A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Dorset, Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of

by John William Cousin

Dorset, Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of (1638-1706).—Poet, was one of the dissolute and witty courtiers of Charles II., and a friend of Sir C. Sedley (q.v.), in whose orgies he participated. He was, however, a patron of literature, and a benefactor of Dryden in his later and less prosperous years. He wrote a few satires and songs, among the latter being the well-known, To all you Ladies now on Land. As might be expected, his writings are characterised by the prevailing indelicacy of the time.

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