O let thy beautie scorch the wings of time,
That fluttering he may fall before thine eyes,
And beate him selfe to death before he rise:
And as heauens Geniall parts were cut away
By Saturnes hands, with adamantine Harpey,
Onely to shew, that since it was compos'd
Of vniuersall matter:-it enclos'd
No powre to procreate another heauen.
So since that adamantine powre is giuen

To thy chast hands, to cut of all desire

Of fleshly sports, and quench to Cupids fire:

Let it approue : — no change shall take thee hence,

Nor thy throne beare another inference :

For if the enuious forehead of the earth

Lowre on thy age, and claime thee as her birth,

Tapers, nor torches, nor the forrests burning,

Soule-winging musicke, nor teare-stilling mourning,
(Vsd of old Romanes and rude Macedons

In thy most sad, and blacke discessions)

We know can nothing further thy recall,

When Night's darke robes (whose obiects blind vs all)
Shall celebrate thy changes funerall.

At the end of each hymn is a short glossary or explanation of some of the passages in the poems, in one of which, referring to the defence of Nimigen under Sir Horace Vere, Chapman observes: "And these like Similes, in my opinion drawne from the honorable deeds of our noble countrimen, clad in comely habit of Poesie, would become a Poeme as well as further-fetcht grounds, if such as be Poets now a dayes would vse them."

There is a copy of this work in the Malone Library, and another in the British Museum.

collection in the Bodleian Sir Mark M. Sykes's sale,

pt. i. No. 701, 31. 38.; Heber's ditto, pt. iv. No. 332, 47. 168.; Bright's ditto, No. 1155, 6l. 128. 6d.; Bibl. Ang. Poet., No. 97, 251.

Collation: Sig. A to E 4, inclusive, in fours.

Beautiful copy. Bound by Charles Lewis, in

Venetian Morocco, gilt leaves.

CHAPMAN, (GEORGE.) - Ouids Banquet of Sence. A Coronet for his Mistresse Philosophie, and his Amorous Zodiacke. With

a Translation of a Latine coppie written by a Fryer. Anno Dom. 1400.

[A Woodcut representing a gnomon casting a shadow, with motto on a scroll above, Sibi conscia recti.]

At London printed by I. R. for Richard Smith. Anno Dom. 1595. 4to, pp. 70.

This is the first and extremely rare edition of Chapman's poetical works, which differs very materially from the reprint noticed in the next article, in having, like the Shadow of Night, a dedication by Chapman to his friend Matthew Roydon, which is given at length in the Restituta, vol. ii. p. 53, and commendatory verses by Richard Stapleton, Thomas Williams of the Inner Temple (2 sets), and J. D. (John Davis) of the Middle Temple (2 sets), all of which are omitted in the second impression. We quote the second set by Davis:

Another.

Since Ovid (loues first gentle Maister) dyed

he hath a most notorious trueant beene,
And hath not once in thrice fiue ages seene

That same sweete muse that was his first sweet guide;

But since Apollo who was gratified

Once with a kisse, hunting on Cynthus greene,

By loues fayre Mother tender Beauties Queene,

This fauor vnto her hath not enuied,

That into whome she will, she may infuse

For the instruction of her tender sonne,

The gentle Quids easie supple Muse,

Which vnto thee (sweet Chapman) She hath doone;
Shee makes, (in thee) the spirit of Ouid moue,

And calles thee second Maister of her loue.

Futurum inuisibile.

Mr. Collier in his Poet Decam., vol. i. p. 9, has stated Chapman's objection to these "Scraps of preliminary praise," and says that he does not "recollect any poem or play by Chapman which has verses prefixed by friends." If he, in this remark, excluded translations, he may probably be right, but if these were intended to be included, several of them have com

mendatory verses by his friends prefixed to them. "Ovid's Banquet of Sence" commences at once with a short Argument, giving the plot of the poem, from which we learn that Ovid being enamoured of Julia, daughter to Octavius Augustus Cæsar, called also Corinna, seeing her bathing, and playing upon her lute and singing, enjoys the sense of Hearing (auditus), and from the odours used in her bath of Smelling (olfactus), and of Seeing the glory of her beauty (visus), and obtaining a kiss from her for the satisfaction of his Taste (gustus), proceeds to an entreaty for the fifth sense (tactus), in which he is interrupted. It is written in stanzas of nine lines each, extending to thirty-one pages, and while intended to be pure in sentiment and free from licentiousness, it is penned in a luscious and harmonious style, with bold and vigorous conceptions. The following passages may be cited as exhibiting proofs of the high character and poetical acquirements of Chapman. The first contains a curious list of our English flowers:

A soft enflowred banck embrac'd the founte,
Of Chloris ensignes, an abstracted field;
Where grew Melanthy, great in Bees account,
Amareus, that precious Balme dooth yeeld,
Enamel'd Pansies, vs'd at Nuptials still,
Dianas arrow, Cupids crimson shielde,
Ope-morne, night-shade, and Venus nauill,
Solemne Violets, hanging head as shamed,
And verdant Calaminth, for odor famed.

Sacred Nepenthe, purgatiue of care,

And soueraigne Rumex that doth rancor kill,

Sya, and Hyacinth, that Furies weare,
White and red Iessamines, Merry, Melliphill:

Fayre Crowne-imperiall, Emperor of Flowers,
Immortall Amaranth, white Aphrodill,

And cup-like Twillpants stroude in Bacchus Bowres,
These cling about this Natures naked Iem,

To taste her sweetes, as Bees doe swarme on them.

And now shee vsde the Founte, where Niobe,
Toomb'd in her selfe, pourde her lost soule in teares,
Vpon the bosome of this Romaine Phœbe;
Who, bathd and odord, her bright lyms she reares,

And drying her on that disparent rounde;

Her Lute she takes t'enamoure heauenly eares,

And try if with her voyce's vitall sounde,

She could warme life through those colde statues spread,
And cheere the Dame that wept when she was dead.

The second is a highly encomiastic praise of beauty:
For sacred beautie, is the fruite of sight,
The curtesie that speakes before the tongue,
The feast of soules, the glory of the light,
Enuy of age, and euerlasting young,

Pitties Commander, Cupids richest throne,
Musick intranced, neuer duely sung,

The summe and court of all proportion :
And that I may dull speeches best afforde,
All Rethoricks flowers in lesse then in a worde.
Then in the truest wisdome can be thought,
Spight of the publique Axiom worldlings hold,
That nothing wisdome is, that getteth nought,
This all-things-nothing, since it is no gold.
Beautie enchasing loue, loue gracing beautie
To such as constant sympathies enfold,

To perfect riches dooth a sounder duetie
Then all endeuours, for by all consent
All wealth and wisdome rests in true Content.

Contentment is our heauen, and all our deedes
Bend in that circle, seld or neuer closde,
More then the letter in the word preceedes,
And to conduce that compasse is reposde.

More force and art in beautie ioyned with loue,
Then Thrones with wisdome, ioyes of them composde
Are armes more proofe gainst any griefe we proue,
Then all their vertue-scorning miserie

Or iudgments grauen in Stoick grauitie.

But as weake colour alwayes is allowde

The proper obiect of a human eye,

Though light be with a farre more force endowde

In stirring vp the visuale facultie,

This colour being but of vertuous light

A feeble Image: - and the cause dooth lye
In th' imperfection of a humaine sight,
So this for loue, and beautie, loues cold fire

May serue for my praise, though it merit higher.

"The Banquet of Sence" is followed by "A Coronet for his Mistresse

a

Philosophie," ten sonnets, occupying five pages, and "The amorous Zodiack," in six-line stanzas, six more pages. The poem of "The amorous contention of Phillis and Flora translated out of a Latine coppie, written by a Fryer, anno 1400," in quatrains, extends to 103 verses, and was translated by Chapman from a Latin poem, written, as he states, by a friar, in the year 1400. Ritson, in his Bibliog. Poet., believed that Chapman was mistaken both as to the author and the age of the original, which was probably written by Walter Mapes in or before the thirteenth century. much more correct copy than he made use of being extant in a MS. of that age in the Harl. collection, No. 978, in the British Museum. This poem was again printed, separately, in 1598, with the title: Phillis and Flora. The sweete and ciuill contention of two amorous Ladyes. Translated out of Latine: by R. S. Esquire. Aut Marti vel Mercurio. Imprinted at London by William] W[hite] for Richarde Jones, 1598, 4to. R. S. is supposed by some to be Richard Smith; by others Richard Stapleton but why Chapman should be deprived of the authorship of this poem we are at a loss to understand. This edition of 1598, which will be noticed in its proper place, is extremely rare, only one or two copies of it being known. At the end of this poem are some rhyming Latin verses (three pages), entitled "Certamen inter Phillidem et Floran," with which the volume concludes. On the last page is a woodcut of time, with his scythe and hour glass, grasping the hand of a female, with the motto, "Tempore patet occulta veritas," and at the bottom the initials of the printer, "R. S." See Warton's Hist. Ang. Poet., vol. iv. p. 275; Wood's Ath. Oxon., vol. ii. p. 576; and Ritson's Bibliog. Poet., p. 156. A copy of this first edition of Chapman's work brought in Stevens's sale, No. 792, 197.; Sir Mark M. Sykes's ditto, pt. i. No. 702, 187.; the same copy re-sold in Bright's ditto, No. 1156, 157. 15s., and was the one in the Bibl. Ang. Poet., No. 98 (erroneously dated 1598), there priced at 251. There is a copy in the Malone collection in the Bodleian Library, imperfect.

Collation: Sig. A to I 3; 35 leaves, not 34, as stated by Mr. Hazlitt in his Hand Book, p. 82.

In blue Morocco, gilt leaves.

CHAPMAN, (GEORGE.) - Ouids Banquet of Sence. With a Coronet for his Mistresse Philosophie, and his amorous Zodiacke.