Defence of Poesie (66-70)

Delight hath a ioy in it either permanent or present. Laughter hath onely a scornfull tickling. For example, wee are rauished with delight to see a faire woman, and yet are farre from beeing mooued to laughter. Wee laugh at deformed creatures, wherein certainly wee cannot delight. We delight in good chaunces, wee laugh at mischaunces. We delight to heare the happinesse of our friendes and Countrey, at which hee were worthie to be laughed at, that would laugh: we shall contrarily laugh sometimes to finde a matter quite mistaken, and goe downe the hill against the byas, in the mouth of some such men as for the respect of them, one shall be hartily sorie, he cannot chuse but laugh, and so is rather pained, then delighted with laughter. Yet denie I not, but that they may goe well togither, for as in Alexanders picture well set out, wee delight without laughter, and in twentie madde Antiques, wee laugh without delight . So in Hercules, painted with his great beard and furious countenaunce, in a womans attyre, spinning, at Omphales commaundement, it breedes both delight and laughter: for the representing of so straunge a power in Loue, procures delight, and the scornefulnesse of the action, stirreth laughter . But I speake to this purpose, that all the ende of the Comicall part, bee not vppon suche scornefull matters as stirre laughter onelie, but mixe with it, that delightfull teaching whiche is the ende of Poesie .

And the great faulte euen in that poynt of laughter, and forbidden plainly by Aristotle, is, that they stirre laughter in sinfull things, which are rather execrable then ridiculous: or in miserable, which are rather to be pitied then scorned. For what is it to make folkes gape at a wretched begger, and a beggerly Clowne: or against lawe of hospitalitie ; to ieast at straungers, because they speake not English so well as we do ? What doo we learne, since it is certaine, Nil habet infelix paupert as durius in se, Quam quod ridiculos homines facit. But rather a busie louing Courtier, and a hartlesse threatning Thraso; a selfe-wise-seeming Schoolemaister, a wry transformed Traueller: these if we saw walke in Stage names, which we plaie naturally, therein were delightfull laughter, and teaching delightfulnesse; as in the other the Tragidies of Buchanan do iustly bring foorth a a diuine admiration. But I haue lauished out too many words of this Play-matter; I do it, because as they are excelling parts of Poesie, so is there none so much vsed in England, and none can be more pittifully abused: which like an vnmannerly daughter, shewing a bad education, causeth her mother Poesies honestie to be called in question.

Other sort of Poetrie, almost haue we none, but that Lyricall kind of Songs and Sonets ; which Lord, if he gaue vs so good mindes, how well it might be employed, and with how heauenly fruites, both priuate and publike, in singing the praises of the immortall bewtie, the immortall goodnes of that God, who giueth vs hands to write, and wits to conceiue: of which we might wel want words, but neuer matter, of which we could turne our eyes to nothing, but we should euer haue new budding occasions. But truly many of such writings as come vnder the banner of vnresistable loue, if I were a mistresse, would neuer perswade mee they were in loue: so coldly they applie firie speeches, as men that had rather redde louers writings, and so caught vp certaine swelling Phrases, which hang togither like a man that once tolde me the winde was at Northwest and by South, because he would be sure to name winds inough, then that in truth they feele those passions, which easily as I thinke, may be bewraied by that same forciblenesse or Euergia, (as the Greeks call it of the writer). But let this be a sufficient, though short note, that we misse the right vse of the materiall point of Poesie.

Now for the outside of it, which is words, or (as I may tearme it) Diction, it is euen well worse: so is it that hony-flowing Matrone Eloquence, apparrelled, or rather disguised, in a Courtisanlike painted affectation. One time with so farre fet words, that many seeme monsters, but must seeme straungers to anie poore Englishman: an other time with coursing of a letter, as if they were bound to follow the method of a Dictionary: an other time with figures and flowers extreemly winter-starued. But I would this fault were onely peculiar to Versefiers, and had not as large possession among Prose-Printers: and which is to be meruailed among many Schollers, & which is to be pitied among some Preachers. Truly I could wish, if at least I might be so bold to wish, in a thing beyond the reach of my capacity, the diligent Imitators of Tully & Demosthenes, most worthie to be imitated, did not so much keepe Nizolian paper bookes, of their figures and phrases, as by attentiue translation, as it were, deuoure them whole, and make them wholly theirs. For now they cast Suger and spice vppon euerie dish that is serued to the table: like those Indians, not content to weare eare-rings at the fit and naturall place of the eares, but they will thrust Iewels through their nose and lippes, because they will be sure to be fine. Tully when he was to driue out Cataline, as it were with a thunderbolt of eloquence, often vseth the figure of repitition, as Viuit et vincit, imo insenatum, Venit imo, in senatum venit, &c. Indeede enflamed, with a well grounded rage, hee would haue his words ( as it were) double out of his mouth, and so do that artificially, which we see men in choller doo naturally. And we hauing noted the grace of those words, hale them in sometimes to a familiar Epistle, when it were too much choller to be chollericke.

How well store of Similiter Cadenses, doth sound with the grauitie of the Pulpit, I woulde but inuoke Demosthenes soule to tell: who with a rare daintinesse vseth them . Truly they haue made mee thinke of the Sophister, that with too much subtiltie would proue two Egges three, and though he might bee counted a Sophister, had none for his labour. So these men bringing in such a kinde of eloquence, well may they obtaine an opinion of a seeming finenesse, but perswade few, which should be the ende of their finenesse. Now for similitudes in certain Printed discourses, I thinke all Herberists, all stories of beasts, foules, and fishes, are rifled vp, that they may come in multitudes to wait vpon any of our conceits, which certainly is as absurd a surfet to the eares as is possible. For the force of a similitude not being to proue any thing to a contrary disputer, but onely to explaine to a willing hearer, when that is done, the rest is a moste tedious pratling, rather ouerswaying the memorie from the purpose whereto they were applied, then anie whit enforming the iudgement alreadie either satisfied, or by similitudes not to be satisfied. For my part, I doo not doubt, when Antonius and Crassus, the great forefathers of Cicero in eloquence, the one (as Cicero testifieth of them) pretended not to knowe Art, the other not to set by it, (because with a plaine sensiblenesse, they might winne credit of popular eares, which credit, is the nearest steppe to perswasion, which perswasion, is the chiefe marke of Oratorie) I do not doubt I say, but that they vsed these knacks verie sparingly, which who doth generally vse, any man may see doth dance to his owne musick, and so to be noted by the audience, more careful to speak curiously then truly. Vndoubtedly (at least to my opinion vndoubtedly ) I haue found in diuers smal learned Courtiers, a more sound stile, then in some professors of learning, of which I can gesse no other cause, but that the Courtier following that which by practise he findeth fittest to nature, therein(though he know it not)doth according to art, thogh not by art: where the other vsing art to shew art and not hide art (as in these cases he shuld do) flieth from nature, & indeed abuseth art.