"O ignorant poor man! what dost thou beareLockt vp within the casket of thy brest?What iewels and what riches hast thou there!What heauenly treasure in so weake a chest!Looke in thy soule, and thou shalt beauties find,Like those which drownd Narcissus in the flood:Honour and Pleasure both are in thy mind,And all that in the world is counted good.Thinke of her worth, and think that God did meane,This worthy mind should worthy things imbrace;Blast not her beauties with thy thoughts vnclean,Nor her dishonour with thy passions base:Kill not her quickning powers with surfettings,Mar not her sense with sensualitie;Cast not her serious wit on idle things:Make not her free-will, slaue to vanitie.And when thou think'st of her eternitie,Thinke not that death against her nature is,Thinke it a birth; and when thou goest to die,Sing like a swan, as if thou went'st to blisse.
"O ignorant poor man! what dost thou beareLockt vp within the casket of thy brest?What iewels and what riches hast thou there!What heauenly treasure in so weake a chest!
Looke in thy soule, and thou shalt beauties find,Like those which drownd Narcissus in the flood:Honour and Pleasure both are in thy mind,And all that in the world is counted good.
Thinke of her worth, and think that God did meane,This worthy mind should worthy things imbrace;Blast not her beauties with thy thoughts vnclean,Nor her dishonour with thy passions base:
Kill not her quickning powers with surfettings,Mar not her sense with sensualitie;Cast not her serious wit on idle things:Make not her free-will, slaue to vanitie.
And when thou think'st of her eternitie,Thinke not that death against her nature is,Thinke it a birth; and when thou goest to die,Sing like a swan, as if thou went'st to blisse.
Take heed of over-weening, and compareThy peacock's feet with thy gay peacock's traine;Study the best and highest things that are,But of thyselfe an humble thought retaine."[16]
Take heed of over-weening, and compareThy peacock's feet with thy gay peacock's traine;Study the best and highest things that are,But of thyselfe an humble thought retaine."[16]
"Expelled" and "disbarred," he retired to Oxford and there "followed his studies, although he wore a cloak." (Wood'sAthenæ, as before, ii. 401). To lighten severer studies he now leisurely composed that "Nosce Teipsum" from which has just been quoted the remarkable close. His vein must have been a "flowing" one; for it was published within a year of his disgrace, viz. in 1599.[17]It was dedicated to the "great Queen;" withoutthe all-too-common contemporary hyperbole of laudation, yet showing the strange magnetism of her influence to win allegiance from the greatest, even in her old age:—
"Loadstone to hearts and loadstone to all eyes."
The Carte "Notes" (as before) thus tell the whole story and ratify Anthony-a-Wood:—"Vpon a quarrell between him and Mr. Martin before yeJudges, where he strooke Mr. Martin hee was confined and made a prisoner: after wchin discontentment he retired to yecountrye, and writt ytexcellent poeme of his Nosce Teipsum, wchwas so well aprooved of by the Lord Mountioy after Lord Deputy of Ireland and Earle of Devonshire, that by his aduise he publisht it and dedicated it to Queen Elizabeth, to whom hee presented it, being introduced by yeaforesaide Lord his pattron, and yefirst essay of his pen was so well relisht ytyeQueen encouraged him in his studdys, promising him preferment, and had him sworn her servant in ordinary." "Nosce Teipsum" was not his "first essay" so that perchance the meaning is that its verse-dedication was his "first essay" in addressing the Queen—his second being the Hymns to Astræa. The "Hymns to Astræa" appeared in quick succession to "Nosce Teipsum" in the same year 1599. They are dainty trifles; but from all we know of Elizabeth would be received as "sweet incense." If they seem to us to-day flattering not to say adulatory, it must be remembered that such was themode. Much later, Epistles-dedicatory from Bacon and others of the mighties, and not to Elizabeth but to James—are infinitely fulsome compared with the ideal praises of an ideal Elizabeth—that Elizabeth who had stirred the nation's pulses through her great patriotic words when "The Armada" threatened—in the most superlative of these "Hymnes." Their workmanship is as of diamond-facets. The "bright light" of olden promise was now "lining" the dark cloud. The discipline of his retirement to Oxford did him life-long good. Speedily outward events dove-tailed with the deepened ethical experience and resultant character.
For despair and disgrace there came hope and help. For a career that seemed arrested, a higher, and wider, and nobler opened out in inspiriting perspective. In1599-1600 he was in all men's mouths as a Poet. The "Poetical Rhapsody" of Davison of these years would have been rendered incomplete without contributions from "I. D.;" and so there went to it those Minor Poems, that are read still with pleasure. So early as 1595 George Chapman had printed his "Ovid's Banquet of Sence," with lines from "I. D." More important still, "Secretary Cecil" became his friend and patron. "By desire" he prepared certain dialogues and scenes for entertainments to the Queen. Three of these remain. The first is "A Dialogue between a Gentleman Usher and a Poet."[18]The second is "A Contention betwixt a Wife, a Widdow, and a Maide."[19]The third is "A Lottery: presented (as the heading states) before the late Queene's Maiesty at the Lord Chancelor's House, 1601."[20]These indicate that the recluse of Oxford was once more restored to society, and that the supremest. The favour of the aged Queen was capricious; but the "Lottery" that formed part of the entertainment at the Lord Chancellor's marked the turning of the tide, in flood not ebb. Through Ellesmere steps were taken to cancel the "expulsion" and "disbarring." He addressed a respectful and manly Petition to "his Society." It was considered at a "Parliament of the Society, held on the 30th October 1601." He had "presented" it in Trinity Term; but it was adjourned until now. In the interval he had attended "the Commons" and in November after making the admission and satisfaction required by four Benches, it was unanimously agreed that he should be "restored to his position at the bar and his seniority." He publicly pronounced his "repentance" in due form on the feast of All Saints. This was done in the Hall in the presence of Chief Iustice Popham, Chief Baron Periam, Judge Fenner, Baron Savil, Sergeant Harris, Sergeant Williams, and the Masters of the Bench." The legal or ceremonial part being completed, and the Apology read in English, Davies turned to "Mr. Martin," then present, and as he could offer no sufficient satisfaction to him, entreated his forgiveness, promising sincere love and affection in all good offices towards him for the future." "Mr. Martin" accepted the tender thus made, and the re-instatement was completed.[21]That the reconciliation between Davies andMartin was formal rather than real has been too hastily assumed. True, that when in 1622 Davies collected his Poems, the Sonnet to Martin was withdrawn and ahiatusleft towards the close of "Orchestra." But both these things are otherwise explainable. Both Elizabeth and Martin were now dead—the latter in 1618. Besides, it was only natural that the living friend should be willing to remove all memory of the quarrel. The name should only have revived it. This, and not a many-yeared carrying of an unclosed wound is my judgment in charity. The restored 'Barrister' never forgot his indebtedness to the Lord Chancellor. His dedication of his great "Reports" of Irish Law Cases and their correspondence remain to attest this—remain too to attest the reciprocal admiration, if a tenderer word were not fitter, of Ellesmere.[22]His words in the 'Reports' dedication are more than respectful.
It would appear from the MS. dedication of a corrected MS. of "Nosce Teipsum" to "the right noble, valorous, and learned Prince Henry, Earle of Northumberland" that he must have joined in the intercession for restoration, e.g.
"Then to what spirit shall I these noates commend,But unto that which doth them best expresse;Who will to them more kind protection lend,Than Hee which did protect me in distresse."[23]
"Then to what spirit shall I these noates commend,But unto that which doth them best expresse;
Who will to them more kind protection lend,Than Hee which did protect me in distresse."[23]
Contemporaneous with his full Restoration to his privileges at the Bar, the student-lawyer—through influence that has not come down to us—found his way into Parliament as M.P. for Corfe Castle. The House 'sat' for "barely two months"—October 27th toDecember 29th" (1601). It was the last Parliament of Elizabeth. The records of it are meagre and unsatisfying, but sufficient is preserved to inform us that untried and inexperienced in Parliament as he was, the member for Corfe Castle at once came to the front. A long-continued warfare on the part of the Commons against monopolies found in him a vehement defender of the privileges of the House. The wary Queen, who always knew when to give way, withdrew certain "patents" that had been granted and led to grievous abuses; and Davies was appointed one of the "Grand Committee" to thank her Majesty[24]. He had spoken stoutly for procedure by "bill" and not by "petition." Richard Martin supported the monopolies.
In 1602 a second edition "newly corrected and amended" of "Nosce Teipsum" appeared. Still prefixed to it—and to his honour continued in the third edition of 1608 when she was gone—was the verse-dedication to the Queen. But it was now "the beginning of the end" with her. Somewhat cloudily and thundrouslywas the great orb westering. She died on 24th March 1603. It argues that Davies had advanced in various ways that he accompanied Lord Hunsdon to Scotland when that nobleman went with the formal announcement of James' accession to the throne. A pleasant anecdote has survived that when "in the presence" Lord Hunsdon announced John Davies, the King—who if a fool was a learned one and capable of discerning genius—straightway asked "whether he were 'Nosce Teipsum'" and on finding he was its author, "embraced him and conceived a considerable liking for him."[25]That his position was regarded as a potential one with the new King is incidentally confirmed by letters to him from no less than Bacon, who addressing him in Scotland sought his good influences in his behalf, using in one a sphinx-like expression of "concealed poets" that it is a marvel Delia Bacon did not lay hold of to buttress her egregious argument on the Baconian authorship of Shakespeare's Plays.
Accompanying the King southward, Davies held his own at the English court. The royal 'liking' grew: and the royal brain—small no doubt yet alert and in a sense animated with patriotic feeling—was in earnest study of what has till to-day proved England's difficulty—Ireland. Mountjoy (later Earl of Devonshire and husband of Sidney's "Stella"[26]) was sent as Lord-Deputy, and Davies accompanied him as Solicitor-General for Ireland, for which office the "patent" is dated 25th November, 1603. Immediately almost on his arrival at Dublin, viz. on 18th December, 1603, he was knighted. The date hitherto given has been "at Theobald's 11th February 1607," but the records of the Ulster King of Arms make it certain that the knighthood was conferred on 18th December, 1603. On the same occasion his "crest" is described as "On a mountvert, a Pegasus,or, winged, gules."[27]
I know no more noble story than the Work of Sir John Davies in and for Ireland. Our collection of his Prose Works, wherein his State Papers and Correspondence will appearin extenso—from H. M. Public Record Office and other sources—will make it clear as day that beyond all comparison he was the foremost man in the Government. With the sheer hard toil of humblest attorney slaving for his daily bread, there was a breadth of view, a self-denying resoluteness of purpose to benefit his adopted country, a prescience of outlook into the future combined with fearless and magnanimous dealing with contemporary problems, a high-hearted resistance in the face of manifold temptations to slacken effort, and a fecundity of resource and fulness of knowledge and vigilance of observation, that ought to be written on a white page of our national history. It is scarcely possible to exaggerate the consuming labours and the actual and solid results of Davies' almost ubiquitory activities in Ireland. In my full Life of him I hope to make good to the uttermost this high praise. Here and now a few outward facts alone can be stated. In 1606, by patents dated successively 29th May, 1606, and 29th May, 1609,[28]he was promoted to be Attorney-General for Ireland, and was also created Sergeant-at-Arms.[29]He went as "Judge of Assize." His Reports and State Papers, and "Pleadings" and Letters, from 1603 onward, demonstrate how firm was his grasp of circumstance, and how statesmanly he marked out his plans, while his forensicappearances astonish with the omniverousness of his legal reading and knowledge of precedents. Throughout he was 'backed' and cheered by his superiors in Ireland and by the King and his ministers. So early as 9th September, 1604, the Lord Chancellor thus wrote to Davies:—
Yrlettrwritten at Cavan the |13 of Julij Last I receyude the 28 of August. I am gladde to heare of yor[illegible] & wysh yorseruice & successe therein may be aunswerable to yorowne expectations & best hopes. You maye haue comfort that you serue so gracious a soueraigne, so religious & replete wthall Royall virtues, and so redy & wyllinge to acknowledge & remunerate the services & dueties of his meanest servantes farre beyonde their desertes. I doubt not but yordiligence & care will be such as wyll be very acceptable to his Matie. In the Discourse wchyou haue sent me, I fynde not only a very lovinge respcte wchyou have towardes me (for wchI owe you heartie thankes). But also a very wyse & judicious obseruacon of the state of this wasted kingdome & the condicon of the people. God staye his hande from further afflictinge them. They haue alreadye fealte the scourge of Warre & oppresion & now are vnder the grevous scourge of famine & pestilence. God gyue them his grace and make them imprest as true Christians ought. To become truly Religious towarde God, Loyall and faythfull to their Soueraigne, constantly obedient to his lawes & to the effecting thereof. I euer wysh & praye that they may haue religious virtuous & godly magistratessette ouer them. To yorselfe I wish all happines, and wherein you shall haue occasion to vse mee, you shall alwayes finde me redy & wyllinge to stande you in the best stede I can. And so wthmy very swete comendacons I comitt you to the Almightye. And rest yorvery assured Loving frendeT. Ellesmere, Canc.At[torn]feile9 Septembris 1604.To the right wormy very Loving frende, Sr. John Davis Knight, his MatiesSolict. generall in his Realme of Ireland.[30]
Yrlettrwritten at Cavan the |13 of Julij Last I receyude the 28 of August. I am gladde to heare of yor[illegible] & wysh yorseruice & successe therein may be aunswerable to yorowne expectations & best hopes. You maye haue comfort that you serue so gracious a soueraigne, so religious & replete wthall Royall virtues, and so redy & wyllinge to acknowledge & remunerate the services & dueties of his meanest servantes farre beyonde their desertes. I doubt not but yordiligence & care will be such as wyll be very acceptable to his Matie. In the Discourse wchyou haue sent me, I fynde not only a very lovinge respcte wchyou have towardes me (for wchI owe you heartie thankes). But also a very wyse & judicious obseruacon of the state of this wasted kingdome & the condicon of the people. God staye his hande from further afflictinge them. They haue alreadye fealte the scourge of Warre & oppresion & now are vnder the grevous scourge of famine & pestilence. God gyue them his grace and make them imprest as true Christians ought. To become truly Religious towarde God, Loyall and faythfull to their Soueraigne, constantly obedient to his lawes & to the effecting thereof. I euer wysh & praye that they may haue religious virtuous & godly magistratessette ouer them. To yorselfe I wish all happines, and wherein you shall haue occasion to vse mee, you shall alwayes finde me redy & wyllinge to stande you in the best stede I can. And so wthmy very swete comendacons I comitt you to the Almightye. And rest yorvery assured Loving frende
T. Ellesmere, Canc.
At[torn]feile9 Septembris 1604.
To the right wormy very Loving frende, Sr. John Davis Knight, his MatiesSolict. generall in his Realme of Ireland.[30]
A few years later—1608—one Letter in full—like all our MSS., now for the first time printed,—from the Lord Deputy—the noble Chichester—must suffice as a specimen of many kindred.
Noble Mr. Attornie,Since your departure hence I haue received two ioynt letters from you, and Sr. James Ley, and one from your selfe alone, for wchI am not your debter vnlesse it be in the matter, wchI confesse bringes more life wthit comming freshe out of the stoorehouse of neewes and noveltie, for I have written as manie and more vnto you both.Albeyt I expect you wththe first passage (for so the lordes haue promised by their letters) yet can I not leaue you vnremembred, assuringe you thoe you have greater friendes, none respects you better then my selfe, nor can be more readie to make demonstration therof accordinge to the meanes I haue. I praye bringe wthyou the lordes directions for Sr. Neale Odonnell, and the rest of the prisoners. Sr. Nealeand Ocatiance [O'Sullivan?] had contriued their escape and woulde haue as desperately attempted it, had I not preuented it within these sixe nightes by a discoverie made vnto me, albeyt I keep 20 men euerie neight for the guarde of the Castle ouer and aboue the warde of the same, whereof two or three lye in each of their chambers. Their horses were come to the towne, and all thinges else in readines. Sure these men doe goe beyond all nations in the worlde for desperate escapes, Shane Granie Ocarratan [O'Sullivan?] after he was acquited of three indictments, and as most men conceiued free from all danger of the lawe, did on fridaye the 27th of Januarie cast himselfe out of a wyndow in the topp of the Castle by the heelpe of a peece of rotten match, and his mantell wchbrake before he was halfe waye downe, and thoe he were presently discovered yet he escaped about supper tyme.When I had written thus far worde was brought me that a passadge [sic] was come from Hollyheade wchmade me to pause for a tyme hopinge you or some other wthletters, or other directions, was arriued, but beinge advertised that the Recorder of this Cyttie only wtha fewe other passengers had in this fayre weather wrought out a passage by longe lyeinge att sea, although the wyndes were contrarie, and that they came from London before Christmas and had no written letters or message but in theise particulars, I fell to you againe.And do now praye you to geue your best assystance and furtherance to such matters tuchinge my perticulare as John Strowd or Annesley shall acquaint you wthall, for wchyou shall finde me verie thankfull vnto you.I haue written to the lordes in the behalfe of the howseservitors here, that they maye be remembered vpon the deuysion and plantation of the scheated lands in Ulster. I am discreadited amonge them if they should be forgotten, and sure the plantation woulde be weake wthout them, for they must be the pyllers to support it. Those that shall come from thence wyll not affect it in that kynde as these do, to make it a settlement for them and theirs; and in respect of their wourthier deserts and paynfull labors, and that I haue vpon my promise to speake effectually for them preuayled so farre as to staye them from resortinge thither, wchthey woulde doe in great multitudes if I woulde haue given way to their desire. I wysh that an honorable consideration maye be had of them before the diuision be concluded. I knowe that worke is of great moment and on it dependes much of the prosperitie, and good estate of the whole kingdome. I haue sayd enough to one that vnderstandes so well: And so beinge called vpon sooner then I expected I must end wththe page, but wyll euer be foundYour trewe affected friendArthur Chichester.Att Dublyn Castle the 7th offebruarie 1608.I send here wththe proceedinge of the Court of Kinges bench in the cause of the Carrolans wchwas violently prosecuted by the l. of Howth. I send them by reason it is thought by the Judges that the Baron will exclaime of their proceedinges here.To my verie wourthie friend Sr John Davis Knight hisMatiesAttornie in the Realme of Irelande.[31]
Noble Mr. Attornie,
Since your departure hence I haue received two ioynt letters from you, and Sr. James Ley, and one from your selfe alone, for wchI am not your debter vnlesse it be in the matter, wchI confesse bringes more life wthit comming freshe out of the stoorehouse of neewes and noveltie, for I have written as manie and more vnto you both.
Albeyt I expect you wththe first passage (for so the lordes haue promised by their letters) yet can I not leaue you vnremembred, assuringe you thoe you have greater friendes, none respects you better then my selfe, nor can be more readie to make demonstration therof accordinge to the meanes I haue. I praye bringe wthyou the lordes directions for Sr. Neale Odonnell, and the rest of the prisoners. Sr. Nealeand Ocatiance [O'Sullivan?] had contriued their escape and woulde haue as desperately attempted it, had I not preuented it within these sixe nightes by a discoverie made vnto me, albeyt I keep 20 men euerie neight for the guarde of the Castle ouer and aboue the warde of the same, whereof two or three lye in each of their chambers. Their horses were come to the towne, and all thinges else in readines. Sure these men doe goe beyond all nations in the worlde for desperate escapes, Shane Granie Ocarratan [O'Sullivan?] after he was acquited of three indictments, and as most men conceiued free from all danger of the lawe, did on fridaye the 27th of Januarie cast himselfe out of a wyndow in the topp of the Castle by the heelpe of a peece of rotten match, and his mantell wchbrake before he was halfe waye downe, and thoe he were presently discovered yet he escaped about supper tyme.
When I had written thus far worde was brought me that a passadge [sic] was come from Hollyheade wchmade me to pause for a tyme hopinge you or some other wthletters, or other directions, was arriued, but beinge advertised that the Recorder of this Cyttie only wtha fewe other passengers had in this fayre weather wrought out a passage by longe lyeinge att sea, although the wyndes were contrarie, and that they came from London before Christmas and had no written letters or message but in theise particulars, I fell to you againe.
And do now praye you to geue your best assystance and furtherance to such matters tuchinge my perticulare as John Strowd or Annesley shall acquaint you wthall, for wchyou shall finde me verie thankfull vnto you.
I haue written to the lordes in the behalfe of the howseservitors here, that they maye be remembered vpon the deuysion and plantation of the scheated lands in Ulster. I am discreadited amonge them if they should be forgotten, and sure the plantation woulde be weake wthout them, for they must be the pyllers to support it. Those that shall come from thence wyll not affect it in that kynde as these do, to make it a settlement for them and theirs; and in respect of their wourthier deserts and paynfull labors, and that I haue vpon my promise to speake effectually for them preuayled so farre as to staye them from resortinge thither, wchthey woulde doe in great multitudes if I woulde haue given way to their desire. I wysh that an honorable consideration maye be had of them before the diuision be concluded. I knowe that worke is of great moment and on it dependes much of the prosperitie, and good estate of the whole kingdome. I haue sayd enough to one that vnderstandes so well: And so beinge called vpon sooner then I expected I must end wththe page, but wyll euer be found
Your trewe affected friend
Arthur Chichester.
Att Dublyn Castle the 7th offebruarie 1608.
I send here wththe proceedinge of the Court of Kinges bench in the cause of the Carrolans wchwas violently prosecuted by the l. of Howth. I send them by reason it is thought by the Judges that the Baron will exclaime of their proceedinges here.
To my verie wourthie friend Sr John Davis Knight his
MatiesAttornie in the Realme of Irelande.[31]
Two short letters from Bacon—not before printed,having escaped even Mr. Spedding's Argus-eyes—in the same Carte MSS.—show Davies's pleasant relations with his great contemporary. They are as follow:—
(I. Carte MS. Vol. 62, ff. 317-18.)
Good Sr Jh. Davies yormistaking shall not be imputed to you (for the difference is not much). Yorgratulacons for my marrige I take kyndly. And as I was all waies delighted wththe fruites of yor[illegible] so I would be gladde of yor[illegible] so as you plant not yorself to[o] farre of[f]. For I had rather you should be a laborer than a plant in that State. You giue me no occasion to wryte longer in that you impart not by yorlrsany occurrence of yrs. And so wthmy very lovgconsidntowards youI remayneYorassured friendFr. Bacon.from Graies Inn,this 26th of Dec. 1606.To my very good Frend Sr Jh. Davis Knt Attorny g'rall to his M. in Ireland.
Good Sr Jh. Davies yormistaking shall not be imputed to you (for the difference is not much). Yorgratulacons for my marrige I take kyndly. And as I was all waies delighted wththe fruites of yor[illegible] so I would be gladde of yor[illegible] so as you plant not yorself to[o] farre of[f]. For I had rather you should be a laborer than a plant in that State. You giue me no occasion to wryte longer in that you impart not by yorlrsany occurrence of yrs. And so wthmy very lovgconsidntowards you
I remayneYorassured friendFr. Bacon.
from Graies Inn,this 26th of Dec. 1606.
To my very good Frend Sr Jh. Davis Knt Attorny g'rall to his M. in Ireland.
(II. Ibid ff, 328-9.)
Mr. Atturny,I thanke you for yorlreand the discourse you sent of this mere accident, as thinges then appeared. I see manifestly the begynnyng of better or woorse. But me thinketh it is first a tender of the better, and woorse foloweth but vpon refusall or default. I would haue been gladd to see you hear, but I hope occasion restreineth ormeeting for a vacation when we may haue more fruite of conference. To requiteyorproclamacon (wchin my judgment is wysely and seriously penned) I send you [illegible] wh[illegible] wchhappened to be in my hands when yoscame.I would be gladde to hear oft from you and to be advertized how [illegible] passe whereby to haue some occasion to thinke some good thoughts though I can doe lyttell. At least it wilbe a contynuance in exercise of orfrendshippe wchon my part remayneth increased by that I hear of yorservice and the good respects I find towards my self. And so in extreme hast I remayneYorvery [illegible] frendFr. Bacon.from Graies Inn this23th of Oct. 1607.To the R. W. his verie Lovinge frende Sr Iohn DauysKnight, his MatiesAtturnye in Irelande.
Mr. Atturny,
I thanke you for yorlreand the discourse you sent of this mere accident, as thinges then appeared. I see manifestly the begynnyng of better or woorse. But me thinketh it is first a tender of the better, and woorse foloweth but vpon refusall or default. I would haue been gladd to see you hear, but I hope occasion restreineth ormeeting for a vacation when we may haue more fruite of conference. To requiteyorproclamacon (wchin my judgment is wysely and seriously penned) I send you [illegible] wh[illegible] wchhappened to be in my hands when yoscame.
I would be gladde to hear oft from you and to be advertized how [illegible] passe whereby to haue some occasion to thinke some good thoughts though I can doe lyttell. At least it wilbe a contynuance in exercise of orfrendshippe wchon my part remayneth increased by that I hear of yorservice and the good respects I find towards my self. And so in extreme hast I remayne
Yorvery [illegible] frendFr. Bacon.
from Graies Inn this23th of Oct. 1607.
To the R. W. his verie Lovinge frende Sr Iohn DauysKnight, his MatiesAtturnye in Irelande.
During one of his 'circuits' in Ireland, he met Eleanor, daughter of Lord Audley (afterwards Earl of Castlehaven) and was married to her—though the date has not been traced. Her later years were darkened with insanity of a strangely voluble type. It is to be feared she was an ill "help-meet" for her husband. There is pathos, if also inevitable comedy, in her career—not here to be entered on.[32]
While intensely occupied with his official duties, Sir John Davies did not neglect his literary gift. He was making history every year—so fundamental and permanent was the part he filled in Ireland—but the Past was gone back on that he might fetch from it monition for the Present, and hope for the Future. His imperishable book: "A Discourse of the true reasons why Ireland has neuer been entirely subdued till the beginning of His Majesty's reign," (4to)[33]will reward the most prolonged study to-day. It was published in 1612. In the same year he was made King's Sergeant and also elected M.P. for Fermanagh, being the first representative for that county in the Irish House of Parliament. He was likewise chosen to be Speaker of the House; but not without a characteristically violent struggle between the Catholics and Protestants.[34]He delivered a notable speech "to the House" on its opening in 1613.[35]In 1614 he appears in the House of Commons in England as M.P. for Newcastle-under-Lyne:[36]and his attendance in England was preparatory to final retirement from Ireland. "Grants of lands" there from the "forfeitures,"—which, if ever any righteously acquired, he did[37]—gave him a special interestin Ireland as a proprietor; but after all, for such a man, at such a time, to be limited to Ireland, was but a splendid exile. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that having practically achieved all, and more than all, he had been given to do, or himself originated, he sought to return. It is usually stated (e.g. Chalmers, Woolrych, &c., &c.) that he so returned in 1616; but it was not until 1619 that he did so finally and absolutely; for in a letter under date "21 June, 1619," to Buckingham, he is found still only pleading for retirement and for the transference of his office to a relative.[38]It is one of the treasures of the Fortescue MSS, in the Bodleian,[39]and is as follows:
My most honored Lord,I præsent my most humble Thanks to yrLpfor præsenting mee to his Matythe last Day, at Wansted; & for yrnoble favour in furthering the suit I then made, as well for mine owne stay in England, as for my recommending a fitt man to my place of service in Ireland.The Gentleman to whom I wish this place now, is much obliged to yrLpalready, & well worthy of yrLpsfavours, & besides his owne worthines (hee being a Reader & Judge of a circuit, of wchdegree & quality never any beforewas sent out of England to supply that place), hee is of neere alliance vnto mee. So as, where there is concurrence of meritt & kinred, yrLpmay conjecture that I deale wthhim like a gentleman & a friend, & not like a marchent.Albeit I willleave a good place there, wthout any præsent præferment heer (whereof none of my profession have failed at their return out of Ireland) I might, perhaps wthsome reason expect some Retribution, to recompence the charge of Transporting my famely from thence, & of setling it heer in this Kingdome, where I am become almost an Alien by reason of my long absence.For this particular favour of transferring my place to so well deserving a successor, I doo wholly depend vppon yrLpas I shall euer doo vpon all other occasions, while I live, as one that have separated my self from all other dependancies, beeing entirely devoted to doo yrLpall humble & faythful serviceJo: Dauys.21 Junij 1619.if my long service may induce favour, yrLpmay bee pleased to looke vppon the noate enclosed.To the right honorable my very good lordmy lord the Marques of Buckingham, &c.
My most honored Lord,
I præsent my most humble Thanks to yrLpfor præsenting mee to his Matythe last Day, at Wansted; & for yrnoble favour in furthering the suit I then made, as well for mine owne stay in England, as for my recommending a fitt man to my place of service in Ireland.
The Gentleman to whom I wish this place now, is much obliged to yrLpalready, & well worthy of yrLpsfavours, & besides his owne worthines (hee being a Reader & Judge of a circuit, of wchdegree & quality never any beforewas sent out of England to supply that place), hee is of neere alliance vnto mee. So as, where there is concurrence of meritt & kinred, yrLpmay conjecture that I deale wthhim like a gentleman & a friend, & not like a marchent.Albeit I willleave a good place there, wthout any præsent præferment heer (whereof none of my profession have failed at their return out of Ireland) I might, perhaps wthsome reason expect some Retribution, to recompence the charge of Transporting my famely from thence, & of setling it heer in this Kingdome, where I am become almost an Alien by reason of my long absence.
For this particular favour of transferring my place to so well deserving a successor, I doo wholly depend vppon yrLpas I shall euer doo vpon all other occasions, while I live, as one that have separated my self from all other dependancies, beeing entirely devoted to doo yrLpall humble & faythful service
Jo: Dauys.
21 Junij 1619.
if my long service may induce favour, yrLpmay bee pleased to looke vppon the noate enclosed.
To the right honorable my very good lordmy lord the Marques of Buckingham, &c.
It is to be regretted that the "noate" of the postscript has not been preserved. It probably enumerated his public services.
Sir William Ryves succeeded as Attorney-General for Ireland by Patent dated 30th October, 1619.[40]From 1619 onward, Sir John Davies is found in the House of Commons (still for Newcastle-under-Lyne)and "on circuit" as a Judge. His "Charges"—to be given in his Prose Works—as "one of the Justices of Assize for the Northerne Circute"—are very characteristic, being full of legal 'precedents,' and noticeable in their tracing up the verdict sought to abiding principles. He took part in the memorable "case" of Frances, Countess of Somerset, for the poison-murder of Sir Thomas Overbury. In the House of Commons he spoke seldom; but when anything that concerned Irish interests came up he never failed to contend in behalf of Ireland.[41]
Lightening his legal employments were a large correspondence and 'fellowship' with his most eminent contemporaries, and the collection of his Poetical Works, in so far as he wished them to go down to posterity. Of the former I select one undated letter to the illustrious Sir Robert Cotton, with whom he had been early acquainted, and associated in 1614, in re-establishing the Society of Antiquaries, originally founded in 1590. One of these is a sprightly and pleasant letter, and all the more welcome that most of his correspondence that remains is official and grave. The lighter letter is as follows, from MSS. Cotton: Julius C. III., p. 14: now paged 133, British Museum:
Sweet Robin, for a few sweet words, a client of mine hath presented me wthsweet meates, to what end I know not except it be, as Chaucer speakes,To make mine English sweet uppon my tongue, that I may pleade the better for him to morrow at the Seale.Not wthstanding, the best vse that I can make of it, is to preesent you wthit, especially at this time when you ar in Physick, that you may sweeten your tast after the Rhewbarb. I have been a little distracted wthvnexpected busines these two or three last dayes, that I cold not performe my officious promise to visit you in this voluntary sicknes of yours; but [erased] now I am faine to make my hands to excuse my feet from travayling vnto you, because being the servant of the multitude I am not mine owne man. Make much of your self, & make yrself speedily well, that I may have your company towards Cambridge, from whence I will go wthyou to see the ancient Seat of Robt. le Bruis; so wishing you a prosperous operation of your Phisick, at least that you may Imagine so, for it is the Imagination that doth good, & not the Physick, wchI ever thought a meere imposture; I cease to troble you least the intention of to much Reading hinder the working of those vertuous drugs.Yrsall & everJ. Dauis.(Endorsed) To my worthy friendRob: Cotton esquier.
Sweet Robin, for a few sweet words, a client of mine hath presented me wthsweet meates, to what end I know not except it be, as Chaucer speakes,
To make mine English sweet uppon my tongue, that I may pleade the better for him to morrow at the Seale.
Not wthstanding, the best vse that I can make of it, is to preesent you wthit, especially at this time when you ar in Physick, that you may sweeten your tast after the Rhewbarb. I have been a little distracted wthvnexpected busines these two or three last dayes, that I cold not performe my officious promise to visit you in this voluntary sicknes of yours; but [erased] now I am faine to make my hands to excuse my feet from travayling vnto you, because being the servant of the multitude I am not mine owne man. Make much of your self, & make yrself speedily well, that I may have your company towards Cambridge, from whence I will go wthyou to see the ancient Seat of Robt. le Bruis; so wishing you a prosperous operation of your Phisick, at least that you may Imagine so, for it is the Imagination that doth good, & not the Physick, wchI ever thought a meere imposture; I cease to troble you least the intention of to much Reading hinder the working of those vertuous drugs.
Yrsall & everJ. Dauis.
(Endorsed) To my worthy friendRob: Cotton esquier.
A second letter runs thus, from MSS. Cotton: Julius C. III., p. 32:—
Noble SrRobert: the ordinary subject of letters is, newes, whereof this kingdome since the warres, hath been very barren; therefore I must write vnto you that wchis no newes, that is, that I love you, & hold a kind & dear memory of you.according to my promise to yrself & Mr. Solliciter of England who is now, I hear, a Judge, I have caused this bearer to draw some Mapps of orprincipal Cittyes of Ireland; & he having occasion to go for England, I have thought fitt to direct him vnto you. he is an honest ingenuous yong mā & of yrowne Name. I hear not yet of yeAntiquities out of Cumberland; if they be brought hither I will take care to transmitt thā to London, & so in speciall hast, being ready to go my circuit ovrall Munster I leave you to yedivine p'servation.Ysto do you Service,Io: Dauys.Dublin 4 Martij 1607.I desire to be affectionately remembred to Mr.Justice Doddridge & Mr. Clarencieux.
Noble SrRobert: the ordinary subject of letters is, newes, whereof this kingdome since the warres, hath been very barren; therefore I must write vnto you that wchis no newes, that is, that I love you, & hold a kind & dear memory of you.
according to my promise to yrself & Mr. Solliciter of England who is now, I hear, a Judge, I have caused this bearer to draw some Mapps of orprincipal Cittyes of Ireland; & he having occasion to go for England, I have thought fitt to direct him vnto you. he is an honest ingenuous yong mā & of yrowne Name. I hear not yet of yeAntiquities out of Cumberland; if they be brought hither I will take care to transmitt thā to London, & so in speciall hast, being ready to go my circuit ovrall Munster I leave you to yedivine p'servation.
Ysto do you Service,Io: Dauys.
Dublin 4 Martij 1607.I desire to be affectionately remembred to Mr.Justice Doddridge & Mr. Clarencieux.
His Poems, as finally collected by him, appeared in a thin octavo in 1622. His Prose Works he never collected, but allowed them to be re-published separately. His "True Cause" passed through several editions during his own life-time. One of his most important prose-books after the "True Cause" brings us to the closing event of his busy and various-coloured life.It is entitled in the first issue, which was posthumous[42]—"The Question concerning Impositions, Tonnage, Poundage, Prizage, Customs, &c. Fully stated and argued, from Reason, Law, and Policy. Dedicated to King James in the latter end of his Reign." (1656.)
This historically-memorable treatise has already been reproduced in the Prose Works.[43]Elsewhere I examine it critically.[44]It must suffice here to state that later the King (Charles I.), having an impoverished exchequer, had recourse to forced loans of various amounts. Hating the control of Parliament, he persisted in substituting his will for law, his "proclamation" for statute. Feeling the treacherousness of his standing-ground of prerogative, the Judges were applied to, and with loyalty to the monarch rather than to their country, they somewhat favoured the King's 'demands.' Charles deemed their "opinion" to have a somewhat "uncertain sound," and presented to the Judges a paper for their signature, recognising the legality of the collection. This was refused. One of the victims of the sovereign's wrath was Chief-Justice Crew, who was "discharged" on the 9th of November, 1626 (Foss'sJudges, vi., p. 291). Sir John Davies was appointed as his successor; and one cannot help recognising that the opinions revealed in his "Jus Imponendi" contributed to the succession. For one, I should rather have found Sir John Davies on the other side, spite of his great array of "precedents" and ingenious applications to the then circumstances and exigencies, and necessarily ignorant of the lengths Charles as distinguished from James, was to proceed. Technically, there had been "precedents" no doubt; but long "use and wont" had rendered so-called regal rights obsolete, and it was insanity to revive them, as Charles I.,—who inherited James's high notions of regal authority,—found out when too late. But, passing to Davies, the "lean fellow" called Death was nearer the Knight than was the Chief-Justiceship. Purple and ermine robes were actually bought, but they were not to be donned. He had told a Mr. Mead that he was at supper with the Lord Keeper on the 7th of December,[45]and that he fully expected the great promotion. The air was thick with "reports" to the same effect. He was found dead in his bed on the morning of the 8th December, cut down, it has been supposed, by apoplexy. Three daysafter, he was interred in S. Martin's Church, London. Later a double inscription for himself and his widow (who was re-married to Sir Archibald Douglas,) long hung on the third pillar, near the grave. The original Latin, with our translation, are as follow:[46]—
D. O. M. S.
Johannes Davys Equestris ordinis quondam AttornatiRegii Generalis amplissima prudentiâ in regnoHyberniæ functus, inde in patriam revocatusinter servientes Domini Regis ad Legem primumLocum obtinuit; post varia in utrone munere præclare gesta ad ampliora jam designatus, repentespem suorum destituit suam implevit ab humanishonoribus ad cœlestem gloriam evocatusÆtatis anno 57.oVir ingenio compto, rarâ facundiâOratione cum solutâ tum numeris restrictâFelicissimus.Juridicam severitatem morum elegantiâ et ameniore eruditione temperavit.Iudex incorruptus; Patronus fidusIngenuæ pietatis amore et anxiæ superstitionis contemptuIuxta insignis.Plebeiarum animarum in religionis negotioPervicacem μἱκροψυχιαν ex edito despiciebetFastidium leniente miseratione.Ipse magnanimè probus, religiosus, liber, et cœlo admotusUxorem habuit Dominam Eleanoram HonoratissimiComitis de Castlehaven Baronis Audley filiamUnicam ex eâ prolem superstitem hæredem reliquitLuciam illustrissimo Ferdinando BaroniHastings Huntingdoniæ Comiti nuptam.Diem Supremam obiit 8o idus DecembrisAnno Domini 1626.Apud nos exemplum relinquens, hic resurrectionem justorum expectat.Accubat dignissimo marito incomparabilis uxorQuæ illustre genusEt generi pares animosChristianâ mansuetudine temperavitErudita super sexumMitis infra sortemPlurimis MajorQuia humiliorIn eximiâ formâ sublime ingeniumIn venustâ comitate singularem modestiamIn femineo corpore viriles animosIn rebus adversissimis serenam mentemIn impio sæculo pietatem et rectitudinem inconcussamPossedit.Non illi robustam animam aut res lauta laxavit, autAngusta contraxit, sed utramque sortem pari vultuAnimoque non excepit modo sed rexitQuippe Dei plena cui plenitudiniMundus nec benignus addereNec malignus detrahere potuissetSatis Deum jamdudum spirans et sursum aspirans suiAnte et Reip. fati præsaga, salutisque æternæ certissimaIngente latoque ardore in Servatoris dilectissimi sinumIpsius sanguine lotam animam efflavitRebus humanis exempta immortalitatem induitIII. Non. Quintilis Anno Salutis 1652.Ps. 16. 9.Etiam caro mea habitat securè quà non esDerelicturus animam meam in sepulchro.
D(eo) O(ptimo) M(aximo) S(acrum)
To God the Best and Greatest: Sacred.John Davys of knightly rank, having formerlydischarged with prudence the highest duties ofKing's Attorney General in the realm of Ireland:thence having been recalled to his own country,secured the first place among the servantsof his lord the King, at the Law. After variousservices nobly rendered in each office, being nownominated to more distinguished (appointments)he suddenly frustrated the hope of his friendsbut fulfilled his own—being called awayfrom human honours to celestial glory,in the year of his age 57.A man for accomplished genius, for uncommoneloquence, for language whether free or boundin verse,Most happy.Judicial sternness with elegance of mannersand more pleasant learninghe tempered.An uncorrupt Judge, a faithful PatronFor love of free-born piety and contempt of fretting superstitionalike remarkable.He looked down from on high on the obstinate narrownessof plebeian souls in the matter of religion,pity softening his disdain.Himself magnanimously just, religious, free, and moved by heaven,Had for wife the Lady Eleanor of the Right Honble.Earl of Castlehaven, Baron Audley, daughter:His only surviving offspring by her he left as heiress,Lucy, to the most illustrious Ferdinand BaronHastings, Earl of Huntingdon, married.He spent his last day the 8th DecemberIn the year of our Lord 1626.With us leaving an example: here for the resurrectionof the Just, he waits.
Near to her most worthy husband lies his incomparable Wife:Who her illustrious birthAnd spirit equal to her raceWith Christian mildness tempered.Learned above her sex,Meek below her rank,Than most people greaterBecause more humble,In eminent beauty She possessed a lofty mind,In pleasing affability, singular modesty:In a woman's body a man's spirit,In most adverse circumstances a serene mind,In a wicked age unshaken piety and uprightness.Not for her did Luxury relax her strong soul, orPoverty narrow it: but each lot with equal countenanceAnd mind, she not only took but ruled.Nay she was full of God, to which fulnessNeither a smiling world could have added,Nor from it a frowning world have taken away.Now for a long time sufficiently breathing of Godand aspiring above, of her ownAnd the Commonwealth's fate divining beforehand,And most sure of Eternal SalvationWith a mighty and huge ardour into her Beloved Saviour'sbreast, She breathed forth her soul washed in His own blood.Taken away from things human she put on immortalityon the fifth of July, in the year of Salvation, 1652.Ps. 16. 9.My flesh also dwells securely because Thou wilt notleave my soul in the sepulchre.
One is willing to accept the "golden lies" of these Epitaphs in either case.
Sir John Davies had several children. One, who was semi-idiotic, was drowned in Ireland. Others alleged to have been born, have not been traced. His daughter Lucy, of the Inscriptions, and by whom, no doubt, they were procured, became famous in her generation as Countess of Huntingdon. We have to deplore that while we have a fine portrait of her, none, as yet, has been found of her Father. His Will and Charities, and their singular after-history, will be given in my fuller Life (as before). Pass we now to
II. CRITICAL.
I shall limit myself in this second half of the Memorial-Introduction to a brief statement and examination of certain characteristics of the Poetry of Sir John Davies—the limitation being imposed by the contents of the present volumes.[47]There are Poets whose truest and most certain fame rests on so-called minor poems; and yet commonly their bulkier productions have over-shadowed these. From Milton to Wordsworth it is to be lamented that to the many they should be represented by "Paradise Lost" and "The Excursion"; or to descend, that ThomasCampbelland SamuelRogersshould have so hidden behind their "Pleasures of Hope" and "Pleasures of Memory" their rare and real faculty as Poets—for while in the larger poems of Milton and Wordsworth there is of the imperishable stuff that only genius of a lofty type weaves, it is rather (meo judicio) in "purple patches" than in the web as a whole. In Milton and Wordsworth you do not read them at their highestin their Epics but in theirshorter poems; while Campbell and Rogers should long since have died out of men's hearts had they left nothing behind them save the smooth and prize-poem-like common-places of their "Pleasures." In Milton the remark requires modification, for only in "Paradise Lost" has he put forth to uttermost daring his Imagination—than which no writer of all time has approached him for grandeur of vision and splendour of utterance. But substantially I think that those capable of discernment will agree with me that if Time may shut and leave unread except by an elect few, many pages of the 'great' and volume-filling poems, the lesser will assuredly draw more and more homage, and abide the regalia of our Literature.
It is different with Sir John Davies. His "Orchestra" and "Hymnes to Astræa" and Minor Poems, preceded considerably his "Nosce Teipsum," but it was his "Nosce Teipsum" that made King James I. prick up his ears on hearing his name, and it is "Nosce Teipsum" that is the poem that will secure immortality to Sir John Davies. His other poetry has special remarkablenesses—as will appear—but in "Nosce Teipsum" alone have we the inspiration and spontaneity, the insight and speculation, the subtlety and yet definiteness, the "burden" (in the prophetic sense) and the melodyof the Poet as distinguished from the versifier or verse-Rhetorician.
I value "Nosce Teipsum" as a first thing for itsdeep and original thinking, i.e. for itsintellectual strength—all the more remarkable that as the former part of the Memorial-Introduction shows, he was only in his 28th-29th year when he composed it. Of its art I shall have somewhat to say anon: but regarding it as a "philosophicalpoem" and as a contribution to metaphysic, I place foremost theTHOUGHTin it, as at once a characteristic and a merit (if merit be not too poor a word).Davies(along withFulke Greville,Lord BrookeandDonne) simply as Thinker on the profoundest problems of nature and human nature, seems to me to stand out pre-eminently, and in saying this, I regard it as sheer nonsense to exalt the workmanship at the expense of the material—to ask me to recognize in a bit of tin ingeniously and painstakingly etched into a kind of miracle of execution something co-equal with a solid bar of gold as it gleams i' the face of the sun in its purged and massive simpleness; or to put it unmetaphorically, I must pronounce judgment on the rank of a Poetquaa Poet fundamentally on the kind and quality of the thought on higher and deeper things that he puts into his verse and that he strikes out inothers. Your mere artist-Poet is surely third-rate and must even go beneath the music-composer of to-day.
"Nosce Teipsum" as it was practically the earliest so it remains the most remarkable example of deep reflective-meditative thinking in verse in our language or in any language. The student of this great poem will very soon discover that within sometimes homeliest metaphors there is folded a long process of uncommon thought on the every-day facts of our mysterious existence. I call the thinking deep, because "Nosce Teipsum" reveals more than eyes that looked on the surface—reveals penetrative and bold descent to the roots of our being and reachings upward to the Highest. Your mere realistic word-painter of what he sees, is shallow beside a Poet who passes beneath the surface and circumstance and fetches up from sunless depths or down from radiant altitudes fact and facts—each contributory to that ultimate philosophy which while it shall accept every proved fact, will not rush off hysterically shouting "eureka," with ribald accusations of all that generations have held to be venerable and sustaining. I call the thinking original, for there is evidence everywhere in "Nosce Teipsum" that the penitent recluse of Oxford made his own self his study—as really if not as avowedly as Wordsworth.
I am aware in claiming originality for Davies that in that huge waste-basket of our Literature—Nichols' Literary Illustrations (Vol. IV. pp. 549-50) there is a letter from an Alexander Dalrymple, Esq., who is designated "the great hydrographer" to "Mr. Herbert" (the Bibliographer I opine) wherein he takes different ground. We must traverse his charge. He thus writes:—"Dear Sir, I have lately purchased the following old books" (he enumerates several).... "I have also got 'Wither's translation of Nemesius de Naturâ hominis' by which I find Sir John Davies's poem on the Immortality of the Soul is chiefly taken from Nemesius" ... "I have picked up a tract in 4to. by Thomas Jenner, with some very good plates, the marginal notes of which seem to be what the heads of Tate's edition of Sir John Davies's are taken from."
Were this true it would utterly take from "Nosce Teipsum" the first characteristic and merit I claim for it—deep and original thought. But it is absolutely untrue, an utter delusion, as any one will find who takes the pains that I have done to read, either the original Nemesius, or what this sapient book-buyer mentions, Wither's translation. With my mind and memory full of "Nosce Teipsum" and the poem itself beside me, I have read and re-read every page, sentence andword of Nemesius and Wither (and there is a good deal of Wither in his translation: 1636) and I have not come upon a single metaphor or (as the old margin-notes called them) "similies," or even observation in "Nosce Teipsum" drawn from Nemesius or Wither. The only element in common is that necessarily Nemesius adduces and discusses the opinions of the Heathen Philosophers on the many matters handled by him, and Sir John Davies does the same with equal inevitableness. But to base a charge of plagiarism against "Nosce Teipsum" on this, is to reason on the connection between Tenterden Steeple and Goodwin Sands (if the well-worn folly be a permissible reference). The following is the title-page of the quaint old tome and as it is by no means scarce, any reader can cross-question our witness: "The Nature of Man. A learned and useful Tract written in Greek by Nemesius, surnamed the Philosopher; sometime Bishop of a City in Phœnecia, and one of the most ancient Fathers of the Church. Englyshed, and divided into Sections, with briefs of their principle contents by Geo. Wither. London: Printed by M. F. for Henry Taunton in St. Duncan's Churchyard in Fleetstreet. 1636." (12o21 leaves and pp. 661.) Chronologically—Wither's translation was not published until 1636, while "NosceTeipsum" was published in 1599; but Nemesius' own book no more than Wither's warrants any such preposterous statements as this Alexander Dalrymple makes. Even in the treatment of the "opinions" of the Heathen Philosophers which come up in Nemesius, and in "Nosce Teipsum," the latter while 'intermedling' with the same returns wholly distinct answers in refutation. The "opinions" themselves as being derived of necessity from the same sources are identical; but neither their statement nor refutation. Nemesius is ingenious and well-learned, but heavy and prosaic. Sir John Davies is light of touch and a light of poetic glory lies on the lamest "opinion." The "Father of the Church" goes forth to war with encumbering armour: the Poet naked and unarmed beyond the spear wherewith he 'pierces' everything, viz. human consciousness. Jenner's forgotten book had perhaps been read by Tate, but that concerns Tate not Sir John Davies. I pronounce it a hallucination to write "Sir John Davies' poem on the immortality of the Soul is chiefly taken from Nemesius." Not one line was taken from Nemesius.
Before passing on it may be well to illustrate here from the "contents" of two chapters (representative of the whole) in Wither's Nemesius, the merely superficial agreement between them and "Nosce Teipsum." In the Poem under "The Soule of Man and the Immortalitie thereof" various opinions of its 'nature' are thus summarized: