that gave himself to like and love, and follow chiefly those three authors, but he proved both learned, wise, and also an honest man; if he joined withal the true doctrine of God's Holy Bible; without the which, the other three be but fine edge tools in a fool's or madman's hand."

It is then remarked that there are three kinds of imitation in matters of learning. First, "the whole doctrine of comedies and tragedies is a perfect imitation, or fair lively painted picture of the life of every degree of man." "The second kind of imitation is to follow, for learning of tongues and sciences, the best authors. Here riseth among proud and envious wits a great controversy, whether one or many are to be followed; and if one, who is that one." "The third kind of imitation belongeth to the second; as when you be determined whether you will follow one or more, to know perfectly, and which way to follow that one; in what place; by what mean and order; by what tools and instruments ye shall do it; by what skill and judgment ye shall truly discern whether ye follow rightly or no."

"Erasmus, the ornament of learning in our time," proceeds our author, "doth wish that some man of learning and diligence would take the like pains in Demosthenes and Tully, that Macrobius hath done in Homer and Virgil; that is, to write out and join together, where the one doth imitate the other." This wish of Erasmus he admits is good, "but surely," he adds, "it is not good enough." He would have much more to be done than Macrobius has attempted. "If a man," he says, "would take this pains also, when he hath laid two places of Homer and Virgil, or of Demosthenes and Tully together, to teach plainly withal, after this sort:

"1. Tully retaineth thus much of the matter, these sentences, these words.

"2. This and that he leaveth out, which he doth wittily to this end and purpose.

"3. This he addeth here.

"4. This he diminisheth there.

"5. This he ordereth thus, with placing that here, not there.

"6. This he altereth and changeth either in property of words, in form of sentence, in substance of the matter, or in one or other convenient circumstance of the author's present purpose.

"In these few rude English words are wrapped up all the necessary tools and instruments, wherewith true imitation is rightly wrought withal in any tongue. Which tools I openly confess be not of mine own forging, but partly left unto me by the cunningest master, and one of the worthiest gentlemen that ever England bred, Sir John Cheke; partly borrowed by me out of the shop of the dearest friend I have out of England, Joh. Sturmius. And therefore I am the bolder to borrow of him, and here to leave them to others, and namely to my children. Which tools if it please God that another day they may be able to use rightly, as I do wish, and daily pray they may do, I shall be more glad than if I were able to leave them a great quantity of land."

Ascham considers it as disgraceful to students "who having so fair examples to follow as Plato and Tully, do not use so wise ways in following them for the obtaining of wisdom and learning, as rude, ignorant artificers do for gaining a small commodity." "For surely," he says, "the meanest painter useth more wit, better art, greater diligence in his shop in fol

lowing the picture of any mean man's face, than commonly the best students do even in the University, for the attaining of learning itself.”

"Some ignorant, unlearned, and idle student, or some busy looker upon this little poor book, that hath neither will to do good himself, nor skill to judge right of others, but can lustily contemn by pride and ignorance all painful diligence and right order in study, will perchance say, that I am too precise, too curious in marking and pidling thus about the imitation of others; and that the old and worthy authors did never busy their heads and wits in following so precisely either the matter what other men wrote, or else the manner how other men wrote. They will say, 'It were a plain slavery, and injury too, to shackle and tie a good wit, and hinder the course of a man's good nature, with such bonds of servitude in following others. Except such men think themselves wiser than Cicero for teaching of eloquence, they must be content to turn a new leaf."

The best book, he then proceeds to argue, "that ever Tully wrote by all men's judgment, and by his own testimony too, in writing whereof he employed most care, study, learning, and judgment, is his book De Oratore ad Q. Fratrem." Now both in matter and in manner this work is altogether an imitation. The matter is Aristotle's, and the manner is avowedly after Plato.

He then examines what has been said upon the subject of imitation by various writers, both ancient and modern. Of those who have treated the subject, he says, he has read as many as he could get diligently. We can only, however, here enumerate the names of the authors whose opinions he reviews. They are Cicero,

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Quintilian, Erasmus, Budæus, Melancthon, Camerarius, Sambucus, Bembus, John Sturmius (whom Ascham declares to be far the best, in his opinion, that ever took the matter in hand); and, finally, Bartholomew Riccius Farrariensis, who, he says, "writeth the better because his whole doctrine, judgment, and order seemeth to be borrowed out of Joan. Sturmius's books." In giving directions for imitation of prose, Riccius has taken as his example or model the manner in which Cicero has, in modern times, been imitated by Longolius; this he has done because his purpose was to teach only the Latin tongue: whereas, the plan proposed by our author, of comparing Virgil with Homer, and Cicero with Demosthenes, requires a master perfectly skilled in both Latin and Greek. "It is my wish, indeed," says he, "and that by good reason; for whosoever will write well of any matter, must labour to express that that is perfect, and not to stay and content himself with the mean; yea, I say farther, though it be not impossible, yet it is very rare and marvellous hard to prove excellent in the Latin tongue for him that is not also well seen in the Greek tongue. Tully himself, most excellent of nature, most diligent in labour, brought up from his cradle in that place, and in that time, where and when the Latin tongue most flourished naturally in every man's mouth; yet was not his own tongue able itself to make him so cunning in his own tongue as he was indeed, but the knowledge and imitation of the Greek tongue withal. This he confesseth himself, this he uttereth in many places, as those can tell best that use to read him most.

"Therefore thou, that shootest at perfection in the Latin tongue, think not thyself wiser than Tully was, in

choice of the way that leadeth rightly to the same; think not thy wit better than Tully's was, as though that may serve thee that was not sufficient for him. For even as a hawk flieth not high with one wing, even so a man reacheth not to excellency with one tongue.

"I have been a looker on in the cockpit of learning these many years, and one cock only have I known, which with one wing even at this day doth pass all others, in mine opinion, that ever I saw in any pit in England, though they had two wings. Yet, nevertheless, to fly well with one wing, to run fast with one leg, be rather rare masteries, much to be marvelled at, than sure examples safely to be followed. A bishop that now liveth, a good man, whose judgment in religion I better like than his opinion in perfectness in other learning, said once unto me, ' We have no need now of the Greek tongue, when all things be translated into Latin.' But the good man understood not that even the best translation is for mere necessity, but an evil imped wing to fly withal, or a heavy stump leg of wood to go withal. Such, the higher they fly, the sooner they falter and fail; the faster they run, the oftener they stumble, and sorer they fall. Such as will needs so fly may fly at a pie and catch a daw; and such runners as commonly they, shove and shoulder to stand foremost, yet in the end they come behind others, and deserve but the hopshackles, if the masters of the game be right judgers."

A better book, therefore, Ascham thinks, than any that had yet been produced might be made on imitation. in the learned languages, while the task of compiling it would, at the same time, be more pleasant than painful. "Erasmus," he observes, "giving himself to read over