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Little I hope, needeth me at large to
discourse the first Originall of AEglogues,
hauing alreadie touched the same But for the
word AEglogues I know is vnknowen to most,
and also mistaken of some the best learned (as
they think) I wyll say somewhat thereof, being
not at all impertinent to my present purpose
They were first of the Greekes the inuentours
of them called AEgologaj as it were , or
that is Goteheards tales For
although in Virgile and others the speakers
be more shepheards, then Goteheards, yet
Theocritus in whom is more ground of authoritie
tie, then in Virgile, this specially from that
deruing, as from the first head and welspring
the whole Inuention of his AEglogues, maketh
Goteheards the persons and authors of his tales
Tins being, who seeth not the grossenesse of
such as by colour of learning would make vs
beleeue that they are more rightly termed
Eclogai, as they would say, extraordinary dis
courses of vnnecessane mitter, which difinition
albe in substaunce and meaning it agree with
the nature of the thing, yet no whit answereth
with the < and interpretation of the
word For they be not termed Eclogues, but
AEglogues Which sentence this authour very
well obseruing, vpon good judgement, though
indeede few Goteheards haue to doe herein,
nethelesse doubteth not to cal them by the
vsed and best knowen name Other curious
discourses hereof I reserue to greater occasion
These xii AEclogues euery where answering to
the seasons of the twelue monthes may be well
EPISTLE 419
NPost scr
your selfe, in smoothering your deserued prayses,
Ow I trust M Haruey, that vpon sight and all men generally, in withholding from
of your speciall frends and fellow Poets them so diuine pleasures, which they might
doings, or els for enure of so many vnworthy conceiue of your gallant English verses, as they
Quidams, which catch at the garlond, which to haue already doen of your Latine Poemes,
you alone is dewe, you will be perswaded to which in my opinion both for inuention and
pluck out of the hateful darknesse, those so Elocution are very delicate, and superexcellent
many excellent English poemes of yours, which And thus againe, I take my leaue of my good
lye hid, and bring them forth to eternall light Mayster Haruey From my lodging at London
Trust me you doe both them great wrong, in thys 10 of Aprill 1579
depriuing them of the desired sonne, and also
The general! argument of
the whole booke.
I deuided into three formes or ranckes For
eyther they be Plamtiue, as the first, the sixt,
the eleuenth, and the twelfth, or recraitiue,
such as al those be, which conceiue matfer of
loue, or commendation of special personages, or
Moral which for the most part be mixed with'
some Satyrical bitternesse, namely the second
of reuerence dewe to old age, the fift of coloured
deceipt, the seuenth and ninth of dissolute
shepheards and pastours, the tenth of contempt
of Poetrie and pleasaunt wits And to this
diuision may euery thing herein be reasonably
applyed A few onely except, whose speciall
purpose and meaning I am not prime to And
thus much generally of these xii AEclogues
Now will we speake particularly of all, and first
of the first Which he calleth by the first
monethes name Ianuane wherein to some he
may seeme fowly to haue faulted, in that he
erroniously beginneth with that moneth, which
beginneth not the yeare For it is wel known,
and stoutely mainteyned with stronge reasons
of the learned, that the yeare beginneth in
March For then the sonne reneweth his
finished course, and the seasonable spring
refresheth the earth, and the plesaunce thereof
being buried in the sadnesse of the dead winter
now worne away, reliueth This opinion mayn
teine the olde Astrologers and Philosophers,
namely the reuerend Andalo, and Macrobius
in his holydayes of Saturne, which accoumpt
also was generally obserued both of Grecians
and Romans But sauing the leaue of such
learned heads, we mayntaine a custome of