under the title of LIVRE D' ENEIDOS COMPILE PAR VIRGILE, by Guillaume de Roy. But that tranflation was printed at Lyons in 1483, and appears to have been finished not many years before. Among the tranflator's hiftorical additions, are the description of the first foundation of Troy by Priam, and the fucceffion of Afcanius and his defcendants after the death of Turnus. He introduces a digreflion upon Boccacio, for giving in his FALL OF PRINCES an account of the death of Dido, different from that in the fourth book of the Eneid. Among his omiflions, he paffes over Eneas's defcent into hell, as a tale manifeftly forged, and not to be believed by any rational reader: as if many other parts of the tranflator's ftory were not equally fictitious and incredible '. The conclusion intended to be drawn from this long di greffion is obvious. By means of thefe French tranflations, our countrymen, who understood French much better than Latin, became acquainted with many useful books which they would not otherwife have known. With fuch, affif tances, a commodious access to the claffics was opened, and the knowledge of antient literature facilitated and famili arifed in England, at a much earlier period than is imagined; and at a time, when little more than the productions of fpeculative monks, and irrefragrable doctors, could be obtained or were ftudied. Very few Englishmen, I will venture to pronounce, had read Livy before the tranflation of Bercheur was imported by the regent duke of Bedford. It is certain that many of the Roman poets and hiftorians were now read in England,, in the original. But the Latin language was for the most part confined to a few ecclefiaftics. When these authors, therefore, appeared in a language. almost as intelligible as the English, they fell into the handsof illiterate and common readers, and contributed to fow the feeds of a national erudition, and to form a popular taste.. * It was translated, and printed, by Caxton, 1490. Even the French verfions of the religious, philofophical, historical, and allegorical compofitions of those more enlightened Latin writers who flourished in the middle ages, had their use, till better books came into vogue: pregnant as they were with abfurdities, they communicated inftruction on various and new fubjects, enlarged the field of information, and promoted the love of reading, by gratifying that growing literary curiofity which now began to want materials for the exercife of its operations. How greatly our poets in general availed themfelves of these treasures, we may collect from this circumftance only: even fuch writers as Chaucer and Lydgate, men of education and learning, when they tranflate a Latin author, appear to execute their work through the medium of a French verfion. It is needless to pursue this hiftory of French translation any farther. I have given my reason for introducing it at all. In the next age, a great and univerfal revolution in literature enfued; and the English themfelves began to turn their thoughts to tranflation. These French verfions enabled Caxton, our firft printer, to enrich the state of letters in this country with many valuable publications. He found it no difficult task, either by himself, or the help of his friends, to turn a confiderable number of thefe pieces into English, which he printed. Antient learning had as yet made too little progress among us, to encourage this enterprifing and induftrious artift to publish the Roman authors in their original language': and had not the French furnished him with thefe materials, it is not likely, that Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, and many other good It is, however, remarkable, that from the year 1471, in which Caxton began to print, down to the year 1540, during which period the English prefs flourished greatly under the conduct of many industrious, ingenious, and even learned artists, only the very few following claffics, fome of which hardly deferve that name, were printed in England. These were, BOETHIUS de Confolatione; both Latin and English, for Caxton, without date. The Latin EsoPIAN Fables, in verfe, for Wynkyn de Worde, 1503. 4to. [And once or twice afterwards.] TERENCE, with the Comment of Badius Afcenfius, for the fame, 1594. 4to. VIRGIL'S BUCOLICS, for R 2 the writers, would by the means of his prefs have been circulated in the English tongue, fo early as the close of the fifteenth century'. the fame, 1512. 4to. [Again, 1533. 4to.] TULLY'S OFFICES, Latin and English, the tranflation by Whittington, 1533. 4to. The university of Oxford, during this period, produced only the firft Book of TULLY'S EPISTLES, at the charge of cardinal Wolfey, without date, or printer's name. Cambridge not a fingle claffic. No Greek book, of any kind, had yet appeared from an English prefs. I believe the first Greek characters used in any work printed in England, are in Linacer's tranflation of Galen de Temperamentis, printed at Cambridge in 1521, 4to. A few Greek words, and abbreviatures, are here and there introduced. The printer was John Siberch, a German, a friend of Erafmus, who ftyles himself primus UTRIUSQUE lingue in Anglia impreffor. There are Greek characters in fome of his other books of this date. But he printed no entire Greek book. In Linacer's treatise De emendata Structura Latini fermonis, printed by Pinfon in 1524, many Greek characters are intermixed. In the fixth book are feven Greek lines together. But the printer apologifes for his imperfections and unfkillfulness in the Greek types; which, he fays, were but recently caft, and not in a fufficient quantity for fuch a work. The paffage is curious. "Equo animo feras fiquæ literæ, in exemplis Hellenismi, "vel tonis vel fpiritibus careant. His "enim non fatis inftru&tus erat typogra"phus, videlicet recens ab eo fufis cha"racteribus Græcis, nec parata ei copia “qua ad hoc agendum opus eft." About the fame period of the English prefs, the fame embarraffments appear to have happened with regard to Hebrew types; which yet were more likely, as that language was fo much lefs known. In the year 1524, doctor Robert Wakefield, chaplain to Henry the eighth, published his Oratio de laudibus et utilitate trium linguarum Arabice, Chaldaica, et Hebraicæ, &c. 4to. The printer was Wynkyn de Worde; and the author complains, that he was obliged to omit his whole third part, because the printer had no Hebrew types. Some few Hebrew and Arabic characters, however, are introduced; but extremely rude, and evidently cut in wood. They are the first of the fort used in England. This learned orientalift was inftrumental in preferving, at the diffolution of monafteries, the Hebrew manufcripts of Ramfey abbey, collected by Holbech one of the monks, together with Holbech's Hebrew Dictionary. Wood, Hift. Ant. Univ. Oxon. ii. 251. Leland. Scriptor. v. HOLBECCUS. It was a circumftance favourable at least to English literature, owing indeed to the general illiteracy of the times, that our firft printers were fo little employed on books written in the learned languages. Almost all Caxton's books are English. The multiplication of English copies multiplied English readers, and thefe again produced new vernacular writers. The exiftence of a prefs induced many perfons to turn authors, who were only qualified to write in their native tongue. r SECT. T HE firft poet that occurs in the reign of king Edward the fourth is John Harding'. He was of northern To the preceding reign of Henry the fixth, belongs a poem written by James the firft, king of Scotland, who was atrociously murthered at Perth in the year 1436. It it entitled the KING'S COMPLAINT, is allegorical, and in the feven-lined ftanza. The fubject was fuggefted to the poet by his own misfortunes, and the mode of compofition by reading Boethius. At the close, he mentions Gower and Chaucer as feated on the feppys of rhetoryke. Bibl. Bodl. MSS. Selden. Archiv. B. 24. chart. fol. [With many pieces of Chaucer.] This unfortunate monarch was educated while a prifoner in England, at the command of our Henry the fourth, and the poem was written during his captivity there. The Scotch hiftorians reprefent him as a prodigy of erudition. He civilifed the Scotch nation. Among other accomplishments, he was an admirable mufician, and particularly fkilled in playing on the harp. See Lefley, DE REB. GEST. SCOT. lib. vii. p. 257. 266. 267. edit. 1675. 4to. The fame hiftorian fays, "ita orator erat, ut ejus "dictione nihil fuerit artificiofius: ita POETA, ut carmina non tam arte ftrin"xiffe, quam natura fponte fudiffe videreCui rei fidem faciunt carmina di"verfi generis, quæ in rhythmum Scotice ❝ tur. illigavit, eo artificio, &c." Ibid. p. 267. See alfo Buchanan, RER. Scot. lib. x. p. 186.-196. Opp. tom. i. Edingb. 1715. Among other pieces, which I have never feen, Bale mentions his CANTILEN SCOTICÆ, and RHYTHMI LATINI. Bale, paral. poft. Cent. xiv. 56. pag. 217. It is not the plan of this work to comprehend and examine in form pieces of Scotch poetry, except fuch only as are of fingular merit. Otherwife, our royal bard would have been confidered at large, and at his proper period, in the text. I will, how . ever, add here, two flanzas of the poem contained in the Selden manufcript, which seems to be the most diftinguished of his compofitions, and was never printed. In ver that full of vertue is and gude, Heigh in the eft a morow foft and fwete Paffit bot mydday foure grees evyn That for gladnefs and confort of the fight, This piece is not fpecified by Bale, Dempfter, or Mackenzie. See Bale, ubi fupr. Dempfter, SCOT. SCRIPTOR. ix. 714. pag. 380. edit. 1622. Mackenzie, vol. i. p. 318. Edingb. 1708. fol. John Major mentions the beginning of fome of his other poems, viz. "Yas fen, &c." And At Beltayn, &c." Both thefe poems feem to be written on his wife, Joan daughter of the dutchess of Cla-rence, with whom he fell in love while a prifoner in England. Major mentions befides, a libellus artificiofus, whether verfe or profe I know not, which he wrote on this lady in England, before his marriage; and which Bale entitles, Super Uxore futura. This hiftorian, who flourished about the year 1520, adds, that our monarch's CANTILENE were commonly fung by the Scotch as the most favorite compofitions: and that he played better on the harp. than extraction, and educated in the family of lord Henry Percy": and, at twenty-five years of age, hazarded his fortunes as a volunteer at the decifive battle of Shrewsbury, fought against the Scots in the year 1403. He appears to have been indefatigable in examining original records, chiefly with a design of ascertaining the fealty due from the Scottish kings to the crown of England: and he carried many instruments from Scotland, for the elucidation of this important enquiry, at the hazard of his life, which he delivered at different times to the fifth and fixth Henry, and to Edward the fourth". These investigations seem to have fixed his mind on the study of our national antiquities and history. At length he cloathed his researches in rhyme, which he dedicated under that form to king Edward the fourth, and with the title of The Chronicle of England unto the reigne of king Edward the fourth in verfe. The copy probably prefented to the king, although it exhibits at the end the arms of Henry Percy earl of Northumberland, most elegantly transcribed on vellum, and adorned with fuperb illuminations, is preserved than the moft skillful Irish or highland harper. Major does not enumerate the poem I have here cited. Major, GEST. SCOT. lib. vi. cap. xiv. fol. 135. edit. 1521. 4to. Doctor Percy has one of James's CANTILENE, in which there is much merit. " One William Peeris, a prieft, and fecretary to the fifth earl of Northumberland, wrote in verfe, William Peeris's discente of the Lord Percis. Pr. Prol. 66 Cronykills "and annuel books of kyngs." Brit. Muf. MSS. Reg. 18 D. 9. Then immediately follows (10.) in the fame manufcript, perhaps written by the fame author, a collection of metrical proverbs painted in feveral chambers of Lekingfield and Wrefille, antient feats of the Percy family. W Henry the fixth granted immunities to Harding in feveral patents for procuring the Scottish evidences. The earliest is dated an, reg, xviii. [1440.] There is a me morandum in the exchequer, that, in 1458, John Harding of Kyme delivered to John Talbot, treasurer of England, and chancellor of the exchequer, five Scottish letters patent, acknowledging various homages of the kings and nobility of Scotland. They are enclosed in a wooden box in the exchequer, kept in a large cheft, under the mark, SCOTIA. HARDING. So fays Afhmole [MSS, Ashmol. 860. p. 186.] from a register in the exchequer called the YEL LOW-BOOK. * Printed, at London, 1543. 4to. by Grafton, who has prefixed a dedication of three leaves in verfe to Thomas duke of Norfolk. A continuation in profe from Edward the fourth to Henry the eighth is added, probably by Grafton. But fee Grafton's Preface to his ABRIDGEMENT OF THE CHRONICLE OF ENGLAND, edit. 1579. among |