OF THE Later English Poets, WITH PRELIMINARY NOTICES; BY ROBERT SOUTHEY. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: PAINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES AND ORME, PATER-NOSTER ROW. Staatsbibliothek MUNGHEN PREFACE. I. THESE Volumes are intended to accompany Mr. Ellis's well known Specimens of the Early English Poets. That series concludes with the reign of Charles II, this begins with that of James his successor the two together will exhibit the rise, progress, decline and revivalof our Poetry, and the fluctuations of our poetical taste, from the first growth of the English language to the present times. A slight difference has been made in arrangement; instead. of sorting the Poets, according to the reigns in which they flourished, I have noticed each under the year of his death, where that could be ascertained, otherwise according to the date of his chief publication.. It was desirable that the series should be brought down to the end of the last century, and this order deter mined whom it should include. In consequence of this arrangement a few names will be found, which are included in the work of Mr. Ellis. Many worthless versifyers are admitted among the English Poets, by the courtesy of criticism, which seems to conceive that charity towards the dead may cover the multitude of its offences against the living. There were other reasons for including here the reprobate, as well as the elect. My business was to collect specimens as for a hortus siccus; not to cull flowers as for an anthology. I wished, as Mr. Ellis has done in the earlier ages, to exhibit specimens of every writer, whose verses appear in a substantive form, and find their place upon the shelves of the collector. The taste of the publick may better be estimated from indifferent Poets than from good ones; because the former write for their contemporaries, the latter for posterity. Cleveland and Cowley, who were both more popular than Milton, characterise their age more truly. Fame, indeed, is of slow growth; like the Hebrew language, it has no present tense; Popularity has no future one. The gourd which sprang up in a night withered in a day. The list of these writers, will inevitably be imperfect. Of all branches of knowledge bibliology, though always becoming more and more. needful, is that in which the student of our literature can find the fewest works to guide his researches. I have, however, to acknowledge with pleasure, much personal assistance. Mr. Heber's stores have been open to me on this, as on former occasions; so also has Mr. Hill's ample collection of English Poetry. The worthy heart of Mr. Isaac Reed would have rejoiced to have known the advantages I have derived from his rare Library, and still rarer knowledge; but while I am adding one more testimony of esteem and thanks to the many due to him, I hear of an event, which places him beyond my praise or my gratitude. Grosvenor Charles Bedford, an old and dear friend, with whom I have lived in habits of unbroken intimacy, since we were school-boys together, has been my coadjutor in the work, has selected many of the specimens, supplied many of the prefatory notices, and conducted |