to have excelled in rendering the descriptive paffages of this moral Zodiac.*

In 1570 Googe tranflated Naogeorgus's hexametrical poem on Antichrift, or the Papal Dominion, dedicated to Sir William Cecil. He alfo tranflated and enlarged Conrade Herebach's treatise on Agriculture, Gardening, Orchards, Cattle and domeftic Fowls, printed 1577 and dedicated from Kingston to Sir William Fitzwilliams. Among Crynes's curious books in the Bodleian at Oxford, is Googe's tranflation from the Spanish of Lopez de Mendoza's "Proverbs," dedicated to Cecil, and printed at London by R. Watkins, 1579. He also tranflated into English what he called Ariftotle's "Table of the ten Categories," that capital example of ingenious but useless subtlety, of method, which cannot be applied to practice, and of that affectation of unnecessary deduction and frivolous investigation, which characterizes the philofophy of the Greeks, and which is confpicuous not only in the demonftrations of Euclid, but in the Socratic difputations recorded by Xenophon.§

Googe feems to have been the fame perfon, (though Tanner expreffes a doubt,) who was

Wart. p. 451, 452, 453. † Tann. Bib. 333-Wart, p. 458. Wart. ibid. § Ibid. p. 459.

firft

first a retainer to Cecil, and afterwards in 1563 a gentleman-penfioner to the Queen, at which time there was a difpute agitated before Archbishop Parker concerning his marriage with a lady of the family of Darell.*

Befides thefe verfions of the Greek and Roman poets, and of the ancient writers in profe, almost all the Greek and Roman claffics appeared in English before 1600.†

But tranflation was not circumfcribed within the bounds of the claffics: the Italian poets became fashionable; and versions of them chiefly on fictitious and narrative fubjects, prevailed. Indeed Boccace's Thefeid and Troilus, many of his tales, and large paffages from Dante and Petrarch had been tranflated by Chaucer. But the golden mine of Italian fiction thus opened, had been foon closed §

Now, however, William Paynter, Clerk of the office of arms within the Tower of London, and who seems to have been Mafter of the School of Sevenoaks in Kent, printed a very confiderable of Boccace's novels.-I. part "The Palace of Pleasure, the first volume containing IX novels out of Boccacio, London, 1566 and 1569, 4to." dedicated to the

Strype's Parker, p. 144. † Wart. p. 460. Ibid. p. 461. § Ibid. p. 464.

Earl

Earl of Warwick.*-II. A fecond volume containing XXXIV novels: dedicated to Sir George Howard, and dated as well as the former volume, from his houfe in the Tower of London, 1567, 4to. There was another edition of this in 8°. printed by Thomas Marsh; and of the first volume, 1575, 4to. printed by H. Binneman. There can be little doubt that he was the fame person who translated William Fulk's Antiprognofticon, a treatise to expose the astrologers of those times. He also prefixed a latin tetraftic to Fulk's original, printed in 1570.† Painter's "Palace of Pleasure,”. must not be confounded with "A petite Pallace of Pettie his Pleasure," by George Pettie,' an uncle of Anthony Wood-a book of Stories collected from Italian and other writers about 1576, but printed 1598, and again 1608, 4to.§ Boccace's Fiametta was tranflated by B. Giovanno del M. Temp, an Italian, who feems to have borne fome office about the court in 1587. The fame year was printed "Thirteen moft pleasaunt and delectable queftions," &c. from Boccace. Imprinted at London by A. W. for Thomas Woodcock, 1587, 4to. Several tales of Boccace's Decameron were

*Tann. Bib. p. 570-Wart. p. 465. † Ibid. ‡ Wart. p. 466. He died July, 1589, at Plymouth, Tann, Bib, p. 595.

now

now tranflated into English rhymes. "Titus and Gefippus" was rendered by EDWARD LEWICKE, 1562.* Thofe affecting ftories the Cymon and Iphigenia, and the Theodore and Honoria afterwards fo beautifully paraphrafed by Dryden, appeared in English, in this reign. The latter was tranflated by Dr. Chriftopher Tye, already mentioned,† in 1569, and the former appeared about the fame time under the title of "A pleasaunt and delightful History of Galefus, Cymon and Iphigenia, defcribing the fickleness of fortune in love. Translated out of Italian into english verfe, by T. C. Gentleman. Printed by Nicholas Wyer in St. Martin's parish, befides Charing Cross," in 12mo. bl. letter. T. C. was probably Thomas Churchyard, or Thomas Campion.

ARTHUR BROOKE made a metrical paraphrafe of Bandello's Hiftory of Romeo and Juliet. Printed by Richard Tottill, 1562. This the late ingenious and induftrious editors have discovered to have been the original of Shakespeare's play. From Turberville's poems printed in 1567, we learn that Arthur Brooke was drowned in his paffage to Newhaven, and that he was the author of this tranflation. He tranflated from French into English," The

Wart. p. 468. † P. 79. See p. 71.

Agreement

Agreement of fundry places in Scripture, feeming to jarr," &c. Lond. 1563, 80. From a poem at the end of the book, by Thomas Brooke the younger, it appears that he was fhipwrecked before 1563.*

The tranflations from the Italian, by George Gafcoigne and George Turberville, have been already mentioned. Geffrey Fenton, who must have been the fame perfon, who was afterwards a Privy-Counsellor in Ireland, and by the marriage of his daughter laid the first foundation of the wealth and greatness of the Boyle family, tranflated in 1567" Certaine tragicall Difcourfes written out of French and Latin," which was perhaps the most capital Mifcellany of this kind. In 1571 Thomas Fortescue published "The Foreft or Collection of Hiftories no leffe profitable than pleasaunt and neceffary, doone oute of Frenche into English by Thomas Fortescue," dedicated to John Fortefcue, Efq. keeper of the Wardrobe, Lond.

4to.

In 1582 GEORGE WHETSTONE,‡ a fonnet. writer of fome rank, whom Meres calls "one of the moft paffionate amongst us to bewail the perpexities of love," and W. Webbe, alfo

Tann. Bib. p. 128-Wart. p. 472. Wart. p. 479. See the account of Gascoigne, 1