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Abraham Fleming, brother to Samuel, published a version of the BUCOLICs of Virgil, in 1575, with notes, and a dedication to Peter Osborne efquire. This is the title, "The Buкo"LIKES of P. Virgilius Maro, with alphabeticall Annotations, "&c. Drawne into plaine and familiar Englishe verse by "Abr. Fleming ftudent, &c. London by John Charlewood, "&c. 1575." His plan was to give a plain and literal tranflation, verfe for verfe. These are the five firft lines of the tenth Eclogue.

O Arethufa, graunt this labour be my last indeede !

A few fonges vnto Gallo, but let them Lycoris reede :

Needes must I finge to Gallo mine, what man would fonges

deny ?

So when thou ronneft vnder Sicane feas, where froth doth

fry,

Let not that bytter Doris of the falte streame mingle make.

Fourteen years afterwards, in 1589, the fame author published a new version both of the BUCOLICS and GEORGICS of

"noble men, wcorthy knights, gallant "gentlemen, Mafters of Art, and braue "chollars. Full of varietie, excellent in“uention, and fingvlar delight, &c. Sett "forth by R. S. of the Inner Temple "gentleman. Imprinted at London by

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John Jackfon, 1593." 4to. But I take this R. S. to be Richard Stapylton, who has a copy of verfes prefixed to Greene's MAMILLIA, printed in 1593. Bl. Lett. By the way, in this mifcellany there is a piece by W. S. Gent." p. 77. Perhaps by William Shakespeare. But I rather think by William Smyth, whofe "CLORIS, or "the Complaynt of the Paffion of the "defpifed Sheppard," was licenced to E. Bolifaunt, Oct. 5, 1596. REGISTR. STATION. C. fol. 14. a. The initials W. S. are fubfcribed to "Corin's dreame of his

"faire CHLORIS," in ENGLANDS HELI-
CON. (Signat, H. edit. 1614,) And pre-
fixed to the tragedy of LOCRINE, edit.
1595. Alfo "A booke called AmOURS by
"J. (or G.) D. with certen other Son-
"netts by W. S." is entered to Eleazar
Edgar, Jan. 3, 1599. REGISTR. C. fol.
55. a.
The initials W. S. are fubfcribed
to a copy of verfes prefixed to N. Breton's
WIL OF WIT, &c. 1606. 4to.

They were both born in London. Thinne apud Hollinfh. vol. ii. 1590. Samuel wrote an elegant Latin Life of queen Mary, never printed. He has a Latin recommendatory poem prefixed to Edward Grant's SPICILEGIUM of the Greek tonge, a Dialogue, dedicated to Lord Burleigh, and printed at London in 1575. 8vo.

Virgil,

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Virgil, with notes, which he dedicated to John Whitgift archbishop of Canterbury. This is commonly faid and fuppofed to be in blank verse, but it is in the regular Alexandrine without rhyme. It is entitled, "The BUKOLIKES of P. Virgilius Maro, &c. otherwise called his pastoralls or Shepherds "Meetings. Together with his GEORGICS, or Ruralls, &c. "All newly translated into English verse by A. F. At London "by T. O. for T. Woodcocke, &c. 1589." I exhibit the five first verses of the fourth Eclogue.

O Muses of Sicilia ile, let's greater matters finge!

Shrubs, groves, and bushes lowe, delight and please not every

man:

If we do finge of woodes, the woods be worthy of a con

ful.

Nowe is the laft age come, whereof Sybilla's verse fore

told ;

And now the Virgin come againe, and Saturnes kingdom

come.

The fourth Georgic thus begins.

O my Mecenas, now will I dispatch forthwith to fhew
The heauenly gifts, or benefits, of airie honie fweet.

Look on this piece of worke likewife, as thou haft on the

reft.

Abraham Fleming fupervifed, corrected, and enlarged the fecond edition of Hollinfhed's chronicle in 1585. He tranflated Aelian's VARIOUS HISTORY into English in 1576, which he dedicated to Goodman dean of Weftminster, "Elian's Re

The Bucolics and Georgics, I think thefe, are entered, 1600. REGISTR. STAT. See also under 1595, ibid.

His brother Samuel affifted in compiling the INDEX, a very laborious work, and made other improvements.

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giftre of Hyftories by Abraham Fleming." He published alfo Certaine felect epiftles of Cicero into English, in 1576. And, in the fame year, he imparted to our countrymen a fuller idea of the elegance of the antient epiftle, by his "PANOPLIE OF "EPISTLES from Tully, Ifocrates, Pliny, and others, printed "at London 1576"." He tranflated Synefius's Greek PANEGYRIC on BALDNESS, which had been brought into vogue by Erafmus's MORIE ENCOMIUM'. Among fome other pieces, he Englished many celebrated books written in Latin about the fifteenth century and at the restoration of learning, which was a frequent practice, after it became fashionable to compofe in English, and our writers had begun to find the force and use of their own tongue. Sir William Cordall, the queen's folicitorgeneral, was his chief patron'.

William Webbe, who is styled a graduate, translated the GEORGICS into English verse, as he himself informs us in the DISCOURSE OF ENGLISH POETRIE, lately quoted, and printed in 1586". And in the fame discourse, which was written in

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English, Latin, Greek, and French. Dedicated to Lord Burleigh, Lond. 1580. fol. edit. 2. [See MUS. ASHMOL. Oxon. 835.] Another to W. Whetstone's ROCK OF REGARD. I take this opportunity of obferving, that the works of one John Flem ing an antient English poet, are in Dublincollege library, of which I have no farther notice, than that they are numbered, 304. See REGISTR. STATION. B. fol. 160. a. 171. a. 168. a.

1 His PANOPLIE is dedicated to Cordall. See LIFE OF SIR THOMAS POPE, p. 226. edit. 2.

For the fake of juxtaposition, I observe here, that Virgil's Bucolics and fourth Georgic were tranflated by one Mr. Brimfly, and licenced to Man, Sept. 3, 1619 REGISTR. STATION. C. fol. 305. a. And the" fecond parte of Virgill's Æneids in "English, tranflated by fir Thomas Wroth "knight,” Apr. 4, 1620. Ibid. fol. 313. b.

defence

defence of the new fashion of English hexameters, he has given us his own verfion of two of Virgil's BUCOLICS, written in that unnatural and impracticable mode of verfification". I must not forget here, that the same Webbe ranks Abraham Fleming as a tranflator, after Barnabie Googe the tranflator of Palingenius's ZODIAC, not without a compliment to the poetry and the learning of his brother Samuel, whofe excellent Inventions, he adds, had not yet been made public.

Abraham Fraunce, in 1591, tranflated Virgil's ALEXIS into English hexameters, verfe for verfe, which he calls The lamentation of Corydon for the love of Alexis. It must be owned, that the selection of this particular Eclogue from all the ten for an English version, is fomewhat extraordinary. But in the reign of queen Elifabeth, I could point out whole fets of fonnets written with this fort of attachment, for which perhaps it will be but an inadequate apology, that they are free from direct impurity of expreffion and open immodefty of fentiment. Such at least is our observance of external propriety, and so strong the principles of a general decorum, that a writer of the present age who was to print love-verfes in this ftyle, would be feverely reproached, and univerfally profcribed. I will inftance only in the AFFECTIONATE SHEPHERD of Richard Barnefielde, printed in 1595. Here, through the course of twenty fonnets, not inelegant, and which were exceedingly popular, the poet bewails his unsuccessful love for a beautiful youth, by the name of Ganimede, in a strain of the most tender paffion, yet with profeffions of the chastest affection". Many descriptions and incidents

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which have a like complexion, may be found in the futile novels of Lodge and Lilly.

Fraunce is also the writer of a book, with the affected and unmeaning title of the "ARCADIAN RHETORIKE, or the pre"ceptes of Rhetoricke made plaine by examples, Greeke, La"tyne, Englisfhe, Italyan, Frenche, and Spanishe." It was printed in 1588, and is valuable for its English examples 1.

In confequence of the verfions of Virgil's Bucolics, a piece appeared in 1584, called " A Comoedie of Titerus and Gala"thea'." I fuppofe this to be Lilly's play called GALLATHEA, played before the queen at Greenwich on New Year's day by the chorifters of faint Pauls.

It will perhaps be fufficient barely to mention Spenfer's CuLEX, which is a vague and arbitrary paraphrase, of a poem not properly belonging to Virgil. From the testimony of many early Latin writers it may be justly concluded, that Virgil wrote an elegant poem with this title. Nor is it improbable that in the CULEX at prefent attributed to Virgil, fome very few of the original phrases, and even verses, may remain, under the accumulated incrustation of critics, imitators, interpolators, and paraphrafts, which corrupts what it conceals. But the texture, the character, and fubftance, of the genuine poem is almost entirely loft. The CEIRIS, or the fable of Nifus and Scylla, which follows, although never mentioned by any writer of antiquity, has much fairer pretenfions to genuineness. At least the CEIRIS, allowing for uncommon depravations of time and transcription, appears in its prefent state to be a poem of the Auguftan age, and is perhaps the identical piece dedicated to the Meffala whose patronage it folicits. It has that rotundity of verfification, which seems to have been studied after the Roman poetry emerged from barba

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