CHAPTER XV.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Works not classified elsewhere: Toxophilus, by Roger Ascham-The Schole Master-Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy-Ben Jonson's Timber-Sir Thomas Browne-Religio Medici-Hydriotaphia; or, Urn-Burial-Feltham's Resolves-Selden's Table-Talk - Leonarde Coxe-Thomas Wilson-Blair's Lectures-Edmund Burke-Izaak Walton's Compleat Angler-Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne-Goldsmith's Animated Nature-Dr. Johnson's Visit to the Hebrides-Walter Savage Landor-Dr. Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac-Horne Tooke-The Diversions of Purley-William Cobbett-Arthur Helps-Friends in Council-Companions of my Solitude-Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table-Reveries of a BachelorWarner's Back-Log Studies-John Ruskin's Works-Ethics of the Dust-Samuel Smiles-Self-Help-Dictionaries: Bullokar, Phillips, Bailey, Johnson, Webster, Worcester-Translations - Literary Criticisms: Sidney's Defence of Poesie-Gascoigne on Verse and Rhyme-Webbe's Discourse of English Poetrie-Puttenham's Art of English Poesie-Ben Jonson's Timber-Theatrum Poetarum, by Phillips-John Dryden-Essay on Dramatic Poetry-On SatireRymer on Tragedy-The Spectator on Paradise Lost-Sir William Temple on the Learning of the Ancients-The Boyle and Bentley Controversy Swift's Battle of the Books-Warton's History of Eng. lish Poetry-Johnson's Lives of the Poets-Isaac Disraeli-Matthew Arnold-Miscellaneous Criticisms.

Works not classified elsewhere.-Good old Roger Ascham, the tutor of Queen Elizabeth and the most accomplished Greek scholar of his time, may be regarded as one of the best writers of English prose in the sixteenth century. His first work, a curious little book entitled Toxophilus, the Schole or Partitiones of Shooting, was published in 1544. The professed object of the book was to defend the author's favorite amusement, archery; and, as Ascham quaintly remarks, it was sent out with some misgivings and many apprehensions of unfriendly talk. It was presumed that the critics would object to it because it was written in the

English language. Scarcely a dozen prose books, deserving of the name, had yet been written in that tongue. Latin was thought to be the only dress worthy to clothe the thoughts of the learned; English was fit only for story books, for common conversation, and for the unlettered herd. But Roger Ascham enters boldly into the defense of his native language:

If any man would blame me for writing in the English tongue, this answer I may make him: that what the best of the realm think it honest for them to use, I, one of the meanest sort, ought not to suppose it vile for me to write. . . . He that would write well in any tongue must follow this counsel of Aristotle: to speak as the common people do, to think as the wise men do; as so should every man understand him, and the judgment of wise men allow him. Many English writers have not done this, but by using strange words from foreign languages they do make all things dark and hard. Once I communed with a man who argued that the English tongue was enriched and increased by the much mixture of foreign words, saying: "Who will not praise that feast where a man shall drink at dinner both wine, ale, and beer?" "Truly," quoth I, "they be all good, every one taken by himself alone; but if you put malvesy and sack, red wine and white, ale and beer, all in one pot, you shall make a drink not easy to be known, nor yet wholesome for the body."

Toxophilus is not, as one might suppose, merely a treatise upon bows and arrows. While defending "the noble pastime of shooting, which now hath fallen into ill repute," Ascham neglects no opportunity to point a moral by means of some homely illustration, to adorn his discourse with classical quotations, or to insert some well-meant observations upon music, rhetoric, or the languages. To scholars, long confined to their books, no exercise or recreation is more agreeable, or even more profitable, than shooting with the bow; "for it conduceth to the health of the body, to the quickness of the wit, and to the ability to defend our country, as our enemies can bear record." The contrast between this noble pastime and certain games of chance,

then fashionable, is very marked, and our author undertakes to illustrate "the contrariousness that exists between them."

Shootinge hath two tutours to loke upon it, out of whose companye shootinge never stirreth, the one called day-light, the other open place, which two kepe shootinge from evil companye, and suffer it not to have to much swinge, but ever more kepeth it under awe, that it dare do nothinge in the open face of the world, but that which is good and honest. Lykewise, dysinge and cardinge have two tutours, the one named Solitariousnesse, which lurketh in holes and corners, the other called Night, an ungratious cover of noughtinesse which two thinges be very inkepers and receyvers of all noughtinesse and noughtye thinges, and thereto they be in a manner ordayned by nature. For, in the night time and in corners, spirites and theeves, rattes and mise, toodes and oules, night crowes and poulcattes, foxes and foumardes, with all other vermine, and noysome beastes, use most styrringe; when in the day-light, and in open places, which be ordayned of God for honest thinges, they dare not ones come, which thinge Euripides noteth very well, sayinge:

"Ill thinges the night, good thinges the daye doth haunt and use."

Companions of shootinge, be providentness, good heede geving, true meetinge, honest comparison, which thinges agree with vertue verye well. Cardinge and dysinge have a sort of good felowes also, goinge commonlye in theyr companye, as blinde fortune, stumblinge chaunce, spittle lucke, false dealinge, crafty conveyaunce, brainlesse brawlinge, false forswearinge, which good fellowes will sone take a man by the sleve, and cause him take his inne, some with beggary, some with goute and dropsye, some with thefte and robbery, and seldome they will leave a man before he come eyther to hanginge, or els some other extreme myserye. To make an ende, how shootinge by all mennes lawes hath bene alowed, cardinge and dysinge by all mennes judgmentes condempned, I neede not shew, the matter is so plaine.

Twenty years after the publication of Toxophilus, Roger Ascham, at the suggestion of Sir Richard Sackville, was induced to embody the results of his observations and his

experience as a teacher in a treatise on the science of education. The full title of this remarkable work was The Schole Master; or, plaine and perfite Way of teaching Children, to understand, write, and speake, the LATIN TONGUE, but specially purposed for the private bringing up of Youth in Jentlemen and Noblemens Houses, and commodious also for all such as have forgot the LATIN TONGUE, and would, by themselves, without a Scholemaster, in short Tyme, and with small Paines, recover a sufficient Habilitie, to understand, write, and speake LATIN. In this book Ascham discusses almost every question which in his day was, directly or remotely, connected with the subject of education.

We had then further taulke togither, of bringing up of children: of the nature of quick and hard wittes: of the right choice of a good witte: of fear and love in teaching children. We passed from children and came to younge men, namely, Gentlemen: we taulked of their to much liberty to live as they lust; of their letting loose to sone to overmuch experience of ill, contrarie to the good order of many good olde common wealthes of the Persians and Greeks: of witte gathered, and good fortune gotten by some, onely by experience, without learninge: and lastlie of what I thought of the common goinge of Englishmen into Italie.*

He enumerates the "seven plaine notes to chose a good wit in a childe for learninge." They are Euphues, Mnemon, Philomathes, Philoponos, Philechoos, Zetetichos, Philepainos. Of the first, he says:

Euphues is he that is apt by goodness of wit, and appliable by readiness of will, to learning, having all other qualities of the mind and parts of the body, that must another day serve learning; not troubled, mangled, and halfed, but sound, whole, full, and able to do their office: as, a tongue not stammering, or over hardly drawing forth words, but plain and ready to deliver the meaning of the mind; a voice not soft, weak, piping, womanish, but audible, strong, and manlike; a countenance not morose and crabbed, but fair and comely; a personage not wretched and deformed, but tall

The Schole Master. Edition of 1571, p. 8.

and goodly; for surely, a comely countenance, with a goodly stature, giveth credit to learning, and authority to the person; otherwise, commonly, either open contempt, or privy disfavor doth hurt, or hinder, both person and learning. And even as a fair stone requireth to be set in the finest gold, with the best workmanship, or else it loseth much of the grace and price, even so excellency in learning, and namely divinity, joined with a comely personage, is a marvelous jewel in the world. And how can a comely body be better employed, than to serve the fairest exercise of God's greatest gift, and that is learning. But commonly the fairest bodies are bestowed on the foulest purposes. I would it were not so; and with examples herein, I will not meddle: yet I wish, that those would both mind it and meddle with it, which have most occasion to look to it, as good and wise fathers should do; and greatest authority to mend it, as good and wise magistrates ought to do: and yet I will not let openly to lament the unfortunate case of learning herein.

For, if a father have four sons, three fair and well-formed, both mind and body, the fourth wretched, lame, and deformed, his choice shall be, to put the worst to learning, as one good enough to become a scholar. I have spent the most part of life in the university, and therefore I can bear good witness that many fathers commonly do thus: whereof I have heard many wise, learned, and as good men as I ever knew, make great and oft complaint. A good horseman will choose no such colt, neither for his own, nor yet for his master's saddle.*

The first book of the Schole Master, after discussing the author's methods of teaching Latin, treats of school discipline, of the proper training of children, of the advantages of love and gentleness in "bringing up a child rightly in learning," and closes with a severe criticism upon the practice then fashionable of sending young men to Italy to finish their education. The second book is a continuation of the author's methods of teaching Latin, with some criticisms upon the great Latin writers, Varro, Sallust, and Cæsar. Hallam says: "Ascham is plain and strong

*The Schole Master (1571), p. 27. The spelling in this extract has been modernized.