The Arte of English Poesie | Page 4

it is dayly vsed, and by that occasion the
eare is ouerglutted with it, but is also not so voluble and slipper vpon
the tong, being wide and lose, and nothing numerous, nor contriued
into measures, and sounded with so gallant and harmonical accents, nor
in fine alowed that figuratiue conueyance, nor so great licence in choise
of words and phrases as meeter is. So as the Poets were also from the
beginning the best perswaders and their eloquence the first Rethoricke

of the world. Euen so it became that the high mysteries of the gods
should be reuealed & taught, by a maner of vtterance and language of
extraordinarie phrase, and briefe and compendious, and aboue al others
sweet and ciuill as the Metricall is. The same also was meetest to
register the liues and noble gests of Princes, and of the great Monarkes
of the world, and all other the memorable accidents of time: so as the
Poet was also the first historiographer. Then for as much as they were
the first obseruers of all naturall causes & effects in the things
generable and corruptible, and from thence mounted vp to search after
the celestiall courses and influences, & yet penetrated further to know
the diuine essences and substances separate, as is sayd before, they
were the first Astronomers and Philosophists and Metaphisicks. Finally,
because they did altogether endeuor themselues to reduce the life of
man to a certaine method of good maners, and made the first
differences betweene vertue and vice, and then tempered all these
knowledges and skilles with the exercise of a delectable Musicke by
melodious instruments, which withall serued them to delight their
hearers, & to call the people together by admiration, to a plausible and
vertuous conuersation, therefore were they the first Philosophers Ethick,
& the first artificial Musiciens of the world. Such was Linus, Orpheus,
Amphion & Museus the most ancient Poets and Philosophers, of whom
there is left any memorie by the prophane writers King Dauid_ also &
_Salomon his sonne and many other of the holy Prophets wrate in
meeters, and vsed to sing them to the harpe, although to many of vs
ignorant of the Hebrue language and phrase, and not obseruing it, the
same seeme but a prose. It can not bee therefore that anie scorn or
indignitie should iustly be offred to so noble, profitable, ancient and
diuine a science as Poesie is.
CHAP. V.
_How the wilde and sauage people vsed a naturall Poesie in versicte
and time as our vulgar is._
And the Greeke and Latine Poesie was by verse numerous and metricall,
running vpon pleasant feete, sometimes swift, sometime slow (their
words very aptly seruing that purpose) but without any rime or tunable

concord in th'end of their verses, as we and all other nations now use.
But the Hebrues & Chaldees who were more ancient then the Greekes,
did not only use a metricall Poesie, but also with the same a maner or
rime, as hath bene of late obserued by learned men. Wherby it
appeareth, that our vulgar running Poesie was common to all the
nations of the world besides, whom the Latines and Greekes in speciall
called barbarous. So as it was notwithstanding the first and most
ancient Poesie, and the most vniuersall, which two points do otherwise
giue to all humane inuentions and affaires no small credit. This is
proued by certificate of marchants & trauellers, who by late nauigations
haue surueyed the whole world, and discouered large countries and
strange peoples wild and sauage, affirming that the American, the
Perusine & the very Canniball, do sing and also say, their highest and
holiest matters in certaine riming versicles and not in prose, which
proues also that our maner of vulgar Poesie is more ancient then the
artificiall of the Greeks and Latines, ours comming by instinct of nature,
which was before Art or obseruation, and vsed with the sauage and
vnciuill, who were before all science or ciuilitie, euen as the naked by
prioritie of time is before the clothed, and the ignorant before the
learned. The naturall Poesie therefore being aided and amended by Art,
and not vtterly altered or obscured, but some signe left of it, (as the
Greekes and Latines haue left none) is no lesse to be allowed and
commended then theirs.
CHAP. VI.
_How the riming Poesie came first to the Grecians and Latines, and had
altered and almost split their maner of Poesie_.
But it came to passe, when fortune fled farre from the Greekes and
Latines, & that their townes florished no more in traficke, nor their
Vniuersities in learning as they had done continuing those Monarchies:
the barbarous conquerers inuading them with innumerable swarmes of
strange nations, the Poesie metricall of the Grecians