The Affectionate Shepherd

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Title: The Affectionate Shepherd
Author: Richard Barnfield
Editor: James Orchard Halliwell
Release Date: November 23, 2006 [EBook #19902]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
0. START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
AFFECTIONATE SHEPHERD ***
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THE
AFFECTIONATE SHEPHERD:
BY
RICHARD BARNFIELD.
A.D. 1594.
EDITED BY

JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL, Esq. F.R.S.
HON. M.R.I.A., HON. M.R.S.L., F.S.A., ETC.
LONDON.
REPRINTED FOR THE PERCY SOCIETY,
BY T. RICHARDS, 100, ST. MARTIN'S LANE.
M.DCCC.XLV.
COUNCIL
OF
The Percy Society.
_President._
THE RT. HON. LORD BRAYBROOKE, F.S.A.
THOMAS AMYOT, ESQ. F.R.S. TREAS. S.A.
WILLIAM HENRY BLACK, ESQ.
WILLIAM CHAPPELL, ESQ. F.S.A.
J. PAYNE COLLIER, ESQ. F.S.A.
C. PURTON COOPER, ESQ. Q.C., F.R.S., F.S.A.
PETER CUNNINGHAM, ESQ.
JAMES HENRY DIXON, ESQ.
WILLIAM JERDAN, ESQ. F.S.A., M.R.S.L.
CAPTAIN JOHNS, R.M.

T. J. PETTIGREW, ESQ. F.R.S., F.S.A.
LEWIS POCOCK, ESQ. F.S.A.
SIR CUTHBERT SHARP.
WILLIAM SANDYS, ESQ. F.S.A.
WILLIAM J. THOMS, ESQ. F.S.A.
THOMAS WRIGHT, ESQ. M.A., F.S.A., _Secretary and Treasurer._
PREFACE.
Two copies only of the poem by Barnfield here reprinted, are known to
be preserved; one in Sion College Library, and another, formerly in
Heber's possession, mentioned in "Bibliotheca Heberiana," iv. 15. Its
merits and great rarity have pointed it out as a work deserving to be
more known and appreciated. Barnfield is, perhaps, chiefly
remembered by his elegant pieces printed in the "Passionate Pilgrim,"
attributed by some to Shakespeare; but Mr. Collier has distinctly
proved them to belong to the less eminent poet. The "Affectionate
Shepherd" was his first production, as he himself confesses in the
preface to his "Cynthia," 1595, and it has received the well-merited
commendation of Warton. Besides these poems, he is the author of
"The Complaint of Poetrie for the death of Liberalitie," 4to. 1598, and
others published at the same time, reprints of which are in the British
Museum; also "The Encomium of Lady Pecunia, or the Praise of
Money," a curious manuscript in the Ashmolean Museum, and likewise
printed in the author's life-time. It should be mentioned that in the
original copies of the following tract are a few hexameter verses on the
Rape of Helen, which have been omitted as of an inferior kind to the
other part of the work, and for still more obvious reasons. The
"Affectionate Shepherd" itself will be found remarkably free from the
coarseness which disfigures so much of the Elizabethan literature,--an
additional inducement, if any were necessary, for rescuing it from the
liability to destruction which is of course incident to any book of such
excessive rarity. Our thanks are due to the Rev. H. Christmas, Librarian

of Sion College, for the courtesy and liberality with which he permitted
our transcript to be made from a volume of tracts possessing the
greatest charm for the bibliographer; for besides the present one, it
contains the first edition of Shakespeare's Lucrece, and several other
pieces of nearly equal value, in the finest possible condition.
THE
AFFECTIONATE SHEPHEARD.
CONTAINING THE COMPLAINT OF DAPHNIS FOR
THE LOUE OF GANYMEDE.
_Amor plus mellis, quam fellis, est._
London:
Printed by John Danter, for T. G. and E. N., and
are to bee sold in Saint Dunstones
Church-yeard in Fleetstreet.
1594.
TO THE RIGHT EXCELLENT AND MOST BEAUTIFULL
LADY,
THE LADIE PENELOPE RITCH.
Fayre lovely ladie, whose angelique eyes
Are vestall candles of sweet
beauties treasure,
Whose speech is able to inchaunt the wise,

Converting joy to paine, and paine to pleasure;
Accept this simple toy
of my soules dutie,
Which I present unto thy matchles beautie.
And albeit the gift be all too meane,
Too meane an offring for thine
ivorie shrine;
Yet must thy beautie my just blame susteane,
Since it

is mortall, but thyselfe divine.
Then, noble ladie, take in gentle worth

This new-borne babe, which here my muse brings forth.
Your Honours most affectionate and
perpetually devoted Shepheard:

DAPHNIS.