Post by Admin on Oct 9, 2016 10:00:16 GMT
CHAP. 4.
Of Poesie.
POeste, in the Judgment of Quintilian, is another part of Grammar: for this reason not a little proud, that heretofore Theaters and Amphitheaters, the most stately Fabricks of the time, were with great cost and magnifi∣cence erected, not for Philosophers, Lawyers, Physici∣ans; not for Rhetoricians, Mathematicians, or Divines but to represent the Fables of the Poets. An Art inven∣ted to no other purpose, but with lascivious Rhythmes, measure of Sillables, and the gingling noise of fine words, to allure and charm the Ears of men addicted to folly; and furthermore, with the pleasing intice∣ments of Fables, and mistakes of feigned Stories, to insnare and deceive the mind. Therefore hath she deserv'd no other title, than to be the female Architect of falshood, and the preserver of idle and fond opinions. And though we may pardon so much of her as coun•e∣nances Madness, Drunkenness, Impudence, and Bold∣ness; yet who can bear with Patience her undaun∣ted Confidence in maintaining Lyes? For what cor∣ner of the Earth hath she not fill'd with her hairbrain'd Trifles, and idle Fables! Taking the first rise of her fa∣bulous Stories from the very Chaos, she relates the di∣visions of Heaven, the birth of Venus, the fight of the Titans, the infancy of Jove, the deceits of Rhea, and cheat of the Stone, Saturnus Bonds, the Rebellion of the Gyants, the Thievery and Punishment of Promethe•, the wandrings of Delos, the travail of Latona, the slaughter
Page 22
of Pytho, the Treachery of Tyrus, Deau•ale••s Flood, Stones turn'd into Men, the Butcheries of Iacchus, the Fraud of Juno, Semel•s Conflagration the double Prog•∣ny of Bacchus, and whatever is reported of Minerva, Vul∣can, Erichthonius, Boreas, 〈◊〉, Theseus, Aegeus, Castor, Pollux, the Rape of Helen, the death of Hip∣polytus; To these may be added the absconding of Ce∣res, the Rape of Proserpina, together with the stor•s of Minos, Cadmus, Niobe, Pe•theus, Attaeus, Oedipus, the Labours of Hercules, the Fight of the Sun and Neptune, Athamas madness, •o turn'd into a H••fer, and Argos her keeper kill'd by Mercury, with those other Dreams of the Golden Fleece, Peleus, Jason, Medaea; the death of Agamemnon, and punishment of Clytemnestra, Danaë, Per∣seus, Gorgon, Cassiopea, Andromeda, Orpheus, Orestes, the Travels of Aeneas and Vlysses, Circe, Thelagon, Aeolus, Palamedes, Nauplius, Ajax, Daphne, Ariadne, Europa, Phaedra, Pasiphaë, Daedalus, Icarus, Glaucus, Atlas, Gery∣on, Tantalus; Pan, Centaurs, Satyrs, Syrens, and what∣ever else has been delivered to memory concerning these notorious untruths. Neither hath she been con∣tented only with Mankind, but also she hath made the Gods themselves Parties to her delusive Stories, rela∣ting in pleasing measures, and in the mischievous charms of Verse, their Birth, their Deceases, Strifes, Quarrels, Animosities, Battles, Wounds, Lamentations, Bonds, Loves, Lusts, Fornications, Adulteries; not only de∣ceiving and infecting the present Age, but having neat∣ly preserv'd and pickled up these be••ialities of the Gods in neat Verse and Meter, communicates the same to posterity, like the Venome of Mad Doggs, com∣pelling all that are Bit, to be in the same con∣dition. And with so much Art are her Lyes woven, that they are often prejudicial to true History, as appears by the feigned Adultery of Dido with Aeneas, and the taking of •rey by the Greeks. Some there are
Page 23
arrived at such a height of madness, that they ascribe some share of Divinity to her, because the Devils for∣merly return'd their Answers in Poetical Anagrams. Hence Poets are in some sence said to be Prophets, and inspired from above; their trifling Verses being us'd as Oracles and Answers of Divination; which is the reason that Spartianus, in the Life of Trajan, makes mention of Sortes Homericae, so called from the Verse of Homer, and of the Vergilianae sortes, so nam'd from the Poems of Vergil, which superstition is now trans∣ferr'd and apply'd to sacred Text, and the Poetry of the Psalms, not without the connivance of some of the greatest Masters of our Religion. But to return to Poesie St. Austin; hath commanded it to be exil'd from the City of God: Heathen Plato expels it out of his Common-wealth, and Cicero forbids it to be ad∣mitted: Socrates admonishes the person that desires to keep the Virgin-purity of his good name undefiled, to beware of the acquaintance of Poets, for that their power to praise is not so great, as the force that lies in their slander and dispraise. Thus we see Minos, ce∣lebrated by Homer and Hesiod for the justest of Kings, because he made War upon the Athenians, rais'd all the Tragick Poets about his Ears, who immediately sent him packing to Hell. Penelope, so famous in Ho∣mer for her Chastity, yet Licophron reproaches as one that lay with many Adulterers. Dido, a most vertuous and continent Widow, Foundress of Carthage, Enni∣us the Poet, in his Poem upon Scipio's Life, feigns to have unchastly lov'd Aeneas, whom by computation of time it was impossible for her to have seen▪ And Ver∣gil confirms the same so plausibly, that the Story hath almost gain'd belief. At length this Liberty of lying and slandering was advanced to that height, that the Censors thought fit to enact a Law, whereby the falshoods and reproaches of Poets might be sup∣pressed.
Page 24
Among the Ancient Romans, Poesie was held in great disrepute, so that whoever gave his mind to the Study thereof, was, as Gellius and Cato witness, accounted as a publick Enemy. And Q. Ful∣vius was accused by M. Cato, for that he going Pro-Con∣sul into Asia, had taken Ennius the Poet along with him to bear him company. Neither doth that great Justiciary, the Emperor Justinian, give any freedom or immunity to the Professors thereof. Homer was call'd the Philosopher of all Poets, and the Poet of all Philosophers; yet the Athenians laid a Fine upon him as a Mad-man, of fifty Drachma's; and they laught at and derided Ti•hteus the Poet, as one beside his Wits. The Lacedaemonians also commanded the Books of Archilochus the Poet to be carried out of their City. And thus the best and wisest of Men have always despised Poesie as the Parent of Lies, find∣ing Poets to be such monstrous Lyers, as being such who never made it their Study to speak or deliver in Writing any thing of sound knowledge, only to tickle the Ears and Fancies of vain Persons with idle Stories, always building Castles in the Air, as Campanus hath truly said of them.
Mad Poets only on their Verses feed;
Reject their Fables, they will starve for need:
Their Lyes their Riches are, and all their Gold
They faign, and think that they enjoy; so bold
To think the Palm grows only the reward
To Crown the Brows of every lying Bard.
Furthermore, there are most desperate contentions not only about the Forms and Figures of Verses, and also concerning the Feet, Accents and quantity of Syllables long and short (for these are the Trisles of Grammarians) but also about their own Toys, Fig∣ments,
Page 25
and Lyes: for example, the Club of Hercules, the chast Tree, the Letters of the Hyacinth, the daughters of Niobe, the Tree under which Latona brought forth; as also concerning the Country of Homer, and his Se∣pulcher: Which was eldest in time, Homer or Hesiod: Whether Patroclus were before Achilles: In what At∣tire Anacharsis the Scythian slept: Why Homer did not honour Palamedes: whether Lucan be to be pla∣ced among the Poets, or Hereticks: Also concerning the thefts of Vergil, and what time of the year he dy∣ed. Who was the Author of the little Epigrams, is a great Contest among the Grammarians, and hither∣to undecided. To say truth, all the Verses of the Poets are full of Impostures and Fables, invented for the delight of Fools, under pretence of Flattery, or de∣traction of the worst of Men. Whatever Poets do, whether they relate, praise or invoke,'tis all but in flattery of their own Fables; again, whether they in∣veigh, satyrize, or accuse, they do it in applause of their own Fables, acting always the parts of Mad-men. Rightly therefore did Democritus call Poesie not an Art, but Madness. Therefore Plato said, that he never knockt at a Poets Doors, being in his Wits. Then are Poets said to express most admirable lines, when they are either Mad or Drunk. For this cause St. Austin calls Poesie the Wine of Error, quaft only by drunken Doctors. St. Jerome also calls Poesie the Meat of the Devils. An Art of it self thin and naked, which is in reality a meer insipid thing, unless it be clad and season'd with some other learning. An Art always hungry, always starving, and like Mice, feed∣ing on stollen Cates, yet I know not with what bold∣ness in the midst of their trifles and fables, like Tithonus Grashoppers, the Lycian Frogs, the Myrmidons Emmets, promising to themselves immortal Fame and Glory.
Page 26
Live happy then, such Charms my numbers boast,
No day shall see ye in Oblivion lost.
Which indeed is no Fame or Reward at all, or at most very little profitable. Neither is it the Office of a Poet, but of a Historian, to prolong the life of Repu∣tation.
Of Poesie.
POeste, in the Judgment of Quintilian, is another part of Grammar: for this reason not a little proud, that heretofore Theaters and Amphitheaters, the most stately Fabricks of the time, were with great cost and magnifi∣cence erected, not for Philosophers, Lawyers, Physici∣ans; not for Rhetoricians, Mathematicians, or Divines but to represent the Fables of the Poets. An Art inven∣ted to no other purpose, but with lascivious Rhythmes, measure of Sillables, and the gingling noise of fine words, to allure and charm the Ears of men addicted to folly; and furthermore, with the pleasing intice∣ments of Fables, and mistakes of feigned Stories, to insnare and deceive the mind. Therefore hath she deserv'd no other title, than to be the female Architect of falshood, and the preserver of idle and fond opinions. And though we may pardon so much of her as coun•e∣nances Madness, Drunkenness, Impudence, and Bold∣ness; yet who can bear with Patience her undaun∣ted Confidence in maintaining Lyes? For what cor∣ner of the Earth hath she not fill'd with her hairbrain'd Trifles, and idle Fables! Taking the first rise of her fa∣bulous Stories from the very Chaos, she relates the di∣visions of Heaven, the birth of Venus, the fight of the Titans, the infancy of Jove, the deceits of Rhea, and cheat of the Stone, Saturnus Bonds, the Rebellion of the Gyants, the Thievery and Punishment of Promethe•, the wandrings of Delos, the travail of Latona, the slaughter
Page 22
of Pytho, the Treachery of Tyrus, Deau•ale••s Flood, Stones turn'd into Men, the Butcheries of Iacchus, the Fraud of Juno, Semel•s Conflagration the double Prog•∣ny of Bacchus, and whatever is reported of Minerva, Vul∣can, Erichthonius, Boreas, 〈◊〉, Theseus, Aegeus, Castor, Pollux, the Rape of Helen, the death of Hip∣polytus; To these may be added the absconding of Ce∣res, the Rape of Proserpina, together with the stor•s of Minos, Cadmus, Niobe, Pe•theus, Attaeus, Oedipus, the Labours of Hercules, the Fight of the Sun and Neptune, Athamas madness, •o turn'd into a H••fer, and Argos her keeper kill'd by Mercury, with those other Dreams of the Golden Fleece, Peleus, Jason, Medaea; the death of Agamemnon, and punishment of Clytemnestra, Danaë, Per∣seus, Gorgon, Cassiopea, Andromeda, Orpheus, Orestes, the Travels of Aeneas and Vlysses, Circe, Thelagon, Aeolus, Palamedes, Nauplius, Ajax, Daphne, Ariadne, Europa, Phaedra, Pasiphaë, Daedalus, Icarus, Glaucus, Atlas, Gery∣on, Tantalus; Pan, Centaurs, Satyrs, Syrens, and what∣ever else has been delivered to memory concerning these notorious untruths. Neither hath she been con∣tented only with Mankind, but also she hath made the Gods themselves Parties to her delusive Stories, rela∣ting in pleasing measures, and in the mischievous charms of Verse, their Birth, their Deceases, Strifes, Quarrels, Animosities, Battles, Wounds, Lamentations, Bonds, Loves, Lusts, Fornications, Adulteries; not only de∣ceiving and infecting the present Age, but having neat∣ly preserv'd and pickled up these be••ialities of the Gods in neat Verse and Meter, communicates the same to posterity, like the Venome of Mad Doggs, com∣pelling all that are Bit, to be in the same con∣dition. And with so much Art are her Lyes woven, that they are often prejudicial to true History, as appears by the feigned Adultery of Dido with Aeneas, and the taking of •rey by the Greeks. Some there are
Page 23
arrived at such a height of madness, that they ascribe some share of Divinity to her, because the Devils for∣merly return'd their Answers in Poetical Anagrams. Hence Poets are in some sence said to be Prophets, and inspired from above; their trifling Verses being us'd as Oracles and Answers of Divination; which is the reason that Spartianus, in the Life of Trajan, makes mention of Sortes Homericae, so called from the Verse of Homer, and of the Vergilianae sortes, so nam'd from the Poems of Vergil, which superstition is now trans∣ferr'd and apply'd to sacred Text, and the Poetry of the Psalms, not without the connivance of some of the greatest Masters of our Religion. But to return to Poesie St. Austin; hath commanded it to be exil'd from the City of God: Heathen Plato expels it out of his Common-wealth, and Cicero forbids it to be ad∣mitted: Socrates admonishes the person that desires to keep the Virgin-purity of his good name undefiled, to beware of the acquaintance of Poets, for that their power to praise is not so great, as the force that lies in their slander and dispraise. Thus we see Minos, ce∣lebrated by Homer and Hesiod for the justest of Kings, because he made War upon the Athenians, rais'd all the Tragick Poets about his Ears, who immediately sent him packing to Hell. Penelope, so famous in Ho∣mer for her Chastity, yet Licophron reproaches as one that lay with many Adulterers. Dido, a most vertuous and continent Widow, Foundress of Carthage, Enni∣us the Poet, in his Poem upon Scipio's Life, feigns to have unchastly lov'd Aeneas, whom by computation of time it was impossible for her to have seen▪ And Ver∣gil confirms the same so plausibly, that the Story hath almost gain'd belief. At length this Liberty of lying and slandering was advanced to that height, that the Censors thought fit to enact a Law, whereby the falshoods and reproaches of Poets might be sup∣pressed.
Page 24
Among the Ancient Romans, Poesie was held in great disrepute, so that whoever gave his mind to the Study thereof, was, as Gellius and Cato witness, accounted as a publick Enemy. And Q. Ful∣vius was accused by M. Cato, for that he going Pro-Con∣sul into Asia, had taken Ennius the Poet along with him to bear him company. Neither doth that great Justiciary, the Emperor Justinian, give any freedom or immunity to the Professors thereof. Homer was call'd the Philosopher of all Poets, and the Poet of all Philosophers; yet the Athenians laid a Fine upon him as a Mad-man, of fifty Drachma's; and they laught at and derided Ti•hteus the Poet, as one beside his Wits. The Lacedaemonians also commanded the Books of Archilochus the Poet to be carried out of their City. And thus the best and wisest of Men have always despised Poesie as the Parent of Lies, find∣ing Poets to be such monstrous Lyers, as being such who never made it their Study to speak or deliver in Writing any thing of sound knowledge, only to tickle the Ears and Fancies of vain Persons with idle Stories, always building Castles in the Air, as Campanus hath truly said of them.
Mad Poets only on their Verses feed;
Reject their Fables, they will starve for need:
Their Lyes their Riches are, and all their Gold
They faign, and think that they enjoy; so bold
To think the Palm grows only the reward
To Crown the Brows of every lying Bard.
Furthermore, there are most desperate contentions not only about the Forms and Figures of Verses, and also concerning the Feet, Accents and quantity of Syllables long and short (for these are the Trisles of Grammarians) but also about their own Toys, Fig∣ments,
Page 25
and Lyes: for example, the Club of Hercules, the chast Tree, the Letters of the Hyacinth, the daughters of Niobe, the Tree under which Latona brought forth; as also concerning the Country of Homer, and his Se∣pulcher: Which was eldest in time, Homer or Hesiod: Whether Patroclus were before Achilles: In what At∣tire Anacharsis the Scythian slept: Why Homer did not honour Palamedes: whether Lucan be to be pla∣ced among the Poets, or Hereticks: Also concerning the thefts of Vergil, and what time of the year he dy∣ed. Who was the Author of the little Epigrams, is a great Contest among the Grammarians, and hither∣to undecided. To say truth, all the Verses of the Poets are full of Impostures and Fables, invented for the delight of Fools, under pretence of Flattery, or de∣traction of the worst of Men. Whatever Poets do, whether they relate, praise or invoke,'tis all but in flattery of their own Fables; again, whether they in∣veigh, satyrize, or accuse, they do it in applause of their own Fables, acting always the parts of Mad-men. Rightly therefore did Democritus call Poesie not an Art, but Madness. Therefore Plato said, that he never knockt at a Poets Doors, being in his Wits. Then are Poets said to express most admirable lines, when they are either Mad or Drunk. For this cause St. Austin calls Poesie the Wine of Error, quaft only by drunken Doctors. St. Jerome also calls Poesie the Meat of the Devils. An Art of it self thin and naked, which is in reality a meer insipid thing, unless it be clad and season'd with some other learning. An Art always hungry, always starving, and like Mice, feed∣ing on stollen Cates, yet I know not with what bold∣ness in the midst of their trifles and fables, like Tithonus Grashoppers, the Lycian Frogs, the Myrmidons Emmets, promising to themselves immortal Fame and Glory.
Page 26
Live happy then, such Charms my numbers boast,
No day shall see ye in Oblivion lost.
Which indeed is no Fame or Reward at all, or at most very little profitable. Neither is it the Office of a Poet, but of a Historian, to prolong the life of Repu∣tation.