evidently betray their original. "As the byshop fange maffe in the cyte of Ufanance, he faw thre dropes ryghte clere all "of one grateneffe whiche were upon the aulter, and a thre "ranne to gyder in to a precyous gemme: and whan they had "fet thys gemme in a croffe of golde, al the other precyous "ftones that were there, fyllend out, and thys gemme was clere "to them that were clene out of fynne, and it was obscure and "darke to fynners, &c." The peculiar caft of romantic invention was admirably fuited to serve the purposes of fuperftition.

years

Poffevin, a learned Jefuit, who wrote about the close of the fixteenth century, complains, that for the last five hundred the courts of all the princes in Europe had been infatuated by reading romances: and that, in his time, it was a mark of inelegance, not to be familiarly acquainted with Lancelot du Lake, Perceforeft, Tristan, Giron the Courteous, Amadis de Gaul, Primaleon, Boccace's Decameron, and Ariofto. He even goes fo far as to say, that the devil instigated Luther to procure a translation of Amadis from Spanish into French, for the purpose of facilitating his grand scheme of overthrowing the catholic religion. The popularity of this book, he adds, warped the minds of the French nation from their antient notions and ftudies; introduced a neglect of the fcriptures, and propagated a love for astrology, and other fantastic arts. But with the leave of this zealous catholic I would observe, that this fort of reading was likely to produce, if any, an effect quite contrary. The genius of romance and of popery was the fame; and both were ftrengthened by the reciprocation of a fimilar spirit of credulity. The dragons and the caftles of the one, were of a piece with the visions and pretended miracles of the other. The ridiculous theories of falfe and unfolid fcience, which, by the way, had been familiarifed to the French by other romances, long before the translation of Amadis, were furely more likely to be advanced under the influence of a religion founded on

d Fell out.

• Caxton's GOLD. LEG. f. ccclxxxxviii.

f BIBLIOTH. SELECT. Lib. i. cap. 25. P. 113. edit. 1593.

deception,

deception, than in confequence of Luther's reformed system, which aimed at purity and truth, and which was to gain its end by the fuppreffion of antient prejudices.

Many of the abfurdities of the catholic worship were perhaps, as I have hinted, in fome degree neceffary in the early ages of the church, on account of the ignorance of the people; at least, under such circumstances they were natural, and therefore excufable. But when the world became wifer, thofe mummeries fhould have been abolished, for the fame reason that the preachers left off quoting Efop's fables in their sermons, and the ftage ceased to instruct the people in the scripture-history by the representation of the MYSTERIES. The advocates of the papal communion do not confider, that in a cultivated age, abounding with every fpecies of knowledge, they continue to retain those fooleries which were calculated only for christians in a condition of barbarism, and of which the use now no longer fubfifts.

CHAP. XIX. When Julius Cefar was preparing to pass the Rubicon, a gigantic fpectre appeared from the middle of the river, threatening to interrupt his paffage, if he came not to establish the peace of Rome. Our author cites the GESTA ROMANORUM for this story.

It was impoffible that the Roman history could pass through the dark ages, without being infected with many romantic corruptions. Indeed, the Roman was almost the only antient history, which the readers of thofe ages knew: and what related even to pagan Rome, the parent of the more modern papal metropolis of christianity, was regarded with a superstitious veneration, and often magnified with miraculous additions.

CHAP. XX. The birth of the emperor Henry, fon of earl Leopold, and his wonderful preservation from the stratagems of the emperor Conrade, till his acceffion to the imperial throne.

This story is told by Caxton in the GOLDEN LEGENDE, under the life of Pelagian the pope, entitled, Here foloweth the lyf of Saynt Pelagyen the pope, with many other hyftoryes and

geftys

geftys of the Lombardes, and of Machomete, with other cronycles. The GESTA LONGOBARDORUM are fertile in legendary matter, and furnished Jacobus de Voragine, Caxton's original, with many marvellous hiftories". Caxton, from the geftes of the Lombardis, gives a wonderful account of a peftilence in Italy, under the reign of king Gilbert'.

There is a LEGENDA SANCTORUM, five HISTORIA LOMBARDICA, printed in 1483. This very uncommon book is not mentioned by Maittaire. It has this colophon. Expli"ciunt quorundam Sanctorum Legende adjuncte post Lom"bardicam hiftoriam. Impreffa Argentine, M.CCCC.LXXXIII*." That is, the latter part of the book contains a few Saints not in the history of the Lombards, which forms the first part. I have neither time nor inclination to examine whether this is Jacobus's LEGENDA: but I believe it to be the fame. I think I have seen an older edition of the work, at Cologne 1470 '.

I have obferved that Caxton's GOLDEN LEGENDE is taken from Jacobus de Voragine. This perhaps is not precisely true. Caxton informs us in his first preface to the first edition of 1483, that he had in his poffeffion a Legend in French, another in Latin, and a third in English, which varied from the other two in many places: and that MANY HISTORIES were contained in the English collection, which did not occur in the French and Latin. Therefore, fays he, "I have wryton ONE "OUTE of the fayd three bookes: which I have orderyd otherwyfe than in the fayd Englysfhe Legende, which was fo to "fore made." Caxton's English original might have been the

old METRICAL LIVES OF THE SAINTS.

CHAP. XXI. A story from Juftin, concerning a confpiracy of the Spartans against their king.

& Fol. ccclxxxxvii. b.

h See his LEGEND. AUR, fol. cccxv. i Ubi fupr. f. lxxvi.

* Fol.

i Fol. See alfo "Legenda Sanctorum

quæ et LOMBARDICA dicitur." Lugd. 1509. fol.

m Fol. at Westminster. This is one of the finest of Caxton's publications.

CHAP.

CHAP. xxii. How the Egyptians deified Ifis and Osiris. From faint Auftin. As is the following chapter.

CHAP. XXIV. Of a magician and his delicious garden, which he fhews only to fools and to his enemies.

CHAP. XXV. Of a lady who keeps the staff and scrip of a stranger, who rescued her from the oppreffions of a tyrant: but being afterwards courted by three kings, the destroys those memorials of her greatest benefactor.

CHAP. XXVI. An emperor, vifiting the holy land, commits his daughter and his favorite dog, who is very fierce, to the custody of five knights, under the superintendance of his senefhall. The feneshall neglects his charge: the knights are obliged to quit their post for want of neceffaries; and the dog, being fed with the provifions affigned to the knights, grows fiercer, breaks his three chains, and kills the lady who was permitted to wander at large in her father's hall. When the emperor returns, the seneshall is thrown into a burning furnace. CHAP. XXViii. The old woman and her little dog.

CHAP. XXX. The three honours and three difhonours, decreed by a certain king to every conqueror returning from war.

CHAP. XXXI. The speeches of the philofophers on feeing king Alexander's golden fepulchre.

CHAP. XXXiii. A man had three trees in his garden, on which his three wives fucceffively hanged themselves. Another begs an offset from each of the trees, to be planted in the gardens of his married neighbours. From Valerius Maximus, who is cited.

CHAP. XXXIV. Aristotle's seven rules to his pupil Alexander. This, I think, is from the SECRETA SECRETORUM. Arif totle, for two reafons, was a popular character in the dark ages. He was the father of their philofophy: and had been the preceptor of Alexander the Great, one of the principal heroes of romance. Nor was Aristotle himself without his romantic history; in which he falls in love with a queen of Greece, who quickly confutes his fubtleft fyllogifms.

CHAP. XXXV. The GESTA ROMANORUM cited, for the cuf tom among the antient Romans of killing a lamb for pacifying quarrels.

CHAP. Xxxvi. Of a king who defires to know the nature of man. Solinus, de MIRABILIBUS MUNDI, is here quoted. CHAP. XXXVii. Pliny's account of the stone which the eagle places in her neft, to avoid the poison of a serpent.

CHAP. XXXIX. Julius Cefar's mediation between two brothers. From the GESTA ROMANORUM.

We must not forget, that there was the Romance of JULIUS CESAR. And I believe Antony and Cleopatra were more known characters in the dark ages, than is commonly fuppofed. Shakespeare is thought to have formed his play on this story from North's tranflation of Amyot's unauthentic French Plutarch, published at London in 1579. Montfaucon, among the manufcripts of monfieur Lancelot, recites an old piece written about the year 1500, "LA VIE ET FAIS DE MARC ANTOINE "le triumvir et de fa mie CLEOPATRA, translatè de l' historien "Plutarque pour tres illuftre haute et puiffante dame Madame

Françoife de Fouez Dame de Châteaubriand "." I know not whether this piece was ever printed. At least it shews, that the story was familiar at a more early period than is imagined; and leads us to fufpect, that there might have been other materials used by Shakespeare on this fubject, than those hitherto pointed out by his commentators.

That Amyot's French verfion of Plutarch should contain corruptions and innovations, will easily be conceived, when it is remembered that he probably tranflated from an old Italian verfion. A new exhibition in English of the French carica

a Bibl. MANUSCR. tom. ii. p. 1669. col. 2.

a See BIBL. FR. de la Croix, &c. tom.i. p. 388. Amyot was a great translator of Greek books; but I fear, not always from the Greek. It is remarkable, that he was

rewarded with an abbacy for tranflating the THEAGENES and CHARICLEA of Heliodorus: for writing which, the author was deprived of a bishoprick. He died about 1580.

ture