estate and degree exceedeth all the rest of her most humble vassals."*

[To be continued.]

O. G. G.

ART. V. A Discourse of English Poetrie: together with the Author's Judgment touching the reformation of our English verse. By William Webbe, Graduate. Imprinted at London by John Charlewood. 4to. 1586.

A full account of this book, of which, for the sake of juxta position, I here insert the title, may be found in Oldys's "British Librarian," p. 86.

ART. VI. The Six Bookes of a Common-Weale. Written by J. Bodin, a famous Lawyer, and a man of great experience in matters of State. Out of the French and Latine copies, done into English, by Richard Knolles. London, Impensis G. Bishop, 1606. Imprinted by Adam Islip. Fol. pp. 794.

Dedication by Knolles.

To my most especiall good friend, Sir Peter Manwood, Knight of the Honourable Order of the Bath.

"SIR,

"Gathering matter to continue the lives of the Turkish Emperours, but finding nothing hetherto worthy the writing, more than matters common: such

Oldys's account of this book, extracted from the notes to his Life of Raleigh, is inserted in the new edition of the Theatrum Poetarum, p. 310. having

A A 3

having been the policies of latter times, as to keepe secret the reasons and certain knowlege of the doings of great estates, that if some of the most wise, mightie, and honorable, sitting at the helmes of Commonweales, doe not shew the way, posteritie will be defrauded of the most excellent things that many ages have before brought forth and yet succeeding times shall bring to light so much as God in his owne time seeth best for the good of the Christian Commonwealth. The Sarasin Historie also not to be performed without the light of their own Chronicles, and the stories of many other countries by them conquered and possessed; a more famous and mightie people, and of longer continuance than the Turkes, and the first planters, spreaders, and maintainers of the Mahometane religion: besides the difficulty of the labour to so weake a body, apace declining, wanting all comfort and helpe but your owne, by the experience of so many yeares spent in the former (and the beginning of this, which you have so long since seene) I doubt (if it please God I live to performe it) I must write it shortly, as I did the generall Historie to my Lives. In the mean time having had some leisure, and loath to bestow good houres evill, I thought good to translate these six bookes of Bodin his Commonwealth, which I here commend unto you. But Sir, my most worthy and only friend, if beside the divers formes of Commonweales, and such other worthie matter, as is here by the author set downe, you wish also to see by what lawes and customs they have been also governed, a thing infinite; I instead of all referre you unto the reading of the Common Law of this realme, which without all doubt in the auntient puritie thereof, for religious sinceritie, wisdom, power,

and

and equal upright justice, excelleth all the laws of men that ever yet were, and a knowledge best beseeming the noble gentrie of this land. To make an end, the whole labours of my life have been and ever shall be comfortable to me when they please you, to whom I have wholly dedicated myselfe. The Lord in his great mercy ever keepe you and all yours. From Sandwich, this 18th day of December 1605.

"Yours ever to be commaunded,

RICH. KNOLLES."

I transcribe this dedication, because so little is known of the writer, of whose History of the Turks Johnson speaks highly in his Rambler. Knolles was a clergyman and schoolmaster at Sandwich, in Kent, from which town sprung the celebrated lawyer Sir Roger Manwood, father of Sir Peter.

As to the subject of this work, the Translator in his Address to the Reader, says, "Long and many yeares agoe Plato, Xenophon, and Aristotle, and in the memorie of our fathers Sir Thomas Moore, (sometimes Lord Chauncellour of this land) all men of great fame and learning, and besides them not many moe, whose works in the space of 2000 years ever came to light, tooke this so noble and weightic an argument in hand; which they yet so passed through, Aristotle only excepted, as that in their most grave and learned discourses is to be seene a certaine imaginarie forme of a perfect commonweale, by themselves diversly fantasied, such as indeed never was, either yet ever shall be, rather than any true shape or fashion of such a perfect estate and commonweale, as hath indeed been, or yet reasonably may be set downe for an example for others

to imitate and conforme themselves unto. So that according to these great and learned mens high and statelie conceits, was never yet any commonweale framed, neither yet any great matter from their' so absolute imaginations drawn, for the behoofe and profit of such estates and commonweales as have indeed since been, and wherein we now live. Which I say not in any thing to impaire or deminish the fame and credite of these so renowned and excellent men, whose memoriall live for ever, but onely that the strong opinion conceived of the great knowledge of them, so grave and learned auntients, and especially in matters of state, wherein they as schoolemen had but little or no experience, might not be altogether prejudiciall unto the honourable and reasonable endevors of some others of our time, no lesse, yea and happily better, acquainted with the studies and affaires of estates and commonweales than they were. For if the true value of things bee to be deemed by the necessarie and profitable use thereof, I see not what should let, but that the six bookes of Io. Bodin De Repub. wherein hee, being himselfe a most famous civilian, and a man much employed in the publicke affaires both of his Prince and countrey, so orderly and exactly prosecuteth all formes and fashions of commonweales, with the good and evill, the perfections and imperfections incident unto the same, and many other matters and questions most necessarie to be knowne for the maintenance and preservation of them, may well be compared, yea and happily not without cause also preferred before any of them, which have as yet taken that so great an argument upon them. Which bookes by him for the common good of his native countrey onely,

first written in French, (and seven times printed in three yeares space, a thing not common) at such time as that mightic kingdom began now after the long and bloodie civile warres againe to take breath, were by him afterwardes for the publicke benefit of the rest of the Christian kingdomes and commonweales turned into Latine also: which to doe he was the rather mooved, for that, as hee himselfe sayth, at the time of his employment here in England, he certainly understood one Olybius a Frenchman, privately in noble men's houses in London, and another likewise in the University at Cambridge, with great obscuritie and difficultie there to interprete those his bookes of a commonweale, then written but in French onely: which was as much as in him lay to make the same common unto all men, the chiefe scope and drift of him in the whole worke being to make the subjects obedient unto the magistrates, the magistrates unto the princes, and the princes unto the lawes of God and Nature. Which his so good and Christian an intent and purpose in some part to further, I out of French and Latine copies have into our owne vulgar translated that thou seest: seeking therein the true sense and meaning of the author, rather than precisely following the strict rules of a nice translator."

ART. VII. Collins's Odes, Descriptive and Allegorical. 1746.

Nothing seems more unaccountable than the caprice of public taste. The poems of Collins, of which such numerous impressions in every splendid, as well as