An English Garner: Critical Essays & Literary Fragments
History
An English Garner: Critical Essays & Literary Fragments
English literature -- History and criticism
_Dulcia Mnemosyne demirans carmina Sapphus,
Quaesivit decima Pieris unde foret_.
Among others, in times past, poets had these favourers; AUGUSTUS,
MAECENAS, SOPHOCLES, GERMANICUS; an Emperor, a Nobleman, a Senator, and a
Captain: so of later times, poets have [had] these patrons; ROBERT, King
of Sicily, the great King FRANCIS [I.] of France, King JAMES of Scotland,
and Queen ELIZABETH of England.
As in former times, two great Cardinals, BEMBA and BIENA did countenance
poets: so of late years, two great Preachers, have given them their right
hands in fellowship; BEZA and MELANCTHON.
As the learned philosophers FRACASTORIUS and SCALIGER have highly prized
them: so have the eloquent orators, PONTANUS and MURETUS very gloriously
estimated them.
As GEORGIUS BUCHANANUS' _JEPTHAE_, amongst all modern tragedies, is able
to abide the touch of ARISTOTLE's precepts and EURIPIDES's examples: so
is Bishop WATSON's _ABSALOM_.
As TERENCE for his translations out of APOLLODORUS and MENANDER, and
AQUILIUS for his translation out of MENANDER, and C. GERMANICUS AUGUSTUS
for his out of ARATUS, and AUSONIUS for his translated _Epigrams_ out of
[the] Greek, and Doctor JOHNSON for his _Frog-fight_ out of HOMER, and
WATSON for his _ANTIGONE_ out of SOPHOCLES, have got good commendations:
so these versifiers for their learned translations, are of good note
among us; PHAER foi VIRGIL's _AEneid_, GOLDING for OVID's
_Metamorphosis_, HARINGTON for his _ORLANDO Furioso_, the Translators of
SENECA's _Tragedies_, BARNABE GOOGE for PALINGENIUS's [_Zodiac of Life_],
TURBERVILLE for OVID's _Epistles_ and MANTUAN, and CHAPMAN for his
inchoate HOMER.
As the Latins have these Emblematists, ANDREAS ALCIATUS, REUSNERUS, and
SAMBUCUS: so we have these, GEFFREY WHITNEY, ANDREW WILLET, and THOMAS
COMBE.
As NONNUS PANAPOLYTA wrote the _Gospel_ of Saint JOHN in Greek
hexameters: so GERVASE MARKHAM hath written SOLOMON's _Canticles_ in
English verse.
As CORNELIUS PLINIUS writ the life of POMPONUS SECUNDUS; so young CHARLES
FITZ-GEFFERY, that high towering falcon, hath most gloriously penned _The
honourable Life and Death of worthy Sir FRANCIS DRAKE_.
As HESIOD wrote learnedly of husbandry in Greek: so TUSSER [hath] very
wittily and experimentally written of it in English.
As ANTIPATER Sidonius was famous for extemporal verse in Greek, and OVID
for his
_Quicquid conabar dicere versus erat_:
so was our TARLETON, of whom Doctor CASE, that learned physician, thus
speaketh in the Seventh Book and 17th chapter of his _Politics_.
_ARISTOTLES suum THEODORETUM laudavit quendam peritum Tragaediarum
actorem, CICERO suum ROSCIUM: nos Angli TARLETONUM, in cujus voce et
vultu omnes jocosi affectus, in cujus cerebroso capite lepidae facetiae
habitant_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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