, was published by himself, with his portrait before
them, in 1682, and dedicated to the duke of Ormond.
The first poem in this collection is, “On the Death of the
right honourable Thomas earl of Ossory,
” and had been
published separately the year before. Soon after, it was
read by the duke of Ormond his father, who was so extremely pleased with it, that he sent Flatman a mourning
ring, with a diamond in it worth 100l. He published also
in 1685, two Pindaric odes; one on the death of prince
Rupert, the other on the death of Charles II.
a clerk in chancery, being then alive, and in his eightieth year. Although of very little value as a poet, he succeeded better as a painter, and as Granger says, one
In 1660, came out, under the letters T. F. a collection
of poems, entitled “Virtus Rediviva; a Panegyric on the
late king Charles the First, of ever blessed memory,
” &c,
but these not being reprinted in any edition of his “Poems,
”
Wood will not afiinn them to be FJatman’s. In Don Juan Lamberto,
or a Comical History of the late Times,
” with a wooden
cut before it, containing the pictures of giant Desborough
with a great club in his right hand, and of Lambert, both
leading under the arms the meek knight Richard Cromwell; and this being very successful, a second part was
published the same year, vrith the giant Husonio before
it, and printed with the second edition of the first. This
satirical work has to it the disguised name of Montelion,
knight of the oracle; but Wood says, the acquaintance
and contemporaries of Flatman always averred him to be
the author of it. Montelion' s Almanack came out in 1660,
1661, 1662. The Montelions of the two last years are
supposed to be Flatman’s, that of the first was written by
Mr. John Philips. It is remarkable, that Flatman, in his
younger days had a dislike to marriage, and made a song
describing the incumbrances of it, with this beginning
“Like a dog with a bottle tied close to his tail,
Like a tory in a bog, or a thief in a jail,
” &c.
But being afterwards, according to Wood, “smitten with
a fair virgin, and more with her fortune, he espoused her
in 1672; upon which,
” says the same author, “his ingenious comrades did serenade him that night with the said
song.
” He died at his house in Fleet-street, London, in
1688; his father, a clerk in chancery, being then alive,
and in his eightieth year. Although of very little value as
a poet, he succeeded better as a painter, and as Granger
says, one of his heads is worth a ream of his Pindarics.
, an English poet and dramatic writer in the reign of Charles II. whose productions,
, an English poet and dramatic
writer in the reign of Charles II. whose productions, although not without some proportion of merit, would not
have preserved his name so long as the satire of Dryden,
entitled “Mac Flecnoe,
” is said to have been originally a
Jesuit, and to have had connections with some persons of
high distinction in London, who were of the Roman catholic persuasion. What was the cause of Dryden’s aversion
is not determined. Some have said that when the revolution was completed, Dryden, having some time before
turned papist, became disqualified for holding his place of
poet-laurcat. It was accordingly taken from him, and
conferred on Flecknoe, a man to whom Dryden is said to
have had already a confirmed aversion; and this produced
the famous satire, called from him Mac Flecknoe, one of
the most spirited and amusing of Dryden' s poems; and,
in some degree, the model of the Dunciad. That this is a
spirited poem is as certain, as that all the preceding account from Cihber and his copiers is ridiculous. Shadwell
was the successor of Dryden, as laureat, and in this poem
is ridiculed as the poetical son of Flecknoe. However con.temptibly Dryden treated Flecknoe, the latter at one time
wrote an epigram in his praise, which, with his religion,
might have conciliated both Dryden and Pope. Perhaps
Dryden, says a modern critic, was offended at his invectives against the obscenity of the stage, knowing how much
he had contributed to it. Be this as it may, Flecknoe himself wrote some plays, but not more than one of them was
acted. His comedy, called “Damoiselles a la mode,
” was
printed in For the acting this comedy,
those who have the government of the stage have their
humours, and would.be in treated and I have mine, and
won't intreat them and were all dramatic writers of my
mind, tljeyshould wear their old plays thread-bare, ere
they should have any new,till they better understood
their own interest, and how todistinguish between good
*nd bad.
”
ted in Dryden’s antipathies. Mr. Southey, in his” Omniana," has a faf more favourable opinion of our poet, and confirms it by extracts from his works, some of which refute
His other dramatic pieces are, “Ermina, or the Chaste
Lady f
” Love’s Dominion;“and,
” The Marriage of
Oceanus and Britannia.“The second of these performances, was printed in 1654, and dedicated to the lady
Elizabeth Claypole; to whom the author insinuates the
use of plays, and begs her mediation to gain a licence for
acting them. It was afterwards republished in 1664, under the title of
” Love’s Kingdom,“and dedicated to the
marquis of Newcastle. The author then with great pains
introduced it on the stage, but it was condemned by the
audience, which Flecknoe styles the people, and calls
them judges without judgment. He owns that his play
wants much of the ornaments of the stage; but that, he
says, may be easily supplied by a lively imagination. His
other works consist of, 1.
” Epigrams and Enigmatical Characters,“usually bound up with his
” Love’s Dominion;“but there is a separate edition in 1670, 8vo,
” by Richard
Flecnoe, priest.“2.
” Miscellanea, or poems of all sorts,
with divers other pieces,“1653, 12mo. 3.
” Diarium, or
the Journal, divided into twelve jornadas, in burlesque
verse,“Lond. 1656, 12mo. Mr. Harris mentions also a
book in the catalogue of the Bodleian library written by
one Rich. Flecknoe, entitled
” The Affections of a pious
soul unto Christ,“1640, 8vo. He thinks it probable this
was the same person, and that he wrote it in his younger
years,
” before his principles were debauched by the
world.“Flecknoe died in the summer of 1678, according
to Mr. Malone, who speaks with as much contempt of
Flecknoe as if he were personally interested in Dryden’s
antipathies. Mr. Southey, in his
” Omniana," has a faf
more favourable opinion of our poet, and confirms it by
extracts from his works, some of which refute Mr. Harris’s
opinion of Flecknoe’s principles being debauched. He
indeed every where expresses an abhorrence of immorality.
pal universities; and among other eminent men, he attended the lectures of the celebrated orator and poet Baptista Guarini, professor of the Greek and Latin languages
, nephew to the preceding, was
educated at Oxford, and probably in Lincoln college, then
newly founded by his uncle. On Jan. 21, 1451, he was
admitted dean of Lincoln, being much admired for his
learning. He afterwards went to Italy, and visited the
principal universities; and among other eminent men, he
attended the lectures of the celebrated orator and poet
Baptista Guarini, professor of the Greek and Latin languages at Ferrara. From this place he went to Rome,
>vhere he remained a year or two, and became acquainted
with several learned men, particularly Earth. Platina, librarian of the Vatican. He became also known to pope Sixtus IV,
in whose praise, during a summer’s recess at Tibur, or
Tivoli, he composed a Latin poem in two books inscribed
to his holiness; who was so pleased with it, that he made
the author his protonotary. Of this poem, entitled “Lucubrationes Tiburtinae,
” we have only a few verses quoted
by Leland, and praised by him for the style. At his return from Italy, he brought over with him several books
curiously illuminated, which he bequeathed to Lincoln college library, with some of his own composition, among
which Leland, Bale, and Pits mention “Dictionarium
Graeco-Latinum;
” “Carolina diversi generis,
” and “Epistolarum ad diversos, liber unus.
” On Sept. 27, 1467, he
was installed into the prebend of Leigh ton -man or, in the
cathedral church of Lincoln, which he exchanged, Dec. 3,
1478, for that of Leighton-Bosard; and he fotmded in this
cathedral, a chantry for two chaplains. This learned man
died Aug. 12, 1483, and was buried near bishop Flemming, his relation.
arts degree in 1596, a master’s in 1573, and that of LL. D. in 1581. He was, says Wood, an excellent poet, and a very accomplished man; and his abilities recommending
, brother to bishop Fletcher, and
a native of the same county, was a very ingenious man.
He received his education at Eton; and, in 1565, was
elected thence to KingVcollege in Cambridge, where he
took a bachelor’s of arts degree in 1596, a master’s in
1573, and that of LL. D. in 1581. He was, says Wood,
an excellent poet, and a very accomplished man; and his
abilities recommending him to queen Elizabeth, he was
employed by her as a commissioner into Scotland, Germany, and the Low Countries. Of his poetical talent,
however, no proofs are known to be extant. In 1588, he
was sent ambassador to Russia; not only to conclude a
league with the emperor there, but also to re-establish and
put into good order the decayed trade of our Russia company. He met, at first, with a cold reception, and even
rough usage: for the Dutch, envying the exclusive privilege which the Russia company enjoyed of trading thither,
had excited prejudices against them: and a false rumour
then spread, of our fleet being totally destroyed by the
Spanish armada, had created in the czar a contempt for
the English, and a presumption that he might safely injure
those who were not in a capacity to take revenge. But
the ambassador soon effaced those impressions; and having
obtained advantageous conditions, returned to England with
safety and honour. Fuller says, that upon his arrival at
London, “he sent for an intimate friend, with whom he
heartily expressed his thankfulness to God for his safe return from so great a danger. For the poets cannot fancy
Ulysses more glad to be come out of the den of Polyphemus, than he was to be rid of the power of such a barbarous prince: who counting himself, by a proud and voluntary mistake, emperor of all nations, cared not for the law
of all nations; and who was so habited in blood, that, had
he cut off this ambassador’s head, he and his friends might
have sought their own amends, but the question is, where
they would have found it.
” Shortly after his return, he
was made secretary to the city of London, and a master of
the Court of Requests: and, in June 1597, treasurer of
St. Paul’s. This worthy person died in 1610, in the parish
of St. Catherine Colman, Fenchurch-street; and was probably buried in that church. From the observations he
had made during his embassy into Russia, he drew up a
curious account, “Of the Russe Commonwealth: or manner of Government by the Russe Emperor, commonly called the Emperor of Moskovia, with the manners and
fashions of the people of that country,
” Navigations,
Voyages,
” &c. vol. I. only a little contracted. Camden,
speaking of this book, styles it “libellum in quo plurima
observanda.
” Dr. Fletcher also wrote, “A Discourse
concerning the Tartars,
” the object of which was to prove
that they are the Israelites, or ten tribes, which being
captivated by Salmanasser, were transplanted into Media.
This opinion was afterwards adopted by Whiston, who
printed the discourse in the first volume of his curious
“Memoirs.
”
st entirely taken up with an explanation of the title; in the course of which the reader forgets the poet, and is sickened' with the anatomist. Such minute attention
The works of Phineas Fletcher, including the “Purple
Island, or the Isle of Man;
” the * Piscatory Eclogues;“and
Miscellanies, were published at Cambridge in 1633, 4to.
The only part that has been correctly reprinted is the
” Piscatory Eclogues,“published at Edinburgh in 1771,
by an anonymous editor. There are few of the old poets
whom Mr. Headley seems more anxious to revive than
Phinean Fletcher, and he has examined his claims to lasting fame with much acuteness, yet, perhaps, not without
bomewhat of that peculiar prejudice which seems to pervade many of the critical essays of this truly ingenious and
amiable young man. Having at a very early period of life
commenced the perusal of the ancient English poets, his
enthusiasm carried him back to their times, their imbits,
and their language. Froai pardoning their quaintnesses,
he proceeded to admire them, and has in some instances
placed among the most striking proofs of invention, many
of those antitheses and conceits which modern refinement
does not easily tolerate. Stiil, taste and judgment are
generally predominant in the following criticism.
” Were
the celebrated Mr. Pott compelled to read a lecture upon
the anatomy of the human frame at large, in a regular set
of stanzas, it is much to be questioned whether he could
make himself understood by the most apprehensive author,
without the advantage of professional knowledge. FJetrher
seems to have undertaken a nearly similar task, as the rive
first cantos of The Purple Island are almost entirely taken
up with an explanation of the title; in the course of which
the reader forgets the poet, and is sickened' with the anatomist. Such minute attention to this part of the subject
was a material error in judgment; for which, however,
ample amends is made in what follows. Nor is Fletcher
wholly undeserving of praise for the intelligibility with
which he has struggled through his difficulties, for his uncommon command of words, and facility of metre. After
describing the body, he proceeds to personify the passions and intellectual faculties. Here fatigued attention is
not merely relieved, but fascinated and enraptured; and
notwithstanding his figures, in many instances, are too
arbitrary and fantastic in their habiliments, often disproportioned and over-done, sometimes lost in a superfluity of
glaring colours, and the several characters, in general, by
no means sufficiently kept apart; yet, amid such a profusion of images, many are distinguished by a boldness of
outline, a majesty of manner, a brilliancy of colouring, a
distinctness and propriety of attribute, and an air of life,
that we look for in vain in modern productions, and that
rival, if not surpass, what we meet with of the kind even
in Spenser, from whom our author caught his inspiration.
After exerting his creative powers on this department of
his subject, the virtues and better qualities of the heart,
under their leader Eclecta, or Intellect, are attacked by
the vices: a battle ensues, and the latter are vanquished,
after a vigorous opposition, through the interference of an
angel, who appears at the prayers of Eclecta. The poet
here abruptly takes an opportunity of paying a fulsome,
and unpardonable compliment to James the First (stanza 55, canto 12), on that account perhaps the most unpalatable passage in the book. From Fletcher’s dedication
of this his poem, with the Piscatory Eclogues and Miscellanies, to his friend Edmund Beniowes, it seems that they
were written very early? as he calls them ' raw essays of
ray very unripe years, and almost childhood.* It is to his
honour that Milton read and imitated him, as every attentive reader or* both poets must soon discover. He is eminently entitled to a very high rank among our old English
classics. Quarles, in his verses prefixed to The Purple
Island, hints that he had a poem on a similar subject in
agitation, but was prevented from pursuing it by finding it
had got into other hands. In a map to one of his Emblems
are these names of places, London, Finchfield, Roxwell,
and Httgay: edit. 1669."
ntinued from its foundation to the year 949. The best edition is tij.it of 1617. Flodoard was also a poet. He composed in verse the history of the popes, as far as Leo
, or Frodoard, a French historian, was born in the year 894, at Epernai, and afterwards had preferment in the church of Rheims, where he wrote a chronicle, which extends from the year 919 to 966, and a history of the church of Rheims, regularly continued from its foundation to the year 949. The best edition is tij.it of 1617. Flodoard was also a poet. He composed in verse the history of the popes, as far as Leo VII. and the triumphs of Jesus Christ and the saints, in nineteen bonks. He was once near being promoted to be bishop of Noyon, but was disappointed. He died in the year 966, at the age of seventy-three.
. Prefixed to this work we find rather a long copy of verses, addressed to him by Samuel Daniel, the poet and historiographer, whose sister Florio had married. Wood says,
He was the author of several works: 1. “First Fruits,
which yield familiar speech, merry proverbs, witty sentences, and golden sayings,
” Perfect Introduction to the Italian and English
Tongues.
” Printed with the former, and both dedicated
to Robert earl of Leicester. 3. “Second Fruits to be
gathered of twelve trees, of divers but delightsome tastes
to the tongues of Italian and English men,
” 151H, 8vo.
4. “Garden of Recreation, yielding six thousand Italian
Proverbs;
” printed with the former. 5. “Dictionary,
Italian and English,
” Queen Anna’s New World of Words.
” This was a work
of great merit, being at that time by far the most perfect
of the kind. The author, however, laboured to make it
still more perfect, by collecting many thousand words and
phrases, to be added to the next edition; but, not living
to complete this, the care of it fell to one Gio. Torriano,
an Italian, and professor of the Italian tongue in London;
who, after revising, correcting, and supplying many more
materials out of the Dictionary of the Academy della Crusca, printed them in 1659, folio, all in their proper places.
6. “The Essays of Montaigne,
” translated into English,
and dedicated to queen Anna, 1603, 1613, 1632, folio.
Prefixed to this work we find rather a long copy of verses,
addressed to him by Samuel Daniel, the poet and historiographer, whose sister Florio had married. Wood says,
that he wrote other things, but he had not seen them.
econd century, and wrote an abridgement of the Roman history in four books. It is believed, that the poet E'lorus, whose verses Spartian quotes in the life of the emperor
, an ancient Latin historian of the same family with Seneca and Lucan, flourished in the reigns of Trajan and Adrian, in the beginning of the second century, and wrote an abridgement of the Roman history in four books. It is believed, that the poet E'lorus, whose verses Spartian quotes in the life of the emperor Adrian, with whom the poet carried on a rhyming contest, is the same with the historian. Florus says,
re reasonable to suppose them the samfe is, that the phrase of the historian savours strongly of the poet, is full of flowers and exuberance, and not altogether free
, an Italian prelate and poet, was born at Foligno, in the fourteenth century, but the year
, an Italian prelate
and poet, was born at Foligno, in the fourteenth century,
but the year is not known. He became a Dominican, and
after some inferior preferments, was in 1403 appointed
bishop of Foligno. He was afterwards called, both as a
theologian and a bishop, to the council of Pisa, and was
also made one of the fathers of the grand council of Constance, where he died in 1416. No other work of his is
fcnown but his great poem entitled “Quadriregio,
” in
which he describes the four reigns of Love, Satan, the
Vices and the Virtues. The morality of this poem was
probably its greatest recommendation; but the author, who
was an admirer of Dante, has endeavoured to imitate him,
and in some respects, not unsuccessfully. The first edition of the “Quadriregio
” was published at Perugia, in
, a celebrated French poet, was born at Chatteau-Thierry, July 8, 1621, a year after the
, a celebrated French poet, was born at Chatteau-Thierry, July 8, 1621, a year after the birth of Moltere. He was liberally educated, and at nineteen admitted among the fathers of the oratory, but left them in a little time. His father, who was supervisor of the water-courses and forests in this dutchy, put his sou into the place as soon as he appeared capable of managing it: but Fontaine had no taste for business, his talents being formed altogether for poetry. It is very remarkable, however, that he did not make this discovery in himself till he had commenced his 22d year; when, hearing accidentally the famous ode of Malherbe, on the assassination of Henry IV. he found himself affected with surprise and transport; and the poetic fire, which had lain concealed in him, was kindled into ablaze. He immediately applied to the study of this poet, and at length imitated him. The first froits of his pen he usually communicated to a near relation, who encouraged him, and frequently read with him the best Latin poets and critics, as Horace, Virgil, Terence, Quintilian, &c. He passed from thence to such French and Italian writers as excelled in the manner and style to which his genius led him particularly Rabelais, Marot, Ariosto, Boccace, &,c. Rabelais was uniformly his favourite and idol. He had recourse also to the Greek authors, and especially to Plato and Plutarch; from whom he drew those fine moral maxims with which he has enriched his fables.
kes” for this inconstancy, when he calls himself “Tho Butterfly of Parn-.issus,” savours more of the poet than the Christian. He did not die till April 13, 1695; when,
The delights of Paris, and the conversation of thess
friends, did not hinder him from paying a visit to his wife
every September; but that these visits might be of some
use, he never failed to sell a house, or piece of land, so
that, with his wife’s expences and his own, a handsome
family estate was nearly consumed. His Parisian friends
urged him frequently to go and live with his wife, saying,
that it was a shame to separate himself from a woman of
her merit and accomplishments and, accordingly, he set
out with a purpose of reconciling himself to her and,
arriving at the town, inquired at his house for her. The
servant, not knowing him, said, “She was gone to church;
”
upon which he immediately returned to Paris; and, when
his friends inquired about his reconciliation, answered,
that “he had been to see his wife, but was told she was
at church.
” Upon the death of madam de la Sabliere, he
was invited to England by the dutchess of Mazarine, and
the celebrated St. Evremond, who promised him all the
comforts and sweets of life: but the difficulty of learning
the English language, together with the liberality of some
great persons at home, made him lay aside all thoughts of
this journey.
In 1692 he was seized with a dangerous illness: and
when the priest came to talk to him about religion, concerning which he had lived in an extreme carelessness,
though without being actually an infidel or a libertine,
Fontaine told him that ' he had lately bestowed some
hours in reading the New Testament, which he thought
a very good book.“Being brought to a clearer knowledge
of ivligions truths, the priest represented to him, that he
lia.l intelligence of a certain dramatic piece of his, which
was soon to be acted; but that Ik-could not be admitted
to the sacraments of the church i.nless he suppressed it.
This appeared too rigid, and Font.iinc appealed to the
Soi bonne; who confirming what the priest had said, Fontaine threw the piece into the fire, without keeping even a
copy. The priest then laid before him the evil tendency
of his Tales, which are written in a loose and wanton
manner; told him, that while the French language subsisted, they would be a most dangerous sedueement to
vice; and further added, that he could not administer the
sacraments tu him unless he would promise to make a public acknowledgment of his fault at the time of receiving,
a public acknowledgment before the academy, of which
he was a member, in case he recovered, and to suppress
the book to the utmost of his power. Fontaine thought
these terms very hard, but at length yielded to them all.
On these accounts some have compared him to Peter
Aretin, who, though the most libertine of all writers, became at last a very saint, and wrote nothing but books of
piety. But it is certain that Fontaine did not resemble
Aretin in writing pious books; and many, among whom is
Baillet in particular, doubt the truth of those stories which
are related concerning his repentance. He affected, indeed, some degree of repentance, and vowed to renounce
his libertine manner in a dedication to his patroness, madam de la Sabliere but, notwithstanding this, he relapsed
again, writing tales with his usual gaiety and the excuse
he makes
” for this inconstancy, when he calls himself “Tho
Butterfly of Parn-.issus,
” savours more of the poet than the
Christian. He did not die till April 13, 1695; when, if
we believe some, he was found with that implement of
superstitious mortification, an hair-shirt on.
nienelle, advocate in the parliament of Rouen, and of Martha Corneiile, sister to the great dramatic poet Corneille, was born at Rouen Feb. 11, 1657, and lived to the
, the son of
Frangois le Bovier de Fonienelle, advocate in the parliament of Rouen, and of Martha Corneiile, sister to the
great dramatic poet Corneille, was born at Rouen Feb.
11, 1657, and lived to the age of an hundred, though
so weak at his birth, that his life was not expected. Voltaire declares him to have been the most universal genius
the age of Louis the Fourteenth produced; and compares
him to lands situated in so happy a climate as to produce
all sorts of fruits. Before he was twenty, he had written
a great part of Bellerophon,“a tragic opera; and some
time after his opera of
” Thetis and Peleus“appeared, in
which he had closely imitated Quinault, and met with
great success. That of
” yneas and Lavinia“did not
succeed so well. He tried his genius in writing tragedy;
and assisted mademoiselle Bernard in some of her dramatic
pieces. Two he wrote himself, one of which was acted in
1680, but never printed. He was too long and too unjustly censured on account of this piece; for he had the
merit to discover, that though his genius was unconfined,
yet he did not possess those talents which so greatly distinguished his uncle, Peter Corneille, in the tragic drama.
He wrote several smaller compositions, in which that delicacy of wit and profoundness of thought, which promise
greater efforts, might already be discovered. In his poetical performances, and
” Dialogues of the Dead,“the spirit
of Voiture was displayed, though more extended and more
philosophical. His
” Plurality of Worlds“is a work singular in its kind; his design in it was to present that part
of philosophy to view in a gay and pleasing dress; for
which purpose he has introduced a lady, and drawn up
the whole in a most agreeable as well as instructing dialogue. In the same manner he made an entertaining book
from
” Van Dale’s Oracles." The controversial matters
treated of in this work (for he went upon Van Dale’s scheme of exploding the Oracles as human impostures) raised him
secret enemies, whose malice he had the good fortune to
disappoint. He found, says Voltaire, how dangerous it
is for a man, though in the right, to differ in opinion from
those whose judgment receives a sanction from authority.
r of the heart; and being disappointed also by the death of lord Mountjoy, the liberal friend of the poet Daniel, to whom he was about to look up as a patron, he determined
, an early English dramatic author, the
second son of Thomas Ford, esq. a gentleman in the commission of the peace, was a native of Ilsington in Devonshire, where he was born in 158G, probably in the beginning of April, as he was baptised on the 17th of that month
at Ilsington. It does not appear where he was educated,
but on Nov. 16, 1602, he entered as a member of the
Middle Temple, for the purpose of studying law. While
there he published, in 1606, “Fame’s Memoriall, on the
earle of Devonshire deceased; with his honourable life,
peaceful end, and solemne funerall,
” a small quarto of
twenty-eight leaves. This poem, considered as the production of a youth, is creditable to the talents of Ford, as
it exhibits a freedom of thought and command of language,
of which there are few contemporaneous examples. At
this time Ford was in his twenty-first year, and deeply
engaged, but unfortunate, in an affair of the heart; and
being disappointed also by the death of lord Mountjoy,
the liberal friend of the poet Daniel, to whom he was
about to look up as a patron, he determined to seek relief
in travel. Whether he actually went abroad, or finding a
nymph less cruel, and an avenue to fame without individual patronage, remained in England, is matter of conjecture: but we next hear of him on the stage. With a
forbearance, however, unusual with those who have once
adventured before the public, Ford abstained from the
press from 1606 to 1629, when he printed his tragicomedy of the “Lover’s Melancholy.
” But this was not
his first attempt on the stage, as his play entitled “A bad
beginning makes a good ending,
” was acted at court as
early as A Letter to William Gifford, esq.
” Censura Literaria,
” has attributed to him an
excellent little manual, entitled “A Line of Life, pointing
at the immortalitie of a vertuous name,
”
, a man of learning, and an elegant Latin poet, was the son of Richard Ford, of East Ogwell, a small parish
, a man of learning, and an elegant Latin poet, was the son of Richard Ford, of East Ogwell, a
small parish near Newton-Bushell, in that part of Devonshire called the South-Hams, and was born there in 1619.
By the Worths, his mother’s family, he was descended
from the founder of Wadham college, Oxford. He was
some time at the high-school at Exeter, but finished his
education at the free-school of Dorchester, in Dorsetshire,
under Gabriel Reeve, fellow of New College. He was
admitted of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, in 1636, and in the
next year was candidate for a scholarship at Wadham
college, probably as a founder’s kinsman, but was unsuccessful. In 1641, being then B. A. he retired to London,
and during the rebellion joined the disaffected party. At
the close of the war he returned to the university, and
took his master’s degree in 1648; in which year, by the
favour of Dr. Edward Reynolds, dean of Christ Church,
one of the visitors of the university appointed by parliament, he became a student of that house, and distinguished
himself as a tutor. He was created B. D. Feb. 16, 1649,
by dispensation of the delegates, who had before decreed,
that, having been “expelled the university with great
injury, he should be restored with all academical honour
imaginable.
” He then became a frequent preacher at the
university; but, for preaching at St. Mary’s against the
oath of the Independents called the engagement, as he
himself informed Anthony Wood, he was expelled from his
studentship.
me second) wife, Martha Stampe, who died in 1684. He was accounted an able scholar, an elegant Latin poet, and a preacher of great eminence.
About this time he became lecturer of Newington-green, and in 1651, vicar of St. Lawrence’s, Reading, where he was considered as an eminent preacher. In 1653 he married Mrs. Anne Thackham. In July 1659 he was chosen by the corporation of Northampton, the patrons, vicar of All Saints; and, in 1665, he took the degree of D. D. and was appointed chaplain to his majesty. In 1670 he removed to London, became minister of Bridewell chapel, and rector of St. Mary Aldermanbury but finding his health impaired by the air of London, he accepted, in 1677, the rectory of Old Swinford, near Sturbridge, in Worcestershire, on the presentation of Thomas Foley, of Kidderminster. Here he died April 7, 1699, and was buried in the church near his (we presume second) wife, Martha Stampe, who died in 1684. He was accounted an able scholar, an elegant Latin poet, and a preacher of great eminence.
, a learned Italian prelate and poet, was born in 1674, obtained the highest rank of episcopacy under
, a learned Italian prelate
and poet, was born in 1674, obtained the highest rank of
episcopacy under pope Clement XI, and flattered himself
that Clement XII. a friend of poetry and poets, would
advance him to the dignity of cardinal. This pope continally giving him reason to hope, as constantly found excuses for disappointing him; at length one instance more
of this duplicity, added to so many that had passed, completely extinguished the expectations of Fortiguerra, and
this mortification so deeply affected him, that it proved
fatal. When he was on his death-bed, Clement sent to
him, endeavouring to comfort him once more, and revive
his hopes, but the sick man turning himself about, and
raising the clothes, only uttered such an explosion, as
once surprised and entertained the British house of commons, and said, “that is my answer; a good journey to
us both
” <c Eccovi la riposta bon viaggio e per lei, e
per me.“He died soon after this, which happened in
1735, being then sixty-one. His house was the general
resort of wit and literature in Rome, and he wrote his
”Ricciardetto,“a burlesque poem in thirty cantos, in a
very short time, to prove to a party of this kind, how easy
it is for a man of imagination to write in the style of Ariosto,
whom some of them had preferred to Tasso. In this poem
he gave abundant liberty to his imagination, and its extravagance would be fatiguing beyond measure, were it not
supported by the utmost ease of versification, and perpetual sallies of pleasantry and genius. It has been ably
translated into French by a M. du Mourner, chev. of St.
Louis, who died in 1768. There is also a translation of
” Terence" by Fortiguerra, with the Latin text, printed
at Urbino in 1736, and adorned with cuts, a very splendid
book.
r of Italian as to write skilfully in that language both in prose and verse, but his chief fame as a poet was atchieved in his own language, in which he wrote several
, nephew of the former, and
also the son of a goldsmith, was born at Paris in 1658.
He became lord of Aubigny by purchasing the lands to
which that title was attached. He was successively secretary to the marquis de Crequi, and the duke d'Aumont.
When the former of these noblemen was slain at the battle
of Luzara, La Fosse was employed to carry his heart to
Paris, and celebrated the death of the young hero in verses
which are still extant. He was so much a master of Italian
as to write skilfully in that language both in prose and
verse, but his chief fame as a poet was atchieved in his
own language, in which he wrote several tragedies, and
many other poems. His ft Polixene, Manlius, and Theseus,“published in his
” Theatre,“2 vols. 12mo, maintained their station in the French theatre till the revolution; and all his dramas are said to abound with passages
which would not disgrace the finest tragic writers of France.
His versification was highly finished, and he said that the
expression cost him more than the thoughts. His
” Manlius," the best of his pieces, has been pronounced in many
respects worthy of Corneille; yet even in France, we are
told, he is less known than he deserves. He was intimate
with the poet J. Baptiste Rousseau, and lived the life of a
philosopher, preferring letters to fortune, and friendship
to every thing. He died Nov. 2, 1708, at the age of
fifty. His modesty was equal to his genius; and when any
of his pieces were less successful than others, he professed
constantly that he never appealed from the judgment of
the public.
, a Dutch Latin poet, styled by himself, in allusion to his real name, Gulieluius
, a Dutch Latin poet, styled by
himself, in allusion to his real name, Gulieluius Gnaphaus,
was born in 14-S3, at the Hague, and became master of a
school in that place. He wrote several comedies in Latin,
which sometimes have been sought by foreign collectors,
rather as rare than for their intrinsic merit; yet the “AcoJastus
” is common and cheap in this country. We know
of three of these comedies: 1. “Martyrium Johannis
Pistorii,
” Leyden. 2. “Hvpocrisis,
” a tragi-comedy,
Acolastus, de filio prodigo,
” a comedy all
in 8vo. He died at Horden in FriezeJand, where he had
arrived to the rank of a burgomaster, in 1558. Many critics
would say that nothing very lively could be expected in
the comedies of a Dutch burgomaster. His “Acolastus
”
was reprinted at Paris, in
s against the protestaut writers. Wood says that he was well skilled in Greek and Latin, a tolerable poet and orator, a theologist not to be contemned; and so versed
, a celebrated English printer, was
born at Bristol, educated at Winchester school, and admitted fellow of New college, in Oxford, in 1555, after
two years of probation, where also he took his master’s
degree. But refusing to comply with the terms of protestant conformity in queen Elizabeth’s reign, he resigned
his fellowship, after holding it about four years, and,
leaving England, took upon him the trade of printing,
which he exercised partly at Antwerp, and partly at Louvain; and thus did signal service to the papists, in printing
their books against the protestaut writers. Wood says
that he was well skilled in Greek and Latin, a tolerable
poet and orator, a theologist not to be contemned; and so
versed also in criticism and other polite literature, that he
might have passed for another Robert or Henry Stephens.
He reduced into a compendium the “Summa Theologiæ
”
of Thomas Aquinas, under the title of “Loca Communia
Theologica,
” and wrote “Additiones in Chroiiica Genebrandi;
” a “Psalter for Catholics,
” which was answered
by Sampson Dean, of Christ-church, Oxford, 1578; also
epigrams, and other verses. He also translated from Latin
into English, “The Epistle of Osorius,
” and “.The Oration of Pet. Frarin, of Antwerp, against the unlawful insurrection of the protestants, under pretence to reform
religion,
” Antwerp, 1566. This was answered by William Fulke, divinity-professor in Cambridge. Fowler^died
at Newmark, in Germany, Feb. 13, 1579.
. It was translated into English by Henry lord Stafford. He also wrote annotations upon Mantuan, the poet. There is likewise an oration of his extant, in the story of
Active as was his life, he found some time to write.
He published a book, “De vera differentia Regiee Potestatis et Ecclesiastics, et quae sit ipsa veritas et virtus utriusque,
” History of the Acts and Monuments of the Church;
” and a letter from him and Gardiner about their proceedings at Cambridge, when they
were sent in 1530 to obtain that university’s determination
concerning the king’s marriage and divorce, in the collection of records at the end of Burnet’s first volume of the
“History of the Reformation.
”
an eminent Italian poet and physician, was born at Verona in 1483. Two singularities
an eminent Italian poet and physician, was born at Verona in 1483. Two singularities are related of him in his infancy; one, that his lips adhered so closely to each other when he came into the world, that a surgeon was obliged to divide them with his knife; the other, that his mother, Camilla Mascarellia, was killed by lightning, while he, though in her arms at the very moment, escaped unhurt. Fracastorio was of parts so exquisite, and made so wonderful a progress in every thing he undertook, that he became eminently skilled, not only in the belles lettres, but in all arts and sciences. He was a poet, a philosopher, a physician, an astronomer, and a mathematician. He was a man also of great political consequence, as appears from pope Paul Ill.'s making use of his authority to remove the council of Trent to Bologna, under the pretext of a contagious distemper, which, as Fracastorio deposed, made it no longer safe for him to continue at Trent. He was intimately acquainted with cardinal Bembo, Julius Scaliger, and all the great men of his time. He died of an apoplexy, at Casi near Verona, in 1553; and in 1559 the town of Verona erected a statue in honour of him.
He was the author of many productions, both as a poet and as a physician; yet never man was more disinterested in
He was the author of many productions, both as a poet
and as a physician; yet never man was more disinterested
in both these capacities, evidently so as a physician, for
he practised without fees; and as a poet, whose usual
reward is glory, no man could be more indifferent. It is
owing to this indifference that we have so little of his poetry,
in comparison of what he wrote; and that among other
compositions his odes and epigrams, which were read in
manuscript with infinite admiration, and would have been
most thankfully received by the public, yet not being
printed, were lost. He wrote in Latin, and with great
elegance. His poems now extant are the three books of
“Siphilis, or De Morbo Gallico,
” a book of miscellaneous
poems, and two books of his^ poems, entitled “Joseph,
”
which he began at the latter end of his life, but did not
live to finish. And these works, it is said, would have
perished with the rest, if his friends had not taken care to
preserve and communicate them: for Fracastorius, writing
merely for amusement, never took any care respecting his
works, when they were out of his hands.
Perhaps the productions of no modern poet have beea more commended by the learned, than those of Fracastorio.
Perhaps the productions of no modern poet have beea
more commended by the learned, than those of Fracastorio. His poems are, in general, written with a spirit
which never degenerates into insipidity. But on his “Siphilis
” the high poetical reputation of Fracastorio is principally founded. Sannazarius, on reading this poem, declared he thought it superior to any thing produced by
himself, or his learned contemporaries, and Julius Scaliger was not content to pronounce him the best poet in the
world next to Virgil, but affirmed him to be the best in
every thing else; and, in sh.-irt, though he was not generally lavish of his praise, ith respect to Fracastorio he
scarcely retained himself within the bounds of adoration.
Fracastorio’s medical pieces /are, “De sympathia et antipathia, De contagione et contagiosis morbis, De causis
criticorum dierum De vim temperature, &c.
” His works
have been printed separately and collectively. The best
edition of them is that of Padua, 1735, in 2 vols. 4to.
to translate, yet so universal has been the ambition to perform this task, that scarcely an English poet can be named in whose works we do not find some part of Horace.
Of all the classical writers, “Horace
” is by general
consent allowed to be the most difficult to translate, yet
so universal has been the ambition to perform this task,
that scarcely an English poet can be named in whose works
we do not find some part of Horace. These efforts, however, have not so frequently been directed to give the
sense and local meaning of the author, as to transfuse his
satire, and adapt it to modern persons and times. But of
the few who have exhibited the whole of this interesting
poet in an Eirglish dress, Mr. Francis has been supposed
to have succeeded best in that which is most difficult, the
lyric part, and likewise to have conveyed the spirit and
sense of the original in the epistles and satires, with least
injury to the genius of the author. In his preface he acknowledges his obligations to Dr. Dunkin, a poet of some
celebrity, and an excellent classical scholar.
, a Greek and Latin poet, of much reputation on the continent, was born at Amsterdam,
, a Greek and Latin poet, of much
reputation on the continent, was born at Amsterdam, Aug.
19, 1645. He received his early education under Adrian
Junius, rector of the school of Amsterdam, who had the
happy art of discovering the predominant talents of his
scholars, and of directing them to the most adrantageous
method of cultivating them. To young Francius he recommended Ovid as a model, and those who have read his
works are of opinion that he must have “given his days
and nights
” to the study of that celebrated poet. From
Amsterdam he went to Leyden, where he became a pupil
of Gronovius the elder, who soon distinguished him from
the rest of his scholars, and treated him as a friend, which
mark of esteem was also extended to him by Gronovius the
son. After this course of scholastic studies, he set out
on his travels, visiting England and France, in which last,
at Angers, he took his degree of doctor of civil and canon
Jaw. While at Paris he acquired the esteem of many
learned men, and when he proceeded afterwards to Italy,
improved his acquaintance with the literary men of that
country, and wa.s very respectfully received by Cosmo III.
grand duke of Tuscany. After his return to Amsterdam,
the magistrates, in 1674, elected him professor of rhetoric
and history, and in 1686 professor of Greek. In 1692 the
directors of the academy of Leyden made him an offer of
one of their professorships, but the magistrates of Amsterdam, fearing to lose so great an ornament to their city,
increased his salary, that he might be under no temptation
on that account to leave them. He accordingly remained
here until his death, Aug. 19, 1704, when he was exactly
fifty-nine years old. Francius particularly excelled in declamation, in which his first master, Junius, the ablest
declaimer of his time, had instructed him, and in which
he took some lessons afterwards from a famous tragic actor,
Adam Caroli, who, he used to say, was to him what
Koscius was to Cicero. His publications consist of, 1.
“Poemata,
” Amsterdam, omitted in the second, because the author
had an intention of giving a complete translation of that
celebrated collection, which, however, he never executed.
In other respects, the second edition is more ample and
correct. 2.
” Orationes,“Amst. 1692, 8vo, of which an
enlarged edition appeared in 1705, 8vo. His emulation
of the style of Cicero is said to be very obvious in these
orations. Some of them had been published separately,
particularly a piece of humour entitled
” Encomium Galli
Gallinacei.“3.
” Specimen eloquentiac exterioris ad orationem M. T. Ciceronis pro A. Licin. Archia accommoclatnm,“Amst. 1697, 12mo. 4.
” Specimen eloquentia
exterioris ad orationem Ciceronis pro M. Marcello accommodatum,“ibid. 1699, 12mo. These two last were reprinted in 1700, 8vo, with his
” Oratio de ratione declamandi.“5.
” Epistola prima ad C. Valerium Accinctum,
vero nomine Jacobum Perizonium, professorem Leyden*em,“&c. Amst. 1696, 4to. This relates to a personal
dispute between Francius and Perizonius, of very little
consequence to the public, and was answered by Perizonius. 6.
” The Homily of S. Gregoire of Nazianzen, on
charity to our neighbour,“translated from Greek into
German, Axnstt 1700, 8vo. 7.
” A discourse on the
Jubilee, Jan. 1700,“in German, ibid., 1700, 4to. 8.
” Posthums, quibus accedunt illustrium eruditorum ad eutn
Epistolse," ibid. 1706, 8vo.
er going through his school education, George went to Jena at the age of eighteen, and was crowned a poet by count palatine llichter, in consequence of his extraordinary
, an eminent German physician, was born at Naumburg, in Upper Saxony, May 3, 1643. His father, although living as a simple peasant, was of a noble family. After going through his school education, George went to Jena at the age of eighteen, and was crowned a poet by count palatine llichter, in consequence of his extraordinary talent for writing verses in the German, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew Jauguages. But he exhibited still greater talents during his course of medical studies, and the canons of Naumburg, who recognized his merits, afforded him liberal means of subsistence while he applied himself to this science. Before he took his doctor’s degree^(in 1666), he was deemed eligible to give lectures in botany, chemistry, and anatomv, and acquired great reputation. In 1672, the elector palatine appointed him to the vacant professorship of medicine at Heidelberg, and a few years afterwards nominated him his own physician. But the troubles occasioned by the war obliged him in 1688, to retire to Francfort on the Main. John George III. elector of Saxony, then received him into his service, and appointed him professor of medicine at Wittemberg; an office which he filled with so much eclat, that the principal professorship, and the title of dean of the faculty at Leipsic, were soon offered to him. This, however, he refused, by the instigation of his friends, who sought to retain him at Wittemberg. The two succeeding electors likewise loaded this physician with so many favours, that it was supposed he could never dream of quitting Heidelberg. Nevertheless, he was induced by the offers of Christian V. king of Denmark, to remove to Copenhagen, where he was received most graciously by the royal family, and was honoured with the title of Aulic counsellor, which was continued to him by Frederick IV. the successor of Christian. Death, however, terminated his brilliant career on the 16th of June, 1704, in the six-" tieth year of his age.
, an Italian poet of the infamous class which disgraced the sixteenth century,
, an Italian poet of
the infamous class which disgraced the sixteenth century,
was born at Benevento, in 1510, and under his father,
who was a schoolmaster, acquired a knowledge of the
learned languages. In his youth he became acquainted
with Peter Aretino, and from being his assistant in his various works, became his rival, and whilst he at least equalled
him in virulence and licentiousness, greatly surpassed him
in learning and abilities. His first attempt at rivalship
was his “Pistole Vulgari,
” in Delle Belleze;
” and a
collection of sonnets against Aretino with a “Priapeia Italiana,
” which contained the grossest obscenity, the most
unqualified abuse, and the boldest satire against princes,
popes, the fathers of the council of Trent, and other eminent persons. Yet all this did not injure his literary reputation; he was a principal member of the academy of Argonauti at Montserrat, and in this capacity wrote his
“Rime Maritime,
” printed at Mantua in Priapeia,
” attributed to Virgil, the copies of which
were suppressed and burned by order of pope Paul IV,
Under Pius IV. he continued to indulge his virulence, and
found a protector in cardinal Morone. His imprudence,
however, in writing a Latin epigram against Pius V. with
other defamatory libels, brought upon him the punishment
which he amply deserved. He was taken from his study
in his furred robe, and hanged on the common gallows
without trial or ceremony. He was author of several other
works besides those already enumerated, and he left behind him in ms. a translation of Homer’s Iliad.
sar, united the talents of a writer with those of a warrior. He wrote in French, and was a tolerable poet; but his abilities are more displayed in history. His poem on
Frederic, like Cesar, united the talents of a writer with
those of a warrior. He wrote in French, and was a tolerable poet; but his abilities are more displayed in history.
His poem on the art of war is, however, valuable, both
from his deep knowledge of the subject, ^and the traits of
genius it displays. His works compose altogether nineteen volumes, 8vo. His poetical compositions, which, excepting his poem on the Art of War, consist chiefly of
odes and epistles, passed through many editions under the
title of “Oeuvres melees du Philosophe de Sans Souci.
”
But all the works published in his life, both in prose and
verse, were collected in four vols. 8vo, in 1790, under the
title of “Oeuvres primitives de Frederic II. Roi de Prusse,
ou collection desouvragesqu'il publia pendant son regne.
”
Of this publication, the first volume contains his “AntiMachiuvel; military instructions for the general of his
army; and his correspondence with M. de la Motte Fouquei.
” TJie second, his “Memoirs of the House of Branden burgh.
” In the third volume are his poems; and in
the fourth, a variety of pieces in prose, philosophical,
moral, historical, critical, and literary; particularly “Reflections on the military talents and character of Charles
XII. king of Sweden; a discourse on war; letters on education, and on the love of our country; and a discourse on
German literature.
” His posthumous works hud been published stiil earlier. They appeare4 at Berlin in 1788, in
15 vols. 8vo. The two first of these contain the “History
of his own Time, to the year 1745.
” The third and fourth,
his “History of the Seven Years’ War.
” The fifth contains “Memoirs from the Peace of Hubertsbourg in 1763,
to the Partition of Poland in 1775.
” The sixth is filled
with miscellaneous matter, particularly “Considerations
on the present state of the political powers of Europe,
”
and “an Essay on Forms of Government, and on the
duties of Sovereigns.
” The seventh and eighth volumes
contain poetical pieces, and some letters to Jordan and
Voltaire. The remaining seven volumes continue his correspondence, including letters to and from Fontenelle,
Rollin, Voltaire, D‘Argens, D’Alembert, Condorcet, and
others. Of these productions many are valuable, more
especially his “History of his own Times,
” where, however, he is more impartial in his accounts of his campaigns,
than in assigning the motives for his wars, or estimating
the merits of his antagonists.
preached before the house of commons, Jan. 30, 1710-11, and in the same year he succeeded Duke, the poet, in the valuable living of Witney, in Oxfordshire; became head
, eldest brother of the preceding,
was born in 16'67, and admitted in 1680 at Westminster
school, whence he was elected to Christ Church, Oxford,
in. 1686. While a student there he wrote some good
verses on the inauguration of king William and queen
Mary, which were printed in the Oxford collection. In,
the celebrated dispute between Bentley and Boyle, Mr.
Freind was a warm partizan for the honour of his college,
but was eventually more lucky with Bentley than his brother, Dr. John. A neice of our author’s was married to
a son of Dr. Bentley, who, after that event, conceived a
better opinion of the Christ Church men, and declared
that “Freind had more good learning in him than ever he
had imagined.
” Mr. Freind proceeded M. A. June I, In 1724 he published Cicero’s
” Orator,“and in 1728 Mr. Bowyer, the celebrated
printer, was indebted to him for the Westminster verses
on the coronation of George II. In April 1729, Dr. Freind
obtained a canonry of Windsor, which in 173l i he exchanged for a prebend of Westminster, and in 1733 he
quitted Westminster school. In 1734 he was desirous of
resigning Witney to his son (afterwards dean of
Canterbury); but could not do it without the permission of bishop
Hoadly, which he had little reason to expect. On application, however, to that prelate, through queen Caroline
and lady Sundon, he received this laconic answer,
” If
Dr. Freind can ask it, I can grant it." Dr. Freind’s letters
to lady Sundon are still existing, and prove that he had as
little scruple in asking, as bishop Hoadly had in flattering
a lady, who, by her influence with queen Caroline, became for a considerable time the sole arbitress of churchpreferments. In 1744 Dr. Freind resigned his stall at
Westminster in favour of his son, and died August 9, 1751.
By Jane his wife, one of the two daughters of Dr. Samuel
Delangle, a prebendary of Westminster, he had two sons,
Charles, who died in 1736, and William, his successor at
Witney, and afterwards dean of Canterbury.
, a poet of the seventeenth century, born 160O, at Paris, was counsellor
, a poet of the seventeenth century, born 160O,
at Paris, was counsellor to the court of the mint, and died
dean of the same court, after the year 1661, leaving several children. Freriicle wrote many theatrical pieces as
“Palemon,
” a pastoral, 8vo; “Niobe,
” 8vo; “L'Entretien des Bergers,
” a pastoral, which is contained in
“Les Illustres Bergers,
” 8vo. Also a poem, entitled,
“Jesus crucifiej
” a “Paraphrase on the Psalms,
” in
verse, &c.
the modern philosophy, attacked Voltaire with spirit. He represented him as a skilful plagiary; as a poet, brilliant indeed, but inferior to Corneille, Racine, and Boileau;
, a French journalist, generally known for having been the constant object of the
satire of Voltaire, was born at Quimper, in 1719. His
talents were considerable, and he cultivated them in the
society of the Jesuits, under fathers Brumoy and Bougeant.
In 1739, on some disgust, he quitted the Jesuits, and for
a time assisted the abbé des Fontaines in his periodical
publications. He then published several critical works on
his own account, which were generally admired, but sometimes suppressed by authority. His “Letters on certain
writings of the time
” began to be published in Anne Litie>aire,
” and published
in that year 7 volumes of it; and afterwards 8 volumes
every year as long as he lived, which was till 1776. In
this work, FreVon, who was a zealous enemy of the modern
philosophy, attacked Voltaire with spirit. He represented
him as a skilful plagiary; as a poet, brilliant indeed, but
inferior to Corneille, Racine, and Boileau; as an elegant,
but inaccurate historian; and rather the tyrant than the
king of literature. A great part of this Voltaire could bear
with fortitude; but a very skilful and victorious attack
upon a bad comedy, “La Femme qui a raison,
” drove
him beyond all bounds of patience; and henceforward his
pen was constantly in motion against Fre>on, whose very
name at any time would put him in a rage, nor was Freron
more a favourite with the encyclopedists, whose principles
he exposed.
, an early poet of France, father of the celebrated Iveteaux, and the first
, an early poet of
France, father of the celebrated Iveteaux, and the first
who wrote satires in French, and an Art of Poetry, was
born of a noble family at Fresnaye, near Falaise, iiv
1534-. He was bred a lawyer, and became the king’s advocate for the bailliage of Caen, and afterwards lieutenantgeneral and president of that city, where he died at the
age of seventy-two, in 1606. He wrote, 1. “Satires,
”
which though esteemed less strong than those of Regnier,
and less witty than those of Boileau, have truth and nature, and contain simple narratives, the style of which has,
something pleasing. 2. “The Art of Poetry.
” Copious
specimens of this performance may be seen in the notes
of St. Marc, on Boileau’s Art of Poetry. It has
considerable merit, but a merit which haa been superseded by later
efforts. 3. Two books of Idyllia, and three of epigrams,
epitaphs, and sonnets. 4. A poem on the monarchy. All
these were collected by himself in an edition of poems,
published at Caen in 1605.
, a celebrated French poet and painter, was born at Paris in 1611. His father, who was
, a celebrated French poet and painter, was born at Paris in 1611. His father, who was an eminent apothecary in that city, intended him for the medical profession, and during the first year which he spent at college, he made very considerable progress in his studies; but as soon as he was raised to the highest classes, and began to contract a taste for poetry, his genius for it appeared, and he carried all the prizes of it, which were proposed to excite the emulation of his fellow-students. His inclination for poetry was heightened by exercise; and his earliest performances shewed that he was capable of attaining very considerable fame in this pursuit, if his love of painting, which equally possessed him, had not divided his time and application. At last he laid aside all thoughts of the study of physic, and declared absolutely for that of painting, notwithstanding the opposition of his parents, who by all kinds of severity endeavoured to divert him from pursuing that art, the profession of which they unjustly considered in a very contemptible light. But the strength of his inclination defeating all the measures taken to suppress it, he took the first opportunity of cultivating his favourite study.
. More ample justice has been done in our language to the talents of Du Fresnoy, by our late skilful poet, William Mason, M. A.; by whom, in 1782, he was first clothed
His poem was not published till three years after his death, at Paris, 12mo, with the French version, and remarks of Mons. Du Piles, and it has been justly admired for its elegance, perspicuity, and the utility of the instruction it contains. In 1694, Dryden made a prose translation of it into English, which he accompanied with his ingenious parallel between poetry and painting. It was again translated into English by Mr. Wills, a painter, who gave it in metre without rhyme. He attempted to produce the sense of his author in an equal number of lines, and thus cramped his own skill; and produced a work unequal in itself, in which, however well he appears to hare understood the original text, he fails to impress it on his reader. It is now almost totally forgotten. More ample justice has been done in our language to the talents of Du Fresnoy, by our late skilful poet, William Mason, M. A.; by whom, in 1782, he was first clothed in an English dress suited to his elevated pretensions. And still greater honour was done to him by the hand of that extraordinary genius of our isle in the art of painting, sir Joshua Reynolds, for whose more valuable remarks upon the most important points in the poem, Mr. Mason was induced to discard those of Mons. Du Piles. By the union of the talents of two men so renowned in the arts of poetry and painting, Du Fresnoy is rendered for ever dear to the English reader; and the thorough knowledge he has exhibited of the best principles of the art of painting, is become more agreeably and more extensively diffused.
, a French poet, chiefly celebrated for his dramatic writings, was born at Paris
, a French poet, chiefly
celebrated for his dramatic writings, was born at Paris in
1648. He had a good natural taste for music, painting,
sculpture, architecture, and all the fine arts. He had
also a taste for laying-out gardens, and this procured him
the place of overseer of gardens to the king, which he sold
for a moderate sum, as a supply to his extravagance,
which was unbounded. He was valet-de-chambre to Louis
XIV. and highly in favour with him; but his love of expence outwent even the bounty of his master. “There
are two men,
” said Louis, “whom I shall never enrich,
Fresny and Bontems.
” These were his two valets-dechambre, who were well matched in extravagance. At
length, Fresny sold all his appointments at court, and flew
from the constraint of Versailles to the liberty of Paris,
where he became a writer for the stage. He is the person
who is humourously represented by Le Sage in his “Diable
Boiteux,
” as marrying his laundress by way of paying her
bill. He was twice married, and both times, it is said, in
a similar way. He wrote many dramatic pieces, some of
which were long established on the stage. These were,
“La Reconciliation Normande, Le Double Voyage, La
Coquette de Village, Le Marriage rompu, L'Esprit de
Contradiction, Le Dedit.
” He was also the author of
cantatas, which he set to music himself; several songs,
some of which were famous; a little work often reprinted,
called “Les Amusements serieux et comiques,
” and
“Nouvelles Historiques
” all enlivened by a singular and
gay fancy. He died, aged seventy-six, in 1724. D'Alembert has drawn a parallel between Destouches and him as
comic writers. His works were collected in 6 volumes,
duodecimo.
but this was never published. His scholia and version of “Callimachus,” with his Greek life of that poet, are in Stephens’ s edition of 1577, 4to. While he was master
Hitherto Frischlin had been prosperous; but now an affair happened which laid the foundation of troubles that
did not end but with his life. In 1580 he published an
oration in praise of a country life, with a paraphrase upon
Virgil’s Eclogues and Georgics. Here he compared the
lives of modern courtiers with those of ancient husbandmen; and noticing some with great severity, who had degenerated from the virtue and simplicity of their ancestors,
made himself so obnoxious, that even his life was in danger.
He made many public apologies for himself; his prince
even interceded for him, but he could not continue safe
any longer at home. With his prince’s leave, therefore,
he went to Laubach, a town of Carniola, in the remote
part of Germany, and kept a school there; but the air
not agreeing with his wife and children, he returned in
about two years, to his own country. He met with a very
ungracious reception; and therefore, after staying a little
while, he went to Francfort, from Francfort into Saxony,
and from thence to Brunswick, where he became a schoolmaster again. There he did not continue long, but passed
from place to place, till at length, being reduced to necessity, he applied to the prince of Wirtemberg for relief.
His application was disregarded, which he supposing to
proceed from the malice of his enemies, wrote severely
against them. He was imprisoned at last in Wirtemberg
castle; whence attempting to escape by ropes not strong
enough to support him, he fell down a prodigious precipice, and was dashed to pieces among the rocks.
His death happened in 1590, and was universally and
justly lamented; for he was certainly ingenious and learned
in a great degree. He left a great many works of various
kinds, as tragedies, comedies, elegies, translations of
Latin and Greek authors, with notes upon them, orations,
&c. These were published 1598 1607, in 4 vols. 8vo.
He had also written a translation of Oppian, but this was
never published. His scholia and version of “Callimachus,
”
with his Greek life of that poet, are in Stephens’ s edition
of 1577, 4to. While he was master of the school at Labacum, or Laubach, he composed a new grammar; for
there was no grammar extant that pleased him. This was
more methodical, and shorter than any of them; and, indeed, was generally approved; but, not content with giving
a grammar of his own, he drew up another piece, called
“Strigil Grammatica,
” in which he disputes with some
little acrimony against all other grammarians; and this, as
was natural, increased the number of his enemies. With
all his parts and learning, he seems not a little to have
wanted prudence.
, an eminent and ancient French historian and poet, was born in Valenciennes, about 1337. Of his parents we know
, an eminent and ancient French historian and poet, was born in Valenciennes, about 1337. Of his parents we know only that his father, Thomas Froissart, was a painter of arms, and although our historian is titled knight, at the beginning of a manuscript in the abbey of St. Germain des Prez, it is thought that the copyist had given it to him of his own authority. His infancy announced what he would one day be: he early manifested that eager and inquisitive mind, which during the course of his life never allowed him to remain long attached to the same occupations, and in the same place; and the different games suitable to that age, of which he gives us a picture equally curious and amusing, kept up in his mind a fund of natural dissipation, which during his early studies tried the patience and exercised the severity of his masters. He loved hunting, music, assemblies, feasts, dancing, dress, good living, wine and women; these tastes, which almost all shewed themselves from twelve years of age, being confirmed by habit, were continued even to his old age, and perhaps never left him. The mind and heart of Froissart being not yet sufficiently occupied, his love for history filled up that void, which his passion for pleasure left; and became to him an inexhaustible source of amusement.
, an English poet, was the son of a gentleman, who had been post-master in the
, an English poet, was the son of a
gentleman, who had been post-master in the reign of queen
Anne, and the grandson of sir Philip Frowde,a loyal officer
in king Charles I.'s army. He was sent to the university of
Oxford, where he had the honour of being distinguished
by Addison, who took him under his protection. While
be remained there be became the author of several pieces
of poetry, some of which, in Latin, were pure and elegant
enough to entitle them to a place in the “Muse Anglicanae.
” He wrote likewise two tragedies: “The Fall of
Saguntum,
” dedicated to sir Robert Walpole; and “Philotas,
” addressed to the earl of Chesterfield. Neither of
these were very successful on the stage, to which they were
thought less adapted than to the closet. He died at his
lodgings in Cecil-street in the Strand, Dec. 19, 1738; and
in the London Daily-Post had the following character
given him': “Though the elegance of Mr. Frowde’s writings has recommended him to the general public esteem,
the politeness of his genius is the least amiable part of his
character; for he esteemed the talents of wit and learning,
only as they were conducive to the excitement and practice
of honour and humanity. Therefore, with a soul chearful,
benevolent, and virtuous, he was in conversation genteelly
delightful, in friendship punctually sincere, in death Chnstianly resigned. No man could live more beloved; no
private man could die more lamented.
”
, an Italian poet, was born November 21, 1692, at Genoa, of a noble family, which
, an Italian poet, was born November 21, 1692, at Genoa, of a noble family, which ended in him. He was persuaded by his tutors to enter the order of regular clerks of Somasquo; but that confined life was so contrary to his gay temper, and fondness for pleasure, that he obtained leave from the pope to quit the order, and remain a secular priest. Frugoni then settled at Parma, where the different sovereigns procured him all the conveniences of life; but the infant don Philip showed yet greater attention to him than the rest. He gave him the titles of court poet, inspector of the theatres, and secretary of the fine arts. He died at Parma, December 20, 1768. His poems are much esteemed by the Italians, and his songs, in particular, were the delight of his contemporaries. An edition of this author’s works was published at Parma in 1779, in 10 vols. 8vo. They consist of every species of minor poems.
, an accomplished scholar and Latin poet, was born at Verona, and not at Venice, as Foscarini asserts.
, an accomplished
scholar and Latin poet, was born at Verona, and not at
Venice, as Foscarini asserts. He studied Greek and Latin with astonishing progress, under Romulus Amaseus,
and the extensive learning he afterwards acquired made
him known and respected by all the eminent scholars of
his time. On the death pf one of his particular friends,
John Matthew Giberti, bishop of Verona, which happened
in 1544, he composed a funeral oration, which is said to
have been very eloquent, but which he was not able to
deliver without such continual interruption from the tears
and sobs of his audience, as prevented its being heard with
any other effect. At this time he enjoyed a canonry at
Venice, which he kept all his life. Navagero and Valerio,
the two successive bishops of Verona, and both cardinals,
had the highest esteem for Fumani; by the interest of the
former he was appointed secretary to the council of Trent.
He died advanced in age in 1587. He published “D.
Basilii Moralia, et Ascetica,
” translated by him, Leyden,
, called Bibaculus, perhaps from his excessive drinking, an ancient Latin poet, was born at Cremona about the year of Rome 650, or 100 before
, called Bibaculus, perhaps from his excessive
drinking, an ancient Latin poet, was born at Cremona
about the year of Rome 650, or 100 before Christ. He
wrote annals, of which Macrobius has preserved some fragments. They are inserted in Maittaire’s “Corpus Poetarum. >r Quintilian says, that he wrote iambics also irt a
very satirical strain, and therefore is censured by Cremutius Cordus, in Tacitus, as a slandering and abusive writer.
Horace is thought to have ridiculed the false sublime of
his taste; yet, according to Macrobius, Virgil is said to
have imitated him in many places. But some are of opinion that the
” Annals" may be attributed to Furius Antias, or Anthius, a contemporary poet, whose fragments
are likewise in Maittaire’s collection.
, a French poet, well known by his satirical pieces against Bossuet, Rousseau,
, a French poet, well known by his
satirical pieces against Bossuet, Rousseau, La Motte, and
others, was the son of a merchant, and born at Lyons in
1667. He became a father of the Oratory; obtained the
poetical prize at the French academy in 1717; and died
in his priory of Baillon Nov. 15, 1725. Among his works
are, “Le Poete sans fard,
” a satirical piece, which cost
him some months of imprisonment; a French translation
of “Anacreon,
” with notes, which was the best of his
works; “L' Anti-Rousseau,
” an attack against J. Baptiste
Rousseau, the poet; “L'Homere venge,
” against La
Motte. Gacon also attacked La Motte, and turned him
into ridicule, in a small piece entitled “Les Fables de
M. de la Motte, traduites en vers Francois, par P. S. F.
au Caffe* du Mont Parnasse, &c.
” This poet’s natural
propensity to satire and criticism, led him to attack alt
sorts of writers, and involved him in all the literary quarrels of his times. The French academy acted with great
impartiality, when they adjudged him the prize; for he
had written in some shape or other against almost all the
members of that illustrious body; and on this account it
was, that he was not suffered to make his speech of thanks,
as is usual on such occasions, the prize having been remitted to him by the hands of the abbé de Choisy. “Gacon,
” says Voltaire, “is placed bj father Niceron in the
catalogue of illustrious men, though he has been famous
only for bad satires. Such authors cannot be cited but as
examples to be detested.
” In fact, though he wrote with
care, his style was heavy and diffuse in prose, and low in
verse.
nd humour by Dr. Freind. He came forward as an universal genius, was a philosopher, philologist, and poet, and undertook every thing that lay within the circle of physic
, an English physician, who lived in the early part of the fourteenth century, of very extensive and lucrative practice, was the first Englishman who was employed as a physician at court, being appointed to that office by Edward II.: before his time the king’s physicians had been exclusively foreigners. The ignorance, superstition, and low quackery, which appear throughout his practice; are painted with much life and humour by Dr. Freind. He came forward as an universal genius, was a philosopher, philologist, and poet, and undertook every thing that lay within the circle of physic and surgery, was skilled in manual operations, very expert in bone-setting, and a great oculist. He also acquaints us with his great skill in physiognomy; and designed to write a treatise of chiromancy. He was a great dealer in secrets, and some he had which were the most secret of secrets, and did miracles. But his chief strength lay in receipts, and without giving himself much trouble in forming a judgment respecting the nature of the case, he seemed to think that, if he could muster up a good number of these, he should be able to encounter any distemper. He seems to have neglected no stratagems, by which he might surprise and impose on the credulity of mankind, and to have been very artful in laying baits for the delicate, the ladies, and the rich. When he was employed in attending the king’s son, in the small-pox, in order to shew his skill in inflammatory distempers, he, with a proper formality, and a countenance of much importance, ordered the patient to be wrapped up in scarlet, and every thing about the bed to be of the same colour. This, he says, made him re-, cover without so much as leaving one mark in his face; and he commends it for an excellent mode of curing. Nevertheless this man was praised by Leland, Ovaringius, and others, as a profound philosopher, a skilful physician, and the brightest man of his age.
, a Latin poet of considerable note in the sixteenth century, was educated
, a Latin poet of considerable note in the sixteenth century, was educated at Westminsterschool, from which he was elected to Oxford, in 1574, and took afterwards his degrees in arts at Christ-church, but in a few years preferring the study of the law, he took the degrees in that faculty also, in 1589. About this time his reputation had recommended him to Dr. Martin Heton, bishop of Ely, by whose interest, most probably, he was made chancellor of that diocese. Wood professes that he knows no more of him, unless that he was living in 1610; but by the assistance of the Ely registers, we are enabled to pursue him a little farther. By them it appears that in 1601, being then LL. D. he acted as surrogate to Dr. Swale, vicar-general of Ely, and in 1608 he was delegate and commissary to archbishop Bancroft, in the diocese of Ely; and in 1609 he was custos of the spiritualities in the vacancy of the see. In the years 1613, 1616, and 161S, he was, vicar-general and official principal to Lancelot Andrews, bishop of Ely; and in 1619 he acted as deputy for the archdeacon of Canterbury, at the installation of bishop Felton, in the cathedral of Ely. When he died we have not been able to discover.
Wood says, “he was an excellent poet, especially in the Latin tongue, and reputed the best comedian
Wood says, “he was an excellent poet, especially in
the Latin tongue, and reputed the best comedian (i.e. dramatic writer) of his time.
” He had a controversy with Dr.
John Rainolds, on the lawfulness of stage-plays, which
appears to have been carried on in manuscript letters, until
Raiuolds published his “Overthrow of Stage-plays,
” containing his answer to Gager and a rejoinder. He had a
more singular controversy with Mr. Heale, of Exeter-college, in consequence of his (Gager’s) asserting at the Oxford Act in 1608, “That it was lawful for husbands to
beat their wives.
” This Mr. Heale answered in “An
Apology for Women,*' &c. Oxon. 1609, 4to. In the
” Exequiae D. Philippi Sidnxi,“Gager has a copy of verses in
honour of that celebrated character, who, when living, had
a great respect for his learning and virtues. His Latin
plays are, 1.
” Meleager,“a tragedy. 2.
” Rivales,“a
comedy; and 3.
” Ulysses redux," a tragedy. These
were all acted, and we are told, with great applause, in
Christ church hall. The first only was printed in 1592,
4to, and occasioned the controversy between the author
and Dr. Rainolds. Gager’s letter in defence of this and
his other plays, is in the library of University-college.
his death, in 1549. Gaigny was deeply read in the ancient languages, and highly esteemed as a Latin poet, and his sovereign Francis I. frequently consulted him on subjects
, a French divine of the
sixteenth century, was educated at Paris, where in 1526
he had taken the degree of bachelor, and held the appointment of attorney for the French nation in the university.
He was afterwards lecturer in theology at the college of
Navarre, and rector of the university. In 1531 he took
his degree of D. D. and was chancellor of the university
from 1546 till his death, in 1549. Gaigny was deeply
read in the ancient languages, and highly esteemed as a
Latin poet, and his sovereign Francis I. frequently consulted him on subjects of literature, and made him his first
almoner. He was author of many works on subjects of
theology, the most important of which are “Commentaries
” upon the different books of the New Testament, hi
which he explains the literal sense by a kind of paraphrase.
Dupin says, “his notes will be found of admirable use to
those who desire to read the text of the New Testament,
and to comprehend the sense of it without stopping at any
difficult places, and without having recourse to larger
commentaries. His Scholia on the four evangelists, and
on the Acts of the Apostles, are inserted in the
” Biblia
Magrra" of father John de la Haye.
ustrated the topography of his native country with accurate maps and descriptions; and was reputed a poet of considerable merit. His works are, besides what we have mentioned,
, or Galateus Liciensis, an eminent Italian writer, whose proper name was Ferrari, isgenerally known by that of Galateo, from his native place,
Galatina, in Otranto, where he was born in 1444. His
father dying in his infancy, he was taken in to the protection of his grandfather, who had him educuted at Nardo.
He afterwards studied medicine, which, after taking his
degrees at Ferrara, he practised at Naples with great reputation, and was appointed physician to the king, in consequence of the recommendation of Sannazarius and Pontanus. The air of Naples, however, not agreeing with
him, he removed to Gailipoli, near Galatina, where he
resumed his practice. He died Nov. 12, 1517. He was
not only eminent as a physician, but his natural and moral
philosophy is said to have risen beyond the level of the age
in which he lived. He is also said to have indicated the
possibility of the navigation to the East by the Cape of
Good Hope, in his treatise “De situ Elementorum,
” published in De situ lapygiae,
” Basil, A Description of Gailipoli.
” 3. “Successi dell‘ armata Turchescanella citta d’Otranto dell' anno 1480,
” 4to,
, an ancient Roman poet, and a person of distinction, was born at Frejus, in Provence,
, an ancient Roman poet, and a
person of distinction, was born at Frejus, in Provence, or
as some think Friuli, in Italy. He was the particular favourite of Augustus Caesar, who made him governor of
Egypt, after the death of Antony and Cleopatra; but he
was guilty of such mal-administration in his government,
that he was condemned to banishment, and deprived of
his estate. This disgrace so afflicted him that he put an
end to his life, when he was aged about forty-three, in
the year 26. Virgil has complimented him in many
places; and the whole tenth eclogue is on the subject of
his love to Lycoris, the poetical name of Callus’s mistress,
whose cruel disdain is there lamented. Gallus had written
four books of elegies on his amour, which Propertius commends; but Quintilian thinks him not so tender as Tibullus or Propertius. As to those six elegies which have been
published under his name, the critics are agreed that they
are spurious, and that they were written by Maximus
Etruscus, a contemporary with Boethius. Aldus Manutius
met with some fragments at Venice ascribed to Gallus;
which, though written in a better taste than the former,
Joseph Scaliger has proved to be also spurious. Some
think he is the author of the little poem called “Cms,
”
found among the works attributed to Virgil. His fragments have been printed with the editions of Catullus,
printed in 1659, 1755, &c.
, was an Italian poet of the sixteenth century, protected and beloved by cardinal
, was an Italian poet of the sixteenth century, protected and beloved by cardinal Alexander Farnese r whose writings were much esteemed in his
day, but now are thought flat and insipid. He wrote,
1. “A Latin treatise on Poetry, in which he dissuades
Christian poets from using pagan mythology.
” This was
the amende honorublt for many licentious and profane
poems written in his youth. 2. “A Latin poem on Columbus.
” Also eclogues, entitled, “Venatoria,
” and other
productions. Muretus treats this author with the greatest
contempt, bnt he is highly praised by Giraldi and Manutius. He died in 1586, at the age of 90.
t.” Prior Ogier, in particular, having observed that our author was better qualified for a satirical poet or a merry Andrew, than for a catholic doetor, exclaimed against
Garassethe next year, 1628, published “La Doctrine
curieuse des beaux esprits de ce temps, &c. The curious
doctrine of the wits, or pretenders to wit, of this age,
containing several maxims pernicious to the state of religion
and good manners, refuted and overthrown.
” He took
occasion in several places of this work, to throw out rough
and abusive raillery upon Pasquier; and went on in the
same strain, in a third production, printed in 1625, 4to.
The sons of Pasquier were at last provoked beyond all patience, to see the manes of their father so irreligiously
disturbed. Resolving to revenge his memory, and to pay
our author in his own coin, they published a treatise, in
which Garasse was thus accosted: having recounted the
words of his dedication just mentioned; “This,
” say they,
in the singular number, “has made me use the same freedom with you, and forced me to address this packet to
you, in what place soever you may be. For, not knowing
whether you may be at the service-tree, which you call a
tavern of honour, and where you confess you have had
many a good meal free-cost; or at the town of Clomar,
in the suburbs of St. Germain, where your name is written
in such fair characters on all the mantle-trees of the chimnies; or in some other place of the same kind; -I am constrained to send you this book at a venture, and to direct
it to you in what place soever you be.
” The truth was,
that in general the free course of Garasse' s life ran parallel
to that of his wit, which he had indulged to such a height
in his “Doctrine Curieuse,
” that notwithstanding the specious title against atheists and atheistical libertines prefixed
by the author, a very different one was bestowed upon it
by others, particularly Naude, who distinguished it by the
title of “Atheism reduced to an art.
” Prior Ogier, in
particular, having observed that our author was better
qualified for a satirical poet or a merry Andrew, than for
a catholic doetor, exclaimed against the whole order, for
making choice of such a champion. This was made public
the same year; and in the following our author issued a
defence, entitled “Apologie de F. Garasse,
” &c. To
this the prior immediately prepared for a reply; but here
the fraternity stepped in, and procured such mediators as
found means to end the dispute in an amicable way. The
Jesuit prevented his antagonist by a letter full of civilities,
which was answered in the same way by the prior, 1 and care
was taken to let the public see those letters, as soon as they
were written, in 1624. By the same method our author
was also reconciled to Balzac, with whose character he
had made free, having provided a seat, for him among the
atheists of the times.
, or Garcias Lasso de La Vega, a celebrated Spanish poet, was born of a noble family at Toledo, in 1500 or 1503. His
, or Garcias Lasso de La Vega, a celebrated Spanish poet, was born of a noble family at Toledo,
in 1500 or 1503. His father was a counsellor of state to
Ferdinand and Isabella, and employed by them on several
important negociations, particularly in an embassy to pope
Alexander VI. Garcilasso was educated near the emperor
Charles V. who had a particular regard for him, and took him
with him in his military expeditions, where he became as renowned for his courage as for his poetry. He accompanied
that emperor into Germany, Africa, and Provence; and
it was in this last expedition, in 1536, that he commanded
a “battalion, when he received a wound, of which he died
at Nice, about three weeks after, aged only thirty -three.
The wound was made by a stone thrown by a countryman
from a turret, and falling upon his head. The Spanish
poetry was greatly obliged to Garcilasso, not only for extending its bounds, but also for introducing new beauties
into it. He had strong natural talents for poetry; and he
did not fail to improve them by culture, studying the best
poets ancient and modern. His poems are full of fire;
have a nobleness and majesty without affectation; and,
what is somewhat singular, there is in them a great deal of
ease, united with much subtilty. Paul Jovius has not
scrupled to say that his odes have all the sweetness of Horace. Though his imitations of the ancients may be traced
throughout almost all his works, yet, as they are conspicuous for good taste and harmonious versification, and were
written amidst many distracting occupations, there can be
no doubt that he would have gained great celebrity if he
had lived longer. The learned grammarian Sanctius has
written commentaries upon all his works, and has illustrated
him every where with very learned and curious notes.
They were all printed at Naples in 1661, with this title,
” Garcilasso de la Vega Obras Poeticas con annotationes
de Franc. Sanchez,“in 8vo. We must not confound this
poet with another person of the same name, a native or
”
Cusco, who wrote in Spanish the History of Florida, and
that of Peru and the Incas.
, a French tragic poet, was born at Ferte" Bernard in the province of Maine, in 1534.
, a French tragic poet, was born at Ferte" Bernard in the province of Maine, in 1534. He was designed for the law, which he studied some time at Toulouse; but afterwards quitted it for poetry, in which he succeeded so well, that he was deemed by his contemporaries not inferior to Sophocles or Euripides. Thuanus says, that Ronsard himself placed nobody above Gamier in this respect: what Ronsard says, however, is no more than that he greatly improved the French drama.
, a celebrated poet and physician, was born of a good family in Yorkshire, and sent
, a celebrated poet and physician, was born of a good family in Yorkshire, and sent from school to Peter-house-college in Cambridge; where making choice of physic for his profession, he acquainted himself with the fundamental principles and preparatory requisites of that useful science. At the same time he had an admirable genius and taste for polite literature; and, being much delighted with those studies, he continued at college, employing his leisure hours in that way, till he took the degree of M. D. July 7, 1691. Soon after this, resolving to undertake the practice of his profession in London, he offered himself a candidate to the college of physicians; and, being examined March 12, 1631-2, was admitted fellow June 26th following.
fore the college, on St. Luke’s day; which being soon after published, left it doubtful, whether the poet or the orator was most to be admired. In his poem he exposed,
In the same year, Dr f Garth, detesting the behaviour of
the apothecaries, as well as of some members of the faculty
in this affair, resolved to expose them, which he accordingly executed, with peculiar spirit and vivacity, in his
admirable poem entitled “The Dispensary.
” The first
edition came out in
for defraying the expence of a funeral, pronounced a suitable oration over the remains of the great poet, and afterwards attended the solemnity from Warwick-lane to
So much literary merit did not fail to gain him great reputation as a polite scholar, and procured him admittance into the company and friendship of most of the nobility and gentry of both sexes who being inclined by his agreeable conversation to try his skill in his profession, were still more pleased to find him answer their wishes and expectations. By such means he came into vast practice, and endeared himself to his patients by his politeness, agreeable conversation, generosity, and great goodnature. It was these last qualities that prompted him in 1701 to provide a suitable interment for the shamefully abandoned corpse of Dryden; which he caused to be brought to the college of physicians, proposed and encouraged by his own example a subscription for defraying the expence of a funeral, pronounced a suitable oration over the remains of the great poet, and afterwards attended the solemnity from Warwick-lane to Westminster-abbey. It is commonly observed, that the making of a man’s fortune is’generally owing to some one lucky incident; and nothing was perhaps of more service in that respect to Dr. Garth, than the opportunity he had of shewing his true character by this memorable act of generosity.
bserves, that the same person who has endeavoured to prove that he who wrote the “Dispensary” was no poet, will very suddenly undertake to shew that he who gained the
In politics, Dr. Garth was prompted not more by
good sense than by good disposition, to make his muse
subservient to his interest, only by proceeding uniformly
in the same road, without any malignant deviations.
Thus, as he had enjoyed the sunshine of the court
during lord Godolphin’s administration in queen Anne’s
reign, that minister had the pleasure to find him among
the first of those who paid the muse’s tribute on the
reverse of his fortune in 1710; and in the same unchangeable spirit, when both the sense and poetry of
this address were attacked by Prior with all the outrage
of party virulence, he took no notice of it; but had the
satisfaction to see an unanswerable defence made for him,
by Addison. The task, indeed, was easy, and that elegant
writer in the conclusion of it observes, that the same person
who has endeavoured to prove that he who wrote the “Dispensary
” was no poet, will very suddenly undertake to
shew that he who gained the battle of Blenheim, was no
general. There was, indeed, no need of a prophetic
spirit to inspire the prediction. It was written in Sept.
1710; and the following year, in December, the duke of
Marlborough was removed from all his places, and having
obtained leave to go abroad, embarked at Dover for Ostend, Nov. 30, 1712. Dr. Garth had lived in the particular favour and esteem of this great man while in power,
and when he was out of power he lamented in elegant verse,
his disgrace and voluntary exile.
with his life, caused a general concern, and was particularly testified by lord Lansdown, a brother poet, though of a different party, in a copy of verses written on
The distemper which seized him the ensuing year, and
ended not but with his life, caused a general concern, and
was particularly testified by lord Lansdown, a brother
poet, though of a different party, in a copy of verses
written on the occasion. He died after a short illness,
which he bore with great patience, January 18, 1718-19.
His loss was lamented by Pope, in a letter to a friend, as
follows: “The best-natured of men,
” says this muchadmired poet, “Sir Samuel Garth, has left me in the
truest concern for his loss. His death was very heroical,
and yet unaffected enough to have made a saint or a philosopher famous. But ill tongues and worse hearts have
branded even his last moments, as wrongfully as they did
his life, with irreligipn. You must have heard many tales
on this subject; but if ever there was a good Christian,
without knowing himself to be so, it was Dr. Garth.
” This,
however, is nothing against positive evidence, that Dr.
Garth was a free-thinker, and a sensualist; and the latter
part of it, his being a good Christian without knowing
himself to be so, if it be not nonsense, is a proof that Pope
cannot deny what he is angry to hear, and loth to confess.
Dr. Johnson observes, that “Pope afterwards declared
himself convinced that Garth died in the communion of
the church of Rome,
” and adds a sentiment of Lowth’s,
“that there is less distance than is thought between scepticism and popery and that a mind, wearied with perpetual doubt, willingly seeks repose in the bosom of an
infallible church.
” If Dr. Johnson took this declaration of
Pope’s from Spence’s “ms Anecdotes,
” to which it is
known he had access, he did not transcribe the whole.
What Pope said is thus given by Spence: “Garth talked
in a less libertine manner than he had been used about the
three last years of his life. He was rather doubtful and
fearful than irreligious. It was usual for him to say, that
if there was any such thing as religion, it was among the
Roman catholics. He died a papist, (as I was assured by Mr. Blount, who called the father to him in his last moments) probably from the greater efficacy, in which we
give the sacraments. He did not take any care of himself
in his last illness, and had talked for three or four years as
one tired of living.
” The same ms. insinuate* that this
impatience of life had nearly at one time prompted him to
suicide.
Ga.Scoigne (George), an old English poet of considerable merit, was born of an ancient 'and honourable
Ga.Scoigne (George), an old English poet of considerable merit, was born of an ancient 'and honourable
family in Essex, and was son and heir of sir John Gascoigne, who, for some reason not assigned by his biographer, Whetstone, chose to disinherit him. Previously
10 this harsh step, he had been privately educated under
a clergyman of the name of Nevinson, perhaps Stephen
Nevinson, LL. D. prebendary, and commissary of the city
and diocese of Canterbury. After this he was removed,
either to Oxford or Cambridge. Wood says, he “had
his education in both the universities, though chiefly, as
he conceives, in Cambridge;
” but Gascoigne himself, in
his “Steele-Glasse,
” informs us that he was a member of
the university of Cambridge, without mentioning Oxford.
His progress at Cambridge is unknown, but he removed
from it to Gray’s-inn, for the purpose of studying the law.
It is probable that in both places he wrote a considerable
number of his poems, those of the amatory kind particu1 Niceron, vol. XXXVI. Moreri. Raes’s Cyclopedia.
larly, as he seems to include them among his youthful
follies.
ach between his officers. During this negociation a circumstance occurred which had nearly- cost our poet his life. A lady at the Hague (then in the possession of the
Without blaming his father, farther than by calling his
disinheritance “a froward deed,
” he now resolved to assume the airs of independence, in hopes that his courtly
friends would render him in reality independent; but he
soon found that their favours were not to be obtained without solicitations incompatible with a proud spirit. A more
honourable resource then presented itself. William prince
of Orange was at this time endeavouring to emancipate
the Netherlands from the tyranny of the Spanish monarch,
and Gascoigne, prompted by the hope of gaining laurels
in a field digntfied by patriotic bravery, embarked on the
19th of March, 1572, for Holland. The vessel being
under the guidance of a drunken Dutch pilot, was run
aground, and twenty of the crew who had taken to the
long-boat were drowned. Gascoigne, however, and his
friends remained at the pumps, and being enabled again
to put to sea, landed safe in Holland, where, having obtained a captain’s commission under the prince of Orange,
he acquired considerable military reputation, but an
unfortunate quarrel with his colonel retarded his career.
Conscious of his deserts, he repaired immediately to Delf,
and resolved to resign his commission to the hands from
which he received it; the prince in vain endeavouring to
close the breach between his officers.
During this negociation a circumstance occurred which
had nearly- cost our poet his life. A lady at the Hague
(then in the possession of the enemy) with whom Gascoigne had been on intimate terms, had his portrait in her
hands, and resolving to part with it to himself alone, wrote
a letter to him on the subject, which fell into the hands of
his enemies in the camp; from this paper they meant to
have raised a report unfavourable to his loyalty: but upon
its reaching his hands, Gascoigne, conscious of his fidelity,
laid it immediately before the prince, who saw through
their design, and gave him passports for visiting the lady
at the Hague: the burghers, however, watched his motions with malicious caution, and he was cabled in derision
“the Green Knight.
” Although disgusted with the ingratitude of those on whose side he fought, Gascoigne still
retained his commission, till the prince coming personally
to the siege of Middleburg, gave him an opportunity of
displaying his zeal and courage, and rewarded him with
300 gilders beyond his regular pay, and a promise of future promotion. He was, however, surprised soon after
by 3000 Spaniards, when commanding, under captain
Sheffield, 500 Englishmen lately landed, but retired in
good order at night, under the walls of Leyden; the jealousy of the Dutch was then displayed by their refusing to
open their gates, and Gascoigne with his band were in
consequence made captives. At the expiration of twelve
days his men were released, and the officers after an imprisonment of four months, were sent back to England.
ing so much neglected by modern readers. In smoothness and harmony of versification, he yields to no poet of his own time, when these qualities were very common; but
If we consider the general merit of the poets in the early
part of the Elizabethan period, it will probably appear that
the extreme rarity of Gascoigne’s works has been the chief
cause of his being so much neglected by modern readers.
In smoothness and harmony of versification, he yields to
no poet of his own time, when these qualities were very
common; but his higher merit is that in every thing he
discovers the powers and invention of a poet, a warmth of
sentiment tender and natural, and a fertility of fancy, although this be not always free from the conceits of the
Italian school. As a satirist, if nothing remained but his
“Steele Glasse,
” he may be reckoned one of the first.
There is a vein of sly sarcasm in this piece, which appears
to be original; and his intimate knowledge of mankind,
acquired indeed at the expence probably of health, and
certainly of comfort and independence, enabled him to
give a more curious picture of the dress, manners, amusements, and follies of the times, than we meet with in almost
any other author.
, a very popular English poet, was born in 1688, near Barnstaple, in Devonshire; and at the
, a very popular English poet, was born in 1688, near Barnstaple, in Devonshire; and at the freeschool there, acquired a taste for classical literature, but his family estate being much reduced, his fortune was not sufficient to support him as a gentleman; and his friends, therefore, bound him apprentice to a silk-mercer in London. But this step being taken without consulting the taste and temper of the youth, the shop soon became his aversion, and in a few years his master, upon the offer of a small consideration, willingly consented to give up his indentures. Being thus released, he indulged himself in that course of life to which he felt himself irresistibly inclined poetry became at once his delight and his talent; and he suffered not his muse to be disturbed by any disagreeable attention to the expence of cultivating his mind.
which, by an uncommon degree of thoughtlessness and Gullibility , were reduced now to a low ebb. Our poet’s purse was an unerring barometer of his spirits; whifch, sinking
These qualities recommended him to such company and
acquaintance as delighted him most; and among others to
Swift and Pope, who were struck with the sincerity, the
simplicity of his manners, and the easiness of his temper.
To the latter he addressed the first-fruits of his muse,
entitled “Rural Sports, a Georgic,
” printed in Trivia or the Art of Walking the Streets,
” and the following year, at the instance of Pope, he formed the plan
of his “Pastorals.
” There is not perhaps in history a
more remarkable example of the force of friendship in an
author, than was the undertaking and finishing of this inimitable poem. Pope, in the subscription of the Hanover-club to his translation of the “Iliad,
” had been ill
used by Philips their secretary, and his rival in this species
of poetry. The translator highly resented the affront;
and, meditating revenge, intimated to Gay how greatly it
was in his power to pluck the bays from this envied rival’s
forehead. Gay immediately engaged in his friend’s quarrel, and executed his request even beyond his expectation.
The rural simplicity neglected by Pope, and admired in
Philips, was found, though mixed with some burlesque,
only in the “Shepherd’s Week.
” This exquisite piece of
nature and humour came out in 1714, with a dedication
to lord Bolingbroke, which Swift facetiously called the
author’s original sin against the court.
Gay’s merit as a poet has not been rated very high by modern critics. He wrote with
Gay’s merit as a poet has not been rated very high by
modern critics. He wrote with terseness and neatness,
but without any elevation, and frequently without any
spirit. “Trivia
” appears to be the best of his poems, and
his “Fables
” the most popular of all his works. The
“Beggar’s Opera
” has, on the other hand, been extolled
beyond its merits, and its immoral tendency cannot be
denied. Dr. Johnson says, “We owe to Gay the ballad
opera, and whether this new drama was the product of
judgment or good luck, the praise of it must be given to
the inventor.
” Dr. Warton, more justly in our opinion,
arraigns it as the parent of that most monstrous of all dramatic absurdities, the “Comic Opera,
” which, it is certain,
has deluged the stage with more nonsense than could
have gained admittance under any other name.
powers, and the vanity superinduced upon it, that made him ambitious of the character of a wit and a poet, without either temper or genius. His wit was mere flippancy,
Dr. Geddes died the day after this interview, Feb. 26,
1802, and was buried in Paddington church-yard. IJe
was unquestionably a man of extensive learning, although,
not entitled to the superiority which his friends have assigned to him, and which indeed he too frequently arrogated to himself. It was this want of knowledge of his
real powers, and the vanity superinduced upon it, that
made him ambitious of the character of a wit and a poet,
without either temper or genius. His wit was mere flippancy, and his poetry had rarely any other attribute than
that of rhyme. The list of his works will show that in the
employment of his talents there was something undignified
and trifling, that showed a mind vexed with restlessness,
rather than seriously anduniformly employed for the
public good. While engaged in so important a work as
the translation of the Bible., he was perpetually stooping
to pick up any little paltry anecdote of the day, as the
subject -for a pamphlet or <a poem, and while he was suffering: by the neglect or censure of those whose religious opinions he had shocked, he was seeking comfort in
ridiculing the characters of men who had never offended
him by any species of provocation. Of his private character, while he is praised for his benevolence and catholic 1
spirit, we find also, and not very consistently, that its
leading feature was irritability upon the most trifling provocations, if they deserved the name, which discovered
itself in the most gross and offensive language. One instance of this species of insanity, for such it appeared to
be in him, is given by his biographer, which we shall
throw into a note, for its excellence as a genuine portrait
of the man .
Dr. Geddes published, 1. “Select Satires of Horace,
”
&c. London, Linton, a Tweedale Pastoral,
” Edinburgh, 4to. 3. “Cursory Remarks on a late
fanatical publication entitled a Full Detection of Popery,
”
Lond. &c. ibid. 1786, 4to. 5.
” Letter to the
Bishop of London, containing doubts, queries, &c. relative to a vernacular translation of the Holy Scriptures,“ibid. 1787, 4to. 6.
” Letter to the Rev. Dr. Priestley,
in which the author attempts to prove by one prescriptive
argument, that the divinity of Jesus Christ was a primitive
tenet of Christianity,“ibid. 1787, 8vo. 7.
” Letter to a,
member of parliament on the case of the Protestant Dis-'
senters, and the expediency of a general repeal of all
penal statutes that regard religious opinions,“ibid. 1787,
8vo. 8.
” Proposals, &c.“for his translation, ibid. 1788,
4to. 9.
” Dr. Geddes’s general answer to queries, counsels,“&c. ibid. 1790, 4to. 10.
” An answer to the bishop
of Comana’s pastoral letter; by a protesting catholic,' 1
1790, 8vo. II. “A Letter to the right rev. the archbishops and bishops of England; pointing out the only
sure means of preserving the church from the dangers that
now threaten her. By an Upper Graduate,
” Epistola macaronica ad fratrem, de iis quo; gesta
stint in nupero Dissentientium conventu,
” Carmen seculare pro Gallica gente tyrannicli aristocraticae erepta,
” Encyclical letter of
the bishops of Rama, Acanthos, and Centuriæ, to the
faithful clergy and laity of their respective districts, with
a continued commentary for the use of the vulgar,
” 1791,
8vo. 15. “An (ironical) apology for Slavery,
” The first book of the Iliad of Homer, verbally rendered into English verse; being a specimen of a new
translation of that poet; with critical annotations,
” L'Avocat du Diable the Devil’s Advocate,
” &c. The Holy Bible, translation of, vol. I.
” 1793, 4to. 20.
” Ver-Vert,“from the French of Gresset, 1793, 4to. 21.
” Dr. Geddes’s
address to the public on the publication of the first volume
of his new Translationof the Bible,“1793. 22.
” Letter
to the right rv. John Douglas, bishop of Centurice, and
vicar-apostolic in the London district/' 1794, 4to. 23.
“A Norfolk Tale; or a Journal from London to Norwich,
”
Ode to the Hon. Thomas Pelham, occasioned by his speech in the Irish House of Commons on
the Catholic bill,
” A Sermon preached
before the university of Cambridge, by H. W. C(6ulthurst)> D. D. &c.
” in doggrel rhymes, The Battle of B(a)ng(o)r; or the Church’s triumph a
comic-heroic poerh,
” Translation of the
Bible, vol. II.
” 1797. 28. “A New-year’s gift to the
good people of England, being a sermon, or something
like a sermon, in defence of the present War,
” &e. A Sermon preached on the day of the general
fast, Feb. 27, 1799, by Theomophilus Brown,
” &c. A Modest Apology for the Roman Catholics
of Great Britain, addressed to all moderate Protestants,
”
&c. Critical Remarks,
” before mentioned, vol. I. Bardomachia, poema
macaronico-Latinum,
” Paci feliciter feduci Ode Sapphica,
” Translation of the Book of Psalms,
”
as far as Psalm CXVIII. In this, as may be expected, he
gives up the prophetic sense of the Psalms.
, an eminent German poet and moral writer, was born at Haynichen, in Saxony, July 4,
,
an eminent German poet and moral writer, was born at
Haynichen, in Saxony, July 4, 1715. His father was a
clergyman of a small income, who had thirteen children.
Gellert was educated at home, where his poetical powers
first appeared in a poem on the birth-day of his father,
which was succeeded by many others, but all these in his
maturer years he committed to the flames. He was afterwards sent to school at Meissen r where he learned Greek
and Latin, and in 1734 he went to Leipsic, whence, after
studying four years, his father’s narrow income obliged
him to recall him. Gellert wished much to continue at
the university, but he submitted to necessity, and at home
had an opportunity of again turning his attention to those
poetical pursuits for which he had early displayed a predilection; and perhaps it is to his recall from the university
that we owe the beauty and simplicity of his fables. At
this time he occasion-ally composed sermons, which are in
general distinguished both for spirit and sound reasoning,
but they contain several indications of a taste not very
correct, and a judgment not arrived at maturity. In 1741
he again returned to the university of Leipsic, with a nephew of his own, of whose education he had the charge.
Here he met with some friends, from whose conversation
and directions he confesses that he derived very considerable advantage. About this time he published several
tales and fables in a periodical publication. In 1745 he
acquired the right of giving public lessons in the university, particularly on- morals. He had early received an
impression of the importance of Christian morality, and
thought that he could not pass over the subject in silence,
without neglecting one of the most essential duties of his
Situation. Soon after the commencement of his academical labours, he published his “Tales and Fables.
”
Amongst these, the manner in which the character of a
devotee was drawn, was much admired. This suggested
to Gellert the idea of his comedy of the “Devotee,
” which
was first published in the Bremen Magazine, but afterwards caused him much vexation. Many condemned it
because it appeared to them to have a mischievous tendency, by exposing piety and seriousness to ridicule.
But Gellert was not a man who could attempt to sap the
foundations of real religion and morality, though he wished
to expose hypocrisy and affectation to merited contempt.
Among the many flattering instances of public approbation
which the “Tales and Fables
” produced, Gellert was particularly pleased with that of a Saxon peasant. One day,
about the beginning of winter, he saw the man drive up to
his door a cart loaded with fire-wood. Having observed
Gellert, he asked him whether he was the gentleman who
wrote such fine tales? Being answered in the affirmative,
he begged pardon for the liberty which he took, and left
the contents of his cart, being the most valuable present
he could make. At this time the Germans had no original
romances of any merit. In order to give some celebrity
to this species of composition in his own country, he published the “Swedish Countess,
” a work of a melancholy
cast, and containing many indications of that depression
of spirits which embittered the latter days of Gellert. In
1747 he published a book entitled “Consolations for Valetudinarians,
” which was received with as much eagerness
as his other works, and translated into various languages.
It contains a melancholy representation of the sufferings
which he himself endured. Nothing, however, could
overcome his activity, and in 1748 the continuation of hisf
“Tales and Fables
” was published. About this time he
was deprived of the society of several friends who had
often dispersed the gloom that resulted from his disorder. The only intimate friend that remained was
Havener, who persuaded Gellert to give to the public
some of his letters. In 1754 he published his “Didactic
Poems,
” whicu were not so well received as his Tales and
Fables, and he himself seems to have been sensible that
they were not so agreeable, although useful and instructive. He bestowed particular care on some sacred songs,
which were received with great enthusiasm all over
Germany, both in the Roman catholic and protestant states.
About this time he was appointed professor extraordinary
in philosophy, and gave lectures on the Belles Lettres.
From this period Gellert suffered extremely from an hypochondriac affection. His days were spent in melancholy
reflections, and his rights in frightful dreams. But he
made prodigious efforts to resist this malady, and to continue to perform his academical duties; and these efforts
were often successful. The constant testimonies of the
approbation with which his works were received, and the
sympathy of his friends, were never-failing sources of consolation, and served to spread many cheerful moments over
the general languor of his life. The calamities of war
which desolated Germany after 1757, induced Gellert for
some time to quit Leipsic. While in the country, he was
attacked by a severe illness, from which, however, contrary
to all expectation, he recovered. In 1761 the chair of a
professor in ordinary was offered him, but he refused to
accept it, from a persuasion that the state of his health was
such as to render him incapable of discharging the duties
of the situation with that regularity and attention which he
thought necessary. In 1763-4, Gellert went to Carlsbad by
the advice of his physicians to drink the waters, which,
however, seem to have given him little relief. After a few
years more of almost constant suffering, GeHett died at
Leipsic, on the 13th of December. 1769. Some time before his death he revised and corrected his moral lessons,
which he published at the request of the elector of Saxony.
He was a man of the easiest and most conciliating manners; pleasing even to strangers; and of a disposition to
form and preserve the most valuable friendships. He was
open and enthusiastic in his attachments, ready at all times
to givtt his counsel, labour, and money, to serve his
friends. In himself, of a timid and hypochondriac habit,
and disposed to criticise both his own character and works
with a severity of which his friends could not acknowledge
the justice. He had a constitutional fear of death, which,
notwithstanding, receded as the hour of trial approached;
so that he died with calmness and fortitude. In this he is
thought to have resembled our Dr.Johnson, but in other
respects his character and habit seem to approach nearer
to those of Cowper. His works were published in ten vols.
8vo, in 1766; and after his death a more complete edition
at Leipsic, in eight rolumes, with engravings. Kutner
has celebrated his various excellencies; he says, “a century will perhaps elapse, before we have another poet capable of exciting the love and admiration of his contemporaries, in so eminent a degree as Gellert, and of exercising so powerful an influence on the taste and way of thinking of all ranks.
” Though not deserving all this, he was
an agreeable and fertile writer; the poet of religion and
virtue; an able reformer of public morals. His “Moral
Lessons
” were translated into English, and published by
Mrs. Douglas of Eduam house, 1805, 3 vols. 8vo, with an
excellent life of the author, to which this article is chiefly
indebted.
, a French poet of some celebrity, was born at Paris in 1636. Having lost his
, a French poet of some
celebrity, was born at Paris in 1636. Having lost his father early in life, he hoped to make his fortune in the Indies; but the ship he embarked in being taken by the
English, for some time he taught French in London, and
being enabled to return to France, he was made preceptor
to mademoiselle de Blois, afterwards duchess of Orleans,
He also became abbot of St. Vilmer, almoner to the duchess of Orleans, secretary to the duke of Maine, and
member of the French academy. He died November 19,
1719. His principal work is in French verse, entitled
“Principes de la Philosophic,
” 12mo; he also wrote four
tragedies, one of whicb, called “Penelope,
” was much
admired; and his “Joseph,
” still more so, when performed
in private at the duchess of Maine’s, at Clugni; but sunk
under the more impartial taste of the French theatre. The
two others are, “Zenolide Princess de Sparte,
” and “Polymnestre.
” In the collection of “Vers Choisis,
” by Bouhours, is a very elegant, though not very argumentative
epistle from the abbé Genest, to M. de la Bastide, persuading him to abjure the protestant religion. He had
also a great share in the collection entitled “Lcs Divertissemens de Sceaux,
” 2 vols. 12mo.
, or, as some spell the name, Gessner (Solomon), a distinguished German poet, was born at Zurich in 1730. His youth afforded no remarkable
, or, as some spell the name, Gessner (Solomon), a distinguished German poet, was born at Zurich in 1730. His youth afforded no remarkable symptoms of his future fame, but his father was assured that the boy had talents, which would one day or other exalt him above his school-fellows. As. these, however, were not perceptible at that time, and the progress he made in school-learning at Zurich was unpromising, he was sent to Berg, and put under the care of a clergyman, where he appears to have made greater proficiency. In about two years he returned to his father, who was a bookseller at Zurich, and, probably encouraged by the men of genius who frequented his father’s shop, our author now began to court the muses. His success, however, not being such as to induce his father to devote him to a literary life, he preferred sending him to Berlin in 1749 to learn the trade of a bookseller. Young poets are not easily confined by the shackles of commercial life, and young Gesner soon eloped from his master, while his father, irritated at this step, discontinued his remittances as the most effectual mode of recalling him ta his duty.
of which it is susceptible, but without any excess of refinement. What forms the chief merit of this poet is, that he wrote to the heart, and has enriched the subjects
From Berlin he went to Hamburgh, where, in the company
of Hagedorn and other eminent characters, he improved
his taste and knowledge, and returned to Zurich at a time
when his countrymen were prepared to relish the beauties
of his pen. The famous Klopstock, and Weiland, who
now visited Zurich, paid particular attention to the rising
genius of Gesner. His first publication, in 1754, was
“Daphnis
” his next “Inkle and Yarrco;
” and his fame
was soon after completely established by his " Pastorals.
On the appearance of these he was hailed as another Theocritus. Of all the moderns, says Dr. Blair, Gesner has
been the most successful in his pastoral compositions. He
has introduced many new ideas. His rural scenery is often
striking, and his descriptions lively. He presents pastoral
life to us with all the embellishments of which it is susceptible, but without any excess of refinement. What forms
the chief merit of this poet is, that he wrote to the heart,
and has enriched the subjects of his idyls with incidents
that give rise to much tender sentiment.
re surmounted, he married this lady, and from this time appears to have carried on the businesses of poet, engraver, painter, and bookseller. The latter department, however,
About his thirtieth year be became acquainted with Heidegger, a man of taste, who bad a large collection of paintings and engravings, and, what was more interesting, a daughter, whose charms made a very lively impression on our author. After some difficulties were surmounted, he married this lady, and from this time appears to have carried on the businesses of poet, engraver, painter, and bookseller. The latter department, however, was attended to chiefly by Mrs. Gesner, as well as the care of the house and the education of the children. With him, painting and engraving occupied the hours which were not devoted to poetry, and his mode of life was marked by cheerfulness and liveliness of temper, and a condu-ct truly amiable and exemplary. He was highly loved and respected, and uniting to taste and literature the talents requisite for active life, he was raised by the citizens of Zurich to the first offices in the republic. In 1765 he was called to the great council, and in 1767 to the lesser. In 1768 he was appointed bailiff of Eilibach; and to other offices, all which he filled with the greatest honour and fidelity. But in the height of his fame and usefulness, he was cut off by a stroke of the palsy, on the 2d of March 1788, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, leaving a widow, three children, and a sister behind. His fellow-citizens have since erected a statue to his memory, in his favourite walk on the banks of the Limrnot, where it meets the Sihl.
ions Caspar Gevartius as a man famous in his day; and tells us, that “he undertook an edition of the poet Manilius, but was prevented by death” from executing it.
, a learned critic, was the
son of an eminent lawyer, and born at Antwerp, Aug. 6,
1593. Many authors have called him simply John Caspar,
and sometimes he did this himself, whence he was at one
time better known by the name of Caspar than of Gevartius.
His first application to letters was in the college of Jesuits
at Antwerp, whence he removed to Louvain, and then to
Douay. He went to Paris in 1617, and spent some years
there in the conversation of the learned. Returning to the
Low Countries in 1621, he took the degree of LL. D.
in the university of Douay, and afterwards went to Antwerp,' where he was made town-clerk, a post he held to
the end of his life. He married in 1625, and died in 1666.
He had always a taste for classical learning, and devoted a
great part of his time to literary pursuits. In 1621 he
published at Leyden, in 8vo, “Lectionum Papinianarum
Libri quinque in Statii Papinii Sylvas;
” and, at Paris in
Electorum Libri tres, in quibus plurima veterum Scriptorum loco obscura et controv.ersa explicantur,
illustrantur, et emendantur.
” These, though published
when he was young, have established his reputation as a
critic. He derived also some credit from his poetical attempts, particularly a Latin poem, published at Paris,
1618, on the death of Thuanus. He kept a constant correspondence with the learned of his time, and some of his
letters have been printed in the “Sylloge Epistolarum,
”
by Burman. Our Bentley mentions Caspar Gevartius as a
man famous in his day; and tells us, that “he undertook
an edition of the poet Manilius, but was prevented by
death
” from executing it.
om the Lake Avernos to the temple of Ceres; that such a wild supposition is equally injurious to the poet and the man; that if Virgil was not initiated he could not,
In 1767 he joined with Mr. Deyverdun, a Swiss gentleman then in England, and a man of taste and critical
knowledge, to whom he was much attached, in publishing
a literary Journal, in imitation of Dr. Maty’s “Journal
Britannique. 1 * They entitled it
” Memoires Literaires de
la Grand Bretagne.“Two volumes only of this work were
published, and met with very little encouragement. Mr.
Gibbon acknowledges having reviewed lord Lyttelton’s
History in the first volume. The materials of a third volume were almost completed, when he recommended his
coadjutor Deyverdun as travelling governor to sir Richard
Worsley, an appointment which terminated the
” Memoires
Literaires.“Mr. Gibbon’s next performance was an attack on Dr. Warburton, which he/ condemns for its severity and for its cowardice, while he brings the testimony
of some eminent scholars to prove that it was successful
and decisive. Warburton’s hypothesis on the descent of
yEneas to hell had long been applauded, and if not universally adopted, had not been answered during a space of
thirty years. It was the opinion of this learned writer,
that the descent to hell is not a false, but a mimic scene
which represents the initiation of Æneas, in the character
of a law-giver, to the Eleusinian mysteries. Mr. Gibbon,
on the contrary, in his
” Critical Observations on the Sixth
Book of the Æneid,“1770, endeavoured to prove, that
the ancient law-givers did not invent the mysteries, and
that Æneas never was invested with the office of law-giver
that there is not any argument, any circumstance, which
can melt a fable into allegory, or remove the scene from
the Lake Avernos to the temple of Ceres; that such a wild
supposition is equally injurious to the poet and the man;
that if Virgil was not initiated he could not, if he were,
be would not, reveal the secrets of the initiation; and that
the anathema of Horace (vetabo qui Cereris sacrum vulgarity &c.) at once attests his own ignorance and the iimocence
of his friend. All this might have been argued in decent
and respectful language, but Mr. Gibbon avows that his
hostility was against the person as well as the hypothesis of
” the dictator and tyrant of the world of literature," and with the acuteness of the critic, he therefore
determined to join the acrimony of the polemic. In his
more advanced years he affects to regret an unmanly
attack upon one who was no longer able to defend himself,
but he is unwilling to part with the reputation to which he
thought his pamphlet entitled, or to conceal the praise
which professor Heyne bestowed on it.
y other productions in the same style. It was perhaps Dr. Gibbons’s foible that he fancied himself a poet, and in consequence was all his life composing hymns, elegies,
He became an author very early, publishing in 1743
“Poems on several occasions,
” which were followed by
other productions in the same style. It was perhaps Dr.
Gibbons’s foible that he fancied himself a poet, and in
consequence was all his life composing hymns, elegies,
c. on occasional subjects, without any of the inspiration
of genius. In 1754 he was elected one of the tutors of the
dissenting academy at Mile-end; the sciences he taught
were logic, metaphysics, ethics, and rhetoric, and he is
said to have taught them with applause and success. In
1759 he was chosen one of the Sunday evening lecturers at
Monkwell-street, which he probably held as long as that
lecture continued to be preached. The following year he
received the degree of M. A. from the college of New Jersey in America; and in 1764, that of D. D. from one of
the colleges in Aberdeen. Among his most useful publications were, his “Rhetoric,
” published in Female Worthies, or the Lives and Memoirs of eminently pious’ women,
” Memoirs of the rev. Isaac Watts, D. D.
” 8vo,
and assisted Dr. Johnson with some materials for the life
of Watts in the “English Poets.
” Dr. Johnson always spoke
of Gibbons with respect. He died Feb. 22, 1785, of a
stroke of apoplexy. Dr. Gibbons was a Calvinist of the
old stamp, and a man of great piety and primitive manners.
After his death three volumes of his “Sermons on evangelical and practical subjects,
” were printed by subscription. He published also, in his life-time, besides what
have been mentioned, various sermons preached on funeral
and other occasions and some practical tracts.
urch of St. Aldate. He was esteemed a good philosopher, disputant, and philologist, and a good Latin poet. He published, 1. “Vindicise supremi Dei dominii,” against Dr.
, a nonconformist divine of very
considerable abilities, was the son of William Gilbert of
Priss, in Shropshire, and was born in 1613. In 1629 he
was admitted a student of Edmund-hall, Oxford, where he
took his bachelor’s degree, and after a short residence in
Ireland, returned and took that of master in 1638. By
the favour of Philip lord Wharton, he became minister of
Upper Winchington, in Buckinghamshire; and in 1647,
having taken the covenant, and become a favourite with the
usurping powers, he was appointed vicar of St. Lawrence’s,
Reading, and next year was created B. D. at the parliamentary visitation of the university of Oxford. About the
same time he obtained the rich rectory of Edgemond, in
his native county, where he was commonly called the bishop of Shropshire. In 1654 he was appointed an assistant
to the commissioners of Shropshire, Middlesex, and the
city of Westminster, for the ejection of such as were styled
“scandalous, ignorant, and insufficient ministers and
schoolmasters;
” and according to Wood, was not sparing
of the power which this sweeping commission gave him.
After the restoration, he was ejected for nonconformity,
and, retiring to Oxford, lived there very obscurely, with
his wife, in St. Ebbe’s parish, sometimes preaching in conventicles, and in the family of lord Wharton. Nor was
he without respect from some gentlemen of the university
on account of his talents. Calamy informs us that, in a
conversation with the celebrated Dr. South on the subject
of predestination, he so satisfied him, that South became
ever after an assertor of that doctrine. When a toleration
or temporary indulgence was granted to the nonconformists
in 1671, although a professed independent, he joined with
three presbyterians in establishing a conventicle in Thames
street, in the suburbs of Oxford; but this indulgence was
soon called in. In his last days he was reduced to great
distress, and was supported by the contributions of private
persons, and of several heads of colleges. He died July
15, 1694, and was buried in the church of St. Aldate. He
was esteemed a good philosopher, disputant, and philologist, and a good Latin poet. He published, 1. “Vindicise
supremi Dei dominii,
” against Dr. Owen, Lond. An Assize Sermon,
” ibid. England’s Passing-Bell, a poem written soon after the year of
the plague, the fire of London, and the Dutch war,
” Super auspicatissimo regis Gulielmi in Hiberniam
descensu, et salva ex Hibernia reditu, carmen gratulatorium,
” Epitapbia diversa,
” chiefly on persons not of the church of
England. 6. “Julius Secundus,
” a dialogue, Ox. Jani Alex. Ferrafii Euclides
catholicus,
” an ironical work against the Romish church,
written by an English convert who chose to conceal his
true name. Gilbert translated into Latin a considerable
part of Francis Potter’s book entitled “An interpretation
of the number 666,
” printed at Amsterdam, Anni mirabiles,
” printed in
new-built chapel very curiously; thence he went to Verona, and then to Ferrara. At the same time the poet Dante, hearing that Giotto was at Ferrara, and being himself
, an eminent painter, sculptor, and architect,
was born in 1276, at a village near Florence, of parents
who were plain country people. When a boy, he was
sent out to keep sheep in the fields; and, having a natural
inclination for design, he used to amuse himself with
drawing his flock after the life upon sand, in the best manner he could. Cimabue travelling once that way, found
him at this work, and thence conceived so good an opinion of his genius for painting, that he prevailed with his
father to let him go to Florence, and be brought up under
him. He had not applied himself long to designing, before he began to shake off the stiffness of the Grecian
masters. He endeavoured to give a finer air to his heads,
and more of nature to his colouring, with proper actions to
his figures. He attempted likewise to draw after the life,
and to express the different passions of the mind; but
could not come up to the liveliness of the eyes, the tenderness of the flesh, or the strength of the muscles in naked
figures. What he did, however, had not been done in,
two centuries before, with any skill equal to his. Giotto’s
reputation was so far extended, that pope Benedict IX.
sent a gentleman of his court into Tuscany, to bring him
a just report of his talents; and withal to bring him a design from each of the Florentine painters, being desirous
to have some notion of their skill. When he came to
Giotto, he told him of the pope’s intentions, which were
to employ him in St. Peter’s church at Rome; and desired
him to send some design by him to his holiness. Giotto,
who was a pleasant ready man, took a sheet of white paper,
and setting his arm close to his hip to keep it steady, he
drew with one stroke of his pencil a circle so round and so
equal, that “round as Giotto’s O
” afterwards became
proverbial. Then, presenting it to the gentleman, he told
him smiling, that “there was a piece of design, which he
might carry to his holiness.
” The man replied, “I ask
for a design:
” Giotto answered, “Go, sir, I tell you his
holiness asks nothing else of me.
” The pope, who understood something of painting, easily comprehended by this,
how much Giotto in strength of design excelled all the
other painters of his time; and accordingly sent for him
to Rome. Here he painted many pieces, and amongst the
rest a ship of Mosaic work, which is over the three gates
of the portico, in the entrance to St. Peter’s church, and
is known to painters by the name of Giotto’s vessel. Pope
Benedict was succeeded by Clement V. who transferred
the papal court to Avignon; whither, likewise, Giotto was
obliged to go. After some stay there, having perfectly
satisfied the pope by many fine specimens of his art, he
was largely rewarded, and returned to Florence full of
riches and honour in 1316. He was soon invited to Padua,
where he painted a new-built chapel very curiously; thence
he went to Verona, and then to Ferrara. At the same time
the poet Dante, hearing that Giotto was at Ferrara, and
being himself then in exile at Ravenna, got him over to
Ravenna, where he executed several pieces; and perhaps
it might be here that he drew Dante’s picture, though the
friendship between the poet and the painter was previous
to this. In 1322, he was again invited abroad by Castruccio Castrucani, lord of Luca; and, after that, by Robert
king of Naples. Giotto painted much at Naples, and
chiefly the chapel, where the king was so pleased with
him, that he used very often to go and sit by him while he
was at work: for,Giotto was a man of pleasant conversation and wit. One day, it being very hot, the king said
to him, “If I were you, Giotto, I would leave off working
this hot weather
” “and so would I, Sir,
” says Giotto,
“if I were you.
” He returned from Naples to Rome, and
from Rome to Florence, leaving monuments of his art in
almost every place through which he passed. There is a
picture of his in one of the churches of Florence, representing the death of the blessed Virgin, with the apostles
about her: the attitudes of which story, Michael Angelo
used to say, could not be better designed. Giotto, however, did not confine his genius altogether to painting: he
was both a sculptor and architect. In 1327 he formed the
design of a magnificent and beautiful monument for Guido
Tarlati, bishop of Arezzo, who had been the head of the
Ghibeline faction in Tuscany: and in 1334 he undertook
the famous tower of Sancta Maria del Fiore; for which
work, though it was not finished, he was made a citizen of
Florence, and endowed with a considerable yearly pension.
His death happened in 1336: and the city of Florence
erected a marble statue over his tomb. He had the esteem
and friendship of most of the excellent men of the age in
which he lived and among the rest, of Dante and Petrarch.
He drew, as already noticed, the picture of the former
and the latter mentions him in his will, and in one of his
familiar epistles.
, an Italian poet, of the same family with the preceding, was born at Ferrara
, an Italian poet, of the same family with the preceding, was born at Ferrara in 1504. His father, being a man of letters, took great care of his education; and placed him under Cselio Calcagnini, to study the languages and philosophy. He made an uncommon progress, and then applied himself to the study of physic; in which faculty he was afterwards a doctor. At 21 years of age, he was employed to read public lectures at Ferrara upon physic and polite literature. In 1542, the duke of Ferrara made him his secretary; which office he held till the death of that prince in 1558. He was continued in it by his successor: but envy having done him some ill offices with his master, he was obliged to quit the court. He left the city at the same time, and removed with his family to Mondovi in Piedmont; where he taught the belles lettres publicly for three years. He then went to Turin but the air there not agreeing with his constitution, he accepted the professorship of rhetoric at Pavia which the senate of Milan, hearing of his being about to remove, and apprized of his great merit, freely offered him. This post he filled with great repute; and afterwards obtained a place in the academy of that town. It was here he got the name of Cintio, which he retained ever after, and put in the title-page of his books. The gout, which was hereditary in his family, beginning to attacR him severely, he returned to Ferrara; thinking that his native air might afford him relief. But he was hardly settled there, when he grew extremely ill; and, after languishing about three months, died in 1573.
, an English poet, the son of Richard Glover, a Hamburgh merchant in London, was
, an English poet, the son of Richard Glover, a Hamburgh merchant in London, was born in St. Martin’s-lane, Cannon-street, in 1712. Being prot>ably intended for trade, he received no other education than what the school of Cheam, in Surrey, afforded, which he was afterwards induced to improve by an ardent love of learning, and a desire to cultivate his poetical talents according to the purest models. His poetical efforts were very early, for in his sixteenth year he wrote a poem to the memory of sir Isaac Newton, which was supposed to have merit enough to deserve a place in the view of that celebrated author’s philosophy, published in 1728, by Dr, Henry Pemberton. This physician, a man of much science, and of some taste, appears to have been warmly attached to the interests of our young poet, and at a time when there were few regular vehicles of praise or criticism, took every opportunity of encouraging his efforts, and apprizing the nation of this new addition to its literary honours.
k scholars of his time. It is mentioned in the life of Green, that he published “The Spleen” of that poet, in which he is complimented on account of his study of the
At the usual period Glover became engaged in the
Hamburgh trade, but continued his attachment to literature and the muses, and was, says Dr. Warton, one of the
best and most accurate Greek scholars of his time. It is
mentioned in the life of Green, that he published “The
Spleen
” of that poet, in which he is complimented on account of his study of the ancient Greek poets, and his wish
to emulate their fame. Green had probably seen some part
of “Leonidas,
” which was begun when he was young,
and had been submitted in specimens to many of his friends.
This poem was first published in 1737, in a 4to volume, consisting of nine books. Its reception was highly flattering, for
in this and the following year it passed through three editions. It was dedicated to lord Cobham, one of his early patrons, and whom, it is supposed, he furnished with many of
the inscriptions at Stowe, now erased. It was also strongly
recommended by such of that nobleman’s political friends
as were esteemed the arbiters of taste. Lord Lyttelton, in
the periodical paper called “Common Sense,
” praised it
in the warmest terms, not only for its poetical beauties,
but its political tendency, “the whole plan and purpose
of it being to show the superiority of freedom over slavery;
and how much virtue, public spirit, and the love of liberty, are preferable, both in their nature and effects, to
riches, luxury, and the insolence of power.
” The same
nobleman also addressed verses to our author, in which he
inveighs with much asperity against the degeneracy of the
times, but, not very consistently, compares England to
Greece, and France to Persia. Other writers, particularly
Fielding, in the paper called “The Champion,
” took up the
pen in favour of “Leonidas,
” which being published just
after the prince of Wales had been driven from St. James’s,
and began to keep a separate court, it was praised by the
whole of this new court, and by the adherents in general
of opposition, not beyond its merit, but too evidently from
a motive which could not always prevail, and which ceased
to animate their zeal in its favour, when Walpole, the supposed author of all our national grievances, was compelled
to resign.
ry tribute, unsolicited and unpurchased but as it appears justly due to the memory of so excellent a poet, statesman, and true philosopher, in life and death the same.”
His character was drawn up by the late Dr. Brocklesby
for the Gentleman’s Magazine, and as far as respects his
amiable disposition, was confirmed to us by Dr. VVarton,
who knew him well. “Through the whole of his life Mr.
Glover was by all good men revered, by the wise esteemed, by the great sometimes caressed and even flattered,
and now his death is sincerely lamented by all who had the
happiness to contemplate the integrity of his character.
Mr. Glover, for upwards of 50 years past through every
vicissitude of fortune, exhibited the most exemplary simplicity of manners; having early attained that perfect
equanimity, which philosophy often recommends in the
closet, but which in experience is too seldom exercised by
other men in the test of trial. In Mr. Glover were united
a wide compass of accurate information in all mercantile
concerns, with high intellectual powers of mind, joined to
a copious flow of eloquence as an orator in the house of
commons. Since Milton he was second to none of our
English poets, in his discriminating judicious acquaintance
with all ancient as well as modern literature witness his
Leon i das, Medea, Boadicea, and London for, having
formed his own character upon the best models of the
Greek writers, he lived as if he had been bred a disciple
of Socrates, or companion of Aristides. Hence his political turn of mind, hence his unwarped affection and active
zeal for the rights and liberties of his country. Hence his
heartfelt exultation whenever he had to paint the impious
designs of tyrants in ancient times frustrated, or in modern
defeated in their nefarious purposes to extirpate liberty, or
to trample on the unalienable rights of man, however remote in time or space from his immediate presence. In a
few words, for the extent of his various erudition, for his
unalloyed patriotism, and for his daily exercise and constant practice of Xenophou’s philosophy, in his private as
well as in public life, Mr. Glover has left none his equal
in the city, and some time, it is feared, may elapse before
such another citizen shall arise, with eloquence, with
character, and with poetry, like his, to assert their rights,
or to vindicate with equal powers the just claims of freeborn men. Suffice this testimony at present, as the wellearned meed of this truly virtuous man, whose conduct was
carefully marked, and narrowly watched by the writer of
the foregoing hasty sketch, for his extraordinary qualities
during the long period in human life of upwards of 40
years and now it is spontaneously offered as a voluntary
tribute, unsolicited and unpurchased but as it appears
justly due to the memory of so excellent a poet, statesman,
and true philosopher, in life and death the same.
”
taly, and composed several operas in the style of the times, and afterwards engaged with the Italian poet Calsabigi, with whom he joined in a conspiracy against the poetry
From London he returned to Italy, and composed several operas in the style of the times, and afterwards engaged with the Italian poet Calsabigi, with whom he
joined in a conspiracy against the poetry and music of the
melo-drama then in vogue in Italy and all over Europe.
In 1764, when the late emperor Joseph was crowned king
of the Romans, Gluck was the composer, and Guadagni
the principal singer. It was in this year that a species of
dramatic music, different from that which then reigned in
Italy, was attempted by Gluck in his famous opera of
“Orfeo,
” which succeeded so well, that it was soon after
performed in other parts of Europe, particularly at Parma
and Paris, Bologna, Naples, and in 1770 at London. In
1769 he produced “Alceste,
” a second opera on the reformed plan, which received even more applause than the
first; and in 1771 “Paride ed Helena;
” but in
d, by dint of application and industry, became a very able scholar, obtained the character of a good poet, and, being endowed with the powers of oratory, was, after his
, a divine and dramatic writer, was
born in Essex, about 1592, and was educated at Westminster-school, from which, at the age of eighteen, he
entered as a student of Christ Church college, Oxford.
Here he completed his studies, and, by dint of application and industry, became a very able scholar, obtained
the character of a good poet, and, being endowed with
the powers of oratory, was, after his taking orders, esteemed
an excellent preacher. He had the degree of B. D. conferred on him before he quitted the university, and, in
1623, was preferred to the living of East Clandon, in
Surrey. Here, notwithstanding that he had long been a
professed enemy to the female sex, and even by some
esteemed a woman-hater, he unfortunately tied himself to
a wife, the widow of his predecessor, who was aXantippe,
and he being naturally of a mild disposition, became at
last unable to cope with so turbulent a spirit, backed as
she. was by the children she had by her former husband. It
was believed by many, that the uneasiness he met with in
domestic life shortened his days. He died in July 1629,
being then only thirty -five years of age, and was buried on
the 27th of the same month *at his own parish church. He
wrote several pieces on different subjects, among which
are five tragedies; none of which were published till some
years after his death. Philips and Winstanley have ascribed a comedy to this author, called “Cupid’s Whirligig;
” but with no appearance of probability; since the
gravity of his temper was such, that he does not seem to
have been capable of a performance so ludicrous. In the
latter part of his life he forsook the stage for the pulpit,
and wrote sermons, some of which appeared the year he
died. With the quaintness common to the sermons of
James Ist’s time, they have a portion of fancy and vivacity
peculiar to himself. To these works may be added, his
“Latin Oration at the Funeral of sir Henry Savile,
” spoken and printed at Oxford in
as obliged to pass his old age in poverty and distress. He died in the beginning of 1793. As a comic poet, Goldoni is reckoned among the best of the age in which he flourished.
, an eminent modern Italian dramatist, was born at Venice in 1707. In his infancy the
drama was his darling amusement, and all his time was
devoted to the perusing comic writers, among whom was
Cicognini, a Florentine, little known in the dramatic commonwealth. After having well studied these, he ventured
to sketch out the plan of a comedy, even before he went
to school. When he had finished his grammatical studies
at Venice, and his rhetorical studies at the Jesuits’ college
in Perugia, he was sent to a boarding-school at Rimini, to
study philosophy, but he paid far more attention to the
theatres, entered into a familiar acquaintance with the
actors, and when they were to remove to Chiozza, made
his escape in their company. This was the first fault he
committed, which, according to his own confession, drew
a great many others after it. His father had intended him
to be a physician, like himself: the young man, however,
was wholly averse to the study. He proposed afterwards
to make him an advocate, and sent him to be a practitioner
in Modena; but a horrid ceremony of ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, at which he was present, inspired him with a melancholy turn, and he determined to become a Capuchin.
Of this, however, he was cured by a visit to Venice, where
he indulged in all the fashionable dissipation of the place.
He was afterwards prevailed upon by his mother, after the
death of his father, to exercise the profession of a lawyer
in Venice, but by a sudden reverse of fortune he was compelled to quit at once both the bar and Venice. He then
went to Milan, where he was employed by the resident of
Venice in the capacity of secretary, and becoming acquainted with the manager of the theatre, he wrote a farce
entitled “II Gondoliere Veneziano,
” the Venetian Gondolier; which was the first comic production of his that
was performed and printed. Some time after, Goldoni
quitted the Venetian resident, and removed to Verona,
where he got introduced to the manager of the theatre, for
which he composed several pieces. Having removed along
with the players to Genoa, he was for the first time seized
with an ardent passion for a lady, who soon afterwards became his wife. He then returned with the company to
Venice, where he displayed, for the first time, the powers
of his genius, and executed his plan of reforming the Italian stage. He wrote the “Momolo,
” “Courtisan,
” the
“Squanderer,
” and other pieces, which obtained universal admiration. Feeling a strong inclination to reside some
time in Tuscany, he repaired to Florence and Pisa, where
he wrote “The Footman of two Masters,
” and “The Son of
Harlequin lost and found again.
” He returned to Venice,
and set about executing more and more his favourite
scheme of reform. He was now attached to the theatre of
S. Angelo, and employed himself in writing both for the
company, and for his own purposes. The constant toils
he underwent in these engagements impaired his health.
He wrote, in the course of twelve months, sixteen new
comedies, besides forty-two pieces for the theatre; among
these many are considered as the best of his productions.
The first edition of his works was published in 1753, in 10
vols. 8vo. As he wrote afterwards a great number of new
pieces for the theatre of S. Luca, a separate edition of these
was published, under the title of “The New Comic
Theatre:
” among these was the “Terence,
” called by the
author his favourite, and judged to be the master-piece of
his works. He made another journey to Parma, on the
invitation of duke Philip, and from thence he passed t
Rome. He had composed 59 other pieces so late as 1761,
five of which were designed for the particular use of Marque Albergati Capacelli, and consequently adapted to the
theatre of a private company. Here ends the literary life
of Goldoni in Italy, after which he accepted of an engagement of two years in Paris, where he found a select and
numerous company of excellent performers in the Italian
theatre. They were, however, chargeable with the same
faults which he had corrected in Italy; and the French
supported, and even applauded in the Italians, what they
would have reprobated on their own stage. Goldoni wished
to extend, even to that country, his plan of reformation, without considering the extreme difficulty of the undertaking. His first attempt was the piece called “The
Father for Love;
” and its bad success was a sufficient
warning to him to desist from his undertaking. He continued, during the remainder of his engagement, to produce pieces agreeable to the general taste, and published
twenty-four comedies; among which “The Love of Zelinda and Lindor
” is reputed the best. The term of two
years being expired, Goldoni was preparing to return to
Italy, when a lady, reader to the dauphiness, mother to
the late king, introduced him at court, in the capacity of
Italian master to the princesses, aunts to the king. He
did not live in the court, but resorted there, at each summons, in a post-chaise, sent to him for the purpose. These
journeys were the cause of a disorder in the eyes, which
afflicted him the rest of his life; for being accustomed to
read while in the chaise, he lost his sight on a sudden,
and in spite of the most potent remedies, could never afterwards recover it entirely. For about six months lodgings were provided him in the chateau of Versailles. The
death, however, of the dauphin, changed the face of affairs. Goldoni lost his lodgings, and only, at the end of
three years, received a bounty of 100 Louis in a gold box,
and the grant of a pension of four thousand livres a year.
This settlement would not have been sufficient for him, if
he had not gained, by other means, farther sums. He
wrote now and then comedies for the theatres of Italy and
Portugal; and, during these occupations, was desirous to
shew to the French that he merited a high rank among
their dramatic writers. For this purpose, he neglected
nothing which could be of use to render himself master of
the French language. He heard, spoke, and conversed
so much in it, that, in his 62d year, he ventured to write a
comedy in French, and to have it. represented in the court
theatre, on the occasion of the marriage of the king. This
piece was the “Bourru Bienfaisant;
” and it met with so
great success, that the author received a bounty 'of 150
Louis from the king, another gratification from the performers, and considerable sums from the booksellers who
published it. He published soon after, another comedy in
French, called “L'Avare Fastueux.
” After the death of
Lewis XV. Goldoni was appointed Italian teacher to the
princess Clotilde, and after her marriage, he attended the
late unfortunate princess Elizabeth in the same capacity.
His last work was the “Volponi,
” written after he had retired from court. It was nis misfortune to live to see
his pension taken away by the revolution, and, like thousands in a similar situation, he was obliged to pass his old
age in poverty and distress. He died in the beginning of
1793. As a comic poet, Goldoni is reckoned among the
best of the age in which he flourished. His works were
printed at Leghorn in 1788—91, in 31 vols. 8vo. He has
been reckoned the Moliere of Italy, and he is styled by
Voltaire “The Painter of Nature.
” Dr. Burney says that
he is, perhaps, the only author of comic operas in Italy
who has given them a little common sense, by a natural
plot, and natural characters; and his celebrated comic
opera of the “Buona Figliuola,
” set by Piccini, and first
performed in London Dec. 9th, 1766, rendered both the
poet and composer, whose names had scarcely penetrated
into this country before, dear to every lover of the Italian
language and music, in the nation.
, an eminent poet and miscellaneous writer, was born on Nov. 29, 1728, at a place
, an eminent poet and miscellaneous writer, was born on Nov. 29, 1728, at a place
called Pallas, in the parish of Forney and county of Longford in Ireland. His father, the rev. Charles Goldsmith,
a native of the county of Roscommon, was a clergyman of
the established church, and had been educated at Dublin
college. He afterwards held the living of Kilkenny West
in the county of Westmeath. By his wife, Anne, the
daughter of the rev. Oliver Jones, master of the diocesan
school of Elphin, he had five sons, and two daughters.
His eldest son, Henry, went into the church, and is the
gentleman to whom our poet dedicated his “Traveller.
”
Oliver was the second son, and is supposed to have faithfully represented his father in the character of the Village
Preacher in the “Deserted Village.
” Oliver was originally intended for some mercantile employment, as his
father found his income too scanty for the expences of the
literary education which he had bestowed on his eldest son.
With this view he was instructed in reading, writing, and
arithmetic, at a common school, the master of which was an
old soldier, of a romantic turn, who entertained his pupil
with marvellous stories of his travels and feats, and is supposed to have imparted somewhat of that wandering and
unsettled turn which so much appeared in his pupil’s future life. It is certain that Oliver had not been long at
this humble school before he proved that he was “no vulgar boy.
” He made some attempts in poetry when he was
scarcely eight years old, and by the inequalities of his
temper and conduct, betrayed a disposition more favourable io the flights of genius than the regularity of business.
This after some time became so obvious, that his frfends,
who had at first pleaded for his being sent to the university, now determined to contribute towards the expence,
and by their assistance, he was placed at a school of reputation, where he might be qualified to enter the college
with the advantages of preparatory learning.
him, and encouraged him to commence practitioner. With this view, he settled, if any measure of our poet deserves that epithet, in Bankside, Southwark; and afterwards
He arrived in London in the extremity of distress, and first tried to be admitted as an usher in a school or academy, and having with some difficulty obtained that situation, he remained for some time in it, submitting to mortifications., of which he has given, probably, an exaggerated account in the story of the philosophic vagabond. He next procured a situation in the shop of a chemist, and while here, was found out by Dr. Sleigh, one of his fellow-students at Edinburgh, who liberally shared his purse with him, and encouraged him to commence practitioner. With this view, he settled, if any measure of our poet deserves that epithet, in Bankside, Southwark; and afterwards removed to the Temple or its neighbourhood. In either place his success as a physician is not much known; his ovyn account was, that he had plenty of patients, but got no fees.
'clock till two. But at the end of seven or eight months it was dissolved by mutual consent, and our poet took lodgings in Green Arbour court, in the Old Bailey, amidst
About this time, however, he appears to have had recourse
to his pen. His first attempt was a tragedy, which he
probably never finished. In 1758 he obtained, by means
of Dr. Milner, a dissenting minister, who kept a school at
Peckham, which our author superintended during the doctor’s illness, the appointment to be physician to one of our
factories in India. In order to procure the necessary expences for the voyage, he issued proposals for printing by
subscription “The present state of Polite Literature in
Europe,
” with what success we are not told, nor why he
gave up his appointment in India. In the same year, however, he wrote what he very properly calls a catch-penny
“Life of Voltaire,
” and engaged with Mr. Griffiths as a
critic in the Monthly Review. The terms of this engagement were his board, lodging, and a handsome salary, all
secured by a written agreement. Goldsmith declared he
usually wrote for his employer every day from nine o'clock
till two. But at the end of seven or eight months it was
dissolved by mutual consent, and our poet took lodgings
in Green Arbour court, in the Old Bailey, amidst the dwellings of indigence, where he completed his “Present State
of Polite Literature,
” printed for Dodsley,
ined an introduction to the earl of Northumberland, then lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who invited our poet to an interview. Goldsmith prepared a complimentary address
In 1765 he published “The Traveller,
” which at once
established his fame. The outline of this he formed when
in Switzerland, but polished it with great care, before he
submitted it to the public. It soon made him known and
admired, but his roving disposition had not yet left him.
He had for some time been musing on a design of penetrating into the interior parts of Asia, and investigating
the remains of ancient grandeur, learning, and manners.
When he was told of lord Bute’s liberality to men of
genius, he applied to that nobleman for a salary to enable
him to execute his favourite plan, but his application was
unnoticed, as his name had not then been made known by
his Traveller. This poem, however, having procured him
the unsolicited friendship of lord Nugent, afterwards earl
of Clare, he obtained an introduction to the earl of
Northumberland, then lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who invited our poet to an interview. Goldsmith prepared a
complimentary address for his excellency, which, by mistake, he delivered to the groom of the chambers, and
when the lord lieutenant appeared, was so confused that
he came awa.y without being able to explain the object of
his wishes. Sir John Hawkins relates, that when the lord
lieutenant said he should be glad to do him any kindness,
Goldsmith answered, that “he had a brother in Ireland, a
clergyman, that stood in need of help as for himself, he
had no dependence on the promises of great men he
looked to the booksellers they were his best friends, and
he was not inclined to forsake them for others.
” This was
very characteristic of Goldsmith, who, as sir John Hawkins adds, was “an ideot in the affairs of the world,
” but
yet his affectionate remembrance of his brother on such an
occasion merits a less harsh epithet. Goldsmith was
grateful for the kindness he had received from this brother, and
nothing probably would have given him greater pleasure
than if he had succeeded in transferring the earl’s patronage tp him. From this time, however, although he sometimes talked about it, he appears to have relinquished the
project of going to Asia. “Of all men,
” said Dr. Johnson,
“Goldsmith is the most unfit to go out upon such an inquiry for he is utterly ignorant of such arts as we already
possess, and consequently could not know what would be
accessions to our present stock of mechanical knowledge.
He would bring home a grinding barrow, and think that
he had furnished a wonderful improvement.
”
Having now acquired considerable fame as a critic, a novelist, and a descriptive poet, he was induced to court the dramatic Muse. His first attempt
Having now acquired considerable fame as a critic, a
novelist, and a descriptive poet, he was induced to court
the dramatic Muse. His first attempt was the comedy of
the “Good-natured Man,
” which Garrick, after much
delay, declined, and it was produced at jCovent-garden theatre, in 1768, and kept possession of the stage for nine
nights, but did not obtain the applause which his friends
thought it merited. Between this period and the appearance of his next celebrated poem, he compiled “The Roman History,
” in 2 vols. 8vo, and afterwards an abridgement of it, and “The History of England,
” in 4 vols. 8vo,
both elegantly written, and hi My calculated to attract and
interest young readers, although it must be owned, he is
frequently superficial and inaccurate. His pen was also
occasionally employed on introductions and prefaces to
books compiled by other persons; as “Guthrie’s History
of the World,
” and Dr. Brooks’s “System of Natural
History.
” In this last preface, he so far excelled his author in the graces of a captivating style, that the booksellers engaged him to write a “History of the Earth and
Animated Nature,
” which he executed with much elegance, but with no very deep knowledge of the subject
He also drew up a “Life of Dr. Parnell,
” prefixed to an
edition of his poems, which afforded Dr. Johnson an opportunity of paying an affectionate tribute to his memory,
when he came to write the life of Parnell for the English
Poets. He wrote also a “Life of Bolingbroke,
” originally prefixed to the “Dissertation on Parties,
” and afterwards to Bolingbroke’s works. In one of his compilations
he was peculiarly unfortunate. Being desired by Griffin,
the bookseller, to make a selection of elegant poems from
our best English classics, for the use of boarding-schools,
he carelessly marked for the printer one of the most indecent tales of Prior. His biographer adds “without reading it,
” but this was not the case, as he introduces it with
a criticism. These various publications have not been
noticed in their regular order, but their dates are not connected with any particulars in our author’s history.
istory of which the reader may find in Boswell’s Life, where are likewise many curious traits of our poet’s variegated character.
His remains were privately interred in the Temple burial-ground, on Saturday April 9; but afterwards, by a subscription raised among his friends, and chiefly by his brethren of the club, a marble monument was erected to his memory in Westminster-abbey, with an inscription by Dr. Johnson, the history of which the reader may find in Boswell’s Life, where are likewise many curious traits of our poet’s variegated character.
es. Whatever he composed he did it better than any other man could. And whether we consider him as a poet, as a comic writer, or as an historian (so far as regards his
“He was,
” adds his biographer, “generous in the extreme, and so strongly affected by compassion, that he has
been known at midnight to abandon his rest in order to
procure relief and an asylum for a poor dying object who
was left destitute in the streets. Nor was there ever a mind
whose general feelings were more benevolent and friendly.
He is, however, supposed to have been often soured by
jealousy or envy, and many little instances are mentioned
of this tendency in his character; but whatever appeared
of this kind was a mere momentary sensation, which he
knew not how like other men to conceal. It was never the
result of principle, or the suggestion of reflection; it never
embittered his heart, nor influenced his conduct. Nothingcould be more amiable than the general features of his
mind; those of his person were not perhaps so engaging.
His stature was under the middle size, his body strongly
built, and his limbs more sturdy than elegant; his complexion was pale, his forehead low, his face almost round,
and pitted with the small-pox; but marked with strong
lines of thinking. His first appearance was not captivating; but when he grew easy and cheerful in company,
he relaxed into.such a display of good-humour, as soon
removed every unfavourable impression. Yet it must be
acknowledged that in company he did not appear to so
much advantage as might have been expected from his
genius and talents. He was too apt to speak without reflection, and without a sufficient knowledge of the subject;
which made Johnson observe of him, * No man was more
foolish when he had not a pen in his hand, or more wise
when he had.' Indeed, with all his defects (to conclude nearly in the words of that great critic), as a writer he was
of the most distinguished abilities. Whatever he composed he did it better than any other man could. And
whether we consider him as a poet, as a comic writer, or
as an historian (so far as regards his powers of composition)
he was one of the first writers of his time, and will ever
stand in the foremost class.
”
, a French poet, was born in 1567, at St. Just de Lussac, near Brouage in Saintongue.
, a French poet, was born in 1567, at St. Just de Lussac, near Brouage in Saintongue. He was a gentleman by birth, and his breeding was suitable to it. Alter a foundation of grammarlearning, he finished his studies at Bourdeaux; and having gone through most of the liberal sciences, under the best masters of his time, he betook himself to Paris, in the view of making the most of his parts; for, being the cadet of a fourth marriage by his father, his patrimonial finances were a little short. At Paris, he soon introduced himself to the knowledge of the polite world, by sonnets, epigrams, and other small poetical pieces, which were generally applauded: but, reaping little other benefit, he was obliged to use the strictest oeconomy, to support a tolerable figure at court, till the assassination of the king by Ravillac, in 1610, provoked every muse in France. The subject was to the last degree interesting, and our poet exerted his talent to the utmost in some verses which pleased the queen- regent, Mary de Medicis, so highly, that she rewarded him with a pension of 1200 crowns nor was there a man of his condition, that had more free access to her, or was more kindly received by her. He was also in the same favour with the succeeding regent, Anne of Austria, during the minority of Lewis XIV.
ty than any other, the Louvre not excepted. Thus he passed his time in a way the most agreeable to a poet, and at length devoted himself entirely to the belles lettres.
In the mean time, he was constantly seen at those meetings of all the persons of quality and merit, which were
kept at the house of Mad. Rambouillet. This was like a
small choice court, less numerous indeed than that of the
Louvre, but, had charms which entirely engaged the
heart of Gombauld; and he frequented it with great pleasure, as well as with more assiduity than any other, the
Louvre not excepted. Thus he passed his time in a way
the most agreeable to a poet, and at length devoted himself entirely to the belles lettres. He published several
things, of which the most admired was his “Endymion,
”
a romance in prose. It was printed in Amarantha, a Pastoral.
” 3. A volume of “Poems.
” 4. A
volume of “Letters,
” all published before Je ne scai quoi,
” which
was the sixth of those that for some years were pronounced
at their meetings the first day of every week.
, a divine and poet of the seventeenth century, was born at London in 1600, whence,
, a divine and poet of the seventeenth century, was born at London in 1600, whence, he
was sent by his father in 1614 to Christ church, Oxford,
where, soon after his being entered, he was elected a student on the royal foundation. At about seven years standing, he here took his degrees of bachelor and master of
arts, and before he left the university, which was in 1627,
he had the degree of bachelor of divinity conferred on him.
Being now in orders, he distinguished himself as a, preacher
at the university. For some time, during the plague at
Oxford, he resided at Flower in Northamptonshire, and was
afterwards vicar of Thorncornbe in Devonshire, where it is
probable that he resided till his death, which was in 1646.
He was accounted a good preacher, and printed a volume
of “Sermons,
” Lond. Levite’s
Revenge,
” being meditations, in verse, on the 19th and
20th chapters of Judges, and a tragedy called “Lodowick
Sforza, duke of Milan,
”
, a Spanish Latin poet, was born in 1488 at Guadalaxara in Spain, and was page of honour
, a Spanish Latin poet, was born in 1488 at Guadalaxara in Spain, and
was page of honour to archduke Charles, afterwards emperor. He possessed a great facility in writing Latin verse,
which is seen by his “Thalia Christiana,
” or the triumph
of Jesus Christ, in twenty-five books: 4< Musa Paulina,“or the epistles of St. Paul, in elegiac verse the Proverbs
of Solomon, and other works of a similar kind but his
poem on the order of the golden fleece, published in 1540,
8vo, entitled
” De Principis Burgundi Militia quam Velleris aurei vocant," is perhaps the only one now read, and
more suitable to his talents than the preceding, in which
he introduced a tasteless mixture of pagan and Christian
personages. He died July 14, 1538.
, a Spanish poet, was born at Cordova, in 1562, of a very distinguished family.
, a Spanish poet, was born at
Cordova, in 1562, of a very distinguished family. He
studied at Salamanca, and was known to have a talent for
poetry, though he never could be prevailed on to publish
any thing. Going into orders, he was made chaplain to
the king, and prebendary of the church of Cordova, in
which station he died, in 1627. His works are all posthumous, and consist of sonnets, elegies, heroic verses, a
comedy, a tragedy, &c. and have been published several
times under the title of “Obras de Dom. Louis de Gongora-y- Argore,
” 4to. The best edition is that with notes
by D. Garcia de Salcedo Coronel, Madrid, 1636—1648,
3 vols. 4to. The Spaniards have so high an idea of this
poet, as to entitle him prince of the poets of their nation,
and notes and commentaries have been written on his
works but he is not free from affectation in theuse of
figures, a false sublime, and an obscure and embarrassed
diction.
was a celebrated poet and translator, who lived in the sixteenth century, but of whom
was a celebrated poet and translator, who lived in the sixteenth century, but of whom little
is known, unless that he was educated at Christ’s College,
Cambridge, whence he removed to Staples Inn. Mr.
Ellis conjectures that he might have been born about 1538.
We have no doubt that he was the same Barnaby Googe
who was a relation and retainer to sir William Cecil, queen
Elizabeth’s minister, and who was gentleman-pensioner t6
the queen. Mr. Churton thinks, with great probability,
that he was the father of Barnaby Googe, master of Magdalen college, Cambridge, who was incorporated at Oxford in August 1605, when king James was there. In 1563
he published a very elegant little volume, now of the
greatest rarity, entitled “Eglogs, Epitaphs, and Sonnetes.
”
One of the sonnets, superior, as the rest are, in point of
harmony, to most of the productions of those days, is addressed to Alexander No well, afterwards the celebrated
dean of St. Paul’s, and reprinted in Mr. Churton’s elaborate life of that divine. It is said there are only two
copies of this volume in existence, one in the possession of
Mr. Heber, who purchased it at George Steevens’s sale, and
the other in the library of Trinity college, Cambridge
Googe’s principal translation was the “Zodiake of Life,
”
from Marcellus Palingenius Stellatus, a very moral, but
tiresome satire, perfectly unconnected with astronomy, the
author merely distinguishing each of the twelve books of
his poem by the name of a celestial sign. The first three
books appeared in 1560, and the first six in 1561; the whole
was printed complete in 1565, 12mo. In 1570 he translated
from Naogeorgus, a poem on Antichrist; in 1577, Herebach’s ceconomical treatise on agriculture; and in 1579,
Lopes de Mendoza’s Spanish proverbs, and afterwards
Aristotle’s “Table of the Ten Categories.
” The few
specins published from these very rare works are highly
favourable to the author’s talents and principles.
, an Italian poet and miscellaneous writer, was born at Rome in 1525, where he
, an Italian poet and miscellaneous
writer, was born at Rome in 1525, where he pursued his
studies in the house of the cardinal de Santa Fiora, but in
his seventeenth year was taken into the service of Ferdinand Gonzaga, then viceroy of Sicily, and governor of
Milan, to which city he accompanied that nobleman in
1546, and became his secretary. He was afterwards taken
to the court of Spain, where he obtained the esteem and
favour of Philip II. Under the duke of Albuquerque he
was imprisoned on a charge of conspiracy against the life
of John Baptist Monti, but vindicated his own cause, and
was not only released, but admitted to public employment
under the succeeding governors of Milan. He died Feb.
12, 1587, leaving behind him several works, that obtained
for him high reputation; of these the principal are, “The
Life of Ferdinand Gonzaga,
” Three Conspiracies,
” &c. Rime,
” or a collection of
poems, several times reprinted. “Discourses.
” “Letters,
” &c. and he translated into Italian a French work
entitled “A true account of things that have happened
in the Netherlands, since the arrival of Don Juan of
Austria.
”
, a divine and poet, was born in Kent in 1554, and was admitted scholar of Christ-church,
, a divine and poet, was born in Kent
in 1554, and was admitted scholar of Christ-church, Oxford,
in April 1572, but left the university without completing
his degrees, and came to London, where he commenced
poet, and wrote some dramatic pieces which were never
published. He then retired into the country, as tutor to
a gentleman’s sons, and became by some means a bitter
enemy to the drama and all its concerns. This occasioned
some dispute with the father of his pupils, whose service
he therefore quitted, and took orders. His first promotion,
was to the living of Great Wigborow, in Essex; and his
next in 1600, the rectory of St.Botolph, Bishopsgate-street,
where he died Feb. 13, 1623. He was a contemporary of
Spenser and sir Philip Sidney, whom he imitated, and
was thought to have excelled in pastoral poetry. His unpublished plays were, 1. “Cataline’s Conspiracies.
” 2.
“The Comedy of Captain Mario;
” and the “Praise at
parting.
” In opposition to theatrical amusements he wrote,
“Play confuted in five several actions,
” The
School of Abuse,
” Ephemerides
of Phialo,
” The Trumpet
of War.
”
, a German poet, rather, however, in theory than practice, was born at Konigsberg
, a German poet,
rather, however, in theory than practice, was born at Konigsberg in 1700, and attained the office of professor of
philosophy, logic, and metaphysics at Leipsic, where he
died in 1766. His works, both original and republished,
contributed in a considerable degree to diffuse a taste for
elegant literature in Germany, as well as to refine the
German language. Among these we find, 1. “An Introduction to Dramatic Poetry, or a Review of all the tragedies, comedies, and operas, which have appeared in Germany from 1450 to the middle of the eighteenth century,
”
Leipsic, The German Poets, published by
John Joachim, a Suabian,
” ibid. Rape of the Lock;
” and since her death, in
, a Gascon poet, was born at Toulouse in 1579, where his father was a surgeon.
, a Gascon poet, was born at Toulouse in 1579, where his father was a surgeon. He was educated for the law, but the muses charmed him from, that profession, and he devoted himself to their service. His verses and the wit of his conversation procured him easy access to the tables of the great, but he profited so little by their patronage, that he would have been left to starve in his old age, had not his fellow citizens bestowed a pension on him from the public funds, which he enjoyed until his death, Sept. 10, 1649. Such was his reputation, that they also placed his bust in the gallery of the townhall, among those of other illustrious men whom Toulouse had produced; and his works were long cited with delight and admiration. They were published in a single volume, and often printed at Toulouse; and at Amsterdam in 170O. His poem on the death of Henry IV. is one of his best, and one of the few that has borne a translation from the Gascon language.
three nephews, who became celebrated for their learning. Martial Govea, the eldest, was a good Latin poet, and published a “Latin Grammar” at Paris. Andrew, his next
, in Latin Goveanus, a learned
Portuguese, of the fourteenth century, was born at Beja,
and appointed principal of the college of St. Barbe at Paris,
where he educated three nephews, who became celebrated
for their learning. Martial Govea, the eldest, was a
good Latin poet, and published a “Latin Grammar
” at
Paris. Andrew, his next brother, a priest, born in 1498,
succeeded his uncle as principal of St. Barbe, and gained
so great a reputation there, that he was invited to accept
the same office in the college of Guienne, at Bourdeaux.
This invitation he accepted in 1534, and continued at
Bourdeaux till 1547, when John III. king of Portugal, recalled him to his dominions, to establish a college at Coimbra, similar to that of Guienne; and Govea took with him
into Portugal the celebrated Buchanan, Grouchi, Guerenti,
Fabricius, la Costa, and other men of learning, well qualified to instruct youth. He died June 1S48, at Coimbra,
leaving no printed work. Anthony Govea, the youngest
of these three brothers, and the most eminent of all, wrote
several pieces on philosophy and law, and is mentioned
with great encomiums by Thuanus, Ronsard, and all the
learned. He taught with reputation at Bourdeaux, afterwards at Cahors, and Valence in Dauphiny, and died in
1565, aged sixty, at Turin, to which place Philibert had
invited him. His principal works are, an “Apologetical
Discourse
” against Calvin, who had accused him of atheism
in his treatise on scandal; some works on law, fol.; “
Variarum lectionum Libri duo,
” fol. editions of Virgil and
Terence, with notes “Epigrammatum Libri duo,
” and
“Epistolee.
” The whole was printed at Rotterdam, Consilia;
” “Notes
on Julius Florus;
” some “Poetry,
” and a funeral oration
on the death of Philip II. king of Spain.
n French, and certainly are more tender, pathetic, and poetical than his larger poems. As an Ecglish poet, however, his reputation must still rest on the “Confessio Amantis;”
Besides these larger works, some small poems are preserved in a ms. of Trinity college, Cambridge; but, possessing little or no merit, are likely to remain in obscurity.
Mr. Warton speaks more highly of a collection contained
in a volume in the library of the marquis of Stafford, of
which he has given a long account, with specimens. They
are sonnets in French, and certainly are more tender, pathetic, and poetical than his larger poems. As an Ecglish
poet, however, his reputation must still rest on the “Confessio Amantis;
” but, although he contributed in some degree to bring about a beneficial revolution in our language, it appears to be the universal opinion of the critics
that he has very few pretensions to be ranked among inventors. It seems to have been his ambition to crowd all
his erudition into his “Confessio,
” and therefore the most
interesting parts are his stories brought as moral examples
from various authors.
, an English poet and physician, was born at Dunse, a small town in the southern
, an English poet and physician, was born at Dunse, a small town in the southern part of Scotland, about 1723. His father, a native of Cumberland, and once a man of considerable property, had removed to Dunse, on the failure of some speculations in mining, and there filled a post in the excise. His son, after receiving such education as his native place afforded, went to Edinburgh, where he was apprenticed to Mr. Lawder, a surgeon, and had an opportunity of studying the various branches of medical science, which were then begun to be taught by the justly celebrated founders of the school of medicine in that city. Having qualified himself for such situations as are attainable by young men whose circumstances do not permit them to wait the slow returns of medical practice at home, he first served as surgeon to lieut.-general Pulteney’s regiment of foot, during the rebellion (of 1745) in Scotland, and afterwards went in the same capacity to Germany, where that regiment composed part of the army under the earl of Stair. With the reputation and interest which his skill and learning procured abroad, he came over to England at the peace of Aix-laChapelle, sold his commission, and entered upon practice as a physician in London.
o small praise that every member of it regarded Dr. Grainger with affection. He was first known as a poet by his” Ode on Solitude,“which has been universally praised,
In 1753 he published the result of his experience in
some diseases of the army, in a volume written in Latin,
entitled “Historia Febris Anomalae Batavre annorum 1746,
1747, 1748,
” &c. In this work he appears to advantage
as an acute observer of the phenomena of disease, and as
a man of general learning, but what accession he had
been able to make to the stock of medical knowledge was
unfortunately anticipated in sir John Pringle’s recent and
very valuable work on the diseases of the army. During
his residence in London, “his literary talents introduced
him to the acquaintance of many men of genius, particularly of Shenstone, Dr. Percy the late bishop of Dromore,
Glover, Dr. Johnson, sir Joshua Reynolds, and others,
who by Mr. BoswelPs comprehensive biography, are now
known to have composed Dr. Johnson’s society, and it is
no small praise that every member of it regarded Dr.
Grainger with affection. He was first known as a poet by
his
” Ode on Solitude,“which has been universally praised,
and never beyond its merits; but professional success is
seldom promoted by the reputation of genius. Grainger’s
practice was insufficient to employ his days or to provide
for them, and he is said to have accepted the office of tutor
to a young gentleman who settled an annuity upon him; nor
did he disdain such literary employment as the booksellers
suggested. Smollett, in the course of a controversy which
will be noticed hereafter, accuses him of working for bread
in the lowest employments of literature, and at the lowest
prices. This, if it be not the loose assertion of a calumniator, may perhaps refer to the assistance he gave in preparing the second volume of Maitland’s
” History of Scotland," in which he was employed by Andrew Millar, who
has seldom been accused of bargaining with authors for
the lowest prices. Maitland had left materials for the volume, and as Grainger' s business was to arrange them, and
continue the work as nearly as possible in Maitiand’s manner and style, much fame could not result from his best
endeavours.
love gives him a preference over Dart, who had attempted to transfuse the tender sentiments of that poet into English without the same advantage.
Soon after the publication of Tibullus, Dr. Grainger embraced the offer of an advantageous settlement as physician on the island of St. Christopher’s. During his passage, a lady on board of one of the merchant-men bound for the same place, was seized with the small-pox, attended with some alarming symptoms. He was sent for, and not only prescribed with success, but took the remainder of his passage in the same ship, partly to promote the recovery of his patient, but principally to have an opportunity of paying his addresses to her daughter, whom he married soon after their arrival at St. Christopher’s. By his union with this lady, whose name was Burt, daughter to Matthew William Burt, esq. governor of St. Christopher’s, he became connected with softie of the principal families on the island, and was enabled to commence the practice of physic with the greatest hopes of success. It is probable, however, that this was not his first attachment. In his preface to the translation of Tibullus, he insinuates that his acquaintance with the passion of love gives him a preference over Dart, who had attempted to transfuse the tender sentiments of that poet into English without the same advantage.
espect, and Grainger seems to have studied it with those mixed and not very coherent feelings of the poet and the planter, which at length produced his principal work,
The transition from London to a West India island must
have been very striking to a reflecting mind. The scenery
and society of St. Christopher’s was new in every respect,
and Grainger seems to have studied it with those mixed
and not very coherent feelings of the poet and the planter,
which at length produced his principal work, “The Sugar
Cane.
” On his return to England, at the conclusion of the
war, he submitted this poem to his literary friends, and
haying obtained their opinion and approbation, published
it in a handsome quarto volume, in 1764. To the astonishment of all who remembered his dispute with Smollett,
the “Sugar Cane
” was honoured with the highest praise
in the “Critical Review.
” But Smollett was now on his
travels^ and the Review was under the care of Mr. Hamilton, the proprietor and printer, a man who took no pleasure in perpetuating animosities, and who, with great respect for Dr. Smollett’s memory, did not deny that his
vindictive temper was of no great service to the Review.
Joshua Heynolds’s, the assembled wits burst out into a laugh, when, after much blank-verse pomp, the poet began a new paragraph thus:
Mr. Boswell, in his life of Johnson, informs us that when the Sugar Cane " was read in manuscript at sir Joshua Heynolds’s, the assembled wits burst out into a laugh, when, after much blank-verse pomp, the poet began a new paragraph thus:
as probably an error of the pen, for mice are not the animals in question, nor once mentioned by the poet. But it is somewhat strange that Grainger should have ever thought
Of this incident, Dr. Percy furnished Mr. Boswell with
the following explanation. “The passage in question was
not originally liable to such a perversion; for the author
having occasion in that part of his work to mention the
havoc made by rats and mice, had introduced the subject
in a kind of mock heroic, and a parody of Homer’s battle of
the frogs and mice, invoking the muse of the old Grecian
bard in an elegant and well-turned manner. In that state
I had seen it; but afterwards, unknown to me and other
friends, he had been persuaded, contrary to his better
judgment, to alter it so as to produce the unlucky effect
above mentioned.
” Mr. Boswell tells us that Dr. Percy
had not the poem to refer to, when he wrote this explanation; and it is equally evident that Mr. Boswell had not
read the whole passage with attention, or considered the
nature of the poem, when he objected to the introduction
of rats. If we once allow that a manufacture may be sung
in heroics, we must no longer be choice in our subjects;
as to the alteration of mice to rats, the former was probably an error of the pen, for mice are not the animals in
question, nor once mentioned by the poet. But it is somewhat strange that Grainger should have ever thought it
prudent to introduce an episode of the mock-heroic kind
in a poem which his utmost care can scarcely elevate to solemnity.
planters urged to devotion The images in this poem are in general low, and the allusions, where the poet would be minutely descriptive, descend to things little and
Although it is impossible to deny Grainger the credit of
poetical genius, it must ever be regretted that where he
wished most to excel, he was most unfortunate in the
choice of a subject. The effect of his “Sugar Cane,
”
either as to pleasure or utility, must be local. Connected
as an English merchant may be with the produce of the
West Indies, it will not be easy to persuade the reader of
English poetry to study the cultivation of the sugar plant
merely that he may add some new imagery to the more
ample stores which he can contemplate without study or
trouble. In the West Indies this poem might have charms,
if readers could be found; but what poetical fancy can
dwell on the ceconomy of canes and copper-boilers, or find
interest in the transactions of planters and sugar-brokers?
His invocations to his muse are so frequent and abrupt, that
“the assembled wits at sir Joshua ReynoldsV might have
found many passages as ludicrous as that which excited
their mirth. The solemnity of these invocations excites
expectation, which generally ends in disappointment, and
at best the reader’s attention is bespoke without being rewarded. He is induced to look for something grand, and
is told of a contrivance for destroying monkies, or a recipe
to poison rats. He smiles to find the slaves called by the
happy poetical name of swains, and the planters urged to
devotion The images in this poem are in general low,
and the allusions, where the poet would be minutely descriptive, descend to things little and familiar. Yet this is
in some measure forced upon him. His muse sings of
matters so new and uncouth to her, that it is impossible
” her heavenly plumes“should escape being
” soiled.“What muse, indeed, could give a receipt for a compost of
” weeds, mould, clung, and stale,“or a lively description
of the symptoms and cure of the yaws and preserve her
elegance or purity Where, however, he quits the plain
track of mechanical instructions, we have many of those
effusions of fancy which will yet preserve this poem in our
collections. The description of the hurricane, and of the
earthquake, are truly grand, and heightened by circumstances of horror that are new to Europeans. The episode
of Montano in the first book arrests the attention very
forcibly, and many of the occasional reflections are elegant
and pathetic, nor ought the tale of Junio and Theana to be
omitted in a list of the beauties of this poem. The
” Ode
to Solitude,“already noticed, and the ballad of Bryan and
Pereene,
” are sufficient to attest our author’s claim to
poetical honours; and the translation of Tibullus gives proofs
of classical taste and learning.
, a French satirist and dramatic poet, was born 1676, in Perigord. He wrote a little comedy in three
, a French satirist and dramatic poet, was born 1676, in Perigord. He
wrote a little comedy in three acts, when but nine years old,
which was performed several days successively in the college of Bourdeaux, where he was a scholar; and at sixteen, produced his tragedy of “Jugurtha;
” but the work
which has made him most known, is a satire against the
duke of Orleans, then regent, entitled, “The Philippicks,
” in which he accused that nobleman of the most
atrocious crimes. To avoid the punishment this work deserved, he fled to Avignon, in which city was a French
officer, who had taken refuge there in consequence of
having committed a murder, and received a promise of
pardon if he could entice the author of the “Philippicks
”
into the French dominions. His attempt succeeded, and
La Grange was conducted to the isle of St. Margaret; but
6nding means to make friends of his keepers, escaped in a
boat to Villa Franca, notwithstanding a violent storm.
The king of Sardinia gave him a considerable sum of money, and he went from thence into Spain; afterwards into
Holland, where he remained till the duke of Orleans was
dead. He was then permitted to end his days in France,where he died in 1758, at the castle of Antoniat, his family
seat. His works have been collected in 5 vols. small 12mo,
and his tragedies have been as much admired, as his lyric
efforts have been depreciated.
onis elegantia, cum adhortatione ad adolescentulos,” London, 1577, in 8vo. He was an excellent Latin poet, as appears from several copies of verses written by him, and
, a man of eminent
learning in the sixteenth century, was educated at Westminster-school, from whence he was removed either to
Christ-church or Broadgate’s-hall, in the university of Oxford, where he took the degree of B. A. February 27,
1571, and that of master the 27th of March, 1572; about
which time he was appointed master of Westminster school,
where a great many persons who were afterwards eminent
in church and state, were educated under his care. In
1575 he published at London in 4to, “Grcecse Linguse
Spicilegium,
” which was afterwards epitomized by his
learned usher, Mr. William Camden, and printed at London, 1597, in 8vo, under the title of “Institutio Græcæ
Grammatices compendiaria in usum Regiae Scholce Westinonasteriensis.
” In 1577 our author was made prebendary of the twelfth stall in the collegiate church of
Westminster, in the room of Dr. Thomas Watts; and about
that time being admitted B. D. of Cambridge, was incorporated in the same degree at Oxford in May 1579. He
was afterwards doctor of that faculty at Cambridge. He
resigned his mastership of Westminster-school about the
month of February 1591, and was succeeded in March following by Mr. Camdcn; he was then presented to the living
of Barnet, in Middlesex, and to the rectory of Toppersfield, in Essex, in 1598. He died August 4, 1601, and
was interred in St. Peter’s church at Westminster. He
collected and published the Letters and Poems of Roger
Ascham, to which he subjoined a piece of his own, entitled “Oratio de Vita & Obitu Rogeri Aschami, ac dietionis elegantia, cum adhortatione ad adolescentulos,
”
London,
, viscount Lansdowne, an English poet, was descended of a family distinguished for their loyalty;
, viscount Lansdowne, an English poet, was descended of a family distinguished for their loyalty; being second son of Barnard Granville, esq. brother to the first earl of Bath of this name, who had a principal share in bringing about the restoration of Charles II. and son of the loyal sir Bevil Greenvile, who lost his life fighting for Charles I. at Lansdowne in 1643. He was born in 1667, and in his infancy was sent to France, under the tuition of sir William Ellys, a gentleman bred up under Dr. Busby, and who was afterwards eminent in many public stations. From this excellent tutor he not only imbibed a taste for classical learning, but was also instructed in all other accomplishments suitable to his birth, in which he made so quick a proficiency, that after he had distinguished himself above all the youths of France in martial exercises, he was sent to Trinity-college, Cambridge, in 1677, at ten years of age; and before he was twelve, spoke some verses of his own composing to the duchess of York, afterwards queen-consort to James II. at her visit to that university in 1679. On account of his extraordinary merit, he was created M. A. at the age of thirteen, and left the college soon after.
to his party, and obtained that esteem which is always conferred upon firmness and consistency. As a poet, Dr. Johnson has appreciated his merit with equal justice. He
His character, as drawn by Dr. Johnson, seems now uncontested. He was, says that eminent critic, a man illustrious by birth, and therefore attracted notice; since he is
styled by Pope “the polite,
” he must be supposed elegant
in his manners, and generally loved; he was in times of
contest and turbulence steady to his party, and obtained
that esteem which is always conferred upon firmness and
consistency. As a poet, Dr. Johnson has appreciated his
merit with equal justice. He was indeed but a feeble imitator of the feeblest parts of Waller, and is far more to be
praised for his patronage of poets, and the judgment he
shewed in the case of Pope, than for any pretensions to
rank among them. His prose style, however, is excellent,
ancl far beyond that of his early contemporaries. Dr,
Warton notices, as proofs of this, his “Letter to a young
man on his taking orders;
” his “Observations on Burnet,
”
his “Defence of his relation sir Richard Greenville,
” his
translation of some parts of Demosthenes, and his Letter
to his father on the Revolution, written in 1688. The
same critic, who must have been acquainted with some
who knew him intimately, adds that his conversation was
most pleasing and polite; and his affability, and universal
benevolence and gentleness, captivating.
, an eminent Latin poet, is supposed to have been contemporary with Ovid, and pointed
, an eminent Latin poet, is supposed to have been contemporary with Ovid, and pointed
out by him in the last elegy of the fourth book “De
Ponto,
” “Aptaque venanti Gratius anna dedit.
” We
have a poem of his, entitled “Cynogeticon, or, The Art
of hunting with Dogs;
” which in strictness can only be
called a fragment. The style of this poem is reckoned
pure, but without elevation; the poet, like others who
have adopted the didactic plan, having been more solicitous to instruct than to please his reader. He is also
censured by the critics as dwelling too long on fables;
and as he is counted much superior to Nemesianus, who
has treated the same subject, so he is reckoned in all
points inferior to the Greek poet, Oppian, who wrote his
Cynogetics and Halieutics under Severus and Caracalla,
to whom he presented them, and who is said to have rewarded the poet very magnificently. The first edition of
Cynogeticon“was published in 1504, Bonon. folio,
along with Nemesianus, and often reprinted; but the best
edition is that of London, 1690, in 8vo,
” cum Notis perpetuis Thomas Jonson, M. A."
om read at schools; and a short time after became the associate of his contemporaries, Shenstone the poet, and Anthony Whistler, who used to meet to read poetry, plays,
, an English divine and miscellaneous writer, was a younger son of Richard Graves, esq. of Mickleton, in Gloucestershire, where he was born in 1715. His father, who was an able antiquary, died in 1729. His son, Richard, was educated partly at home, under the rev. Mr.Smith, curate of the parish in which his father resided, and partly at a public school at Abingdon, in Berkshire, whence, at the age of sixteen, he was chosen a scholar of Pembroke college, Oxford. Soon after his arrival he joined a party of young men who met in the evening to read Epictetus, Theophrastus, and other Greek authors, seldom read at schools; and a short time after became the associate of his contemporaries, Shenstone the poet, and Anthony Whistler, who used to meet to read poetry, plays, and other light works. In 1736 he was elected a fellow of All Souls college, where he acquired the particular intimacy of sir William Blackstone; but instead of pursuing the study of divinity, according to his original intention, he now devoted his attention to physic, and attended in London two courses of anatomy. A severe illness, however, induced him to resume the study of divinity, and in 1740, after taking his master’s degree, he entered into holy orders. About the same time he removed with Mr. Fitzherbert, fatlier of lord St. Helen’s, to the estate of that gentleman at Tissington, in Derbyshire, where he remained three years enjoying in his house the highest pleasures of refined society. At the end of that period, he set off‘ to make the tour of the north, and while at Scarborough, accidentally met with a distant relation, Dr. Samuel Knight, archdeacon of Berkshire, and the author of the Lives of Colet and Erasmus, by whose recommendation he obtained a curacy near Oxford. This was particularly gratifying to Mr. Graves, who was then coming, by turn, into office in the college, and had been for some time desirous of procuring such a situation. He immediately took possession of his curacy, but as the parsonage-house was out of repair, he took a lodging with a gentleman -farmer in the neighbourhood. The attractions of the farmer’s youngest daughter made such a powerful impression on the heart of Mr. Graves that he resigned his fellowship and married her. After residing about two years on his curacy, he was presented by Mr. Skrine to the rectory of Claverton, where he went to reside in 1750, and till his death, was never absent from it a month at a time. As the narrowness of his circumstances obliged him to superintend in person the education of his children, he likewise -resolved to take other pupils under his tuition; and this practice he continued, with great credit to himself, upwards of thirty years. In 1763, through the interest of Ralph Allen, esq. of Prior-Park, he was presented to the living of Kilmersdon, in addition to tbat of Claverton, and that gentleman likewise procured him the appointment of chaplain to lady Chatham. His conversation was rendered highly agreeable by that epigrammatic turn which points his writings of the lighter kind. His constant good humour rendered him an acceptable companion in every society, his colloquial impromptus being frequently as happy as the jeux d’e^prit of his pen, while both were invariably the unmeditated effusions of a sportive fancy and guileless heart. He died at Claverton, Nov. 23, 1804, at the advanced age of ninety.
l editions, but he is rather entitled to the merit of an agreeable versifier, than that of a genuine poet. Then appeared his” Eugenius; or, Anecdotes of the Golden Vale,“in
Mr. Graves’s publications were very numerous. His first
was The Festoon; or, a collection of Epigrams, with an
Essay on that species of composition.“In 1772 he produced
” The Spiritual Quixote,“in 3 vpls. intended as a
satire on the itinerant and illiterate preachers among the
methodists, and which might have been pronounced one
of the most amusing and interesting novels of his time, had
he not, in pursuit of his main object, incautiously introduced the language of scripture, which, whether used by
methodists, or others, can never be a legitimate subject of
ridicule. He next published
” A Translation from the
Italian of Galates; or, a treatise on Politeness, by De la
Casa, archbishop of Benevento.“He soon after published
” Columelia, or the distressed Anchoret,“in 2 vols. to
show the consequence of a person of education and talents
retiring to solitude and indolence in the vigour of youth:
in this it is thought he alluded to his friend Shenstone. He
also published two volumes of poems under the title o
” Euphrosyne,“which have gone through several editions,
but he is rather entitled to the merit of an agreeable versifier, than that of a genuine poet. Then appeared his
” Eugenius; or, Anecdotes of the Golden Vale,“in 2
vols. In 1778 appeared
” Recollections of some particulars in the life of William Shenstone, esq. in a series of
letters to W. Seward, esq. F. R. S.“This was published
to vindicate the character of his friend from the criticisms
and censure of Dr. Johnson, Mr. Gray, and Mr. Mason.
The following is a list of his subsequent publications, although probably not in chronological order.
” Plexippus;
or, the aspiring Plebeian,“in 2 vols.
” Hiero on the
condition of Royalty,“from the Greek of Xenophon
” Fleurettes,“a translation of Fenelon’s Ode on Solitude,
and other French authors
” The Life of Commodus,“from the Greek of Herodian
” The Rout,“from a young
man in town to his friend in the country
” The Meditations of Antoninus, translated from the Greek;“” The
Reveries of Solitude,“consisting of pieces of prose and
verse
” The Coalition or, Opera rehearsed,“a comedy
in three acts
” The Farmer’s Son,“a moral tale, in the
ballad metre
” Sermons on various subjects,“in 1 vol.
” Senilities,“consisting of pieces in prose and verse. His
last publication was
” The Invalid, with the obvious means
of enjoying Life, by a Nonagenarian.“The above, we
believe, is a tolerably correct list of the publications of Mr.
Graves; whose works, although the
” Spiritual Quixote"
only will be much called for hereafter, will always be read
with pleasure, there being a sprightliness and epigram*
matic turn in his writings which was peculiar to himself,
and which he retained to the last. In Mr. Graves ended
the bright associates of their time, composed of Shenstone,
Whistler, and Jago.
, an excellent Latin poet, was born at Palermo, in Sicily, of a family originally of Gravina,
, an excellent Latin poet, was born
at Palermo, in Sicily, of a family originally of Gravina, a
city in the kingdom of Naples. He was canon of Naples,
and died at Rome of the plague, in 1528. It is thought
that the greater part of his works were lost when the
French went to Naples under Louis XII. in 1501, but a
collection of what remained was published therein 1532,
4to; a few of them are also inserted in the “Carm. Illust.
Poet. Ital.
” His epigrams are preferred by Sannazarius
to those of all his contemporaries. Paul Jovius and others
also bestow high encomiums on his poetry.
, an eminent English poet, was the fifth child of Mr. Philip Gray, a citizen and money-scrivener
, an eminent English poet, was the
fifth child of Mr. Philip Gray, a citizen and money-scrivener of London, and a man of such brutal manners, that
his wife (whose maiden name was Dorothy Antrobus) was
obliged in 1735 to apply to an eminent civilian for his advice as to a separation. Thomas was born in Cornhill,
Dec. 20, 1716, and was the only one of many children who
survived. The rest died in their infancy, from suffocation, produced by a fulness of blood; and he owed his life
to a memorable instance of the love and courage of his
mother, who removed the paroxysm which attacked him,
by opening a vein with her own hand an instance of affection which he long rememhered with filial rev erence.
Indeed it was to her exertions when her home was rendered
unhappy by the cruelty of her husband, that our poet was
indebted for his education, and consequently for the happiness of his life. We may readily, therefore, believe
what Mason has told us, that “Gray seldom mentioned his
mother without a sigh.
”
the nortli, where he formed an acquajntance with Dr. Beattie, “whom,” says Dr. Johnson, “he found a poet, a philosopher, and a good man,” but at that time little known
In the summer of 1765 he took a journey into Scotland,
to improve his health, which was then weak and uncertain, and to gratify his curiosity with the natural beauiies
and antiquities of that wild and romantic country. He
went through Edinburgh and Perth to Glames-castle, the
seat of iord V Strathmore, where he resided some time, and
afterwards went to the nortli, where he formed an acquajntance with Dr. Beattie, “whom,
” says Dr. Johnson, “he
found a poet, a philosopher, and a good man,
” but at
that time little known beyond the circle of his friends at
Aberdeen. Gray’s account of this journey, says Dr. Johnson, “so far as it extends, is curious and elegant; for as
his comprehension was ample, his curiosity extended to
all the works of art, all the appearances of nature, and all
the monuments of past events.
” Part of the summer of
1766 and 1767 he passed in journies in England, and had
intended a second tour to Scotland, but returned to London without accomplishing his design. At Dr. Beattie’s
desire, a new edition of his poems was printed by the
Foulis’s of Glasgow, then the most elegant printers in the
island; and at the same time Dodsley was also printing
them in London. In both these editions, the “Long
Story
” was omitted, as the plates from Bentley’s designs
which illustrated it were worn out, but some pieces of
Welch and Norwegian poetry, written in a bold and original manner, were inserted in its place of which the
“Descent of Odin
” is undoubtedly the most valuable,
though in many places it is obscure. This his late biographer attributes to his having translated only that part
of it which he found in the Latin version of Bartholinus.
ne time, and he had not in many instances affection enough for his subject to return to it. Hence no poet of modern times has left so many specimens or samples, so mueh
Gray appears to have written in a desultory manner; his efforts were such as he could accomplish probably at one time, and he had not in many instances affection enough for his subject to return to it. Hence no poet of modern times has left so many specimens or samples, so mueh planned, and so little executed. Activity and labour it appears he could never endure, unless in storing his mind with various knowledge for his own curiosity and satisfaction. Hence, although he read much and read critically, and amassed a vast fund of general learning, his reputation in this respect has hitherto stood upon the evidence of those who know him most intimately. He was above fifty years of age before he became sensible of the necessity of concentrating his knowledge in one pursuit, and as he had never accustomed himself so to regulate his acquisitions as to render them useful to others, he apparently sunk under the task which his professorship imposed; and it is much to the credit of his independent spirit, that when he found it impossible to execute the duties, he determined to resign the emoluments of his place.
As a poet, it may be sufficient here to refer to our authorities, which
As a poet, it may be sufficient here to refer to our authorities, which are in the hands of every reader, with
perhaps the exception of an excellent edition of his works,
just published, by the rev. John Mitford, which we can
recommend with perfect confidence. Dr. Johnson’s character of his poetry has excited a controversy, from which
it may be truly said that Gray has emerged with additional
lustre, yet if mere popularity were to determine the
question, that critic bas in some instances spoken the sentiments of the majority, as well as his own. It were, however, to be wished for his own sake, that in his general
colouring of Gray’s life and works, he had attended more
to what he calls “the common-sense of readers, uncorrupted with literary prejudices.
” Had this been the case,
while some of his strictures might have been allowed, he
would have been a powerful ally of those whose superior
minds know how to feel and how to appreciate the merit
of Gray, and who have assigned him one of the highest
places among the English poets of the eighteenth century.
, an Italian scholar and poet of considerable eminence, was born at Florence March 22, 1503,
, an Italian scholar and
poet of considerable eminence, was born at Florence
March 22, 1503, of a noble family, which can be traced as
far as the thirteenth century, but was now decayed, as we
find that Grazzini in his youth was brought up as an apothecary. He had, however, studied philosophy and the
belles lettres, and from the timetliathe acquired some reputation in the literary world, gave up his medical business. In 1540 he became one of the founders of the
academy of Florence, which was first called the academy
of the Humides, and each member distinguishing himself
by some appellation relative to the water, Grazzini adopting that of Lasca, which signifies a roach. From the first
establishment of this academy, he was appointed chancellor,
and when, some months after, the grand duke changed its
name to that of the academy of Florence, he was chosen
overseer, or superintendant, an office which he afterwards
filled three times. As the number of members, however,
increased, the juniors began to make new regulations without consulting the founders, and a schism broke out, attended with so many unpleasant circumstances, that Grazzini withdrew, and became the founder of a new academy,
known still by the name of La Crusca. The object of this
society was to polish the Italian language, to fix a standard
for it, to point out such authors as might be always models
for those who chose to improve their style, to oppose the
progress of false taste; and to sift the flour from the bran
of literature, crusca signifying bran. Grazzini was well
qualified to assist an academy instituted for these purposes.
He hail enriched the language with several choice phrases
and new modes of expression, and the academicians have
very justly ranked him among those authors to whom they
have been obliged for examples, in correcting their great
vocabulary. In the mean time his growing fame induced
his friend Leonard Salviati to endeavour his re-introduction
into the academy of Florence, which was successfully accomplished in 1566, twenty years after he had left it; in
return for which he procured admission for Salviati among
the Cruscanti. Grazzini died at Florence in February
1583. He was a man of unquestionable genius, spirit, and
humour, and wrote with great elegance, and although
there are some indelicate passages in his poems, which
was the vice of the times, he was a man of strict morals,
and even, says his biographer, very religious. Many of
his works are lost, and among these some prose tales, and
many pieces of poetry. There remain, however, twentyone tales, six comedies, a great number of capitoli, or
satirical chapters, and various poems, of which the best
edition is that of Florence, 1741, 2 vols. 8vo. His Tales
or Novels were printed at Paris, 1756, 8vo, from which
some copies have been printed in 4to, under the title of
London. An excellent French translation of them appeared
in 1775, 2 vols. 8vo, in which nine histories wanting in the
third evening are said to be inserted from an old French
translation in ms. He wrote also “La guerra di Mostri,
Poema giocoso,
” Florence, Tutti i trionfi, carri, mascherate o canti carnasciaj^schi
dal tempo di Lorenzo de Medici a questoanno 1559,
” 8vo;
, an ingenious English poet, was descended from a family in good repute among the dissenters,
, an ingenious English poet, was descended from a family in good repute among the dissenters, and had his education in some of the sects into which that body is divided. He was a man of approved probity, and sweetness of temper and manners. His wit abounded in conversation, and was never known to give offence. He had a post in the custom-house, where he discharged his duty with the utmost diligence and ability, and died at the age of forty-one years, at a lodging in Nag’s-head-court, Gracechurch-street, in 1737.
Such is the only information which the friends of this poet have thought proper to hand down to posterity, if we except
Such is the only information which the friends of this
poet have thought proper to hand down to posterity, if we
except Glover, the author of the preface to the first edition of “The Spleen,
” who introduces the poem in these
words:
, an English poet and miscellaneous iter of the Elizabethan age, and memorable
, an English poet and miscellaneous
iter of the Elizabethan age, and memorable for his tants and imprudence, was a native of Norwich, and born
ubout 1560. His father appears to have been a citizen of
Norwich, the fabricator of his own fortune, which it is
thought he had accumulated by all the tricks of selfishness
and narrow prudence. He educated his son, however, as
a scholar, at St. John’s college, Cambridge. Here he took
the degree of A. B. in 1578, and for some time travelled
into Italy and Spain. Ou his return, he took his master’s
degree at Clare-hall, in 1583, and was incorporated in the
same at Oxford in 1588, no inconsiderable proof that
hiproficiency in his studies had been very conspicuous, and
that there was nothing at this time grossly objectionable in
his moral demeanour. It is supposed that he took orders
after his return from his travels, and that he was the same
Robert Greene who was presented to the village of Tollesbury, in Essex, June 19, 1584. If this be the case, it is
probable that he did not long reside, or was perhaps driven
from Tollesbury, by his irregular life, the greater part of
which was spent in London. Here, from some passages
cited by Mr. Beloe, it would appear that he gave himself
up to writing plays and love pamphlets, and from the date
of his “Myrrour of Modestie,
” The history of genius,
” says one of our authorities, with equal justice and feeling, “is too often a detail of immoral irregularities, followed by indigence and misery. Such, in after
times, was the melancholy tale of Otway and Lee, of Savage, Boyse, Smart, Burns, Dermody, and many others.
Perhaps the writers of the drama have, of all others, been
the most unfortunate in this respect; perhaps there is
something which more immediately seizes all the avenues
of the fancy in the gorgeous exhibitions of the stage;
which leads men away from the real circumstances of their
fortune, to the delusions of hope, and to pursue the fairy
lights so hostile to sober truth.
” In what species of dissipation, and to what degree Greene indulged, it were useless now to inquire his faults were probably exaggerated
by the rival wits of his day and his occupation as a playwriter being in itself at that time looked upon as criminal,
was barely tolerated. Among his errors, about which we
are afraid there is now no doubt, may be mentioned his
marrying an amiable lady, whom he deserted and ill-used.
His career, however, was short. He died Sept. 5, 1592,
at an obscure lodging near Dowgate, not without signs of
contrition, nor indeed without leaving behind him written
testimonies that he was more frequently conscious of an.
ill-spent life than able or willing to amend it. In some of
his works also, he made strenuous exertions to warn the
unthinking, and expose the tricks, frauds, and devices of
his miscreant companions. His works, says one of his
biographers, contain the seeds of virtue, while his acts
display the tares of folly. From such of his writings as
have fallen 'in our way, he appears to possess a rich and
glowing fancy, great command of language, and a perfect
knowledge of the manners of the times. As a poet he has
considerable merit, and few of his contemporaries yield a
more pleasant employment to the collectors of specimens.
His writings attained great popularity in his day, but until
very lately, have been seldom consulted unless by poetical
antiquaries. The following list of his works, by Mr. Haslewood, is probably complete: 1. “The Myrrour of Modestie,
” Monardo the Tritameron of Love,
”
Planetomachia,
” Euphues’s censure to Pbilautus,
” Arcadia
or Menaphon, Camillae’s alarm to slumbering Euphues,
”
Pandosto the Triumph of Time,
” Perimedes
the blackesmith,
” The pleasant and delightful
history of Dorastiis and Favvnia,
” Alcida, Greene’s Metamorphosis,
”
The Spanish Masquerade,
” Orpharion,
” The Royal Exchange, contayning
sundry aphorisms of Philosophic,
” Greene’s
mourning garment, given him by Repentance at the funerals of Love,
” Never too late,
” A notable discovery of
Coosenage,
” The ground work of
Conny Catching,
” 159U 18. “The second and last part
of Conny Catching,
” The third and
last part of Conny Catching,
” Disputation,
between a hee conny-catcher and a shee conny-catcher,
”
Greene’s Groatsworth of wit bought with a
million of repentance,
” Philomela, the lady FitzwalterV
nightingale,
” A quip for an
upstart courtier,
” r$92, 162O, 1625, 1635, and reprinted in 1
the Harleian Miscellany. 24. “Ciceronis amor, Tullie’s
love,
” News
both from heaven and hell,
” The Black
Book’s Messenger, or life and death of Ned Browne,
” The repentance of Robert Greene,
” Greene’s vision at the instant of his death,
” no date.
29. “Mamillia, or the triumph of Pallas,
” Mamillia, or the second part of the triumph of Pallas,
”
Card of Fancy,
” Greene’s
funerals,
” The
honourable history of Fryer Bacon and Fryer Bongay, a
comedy,
” The history of
Orlando Furioso, a play,
” 1S94, 1599. 35. “The comical
historic of Alphonsus king of Arragon, a play,
” A looking-glass for London and England,
” a comedy,
jointly with Lodge, The Scottish Historic of James the Fourthe, si ai ue at Flodden, intermixed
with a pleasant comedie,
” Penelope’s
Webb,
” Historic of Faire Bellora,
” no date,
afterwards published, as “A paire of Turtle doves, or the
tragical history of Bellora and Fidelio,
” The
debate between Follie and Love, translated out'of French,
”
Thieves falling out, true men come by their
goods,
” Greene’s Farewell to Folie,
” Arbasto, the history of Arbasto king of Denmarke,
” FairEmme, a comedy,
” The
history of lobe,
” a play, destroyed, but mentioned in Warburton’s list. A few other things have been ascribed toGreene on doubtful authority.
, a French poet of considerable eminence, was born 1709, at Amiens, entered
, a French poet of
considerable eminence, was born 1709, at Amiens, entered among the Jesuits at 16, and quitted the society at
the age of 26, about the end of J735. It was about this
time his “Ver Vert
” first came out, which has been so
justly admired, as the production of a genius (in Rousseau’s judgment) “at once refined, embellished, ornamented;
”
appearing in short, “in all its perfection.
” This great
poet considers the author as “displaying in his familiar
style, whatever is most brilliant in poetry, and every idea
>vith which a complete knowledge of the world could furnish a man who had passed his whole life in it.
” He thought
the same of the “Chartreuse,
” another of his productions,
but accused its author of negligence in his other pieces,
being of opinion that the familiar style did not exclude the
perfection of poetry. M. Cresset was admitted into the
French academy in 1748, and gave up poetry that he
might devote himself wholly to works of piety, and died
June 16, 1777, at Amiens, after having received letters of
nobility, and been appointed historiographer of the order
of St. Lazore. He married in 1751, mademoiselle Galland, daughter of a merchant of Amiens, but had no
children. Besides the pieces above-mentioned, he wrote
“Le Lutrin vivant;
” Les Ombres;“” Epistles;“66 Odes
” a poetical translation of Virgil’s Eclogues
“Edward III.
” a tragedy “Sidney,
” and “Le Mechant,
”
comedies the latter of which is deservedly admired.
They have all been collected in 1748, 2 vols. 12mo. Two
little poems in the style of “Ver Vert
” were found among
his papers, one entitled “Le Gazetin;
” the other, “Le
Parrain Magnifique,
” but not the two cantos which he had
added to the Ver Vert. This last poem has been versified
in English by Gilbert Cooper, and by Dr. Geddes.
ry kindness to sir William Davenant must be added to other conspicuous evidences of the latter; that poet he took into his family when very young, and was so much delighted
His lordship had an inclination to history and poetry.
Hence, with respect to the former, it was that lord Bacon
submitted his “Life of Henry VII.
” to his perusal and
animadversions. And his extraordinary kindness to sir
William Davenant must be added to other conspicuous
evidences of the latter; that poet he took into his family
when very young, and was so much delighted with his promising genius, that, as long as the patron lived, the poet
had his residence with him, and probably formed the plan
of some of his first plays under his lordship’s encouragement, since they were published soon after his death. This
noble lord was never married, so that his honour falling
by the patent to his kinsman Robert Greville, he directed
his estate also by his will to go along with it to the same
relation, being next of kin to him.
, a French poet and physician, was born at Clermont, in Beauvoisis, in 1533.
, a French poet and physician, was
born at Clermont, in Beauvoisis, in 1533. He began early
to write, producing his tragedy of the “Death of Caesar
”
in his fifteenth year; and practised physic with success.
He was long retained in the service of Margaret of France,
duchess of Savoy, whom he followed to Piedmont. He
0. Grevin, though snatched away by a premature death, had acquired a great reputation, not only as a poet, but as a physician. Some of his countrymen, speaking of his
* Lord Orford erroneously attributes 4to, which was evidently written by
to him “Sir Fulke Grevilta’s Five one of the presbyterian party, and was
Yeares of king James, or the condition afterwards republishetl, with additions,
of the state of England, and the rela- under the title of
” The first Fourteen
tion it had to other provinces,“1643, Years of king James,
” 1651, 4to.
died at Turin the 5th of November 1573. There are three
plays extant of his: “The Treasurer’s Wife,
” a comedy,
in Death of Caesar,
” a tragedy; and the
“Frighted Ones, (Les Esbahis)
” a comedy, both acted the
same day at the college of Beauvais in 1560. Grevin,
though snatched away by a premature death, had acquired
a great reputation, not only as a poet, but as a physician.
Some of his countrymen, speaking of his dramas, give him
this favourable testimony, “that he effaced all who preceded him on the French stage, and that eight or ten such
poets as he would have put it on a good footing, his versification being easy and smooth, especially in his comedies,
and his plots well contrived.
” His poems and plays were
printed at Paris, 1561, 8vo. He left also a “Treatise on
Poisons,
” and another “against Antimony,
” both translated
into Latin, and printed in 4to. It was by his means that
the absurd decree of the faculty of Paris, afterwards confirmed by parliament, against the use of antimony in medicine, was passed. He was a Calvinist, and united with Rochandieu and Florence Christian in their ingenious poem
entitled “The Temple,
” which they wrote against Ronsard, who had abused the Calvinists in his discourse on the
Miseries of Time."
le an heap of nonsense, under the name of Commentaries, as hath lately been given us on this satiric poet:” and Fielding, in the preface to his “Voyage to Lisbon,” has
From this copious account of Dr. Grey’s literary employments, an idea may be formed of his character and
sentiments. It would appear that in early life he had
studied ffce history of the church to which he belonged,
particularly during the seventeenth century when she suf*
fered the severest shock; and having examined into the
personal history of the artful agents, as well as the more
artful means by which the hierarchy and civil government
were overthrown, conceived an implacable dislike to the
whole body of non-conformists, which by an easy transition, he continued towards their immediate successors,
the dissenters. Finding the latter frequently employed in
vindicating the cause of republican church-government,
'and bestowing all their pity on those who suffered by the
restoration, without any notice of those whom they made
to suffer by the previous revolution, he directed his power*
of controversy to some of those advocates, and by his laborious researches into the private history, annals, and pamphlets of the Cromwell period, was enabled to become a
very formidable antagonist. His Examinations of Neal are,
in this respect, the most valuable of his writings, and strict
impartiality will be found to require a close attention, in
the readers of Neal, to what Dr. Grey and his precursor
bishop Madox have advanced. The same researches which
Dr. Grey had occasion to pursue in answering Neal and
others of that party, seem to have furnished him with the
matter of the notes by which he afterwards illustrated his
edition of Butler’s Hudibras, a work which will probably
preserve his memory to a very long date, as his plan was
entirely new. Yet, he did not escape attacks, both serious and jocular on this publication. Warburton, in his
preface to Shakspeare, “hardly thinks there ever appeared,
in any learned language, so execrable an heap of nonsense,
under the name of Commentaries, as hath lately been
given us on this satiric poet:
” and Fielding, in the preface to his “Voyage to Lisbon,
” has introduced “the
laborious much-read Dr. Zachary Grey, of whose redundant
notes on Hudibras he shall only say, that it is, he is confident, the single book extant, in which above 500 authors
are quoted, not one of which could be found in the collection of the late Dr. Mead.
” But Dr. Warton has very well
observed, that, “if Butler is worth reading, he is worth
explaining; and the researches used for so valuable and
elegant a purpose merit the thanks of genius and candor,
not the satire of prejudice and ignorance.
”
, a poet of considerable rank in his time, was a native of Huntingdonshire,
, a poet of considerable rank in his time, was a native
of Huntingdonshire, and received the first part of his academical education at Christ’s college in Cambridge, where
he became B. A. in 1539 or 1540. Removing to Oxford
in 1542, he was elected fellow of Merton college; but,
about 1547, having opened a rhetorical lecture in the refectory of Christ church, then newly founded, he was
transplanted to that society, which gave the greatest encouragement to such students as were distinguished for their
proficiency in criticism and philology. The same year
he wrote a Latin tragedy, which probably was acted in the
college, entitled “Archipropheta, sive Joannes Baptista,
”
dedicated to the dean, Richard Cox, and printed Colon.
1548, 8vo. In 1548, he explained all the four books of
Virgil’s Georgics in a regular prose Latin paraphrase, in
the public hall of his college, which was printed at London in 1591, 8vo. He wrote also explanatory commentaries, or lectures, on the <c Andria“of Terence, the Epistles of Horace, and many pieces of Cicero, perhaps for the
same auditory. He translated Tully’s Offices into English,
which he dedicated to the learned Thirlby, bishop of Ely,
printed at London, 1553, 8vo, and reprinted in 1574 and
1596. He also made translations from some of the Greek
classics; but these, Mr. Warton thinks, were never published; among others was the
” Cyropaedia.“Bale mentions some plays and poems, but not with sufficient precision to enable us to know whether they were in Latin or
English. It is allowed, however, that he was the second
English poet after lord Surrey who wrote in blank verse,
and added to Surrey’s style new strength, elegance, and
modulation. In the disposition and conduct of his cadences, says our poetical historian, he often approaches to
the legitimate structure of the improved blank verse, although he is not quite free from those dissonancies and asperities, which in his time adhered to the general character
and state of English diction. Both Mr. Warton and Mr.
Ellis have given specimens of his poetry from
” The
Songes written by N. G.“annexed to the
” Songes and
Soanettes of uncertain Auctours“in TottelPs edition of
lord Surrey’s Poems (reprinted in the late edition of the English poets). As a writer of verses in rhyme, Mr. Warton thinks that Grimbold yields to none of his contemporaries, for a masterly choice of chaste expression, and the
concise elegancies of didactic versification; and adds that
some of the couplets in his
” Praise of Measure-keeping,“or moderation, have all the smartness which mark the modern style of sententious poetry, and would have done honour to Pope’s ethic epistles. It is supposed that he died
about 1563. Wood and Tanner, and after them, Warton,
are decidedly of opinion that he is the same person, called
by Strype
” one Grimbold," who was chaplain to bishop
Ridley, and who was employed by that prelate while in
prison, to translate into English Laurentius Valla’s book
against the fiction of Constantine’s Donation, with some
other popular Latin pieces against the papists. In Mary’s
reign, it is said that he was imprisoned for heresy, and
saved his life by recantation. This may be true of the
Grimbold mentioned by Strype, but we doubt whether he
be the same with our poet, who is mentioned in high terms
by Bale, on account of his zeal for the reformed doctrines,
without a syllable of his apostacy, which Bale must have
known, and would not have concealed.
o free verse, like that of the Latin comic writers. In translating the fragments of the Greek tragic poet, he intended that his verses should resemble those of the originals,
Grotius now became more sensible than ever of the advantage of study; which became his business and conso^. lation. We have several of his letters written from Louvestein, in which he gives Vossius an account of his studies, informing him that he had resumed the study of the law, which had been interrupted by the multiplicity of business; that the rest of his time he devoted to the study of morality, which had led him to translate Stobaeus’s Maxims of the poets, and the fragments of Menander and Philemon. He likewise proposed to extract from the tragic and comic authors of Greece what related to morality, and was omitted by StobiEiis, and translate it into free verse, like that of the Latin comic writers. In translating the fragments of the Greek tragic poet, he intended that his verses should resemble those of the originals, excepting in the chorusses, whici) he would put into such verse as best suited him. Sundays he employed in reading treatises of the Christian religion, and used to spend some of his spare hours in this study on other days when his ordinary labour was over. He meditated some work in Flemish on the subject of religion; and the subject which he preferred! at that time was Christ’s love to mankind. He proposed likewise to write a commentary on Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.
trayed by the wisdom and equity of his own character; and I know not if the observation of the moral poet can be so justly applied to any other:
The late bishop Kurd’s mode of accounting for the apparent inconsistencies in the religious principles of Grotius,
is the most favourable we have yet seen, and not improbable. “Grotius,
” says that learned prelate, " is justly
esteemed among the ablest and most learned men of an
age that abounded in ability and learning. Besides his
other shining talents, his acquaintance with history was
extensive; and his knowledge of Scripture profound. And
yet with two such requisites for unlocking the true sense
of the prophetic writings, this excellent man undertook to
prove in form, that the pope was not antichrist. The account
of this mischance is as extraordinary as the mischance itself.
The moral qualities of Grotius were still more admirable than
his intellectual; and its these qualities we shall find the
true spring of his unhappy and misapplied pains on the
subject before us. He was in his own nature just, candid,
benevolent, to a supreme degree; and the experience of
an active turbulent life had but fortified him the more in
a love of those pacific virtues. He was, on principle, a
sincere and zealous Christian; and consequently impressed
With a clue sense of that exalted charity which is the characteristic of that religion but he had seen and felt much
of the mischiefs which proceed from theological quarrels
and thus every thing concurred to make him a friend to
peace, and above all, to peace among Christians. An
union of the catholic and protestant churches seemed necessary to this end; and the apparent candour, whether
real or affected, of some learned persons, whom he had
long known and valued in the church of Rome, drew him
into the belief that such a project was not impracticable.
Henceforth it became the ruling object of his life; and
permitting himself too easily to conclude that the protestant doctrine of antichrist was the sole or principal obstruction to the union desired, he bent all the efforts of his wit
and learning to discredit and overthrow that doctrine.
Thus was this virtuous man betrayed by the wisdom and
equity of his own character; and I know not if the observation of the moral poet can be so justly applied to any
other:
, an Italian poet, commonly called, from his misfortune, Cieco D‘Adria, was born
, an Italian poet, commonly called, from his misfortune, Cieco D‘Adria, was born Sept. 7, 1541, in the ancient town of Adria, which gives name to the gulph called the Adriatic. His parents were of a noble but decayed family. He lost his sight a few days after his birth, and never recovered it. Yet this did not check his proficiency in learning; able masters were provided, under whom he made astonishing progress, although we may conceive with considerable difficulty to his instructors. He lays, indeed, in one of his orations, that when a new master visited him, he used to say, *’ you must teach me how I am to teach you." His talents and acquirements, however, procured him very early fame, and such was his natural eloquence, that at the age of fourteen he was chosen on two very solemn occasions, the one when the queen of Poland visited Venice, and the other on the election of the Doge Lorenzo Priuli, to give a public harangue in that city, where Casa and other orators had been so much celebrated, and acquitted himself with the greatest credit. His youth and his blindness might probably procure him favour, but according to his biographer, he was received with equal applause at other times and places, and under other circumstances. Having an early turn for poetry as well as oratory, he attempted to write for the stage, and although inferior to the other dramatic poets who then flourished at Ferrara, Rome, and Florence, he became a favourite with the people of Adria. In other cities to which he was invited as a public speaker, at Ferrara, Bologna, and Rovigo, he was received with every mark of distinction. Several princesses, as Laura of Este, and Laura Gonzaga, who patronized genius, frequently visited him, and made him rich presents. Yet he remained poor, fortune being in general more liberal of honours than of riches. Although blind, he appears to have felt the tender passion, which he has often introduced in his lyric poetry and in his dramas; in the latter, indeed, he treats of love matters in a style which gives but an unfavourable idea of his delicacy. In 1585 he acquired much reputation at Vincenza by playing the part of CEdipus when represented by the academicians in the famous Olympic theatre of Palladio. He did not, however, appear on this occasion, until the last act, when CEdipus appears blind. He was at this time in full health, but was suddenly attacked with a disorder at Venice, which proved fatal Dec. 13 of that year. His remains were carried to his own country, and interred with great funeral honours. His works consist of orations, published at Venice 1598, 4to, and tragedies, two pastorals, and other pieces of poetry, printed separately. They are distinguished rather by genius than judgment, and abound in that play of words, and those extravagant metaphors which were so much the taste of the subsequent age, and which appear most out of place in his pastorals.
rian. Gryphins was a good orator and historian, a man of extensive learning, and an excellent German poet, which language he considerably improved. He was also a contributor
, son of the preceding, and
one of the greatest geniuses that Germany has produced,
was born September 29, 1649, at Fraustadt. Having acquired great skill in the languages and belles lettres, he
was appointed professor of rhetoric at Breslau, afterwards
principal of Magdalen college in that city, and, at length,
librarian. Gryphins was a good orator and historian, a
man of extensive learning, and an excellent German poet,
which language he considerably improved. He was also
a contributor to the Leipsic Journal. He died March 6,
1706, having just before his death heard a beautiful poem
of his own writing, which had been set to music, performed
in his chamber. The piece is said to have been admirably
expressive of the consolations derived from our Saviour’s
death to a dying man. His works arc, “A History of. the
Orders of Knighthood,
” in German, Poems,
”
in German among them, “Pastorals,
” 8vo; “The German Language formed by degrees, or, a treatise on the
origin and progress of it,
” 8vo, in German, and a valuable
posthumous work, entitled “Apparatus, s?ive Dissertatio
Isagogica de Scriptoribus Historiam Seculi XVII illustrantibus,
” Leipsic, 1710, 8vo.
he attained an accurate knowledge of Greek and Latin, and acquired much fame as an orator and Latin poet. He married the daughter of Zuinglius, and being admitted into
, an eminent Swiss divine, and one of the first reformers, was born at Zurich in 1529. In his youth he attained an accurate knowledge of Greek and Latin, and acquired much fame as an orator and Latin poet. He married the daughter of Zuinglius, and being admitted into orders, preached at Zurich from 1542 to 1575, when he was chosen to succeed Bullinger, as first minister of the protestant church there. His writings also, which consisted of homilies, or sermons on the prophets, evangelists, and apostles, procured him great fame both at home and abroad, and were long regarded as standard books among the protestant churches. He died Nov. 25, 1586. In the early part of queen Elizabeth’s reign we find him corresponding with the English divines who had been exiles in the preceding reign, and brought over an attachment to the simple forms of the Genevan church, which Elizabeth wished to discourage. His works, as enumerated by Verheiden, consist of Latin poems, commentaries on various books of the Scripture, works on grammar and history, and some translations. His son, of the same names, spent some years in Merton college, Oxford, where he took his degree of M. A. in 1573, and returning to Zurich, became minister of St. Peter’s church there. Wood attributes several Latin poems to him, some of which we suspect were the production of his father: but this young man died in 1577, when oniy twenty five years of age.
, or more commonly Guarini (Battista), an eminent pastoral poet, descended in the fourth degree from Guarino Veronese, was born
, or more commonly Guarini (Battista), an eminent pastoral poet, descended in the fourth degree from Guarino Veronese, was born at Ferrara in 1537. We know but little of his early years and studies; but it is said that in the course of his education he spent some time at Pisa, and at Padua, where he was much esteemed by the rector of the university; but at an early age he went to Rome, and was still young when, on his return to Ferrara, he lectured for about a year with great reputation, on Aristotle’s Morals, in the same university in which the memory of his ancestors continued to be highly venerated. He was professor of belles lettres there in 1563, when he sent one of his sonnets to Annibal Caro, who in his answer complimented him as a young man of the greatest hopes. In his twenty-eighth year he was admitted into the academy of the Eterei of Padua, founded by the young prince Scipio of Gonzaga, afterwards cardinal. Tasso was at the same time admitted, and between him and Guarino a friendship commenced, which was afterwards disturbed by rivalship.