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John Lyly, by John Dover Wilson
The Project Gutenberg EBook of John Lyly, by John Dover Wilson This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: John Lyly
John Lyly, by John Dover Wilson
Author: John Dover Wilson Release Date: September 6, 2007 [EBook #22525] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOHN LYLY *** Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Jana Srna and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) [Transcriber's Note: This e-text contains one Greek word that has been transliterated and placed inside slashes: /Euphuês/.] JOHN LYLY BY JOHN DOVER WILSON, B.A., Late Scholar of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Members' Prizeman, 1902. Harness Prizeman, 1904. Honours in Historical Tripos. Macmillan and Bowes Cambridge 1905 A MIA DONNA. PREFACE.
John Lyly, by John Dover Wilson
The following treatise was awarded the Harness Prize at Cambridge in 1904. I have, however, revised it since then, and in some matters considerably enlarged it. A list of the chief authorities to whom I am indebted will be found at the end of the book, but it is fitting that I should here make particular mention of my obligations to the exhaustive work of Mr Bond[1]. Not only have his labours of research and collation lightened the task for me, and for any future student of Lyly, to an incalculable extent, but the various introductory essays scattered up and down his volumes are full of invaluable suggestions. [1] The Complete Works of John Lyly. R. W. Bond, 3 Vols. Clarendon Press. This book was unfortunately nearing its completion before I was able to avail myself of Mr Martin Hume's Spanish Influence on English Literature. But, though I might have added more had his book been accessible earlier, I was glad to find that his conclusions left the main theory of my chapter on Euphuism untouched. Much as has been written upon John Lyly, no previous critic has attempted to cover the whole ground, and to sum up in a brief and convenient form the three main literary problems which centre round his name. My solution of these problems may be faulty in detail, but it will I hope be of service to Elizabethan students to have them presented in a single volume and from a single point of view. Furthermore, when I undertook this study, I found several points which seemed to demand closer attention than they had hitherto received. It appeared to me that the last word had not been said even upon the subject of Euphuism, although that topic has usurped the lion's share of critical treatment. And again, while Lyly's claims as a novelist are acknowledged on all hands, I felt that a clear statement of his exact position in the history of our novel was still needed. Finally, inasmuch as the personality of an author is always more fascinating to me than his writings, I determined to attempt to throw some light, however fitful and uncertain, upon the man Lyly himself. The attempt was not
Frazer. the book had to be passed very quickly through the press. and the other for assistance in Spanish. for it led to the interesting discovery that the fully-developed euphuism was not the creation of Lyly. I have to thank Mr J. JOHN DOVER WILSON. while in quoting from Euphues I have throughout employed Prof. and frequent encouragement have been of the very greatest help in a task which was undertaken and completed under pressure of other work. HOLMLEIGH. R. but of a circle of young Oxford men which included Gosson. the one for help in revision. I have referred to works in the footnotes simply by the name of their author. PAGE The problem stated--Sketch of Lyly's life 1 . But my chief debt of gratitude is due to Dr Ward. owing to circumstances. by John Dover Wilson 4 entirely fruitless. his kindly interest. SHELFORD. who has twice read through this book at different stages of its construction. and possibly many others. or indeed of any one individual. As the full titles of authorities used are to be found in the list at the end. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Arber's reprint. Hakluyt. INTRODUCTION. Collins and Mr J. Should errors be discovered in the text I must plead in excuse that. August. the Master of Peterhouse. N.John Lyly. or Pettie. The readiness with which he has put his great learning at my disposal. 1905. Watson.
The Anatomy of Euphuism 13 Section II. The Origin of Euphuism 21 Section III. Lyly's legatees and the relation between Euphuism and the Renaissance 43 Section IV. EUPHUISM 10 Section I.CHAPTER I. 5 CHAPTER I. The position of Euphuism in the history of English Prose 52 .
. 6 CHAPTER II. THE FIRST ENGLISH NOVEL 64 The rise of the Novel--the characteristics of The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and his England--the Elizabethan Novel.CHAPTER II.
LYLY THE DRAMATIST 85 Section I. The Eight Plays 98 Section III. English Comedy before 1580 89 Section II.CHAPTER III. Lyly's advance and subsequent influence 119 . 7 CHAPTER III.
not power or beauty. and with interpretation or appreciation it has nothing to do. 8 CHAPTER IV. may be called historical or sociological criticism. an application of the Darwinian hypothesis to literature. It is essentially scientific. until all critics are agreed upon some common principles of artistic valuation. Since the day when Taine established a scientific basis for the historical study of Art. shall we say. judging them according to some artistic standard. criticism has tended gradually but naturally to fall into two divisions. which. and in the case of Shakespeare. A complete study must of course comprehend both. each . but which has since rejected as unscientific many of the laws he formulated. that is. INDEX 143 INTRODUCTION. which owes its existence almost entirely to the great French critic before mentioned. or an artistic period. which we may call aesthetic criticism. deals with the artist and his works solely for the purpose of interpretation and appreciation. The one. Its function is one of classification. as often as not. The other. Before undertaking the study of an artist. as the effect of previous causes and the cause of subsequent effects. derives its only sanction from the prejudices of the critic himself. the critic should carefully distinguish between these two critical methods. It is concerned with the artistic qualities of a given artist only in so far as he exerts influence over his successors by those qualities. an artist. It judges a work of art. on its dynamic and not its intrinsic merits. for it treats the artist as science treats any other natural phenomenon.CHAPTER IV. Its standard is influence. It is of course obvious that. aesthetic criticism can lay no claim to scientific precision. but must be classed as a department of Art itself. as distinct from each other as the functions they respectively perform are distinct. CONCLUSION 132 Lyly's Character--Summary.
a writer of beautiful lyrics which are well known to this day. for to the scientific critic he is or should be one of the most significant figures in English literature. like so many of the Elizabethans. and not simply as a medium of expression. and in such instances the critic must be guided in his action by the relative importance of these values in any particular example. of English prose style. In the course of the following treatise we shall have occasion to pass many aesthetic judgments upon his work. It is almost impossible to over-estimate his historical importance in these three departments. He was. On the other hand. though the rest of his work is undoubtedly that of an artist of no mean ability. In the first place John Lyly. by way of obtaining a broad general view of our subject. he was one of our very earliest dramatists. and without doubt merits the title of Father of English Comedy. Moreover. if not the founder. This claim I hope to justify in the following pages. any aesthetic criticism would of necessity become a secondary matter in comparison with his importance in other directions. and from the point of view of Elizabethan literature most important of all. 9 should be exhaustive. His work is by no means devoid of aesthetic merit. and this not because he was a great genius or possessed of any magnificent artistic gifts. the beauty it possesses is the beauty of a fossil in which few but students would profess any interest. This is so in the case of John Lyly. to call attention to a few points upon which our justification must ultimately rest. may be justly described as a founder. there are artists whose dynamical value is far greater than their intrinsic value. because his importance for the readers of the twentieth century is almost entirely dynamical. and vice versa. but for the simple reason that he happened . but it will be from the historical side that we shall view him in the main. And in the third place. but. but it will be well. even could we claim more for John Lyly than this. In the second place he was the author of the first novel of manners in the language. inasmuch as he was one of the earliest writers who considered prose as an artistic end in itself.CHAPTER IV.
like his contemporary Stephen Gosson. but well-to-do. surely possesses personal attractions apart from any literary considerations. as we have seen. and who was connected with the first ominous outburst of the Puritan spirit. the man who took the world by storm and made euphuism the fashion at court before he was well out of his nonage. and owns obligations to him. But such a reconstruction of the artist[2] is only possible after a thorough analysis of his works. but they do not exhaust the problems he presents. our author would seem to have been the son of middle-class. We shall have to notice also that as a pamphleteer he becomes entangled in the famous Marprelate controversy. We shall presently see reason to believe that his personality was a brilliant and fascinating one. Wood tells us that he "became a student in Magdalen College in the beginning of 1569. aged 16 or thereabouts. being perhaps even earlier than Marlowe. who for years provided the great Queen with food for laughter. 10 to stand upon the threshold of modern English literature and at the very entrance to its splendid Elizabethan ante-room." "And since. by way of obtaining an historical framework for our study. a Kentish man born[4]. and that he was one of the first. "Eloquent and witty" John Lyly first saw light in the year 1553 or 1554[3]. tells us that he was. If their inference be correct. the 17th century author of Athenae Oxonienses. Finally. parents.CHAPTER IV. to give a brief account of his life as it is known to us. and with this clue to help them both Mr Bond and Mr Baker are inclined to accept much of the story of Fidus as autobiographical[5]. and therefore all who came after felt something of his influence. But it is with his residence at Oxford that any authentic account of his life must begin. These are the three chief points of interest about Lyly. Hennequin. It would be as well here. and even then our information is very meagre. the man who showed such versatility and range of expression. he was the reputed author of some delightful lyrics." adds Mr Bond. however. Anthony à Wood. it is possible that he owed his university career to . to perceive the value of blank verse for dramatic purposes. The man of whom one can say such things. [2] Cf. "in 1574 he describes himself as Burleigh's alumnus.
Lyly himself tells us that he left Oxford for three years not long after his arrival. limited as our knowledge is. would seem to disagree with this. he was "always averse to the crabbed studies of Logic and Philosophy. Bliss). viii. being naturally bent to the pleasant paths of poetry (as if Apollo had given to him a wreath of his own Bays without snatching or struggling). is anxious to vindicate Lyly from all charges of lawlessness." he says. vii. p. [4] Ath. while Lyly's words must refer to a departure (at the very latest) in 1570. [7] Bond. Such an interpretation seems to me to be sufficiently disposed of by the fact that the plague in question did not break out until 1571[8]. in fact. To quote Wood again. 268. v. p. p. as we shall see. Baker. and refuses to admit that the foregoing words refer to rustication[7]. where I tyred at a drie breast for three years and was at last inforced to weane myself. influenced by the high moral tone of Euphues. it is possible. that of Master being completed in 1575[9]." [3] Bond. I think. [5] Euphues. Ox. [6] Bond. which. and to give me boanes to gnawe. 11 Burleigh's assistance[6]. I. For so it was that his genie. 676. I. "Oxford. But Baker. before I could get the teate to suck. yet not so much but that he took the Degree in Arts. did in a manner neglect academical studies. goes to show that he was out of favour with the University authorities. . pp.CHAPTER IV. p." And yet. In the first place he seems to have paid small attention to his regular studies. I. 2. Everything. I. 11. Lyly's enforced absence he holds was due to the plague which broke out at Oxford at this time. "seemed to weane me before she brought me forth. 6. Wherein she played the nice mother in sending me into the countrie to nurse." Mr Bond. p. was merely a traditional literary prose borrowed from the moral court treatise. p. to form a fairly accurate conception of Lyly's manner of life at Oxford. if we are bold enough to read between the lines of the scraps of contemporary evidence that have come down to us. (ed.
it is sufficient to notice that our author's conduct during his residence was not so exemplary as it might have been.A. From the hints thrown out by his contemporaries. doubtless personal. 12 [8] Baker." words which convey a distinct sense of something discreditable.CHAPTER IV. "Esteemed in the University a noted wit. Bliss). I. whatever may be their exact significance. Gabriel Harvey. and intolerant alike of regulations and of duty. he proceeded to his degree of M. It would seem to him that the College was suffering wrong in losing so excellent a wit. M. as I hope to show." he would very naturally become the centre of a pleasure-seeking circle of friends. he was an irresponsible madcap. have called forth a sigh of relief from the authorities of Magdalen. in the Euphues. p. xii. and probably already preparing in his brain the revenge.A. [9] Athenae Oxonienses (ed. because. though there is . gaming. Burleigh's sense of propriety overcoming his sense of humour. according to the common practice of that day. however. who nursed a grudge against Lyly. and accordingly he heroically took steps to prevent such a catastrophe. It must. his residence at Oxford. at Cambridge. and in particular determined his literary bent. leaving his College the legacy of an unpaid bill for battels. It is interesting to learn that in 1579. was not the only blot upon Lyly's Oxford life. quite naturally. 676. despising the persons and ideas of their elders. It is necessary to lay stress upon this period of Lyly's life.. therefore. as an undergraduate. when they saw the last of John Lyly. and from some allusions. which he published in 1578. requesting him to procure mandatory letters from the Queen "that so under your auspices I may be quietly admitted a Fellow there. which is merely to give a brief sketch of his life. eager to adopt the latest fashion whether in dress or in thought. even speaks of "horning. saw matters otherwise." The petition was refused. and the petitioner quitted Oxford. we learn that. For our present purpose. in 1575. for in 1576 we find him writing to his patron Burleigh. p. Neglect of the recognised studies. which subsequently took the form of an attack upon his University in Euphues. He however. however. fooling and knaving. and the friends he made there. had a profound influence upon his later development.
Earl of Oxford. are both dedicated to him. his influence must have confirmed in our author those dramatic aspirations. though few of his writings are now extant. though his comedies are now lost. until the end of his life. xxii. for at that time he became an assistant master at the St Paul's Choir School. and the Hekatompathia of Thomas Watson. 436) implies a term of residence there. drilling them himself. Campaspe and Sapho. and as the Earl was himself a dramatist. in 1584. It seems probable that he became again indebted to Burleigh's generosity for the rooms he occupied here--unless they were hired for him by Burleigh's son-in-law Edward de Vere. or perhaps earlier. [10] Mr Baker however seems to think that his reference to Cambridge (Euphues. and wrote plays for his young scholars to act. and coveted without success. The latter. which were probably acquired at Oxford. originally instituted for the purpose of furnishing the necessaries of royal hunting and campaigning[11]. Lyly had taken up his position at the Savoy Hospital. at this time offered excellent opportunities for dramatic production. Schools. This person. the mastership of the Revels was the post Lyly coveted. Somewhere about 1585 Fate settled once and for all the lines on which Lyly's genius was to develop. and therefore they and their instructor would be constantly brought into touch with the Revels' Office. had apparently become amalgamated under a female sovereign with the Revels' . p. is nevertheless an interesting figure in Elizabethan literature. as far as we can tell. Lyly in his new position made good use of his chance. 13 no evidence of any residence there[10]. p.CHAPTER IV. and we have every reason for believing that Lyly was still his secretary when he was publishing his two first plays. But this point will require a fuller treatment at a later stage of our study. and perhaps frequently appearing personally on the stage. These chorister-actors were connected in a very special way with royal entertainments. As we know from his letters to Elizabeth and to Cecil. Baker. and he seems to have acted as patron to most of Lyly's literary associates when they left Oxford for London. But these letters also show us that he was already connected with this office by his position in the subordinate office of Tents and Toils. The second part of Euphues published in 1580. Lyly became his private secretary. Indeed we know from other sources that in 1578. and especially those for choristers.
as showing how Lyly was drawn into the whirlpool of the Marprelate controversy. This indeed is confirmed by the bitter tone of his letter to Elizabeth in 1598 in reference to the mastership of the Revels' Office. Beginning with a euphuism and ending in a jest. p.P. as Mr Bond shows. Nor can his publications have brought him much profit. in order to preserve the acting monopoly. and. Finally we know that he was elected a member of Parliament on four separate occasions[12]. and the inhibition of the boys' acting rights in 1591 must have meant a severe financial loss to him.'s were royal officials. Moreover the publication of his plays is rather an indication of financial distress than a sign of prosperity. These varied occupations are proof of the energy and versatility of our author. The letter in question is sad reading. was held at one time by Lyly. [11] Bond. And though Mr Bond believes that he found an occupation after 1591 in writing royal entertainments. It is probable that the tenure of this Actor-manager-schoolmastership marks the height of Lyly's prosperity. [12] I have to thank Dr Ward for pointing out to me the interesting fact that a large proportion of Elizabeth's M. when in 1585 he became "vice-master of Poules and Foolmaster of the Theater. possibly owing to the fact that its costumes and weapons provided useful material for entertainments and interludes. 14 Office. which he had at last despaired of. Thus it is only after this date that he is forced to make what he can by the publication of his other plays." he would be careful to keep his plays out of the publisher's hands. yet the last years of Lyly's life were probably full of disappointment. because he had a wife and family on his hands. I. it tells of a man who still . though both Euphues and its sequel passed through ten editions before his death. and though the inhibition on the choristers' acting was removed as early as 1599. an author in those days received very little of the proceeds of his work. Another position which. The two dramas already mentioned were printed before Lyly's connexion with the Choir School. was that of reader of new books to the Bishop of London. 38. but not one of them can be described as lucrative. for. The fear of poverty was the more urgent.CHAPTER IV. This connexion with the censorship of the day is interesting.
Before his death in 1606 he had seen his novel eclipsed by the new Arcadian fashion.CHAPTER IV. thrusting him aside while they took advantage of his methods. And the gloom which surrounded his last years was not only due to the distress of poverty. despite all adversity. but beneath this brave surface there is visible a despair--almost amounting to anguish--which the forced merriment only renders more pitiable. as he must have realised. which had first illumined our darkness. waned and faded away and was to be for centuries forgotten. a courtly mask and a merry tongue. Greatest of them all. the sun of our drama before whom the silver light of his little moon. 15 retains. and had watched the rise of a host of rival dramatists. was Shakespeare. .
therefore. It would still be the first of English novels: but this claim would lose half its significance. EUPHUISM. But it is not surprising that critics. But it is not with the modern appraisement of Euphues that we are here concerned.CHAPTER I. In 1578 he published a volume. and most necessary to remember. and. to which was subjoined the attractive advertisement. did it not carry with it the implication that the book was also the origin of English novel writing. was completed in 1580 by a sequel. to be such. and with their eyes towards the country pre-eminent in its production. it must have laid its spell in some way or other upon succeeding writers. Had Euphues been a still-born child of Lyly's genius. The bias of the age is as natural and as dangerous an element in criticism as the bias of the individual. and even to-day it attracts more attention than any other of his works. We have first to deal with its Elizabethan reputation. it would possess nothing but a purely archaeological interest for us to-day. should think and write of Lyly chiefly as the first of English novelists. 16 CHAPTER I. Euphues: the anatomy of wyt. to combine the two parts under one name. as I have said. Lyly's name is associated with the novel by most modern critics. This probably implies a false estimate of Lyly's comparative merits as a novelist and as a dramatist. seems to have determined the form of his reputation for the Elizabethans. Our first task is therefore to enquire what this spell was. Nor need we proceed immediately to a consideration of its position in the history of the English novel. Euphues. of Euphues is not so much that it was primary. the fruit of Lyly's nonage. It was as a novelist that Lyly first came before the world of English letters. This book. While. The importance. and to discover whether the attraction of Euphues must be ascribed to Lyly's own invention or to artifices which he borrows from others. as that it was primordial. which was to work a revolution in our literature. had it produced no effect upon the literature of the age. living in the century of the novel. entitled Euphues and his England. very pleasant for all gentlemen to reade. bearing the inscription. it has earned a more widespread reputation among the laity .
It is perhaps worth pointing out that. let the learned examine and make tryall thereof. "because it hath had the helpe of such rare and singular wits. to the other nothing may be added[13]. he reigned supreme. More than a century after the publication of his poems. as "the most celebrated Lyric Poet that England ever produced. and surely in my judgment. and euphuism meant simply nonsense. and we may trace the tradition back to Elizabethan days. 17 for affectation and mannerisms of style." he declares that the English language has thus progressed.CHAPTER I. that from the one. nothing may be taken away. surely in respect of his singular eloquence and brave composition of apt words and sentences. It was a blind acceptance of these loose ideas which led Sir Walter Scott to create (as a caricature of Lyly) his Sir Piercie Shafton in The Monastery--an historical faux pas for which he has been since sufficiently called to account. Nevertheless Lyly's reputation had a certain basis of fact. the description of Lyly by another writer as "alter Tullius anglorum" will not seem strange. Lyly's enthronement was of short duration--a matter of some ten years--but. until fifty years ago. Writing in 1586 of the "great good grace and sweet vogue which Eloquence hath attained in our Speeche. the survival of this tradition would lead us to suppose that it was Lyly's style more than anything else which appealed to the men of his day. the duration of Lyly's reputation was comparatively brief. Among whom I think there is none that will gainsay. for example." After such eulogy. they echo the verdict of the age. Beside the vogue of Waller. whose works. Indeed. I think he wyll yeelde him that verdict which Quintillian giveth of both the best orators Demosthenes and Tully. and often hold their ground for a considerable period. These praises were not the extravagances of a few uncritical admirers. in fitte phrases. as from time to time myght still adde some amendment to the same. as he hath stept one steppe further therein than any either before or since he first began the wyttie discourse of his Euphues. Waller was hailed by the Sidney Lee of the day in the Biographia Britannica of 1766. in plaine sense." Whence comes this . while it lasted. Lyly spelt nothing but euphuism. A contemporary confirmation of this may be found in the words of William Webbe. in pithy sentences. had we no other evidence upon the subject. in flowing speeche. through all the parts of Rethoricke. Such literary idolatries are by no means uncommon. but Master John Lyly hath deservedly moste high commendations. clothed in bombast. in galant tropes.
they remained in favour just as long as the fashion that created them lasted. for which as yet no tidal theory has been offered as an explanation. and a poet once named the most conspicuous of English lyrists. phenomenon. but some concern themselves with the essentials. others with the accidents.CHAPTER I. was exactly suited to the intellect of the ancien régime with its craving for form and its contempt for ideas. SECTION I. Arber's reprint. The mainspring of Lyly's popularity was that he did in prose what Waller did in poetry. Indeed the absorption of the critics in the analysis of euphuism seems to have been. 18 striking contrast between past glory and present neglect? How is it that a writer once known as the greatest master of English prose. The secret of Waller's influence was that he stereotyped a new poetic form. in spite of all this. though at first far-reaching. And yet. in its restraint and precision. Waller and Lyly were of the latter class. but externally unstable." They are as dead as the Jacobite cause. and far outweigh the attention given to his power as a novelist. known as humanity. And for that very reason they are all the more interesting for the literary historian. All writers are conditioned by their environment. The Anatomy of Euphuism. Like jewels suitable to one costume only. The case of our two writers is different. while the vogue of Euphues. Great artists are subject to an ebb and flow of popularity. are now but names? They have not faded from memory owing to a mere caprice of fashion. Waller was probably inferior to Lyly as an artist. but like the sea they are ever permanent. The books which have been written upon the characteristics of Lyly's prose are numberless. a form which. of that internally constant. it cannot be said that any adequate examination of the structure of Lyly's style appeared until Mr Child took the matter in . to say nothing of his dramas[14]. up to a few years ago. but he happened to strike a vein which was not exhausted until the end of the 18th century. The wheel of time will never bring Euphues and Sacharissa "to their own again. definitely injurious to a true appreciation of our author's position. by blocking the path to a recognition of his importance in other directions. was soon crossed by new artificialities such as arcadianism. [13] A discourse of English Poetrie.
on the one hand in implying that euphuism was much more complex than it is in reality. sentence groups. all are employed for the purpose of producing the antithetical style now known as euphuism. and on the other by confining their attention to single sentences. We shall obtain a correct notion of the "essential character" of the "euphuistic rhetoric. words. no less than to the sentence. Dr Landmann carried the analysis still further in his now famous paper published in the New Shakespeare Society's Transactions (1880-82). But these two. Philautus. the sentences are grouped antithetically. and referring those who are desirous of further details to Mr Child's work itself. a description of the euphuistic style need not detain us for long. of the origins of euphuism. The great value of Mr Child's work lies in the fact that he has at once simplified and amplified the conclusions of previous investigators. We shall then be in a position to proceed to the more interesting. I shall content myself with the briefest summary of its characteristics. 19 hand in 1894[15]. drawing upon Mr Child for my matter. paragraphs. beneath the "curtizan-like painted affectation" of euphuism. and as yet unsettled problem." he writes. the discourses it contains were framed upon the same plan. And it is upon these two points that Mr Child's essay is so specially illuminating. not only to the ordering of the single sentence. have erred." was itself an antithesis.CHAPTER I. Dr Weymouth[16] was the first to discover that. This being the case. "very pleasant for all gentlemen to read and most necessary to remember." When Lyly set out to write his novel. and that it applies this. while the antithesis is pointed by an equally elaborate repetition of ideas. "if we observe that it employs but one simple principle in practice. of vowel sounds and of consonant sounds. syllables. but in every structural relation[17]": and this simple principle is "the inducement of artificial emphasis through Antithesis and Repetition--Antithesis to give pointed expression to the thought. upbraiding his treacherous friend Euphues for robbing him of his . and so failing to perceive that the euphuistic method was applicable to the paragraph. and those who have followed them. An example will serve to make the matter clearer. The book as a whole. Letters. Repetition to enforce it[18]. And Mr Child has performed his task so scientifically and so exhaustively that he has killed the topic by making any further treatment of it superfluous. there lay a definite theory of style and a consistent method of procedure. sentences. as a whole. it seemed that his intention was to produce a most elaborate essay in antithesis.
such as the discourse of Eubulus selected by Mr Child for that purpose[20]. The former of these antitheses is an example of transverse alliteration. On the other hand it must be noticed that he employs alliteration for the sake of euphony alone much more frequently than he uses it for the purpose of emphasis. and although I cannot see in thee less wit than I was wont. "shrined thee for a trusty friend. [14] Child. within the narrow limits of the passage I have chosen. musk "sweet in the smell." "shun thee as a trothless foe". and how this balance or "parallelism" is made more pointed by means of alliteration. the main characteristics of euphuism are sufficiently obvious.g. and to a determination of its place in the history of our literature. ." "sour in the smack. yet the syrup depriveth sight--that friendship though it be plighted by the shaking of the hand. So that we may conclude by saying that simple alliteration forms the basis of the euphuistic diction. C. Child. e. delivers himself of the following speech: "Although hitherto Euphues I have shrined thee in my heart for a trusty friend. 6-20. part in Lyly's style[21]." It is impossible to give an adequate idea of the euphuistic style save in a lengthy quotation. yet it is shaken by the fraud of the heart. of which so much is made by Dr Landmann. But thou hast not much to boast of. It should be noticed how one part of a sentence is balanced by another part. that the leaf of the cedar tree though it be fair to be seen. for an account of chief writers who have dealt with euphuism. [15] John Lyly and Euphuism. All that is here attempted is an enumeration of the most obvious marks of euphuism. Lyly's most natural and most usual method of emphasizing is by means of simple alliteration." and so on. for as thou hast won a fickle lady. as Mr Child shows. and an entirely mechanical.CHAPTER I. G. This brief survey of the framework of euphuism is far from being an exhaustive analysis. but which. 20 lady's love. so hast thou lost a faithful friend[19]. pp. I will shunne thee hereafter as a trothless foe. yet do I find less honesty. plays a subordinate. I perceive at the last (although being deceived it be too late) that musk though it be sweet in the smell is sour in the smack. as a necessary step to an investigation of its origin. but. just as we have seen antithesis forms the basis of the euphuistic construction.
[21] id. as we shall find it has a certain connexion with the subject of the origins of euphuism. p. p. The other ornamental device is one which has attracted a considerable quantity of attention from critics. some being drawn from Plutarch." and occasionally we have the "ay but" sentence with the preceding interrogation missing. Sometimes we find a string of these interrogations. 21 [16] On Euphuism.. Trans. In the second place Euphues is a collection of similes borrowed from "a fantastical natural history. Pliny. however. p. 44. and has frequently been taken by itself as the distinguishing mark of euphuism. rather than constructional. [19] Euphues. however. p. Soc. though it is doubtful whether anyone carried it to such extravagant lengths as Lyly. but many springing simply from Lyly's exuberant fancy. at others they are answered by sentences beginning "ay but. [18] id. In point of fact. Phil. Lyly makes use of it when he wishes to portray his characters in distress or excitement. 39.. a sort of mythology of plants and stones. They consist first of anecdotes and allusions relating to historical or mythological persons of the ancient world. Ovid. leaving the subject entirely. and other sources. It took the form of illustrations and analogies. the euphuists shared it with many other writers of their age. but which come under the head of ornamental. we must mention two more characteristics of Lyly's prose which are very noticeable.CHAPTER I. 90. I make a special mention of this point. and it most frequently occurs in soliloquies. 43. [20] Child. devices. to which the most . so excessive and overwhelming that it is difficult to see how even the idlest lady of Elizabeth's court found time or patience to wade through them.. 1870-2. The first of these is a peculiar use of the rhetorical interrogation. Before. 46. p. Virgil. [17] Child.
what better example could be given of the methods of concomitant variations? It is precisely the same logical process which induces the savage to wreak his vengeance by melting a waxen image of his enemy. and so be caught with the Tortoise. [24] id. 107. p. and the farmer to predict a change of weather at the new moon. will never be faithfull to any[24]. p.CHAPTER I." says Camilla. And so it may fare with me that in this good companye displaying my minde." This is but a mild example of the "unnatural natural philosophy" which Euphues has made famous. having more regard to my delight in talking." And. if the Tortoise you spoke of in India were as cunning in swimming.. that she cannot sink when she woulde. often of the most extravagant nature. bashfully excusing herself for taking up the cudgels of argument with the learned Surius. which happilye the itchyng ears of young gentlemen would so canvas that when I would call it in. I forget what I speake. An unending procession of such similes. she would neither fear the heate of the sunne nor the ginne of the Fisher. 22 extraordinary virtues are attributed[22]. I cannot." What proof could be more exact. . when I would not[23]. [23] Euphues. because she feels that her new lover will remember "that the glasse once chased will with the least clappe be cracked. that the cloth which stayneth with milke will soon loose his coulour with Vinegar. that the eagle's wing will waste the feather as well as of the Phoenix as of the Pheasant: and that she that hath become faithlesse to one. and being delighted with the fine weather. Surius again employs the simile for the purpose of turning a neat compliment. whereby she is caught. 58. "Lady. swimmeth above the water wyth hyr back. runs throughout the book." "I have heard. and sometimes the development of the plot is made dependent on them. 402. [22] Jusserand. Thus Lucilla hesitates to forsake Philautus for Euphues. as you are in speaking. forgetteth her selfe until the heate of the sunne so harden her shell. than to the ears of the hearers. saying. "that the Tortoise in India when the sunne shineth. when she had finished her discourse. p. and so be taken in something I would not utter.
termed Pliny a barren wombe[27]. that in comparison of his own inventions. the great Bacon himself. while others were to be found in the plentiful crop of mediaeval bestiaries. traduit par de Tchihatchef. about the world in general. [26] Lord Bacon et les sciences d'observation en moyen âge. tarred with the same mediaeval brush. and yet similar ones are to be heard to-day in every pulpit where a smattering of science is used to eke out a poverty of theology. His natural. And. such reasoning is not confined to pulpits. which. The arguments he used appear to us puerile in their old-world dress. 23 Lyly." Moreover the soi-disant founder of the inductive method. but. Have not ethical philosophers of all ages been guilty of it? Certainly Gabriel Harvey seems to be hinting at Lyly when he slyly remarks: "I could name a party. phenomena were simply saturated with moral significance: not that he saw any connexion between the ethical process and the cosmic process. and footnotes indicative of sources. for lists of authorities. Even so eminent a writer as Mr Edward Carpenter has been known to moralize on the habits of the wild mustard. as Liebig[26] shows in his amusing and interesting study of the renowned "scientist's" scientific methods. however. "preceded the biological hand-books. or unnatural. irresistibly reminding us of the "Camomill which the more it is trodden and pressed down the more it speedeth[25]. 46. p. as Professor Raleigh remarks." . is." Perhaps also we must again allow something for Lyly's invention. and one can thoroughly sympathise with an author who found an added zest in inventing the facts upon which his theories rested. was not concerned with making philosophical generalizations. [25] Euphues. par Liebig. like every one of his contemporaries.CHAPTER I. Lyly's natural history was at any rate the result of learning. were not demanded of the scientist of those days. many of his "facts" were drawn from Pliny. and should be ranked with Lyly and the other Elizabethan "scholastics" rather than with men like Harvey and Newton. or scientific laws. to be fair. he employed the facts of animal and vegetable life to point a moral or to help out a sermon.
Moreover a certain weariness of this sermonizing on the stilts of antithesis is often visible. SECTION II. Euphues. Lyly gradually frees himself from their influence. and. we come upon a problem which is at once the most difficult and the most . but more probably to the growth of his dramatic instinct. and we may suspect that he half sympathises with the petulant exclamation of the sea-sick Philautus to his interminable friend: "In fayth. p. How admirably. [29] Euphues. and the end hangeth not well together[29]". I. speaking to Fidus of one she loved but wished to test. and with this piece of self-criticism we may leave Lyly for the present and turn to his predecessors. nor willing to entertain such a servant. When we pass from an analytical to an historical consideration of the style which Lyly made his own and stamped for ever with the name of his hero. but he had a full measure of that indefinable quality known as wit. Our author was no genius. 299. owing perhaps to the decline of the euphuistic fashion. 248. p. yet so warily." Other little delicate turns of phrase may be found in the mine of Euphues--for the digging. p.CHAPTER I. though the stylist's mask he wears is uncouth and rigid. The affectations we have just enumerated are much less conspicuous in the second part of Euphues than in the first. The Origins of Euphuism. [28] Euphues. for example. though they find a place in his earlier plays. Iffida. the beginning I have forgotten. 131 note. which saw that such forms were a drag upon the action of a play. as putting him from me with my little finger. "I seem straight-laced as one neither accustomed to such suites. thou hast told a long tale. And yet at times Lyly could use his clumsy weapon with great precision and effect. is made to say. it cannot always conceal the twinkle of his eyes. I drewe him to me with my whole hand[28]. 24 [27] Bond. and. does he express in his antithetical fashion the essence of coquetry. ye middle I understand not.
but on the other hand. and again in 1557 by Sir Thomas North. was not the invention of Lyly's genius. and that this was the reason of Guevara's . the digression. and to dismiss the question thus. but the fact that both translations come from the French and not from the Castilian. and that the euphuistic style was already forming in England. for. It is. Dr Landmann is very positive with regard to his theory. it by no means explains euphuism. that of Berners being The Golden Boke. has as yet solved the problem of origins with any claim to finality. Such a solution has all the fascination. though it explains Euphues. who published in 1529 a book. in my opinion. And moreover this theory does not explain the really important crux of the whole matter. bishop of Guadix. can hardly be considered outside the scope of this book. that of North being The Diall of Princes. inasmuch as the publication and success of Euphues have given euphuism its importance in the history of our literature. a number for those days quite exceptional and showing the existence of an eager public. The search for a solution will lead us far afield. This book was translated into English in 1534 by Lord Berners. seems to me to constitute a serious drawback to its acceptance. of course. But this simply evades the whole issue. The two translations are conveniently distinguished by their titles. which we have just dissolved into its elements. and all the dangers. in both cases from a French version. was Antonio de Guevara. he tells us. Perhaps a tentative solution is all that is possible in the present stage of our knowledge. that there existed a large body of men in the England of the Tudors who were interested in Spanish literature of all kinds and in Guevara among others. no critic. easy to point to the book or books from which Lyly borrowed. found a ready acceptance in England: for fourteen editions of The Golden Boke are known between 1534 and 1588. Equally unsatisfactory is the theory that euphuism was of purely Spanish origin. Two answers are possible to the last question. which an attempt to trace the origin of euphuism will necessitate. The real father of Lyly's style. The idea that euphuism was originally an article of foreign production was first set on foot by Dr Landmann. the title of which was as follows: The book of the emperor Marcus Aurelius with a Diall for princes. 25 fascinating with which we have to deal. whatever its origin. namely the reason why a style of this kind. but. which usually attend a simple answer to a complex question. Critics have long since decided that the peculiar style.CHAPTER I.
It must have been with the joy of a mathematician. no wonder that critics have fallen victims to the allurements of a theory which would ascribe Spanish origins for all the various prose epidemics of Elizabethan literature. But without going to such lengths. solving an intricate problem. a period when Spain looms as largely in English politics as does France later. 26 popularity. and the peninsular writings actually circulated in our country at this time. or in the peninsular tongues[30]. and thus to point at Spain as the parent. works on military . and I hope to show that they give us. comprising scientific treatises. one may admit that in general Spanish literature must have exercised an influence upon the Elizabethans. allows this. is to furnish an explanation almost irresistible in its symmetry. occasional literature. therefore.. Mr Underhill. Sidney with Montemayor[31]. and by proving that during the Tudor period there was a consistent and far-reaching interest in Spanish literature among a certain class of Englishmen. that is topical tracts and pamphlets on contemporary Spanish affairs. To pair Lyly with Guevara. accounts of voyages such as inspired Hakluyt. not only of the euphuistic. a fairly adequate explanation of the vogue of euphuism in our country. saw the publication in London of "some hundred and seventy volumes written either by peninsular authors. but also of the pastoral and picaresque romance. he declares." At such a time this number represents a very considerable influence. didactic literature. and Nash with Mendoza. Let us deal with external influences first. and pointing out the parallels between the two writers. he divides into three classes.'s marriage with Katherine of Aragon. in translations. without pressing the connexion between particular writers. The upholders of the Spanish theory have contented themselves with stating that Lyly borrowed from Guevara. while at the same time cautioning us against the dangers of over-estimating it. Any contact on the side of the lyric and the drama was. when combined. Intimacy with Spain dates from Henry VIII.CHAPTER I. by showing that Guevara was no isolated instance of such Spanish influence. very slight[32]. that Dr Landmann formulated this theory of literary equations. But the period from then onwards until the accession of James I. In both answers I think there is truth. and it is. our latest authority on the subject. though no Spanish book had actually been translated into English before her divorce. But it is possible to give their case a greater plausibility.
science, and, more important still, the religious writings of mystics like Granada; and lastly artistic prose. The last item, which alone concerns us, is by far the smallest of the three, and by itself amounts to less than half the translations from Italian literature; moreover most of the Spanish translations under this head came into England after 1580, and could not therefore have influenced Lyly's novel. But of course the Libro Aureo had been englished long before this, while the Lazarillo de Tórmes, Mendoza's[33] picaresque romance, was given an English garb by Rowland in 1576, and, though Montemayor's Diana was not translated until 1596, Spanish and French editions of it had existed in England long previous to that date. Perhaps most important of all was the famous realistic novel Celestina, which was well known, in a French translation, to Englishmen at the beginning of the 16th century, and was denounced by Vives at Oxford. It was actually translated into English as early as 1530[34]. There was on the whole, therefore, quite an appreciable quantity of Spanish artistic literature circulating in England before Euphues saw the light. [30] Underhill, p. 339. [31] id., p. 268 note. Mr Underhill writes: "The attempt to connect the style of Sidney with that of Montemayor has failed." [32] Underhill, p. 48, but see Martin Hume, ch. IX. [33] Some doubt has been thrown upon Mendoza's authorship. See Fitzmaurice-Kelly, p. 158, and Martin Hume, p. 133. [34] Martin Hume, p. 126. This literary invasion will seem perfectly natural if we bear in mind the political conditions of the day. Under Mary, England had been all but a Spanish dependency, and, though in the next reign, she threw off the yoke, the antagonism which existed probably acted as an even greater literary stimulus than the former alliance. Throughout the whole of Elizabeth's rule, the English were continually coming into contact with the Spaniards, either in trade, in ecclesiastical matters, in politics, or in actual warfare; and again
the magnificence of the great Spanish empire, and the glamour which surrounded its connexion with the new world, were very attractive to the Englishmen of Elizabeth's day, especially as they were desirous of emulating the achievements of Spain. And lastly it may be noticed that English and Spanish conditions of intellectual life, if we shut our eyes to the religious differences, were very similar at this time. Both countries had replaced a shattered feudal system by an absolute and united monarchy. Both countries owed an immense debt to Italy, and, in both, the Italian influence took a similar form, modified on the one hand by humanism, and on the other by feelings of patriotism, if not of imperialism. Spain and England took the Renaissance fever more coldly, and at the same time more seriously, than did Italy. And in both the new movement eventually assumed the character of intellectual asceticism moulded by the sombre hand of religious fanaticism; for Spain was the cradle of the Counter-Reformation, England of Puritanism. Leaving the general issue, let us now try to establish a partial connexion between our author, or at least his surroundings, and Spanish influences. And here I think a suggestive, if not a strong case, can be made out. Ever since the beginning of the 16th century a Spanish tradition had existed at Oxford. Vives, the Spanish humanist, and the friend of Erasmus, was in 1517 admitted Fellow of Corpus Christi College, and in 1523 became reader in rhetoric; and, though he was banished in 1528, at the time of the divorce, it seems that he was continually lecturing before the University during the five years of his residence there. The circle of his friends, though quite distinct from the contemporary Berners-Guevara group, included many interesting men, and among others the famous Sir John Cheke. Under Mary we naturally find two Spanish professors at Oxford, Pedro de Soto and Juan de Villa Garcia. But Elizabeth maintained the tradition; and in 1559 she offered a chair at Oxford to a Spanish Protestant, Guerrero. The important name, however, in our connexion is Antonio de Corro, who resided as a student at Christ Church from 1575 to 1585, thus being a contemporary of Lyly, though it is impossible to say whether they were acquainted or not. Lyly had, however, another Oxford contemporary who certainly took a keen interest in Spanish literature, possessing a knowledge of Castilian, though himself an Englishman. This was Hakluyt, who must
have been known to Lyly; and for the following reason. In 1597 Henry Lok[35] published a volume of religious poems to which Lyly contributed commendatory verses. On the other hand Hakluyt's first book was supplemented by a woodcut map executed by his friend Michael Lok[36], brother of Thomas Lok the Spanish merchant, and uncle to the aforesaid Henry. It seems highly improbable, therefore, that Lyly and Hakluyt possessing these common friends could have remained unknown to each other at Oxford. Indeed we may feel justified in supposing that Hakluyt, Sidney, Carew, Lyly, Thomas Lodge, and Thomas Rogers (the translator of Estella) were all personally acquainted, if not intimate, at the University. Another and very important name may be added to this list, that of Stephen Gosson, who, "a Kentish man born" like our hero, and entering Oxford a year after him (in 1572), must, I feel sure, have been one of his friends. The fact that he was at first interested in acting, and is said to have written comedies, goes a long way to confirm this. We are also led to suppose that he had devoted some attention to Spanish literature, and that he was probably acquainted with Hakluyt and the Loks, from certain verses of his, printed at the end of Thomas Nicholas' Pleasant History of the Conquest of West India, a translation of Cortes' book published in 1578[37]. Taking all this into consideration, it is extremely interesting to find Gosson publishing in 1579 his famous Schoole of Abuse, which bears most of the distinguishing marks of euphuism already noted, but which can scarcely have been modelled upon Lyly's work; for as Professor Saintsbury writes: "the very short interval between the appearance of Euphues and the Schoole of Abuse, shows that he must rather have mastered the Lylian style in the same circumstances and situations as Lyly than have directly borrowed it from his fellow at Oxford[38]." And moreover Gosson's style does not read like an imitation of Lyly. The same tricks and affectations are employed, but they are employed differently and perhaps more effectively. [35] Bond, I. p. 67. [36] Underhill, p. 178, to whom I am indebted for nearly all the preceding remarks in connexion with the Spanish atmosphere at Oxford. [37] Arber's reprint, School of Abuse, p. 97.
" But we cannot be certain when his relations with de Vere commenced. Guevara was of course well known all over the continent. and yet it seems endowed with the greatest importance. George Baker. It seems extremely improbable that Lyly himself possessed any knowledge of Castilian. In reality. such an explanation is no solution at all. It was undoubtedly Guevara's alto estilo which gave his writings their chief attraction. and unless we can feel sure that they had begun before the writing of Euphues. But the special question as to the ascendancy of Guevara obviously requires a special answer. the Libro Aureo of Guevara. as far as I am aware. ch. who patronized Robert Baker. The problem requires a closer investigation than it has at present received.CHAPTER I. the point is not of importance for our present argument. and a style so elaborate would only find a reception in a . and that in this way he would have come to a knowledge of the most famous Spanish book which had yet received translation. 30 [38] Craik. [39] Underhill. vol. and it might seem that this was a sufficient explanation of his popularity in England. it merely widens the issue. and Anthony Munday. I. however. why was this book the most famous peninsular production of Lyly's day? It is a question which no critic. and it is by no means necessary to show that he did. but I think they are sufficient to establish a fairly strong probability that Lyly was one of a literary set at Oxford (as I have already suggested in dealing with his life) the members of which were especially interested in Spanish literature. VIII. These facts are of course little more than hints. as one of the dependents of the Earl of Oxford. We have seen how and why Spanish literature in general found a reception in England. for it is quite sufficient to point out that he must have been continually in the presence of those who were discussing peninsular writings. who were all under the "spell of the peninsula[39]. Lyly is again found in contact with the Spanish atmosphere. But we are still left with the question on our hands. perhaps through the influence of Corro. § 2. has ever formulated. for we are still left asking for a reason of his continental fame.
31 favourable atmosphere. fully confirm this conclusion as far as our own country is concerned. but only the most famous example of a literary phase. they are characterized by the forced antitheses. A consideration of English prose under the Tudors will.CHAPTER I. of the origin and sources of euphuism. and gives parallel extracts from their translations to prove this. in terms of internal development. peculiar to Lyly and his successors[40]. His criticism. Mr Bond therefore is in grave error when he writes. if Berners' English was as euphuistic as North's. which are much more fatal to Dr Landmann's theory than this. alliteration. and it will also offer us an explanation. which had its independent representatives all over Europe. In the first place it appears that the part played by Berners in the history of euphuism has been considerably under-estimated. in which she follows Dr Landmann. and the far-fetched illustrations from natural phenomena. "North endeavoured what Berners had not aimed at. and it is he who must be regarded as the real founder of our euphuistic literary fashion[41]. and if Berners could show fourteen editions to North's two before 1580. to reproduce in his Diall the characteristics of Guevara's style. We have noticed with suspicion that our two translators took their Guevara from the French. moreover. I think. was afterwards enlarged in an appendix to his edition of Berners' translation of Huon of Bordeaux. it is Berners and not North who must be described as "the real founder of our euphuistic literary . A priori therefore the answer to our question would be that Guevara was no isolated stylist. but. A comparison of the two passages in question can leave no doubt that Mr Lee's deduction is correct." Lyly may indeed have borrowed from North rather than from Berners. were as much creators as translators of the euphuistic style." He denies." Mr Lee writes. separated as they were from the original. But there are other circumstances connected with Berners. Mr Sidney Lee was the first to combat the generally accepted view in a criticism of Mrs Humphry Ward's article on Euphuism in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. which appeared in the Athenæum. "are euphuistic beyond all question. that is among those who had already gone some way towards the creation of a similar style themselves. with the notable addition of an alliteration natural to English but not to Spanish. And it is therefore quite legitimate to suppose that Berners and North. "Lord Berners' sentences. that Berners was any less euphuistic than North.
and out of the French into English by Sir F. for the colophon of the Golden Boke states that the translation was undertaken "at the instaunt desire of his nevewe Sir Francis Bryan Knyghte. M. in fact a very well-known figure at court and in the literary circles of his day[43]. I. which was published under another title.: "A looking-glass for the court . his nephew Sir Francis Bryan must share the title with him.CHAPTER I. though we know Bryan to have entertained a peculiar affection for Guevara's writings. [41] Bond. In the article before mentioned . Bryan. there is no evidence to prove that he could read them in the original. 32 fashion." This Sir Francis Bryan was a favourite of Henry VIII." But there is more behind: and we cannot help feeling convinced that the facts we are now about to bring forward ought to dispose of the Landmann-Guevara theory once and for all. have had a considerable vogue even in the days of Henry VIII.. But. July 14. 1883. Biog. Alaygre. If it could be shown that Bryan could read Castilian... he. is thus described in the B. like his uncle. therefore. p. possibly of Ascham and of his master Cheke. in fact. [42] See Athenæum. 786. Briant. Indeed when he set himself to translate Guevara's Dispraise of the life of a courtier. Euphuism must. appendix I. [40] Huon of Bordeaux. for it would be argued that Berners learnt his style from his nephew. [43] Dict. Wherever we turn. [44] The 2nd edition of this book. Lord Berners and Euphuism.." It was Bryan also who wrote the passage at the conclusion of the Boke applauding the "swete style[42]. p. had to go to a French translation[44].. the Guevara theory might still possess some plausibility. 158. out of Castilian drawne into French by A. which seems to preclude the possibility of his style having exercised the influence ascribed to it by Dr Landmann and those who follow him. we are met by this French barrier between Guevara and his English translators." And as Mr Lee shows. Cat. of Nat. a friend of Surrey and Wyatt.
special laud and praise ought to be given to history: it is the keeper of such things as have been virtuously done. and governors to do noble deeds to the end they may obtain immortal glory: it exciteth. and to old fathers striken in age it ministereth experience of things. some other to find new arts. Once the continual reading thereof maketh young men equal in prudence to old men. 33 Mr Lee goes on to say: "The translator's prologue to Lord Berners' Froissart written in 1524 and that to be found in other of his works show him to have come under Guevara's or a similar influence before he translated the Golden Boke[45]. What moved the strong and fierce Hercules to enterprise in his life so many great incomparable labours and perils? Certainly nought else but that for his great merit immortality might be given him of all folk. some to devise and establish laws right." But Mr Lee appeared to be quite unconscious of the full significance of his discovery. high and virtuous acts be immortal. five years before Guevara published his book in Spain. the accumulation of synonyms." Here is an extract from the prologue in question. rule and governance: it compelleth the emperors. More it yieldeth private persons worthy of dignity. as far as I have been able to . some to build cities. crafts and sciences. the repetition of the same thought differently expressed. the rhetorical question. So thus through the monuments of writing which is the testimony unto virtue many men have been moved.. No critic." This is of course far from being the full-blown euphuism of Lyly or Pettie. But above all things.. and by the benefit of history all noble. moveth and stirreth the strong. are irrefutable witnesses to the presence of euphuism[47]. promptly to go in hand with great and hard perils in defence of their country: and it prohibiteth reproveable persons to do mischievous deeds for fear of infamy and shame.CHAPTER I. yet we cannot but agree with Mr Lee. Why moved and stirred Phalerius the King Ptolemy oft and diligently to read books? Forsooth for no other cause but that those things are found written in books that the friends dare not show to the prince[46]. whereby man's wealth riseth. the classical references. when he declares that "the parallelism of the sentences. necessary and behoveful for the human life. "The most profitable thing in this world for the institution of the human life is history.. and the witness of evil deeds. high rulers. It means that Berners was writing euphuism in 1524. for the great laud that they have after they lie dead. very requisite to the use of mankind. profitable. hardy warriors.
discover, has shown any consciousness of this significant fact[48], which is of course of the utmost importance in this connexion; as, if it is to carry all the weight that is at first sight due to it, the theory that euphuism was a mere borrowing from the Spanish must be pronounced entirely exploded. But it is as well not to be over-confident. Guevara's Libro Aureo, his earliest work, was undoubtedly first published by his authority in 1529, but there seems to be a general feeling that the book had previously appeared in pirated form. This feeling is based upon the title of the 1529 edition[49], which describes the book as "nueuamente reuisto por su señoria," and upon certain remarks of Hallam in his Literature of Europe. Though I can find no confirmation for the statements he makes upon the authority of a certain Dr West of Dublin, yet the words of so well known a writer cannot be ignored. He quotes Dr West in a footnote as follows: "There are some circumstances connected with the Relox (i.e. the sub-title of the Libro Aureo) not generally known, which satisfactorily account for various erroneous statements that have been made on the subject by writers of high authority. The fact is that Guevara, about the year 1518, commenced a life and letters of M. Aurelius which purported to be a translation of a Greek work found in Florence. Having sometime afterwards lent this MS. to the emperor it was surreptitiously copied and printed, as he informs us himself, first in Seville and afterwards in Portugal.... Guevara himself subsequently published it (1529) with considerable additions[50]." From this it appears that previous unauthorised editions of Guevara's book had been published before 1529. Might not Berners therefore have come under Guevara's influence as early as 1524? We must concede that it is possible, but, on the other hand, the difficulties in the way of such a contingency seem almost insuperable. In the first place, if we are to believe Dr West, Guevara did not begin to write his work before 1518, and it was not until "some time afterwards" (whatever this may mean) that it was "surreptitiously copied and printed." It would require a bold man to assert that a book thus published could be influencing the style of an English writer as early as 1524. But further it must be remembered that Berners almost certainly could not read Castilian[51]. Now the earliest known French translation of Guevara is one by Réné Bertaut in 1531, which Berners himself is known to have used[52]. Therefore, if Berners was already under Guevara's influence in 1524, he must have known of an earlier French pirated
translation of an earlier pirated edition of the Libro Aureo. To sum up; if the euphuistic tendency in English prose is to be ascribed entirely, or even mainly, to the influence of Guevara's Libro Aureo, we must digest four improbabilities: (i) that there existed a pirated edition of the book in Spain earlier than 1524: (ii) that this had been translated into French, also before 1524, although the version of Bertaut in 1531 is the earliest French translation we have any trace of: (iii) that Berners himself had come across this hypothetical French edition, again before 1524: and (iv) that the French translation had so faithfully reproduced the style of the original, that Berners was able to translate it from French into English, for the purpose of his prologue to Froissart. [45] Huon, p. 787. [46] Froissart, Globe edition, p. xxviii. [47] Huon, p. 788. [48] After writing the above I have noticed that Mr G. C. Macaulay, in the Introduction to the Globe Froissart, writes as follows (p. xvi): "If nothing else could be adduced to show that the tendency (i.e. euphuism) existed already in English literature, the prefaces to Lord Berners' Froissart written before he could possibly have read Guevara, would be enough to prove it." [49] There are two extant editions of 1529, (i) published at Valladolid, from which the words above are quoted, (ii) published at Enueres, which appears to be an earlier edition. Copies of both in the British Museum. [50] Hallam, Lit. of Europe, ed. 1855, vol. I. p. 403 n. Brunet in his Manuel de Libraire gives Hallam's view without comment, tome II. "Guevara." [51] Underhill, p. 69. [52] Bond, vol. I. p. 137.
In face of these facts, the Guevara theory is no longer tenable; and in consequence the whole situation is reversed, and we approach the problem from the natural side, the side from which it should have been approached from the first--that is from the English and not the Spanish side. I say the natural side, because it seems to me obvious that the popularity of a foreign author in any country implies the existence in that country, previous to the introduction of the author, of an atmosphere (or more concretely a public) favourable to the distinguishing characteristics of the author introduced. And so it now appears that Guevara found favour in England because his style, or something very like it, was already known there; and it was the most natural thing in the world that Berners, who shows that style most prominently, should have been the channel by which Guevara became known to English readers. The whole problem of this 16th century prose is analogous to that of 18th century verse. The solution of both was for a long time found in foreign influence. It was natural to assume that France, the pivot of our foreign policy at the end of the 17th century, gave us the classical movement, and that Spain, equally important politically in the 16th century, gave us euphuism. Closer investigation has disproved both these theories[53], showing that, while foreign influence was undoubtedly an immense factor in the development of these literary fashions, their real origin was English. [53] For 18th century v. Gosse, From Shakespeare to Pope. The proof of this does not rest entirely on the case of Berners. We might even concede that he was acquainted with an earlier edition of Guevara, and that his style was actually derived from Spanish sources, without surrendering our thesis that euphuism was a natural growth. Berners' euphuism, whatever its origin, was premature; and, though the Golden Boke passed through twelve editions between 1534 and 1560, we cannot say that its style influenced English writing until the time of Lyly, for its vogue was confined to a small class of readers, designated by Mr Underhill as the "Guevara-group." On the other hand, it is possible to trace a feeling towards euphuism among writers who were quite outside this group.
made by his translators." introduces us at once to euphuism. for example. and they appear. dancing in their dominions. Yea. burdened with ambassages. [54] Craik. that they cannot attend it. 224. This was at any rate a purely native product. I tell you it is old truth long rusted with your canker. probably like the alliteration of Anglo-Saxon homilies." It is no long step from this to the rhetorical question and its formal answer "ay but----." Latimer also employs the responsive method so frequently used by Lyly. borrowed from popular poetry[54]. couched in courts. p. and so troubled with loitering in their lordships. and a very important one." Here is no transverse alliteration. They are so troubled with lordly living. and moiling in their gay manors and mansions. delighted in alliterative turns of speech. though the antithetical mannerisms are absent in him. Now I tell you it is old learning. The antithesis and parallelism were the fruits of humanism. and gives us by the way a very excellent comment upon it. ye say.CHAPTER I. pampering of their paunches like a monk that maketh his jubilee. munching in their mangers. . Cheke's famous criticism of Sallust's style. it was an addition. Nay. ruffling in their rents. I. in the writings of Sir John Cheke and his pupil Roger Ascham. His famous denunciation of the unpreaching prelates is an excellent instance: "But now for the faults of unpreaching prelates. and now made new bright and scoured. which is a good example of the euphuistic combination of alliteration and balance. as being "more art than nature and more labour than art. Again he speaks of "magistrates more ready to tender all justice and pitifull in hearing the poor man's causes which ought to amend matters more than you can devise and were ready to redress them better than you can imagine[55]". methink I could guess what might be said for the excusing of them. and cannot be assigned to Spain. combined with Latimer's alliteration. they be so placed in palaces. vol. it is old heresy new scoured. such as we find so frequently in Lyly. 37 Latimer. "But ye say it is new learning." Alliteration is not found in Guevara. but a simple alliteration--"a rudimentary euphuism of balanced and alliterative phrases.
and he occasionally indulges in the ethics of natural history as follows: "Young Graftes grow not onlie sonest.. and so. bearing heavie things. p. A tendency of an almost directly opposite kind is the balance of sentences which he imitates from Classical models. hedefull without wavering.. "is his proneness to alliteration. constant without any new fanglednesse.. We know that Lyly had read the Schoolmaster. [57] id. and it is probable that he knew his Ascham as thoroughly as he did his Guevara. as he took the very title of his book from its description of /Euphuês/ as "he that is apte by goodnesse of witte and applicable by readiness of will to learning"--a description which is in itself a euphuism... but sure to keep. due perhaps to his desire to reproduce the most striking features of the Early English. though not lightlie. the similitude of youth is fittest to all goodnesse. if in all other things though they lacke reason. surelie nature in mankinde is more beneficial and effectual in this behalfe[57]. but also fairest and bring always forth the best and sweetest fruite." Classical allusions abound throughout Ascham's work. 38 [55] Craik. and it is interesting to observe how much the structure of the sentence in the more . 46. young Popingeis learne quickly to speak. In Ascham the style is still more marked. "One of these. 35. so many examples of euphuism in the Schoolmaster and in the Toxophilus. p.. There are. sense. and life. young whelps learne easilie to carrie. yet depelie[56]. entering hard things though not easily." he writes. p. yet willinglie. These two are perhaps the most striking characteristics of Ascham's prose. we may notice the following: "Hard wittes be hard to receive. indeed. to be short. Sir Henry Craik has some very pertinent remarks on the peculiarities of Ascham's style.. Schoolmaster. that one can only select. As an illustration of transverse alliteration quite as complex as any in Euphues." [56] Arber. 258.CHAPTER I. painfull without weariness.
and their origins. he took his B. and similes from natural history are comparatively rare. though he had known Guevara's writings. So far we have been dealing with euphuistic tendencies only. Even in North's Diall alliteration is not profuse. that is already centuries old. are absent. Of course with euphuism we do not commence English prose. who. but we are dealing with the beginnings of English prose style. to which he affixes a euphuistic preface. drew his material almost entirely from Italian sources. it seems probable that he continued his Oxford connexion after his degree. A student of Christ Church. in 1576. let us conclude our study of the evolution of euphuism in England. only two years before the later book. I. In George Pettie. who was a considerably younger man than himself. surrounded the birth of the full-blown euphuism. we find a complete euphuist before Euphues. I maintain. by which we mean a conscious and artistic striving after literary effect.A. and so probably just escaped being a contemporary of Lyly. This writer again brings us in touch with that Oxford atmosphere. That the first stylists should look to the rhetoricians for their models was inevitable. is shown by his translation of Guazzo's Civile Conversation in 1581. which so exactly anticipates the style of Euphues. deferring this point for a later treatment. 269. he published his Petite Pallace of Pettie his Pleasure. since in the style of Ascham and his predecessors. The Petite Pallace was an imitation of the famous Palace of Pleasure published in 1566 by William Painter. p. as he was a "dear friend" of William Gager. degree in 1560[59]. But. though undoubtedly present. the classical orators and the alliterative homilies of the Early English. Therefore the Spanish elements. such as the fantastic embroidery of mythical beasts and flowers. carefully distinguished. 39 elaborated stages of English prose is due to their combination[58]. and of these there were two kinds available. which. alliteration and antithesis are not employed consistently. That Pettie also possessed a knowledge of Spanish literature. as we should expect from the period of his residence at Oxford. This again was only a left-handed transcript from the French.CHAPTER I. But. [58] Craik. . however. but merely on occasion for the sake of emphasis. However this may be. Other marks of euphuism." Here we have the two elements of our native-grown euphuism.
all things are done faithfully without doubting. willingly without constraint. of Nat. if it be not grafted in some other: so a loving wife separated from the society of her husband withereth away in woe and leadeth a life no less pleasant than death[60].." without lending countenance to Dr Landmann's radical theories. or honest than marriage. can doubt that Pettie was the real creator of euphuism in its fullest development. and that Lyly was only an imitator. Though I have already somewhat overburdened this chapter. one sense and one soul serveth them both. their hearts by continuance of love become one. Biog. as much of custom as of devotion: but in this stately estate of matrimony there is nothing fearful. . the child beareth a fearful affection and awful obedience towards the father: the master hath an imperious regard of the servant. or even go so far as to assert with Mr Underhill that he was acquainted with "parts of the Gallicized Guevara." Lyly never wrote anything to equal this. We may concede that Pettie had read North. [59] Dict. And as the scion severed from the stock withereth away. Indeed it is not unworthy of the lips of one of Shakespeare's heroines. or wherein the fruits of true friendship do more plenteously appear: in the father is a certain severe love and careful goodwill towards the child. truly without doubling.CHAPTER I. their natures being united by growth. And as a scion grafted in a strange stalk. that it is one's duty to rescue it from oblivion: "As amongst all the bonds of benevolence and good will. Pettie. there is none more honourable. ancient. so in my fancy there is none that doth more firmly fasten and inseparably unite us together than the same estate doth. joyfully without complaint: yea there is such a general consent and mutual agreement between the man and wife. but also because the passage is in itself so delightful. not only as an example of his style. The friendship amongst men is grounded upon no love and dissolved upon every light occasion: the goodwill of kinsfolk is constantly cold. I cannot refrain from quoting a passage from Pettie. the servant a servile care of the master. that they both wish and will covet and crave one thing. they become one and together bear one fruit: so the love of the wife planted in the breast of her husband. 40 cannot be insisted upon. No one. reading the Petite Pleasure.
The sole difference between the styles of Lyly and Pettie is that. must find a place for foreign as well as native influences. Even allowing everything. therefore. It remains to sum up our conclusions respecting the origin and development of this literary phase. despite the fact that he marks the culmination of the movement. in the translation of Berners. for the close connexion between Spain and England." But the parental responsibility and merit must be attributed to him who hatches. for something very like it would naturally have resulted from the close application of classical methods to prose writing. we cannot accord to Dr Landmann's explanation anything more than a very modified acceptance. as we have done. but. In truth. but it was soon to be thrust aside by the fame of the much more pretentious. It was Lyly who made euphuism famous and therefore a power. And yet Lyly owed a great debt to Guevara. And to say that the Spanish intervention confirmed and hastened a development . while Pettie's similes from nature are simple and natural. better constructed Euphues of Lyly. and. Berners was probably feeling towards the style before he knew Guevara. "Young Euphues but hatched the eggs his elder freendes laid. which would ascribe it entirely to Guevara's influence. for the Spanish tradition at Oxford. Nor would a complete rejection of this solution of the Lyly problem render English euphuism inexplicable. Difficult as it is to unravel the tangled network of obscure influences which surrounded its birth. I venture to think that a sufficiently complete disproof of that extreme theory. with his knowledge of Pliny and of the bestiaries. as we have seen. and in the case of Cheke and Ascham we actually see the process at work. undoubtedly took the field early. and moreover the bishop's alto estilo must have suffered considerably while passing through the French." Pettie's book was popular for the time.CHAPTER I. apart from the style. The euphuism of the foregoing quotation will be readily detected. A true solution. he is the most dynamical of all the euphuists. has been offered. 41 [60] I have taken the liberty of modernising the spelling. Lyly. added his fabulous "unnatural natural history. as Gabriel Harvey justly but unkindly remarks. Guevara. and. three editions of it being called for in the first year of its publication. and for the interest in peninsular writings shown by Lyly's immediate circle of friends.
Lodge. 42 already at work. rather than the origin. to trace its effects upon every individual writer who fell under its immediate fascination. if not impossible. The publication of Euphues was the culmination. Moreover the task has already been performed in a great measure by M. for the references to it in later dramatists are innumerable. of that literary phase to which it gave its name. And the vogue of euphuism after 1579 was short. SECTION III. ch. lasting indeed only until about 1590. I. for we find it parodied most elaborately by Field. Yet might she love me to content her sire: I. One passage must have been particularly famous. as late as 1606. and left a definite mark upon later English prose. to receive attention. IV. of which the original impulse was English. [62] Bond. or as throwing light upon the subject of the essay. 164-175. but her reason masters her . runs as follows: "Yet might she love me for my valiance: I.CHAPTER I. Warner. in his A Woman is a Weathercock[63]. pp. I shall therefore content myself with noticing two or three writers. I think. to give a due allowance to both. but that's slandered by captivity. were indebted to our author for certain mannerisms of style. Jusserand[61] and Mr Bond[62]. [61] Jusserand. Lyly's Legatees and the relation between Euphuism and the Renaissance. is. that is at the height of the euphuistic fashion. and who seem to me important enough. The passage in question. and above all Shakespeare. tainted with euphuism. The first of these is the dramatist Kyd. Munday. This play was apparently an inexhaustible joke to the Elizabethans. who completed his well-known Spanish Tragedy between 1584 and 1589. Welbanke. who have been generally overlooked. They have shown once and for all that Greene. vol. yet during these ten years its influence was far-reaching. either in themselves. It would be idle. Wilkinson. which was obviously inspired by Lyly.
It runs. who quotes Kyd to his companions. --Yet might she love me for my proper body. in the other dramas[65]. In time the savage Bull sustains the yoke. again from his most famous play. but perhaps she loves some nobler mate. apart from any interest it possesses for the student of Lyly. perhaps your nose she does despise. Field improves on the original by putting the alternate lines of despair into the mouths of Ninny's jesting friends. --Ay but. But there is one more passage. she thinks you are an arrant noddy. is an excellent illustration of the ways of Elizabethan playwrights. In . Sc. therefore: "--Yet might she love me for my lovely eyes. and in his prose works[66]." This parody. which is so full of interest that it cannot be passed over in silence.CHAPTER I. but her hopes aim at some other end. --Ay but. and of the thorough knowledge of previous plays they assumed their audience to have possessed. and they with the cry of "Ha God-a-mercy. Yet might she love me as her brother's friend: I. --Ay but. 43 desire. but I feare she cannot love at all. (the lady herself)--Ay but indeed I cannot love at all. There are several other examples of Kyd's acquaintance with the Euphues in the Spanish Tragedy[64]. Yet might she love me to uprear her state: I. and assumes this inspiring form: "My Lord." [63] Act I. perhaps she does not like your ware. though Belimperia seem thus coy Let reason hold you in your wonted joy. she sees your beard is very thin. which it is not necessary to quote. --Yet might she love me for my dimpled chin. In time all Haggard Hawkes will stoop to lure. In time small wedges cleave the hardest Oake. This time the despairing lover is Sir Abraham Ninny. II. Yet might she love me as her beautie's thrall: I. which must have been keenly enjoyed by the audience. --Yet might she love me 'cause I am an heir. Nathaniel Field's parody of this melodramatic nonsense is so amusing that I cannot forbear quoting it. old Hieromino!" begin the game of parody. --Ay but. --Yet might she love me in despite of all. It is a counsel of hope to the despairing lover.
" and bearing in mind that the high priest of euphuism himself contributed a commendatory epistle to the Hekatompathia. some of which are full of similar references to the properties of animals and plants. we should expect that these Bulls and Hawkes and Oakes were choice flowers of speech. p. and they employed the same publisher. Trag. 44 time the flint is pearst with softest shower. At any rate Watson cannot be placed amongst the imitators of Euphues. And rue the sufferance of your deadly paine[67]. and it is apparent from the epistle above mentioned that he was on terms of closest intimacy with the author of Euphues." [64] Sp. and Act II. He was a friend of Lyly's at Oxford. that he borrowed from Watson. 146). And she in time will fall from her disdain. But as a matter of fact Watson himself informs us in a note that his sonnet is an imitation of the Italian Serafino. 1-8. 130 (cp. Euphues. culled from that botanico-zoological "garden of prose"--the Euphues. 190 (cp. they dedicated their books to the same patron. and ch. Now these lines are practically a transcript of the opening words of the 47th sonnet in Watson's Hekatompathia published in 1582. Remembering Lyly's penetrating observation that "the soft droppes of rain pearce the hard marble. from whom he also borrows other sonnet-conceits in the same volume. Act III. 199. . [66] Kyd's Works (Boas). In him we have another member of that interesting circle of Oxford euphuists. p. p. IX. Act II.. Like Pettie and Gosson he must share with Lyly the credit of creation.CHAPTER I. or.. The conclusion is forced upon us therefore that Watson and Lyly went to the same source. Moreover. Euphues. 288. Act IV. the little we have of Watson's prose is highly euphuistic. [67] Sp. if a knowledge of Italian cannot be granted to our author. [65] Soliman and Perseda. 100). who continued their connexion in London under de Vere's patronage. many strokes overthrow the tallest oake[68]. Trag.
51. Again in his Cynthia (1594) there is a distinct reference to the opening words of Euphues in the lines. p. Watson and Kyd. 407.. in more or less inferior metal through every writer of that age[72]. and he repeats the jargon about marble and showers[70] which we have seen in Lyly. p. 18 and 19. These then are a few among the countless scribblers of those prolific times who fell under the spell of the euphuistic fashion. The conventional illustrations from an "unnatural natural history" abound in his Affectionate Shepherd[69] (1594)." as Symonds puts it. 337. They are mentioned. p. and it is enough. either because their connexion with the movement has been overlooked. "Wit without wealth is bad.CHAPTER I. who though too young in 1578 to have been of the University coterie of euphuists. 45 [68] Euphues. [69] Poems.. [71] id. without tracing it in any detail. if we remember that euphuism was "the English type of an all but universal disease[73]. 24. Of other legatees it is impossible to treat here. [70] id. yet deemed as well[71]. or because they throw a new and important light upon Lyly himself. in silver through Shakespeare. shows definite traces of their affectation in his works. Watson again was a friend of the well-known poet Richard Barnefield. was wrong in his insistence upon . p. Arber. we have decided. There is nothing strange in this infatuation. to indicate "the slender euphuistic thread that runs in iron through Marlowe." [72] Symonds. yet counted good. Dr Landmann. Wealth wanting wisdom's worse." His prose introduction betrays the same influence. pp. in bronze through Bacon.
for the countries outside Italy. of Aretino. so familiar to sociologists." And the truth of this becomes more and more indisputable. but with the invasion of Charles VIII. Symonds ascribes it to Italy. Hitherto the new learning had been in a great measure confined to Italy. of a lower civilization falling under the spell of the culture exhibited by a more advanced subject population. and an equally good case might be made out in favour of France. I. one great confederation. the Renaissance.. of Doni. Thus it was that . which is that euphuism must have come.CHAPTER I. especially on its artistic side. There is truth in all these hypotheses. of a conqueror worshipping the gods of the conquered. The date 1453 is usually taken as a convenient starting point for the Renaissance. But. I think that the date 1493 is almost as important. p. [73] id. 404. Matthew Arnold long ago laid down the clarifying principle that "the criticism which alone can much help us for the future. [74] Essays in Criticism. without any question of borrowing. It was in the age of the Petrarchisti. But the interesting point to notice is that. the Italian Renaissance was already showing signs of decadence. of Religion. and points to a fact which no student of Renaissance literature can afford to neglect. It is the old story. though the movement was already at work in Italy. bound to a joint action and working to a common result[74]. which commences a long period of French and Spanish occupation of Italian soil. but his error was a natural one. for that was the year of Byzantium's fall and of the diffusion of the classics over Europe. began to find its way into the neighbouring states. the longer we study European history. and would have come. It is the story of the conquest of Greece by Rome. and through them into England.. for intellectual and spiritual purposes. 39. or of Art. and of Marini that Europe awoke to the full consciousness of the wonders of Italian literature. is a criticism which regards Europe as being. Landmann ascribes euphuism to Spain. but each misses the true significance of the matter. of the conquest of Rome by the Germans. p. whether it be from the side of Politics. 46 foreign influence. when the "barbarian" Frenchman descended from the Alps upon the fair plains of Lombardy.
In the first place. p. polite. and such a one must have seen and heard and read many and diverse books and writings. and Watson. humorous. The horizontal class divisions become obscured by the newly found perpendicular divisions of nationality. and know all languages and have frequented kings' Courts and associated with great men and beheld and taken part in worldly affairs. rather than by what was best in her literature. and of a very healthy and unerring judgment. That France. of Castile. moreover he must be also a lover and ever make a show and pretence of it[75]. then. and finally he must be of gentle birth. The purely formal ideal of Art had in Spain already found expression among the courtiers of Juan II. which were so universally . did but hasten a process already at work. and a good presence and a witty manner of reasoning. and in Italy and England at least the old feudal nobility have almost entirely disappeared. and England should be attracted by the affectations of Italy. Spain. that of the Court. The ideal of chivalry is dying out all over Europe. [75] Butler Clarke. 47 those beyond the Alps drank of water already tainted. The Italian influence. The reasons for this universal movement are very difficult to determine. save by the man of very deep and subtle invention. and salt. writes as follows of poetry: "that it cannot be learned or well and properly known. But among many suggestions of more or less value. Spanish Literature. 71. A new centre of national life and culture is therefore in the process of formation. than to emulate the style of a Tasso or a Castiglione": and besides they were themselves inventing similar extravagances independently of Italy. was only to be expected. the Renaissance happened to be contemporaneous with the death of feudalism. and the romances of chivalry are everywhere despised. witty. and of a very lofty and fine discretion. and thanks to this. "It was easier to catch the trick of an Aretino. the ideal of chivalry gives place to the new ideal of the courtier or the gentleman. One of them. and a Marini. at least. polished. and have in his composition honey. courteous and sedate. This ideal found literary expression in the moral Court treatises.CHAPTER I. therefore." Such a catalogue of the poet's requisites might have been written by any one of our Oxford euphuists. a few causes of the change may here be hazarded. Baena. and sugar. among them fulfilled all its conditions.
and more especially to classical orators. that men realised that the essence of Hellenism is restraint and harmony. In the Courts of the Renaissance period. when imitating the style of his favourite Tully in the Schoolmaster. and they fell therefore an easy prey to the stylism of the later Latin writers. this necessary distinction would naturally take the form of a cultured. and the exuberance of ornament. and Lyly are the most famous instances.CHAPTER I. dubartism. as they had used the Old Testament. with all this. and the moral lessons deduced from them. and it was not until centuries after. for." was probably quite unconscious of his own affinity to that objectionable type. Virgil's mediaeval reputation for example rests for the most part upon the fourth Eclogue. The ambition of those who frequent Courts has always been to appear distinguished--distinguished that is from the vulgar and the ordinary. as prophetic books. Castiglione. It must not be imagined that this process was a conscious one. from the Philistine. Ascham with his hatred of the "Italianated gentleman. I have spoken of the movement generally. or. the classics they knew and loved best were the product of the silver age of Rome. they were only rediscovered. such as arcadianism. and for this it was natural that men should go to the classics. but it passed through many phases. 48 popular during the Renaissance. the fantastic similes from natural history. and of which Guevara. In fact the beginnings of modern prose style are to be found in humanism. But here again they drank from tainted sources. We learnt the lessons of the classics backward. men could not quite shake off the middle ages. if not pedantic. In many countries the rhetorical style was already formed by scholars before it became the speech of the Court. are quite mediaeval in feeling. There is much of the Scholastic in Lyly. But. the characteristics of which are beautifully described by the author of Marius the Epicurean in his chapter significantly called Euphuism. The middle ages had used them. and yet of all these . looked upon the classics as literature and valued them for their style. The classics it must be remembered were not discovered by the humanists. as models of good speech. The humanists. Few of the Renaissance students had the critical acumen of Cheke. on the other hand. where learning was considered so admirable. diction. with the exception of a few writers such as Cicero and Terence. gongorism. as we should now say. with its antithesis and extravagance.
seriously undertaken. therefore. moreover. But. Lyly belongs to both movements.CHAPTER I. euphuism anticipated the literature of the ancien régime. In Italy. let us sum up the results we have obtained from our examination of its relation to the general European Renaissance. giving birth in England to the drama. Euphues. however. The movement. proceeding to fix the position of euphuism in the development of English prose. to force modern languages into a classical mould. free as a bird and as sweet. 49 phases euphuism was. possessing little dynamical importance. Before. This we call romanticism. while he is the protagonist of the romantic drama. partly to the mediaeval preference for words rather than ideas. I think. in Italy to the plastic arts. it was the under-current which in the 18th century became the main stream. In this way. for it represents the idea as distinct from the form. appears later in the 18th century embracing the whole current of English literature. we may find parallels to euphuism without supposing any international borrowings. for it was a definite attempt. Originating in that study of classical style we find so forcibly advocated by Ascham in his Schoolmaster. concealed for a while beneath the wild exuberance of the romantic growth. is not so much a reflection of. was only one aspect of the Renaissance. and partly to the fact that the times were not yet ripe for an appreciation of the spirit as distinct from the letter of the classics. in fact. It is essentially opposed to the classical movement. partly to the lateness of the Latin writers chiefly known to them. it was essentially a product of humanism. in France. In every country scholars were interested as much in the style as in the matter of the newly discovered classics. and in Spain. and not of the classics. Paradoxical as it may seem. in his Euphues we may discover the source of the artificial stream which. for. while the other and later affectations were merely passing extravagances. born of the fields as it were. This was due. euphuism would seem to be more significant than the movements which succeeded it. as a Glasse for Europe. . even if we keep our eyes upon the Continent alone. As an artistic product it was developed on strictly national and traditional lines. short-lived and abortive as it seemed. the most important: certainly if we confine our attention to English literature this must be admitted. the Renaissance in its most modern aspect was a development of the middle ages.
"and an inversion of what is true of other languages that. it has lost in subtlety.CHAPTER I. and possessed a quality which no national prose had exhibited since the days of Greece. which developed from the speech of the Court." Repeated attempts. 50 SECTION IV. [76] Cf." as Sainte Beuve noticed. French prose. in the hands of Pettie. But ultimately. Lyly. is a delicate instrument. English prose at the beginning of the 16th century. Gosson. that is before the new learning had become a power in the land. they used the purest English. pp. however. capable of expressing the finest shades of meaning. it became the instrument of an Oxford coterie deliberately and consciously employed for the purpose of altering the form of English prose. We have seen that English euphuism was at first a flower of unconscious growth sprung from the soil of humanism. the language of literature is practically incomprehensible to the dwellers on the soil. These men did not despise their native tongue. A few words remain to be said about this literary curiosity. carefully avoiding the favourite "ink-horn . by way of assigning a place to it in the history of our prose. which should not be passed over. prose has always had the precedence over poetry. To do so with any scientific precision is impossible. and to transport it into aristocratic atmospheres. for example. "it is a remarkable fact. have been made to capture our language. But what English prose has gained in breadth and comprehension by representing the tongue of the people. which arose from the fact that French and Latin had for so long been the language of the ruling section of the community. Earle. but there are many points of no small significance in this connexion. 423. 422. was already an important part of our literature. and Watson. The position of Euphuism in the history of English prose. is still the distinction which marks off our prose from that of other nations. though it had not yet been employed for artistic purposes. while the styles of George Meredith and of Henry James show how difficult it is for a subtle intellect to move freely within the limitations of English prose. and of these attempts the first is associated with the name of Lyly. the quality of popularity[76]. in French. This popularity. Indeed. In Italy.
as a necessary result of this. . 51 terms" of their contemporaries: they admired it. 436. 60. but it was to the latter that it owed its essentials. conscious prose style appears for the first time in our language. p. I say English euphuism. But the euphuistic manner has a wider significance than this. for it marks the transition from poetry to prose. because that is our chief concern. the expression in literature of the new ideal of the courtier. which one wishes to capture in order to make it hop and sing in a golden cage. with the general centralization of politics and religion under the Tudors--and that. The humanists were already developing a learned style within the native language." as Mr Earle contemptuously calls it. but a brave attempt. The first point we must notice. one might almost say. as one admires a wild bird of the fields. and withal a first attempt. yet it was by no means so great an innovation as it was in England. The form which this style assumed was dependent upon the circumstances which gave it birth. to assert that prose writing is an art no less than the writing of poetry. polished. as we have seen. therefore. and because though euphuism on the Continent was. Hitherto we have contented ourselves with indicating the rhetorical aspect of euphuism. about English euphuism is that it represents a tendency to confine literature within the limits of the Court--in accordance. We have seen that the Latin orators and the writers of our English homilies exercised a considerable influence over the new stylists. p. [78] Bond. and one feels inclined to believe that it was not entirely for spiritual reasons that Lyly frequently attended Dr Andrews' sermons[78]. inasmuch as the Romance literatures had always represented the aristocracy. Euphuism was no "transient phase of madness[77].CHAPTER I. precise. It was natural that rhetoricians should attract those who were desirous of writing ornamental and artistic prose. meet indeed for the "parleyings" of courtiers and maids-in-waiting. and upon the general conditions of the age. [77] Earle. and this alone should give it a claim upon students of English literature. I. Owing to the former it became erudite. Lyly and his friends utilized this learned style for the creation of an aristocratic type.
to prose. Moreover the alliteration. so the prose of the 16th century exhibited many of the characteristics of verse." It was at once the end of the mediaeval. it showed itself superior to the rival prose fashions.CHAPTER I. And here again the poetical and aristocratic tendencies . and the beginning of the modern. and consequently. [79] Raleigh. And of this general literary feature euphuism is the most conspicuous example. in addition to the excessive use of illustration and simile which characterizes arcadianism and its successors. as in the 18th century poetry was subservient. p. With their names the epoch of primitive literature. world. for in its employment of alliteration and antithesis. of which prose may be regarded as merely the overflow[79]. while it reaches its highest flights. Euphues is a model of form beside the tedious prolixity of the Arcadia. 52 "The age of Elizabeth is pre-eminently an age of poetry. is. p. gives it a musical element which its continental parallels lacked. is not a broad one[80]. The dawn of the modern epoch. and between antithesis and rhythm. 45. Thus. is due rather to the excessive quantity of its metaphor. 77. or the chaotic effusions of Nash. which is peculiar to English euphuism. I write loosely of "style." but strictly speaking the euphuists paid especial attention to diction. we can say that it partakes of the nature of verse. though we cannot say that euphuism is verse. Shakespeare and Milton were no innovators. which was the fault of the age. connected with the names of Lyly. But the future lay with the small men rather than with the great. ends. which the modern reader feels for the romance of Lyly. Sidney. and so became assimilated. which finds expression in the drama and the epic. the style of Lyly is transitional in structure as well as in ornament. [80] This touches upon the famous dispute between Dr Schwan and Dr Goodlet which is excellently dealt with by Mr Child. it displays the qualities of both. And so. In this endeavour to provide an adequate structure for the support of the mass of imagery that the taste of the age demanded. than to its pedantic style. The dividing line between alliteration and rhyme. and Nash. Indeed Pettie found it so narrow that he occasionally lapsed into metrical rhythm. the age of prose and of the novel. The weariness. on the other hand.
but Euphues received fresh publication about once every three years down to 1636.CHAPTER I. despite its splendid achievements in style. I think. Had euphuism been more successful. the finesse. that to runne on the letter we often runne from the matter: and being over prodigall in similes we become lesse profitable in sentences and more prolixious to . The exaggerations. it probably attracted the careful study of those who wished to write artistic prose. and it may well be open to question whether Lyly did not give it its true position in attempting to invent a place for it in what is called prose[81]. and for this cause it would never have produced a Flaubert. were probably discounted by the more sincere appreciation of later critics. of French prose has only been attained by centuries of attention to diction. the influence of the general qualities of its style upon later prose must have been incalculable. The beginning of this reaction is visible as early as 1589 in the words of Warner's preface to Albion's England. and this was probably a loss to our literature. For diction. which are. or become out of date. And yet. by giving us in the 16th century that quality of diction which did not become prominent in our prose until the days of Pater and the purists. which display the very affectation they protest against: "onely this error may be thought hatching in our English. until its principal lessons had been so well learnt as to pass into common-places. "Alliteration. intimately bound up with the fortunes of Puritanism. "is often condemned as a flaw in rhymed verse. and that reaction against the domination of poetry. The vogue of euphuism as a craze was brief. and is also more prominent in the prose of Court literature than elsewhere. though it failed in this particular. The precision. 53 of euphuism show themselves. the subtlety. English prose. which first gave it fame. to whom its more sterling qualities would appeal. The only model of prose form which the age possessed could scarcely sink into oblivion. the musical properties of euphuism do not appear to have found favour among those critics. which is the art of selection. is of course one of the first essentials of poetic art. For some reason." as Professor Raleigh remarks. it might have altered the whole aspect of later English prose. on the other hand. the selection of apt words." Possibly its failure in this respect was due to the growth of that intellectual asceticism. and long after its social popularity had become a thing of the past. is singularly lacking in this quality.
His very illustrations were subject to the restraint which his style demanded. antithesis and the use of balanced sentences came to stay. "here and there lyke Strawberries. Finally. to use his own metaphor. Moreover. With euphuism. but his successors had only to discover a means of skilfully concealing the structure.--incoherence by reason of an overwhelming display of ornament." But. Subsequent writers had much to learn from a book in which the principle of design is for the first time visible. As he reads . As a modern euphuist has taught us. we may notice that he was the first writer who gave special attention to the separation of his prose into paragraphs. In accordance with his desire for precision. [81] Raleigh. while alliterative antithesis reappears to-day in the shape of the epigram. Doubtless Lyly abused the antithetical device. occurs more often in his work than in the writings of any of his predecessors. with all the enthusiasm of inventors. in aiming at elegance and precision. And. Lyly made frequent use of the short sentence. with its artificial precision and lucidity. 47. Lyly attained a lucidity almost unequalled among his contemporaries. attempting to replace its artificiality by simplicity. In this we have another indication of his modernity: for the short sentence. being sown. of all poses the natural pose is the most irritating. p. We may see them in the style of Johnson and Gibbon.CHAPTER I. an improvement which the early euphuists. could not have appreciated. but really of no small importance. it was the formal rather than the musical qualities which gave Euphues its dynamical importance in the history of English prose." Arcadianism came as a reaction against euphuism. to the conscious artlessness of Sidney's Arcadia. however this may be. 54 sense. His attention to form saved him from the besetting sin of Elizabethan prose. But how infinitely more preferable is the novel of Lyly. in reference to the same question of lucidity. which is so characteristic of English prose style to-day. lyke Hoppes[82]. not in heapes. with its interminable sentences and confused syntax.--a matter apparently trivial.[83]" And this is in itself sufficient to indicate the influence which Lyly's novel has exerted upon English prose. it is a remarkable fact that the number of words to be found in Euphues which have since become obsolete is a very small one--"at most but a small fraction of one per cent.
55 it.CHAPTER I. [83] Child. but. writes his latest editor. an impression not to be obtained from a perusal of the plays. who showed us that a writer. we may add." The direct influence of the man who first taught us this lesson. which he and his friends had been the first to discover. More acute than their contemporaries. 220. his associates). men are found to write prose with the purpose of fascinating and enticing the reader. euphuism. were strength. For the first time in the history of our literature. The euphuists perceived the problem of style. 41. p. "grasped the fact that in prose no less than in poetry. not merely by what is said. must have been something quite beyond computation. p. but also to study the mind of his reader. But the true value of Lyly's prose lies not so much in what it achieved as in what it attempted. brilliancy. by its insistence upon design and elegance. was itself a failure. They were right in addressing themselves to . The explanation is simple enough. they realised the principle of economy. should seek not merely to express himself. [82] Euphues. for the qualities. And that his direct influence was not more lasting was due. which euphuism. Euphues was dynamical. the plays were not. to be successful. they were themselves unable to appreciate what their discovery would lead to. or in the ingenuity of phrasing. in the first place. "Lyly" (and. while bestowing immense benefits upon those who came after. pleasure quite other than that derivable from the acquisition of fresh knowledge[84]. but also by the manner of saying it. the reader demanded to be led onward by a succession of half imperceptible shocks of pleasure in the beauty and vigour of diction. really aimed at. As with most first attempts. Euphues was. if we may so call it. as with one who makes an entirely new mechanical invention. to the fact that he had not grasped the full significance of this psychological aspect of style. and refinement. The plays were not read or absorbed by their author's contemporaries and successors. in sentence after sentence--pleasure inseparable from that caused by a perception of the nice adaptation of words to thought. no one can avoid being struck by the modernity of its language. but successfully attacked only one half of it. In the domain of style.
which saw the last issue of the series of Euphues reprints. and art. in spite of its priceless pioneer work.CHAPTER I. could already show seven centuries of development. prose in this country. that book was superseded and forgotten in its own days. and the history of the eighteenth century. and stimulating. As it was. [85] H. The attempt to throw Court dress over the plain homespun of our English prose might have been attended with success. by Ronsard and his Pleiad. pointed antithesis. and. they "considered only those causes of force in language which depend upon economy of the mental energies. It is our duty to give it its full meed of recognition. while the Frenchman worked strictly within its limits. [84] Bond. but we can understand and forgive the ungratefulness of its contemporaries. has already been suggested. Essays. and such like attempts to induce pleasurable mental sensations." they paid no attention to "those which depend upon the economy of the mental sensibilities[85]. 56 the task of attracting. at the same period. had our literature been younger and more easily led astray. many strokes overthrow the tallest oak. The soft drops of rain pierce the hard marble. Another cause of the oblivion which so soon overtook the famous Elizabethan novel. II. of Style. is the history of the collapse of this centralization all along the . and of the speed with which. Euphuism was after all only part of the general tendency of the age to focus everything that was good in politics. moreover. on the person and immediate surroundings of the sovereign. and much monotony will tire the readiest reader. Euphuism was too antagonistic to the general current of English prose to be successful. Or. where Ronsard succeeded in poetry. but they forgot that anyone must eventually grow weary under the influence of continuous excitation without variation." This is one explanation of the weariness with which Euphues fills the modern reader. Spencer. religion. 146. Phil. Lyly and his Oxford clique were attempting a revolution similar to that undertaken. Lyly failed in prose. to use the phraseology of a somewhat more recent scientist. because he endeavoured to go back upon tradition. p. when euphuism invaded it. I. the reader by means of precision. development along the broad and national lines of common or vulgar speech.
the eternally recurrent strife between David and the Philistines. Yet this difference does not prevent us from seeing curious points of similarity between our own and those times. They worshipped they knew not what. for it is impossible to give them an exact answer which admits of no dispute. and the result is extravagance. The age of Lyly was far more complex than ours. The 16th. But the very splendour of the Renaissance was due to the fact that in the same group. we know what we worship. with all our artistic sects and schisms. with admiration or contempt. and we wear the labels proudly. were to be found the most diverse ideals and the most opposite methods. and the spectators watch. No history of its origin and its influence can be completely satisfactory: such questions must of necessity receive a speculative and tentative solution. whether he be armed with epigram and sunflower. and whether the young hero be clad in the knee-breeches of aestheticism. As Symonds wrote. 57 line. ending in the complete vindication of the democratic basis of English life and literature. With these general remarks we must leave the subject of euphuism. Troubled by reminiscences from the past and by reciprocal influences from one another. "The romantic art of the modern world did not spring like that of Greece from an ungarnered field of flowers. A wave of intellectual dandyism seems to sweep over the face of literature. or the slashed doublet of the courtier. in the same artist. aristocratic in its aims and sympathies. exhibited their adolescent vigour with affected graces and showed themselves senile in their cradles. . like the 19th century. Our ideals are classified with almost scientific exactness. variation of costume cannot conceal the identity of his personality--the personality of the fop of culture. the literatures of modern Europe came into existence with composite dialects and obeyed confused canons of taste. Then are the battle lines drawn up." In the field of literature to-day the standards are more numerous. The cry of art for art's sake is raised. or with euphuism and camomile. but more distinctive. was a period of revolt from the past: and at such moments men feel a supreme contempt for the common-place in literature.CHAPTER I. euphuism. the currents of literary influence were multitudinous and extremely involved. than those of the Elizabethans.
the more we study those 50 or 60 years which embrace the so-called Elizabethan period. the feeling of being present at a fancy-dress ball. Euphues is no less important as a novel than as a piece of prose. indeed. We can. Modern science. the more are we struck by the fact that. The English Novel. The birth of modern literature was so sudden. None I think have done more to make amends in this direction than Professor Raleigh and M. Among these the novel cut but an insignificant figure. To these two books the present writer owes a debt which all must feel who have stood bewildered upon the threshold of Elizabeth's Court with its glittering throng of genius and wit. Like the peal of an organ with a thousand stops. and the latter in his well-known work on The English Novel in the time of Shakespeare. 58 CHAPTER II. THE FIRST ENGLISH NOVEL. ever since. and penetrating little book. even in the cradle. however. It can scarcely be said that Lyly has yet been thoroughly appreciated as a novelist. shaking its beautiful sombre walls and filling it from floor to roof with wild. because the problem of Euphues is much simpler and more straightforward than the problem of euphuism. the whole subject of the Elizabethan novel is very far from having received a satisfactory treatment at present. pagan music.CHAPTER II. sat like pages at the feet of the Great Queen. its life. was so complex that it baffles criticism. This is not surprising when we consider that the last word remains to be said upon the Elizabethan drama. Jusserand. we have been simply making variations upon the themes. the former in his graceful. although it was the novel which had perhaps the longest future before it. modern drama. Despite the disproportionate attention given to euphuism by so many of Lyly's critics. while reading it. Indeed. dismiss this second branch of our subject in fewer words. . so skilfully does he detect the forms and faces of present-day fiction behind euphuistic mask and beneath arcadian costume. which the men of those times gave us. which gives one. the English Renaissance seemed to break the stillness of the great mediaeval church. humorous. We need not wonder therefore that our first English novelist has been treated by many with neglect. modern poetry.
first appeared in prose dress from the printing-press of Caxton's successor. For some reason. and his successors this Renaissance was carried home. before Euphues. which. of which Chaucer had made ample use.--and all three are of foreign extraction. falls into three divisions. as it were.CHAPTER II. before discussing the character and fortunes of the infant. by the industrious Caxton himself. let us devote a few introductory remarks to pedigree. lost much of that indescribable flavour of direct simplicity and gracious sweetness which breathes from the pages of Aucassin and Nicolette and its companion Amis and Amile. With Lyly the English novel came into being. the romance of chivalry. And so. both the romance of chivalry and the novella are to be traced back to French sources. 59 Sudden. printed. for just as it is possible to trace the German Reformation back. however. it must not be forgotten that the dragon's teeth had first been sown in mediaeval soil. translations from the Gesta Romanorum. Nor was the fabliau the only article of French production which found a new and more stimulative home across the Alps. the novella. and the moral Court treatise. as everyone knows. to die--so subtle is the ebb and flow of intellectual influences between country and country. Chaucer indeed is a mine of material suitable for the novel. so French critics have delighted to point out that the Italian Renaissance itself was but an expansion of an earlier Renaissance in France. had become thoroughly naturalized in Italy. at our period. to its birth in Wycliff's England. as was this crop of warriors wielding pen. as I think we may. The novella. and his Canterbury Tales have no appreciable influence upon the later prose story. Certainly. that is to say. Wynkyn de Worde. the best romance of chivalry belonging to the Charlemagne cycle. through Huss. the prose narrative in England. but that child of his genius was not without ancestry or relations. from the Arthurian cycle. under the auspices of Boccaccio. The Dutch printer had also published Lord Berners' translation of Huon of Bordeaux. Roughly speaking. if we neglect. but the father of English literature elected to write in verse. they are represented in England by translations only. before the dawn of the 16th century Malory had already given us Morte D'Arthur. Under Charles VIII. for all the strength and maturity it gained under its new conditions. In England the novella. the mediaeval prose narrative seems to have been confined to the so-called Celtic races. had originally sprung from the fabliaux of 13th century France. which. we may say that the prose narrative appeared in . Thus. But.
The taste of the age began to find these foreign dishes. For the first time our country became civilized in the full meaning of that word. in open mans slaughter. The first cause of their fall in the social scale was the disapprobation of the humanists. in which godliness was not thought incompatible with refinement of culture and graciousness of bearing. and the knight. But there were social as well as moral reasons for the depreciation of Malory and Boccaccio. attacks the romance of chivalry from the moral point of view. 60 England simultaneously with the printing-press." But he holds the novella even in greater abhorrence. which Caxton began." [86] Schoolmaster. 80. The two latter never indeed lost their popularity during the Elizabethan age. So slight was the thread of narrative running through this book. if not unpalatable. England was fortunate in receiving the Reformation and the Renaissance at the same time. for. Of the third form of prose narrative--the moral Court treatise--we have already said something. at least not sufficiently delicate. Ascham. at the same time cunningly associating it with "Papistrie. in fact Caxton deprived the minstrel of his occupation. a fact which is more than coincidence. p. but they had ceased to be considered respectable--a very different thing--before that age began. and therefore it was now possible to dispense with the aid of verse. and our connexion with it came from the latter country. echoing Plato's condemnation of Homer. through Berners' translation of the Golden Boke of Guevara. after declaring that the whole pleasure of the Morte D'Arthur "standeth in two speciall poyntes. And yet in comparison with its importance in this respect the novella and the romance of chivalry are quite insignificant. and bold bawdrye.CHAPTER II. shedding the armour of . and the men of those "spacious times" set before their eyes that ideal of the courtier. so exquisitely embodied by Sir Philip Sidney. decreased the necessity for remembering tales. made in Italy and translated in England[86]." he goes on to say: "and yet ten Morte Arthurs do not a tenth part so much harm as one of those bookes. It had appeared in Italy and in Spain. that one would imagine at first sight that it could have little to do with the history of our novel. since the multiplication of books.
Pliny. became the gentleman. their own affectations. themselves. in the sense that he held." It was perhaps not so much that the old stories found little response in the new form of society. in the stories they read. In this sense if in no other. as to its contents. and Ovid. clothed in velvet and silk. Our author's debt to the Spaniard is seen in a correspondence between many parts of his book and the Aureo Libro. purged of mediaevalism and modernised by the hands of Sidney himself. Arcadia remained an undiscovered country. and for that he had no other models but the Italians. as that they did not reflect that society. however. and it seemed for a time doomed to destruction until it received a new lease of life. While. became old-fashioned. pieced together from the classics." Something perhaps of the atmosphere of the novella clung about its pages. under the guise of arcadianism. but that was only to be expected: Lyly added incident to the bare scheme of discourses. as was Pettie's Pallace on the side of style. We may well believe that the taste for mirrors. and especially Plutarch." has certainly been shown by Mr Bond to be a gross overstatement. was but one among many previous writers to whom Lyly owed obligations. 61 barbarism. is a mere imitation of Guevara's enlarged biography of Marcus Aurelius. but Euphues itself. But Guevara was his real source. and in many other ways which Mr Bond has patiently noted[87]. Lyly must be called the first of English novelists. and Gascoigne. The romance of chivalry. which now became so fashionable. The Anatomy of Wit. and if this indeed be what is meant by realism in literature that quality in the novel dates from those days. yet there can be no doubt that the Diall of Princes was Lyly's model on the side of matter. Heywood. found its psychological parallel in the desire of the Elizabethans to discover their own fashions." being in fact a mosaic. names that indicate the course of literary "browsing" that Lyly substituted . however. which it is most important to distinguish from its sequel. therefore. Euphues was justly styled by its author "compiled. Fortescue. was the descendant in the direct line from the "moral Court treatise. in certain of the concluding letters and discourses. Dr Landmann's verdict. a polished mirror before contemporary life and manners. for the first time. and from previous English writers such as Harrison. the needs of the age were supplied by the "moral Court treatise. Guevara. that "Euphuism is not only adapted from Guevara's alto estilo.CHAPTER II.
is not concluded until Euphues has given us his own views. I. and it is enlivened by a thin thread of narrative. by forming an ardent friendship with Philautus. "most necessary to remember. a lady. To mention all the authors from whom he borrowed. We should be in sympathy with the rude answer of Euphues. The hero Euphues is a young man lately come from Athens. beginning "Gentleman and friend. though it is the old moral treatise. its form is new. now enters the stage of this Court morality and proceeds to deliver a long harangue upon the folly of youth." are ever present in the author's mind. which is unmistakeably Oxford. For "conscience" attired as an old man. [88] Bond." The Anatomy of Wit was in the highest sense an original book. one booke (if so be that they thought it not one too many). alas. together with those of half antiquity. [87] Bond." of startling if somewhat factitious beauty." The story thus opens bravely. were it but curt at the same time. concluding with much excellent though obvious counsel. pp. pp. it covers six pages. which is just as unmistakeably London. Eubulus. and to point out the portions of his novel which are due to their several influences. to discern the difference between the "faith of Laelius and the flattery of Aristippus." This alliance. but the words of the title-page. Having thus imprudently crushed the "wisdom of eld" by the weight of his utterance. if we are to believe the description of her "Lilly cheeks dyed with a Vermilion red. By Philautus he is introduced to Lucilla. To say that the plot now . that "they used not only one boorde but one bed. but. 62 for the ordinary curriculum at Oxford. for. 156-159. where he is wise enough to distinguish between friend and parasite." and has been as formally accepted. 154-156.CHAPTER II. would only be to repeat a task already accomplished by Mr Bond[88]. however. Here he soon becomes the centre of a convivial circle. and before we have reached the fourth page the sermon is upon us. or before he has formally professed his affection in a pompous address. Allowing for all its author's "picking and stealing. I. the chief female character of the book. to Naples. of so close a nature. our hero shows his natural preference for the companionship and counsel of youth. upon the subject of friendship.
awaits the faithless Euphues. sufficiently proved by the fact that in the second part of his novel. the destined bride of Philautus. is subject to a mild form of erotomania and is constitutionally fickle. struck down in the hour of his pride and passion. as did his acquaintance Gosson. so that before her new lover has begun to realise his bliss she has already contracted a passion for some other young gentleman. That he moralized not so much from conviction as from convention (to use a euphuism). and a refutation of atheism. which he has so long neglected. and so amid the thunders of the artillery of platitude the first part of Euphues closes. possessed the Nonconformist conscience: "Beneath the courtier's slashed doublet. swift and sudden. the pulpit strain is much less frequent. is. consisting of letters. and he employed it because he knew that it was expected of him. while in his plays it entirely disappears. and the former friends exchange letters of recrimination. This is the turning-point of the book. inasmuch as Euphues falls in love with Lucilla. Certainly Euphues does not prove that Puritanism was latent in him. As we shall later see reason to suppose." This I believe to be a mistaken view of the case. But Nemesis. Lucilla. under his ornate brocade and frills." and bethinks himself of his soul. their embittered feelings are concealed beneath a vast display of classical learning. Professor Raleigh's explanation of this tedious moralizing is that Lyly. Euphues becomes "a changed man. including A Cooling Carde for all Fond Lovers. for infinite moralizings in euphuistic strains. The Anatomy of Wit is essentially the work of an inexperienced writer. and without sufficient skill or courage to dispense . a very seriously-minded person. it becomes slightly tinged with incident. The remainder of the Anatomy of Wit is taken up with what may be described as the private papers of Euphues. and the double fickleness of mistress and friend forms an excellent opportunity. She reciprocates his passion. it turns out. The moral atmosphere which pervades it was not of Lyly's invention. in which.CHAPTER II. feeling his way towards a public. 63 thickens would be to use too coarse a word. essays. where he is addressing a new public. I think. a treatise on education. and dialogues. he inherited it from his predecessors Guevara and Castiglione. the turning-point of half the English novels written since Lyly's day. there stood the Puritan. Philautus is naturally indignant at the turn affairs have taken. which Lyly does not fail to seize. Lyly never became. Thus. however. wit and euphuist.
we have every reason to suppose that this little treatise was a labour of love. and. we fear. But in addition to this there are contributions of Lyly's own invention to the theory of teaching which are not without merit. What has just been said is not entirely applicable to the treatise on education which passed under the title of Euphues and his Ephoebus. there is little to be said for it from the aesthetic point of view. the plot puerile. Certainly. side by side with Roger Ascham. as M. interested in education. that Lyly was himself conscious that his hero was an insufferable coxcomb. while reading the book. Although simply an adaptation of the De Educatione of Plutarch. it cannot strictly be called a novel at all. Here we find the famous attack upon Oxford. when we turn to this aspect of the Anatomy of Wit. it was not entirely devoid of originality. It was a great step to hang the chestnuts of discourse upon a string of incident. but it was something to have a story and a plot which dealt with contemporary life. which was. 10. [89] Bond.CHAPTER II. as we have seen. Jusserand asserts. in his Educational Reformers. It may be. The story is feeble. that Lyly anticipated Richardson. prompted by a desire to spite the University authorities rather than by any earnest feeling of moral condemnation. p. enough remains over to justify Mr Quick's inclusion of John Lyly. 64 with the conventions which he has inherited from previous writers. if the light-hearted Oxford madcap had any qualities in common with the sedate bookseller. though characterization is not even attempted. artistic sincerity was not one of them. yet now and again these euphuistic puppets. But such excellent work has but little to do with the business of novel-writing. I. when we have allowed everything for Plutarch's work. but. as such. and. distinguishable only . therefore. and that he only created him because he wished to comply with the public taste. and. Possibly Ascham's Schoolmaster inspired him with the idea of writing it. Indeed. He was. It is the bridge between the moral Court treatise and the novel. And lastly. all its aesthetic defects matter little in comparison with its dynamical value. It seems even possible that he had actually practised as a master before the Euphues saw light[89]. One feels.
Two years only elapsed between their respective publications. Mr Bond suggests that the general attention which the Anatomy secured by its attacks upon women gave Lyly the idea for the second part. are inspired with something that is almost life by a phrase or a chance word. Side by side with the ideal of the . in the same book. while in the second he brings his hero to England. Here in the same writer. already forming in his brain. and in none more so than in the change of dedication. the English novel had ceased to be merely potential. In 1580. because all the conditions were ripe for its production. was an important one for us. however.CHAPTER II. made an appeal to a very different class of readers. Lyly saw that to succeed he must enlist the ladies on his side. "Hatch the egges his friendes had laid" he certainly did. almost. we may observe one of the most momentous changes of modern literature in actual process. on the other hand. had made great strides. as was only fitting in a moral Court treatise. but in these two years Lyly. but he fed the chicks upon a patent food of his own invention. and with him our novel. which provoked the stomach of Philautus sore. for it had come into being with the appearance of Euphues and his England. And the experiment was so successful that I am inclined to attribute the pre-eminence of Lyly among other euphuists to this fact alone. Euphues and his England. The difference between the two parts is remarkable in more ways than one. Lyly unconsciously symbolizes the change he initiated by laying the scene of his first part in Italy. was inscribed to the gentleman readers. I have said that it is very important to distinguish between the two parts of Euphues." With the instinct. as we have just shown. though this was probably the immediate cause of his change of front. coloured by the influence of the Italian novella. of a religious reformer. But. The Anatomy of Wit. In 1578 he was not yet a novelist. Euphues and his England is the first English novel. That sea voyage. and within the space of two years. something like Euphues and his England must have come sooner or later. since the freight of the vessel was nothing less than our English novel. 65 by their labels. though the conception of the novel and the capacity for its creation were. The Anatomy of Wit is still the moral Court treatise. and a class which had hitherto been neglected by authors--"the ladies and gentlewomen of England.
but its continued existence down to our own day. and this dedication may be taken as a general one for all novels since Lyly's time. This want was only partially supplied by the moral Court treatise. Something was needed which would appeal at once to the feminine taste for learning and to the desire for delicacy and refinement. 66 courtier had arisen the ideal of the cultured lady. as Euphues and his England. indeed. when a Queen came to the throne who could talk Greek at Cambridge. What was required was a book expressly provided for the eye of ladies--such a book. wives. as some gentlemen would read a merie tale in Bocase[90]". visiting Lady Jane Grey. and sisters to deny themselves the pleasure of fiction? The very question would send the blood from Mr Mudie's lips. where the fair sex had not yet acquired such freedom as in England. therefore. The novel. to the "ladies and gentlewomen of England". . Doubtless Boccaccio may have found a place in many a lady's secret bookshelf as Zola and Guy de Maupassant do perchance to-day." against which John Knox blew his rude trumpet so shamelessly. at least in part. to feminine influences. The romance of chivalry and the Italian tale would be still more distasteful to the new woman than they were to the new courtier. Lyly's discovery of this new literary public and its requirements was of great importance. for have not the ladies ever since his day been the patrons and purchasers of the novel? What would happen to the literary market to-day were our mothers.CHAPTER II. and. all the ladies of the Court would at least lay claim to a certain amount of learning. The two thousand and odd novels which are published annually in this country show the existence of a large leisured class in our community. Dr Landmann has attributed the vogue of euphuism. but he was scarcely suitable for the boudoir table or for polite literary discussion. is seen not so much in the style of Euphues as in its contents. but in so far as England shared that affectation with the other Courts of Europe. the fashion of learning for ladies must have received an immense impetus. The importance in English literature of that "monstrous regiment of women. in the second part of that work euphuism is much less prominent than in the first. we must not press the point too much in this direction. which was ostensibly written for the courtier and not the maid-in-waiting. and this class is undoubtedly the feminine one. With a "blue stocking" showing on the royal footstool. "founde her in her chamber reading Phaedon Platonis in Greeke and that with as much delite. in fact. owes not only its birth. Ascham.
in abler hands. he now dares to be original. p. p. then to sowe in a clout. having gained confidence by his first success. All the faults of its predecessor are present in Euphues and his England. 220. and the literature of the drawing-room is to all intents and purposes the novel. "after dinner you may overlooke him to keepe you from sleepe. to bring you to sleepe . 67 "Euphues. who have come to terms on a basis of common condemnation of Lucilla." remarks M. "commences in England the literature of the drawing-room[92]". 5. we may however notice as a sign of progress that Euphues has substituted a moral narrative for his usual discourse. The euphuistic garb and the mantle of the prophet Guevara sit more lightly upon our author. ever ready to play the preacher now that he has ceased to be the warning. and pricke your fingers when you begin to nod[91]. 47.." . which evokes the impatient exclamation of Philautus already quoted. In every way his movements are freer and bolder. when you be willing to winke. p. but they are not so conspicuous. even for a modern reader. delivers himself of a lengthy. Jusserand. "had rather lye shut in a Ladye's casket than open in a scholar's studie. The relations between the two friends have become distinctly amusing. "Where pinched ascetic and red sensualist Alternately recurrent freeze and burn. but highly edifying tale. [90] Schoolmaster. have resulted in comic situation.." "With Euphues. Euphues." and he continues. having learnt the lesson of the burnt child. and might." he writes. [92] Jusserand. [91] Euphues. or if you be heavie. it were better to hold Euphues in your hands though you let him fall. Extremes met. By way of enlivening the weary hours.CHAPTER II. At its opening Euphues and Philautus. is now a very grave person. proud of his own experience and of its fruits in himself. our hero. are discovered on their way to England. The story becomes at times quite interesting.
he makes it his continuous duty.CHAPTER II. in accordance with the prophecies of Euphues though much to his disgust. To those who have conscientiously read the whole history of Euphues up to this point." Having reached the Court. The tale ended and the voyage over. The old gentleman. and recovered their healths. though undeveloped. falls in love. and to enlarge upon the infidelity of the opposite sex. is here present for the first time in our national prose story." because I consider that this sympathy was nothing but a pose which he considered necessary for the popularity of his book. very different from his prototype Eubulus. if not pleasure. however. after applying in vain to an Italian magician for a love-philtre. for he lays for a time the ghost of homily. by name Surius. And. . and so misses an opportunity which would have delighted the heart of Thackeray. but he is no rebel like Manfred because he finds consolation in his own pre-eminence in a world of platitude. I say "appears. doubtless because he is here drawing upon his memory[93] and not his imagination. The lady of his choice. Lyly failed to realise the possibilities of this antagonism of character. our friends arrive in England. at which place they fell in with an old man named Fidus. where after stopping at Dover "3 or 4 days. Conscious of his dearly bought wisdom. It seems to me. because he always appears to be in sympathy with his hero. his misogyny. has unfortunately given her heart to another. 68 and it is interesting to note that Euphues embodies many of the characteristics of the Byronic hero--his sententiousness. the incident of Fidus will appear immensely refreshing." they proceeded to Canterbury. in due time Philautus. in fact. who was at least human. to rebuke the over-amorous Philautus. who gave them entertainment for body and mind. It is important however to observe that the idea of one character as a foil to another. although he checks the action of the story for thirty-three pages. The despondent lover. we are sorry to take leave of this "fatherlye and friendlye sire". and tells the graceful story of his love with a charm that is almost natural. which reappears directly his guests begin to "forme their steppes towards London. and his rhetorical flatulency. until they had digested ye seas. to mark the highest point of Lyly's skill as a novelist. his cynicism born of disillusionment. at length determines to adopt the bolder line of writing to his scornful lady. moves quite humanly among his bees and flowers.
Now and again we seem trembling on the brink of humour. Camilla. where the principal characters of both sexes meet together and discuss the philosophy of love and the psychology of ladies. and perhaps "the Violet" the attempt was nearly if not quite successful. being an imitation of Plato's symposium. 69 The letter is conveyed in a pomegranate. not so successfully as here. to describe one in the house of Lucilla of the Anatomy of Wit. but the situations are often well thought out and treated with dramatic effect. Iffida. that move in Lyly's second novel are no longer clothes filled with moral sawdust. and remains behind with "his Violet" in England. The character of Philautus is especially well drawn. The story and plot are still weak. and in the case of Philautus. and in the story of Fidus it moves comparatively quickly. The upshot is that Philautus eventually finds a maiden who is unattached and who is ready to return love for love. Such motion of course can scarcely ruffle the mental waters of those accustomed to the breathless whirlwinds which form the heart of George Meredith's novels. [93] Mr Bond thinks it a picture of Lyly's father. though at times blurred and indistinct. returns to Athens. while Euphues. less happy than self-satisfied. and the incident of its presentation is prettily conceived and displays a certain amount of dramatic power. It was much to have attempted characterization. The interest of the latter half of the book centres round the house of Lady Flavia. The action indeed is slow. It is noticeable that for one who was afterwards to become a writer of comedy. In every way Euphues and his England is an improvement upon its predecessor. as was the storm that overtook Ahab's chariot to the little cloud undiscerned by the prophet's eye. . But a criticism which would be applicable to Dickens is no condemnation of an Elizabethan pioneer. that is of portraying one aspect and an obvious one of such a complex thing as human nature. Lyly had not yet passed the stage of creating types. but these whirlwinds are as directly traceable to the gentle but fitful agitation of Euphues. but it moves.CHAPTER II. Such intellectual gatherings were a recognised institution at Florence at this time. The figures. when the young wiseacre is brought into contact with his weak-hearted friend. again. Her he marries. Lyly shows a remarkable absence of humour in these novels. and Lyly had already attempted.
Of old it had treated of deeds and glorious prowess for the sake of honour. and feel the dawning empire of the fan. had nothing of the risible in it. for walking-sword and pumps and silk stockings. and Mrs Humphry Ward are sufficient to show how entirely successful a woman may be in delineating the life around her. and what is perhaps of more importance still. "We change lance and war-horse. The alteration in the face of social life. If there is any truth in this generalization. a masculine conception. or more often for the sake of some anaemic damsel. "whereby man is able to live in the past and in the future in the distant and in the unreal. The names of Jane Austen. the glove. not in its actual achievement. The mediaeval conception of women. the flowing robe. They delight in novelty. At the first expression of this change in literature Euphues and his England is of the very greatest . But the importance of Euphues was in its influence. the conception of man undergoes transformation also. We forget the filletted brows and wind-blown hair." as Macaulay expresses it. 70 but the line is seldom actually crossed. their minds are of a practical cast. the sandalled or buskined feet. And here again we must reassert the significance of Lyly's appeal to women. and France were at this period under the rule of three ladies of strong character. feminine. it was no mere coincidence that the first English romance dealing with contemporary life was written expressly for the ladies of Elizabeth's Court. Wit. the high-heeled shoe.--with the very feelings and hearts of the lovers. the bonnet. This change is first expressed by Lyly in his second novel and later in his dramas. its scene is shifted from the battlefield and the lists to the lady's boudoir. the zone. as Lyly here understood it. was inevitably attended with great changes in literature. it becomes a novel. now it deals with the passion itself and not its knightly manifestations." is rarely found in the opposite sex. the English story becomes subjective.CHAPTER II. "That noble faculty. Scotland. In other words under the auspices of Elizabeth and her maids of honour. George Eliot. brought about by the recognition of the feminine claim and hastened no doubt by the fact that England. for it meant to him little more than a graceful handling of obvious themes. now underwent feminine correction. and the parasol[94]": in fact we enter into the modern world. the petticoat. and their interests almost invariably lie in the present. The result is that the centre of gravity of the story is now shifted.
we find these emotions at work under the restraint of social conditions. Its latent possibilities were however not perceived by the writers of the 16th century. The style which had in part won popularity for it so speedily was the cause also of its equally speedy decline. And. but we may truthfully say that his Euphues and his England is the psychological novel in germ. The relation between these unwritten laws of our social constitution and the impetuous ardour of the lover. the violent torrent of passion checked and confined by the demands of etiquette and the conventions of aristocratic life. meet together in some lady's house to discuss the subject so dangerous to both. intense. and conversation conditioned by this fact inevitably becomes subtle. Lyly's work does not exhibit quite such modernity as this. The . 161. We are shown the private emotions. In the days of chivalry. p. [94] Bond. outwardly at peace but inwardly armed to the teeth. he gives at the conclusion of his book that interesting description of Elizabethan England entitled A glasse for Europe. Like a fossil in the stratum of euphuism it was soon covered up by the artificial layer of arcadianism. though its loose and meandering style marked a reaction against euphuism. The subtleties of passion are now realised for the first time. allusive. The novel of Sidney. carried on the Lylian tradition in its appeal to ladies. Characters in fiction now for the first time move before a background of everyday life and discuss matters of everyday importance. for it derives its light and shade from the flicker of that fire which the company finds such a perilous fascination in playing with. the secret alternations of hope and despair which agitate the breasts of man and maid. I. 71 interest. more important still. and.CHAPTER II. woman was the passive object either of hunt or of rescue. Persons of both sexes. as if Lyly wished to leave no doubt as to his aims and methods. has formed the main theme of our modern love stories in the novel and on the stage. but the scene of battle being shifted to the boudoir she can demand her own conditions with the result that the game becomes infinitely more refined and intricate. when love ran wild in the woods. It is however in Lyly's treatment of the subject of love that the change is most conspicuous.
a book which received so many editions cannot have been entirely without effect upon the minds of its readers and upon the literature of the age. we cannot in fact point to Lyly as the first of a definite series. although we can rest assured that he exercised a considerable influence upon later writers. Its importance for us lies in the fact that we can realise how it anticipated the novel of the 18th and 19th centuries. Sidney. Not until the days of Richardson is it possible to detect a Lylian flavour in English fiction. As a novelist. and it is quite impossible to determine its value. And indeed we may say this not only of Euphues but of Elizabethan fiction as a whole. in providing moral food for its own generation. . the stream of English literature. as we remarked of Lyly's prose. however. Euphues passed through. and of these the majority preferred to read poetry. Lyly was only of secondary dynamical importance. by which I mean that. The public to which a 16th century novel would appeal was a small one. and Nash must have been for the most part confined to the Court. The novel like its style coloured. And yet. a phenomenon which is not seen in the drama. the circle of those who appreciated Lyly. in no way so modern as the Euphues. And this accounts for the brevity of their popularity and for its intensity while it lasted. lies for that very reason more directly in the line of development[95].CHAPTER II. 72 Arcadia. the latter's influence is not visible until the eighteenth century. and even here it would be risky to insist too pointedly on any inference that might be drawn from the coincidence of an abridged form of Euphues being republished (after almost a century's oblivion) twenty years before the appearance of Pamela. we cannot actually trace this influence at work. Drama was the natural form of literature in an age when most people were illiterate and yet when all were eager for literary entertainment. A direct literary connexion between Lyly and Richardson seems out of the question: and the utmost we can say with certainty is that the novel of the latter. Few people in those days could read. therefore. but did not deflect. relieved the 18th century reader of the necessity of going back to the Elizabethan writer for the entertainment he desired. could have been little more than suggestive and indirect. while the former is linked by the heroical romance of the seventeenth century to the romance of this day. as we have seen. This influence. a considerable number of editions. and though. for the age. if we except its immediate Elizabethan imitators. and which is due to the susceptibility of Court life to sudden changes of fashion. for.
Realising then the inevitable limitations which surrounded our English fiction at its birth we can understand its infantile imperfections and the subsequent arrest of its development. "The novel held in Elizabeth's time very much the same place as was held by the drama at the Restoration." [96] Raleigh. and the same pitfall waylaid both. tributary. 73 Drama was therefore the main current of artistic production. 57. it was an essentially aristocratic entertainment. almost an insignificant. both were supplied with what satisfied them in an elaborate confection of husks[96]. Dryden's audiences and the readers of Euphues both sought for better bread than is made of wheat. the prose novel being quite a minor. the pitfall of artificiality.CHAPTER II. p. . He writes Arcadia for Euphues but the substitution is legitimate. [95] It was Sidney and Nash who set the fashion for the 17th century.
in order to show more clearly how Lyly's dramatic bent was formed. we need not be surprised that this was so. But it is scarcely necessary to stretch a point here since we know from the Anatomy of Wit that Lyly was a student of Edwardes' comedies[98]. and how her Majesty "laughed heartily thereat and gave the author great thanks for his pains". and in part to expand those remarks. LYLY THE DRAMATIST. had long before the days of Lyly favoured the comic muse. form quite a small section of his work. Anthony à Wood tells us how Richard Edwardes in 1566 produced at that University his play Palamon and Arcite. the task of investigating his comedies is altogether simpler and more straightforward. It would be well however at this juncture to recapitulate. And from what I have said of his life at Oxford and his connexion with de Vere. greatly outweigh his novel both in aesthetic and historical importance. Again. in the production of which he spent the better part of his life.CHAPTER III. though they are his most famous. So far we have been dealing with those of Lyly's writings. Seats of learning. To attempt to estimate Lyly's position as a novelist and as a prose writer is to chase the will-o'-the-wisp of theory over the morass of uncertainty. William Gager. as we shall see presently. which. our chief authorities. we come out upon the great highway of Elizabethan art--the drama. and exerted an influence upon later writers which may have been considerable but was certainly indirect. as to the order in which Lyly wrote his plays[97]. His plays on the other hand. There is a difference of opinion between Mr Bond and Mr Baker. when Lyly entered Magdalen College. was a dramatist. and Mr Bond for Campaspe. But though Mr Baker claims priority for Endymion. while Gosson himself tells us of comedies which he had written . After groping our way through the undergrowth of minor literature. Let us first see how Lyly himself came to tread this same pathway. 74 CHAPTER III. and Oxford was no exception to this rule. a scene which would still be fresh in men's minds five years after. both are convinced that our author was already in 1580 beginning to look to the stage as a larger arena for his artistic genius than the novel. Pettie's "dear friend" and Lyly's fellow-student.
1579. His comedies. and . of all theories of his puritanical tendencies. II. lxxxviii. probably followed the same tradition. he would naturally attract the Oxford fop. 10. 75 before 1577. aesthete. and euphuist. Edward de Vere. though unconnected with a school. p. Udall. p. Now as secretary of such a man. and affected the vices and artificialities of that country. had visited Italy. p. III. 309. laden with silks and oriental stuffs for the adornment of his chamber and his person. returning home. Burleigh's son-in-law. though now lost were placed in the same rank as those of Edwardes by the Elizabethan critic Puttenham[99]. being produced at the Christmas of 1580. [97] Baker. and in vol. [98] Bond. moreover.CHAPTER III. who being schoolmasters (and the two latter being musicians and holding positions in choir schools). He was frequently in debt and still more frequently in disgrace with the Queen and with his father-in-law. we are told. attempts to disprove Baker's contention. Like many members of the nobility in those days he maintained his own company of players. Dilettante. in my mind at least. II. For the interesting thing about him is that he also wrote comedy. and that Lyly attached himself to his clique disposes. and Lyly. Probably however it was not until he had left Oxford for London that Lyly conceived the idea of writing comedy. p. for we must attribute its original suggestion to his friend and employer the Earl of Oxford. One bond between the Earl and his secretary was their love of music--an art which played an important part in the beginning of our comedy. 238. places Endymion as early as Sept. In relieving the action of his plays by those songs of woodland beauty unmatched in literature Shakespeare was only following a custom set by his predecessors. and we find them in 1581 giving performances at Cambridge and Ipswich. Edwardes. embroidered their comedies with lyrics to be sung by the fresh young voices of their pupils. De Vere. vol. Certainly a Nonconformist conscience could not have flourished in de Vere's household. Bond. he maintains chiefly on grounds of style that Campaspe was the earliest of Lyly's plays.
he moved more freely within the Court than without. and the play would be acted. as revealed by the Euphues. Sheridan. or rather we should perhaps say that he quite unconsciously embodied it. 230 (chronological table). though he would have been quite unable to formulate it in words. In the author of Lady Windermere's Fan we have lately seen another example--the example of one whose ambition was to be "the first well-dressed philosopher in the history of thought." that Lyly owed his first dramatic impulse. was in reality at the back of Lyly's mind. we can understand how an intellect of Lyly's type. [99] Dict. an apt repartee. II. a well-turned phrase were the very breath of his nostrils." We have already touched upon this point and later we must return to it again. Biog. his whole mind was absorbed by the subtleties of language. and not to his subsequent connexion with the "children of Powles. found its ultimate expression in comedy. Comedy. p. it would be the most natural thing in the world for Lyly to try his hand at play-writing. 76 therefore in close intimacy with him. "where ideas are current and the perceptions quick. as Meredith tells us. But a purely circumstantial explanation of an important departure in a man's life will only appear satisfactory to fatalists who worship the blind god Environment. [100] Bond. his ideal was the intellectual beau. were all men of fashion first and writers of comedy after. Add to this compound the ingredient of literary ambition and the result is a comic dramatist. but rather looking at the question from a general point of view. Congreve. And without indulging in any abstruse psychological discussion." Poems. therefore.CHAPTER III. Lyly. It was to Oxford's patronage. and. . He was par excellence the product of a "social" atmosphere. since Oxford was Lord High Chamberlain. Of Nat. His appointment at the choir school of course confirmed his resolutions and thus he became the first great Elizabethan dramatist. is only possible in a civilized society. a brilliant conversation. Edward de Vere. but for the moment let us notice that this idea of comedy. if his patron approved of his efforts. for Campaspe and Sapho were produced at Court in 1582[100]. an introduction to Court could be procured. and probably also his first dramatic success..
novels, fairy stories, he gave us, but it was on the stage of comedy that he eventually found his true métier. "With Euphues," writes Mr Bond, "we enter the path which leads to the Restoration dramatists ... and in Lucilla and Camilla we are prescient of Millamant and Belinda[101]." This is very true, but the statement has a nearer application which Mr Bond misses. Camilla is the lady who moves under varied names through all Lyly's plays. The second part of Euphues and the first of Lyly's comedies are as closely connected psychologically and aesthetically, as they were in point of time. [101] Bond, I. p. 161. SECTION I. English Comedy before 1580. But when Lyly's creations began to walk the boards, the English stage was already some centuries old and therefore, in order to appreciate our author's position, a few words are necessary upon the development of our drama and especially of comedy previous to his time. Though the miracle play of our forefathers frequently contained a species of coarse humour usually put into the mouth of the Devil, who appears to have been for the middle ages very much what the "comic muse" is for us moderns, it is to the morality not to the miracle that one should look for the real beginnings of comedy as distinct from mere buffoonery. The morality was not so much an offshoot as a complement of the miracle. They stood to each other, as sermon does to service. To say therefore that the morality secularized the drama is to go too far; as well might we say that Luther secularized Christianity. What it did, however, was important enough; it severed the connexion between drama and ritual. The miracle, treating of the history of mankind from the Creation to the days of Christ, unfolded before the eyes of its audience the grand scheme of human salvation; the morality on the other hand was not concerned with historical so much as practical Christianity. Its object was to point a moral: and it did this in two ways; either as an affirmative, constructive inculcator of what life should be,--as the portrayer of the ideal; or as a negative, critical describer of the types of life actually existing,--as the portrayer of the real.
It approached more nearly to comedy in its latter function, but in both aspects it really prepared the way for the comic muse. The natural prey of comedy, as our greatest comic writer has taught us, is folly, "known to it in all her transformations, in every disguise; and it is with the springing delight of hawk over heron, hound after fox, that it gives her chase, never fretting, never tiring, sure of having her, allowing her no rest." Thus it is that characters in comedy, symbolizing as they often do some social folly, tend to be rather types than personalities. The morality, therefore, in substituting typical figures, however crude, for the mechanical religious characters of the miracle, makes an immense advance towards comedy. Moreover, the very selection of types requires an appreciation, if not an analysis, of the differences of human character, an appreciation for which there was no need in the miracle. In the morality again the action is no longer determined by tradition, and it becomes incumbent on the playwright to provide motives for the movements of his puppets. It follows naturally from this that situations must be devised to show up the particular quality which each type symbolizes. We need not enter the vexed question of the origin of plot construction; but we may notice in this connexion that the morality certainly gave us that peculiar form of plot-movement which is most suitable to comedy. To quote Mr Gayley's words: "In tragedy, the movement must be economic of its ups and downs; once headed downwards it must plunge, with but one or two vain recovers, to the abyss. In comedy, on the other hand, though the movement is ultimately upward, the crises are more numerous; the oftener the individual stumbles without breaking his neck, and the more varied his discomfitures, so long as they are temporary, the better does he enjoy his ease in the cool of the day.... Now the novelty of the plot in the moral play, lay in the fact that the movement was of this oscillating, upward kind--a kind unknown as a rule to the miracle, whose conditions were less fluid, and to the farce, which was too shallow and superficial[102]." [102] Gayley, p. lxiv. If all these claims be justifiable there can be no doubt that the morality was of the utmost importance in the history not only of comedy but of English drama as a whole. Though it was the cousin, not the child of the miracle,
though it cannot be said to have secularized our drama, it is the link between the ritual play and the play of pure amusement; it connects the rood gallery with the London theatre. When Symonds writes that the morality "can hardly be said to lie in the direct line of evolution between the miracle and the legitimate drama" we may in part agree with him; but he is quite wrong when he goes on to describe it as "an abortive side-effect, which was destined to bear barren fruit[103]." [103] Symonds, p. 199. The real secularization of the drama was in the first place probably due to classical influences--or, to be more precise, I should perhaps say, scholastic influences--and it is not until the 16th century that these influences become prominent. I say "become prominent," because Terence and Plautus were known from the earliest times, and Dr Ward is inclined to think that Latin comedy affected the earlier drama of England to a considerable extent[104], although good examples of Terentian comedy are not found until the 16th century. Humanism again comes forward as an important literary formative element. The part which the student class took in the development of European drama as a whole has as yet scarcely been appreciated. It is to scholars that the birth of the secular Drama must be attributed. Lyly, as we said, made use of his mastership for the production of his plays, but Lyly was by no means the first schoolmaster-dramatist. Schools and universities had long before his day been productive of drama; our very earliest existing saints' play or marvel was produced by a certain Geoffrey at Dunstable, "de consuetudine magistrorum et scholarum[105]." And this was only natural, seeing that at such places any number of actors is available and all are supposed to be interested in literature. It is a remarkable fact, however, and illustrative of the connexion between comedy and music, that of all places of education choir schools seem to have usurped the lion's share of drama. John Heywood, the first to break away from the tradition of the morality, was a choir boy of the Chapel Royal, and afterwards in all probability held a post there as master[106]. Heywood's brilliant, but farcical interludes are too slight to merit the title of comedy, yet he is of great importance because of his rejection of allegories and of his use of "personal types" instead of "personified
7. Merygreeke combines the vice with the Terentian rogue. Indeed." as Symonds has dubbed it. This appears. in point of time and importance. From Cambridge. that pure English comedy appears. I. a writer with whom. Dict. Next. as we do so. Secular dramas now began to multiply apace. as we have seen. of Nat. or is at least foreshadowed for the first time. still more thoroughly English than the last. But keeping our eye upon comedy. and perhaps also to the picaresque novel. and indeed scarcely rising above the level of farce. a few years after Heywood's interlude The Play of the Wether. and yet. though quite inferior as a comedy. Roister smacks of the "miles gloriosus". Udall's play remains a remarkably original production. p. Lyly was thoroughly familiar. [106] I put this interpretation upon the account of Heywood's receiving 40 shillings from Queen Mary "for pleying an interlude with his children. the comedy which is at once serious and witty. as it is a drama of English rustic life. in the . Thus far we have had nothing like the romantic comedy--the comedy of sentiment. and we must turn to Eton to discover its cradle. 80 abstractions[107]. and upon Lyly in particular as we near the date of his advent. and. we seem to be drawing very close to the end of our journey. we must now turn to Oxford. [104] Ward. the nurse of Stevenson. realistic and English. however. for Nicholas Udall's Roister Doister has every claim to rank as the first completely constructed comedy in our language--the first comedy of flesh and blood. it will be sufficient I think to mention two more names to complete the chain of development. when all is said. of love. Inasmuch. and which contains the elements of tragedy. for example in the introduction of pages." It was not until 1540. about four years after Stevenson's "first-rate screaming farce. it is directly antecedent to Mother Bombie. in the Damon and Pithias of Richard Edwardes. the play in question anticipates our author in many ways. Biog." [107] Ward. p. [105] Gayley.CHAPTER III. comes Stevenson's Gammer Gurton's Needle. xiv. Heywood..
being one of the "gentlemen of the Chapel Royal. lightly to touch All thynges to the quick." The . and eke to frame each person so That by his common talke. so closely does the one follow the other. for he describes it as "the first English comedy in every way worthy of the name. II. englished by George Gascoigne[109]. in sentiment as well as in phrase. to reveal character by dialogue. and for the amusement of adults. it was englished in the true sense of that word. the Latin comedy. not of children. But we cannot express the aim of Edwardes better than in his own words: "In comedies the greatest skyll is this. The play is entirely free from all allegorical elements. if not of its time[110]. we may remark that Edwardes like Lyly was interested in music.CHAPTER III. 81 use of English proverbs and Latin quotations. Its chief importance lies in the fact that it is written in prose. you may his nature rightly know. the Renaissance in its veins. for the play in question is a translation from the Italian. and like him also held a post in a choir school. this is indeed to write modern drama. But Mr Gayley would go further than this. and in the insertion of songs[108]. for. who says of this writer that he "brake the ice for our quainter poets who now write. [108] Bond. and yet one more play must be mentioned to complete the series. that they may more safely swim through the main ocean of sweet poesy". modern comedy. to quote a modern writer. and is only faintly tinged with didacticism. 238. It would seem that between Edwardes and Lyly there was no room for another link. With reference to the last point." To touch lightly and yet with penetration. being in fact Ariosto's Suppositi. and if it were the only product of Gascoigne's pen it would justify the remark of an early 17th century critic. "with the blood of the New comedy." It was written entirely for amusement. Though a translation it was more than a transcript. This time we are no longer brought into touch with the classics or with the scholastic influences. it is far ahead of its English contemporaries. and is therefore the first prose comedy in our language. p." In the Damon and Pithias the old morality is once and for all discarded.
and not continuously. but progress of a negative rather than a constructive nature.CHAPTER III. hints of the dawn. Gascoigne. The fifty years which lie between Heywood and Lyly saw considerable progress. of Nat. [111] Dict. p. being revived at Oxford in 1582[111]. except Ariosto's translator. though the fact does not appear to have been sufficiently appreciated by Lylian students. Stevenson. This. which though Italian in origin was carefully adapted to English taste by its translator. Heywood. lxxxv. It was in fact a period of transition and of individual and disconnected experiments. 82 play was well known and popular among the Elizabethans. are the names that convey "broken lights" of comedy. gave us comedy which may be considered complete in every . But if we are to attempt to realise the greatness of our debt to Lyly. Biog. and of varying types. [110] Gayley.. and how far also they fell short of comedy in the strict sense of that word. George. and that he must have learnt many lessons from it. and moreover progress which came in fits and starts. for even Mr Bond fails. who at this juncture produced eight comedies of sustained merit. Edwardes. There can be no doubt that Lyly studied this among other of Gascoigne's works. to realise its importance. is the history of our comedy down to the time when Lyly took it in hand. let us estimate exactly how much these previous efforts had done in the way of pioneer work. but not one of them. The supreme importance of a writer. Udall. in brief outline. nothing more. is something which is quite beyond computation. or should we not rather say "an introduction to the history of our comedy"? For true English comedy is not to be found in any of the plays we have mentioned. and Gascoigne was a translator. Shakespeare used it for the construction of his Taming of the Shrew: and altogether it is difficult to say how much Elizabethan drama probably owed to this one comedy. Each of the writers above mentioned contributed something towards the common development. I think. [109] 1566.
that which alone could round it off into a poetic whole. Udall is perhaps the most successful in this respect. but passion alone will give them depth and let the soul shine through. and even Edwardes was little better. . he manages to give it an ordered and natural development. stage conventions had not yet become a matter of fixed tradition. on the other. "We have a perpetual conflict between what spectators actually see and what they are supposed to see. And even he only half perceives it. But even in their use of verse his predecessors were unsuccessful. realised that prose was the only possible dress for comedy that should seek to represent contemporary life. or upon the construction of disconnected humorous situations. Edwardes is the only one who even approaches it. the muse's eyes may twinkle. Again. He does so. in expending energies upon the development of an argument. by its almost complete absence of poetic ideas. The use of blank verse had yet to be discovered. As for poetical treatment of comedy.CHAPTER III. it may be objected. But the other pre-Lylian dramatists quite failed to realise the vital importance of plot. They all display a very elementary knowledge of plot construction. an outrageous demand on the imagination in one place. as in Gammer Gurton's Needle. between the time actually passed and that supposed to have elapsed. well versed as he is in Terence. they missed the whole point of comedy. his plot is trivial but. by its poetic literary form and. Moreover. a refusal to exercise or allow us to exercise it in another[112]. Udall seemed to have thought that his unequal dogtail lines would wag if he struck a rhyme at the end. as in Jacke Jugeler. That which comedy before 1580 lacked. it was necessary that both sexes should walk the stage on an equal footing. for the sentiment of friendship is not strong enough for complete animation. is an example of such development. Lyly. but the alteration in Merygreeke's nature is due to inconsistency. in order that passion should fill comedy with the breath of life. not to evolution. though there is a clear idea of distinction and interplay of characters. which is indeed the very essence of comedy." Further. because he sees that the comic muse only ceases to be a mask when sentiment is allowed to play over her features. English comedy before 1580 was marked. on the one hand. there is little perception of the necessity of developing character as the plot moves forward. and. which was a parody of transubstantiation. But. Merygreeke. 83 way. with the instinct of a born conversationalist. and Lyly was to have a hand in this matter also[113].
84 was the female element. whose importance does not seem to have been realised by Elizabethan students. it was a courtier who introduced heroines into our drama. when they have it." writes George Meredith. They divide the dramas into four categories: historical. the civilized plane must lie only just beneath the comic plane. which includes Gallathea. the Court of a great virgin Queen. and Midas. Both critics. in his novel and then in his dramas. "Comedy. Mother Bombie. Those who preceded him were only dimly conscious of it. that the equality of social privileges for women was first established. the more prominent the part they enjoy in it. The discussion between Mr Bond and Mr Baker in reality turns upon the interpretation of the allegory of Endymion. as they usually show it. to consider them rather as a subdivision of class two than as a distinct species. [113] George Gascoigne. are in agreement as to the proper method of classification. The higher the comedy. p. .CHAPTER III. but it was Lyly who first expressed it in literature. and it is perhaps better. some difference of opinion. Endymion. also produced a drama in blank verse. and Love's Metamorphosis. The fault which may be found with this classification is that the so-called pastoral plays have much of the allegorical about them. pastoral. and it is therefore one of those questions of literary probability which can never hope to receive a satisfactory answer. [112] Bond. which includes Sapho and Phao. 237. and lastly realistic. SECTION II. Concerning the order of Lyly's plays there is. of which again there is only one example. The Woman in the Moon. on the side of sound sense." But the dramatist cannot lift them far. therefore. The Eight Plays. allegorical. as we have seen. of which Campaspe is the sole example. In the days of Elizabeth this realisation began to dawn in men's minds. however. and therefore they failed to seize upon it as material for art. "lifts women to a station offering them free play for their wit. II. the stage cannot be lighted by woman's wit if the audience have not yet realised that brain forms a part of the feminine organism. It was at Court.
the obvious inference being that Lyly printed his plays only when he had no interest in preserving the acting rights. before Lyly accepted the mastership at the St Paul's choir school. even to a modern reader. therefore. The second point we may notice is one which can leave very little doubt as to the correctness of Mr Bond's chronology. is that of Alexander's love for his Theban captive Campaspe. at the Court. Campaspe. is entirely devoid of any ethical or satirical motive. that is. whose name seemed almost to obsess Lyly in his novel. is here quite absent.CHAPTER III. But Kynge Johan was written solely for the purpose of religious satire. it would appear as a marvel of wit and dramatic power after the crude material which had hitherto been offered to them. which Lyly was able to put to his own peculiar uses. there can be little doubt that it was one of the first dramas in our language with an historical background. taken from Pliny. and the dialogue is more decidedly euphuistic than any other play. Campaspe and Sapho were published before 1585. The social . 85 For the moment putting on one side all questions of the allegory of Endymion. which becomes weaker in the other plays. The painter Apelles. In the choice of his subject Lyly shows at once that he is an artist with a feeling for beauty. on the other hand. be classed among those political moralities. two years later. It must. whereas none of his other plays came into the printer's hands until after the inhibition of the boys' acting rights in 1591. there are two reasons which seem to go a long way towards justifying Mr Bond for placing Campaspe as the earliest of Lyly's plays. and at times amusing. is one of the chief characters of Campaspe. is so unmistakeable in this historical drama as to force the conclusion upon us that they belong to the same period. Kynge Johan is the only play before 1580 which can claim to rival it in this respect. Indeed. and. Allegory. In the first place the atmosphere of Euphues. even if he seldom rises to its sublimities. The sole aim of its author was to provide amusement. of which so many examples appeared during the early part of the 16th century. being an attack upon the priesthood and Church abuses. But whatever date we assign to Campaspe. and in this respect it must have been entirely successful. but to those who witnessed its performance at Blackfriars. The play is interesting. and of his subsequent self-sacrifice in giving her up to her lover Apelles. The story of the play.
and his fault lay in attempting too much. and one can understand . though she exhibits few signs of it. "We calling Alexander from his grave. is now for the first time openly acknowledged. deliberate lunges quietly turned aside. in fact. by passion. Caring more for brilliancy of dialogue than for anything else. not to say callous.CHAPTER III. "The play's defect. not only the forerunner of Shakespeare. "A witte apt to conceive and quickest to answer" is attributed by Alexander to Campaspe. is at once evident in this play. but Lyly made them all his own. as an integral part of the audience. and. the first romantic drama. and presents the shamefaced god as an offering of flattery to the Queen and her Court. "is one of passion"--a criticism which is applicable to all Lyly's dramas. In addition to the romantic elements above described. than he had been in his novel. 86 change. impatient sallies neatly parried. was in every way praiseworthy. but a remote ancestor of Hernani and the 19th century French theatre. the great conqueror of the world. "only interests me as a lover. These urchins. It is as if our author nets Mars with Venus. Yet his endeavour to depict the conflict of masculine passion with feminine wit. Campaspe is." says its Prologue[114]. he was no more likely to be successful here. in portraying passion through conversation weighted by euphuism. [114] From Prologue at the Court. full of mischief and delighting in quips." says Lyly with his hand upon his heart. Between Campaspe and Apelles." says Mr Bond. "Alexander. yet in his very idea of endowing women with wit Lyly leads us on to the high-road of comedy leading to Congreve. and yet we must not forget that Lyly was the earliest to deal with passion dramatically. were probably borrowed from Edwardes. however. but possibly the great monarch's equanimity was a veiled tribute to the supposed indifference of the virgin Queen to all matters of Cupid's trade. whose importance." The whole motive of the play. Lyly was a beginner. "seeke only who was his love". is a compliment to the ladies. if not vitalized. we have here also that page-prattle which is so characteristic of all Lyly's plays. which I have sought to indicate in the preceding pages. we have scenes which are imbued. and the remark is a sweep of the hat to the ladies of the Court. The love of Alexander is certainly unemotional. which would have been meaningless to a mediaeval audience.
The absence of all allegory from Campaspe shows that Lyly had broken with the morality: and we seem therefore to be going back. when two years later we have an allegorical play from his pen. is often really witty. Their repartee. But in reality there is no retrogression. He and the pages form an underplot of farce. 87 how naturally their parts would be played by his boy-actors. is amusing enough at times with his "dogged" snarlings and sallies which frequently however miss their mark. when it is not pulling to pieces some Latin quotation familiar to them at school. In an audience thus susceptible to innuendo Lyly saw his opportunity. In passing. for the purposes of political and religious satire. He was a courtier writing for the Court. Often in fact. One of them. and for one Mrs Gallup in modern America there must have been a dozen in every auditorium of Elizabethan England. or ridiculing a point of logic. The old form of drama seems to have developed a keen sensibility to double entendre among theatre-goers. they would discover hints where nothing was implied. we may notice that few of Shakespeare's plays are without this farcical substratum. let us . Nothing indeed is so remarkable about the Elizabethan stage as the secret understanding which almost invariably existed between the dramatist and his audience. we now pass on to the consideration of Lyly's allegorical plays. We have already had occasion to notice it in connexion with Field's parody of Kyd. "This is their use. nowe do they dine one upon another. he was also. The spectators were always on the alert to detect some veiled reference to prominent political figures or to current affairs. by denying any ambiguity in his dialogue. for with Lyly allegory is not an ethical instrument. I have mentioned examples of plays before his day which employed the machinery of the morality. exclaims to his friend.CHAPTER III. as was natural. upon which Lyly improved in his later plays. and therefore. Leaving the question of dramatic construction and characterization for a more general treatment later. long before Lyly's time. Such over-clever busybodies would readily twist an innocent remark into treason or sacrilege. in whom we may see the prototype of Shakespeare's Timon. it was customary for a playwright to defend himself in the prologue against such treatment." Diogenes again. overhearing the hungry Manes at strife with Diogenes over the matter of an overdue dinner. bringing it also more into connexion with the main plot.
and yet improving upon the Habsburg policy[115] by making coquetry the pivot of her diplomacy. When Lyly commenced his career. Endymion. and the artists she patronized. Spenser's Faery Queen was not published until 1590. there is something magical about the great Queen. and we can hardly be surprised that the pagans of those days hailed her as half divine. half in earnest." the courtiers she fondled. It was no wonder therefore that. in itself a wonderful fact to those who could remember the gloom which had surrounded her accession. as Symonds beautifully puts it. 88 add. is "a censer of exquisitely chased silver. think of her as something more than human. He was an artist not entirely without ideals. full of incense to be tossed before Elizabeth upon her throne. refusing to share her throne with a partner even for the sake of protection.CHAPTER III. tu felix Austria nube. she had been on the throne for twenty years. which was far from being a piece of insincere adulation. had for some time past been growing into a kind of literary religion. The cult of Elizabeth. But we must not attribute too much to motives of personal ambition. yet ever ready to curry favour and to aim at material advantages by his literary facility. The idea therefore of writing dramas which should be. anxious to obtain a certain coveted post at the Revels' Office. and Midas this . [115] "Alii bella gerunt. should half in fancy. but Lyly had known Spenser before the latter's departure for Ireland. and furthermore she had done all this single-handed. each. and. from beginning to end." All Lyly's plays except Campaspe and Mother Bombie are written in this vein. Even to us. "As the imperial votaress passed on In maiden meditation fancy free." In the three plays Sapho and Phao. and search the fables of their newly discovered classics for examples of enthroned chastity and unconquerable virgin queens. Through a period of infinite danger both at home and abroad she had guided England with intrepidity and success. even if the scheme of that poet's masterpiece had not been confided to him. nothing but an ingenious compliment to his royal mistress would not be in the least distasteful to him. the ideas which it contained were in the air.
a poor ferryman. In this story. Cupid is therefore called in to remedy matters on her behalf. It is for this reason that they have been classified under the label of allegory. however. To conceal her passion. and Cupid's definite rebellion from the rule of Venus. though of course it is founded upon the classical tale of Sapho's love for Phao. Queen of Sicily. and to the lessons which he taught those who came after him. It is quite possible. to read and enjoy these plays without a suspicion of any inner meaning. nor does the absence of such suspicion render the action of the play in any way unintelligible. The difficulty of Alençon's (that is Phao's) ugliness is overcome by the device of making it love's task to confer beauty upon him. our playwright presents under the form of allegory the history of Alençon's courtship of Elizabeth. and we shall content ourselves with briefly indicating the actual incident which it symbolizes. but they actually seek to depict incidents from her reign under the guise of classical mythology. The play ends with Phao's departure from Sicily in despair. is of course Elizabeth. 89 element of flattery is more prominent than in the others. as follows. which is practically a creation of Lyly's brain. is endowed by Venus with the gift of beauty.CHAPTER III. so skilfully does Lyly manipulate his story. sees him and instantly falls in love with him. but. to his position in the history of Elizabethan drama. while the play is rounded off by the pretty compliment of representing love . Sapho. much to his mother's disgust. won over by the Queen's attractions. inasmuch as they are not only full of compliments unmistakeably directed towards the Queen. who plays a part which no one can fail to compare with that of Puck in the Midsummer Night's Dream. succeeds in curing Sapho's passion. the superficial interpretation of each play is all that need engage our attention. she pretends to her ladies that she has a fever. refuses to go further. and even inspires Phao with a loathing for the goddess. With a view. very shortly. who in Lyly's hands is stripped of all poetical attributes and becomes simply a great Queen of Sicily. Phao like Alençon quits the island and its Queen in despair. therefore. Phao. Queen of England. Sapho. The boy. The story of Sapho and Phao is. Meanwhile Venus herself falls a victim to the charms she has bestowed upon the ferryman. at the same time sending for Phao. who is rumoured to have herbs for such complaints. resulting in his remaining with Sapho.
which because it groweth so high. PHAO. The dialogue is less euphuistic. Yew.CHAPTER III. SAPHO. SAPHO. That I may gather it: but why doe you sigh so. It is mine use Madame. but I must sigh't also. It will doe you harme and mee too: for I never heare one sighe. 90 as a willing captive in Elizabeth's Court. But what do you thinke best for your sighing to take it away? PHAO. Mee? . SAPHO. I know no hearb to make lovers sleepe but Heartesease. is very charming. It groweth very low. and therefore much more effective. I shall not leave though you be gone. The conversation between Sapho and Phao. that-PHAO. For whom? PHAO. For such as love. That what? SAPHO. Madame. SAPHO. and I can never stoop to it. in the scene where the latter comes with his herbs to cure the Queen. Nay stay: for now I beginne to sighe. I cannot reach: for-SAPHO. PHAO. Phao? PHAO. It were best then that your Ladyship give me leave to be gone: for I can but sigh. As a play Sapho and Phao shows a distinct advance upon Campaspe. and well expresses the passion which the one is too humble and the other too proud to show.
without doubt. and. and to breede (if it might be) soft smiling. and if the puppets that he left to his successors were not yet human. Lyly draws nearer to the conception of ideal comedy. we may suspect. Altogether there is a great increase in general vitality in this play. "was at this time to move inward delight not outward lightnesse. Lucilla.CHAPTER III. he was obliged to frame it in accordance with the facts which he sought to . and leaving Gallathea for later treatment. Departing for a moment from the strictly chronological order. but they are balanced by a group of Sapho's maids-in-waiting who discuss the subject of love upon the stage with great frankness and charm. and to this end he tends to minimize the purely farcical element. therefore all other simples set aside. they had learnt to walk the stage without that angularity of movement and jerkiness of speech which betray the machine. Doe Madame: for I think nothing in the world so good as yewe[116]. the leader of this chorus. yewe of the tree. and indeed I think it should make me sleepe too. The figures in Lyly's studio are limited in number--Camilla. SAPHO. No. Act III. The pages are still present. Mileta. Madame. I will simply use onely yewe. [116] Sapho and Phao. the boldest in conception and the most beautiful in execution of all Lyly's plays. 60-85. is. all come from the same mould: in Pandion we may discover Euphues under a new name." And yet each of these types becomes more life-like as he proceeds. not loud laughing". PHAO. 91 PHAO. but its arrangement and development are for the most part of Lyly's invention: indeed. a portrait drawn from life. Mileta. and the surly Vulcan is only another edition of the "crabbed Diogenes. Then will I love yewe the better. "Our interest. IV. the second of the allegorical dramas. we pass on to Endymion." he tells us in his Prologue. she is certainly much more convincing than the somewhat shadowy Campaspe. Campaspe. The story is founded upon the classical fable of Diana's kiss to the sleeping boy. Sc.
but they part company upon the interpretation of the play as a whole. Lastly we may notice his suggestion that Tophas may be Gabriel Harvey. and therefore. He is perhaps less convincing where he pairs Endymion with Sidney. All critics are agreed in identifying Cynthia with Elizabeth and Endymion with Leicester. for he debates with himself whether to use his one question for an enquiry about his love or his sleeping friend. of course. the young man's great friend. is restored to youth. knowing as he does that lowly and distant worship is all he can be allowed to offer the virgin goddess. The story is briefly as follows. and Semele with Penelope Devereux. the kiss is given. Endymion. sends the youth into a deep sleep from which no one can awaken him. The play. which certainly appears to be more probable than Halpin's theory that Stephen Gosson is here meant[117]. Friendship and duty conquer at length. he discovers that the remedy for Endymion's sickness is a kiss from Cynthia's lips. and he is the laughing-stock of a number of pages who gambol and play pranks after the usual manner of Lyly's boys. But the whole question is one of such obscurity. forsaking his former love Tellus. Endymion. and. who scorns his passion. This man is deeply in love with Semele. he is so absorbed with his own troubles as almost to forget those of his friend. and. by the aid of a sorceress Dipsas. meets his advances with coolness. she orders the latter to be shut up in a castle for speaking maliciously of Endymion. looking into the well. however. the famous Stella. Endymion. who. the treachery of Tellus is discovered and eventually forgiven. has a farcical underplot which is only connected very slightly with the main story by Sir Tophas' ridiculous passion for Dipsas. She then sends Eumenides. and of so little importance from the point of view of my argument. His love in fact is presented as a kind of caricature of Endymion's. and although she does not suspect Tellus. to seek out a remedy. grown old after 40 years' sleep. Tellus determines to be revenged. He returns with his message. 92 allegorize. The solution of the allegory lies mainly in the interpretation of Tellus' character. and I cannot but agree with Mr Bond when he decides that Tellus is Mary Queen of Scots. and the play ends amid a peal of marriage bells. in accordance with her character as moon-goddess. that I shall not attempt to enter . A carefully thought-out piece of writing follows. when he reaches a magic fountain which will answer any question put to it. is left unmarried. Cynthia learns what has befallen. contracts an ardent passion for Cynthia.CHAPTER III.
Again there are parallels in Shakespeare's earliest comedy Love's Labour's Lost. reappears with his page. while Campaspe contains at least four imaginary transfers in space in the middle of a scene. though it climb up by the elme. Sir Tophas. But however that may be. And I have no doubt that many other resemblances might be discovered by careful investigation. Indistinctness of character seems to be in keeping with an allegory of moonshine. Oberon's Vision. He speaks of "thoughts stitched to the starres. we may even detect borrowings from the underplot. There is improvement moreover in characterization. Endymion certainly had a peculiar fascination for him. where Leicester entertained Elizabeth. and even the mechanical action cannot spoil the poetical atmosphere which pervades the whole. to think that there was something more than fancy in Mr Gollancz's suggestion that Shakespeare when a boy had seen this play of Lyly's acted at Kenilworth. Shakespeare Society. for it is the most "romantic" of all Lyly's plays. 93 further into it." of the "ivy which. visible chiefly in the Midsummer Night's Dream. did we not know Lyly's play to be the earlier. The well-known speech of Oberon to Puck. We cannot wonder that Endymion attracted Shakespeare. directing him to gather the "little western flower. In Endymion Lyly shows that his mastership of St Paul's has increased his knowledge of stage-craft." of "time that treadeth all things down but truth. Endymion has only one: and it is a transfer which requires a much smaller stretch of imagination than the constant appearance of Diogenes' tub upon the stage whenever and wherever comic relief was considered necessary.CHAPTER III. while." is to all intents and purposes a beautiful condensation of Lyly's allegory. Here if anywhere Lyly reached the poetical plane. 1843. can . who is undoubtedly modelled upon Roister Doister. [117] Halpin. Tophas' enumeration of the charms of Dipsas[118] foreshadows Thisbe's speech over the fallen Pyramus[119]. little William going thither with his father from the neighbouring town of Stratford. One would like. we might suspect the page's song near the sleeping knight to be a clumsy caricature of the graceful songs of the fairies guarding Titania's dreams. as Armado with his attendant Moth. But the interesting thing about this play is Shakespeare's intimate knowledge of it. For example. indeed.
comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses[120]. while. it cannot be considered equal to the third of the allegorical plays. and wealth are offered. and is relieved of his ears. Midas in the end seeks pardon at Apollo's shrine." [120] XI. From the point of view of drama. endows him with a pair of ass's ears. Midas is more of a patriotic than a purely Court play. [119] Cp. gives his verdict for the goat-foot god. But he soon finds that the gift of turning everything to gold has its drawbacks. 85-193. if Halpin be correct. [118] Endymion. The King chances upon Apollo and Pan engaged in a musical contest." and the play is full of many other quaint poetical conceits. He eventually gets rid of his obnoxious power by bathing in a river. also Shakespeare. King of Spain. to which continual references are made throughout the play. The story. We may also notice. the golden touch refers to the wealth of Spanish America. asked to decide between them. and Midas chooses the last. Love. Sonnet CXXX. however. Act III.CHAPTER III. Though it contains compliments to Elizabeth. The fault of the play is that there are. II. with but a few necessary alterations. 30-60. but "murder will out. as it were. This island is of course England. For some time he manages to conceal them. Apollo. that the ears obviously gave Shakespeare the idea of Bottom's "transfiguration. 94 never get hold of the beames of the sunne. . power. As a man of fashion Lyly was nothing if not up to date." for the reeds breathe the secret to the wind. for now we are introduced to an entirely new situation. two sections. Sc. and. in revenge. in passing. Even his beard accidentally becomes bullion. and twelve months were scarcely gone before the industrious Court dramatist had written and produced on the stage an allegorical satire upon his Catholic Majesty Philip. In August 1588 the great Armada had made its abortive attack upon Cynthia's kingdom. Pan and Apollo signify the Catholic and the Protestant faith respectively. At the same time he abandons his project of invading the neighbouring island of Lesbos. ll. It is the old tale of the three wishes.
a link between the drama and the masque. as I have said. as it were. Motto recovers it as a reward for curing the thief's toothache. it is certainly a great advance on its predecessors. better arranged than in the earlier plays. when we consider that all the Elizabethan dramatists were students of Lyly. the Queen appears under the mythological title of Ceres in Love's Metamorphosis. and in particular Shakespeare. adopted it. however. do not require any detailed consideration. he is convicted of treason by the pages. In Gallathea this is the introduction of girls in boys' clothes. uninspired by any allegorical purpose beyond general compliments to the Queen. and Love's Metamorphosis. The Woman in the Moon. but this argument does not hold of Gallathea. It is stolen by one of the Court pages. How effective a trick it was. the royal barber. especially in its underplot. In other respects. in every way. which we may consider together since their stories. Such overlapping however is only to be expected. as the audience . lies in its duality of action. It may be that our author increased the pastoral element as the arcadian fashion came into vogue. From this it will be seen that the underplot is more embroidered with incident and is. and is blackmailed in consequence. but he loses it again because. Gallathea. while we are uncertain as to the date of Love's Metamorphosis. Lyly's pastoral plays form. 95 The weakness of the play. Motto. indeed. and the division is at least very convenient for purposes of classification. There are shepherds in Midas. who appeared as girls dressed up as boys. being overheard hinting at the ass's ears. obtains possession of the golden beard: and the history of this somewhat unusual form of treasure affords a certain amount of amusing farcical relief. is proved by the manner in which later dramatists. in the course of his duties. Lyly is the first to use the convenient dramatic device of disguise. for the whole point of it was that the actors.CHAPTER III. were. Its full significance cannot be appreciated by us to-day. We must now turn to the pastoral plays. None of these plays are worth considering in detail. it is possible that comedy and masque may have been evolved from the Lylian mythological play by a process of differentiation. And yet it should be pointed out that this distinction between Lyly's allegorical and pastoral plays is more apparent than real. but each has its own particular point of interest. As far as I know. which is for the first time connected satisfactorily with the main argument.
234. which forms the fourth division of Lyly's dramatic writings. 96 knew. and. which is a variation of the same trick." But the maturity and strength of the drama argue a fairly considerable experience in its author. indeed. But. But not the last. Mr Bond suggests. indeed. about it is the absence of that farcical under-current which appears in all his other plays. because it dealt with dangerous questions of the time. But the importance of The Woman lies in its poetical form. but that. Though it presents many points of similarity in detail to his other plays. unless the first displease. its importance is very great. perhaps with the Marprelate controversy. comical. The first he had in Phoebus' holy bower. In Love's Metamorphosis there is nothing of interest equal to those points we have noticed in the other two plays of the same class. and we shall therefore be probably more correct if we place it last instead of first of Lyly's plays. were it not bound up with Blount's Sixe Court Comedies[122]. with great plausibility. but ." It is clever in construction. at times distinct errors of taste) that I should be inclined to assign it to a friend or pupil of Lyly. p. The Woman in the Moon must rank among the earliest examples of blank verse in our language. The Woman in the Moon gives us a man disguised in his wife's clothes. [121] Bond. its general atmosphere is so different (displaying. whatever its date. on the authority of the Prologue. Most Elizabethan scholars have decided that this play was Lyly's first dramatic effort. and unparalleled John Lilly master of arts. and therein said to be written by "the onely Rare Poet of that time.CHAPTER III. it was expunged. III. facetiously quicke. really boys themselves. inspired possibly by the example of Marlowe in Tamburlaine and of Shakespeare in Love's Labour's Lost[121]. a fact which doubtless increased the funniness of the situation. It now remains to say a few words upon Mother Bombie. that such an element had originally appeared. as such. The only remarkable thing. the wittie. interpreting the words of the Prologue as simply implying that it was Lyly's first experiment in blank verse. which bids the audience "Remember all is but a poet's dream.
and it was. often these choice morsels were dished up for them by some famous writer. it would only create confusion if we denied that title to Udall's play. and perhaps its chief point of interest is that it links these writers to the later realists. such as Shakespeare. date 1632. producing a somewhat vulgar realistic play of rustic life. the first of our mighty line of romanticists. 97 undeniably tedious. of dream-plays. in order to revive his waning popularity that Lyly took to realism. [122] For title-page. as Kyd did in The Murder of John Brewer. But the child of fashion is always the earliest to become out of date. There is nothing anomalous in this. 1. Here we have a courtier. the drama of insanity. and all attracted large audiences. It shows that Lyly had learnt much from Udall. Ben Jonson. as I have already noticed. the drama of blood. III. the realism that Nash was employing so successfully in his novels. At this point of our enquiry it will be as well to say a few words upon the lyrics which Lyly sprinkled broadcast over his plays. could hope for success. who is surely one of the most charming of all the Elizabethan dramatists. perhaps. It has been labelled as our earliest pure farce of well-constructed plot and literary form. Moreover. Yet. and the men of that age demanded it in their literature. and we cannot think that Mother Bombie did much towards improving our author's reputation. or at least financial success. though it is certainly on a much higher plane than Roister Doister. Stevenson. "Violence and variation. and although it is evident that Lyly is here out of his natural element. a writer of allegories. were certainly the distinguishing marks of the New Birth." which someone has described as the two essentials of the ideal life. People delighted to read accounts of contemporary crime. whimsical and delightful Thomas Dekker. Mother Bombie was an experiment in the drama of realism. the Elizabethans soon wearied of sameness. only a writer of the greatest versatility.CHAPTER III. The drama of horror. despite its comparative unimportance. The taste for realism is by no means a purely 19th century product. and Gascoigne. but. Bond. all were found on the Elizabethan stage. Mother Bombie is interesting as showing the (to our ideas) extraordinary confusion of artistic ideals which. From an aesthetic . is the remarkable thing about the Renaissance in England. and that student of London life. p.
are cast into dialogue form. have no hesitation in accepting Lyly as their creator. for example. have been cast upon Lyly's authorship of these lyrics on the ground that they are omitted from the first edition of the plays. and we have them also in Gammer Gurton and Damon and Pithias. beginning. for no previous dramatist had possessed a tithe of Lyly's lyrical genius. There is no need to enter into an investigation of the numerous anonymous poems which Mr Bond has claimed for him[123]. and lastly he was master of a choir school. he was intensely interested in music. unequal in merit. and our greatest dramatist was only following Lyly's example when he introduced lyrics into his plays. have become forgotten. as in "O for a Bowle of fatt canary. Too much stress. of course. they are so mediocre in themselves as to be unworthy of notice. however. even if we knew for certain that he was their author. We have. sometimes each page singing a verse by himself. He had tradition at his back. These are. I think." . since the omission in question is fully accounted for by the fact that they were probably written separately from the plays. indeed. his plays." his novel. But let us turn to the songs of his dramas. But we need. but the best are worthy to be ranked with Shakespeare's lyrics. before Lyly's day. such as the song of Petulus from Midas. and it is as the author of Cupid and my Campaspe played that he is alone known to the lover of literature." with interruptions and refrains supplied by his companion and the scornful Motto. Udall had introduced songs into his Roister Doister. These songs are of various kinds and of widely different value. had they taken so prominent a part in drama. and probably composed the airs himself. "O my Teeth! deare Barber ease me. "Foreshortened in the tract of time. probably accompanied by gesture and pantomime. I have already pointed out that music was an important element in our early comedy. the purely comic poem. and handed round amongst the boys together with the musical score[124]. indeed. Every condition favoured our author in this introduction of songs into his plays. but never. as Lyly's adviser and master.CHAPTER III. and would therefore use every opportunity for displaying his pupils' voices on the stage. 98 point of view these are superior to anything else he wrote. Doubts. scarcely I think of recovery. must not be laid upon this last condition. of which there are 32 in all. Many of these songs. because Lyly had already written three songs for Campaspe and four for Sapho and Phao before he became connected with St Paul's. a fact which points again to de Vere. himself a lyrist of considerable powers.
with the light of hope. Nay. 99 This last is the earliest of Lyly's wine-songs. Act III. modelled on one of these earlier student compositions. "Io Bacchus. bird-notes untroubled by doubt. III. is undoubtedly. and feet held still." which occurs in Mother Bombie. Cupid and my Campaspe played. has given us more graceful love trifles woven about some classical conceit. Thy bow so many would not kill. 1-14. 433. reminding us irresistibly of those pagan chants of the mediaeval wandering scholar which the late Mr Symonds has collected for us in his Wine. Sc. The drinking song. 36. the wise man or the fool! Fools in love's college Have far more knowledge To read a woman over. III. which for swing and vigour are among some of the best in our language. who can see nothing but the hectic splendours of autumn.CHAPTER III. no sympathy: . p. unconscious of pessimism. p. [124] Bond. but one of those lyrics of pure nature music. and Song. p. the reference to the practice of throwing hats into the fire is alone sufficient to suggest it. This time it is no embroidered conceit. When thou would'st wound a tender heart? Thy wings being clipped. But it is as a writer of the lyric proper that Lyly is best known. [125] Mother Bombie. touched with the fire of Spring. perhaps. 265. For the melancholy nightingale the poet has surprise and admiration. 'tis confessed That fools please women best[125]!" [123] Bond. but there are others only less charming than this. It is all one in Venus' wanton school Who highest sits. Another quotation must be permitted. II. I. of which the Renaissance poets were so lavish. No one but Herrick. which are therefore all the more charming for us who dwell amid sunsets of intense colouring. Mr Palgrave has familiarized us with the best. Women. I think. Than a neat prating lover. The same theme is employed in the following: "O Cupid! Monarch over Kings! Wherefore hast thou feet and wings? Is it to show how swift thou art.
of the methods of the classical playwrights. Hark how the jolly cuckoos sing 'Cuckoo' to welcome in the spring. yet so does wail? O 'tis the ravished Nightingale. came to London.CHAPTER III. tereu. They had played with drama. we must say a few words in conclusion on their main characteristics. In Lyly. and he wrote as one interested in the technical side of the theatre. and. producing indeed interesting experiments. And still her woes at Midnight rise. scholastic rather than technical. as most critics are agreed in assigning it to some unknown author. coming as it does at the dawn of the Elizabethan era. I have modernised the spelling. [127] I have said nothing of the Mayde's Metamorphosis. having probably learnt at Oxford all there was to be known concerning the drama of the ancient world. saw and studied such moralities and plays as were to be seen. Act V. definitely deciding to embark upon the dramatist's career. Brave prick song! who is't now we hear? None but the lark so shrill and clear. He. 100 "What Bird so sings. Having thus very briefly passed in review the various plays that Lyly bequeathed to posterity[127]. hark. but accomplishing only what one would expect from men who merely took a lay interest in the theatre. Hark. 'Cuckoo' to welcome in the spring[126]. England has her first professional dramatist. with what a pretty throat Poor Robin-red-breast tunes his note. Lyly's dramatic Genius and Influence. jug. she cries. and few even of Shakespeare's lyrics can equal it. he wrote for his living. it is worth noticing. and their influence on later drama. jug. Unlike those who had gone before him he was no amateur. Now at heaven's gates she claps her wings. This delightful song comes from the first of Lyly's dramas. Jug. aided and directed by the experience and . it seems like the cuckoo herself "to welcome in the spring. and who possessed a certain knowledge. The Morn not waking till she sings. the advance they made upon their predecessors. jug. Sc. I." SECTION III. Indeed." [126] Campaspe. 32-44.
he would naturally make a serious study of dramatic art. neither post was sufficiently remunerative to secure for him the comforts. But. "Alas. he could undertake such a study thoroughly and at his leisure. We have noticed that he introduced the art of disguise. Next to Jonson.. brilliant prose dialogue. in Damon and Pithias. But. Gored mine own thoughts. 'tis true I have been here and there And made myself a motley to the view. Mr Bond suggests further that he probably did much to extend the use of stage properties and scenery[128]. accompanied perhaps with pantomime. and in Gascoigne's Supposes. though I have a strong suspicion that the bills sent in to him served no more useful purpose than to light his pipe. of life. the most learned of all the dramatists. on the other hand. which forced even Shakespeare to pander to the garlic-eating multitude he loathed. sold cheap what is most dear" . he set them the most conspicuous example in technique and stage-craft. And to this cause his peculiar importance in the history of the Elizabethan stage is mainly due. That he was induced to make such a study. But the real importance of his plays lies in their plot construction and character drawing. which they would probably have been far too busy to acquire for themselves. farce. I think. to his peculiar financial position. and. if only for the sake of meeting his tobacco bill. Spenser has been called the poet's poet. His income required supplementing. a romantic play upon a classical theme. was due partly.. Lyly was in his own days the playwright's dramatist. adopting the theatre as his profession. however.CHAPTER III. in the plays of Udall and Stevenson. The . and later as Vice-master of St Paul's School. he was independent of the actual necessity of bread-winning. allegory. that he varied his action by songs. As secretary of de Vere. 101 knowledge of his patron: finding in the moralities. Of his dramatic construction we have already spoken. in the science of play-writing. having no need for constantly filling the maw of present necessity. still less the luxuries. Lyly's eight dramas formed the rough-hewn but indispensable foundation-stone of the Elizabethan edifice. points which as yet we have only touched upon. and wrung from him the cry. yet possessing little of their poetical capacity. and that he was enabled to carry it out so thoroughly.
moreover. A steady improvement. or those merry altercations between his pages which added so much colour and variety to his plays. and characters which have no connexion with the development of the story. of course. It is in Midas. far in advance of his predecessors. if the expression may be . also. and more pronounced than that of many which came after. as I have already suggested. though. and which is made to resolve itself and disappear in the final act. we are warned in the third act that the King's love is slight and will fade away at the first blast of the war trumpet. However many interruptions there were. Lyly is perhaps most successful in creating that dramatic excitement which is caused by working up to an apparent deadlock (due to the intrigues of Tellus). 102 way in which he manages the action of his plays shows a skill quite unapproached by anything that had gone before." In Endymion the motives are perhaps most skilfully displayed. but when we consider how frequently Shakespeare sinned in this respect. however. and between Manes and his master. are also united with the main story. as in Campaspe. as Dekker. now connected together for the first time. and in this play. we cannot blame Lyly for introducing a philosophical discussion between Plato and Aristotle. Here again the comic scenes. Too often indeed we have dialogues. so frequently did. again. Closely allied with the development of action by the presentation of motives is the weaving of the plot. Nowhere. that this farcical under-current displays incident and action of its own. in Lyly's plays are the motives inadequate to support the action. But the page element by no means represents Lyly's only attempt at creating an underplot. It will be seen from the story of Endymion related above that in that play our author is not contented with a single passion-nexus. and. if occasion serve either of conflict or of conquest[129]. and lead most naturally on to the action. scenes. And in this Lyly is not so satisfactory. can hardly be dignified by the name of plot. as they were in the majority of dramas previous to 1580. for example. turning as it does upon the relations of the pages with Motto and the theft of the beard. is discernible as he proceeds. he never allowed his audience to forget the main business.CHAPTER III. In the earlier plays the page element does little more than afford comic relief: the encounters between Manes and his friends. Even Alexander's somewhat tame surrender of Campaspe is quite in accordance with his royal dignity and magnanimity. for as he tells us he is "not so far in love with Campaspe as with Bucephalus.
Though Midas is more advanced in other ways. therefore. pp. but it was only possible even for Shakespeare after a thorough study of Lyly's methods. and it is moreover. the lovers. rather than developed. the mechanics. Life. and we cannot doubt. which was produced in 1595[130]. by the infatuation of Sir Tophas for Dipsas. in the evident fancy which Mileta shows for Phao. Sc. was far beyond Lyly's powers. 151. and Endymion. and the fairies) of the miracle with its imposing but unimportant divinities in the Rood gallery. Other interests are hinted at. [130] Sidney Lee. [129] Campaspe. In this plot construction and interweaving. its Crypt supplying the rude comic element in the shape of devils. and by the history of the latter's husband.CHAPTER III. cut in two by the want of connexion between the incident of the golden touch and that of the ass's ears. that of Eumenides and Semele. its main stage whereon moved human characters. in Love's Metamorphosis. IV. Cynthia. that of Tellus. say that his work in this direction was almost entirely original. the relations between the nymphs and the shepherds complete that underplot of passion which is hinted at in Sapho. 103 allowed. but which seriously threatens to interrupt it at one point. Lastly. 265-266. and its angels who moved from one level to another welding the whole together. was attended by our greatest dramatist. 31. which has no real connexion with the action. p. as I have said. and developed as we have just noticed in Endymion. Act III. The last-mentioned play was produced at Court some time before 1590. but he gives us another. which is without the element of farce. it displays nothing like the complexity of Endymion. [128] Bond. . reminding us with its four plots (the Duke and Hippolyta. At any rate the lessons which Shakespeare learnt from Lyly in the matter of plot complication are visible in the Midsummer Night's Dream. and we may. The intricate mechanism of this play. II. Lyly had no models except the classics.
I think. Lyly's mind was in all probability altogether of too superficial a nature for a sympathetic analysis of the human soul." On the technical side his dramatic advance is immense. but their merry conversations give a piquancy and colour to the drama which make up for. a curst yeelding modestie!"--an excellent piece of description. Often he helps out his poverty of invention by placing descriptions of one character in the mouth of another. 104 As I have previously pointed out. of shepherds.. and I cannot tell how to tearme it. even for a moment. but we may look in vain in his dramas for any of that appreciation of the elemental facts of human nature which can alone create enduring art. By a very natural process the moral type is split up with the intention of giving it life and variety. and one which is very necessary for the animation of the . We can see Lyly feeling towards this solution of the problem in his portrayal of Gunophilus. "How stately she passeth bye. yet how soberly!" exclaims Alexander watching Campaspe at a distance. That at least is how I interpret his character. All his work was more "art than nature. is passion allowed to disturb the cultured placidity of the dialogue. There is no real distinction between page and page. the clown of The Woman in the Moon. certainly depth of passion was beyond their scope. The conditions under which his plays were produced may in part account for this. the absence of character. "a sweet consent in her countenance with a chaste disdaine. This comes out most strongly in their peculiar method of character grouping. In their characterization. in addition to these group characters which for the most part have little to do with the action. lies rather in the dramatist than in the actors. and in part conceal. and to breathe the spirit of genius into the new creation. desire mingled with coyness. All that was necessary for the creation of character was to fit these pieces of the moral type together again in a different way. This character.CHAPTER III. Never. of maids-in-waiting. Lyly was not very successful in the matter of character drawing. and between nymph and nymph. The children of Paul's could hardly be expected to display much light and shade of emotion in their acting. which anticipates the immortal clowns of Shakespeare. But the fault. But Lyly also attempts to create single figures." some of it was "more labour than art. is formed by an amalgamation of the pages in the previous plays into one comic figure. Lyly's plays do little more than form a link between Shakespeare and the old morality. of deities. etc. which are so characteristic of Lyly's plays. Thus we have those groups of pages.
anticipated it. we must agree with Mr Bond[131] that Tellus is the best. if we allow that the feminine element is the very pivot of true comedy. And if it be true that he only gave us "their outward husk of wit and raillery and flirtation. 105 shadowy Campaspe. 284. On the whole Lyly is most successful when he is drawing women. needs no other illumination than her own pert speeches. for the emotional and passionate current. Mileta the mocking but tender Court lady. Yet. the Lady Macbeth. Nothing like this had as yet been seen in English literature. which was only as it should be. and determined its fortunes by the creation of such a number of feminine characters from every class in the social scale. although the revolution would have come about in any case.CHAPTER III. Pipenetta. and it is because he was the first to realise it and to grapple with the difficulties it entailed that the title of father of English comedy may be given him without the least reserve or hesitation. his work was none the less important for that. the fascinating little wench in Midas and one of our dramatist's most successful creations. II. that he had no understanding for the soul behind the social mask. beneath the layer of etiquette. now a raging torrent. [131] Bond. I have already pointed out why it was that woman asserted her place in art at this juncture. . She is a character which exhibits considerable development. But both these are minor characters who therefore receive no development. This he saw." if it be true that his interpretation of woman was superficial. which Lyly just before his death in 1606 may have seen upon the stage. fill our stage for the first time in history with their tears and their laughter. their scorn of the mere male and their "curst yeelding modestie. and Pipenetta the saucy little maid-servant. Gallathea the shy provincial lass. now a quiet stream. p. all honour must be paid to the man who saw it coming. At times however Lyly can dispense with such adventitious aids. and if we look at the more important personages of Lyly's portrait gallery. Diogenes again is an effective piece of work. Sapho the haughty but amorous queen." their bold sallies and their bashful blushes. and she is also Lyly's only attempt to embody the evil principle in woman--a hint for the construction of that marvellous portrait of another Scottish queen.
This departure was a great event in English literature. He therefore determined to use prose. They are the Undines in the story of our literature. the forerunner of Congreve's sparkling conversation and of the epigrammatic writing of our . and that for this purpose prose was more suitable than verse. they had wit. as he gains experience of the function and needs of dialogue. The Euphues had given him a reputation for sprightly and witty dialogue. three Join for true felicity. he steadily improves. and he uses it occasionally even in his earliest comedy." Blood his girls had and brain. 106 "Blood and brain and spirit. to write witty dialogue. Ben Jonson on the other hand--perhaps more than any other Lyly's spiritual heir--wrote nearly all his comedies in prose. but his genius was not divine enough to bestow upon them the third essential. Lyly also appreciated the fact that skilful dialogue and brilliant repartee are only less important. and in this they are undoubtedly the forerunners not only of Shakespeare's heroines but of Congreve's and of Meredith's--to mention the three greatest delineators of women in our language. beautiful and seductive. and yet he would undoubtedly have adopted them of his own accord without any outside suggestion. Campaspe deserves the title of the first purely English comedy in prose. and. until at length he succeeds in creating a thoroughly serviceable dramatic instrument. and he knew also how impossible it would be.CHAPTER III. Yet they were alive. Shakespeare was too much of a poet ever to dispense altogether with verse. And it is not fanciful I think to see in Lyly's pointed dialogue. he himself was possibly known at Court as a brilliant conversationalist. tinged with euphuism. they were flesh. up to date in the subjects it handled. but he appreciated the virtue of prose as a vehicle of comic dialogue. in verse form. though he manipulates it somewhat awkwardly in his earlier plays while still under the influence of the euphuistic fashion. Gascoigne's Supposes was his model in both these innovations. complete in everything but soul! While realising that woman should be the real protagonist in comedy. and therefore when he came to write plays he would naturally do all in his power to maintain and to improve his fame in this respect. Love's Labour's Lost. And since The Supposes was a translation. With his acute sense of form he would recognise how clumsy had been the efforts of previous dramatists.
of the development of action. And what we have said of Shakespeare may be said of Elizabethan drama as a whole. indeed nearly all Shakespeare's plays. with his scanty classical knowledge. of imagination. and even of characterization. Lyly. exhibit the same influence: for he knew his Lyly through and through. besides the lesson he taught him in comedy. Moreover he was before Marlowe by some nine years in the production of true romantic drama. in that strength of conception and beauty of execution which together make up the soul of drama.CHAPTER III. technical skill. certainly all his comedies. were models of plot construction. In spite. his master in tragedy. and did it once and for all." writes Mr Havelock Ellis. Love's Labour's Lost is only less indebted to Lyly. his "high. Lyly could lay claim to none of these. Such are the main characteristics of Lyly's dramatic genius. and all that comprises the science of play-making--things which were perhaps of more moment to him. was also his model for dramatic construction. With his knowledge of the Classics and of previous English experiments he wrote plays that. astounding terms" took the world of his day by storm. In the foregoing remarks I have continually indicated Shakespeare's debt to him in matters of detail. transmuted. He did the spade-work. . and his assimilative power was unequalled. compared with what had gone before. Lyly must be placed above the author of Edward II. and in his treatment of women. was also his master in poetry. vitalized. brilliancy of dialogue. It is as if he had witnessed in one day a representation of all Lyly's dramatic work. his gift to English literature was the gift of sublime beauty. than Marlowe's lesson which he had little need of learning. To attempt to trace his influence upon later writers would be to write a history of the Elizabethan stage. of Marlowe's immense superiority to him on the aesthetic side. and passion. "is at the heart of English poetry". 107 modern English playwrights. Marlowe. The Midsummer Night's Dream is from beginning to end full of reminiscences from the plays of the earlier dramatist. therefore. Shakespeare might almost be said to be a combination of Marlowe and Lyly plus that indefinable something which made him the greatest writer of all time. and wearied by the effort of attention had fallen asleep and dreamt this Dream. and beautified by the genius of our greatest poet. in dynamical importance. but his contribution was perhaps of more importance still. "Marlowe's place.
And even in the matter of this frame he was not always orthodox. are to be found in embryo in his plays. though he is more careful to observe unity of place. moreover. It is interesting however as it again brings out the peculiarity of Lyly's position. Lyly. if they were provided for her by Leicester or some other favourite. and which they were only too ready to glean second-hand. partook of the nature of both. And yet. they had imitated Seneca. He bowed to the tradition of the unities: but he frequently broke with it. and. except perhaps tragedy. and. and could boast of a learning on the subject of technique which few of his contemporaries or his successors could lay claim to. music. Gorbuduc and its like had been tedious and clumsy imitations. he was a romanticist at heart. it was natural that they should possess something of that atmosphere of pageantry. and his plays. Lyly's work therefore never advanced very far in the direction of the masque. In Lyly's day drama had not yet been differentiated from masque. an authority on matters dramatic. and pantomime which we now associate with the word masque. therefore. in The Woman alone does he confine the action to one day. or perhaps it would be better to say that he threw the beautiful and loosely fitting garment of romanticism over the classical frame of his dramas. It may indeed be claimed for him that all sections of Elizabethan drama. I have said that he was the first of the romanticists. Are they masques or dramas? and if the latter are they strictly speaking classical or romantic in form? As I have already suggested. though in its complimentary allegories it had much in common with it. The question as to whether it should be described as classical rather than as romantic is not one which need detain us long. He was. but he was no less the first important writer of classical drama.CHAPTER III. who was a late classic. Produced as they were for the Court. though he was wise enough to appreciate all that the classics could teach him. and with the comedies of Terence and Plautus. though the Greek dramatists were unknown to him. But Elizabeth was economical and preferred plain drama to the expensive masque displays. therefore. the answer to the first half of this question is that they were neither and both. had probably studied Aristotle's Poetics. 108 In connexion with Lyly's influence the question of the exact nature of his dramatic productions is worth a moment's consideration. though she was ready to enjoy the latter. imaginary transfers occurring in the middle of scenes indicate his rebellion against this . and was certainly acquainted with Horace's Ars Poetica.
with the exception of Jonson. and just as he anticipates the 17th and 18th centuries in his prose. and completed in aestheticism. and to view that process as a circle begun in euphuism. and which was eventually to lay its dead hand upon the art of the 18th century. to say that The Importance of being Earnest finishes the process that Campaspe started. in Lyly also we may see the first embodiment of that classical tradition which even Shakespeare's "purge" could do nothing to check. but even in the history of subsequent English drama. which binds the "singing room of Powles" to the Lyceum of Irving? And it is interesting to notice that the principle which he was the first to express shows at the present moment evident signs of exhaustion. more clearly enunciated by Ben Jonson. p. not only in Elizabethan literature. I think. the first link in the chain of dramatic development. 109 restriction. the most classical of all Elizabethan playwrights. [132] Bond.CHAPTER III. May we not say more than this? Is he not the first name in a continuous series from 1580 to our own day. II. he remains. Indeed it would not be altogether fanciful. . It is this "balance between classic precedent and romantic freedom[132]" that constitutes his supreme importance. so in his dramas we may discover the first competent handling of those principles and restrictions which. From Lyly we may trace the current of romanticism. 266. to Goethe and Victor Hugo. became iron laws for the post-Elizabethan dramatists. for its future developments seem to be limited to that narrow strip of social melodrama. through Shakespeare. Nevertheless. which lies between the devil of the comic opera and the deep sea of the Ibsenic problem play. when all is said.
and all he tells us is that he was short of stature and that he smoked. or great man's familiarity: a good property to perfume the boot of a coach. But Ben Jonson gives us an unmistakeable caricature of him under the delightfully appropriate name of Fastidious Brisk in Every Man out of His Humour. which it will be well to bring together now in order to give a portrait. who contracts debts with an easy conscience. affecting courtier. however inadequate. Or. [133] La Critique Scientifique. spruce. swears tersely and with variety. He describes him as a "neat.CHAPTER IV. of the man who played so important a part in English literature." Allowing for the exaggeration of satire. speaks good remnants notwithstanding his base viol and tobacco. CONCLUSION. yet in the course of our survey we have had occasion to notice several interesting points in reference to his mind and character. we cannot doubt that this portrait is in the main correct. to the excess of foppery. Hennequin[133]. At the beginning of this essay I gave a short account of the main facts of our author's life. Nash supplies the only piece of contemporary information about his person and habits. one that wears clothes well. for a need can post himself into credit with his merchant." or perhaps organizing a night party to disturb the slumbers of some insolent tradesman who had dared to insist upon . All this is in accordance with what we know of his life. and in fashion. It indicates a man who follows fashion. cares not what lady's favour he belies. He will borrow another man's horse to praise and back him as his own. who delights in scandal. That examination which I have now concluded is far too superficial in character to justify a psychological synthesis such as that advocated by M. only with the gingle of his spur and the jerk of his wand[134]. 110 CHAPTER IV. even in swearing. But though this essay cannot claim to have exhausted the subject of the ways and means of Lyly's art. practiseth by his glass how to salute. reserving my judgment upon his character and genius until after the examination of his works. We can picture him at Oxford serenading the Magdalen dons with his "base viol. and who is withal a merry fellow and a wit.
he was not ashamed to take up the profession of teaching in which he had already had some experience. he was no sycophant. and writes that last bitter letter to Elizabeth. But we can well picture him. 111 payment. he walks with such dignity as his stature permits. preceded that great event of his life--his presentation to the Queen--can only be guessed at. accompanying their songs on his instrument. as secretary to the Lord Chamberlain and associate of the highest in the land. or himself taking his place on the stage. his occupation gone. for he is now author of the much-talked-of Anatomy of Wit. his heart beating with pleasurable excitement. his hopes of the Revels Mastership blasted. Leaving de Vere's service after a sharp quarrel. "infelix academicus ignotus.CHAPTER IV. the refined Watson. engrossed in the not unpleasant duties of drilling his pupils for the performance of his plays. he breathed his native atmosphere. But. what adjustment and readjustment of ruffles and lace. a master of St Paul's. what bowing and scraping before the glass. Or yet again we can see him at the room of some boon companion seriously announcing to a convulsed assembly his intention of applying for a fellowship. yet his manners not forgotten in the hour of his pride. as he nods to an acquaintance and bows with sly demureness to some Iffida or Camilla. proposing that the house should go into committee for the purpose of concocting the now famous letter to Burleigh. [134] From the Preface." A wife and children on his hands. therefore. What elaboration of toilet. We see him next. disillusioned man. time-server as he was. and one of the most fashionable young men of the Court. and among them the "sea-dog" Hakluyt. the happiest period of his life when. and perchance George Pettie concealing his thorough enjoyment of the situation by a smile of elderly amusement. And last of all he appears as the disappointed. When we next catch a glimpse of him he is no longer the madcap. and now as the golden-bearded and long-eared Midas. . Those were the days of his success. his neat little figure leading a gang of young rascals. the praises and flattery of a fickle world of fashion. the sturdy and as yet unconverted Gosson. now as Diogenes in his ubiquitous tub. and when the last quip had been hurled at him through clouds of smoke and the laughter had died down. he becomes desperate. following his magnificently over-dressed patron up the long reception-room.
as Gabriel Harvey--always ready with the spiteful epigram--describes them. like Greene. Himself a novelist and dramatist. not of intellectual asceticism. being. the social success left high and dry by the unheeding current. as throwing a light upon the religious prejudices of our author. and evinced a considerable. But leaving "The thrice three muses mourning for the death Of Learning late deceased in beggary. sufficient to prove this. "alehouse and tinkerly stuffe. and in lending his aid to crush sectarians he thought no more deeply about the matter than he did in voting as Member of Parliament against measures which conflicted with his social inclinations. I have refrained from touching upon these Mar-Martin tracts because they possess neither aesthetic nor dynamical importance. he displayed also a keen delight in music. are. interest in . His life at Oxford. He was a courtier and he was a churchman. he had forgotten that the foundations of that city are laid on the bodies of her sons. he was seriously minded in any respect. His general attitude towards life was one of vigorous hedonism. thinking to take Belgravia by storm. if somewhat superficial. a bone thrown to the traditions of the moral Court treatise. however. as his contributions to the Marprelate controversy indicate. indeed. the keen pleasure he took in the things of this world. If.CHAPTER IV." let us look more closely into the character of this man. his attachment to the notorious de Vere. I think. but because. against which all his sympathies were enlisted. he died eventually in poverty. There was probably not an ounce of the theological spirit in his whole composition. it was upon the subject of Art. nothing worthy a scholar or a real gentleman. for his refutation of atheism was a youthful essay in dialectics. in Bohemia. 112 The man of fashion out of date." They are worth mentioning. The ethical element of Euphues links him rather to the already vanishing Humanism than to the rising Puritanism. we may decide that there was nothing of the Puritan about him. whose brilliant and successful youth was followed by so sad an old age. In spite of Professor Raleigh and the moralizing of Euphues. not because he had wasted his substance.
And yet. and our euphuist in all probability made one of the party. And the same may be said of his extensive excursions into the land of books. therefore. it is interesting to notice that we have clear evidence that he knew Chaucer[135]. Moreover. cannot be urged against him. 401.CHAPTER IV. could marshal such an array of learning. or Italian. Unlike Marlowe and Greene. and few could have turned even what they had with such skill and effect to their own purposes. had been unnoticed by him. whom indeed he laughed at. though he apparently made it his business to know something of every art. Idleness. We have seen what a thorough acquaintance he possessed of English drama before his day. I. There is a story that Watson and Nash invited a company together to sup at the Nag's Head in Cheapside. which had been published in English previous to 1580. a student's life could have possessed no attraction for one of his temperament. Guevara indeed being his chief inspiration. [135] Bond. and to discuss the pedantries of Harvey. All the knowledge he acquired in such amateur appreciation was brought to the service of his literary productions. 113 painting. it was only in order to improve himself in his own particular branch. if he went far afield. Lyly had made a thorough study of such classics as were available in his day. Nor did he neglect the literature of his own land. If he could not read Spanish. for it was simply a means to the end of his art. p. and how his lyrics indicate a possible study of the mediaeval scholar song-books. Lyly had nothing in common with the spirit of his old friend Gabriel Harvey. His erudition sat lightly on him. with the possible exception of Jonson. But the classics formed only a small section of the books digested by this omnivorous reader. and we have seen how he employed them in his novel and in his plays. and. No Elizabethan dramatist but Lyly. he devoured and assimilated the numerous translations from those languages into English. French. and how he exhibits the influence of the writings of Ascham and perhaps other humanists. Few books we may suppose. In conclusion. nor does this imposing display of learning indicate a pedant. how he laid himself under obligation to the bestiaries and the proverb-books for his euphuistic philosophy. he was no sciolist. he had harvested all his wild .
ponderous as his Euphues seems to us now. rather. Of that "high seriousness. and this fact. for it was the form and not the idea which fascinated him. to his type of mind the letter was everything and the spirit nothing. to the fingertips. indeed. one of the cleverest writers in our literature when we consider what he accomplished. He was facile. I have said. a straightener of the way. for his laugh lost none of its merriment. He was supremely clever. skill. planning and designing what others might build. not at his soul. And therefore it was his fate to be nothing more than a forerunner. He was. or. but he was much too clever to be simple. but he was nevertheless an artist to the fingertips. learning. and his wit improved with experience. the superficiality of his art was the result of the superficiality of his soul.CHAPTER IV. and it is in technique alone that he can claim to have succeeded. He had wit. And consequently his writings were frequently as finical as his dress was fastidious. and how small was the legacy of his predecessors. but his art lay at his fingers' ends." which Aristotle has declared to be the poet's essential. Yet he was without the artist's ideals. so that we may well believe that in the Court he was more Philautus than Euphues. Artist he was. Of the . His art was perhaps only an instrument for the acquisition of social success. Artist and man of taste he was. the true spirit of art was quite beyond his comprehension. he has nothing. He was the expert mathematician who formulated the laws which enabled Shakespeare to read the stars. but the process had refined rather than sobered him. though he was connoisseur enough to appreciate its presence in others. Technique throughout was his chief interest. dexterous. his intellect was akin to the intellect of those who in their humbler fashion find pleasure in the solution of acrostics. the draughtsman of the Elizabethan workshop. everything but inspired. vitiated his writings to a considerable extent. 114 oats before he left Oxford. Indeed. and which Marlowe and Shakespeare possessed so fully. but he was no poet. ingenious. and. In his writings also his aim was to be graceful rather than erudite. with the exception of his lyrics. imagination. He excelled in the niceties of art. together with his frivolity. he revelled in the accomplishment of literary feats. and before his death he realised with bitterness that he was only a stepping-stone for young Shakespeare to mount his throne. but none of that passionate apprehension of life which makes the poet. it appealed to its Elizabethan public as a model of elegance. "More art than nature" is a just criticism of everything he wrote.
and even if it has a musty flavour for our pampered palates. he caught a glimpse of the silver beauties of the moon. and even the plays seem dull and lifeless. and with all our efforts we catch little but dust." words referring perhaps more especially to Lyly's poetical faculty. Waller was rescued from oblivion and labelled as the first of the classical poets. as in Endymion. Never before had England seen anything like it. And yet though he lacked the poet's sense. it saves his writings from becoming unbearably wearisome. His experiments in prose first taught men that style was a matter worthy of careful study. the historical aspect few English writers are of greater interest. would shake the very arch of heaven with the passion and the beauty of their song? But for us who have heard the chorus first. he was one of the great founders of our literature. once a name to conjure with. The magic has long passed from Euphues. the earliest beam of the rising sun. and we cannot wonder that his public hailed him in their delight as one of the greatest writers of all time. from the dynamical. This sunbeam it is impossible to recover. but much truer if interpreted as an allusion to his wit. Even as late as 1632 Blount exclaims. he had no conception of the glories of the midday sun. That it should be so was inevitable.CHAPTER IV. But we can claim more for Lyly than this. And yet for the scientific critic Lyly's work is still alive with significance. How could they know that he was only the first voice in a choir of singers which. "This poet sat at the sunne's table. and though now and again. he was no psychologist. The genius of our hero played like a dancing sunbeam over the early Elizabethan stage. temporary. Worthless as much of it is from the aesthetic point of view. he was among the earliest of those who realised the utility of blank verse for . But it is quite impossible for us to realise how brilliant his wit seemed to the Elizabethans before it was eclipsed by the genius of Shakespeare. his wit did something to repair the defect. for the wit which illuminated these works was of the time. 115 heights and depths of passion he was unconscious. bursting forth before his notes had died away. the recitative seems poor and thin. laying bare the human soul with the lancet. and moreover his fun was without that element of coarseness which mars the comic scenes of later dramatists who appealed to more popular audiences. Extravagant as it may sound.
for the historian of literature it is none the less important on that account. but by his mastery of dramatic technique he laid such a burden of obligation upon future playwrights that he placed English drama upon a completely new basis. Manuel de Libraire. Of the three main branches of our literature. Arber's English Reprints. BOND. he wrote the first English novel in our language. BAKER. The Schoolmaster. G. Toxophilus. and though his work suffered because it lacked the quality of poetry. BRUNET. LIST OF CHIEF AUTHORITIES. two--the novel and the drama--were practically of his creation. Globe Edition. CHILD. RICHARD. ROGER. Specimens of English Prose. BUTLER CLARKE. ASCHAM. BARNEFIELD. Clarendon Press. ASCHAM. W. P. LORD. The Golden Boke of Marcus Aurelius. John Lyly. Works of Kyd. Clarendon Press. BERNERS. C. Spanish Literature. LORD. SIR H. Arber's English Reprints. Münchener Beiträge VII. R. Froissart's Chronicles.CHAPTER IV. G. Lyly's Endymion. therefore. . BOAS. Scholar's Library. ARBER. ROGER. 116 dramatic purposes. The Martin Marprelate Controversy. Poems. CRAIK. and finally he is not only deservedly recognised as the father of English comedy. John Lyly and Euphuism. BERNERS. 3 Vols. Arber's Scholar's Library.
HENNEQUIN. 1880-2. LANDMANN. EARLE. History of English Prose. DR. Trans. Sprache und Literatur. Shakespeare and Euphuism. FIELD. XLI. MARTIN. Introduction to the Literature of Europe. Early Eng. GAYLEY. Text Soc. ANTONIO DE. The English Novel in the time of Shakespeare. Arber's English Reprints. July 14. Extra Series XL. LEE. Athenæum. LANDMANN. Spanish Influence on English Literature. From Shakespeare to Pope. GUEVARA. Soc.CHAPTER IV. Libro Aureo del emperado Marco Aurelio. Spanish Literature. La Critique Scientifique. 1883. Sermons. LEE. FITZMAURICE-KELLY. GOSSE. HUME. HALLAM. SIDNEY. New Shak. A Woman is a Weathercock.. Huon of Bordeaux (Berners'). GOSSON. JUSSERAND. Arber's English Reprints. . SIDNEY. DR. Heinemann. School of Abuse. 117 DICTIONARY of National Biography. Introduction to Euphues. LATIMER. NATHANIEL. Representative English Comedies.
KARL. Euphues. SIDNEY. A. MEREDITH. Arber's English Reprints. DR A. LYLY. German Passion Play. SYMONDS. MINTO. G. G. Chances of Death. Shakespeare's Predecessors. 3 Vols. HERBERT. J. Life of Shakespeare. W. SPENCER. Spanish Literature in Tudor England. II. PEARSON. Prédécesseurs et contemporains de Shakespeare. W. 118 LEE. UNDERHILL. Globe Edition. Manual of English Prose Literature. LIEBIG. Ralph Roister Doister. GEORGE. Essays--Philosophy of Style. UDALL. RETURN FROM PARNASSUS. NICHOLAS. Arber's English Reprints. The English Novel. MACAULAY. Arber's Scholar's Library. . Vol. Specimens of English Prose. RALEIGH. Lord Bacon et les sciences d'observation en moyen âge. PETTIE. Petite Palace of Pettie his Pleasure. to Froissart's Chronicles.CHAPTER IV. Essay on Comedy. WARD. SAINTSBURY. Introd. THOMAS. PROF. NORTH. Diall of Princes. MÉZIÈRES. English Dramatic Literature. GEORGE.
WATSON. 48 Ariosto. 57 Alençon. INDEX. Affectionate Shepherd.CHAPTER IV. 55 Arber (reprints). Arber's English Reprints. 84 Aretino. Dr. WEYMOUTH. Arber's English Reprints. THOMAS. Discourses of English Poetry. Euphues) Andrews. Matthew. Poems. 66 Anatomy of Wit (v. 121. 68. 129. 9. Spanish. 12. 46 Arcadia. On Euphuism. Trans. 119 WARD. 38. 47 . 51. 96 Aristotle. 1870-2. 94. 58. MRS H. Soc. DR R. "John Lyly. Duc d'. 82. WEBBE." Article in Enc. 137 Armada. 56. 110 Arnold. 27. Brit. 46 Albion's England. 105 Amis and Amile. Phil. F.
George. 37. 42. 67 Bertaut. 38. 5 Athenæum. 120 Ars Poetica (of Horace). 52. 29.. 22. Robert. 47 Baena. 66 Aurelius. 46 Berners. 48 Baker. 35 bestiaries. P. 67. G. 136 Biographia Britannica. 31. 5. Lord. 66. 33. 98 Baker. 74. 4. 34. 7. 28 Baker.CHAPTER IV. 42. 34. 19. 4. 73. 79 Aucassin and Nicolette. 30. 69 Austen. 130 Ascham. Lord. Richard. 39. 31. 12 . 136 Athenae Oxonienses. 22. 80 Bacon. 69. Réné. Marcus. 35. 85. 41. 28 Barnefield. 20. Jane. 36. 30 Athens. 34. 50.
121 Blackfriars. 120. 77 Cambridge. 34 Bryan. 7. 139 Boas. 49. 66. 124. 104. 34. Sir Francis. 78. 85. 75. 65 Carew. 89. 126 Canterbury Tales. 30. 6. 49 Byron (anticipated by Lyly). 98-102.CHAPTER IV. 113. 8.. 5. 26. 100 blank verse. 95. 7. 31 Burleigh. 75 Bond. 69. 85. 67. W. 125. 121. 130. 98. 86. 72. 27 Carpenter. 105. 116. 87. 116. R. 94. 99. 133 Butler Clarke. 4. 97. 19 Castiglione. 97. 60. 3. 30. 117. 109. 48. 115. 108. 74. 7. 100. 93 Campaspe. 114. 45 Boccaccio. 87. 43. 9. 137 Brunet. 72 . 114. 113 Blount. 81. 86. 55. 4. Edward. 87.
7. 87. 12. 26. 26 Corro. 66. 92. 28 Cortes. 90 and masque. 66 Chaucer. 100-101.. A. 28. C. 14. 94. 116 and society. 89-98 and folly. G. 59 choristers. 56. 87. 48. 127 Cooling Carde for all Fond Lovers. 88. 97-98. 112 and music. Antonio de. 94. 24 Charles VIII. 38. 40 comedy before Lyly. 8. 137 Cheke. 50 Civile Conversation. 122 Caxton. 92. 126. 15.. 39 .CHAPTER IV. 125-126 Congreve. 71 Corpus Christi College (Oxford). 116 Christ Church. 27 Craik. Sir John. 101. 66. 88 and woman. 26. 67 Cecil. 65. 31.. 26. 16. 50 Child. 8 Celestina. 37. 42. 39 Cicero. Sir H. 37.
97. 116. 46 Damon and Pithias. 22. 101 . 117 Cynthia. 51 Earle. 86. 129 Edwardes. 12 Devereux. 95. 93.. 72-73 Edward II. 109 Diall of Princes. 87. 79 Dispraise of the Life of a Courtier. 84 dubartism. 53. 119 De Educatione (of Plutarch). Richard. Thomas. 69 Diana. 115. 31 Doni. 72 Dekker. 39.CHAPTER IV. 121 Demosthenes. 114. 94. 48 Dryden. Penelope. 54 education (Lyly's views on). 93. 123 Cupid and my Campaspe played. 24 Dickens. 30.
George. 84 quoted. 61 poetry and. 39-42. 55-56 Renaissance and. 138 English Novel. 54. 62 diction and. The (v. 43. 20. 57. 56. 124 Eliot. 61. 26. 74. 26 Estella. 128 Endymion. 47-52. 50-53 imitators of. 74-76 distinction between the two parts. 60. 36-39. 16. Euphues) Euphues and his Ephoebus. 65-69 criticism and description of (i) Anatomy of Wit. 7. 84. 70. 107-110. 78 Euphues and his England (v. 21-43 Oxford and. 17. 5. 45. 86. 61. 13-21 an aristocratic fashion. 129. 72-73 Euphuism analysis of. 56 humanism and. 75. Queen. Havelock. 76-80 dedication of. 49. 134 Ellis. 104. 100. 73. 25. 140 moral tone of. 21. 61. 93 Euphues antecedents of. 81. 43-46 origins of. 6. 104. 8. 27 Eton. 101. 98. 22-36 . 10. 73-74 Elizabethan reputation of. 10-11. 54. 15. 105. 103. 107. Jusserand) Erasmus. 85. 3. 26-28. 83. 4. 99. Raleigh) English Novel in the time of Shakespeare. 62 Scott's misapprehension of. 3. 71-72 publication and editions of.CHAPTER IV. 3. 76. 98. 122. The (v. 10-13. 57. 80 Elizabeth. 10. 58. 80. 8. 9. 11-13 Spain and. 11 secret of Lyly's influence. 137 first English novel. 69-73 (ii) Euphues and his England. 65. 112. 45-46. 121. 6. 18. 43-47.
91. 96. 48. 52. 86 Gallathea. 92. 112 Gammer Gurton's Needle. 42. 97. 58 . 116 Gascoigne. 31. 35 Gager. 125 Every Man out of His Humour. 33. 61. 80. the. 23. 126 Gayley. 102 Fitzmaurice-Kelly. 47. 103 Field.CHAPTER IV. 35. 119. 66. 98. 69 France (and French). 95. 69. Nathaniel. 56. 94. 132 fabliau. 93. 29. 53. 34. 66 Faery Queen. 114. 136 Froissart. William. 107. 36. 44. 66 Gibbon. 95 Geoffrey of Dunstable. 92 Gesta Romanorum. 40. George. 31. 24 Flaubert. 79 Fortescue. 22. The. 94. 39. 56 Florence.
46. 51 Goodlet. 22-24. The. 109 gongorism. 24. 42. 30. 28-31. 71. Lady Jane. 27. 26 Guevara. 48. 72. 136 Habsburgs. Stephen. 76. 69. 133 . 24 Greek.CHAPTER IV. Dr. 62 Greene. 126 Glasse for Europe. 31. 130 Golden Boke. 52. 109. 40 Guerrero. 56 Gorbuduc. 26. 49. 53. 129 Gosse. 43. 22. 103 Hakluyt. 137 Grey. Antonio de. 81 Goethe. 28. 86. 40. 74 Guazzo. A. 36 Gosson. 135. 27. 37 Gollancz. 4. 36. 33-38. 133 Granada.
67. 95. 24. 42. 45.. 25 Huon of Bordeaux. 135 Hume. 6. 92. 66 Huss. 4. 25. 130 humanism. 100 Herrick. Dr. 69. 7. Martin. 34 Halpin. 66 . 46 Hennequin. 127 Hallam. 111 Harrison. 67 Horace. 92. 20. 19 Harvey. 30. 109. 31 Hernani. 132 Henry VIII. 50. 23. 53.CHAPTER IV. 117 Heywood. 96 Homer. 137 Hekatompathia. 135. John. 26. Gabriel. 130 Hugo. Victor. 33. 52. 37. 109. 54. 69 Harvey.
22. 75 Kyd. 120. 31. Henry. 128 Importance of being Earnest. 30. 16. 130. 96 James I. 36 Lazarillo de Tórmes. 23 James. 18. 24. Dr. 40. 29-33. 123 . 69. 74. 86. 109 Knox. 136 Jusserand. 94. 24. 66. 47.. 12. 53. 43-46. 114. 14. 132. 43. 24 Lee. 115 Kynge Johan. 75 Latimer. 42. 69. Sidney. 78. 67. 58 Jonson. Ben. 29. 88 Landmann. 23 Kenilworth. 95. 49.CHAPTER IV. The. Dr. 75. 47. 52. 72. 99 Lady Windermere's Fan. 53 Johnson. 127. 136 Jacke Jugelar. 76 Katherine of Aragon. John. 25. 48. 102. 65. 131 Italy (and Italian).
38. 132-135 novelist. 127. 95. 26. 119 London. 46. 130. 69. 78. G. Guevara) Liebig. 135. 10. 2-3. 58. 126-127 reputation. 116. 8 Love's Labour's Lost. 123. 101. 11-21.CHAPTER IV. 19 Literature of Europe. 95. John: character and genius. 33 . 26-28. 51. 88. 71. 17. 138-139 friends of. Thomas. 47. Earl of. 114. 64-84 poet. 128-129 courtier and man of fashion. 137-139 compared with Marlowe. 3. 112. 102. 100. 115-118. 119-120. and Michael. 123. 110. 133. 110. 51. 10-13. 87. 129 Leicester. 60. 138-140 prose. 42. 39. 52-63. 129 Libro Aureo (v. 43. 54. 135 dramatist. 20. 4-9. 103. 113. 57. 122 Luther. 8. 3. 7. 137 Jonson's caricature of. 91. 130. 61. 53. 110. 33. 27. 89 Lyly. 113. 3. 105. 109. Thomas. 97. 98-131. 113. 86-88. 107. 62. 43 Lok. 138. 43. 109-111. 73-84. 63. 34 Lodge. 128 Love's Metamorphosis. 61 lyrics. 52-63.. 127-128. C. 98. 7. 27 London. 132-133 learning. 115-118 Macaulay. 63. 11-13. 134. 98. Bishop of. 136-137 life. 86. 119-120. 139 position in English literature. 85-131 forerunner of Shakespeare. 124. 9. Henry. 9. 65-69.
109-111. 117. Lord. 47. 125 Magdalen College (Oxford). 109 masque. 3. 26 Mary (of Scots). 6. 119 Mendoza. 128-129. 123. 138 Martin Marprelate. 125 Midsummer Night's Dream (anticipated by Lyly). 98. 3. 110-112. George. 127 Milton. 55 . 104. 23. 67 Marini. 4. 129 Maupassant. 112. 86. 114. 122. 130 Macaulay. 50 Marlowe. 79. 80 Macbeth. 135-136 Mary (Tudor). 97. 53. 24 Meredith. 133 Malory.CHAPTER IV. 137. Guy de. 66. 88. 25. 75 Mayde's Metamorphosis. 126 Midas. 8. 105. 113. 48 Marius the Epicurean.
Vere. 114-117 Munday. 73. 75 Ovid. 89-92. 133. 123 Monastery. the. 124 Morte d'Arthur. 61. 137 Newton. 56. 98. 87. 43 Murder of John Brewer. 119. 65. 22. 74. 55. The. 119. 89-91. 23. Anthony. 29. 86. 66. the. 49. 67 Mother Bombie. 131 miracle-play. 93. 105. 65. 94. the. 17. The. 69. 49. Sir Thomas. 27 North.CHAPTER IV. Edward de) . 69 Nash. 84. 23. 42. 24 moral court treatise. Earl of (v. 95. 74. 4-7. 67. 11 Montemayor. 75 morality-play. 111 Oxford. 19 Nicholas. 68. 66. 30. 67. 114. 39 novella. 72. 46. 53. 137 Oxford. 25-28. 28. 99. 69. 115 Naples. the. 102. 70. 68. Thomas. 39. 69.
of Spain (caricatured by Lyly). 69. The. 41. William. 86. 48 Pettie. 73 Poetics of Aristotle. 67. 39. 68 Petrarchisti. 100 Plutarch. 46. 121 Plautus. 79. 69. 27 Pliny. 83 pastoral romance. 41. 17. 92 Play of the Wether. 93 Pleasant History of the Conquest of West India. 40 Palgrave. 40. 110 picaresque romance.CHAPTER IV. 132 Painter. 40. 23 Plato. 69 Philip II. 133 Petite Pallace of Pettie his Pleasure. 23. 117 Palamon and Arcite. 56. 72. 69. 130 . 53. 20. George. 17. The. 75. 86 Pallace of Pleasure. 40 Pamela. 32.
110. 27 romance of chivalry. the. 26. 87 Quick. 87. Prof. 71.. 133 puritanism. 64. 71. 123. Thomas. 7. 84. 134 Saintsbury. 66. 62. 109. 83 Rogers. 65. 13 Sainte Beuve. 65-68. 115. 47-52. 55. 75 Ronsard. 57. 99. 116. 20. Prof. 12 Raleigh. 27 Sallust. 37 . 93. 72. 114. the. 53 St Paul's Choir School. 119. 61 Rowland.CHAPTER IV. 8. W. 131. 57. 116 Renaissance. 3. 95. 103. 73 Quintilian. 135 Puttenham.. 24 Sacharissa. 118 Revels' Office. 134 Richardson. 68. 9. 135 Ralph Roister Doister. 8. 25.
99. 42. 98. 43. 128. 105.CHAPTER IV. 82. 100. 139 Sheridan. 134 Sapho and Phao. 138. The. 130. 113. 61 Spenser. 27. 58. 9. The. 109 . 88 Sidney. 55. 11 Seneca. 55. 31. Sir Philip. 75 Schwan. 118. 120-124. 120 Stella. Sir Walter. 43. 45 Soto. 136 Spanish Tragedy. 127. 56 Scott. 52. 23. Pedro de. 122 Savoy Hospital. 84 Sixe Court Comedies. 67. 116. 104-107. 38. 7 School of Abuse. 2. 47. 66. 22-28. The. 110. 45 Spencer. 111. 69. 48. 129 Shakespeare. 40. 50. 102. Dr. 44. 33-36. 103. 109. 114 Soliman and Perseda. 52. 26 Spain (and Spanish). the. 47. 116. 27 Schoolmaster. 68. 101. Herbert. 7. 30. 95. 73. 87. 115.
28. 116. 93. 38 Tully (v. 135 Stevenson. 48 Tents and Toils (office of). 95. 94. 93. 31 Symonds. 28. 97. 104. 117 Taine. 40 Vere. 96. 36. 114. 126 Surrey. 77 Timon of Athens (anticipated by Lyly). 50. 91. 62. 93. 134 . 119 Stratford. 47. 101 Toxophilus. 46.CHAPTER IV. 23. Edward de. 1 Tamburlaine.. 95. 119 Underhill. 93 Tasso. 7. 113 Taming of the Shrew. A. 92. The. 109 Suppositi (Supposes). 96 Thackeray. 87. J. 24. 8 Terence. 116. 87. 119. Nicholas. 34. 114. 86. Cicero) Udall. 27. 119.
128 Wood. 140 Ward. 86 . in the Elizabethan age. 49. 30. 5. 33. 43 Wine. 7. 34 Weymouth. 8. 4. 113. 137 Webbe. 26 Virgil. The. Dr. 93 Ward. 100-101. 17. 43. 133. Anthony à. 117 Woman in the Moon. 124. Women and Song. 97-98. 45. 125-126. 136 Villa Garcia. 46. 43 West. William. 11 Welbanke. 130 Woman is a Weathercock. 98. 12. 50 Vives.CHAPTER IV. 92. 53. 112. importance of. 26 Waller. 80 Warner. Mrs H. 80-82. 57 Watson.. Dr. Thomas. A. 14 Wilkinson. Dr. 74-76. 25. 44 women.
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