Haud facile emergunt, quorum virtutibus obftat, Res angufta domi : And being endued with that innate modefty, which rarely finds promotion in princes courts; he became fecretary to Richard earl of Carbury, lord prefident of the principality of Wales, who made him steward of Ludlow-caftle, when the court there was revived. About this time, he married one Mrs. Herbert, a gentlewoman of a very good family, but no widow, as our Oxford antiquary has reported: fhe had a competent fortune, but it was most of it unfortunately loft, by being put out on ill fecurities, fo that it was little advantage to him. He is reported, by our antiquary, to have been secretary to his grace George duke of Buckingham, when he was chancellor to the university of Cambridge; but whether that be true or no, it is certain, the duke had a great kindness for him, and was often a benefactor to him. But no man was a more generous friend to him, than that Mecaenas of all learned and witty men, Charles lord Buckhurst, the late earl of Dorfet and Middlefex, who, being himself an excellent poet, knew how to fet a juft value upon the ingenious performances of others, and has often taken care privately to relieve and fupply the neceffities of thofe, whofe modefty would endeavour to conceal them; of which our author was a fignal inftance, as several others have been, who are now living. In fine, the integrity of his life, the acutenefs of his wit, and eafinefs of his converfation, had rendered him most acceptable to all men; yet he prudently a voided multiplicity of acquaintance, and wifely chofe fuch only whom his difcerning judgment could diftinguish, as Mr. Cowley expresses it, From the great vulgar or the fmall. And having thus lived to a good old age, admired by all, though perfonally known to few, he departed this life in the year 1680, and was buried at the charge of his good friend Mr. L--vil of the T---ple, in the yard belonging to the church of St. Paul, Covent-Garden, at the Westend of the said yard, on the North-fide, under the wall of the faid church, and under that wall which parts the yard from the common highway. And fince he has no monument yet fet up him, give me leave to borrow his epitaph from that of Michael Drayton the poet, as the author of Mr. Cowley's has partly done before me. And though no monument can claim To be the treasurer of thy name; This work, which ne'er will die, shall be An everlasting monument to thee. for The characters of this poem are for the most part obvious, even to the meaneft pretenders to learning or hiftory; nor can fcarce any one be fo ignorant, as not to know, that the chief defign thereof is a fatire against thofe incendiaries of church and state, who, in the late rebellion, under pretence of religion, murdered the beft of kings, to introduce the worst of governments; destroyed the best of churches, that hypocrify, novelty, and nonfenfe, might be predominant among us; and overthrew our wholesome laws and constitutions, to make way for their blessed anarchy and confufion, which at laft ended in tyranny. But fince, according to the proverb, None are fo blind as they that will not fee; fo those who are not refolved to be invincibly ignorant, I refer, for their farther fatisfaction, to the hiftories of Mr. Fowlis of Prefbytery, and Mr. Walker of Independency; but more especially to that incomparable history lately published, wrote by Edward earl of Clarendon, which are fufficient to fatisfy any unbiassed perfon, that his general characters are not ficti tious and I could heartily wish these times were fo reformed, that they were not applicaable to fome even now living. However, there being feveral particular perfons reflected on, which are not commonly known, and fome old ftories and uncouth words which want explication, we have thought fit to do that right to their memories, and for the better information of the less learned readers, to explain them in fome additional annotations at the end of this edition. How often the imitation of this poem has been attempted, and with how little fuccefs, I leave the readers to judge: in the year 1663, there came out a fpurious book, called, The fecond part of Hudibras; which is reflected upon by our author, under the character of Whacum, towards the latter end of his fecond part. Afterwards came out the Dutch and Scots Hudibras, Butler's Ghost, the Occafional Hypocrite, and fome others of the fame nature, which, compared with this, (Virgil's Travefty excepted) deserve only to be condemned ad ficum et piperem; or, if you please, to more bafe and fervile offices. Some vain attempts have been likewife made to tranflate fome parts of it into Latin, but how far they fall short of that spirit of the English wit, I leave the meanest capacity, that understands them, to judge. The following Similes I have heard were done by the learned Dr. Harmer, once Greek profeffor at Oxon. So learned Taliacotius from, etc. Sic adfcititios nafos de clune torofi Sic Hypocondriacis inclufa meatibus aura So lawyers, left the Bear Defendant, etc. Sic legum myftae, ne forfan pax foret, ursam Tandem poft aliquod breve respiramen utrinque, There are some verfes, which, for reasons of ftate, easy to be gueffed at, were thought fit to be omitted in the firft impreffion; as thefe which follow: Did not the learned Glyn and Maynard, And now I heartily wifh I could gratify your farther curiofity with fome of those gol den remains which are in the cuftody of Mr. L---vil; but not having the happiness to be very well acquainted with him, nor intereft to procure them, I defire you will be content with the following copy, which the ingenious Mr. Aubrey affures me he had from the author himself. No Jefuit e'er took in hand To plant a church in barren land; For where there is no store of wealth, • Souls are not worth the charge of health; Spain in America had two defigns, To fell their gofpel for their mines. No Spaniard twice had landed on their fhore. B |