1561 49 50 Eglogs, &c....... Naogeorgus's Popish Kingdom, 1570.... ....... 56 Sir Hugh Plat's Floures of Philosophie, 1572...... 365 57 Fulwell's Flower of Fame, 1575 ...... CENSURA LITERARIA. POETRY. ART. I. Jo. Gower de Confessione Amantis. Imprinted at London in Fletestrete by Thomas Berthelette the xii daie of March An. MDLIIII. Cum privilegio. Folio. Fol. 191, besides the Dedication, Preface, and Table.* On the back of the title-page "Epigramma Au toris in suum librum." "DEDICATION. "To the most victorious and our moste gracious soveraigne lorde kynge Henry the VIII. kynge of Englande and of France, Defender of the fayth, and lorde of Irelande, &c." "Plutarke writeth, whan Alexander had discomfite Darius the kynge of Perse, amonge other jewels of the saide kynges, there was founde a curious littel cheste of great value, which the noble King Alexander beholding said: this same shall serve for Homere; whiche is noted for the greate love and favour that Alexander had unto lernyng: but this I thinke verily, that his love and favour therto was not so great as your gracis: whiche caused me, moste victo * The first edition was by William Caxton, Sept. 2, 1483. Herb. 1. 45. Berthelet printed a former edition in 1532. Ib. I. 419. rious, and most redoubted soveraigne lorde, after I had printed this worke, to deuise with my selfe, whether I might be so bolde to presente your highnesse with one of them, and so in your graces name put them forth. Your moste high and moste princely majestee abashed and cleane discouraged me so to do, both because the present (as concernynge the value) was farre to simple (as methought) and because it was none other wise my acte, but as I toke some peyne to printe it more correctly than it was before. And though I shulde saie, it was not muche greater peyne to that excellent clerke the morall Johan Gower to compile the same noble warke, than it was to me to print it, no man will beleve it, without conferringe both the printes, the olde and myn together. And as I stode in this bashment, I remembred your incomparable clemencie, the whiche, as I have myselfe some tyme sene, most graciously accepteth the sklender giftes of small value, which your highnes perceived were offred with greet and louinge affection, and that not onely of the nobuls and great estates, but also of your meane subjectes: the whiche so muche holdeth me againe, that though I of all other am your moste humble subjecte and servaunte, yet my herte geveth me, that your highnesse, as ye are accustomed to do, woll of your moste benigne nature consider, that I wolde with as good will, if it were as well in my power, give unto your grace the most goodliest and largest cite of al the worlde. And this more over I very well knowe, that both the nobles and commons of this your noble royalme, shall the sooner accepte this boke, the gladlier rede it, and be the more diligent to marke and beare awey the morall doctrines of the same, whan they shal see it come forthe under your graces name, whom thei with all their very hertes so truely love and drede, whom they knowe so excellently well lerned, whom they ever fynde so good, so juste, and so gracious a prince. And who so ever in redynge of this warke, doth consider it well, shall finde, that it is plentifully stuffed and fournished with manifolde eloquent reasons, sharpe and quicke argumentes, and examples of greet auctoritee, perswadynge unto vertue, not onely taken out of the poetes, oratours, historie writers, and philosophers, but also out of the holy scripture. There is to my dome no man, but that he maie by readinge of this warke get right great knowlage, as well for the understandynge of many and divers auctours, whose reasons, sayenges and histories are translated in to this warke, as for the pleintie of Englishe wordes and vulgars, beside the furtherance of the life to vertue. Whiche olde Englishe wordes and vulgars no wise man, because of their antiquitee will throwe aside. For the writers of later daies, the whiche began to loth and hate these olde vulgars, whan they them selfe wolde write in our Englishe tonge, were constreigned to bringe in, in their writynges, newe termes (as some call them) whiche thei borowed out of Latine, Frenche, and other langages, whiche caused, that they that understode not those langages, from whens these newe vulgars are fette, coude not perceive their writynges. And though our most alowed olde autors did other while use to horowe of other langages, either because of their metre, or elles for |