"the Great." The book here mentioned is Ægidius Romanus de REGIMINE PRINCIPIUM, which yet retained its reputation and popularity from the middle age. I ought to have observed before, that Forrest tranflated into English metre fifty of David's Pfalms, in 1551, which are dedicated to the duke of Somerset, the Protector. Hence we are led to fufpect, that our author could accommodate his faith to the reigning powers. Many more of his manuscript pieces both in profe and verse, all profeffional and of the religious kind, were in the hands of Robert earl of Ailesbury. Forreft, who must have been living at Oxford, as appears from his poem on queen Catharine, fo early as the year 1530, was in reception of an annual penfion of fix pounds from Chrift-church in that univerfity, in the year 1555'. He was eminently skilled in mufic: and with much diligence and expence, he collected the works of the most excellent English compofers, that were his cotemporaries. These, being the choiceft compofitions, of John Taverner of Boston, organist of Cardinal-college now Chrift-church at Oxford, John Merbeck who first digested our prefent church-service from the notes of the Roman miffal, Fairfax, Tye, Sheppard, Norman, and others, falling after Forrest's death into the poffeffion of doctor William Hether, founder of the musical praxis and profefforship at • MSS. REG. 17 D. iii. In the Preface twenty-feven chapters are enumerated: but the book contains only twenty-four. .. f See fupr. vol. ii. p. 39. Not long before, Robert Copland, the printer, author of the TESTAMENT OF JULIAN OF BRENTFORD, tranflated from the French and printed, "The SECRETE of SECRE"TES of Ariftotle, with the governayle of "princes and euerie manner of estate, "with rules of health for bodie and foule." Lond. 1528. 4to. To what I have before faid of Robert Copland as a poet (fupr. vol. ii. p. 300.) may be added, that he prefixed an English copy of verfes to the Mirrour of the Church of Saynt Auftine of Abyngdon, &c. Printed by himfelf, 1521. 4to. Another to Andrew Chertfey's PAS- h Wood, ATH. OxON. i. 124. Fox fays, that he paraphrafed the PATER NOSTER in English verfe, Pr. " Our Father "which in heaven doth fit." Alfo the TE DEUM, as a thanksgiving hymn for queen Mary, Pr. " O God thy name we magnifie." Fox, MART. p. 1139. edit. vet. 1 MSS. Le Neve. From a long chapter in his KATHARINE, about the building of Chrift-church and the regimen of it, he appears to have been of that college. at Oxford in 1623, are now fortunately preferved at Oxford, in the archives of the mufic-fchool affigned to that institution. In the year 1554, a poem of two fheets, in the fpirit and ftanza of Sternhold, was printed under the title, "The VN"GODLINESSE OF THE HETHNICKE GODDES, or The Downfall of Diana of the Ephefians, by J. D. an exile for the word, late a minister in London, MDLIV *. I prefume it was printed at Geneva, and imported into England with other books of the fame tendency, and which were afterwards fuppressed by a proclamation. The writer, whofe arguments are as weak as his poetry, attempts to prove, that the customary mode of training youths in the Roman poets encouraged idolatry and pagan fuperftition. This was a topic much laboured by the puritans. Prynne, in that chapter of his HISTRIOMASTIX, where he exposes "the obscenity, ribaldry, amorousnesse, HEA“THENISHNESSE, and prophaneffe, of most play-bookes, Ar"cadias, and fained hiftories that are now fo much in admira“tion,” acquaints us, that the infallible leaders of the puritan perfuafion in the reign of queen Elifabeth, among which are two bishops, have folemnly prohibited all christians, "to pen, "to print, to fell, to read, or school-masters and others to "teach, any amorous wanton Play-bookes, Hiftories, or Heathen "authors, especially Ovid's wanton Epiftles and Bookes of "love, Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, Martiall, the Comedies "of Plautus, Terence, and other fuch amorous bookes, favoring "either of Pagan Gods, of Ethnicke rites and ceremonies, of "fcurrility, amoroufneffe, and prophaneffe." But the claffics were at length condemned by a much higher authority. In the year 1582, one Chriftopher Ocland, a fchoolmafter of Cheltenham, published two poems in Latin hexameters, one entitled ANGLORUM PRALIA, the other ELIZABETHA". To these title is this," ANGLORUM PRÆLIA ab A. "D. 1327, anno nimirum primo inclytif"fimi principis Edwardi eius nominis "tertii, ufque ad A. D. 1558, carmine "fummatim perftricta. ITEM De pacatif poems, which are written in a low ftyle of Latin verfification, is prefixed an edict from the lords of privy council, figned, among others, by Cowper bishop of Lincoln, Lord Warwick, Lord Leicester, fir Francis Knollys, fir Chriftopher Hatton, and fir Francis Walfingham, and directed to the queen's ecclefiaftical commiffioners, containing the following paffage. "For"afmuche as the subject or matter of this booke is such, as is "worthie to be read of all men, and especially in common << schooles, where diuers HEATHEN POETS are ordinarily read "and taught, from which the youth of the realme doth rather "receiue infection in manners, than aduancement in uertue : " in place of some of which poets, we thinke this Booke fit to "read and taught in the grammar fchooles: we haue therefore "thought, as wel for the encouraging the faid Ocklande and "others that are learned, to bestowe their trauell and ftu"dies to fo good purposes, as alfo for the benefit of the youth and the removing of fuch lafciuious poets as are commonly read and taught in the faide grammar-fchooles (the "matter of this booke being heroicall and of good instruction) "to praye and require you vpon the fight hereof, as by our Ifpecial order, to write your letters vnto al the Bishops through"out this realme, requiring them to giue commaundement, "that in al the gramer and free schooles within their feuerall "dioceffes, the faid Booke de ANGLORUM PRÆLIIS, and peaceable Gouernment of hir majeftie, [the ELIZABETHA,] may be in place of fome of the heathen poets receyued, and publiquely read and taught by the scholemasters "." With fuch abundant circumfpection and folemnity, did these profound and pious politicians, not fufpecting that they were acting in oppofition to their own principles and intentions, exert their endeavours to bring back barbarism, and to obftruct the progress of truth and good sense °. Hollingshead mentions Lucas Shepherd of Colchester, as an eminent poet of queen Mary's reign. I do not pretend to any great talents for decyphering; but I prefume, that this is the fame person who is called by Bale, from a most injudicious affectation of Latinity, Lucas OPILIO. Bale affirms, that his cotemporary, Opilio, was a very facetious poet and means to pay him a still higher compliment in pronouncing him not inferior even to Skelton for his rhimes. It is unlucky, that Bale, by disguifing his name, should have contributed to conceal this writer fo long from the notice of pofterity, and even to counteract his own partiality. Lucas Shepherd, however, appears to have been nothing more than a petty pamphleteer in the cause of Calvinism, and to have acquired the character of a poet from a metrical translation of fome of David's Pfalms about the year 1554. Bale's narrow prejudices are well known. The puritans never fufpected that they were greater bigots than the papifts. I believe one or two of Shepherd's pieces in profe are among bishop Tanner's books at Oxford. Bale alfo mentions metrical English verfions of ECCLESIASTES, of the hiftories of ESTHER, SUSANNAH, JUDITH, and of the TESTAMENT OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS, printed and written about this period, by John Pullaine, one of the original students of Chrift-church at Oxford, and at length archdeacon of Colchester. He was chaplain to the duchess of Suffolk; and, either by choice or compulfion, imbibed ideas of reformation at Geneva'. I have feen the name of John Pullayne, affixed in manufcript to a copy of an anonymous verfion of Solomon's Song, or "Salomon's balads in metre," abovementioned, in which is this ftanza. She is fo young in Chriftes truth, There were numerous verfions of Solomon's SONG before the year 1600 and perhaps no portion of fcripture was felected with more propriety to be cloathed in verse. Beside those I have mentioned, there is, "The SONG OF SONGS, that is the most "excellent Song which was Solomon's, tranflated out of the "Hebrue into Englishe meater with as little libertie in depart ing from the wordes as anie plaine translation in prose can vse, "and interpreted by a fhort commentarie." For Richard Schilders, printer to the ftates of Zealand, I fuppofe at Middleburgh, 1587, in duodecimo. Nor have I yet mentioned Solomon's Song, translated from English profe into English verse by Robert Fletcher, a native of Warwickshire, and a member of Merton college, printed at London, with notes, in 1586'. The CANTICLES in English verfe are among the loft poems of Spenfer ". Bishop Hall, in his nervous and elegant fatires |