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
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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.
THE
AFFECTIONATE SHEPHEARD.
THE TEARES OF AN AFFECTIONATE SHEPHEARD SICKE FOR LOVE,
OR THE COMPLAINT OF DAPHNIS FOR THE
LOVE OF GANIMEDE.
Scarce had the morning starre hid from the light?Heavens crimson canopie with stars