"London by Edmund Bollifant, 1586'." This little piece is alfo called, "W. Bullokar's abbreuiation of his Grammar for English extracted out of his Grammar at larg for the spedi parcing of English spech, and the eazier coming to the knowledge of grammar for other langages It is in the black letter, but with many novelties in the type, and affectations of spelling. In the preface, which is in verse, and contains an account of his life, he promises a dictionary of the English language, which, he adds, will make his third work". His first work I apprehend to be " A Treatife of Orthographie in Eng"lishe by William Bullokar," licenced to Henry Denham in 1580. Among Tanner's books is a copy of his bref grammar abovementioned, interpolated and corrected with the author's own hand, as it appears, for a new impreffion. In one of these manuscript insertions, he calls this, "the firft grammar for Englishe "that euer waz, except my grammar at large"." The French have vernacular critical and rhetorical systems at a much higher period. I believe one of their earliest is « Le "JARDIN de plaifance et FLEUR de rhetorique, contenant plu"fieurs beaux livres." It is in quarto, in the gothic type with wooden cuts, printed at Lyons by Olivier Arnoullet for Martin Boullon, and without date. But it was probably printed early in 1500. In one of its poems, LA PIPEE ou chaffe de dieu d'amour, is cited the year 1491'. Another edition, in the same letter, X x 2 "authorz ar translated out of Latin intoo English by William Bullokar." 12mo. P Fol. 68. In his metrical preface he fays, that he served in the army under fir Richard Wingfield in queen Mary's time. There is "A petee fchole of spellinge "and writinge Englishe," licenced to Butter, Jul. 20. 1580. REGISTR. B. fol. 171. a. There is another, I fuppofe a fecond, edition, without date, in black letter, with wooden cuts, in folio, containing two hundred and forty-eight leaves, exclufive of the tables. This has fome improvements. Stance, 22. fol. 134. but but in octavo, appeared at Paris in 1547, Veuve de Jehan Tréperel et Jehan Jebannot. Befide the Syftem of Rhetoric, which is only introductory, and has the feparate title of L'ART DE RHETORIQUE, de fes couleurs, figures et efpeces', it comprehends a mifcellaneous collection of Balades, rondeaux, chanfons, dictiés, comedies, and other entertaining little pieces, chiefly on the fubject of the fentimental and ceremonious love which then prevailed. The whole, I am fpeaking of the oldest edition, contains one hundred and ninety leaves. The RHETORIC is written in the short French rhyme: and the tenth chapter confists of rules for compofing Moralities, Farces, Mysteries, and other ROMANS. That chapter is thus introduced, under the Latin rubric PROSECUTIO. Expediez font neuf chapitres, Il faut un dixiéme expofer: Et comme auffi des derniers titers, Qu'on doit a fe propos pofer, The Latin rubrics to each fpecies are exceedingly curious. "Decimum Capitulum pro forma compilandi MORALITATES. 66 -Pro COMEDIS". Pro MISTERIIS compilandis." Receipts to make poems have generally been thought dull. But what fhall we think of dull receipts for making dull poems? Gratian du Pont, a gentleman of Tholoufe, printed in 1539 the "Art et Science de Rhetorique metrifiée "." It must be From fol. 2. a. to fol. 14. a. But the compiler has introduced "Le "DONNET, traitè de grammaire baillé au "feu roi Charles viii." fol. 20. a. One of the pieces is a MORISQUE, in which the actors are Amorevfe grace, Enuieufe jaloufie, Efpoir de parvenir, Tout habandonne, Sot penfer. fol. 32. b. "The farce, or comedy, muft have, "Chofe qui foit mélodieuse, remembered, remembered, that there had been an early establishment of prizes in poetry at Tholoufe, and that the feven troubadours or rhetoricians at Tholoufe, were more famous in their time than the feven fages of Greece *. But the "Grand et vrai Art de * See Verdier ii. 649. From an ingenious correfpondent, who has not given me the honour of his name, and who appears to be well acquainted with the manners and literature of Spain, I have received the following notices relating to this inftitution, of which other particulars may be feen in the old French History of Languedoc. "At the end of the fecond volume of Mayan's ORIGINES DE LA LINGUA ESPANOLA, printed in duodecimo at Madrid in 1737, is an extract from a manufcript entitled, Libro de la Arte de Trovar, ò Gaya Sciencia, por Don Enrique de Villena, faid to exift in the library of the cathedral of Toledo, and perhaps to be found in other libraries of Spain. It has these particulars.-The TROVADORES had their origin at Tholoufe, about the middle of the twelfth century. A CONSISTORIO de la Gaya Sciencia was there founded by Ramon Vidal de Befalin, containing more than one hundred and twenty celebrated poets, and among thefe, princes, kings, and emperors. Their art was extended throughout Europe, and gave rife to the Italian and Spanish poetry, fervio el Garona de Hippocrene. To Ramon Vidal de Befalin fucceeded Jofre de Foxa, Monge negro, who enlar ged the plan, and wrote what he called Continuacion de trovar. After him Belenguer de Troya came from Majorca, and compiled a treatife de Figuras y Colores Rhetoricos. And next Gul. Vedal of Majorca wrote La Suma Vitulina. To fupport the GAYA SCIENCIA at the poetical college of Tholouse, the king of France appropriated privileges and revenues: appointing feven Mantenedores, que licieffen Leyes. These conftituted the LAWS OF LOVE, which were afterwards abridged by Guill. Moluier under the title Tratado de las Flores. Next Fray Ramon framed a system called Doctrinal, which was cenfured by Caftil non. From thence nothing was written in Spanish on the fubject, till the time of Don Enrique de Villena.-So great was the credit of the GAY SCIENCE, that Don Juan the first king of Arragon, who died 1393, fent an embaffy to the king of France, requesting that fome Troubadours might be tranfmitted to teach this art in his kingdom. Accordingly two Mantenedores were difpatched from Tholoufe, who founded a college for poetry in Barcelona, confifting of four Mantenedores, a Cavalier, a Mafter in Theology, a Mafter in Laws, and an honourable Citizen. Difputes about Don Juan's fucceffor occafioned the removal of the college to Tortofa. But Don Ferdinand being elected King, Don Enrique de Villena was taken into his fervice who reftored the college, and was chofen principal. The fubjects he propofed, were fometimes, the Praises of the Holy Virgin, of Arms, of Love, y de buenas Coftumbres. An account of the cere monies of their public Acts then follows, in which every compofition was recited, being written en papeles Damafquinos de di-. verfas colores, con letras de oro y de plata, et illuminaduras formofas, lo major qua cada una podio. The best performance had a crown of gold placed upon it: and the author, being prefented with a joya, or prize,. received a licence to cantar y decir in publico. He was afterwards conducted home in form, escorted among others by two Mantenedores, and preceded by minstrels and trumpets, where he gave an entertainment of confects and wine."-[See fupr. vol. i. 149.467.] There feems to have been a fimilar eftablishment at Amsterdam, called Rhederiicker camer, or the CHAMBER OF RHETORICIANS, mentioned by Ifaacus Pontanus. Who adds, "Sunt autem hi rhetores viri, "amæni et poetici fpiritus, qui lingua "vernacula, aut profa aut vorfa oratione,. "comœdias, tragoedias, fubindeque et mu"tas perfonas, et facta maiorum notantes, "magna fpectantium voluptate exhibent." RER. "plein Rhetorique" in two books, written by Pierre Fabri, properly Le Fevre, an ecclefiaftic of Rouen, for teaching elegance in profe as well as rhyme, is dated ftill higher. Goujet mentions a Gothic edition of this tract in 1521'. It contains remarks on the verfification of myfteries and farces, and throws many lights on the old French writers. But the French had even an ART OF POETRY fo early as the year 1548. In that year Thomas Sibilet published his Art poetique at Paris, Veuve François Regnault. This piece preserves many valuable anecdotes of the old French poetry: and, among other particulars which develope the ftate of the old French drama, has the following fenfible ftrictures. "The French "farce contains little or nothing of the Latin comedy. It has "neither acts nor scenes, which would only ferve to introduce a tedious prolixity: for the true fubject of the French farce, "or SOTTIE, is every fort of foolery which has a tendency to "provoke laughter. The subject of the Greek and Latin comedy was totally different from every thing on the French ftage. For it had more morality than drollery, and often as "much truth as fiction. Our MORALITIES hold a place indifferently between tragedy and comedy: but our farces are RER. ET URB. AMST. Lib. ii. c. xvi. pag. 118. edit. 1611. fol. In the preceding chapter, he fays, that this fraternity of rhetoricians erected a temporary theatre, at the folemn entry of prince Maurice into Amfterdam in 1594, where they exhibited in DUMB SHOW the history of David and Goliah. Ibid. c. xv. p. 117. Meteranus, in his Belgic history, speaks largely of the annual prizes, affemblies, and contests, of the guilds or colleges of the rhetoricians, in Holland and the Low Countries. They answered in rhyme, queftions proposed by the dukes of Burgundy and Brabant. At Ghent in 1539, twenty of thefe colleges met with great pomp, to difcufs an ethical queftion, and each gave a folution in a moral comedy, magnificently prefented in the public theatre. In 1561, On the rhetorical guild of Antwerp, called the Y BIBL. FR. 361. He mentions another edition in 1539. Both at Paris, 12m0. 2 In 16m0. really what the Romans called mimes, or Priapées, the in"tended end and effect of which was exceffive laughter, and "on that account they admitted all kinds of licentiousness, as "our farces do at prefent. In the mean time, their pleasantry "does not derive much advantage from rhymes, however flowing, "of eight fyllables." Sibilet's work is chiefly founded on Horace. His definitions are clear and juft, and his precepts well explained. The most curious part of it is the enumeration of the poets who in his time were of moft repute. Jacques Pelletier du Mans, a physician, a mathematician, a poet, and a voluminous writer on various fubjects both in profe and verse, also published an ART POETIQUE at Lyons, in 1555°. This critic had fufficient penetration to perceive the falfe and corrupt tafte of his cotemporaries. "Instead of the regular ode and sonnet, "our language is sophisticated by ballads, roundeaux, lays, and "triolets. But with these we must reft contented, till the farces "which have so long infatuated our nation are converted into "comedy, our martyr-plays into tragedy, and our romances "into heroic poems." And again, "We have no pieces in "our language written in the genuine comic form, except fome “affected and unnatural MORALITIES, and other plays of the "fame character, which do not deserve the name of comedy. "The drama would appear to advantage, did it but refume its proper state and antient dignity. We have, however, fome "tragedies in French learnedly tranflated, among which is the "HECUBA of Euripides by Lazare de Baïf, &c." Of rhyme the fame writer fays, "S'il n'etoit queftion que de parler ornement, il ne faudroit finon écrire en profe, ou s'il n'etoit ques"tion que de rimer, il ne faudroit, finon rimer en farceur: "mais en poefie, il faut faire tous les deux, et BIEN DIRE, et 66 a Liv. ii. ch. viii. At the end of Sibilet's work is a critical piece of Quintil against Ch. Fontaine, first printed feparately at Paris, 1538. 16mo. By Jean de Tournes. 8vo. d Ch. DE LA COMEDIE ET DE LA TRAGEDIE. See alfo, to the fame purpose, Collettet Sur la poefie morale, and Guillaume des Autels, Repos d'un plus grand. travail. 1 66 BIEN i |