APPENDIX II.To the Worshipfull, his very singular good friend, Maister G. H., Fellow of Trinitie Hall in Cambridge.*[* Reprinted from “Ancient Critical Essays upon English Poets and Poesy. Edited by Joseph Haslewood”. Vol II]GOOD MAISTER G.:—I perceiue, by your most curteous and frendly letters, your good will to be no lesse in deed than I alwayes esteemed. In recompence wherof, think, I beseech you, that I wil spare neither speech, nor wryting, nor aught else, whensoeuer and wheresoeuer occasion shal be offred me; yea, I will not stay till it be offred, but will seeke it in al that possibly I may. And that you may perceiue how much your counsel in al things preuaileth with me, and how altogither I am ruled and ouer-ruled thereby, I am now determined to alter mine owne former purpose, and to subscribe to your advizement; being, notwithstanding, resolued stil to abide your farther resolution. My principal doubts are these. First, I was minded for a while to haue intermitted the vttering of my writings; leaste by ouer-much cloying their noble eares, I should gather a contempt of myself, or else seeme rather for game and commoditie to doe it, for some sweetnesse that I haue already tasted. Then also me seemeth the work too base for his excellent lordship, being made in honour of a priuate personage vnknowne, which of some ylwillers might be vpbraided, not to be so worthie as you knowe she is; or the matter not so weightie that it should be offred to so weightie a personage, or the like. The selfe former title still liketh me well ynough, and your fine addition no lesse. If these and the like doubtes maye be of importaunce, in your seeming, to frustrate any parte of your aduice, I beeseeche you without the leaste selfe loue of your own purpose, councell me for the beste: and the rather doe it faithfullye and carefully, for that, in all things, I attribute so muche to your iudgement, that I am euermore content to adnihilate mine owne determinations in respecte thereof. And, indeede, for your selfe to, it sitteth with you now to call your wits & senses togither (which are alwaies at call) when occasion is so fairely offered of estimation and preferment, For whiles the yron is hote it is good striking, and minds of nobles varie, as their estates.Verum ne quid durius.I pray you bethinks you well hereof, good Maister G., and forth with write me those two or three special points and caueats for the nonce;De quibus in superioribus illis mellitissimus longissimisque litteris tuis.Your desire to heare of my late beeing with hir Maiestie muste dye in it selfe. As for the twoo worthy gentle men, Master Sidney and Master Dyer, they haue me, I thanke them, in some vse of familiarity; of whom and to whome what speache passeth for youre credite and estimation I leaue your selfe to conceiue, hauing alwayes so well conceiued of my vnfained affection and zeale towardes you. And nowe they haue proclaimed in their [Greek: hareiophaga] a generall surceasing and silence of balde rymers, and also of the verie beste to; in steade whereof they haue, by authoritie of their whole senate, prescribed certaine lawes and rules of quantities of English sillables for English verse; hauing had thereof already greate practise, and drawen mee to their faction. Newe bookes I heare of none, but only of one* [* Stephen Gosson.], that writing a certaine booke calledThe Schoole of Abuse, and dedicating it to Maister Sidney, was for hys labor scorned; if, at leaste, it be in the goodnesse of that nature to scorne. Such follie is it not to regard aforehande the inclination and qualitie of him to whome wee dedicate oure bookes. Suche mighte I happily incurre, entitulingMy Slomber, and the other pamphlets, vnto his honor. I meant them rather to Maister Dyer. But I am of late more in loue wyth my Englishe versifying than with ryming: whyche I should haue done long since, if I would then haue followed your councell.Sed te solum iam tum suspicabar cum Aschamo sapere; nunc aulam video egregios alere poetas Anglicos. Maister E.K. hartily desireth to be commended vnto your worshippe: of whome what accompte he maketh youre selfe shall hereafter perceiue by hys paynefull and dutifull verses of your selfe.Thus muche was written at Westminster yesternight; but comming this morning, beeyng the sixteenth of October [1579], to Mystresse Kerkes, to haue it deliuered to the carrier, I receyued youre letter, sente me the laste weeke; whereby I perceiue you otherwhiles continue your old exercise of versifying in English,—whych glorie I had now thought whoulde haue bene onely ours heere at London and the court.Truste me, your verses I like passingly well, and enuye your hidden paines in this kinde, or rather maligne and grudge at your selfe, that woulde not once imparte so muche to me. But once or twice you make a breache in Maister Drants rules:quod tamen condonabimus tanto poetae, tuaeque ipsius maximae in his rebus autoritati.You shall see, when we meete in London, (whiche when it shall be, certifye vs,) howe fast I haue followed after you in that course: beware, leaste in time I ouertake you.Veruntamen te solum sequar, (vt saepenumero sum professus,) nunquam sane assequar dum viuam.And nowe requite I you with the like, not with the verye beste, but with the verye shortest, namely, with a fewIambickes. I dare warrant, they be precisely perfect for the feete, (as you can easily iudge,) and varie not one inch from the rule. I will imparte yours to Maister Sidney and Maister Dyer, at my nexte going to the courte. I praye you keepe mine close to your selfe, or your verie entire friendes, Maister Preston, Maister Still, and the reste.Iambicum TrimetrumVnhappie Verse, the witnesse of my vnhappie state,Make thy selfe fluttring wings of thy fast flyingThought, and fly forth vnto my love whersoeuer she be:Whether lying reastlesse in heauy bedde, or elseSitting so cheerelesse at the cheerfull boorde, or elsePlaying alone carelesse on hir heauenlie virginals.If in bed, tell hir, that my eyes can take no reste;If at boorde, tell hir, that my mouth can eate no meate;If at hir virginals, tel hir, I can heare no mirth.Asked why? say, Waking loue suffereth no sleepe;Say, that raging loue dothe appall the weake stomacke;Say, that lamenting loue marreth the musicall.Tell hir, that hir pleasures were wonte to lull me asleepe;Tell hir, that hir beautie was wonte to feede mine eyes;Tell hir, that hir sweete tongue was wonte to make me mirth.Nowe doe I nightly waste, wanting my kindely reste;Nowe doe I dayly starue, wanting my liuely foode;Nowe doe I alwayes dye, wanting thy timely mirth.And if I waste, who will bewaile my heauy chaunce?And if I starue, who will record my cursed end?And if I dye, who will saye,This was Immerito?I thought once agayne here to haue made an ende, with heartieVale, of the best fashion; but loe, an ylfavoured mys chaunce. My last farewell, whereof I made great accompt, and muche maruelled you shoulde make no mention thereof, I am nowe tolde, (in the diuel’s name,) was thorough one mans negligence quite forgotten, but shoulde nowe vndoubtedly haue beene sent, whether I hadde come or no. Seing it can now be no otherwise, I pray you take all togither, wyth all their faults: and nowe I hope you will vouchsafe mee an answeare of the largest size, or else I tell you true, you shall bee verye deepe in my debte; notwythstandyng thys other sweete but shorte letter, and fine, but fewe verses. But I woulde rather I might yet see youre owne good selfe, and receiue a reciprocall farewell from your owne sweete mouth.Ad ornatissimum virum, multis iam diu nominibus clarissimum, G. H., Immerito sui, mox in Gallias nauigaturi,[Greek: Eutuchein]Sic malus egregium, sic non inimicus amicum,Sicque nouus veterem iubet ipse poeta poetamSaluere, ac caelo, post secula multa, secundo,Iam reducem, (caelo mage quam nunc ipse sccundo)Vtier. Ecce deus, (modo sit deus ille, renixumQui vocet in scelus, et iuratos perdat amores)Ecce deus mihi clara dedit modo signa marinus,Et sua veligero lenis parat aequora lignoMox sulcanda; suas etiam pater AEolus irasPonit, et ingentes animos Aquilonis.Cuncta vijs sic apta meis: ego solus ineptus.Nam mihi nescio quo mens saucia vulnere, dudumFluctuat ancipiti pelago, dum navita proramInualidam validus rapit huc Amor, et rapit illucConsilijs Ratio melioribus vsa, DecusqueImmortale leui diffissa Cupidinis arcu*:[* This line appears to be corrupt.]Angimur hoc dubio, et portu vexamur in ipso.Magne pharetrati nunc tu contemptor Amoris,(Id tibi Dij nomen precor haud impune remittant)Hos nodos exsolue, et eris mihi magnus Apollo!Spiritus ad summos, scio, te generosus honoresExstimulat, majusque docet spirare poetam.Quam leuis est Amor, et tamen haud leuis est Amor omnis.Ergo nihil laudi reputas aequale perenni,Praeque sacrosancta splendoris imagine tanti,Caetera, quae vecors, vti numina, vulgus adorat,Praedia, amicitias, vrbana peculia, nummos,Quaeque placent oculis, formas, spectacula, amores,Conculcare soles, vt humum, et ludibria sensus:Digna meo certe Haruejo sententia, dignaOratore amplo, et generoso pectore, quam nonStoica formidet veterum sapientia vinclisSancire aeternis: sapor haud tamen omnibus idem.Dicitur effoeti proles facunda Laertae,Quamlibet ignoti iactata per aequora caeli,Inque procelloso longum exsul gurgite ponto,Prae tamen amplexu lachrymosae conjugis, ortusCaelestes, Diuûmque thoros spreuisse beatos.Tantum amor, et mulier, vel amore potetitior. IliumTu tamen illudis; tua magnificentia tanta est:Praeque subumbrata splendoris imagine tanti,Praeque illo meritis famosis nomine parto,Caetera, quae vecors, vti numina, vulgus adorat,Praedia, amicitias, armenta, peculia, nummos,Quaeque placent oculis, formas, spectacula, amores,Quaeque placent ori, quaeque auribus, omnia temnis.Nae tu grande sapis! sapor et sapientia non est:Omnis et in paruis bene qui scit desipuisse,Saepe supercilijs palmam sapientibus aufert.Ludit Aristippum modo tetrica turba sophorum,Mitia purpureo moderantem verba tyranno;Ludit Aristippus dictamina vana sophorum,Quos leuis emensi male torquet Culicis vmbra:Et quisquis placuisse studet heroibus altis,Desipuisse studet; sic gratia crescit ineptis.Denique laurigeris quisquis sua tempora vittisInsignire volet, populoque placere fauenti,Desipere insanus discit, turpemque pudendaeStultitiae laudem quaerit. Pater Ennuis vnusDictus in innumeris sapiens: laudatur at ipseCarmina vesano fudisse liquentia vino.Nec tu, pace tua, nostri Cato Maxime saecli,Nomen honorati sacrum mereare poetae,Quantumvis illustre canas, et nobile carmen,Nistultirevelis; sic stultorum omnia plena.Tuta sed in medio superest via gurgite; nam quiNec reliquis nimium vult desipuisse videri,Nec sapuisse nimis, sapientem dixeris vnum:Hinc te merserit vnda, illine combusserit ignis.Nec tu delicias nimis aspernare fluentes,Nec sero dominam venientem in vota, nec aurum,Si sapis, oblatum: (Curijs ea, FabricijsqueGrande sui decus ij, nostri sed dedecus aeui;)Nec sectare nimis: res vtraque crimine plena.Hoc bene qui callet, (si quis tamen hoc bene callet,)Scribe vel invito sapientem hunc Socrate solum.Vis facit vna pios, iustos facit altera, et alt’raEgregie cordata ac fortia pectora: verumOmne tulit punctum, qui miscuit vtile dulci.Dij mihi dulce diu dederant, verum vtile nunquam:Vtile nunc etiam, o vtinam quoque dulce dedissent.Dij mihi, (quippe Dijs aequalia maxima paruis,)Ni nimis inuideant mortalibus esse beatis,Dulce simul tribuisse queant, simul vtile: tantaSed fortuna tua est: pariter quaeque vtile, quaequeDulce dat ad placitum: sseuo nos sydere natiQuaesitum imus eam per inhospita Caucasa longe,Perque Pyrenaeos montes, Babilonaque turpem.Quod si quaesitum nec ibi invenerimus, ingensAEquor inexhaustis permensi erroribus vltraFluctibus in medijs socij quaeremus Vlyssis:Passibus inde deam fessis comitabimur aegram,Nobile cui furtum quaerenti defuit orbis.Namque sinu pudet in patrio tenebrisque pudendis,Non nimis ingenio iuuenem infoelice virentesOfficijs frustra deperdere vilibus annos,Frugibus et vacuas speratis cernere spicas.Ibimus ergo statim, (quis eutiti fausta precetur?)Et pede clivosas fesso calcabimus Alpes.Quis dabit interea, conditas rore Britanno,Quis tibi litterulas, quis carmen amore petulcum!Musa sub Oebalij desueta cacumine mentis,Flebit inexhausto tarn longa silentia planctu,Lugebitque sacrum lacrymis Helicona tacentem.Harueiusque bonus, (charus licet omnibus idem,)Idque suo merito prope suauior omnibus, vnusAngelus et Gabriel, quamuis comitatus araicisInnumeris, geniûmque choro stipatus amaeno,Immeritotamen vnum absentem saepe requiret;Optabitque, Utinam meus hicEdmundusadesset,Qui noua scripsisset, nee amores conticuisset,Ipse suos; et saepe animo verbisque benignisFausta precaretur,Deus illum aliqaundo reducat. &c.Plura vellem per Charites, sed non licet per Musas.Vale, Vale plurimum, Mi amabilissime Harueie, meo cordi, meorumomnium longe charissime.I was minded also to haue sent you some English verses, or rymes, for a farewell; but, by my troth, I haue no spare time in the world to thinke on such toyes, that, you knowe, will demaund a freer head than mine is presently. I beseeche you by all your curtesies and graces, let me be answered ere I goe; which will be (I hope, I feare, I thinke) the next weeke, if I can be dispatched of my Lorde. I goe thither, as sent by him, and maintained most what of him; and there am to employ my time, my body, my minde, to his Honours seruice. Thus, with many superhartie commendations and recommendations to your selfe, and all my friendes with you, I ende my last farewell, not thinking any more to write vnto you before I goe; and withall committing to your faithfull credence the eternall memorie of our euerlasting friendship; the inuiolable memorie of our ynspotted friendshippe, the sacred memorie of our vowed friendship; which I beseech you continue with vsuall writings, as you may, and of all things let me hears some newes from you: as gentle M. Sidney, I thanke his good worship, hath required of me, and so promised to doe againe.Qui monet, vt facias, quod iam facis, you knowe the rest. You may alwayes send them most safely to me by Mistresse Kerke, and by none other. So once againe, and yet once more, farewell most hardly, mine owne good Master H., and loue me, as I loue you, and thinke vpon poore Immerito, as he thinketh vppon you.Leyc’ester House, this 5 [16*] of October, 1579.[*: See Appendix II, para. 3:2.]Per mare, per terras, Viuus mortuusque, Tuus Immerito.To my long approoued and singular good frende, Master G. H.GOOD MASTER H.:—I doubt not but you haue some great important matter in hande, which al this while restraineth your penne, and wonted readinesse in prouoking me vnto that wherein yourselfe nowe faulte. If there bee any such thing in hatching, I pray you hartily lette vs knowe, before al the worlds see it. But if happly you dwell altogither in Iustinians Courte, and giue your selfe to be devoured of secreate studies, as of all likelyhood you doe, yet at least imparte some your olde or newe, Latine or Englishe, eloquent and gallant poesies to vs, from whose eves, you saye, you keepe in a manner nothing hidden. Little newes is here stirred, but that olde greate matter still depending. His Honoure neuer better. I thinke the earthquake wyth you (which I would gladly learne), as it was here with vs; ouerthrowing diuers old buildings and peeces of churches. Sure verye straunge to be hearde of in these countries, and yet I heare some saye (I knowe not howe truely) that they haue knowne the like before in their dayes.Sed quid vobis videtur magnis philosophis?I like your late Englishe hexameters so exceedingly well, that I also enure my penne sometime in that kinde: whyche I fynd, indeede, as I haue heard you often defende in worde, neither so harde nor so harshe, that it will easily and fairely yeelde it selfe to oure moother tongue. For the onely or chiefest hardnesse whych seemeth is in the accente, whyche sometime gapeth, and as it were yawneth ilfauouredly, comming shorte of that it should, and sometime exceeding the measure of the number; as incarpenter, the middle sillable being vsed shorte in speache, when it shall be read long in verse, seemeth like a lame gosling, that draweth one legge after hir: andheauen, beeing vsed shorte as one sillable, when it is in verse, stretched out with adiastole, is like a lame dogge that holdes vp one legge. But it is to be wonne with custome, and rough words must be subdued with vse. For why, a God’s name, may not we, as else the Greekes, haue the kingdome of oure owne language, and measure our accents by the sounde, reseruing the quantitie to the verse? Loe, here I let you see my olde vse of toying in rymes, turned into your artificiall straightnesse of verse by thistetrasticon. I beseech you tell me your fancie, without parcialitie.See yee the blindefolded pretie god, that feathered archer,Of louers miseries which maketh his bloodie game?Wote ye why his moother with a veale hath coouered his face?Trust me, least he my looue happely chaunce to beholde.Seeme they comparable to those two which I translated youex temporein bed, the last time we lay togither in Westminster?That which I eate, did I ioy, and that which I greedily gorged;As for those many goodly matters leaft I for others.I would hartily wish you would either send me the rules and precepts of arte which you obscrue in quantities, or else followe mine, that M. Philip Sidney gave me, being the very same which M. Drant deuised, but enlarged with M. Sidneys own iudgement, and augmented with my obseruations, that we might both accorde and agree in one; leaste we ouerthrowe one an other, and be ouerthrown of the rest. Truste me, you will hardly beleeue what greate good liking and estimation Maister Dyer had of yourSatyricall Verses, and I, since the viewe thereof, hauing before of my selfe had speciall liking of Englishe versifying, am euen nowe aboute to giue you some token what and howe well therein I am able to doe: for, to tell you trueth, I minde shortely, at conuenient leysure, to sette forth a booke in this kinde, whyche I entitle,Epithalamion Thamesis, whyche booke I dare vndertake wil be very profitable for the knowledge, and rare for the inuention and manner of handling. For in setting forth the marriage of the Thames, I shewe his first beginning, and offspring, and all the countrey that he passeth thorough, and also describe all the riuers throughout Englande, whyche came to this wedding, and their righte names and right passage, &c.; a worke, beleeue me, of much labour, wherein notwithstanding Master Holinshed hath muche furthered and aduantaged me, who therein hath bestowed singular paines in searching oute their firste heades and sourses, and also in tracing and dogging onto all their course, til they fall into the sea.O Tite, siquid ego, Ecquid erit pretij?But of that more hereafter. Nowe, myDreamesandDying Pellicanebeing fully finished (as I partelye signified in my laste letters) and presentlye to bee imprinted, I wil in hande forthwith with myFaery Queene, whyche I praye you hartily send me with al expedition: and your frendly letters, and long expected judgement wythal, whyche let not be shorte, but in all pointes suche as you ordinarilye vse and I extraordinarily desire.Multum vale. Westminster. Quarto Nonas Aprilis, 1580. Sed, amabo te, meum Corculum tibi se ex animo commendat plurimum: iamdiu mirata, te nihil ad literas suas responsi dedisse. Vide quaeso, ne id tibi capitale sit: mihi certe quidem erit, neque tibi hercle impune, vt opinor. Iterum vale, et quam voles soepe.Yours alwayes, to commaunde, IMMERITO.Postcripte.I take best myDreamesshoulde come forth alone, being growen, by meanes of the Glosse (running continually in maner of a paraphrase), full as great as myCalendarTherin be some things excellently, and many things wittily, discoursed of E. K., and the pictures so singularly set forth and purtrayed, as if Michael Angelo were there, he could (I think) nor amende the beste, nor reprehende the worst. I knowe you woulde lyke them passing wel. Of myStemmata Dudleiana, and especially of the sundry apostrophes therein, addressed you knowe to whome, muste more aduisement be had, than so lightly to sende them abroade: howbeit, trust me, (though I doe never very well,) yet, in my owne fancie, I neuer dyd better:Veruntamen te sequor solum; nunquam vero assequar.Extract from Harvey’s Reply.But Master Collin Cloute is not euery body, and albeit his olde companions, Master Cuddy & Master Hobbinoll, be as little be holding to their Mistresse Poetrie as euer you wist, yet he peraduenture, by the meanes of hir speciall fauour, and some personall priuiledge, may happely line by Dying Pellicanes, and purchase great landes and lordshippes with the money which his Calendar and Dreames haue and will affourde him.Extra iocum, I like your Dreames passingly well; and the rather, bicause they sauour of that singular extraordinarie veine and inuention whiche I euer fancied moste, and in a manner admired onelye in Lucian, Petrarche, Aretine, Pasquill, and all the most delicate and fine conceited Grecians and Italians, (for the Romanes to speake of are but verye ciphars in this kinde,) whose chiefest endeuour and drifte was to haue nothing vulgare, but, in some respecte or other, and especially in liuely hyperbolicall amplifications, rare, queint, and odde in euery pointe, and, as a man woulde saye, a degree or two, at the leaste, aboue the reache and compasse of a common scholars capacitie. In whiche respecte notwithstanding, as well for the singularitie of the manner as the diuinitie of the matter, I hearde once a diuine preferre Saint Iohns Reuelation before al the veriest metaphysicall visions and iolliest conceited dreames or extasies that euer were deuised by one or other, howe admirable or super excellent soeuer they seemed otherwise to the worlde. And truely I am so confirmed in this opinion, that when I bethinke me of the verie notablest and moste wonderful propheticall or poeticall vision that euer I read, or hearde, meseemeth the proportion is so vnequall, that there hardly appeareth anye semblaunce of comparison: no more in a manner (specially for poets) than doth betweene the incomprehensible wisedome of God and the sensible wit of man. But what needeth this digression betweene you and me? I dare saye you wyll holde your selfe reasonably wel satisfied, if youre Dreames be but as well esteemed of in Englande as Petrarches Visions be in Italy; whiche, I assure you, is the very worst I wish you. But see how I haue the arte memoratiue at commaundement. In good faith, I had once again nigh forgotten your Faerie Queene: howbeit, by good chaunce, I haue nowe sent hir home at the laste, neither in better nor worse case than I founde hir. And must you of necessitie haue my iudgement of hir indeede? To be plaine, I am voyde of al iudgement, if your nine Comoedies, whervnto, in imitation of Herodotus, you giue the names of the nine Muses, (and in one mans fansie not vnworthily), come not neerer Ariostoes comoedies, eyther for the finesse of plausible elocution or the rarenesse of poetical inuention, than that Eluish Queene doth to his Orlando Furioso; which, notwithstanding, you wil needes seeme to emulate, and hope to ouergo, as you flatly professed yourself in one of your last letters. Besides that, you know, it hath bene the vsual practise of the most exquisite and odde wittes in all nations, and specially in Italie, rather to shewe and aduaunce themselues that way than any other; as, namely, those three notorious dyscoursing heads, Bibiena, Machiauel, and Aretine, did, (to let Bembo and Ariosto passe,) with the great admiration and wonderment of the whole countrey: being, in deede, reputed matchable in all points, both for conceyt of witte and eloquent decyphering of matters, either with Aristophanes and Menander in Greek, or with Plautus and Terence in Latin, or with any other in any other tong. But I wil not stand greatly with you in your owne matters. If so be the Faerye Queeue be fairer in your eie than the nine Muses, and Hobgoblin runne away with the garland from Apollo, marke what I saye: and yet I will not say that I thought, but there an end for this once, and fare you well, till God or some good aungell putte you in a better minde.
To the Worshipfull, his very singular good friend, Maister G. H., Fellow of Trinitie Hall in Cambridge.*
[* Reprinted from “Ancient Critical Essays upon English Poets and Poesy. Edited by Joseph Haslewood”. Vol II]
I perceiue, by your most curteous and frendly letters, your good will to be no lesse in deed than I alwayes esteemed. In recompence wherof, think, I beseech you, that I wil spare neither speech, nor wryting, nor aught else, whensoeuer and wheresoeuer occasion shal be offred me; yea, I will not stay till it be offred, but will seeke it in al that possibly I may. And that you may perceiue how much your counsel in al things preuaileth with me, and how altogither I am ruled and ouer-ruled thereby, I am now determined to alter mine owne former purpose, and to subscribe to your advizement; being, notwithstanding, resolued stil to abide your farther resolution. My principal doubts are these. First, I was minded for a while to haue intermitted the vttering of my writings; leaste by ouer-much cloying their noble eares, I should gather a contempt of myself, or else seeme rather for game and commoditie to doe it, for some sweetnesse that I haue already tasted. Then also me seemeth the work too base for his excellent lordship, being made in honour of a priuate personage vnknowne, which of some ylwillers might be vpbraided, not to be so worthie as you knowe she is; or the matter not so weightie that it should be offred to so weightie a personage, or the like. The selfe former title still liketh me well ynough, and your fine addition no lesse. If these and the like doubtes maye be of importaunce, in your seeming, to frustrate any parte of your aduice, I beeseeche you without the leaste selfe loue of your own purpose, councell me for the beste: and the rather doe it faithfullye and carefully, for that, in all things, I attribute so muche to your iudgement, that I am euermore content to adnihilate mine owne determinations in respecte thereof. And, indeede, for your selfe to, it sitteth with you now to call your wits & senses togither (which are alwaies at call) when occasion is so fairely offered of estimation and preferment, For whiles the yron is hote it is good striking, and minds of nobles varie, as their estates.Verum ne quid durius.
I pray you bethinks you well hereof, good Maister G., and forth with write me those two or three special points and caueats for the nonce;De quibus in superioribus illis mellitissimus longissimisque litteris tuis.Your desire to heare of my late beeing with hir Maiestie muste dye in it selfe. As for the twoo worthy gentle men, Master Sidney and Master Dyer, they haue me, I thanke them, in some vse of familiarity; of whom and to whome what speache passeth for youre credite and estimation I leaue your selfe to conceiue, hauing alwayes so well conceiued of my vnfained affection and zeale towardes you. And nowe they haue proclaimed in their [Greek: hareiophaga] a generall surceasing and silence of balde rymers, and also of the verie beste to; in steade whereof they haue, by authoritie of their whole senate, prescribed certaine lawes and rules of quantities of English sillables for English verse; hauing had thereof already greate practise, and drawen mee to their faction. Newe bookes I heare of none, but only of one* [* Stephen Gosson.], that writing a certaine booke calledThe Schoole of Abuse, and dedicating it to Maister Sidney, was for hys labor scorned; if, at leaste, it be in the goodnesse of that nature to scorne. Such follie is it not to regard aforehande the inclination and qualitie of him to whome wee dedicate oure bookes. Suche mighte I happily incurre, entitulingMy Slomber, and the other pamphlets, vnto his honor. I meant them rather to Maister Dyer. But I am of late more in loue wyth my Englishe versifying than with ryming: whyche I should haue done long since, if I would then haue followed your councell.Sed te solum iam tum suspicabar cum Aschamo sapere; nunc aulam video egregios alere poetas Anglicos. Maister E.K. hartily desireth to be commended vnto your worshippe: of whome what accompte he maketh youre selfe shall hereafter perceiue by hys paynefull and dutifull verses of your selfe.
Thus muche was written at Westminster yesternight; but comming this morning, beeyng the sixteenth of October [1579], to Mystresse Kerkes, to haue it deliuered to the carrier, I receyued youre letter, sente me the laste weeke; whereby I perceiue you otherwhiles continue your old exercise of versifying in English,—whych glorie I had now thought whoulde haue bene onely ours heere at London and the court.
Truste me, your verses I like passingly well, and enuye your hidden paines in this kinde, or rather maligne and grudge at your selfe, that woulde not once imparte so muche to me. But once or twice you make a breache in Maister Drants rules:quod tamen condonabimus tanto poetae, tuaeque ipsius maximae in his rebus autoritati.You shall see, when we meete in London, (whiche when it shall be, certifye vs,) howe fast I haue followed after you in that course: beware, leaste in time I ouertake you.Veruntamen te solum sequar, (vt saepenumero sum professus,) nunquam sane assequar dum viuam.And nowe requite I you with the like, not with the verye beste, but with the verye shortest, namely, with a fewIambickes. I dare warrant, they be precisely perfect for the feete, (as you can easily iudge,) and varie not one inch from the rule. I will imparte yours to Maister Sidney and Maister Dyer, at my nexte going to the courte. I praye you keepe mine close to your selfe, or your verie entire friendes, Maister Preston, Maister Still, and the reste.
Iambicum Trimetrum
Vnhappie Verse, the witnesse of my vnhappie state,Make thy selfe fluttring wings of thy fast flyingThought, and fly forth vnto my love whersoeuer she be:
Whether lying reastlesse in heauy bedde, or elseSitting so cheerelesse at the cheerfull boorde, or elsePlaying alone carelesse on hir heauenlie virginals.
If in bed, tell hir, that my eyes can take no reste;If at boorde, tell hir, that my mouth can eate no meate;If at hir virginals, tel hir, I can heare no mirth.
Asked why? say, Waking loue suffereth no sleepe;Say, that raging loue dothe appall the weake stomacke;Say, that lamenting loue marreth the musicall.
Tell hir, that hir pleasures were wonte to lull me asleepe;Tell hir, that hir beautie was wonte to feede mine eyes;Tell hir, that hir sweete tongue was wonte to make me mirth.
Nowe doe I nightly waste, wanting my kindely reste;Nowe doe I dayly starue, wanting my liuely foode;Nowe doe I alwayes dye, wanting thy timely mirth.
And if I waste, who will bewaile my heauy chaunce?And if I starue, who will record my cursed end?And if I dye, who will saye,This was Immerito?
I thought once agayne here to haue made an ende, with heartieVale, of the best fashion; but loe, an ylfavoured mys chaunce. My last farewell, whereof I made great accompt, and muche maruelled you shoulde make no mention thereof, I am nowe tolde, (in the diuel’s name,) was thorough one mans negligence quite forgotten, but shoulde nowe vndoubtedly haue beene sent, whether I hadde come or no. Seing it can now be no otherwise, I pray you take all togither, wyth all their faults: and nowe I hope you will vouchsafe mee an answeare of the largest size, or else I tell you true, you shall bee verye deepe in my debte; notwythstandyng thys other sweete but shorte letter, and fine, but fewe verses. But I woulde rather I might yet see youre owne good selfe, and receiue a reciprocall farewell from your owne sweete mouth.
Ad ornatissimum virum, multis iam diu nominibus clarissimum, G. H., Immerito sui, mox in Gallias nauigaturi,[Greek: Eutuchein]
Sic malus egregium, sic non inimicus amicum,Sicque nouus veterem iubet ipse poeta poetamSaluere, ac caelo, post secula multa, secundo,Iam reducem, (caelo mage quam nunc ipse sccundo)Vtier. Ecce deus, (modo sit deus ille, renixumQui vocet in scelus, et iuratos perdat amores)Ecce deus mihi clara dedit modo signa marinus,Et sua veligero lenis parat aequora lignoMox sulcanda; suas etiam pater AEolus irasPonit, et ingentes animos Aquilonis.Cuncta vijs sic apta meis: ego solus ineptus.Nam mihi nescio quo mens saucia vulnere, dudumFluctuat ancipiti pelago, dum navita proramInualidam validus rapit huc Amor, et rapit illucConsilijs Ratio melioribus vsa, DecusqueImmortale leui diffissa Cupidinis arcu*:[* This line appears to be corrupt.]Angimur hoc dubio, et portu vexamur in ipso.Magne pharetrati nunc tu contemptor Amoris,(Id tibi Dij nomen precor haud impune remittant)Hos nodos exsolue, et eris mihi magnus Apollo!Spiritus ad summos, scio, te generosus honoresExstimulat, majusque docet spirare poetam.Quam leuis est Amor, et tamen haud leuis est Amor omnis.Ergo nihil laudi reputas aequale perenni,Praeque sacrosancta splendoris imagine tanti,Caetera, quae vecors, vti numina, vulgus adorat,Praedia, amicitias, vrbana peculia, nummos,Quaeque placent oculis, formas, spectacula, amores,Conculcare soles, vt humum, et ludibria sensus:Digna meo certe Haruejo sententia, dignaOratore amplo, et generoso pectore, quam nonStoica formidet veterum sapientia vinclisSancire aeternis: sapor haud tamen omnibus idem.Dicitur effoeti proles facunda Laertae,Quamlibet ignoti iactata per aequora caeli,Inque procelloso longum exsul gurgite ponto,Prae tamen amplexu lachrymosae conjugis, ortusCaelestes, Diuûmque thoros spreuisse beatos.Tantum amor, et mulier, vel amore potetitior. IliumTu tamen illudis; tua magnificentia tanta est:Praeque subumbrata splendoris imagine tanti,Praeque illo meritis famosis nomine parto,Caetera, quae vecors, vti numina, vulgus adorat,Praedia, amicitias, armenta, peculia, nummos,Quaeque placent oculis, formas, spectacula, amores,Quaeque placent ori, quaeque auribus, omnia temnis.Nae tu grande sapis! sapor et sapientia non est:Omnis et in paruis bene qui scit desipuisse,Saepe supercilijs palmam sapientibus aufert.Ludit Aristippum modo tetrica turba sophorum,Mitia purpureo moderantem verba tyranno;Ludit Aristippus dictamina vana sophorum,Quos leuis emensi male torquet Culicis vmbra:Et quisquis placuisse studet heroibus altis,Desipuisse studet; sic gratia crescit ineptis.Denique laurigeris quisquis sua tempora vittisInsignire volet, populoque placere fauenti,Desipere insanus discit, turpemque pudendaeStultitiae laudem quaerit. Pater Ennuis vnusDictus in innumeris sapiens: laudatur at ipseCarmina vesano fudisse liquentia vino.Nec tu, pace tua, nostri Cato Maxime saecli,Nomen honorati sacrum mereare poetae,Quantumvis illustre canas, et nobile carmen,Nistultirevelis; sic stultorum omnia plena.Tuta sed in medio superest via gurgite; nam quiNec reliquis nimium vult desipuisse videri,Nec sapuisse nimis, sapientem dixeris vnum:Hinc te merserit vnda, illine combusserit ignis.Nec tu delicias nimis aspernare fluentes,Nec sero dominam venientem in vota, nec aurum,Si sapis, oblatum: (Curijs ea, FabricijsqueGrande sui decus ij, nostri sed dedecus aeui;)Nec sectare nimis: res vtraque crimine plena.Hoc bene qui callet, (si quis tamen hoc bene callet,)Scribe vel invito sapientem hunc Socrate solum.Vis facit vna pios, iustos facit altera, et alt’raEgregie cordata ac fortia pectora: verumOmne tulit punctum, qui miscuit vtile dulci.Dij mihi dulce diu dederant, verum vtile nunquam:Vtile nunc etiam, o vtinam quoque dulce dedissent.Dij mihi, (quippe Dijs aequalia maxima paruis,)Ni nimis inuideant mortalibus esse beatis,Dulce simul tribuisse queant, simul vtile: tantaSed fortuna tua est: pariter quaeque vtile, quaequeDulce dat ad placitum: sseuo nos sydere natiQuaesitum imus eam per inhospita Caucasa longe,Perque Pyrenaeos montes, Babilonaque turpem.Quod si quaesitum nec ibi invenerimus, ingensAEquor inexhaustis permensi erroribus vltraFluctibus in medijs socij quaeremus Vlyssis:Passibus inde deam fessis comitabimur aegram,Nobile cui furtum quaerenti defuit orbis.Namque sinu pudet in patrio tenebrisque pudendis,Non nimis ingenio iuuenem infoelice virentesOfficijs frustra deperdere vilibus annos,Frugibus et vacuas speratis cernere spicas.Ibimus ergo statim, (quis eutiti fausta precetur?)Et pede clivosas fesso calcabimus Alpes.Quis dabit interea, conditas rore Britanno,Quis tibi litterulas, quis carmen amore petulcum!Musa sub Oebalij desueta cacumine mentis,Flebit inexhausto tarn longa silentia planctu,Lugebitque sacrum lacrymis Helicona tacentem.Harueiusque bonus, (charus licet omnibus idem,)Idque suo merito prope suauior omnibus, vnusAngelus et Gabriel, quamuis comitatus araicisInnumeris, geniûmque choro stipatus amaeno,Immeritotamen vnum absentem saepe requiret;Optabitque, Utinam meus hicEdmundusadesset,Qui noua scripsisset, nee amores conticuisset,Ipse suos; et saepe animo verbisque benignisFausta precaretur,Deus illum aliqaundo reducat. &c.
Plura vellem per Charites, sed non licet per Musas.Vale, Vale plurimum, Mi amabilissime Harueie, meo cordi, meorumomnium longe charissime.
I was minded also to haue sent you some English verses, or rymes, for a farewell; but, by my troth, I haue no spare time in the world to thinke on such toyes, that, you knowe, will demaund a freer head than mine is presently. I beseeche you by all your curtesies and graces, let me be answered ere I goe; which will be (I hope, I feare, I thinke) the next weeke, if I can be dispatched of my Lorde. I goe thither, as sent by him, and maintained most what of him; and there am to employ my time, my body, my minde, to his Honours seruice. Thus, with many superhartie commendations and recommendations to your selfe, and all my friendes with you, I ende my last farewell, not thinking any more to write vnto you before I goe; and withall committing to your faithfull credence the eternall memorie of our euerlasting friendship; the inuiolable memorie of our ynspotted friendshippe, the sacred memorie of our vowed friendship; which I beseech you continue with vsuall writings, as you may, and of all things let me hears some newes from you: as gentle M. Sidney, I thanke his good worship, hath required of me, and so promised to doe againe.Qui monet, vt facias, quod iam facis, you knowe the rest. You may alwayes send them most safely to me by Mistresse Kerke, and by none other. So once againe, and yet once more, farewell most hardly, mine owne good Master H., and loue me, as I loue you, and thinke vpon poore Immerito, as he thinketh vppon you.
Leyc’ester House, this 5 [16*] of October, 1579.[*: See Appendix II, para. 3:2.]
Per mare, per terras, Viuus mortuusque, Tuus Immerito.
To my long approoued and singular good frende, Master G. H.
I doubt not but you haue some great important matter in hande, which al this while restraineth your penne, and wonted readinesse in prouoking me vnto that wherein yourselfe nowe faulte. If there bee any such thing in hatching, I pray you hartily lette vs knowe, before al the worlds see it. But if happly you dwell altogither in Iustinians Courte, and giue your selfe to be devoured of secreate studies, as of all likelyhood you doe, yet at least imparte some your olde or newe, Latine or Englishe, eloquent and gallant poesies to vs, from whose eves, you saye, you keepe in a manner nothing hidden. Little newes is here stirred, but that olde greate matter still depending. His Honoure neuer better. I thinke the earthquake wyth you (which I would gladly learne), as it was here with vs; ouerthrowing diuers old buildings and peeces of churches. Sure verye straunge to be hearde of in these countries, and yet I heare some saye (I knowe not howe truely) that they haue knowne the like before in their dayes.Sed quid vobis videtur magnis philosophis?I like your late Englishe hexameters so exceedingly well, that I also enure my penne sometime in that kinde: whyche I fynd, indeede, as I haue heard you often defende in worde, neither so harde nor so harshe, that it will easily and fairely yeelde it selfe to oure moother tongue. For the onely or chiefest hardnesse whych seemeth is in the accente, whyche sometime gapeth, and as it were yawneth ilfauouredly, comming shorte of that it should, and sometime exceeding the measure of the number; as incarpenter, the middle sillable being vsed shorte in speache, when it shall be read long in verse, seemeth like a lame gosling, that draweth one legge after hir: andheauen, beeing vsed shorte as one sillable, when it is in verse, stretched out with adiastole, is like a lame dogge that holdes vp one legge. But it is to be wonne with custome, and rough words must be subdued with vse. For why, a God’s name, may not we, as else the Greekes, haue the kingdome of oure owne language, and measure our accents by the sounde, reseruing the quantitie to the verse? Loe, here I let you see my olde vse of toying in rymes, turned into your artificiall straightnesse of verse by thistetrasticon. I beseech you tell me your fancie, without parcialitie.
See yee the blindefolded pretie god, that feathered archer,Of louers miseries which maketh his bloodie game?Wote ye why his moother with a veale hath coouered his face?Trust me, least he my looue happely chaunce to beholde.
Seeme they comparable to those two which I translated youex temporein bed, the last time we lay togither in Westminster?
That which I eate, did I ioy, and that which I greedily gorged;As for those many goodly matters leaft I for others.
I would hartily wish you would either send me the rules and precepts of arte which you obscrue in quantities, or else followe mine, that M. Philip Sidney gave me, being the very same which M. Drant deuised, but enlarged with M. Sidneys own iudgement, and augmented with my obseruations, that we might both accorde and agree in one; leaste we ouerthrowe one an other, and be ouerthrown of the rest. Truste me, you will hardly beleeue what greate good liking and estimation Maister Dyer had of yourSatyricall Verses, and I, since the viewe thereof, hauing before of my selfe had speciall liking of Englishe versifying, am euen nowe aboute to giue you some token what and howe well therein I am able to doe: for, to tell you trueth, I minde shortely, at conuenient leysure, to sette forth a booke in this kinde, whyche I entitle,Epithalamion Thamesis, whyche booke I dare vndertake wil be very profitable for the knowledge, and rare for the inuention and manner of handling. For in setting forth the marriage of the Thames, I shewe his first beginning, and offspring, and all the countrey that he passeth thorough, and also describe all the riuers throughout Englande, whyche came to this wedding, and their righte names and right passage, &c.; a worke, beleeue me, of much labour, wherein notwithstanding Master Holinshed hath muche furthered and aduantaged me, who therein hath bestowed singular paines in searching oute their firste heades and sourses, and also in tracing and dogging onto all their course, til they fall into the sea.
O Tite, siquid ego, Ecquid erit pretij?
But of that more hereafter. Nowe, myDreamesandDying Pellicanebeing fully finished (as I partelye signified in my laste letters) and presentlye to bee imprinted, I wil in hande forthwith with myFaery Queene, whyche I praye you hartily send me with al expedition: and your frendly letters, and long expected judgement wythal, whyche let not be shorte, but in all pointes suche as you ordinarilye vse and I extraordinarily desire.Multum vale. Westminster. Quarto Nonas Aprilis, 1580. Sed, amabo te, meum Corculum tibi se ex animo commendat plurimum: iamdiu mirata, te nihil ad literas suas responsi dedisse. Vide quaeso, ne id tibi capitale sit: mihi certe quidem erit, neque tibi hercle impune, vt opinor. Iterum vale, et quam voles soepe.Yours alwayes, to commaunde, IMMERITO.
Postcripte.
I take best myDreamesshoulde come forth alone, being growen, by meanes of the Glosse (running continually in maner of a paraphrase), full as great as myCalendarTherin be some things excellently, and many things wittily, discoursed of E. K., and the pictures so singularly set forth and purtrayed, as if Michael Angelo were there, he could (I think) nor amende the beste, nor reprehende the worst. I knowe you woulde lyke them passing wel. Of myStemmata Dudleiana, and especially of the sundry apostrophes therein, addressed you knowe to whome, muste more aduisement be had, than so lightly to sende them abroade: howbeit, trust me, (though I doe never very well,) yet, in my owne fancie, I neuer dyd better:Veruntamen te sequor solum; nunquam vero assequar.
Extract from Harvey’s Reply.
But Master Collin Cloute is not euery body, and albeit his olde companions, Master Cuddy & Master Hobbinoll, be as little be holding to their Mistresse Poetrie as euer you wist, yet he peraduenture, by the meanes of hir speciall fauour, and some personall priuiledge, may happely line by Dying Pellicanes, and purchase great landes and lordshippes with the money which his Calendar and Dreames haue and will affourde him.Extra iocum, I like your Dreames passingly well; and the rather, bicause they sauour of that singular extraordinarie veine and inuention whiche I euer fancied moste, and in a manner admired onelye in Lucian, Petrarche, Aretine, Pasquill, and all the most delicate and fine conceited Grecians and Italians, (for the Romanes to speake of are but verye ciphars in this kinde,) whose chiefest endeuour and drifte was to haue nothing vulgare, but, in some respecte or other, and especially in liuely hyperbolicall amplifications, rare, queint, and odde in euery pointe, and, as a man woulde saye, a degree or two, at the leaste, aboue the reache and compasse of a common scholars capacitie. In whiche respecte notwithstanding, as well for the singularitie of the manner as the diuinitie of the matter, I hearde once a diuine preferre Saint Iohns Reuelation before al the veriest metaphysicall visions and iolliest conceited dreames or extasies that euer were deuised by one or other, howe admirable or super excellent soeuer they seemed otherwise to the worlde. And truely I am so confirmed in this opinion, that when I bethinke me of the verie notablest and moste wonderful propheticall or poeticall vision that euer I read, or hearde, meseemeth the proportion is so vnequall, that there hardly appeareth anye semblaunce of comparison: no more in a manner (specially for poets) than doth betweene the incomprehensible wisedome of God and the sensible wit of man. But what needeth this digression betweene you and me? I dare saye you wyll holde your selfe reasonably wel satisfied, if youre Dreames be but as well esteemed of in Englande as Petrarches Visions be in Italy; whiche, I assure you, is the very worst I wish you. But see how I haue the arte memoratiue at commaundement. In good faith, I had once again nigh forgotten your Faerie Queene: howbeit, by good chaunce, I haue nowe sent hir home at the laste, neither in better nor worse case than I founde hir. And must you of necessitie haue my iudgement of hir indeede? To be plaine, I am voyde of al iudgement, if your nine Comoedies, whervnto, in imitation of Herodotus, you giue the names of the nine Muses, (and in one mans fansie not vnworthily), come not neerer Ariostoes comoedies, eyther for the finesse of plausible elocution or the rarenesse of poetical inuention, than that Eluish Queene doth to his Orlando Furioso; which, notwithstanding, you wil needes seeme to emulate, and hope to ouergo, as you flatly professed yourself in one of your last letters. Besides that, you know, it hath bene the vsual practise of the most exquisite and odde wittes in all nations, and specially in Italie, rather to shewe and aduaunce themselues that way than any other; as, namely, those three notorious dyscoursing heads, Bibiena, Machiauel, and Aretine, did, (to let Bembo and Ariosto passe,) with the great admiration and wonderment of the whole countrey: being, in deede, reputed matchable in all points, both for conceyt of witte and eloquent decyphering of matters, either with Aristophanes and Menander in Greek, or with Plautus and Terence in Latin, or with any other in any other tong. But I wil not stand greatly with you in your owne matters. If so be the Faerye Queeue be fairer in your eie than the nine Muses, and Hobgoblin runne away with the garland from Apollo, marke what I saye: and yet I will not say that I thought, but there an end for this once, and fare you well, till God or some good aungell putte you in a better minde.