mory. It may be justly faid of this great man, what a celebrated poet now living has applied to Archbishop Laud,

Around his tomb did art and genius weep, Peauty, wit, piety, and bravery, were undiffembled

mourners.

He left behind him one child named Elizabeth, (married to the earl of Rutland) whom he had by Sir Francis Walfingham's daughter, and who unfortunately died without iffue to perpetuate the living virtues of her illuftrious family. She is faid to have been exceffively beautiful; that she married the earl of Rutland by authority, but that her affections were dedicated to the earl of Effex, and as Queen Elizabeth was in love with that nobleman, fhe became very jealous of this charming countefs. It has been commonly reported that Sir Philip, fome hours before his death, enjoyned a near friend to confign his works to the flames. What promife his friend returned is uncertain, but if he broke his word to befriend the public, pofterity has thank'd hm, and every future age will with gratitude acknowledge the favour.

Of all his works his Arcadia is the most celebrated; it is dedicated to his fifter the countess of Pembroke, who was a Lady of as fine a character, and as equally finished in every female accomplish-, ment, as her brother in the manly. She lived to a good old age, and died in 1621. Ben Johnson has wrote an epitaph upon her, fo inimitably excellent, that I cannot refift the temptation of inferting it here. She was buried in the Cathedral Church of Salisbury, among the graves of the family of the Pembrokes,

Camden Brit. in Kent.

EPI

EPITAP H.

Underneath this marble hearfe,
Lyes the fubject of all verfe,
Sidney's fifter, Pembroke's mother,
Death e're thou haft killed another,
Learned and fair, and good as fhe,
Time fhall throw his dart at thee.

The Arcadia was printed firft in 1613 in 4to; it has been tranflated into almost every language. As the ancient Egyptians prefented fecrets under their myftical hyeroglyphics, fo that an eafy figure was exhibited to the eye, and a higher notion couched under it to the judgment, fo all the Arcadia is a continual grove of morality, fhadowing moral and political truths under the plain and ftriking emblems of lovers, fo that the reader may be deceiv ed, but not hurt, and happily furprized to more knowledge than he expected."

Befides the celebrated Arcadia, Sir Philip wrote,

A diffuafive letter addreffed to Queen Elizabeth, against her marriage with the duke of Anjou, printed in a book called Serinia Ceciliana, 4to. 1653.

Aftrophel & Stella, written at the defire of Lady Rich, whom he perfectly loved, and is thought to be celebrated in the Arcadia by the name of Philoclea.

-Ourania, a poem, 1606.

An Effay on Valour: Some impute this to Sir Thomas Overbury.

Almanzor and Almanzaida, a novel printed in 1678, which is likewife difputed; and Wood fays that he believes Sir Philip's name was only prefixed to it by the bookfeller, to fecure a demand for it.

England's Helicon, a collection of fongs. -The Pfalms of David turned into English.

The true PICTURE of LOVE.

Poore painters oft with filly poets joyne,

To fill the world with vain and strange conceits, One brings the ftuff, the other stamps the coyne Which breeds nought elfe but gloffes of deceits. Thus painters Cupid paint, thus poets doe

A naked god, blind, young, with arrows two.

Is he a god, that ever flyes the light?

Or naked he, difguis'd in all untruth?
If he be blind, how hitteth he fo right?
How is he young, that tamed old Phoebus
youth ?

But arrowes two, and tipt with gold or lead,
Some hurt, accufe a third with horney head.

No nothing fo; an old, falfe knave he is,
By Argus got on Io, then a cow :
What time for her, Juno her Jove did mifs,
And charge of her to Argus did allow.
Mercury killed his falfe fire for this act,
His damme a beaft was pardoned, beaftly
fact.

With father's death, mother's guilty fhame,

With Jove's difàain at fuch a rival's feed: The wretch compel'd, a runegate became, And learn'd what ill, a mifer-ftate did breed. To lye, to steal, to prie, and to accufe, Nought in himself, each other to abufe.

CHRIS

CHISTOPHER MARLOE

WA

AS bred a ftudent in Cambridge, but there is no account extant of his family. He foon quitted the Univerfity, and became a player on the fame ftage with the incomparable Shakespear. He was accounted, fays Langbaine, a very fine poet in his time, even by Ben John fon himself, and Heywood his fellow-actor ftiles him the best of poets. In a copy of verfes called the Cenfure of the Poets, he was thus characterized.

Next Marloe bathed in Thefpian fprings,
Had in him those brave fublunary things,
That your firft poets had; his raptures were
All air and fire, which made his verfes clear ;
For that fine madness still he did retain,
Which rightly should possess a poet's brain,

His genius inclined him wholly to tragedy, and he obliged the world with fix plays, befides one he joined for with Nath, called Dido Queen of Carthage; but before I give an account of them, I fhall prefent his character to the reader upon the authority of Anthony Wood, which is too fingular to be paffed over. This Marloe, we are told, prefuming upon his own little wit, thought proper to practife the most epicurean indulgence, and openly profefs'd atheism; he denied God, Our Saviour; he blafphemed the adorable Trinity, and, as it was reported, wrote feveral difcourfes against it, affirming Our Saviour to be a deceiver, the facred fcrip tures to contain, nothing but idle ftories, and all religion to be a device of policy and prieftcraft;

but

but Marloe came to a very untimely end, as fome remarked, in confequence of his execrable blafphemies. It happened that he fell deeply in love with a low girl, and had for his rival a fellow in livery, who looked more like a pimp than a lover. Marloe, fired with jealoufy, and having fome reafon to believe that his mistress granted the fellow favours, he rushed upon him to ftab him with his dagger; but the footman being quick, avoided the ftroke, and catching hold of Marloe's wrift ftabbed him with his own weapon, and notwithstanding all the affiftance of furgery, he foon after died of the wound, in the year 1593. Some time before his death, he had begun and made a confiderable progrefs in an excellent poem called Hero and Leander, which was afterwards finished by George Chapman, who fell fhort, as it is faid, of the spirit and invention of Marloe in the execution of it.

What credit may be due to Mr. Wood's fevere reprefentation of this poet's character, the reader muft judge for himself. For my part, I am willing to fufpend my judgment till I meet with fome other teftimony of his having thus heinously offended against his God, and against the best and most amiable fyftem of Religion that ever was, or ever can be: Marloe might poffibly be inclined to free-thinking, without running the unhappy lengths that Mr. Wood tells us, it was reported he had done. We have many inftances of characters being too lightly taken up on report, and mistakenly reprefented thro a too eafy credulity; efpecially against a man who may happen, to differ from us in fome fpeculative points, wherein each party however, may think himelf Orthodox: The good Dr. Clarke himself, has been as ill fpoken of as Wood speaks of Marloe.

His other works are

1. Dr. Fauftus, his tragical hiftory printed în 4to. London, 1661.

2. Edward the Second, a Tragedy, printed in 4to. London-when this play was acted is not known. 3. Jew