To others trauaile, that in better place,

And better comfort, they may be incheer'd

Who shall deserue, and who shall haue the grace

To haue a Muse held worthy to be heard.

And know, sweete Prince, when you shall come to know,
That 'tis not in the pow'r of Kings to raise
A spirit for Verse that is not born thereto.
Nor are they borne in euery Princes dayes:
For late Eliza's raigne gaue birth to more
Then all the Kings of England did before.

And it may be, the genius of that time
Would leaue to her the glory in that kind,
And that the utmost powers of English Rime
Should be within her peacefull raigne confin'd;
For since that time our Songs could neuer thriue,
But laine as if forlorne; - though in the prime
Of this new rising season, we did striue
To bring the best we could unto the time.

And I, although among the latter traine,

And least of those that sung vnto this land,

Haue borne my part, though in an humble straine,
And pleas'd the gentler that did vnderstand:

And neuer had my harmelesse pen at all

Distain'd with any loose immodestie,

Nor euer noted to be toucht with gall,
To aggrauate the worst mans infamie.
But still haue done the fairest offices

To vertue and the time, yet nought preuailes
And all our labours are without successe,

For either fauour or our vertue failes.
And therefore since I haue out-liu'd the date
Of former grace, acceptance, and delight,
I would my lines late-borne beyond the fate
Of her spent line, had neuer come to light
So had I not beene tax'd for wishing well,
Nor now mistaking by the censuring stage
Nor, in my fame and reputation fell,

Which I esteeme more than what all the age

Or th' earth can giue.-But yeeres hath done this wrong,

To make me write too much, and liue too long.

The Epistle is followed by "The Argument" and "The Names of the Actors." Daniel's genius certainly did not lie in Tragedy, and of this he

was himself fully sensible, and spoke of his failure with great modesty and diffidence. Being composed in alternate rhymes, and destitute of much spirit or interest, it is no wonder that they should have failed, and have added nothing to his poetical reputation. Although this play of "Philotas" had been acted, it was not attended with success, having met with some opposition from a supposition that the character of Philotas was intended to represent the Earl of Essex, the unfortunate favourite of Queen Elizabeth. So powerful was this opposition, that when the play was reprinted in 1607, Daniel was compelled to publish an apology at the end of it, denying the imputation and misconception in the choice of his subject. "Liuing in the country," says he, "about foure yeares since, and neere halfe a yeare before the late Tragedy of ours (whereunto this is now most ignorantly resembled) vnfortunately fell out heere in England, I began the same, and wrote three Acts thereof, as many to whom I then shewed it can witnesse, purposing to haue it presented in Bath by certaine Gentlemens sonnes, as a priuate recreation for the Christmas, before the Shrouetide of that vnhappy disorder. But by reason of some occasion then falling out, and being called upon by my Printer for a new impression of my workes, with some additions to the Ciuill Warres, I intermitted this other subiect. And withall

taking a subiect that lay (as I thought) so farre from the time, and so remote a stranger from the climate of our present courses, I could not imagine that enuy or ignorance could possibly haue made it, to take any particular acquaintance with vs, but as it hath a generall alliance to the frailty of greatnesse, and the vsuall workings of ambition, the perpetuall subiects of bookes and Tragedies. And for any resemblance, that through the ignorance of the History may be applied to the late Earle of Essex, it can hold in no proportion, but only in his weaknesses, which I would wish all ́ that loue his memory not to reuiue. And for mine own part hauing beene particularly beholding to his bounty, I would to God his errors and disobedience to his Soueraigne, might lye so deepe buried vnderneath the earth, and in so low a tomb from his other parts, that hee might neuer be remembred among the examples of disloyalty in this Kingdome, or paraleld with Forreine Conspirators."

Philotas is formed on the model of the Greek play, with chorusses introduced between the acts, and although written chiefly in alternate rhyme, the author has occasionally brought in passages in blank verse. And as the death of Cleopatra in his former Tragedy was related by a Nuncius, so here the tortures and death of Philotas, are stated by a Nuncius to the

Chorus. The scene is laid in Persia, and the story is taken from Quintus Curtius, lib. 6, Justin, and from the life of Alexander in Plutarch.

The following speech of Philotas in defence of his honour, is taken from Act iv, Sc. 2.

Phi. My lord, you far mistake mee if you deeme

I plead for life, that poore weake blast of breath,
From which so oft I ran with light esteeme
And so well haue acquainted mee with death,
No, no, my Lords, it is not that I feare,
It is mine honor that I seeke to cleare.
And which if my disgraced cause would let
The language of my hart be vnderstood,

Is all which I haue euer sought to get

And which (o leaue mee now) and take my bloud.
Let not your enuy go beyond the bound
Of what you seeke:-my life stands in your way
That is your ayme, take it, and do not wounde
My reputation with that wrong I pray.
If I must needes be made the sacrifice

Of enuy, and that no oblation will,

The wrath of Kings but onely bloud suffice

Yet let me haue something left that is not ill.

Is there no way to get vnto our liues

But first to haue our honour ouerthrowne?
Alas! though grace of Kings all greatnesse giues

It cannot giue us vertue that's our owne

Though all be theirs our harts and hands can do
Yet that by which we doe is onely ours:
The trophies that our blood erects vnto
Their memory to glorifie their powres
Let them inioy :-yet onely to haue done
Worthy of grace, let not that be vndone.
Let that high swelling riuer of their fame

Leaue humble streames that feed them yet their name.
O my deare father, didst thou bring that spirit
Those hands of vallour that so much haue done
In this great worke of Asia, this to merit

By dooing worthily to be vndone?

And hast thou made this purchase of thy sword

To get so great an Empire for thy Lord
And so disgrac'd a graue for thee and thine,
T'extinguish by thy seruice all thy line.

One of thy sonnes by being too valourous
But fiue daies since, yet o well, lost his breath
Thy deare Nicanor th' halfe arch of thy house,
And here now the other at the barr of death
Stands ouercharg'd with wrath in far worse case
And is to be confounded with disgrace.

Thy selfe must give th' acquitance of thy blood
For others debts to whom thou hast done goed.
Which if they would a little time afford
Death would haue taken it without a sword.
Such the rewards of great imployments are
Hate kills in peace, whom fortune spares in war.
And this is that high grace of Kings we seeke,
Whose fauour, and whose wrath consumes alike.

See

Philotas was reprinted in 1607, again in 1611, and in 1623, 4to. Langbaine's Dram. Poets, p. 102; Collier's Hist. Dram. Poet., vol. iii. p. 253; Jones's Biogr. Dram., vol. iii, p. 146; and Retrosp. Rev., vol. viii. p. 229. It sold in Reed's sale, No. 6781, for 1l. 48.; Heber's ditto, pt. viii. No. 608, 1. 48.; Strettell's ditto, with the Small Poems, No. 449, 27. 2s. ; and Sir F. Freeling's ditto, No. 358, 1. 118.

Collation: Title A 3. Sig. A to F 6, in eights. A 1 and 2 are blank leaves. Bound in Yellow Morocco, gilt leaves.

The Freeling copy.

DANIEL, (SAMUEL.) - Certaine small Workes heretofore divulged by Samuel Daniel one of the Groomes of the Queenes Maiesties priuie Chamber, and now againe by him corrected and augmented.

Ætas prima canat veneres postrema tumultus.

At London Printed by I. W. for Simon Waterson. 1607. Sm. 8vo, pp. 320.

On the reverse of the title is a list of the Poems contained in this edition, viz: "The tragedy of Cleopatra, newly altered;" "Philotas;" "The Queenes Arcadia;" "Octavia;" "Rosamond;" "Musophilus;" and “A Funeral Poeme vpon the Death of the late Earle of Devonshire." these have separate title-pages excepting the last. This edition is exceedingly rare and difficult to meet with in a complete state. It is much

All

smaller in size, and varies considerably in its contents and matter from that of 1605. Daniel was an exceedingly sensitive person, and diffident of his own powers. He was ambitious of fame, and painfully alive to his reputation in the world, but saw that reputation gradually declining, and as we have before shown, confessed himself in his disappointed feelings, that he had outlived his hopes and expectations.

But yeeres hath done this wrong,

To make me write too much, and liue too long.

Yet still he had a constant belief that his fame would ultimately triumph, and his works be valued by posterity. And what renders this impression highly valuable is an interesting poetical address "To the Reader," prefixed to the work, which is not inserted in the later editions, and from which, relating as it does, to Daniel's own sentiments respecting the disappointments he had met with, and his ultimate conviction that his works would live, and "be read, so long as men speake English, and verse and vertue shall be in request," we are induced to transcribe a portion :

Behold once more with serious labor here

Haue I refurnisht out this little frame,

Repair'd some parts defectiue here and there,

And passages new added to the same,

Some rooms inlarg'd, made some less than they were

Like to the curious builder who this yeare

Puls downe, and alters what he did the last,

As if the thing in doing were more deere

Then being done;-and nothing like thats past.

For that we euer make the latter day
The scholler of the former, and we find
Something is still amisse that must delay
Our busines, and leaue work for vs behinde.
As if there were no saboath of the minde
And howsoeuer be it well or ill

What I haue done, it is mine owne:-I may
Do whatsoeuer there withall I will.

I may pull downe, raise, and re-edifie,

It is the building of my life, the fee

Of Nature, all th' inheritance that I

Shall leaue to those which must come after me.

And all the care I haue is but to see

These lodgings of m' affections neatly drest

Wherein so many noble friends there be

Whose memories with mine must therin rest.

VOL. III. PART I.

H