TO MY MOST DEARELY-LOVED FRIEND HENERY REYNOLDS ESQUIRE, OF POETS by MICHAEL DRAYTON

My dearely loved friend how oft have we,
In winter evenings (meaning to be free,)
To some well chosen place us'd to retire;
And there with moderate meate, and wine, and fire,
Have past the howres contentedly with chat,
Now talk'd of this, and then discours'd of that,
Spoke our owne verses 'twixt our selves, if not
Other mens lines, which we by chance had got,
Or some Stage pieces famous long before,
Of which your happy memory had store;
And I remember you much pleased were,
Of those who lived long agoe to heare,
As well as of those, of these latter times,
Who have inricht our language with their rimes,
And in succession, how still up they grew,
Which is the subject, that I now pursue;
For from my cradle (you must know that) I
Was still inclin'd to noble Poesie,
And when that once @3Pueriles@1 I had read,
And newly had my @3Cato@1 construed,
In my small selfe I greatly marveil'd then,
Amongst all other, what strange kinde of men
These Poets were; And pleased with the name,
To my milde Tutor merrily I came,
(For I was then a proper goodly page,
Much like a Pigmy, scarse ten yeares of age)
Clasping my slender armes about his thigh.
O my deare master! cannot you (quoth I)
Make me a Poet; does it, if you can,
And you shall see, Ile quickly be a man.
Who me thus answered smiling, boy quoth he,
If you'le not play the wag, but I may see
You ply your learning, I will shortly read
Some Poets to you; Phoebus be my speed,
Too't hard went I, when shortly he began,
And first read to me honest @3Mantuan@1,
Then @3Virgils Eglogues@1; being entred thus,
Me thought I straight had mounted @3Pegasus@1,
And in his full Careere could make him stop,
And bound upon @3Parnassus@1 by-clift top.
I scornd your ballet then though it were done
And had for Finis, @3William Elderton@1.
But soft, in sporting with this childish jest,
I from my subject have too long digrest,
Then to the matter that we tooke in hand,
@3Jove@1 and @3Apollo@1 for the @3Muses@1 stand.
That noble @3Chaucer@1, in those former times,
The first inrich'd our @3English@1 with his rimes,
And was the first of ours, that ever brake,
Into the @3Muses@1 treasure, and first spake
In weighty numbers, delving in the Mine
Of perfect knowledge, which he could refine,
And coyne for currant, and asmuch as then
The @3English@1 language could expresse to men,
He made it doe; and by his wondrous skill,
Gave us much light from his abundant quill.
And honest @3Gower@1, who in respect of him,
Had only sipt at @3Aganippas@1 brimme,
And though in yeares this last was him before,
Yet fell he far short of the others store.
When after those, foure ages very neare,
They with the Muses which conversed, were
That Princely @3Surrey@1, early in the time
Of the Eight @3Henry@1, who was then the prime
Of @3Englands@1 noble youth; with him there came
@3Wyat@1; with reverence whom we still doe name
Amongst our Poets, @3Brian@1 had a share
With the two former, which accompted are
That times best makers, and the authors were
Of those small poems, which the title beare,
Of songs and sonnets, wherein oft they hit
On many dainty passages of wit.
@3Gascoine@1 and @3Churchyard@1 after them againe
In the beginning of @3Eliza's@1 raine,
Accoumpted were great Meterers many a day,
But not inspired with brave fier; had they
Liv'd but a little longer, they had seene
Their workes before them to have buried beene.
Grave morral @3Spencer@1 after these came on
Then whom I am perswaded there was none
Since the blind @3Bard@1 his @3Iliads@1 up did make,
Fitter a taske like that to undertake,
To set downe boldly, bravely to invent,
In all high knowledge, surely excellent.
The noble @3Sidney@1, with this last arose,
That @3Heroe@1 for numbers, and for Prose.
That throughly pac'd our language as to show,
The plenteous @3English@1 hand in hand might goe
With @3Greeke@1 and @3Latine@1, and did first reduce
Our tongue from @3Lillies@1 writing then in use;
Talking of Stones, Stars, Plants, of fishes, Flyes,
Playing with words, and idle Similies,
As th' @3English@1, Apes and very Zanies be
Of every thing, that they doe heare and see,
So imitating his ridiculous tricks,
They spake and writ, all like meere lunatiques.
Then @3Warner@1 though his lines were not so trim'd,
Nor yet his Poem so exactly lim'd
And neatly joynted, but the Criticke may
Easily reporoove him, yet thus let me say,
For my old friend, some passages there be
In him, which I protest have taken me,
With almost wonder, so fine, cleere, and new
As yet they have bin equalled by few.
Neat @3Marlow@1 bathed in the @3Thespian@1 springs
Had in him those brave translunary things,
That the first Poets had, his raptures were
All ayre, and fire, which made his verses cleere,
For that fine madnes still he did retaine,
Which rightly should possesse a Poets braine.
And surely @3Nashe@1, though he a Proser were
A branch of Lawrell yet deserves to beare,
Sharply @3Satirick@1 was he, and that way
He went, since that his being, to this day
Few have attempted, and I surely thinke
Those words shall hardly be set downe with inke;
Shall scorch and blast, so as his could, where he,
Would inflict vengeance, and be it said of thee,
@3Shakespeare@1 thou hadst as smooth a Comicke vaine,
Fitting the socke, and in thy naturall braine,
As strong conception, and as Cleere a rage,
As any one that trafiqu'd with the stage.
Amongst these @3Samuel Daniel@1, whom if I
May spake of, but to sensure doe denie,
Onely have heard some wisemen him rehearse,
To be too much @3Historian@1 in verse;
His rimes were smooth, his meeters well did close,
But yet his maner better fitted prose:
Next these, learn'd @3Johnson@1, in this List I bring,
Who had drunke deepe of the @3Pierian@1 spring,
Whose knowledge did him worthily prefer,
And long was Lord here of the Theater,
Who in opinion made our learn'st to sticke,
Whether in Poems rightly dramatique,
Strong @3Seneca@1 or @3Plautus@1, he or they,
Should beare the Buskin, or the Socke away.
Others againe here lived in my dayes,
That have of us deserved no lesse praise
For their translations, then the daintiest wit
That on @3Parnassus@1 thinks, he highst doth sit,
And for a chaire may mongst the Muses call,
As the most curious maker of them all;
As reverent @3Chapman@1, who hath brought to us,
@3Musoeus, Homer@1, and @3Hesiodus@1
Out of the Greeke; and by his skill hath reard
Them to that height, and to our tongue endear'd,
That were those Poets at this day alive,
To see their bookes thus with us to survive,
They would think, having neglected them so long,
They had bin written in the @3English@1 tongue.
And @3Silvester@1 who from the @3French@1 more weake,
Made @3Bartas@1 of his sixe dayes labour speake
In naturall @3English@1, who, had he there stayd,
He had done well, and never had bewraid,
His owne invention, to have bin so poore
Who still wrote lesse, in striving to write more.
Then dainty @3Sands@1 that hath to @3English@1 done,
Smooth sliding @3Ovid@1, and hath made him run
With so much sweetnesse and unusuall grace,
As though the neatnesse of the @3English@1 pace,
Should tell the Jetting @3Lattine@1 that it came
But slowly after, as though stiffe and lame.
So @3Scotland@1 sent us hither, for our owne
That man, whose name I ever would have knowne,
To stand by mine, that most ingenious knight,
@3My Alexander@1, to whom in his right,
I want extreamely, yet in speaking thus
I doe but shew the love, that was twixt us,
And not his numbers which were brave and hie,
So like his mind was his cleare Poesie,
And my deare @3Drummond@1 to whom much I owe
For his much love, and proud I was to know,
His poesie, for which two worthy men,
I @3Menstry@1 still shall love, and @3Hauthorne-den@1,
Then the two @3Beamounts@1 and my @3Browne@1 arose,
My deare companions whom I freely chose
My bosome friends; and in their severall wayes,
Rightly borne Poets, and in these last dayes,
Men of much note, and no lesse nobler parts,
Such as have freely tould to me their hearts,
As I have mine to them; but if you shall
Say in your knowledge, that these be not all
Have writ in numbers, be inform'd that I
Only my selfe, to these few men doe tye,
Whose workes oft printed, set on every post,
To publique censure subject have bin most;
For such whose poems, be they nere so rare,
In private chambers, that incloistered are,
And by transcription daintyly must goe,
As though the world unworthy were to know
Their rich composures, let those men that keepe
These wonderous reliques in their judgement deepe,
And cry them up so, let such Peeces bee
Spoke of by those that shall come after me,
I passe not for them: nor doe meane to run,
In quest of these, that them applause have wonne
Upon our Stages in these latter dayes,
That are so many; let them have ther bayes
That doe deserve it; let those wits that haunt
Those publique circuits, let them freely chaunt
Their fine Composures, and their praise pursue,
And so my deare friend, for this time adue.

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