Thomas Nashe

“ Let other men (as they please) praise the Mountaine that in seauen yeares bringeth forth a Mouse, or the Italianate penne that, of a packet of pilfries, affords the presse a pamphlet or two in an age, and then in disguised array vaunts Ouids and Plutarchs plumes as theyr owne; but giue me the man whose extemporall veine in any humour will excell our greatest Art-maisters deliberate thoughts; whose inuentions, quicker then his eye, will challenge the prowdest Rhetoritian to the contention of like perfection with like expedition. ”

“ M. Phaer likewise is not to be forgot, in regard of his famous Virgill, whose heauenly verse had it not beene blemished by his hautie thoughts, England might haue long insulted in his wit, and corrigat qui potest haue been subscribed to his works. But Fortune, the Mistrisse of change, with a pittying compassion respecting Maister Stanihursts praise, would that Phaer should fall that hee might rise, whose heroicall poetry, infired, I should say inspired, with an hexameter furie, recalled to life what euer hissed Barbarisme hath been buried this C. yeere ”

“ From the copy of -10 at the British Museum with collations from -89 and from the imperfect copy at Trinity College, Cambridge. The edition of 1616 has also been collated in every case where a difference is recorded between the others, but variations of reading found in this edition alone are generally ignored. The text of the Epistle, at least as printed in 1589, being unusually free from corruption, it has seldom been necessary to give readings from modern editions, which introduce few, if any, emendations. ”

“ A pot of blew burning ale, with a fiery flaming toste, is as good as Pallas with the nine Muses on Pernassus top: without the which, in vaine they may [139] crie, O thou my Muse, inspire me with some penne, when they want certaine liquid sacrifice to rouze her forth her denne. ”

“ It is a common practise now a dayes amongst a sort of shifting companions, that runne through euery Art and thriue by none, to leaue the trade of Nouerint, whereto they were borne, and busie themselues with the indeuours of Art, that could scarcely Latinize their neck verse if they should haue neede ”

“ We are thus driven to rely chiefly on the nature of the changes themselves. These can of course be seen in the collation-notes, but it seems useful to call attention here to some of the more important. ”

“ Grammarians, who, hauing no more learning in their skull then will serue to take vp a commoditie, nor Art in their braine then was nourished in a seruing mans idlenesse, will take vppon them to be the ironicall Censors of all, when God and Poetrie doth know they are the simplest of all. ”

“ I am not ignorant how eloquent our gowned age is grown of late; so that euery mechanicall mate abhorreth the English he was borne too, and plucks, with a solemne periphrasis, his vt vales from the inke-horne: which I impute, not so much to the perfection of Arts, as to the seruile imitation of vaine glorious Tragedians, who contend not so seriously to excell in action, as to embowell the cloudes in a speech of comparison, thinking themselues more then initiated in Poets immortality, if they but once get Boreas by the beard and the heauenly Bull by the deaw-lap. ”

“ How is it then such bungling practitioners in principles should euer profit the Common-wealth by their negligent paines, who haue no more cunning in Logicke or dialogue | Latine then appertaines to the literall construction of either? neuerthelesse, it is daily apparant to our domestical eyes that there is none so forward to publish their imperfectiõs, either in the trade of glose or translations, as those that are more vnlearned then ignorance, and lesse conceiuing than infants. ”

“ But how euer their dissentious iudgements should decree in their after noone sessions of an sit, the priuate truth of my discoue-|red Creede in this controuersie is this, that as that beast was thought scarce worthy to be sacrificed to the Egyptian Epaphus, who had not some or other blacke spot on his skin: so I deeme him farre vnworthy the [127] name of a scholer, and so, consequently, to sacrifice his endeuours to Art, that is not a Poet, either in whole or in part. ”

“ Absurdities may acquaint you ere long with my skill in surgery, wherein the diseases of Art more merrily discouered may make our maimed Poets put together their blankes vnto the building of an Hospitall. ”

“ But the hunger of our vnsatiate humorists, beeing such as it is, ready to swallow all draffe without difference, that insinuates it selfe to their sences vnder the name of delights, imploies oft-times many thredbare wits, to emptie their inuention of their apish deuices, and talke most superficially of Policie, as those that neuer ware gowne in the Vniuersitie ”

“ I know not almost any of late dayes that hath shewed himselfe singuler in any speciall Latine Poeme ; whose Amintas, and translated Antigone, may march in equippage of honour with any of our ancient Poets. I will not say but we had a Haddon, whose penne would haue challenged the Lawrell from Homer, together with Car, that came as neere him as Virgill to Theocritus. ”

“ In [62] the forefront of whom I cannot but place that aged father Erasmus, that inuested most of our Greeke writers in the robes of the ancient Romanes [63] ; in whose traces Philip Melancthon, Sadolet, Plantine, and many other reuerent Germaines insisting, haue reedified the ruines of our decayed Libraries, and maruellously enriched the Latine tongue with the expence of their toyle. Not long after, their emulation being transported into England [64] , euerie priuate scholer, William Turner, and who not, beganne to vant [65] their smattering of Latine in English impressions. ”

“ Tolossa [172] hath forgotten [173] that it was sometime sacked, and beggars that euer they carried their fardels on foot-back: and in truth no maruaile [174] , when as the deserued reputation of one Roscius is of force to enrich a rabble of counterfeits. Yet [175] let subiects for all their insolence dedicate a De profundis euery morning to the preseruation of their Cæsar, lest [176] their increasing indignities returne them ere long to their [177] iugling [178] to mediocrity, and they bewaile in weeping blankes the wane of their Monarchie. ”

“ But [79] how ill their precepts haue prospered with our idle age, that leaue the fountaines of Sciences, to follow the riuers of Knowledge, their ouer-fraught studies with trifling compendiaries may testifie: for I know not how it commeth [80] to passe, by the doting practise of our Diuinitie Dunces, that striue to make their pupills pulpit-men before they are reconciled to Priscian; but those yeares which should bee imployed in Aristotle are expired in Epitomies [81] , and well too, they may haue so much Catechisme vacation, to rake [82] vp a little refuse philosophy. ”

“ Which their dagger drunkennesse, although it might be excused with tam Marti, quàm Mercurio, yet will I couer it as well as I may with that prouerbiall fœcundicalices, that might well haue beene doore-keeper to the kanne of Silenus, when, nodding on his Asse trapped with Iuie, he made his moist nose-cloth the pausing intermedium twixt euery nappe. Let frugall scholers and fine fingered nouices take their drinke by the ounce and their wine by the halfe penny worths, but it is for a Poet to examine the pottle pots, and gage the bottome of whole gallons ”

“ Signatures as in the edition of 1610, but E3, H3, and I are Roman.
Catch-words: As in the edition of 1610 (so far as given) , except C 2V. such F I. (ex-) cellency; G 2V. (Ring-) leader H 2V. war- (rant) H 3 Fare- (well) (The last in Roman.)
Copy used: That in the British Museum (C. 40. e. 5) .
1634. [See Censura Literaria, vol. viii, p. 386.]
I have been unable to trace any copy of this edition or to learn anything about it [4] .
(2) Modern Editions: 1808. Censura Literaria . . . [Edited by (Sir) S. E. Brydges] . . . London : for Longman, Hurst, &c. ”

“ New par. Gro.↑ A anatomie os 10.↑ yon 10.↑ How euer, yours euer. 89: How ... euer. 10: How ... euer: 16.↑ Thomas Nash. 16. [Explanatory Notes] Date of Composition. In his History of Eng. Dr. Poetry, 1831, iii. 150, Collier says, 'We may conclude that Greene's Menaphon, printed in 1587 ... appeared early in that year, because in Greene's Euphues, his Censure to Philautus, of the same date, it is mentioned as already in print'. ”