came rector of Wing, in the county of Rutland, sometime in or near 1602, and held the same for the remainder of his life, which terminated in 1646, at the advanced age of 81.* The Wits' Common Wealth was first printed 1598, and there is one, if not more, editions than the above. Wood considers it "a noted school book," which accords with the engraved title as "set forth chiefly for the benefit of young scholars." From the comparative discourse upon our English poets, the work obtained considerable repute. Heywood, in his Apology for Actors, calls him an approved good scholar, and tells us his account of authors is learnedly done. † Oldys speaks him "of no small reputation at that time for his moral and poetical writings." His reading was general and extensive, and the connecting his numerous transcripts shews taste, research, and strong critical judgment. It is not to depreciate his labour upon the subject of the "comparative discourse," that I notice the greater portion to be derived from the first book of Puttenham's Art of English Poesy, in particular the thirty-first chapter. § By the additions it forms a valuable chronology for that period, and the discovery of Henslowe's latent papers establishes its credit as being just and correct. As a new edition of Puttenham's work is reported to be in the press, and as it is not probable the booksellers will venture to reprint the Wit's Treasury, though scarce and of some pecuniary value, giving the whole discourse Wood's Ath. Oxon. Vol. I. Fast. 146, and MS. notes by Dr. Farmer, in a copy of Mercs. + CENSURA, Vol. VI. p. 343. Biog. Brit. Art. Drayton, p. 1746. SCENSURA, Vol. I. p. 339 at at this juncture appeared an useful article. To the readers of the CENSURA many of the names must be familiar as houshold ones; but to some I have ventured to add a few notes, and trust they will obtain candour and indulgence amidst their imperfections. "A comparative discourse of our English Poets, with the Greeke, Latine, and Italian Poets. "As Greece had three poets of great antiquity, Orpheus, Linus, and Museus, and Italy, other three auncient poets, Liuius Andronicus, Ennius, & Plautus: so hath England three auncient poets, Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate. "As Homer is reputed the Prince of Greek poets, and Petrarch of Italian poets, so Chaucer is accounted the god of English poets. * "As Homer was the first that adorned the Greek tongue with true quantity, so Piers Plowman was the first that obserued the true quantitie of our verse without the curiositie of rime. † "Quid writ a Chronicle from the beginning of the world to his own time, that is, to raign of Augustus the Emperour: so hath Harding the Chronicler (after Whetstone has censured the old bard in a stanza of Cressid's Com plaint, in the first part of the Rock of Regard, 1576. "But as the hawke to gad, which knowes the way, Will hardly leaue, to cheake at carren crowes, So they in youth, which Venus ioye do proue, In drouping age, Syr Chaucer's iestes will loue." Piers Plowman, i. e. Robert Langlande, flourished 1530. A specimen of his work may be found in Cooper's Muse's Library, p. 7. his manner of old harsh riming) from Adam to his time, that is, to the raigne of King Edward the Fourth.* "As Sotades Maronites ye. iambicke poet gaue himselfe wholy to write impure and lascivious things, so Skelto+ (I know not for what great worthines, surnamed the poet laureat) applied his wit to scurrilities and ridiculous matters; such amog the Greeks were called Pantomimi, with vs Buffons. "As Consaluo Periz, that excellent learned man, and Secretary to King Philip of Spayne, in translating the Vlysses of Homer out of Greeke into Spanish, hath by good judgement auoided the faulte of ryming, although not fully hit perfect and true versifying: so hath Henrie Howarde that true and noble Earle of Surrey in translating the fourth book of Virgil's Æneas, whom Michael Drayton, in his England's heroycall epistles hath eternized for an epistle to his faire Geraldine. "As these Neoterickes Iouianus Pontanus, Politianus, Marullus Tarchaniota, the two Stroza, the father and the son, Palingenius, Mantuanus, Philelphus, Quintianus Stoa, and Germanus Brixius haue obtained renown and good place among the auncient Latine poets so also these Englishmen being Latine poets, Gualter Haddon, ‡ Nicholas Car, Gabriel Haruey, Christopher Ocland,§ Thomas Newton with his John Hardinge supposed to have died 1451, very aged. + His life, taken from Wood's Ath. Ox. V. i. p. 22, was reprinted some time since in black-letter, 12mo. without date or printer's name. I am told there are only twenty-five copies. He died 1529. President of Magdalen College, and Doctor of Civil Law, Oxford. His poema were printed 1567. Died 15" 2, aged 56. A copy of his monument may be found in Stowe's Survey of L ndon. See title of his work. CENSURA, iv. p. 349. Leyland,* Leyland,* Thomas Watson, Thomas Campion, + [John] Brunswerd, ‡ and [Richard] Willey, || haue attained good report and honorable aduancement in the Latin empyre. "As the Greeke tongue is made famous and eloquent by Homer, Hesiod, Euripides, Aeschilus, Sophocles, Pindarus, Phocylides, and Aristophanes; and the Latine tongue by Virgill, Ouid, Horace, Silius Italicus, Lucanus, Lucretius, Ausonius and Claudianus: so the English tongue is mightily enriched, and gorgeouslie inuested in rare ornaments and resplendent abiliments by Sir Philip Sidney, Spencer, Daniel, Drayton, Warner, Shakespeare, Marlow, and Chap man. "As Xenophon, who did imitate so excellently, as to giue vs effigiem iusti imperij, the portraiture of a just empyre vnder ye. name of Cyrus (as Cicero saieth of him) made therein an absolute heroicall poem; and as Heliodorus writ in prose his sugred inuetio of that picture of loue in Theagines and Cariclea, and yet both excellent admired poets: so Sir Philip Sidney writ his immortal poem, the Countesse of Pembrookes Arcadia prose, and yet our rarest poet. in "As Sextus Propertius saide, Nescio quid magis nascitur Iliade: so I say of Spencer's Fairy Queene, I knowe not what more excellent or exquisite poem may be written. Illustrim aliquot Anglorum Encomia. At the end of Jo. Leland's Encomia Tropbæa, &c. Lon. 1589. 66 an ad "Tho. Campiani poena," licensed to Richard Field, 1594. He is mentioned in Camden's list of "pregnant wits," and by Wood as mired poet and musician.” Or Brownswerd, educated at both universities; settled at Macclesfield in Cheshire. Died Ap. 15, 1589, the same year his poems were printed. Ricardi Willeii poematum liber. 1573. Her. 820. As "As Achilles had the aduantage of Hector, because it was his fortune to bee extolled and renowned by the heauenly verse of Homer: so Spenser's Elisa, the Fairy Queen, hath the aduantage of all the Queencs.in the worlde to bee eternized by so diuine a poet. "As Theocritus is famoused for his Idyllia in Greeke, and Virgill's for his Eclogs in Latine: so Spencer, their imitatour in his Shepheardes Calender, is renowned for the like argument, and honoured for fine poeticall inuention, and most exquisit wit. "As Parthenius Nicæus excellently sung the praises of his Arete: so Daniel hath diuinely sonetted the matchlesse beauty of his Delia. "As euery one mourneth, when hee heereth of the lamentable plangors of Thracian Orpheus for his dearest Euridice: so cuery one passionateth, when he readeth the afflicted death of Daniel's distressed Rosamond. "As Lucan hath mournefully depainted the ciuil. wars of Pompey & Cæsar: so hath Daniel the ciuill wars of Yorke and Lancaster; and Drayton the civill wars of Edward the Second, and the Barons, "As Virgill doth imitate Catullus in ye. like matter of Ariadne for his story of Queene Dido: so Michael Drayton doth imitate Ouid in his England's Heroical Epistles. "As Sophocles was called a bee for the sweetnes of his tongue, so in Charles Fitz-Iefferies' Drake,* Drayton is termed golden-mouthed for the purity and pretiousnesse of his stile and phrase. Charles Fitzgeffrey's poem was entituled "Sir Francis Drake, his honorable life's commendation, and his tragical' death's lamentation, newly printed, with additions, 1596," 12mo. Review of the new edition of the Theatrum Poetarum, written by Mr. PARK. Fitzge Fey was recto of St. Dominic, Cornwall, and died Feb. 22, 1636, aged 61. "As |