The Defence of Poesie.
of the former, is Buono, Suono, of the Sdrucciola, is Femina, Semina. The French of the other side, hath both the Male as Bon, Son; and the Female, as Plaise, Taise; but the Sdrucciola he hath not: where the English hath all three, as Du, Trew, Father, Rather, Motion, Potion, with much more which might be sayd, but that alreadie I finde the triflings of this discourse is much too much enlarged. So that since the euer-praise woorthie Poesie is full of vertue breeding delightfulnesse, and voyd of no gift that ought to be in the noble name of learning, since the blames layd against it, are either false or feeble, since the cause why it is not esteemed in England, is the fault of Poet-apes, not Poets. Since lastly our tongue is most fit to honour Poesie, and to bee honoured by Poesie, I coniure you all that haue had the euill luck to read this inck-wasting toy of mine, euen in the name of the nine Muses, no more to scorne the sacred misteries of Poesie. No more to laugh at the name of Poets, as though they were next inheritors to fooles; no more to iest at the reuerent title of a Rimer, but to beleeue with Aristotle, that they were the auncient Treasurers of the Grecians diuinitie; to beleeue with Bembus, that they were first bringers in of all Ciuilitie; to beleeue with Scalliger that no Philosophers precepts can sooner make you an honest man, then the reading of Virgil; to beleeue with Clauserus, the Translator of Cornutus, that it pleased the heauenly deitie by Hesiod and Homer, vnder the vaile of Fables to giue vs all knowledge, Logicke, Rhetoricke, Philosophie, naturall and morall, and Quid non? To beleeue with me, that there are many misteriescontained
