Then me thinketh, you haue in my fancie somwhat too many Spondees beside: and whereas Trochee sometyme presumeth in the firste place, as namely in the second Verse, Make thy, whyche thy, by youre Maistershippes owne authoritie muste needes be shorte, I shall be faine to supplye the office of the Arte Memoratiue, and putte you in minde of a pretty Fable in Abstemio the Italian, implying thus much, or rather thus little in effect.

A certaine lame man beyng invited to a solempne Nuptiall Feaste, made no more adoe, but sate me hym roundlye downe foremoste at the hyghest ende of the Table. The Master of the feast, suddainly spying his presumption, and hansomely remoouing him from thence, placed me this haulting Gentleman belowe at the nether end of the bourd: alledging for his defence the common verse: Sedes nulla datur, præterquam sexta Trochao: and pleasantly alluding to this foote, which standing vppon two syllables, the one long, the other short, (much like, of a like, his guestes feete) is alwayes thrust downe to the last place, in a true Hexameter, and quite thrust out of doores in a pure, and iust Senarie. Nowe Syr, what thinke you, I began to thinke with my selfe, when I began to reade your warrant first: so boldly, and venterously set downe in so formall, and autentique wordes, as these, Precisely perfit, and not an inch from the Rule? Ah Syrrha, and Iesu Lord, thought I, haue we at the last gotten one, of whom his olde friendes and Companions may iustly glory, In eo solùm peccat, quòd nihil peccat: and that is yet more exacte, and precise in his English Comicall Iambickes, than euer M. Watson himselfe was in his Lattin Tragicall Iambickes, of whom M. Ascham reporteth, that he would neuer to this day suffer his famous Absolon to come abrode, onely because Anapastus in Locis paribus, is twice, or thrice vsed in steade of lambus? A small fault, ywisse, and such a one in M. Aschams owne opinion, as perchaunce woulde neuer haue beene espyed, no neither in Italy, nor in Fraunce. But when I came to the curious scanning, and fingering of euery foote, and syllable: Lo here, quoth I, M. Watsons Anapastus for all the worlde. A good horse, that trippeth not once in a iourney and M. Immerito doth, but as M. Watson, and in a manner all other Iambici haue done before him: marry he might haue spared his preface, or at the least, that same restrictiue, and streightlaced terme, Precisely, and all had been well enough: and I assure

:

you, of my selfe, I beleeue, no peece of a fault marked at all. But this is the Effect of warrantes, and perhappes the Errour may rather proceede of his Master, M. Drantes Rule, than of himselfe. Howsoeuer it is, the matter is not great, and I alwayes was, and will euer continue of this Opinion, Pauca multis condonanda vitia Virtutibus, especially these being no Vitia neither, in a common and licencious Iambicke. Verùm ista obiter, non quidem con tradicendi animo, aut etiam corrigendi mihi crede: sed nostro illo Academico, pristinoque more ratiocinandi. And to saye trueth, partely too, to requite your gentle courtesie in beginning to me, and noting I knowe not what breache in your gorbellyed Maisters Rules: which Rules go for good, I perceiue, and keepe a Rule, where there be no better in presence. My selfe neither sawe them, nor heard of them before: and therefore will neither praise them, nor dispraise them nowe: but vppon the suruiewe of them, and farther conference, (both which I desire) you shall soone heare one mans opinion too or fro. Youre selfe remember, I was wonte to haue some preiudice of the man: and I still remaine a fauourer of his deserued, and iust commendation. Marry in these poyntes, you knowe, Partialitie in no case, may haue a foote: and you remember mine olde Stoicall exclamation: Fie on childish affection, in the discoursing, and deciding of schoole matters. This I say, because you charge me with an vnknowne authoritie: which for aught I know yet, may as wel be either vnsufficient, or faultie, as otherwise and I dare more than halfe promise, (I dare not saye, warrant) you shall alwayes in these kinde of controuersies, finde me nighe hande answerable in mine owne defence. Reliqua omnia, quæ de hac supersunt Anglicorum versuum ratione, in aliud tempus reseruabimus, ociosum magis. Youre Latine Farewell is a goodly braue yonkerly peece of work, and Goddilge yee, I am alwayes maruellously beholding vnto you, for your bountifull Titles: I hope by that time I haue been resident a yeare or twoo in Italy, I shall be better qualifyed in this kind, and more able to requite your lauishe, and magnificent liberalitie that way. But to let Titles and Tittles passe, and come to the very pointe in deede, which so neare toucheth my lusty Trauayler to the quicke, and is one of the prædominant humors that raigne in our common Youths: Heus mi tu, bone proce, magne muliercularum amator, egregie Pamphile, eum aliquando tandem, qui te manet, qui mulierosos

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

The first three books of F. Q. were originally published in 1590. Books IV-VI, with a second edition of Books I-III, appeared in 1596. The fragmentary Book VII appeared first in the Folio of 1609. Except for this fragment, the text here printed is based on 1596. Some printers' errors have been corrected by reference to 1590, with its valuable list of Faults Escaped, cited in these notes as F.E. The authority of 1609 has been preferred in half a dozen places. The later folios of 1611-12-13, 1617, and 1679, have no independent authority. Spenser's poetical works were subsequently edited by J. Hughes, 1715; H. J. Todd, 1805; F. J. Child, 1855; J. P. Collier, 1862; R. Morris, 1869; A. B. Grosart, 1882-4; R. E. Neil Dodge, 1908. The F.Q. was also edited separately by J. Upton, 1758, R. Church, 1758-9, and Kate M. Warren, 1897-1900. J. Jortin's Remarks on Spenser's Poems (1734) contain some good emendations. DEDICATION. The words and of Virginia' and to live with the eternitie of her fame' were added in 1596.

BOOK I.

Proem iv. 5. my] mine 1590.

I. ii. 1. But] And 1590. The 'But' of 1596 marks the contrast between the Knight's ' jolly' appearance and his dedicated purpose.

v. I. an innocent] and innocent 1590: an Innocent 1609.

ix. 6. sweete bleeding] sweet, bleeding 1609. But'sweete' is probably adverbial. ix. 9. seeldom] sildom 1609 passim. See on IV. xxiii. 5 below.

xii. 5. your hardy stroke 1590, &c.: corr. F.E. The corrections of F.E. are frequently ignored by 1596.

xv. 6. poisonous] poisnous 1590. Spenser was more tolerant of resolved feet by 1596. xx. 4. vildly] vilely 1609 passim. The spelling' vild is rare after 1600.

SPENSER

xxi. 5. spring] ebbe 1590, &c.: corr. F.E. to auale] t'auale 1590: corr. F.E. See note on I. xii. 5 above. The correction of' t'auale' was obviously made by 1596 independently. xxii. 3. longer] lenger 1590. But cf. xxvi. 8.

I.

xxviii. 8. passed] passeth 1596, 1609. XXX. 9. sits] fits 1609. But see Glossary. xxxi. 6. you] thee 1590.

xlviii. 9. with om. 1596, 1609. 1609 made little use of 1590.

1.3. thought haue] thought t'haue 1609. liii. 6. since no'vntruth] sith n'vntruth 1609. In the quartos sith' and ' since' are used indifferently: 1609 tries to confine' sith' to the causal, 'since' to the temporal sense.

II. xi. 3, 4. anon: shield, 1590, 1596: corr. 1609. The punctuation of 1609 is more logical than that of the quartos.

xvi. 8. idely, 1590, 1596: idlely 1609. xvii. 5. cruell spies] cruelties 1590, &c.: corr. F.E.

xxii. 5. your] thy 1590. Cf. I. xxxi. 6

above.

xxvii. 9. so dainty] so, Dainty 1609-10 show that Spenser is quoting the proverb 'Quae rara, cara'.

xxix. 2. shade him] shade 1596: shadow 1609, supplying the omission by conjecture. See note on 1. xlviii. 9 above.

xxix. 3. ymounted] that mounted 1590, &c.: corr. F.E.

xxxii. 9. ruefull plaints] tuefull plants 1590. F.E. corrects 'tuefull', but not plants'.

xl. 1, xli. 5. Thens forth] Then forth 1590, 1596: corr. F.E.

III. xi. 1. To whom] Whom 1596. xxv. 7. inquere] inquire 1596. The rhyme favours 1590.

xxxii. 9. Who told her all that fell] told, 1609-taking the words to mean 'Who told all that befell her'. We should perhaps read 'all that her fell'.