The Arte of English Poesie — Reading Companion

Poets were also from the beginning the best perswaders and their eloquence the first Rethoricke of the world. Euen so it became that the high mysteries of the gods should be reuealed & taught, by a maner of vtterance and language of extraordinarie phrase, and briefe and compendious, and aboue al others sweet and ciuill as the Metricall is. The same also was meetest to register the liues and noble gests of Princes, and of the great Monarkes of the world, and all other the memorable accidents of time: so as the Poet was also the first historiographer. Then for as much as they were the first obseruers of all naturall causes & effects in the things generable and corruptible, and from thence mounted vp to search after the celestiall courses and influences, & yet penetrated further to know the diuine essences and substances separate, as is sayd before, they were the first Astronomers and Philosophists and Metaphisicks. Finally, because they did altogether endeuor themselues to reduce the life of man to a certaine method of good maners, and made the first differences betweene vertue and vice, and then tempered all these knowledges and skilles with the exercise of a delectable Musicke by melodious instruments, which withall serued them to delight their hearers, & to call the people together by admiration, to a plausible and vertuous conuersation, therefore were they the first Philosophers Ethick, & the first artificial Musiciens of the world. Such was _Linus, Orpheus, Amphion & Museus_ the most ancient Poets and Philosophers, of whom there is left any memorie by the prophane writers King _Dauid_ also & _Salomon_ his sonne and many other of the holy Prophets wrate in meeters, and vsed to sing them to the harpe, although to many of vs ignorant of the Hebrue language and phrase, and not obseruing it, the same seeme but a prose. It can not bee therefore that anie scorn or indignitie should iustly be offred to so noble, profitable, ancient and diuine a science as Poesie is.

_How the wilde and sauage people vsed a naturall Poesie in versicte and time as our vulgar is._

And the Greeke and Latine Poesie was by verse numerous and metricall, running vpon pleasant feete, sometimes swift, sometime slow (their words very aptly seruing that purpose) but without any rime or tunable concord in th'end of their verses, as we and all other nations now use. But the Hebrues & Chaldees who were more ancient then the Greekes, did not only use a metricall Poesie, but also with the same a maner or rime, as hath bene of late obserued by learned men. Wherby it appeareth, that our vulgar running Poesie was common to all the nations of the world besides, whom the Latines and Greekes in speciall called barbarous. So as it was notwithstanding the first and most ancient Poesie, and the most vniuersall, which two points do otherwise giue to all humane inuentions and affaires no small credit. This is proued by certificate of marchants & trauellers, who by late nauigations haue surueyed the whole world, and discouered large countries and strange peoples wild and sauage, affirming that the American, the Perusine & the very Canniball, do sing and also say, their highest and holiest matters in certaine riming versicles and not in prose, which proues also that our maner of vulgar Poesie is more ancient then the artificiall of the Greeks and Latines, ours comming by instinct of nature, which was before Art or obseruation, and vsed with the sauage and vnciuill, who were before all science or ciuilitie, euen as the naked by prioritie of time is before the clothed, and the ignorant before the learned. The naturall Poesie therefore being aided and amended by Art, and not vtterly altered or obscured, but some signe left of it, (as the Greekes and Latines haue left none) is no lesse to be allowed and commended then theirs.

_How the riming Poesie came first to the Grecians and Latines, and had altered and almost split their maner of Poesie_.

But it came to passe, when fortune fled farre from the Greekes and Latines, & that their townes florished no more in traficke, nor their Vniuersities in learning as they had done continuing those Monarchies: the barbarous conquerers inuading them with innumerable swarmes of strange nations, the Poesie metricall of the Grecians and Latines came to be much corrupted and altered, in so much as there were times that the very Greekes and Latines themselues tooke pleasure in Riming verses, and vsed it as a rare and gallant thing: Yea their Oratours proses nor the Doctors Sermons were acceptable to Princes nor yet to the common people vnlesse it went in manner of tunable rime or metricall sentences, as appeares by many of the auncient writers, about that time and since. And the great Princes, and Popes, and Sultans would one salute and greet an other sometime in frendship and sport, sometime in earnest and enmitie by ryming verses, & nothing seemed clerkly done, but must be done in ryme: Whereof we finde diuers examples from the time of th'Emperours Gracian & Valentinian downwardes; For then aboutes began the declination of the Romain Empire, by the notable inundations of the _Hunnes_ and _Vandalles_ in Europe, vnder the conduict of _Totila_ & _Atila_ and other their generalles. This brought the ryming Poesie in grace, and made it preuaile in Italie and Greece (their owne long time cast aside, and almost neglected) till after many yeares that the peace of Italie and of th'Empire Occidentall reuiued new clerkes, who recouering and perusing the bookes and studies of the ciuiler ages, restored all maner of arts, and that of the Greeke and Latine Poesie withall into their former puritie and netnes. Which neuerthelesse did not so preuaile, but that the ryming Poesie of the Barbarians remained still in his reputation, that one in the schole, this other in Courts of Princes more ordinary and allowable.

_How in the time of Charlemaine and many yeares after him the Latine Poetes wrote in ryme._

And this appeareth euidently by the workes of many learned men, who wrote about the time of _Charlemaines_ raigne in the Empire _Occidentall_, where the Christian Religion, became through the excessive authoritie of Popes, and deepe deuotion of Princes strongly fortified and established by erection of orders _Monastical_ in which many simple clerks for deuotion sake & sanctitie were receiued more then for any learning, by which occasion & the solitarinesse of their life, waxing studious without discipline or instruction by any good methode, some of them grew to be historiographers, some Poets, and following either the barbarous rudenes of the time, or els their own idle inuentions, all that they wrote to the fauor or prayse of Princes, they did it in such maner of minstrelsie, and thought themselues no small fooles, when they could make their verses goe all in ryme as did the Schoole of _Salerno_, dedicating their booke of medicinall rules vnto our king of England, with this beginning. _Anglorum Regi scripsit tota schola Salerni Sivus incolumem, sivis te reddere sanicari Curas tolle graues, irasci crede prophanum Necretine ventram nec stringas as fortiter annum._

And all the rest that follow throughout the whole booke more curiously than cleanely, neuerthelesse very well to the purpose of their arte. In the same time king _Edward_ the iij. him selfe quartering the Armes of England and France, did discouer his pretence and clayme to the Crowne of Fraunce, in these ryming verses. _Rex sum regnorum bina ratione duorum Anglorum regnio sum rex ego iure paterno Matris iure quidem Francorum nuncupor idem Hinc est armorum variatio facta meorum._

Which verses _Philip de Valois_ then possessing the Crowne as next heire male by pretexte of the law _Salique_, and holding our _Edward_ the third, aunswered in these other of as good stuffe. _Prædo regnorum qui diceris esse duorum Regno materno priuaberis atque paterno Prolis ius nullum ubi matris non fuit vllum Hinc est armorum variatio stulta tuorum._

It is found written of Pope _Lucius_, for his great auarice and tyranny vsed ouer the Clergy thus in ryming verses. _Lucius est piscis rex et tyrannus aquarum A quo discordat Lucius iste parum Deuorat hic hom homines, his piscibus insidiatur Esurit hic semper hic aliquando satur Amborum vitam si laus aquata notaret Plus rationis habet qui ratione caret._

And as this was vsed in the greatest and gayest matters of Princes and Popes by the idle inuention of Monasticall men then raigning al in their superlative. So did every scholer & secular clerke or versifier, when he wrote any short poeme or matter of good lesson put it in ryme, whereby it came to passe that all your old Proverbes and common sayinges, which they would have plausible to the reader and easy to remember and beare away, were of that sorte as these. _In mundo mira faciunt duo nummias & ira Molleficant dura peruertunt omnia iura._

And this verse in disprayse of the Courtiers life following the Court of Rome. _Vita palatina dura est animaque ruina._

And these written by a noble learned man. _Ire redire fequi regum sublimia castra Eximiius status est, sed non sic itur ad astra._

And this other which to the great injurie of all women was written (no doubt by some forlorne lover, or else some old malicious Monke) for one woman's sake blemishing the whole sex. _Fallere stere nere mentari nilque tacere Haec qumque vere statuit Deus in muliere._

If I might have bene his Iudge, I would have had him for his labour serued as _Orpheus_ was by the women of Thrace. His eyes to be picket out with pinnes for his so deadly belying of them, or worse handled if worse could be deuised. But will ye see how God raised a revenger for the silly innocent women, for about the same ryming age came an honest civill Courtier somewhat bookish, and wrate these verses against the whole rable of Monkes. _O Monachi vestri stomachi sunt amphor a Bacchi Vos estos Deis est restes turpissima pestis._

Anon after came your secular Priestes as jolly rymers as the rest, who being sore agreeued with their Pope _Calixtus_, for that he had enjoyned them from their wives,& railed as fast against him. _O bone Calixte totus mundus perodit te Quondam Presbiteri, poterant vxoribus vti Hoc destruxisti, postquam tu Papa fursti._

Thus what in writing of rymes and registring of lyes was the Clergy of that fabulous age wholly occupied.

We finde some but very few of these ryming verses among the Latines of the ciuiller ages, and those rather hapning by chaunce then of any purpose in the writer, as this _Distick_ among the disportes of _Ouid_. _Quot coem stellas tot habet tua Roma puellas Pascua quotque haedos tot habet tua Roma Cynedos,_

The posteritie taking pleasure in this manner of _Simphonie_ had leasure as it seemes to deuise many other knackes in their versifying that the auncient and ciuill Poets had not vfed before, whereof one was to make euery word of a verse to begin with the same letter, as did _Hugobald_ the Monke who made a large poeme to the honour of _Carolus Caluus_, euery word beginning with _C._ which was the first letter of the king's name thus. _Carmina clarisona Caluis cantate camenæ._

And this was thought no small peece of cunning, being in deed a matter of some difficultie to finde out so many wordes beginning with one letter as might make a iust volume, though in truth it were but a phantasticall deuise and to no purpose at all more then to make them harmonicall to the rude eares of those barbarous ages.

Another of their pretie inuentions was to make a verse of such wordes as by their nature and manner of construction and situation might be turned backward word by word, and make another perfit verse, but of quite contrary sence as the gibing Monke that wrote of Pope _Alexander_ these two verses. _Laus tua non tua fraus, virtus non copia rerum, Scandere te faciunt hoc decus eximium._

Which if ye will turne backward they make two other good verses, but of a contrary sence, thus. _Eximium decus hoc faciunt te scandere rerum Copia, non virtus, fraus tua non tua laus._

And they called it _Verse Lyon_.

Thus you may see the humors and appetites of men how diuers and chaungeable they be in liking new fashions, though many tymes worse then the old, and not onely in the manner of their life and vse of their garments, but also in their learninges and arts, and specially of their languages.

_In what reputation Poesie and Poets were in old time with Princes and otherwise generally, and how they be now become contemptible and for what causes._