7,,of #b7999999 ,,history ,,of ,,english ,,humour ,with an ,introduction upon ,ancient ,humour4 by ,,the ,,rev4 ,a4 ,g4 ,l',,estrange1 ,author of ,the ,life of the ,rev4 ,william ,harness1 ,from the ,thames to the ,tamar1 ,etc4 ,in ,two ,volumes4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,london3 ,hurst and ,blackett1 ,publishers1 #ac1 ,great ,marlborough ,street4 #ahgh4 ,all rights reserved4 ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,first ,,volume4 ,,preliminary ,,observations4 ,subjective ,character of the ,ludicrous--,the ,subject little ,studied--,obstacles to the ,investigation--,evanescence--,mental ,character of the ,ludicrous--,distinction between ,humour and the ,ludicrous #a ,,introduction4 ,,part ,i4 ,,origin ,,of ,,humour4 ,pleasure in ,humour--,what is ,laughter8--,sympathy--,first ,phases--,gradual ,development--,emotional ,phase--,laughter of ,pleasure--,hostile ,laughter--,is there any sense of the ,ludicrous in the ,lower ,animals8--,samson--,david--,solomon--,p roverbs--,fables #ac ,,part ,,ii4 ,,greek ,,humour4 ,birth of ,humour--,personalities--,story of ,hippocleides--,origin of ,comedy--,archilochus--,hipponax--,democ ritus1 the ,laughing ,philosopher--,aristophanes--,humour of the ,senses--,indelicacy--,enfeeblement of the ,drama--,humorous ,games--,parasites1 their ,position and ,jests--,philoxenus--,diogenes--,court of ,humour--,riddles--,silli #eb ,,part ,,iii4 ,,roman ,,humour4 ,roman ,comedy--,plautus--,acerbity--,terence-- ,satire--,lucilius--,horace --,humour of the ,csar ,family--,cicero--,augustus--,persius--, petronius --,juvenal--,martial--,epigrammatist--,l ucian--,apuleius--,julian the ,apostate--,the ,misopogon--,symposius' ,enigmas--,macrobius--,hierocles and ,philagrius #ii ,,english ,,humour4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,middle ,,ages4 ,relapse of ,civilization in the ,middle ,ages--,stagnation of ,mind--,scarcity of ,books--,character of reviving ,literature--,religious ,writings--,fantastic ,legends--,influence of the ,crusades--,romances--,sir ,bevis of ,hamptoun--,prominence of the ,lower ,animals--,allegories #afa ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,anglo-,saxon ,humour--,rhyme--,satires against the ,church--,the ,brunellus--,walter ,mapes--,goliardi--,piers the ,ploughman--,letters of ,obscure ,men--,erasmus--,the ,praise of ,folly--,skelton--,the ,ship of ,fools--,doctour ,doubble ,ale--,the ,sak full of ,nuez--,church ,ornamentation--,representations of the ,devil #agi ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,origin of ,modern ,comedy--,ecclesiastical ,buffoonery--,jougleurs and ,minstrels--,court ,fools--,monks' ,stories--,the ,tournament of ,tottenham--,chaucer--,heywood--,roister ,doister--,gammer ,gurton #baa ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,robert ,greene--,friar ,bacon's ,demons--,the ,looking ,glasse--,nash and ,harvey #bca ,,chapter ,v4 ,donne--,hall--,fuller #bdc ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,shakespeare--,ben ,jonson--,beaumont and ,fletcher--,the ,wise ,men of ,gotham #bej ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,jesters--,court of ,queen ,elizabeth--,james ,i4--,the ,counterblasts to ,tobacco--,puritans--,charles ,,ii4 --,rochester--,buckingham--,dryden--,but ler #bga ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,comic ,drama of the ,restoration--,etheridge--,wycherley #cjc ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,tom ,brown--,his ,prose ,works--,poetry--,sir ,richard ,blackmore--,d',urfey--,female ,humorists--,carey #cab ,,chapter ,x4 ,vanbrugh--,colley ,cibber--,farquhar #cdj ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,congreve--,lord ,dorset #cee ,,history ,,of ,,english ,,humour4 ,,preliminary ,,observations4 ,subjective ,character of the ,ludicrous--,the ,subject little ,studied--,obstacles to the ,investigation--,evanescence--,mental ,character of the ,ludicrous--,distinction between ,humour and the ,ludicrous4 ,the ludicrous is in its character so elusive and protean1 and the field over which it extends is so vast1 that few have ever undertaken the task of examining it systematically4 ,many philosophers and literary men have made passing observations upon it1 but most writers are content to set it down as one of those things which cannot be understood1 and care not to study and grapple with a subject which promises small results in return for considerable toil4 ,moreover1 the inquiry does not seem sufficiently important to warrant the expenditure of much time upon it1 and there has always been a great tendency among learned men to underrate the emotional feelings of our nature4 ,thus it comes to pass that a much larger amount of our labour has been expended upon inquiring into physical and intellectual constitution than upon the inner workings of our passions and sentiments1 for our knowledge of which1 though affecting our daily conduct1 we are mostly indebted to the representations of poets and novelists4 ,beattie well observes that nothing is below the attention of a philosopher which the ,author of ,nature has been pleased to establish4 ,investigations of this kind would not be unrewarded1 nor devoid of a certain amount of interest2 and ,i think that in the present subject we can1 by perseverance1 penetrate a little distance into an almost untrodden and apparently barren region1 and if we cannot reach the source from whence the bright waters spring1 can at least obtain some more accurate information about the surrounding country4 ,notwithstanding all the obstructions and discouragements in the way of this investigation a few great men have given it a certain amount of attention4 ,aristotle informs us in his ,rhetoric that he has dealt fully with the subject in his ,poetics1 and although the treatise is unfortunately lost1 some annotations remain which show that it was of a comprehensive character4 ,cicero and ,quintilian in their instructions in ,oratory1 made the study of humour a necessary part of the course1 and in modern days many ingenious definitions and descriptions of it are found among the pages of general literature4 ,most philosophers have touched the subject timidly and partially1 unwilling to devote much time to it1 and have rather stated what they thought ought to be in accordance with some pet theories of their own1 than drawn deductions from careful analysis4 ,they generally only looked at one phase of the ludicrous1 at one kind of humour1 and had not a sufficient number of examples before them--probably from the difficulty of recalling slight turns of thought in widely scattered subjects4 ,add to this1 that many of them--constantly immersed in study--would have had some little difficulty in deciding what did and did not deserve the name of humour4 ,most of their definitions are far too wide1 and often in supporting a theory they make remarks which tend to refute it4 ,the imperfect treatment1 which the subject had received1 led ,dugald ,stewart to observe that it was far from being exhausted4 ,the two principal publications which have appeared on humour1 are ,flgel's ,geschichte der ,komischen ,litteratur 7#aghf71 and ,lon ,dumont's ,les ,causes du ,rire4 ,the former is voluminous1 but scarcely touches on philosophy1 without which such a work can have but little coherence4 ,the latter shows considerable psychological knowledge1 but is written to support a somewhat narrow and incomplete view4 ,mr4 ,wright's excellent book on ,the ,grotesque in ,literature and ,art1 is1 as the name suggests1 principally concerned with broad humour1 and does not so much trace its source as the effects it has produced upon mankind4 ,mr4 ,cowden ,clark's contributions on the subject to the ,gentleman's ,magazine1 are mostly interesting from their biographical notices4 ,to analyse and classify all the vagaries of the human imagination which may be comprehended under the denomination of humour1 is no easy task1 and as it is multiform we may stray into devious paths in pursuing it4 ,but vast and various as the subject seems to be1 there cannot be much doubt that there are some laws which govern it1 and that it can be brought approximately under certain heads4 ,it seems to be as generally admitted that there are different kinds of humour as that some observations possess none at all4 ,moreover1 when remarks of a certain kind are made1 especially such as show confusion or exaggeration1 we often seem to detect some conditions of humour1 and by a little change are able to make something1 which has more or less the character of a jest4 ,there is in this investigation a very formidable ,dweller on the ,threshold4 ,we contend with great disadvantages in any attempts to examine our mental constitution4 ,when we turn the mind in upon itself1 and make it our object1 the very act of earnest reflection obscures the idea1 or destroys the emotion we desire to contemplate4 ,this is especially the case in the present instance4 ,the ludicrous1 when we attempt to grasp it1 shows off its gay and motley garb1 and appears in grave attire4 ,it is only by abstracting our mind from the inquiry1 and throwing it into lighter considerations1 that we can at all retain the illusion4 ,a clever sally appears brilliant when it breaks suddenly upon the mental vision1 but when it is brought forward for close examination it loses half its lustre1 and seems to melt into unsubstantial air4 ,humour may be compared to a delicate scent1 which we only perceive at the first moment1 or to evanescent beauty-- ,for every touch that wooed its stay ,has brushed its brightest hues away4 ,this last simile is especially in point here1 and the quotations in this book will scarcely be found humorous1 so long as they are regarded as mere illustrations of the nature of humour4 ,we need not--taking these matters into consideration--feel much surprised that some people say the ludicrous cannot be defined2 as for instance1 ,buckingham1 ,true wit is everlasting like the sun1 ,describing all men1 but described by none2 and ,addison3--,it is much easier to decide what is not humorous than what is1 and very difficult to define it otherwise than ,cowley has done1 by negatives--the only meaning of which is that the subject is surrounded with rather more than the usual difficulties attending moral and psychological researches4 ,similar obstacles would be encountered in answering the question1 ,what is poetry8 or ,what is love8 ,we can only say that even here there must be some surroundings by which we can increase our knowledge4 ,humour is the offspring of man--it comes forth like ,minerva fully armed from the brain4 ,our sense of the ludicrous is produced by our peculiar mental constitution1 and not by external objects1 in which there is nothing either absurd or serious4 ,as when the action of our mind is imperceptible--for instance1 in hearing and seeing with our bodily senses--we think what we notice is something in the external world1 although it is only so far dependent upon it that it could not exist without some kind of outer influence1 so the result of our not recognising the amusing action of the mind in the ludicrous is that we regard it as a quality resident in the persons and things we contemplate4#a ,but it does not belong to these things1 and is totally different from them in kind4 ,thus1 the rose is formed of certain combinations of earth1 air1 and water2 yet none of these dull elements possess the fragrance or beauty of the flower4 ,these properties come from some attractive and constructive power4 ,not only are there no types or patterns in things of our emotions1 but there are none even of our sensations2 heat and cold1 red or blue1 are such only for our constitution4 ,this truth is beautifully set forth by ,addison in a passage in which1 as ,dugald ,stewart justly remarks1 ,we are at a loss whether most to admire the author's depth and refinement of thought1 or the singular felicity of fancy displayed in its illustration4 ,things1 he observes1 would make but a poor appearance to the eye1 if we saw them only in their proper figures and motions4 ,and what reason can we assign for their exciting in us many of those ideas which are different from anything that exists in the objects themselves 7for such are light and colours7 were it not to add supernumerary ornaments to the universe1 and make it more agreeable to the imagination8 ,we are everywhere entertained with pleasing shows and apparitions4 ,we discover imaginary glories in the heavens and on the earth1 and see some of this visionary beauty poured out over the whole creation4 ,but what a rough1 unsightly sketch of ,nature should we be entertained with1 did all her colouring disappear1 and the several distinctions of light and shade vanish6 ,in short1 our souls are delightfully lost and bewildered in a pleasing delusion1 and we walk about like the enchanted hero of a romance1 who sees beautiful castles1 woods1 and meadows1 and at the same time hears the warbling of birds and the purling of streams2 but upon the finishing of some secret spell1 the fantastic scene breaks up1 and the disconsolate knight finds himself on a barren heath1 or in a solitary desert4 ,i have introduced these considerations1 because it is very difficult for us to realize that what we behold is merely phenomenal1 that ,things are not what they seem2 but that we are looking into the mirror of ,nature at our own likeness4 ,when we speak of a ludicrous occurrence1 we cannot avoid thinking that the external events themselves contain something of that character4 ,thus1 the ludicrous has come in our ideas and language to be separated from the sense in which alone it exists1 and it is desirable that we should clearly understand that the distinction is only logical and not real4 ,when the cause of our laughter--be it mind1 matter1 or imaginary circumstance--is merely regarded as something incongruous and amusing1 we name it the ludicrous1 and a man is called ludicrous as faulty or contemptible4 ,but when the cause of it is viewed as something more than this1 as coming from some conscious power or tendency within us--a valuable gift and an element in our mental constitution--we call it humour1 a term applied only to human beings and their productions2 and a man is called humorous as worthy of commendation4 ,both are in truth feelings--we might say one feeling--and although we can conceive humour to exist apart from the ludicrous1 and to be a power within us creating it1 there is a difficulty in following out the distinction4 ,the difference between them is in our regard4 ,as soon as in course of time it became plainly evident that gay creations might emanate from man1 and not only from the outer world1 the fact was marked by the formation of a distinctive name1 and by degrees several names--among which the most comprehensive in ,english is ,humour4 ,this kind of gift became gradually known as more or less possessed by all1 and when the operations of the mind came to be recognised1 we were more enlightened on the subject1 and acknowledged it to be a mental and creative power4 ,such admissions would not be made by men in general without some very strong evidence1 and therefore a humorous man was not merely one who had an internal sense of the ludicrous1 but one who employed it for the delectation of others4 ,hence1 also1 though there is no consciousness of being amusing in the man who is ludicrous1 there is in one that is humorous4 ,a wit must always be pleasant intentionally4 ,a man who in sober seriousness recounts something which makes us laugh is not humorous1 although his want of discrimination may not be sufficient to make him ludicrous4 ,children are not regarded as humorous1 for1 although they enjoy such simple humour as toys afford1 they very seldom notice what is merely ludicrous1 and do not reproduce it in any way2 and the same may be said of many grown persons1 who require to be fed as it were1 and although they can enjoy what is embellished by others1 have no original observation4 ,thus1 although ,herbert ,mayo is substantially correct in saying that humour is the sentiment of the ludicrous1 he might have added that there is a difference between the two in our knowledge of them4 ,in the former1 the creative mind is more marked1 and1 a man though he laughs much1 if he be dull in words is only considered to have mirth1 i4e41 joyousness or a sense of the ludicrous1 not humour4 ,the gift can only be brought prominently forward in speech or writing1 and thus humour comes to be often regarded as a kind of ingredient or seasoning in a speech or book1 if not actually synonymous with certain sentences or expressions4 ,still we always confine the name to human productions1 as1 for instance1 gestures1 sayings1 writings1 pictures1 and plays4 ,the recognition of the mental character of humour did not necessarily imply any knowledge as to the authority1 instability1 or constancy of the feeling--that could only be acquired by philosophical investigation4 ,nor have we yet so far ascertained its character as to be able to form humorous fancies upon any fixed principle4 ,we are guided by some sense of the ludicrous which we cannot analyse2 or we introduce into new and similar cases relationships in things which we have observed to be amusing4 ,some forms are so general that they will produce a vast number of jests1 and we thus seem to have some insight into the influences that awaken humour1 but we see only approximately and superficially1 and can merely produce good results occasionally--rather by an accident than with any certainty4 ,,introduction4 ,,part ,i4 ,,origin ,,of ,,humour4 ,pleasure in ,humour--,what is ,laughter8--,sympathy--,first ,phases--,gradual ,development--,emotional ,phase--,laughter of ,pleasure--,hostile ,laughter--,is there any sense of the ,ludicrous in the ,lower ,animals8--,samson--,david--,solomon--,p roverbs--,fables4 ,few of the blessings we enjoy are of greater value than the gift of humour4 ,the pleasure attendant upon it attracts us together1 forms an incentive1 and gives a charm to social intercourse1 and1 unlike the concentrating power of love1 scatters bright rays in every direction4 ,that humour is generally associated with enjoyment might be concluded from the fact that the genial and good-natured are generally the most mirthful1 and we all have so much personal experience of the gratification it affords1 that it seems superfluous to adduce any proofs upon the subject4 ,glad is from the ,greek word for laughter1 and the word jocund comes from a ,latin term signifying pleasant4 ,but we can trace the results of this connection in our daily observation4 ,how comes it to pass that many a man who is the life and soul of social gatherings1 and keeps his friends in delighted applause1 sits1 when alone in his study1 grave and sedate1 and seldom1 if ever1 smiles in reading or meditation8 ,is it not because humour is a source of pleasure8 ,we are not joyously disposed when alone1 whereas in society we are ready to give and receive whatever is bright and cheering4 ,the first question which now presents itself is what is laughter8 and our answer must be that it is a change of countenance accompanied by a spasmodic intermittent sound--a modification of the voice--but that we cannot trace its physical origin farther than to attribute it to some effect produced upon the sympathetic nerve1 or rather the system of nerves termed respiratory4 ,these communicate with every organ affected in mirth1 but the ultimate connection between mind and body is hidden from our view4 ,in all laughter there is more or less pleasure1 except in that of hysteria1 when by a sudden shock the course of ,nature is reversed1 and excessive grief will produce the signs of joy1 as extravagant delight will sometimes exhibit those of sorrow4 ,we should also exclude the laughter caused by inhalation of gas1 and that of maniacs1 which arising from some strange and unaccountable feeling is abnormal and imperfect1 and known by a hollow sound peculiar to itself4 ,none of these kinds of laughter are primary1 they are but imperfect reflections of our usual modes of expression1 and1 excepting such cases1 we may agree that ,m4 ,paffe is correct in observing that ,joy is an indispensable condition of laughter4 ,dr4 ,darwin refers to the laughter of idiots to prove that it may be occasioned by pleasure alone4 ,strangely enough1 he quotes as an instance in point the fact of an idiot boy having laughed at receiving a black eye4 ,proceeding onwards1 we next come to inquire why the sense of humour is expressed by voice and countenance1 and does not merely afford a silent and secret delight8 ,the answer may be given1 that one object1 at least1 is to increase social communication and multiply pleasure4 ,the well-being of the animal world largely depends upon the power of each member of it to communicate with others of the same species4 ,they all do so by sound and gesture1 probably to a larger extent than we generally imagine4 ,a celebrated physician lately observed to me that all animals have some language4 ,how far mere signs deserve so high a name may be questioned4 ,but man has great powers of intercourse1 and it is much owing to his superior faculties in this respect that he holds his place so high above the rest of creation4 ,orators1 who make it their study to be impressive1 give full importance to every kind of expression1 and say that a man should be able to make his meaning understood1 even when his voice is inaudible4 ,it has been lately discovered that the mere movement of the lips alone1 without sound1 is sufficient to convey information4#b ,facial expression has been given us as a means of assisting communication1 and smiles and laughter have become the distinctive manifestations of humour4 ,thus the electric spark passes from one to another1 and the flashing eye and wreathed lip lights up the world4 ,profit also accrues--fear of being laughed at leads us to avoid numerous small errors1 and by laughing at others we are enabled to detect shortcomings in ourselves4 ,sympathetic laughter does not arise from any contemplation of ludicrous circumstances1 but is only a sort of reflection of the feelings of others4 ,there seems to be little intelligence in it1 but something almost physical1 just as yawning is infectious1 or as on seeing a person wounded in a limb we instinctively shrink ourselves in the same part of the body4 ,even a picture of a man laughing will have some effect upon us1 and so have those songs in which exuberant mirth is imitated4 ,thus we often laugh without feeling just cause1 as we often feel cause without laughing4 ,all exhibitions of emotion are infectious4 ,we feel sad at seeing a man in grief1 although the source of his sorrow is unknown to us2 and we are inclined to be joyous when surrounded by the votaries of mirth4 ,not unfrequently we find a number of persons laughing1 when the greater part of them have no idea what is the cause of the merriment4 ,sometimes we cannot entirely resist the impulse1 even when we ourselves are the object of it1 so much are we inclined to enter into the feelings and views of those who surround us4 ,in this1 as well as in many other cases1 the sight and proximity of others exercise over us a great influence1 and sometimes almost a fascination4 ,to this sympathy we are largely indebted for the diffusion of high spirits4 ,it is pleasant to laugh and see others laughing1 and thus the one leads to the other4 ,laugh and be fat1 is a proverb1 and it has been well observed that we like those who make us laugh1 because they give us pleasure4 ,we may add that we like to see others joyous1 because we feel that we are surrounded by kindly natures4 ,a gallant writer tells us that he hopes to be rewarded for his labours in the field of literature by the sweetest of all sounds in nature--the laughter of fair women4 ,macready1 speaking of this influence1 says3 ,the words of ,milman would have applied well to ,mrs4 ,jordan1 ',oh1 the words laughed on her lips6' ,mrs4 ,nesbitt1 the charming actress of a late day1 had a fascinating power in the sweetly-ringing notes of her hearty mirth2 but ,mrs4 ,jordan's laugh was so rich1 so apparently irrepressible1 so deliciously self-enjoying1 as to be at all times irresistible4 ,the agreeable influence of smiles is so well known that many are tempted to counterfeit them1 and assume an expression in which the eye and lip are in unhappy conflict4#c ,on the other hand1 painful thoughts are inimical to mirth4 ,no sally of humour will brighten the countenance of a man who has lately suffered a severe loss1 and even mental reflection will extinguish every sparkle4 ,but the bed of sickness can often be better cheered by some gay efflorescence1 some happy turn of thought1 than by expressions of condolence4 ,galen says that sculapius wrote comic songs to promote circulation in his patients2 and ,hippocrates tells us that a physician should have a certain ready humour1 for austerity is repulsive both to well and ill4 ,the late ,sir ,charles ,clark recognised this so far that one of his patients told me that his visits were like a bottle of ,champagne2 and ,sir ,john ,byles observes1 ,cheerfulness eminently conduces to health both of body and mind2 it is one of the great physicians of nature4 ,il y a trois mdecins qui ne se trompent pas1 ,la gait1 le doux exercice1 et le modeste repas4 ,every hour redeemed from despondency and melancholy1 and bathed in the sunshine of cheerfulness1 is an hour of true life gained4 ,our views with regard to the first appearance of laughter depend on whether we consider that man was gradually developed from the primeval oyster1 or that he came into the world much in the same condition as that in which we find him now4 ,if we adopt the former opinion1 we must consider that no outward expressions of feeling originally existed2 if the latter1 that they were from the first almost as perfect as they are at present4 ,but ,i think that we shall be on tolerably safe ground1 and have the support of probability and history1 if we say that1 in his earliest condition1 the mental endowments of man were of the very humblest description1 but that he had always a tendency to progress and improve4 ,this view obtains some little corroboration from the fact that the sounds animals utter in the early stages of their lives are not fully developed1 and that the children of the poor are graver and more silent than those of the educated classes4 ,but a certain predisposition to laughter there always was1 for what animal has ever produced any but its own characteristic sound8 ,has not everyone its own natural mode of expression8 ,does not the dog show its pleasure by wagging its tail1 and the cat by purring8 ,we never find one animal adopting the vocal sounds of another--a bird never mews1 and a cat never sings4 ,some men have been called cynics from their whelpish ill-temper1 but none of them have ever adopted a real canine snarl1 though it might express their feelings better than human language4 ,laughter1 so far as we can judge1 could not have been obtained by any mere mental exercise1 nor would it have come from imitation1 for it is only found in man1 the yelping of a hyena being as different from it as the barking of a dog1 or the cackling of a goose4 ,we may1 however1 suppose that the first sounds uttered by man were demonstrative of pain or pleasure1 marking a great primary distinction1 which we make in common with all animals4 ,but our next expression showed superior sensibility and organism3 it denoted a very peculiar perception of the intermingling of pain and pleasure1 a combination of opposite feelings not possessed by other animals1 or not distinct enough in them to have a specific utterance4 ,there might seem to be something almost physical in the sensation1 as it can be excited by tickling1 or the inhalation of gas4 ,similar results may be produced by other bodily causes4 ,homer speaks of the chiefs laughing after a sumptuous banquet1 and of a man laughing sweetly when drunk4 ,bacon's term titillatio1 would seem very appropriate in such cases4 ,there was an idea1 in olden times1 that laughter emanated from a particular part of the body4 ,tasso1 in ,jerusalem ,delivered1 describing the death of ,ardonio1 who was slain by a lance1 says that it ,pierced him through the vein ,where laughter has her fountain and her seat1 ,so that 7a dreadful bane7 ,he laughed for pain1 and laughed himself to death4 ,this idea probably arose from observing the spasmodic power of laughter1 which was greater formerly than now1 and to the same origin we may attribute the stories of the fatal consequences it has1 at times1 produced2 of ,zeuxis1 the painter1 having expired in a fit brought on by contemplating a caricature he had made of an old woman1 and of ,franciscus ,cosalinus1 a learned logician1 having thus broken a blood-vessel1 which led to his dying of consumption4 ,wolfius relates that a country bumpkin1 called ,brunsellius1 by chance seeing a woman asleep at a sermon fall off her seat1 was so taken that he laughed for three days1 which weakened him so that he continued for a long time afterwards in an infirm state4 ,we must suppose that laughter has always existed in man1 at least as long as he has been physically constituted as he is now1 for it might always have been produced by tickling the papill of the nerves1 which are said to be more exposed in man than in other animals4 ,when we have stated the possibility of this pleasurable sensation being awakened under such circumstances1 we have1 in fact1 asserted that it was in course of time thus called into existence4 ,but the enjoyment might have been limited to this low phase1 for the mind might have been so vacant1 so deficient in emotion and intelligence that the moral and intellectual conditions necessary for a higher kind of laughter might have been wanting4 ,this seems to be the case among some savages at the present day1 such as the ,new ,zealanders and ,north ,american ,indians4 ,the earliest laughter did not arise from what we call the ludicrous1 but from something apparently physical--such as touch--though it does not follow that it would never otherwise have existed at all1 for1 as the mind more fully developed itself1 facial expressions would flow from superior and more numerous causes4 ,nor can we consider that what is properly called mirth was shown in this primitive physical laughter1 which was such as may be supposed to have existed when darkness was on the face of the intellectual world4 ,how great1 and of what continuance1 was this primeval stagnation must be for ever unknown to us1 but it was not destined to prevail4 ,light gradually dawned upon the mental wastes1 and they became productive of beauty and order4 ,as greater sensibility developed itself1 emotion began to be expressed2 first1 probably at an adult period of life1 by the sounds belonging to the corresponding feelings in the bodily constitution4 ,tears and cries betoken mental as well as physical anguish1 and laughter denoted a mixed pleasurable feeling either in mind or body4 ,there is a remarkable instance of this transference from the senses to the emotional feelings in the case of what is called sardonic laughter1 in which a similar contortion of countenance to that caused by the pungency of a ,sardinian herb is considered to denote a certain moral acerbity4 ,here there is an analogy established between the senses and emotions in their outward manifestation1 just as there is in language in the double meaning of such terms as bitter and sweet4 ,when we consider the fact that matter is that which gives1 and mind that which receives impressions1 or that our perceptions do not teach the nature of external things1 but that of our own constitution1 we shall admit that there is not such a fundamental difference between feelings derived from the sense of touch1 and those coming through our other senses4 ,but we must observe that there is a great practical difference between them1 inasmuch as the one sense remains in its original primitive state1 and is not cultivated as are the others4 ,physical laughter requires no previous experience1 no exercise of judgment1 and therefore has no connection with the intellectual powers of the mind4 ,the lowest boor may laugh on being tickled1 but a man must have intelligence to be amused by wit4 ,the senses which are the least discriminating are the least productive of humour1 little is derived from that of smell or of taste1 though we may talk sometimes of an educated palate and an acquired taste4 ,the finer organs of sight and hearing are the chief mediums of humour1 but the sense of touch might by education be rendered exquisitely sensitive1 and ,dickens mentions the case of a girl he met in ,switzerland who was blind1 deaf1 and dumb1 but who was constantly laughing4 ,among infants1 also1 where very slight complication is required1 the sense of humour can be excited by touch4 ,thus nurses will sing1 ,brow brinky1 eye winkey1 nose noppy1 cheek cherry1 mouth merry1 and greatly increase the little one's appreciation by1 at the same time1 touching the features named4 ,contact with other bodies occasions a sensation1 and might1 by degrees1 awaken an emotion2 and we might thus have such a sense of the ludicrous as that obtained through eye and ear1 which is sometimes almost intuitive1 and but slightly derived from reflection or experience4 ,of this kind is that aroused by the rapid changes of form and colour of the kaleidoscope1 and those pantomimic representations which amuse the young and uneducated1 and others who live mostly in the senses4 ,we have now arrived at the emotional phase of laughter1 that in which emotion far exceeds intellectual action4 ,at this stage1 we have a kind of laughter which we may call that of pleasure1 inasmuch as it is the first that deserves a distinct name4 ,this laughter of pleasure required very little complication of thought1 contained no unamiable feeling1 and expressed the mildest sense of the ludicrous4 ,at the same time1 it did not flow from any mere constitutional joyousness1 but only arose upon certain occasions1 in consequence of some remarkable and unusual occurrence--such as the reception of glad tidings1 or the sudden acquisition of some good fortune4 ,this ancient laughter1 now no longer existing1 is alluded to in early writings4 ,thus we read in ,gen4 xxi4 #f1 that ,sarah1 on the birth of ,isaac1 said ,god hath made me to laugh1 so that all that hear will laugh with me1 and in ,ps4 cxxvi41 ,when the ,lord turned again the captivity of ,zion1 we were like them that dream4 ,then was our mouth filled with laughter1 and our tongue with singing4 ,and in ,proverbs we find1 ,there is a time to weep1 and a time to laugh1 contrasting the expression of sorrow with that of pleasure4 ,passing into ,greek literature1 we find laughter constantly termed sweet4 ,in ,iliad xxi1 ,saturn smiled sweetly at seeing his daughter2 in xxiii4 ,the chiefs arose to throw the shield1 and the ,greeks laughed1 i4e41 with joy4 ,in ,odyssey1 xx4 #cij1 they prepare the banquet with laughter4 ,od4 xxii41 #edb1 ,penelope laughs at ,telemachus sneezing1 when she is talking of ,ulysses' return2 she takes it for a good omen4 ,and in the ,homeric ,hymns1 which1 although inferior in date to the old ,bard1 are still among the earliest specimens of literature1 we find1 in that to ,mercury1 that the god laughs on beholding a tortoise1 thinking that he will make a beautiful lyre out of its shell2 and a little further on1 ,apollo laughs at hearing the sound of the lyre4 ,in the hymn to ,aphrodite1 the laughter-loving ,venus laughed sweetly when she thought of men and mortals being intermarried4 ,the fact that this and the preceding kinds of laughter were not necessarily regarded as intellectual1 is evident from the ancient poets attributing them to vegetable and inorganic life4 ,considerable licence in personification must no doubt be conceded to those who went so far as to deify the elements1 and to imagine a sort of soul in the universe1 and no doubt language as well as feeling was not at the time strictly limited4 ,but it must be remarked that1 while they rarely attribute laughter to the lower animals1 they also never ascribe any other sign of emotion1 nor even that in its higher kinds1 to insensate matter4 ,in all these passages it is of a physical1 or merely pleasurable description4 ,in ,iliad xiv4 #cfb1 speaking of the ,grecian host1 ,homer says that the gleam of their armour was reflected to heaven1 and all the earth around laughed at the brazen refulgence4 ,in ,hesiod's ,theogony1 v4 #dj1 we read that when the ,muses are singing the palace of loud-thundering ,jove laughs 7with delight7 at their lily voice2 and in the ,hymn to ,ceres we find ,proserpine beholding a ,narcissus1 from the root of which a hundred heads sprang forth and the whole heavens were scented with its fragrance1 and the whole earth laughed and the briny wave of the sea4 ,theognis writes that ,delos1 when ,apollo was born1 was filled with the ambrosial odour1 and the huge earth laughed4 ,the poets seemed scarcely to have advanced beyond such a bold similitude1 and we may conclude that while they saw in laughter something above the powers of the brute creation1 they did not consider that it necessarily expressed the smallest exercise of intellect4 ,this laughter of pleasure1 which cheered the early centuries of the world1 now no longer exists except perhaps in childhood4 ,it belongs to simpler if not happier natures than our own4 ,if a man were now to say that his friends laughed on hearing of some good fortune having come to him1 we should suppose that they disbelieved it1 or thought there was something ridiculous in the occurrence4 ,in these less emotional ages1 in which the manifestations of joy and sorrow are more subdued1 it is mute1 and has subsided into a smile4 ,it is difficult to say when the change took place1 but our finding smiles mentioned in ,homer1 though not in ,scripture1 might suggest their ,greek origin1 if they were at first merely a modification of the early laughter of pleasure1 betokening little more than kindly or joyous emotions4 ,although not always now genial1 the smile continues to be used for the symbol of pleasure1 even in reference to inanimate ,nature1 as where ,milton writes ,old ,ocean smiled4 ,the smile may have preceded laughter1 as the bud comes before the blossom1 but it may1 on the other hand1 have been a reduction of something more demonstrative4 ,we have still a kind of laughter approaching very nearly to that of pleasure1 which contains little reflection1 but cannot be regarded as simply physical4 ,this description seems to be that alluded to in the ,book of ,ecclesiastes1 ,i said of laughter1 it is mad1 and of mirth1 what good doeth it8 ,of the same nature is that to which some excitable and joyous persons are constitutionally inclined4 ,their perpetual merriment seems to us childish and silly4 ,thus ,steele observes to an hilarious friend1 ,sir1 you never laughed in your life1 and farther on he remarks1 ,some men laugh from mere benevolence4 ,the pleasure accompanying the perception of the ludicrous has been by some attributed to the exercise of certain muscles in the face1 and by others to the acquisition of new ideas4 ,but we may safely discard both theories1 for the former derives the enjoyment from physical instead of mental sources1 and the latter gives us credit for too great a delight in knowledge1 even were it thus generally obtained4 ,the enjoyment seems partly to arise from stimulation and activity of mind1 excitement being generally agreeable1 whereas inaction is monotonous and wearisome4 ,but it seems also partly to be derived from sources which are1 or appear to be1 collateral4 ,thus1 in the early laughter of pleasure1 some solid advantage or gratification1 present or future1 was always in view1 and from men being delighted at their own success1 which must often have been obtained at the expense of others1 it was an easy transition to rejoice at the failure of rivals4 ,in those primitive times1 when people felt themselves insecure1 and one tribe was constantly at war with another1 there was nothing that gave them so much joy as the misfortunes of their enemies4 ,they exhibited their exultation by indulging in extravagant transports1 in shouting1 in singing and dancing1 and when there appeared some strangeness or peculiarity1 something sudden or unaccountable in such disasters1 laughter broke forth of that rude and hostile character which we may occasionally still hear among the uneducated classes4 ,it accorded with the age in which it prevailed--a period when men were highly emotional and passionate1 while their intellectual powers were feeble and inactive4 ,the two early phases of the ludicrous--those of pleasure and of hostility--containing small complexity1 and a large proportion of emotion1 are to a certain extent felt by the lower animals4 ,dr4 ,darwin has observed an approximation to the laughter of pleasure in monkeys1 but he does not connect it with intelligence1 and would not1 ,i believe1 claim for them any sense of the ludicrous4 ,i have1 however1 seen a dog1 on suddenly meeting a friend1 not only wag his tail1 but curl up the corners of his lips1 and show his teeth1 as if delighted and amused4 ,we may also have observed a very roguish expression sometimes in the face of a small dog when he is barking at a large one1 just as a cat evidently finds some fun in tormenting and playing with a captured mouse4 ,i have even heard of a monkey who1 for his amusement1 put a live cat into a pot of boiling water on the fire4 ,these animals are those most nearly allied to man1 but the perception of the ludicrous is not strong enough in them to occasion laughter4 ,the opinion of ,vives that animals do not laugh because the muscles of their countenances do not allow them1 can scarcely be regarded as philosophical4 ,milton tells us that1 ,smiles from reason flow1 ,to brutes denied2 a statement which may be taken as generally correct1 although we admit that there may be some approximation to smiling among the lower animals1 and that it does not always necessarily proceed from reason4 ,the pleasure found in hostile laughter soon led to practical jokes4 ,although now discountenanced1 they were anciently very common1 and formed the first link between humour and the ludicrous4 ,they were not imitative1 and did not show any actual power to invent what was humorous1 but a desire to amuse by doing something which might cause some ludicrous action or scene1 just as people unable to speak would point to things they wish to designate4 ,these early jokes had severer objects coupled with amusement1 and were what we should call no joke at all4 ,the first character in the records of antiquity that seems to have had anything quaint or droll about it is that of ,samson4 ,standing out amid the confusion of legendary times1 he gives us good specimens of the fierce and wild kind of merriment relished in ancient days2 and was fond of making very sanguinary sport for the ,philistines4 ,he was an exaggeration of a not very uncommon type of man1 in which brute strength is joined to loose morals and whimsical fancy4 ,people were more inclined to laugh at sufferings formerly1 because they were not keenly sensitive to pain1 and also had less feeling and consideration for others4 ,that ,samson found some malicious kind of pleasure and diversion in his reprisals on his enemies1 and made their misfortunes minister to his amusement1 is evident from the strange character of his exploits4 ,he caught three hundred foxes1 and took fire-brands1 and turned tail to tail1 and put a fire-brand in the midst between two tails1 and when he had set the brands on fire1 he let them go into the standing corn of the ,philistines1 and burnt up both the shocks and also the standing corn of the ,philistines1 with the vineyards and olives4 ,on another occasion he allowed himself to be bound with cords1 and thus apparently delivered powerless into the hands of his enemies2 he then broke his bonds like flax that was burnt with fire1 and taking the jaw-bone of an ass1 which he found1 slew a thousand men with it4 ,his account of this massacre shows that he regarded it in a humorous light3 ,with the jaw-bone of an ass heaps upon heaps1 with the jaw of an ass ,i have slain a thousand men4 ,we might also refer to his carrying away the gates of ,gaza to the top of a hill that is before ,hebron1 and to his duping ,delilah about the seven green withes4 ,in the above instances it will be observed that destruction or disappointment of enemies was the primary1 and amusement the secondary object4 ,it must be admitted that all such jokes are of a very poor and severe description4 ,they have not the undesigned coincidence of the ludicrous nor the fanciful invention of true humour4 ,samson was evidently regarded as a droll fellow in his day1 but beyond his jokes the only venture of his on record is a riddle1 which showed very little ingenuity1 and can not be regarded as humorous now1 even if it were so then4 ,it would1 perhaps1 be going too far to assert that no laughter of a better kind existed before the age at which we are now arrived2 some minds are always in advance of their time1 as others are behind it1 but they are few4 ,the only place in which there is any approach in early times to what may be called critical laughter is recorded where ,abraham and ,sarah were informed of the approaching birth of ,isaac4 ,perhaps this laughter was mostly that of pleasure4 ,sarah denied that she laughed1 and ,abraham was not rebuked when guilty of the same levity4#d ,with the exception of the above-mentioned riddle1 and rough pranks of ,samson1 we have no trace of humour until after the commencement of the ,monarchy4 ,the reigns of ,david and ,solomon seemed to have formed the brightest period in the literary history of the ,jews4 ,the sweet ,psalmist of ,israel was partly the pioneer to deeper thought1 partly the representative of the age in which he lived4 ,it is the charm of his poetry that it is very rich and recondite--a mine of gold1 which the farther it is worked1 the more precious its yield becomes4 ,but it everywhere bears the stamp of passion and religious ardour1 and does not bespeak the critical incisiveness of a highly civilised age4 ,argumentative acumen would have been as much below the poetic mind of ,david in one respect as it was above it in another1 and while his rapturous language of admiration and faith seems above the range of human genius2 his bitter denunciations of his enemies remind us of his date1 and the circumstances by which he was surrounded4 ,such immaturity would be sufficient to account for the non-existence of humour4 ,it may be urged that ,david had no tendency in that direction4 ,his thoughts were turned towards the sublime1 and his religious character1 his royal estate1 and the vicissitudes of his early life1 all inclined him to serious reflection4 ,but we do not find that ,david was invariably grave and solemn4 ,he indulged in laughter at the misfortunes of his adversaries1 as we may conclude from a passage in ,psalm lii1 #f4 ,god shall likewise destroy thee for ever2 he shall take thee away and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place1 and root thee out of the land of the living4 ,selah4 ,the righteous also shall see and fear1 and shall laugh at him4 ,he also considered that1 in turn1 his enemies would deride him1 if he were unsuccessful4 ,psalm xxii1 #g--;,all they that see me laugh me to scorn2 they shoot out the lip and shake the head1 saying1 ',he trusted in the ,lord4' ,he evidently thought there was nothing wrong in such laughter1 for he even considers it compatible with ,divine attributes1#e ,psalm ii1 #d1 ,he that sitteth in ,heaven shall laugh2 the ,lord shall have them in derision2 and ,psalm xxxvii1 #ac1 ,the ,lord shall laugh at him1 for he seeth that his day is coming4 ,nothing can make it more certain than such expressions that the prophets interpreted the intimations they received from above by clothing them with their own mundane similitudes4 ,on the other hand1 although ,david laughed at his enemies1 he never seems to have done so at anything else4 ,he frequently mentions fools1 but always with detestation4 ,to him the term did not convey any idea of frivolity or eccentricity1 but of crime and wickedness4 ,all these considerations tend to convince us that we can see in the writings of ,david a fairly good reflection of the mirth common in his day4 ,add to this that there is no trace in any contemporary work of an attempt beyond the emotional phases of the ludicrous1 and we do not at this time read of any performance of ,jewish plays1 or of any kind of amusing representations4 ,a more advanced1 but less faithful age is represented by another man4 ,the soldier-king passed away to make room for one educated under milder influences4 ,he inherited not the piety or warlike virtues of his father1 but turned the same greatness of mind into a more luxurious and learned channel4 ,in his writings we find little that approaches the sublime1 but much that implies analytical depth and complexity of thought4 ,his tone bespeaks a settled and civilized period favourable to art and philosophy1 in which subtlety was appreciated1 while the old feelings of acerbity had become greatly softened4 ,in the intellectual and moral state at this date1 there were many conditions favourable to the development of humour4 ,but we do not find it yet actually existing1 although we must suppose that a mind capable of forming proverbs could not have been entirely insensible to it4 ,we may define a proverb to be a moral statement1 instructive in object1 and epigrammatically expressed4 ,it is always somewhat controversial1 and when it approaches a truism scarcely deserves the name4 ,a great many of ,solomon's proverbs may be regarded in two lights1 and ,i think a comparison between some of them will show that he was aware of the fact1 and if so he could scarcely have avoided feeling some sense of the ludicrous1 and even of having a slight idea of humour in its higher phases4 ,i shall allude in illustration of this to a proverb often quoted ironically at the present day4 ,in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom1 and which we have combated and answered by a common domestic adage4 ,again ,solomon is rather hard upon the failings of the ladies1 ,the contentions of a wife1 he says1 are a continual dropping4 ,it is better to dwell in the corner of a housetop than with a brawling woman in a wide house4 ,it is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman4 ,the meaning of all these sayings must be that women are of a very irritable and vexatious character4 ,but did ,solomon really believe in the strong terms he used towards them4 ,we should say not to judge by his life1 for he had seven hundred wives1 and three hundred concubines2 and although he says that1 as a jewel of gold in a swine's snout1 so is a fair woman that is without discretion--a very strong comparison--we may be sure that he had a great many of these despicable creatures domiciled in his own palace4 ,solomon's strictures with regard to money may also be regarded as of somewhat uncertain value3--,how much better is it to get wisdom than gold1 sounds very well1 although ,solomon must have known that many men would prefer the latter1 and history seems to say that he was not averse from it himself4 ,he that is despised and hath a servant is better than he that honoureth himself1 and lacketh bread1 shows at least some appreciation of the usefulness of wealth4 ,ecclesiastes makes a more decided statement4 ,money answereth all things4 ,i should imagine ,solomon was as much alive to the two sides of the question1 as was the ,greek who on being asked scoffingly why philosophers followed rich men1 but rich men never followed philosophers1 replied1 ,because philosophers know what they want1 but rich men do not4 ,in one place ,solomon shows his consciousness that his proverbs may be viewed as true or false4 ,he gives two opposite propositions--,answer not a fool according to his folly1 lest thou also be like unto him1 and1 ,answer a fool according to his folly1 lest he be wise in his own conceit4 ,shortly afterwards1 he observes1 as if the idea of perverting and turning proverbs was in his mind1 ,the legs of a lame man are not equal1 so is a parable in the mouth of fools4 ,there was another form besides that of ,proverbs1 in which during earlier ages moral and political teachings were expressed4 ,one of the first comparisons man learned to draw was that between himself and the lower animals2 and the separation between reason and instinct would not appear to be at first so clearly defined as it is at present4 ,before the growth of cities1 and the increased intercourse and accumulated experience resulting from their formation1 the mental development of man was so small as not to offer any very strong contrast to the sagacity of other animals4 ,the greatest men of ancient times were merely nomad chiefs living on the wild pasture plains1 often tending their own flocks1 and1 no doubt1 like the ,arabs of the present day1 making companions of their camels and horses4 ,by the rivers and in the jungles1 they often encountered beasts of prey1 became familiar with their habits1 and formed a higher opinion of their intelligence than we generally hold4 ,at that time1 when strength was more esteemed than intellectual gifts1 there was sometimes a tendency to consider them as rather above than below the human race4 ,the lion1 the eagle1 and the stag possessed qualities to which it was man's highest ambition to aspire1 and1 in some cases1 he even went so far as to worship them4 ,in the ancient civilisation of ,egypt we find the most numerous traces of this culture and feeling--gods1 kings1 rulers1 and disembodied spirits being represented entirely or partially under the forms of what we call the lower animals4 ,the strange allegorical figures found at ,nineveh may also be considered illustrations in point4 ,there was evidently no caricature intended in these representations1 and it is worthy of notice that such as are grotesque are not earlier than ,roman times4 ,it is unnecessary to recapitulate the beautiful comparisons of this character which are profusely scattered through ,holy ,writ1 but we should especially notice the blessing given by ,jacob to his sons on his death-bed2 in which we seem almost to discover the first origin of heraldry4 ,another remarkable comparison is that of ,nathan1 aptly made1 and likely to sink with weight into the heart of the ,shepherd-,king4 ,the same respect for animals survived in the time of the earliest ,greek writers4 ,homer in his solemn epic has numerous instances of it3--,hector in ,iliad xi1 #big1 is setting the ,trojans on like dogs at a wild boar or lion4 ,in xi1 #eeg1 ,ajax retreating slowly from the ,trojans is compared to an ass who has gone to feed in a field1 and whom the boys find great difficulty in driving out1 though they belabour him well with cudgels4 ,agamemnon is compared to a bull1 ,sarpedon and ,patroclus in deadly combat to two vultures1 and ,diomed and ,ulysses pursue ,dolon as two fleet hounds chase a hare4 ,all these were evidently intended to be most poetical1 if not elevating similes2 their dignity would have been lost could they possibly have been regarded as humorous4 ,simonides of ,amorgos in the seventh century ,b4,c41 is remarkable for this kind of illustration4 ,after some lamentations about human life1 he observes that nothing is better than a good wife1 or worse than a bad one1 and he proceeds to compare women to various animals4 ,he is also evidently very serious over the subject1 and regards it as no joke at all4 ,perhaps there was also something to be said on the other side1 for he remarks that a gadding wife cannot be cured1 even if you knock out her teeth with a stone4 ,he likens them to pigs and polecats1 horses and apes2 and only praises the descendant of the bee4 ,in a passage undoubtedly of early date1 and attributed to ,xenophanes1 the founder of the ,eleatic school of philosophy1 7#edj-ejj7 the writer enumerates the various ways1 in which other animals are superior to man4 ,if by the will of ,god there were an equality and community in life1 so that the herald of the ,olympian games should not only call men to the contest1 but also bid all animals to come1 no man would carry off a prize2 for in the long race the horse would be the best2 the hare would win the short race2 the deer would be best in the double race4 ,no man's fleetness would count for anything1 and no one since ,hercules would seem to have been stronger than the elephant or lion2 the bull would carry off the crown in striking1 and the ass in kicking1 and history would record that an ass conquered men in wrestling and boxing4 ,but the light in which the lower animals were regarded1 produced other fanciful combinations4 ,not only were men given the attributes of animals1 but animals were endowed with the gifts peculiar to man4 ,all things were then possible4 ,standing as he seemed in the centre of a plain of indefinite or interminable extent1 how could any man limit the productions or vagaries of ,nature1 even if he possessed far more than the narrow experience of those days8 ,moreover1 the boundary lines were vague between the natural and supernatural1 and the latter was supposed to be constantly interposing in the ordinary affairs of life4 ,among other beliefs then prevalent1 was one in the existence of a kind of half nature1 such as that in ,centaurs1 dragons1 and griffins4 ,in the ,assyrian cuneiform inscriptions lately deciphered1 we read1 of one ,heabani1 a semi-bovine hermit1 supposed to have lived #b1bjj ,b4,c4 ,thus the accounts in ,scripture of the serpent accosting ,eve1 and of ,balaam arguing with his ass1 would not have seemed so remarkable then as they do to us4 ,in an ,egyptian novel--the oldest extant1 cir4 #a1djj ,b4,c4--a cow tells ,bata that his elder brother is standing before him with his dagger ready to kill him4 ,he understood1 we are told1 the language of animals1 and was afterwards transformed into a bull4 ,greek tradition as recorded by ,plato1 ,xenophon1 ,babrius1 and others1 speaks of an early golden age in which men and animals held colloquies together as in our fables2 whence we should conclude this much--that there was a time when poets very commonly introduced them as holding conversations1 and when philosophers illustrated their doctrines from the animal world4 ,the fable1 we are told1 was an invention of ancient ,assyrian men in the days of ,ninus and ,belus1 and in confirmation of its ,eastern origin1 we may observe that the apologues of ,lokman are of ,indian derivation4 ,he is supposed1 by ,arabian writers1 to have been either a nephew of ,abraham or ,job1 or a counsellor of ,david or ,solomon4 ,the first specimen we have of an ordinary fable1 i4e41 of one in which the interlocutors are lower animals1 is found in ,hesiod1 who is placed about a century after ,homer4 ,it runs thus3-- ,now ,i will tell the kings a fable1 which they will understand of themselves4 ,thus spake the hawk to the nightingale1 whom he was carrying in his talons high in air1 ',foolish creature6 why dost thou cry out8 ,one much stronger than thou hath seized thee1 though thou art a songster4 ,i can tear thee to pieces1 or let thee go at my pleasure4' ,but fables do not come fully under our view until they are connected with the name of sop1 who is said to have introduced them into ,greece4 ,in general his fables pretend to nothing more than an illustration of proverbial wisdom1 but in some cases they proceed a step farther1 and show the losses and disappointments which result from a neglect of prudent considerations4 ,it cannot be denied that there is something fanciful and amusing in these fables1 still there is not much in them to excite laughter--they are not sufficiently direct or pungent for that4 ,the losses or disappointments mentioned1 or implied1 give a certain exercise to the feelings of opposition in the human breast1 and if they are supposed to be such as could not easily have been foreseen1 we should regard the narratives as humorous4 ,but this is scarcely the case2 the mishaps arise simply and directly from the situations1 and are related with a view to the inculcation of truth1 rather than the exhibition of error4 ,hence the basis is different from that in genuine humour1 and the complication is small4 ,still the object evidently was to allure men into the paths of wisdom through the pleasure grounds of imagination4 ,addison has justly observed that fables were the first kind of humour4 ,as the days of ,athenian civilization advanced1 their light chaff was thought more of than their solid matter4 ,two hundred years of progress in man caused the animals to be truly considered lower1 natural distinctions were better appreciated1 and there seemed to be something absurd in the idea of their thinking or talking4 ,hence sop's fables are spoken of by ,aristophanes as something laughable1 and the fabulist came to be regarded as a humorist4 ,this feeling gained ground so much afterwards that ,lucian makes sop act the part of a buffoon in ,the ,isles of the ,blessed4 ,such views no doubt influenced the traditions with regard to the condition and characteristics of their composer4 ,there was the more field for this1 inasmuch as even the fables were only handed down orally4 ,some biographer1 formerly supposed to have been ,planudes the monk1 seems to have fertilized with his own inventive genius many tales which had themselves no better foundation than the conjectures derived from the tone and nature of the fables4 sop was represented as droll1 as a sort of wit1 and by a development of the connection in the mind between humour and the ludicrous1 they gave him an infirm body1 hesitating speech1 and servile condition4 ,improving the story1 they said his figure frightened the servants of the merchant who bought him4 ,at the same time many clever tricks and speeches were attributed to him4 ,what we really glean from such stories is1 that animal fables soon came to be regarded as humorous4 ,it is probable that some fabulist of the name of sop at one time existed1 but we know nothing with certainty about his life1 and many of the fables attributed to him were perhaps of older date4 ,the advance in the direction of humour1 which was manifested in sop's fictions1 was also found in the opulent ,ionian ,sybaris4 ,this city1 situated on the lovely ,bay of ,tarentum1 was now at the height of its fame1 the acknowledged centre of ,greek luxury and civilization4 ,a reflection of oriental splendour seems to have been cast upon it1 and we read of all kinds of extravagant and curious arrangements for the indulgence of ease and indolence4 ,amid all this luxury and leisure1 fancy was not unemployed4 ,we find that1 like the former leaders of fashion in this country1 they kept a goodly train of monkeys1#f and anticipated our circus performances by teaching their horses to dance on their hind legs1 an advance above practical joking and below pictorial caricature4 ,moreover1 intellectual entertainment was required at their sumptuous feasts1 and genius was tasked to find something light and racy1 maxims of deep significance interwoven with gay and fanciful creations4 ,there was not sufficient subtlety about these inventions to entitle them to the name of humour in our modern sense of the word2 much complication was not then required1 nor much laughter expected4 ,the fables of ,sybaris seem to have been of a similarly philosophical cast to those of sop4 ,the following specimen is given in the ,vesp1 #adbg4 ,a man of ,sybaris fell from a chariot1 and1 as it happened1 had his head broken--for he was not well acquainted with driving--and a friend who stood by1 said1 ',let every man practise the craft1 which he understands4' ,we observe that these fables are not carried on through the assistance of our four-footed friends4 ,at ,sybaris1 conversation between men and the lower animals had begun to appear not only absurd1 but to be improved upon and made with the evident intention of being humorous4 ,hence1 inanimate things were sometimes made to speak1 and in succeeding fictions birds and beasts were given such special characteristics and requirements of men as could least have belonged to them4 ,as an example of this1 we may refer to the ,batrachomyomachia--a production called ,homeric but proved by the very length of its name to belong to a later date4 ,it is ascribed by ,plutarch to ,pigres1 the brother of the ,halicarnassian ,queen1 ,artemisia1 contemporary with the ,persian ,war4 ,this poem1 which is a parody on ,homer1 reminds us1 in its microscopic representation of human affairs1 of the travels of ,gulliver in ,lilliput4 ,a frog offers to give a mouse a ride across the water on his back4 ,unfortunately1 a water-snake lifts up its head when they are in the middle passage1 and the frog diving to avoid the danger1 the mouse is drowned4 ,from this trifling cause there arises a mighty war between the frogs and the mice4 ,the contest is carried on in true ,homeric style2 the mice-warriors are armed with bean-pods for greaves1 lamp-bosses for shields1 nutshells for helmets1 and long needles for spears4 ,the frogs have leaves of willow on their legs1 cabbage leaves for shields1 cockle-shells for helmets1 and bulrushes for spears4 ,their names are suggestive1 as in a modern pantomime4 ,among the mice we have ,crumb-stealer1 ,cheese-scooper1 and ,lick-dish2 among the frogs1 ,puff-cheeks1 ,loud-croaker1 ,muddyman1 ,lovemarsh1 c4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,,greek ,,humour4 ,birth of ,humour--,personalities--,story of ,hippocleides--,origin of ,comedy--,archilochus--,hipponax--,democ ritus1 the ,laughing ,philosopher--,aristophanes--,humour of the ,senses--,indelicacy--,enfeeblement of the ,drama--,humorous ,games--,parasites1 their ,position and ,jests--,philoxenus--,diogenes--,court of ,humour--,riddles--,silli4 ,there is every reason to suppose that a very considerable period elapsed before any progress was made in advance of the ludicrous1 but at length by those who appreciated it strongly1 and saw it in things in which it did not appear to others1 humorous devices were invented from a growing desire to multiply the occasions for enjoyment4 ,observation and our power of imitation provided the means1 and men of humour employed themselves in reproducing some ludicrous situations2 and thus1 instead of things derided being as previously wholly separate from those who derided them1 a man could laugh1 and yet be the cause of laughter to others4 ,this discovery was soon improved upon1 and by aid of imagination and memory1 as opportunities offered1 certain connections and appearances were represented under a great variety of forms4 ,as the mind enlarged1 the exciting causes of laughter were not mainly physical or emotional1 but assumed a higher and more rational character4 ,at the period at which we have now arrived1 we find humour dawning through various channels4 ,we have traced approximations towards it in proverbs and fables1 and1 in a coarse form1 in practical jokes2 and as from historical evidences we are ready to admit that civilization had an ,eastern origin1 so we shall feel little difficulty in assigning ,greece as the birthplace of humour4 ,a greater activity of mind now begins to prevail1 reflection has gradually given distinctness to emotion1 and the ludicrous is not only recognised as a source of pleasure1 but intentionally represented in literature4 ,before the time of sop1 though not perhaps of his fables1 ,homer related a few laughable occurrences of so simple a character as to require little ingenuity4 ,in this respect he is not much better than a man who recounts some absurd incident he has witnessed without adding sufficient to it to show that he has a humorous imagination4 ,his mirth1 except when merely that of pleasure1 is of the old hostile character4 ,in ,iliad1 xi1 #cgh1 ,paris1 having hit ,diomed1 from behind a pillar with an arrow in the foot1 springs forth from his concealment and laughs at him1 saying he wished he had killed him4 ,in ,iliad1 xxi1 #djg1 where the gods descend into the battle1 ,minerva laughs at ,mars when she has struck him with a huge stone so that he fell1 his hair was draggled in the dust1 and his armour clanged around him4 ,in the ,odyssey1 ,ulysses speaks of his heart laughing within him after he had put out ,polyphemus' eye with a burning stick without being discovered4 ,and in ,book xviii1 ,ulysses strikes ,irus under the ear and breaks his head1 so that blood pours from his mouth1 and he falls gnashing and struggling on the ground1 at which1 we are told1 the suitors die with laughter4 ,from this hostile phase the transition was easy to ridiculing personal defects1 and so ,homer tells us that when the gods at their banquet saw ,vulcan1 who was acting as butler1 stumping about on his lame leg1 they fell into unextinguishable laughter4 ,thersites is described as squint-eyed1 lame-legged1 with bent shoulders pinched over his chest1 a pointed head1 and very little hair on it4 ,homer may merely have intended to represent the reviler of kings as odious and despicable1 but there seems to be some humour intended4 ,ridicule of personal defects must always be of an inferior kind1 being a matter of sight1 and of small complexity4 ,as the first advance of the ludicrous was from the hostile to the personal1 so the beginning of humour seems to have been the representation of personal defects4#g ,in accordance with this1 we find that the only mention of laughter made by ,simonides of ,amorgos is where he says that some women may be compared to apes1 and then gives a very rude description of their persons4 ,this subservience to the eye can also be observed in the appreciation of monkeys and dancing horses1 already mentioned1 the latter forming a humorous exhibition1 as the animals were trained with a view to amuse4 ,we have marks of the same optical tendencies in the appreciation of antics and contortions of the body1 either as representing personal deformity1 or as a kind of puzzling and disorderly action4 ,a little contemporary story related by ,herodotus shows that these pantomimic performances were now becoming fashionable in ,athens4 ,cleisthenes1 tyrant of ,sicyon1 was even at this date so much in favour of competitive examinations1 that he determined to give his daughter to the most proficient and accomplished man4 ,on the appointed day the suitors came to the examination from every quarter1 for the fair ,agariste was heiress to great possessions4 ,among them was one ,hippocleides1 an ,athenian1 who proved himself far superior to all the rest in music and dissertation4 ,afterwards1 when the trial was over1 desiring to indulge his feelings of triumph and show his skill1 he called for a piper1 and then for a table1 upon which he danced1 finishing up by standing on his head and kicking his legs about4 ,cleisthenes1 who was apparently one of the old school1 and did not appreciate the manners and customs of young ,athens1 was much offended by this undignified performance of his would-be son-in-law1 and when he at last saw him standing on his head1 could no longer contain himself1 but cried out1 ,son of ,tisander1 thou hast danced away thy marriage4 ,to which the other replied with characteristic unconcern3 ,it's all the same to ,hippocleides1--an expression which became proverbial4 ,in this story we see the new conception of humour1 though of a rude kind1 coming into collision with the old philosophic contests of ingenuity1 which it was destined to survive if not to supersede4 ,we have another curious instance about this date of an earnest-minded man being above the humour of the day1 7which1 no doubt1 consisted principally of gesticulation71 and he was probably voted an unsociable1 old-fashioned fellow4 ,anacharsis1 the great ,scythian philosopher1 when jesters were introduced into his company maintained his gravity1 but when afterwards a monkey was brought in1 he burst into a fit of laughter1 and said1 ,now this is laughable by ,nature2 the other by ,art4 ,that amusement should be thus excited by natural objects denotes a very eccentric or primitive perception of the ludicrous1 seldom now found among mature persons1 but it is such as ,diodorus1 quoting no doubt from earlier histories1 attributed to ,osiris--to whom1 he says1 when in ,ethiopia1 they brought ,satyrs1 7who have hair on their backs17 for he was fond of what was laughable4 ,but a further development of humour was in progress4 ,as people were at that time easily induced to regard sufferings as ludicrous1 the idea suggested itself of creating mirth by administering punishment1 or by indulging in threats and gross aspersions4 ,a very slight amount of invention or complexity was here necessary4 ,the origin of the comic drama furnishes an illustration of this4 ,it commenced in the harvest homes of ,greece and ,sicily--in the festivals of the grape-gatherers at the completion of the vintage4 ,they paraded the villages1 crowned with vine-leaves1 carrying poles and branches1 and smeared with the juice of grapes4 ,their aim was to provoke general merriment by dancing1 singing1 and grotesque attitudes1 and by giving rein to their coarse and pugnacious propensities4 ,spectators and passers by were assailed with invectives1 pelted with missiles1 and treated to all that hostile humour which is associated with practical joking4 ,so vile was their language and conduct that comedy came to signify abuse and vilification4 ,as the taste for music and rhythm became general in that sunny clime1 even these rioters adopted a kind of verse1 by which rustic genius could give additional point to scurrility4 ,thus arose the ,iambic measure used at the festivals of ,ceres and ,bacchus1 and afterwards fabled to have been invented by ,iambe1 the daughter of the ,king of ,eleusis4 ,hence1 also1 came the jesting used in celebrating the rites of ,ceres in ,sicily1 and the custom for people to post themselves on the bridge leading to ,eleusis in ,attica1 and to banter and abuse those going to the festivals4 ,the story of ,iambe only marks the rural origin of the metre1 and its connection with ,ceres1 the ,goddess of ,harvest4 ,eleusis was her chosen abode1 and next in her favour was ,paros2 and here we accordingly find the first improvement made upon these uncouth and virulent effusions4 ,about the commencement of the #gth century1 ,archilochus1 a native of this place1 harnessed his ribaldries better1 and put them into a light horse gallop4 ,he raised the ,iambic style and metre so as to obtain the unenviable notoriety of having been the first to dip his pen in viper's gall4 ,good cause had he for his complaints1 for a young lady's father1 one ,lycambes1 refused to give him his daughter's hand4 ,there was apparently some difficulty about the marriage gifts--the poet having nothing to give but himself4 ,rejected1 he took to writing defamatory verses on ,lycambes and his daughters1 and composed them with so much skill and point that the whole family hanged themselves4 ,allusions1 which led to such a catastrophe1 could not now be regarded as pleasantries2 but at that time he obtained a high reputation1 and perhaps the suicide of the wretched ,lycambes was considered the best joke of all4#h ,the fragments which remain to us of ,archilochus' productions seem melancholy enough1 and the only place where he speaks of laughter is where he calls ,charilaus a thing to be laughed at1--an expression which would seem to point to some personal deformity--we are told1 however1 by later writers1 that he was a glutton4 ,in another remaining passage ,archilochus says that he is not fond of a tall general walking with his legs apart1 with his hair carefully arranged1 and his chin well shaven2 where we still detect the same kind of caricature1 and in default of any adequate specimen of his gall1 we may perhaps be excused for borrowing an illustration from ,alcus1 who lived slightly later2 and who1 speaking of his political opponent ,pittacus1 calls him a bloated paunch-belly1 and a filthy splay-footed1 crack-footed1 night fellow4 ,archilochus lived in the fable age1 and the most perfect of the small fragments remaining of his works are of that allegorical description4 ,but he may be regarded as a representative of the dull and bitter humour of his time--a large proportion of which1 as in his writings1 and those of ,simonides and ,hesiod1 was ungallantly directed against the girls of the period4#i ,but ,archilochus' humour1 though rude and simple1 opened a new mine of wealth1 and if it was not at first very rich1 it was enough to indicate the golden treasure beneath4 ,sonorous narratives about heroes and demi-gods were to be gradually supplanted by the bright contrasts of real life4 ,archilochus' ingenuity had introduced light metres suited for flippant and pointed allusions4 ,the conceit was generally approved1 and though the new form could not exactly be called humorous1 it occurred to ,hipponax1 in the next century1 that he could make it so by a slight alteration4 ,perhaps this ,father of ,parody intended to mimic ,archilochus2 at any rate1 by means of a change in termination1 he manufactured limping ,iambics4 ,we must suppose that he produced something better than this1 but look in vain into his lines for any instances of real pungency4 ,he was a sort of ,greek ,samson1 his best jokes seem to have been connected with great strength1 and to judge from what remains of his works1 we should conclude that he was more justly famous for tossing an oil cruise than for producing anything which we should call humour4 ,but1 were we asked whether in that age his sayings would have been amusing1 we may reply in the affirmative2 they certainly had severity1 for his figure having been caricatured by the sculptors of ,chios1 ,bupalus and ,anthermus1 he repaid them so well in their own coin1 that they also duly hanged themselves4 ,it must be admitted that the fact of the same kind of death having been chosen by them1 and by the objects of ,archilochus' derision1 does not increase greatly the credibility of the stories4 ,we now come to consider what we may call a serious source of humour4 ,already we have noticed the tendency in ancient times to exercises of ingenuity in answering hard questions4 ,these led to deeper thought1 to the aphoristic wisdom of the seven wise men1 and the speculations of those who were in due time to raise laughter at the follies of mankind4 ,this introduces the era of the philosophers--a remarkable class of men1 who grew up in the mercurial atmosphere of ,greece4 ,one of the most distinguished of them was ,democritus1 born #dfj ,b4,c4 ,he came of noble descent1 and belonged to so wealthy a family of ,abdera that his father was able to entertain ,xerxes on his return to ,asia4 ,the ,king left some ,chaldean ,magi to instruct his son1 who1 early in life1 evinced a great desire for the acquisition of knowledge1 and after studying under ,leucippus1 travelled to ,egypt1 ,persia1 and ,babylon4 ,he almost seemed a compound of two different characters1 uniting the intellectual energy of the sage with the social feelings of a man of the world4 ,living in ease and opulence1 he was not inclined to be censorious or morose2 having mingled much in society1 he was not very emotional or sympathetic2 not tempted to think life a melancholy scene of suffering1 but callous enough to find amusement in the ills he could not prevent4 ,he regarded man1 generally1 as a curious study1 as remarkable for not exercising the intellect with which he was endowed--not so much from censurable causes as from some obliquity in mental vision4 ,not that he regarded him as unaccountable--a fool in the ordinary acceptation of the word1 is always a responsible being1 and not synonymous with an idiot4 ,the humour of this laughing sage1 grounded upon deep philosophy1 was so little understood in his day that none were able to join in his merriment1 nor did he expect that they should be2 if he was humorous to himself1 he was not so1 and did not aim at being so1 to others4 ,on the contrary1 he was thought to be mad1 and ,hippocrates was directed to inquire into his disorder1 but the learned physician returned answer that not he1 but his opponents were deranged4 ,whether this story be a fabrication or not1 we may regard it as a testimony that wise men saw much truth in his philosophy4 ,montaigne1 in his ,essay on ,democritus and ,heraclitus1 gives his preference to the former1 ,because1 he observes1 men are more to be laughed at than hated1 showing that he regarded him as imputing folly to men rather than vice4 ,even ,socrates1 whom we are accustomed to regard as the most earnest of philosophers was by no means a melancholy man4 ,fully aware of the influence exercised by humour1 he often put his teachings into an indirect form1 and he seems to have first thus generally attracted attention4 ,he introduced what is called irony#aj--the using expressions which literally mean exactly the opposite to what is intended4 ,a man may be either praised or blamed in this way1 but ,socrates' intention was always sarcastic4 ,he put questions to men1 as if merely desiring some information they could easily give him1 while he knew that his inquiries could not be answered1 without overthrowing the theories of those he addressed4 ,thus1 he gave instruction whilst he seemed to solicit it4 ,in various other ways he enlivened and recommended his doctrines by humorous illustration4 ,it is said that he even went to the theatre to see himself caricatured1 laughed as heartily as any1 and stood up to show the audience how correctly his ill-favoured countenance had been reproduced4 ,this story may be questioned1 and it has been observed that he was not insensible to ridicule1 for he said shortly before his death that no one would deride him any longer4 ,we are told that he spent some of his last days in versifying the fables of sop4 ,we now return from theoretical to practical life1 from the philosophers to the public4 ,nothing exhibits more forcibly the variable character of humour than that1 while philosophers in their thinking shops were laughing at the follies of the world1 the populace in the theatre were shaking their sides at the absurdities of sages4 ,ordinary men did not appreciate abstract views1 nor understand abstruse philosophic humour1 indeed it died out almost as soon as it appeared1 and was only contemporary with a certain epoch in the mental history of ,greece4 ,every popular man is to a great extent a reflection of the age in which he lives1 a boat borne up by a billow2 and what1 in this respect is true generally1 is especially so with regard to the humorist1 who seeks a present reward1 and must be in unison with the characters of those he has to amuse4 ,he depends much on hitting the current fancies of men by small and subtle allusions1 and he must have a natural perception of fitness1 of the direction in which he must go1 and the limits he must not transgress4 ,the literature of an epoch exhibits the taste of the readers1 as well as that of the authors4 ,we shall thus be prepared to find that the mind of ,aristophanes1 although his views were aristocratic1 harmonized in tone with that of the people1 and that his humour bears the stamp of the ancient era in which he lived4 ,the illustrations from the animal world in which he constantly indulges remind us of the conceits of old times1 when marvellous stories were as much admired as the monstrous figures upon the ,persian tapestry4 ,would any man at the present day produce comedies with such names as ,the ,wasps1 ,the ,frogs1 and ,the ,birds4#aa ,but we here meet with our feathered and four-footed companions at every corner4 ,the building of the bird's city is a good illustration of this4 ,thirty thousand cranes brought stones for the foundations from ,libya1 and ten thousand storks made bricks1 the ducks with aprons on carried the bricks1 and the swallows flew with trowels behind them like little boys1 and with mortar in their beaks4 ,we also notice in ,aristophanes a simple and rude form of the ludicrous1 scarcely to be called humour1 much in favour with his immediate predecessors4 ,i refer to throwing fruits and sweatmeats among the audience4 ,trygus 7,vintner71 celebrating a joyous country festival in honour of the return of peace and plenty1 takes occasion to throw barley among the spectators4 ,in another place ,dicpolis1 also upon pacific deeds intent1 establishes a public treat1 and calls out1 ,let some one bring in figs for the little pigs4 ,how they squeak6 will they eat them8 7throws some7 ,bless me6 how they do munch them6 from what place do they come8 ,i should say from ,eaton4 ,in this scrambling fun there would be good and bad fortune1 and much laughter would be occasioned1 but mostly of an emotional character4 ,some of the jokes of ,hegemon1 who first introduced dramatic parody1 were of a similar description1 but more unpleasant4 ,on one occasion he came into the theatre with his robe full of stones1 and began to throw them into the orchestra1 saying1 ,these are stones1 and let those who will throw them4 ,aristophanes makes great use of that humour which is dependent upon awakening hostile and combative feelings4 ,personal violence and threats are with him common stage devices4 ,we have here as much fist sauce1 and shaking of sticks1 and as many pommellings1 boxings of ears1 and threats of assault and battery as in any modern harlequinade4 ,next in order1 we come to consider some of the many instances in ,aristophanes of what may be called optical humour--that in which the point principally depends upon the eye4 ,thus he makes ,hercules say he cannot restrain his laughter on seeing ,bacchus wearing a lion's skin over a saffron robe4 ,a ,megarian reduced to extremities1 determines to sell his little daughters as pigs1 and disguises them accordingly4#ab ,in the ,thesmophoriazus1 there is a shaving scene1 in which the man performed upon has his face cut1 and runs away1 looking ridiculous with only one side of his face shaven4 ,in another play where the ladies have stolen the gentlemen's clothes1 the latter come on the stage in the most ludicrous attire1 wearing saffron-coloured robes1 kerchiefs1 and ,persian slippers4 ,in another1 the chorus is composed of men representing wasps1 with waists pinched in1 bodies striped with black and yellow1 and long stings behind4 ,the piece ends with three boys disguised as crabs1 dancing a furious breakdown1 while the chorus encourages them with1 ,come now1 let us all make room for them1 that they may twirl themselves about4 ,come1 oh famous offsprings of your briny father6--skip along the sandy shore of the barren sea1 ye brothers of shrimps4 ,twirl1 whirl round your foot swiftly1 and fling up your heels in the air like ,phrynicus1 until the spectators shout aloud6 ,spin like a top1 pass along in circle1 punch yourself in the stomach1 and fling your leg to the sky1 for the ,king himself1 who rules the sea1 approaches1 delighted with his children6 ,the greater the optical element in humour1 the lower and more simple it becomes1 the complexity being more that of the senses than of intellect4 ,it may be said there is always some appeal to both1 but not in any equal proportions1 and there is manifestly a great difference between the humour of a plough-boy grinning through a horse-collar1 and of a sage observing that when the poor man makes the rich a present1 he is unkind to him4 ,caricature drawings produce little effect upon educated people1 unless assisted by a description on which the humour largely depends4 ,we can see in a picture that a man has a grotesque figure1 or is made to represent some other animal2 by gesticulation we can understand when a person is angry or pleased1 or hungry or thirsty2 but what we gain merely through the senses is not so very far superior to that which is obtained by savages or even the lower animals1 except where there has been special education4 ,next to optical humour may be placed acoustic--that of sound--another inferior kind4 ,the ear gives less information than the eye4 ,in music there is not so much conveyed to the mind as in painting1 and although it may be lively1 it cannot in itself be humorous4 ,we cannot judge of the range of hearing by the vast store of information brought by words written or spoken1 because these are conventional signs1 and have no optical or acoustic connection with the thing signified4 ,we can understand this when we listen to a foreign language4 ,hipponax seems to have been the first man who introduced acoustic humour by the abrupt variation in his metre4 ,exclamations and strange sounds were found very effective on the stage1 and were now frequently introduced1 especially emanating from slaves to amuse the audience4 ,aristophanes commences the knights with a howling duet between two slaves who have been flogged1 ,oh1 oh--,oh1 oh--,oh1 oh--,oh1 oh-- ,in another play1 there is a constant chorus of frogs croaking from the infernal marshes4 ,brekekekex1 coax1 coax1 brekekekex1 coax1 coax4 ,in ,the ,birds1 the songsters of the woods are frequently heard trilling their lays4 ,as they were only befeathered men1 this must have been a somewhat comic performance4 ,the king of birds1 transformed from ,tereus1 ,king of ,thrace1 twitters in the following style4 ,epopopopopopopopopopoi6 io6 io6 come1 come1 come1 come1 come4 ,tio1 tio1 tio1 tio1 tio1 tio1 tio6 trioto1 trioto1 totobrix6 ,torotorotorotorolix6 ,ciccabau1 ciccabau6 ,torotorotorotorotililix4 ,rapidity of utterance was also aimed at in some parts of the choruses1 and sometimes very long words had to be pronounced without pause--such as green-grocery-market-woman1 and garlic-bread-selling-hostesses4 ,at the end of the ,ecclesiazus1 there is a word of twenty-seven syllables--a receipt for a mixture--as multifarious in its contents as a ,yorkshire pie4 ,we may conclude that there was a humour in tone as well as of rhythm in fashion before the time of ,aristophanes1 and we read that there was a certain ventriloquist named ,eurycles2 but ,aristophanes must be content to bear the reproach of having been the first to introduce punning4 ,he probably had accomplices among his contemporaries1 but they have been lost in obscurity4 ,playing with words seems to have commenced very early4 ,the organs of speech are not able to produce any great number of entirely different sounds1 as is proved by the paucity of the vowels and consonants we possess4 ,to increase the vocabulary1 syllables are grouped together by rapid utterance1 and distinctions of time were made4 ,similarities in the length and flow of words began soon to be noticed1 and hence arose the idea of parallelism1 that is of poetry--a similarity of measure4 ,a likeness in the tone of words1 in the vowel and consonant sounds1 was afterwards observed1 and became the foundation of punning4 ,the difference between rhythm and puns is partly that of degree--and the latter were originally regarded as poetical4 ,simonides of ,ceos called ,jupiter ,aristarchus1 i4e41 the best of rulers2 and schylus spoke of ,helen as a hell1#ac but neither of them intended to be facetious4 ,aristotle ranked such conceits among the ornaments of style2 and we do not until much later times find them regarded as ludicrous4 ,with ,aristophanes they are humorous1 and his ingenuity in representing things as the same because their names were so1 would not have been unworthy of a modern burlesque writer4 ,they1 perhaps1 were more appreciated at that time from their appearing less common and less easily made4 ,but there is a worse direction than any above mentioned1 in which ,aristophanes truckled to the low taste of his day4 ,the modern reader is shocked and astounded at the immense amount of indelicacy contained in his works4 ,it ranges from the mild impropriety of saying that a girl dances as nimbly as a flea in a sheepskin1 or of naming those other industrious little creatures he euphemistically calls ,corinthians1 to a grand exhibition of the blessings of ,peace under the form of a young lady1 the liberal display of whose charms would have petrified a modern ,chamberlain4 ,in one place1 ,trygus is riding to heaven on a dung-beetle1 and of course a large fund of amusement is obtained from the literal and metaphorical manipulation of its food4 ,socrates' disciples are discovered in a kneeling posture1 with their heads on the ground4 ,what are they doing8 inquires the visitor4 ,they are in search of things below the earth4 ,and why are their backs up in the air8 ,with them they are studying astronomy4 ,these passages will give some faint idea1 though not an adequate one1 of the coarseness of ,aristophanes' humour4 ,the primitive character of it is marked by the fact that the greater portion has no reference to the sexes4 ,it is a crumb of comfort to know that women were not generally present at performances of comedies1 and ,aristotle says that young men should not be allowed to attend them until they are old enough to sit at table and get drunk4 ,moreover1 to be humorous the comedian must necessarily have exceeded the bounds of ordinary usage4 ,aristophanes occasionally deplores the degeneracy of his times1--the youth of the period making rude jests1 but his own writings are the principal evidence of this depravity4 ,his allusions are not excusable on the ground of ignorance2 they are intentionally impure4 ,there was once an age of innocence--still reflected in childhood1 and among some unprogressive races--in which a sort of natural darkness hung over the thoughts and actions of men1--but it was in reality an age of ignorance4 ,when light broke forth delicacy sprang up1 and when by degrees one thing after another had been forbidden and veiled from sight by the common consent of society1 there was a large borderland formed outside immorality upon which the trespasser could enter and sport2 and much could be said which was objectionable without giving serious offence4 ,before the days of ,aristophanes and the comic performances for which he wrote1 very little genius or enterprise was directed into the paths of humour1 but now every part of them was explored4 ,indelicacy would here afford great assistance1 from the attraction it possesses for many people and the ease with which it is understood4 ,something perhaps is due to the fact that ,greece had now reached the highest point of her prosperity1 and that a certain amount of lawlessness prevailed as her brilliancy began to tremble and fade4 ,from whatever cause it arose1 ,aristophanes stands before us as one of the first to introduce this base ornamentation4 ,the most remarkable circumstance connected with it is that he assigns a large part of his coarse language to women4 ,his object was to amuse a not very refined audience1 and one that relished something preposterous4 ,thus ,aristophanes lowered his style to the level of his audience1 but in his brighter moments1 forgetting his failings and exigencies1 he disowns expedients unworthy of the comic art4 ,he says he has not like ,phrynicus1 ,lycis1 and ,amisias introduced slaves groaning beneath their burdens1 or yelping from their stripes2 he comes away1 a year older from hearing such stage tricks4 ,it is not becoming1 he observes in another place for a dramatic poet to throw figs and sweetmeats to the spectators to force a laugh1 and we have not two slaves throwing nuts from a basket4 ,in his plays the old man does not belabour the person next him with a stick4 ,he claims that he has made his rivals give up scoffing at rags and lice1 and that he does not indulge in what ,i have termed optical humour4 ,he has not1 like some of his contemporaries1 jeered at the bald head1 and not danced the ,cordax4 ,he seems in the following passage even to despise animal illustrations-- ,bdelycleon4 ,tell me no fables1 but domestic stories about men4 ,philocleon4 ,then ,i know that very domestic story1 ,once on a time there was a mouse and a weazel4 ,bdel4 ,oh1 thou lubberly and ignorant fellow1 as ,theogenes said when he was abusing the scavenger4 ,are you going to tell a story of mice and weazels among men8 ,like most humorists he blames in one place what he adopts in another4 ,plato had so high an opinion of ,aristophanes that1 in reply to ,dionysius of ,syracuse1 he sent him a copy of his plays as affording the best picture of the commonwealth of ,athens4 ,this philosopher is also said to have introduced mimes--a sort of minor comedy--from ,sicily1 and to have esteemed their composer ,sophron so highly that he kept a copy of his works under his pillow4 ,plato appreciated humour1 was fond of writing little amatory couplets1 and among the epigrams attributed to him is the following dedication of a mirror by a fading beauty1 thus rendered by ,prior3-- ,venus1 take this votive glass1 ,since ,i am not what ,i was6 ,what ,i shall hereafter be1 ,venus1 let me never see6 ,plato objected to violent laughter as indicative of an impulsive and ill-regulated temper1 observing that it is not suitable for men of worth1 much less for the gods1 the first part of which remark shows that he was not emotional1 and the second that a great improvement in critical taste had taken place since the early centuries of ,homer and ,david4 ,as youth is romantic1 and old age humorous1 so in history sentiment precedes criticism and poetry attained a high degree of excellence1 while humour was in its infancy4 ,comedy is said to have been produced first in ,sicily by ,susarion in #efd ,b4,c41 but we have only two or three lines by which to judge of his work1 and they are on the old favourite topic4 ,a wife is an evil1 but you can't live in a house without one4 ,as it is said his wife left him1 it must be considered doubtful whether this was not meant seriously4 ,he was succeeded by ,epicharmus1 whose humour seems to have been of a very poor description4 ,his subjects were mostly mythological1 and he was fond of representing the gluttony of ,hercules1 and ,bacchus making ,vulcan drunk4 ,in the more intellectual direction his taste was entirely philosophical1 so much so that ,plato adopted many of his views4 ,we may safely assert that no comic performance worthy of the name took place until towards the end of the fifth century1#ad though in the meantime the tragic drama had reached its highest point of excellence4 ,one ,satyric play1 so called because the chorus was formed of ,satyrs1 was put on the stage with three tragedies by those competing for the dramatic prize4 ,it seems to have been mythological and grotesque rather than comic1 but in the ,cyclops of ,euripides1 the only specimen extant1 we have feasting and wine drinking1 the chorus tells ,polyphemus he may swallow any milk he pleases so that he does not swallow them--which the ,cyclops says he would not do because they might be dancing in his stomach--and ,silenus recommends the ,cyclops to eat ,ulysses' tongue1 as it will make him a clever talker4 ,after the time of ,aristophanes1 the literary1 and1 we may say1 the social humour of ,greece altered4 ,it grew less political as liberty became more restricted1 and men's minds were gradually diverted by business and foreign trade from that philosophical and artistic industry1 which had made ,athens the centre of the world4 ,the brighter part of the country's genius descended to effeminate pursuits1 and employed itself in the development of amorous fancies4 ,in the comedies which came into favour1 the dramatis person represented a strange society of opulent old men1 spendthrift sons1 intriguing slaves1 and courtezans4 ,if we did not know what temptation there is to make literary capital out of the tender passion1 we might suppose that the youth of that day were entirely occupied in clandestine amours1 and in buying and selling women as if they were dogs and parrots4 ,no wonder that to live like the ,greeks became a by-word and reproach4 ,beyond this1 the authors throw the whole force of their genius into the construction of the plot1 upon the strength and intricacy of which their success depends2 and the management of the various threads of the story so as to meet together in the conclusion1 shows a great improvement in art since the days of ,aristophanes4 ,advancing time seems also to have brought a greater refinement in language4 ,the indelicacy we now meet with is almost entirely of an amatory character1 and not quite of so low a description as that previously in use4 ,but in quantity it was greater4 ,philemon1 who is said to have died from a fit of laughter caused by seeing an ass eat figs1 wrote much that was objectionable2 and ,diphilus was probably little better4 ,philemon found coarseness answer1 and was more often crowned1 and a greater favourite than ,menander1 who is reported to have said to him1 ,do you not blush to conquer me8 but it may be doubted whether even the latter was as free from indelicacy as is generally supposed4 ,plautus and ,terence both complain that they cannot find a really chaste ,greek play4 ,the age of ,greek fables1 that is the period when they were in common use in writing and conversation1 was now drawing to a close4 ,a few remain in ,callimachus1 and ,suidas quotes some of perhaps the same date4 ,at this time ,demetrius ,phalareus made a prose collection of what were called sop's ,fables--as we seek to perpetuate the memory of that which is passing away4 ,babrius1 also1 who performed the same charitable office in halting iambics1 like those of ,hipponax1 may be supposed to have flourished about this period1 although it has been contended that he was a ,roman and lived in the ,augustan age4 ,however this may be1 fabular illustrations began to drop out of fashion soon after this time1 and by degrees were so far disallowed1 that the man1 who would have related such stories1 would have been regarded as ludicrous rather than humorous4 ,although ,phdrus ,romanized sop's ,fables1 and gave them a poetical meaning1 he never gained any fame or popularity by them4 ,martial calls him improbus1 i4e41 a rascal4 ,in these and earlier days1 besides the humour exhibited in comedies1 a considerable amount was displayed at public festivals and private entertainments4 ,in the ,homeric hymn to ,mercury1 we read that the god extemporized a song1 just as when young men at banquets slily twit each other4 ,when the cups flowed1 and the conversation sparkled1 men indulged in repartee1 or capped each other in verses4 ,one man1 for instance1 would quote or compose a line beginning and ending with a certain letter1 and another person was called upon for a similar one to complete the couplet4 ,sometimes the line commenced with the first syllable of a word1 and ended with the last1 and a corresponding conceit was to be formed to answer it4 ,the successful competitors at these games were to be kissed and crowned with flowers2 the unsuccessful to drink a bowl of brine4 ,these verbal devices were too simple and far-fetched to be humorous1 but were1 to a certain extent1 amusing1 and no doubt the forfeits and rewards occasioned some merriment4 ,a coarser kind of humour originated in the market-place1 where professed wags of a low class were wont to congregate1 and amuse themselves by chaffing and insulting passers-by4 ,such men are mentioned centuries afterwards by ,st4 ,paul as lewd fellows of the baser sort1--an expression which would be more properly rendered men of the market-place4 ,such centres of trade do not seem to have been improving to the manners1 for we read of people railing like bread-women1 and of the rude jests of the young men of the market4#ae ,lysistratus was one of these fellows in ,aristophanes' days1 and his condition seems to have been as miserable as his humour1 for his garment had shed its leaves1#af and he was shivering and starving more than thirty days in the month4 ,by degrees1 as wealth increased1 there came a greater demand for amusement4 ,jesters obtained patrons1 and a distinct class of men grew up1 who1 having more humour than means were glad to barter their pleasantries for something more substantial4 ,wit has as little tendency to enrich its possessor as genius--the mind being turned to gay and idle rather than remunerative pursuits1 and into a destructive rather than a constructive channel4 ,talent does not imply industry1 and where the stock in trade consists of luxuries of small money value1 men make but a precarious livelihood4 ,one of them says that he will give as a fortune to his daughter six hundred bon mots--all pure ,attic1 which seems to suggest that they were to be puns4 ,no doubt it was the demand that led to the supply1 for jesters were in request at convivial meetings1 and the jealousy of their equally poor1 but less amusing neighbours1 not improbably led to some of the ill-natured reflections upon them4 ,society was to blame for encouraging the parasite1 who seems to have become an institution in ,greece4 ,he is not mentioned by ,aristophanes1 but figures constantly in the plays of later writers1 where he is a smooth-tongued witty varlet1 whose aim is to make himself agreeable1 and who is ready to submit to any humiliation in order to live at other people's expense4 ,thus ,gelasimus--so called1 as he avers1 because his mother was a droll--laments the changed times4 ,he liked the old forms of expression1 ,come to dinner--make no excuse2 but now it is always1 ,i'd invite you1 only ,i'm engaged myself4 ,in another place a parasite's stomach is called a bottomless pit1 and they are said to live on their juices while their patrons are away in the country4 ,their servility was1 of course1 exaggerated in comedy to make humorous capital1 but as they were poor and of inferior social standing to those with whom they consorted1 they were sure occasionally to suffer indignities varying in proportion to the bad taste and insolence of their patrons4 ,thus we read that they not only sat on benches at the lower end of the table1 but sometimes had their faces daubed and their ears boxed4 ,in the ambiguous position they occupied1 they were no doubt exposed to temptations1 but we are not to suppose that they were generally guilty of such short-sighted treachery as that attributed to them by the dramatists4 ,still1 they certainly were in bad repute in their generation1 and hence we are enabled to understand ,aristotle's observation that he who is deficient in humour is a boor1 but he who is in culpable excess is a bomolochos1 or thorough scoundrel4 ,he would connect the idea of great jocosity with unprincipled designs4 ,philoxenus1 had a more independent spirit than most parasites1 and the history of his sojourn in ,syracuse gives us an amusing insight into the state of ,court life in ,sicily #djj years ,b4,c4 ,he was an ,athenian dithyrambic poet and musician2 and as ,dionysius affected literature1 he was welcomed at his palace1 where he wrote a poem entitled ,the ,banquet1 containing an account of the luxurious style of living there adopted4 ,philoxenus was probably the least esteemed guest at these feasts1 of which1 but for him no record would survive4 ,he was a man of humour1 and some instances of his quaintness remain4 ,on one occasion1 when supping with the tyrant1 a small mullet was placed before him1 and a large one before ,dionysius4 ,he thereupon took up his fish and placed it to his ear4 ,dionysius asked him why he did so1 to which he replied that he was writing a poem1 called ,galata1 and wanted to hear some news from the kingdom of ,nereus4 ,the fish given to him1 he added1 knew nothing about it1 because it had been caught so young2 but no doubt that set before ,dionysius would know everything4 ,the tyrant1 we are told1 laughed and sent him his mullet4 ,as might have been anticipated1 he soon greatly offended ,dionysius1 who actually sent him to work in the stone-quarries2 but the cause of his misfortune is uncertain4 ,athenus attributes it to his falling in love with a favourite flute-girl of ,dionysius1 and says that in his ,galata1 he caricatured his rival as the ,cyclops4 ,according to another account1 his disgrace was owing to his having1 when asked to revise one of ,dionysius' poetical compositions1 crossed out the whole of it from beginning to end4 ,he was1 however1 restored to favour1 and seated once more at the royal table2 but1 unfortunately1 the tyrant had again been perpetrating poetry1 and recited some of his verses1 which were loudly applauded by all the courtiers4 ,philoxenus was called upon to join in the commendation1 but instead of complying1 he cried out to the guards1 ,take me back to the quarries4 ,dionysius1 took the joke and pardoned him4 ,he afterwards left the ,syracusan ,court1 and went to his native place1 ,cythera2 and it was characteristic of his bluntness and wit1 that1 on being invited by the tyrant to return1 he replied by only one letter of the alphabet signifying ,,no4 ,and now a most grotesque figure stands before us--it is that of ,diogenes1 who was a youth at the time of ,aristophanes' successes1 and was1 no doubt by many1 classed with those rude idlers of the market-place of whom we have already spoken4 ,some people have questioned his claim to be regarded as a philosopher4 ,he does not appear to have been learned1 or deeply read2 but he was meditative and observant1 and that which in an anchorite1 or hermit1 would have been a mere sentiment1 and in an ordinary man a vague and occasional reflection1 expanded in his mind into a general and practical view of life4 ,observing that the things we covet are not only difficult of attainment1 but unsatisfactory in possession1 he thought to solve the problem of life by substituting contempt for admiration4 ,he was1 probably1 somewhat influenced by his own condition in this vain attempt to draw sweetness from sour grapes4 ,he was poor1 and we find that this despiser of the goods of this world1 who considered money to be the metropolis of all evils--in his youth coined false money1 and was banished to ,sinope in consequence4 ,among his recorded sayings1 he expresses his surprise that the slaves attending at banquets could keep their hands off their master's dainties4 ,but we should be doing ,diogenes an injustice1 if we set him down as a mere discontented misanthrope4 ,in giving due weight to unworthy motives1 we have looked only at one side--and that the worst--of his character4 ,his mind was of an inquiring speculative cast1 and in youth he aspired to join the disciples of ,zeno4 ,so persistent indeed was he that the stoic1 unwilling to have such a questionable pupil1 one day forgot his serene philosophy1 and set upon him with a cudgel4 ,such arguments did not tend to soften ,diogenes' disposition1 and although he accused man of folly rather than malignity1 he went so far to say that a man should have reason or a rope4 ,he probably thought it easier than ,democritus to follow wisdom1 because he did not see quite so far4 ,still he showed that he took an interest in social life1 and had he been less of a moralist1 he would have had better claims to be regarded as a wit than any other character in ,grecian history4 ,many examples could be adduced in which his principal object was evidently to be amusing3-- ,entering a school in which he saw many statues of the ,muses1 but few pupils1 ,you have many scholars among the gods1 he said to the master4 ,on being asked at what time it was proper to dine1 ,if you are rich1 when you will2 if poor1 when you can1 he replied1 perhaps a little sadly2 and to ,what wine do you like to drink8 he quickly responded ,another man's4 ,meeting one1 ,anaximenes1 a very fat man1 he called out1 ,give us poor fellows some of your stomach2 it will be a great relief to you1 and an advantage to us4 ,that ,diogenes recognised humour as a means of drawing attention and impressing the memory1 is shown by the story that on one occasion1 when he was speaking seriously and found no one attending1 he began to imitate the singing of birds1 and when he had thus collected a crowd1 told them they were ready to hear folly but not wisdom4 ,there was also1 probably1 in adopting this form a desire to preclude the possibility of his being contradicted4 ,he was thus proof against criticism--if his statements were said to be false--well1 they were intended to be so2 while1 if they raised a laugh1 there was an admission that they contained some seeds of truth4 ,the following are examples of his disguised wisdom3-- ,on being asked when a man should marry1 ,a young man not yet2 an old man not at all1 he replied4 ,why men gave money to beggars and not to philosophers8 ,because they think they may themselves become blind and lame1 but never philosophers4 ,when ,perdiccas threatened that unless he came to him he would kill him1 ,you would do no great thing1 he replied1 even a beetle or a spider could do that4 ,we can scarcely suppose that all the sayings attributed to ,diogenes are genuine4 ,there has always been a tendency to attribute to great men observations made in accordance with their manner4 ,philosophers have generally been to a certain extent destructive1 and seldom spared the religion of their times4 ,diogenes1 who was called ,socrates gone mad1 was no exception to this rule4 ,humour1 which is seasoned with profanity1 is most telling when there is not too large an amount either of faith or scepticism2 very few could find any amusement in the sneers of an utter infidel4 ,diogenes was almost as deficient in ordinary religious belief as in most other kinds of veneration4 ,sometimes he may have had the good effect of checking the abuse of sacerdotal power1 as when he observed to some who were admiring the thank offerings at ,samothracia1 ,there would have been many more1 had those made them1 who had not been cured4 ,he also said that the ,dionysian festival was a great sight for fools1 and that when he heard prophets and interpreters of dreams1 he thought nothing was so silly as man4 ,his blaming men for making prayers1 because they asked not that which was good1 but only what seemed desirable to them1 may be taken in a favourable sense4 ,before the end of ,diogenes' life fanciful conceits became so much appreciated in ,greece1 that a regular ,court of ,humour was held at ,heracleum1 a village near ,athens1 and it is to be feared that many of the racy sayings attributed to eminent men1 originated in the sessions of this jocund assembly4 ,it was composed of sixty members1 and their sayings came forth with the stamp of ,the ,sixty upon them4 ,their reputation became so great1 that ,philip of ,macedon gave them a talent to write out their jokes1 and send them to him4 ,he was himself fond of gaiety1 invented some musical instruments1 and kept professed jesters4 ,soon after this time1 we read of amateur jesters or rather practical jesters called planoi4 ,chrysippus1 who was not only a philosopher1 but a man of humour--a union we are not surprised to find common at that date--and who is said1 perhaps with equal truth1 to have died like ,philemon in a fit of laughter1 on seeing an ass eat figs off a silver plate--mentions a genius of this kind1 one ,pantaleon1 who1 when at the point of death told each of his sons separately that he confided to him alone the place where he had buried his gold4 ,when he was dead1 they all betook themselves to the same spot1 where they laboured for some time1 before discovering that they had all been deceived4 ,from this period we are mostly indebted to epigrams for any knowledge of ,greek humour4 ,they originated in inscriptions or offerings in temples2 afterwards came to be principally epitaphial or sarcastic2 and grew into a branch of literature4 ,we can scarcely understand some of the fancies indulged in at the time1 which contain no salt at all--,sports1 ,hephstio calls them4 ,of these devices may be mentioned the ,wings of ,love by ,simmias1 a ,rhodian1 who lived before #cjj ,b4,c4 ,the verses are graduated so as to form a pair of wings4 ,the first altar1 written by ,dosiadas of ,rhodes1 is the earliest instance of a ,greek acrostic1 or of any one which formed words4 ,an acrostic is a play upon spelling1 as a pun is upon sound2 and in both cases the complication is too slight for real humour4 ,they are rather to be considered as ingenious works of fancy4 ,the first specimens are those in the ,psalms--twelve of which have twenty-two verses beginning with the twenty-two letters of the ,hebrew alphabet4 ,the #aaith ,psalm is a curious specimen of this conceit2 it is divided into twenty-two stanzas1 and a letter of the alphabet in regular order begins each of them4 ,the initial letters of ,the ,first ,altar of ,dosiadas of ,rhodes1 form four words1 and seem to be addressed to some ,olympian1 who1 the dedicator hopes may live to offer sacrifice for many years4 ,the altar states that it is not stained with the blood of victims1 nor perfumed with frankincense1 that it is not made of gold and silver2 but formed by the hand of the ,graces and the ,muses4 ,in the ,second ,altar1 also usually attributed to ,dosiadas of ,rhodes1 we find not only a fanciful outline formed by long and short verses1 but also a studious avoidance of proper names4 ,not one is mentioned1 although thirteen persons are designated4 ,it is evident that this ,altar was a work of ingenuity1 and intended to be enigmatical4 ,probably the substitutions were also considered to be somewhat playful and amusing1 as in ,antiphanes--a comic poet1 said to have died from an apple falling on his head--we read1 ,a4 ,shall ,i speak of rosy sweat ,from ,bacchic spring8 ,b4 ,i'd rather you'd say wine4 ,a4 ,or shall ,i speak of dusky dewy drops8 ,b4 ,no such long periphrasis--say plainly water4 ,a4 ,or shall ,i praise the cassia breathing fragrance ,that scents the air4 ,b4 ,no1 call it myrrh4 ,another conceit in the form of a ,sphinx or ,pandean pipe has been attributed to ,theocritus--perhaps without good foundation4 ,in the ,egg there is not only the form of the lines1 which gradually expand and then taper downwards1 but there is also a great amount of similitude--the literary egg being compared to a real egg1 and the poet to the nightingale that laid it4 ,there is also a remarkable involution in form--the last line succeeding the first1 and so on2 and this alternation of the verses is compared to the leaping of fawns4 ,the ,axe or ,hatchet is apparently a sort of double axe1 being nearly in the form of wings2 and is supposed to be a dedicatory inscription written to ,minerva on the axe of ,epeus1 who made the wooden horse by which ,troy was taken4 ,the ancient riddles seem to have been generally of a descriptive character1 and not to have turned upon quibbles of words1 like those of the present day4 ,they more corresponded to our enigmas--being emblematic--and in general were small tests of ingenuity1 some being very simple1 others obscure from requiring special knowledge or from being a mere vague description of things4 ,of the learned kind were doubtless those hard questions with which the ,queen of ,sheba proved ,solomon1 and those with which1 on the authority of ,dius and ,menander1 ,josephus states ,solomon to have contended with ,hiram4 ,the riddle of ,samson also required special information2 and the same characteristics which marked the early riddles of ,asia1 where the conceit seems to have originated1 is also found in those of ,greece4 ,who could have guessed the following ,griphus from ,simonides of ,ceos1 without local knowledge1 or with it1 could have failed1 ,i say that he who does not like to win ,the grasshopper's prize1 will give a mighty feast1 ,to the ,panopeiadean ,epeus4 ,this means1 we are told1 that when ,simonides was at ,carthea he used to train choruses1 and there was an ass to fetch water for them4 ,he called the ass ,epeus1 after the water-carrier of the ,atridae2 and if any member of the chorus was not present to sing1 i4e41 to win the grasshopper's prize1 he was to give a choenix of barley to the ass4 ,well might ,clearchus say the investigation of riddles is not unconnected with philosophy1 for the ancients used to display their erudition in such things4 ,somewhat of the same character is found in the following from ,aristophanes4 ,people4 ,how is a trireme a dog fox8 ,sausage ,seller4 ,because the trireme and the dog are swift4 ,people4 ,but why fox8 ,sausage ,seller4 ,the soldiers are little foxes1 for they eat up the grapes in the farms4 ,the simplicity of some of the ancient riddles may be conjectured from the fact that the same word griphus included such conceits as verses beginning and ending with a certain letter or syllable4 ,an instance of the emblematic character of early riddles is seen in that proposed by the ,sphinx to ,o,edipus4 ,what is that which goes on four legs in the morning1 on two in the middle of the day1 and on three in the evening8 ,and in the riddle of ,cleobulus1 one of the seven wise men3 ,there was a father1 and he had twelve daughters2 each of his daughters had thirty children2 some were white and others black1 and though immortal they all taste of death4 ,also in the following griphi1 which are capable of receiving more than one answer4 ,the first two are respectively by ,eubulus and ,alexis--writers of the ,new ,comedy--who flourished in the first half of the #dth century1 ,b4,c4 ,i know a thing1 which while it's young is heavy1 ,but when it's old1 though void of wings1 can fly1 ,with lightest motion out of sight of earth4 ,it is not mortal or immortal either ,but as it were compounded of the two1 ,so that it neither lives the life of man ,nor yet of god1 but is incessantly ,new born again1 and then again ,of this its present life invisible1 ,yet it is known and recognised by all4 ,from ,hermippus3-- ,there are two sisters1 one of whom brings forth1 ,the other and in turn becomes her daughter4 ,diphilus1 in his ,theseus1 says1 there were once three ,samian damsels1 who on the day of the festival of ,adonis delighted themselves with riddles4 ,one of them proposed1 ,what is the strongest of all things8 ,another answered1 ,iron1 because it is that with which men dig and cut4 ,the third said1 ,the blacksmith1 for he bends and fashions the iron4 ,but the first replied1 ,love1 for it can subdue the blacksmith himself4 ,the following is from ,theadectes1 a pupil of ,isocrates1 who lived about #cjj ,b4,c41 and wrote fifty tragedies--none of which survive4 ,nothing which earth or sea produces1 ,nought among mortals hath so great increase4 ,in its first birth the largest it appears1 ,small in its prime1 and in old age again1 ,in form and size it far surpasses all4#ag ,to make a riddle1 that is a real test of ingenuity for all1 and which but one answer satisfies1 shows an advanced stage of the art4 ,the ancient riddles were almost invariably symbolical1 and either too vague or too learned4 ,they seem to us not to have sufficient point to be humorous1 but no doubt they were thought so in their day4 ,it may not be out of place here to advert to those light compositions called ,silli1 about which we have no clear information1 even with regard to the meaning of the name4 ,from the fragments of them extant1 we find that they were written in verse1 and contained a considerable amount of poetical sentiment2 indeed1 all that has come down to us of ,xenophanes1 the first sillographer1 is of this character4 ,we are told that he used parody1 but his pleasantry1 probably1 consisted much of after-dinner jests and stories1 for we find that although he praises wisdom1 and despises the fashionable athletic games1 he rejoiced in sumptuous banquets1 and said that the water should first be poured into the cup1 then the wine4 ,but the most celebrated sillographer was ,timon the ,phliasian--intimate with ,antigonus and ,ptolemy ,philadelphus--who wrote three books of ,silli1 two in dialogues1 and one in continuous narrative4 ,he was a philosopher1 and the principal object of his work was to bring other sects into ridicule and discredit4 ,a few reflections of general application are scattered through it1 but they are in general quite subsidiary and suggested by the subject matter4 ,,part ,,iii4 ,,roman ,,humour4 ,roman ,comedy--,plautus--,acerbity--,terence-- ,satire--,lucilius--,horace--,humour of the ,csar ,family--,cicero--,augustus--,persius--, petronius--,juvenal --,martial--,epigrammatist--,lucian--,ap uleius--,julian the ,apostate--,the ,misopogon--,symposius' ,enigmas--,macrobius--,hierocles and ,philagrius4 ,the light of genius which shone in ,greece was to some extent reflected upon ,rome1 where there was never an equal brilliancy4 ,as for humour1 such as was indigenous in the country1 it was only represented by a few ,saturnian snatches1 some ,fescennine banterings at weddings and harvest-homes1 and rude pantomimic performances also originating in ,etruria4 ,intellectual pleasantry was unknown1 except as an exotic1 and flourished almost exclusively among those who were imbued with the literature of ,greece4 ,about the date at which we arrived at the end of the last chapter--the middle of the third century1 ,b4,c4--the first regular play was introduced at ,rome by ,livius ,andronicus4 ,he was a ,greek slave1 having been taken prisoner at the capture of ,tarentum4 ,scarcely anything remains by which to judge of his writings1 but we know that he copied from ,greek originals4 ,his plays were1 no doubt1 mostly appreciated by the better educated classes of the audience4 ,he had a rival in ,noevius1 a ,campanian by birth1 who also copied from the ,greek1 but retained something of the ,fescennine licence1 or rather1 we should say1 had much of the hostile humour common to the earlier periods of ,greece and ,rome4 ,so violent were his attacks upon the leading men of the day1 that he was imprisoned1 and finally died in exile at ,utica4 ,this early connection of comedy with abuse and buffoonery was probably one cause of professional actors being held in contempt in ,rome4 ,we read that they were frequently slaves1 who were whipped if they came late4 ,at the same time native scurrility was allowed4 ,freeborn ,romans might act for amusement in the ,atellane plays1 which were considered to be ,italian1 and were accompanied by broad ,exodia or pantomimic interludes containing regular characters such as ,maccus the clown1 ,buccones the chatterers1 ,pappus the pantaloon1 and ,simus1 the ape4 ,but these productions came from ,campania1 and it is probable that the better parts of them were ,greek in spirit1 though not in form4 ,some fifty years later brings us to ,plautus--the most remarkable of the ,roman comic writers4 ,little is known of his origin1 except that he was born in ,umbria4 ,there is a story that at one time he was in so humble a position that he was employed in grinding corn for a baker2 but1 if so1 he must have possessed extraordinary ability and perseverance to acquire such a thorough knowledge of ,greek and ,latin4 ,the fact of his adopting the stage as a profession1 and acting in his own dramas1 proves that he was not encumbered with rank or wealth4 ,his plays were numbered among the classics1 and were produced upon the stage till the time of ,diocletian1 five hundred years after his death2 he generally copied from the ,greek1 often naming the author to whom he was indebted4 ,plautus is interesting1 not only as giving us an insight into the ,greek mode of life before his time1 and preserving many of the works of ,philemon1 ,diphilus1 and others1 but as being the only ,latin writer of his date whose productions have survived4 ,he wrote one hundred and thirty plays1 of which thirty are extant1 and show an orthography very different from that of the ,augustan age4 ,his style was forcible1 and like that of all the ,latin comic writers1 highly complex4 ,he sometimes coins words1 7such as ,trifurcifur1 gugga1#ah parenticida17 and he is constantly giving new metaphorical senses to those already in use--as when he speaks of a man being a hell of elms1 i4e41 severely flogged with elm-rods--calls cooks briars1 because they take fast hold of everything they touch1 and threatens a slave with memorials of oxen1 i4e41 a thrashing that will make him remember the thong4 ,we may possibly trace the ,greek original in a few references to conversations of animals--although no plays are now called after them--and the names1 places1 and money he introduces are generally ,greek4 ,still1 we cannot regard him as a mere servile imitator--much of his own genius is doubtless preserved in the plays4 ,in some1 we can clearly recognise his hand1 as where he alludes to ,roman customs1 or indulges in puns4 ,for instance1 where a man speaks of the blessing of having children1 7liberi17 another observes he would rather be free 7liber74 ,in ,the ,churl1 we read that it is better to fight with min than with menaces1 and a lover says that ,phronesium has expelled her own name 7wisdom7 from his breast4 ,an old man says he has begun to go to school again1 and learn his letters4 ,i know three already1 he continues1 ,what three8 is asked1 ,a ,m ,o4 ,while we are glad to mark an advancement in less pleasures being derived from personal threats and conflicts on the stage1 we are pained to find such an entire want of sympathy with the sufferings of those in a servile condition4 ,the severity with which slaves were treated in previous times was not mitigated under the ,roman rule1 and at the present day it is difficult to realise the moral state of those who could derive amusement from hearing men threatened with bull-hidings1 and flogged on the stage4 ,such terms as whip-knave became stale from repetition1 and so many jokes were made even about crucifixion1 that we might suppose it to be a very trifling punishment4 ,chrysalus1 a slave1 facetiously observes1 that when his master discovers he has spent his gold1 he will make him cruscisalus i4e4 cross jumper4 ,in ,the ,haunted ,house1 ,tranio1 who1 certainly seems to have been a great scamp1 soliloquises as follows on hearing of his master's return3-- ,is there any one1 who would like to gain a little money1 who could endure this day to take my place in being tortured8 ,who are those fellows hardened to a flogging1 who wear out iron chains1 or those who for three didrachmas#ai would get beneath besieging towers1 where they might have their bodies pierced with fifteen spears8 ,i'll give a talent to that man who shall be the first to run to the cross for me1 but on condition that his feet and arms are doubly fastened there4 ,when that is done1 then ask the money of me4 ,acoustic humour appears not only in puns1 but under the form of long names of which ,plautus was especially fond1 ,periplecomenus1 ,polymacharoplagides1 and ,thesaurochrysonicocr are specimens of his inventive genius in this direction4 ,in the ,three ,coins1 ,charmides asks the sharper's name4 ,sh4 ,you demand an arduous task4 ,charmides4 ,how so8 ,sh4 ,because if you were to begin before daylight at the first part of my name 'twould be dead of night before you could reach the end of it4 ,i have another somewhat less1 about the size of a wine cask4 ,in the ,persian1 ,toxilus gives his name as follows1 ,vaniloquidorus ,virginisvendonides ,nugipolyloquides ,argentiexterebronides ,tedigniloquides ,nummorumexpalponides ,quodsemelarripides ,nunquamposteareddides4 ,there are a few other cases in which there is a playing upon sound1 as where ,demipho remarks that if he had such a good-looking girl as ,pasicompsa for a servant1 all the people would be staring1 gazing1 nodding1 winking1 hissing1 twitching1 crying1 annoying1 and serenading4 ,the failings of the fair seems always to have been a favourite subject for men's attack1 but reflections of this kind have decreased in number and acerbity since the days of ,aristophanes4 ,we find1 however1 some in ,plautus1 such as the following3-- ,love is a fawning flatterer4 ,for he that is in love1 soon as ever he has been smitten with the kisses of the object he loves1 forthwith his substance vanishes out of doors1 and melts away4 ',give me this1 my honey1 if you love me4' ,and then ,gudgeon says1 ',oh apple of my eye1 both that and still more1 if you wish4' ,he who plunges into love perishes more dreadfully than if he leapt from a rock4 ,away with you1 ,love1 if you please4 ,he is fully alive to the power of this destructive passion4 ,in one place ,philolaches half mad with love and jealousy sees his mistress looking into a mirror4 ,ah1 wretched me1 he exclaims passionately1 she gave the mirror a kiss4 ,i wish ,i had a stone to break the head of that mirror4#bj ,the love of money has always been a stock subject with humorists4 ,this common weakness of human nature can be played upon even by those who can produce no other wit1 and many worse jokes have been made on it than the following1-- ,calidorus asks his servant1 ,pseudolus1 to lend him a drachma4 ,p4 ,what for8 ,c4 ,to buy a rope to hang myself4 ,p4 ,who then will pay me back8 ,do you wish to hang yourself to cheat me out of my drachma8 ,the ,concealed ,treasure turns on an old man having found a pot of gold4 ,he conceals it1 and his nervousness lest some one should discover it is brought out with excellent humour4 ,he drives the cooks out of the place with his stick4 ,he has a battle-royal with a dunghill cock1 who1 he imagines is trying to scratch for it1 then thinks ,strobilus has stolen it1 and calls on him to show one hand1 and the other1 and then the third4 ,we are the more inclined to lament the utter destruction of ancient ,african literature on finding that the most refined ,roman dramas were placed upon the stage by a ,carthaginian1 when ,plautus1 whose enterprize and perseverance had given the great impetus to ,latin comedy1 was approaching the end of his long life4 ,terence was born the last1 and as some think the greatest master in this branch of ,art4 ,he was at one time a slave1 but his literary talent was so remarkable that his master set him free1 and he became the friend of distinguished men1 especially of ,scipio the younger4 ,it must seem strange that this brilliancy should have flashed up for a moment1 and then been for ever quenched1 but it was derived from ,greece and not in its nature enduring4 ,the genius of ,menander fed the flame of ,terence1 as that of ,diphilus and others gave power to ,plautus1 and it may well be supposed that men of their talent appropriated all that was most excellent1 and left their successors to draw from inferior sources4 ,it may1 moreover1 be doubted1 whether the regular drama was ever popular among the lower classes in ,rome1 who preferred the more exciting scenes of the circus4 ,such plays as were intended for them were coarser and more sensational4 ,terence has not the rough power and drollery of ,plautus2 his whole attraction lies in the subtlety of his amorous intrigues4 ,steele1 speaking of one of the plays1 ,the ,self-,tormentor1 observes1 ,it is from the beginning to the end a perfect picture of human life1 but ,i did not observe in the whole one passage that could possibly raise a laugh4 ,it was for this reason1 no doubt1 that ,csar spoke of him as only half a ,menander1 and as deficient in comic force4 ,ingenious complexity is so exclusively his aim1 that we have neither the coarseness nor the sparkle of earlier writers4 ,he was the first to introduce ,comedies1 which were not comic1 and whatever humour he introduces is that of situation4 ,we now come to consider a kind of humour of which the ,romans claim to have been the originators1 and which they certainly developed into a branch of literature4 ,satire first signified a basket of first fruits offered to ,ceres2 then a hotchpot or olla podrida1 then a medley2 and so the name was given to poems written without any definite design4 ,we might therefore conclude that they possessed no uniform character1 but merely contained a mixture of miscellaneous matter4 ,but we find in them no allusions to politics or war1 and but few to the literature and philosophy of the day--their variety being due to their social complexion4 ,one feeling and character pervades them all--they were called forth by a scornful indignation at the degeneracy of the age as represented by the rich and powerful1 or even by certain leading individuals4 ,the appearance of such a kind of literature denoted greater activity in society1 an increase of profligacy among some1 and of moral sensibility among others4 ,satire was a social scourge4 ,it was not a philosophical investigation into the nature and origin of vice1 but a denunciation of it as inimical to the interests of society4 ,it was practical not theoretical--and sought to bring vice into contempt1 by making it both odious and ridiculous4 ,in the latter attempt1 the satirists may have had more success than we credit them with1 for in our day such virulent attacks would be distasteful1 immorality being regarded as essentially a matter for grave and serious condemnation4 ,satire differs from abuse1 not only in being declamatory1 but in being deserved4 ,the amusement in it mostly depends upon the deformity of the sensual1 the failures of the wicked1 and the exposure of guilt in a kind of moral pillory4 ,it did not aim at mere accidental losses or imperfections1 and made no fanciful accusations merely to amuse1 but it was often lightened by metaphor1 by coined words1 and especially by exaggeration4 ,the satire of ,rome1 though in a certain sense new1 seems to have been somewhat derived from ,greece4 ,ennius1 who commenced it1 a man younger than ,plautus and older than ,terence1 was himself half a ,greek4 ,he wrote epic poems and comedies1 and also introduced this comic literature for private reading4 ,lucilius1 who was the first eminent ,roman satirist1 is said to have imitated the old ,greek comedies4 ,his attacks are very severe and personal1 reminding us a little of ,archilochus1 though apparently not written to gratify any private spleen4 ,the tendency to personalities marked a time when the range of society and the tone of thought were equally narrow4 ,moral depravity was considered to be centred in a few individuals1 and in the broken fragments of ,lucilius' rage1 which have descended to us1 we find a man stigmatised as an ulcer1 gangrene1 a poison1 jibber1 shuffler1 a hard-mouthed obstinate brute4 ,sometimes he ridicules the bodily infirmities of the depraved2 but ,lucilius' attacks seem less ill-natured and more justly humorous from being always directed against the vicious and demoralised4 ,occasionally he indulges in such uncomplimentary expressions as ,there is no flummery-maker equal to you1 while some are hailed with ,long life to you1 glutton1 gormandizer1 and belly-god4 ,he might truly say in his metaphorical language1 ,i seize his beak and smash his lips1 ,zopyrus' fashion1 and knock out all his front teeth4 ,the satire of ,horace was exceptionally mild2 with him its social character was much more marked than its acerbity4 ,in many places he shows ,greek reflections1 for he had received a liberal education1 duly completed at ,athens4 ,but his philosophy did not consist of dreamy theories and arbitrary rules--it was directed to practical ends1 to the harmonizing of the feelings1 and the elevation of society4 ,as a man of the world1 he was not carried away by fancies1 nor given to exaggerated views2 and as a companion of the great1 he was not inclined to inveigh bitterly against the degeneracy of the times4 ,on the contrary1 so kindly were his feelings1 that he tells us that we should overlook the vices of our friends4 ,his teaching1 both in spirit and range1 was broader than that of his predecessors2 his shafts were directed against classes rather than individuals1 and wherever he is more pointed1 his object is not to gratify personal spite1 but to make his warning more forcible by illustration4 ,moreover1 his names are generally unreal4 ,in this way he attacks ,nasidienus on the excessive luxury of the table1 and his advice was applicable not only to the rich and great1 but to more ordinary men4 ,thus1 he shows the bad tendencies of avarice and love-intrigues1 and the meanness of sycophantism and legacy-hunting4 ,many of the faults he condemns are rather errors in taste than serious moral delinquencies4 ,sometimes he criticises merely trivial matters1 such as a costume or a scent4 ,rufillus smells all perfumes1 ,gorgonius like a goat1 and the most humorous of his pieces is that in which he ridicules the ignorance and impudence of a manoeuvring chatterer4 ,but in this line he is not very successful1 and his contests of rival jesters are as much beneath the notice of any good writer of the present day1 as his account is of ,porcius1 the jack-pudding swallowing cakes whole4 ,horace says that men are more impervious to slashing reproach than to fine ridicule1 and he was unusually adroit in hitting foibles without inflicting pain4 ,he was not a man who held strong opinions on subjects4 ,this is especially evident where he speaks of his own fickleness2 and while he reiterates his dislike of ,rome1 with its noise and bustle1 he makes his slave say that this is but affectation1 and when an invitation comes from ,mecnas1 ,mulvius and the 'scurr' are turned out1 from which we learn that parasites had their parasites1 and that ,horace in the country played the patron to the rustic wits4 ,although the ,romans generally have no claim to be called a humorous people1 many of them became celebrated for their talent in repartee4 ,scipio ,africanus milianus above mentioned1 was remarkable in this way1 as was ,crassus1 ,granius1 ,vargula1 and others4 ,there was a good old joke that ,nasica having called at the house of the poet ,ennius1 and the maid-servant having told him that ,ennius was not at home1 he perceived she had said so by her master's order2 and when1 a few days afterwards1 ,ennius called at ,nasica's house1 and inquired for him1 ,nasica cried out that he was not at home4 ,what6 says ,ennius1 do ,i not know your voice8 ,you are an impudent fellow1 replied ,nasica1 ,i believed your servant when she said you were not at home1 and you will not believe me4 ,a vein of humour seems to have run through the ,csar family4 ,caius ,julius ,csar ,strabo ,vopiscus was so noted for the gift that ,cicero in his work on ,oratory makes him deliver his observations on the subject4 ,julius ,csar himself was as remarkable for pleasantry as for clemency4 ,his ,veni1 vidi1 vici1 in which his enemies saw so much arrogance1 was no doubt intended and understood by his friends to be humorous4 ,in his youth he was accused of effeminate habits1 and when on his obtaining the entire command of ,gaul1 he said that he would now make his enemies his suppliants1 and a senator replied sarcastically1 ,that will not be an easy task for a woman4 ,he rejoined with gaiety1 ,semiramis reigned in ,assyria1 and the ,amazons possessed a great part of ,asia4 ,we have already seen him lamenting over the loss of comic force in ,terence as compared with ,menander1 and in the triumphal games given in his honour in the year #de1 he commanded ,decimus ,laberius1 though a man of sixty1 to appear on the stage in the contest of wit4 ,this knight was a composer of mimes--a light kind of comedy1 somewhat to be compared to the entertainments given by humorists at the present day4 ,julius ,csar obliged him to perform in person--an act of degradation--but afterwards gave him #ejj1jjj sesterces1 and restored him to his rank4 ,this act of ,csar's has been regarded as having a political significance1 but it may merely have shown his love of humour4 ,he may have wished to bring out the talent of the new mime1 ,publius1 a young ,syrian1 who had acquired great celebrity both for beauty and wit4 ,it is said that when his master first took ,publius to see his patron1 the latter observed one of his slaves1 who was dropsical1 lying in the sunshine1 and asking him angrily what he was doing there1 ,publius answered for him ,warming water4 ,on the same visit1 in jesting after supper1 the question was asked1 ,what is a disagreeable repose8 ,when many had attempted answers1 ,publius replied1 ,that of gouty feet4 ,some of the sayings of ,publius1 have been preserved4 ,he receives a benefit who gives to a worthy person4 ,he to whom more than is just is allowed1 wishes for more than he gets4 ,a man who talks well on the road is as good as a carriage4 ,he unjustly accuses ,neptune who is ship-wrecked twice4 ,by overlooking an old injury you invite a new one4 ,these sayings are of a worldly-wise and proverbial character1 and1 therefore1 as has been already observed1 although not actually humorous1 are easily capable of being so regarded4 ,csar awarded the prize to ,publius instead of ,laberius1 because1 as it is supposed1 of some reflections the latter made upon him4 ,but it may have been that ,csar was right1 and ,publius' wit was the most salient4 ,scarcely any specimens remain of ,laberius' talent4 ,aulus ,gellius says that he coined many strange words1 and he seems to have made considerable use of alliteration4 ,we may suppose that the humour of ,cicero was somewhat hereditary1 for he records a saying of his grandfather that the men of our time are like ,syrian slaves2 the more ,greek they know1 the greater knaves they are6 ,it is fortunate the grandson inherited the old man's wit without his plebeian prejudices1 and became as celebrated for his culture as for his readiness4 ,in his work entitled ,the ,orator1 he commends humour as a means of gaining influence1 and a vehicle for moral instruction4 ,orators1 he says1 joke with an object1 not to appear jesters1 but to obtain some advantage4 ,but we may feel sure he did not keep this dry and profitable end always in view1 for he wrote a jest-book1 and was nick-named by his enemies ,scurra ,consularis1#ba the consular buffoon4 ,a man can scarcely have a talent for humour without being conscious of its fascination1 and being sometimes led away by it--as ,cicero says1 it pleases the listeners--but he need not therefore descend to buffoonery4 ,we should not be inclined to accuse a man of that1 who tells us that a regard to proper times1 moderation and forbearance in jesting1 and a limitation in the number of jokes1 will distinguish the orator from the buffoon2 who says that indelicacy is a disgrace1 not only to the forum1 but to any company of well-bred people1 and that neither great vice nor great misery is a subject for ridicule4 ,from all this we may gather that ,cicero was full of graceful and clever jocosity1 but did not indulge in what was vapid and objectionable4 ,both by precept and practice he approved good verbal humour4 ,the better class of puns was used in the literature of the time1 as we find by ,st4 ,paul and others1 not in levity1 but merely as embellishments4#bb ,cicero replied to ,vibius ,curius1 who was telling a falsehood about his age3 ,then when we declaimed at the schools together1 you were not born2 and to ,fabia1 ,dolabella's wife1 who said she was thirty1 ,no doubt1 for ,i have heard you say so twenty years4 ,when he saw ,lentulus1 his cousin--a little man girt with a big sword3 ,who1 he asked1 has fastened my cousin to that sword8 and on being shown a colossal bust of his brother1 who was also small1 he exclaimed1 ,the half of my brother is greater than the whole4 ,one day ,cicero had supped with ,damasippus1 and his host had said--putting some inferior wine before him--,drink this ,falernian1 it is forty years old6 ,it bears its age well1 replied ,cicero4 ,we have a most interesting collection of good sayings in ,the ,orator1 which although not spoken by ,cicero himself1 were those which he had from time to time noticed1 and probably jotted down4 ,here is one of ,csar's 7,strabo74 ,a ,sicilian1 when a friend made lamentation to him that his wife had hanged herself upon a fig tree3 ,i beseech you1 he said1 give me some shoots of that tree that ,i may plant them4 ,some one asked ,crassus whether he should be troublesome if he came to him before it was light4 ,crassus said1 ,you will not4 ,the other rejoined1 ,you will order yourself to be awakened then4 ,to which ,crassus replied1 ,surely1 ,i said that you would not be troublesome4 ,to return to the ,csars4 ,the humorous vein which we have traced in the family descended to ,augustus--the great nephew of ,julius4 ,some of his sayings1 which have survived1 show him to have been as pleasant in his wit as he was proverbially happy in his fortunes4 ,when the inhabitants of ,tarraco made him a fulsome speech1 telling him that they had raised an altar to him as their presiding deity1 and that1 marvellous to relate1 a splendid palm tree had grown up on it3 ,that shows1 replied the ,emperor1 how often you kindle a fire there4 ,to ,galba1 a hunchback orator1 who was pleading before him1 and frequently saying1 ,set me right1 if ,i am wrong1 he replied1 ,i can easily correct you1 but ,i cannot set you right4 ,the following will give a slight idea of the variety of his humour4 ,when he heard that1 among the children under two years old whom ,herod had ordered to be slain1 his own son had been killed1 he said1 ,it is better to be ,herod's pig than his son4 ,being entertained on one occasion with a very poor dinner1 and without any ceremony1 as he was passing out he whispered in the ear of his host1 ,i did not know that ,i was such a friend of yours4 ,a ,roman knight having died enormously in debt1 ,augustus ordered them to buy him his bed-pillow at the auction1 observing3 ,the pillow of a man who could sleep when he owed so much must be truly soporific4 ,a man who had been removed from a cavalry command and asked for an allowance1 not from any mercenary motive1 but that ,i may seem to have resigned upon obtaining the grant from you1 he dismissed with the words3 ,tell everybody you have received it4 ,i will not deny it4 ,augustus kept a jester1 ,gabba1 and patronised mimes1 and among other diversions with which he amused himself and his friends1 was that of giving presents by lottery2 each drew a ticket upon which something was named1 but on applying for the article a totally different thing was received1 answering to a second meaning of the name4 ,this occasioned great merriment1 a man who thought he was to get a grand present was given a little sponge1 or rake1 or a pair of pincers2 another who seemed to have no claim whatever1 obtained something very valuable4 ,the humour was not great1 but a little refreshing distraction was thus obtained from the cares of state4 ,there is no loss in light literature so much to be deplored as that of the correspondence between ,augustus and ,mecnas4 ,the latter prided himself upon his skill in poetry and humour1 and we may be sure that he sent some of his choicest productions to ,augustus1 who in turn exerted himself to send something worthy of the eye of so celebrated a critic4 ,it is not impossible that the ,emperor showed himself equal1 if not superior to the friend of ,horace4 ,those who succeeded to the imperial purple proved very different from their illustrious predecessor1 and in ,persius the severity of ,roman satire re-appears4 ,we could scarcely expect a man who lived under ,nero1 and after the reigns of ,tiberius1 ,caligula1 and ,claudius to write with the mild placidity of the ,augustan poet4 ,moreover1 the satires of ,persius were written at an early age--twenty-eight1 and youth always feels acutely1 and expresses strongly4 ,some of his attacks are evidently aimed at ,nero1 but his principal object is to denounce the vices of the times4 ,hence1 indolence and prurient literature are stigmatised4 ,he ridicules the extremes of extravagance1 and of that parsimony by which it is usually accompanied4 ,am ,i on a festive day to have a nettle dressed for me1 and a smoked pig's cheek with a hole in its ear1 in order that that grandson of yours may be surfeited with goose liver1 and indulge in patrician amours4 ,am ,i to be a living anatomy that his pope's stomach may shake with fat4#bc ,alluding to the absurdity of the prayers generally offered up1 he uses language worthy of a ,christian4 ,you ask for vigour1 but rich dishes and fat sausages prevent the gods from granting your behest4 ,you ask what your fleshly mind suggests4 ,what avails gold in sacrifice8 ,offer justice to ,god and man--generous honour1 and a soul free from pollution4 ,in ,persius we miss the light geniality of ,horace and the pure language of the ,augustan age1 but we mark the complexity and finesse of a later date1 a form of thought bespeaking a comprehensive grasp1 and suitable to subtle minds4 ,but as regards his humour it depends much on exaggeration1 and is proportionably weak1 and beyond this we have little but the coining of some words1#bd the using others in unaccustomed senses1 and a large seasoning of severity4 ,he evidently aimed rather at being corrective than amusing1 and his covert attacks upon ,nero were1 no doubt1 well understood4 ,humour of a poor kind was evidently fashionable at the day--the ,emperor himself wrote ,satires and was so fond of comic performances that he first encouraged and rewarded a celebrated pantomimic actor named ,paris1 and then put him to death for being his rival in the mimetic art4 ,even ,seneca could not resist the example of his contemporaries1 and we find the sedate philosopher attacking his enemy with severe ridicule4 ,claudius had him sent into exile for eight years to the picturesque but lonely ,island of ,corsica2 and ,seneca who liked something more social and luxurious1 held him up in a satire bordering upon lampoon4 ,the fanciful production was called the ,apolokokyntosis of ,claudius2 that is his apotheosis1 except that1 instead of the ,emperor being deified1 he is supposed to be gourdified1 changed not into a god1 but into a pumpkin4 ,seneca1 after deriding ,claudius' bodily defects1 accuses him of committing many atrocities1 and finally sends him down from heaven to the nether world1 where a new punishment is invented for him--he is to be always trying to throw dice out of an empty box4 ,one of the most remarkable characters in the reign of ,nero was ,titus ,petronius ,arbiter4 ,he was a great favourite with the ,emperor1 and held some official appointment--the duties of which he is said to have discharged with ability4 ,in his writings he is supposed to condemn immorality1 but he enlarges so much upon what he disapproves that we doubt whether he does not promote the vice he pretends to condemn4#be ,his ,satyricon is not intended to be a satire1 but an imitation of one of those old ,greek comedies which treated of the doings of ,satyrs and grotesque country deities4 ,it is the first comic prose work1 for in early times verse was thought as necessary to humour as to poetry4 ,the whole work is enveloped in a voluptuous atmosphere2 it is written in a gay roystering style1 but although the indelicacy is great the humour is small4 ,occasionally it is interesting1 as giving an insight into private life in the days of ,nero4 ,here we find ,trimalchio1 a rich man1 providing for the amusement of his guests1 as well as for their sumptuous entertainment4 ,one dish was a wild boar1 which was placed on the table with a cap of liberty on its head4 ,petronius asked the meaning of this4 ,why1 said he1 your servant could explain that1 it is no riddle4 ,this boar escaped from yesterday's dinner where it was dismissed by the guests1 and he now returns to table as a freedman4 ,afterwards a much larger hog was brought in4 ,what6 cried ,trimalchio1 looking closely at it1 is not his inside taken out8 ,no6 it is not2 call the cook1 call the cook4 ,the cook being brought in1 excused himself saying that he forgot4 ,forgot6 cried ,trimalchio1 why1 he talks as if it were only a pinch of pepper omitted4 ,strip him4 ,in a moment the cook was stripped to be flogged4 ,all interceded for him1 but ,petronius felt somewhat indignant at such an oversight1 and said he must be a careless rascal to forget to disembowel a hog4 ,trimalchio with a pleasant look said1 ,come1 you with the short memory1 see if you can bowel him before us4 ,the cook slashed with his knife1 and out tumbled a load of puddings and sausages4 ,all the servants raised a shout1 and the cook was presented with a cup of wine1 and a silver crown4 ,petronius shared the fate of ,seneca4 ,he was suspected of conspiring against the ,emperor1 and his life being demanded1 he preferred to suffer by his own hand rather than by that of the executioner4 ,he caused his veins to be opened1 but strangely whimsical to the last1 and wishing to die slowly1 he had them closed at intervals4 ,in his dying state he was daily carried about the streets of ,cum1 and received his friends1 made love verses and humorous epigrams1 and endeavoured to withdraw his thoughts from the sad reality by indulging in all kinds of amusing caprices4 ,at length he expired--another distinguished victim of ,nero's cruelty4 ,juvenal1 who wrote under ,domitian1 a little later than ,persius1 equalled him in severity--due either to his natural disposition or to the spectacle presented by the ever increasing demoralization of ,rome4 ,like ,persius1 he makes use of much metaphor and involution in his works--showing the literary taste and intellectual acumen of a settled state of society1 but an early age is impressed upon his pages in the indelicacy with which he is frequently chargeable4 ,his depiction of guilt was appreciated at that day1 but under the ,christian dispensation vice is thought too sinful1 and in a highly civilised state too injurious to be laughable4 ,the views then held were different1 and ,tacitus considered it a mark of great superiority in the ,germans that they did not laugh at crimes4 ,juvenal tells us that the ,romans jeered at poverty4 ,there was much in the character of this satirist to raise him in the estimation of right-minded men4 ,his tastes were simple1 he loved the country and its homely fare1 and although devoid of ambition1 was highly cultivated4 ,no doubt he was rather austere than genial3 his aim was to instruct and warn rather than amuse2 and where he approaches humour it is merely from complexity of style1 in coining words and barbarisms1 or in comparisons mostly dependent upon exaggeration4 ,the following is one of his best specimens1 though over-weighted with severity4 ,it gives an idea of the state of ,rome at the time4 ,a drunken magnate and his retinue stop a citizen in the street1 and insolently demand-- ,with whose vinegar and beans are you blown out8 ,what cobbler has been eating leeks and sheepshead with you8 ,answer1 or be kicked4 ,this1 says ,juvenal is a poor man's liberty4 ,when pummelled1 he begs that he may be allowed to escape with a few of his teeth remaining4 ,juvenal longs for the sword of ,lucilius1 and the lamp of ,horace1 that he may attack the vices of ,rome1 but he himself is more severe than either4 ,forgers1 gamblers and profligates are assailed1 and names are frequently given1 though we often cannot now decide whether they belonged to real persons4 ,laughing at those who desire length of years without remembering the concomitant infirmities of age1 he says3 ,all kinds of disease dance around the aged in a troop1 of which if you were to ask the names ,i could sooner tell you how many lovers ,hippia had1 how many patients ,themison killed in one autumn1 or how many allies ,basilus and ,hirrus defrauded4 ,he condemns the increased desire for luxury4 ,do not1 he warns1 long for a mullet1 when you have only a gudgeon in your purse4 ,the rule of the day was to purchase sensual indulgence at any cost1 ,greediness is so great that they will not even invite a parasite4 ,excessive selfishness leads to every kind of dishonesty4 ,a man of probity is as rare as a mule's foal1 or as a shower of stones from a cloud4 ,what day is so sacred that it fails to produce thieving1 perfidy1 fraud1 gain sought through every crime1 and money acquired by bowl and dagger4 ,the good are so scarce that their number is barely as great as that of the gates of ,thebes1 or the mouths of the fertilizing ,nile4 ,he attacks every kind of social abuse1 and does not even spare the ladies--some are too fast1 some are learned and pedantic1 some cruel to their slaves--even scourging them with cowhides4 ,what fault1 he asks1 has the girl committed1 if your own nose has displeased you8 ,as to religion1 that has disappeared altogether4 ,what a laugh your simplicity would raise in public1 if you were to require of anyone that he should not perjure himself1 but believe that there was some deity in the temple1 or at the ensanguined altar6 ,that the souls of the departed are anything1 and the realms below1 and the punt-pole and frogs of the ,stygian pool1 and that so many thousands pass over in one boat1 not even the boys believe1 except those who are too young to pay for their bath4 ,the language used in the last passage is no doubt an example of the profane manner in which some men spoke at that day1 but in general1 we must remember that these pictures are humorous and overdrawn4 ,still1 some of the offences spoken of with horror by ,juvenal were treated almost as lightly by contemporary poets as they had been by ,aristophanes4 ,there is a slightly foreign complexion about the productions of ,martial1 which reminds us that he was a ,spaniard4 ,even at this time there seems to have been a sparkle and richness in the thoughts that budded in that sunny clime4 ,martial was a contemporary of ,juvenal1 and addressed two or three of his epigrams to him4 ,his works consisted of fourteen books1 containing altogether more than fifteen hundred of these short poems4 ,the appearance of such works may be taken as indicative of the condition of ,rome at the time4 ,the calls of business had become more urgent from the increase of the population and development of commerce1 while the unsatisfactory state of the ,government and of foreign affairs kept men's minds in agitation and suspense4 ,martial himself observes that those were no times for poems of any length1 and that some of his friends would not even read his longer pieces1 though they never exceeded thirty lines4 ,the period demanded something light and short--a book which could be taken up and laid down without any interruption of the narrative4 ,but the swifter current of affairs had also produced a keener or more active turn of mind1 so that it was necessary not only to be short1 but also pithy4 ,it was not necessary to be humorous1 but it was essential to be concise and interesting1 and thus ,martial gave to the epigram that character for point which it has since maintained4 ,nothing could be more attractive than allusions to contemporary men1 passing scenes1 or novelties of the day1 and when we read his works we seem to be transported by magic into the streets and houses of ancient ,rome4 ,on one page we have the sanguinary scenes of the circus2 in another we see the ladies waving their purple fans1 and hear them toasted in as many glasses as they have letters to their names4 ,from this kind of gaiety ,martial graduates into another--that of pleasantry4 ,in an epitaph on his barber1 he bids the earth lie light upon him1 adding1 ,it could not be lighter than his artistic hand4 ,from his censure of bad wit1 it is evident that he drew great distinctions between broad and subtle humour4 ,every man1 he says1 has not a nose1 i4e41 a keen perception--cannot smell a fault4 ,he is very seldom guilty of a pun1 and says in one place that he has not adopted verbal tricks1 imitating echoes1 or making lines which can be read backwards or forwards4#bf ,nor has he any intention to indulge in bitter reflections2 he says1-- ,my page injures not those it hates1 and no reputation obtained at the expense of another is pleasing to me4 ,some versifiers wish publications which are but darts dipped in the blood of ,lycambus to be mine1 and vomit forth the poison of vipers under my name4 ,my sport is harmless4 ,but he well saw that some little severity was necessary for humour1 for he chides a dull poet3 ,although the epigrams which you write are always sweetness itself1 and more spotless than a white-leaded skin1 and although there is in them neither an atom of salt1 nor a drop of bitter gall1 yet you expect1 foolish man1 that they will be read4 ,why1 not even food is pleasant if wholly destitute of acid seasoning1 nor is a face pleasing which shows no dimples4 ,give children your honey1 apples1 and luscious figs--the ,chian fig1 which has sharpness1 pleases my taste4 ,following this view we find him often sarcastic1 but not personal1 the names being fictitious1 or if not1 those of well known public men4 ,in a few instances he is a little ill-natured1 and writes1 ,laugh1 if thou art wise1 girl1 laugh1 said ,ovid1 but he did not say this to all girls1 not1 for instance1 to ,maximina1 who has only three teeth1 and those the colour of pitch and boxwood4 ,avoid the pantomimes of ,philistion and gay feasts4 ,it befits you to sit beside an afflicted mother1 and a wife lamenting her husband4 ,weep1 if thou art wise1 girl1 weep4 ,martial often uses the figure called by the ,greek grammarians contrary to expectation4 ,the point of the whole epigram lies in the last word or line1 which changes the drift of the whole4 ,his funeral pile was strewn with reed1 ,his tearful wife brought fragrant myrrh1 ,the bier1 the grave1 the ointment were prepared1 ,he named me as his heir1 and he--got well4 ,sorry is ,athenagoras not to send the gifts1 ,which in mid-winter he is wont to send2 ,whether he be sorry ,i shall shortly see1 ,but sorry he has certainly made me4 ,you feast so often without me1 ,lupercus1 ,i've found a way by which to pay you out1 ,i am incensed1 and if you should invite me1 ,what would ,i do1 you ask me8 ,why--,i'd come4 ,the growing appreciation of this kind of writing had already led ,meleager1 a cynic philosopher of ,gadara1 to form the first collection of ,greek epigrams1 which he prettily termed the anthology or bouquet4 ,martial has been commended at the expense of the ,greeks1 but he borrowed considerably from them in form and matter4 ,his epigrams were more uniformly suggestive and concentrated than those of any previous writer1 and he largely contributed to raise such compositions from being merely inscriptive into a branch of literature4 ,he opened a new field1 and the larger portion of these productions in ,greek were written about this time4 ,they are not generally humorous1 with the exception of a few from ,philo and ,leonidas of ,alexandria who lived about #fj ,b4,c41 from ,ammianus in #abj ,b4,c41 and from ,lucilius1 a great composer of this kind1 of whose history nothing is known but that he lived in the reign of ,nero4 ,the following are from the last-mentioned4 ,some say1 ,nicylla1 that thou dyest thy hair1 which thou boughtest most black at the market4 ,all the astrologers prophesied that my uncle would be long-lived except ,hermocleides1 who said he would not be so4 ,this1 however1 was not until we were lamenting his death4 ,the following are free translations from the same writer4 ,poor ,cleon out of envy died1 ,his brother thief to see ,nailed near him to be crucified ,upon a higher tree4 ,on a bad painter4 ,you paint ,deucalion and ,phaeton1 ,and ask what price for each you should require2 ,i'll tell you what they're worth before you've done1 ,one deserves water1 and the other fire4 ,the works of ,lucian are generally regarded as forming a part of ,roman literature1 although they were written in ,greek by a native of ,samosata in ,syria4 ,in them we have an intermingling of the warm imagination of the ,east with the cold sceptical philosophy of the ,west4 ,lucian was originally brought up to be a stone-cutter1 but he had an insatiable desire for learning1 and in his ,dream he tells us how he seemed to be carried aloft on the wings of ,pegasus4 ,he became a pleader at the bar1 but soon found that deceit1 lies1 impudence1 and chicanery were inseparable from that profession4 ,in disgust he betook himself to philosophy1 but could not restrain his indignation when he found so many base men throwing the blame of their conduct on ,plato1 ,chrysippus1 ,pythagoras1 and other great men4 ,a fellow who tells you that the wise man alone is rich1 comes the next moment and asks you for money--just as if a person in regal array should go about begging4 ,he says they pay no more attention to the doctrines they teach than if their words were tennis balls to play with in schools4 ,there is1 he continues1 a story told of a certain king of ,egypt1 who took a fancy to have apes taught to dance4 ,the apes1 as they are apt to mimic human actions1 came on in their lessons and improved very fast1 and were soon fit to appear on the public stage1 and display their skill1 dressed in purple robes1 with masks on their faces4 ,the spectators were much pleased with them for a considerable time1 when a wag who was present1 having brought with him a quantity of nuts1 threw a handful amongst them4 ,the dance was immediately forgotten1 and the performers from pyrrhic dancers1 relapsed into apes1 who went chattering and snapping at one another1 and fighting for nuts2 so that in a few moments the masks were crumpled1 the clothes torn to rags1 and the ape dance1 which had been so much extolled1 terminated amidst peals of laughter4 ,such is the history of mock philosophers4 ,the above story may serve to exhibit ,lucian's views1 and his love of humorous illustration4 ,he indulges in many fancies1 such as the complaint of the letter ,s against ,t1 which had in ,attic been substituted for it4 ,another kind of pleasantry which he brings forward is interesting1 inasmuch as after having been in fashion among the grammarians1 and reviving among the monks in the middle ages it has now fallen entirely out of use4 ,it may be regarded as being a kind of continuation of the philosophical hard questions of ancient times1 originated with the ,sophists1 and was entirely confined to logical subtleties affording diversion1 but not awakening any emotion sufficient to cause laughter4 ,lucian makes a parasite ask his host after dinner to solve such riddles as ,the ,sorites and the ,reaper1 and the ,horned ,syllogism4 ,the latter proposition was1 ,what you have not lost that you still have4 ,you have not lost horns1 therefore you have horns4 ,in ,the ,sale of the ,philosophers1 in which ,jupiter puts them all up to auction to see what will be bid for them1 ,chrysippus gives some similar examples4 ,a stone is a substance1 is it not8 ,certainly4 ,a living being is also a substance4 ,yes4 ,and you are a living being--therefore you are a stone4 ,chrysippus then offers to turn him back into a man4 ,is every substance a living being8 ,no4 ,is a stone a living being8 ,no4 ,but you are a substance8 ,yes4 ,and a living being2 then1 although you are a substance you are not a stone1 because you are a living being4 ,lucian's crusade against vice is of so general a kind as to remind us more of some of the old philosophers than of the ,roman satirists4 ,at the same time he says he has only spoken against impostors1 and is only the enemy of false pretence1 quackery1 lies1 and puffing4 ,but we may suppose that he would not be sparing of his lash in any direction1 for in the ,resuscitated ,philosophers1 he observes1 ,philosophy says that ridicule can never make anything worse than it is in itself1 and whatever is beautiful and good comes out with more lustre from it1 and1 like gold1 is rendered splendid by the strokes of the hammer4 ,following this view1 he makes pretty sport of the parasites1 whom he represents as forming a large and educated class4 ,patroclus he counts as ,achilles' parasite1 and includes several philosophers1 who1 he says1 sponged upon ,dionysius of ,syracuse1 but ,plato failed in the art4 ,he commends them in merry irony1 and describes the parasite as stout and robust--bold1 with an eye full of fire and spirit4 ,who could venture a bet against a parasite1 whether in jesting or feasting8 ,who could contribute more to the diversion of the company8 ,a parasite is obliged to be strict in his conduct4 ,he has an annual salary1 but is always beaten down in it4 ,he does not receive the same food as the chief people1 and in travelling he is put with the servants4 ,jokes are made at his expense by the company1 and when he receives a present of his patron's old clothes1 he has to fee the servants for them4 ,of philosophers1 some are poisoned1 some are burned alive4 ,none ever tell of a parasite who came to such an end--he dies gently and sweetly1 amidst loaded dishes and flowing bowls1 and should one of them come to a violent death1 it is merely from indigestion4 ,the parasite does honour to the rich man--not the rich man to the parasite4 ,lucian's ,true ,history deserves especial notice as having been the first extravagant story written under the form of a circumstantial narration of travels4 ,it was the precursor of ,the ,voyage to the ,moon1 ,baron ,mnchausen1 and various ,utopias4 ,we must therefore allow it the merit of originality1 and it evinces talent1 for mere exaggeration would not be entertaining4 ,the intention was to ridicule the marvellous travellers' stories then current4 ,much of this history is merely florid1 and we may compare it to a waving line1 in which the fable is constantly undulating between humour and poetry4 ,lucian says he is going to write about what never can be4 ,he sets sail on a voyage of discovery for the ,western ,ocean1 and reaches a beautiful island4 ,there they find a river of wine1 navigable in many places4 ,he could not trace the source of it1 but near the place where it seemed to rise1 were several vines full of grapes1 and at the root of every one wine flowed out4 ,they found fish in the stream1 and after eating some1 felt intoxicated2 when they cut them up1 they found grape-stones in them4 ,passing the river1 they found a most wonderful species of vine2 the lower parts1 which touched the ground1 were green and thick1 the upper formed the most beautiful women1 from the top of whose fingers branches sprang forth full of grapes2 and on their heads1 instead of hair1 they had leaves and tendrils4 ,two of his companions1 going up to embrace them1 became so entangled that they could not again disengage themselves4 ,after this1 they left the island1 and were caught in such a violent storm that the vessel was lifted out of the water1 so high that it could not come down again4 ,then they came to another island1 round and shining4 ,here they found ,hippogypi1 men riding upon vultures--birds so large that each of their feathers was like the mast of a ship4 ,the voyagers join the ,hippogypi in a battle against the inhabitants of the sun1 and have various allies--some mounted on fleas about the size of twelve elephants1 and spiders1 each as big as one of the ,cyclades islands4 ,the travellers were taken prisoners1 and conveyed to the ,sun1 but he returned to the ,moon1 of which he gives a description4 ,the inhabitants there make use of their stomachs--which are empty and lined with hair--as bags or pockets to put away things4 ,they take their eyes in and out1 and borrow them4 ,whoever does not believe me1 had better go and see4 ,returning from the air to the earth and sea1 they saw several enormous whales1 one of whom swam up to them with its mouth wide open4 ,coming near he swallowed them up--ship and all4 ,it was dark inside1 until he opened his mouth again4 ,there was a large extent of land inside1 and hills and woods1 in which birds were building nests4 ,from this last fancy1 we might conclude that ,lucian had read the ,book of ,jonah1 and a description he afterwards gives of the ,isles of the ,blessed1 seems to be written in imitation of the ,revelation4 ,the age in which ,lucian lived was marked by theological contests between ,pagans1 ,jews1 and ,christians1 and such times have generally caused an increase of scepticism and profanity4 ,lucian was a follower of ,democritus1 and his ,confabulations consist of a succession of squibs and satires on the mythological legends of the gods and goddesses4 ,he laughs at curing diseases by charms and incantations4 ,people pretended to fly1 walk on water and through fire--they are called ,babylonians and ,hyperboreans4 ,a ,syrian from ,palestine professes to drive devils out of people 7perhaps alluding to the exorcists of the early church47 ,he makes ,eucrates speak of one ,pancrates1 who would take a broom or the pestle of a wooden mortar1 and upon saying a couple of magical words1 it appeared to become a man1 drew water1 and ordered food4 ,when ,pancrates had no further need of him1 he spoke a couple of words1 and the man was a pestle again4 ,eucrates tried this himself1 but having made the pestle a man1 and told him to bring water1 he forgot how to change him back again4 ,so he kept on bringing water4 ,eucrates then split the pestle in two1 and both halves still continued to bring water4 ,demonax1 the friend of ,lucian1 was as remarkable for his wit and repartee as for his kindly nature4 ,a man who over-rated his austerity1 expressed one day his surprise at seeing him eat sweet-cakes4 ,do you think1 he replied1 that the bees make their honey only for fools8 ,he seems to have had as little respect as ,lucian for the idolatry of his day1 for on one of his companions saying to him ,let us go to the ,temple of sculapius to pray for my son1 he answered1 ,is the god then so deaf that he cannot hear us where we are8 ,he lived and died a bachelor1 and we are told that on being blamed by ,epictetus1 with whom he studied1 for not marrying and having a family as a philosopher should1 he replied ,very well1 give me one of your daughters4 ,epictetus was an old bachelor4 ,he counselled a bad orator to practise and exercise himself in the art of speaking1 and on his replying1 ,i am always doing so--to myself1 he added1 ,it is therefore not surprising you speak as you do--having a fool for your audience4 ,when the sophist ,sidonius1 delivering a long panegyric on himself1 said that he was acquainted with all the tenets of the philosophers3 ,if ,aristotle calls me to the ,lyceum1 ,i obey2 if ,plato to the ,academy1 ,i come2 ,zeno to the ,stoa1 ,i take up my abode there2 if ,pythagoras calls1 ,i am silent3 ,demonax jumped up in the middle of the ,assembly and cried out1 ,pythagoras calls you4 ,his humour was purely genial and jocose1 as when1 on the point of setting sail in winter1 he replied to a friend who asked him whether he was not afraid he should be ship-wrecked and go to feed the fishes1 ,should ,i not be ungrateful were ,i unwilling to be devoured by fishes1 when ,i have feasted on so many myself8 ,but there is one speech of his which must ever make his memory dear to all good men4 ,when the ,athenians wished to emulate the ,corinthians by exhibiting a gladiatorial combat1 he said1 ,do not vote this1 ,athenians1 before ye have taken down the ,altar of ,mercy4 ,demonax lived to a ripe old age1 and we are told that he was so much beloved in ,athens that1 as he passed the bread-shops1 the bakers would run out to beg his acceptance of a loaf1 and thought it a good omen if he complied2 and that the little children called him father1 and would bring him presents of fruit4 ,apuleius wrote in ,latin in the second century4 ,he was a native of ,carthage--not the celebrated ,carthage of ,terence1 but that of ,cyprian--a new city4 ,he travelled like many of the learned men of his time to ,athens and ,alexandria1 and thus1 most probably1 became acquainted with his contemporary ,lucian4 ,at any rate1 his ,golden ,ass seems taken from the work by that author4 ,bishop ,warburton has seen in his production a subtle attack upon ,christianity1 but we may take it as intended to ridicule magical arts1 and those who believed in them4 ,he was likely to feel keenly on this subject1 for having married a rich widow1 ,pudentilla1 her relatives accused him of having obtained her by witchcraft1 and even dragged him into a court of justice4 ,lucian ridiculed the religion of his day1 ,apuleius its superstitions4 ,apuleius speaks of his book of jests1 but it is lost--the few lines he gives out of it are a somewhat matter-of-fact recommendation of tooth-powder4 ,his enemies thought that tooth-powder was something magical and unholy--at any rate1 they made his mention of it a charge against him4 ,in reply1 he says that perhaps a man who only opens his mouth to revile ought not to have tooth-powder4 ,in the ,golden ,ass1 ,apuleius gravely supposes that transformations take place between men and the lower animals4 ,he makes ,aristomenes tell a story in which a witch appears1 able to drag down the firmament1 to support the world on her shoulders1 crumble mountains1 raise the dead1 dethrone gods1 extinguish the stars1 and illuminate hell4 ,she changed one of her lovers1 of whom she was jealous1 into a beaver1 and persecuted him with hunters4 ,she punished the wife of another of them1 who was about to increase her family1 by condemning her to remain in that condition4 ,it is now eight years since she has been growing larger and larger1 and seems as though about to produce an elephant4 ,lucius goes to ,thessaly1 celebrated for its witches1 and a good story is told how returning late from supper he finds three men battering against his door4 ,taking them for robbers he draws his dagger1 and stabs them1 and the ground is covered with blood4 ,next day he is tried for murder1 and about to be crucified1 when the corpses are brought into court1 and are found to be three wine-skins4 ,he is told that this was a trick played on him upon the day when they usually celebrated the festival of the god of laughter1 but it seems to have been really owing to an incantation4 ,he sees ,pamphile1 his hostess1 change herself into an owl1 thinks he also will transform himself into a bird1 and anoints himself with some of the witch's preparations4 ,by mistake1 taking the wrong ointment1 he transforms himself into a donkey4 ,he then goes to look for his horse1 who1 thinking he is coming to eat his food1 kicks him out1 and soon afterwards he is well thrashed by his servant boy4 ,he is told that eating fresh roses will restore him to his former self1 but for various reasons he cannot get any4 ,being hungry he goes into a kitchen garden1 and makes a good meal of the vegetables1 for which transgression he is nearly killed by the gardener4 ,to prevent this he kicks the man over1 whereupon a general outcry was raised1 and great dogs rush upon him4 ,after this persecution he is in danger of dying of starvation--spiders began to spin their webs on his lips1 but becoming instrumental in saving a young girl1 he receives better treatment4 ,he is then bought by vagrants1 who go about playing cymbals1 and carrying an image of the ,syrian goddess4 ,he is accompanied by a troop of fanatical priests1 who dance and scourge themselves4 ,while the priests are being royally entertained by one of their votaries1 a dog runs off with a haunch of venison1 and the cook1 not knowing what to do1 conceives the project of killing the ass1 and dressing one of his haunches instead4 ,to avoid this the donkey breaks loose1 and gallops into the supper room4 ,after the band of priests is dispersed1 owing to their thieving propensities1 the donkey is sold to a baker1 and by him to a gardener1 and nearly dies of cold and exposure4 ,then he becomes the property of the servants of a very rich man1 and is found eating up the remains of their supper4 ,this greatly amuses them all1 and their lord orders him to be brought to his table4 ,a buffoon1 or parasite1 who sat among the guests1 exclaims ,give him a cup of wine1 and he was taught various tricks4 ,his fame increases so that his master only admits people to see him on payment4 ,finally being taken to the circus1 and afraid that some of the wild beasts might eat him by mistake1 he slips away and gallops to ,cenchroea1 where he prays to the goddess ,iris1 and is by her restored to his human form4 ,the descriptions in this work are often very beautiful1 and the humour in describing the misfortunes of the ass is excellent4 ,in contrast to the humour of ,lucian and ,apuleius1 we may place that of the ,emperor ,julian1 an ascetic and devotee1 who was nephew of ,constantine the ,great1 and brought up a ,christian4 ,julian's early life was spent in terror1 for ,constantius1 ,constantine's son1 imprisoned him at ,milan1 after having put his elder brother to death4 ,perhaps this treatment at the hands of a ,christian may have prejudiced him against the new religion1 or his mild disposition may have been scandalized at the fierceness of theological controversies1 or at the lives of many of the converts4 ,his early education and experiences of life were more inclined to imbue him with principles of toleration than to make him a zealous ,christian1 and1 finally1 when he arrived at the age of twenty1 he determined to return back into ,paganism4 ,this retrograde movement1 not altogether out of keeping with his quaint character and love of antiquity1 has stamped him with the opprobrious title of the ,apostate1 but in moral excellence he was superior to the age in which he lived4 ,many of his writings show a sense of humour1 such as that he wrote in ,lutetia 7,paris7 on ,barley wine the drink of the ,gauls4 ,who and whence art thou1 ,dionyse8 for1 by true ,bacchus ,i know thee not1 but ,jove's great son alone1 ,he smells of nectar1 thou of goats1 truly the ,celts ,for want of grapes made thee of ears of corn2 ,wherefore thou shouldst be ,cereal called1 not ,bacchus1 ,pyrogenes and ,bromos1 not ,bromion4#bg ,julian's principal work is on the ,csars4 ,he commences it by saying that he is not addicted to jesting1 but he will relate a sort of fable in which all the gods and ,csars are called to a great banquet4 ,accordingly1 he introduces various characters4 ,julius ,csar seems in his pride to wish to dispute the throne even with ,jupiter4 ,augustus he compares to a chameleon1 sometimes one colour1 sometimes another2 one moment a visage full of sorrow1 another smiling4 ,tiberius has a fierce countenance1 and shows the marks of intemperance and debauchery4 ,take care he does not pull your ear1 says ,bacchus1 for thus he treated a grammarian4 ,he had better1 returned ,silenus1 bemoan himself in his solitary island1 and tear the face of some miserable fisherman4#bh ,constantine1 not finding among the gods any type of his character1 betook himself to the goddess of pleasure4 ,she1 receiving him softly and embracing him1 trimmed him up and adorned him1 dressed him in a shining and many-coloured woman's gown1 and led him away to demoralization4 ,with her he found one of his sons1 who loudly proclaimed to all1 ,whosoever is a seducer1 a murderer1 or shameless1 let him advance boldly1 for by washing him with water ,i will immediately make him pure2 and if he should be again guilty of such things1 ,i will grant him to be pure on striking his breast1 or beating his head4#bi ,at the end of this fable1 the ,emperors are called upon to speak in their defence4 ,constantine being asked what object he had in view1 replied to amass great riches and spend them on myself and friends4 ,silenus burst into a fit of laughter1 and retorted ,you now wish to pass for a banker1 but how can you forget your living like a cook1 or a hair-dresser8 alluding to his luxurious feastings1 and his wearing gold-flowered stuffs1 and a diadem of jewels4 ,gibbon calls this work on the ,csars one of the most agreeable and instructive productions of ancient wit4 ,julian prided himself on his primitive and severe life1 and made himself ridiculous by wearing a long unfashionable beard--either in imitation of the ,gauls1 or of the ancient philosophers4 ,it is probable that he persisted in this habit to discountenance the effeminacy of the times4 ,he says that soon after he entered ,constantinople1 he had occasion to send for a barber4 ,an officer1 magnificently dressed1 presented himself4 ,it is a barber1 said the prince1 that ,i want1 and not a minister of finance4 ,he questioned the man about his profits1 and was informed that besides a large salary and some valuable perquisites1 he enjoyed a daily allowance of twenty servants and as many horses6 ,not only was ,julian strongly opposed to luxury1 but he was1 as far as his light went1 a religious man1 and was strict in observing the feasts and festivals of the heathen deities4 ,all his antiquated peculiarities are brought strongly before us on the occasion of his visit to ,antioch4 ,strabo tells us that this was one of the largest cities in the world--little inferior in extent to ,alexandria and ,seleucia4 ,it was noted for its gaieties1 and seems now to have been the centre of fashion4 ,the new religion had been1 at least nominally1 adopted1 and also the new costumes1 as well as every kind of luxury and dissipation4 ,chrysostom bears witness to the same effect4 ,the town was full of dancers1 pipers1 and players1 camels adorned like brides stalked through the porticos1 and fish and poultry had come to be considered as necessaries of life4 ,there were here many people of leisure and cultivation1 fond of light and fanciful pursuits1 and among others of forming verbal conceits4 ,hence1 we find that the disciples were first called ,christians at ,antioch1 no doubt1 derisively1#cj and in ,julian's time they had a cant saying that they had suffered nothing from the ,x or the ,k 7,christ or ,constantius74 ,a celebrated school of rhetoric was established here1 and no doubt some of the effusions penned at this time1 abounded with rich and epigrammatic humour4 ,it must have been a rare sight for these polished and satirical ,christians of ,antioch to behold ,julian celebrating the festivals of the pagan gods4 ,to view the procession of ,venus--a long line of all the dissolute women in the town1 singing loose songs--followed by the lean1 uncouth ,roman ,emperor1 with his shaggy beard1 and terminated by a military train4 ,no wonder they hooted him1 and wrote lampoons upon him4 ,but ,julian thought he was performing a solemn duty2 he by no means intended to countenance immorality4 ,far from us1 he says1 be all licentious jests and scurrilous discourse--let no priest read ,archilochus or ,hipponax4 ,he gives an amusing account of his reception at the celebrated grove of ,daphn1 near ,antioch1 which he visited at the time of the annual festival4 ,he expected to see a profusion of wealth and splendour4 ,he pictured to himself the solemn pomp1 the victims1 the libations1 the dancers1 the incense1 the children in white robes4 ,when he entered the temple1 full of such elevated thoughts1 he found there neither incense1 cake1 nor victims4 ,much surprised1 he could only suppose that the people were waiting at the gate1 by way of respect1 for a signal from the sovereign ,pontiff4 ,he therefore asked the priest what offering the city was about to make on this great anniversary2 to which he replied1 ,the city has furnished nothing1 but ,i have brought the god a goose from my own house4 ,julian says the people of ,antioch had transfixed him with sarcasms1 as with arrows4 ,in accordance1 however1 with his peaceful disposition1 he only retaliated by writing the ,misopogon or ,beard-hater4 ,no law1 he says1 forbids me to satirise myself4 ,he begins with his face and says1 ,although naturally good-looking1 moroseness and bad manners have led me to wear a long beard for no apparent reason but that nature has not made it handsome4 ,therefore1 ,i allow lice to run about in it like wild beasts in a wood1 nor have ,i the power of eating or drinking much1 for ,i must be cautious1 lest ,i eat hairs along with bread4 ,about being kissed1 or kissing1 ,i do not much care2 still a beard has this inconvenience among others1 that it does not allow us to join pure lips to those that are pure1 and1 therefore1 the sweeter4 ,you say that ropes should be twisted out of it1 and ,i would willingly grant this1 if only you were able to draw out the bristles1 so that your soft and delicate hands should not suffer from their roughness4 ,he says that he never goes to the theatre1 and hates horse-races4 ,as to domestic matters1 ,i pass sleepless nights upon a bed of straw1 and insufficient food makes my manners severe and offensive to a luxurious city4 ,do not think that ,i do this on your account--a great and senseless mistake has led me from my childhood to wage war with my stomach4 ,he is not at all surprised that they should follow the dissolute habits of the founder of their city1 ,antiochus1 and that they think of nothing but dressing1 bathing1 and love-making--charges which could not be brought against himself4 ,he esteems dancers and players no more than the frogs of the lakes1 and tells a story1 that when ,cato came into the city of ,antioch1 seeing all the young men under arms1 and the magistrates in their robes1 he thought the parade was in his honour4 ,he blamed his friends for having told them he was coming1 and advanced with some hesitation1 when the master of the ceremonies came up and asked1 ,stranger1 how far off is ,demetrius8 a man who had been a slave of ,pompey1 but had become immensely rich4 ,cato made no reply1 but exclaimed1 ,o1 miserable city6 and departed4 ,the ,misopogon is unique as a mock disparagement of self4 ,although written in condemnation of the ,antiochians1 a vein of pleasantry runs through it1 which shows that ,julian was not vindictive1 and had a considerable gift of humour4 ,had he lived to mature age1 he would probably have left some brilliant literary work4 ,but shortly after his visit to ,antioch1 he led an expedition into ,persia1 and with his usual disregard of danger1 entered the battle without his armour1 and was mortally wounded4 ,we read that the ,roman girls were very fond of amusing themselves in their leisure hours by making scirpi or riddles4 ,they do not seem to have indulged much in puns1 or to have attempted anything very intricate1 but rather to have aimed at testing knowledge and memory4 ,we have few specimens remaining of their art1 but such as we have are of that early kind1 which demand some special information for their solutions4 ,aulus ,gellius has preserved one old by ,hercules1 which turns on the legend that when ,tarquinius ,superbus was installing ,jupiter at the ,capitol1 all the other gods were ready to leave except ,terminus1 who being by his character immovable1 and having no legs1 refused to depart4#ca ,two other specimens are found in ,virgil's bucolics3-- ,say in what lands grow flowers inscribed with names ,of kings--and ,phyllis shall be yours alone1 referring to the hyacinth1 on whose petals the word ,ajax was supposed to be found4 ,the responding couplet runs3-- ,say1 and my great ,apollo thou shalt be1 ,where heaven's span extends but three ells wide2 the answer to which is not known4 ,probably some riddles of an earlier date may be incorporated in the book of ,symposius4 ,nothing is known of the life of this author1 and it has been suggested that the word should be ,symposium or the ,banquet--these enigmas being supposed to be delivered after dinner4 ,but most authorities consider ,symposius to have lived in the fourth century1 although an examination of his prosody might lead us to place him not earlier than the fifth4 ,very few of the riddles are really ingenious2 among the best we may reckon3-- ,letters sustain me--yet ,i know them not1 ,i live on books1 and yet ,i never read1 ,the ,muses ,i've devoured and gained no knowledge4 ,this is tolerably self-evident1 but some require special information as3-- ,you can behold what you can scarce believe ,there is but one eye1 yet a thousand heads1 ,who sells what he has1 whence shall he get what he has not8 ,few would ever guess that this referred to a one-eyed man selling garlic4 ,but the greater number of these conceits are merely emblematic descriptions of well-known things1 and are more vague than epigrammatic1 as1 ,i am the purple of the earth suffused with lovely tints and girt1 lest ,i be wronged with pointed spears4 ,happy indeed6 had ,i but length of life4 ,there's a new capture of some well-known game1 that what you catch not1 you bear off with you4 ,hoarsely amidst the waves ,i raise my voice ,it sounds with praise with which it lauds itself1 ,and though ,i ever sing1 no one applauds4 ,spontaneous coming1 ,i show various forms1 ,i feign vain fears1 when there is no true conflict1 ,but no one can see me till he shuts his eyes4 ,by art four equal sisters run ,as if in contest1 though the labour's one1 ,and both are near1 nor can each other touch4#cb ,we know little of ,macrobius except that he was a ,greek1 and lived in the fifth century4 ,his principal work was his ,saturnalia1 and he selected for it this title and plan1 because1 as he tells us1 men were in his day so much occupied with business1 that it was only in the annual festival of misrule that they had any time for reflection or social intercourse4 ,the ,saturnalia1 occupied the greater part of ,december1 and ,macrobius represents a company of magnates and wits agreeing to meet daily to discuss in the morning topics of importance1 and to spend the evening in light and jocund conversation4 ,his work treats of astronomy1 mythology1 poetry and rhetoric1 but it is most interesting with regard to our present subject1 where he brings before us one of those scenes of convivial merriment of which we have often heard4 ,the party are to relate humorous anecdotes in turn4 ,avienus says that they should be intellectual not voluptuous1 to which the president1 ,prtextatus1 replies1 that they will not banish pleasure as an enemy1 nor consider it to be the greatest good4 ,after these suggestions they commence3-- ,prtextatus records a saying of ,hannibal4 ,antiochus1 to whom he had fled1 showed him in a plain a vast army he had collected to make war with the ,romans2 the men were adorned with gold and silver1 there were chariots with scythes1 elephants with towers1 cavalry shining with ornamental bits and housings4 ,then turning to ,hannibal1 he asked him if he thought they would be enough for the ,romans4 ,the ,carthaginian1 smiling at the weakness and cowardice of the gaudily accoutred host1 replied1 ,certainly1 ,i think they will be enough for them1 however greedy they may be4 ,furius ,albinus says that after the flight at ,mutina1 on some lady asking what ,antony was doing1 one of his friends replied1 ,what the dogs do in ,egypt--drink and run6 ,it is well known1 he adds1 that there the dogs run while they drink1 for fear of the crocodiles4 ,avenienus says that the sister of ,faustus1 the son of ,sylla1 had two lovers--one of them1 ,fulvius1 the son of a fuller2 the other ,pomponius1 nick-named ,spot4 ,i wonder1 he said1 that my sister should have a spot1 when she has a fuller4 ,the remaining guests speak more at length1 and their discourses occupy a considerable portion of the book4 ,the example set by ,martial gradually led to a considerable development of epigrammatic literature4 ,a humorous epigram survives1 written by ,trajan on a man with a large nose3 ,by placing your nose and gaping mouth opposite the sun ,you will tell wayfarers the hour4 ,justinian in the sixth century is supposed to have assisted ,paul the ,silentiary--a sort of master of the ceremonies--in his compositions2 but it may be hoped that the ,emperor was not an accomplice in producing the impurities with which they are disfigured4 ,here and there1 however1 a few sweet flowers are found in his poisonous garland4 ,we may hope that he often received such a cool welcome as that he commemorates in his ,drenched ,lover4 ,hierocles and ,philagrius are supposed to have lived in the fifth century1 but the jests and stories which bear their names seem to be much later4 ,they are based upon violations of the primary laws of nature and mind1 but have not the subtlety of the syllogistic quibbles1 which were the work of learned grammarians or the logicians of a better period4 ,being little more than ,bulls1 they excite scarcely any emotion and no laughter1 although evincing a certain cleverness4 ,the hero is generally a ,scholastic1 who is represented as a sort of fool4 ,a friend of ,scholasticus going abroad asks him to buy him some books4 ,scholasticus forgets all about it1 and when he meets his friend on his return1 says1 ,by the way1 ,i never received that letter you wrote about the books4 ,a man meeting ,scholasticus says1 ,the slave you sold me died4 ,did he8 ,by the gods1 replied the other1 he never played me that trick4 ,scholasticus meeting a friend exclaims1 ,why1 ,i heard you were dead6 ,the other replies1 ,well1 ,i tell you that ,i'm alive4 ,yes1 persists ,scholasticus1 but the man who told me so was more veracious than you6 ,a promising son apostrophizes his father1 ,base varlet6 don't you see how you have wronged me8 ,if you had never been born and stood in the way ,i should have come into all my grandfather's money4 ,the humour which has come to us from classic times1 brings the life of ancient ,greece and ,rome near to our own firesides4 ,it is not that of a primitive or decaying civilization1 but of one advanced and matured1 resembling our own1 in which density of population has brought a clashing of interests1 and enlarged knowledge has produced a variety of thought upon a great multiplicity of home and foreign subjects4 ,we can thus bridge over two thousand years1 and obtain1 as it were1 a grasp of the ,past1 in which we find men so very like ourselves1 not only in their strong emotions1 but in their little conceits and vanities1 and their opinions of each other4 ,,english ,,humour4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,middle ,,ages4 ,relapse of ,civilization in the ,middle ,ages--,stagnation of ,mind--,scarcity of ,books--,character of reviving ,literature--,religious ,writings--,fantastic ,legends--,influence of the ,crusades--,romances--,sir ,bevis of ,hamptoun--,prominence of the ,lower ,animals--,allegories4 ,those ancient philosophers who believed in a mundane year and a periodical repetition of the world's history1 would have found a remarkable corroboration of their theory in the retrogression of learning during the middle ages1 and its subsequent gradual revival4 ,this re-birth contained all the leading characteristics of the original development of thought1 although1 amid the darkness1 the torch handed down from the past afforded occasionally some flickering light4 ,the great cause of the disappearance of literature and civilization was1 of course1 the sword of the ,goths1 which made the rich countries of ,southern ,europe1 a wilderness and desolation4 ,a lesser cause was the intolerance of the ecclesiastics1 who1 in their detestation of ,pagan superstition and immorality endeavoured to destroy all classical writings which touched upon mythological subjects1 or contained unseemly allusions4 ,but1 although we regret its action in this respect1 and the intellectual stagnation thus generally produced1 we must admit that we are indebted to the ,church for the preservation of many valuable works4 ,there were many men of learning in the monasteries1 and some of sufficient enlightenment to be able to venerate the relics of ,greek and ,latin literature4 ,we find that in the ,east the works of ,aristophanes were so much admired by ,st4 ,chrysostom that he slept with them under his pillow4 ,perhaps the ,saint enjoyed the reflections of the comedian upon the superstitions of his day1 or he may have had a secret liking for the drama1 and in one place he observes how much the world resembles a stage4 ,there seems to have been a conflict in his breast1 as no doubt there was in many at the time1 between love of the classics and religious scruples2 he tells us that he dreamed one night that he was being whipped by the devil for reading ,cicero4 ,we may observe that the ,eastern world was not at this time in such a benighted state4 ,theodosius the younger founded in ,a4,d4 #dbe1 an academy and library at ,constantinople1 which1 when it was destroyed by the ,turks contained #abj1jjj volumes4 ,nothing brings before us more forcibly the state of ignorance in which the ,western world was now sunk than the scarcity of books4 ,the price of them in the middle ages was so great that a man who presented one to a monastery1 thought he merited eternal salvation4 ,documents were drawn up and duly signed when a book passed from one person to another--and in the eighth century a library of #aej volumes was regarded as something magnificent4#cc ,the state of ignorance among the ,saxons may be imagined from the fact that ,alfred was twelve years old before he could get a master capable of teaching him the alphabet1 and even after the invention of paper in the eleventh century books were very scarce4 ,the cause of the scanty supply of literature was not only the general destruction which had taken place1 but also that there was no demand for it4 ,archbishop ,lanfranc1 with a view to improve education in ,england1 directed in #ajgb that a book should be given to each of the monks1 who were to be allowed a year to read it1 and what follows gives us some idea of the indolence of these representatives of learning1 for it was ordered that if the monk has not then read it he is to prostrate himself1 and ask pardon of the abbot4 ,the monks of ,winchester were probably not much troubled in this way1 for some time afterwards the library of the bishop of that diocese only consisted of seven books4 ,what must then have been the ignorance of the masses of the population6 ,we should scarcely believe that such a relapse could have taken place had we not seen the centres of civilization in the world successively succumbing1 and the greatest cities becoming desolate1 and did we not reflect that1 but for such vicissitudes1 mankind must have attained a far greater degree of excellence than has been reached at the present day4 ,the first kind of composition attempted by the mind of man is that which expresses religious feelings1 and the idea that there exists a being greater than himself4 ,that dim searching after something beyond experience could seldom confine itself to its legitimate direction1 but by dreams and hopes1 and by the love of the marvellous--that early source of idealism--strayed into a variety of fabulous and legendary mazes4 ,hence arose all the strange and grotesque myths about heathen gods and ,christian saints which occupy the shadowy borders between chaos and history4 ,the stories which were current in this country in early times spoke of miracles worked by the ,virgin1 represented ,st4 ,christopher as a giant twenty-four feet high1 and related how ,seynt ,pateryk banished the wormes from ,ireland2 or sometimes would draw from the rich mine of ,rabbinical tradition such allegorical fictions as that1 when ,noah planted the vine1 ,satan was present and sacrificed a sheep1 a lion1 an ape1 and a sow1 representing the different stages of inebriety4#cd ,but man's awakening thoughts turn not only to his ,protector above1 but also to his enemies below1 and thus the exploits of warlike heroes1 who generally combine the religious with the military character1 easily became tempting themes for the exercise of fancy4 ,there is reason to believe that the earliest ,british legends recorded the glories of ,king ,arthur--the defender of ,christianity against the worshippers of ,odin4 ,the origin of these accounts have been traced by some to ,scandinavian1 by some to ,arabian sources1 but we may suppose them to have arisen among those ancient ,british people who inhabited ,wales and ,cornwall1#ce and passed over in the fifth and sixth centuries to ,brittany 7,armorica74 ,it matters little for our present purpose whence they came1 they were full of extravagant and supernatural occurrences4 ,the names of two shadowy warriors1 ,sir ,bevis and ,sir ,guy1 seem to have been handed down from ,saxon times1 probably by oral tradition2 the former is said to have performed prodigies of valour in the ,south1 and the latter in the ,north of ,england4 ,the literature which has come down to us from this date 7with the exception of an ode of triumph7 is purely of a religious character1 and adorned with a variety of miraculous circumstances--a considerable part of it consists of the hymns of ,cdmon1 an ignorant cowherd1 who was inspired to sing by an angel appearing to him in a vision4 ,bede's ,ecclesiastical ,history is full of strange stories1 and although ,acca1 his contemporary1 adorned his cathedral of ,hexham in ,northumberland with what was then considered to be a magnificent library1 it was entirely composed of histories of the ,apostles and martyrs to whose relics he had dedicated the altars of his church4#cf ,meanwhile1 the glorification of ,charlemagne and his paladins1 the great champions of ,christendom1 exercised the invention of the minstrels of ,france4 ,but activity of mind increasing1 additional subjects for entertainment were demanded1 and the old pagan kings and heroes appeared in entirely new characters4 ,the marvellous and magnificent career of ,alexander the ,great seemed to invite a little additional ornamentation1 and the ,roman ,emperors were introduced in very fantastic habiliments4 ,it would seem that traditional accounts of ,roman times had been preserved in some of the ,western monasteries1 as well as portions of the old ,homeric and mythological history in ,latin translations#cg--;,greek had been fading out of ,europe since the time of ,theodosius4 ,no doubt there were still here and there a few genuine classical books1 and we hear of ,aristotle being prized--the obscurity and subtlety of his works having led to his being now regarded as a magician4 ,the following will give some idea of the kind of stories then appreciated4 ,a beautiful princess1 nourished with poison1 was sent as a present to ,alexander4 ,aristotle discovered the danger1 and a slave was ordered to kiss her1 who immediately fell down dead4 ,the gigantic body of ,pallas1 the son of ,evander1 was found at ,rome4 ,it exceeded in height the walls of the city1 and had remained uncorrupted1 and accompanied with a burning lamp for two hundred and forty years4 ,his wound was fresh1 and we may suppose caused instant death1 for it was four feet and a half long4 ,magical rings are often mentioned4 ,there is some pretty sentiment in the story of ,vespasian and a wife whom he had married in a distant country4 ,she refuses to return home with him1 and yet declares that she will kill herself if he leaves her4 ,the ,emperor orders two rings to be made1 one bearing the image of ,oblivion1 the other that of ,memory4 ,the former he gives to the ,empress1 the latter he wears himself4 ,virgil1 who is represented as an enchanter1 places a magical image in the centre of ,rome1 which every day communicates to the ,emperor ,titus all the secret offences committed in the city4 ,from such fanciful sources1 and with a discrimination such as they display1 ,geoffrey of ,monmouth drew up in the eleventh century a fabulous history of ,england4 ,his story of ,gogmagog1 the ,british giant1 supposed to have been destroyed by ,brutus1 the great grandson of neas1 on his landing in this country1 is said to have been derived from that of two ,arabian giants ,gog and ,magog4 ,the stones which compose ,stonehenge1 each containing some medicinal virtue1 are fabled to have been transported by giants from the deserts of ,africa to ,ireland1 and to have been carried thence by ,merlin's enchantment to form a monument over the ,british slain by ,hengist4 ,the state of criticism existing at this time may be imagined from the fact that even afterwards1 in the reign of ,edward ,i41 the descent of the ,britons from the ,trojans through ,brutus was solemnly alleged in a controversy of great importance concerning the subjection of the crown of ,england to that of ,scotland1 showing an amount of credulity which might almost have credited the legend that ,st4 ,james1 mounted on horseback1 led the ,christian armies in ,spain in their battles against the ,moors1 or that there was in that country a golden image of ,mahomet as high as a bird could fly1 in which the false prophet had sealed up a legion of devils4 ,but the imaginative powers were soon to be developed upon more attractive themes4 ,war and ,religion were about to be blended in the grand drama of the ,crusades1 prompted alike by zeal for the faith1 by hatred of the ,moslem1 and by thirst for military glory4 ,the first nobles of the ,west arrayed themselves in their armour1 collected their retainers1 and set out for the lands of the rising sun4 ,here they came into contact with an ,eastern civilization1 ornate and dazzling1 superior to their own1 but still in a state of childhood1 and revelling in the fanciful creations which please the infantine mind4#ch ,foremost among the ,christian knights went the ,barons of ,provence1 accompanied by troops of minstrels--troubadours to sing their praises2 and we might well suppose that some of the wonders of the dreaming ,east would now find their way into ,europe1 interwoven with the doughty deeds of the ,christian heroes4 ,this view is corroborated by the fact that almost all our early romances recount some great exploits performed against the ,saracens2 but the marvels they relate1 from whatever source they come1 were in accordance with the times in which they were written1 for as alchemy preceded chemistry1 so romance-writing was the commencement of literature4 ,some of the ,arabian stories had considerable grace and beauty1 and are even now attractive to the young4 ,but whether our poets borrowed from this prolific source or not1 it is certain that about this time they became more ambitious1 and produced regular tales of considerable length1 in which the northern gallantry towards the fair sex was combined with extravagances resembling those of ,eastern invention4 ,not until this time were the early heroic legends of this country developed1 and committed to writing1 and as they appeared first in ,french1 some writers--among whom is ,ritson--have concluded that they were merely the offspring of our neighbours' fertile imagination4 ,but although the poets who recounted these stories wrote in ,french1 they were in attendance at the ,english ,court1 in which1 even before the ,conquest1 ,french was the language used1 while ,latin was that of the learned1 and ,saxon that of the country-people4 ,henry the ,first1 the great patron of letters1 sometimes held his ,court at ,caen1 so that the ,norman poets who were competing for his favour1 were doubtless familiar with the legendary history of ,england4 ,the first important works in the ,french language seem to have come from ,normandy1 and it is not improbable that some of them were written in ,england4 ,they were called romances1 because they were composed in one of the languages of ,southern ,europe1 containing a large element of the ,roman1 which we find was still used among the soldiery as late as the seventh century4 ,it has been supposed that all our early ,anglo-,norman romances were translations from the ,french1 except the ,squyr of ,lowe ,degre1 and of some the originals are still extant4 ,these productions1 from whatever source they came1 were the kind of literature most acceptable at the time4 ,there seemed then nothing harsh or contemptibly puerile in stories we should now relegate to the nursery1 and no doubt people derived an amusement from them1 for which that of humour was afterwards gradually substituted4 ,examples of such stories are found in that of ,robert1 ,king of ,sicily1 who for his pride was changed1 like ,nebuchadnezzar1 into one of the lower animals1 and in that of ,richard ,coeur de ,lion1 who rode a horse possessed by the devil1 and whose wife flew away like a bird4 ,in the romance of ,sir ,bevis of ,hamtoun1 7,earl of ,southampton17 he is represented as a kind of infant ,hercules1 who1 when fifteen1 killed sixty ,saracen knights4 ,he afterwards was imprisoned at ,damascus in a den with two dragons1 but destroyed them4 ,he was kept in a dungeon1 however1 and ,rats and mice1 and such small deer1 ,was his meat that seven year4 ,during this time he was cheered by an angel visiting him4 ,an adversary shortly appears in ,ascapard3 ,this geaunt was mighty and strong1 ,and full thirty foot was long1 ,he was bristled like a sow2 ,a foot he had between each brow4 ,his lips were great1 and hung aside1 ,his eyen were hollow1 his mouth was wide1 ,lothy he was to look on than1 ,and liker a devil than a man4 ,he was overcome1 and became page to ,sir ,bevis4 ,ascapard is very useful1 as he is able to take ,bevis1 ,josyan1 and even the horse ,arundel under his arm4 ,an attempt at humour is introduced here1 which is said to have amused the people of ,cologne4 ,the bishop prepared to christen the giant1 ,for ,ascapard was made a tun1 ,and when he should therein be done1 ,he lept out upon the brench 7brink7 ,and said1 ',churl6 wilt thou me drench8 ,the devil of hell mote fetche thee6 ,i am too much 7big7 christened to be6' ,we will finish this sketch of the romancing tendencies of our early literature by a description of a dragon from ,sir ,degor3 ,there was a dragon great and grymme1 ,full of fyre1 and also venymme1 ,wyth a wyde throte1 and tuskes grete1 ,uppon that knygte fast gan he bete1 ,and as a lyon then was hys feete1 ,hys tayle was long1 and full unmeete2 ,between hys head and hys tayle ,was xxii fote withouten fayle2 ,his body was lyke a wyne tonne1 ,he shone ful bryght agaynst the sunne2 ,hys eyen were bryght as any glasse1 ,hys scales were hard as any brasse3 ,and thereto he was necked lyke a horse1 ,he bore hys hed up wyth grete force2 ,the breth of hys mouth that did not blow ,as yt had been a fyre on lowe4 ,he was to loke on1 as ,i you telle ,as yt had been a fiende of helle4 ,these romances were often called ,gestes1 from the great ,gesta or exploits they recorded4 ,the author of ,cursor ,mundi1 a book of religious legends1 says1 ,men lykyn jestis for to here ,and romans rede in divers manere ,of ,alexandre the conquerour1 ,of ,julius ,csar the ,emperour1 c4 ,it may be doubted whether such tales as the above were ever regarded as true1 but it was not until thought became more active that the falsity of them was fully appreciated1 and jests gradually acquired their present signification4 ,the word romance has also come to be used not only for a pleasant poetical narrative1 but especially for something utterly devoid of truth4 ,story is used in the same sense1 but not novel1 for in our present works of fiction there is seldom so much improbability as to be offensive in our day1 though it may be so to our successors4 ,in the above extracts it may have been observed that there is a prominence and importance given to the lower animals which we should not find in writings of the present day4 ,as civilization fell back into barbarism1 fables re-appeared1 and some indifferent literature of this kind was produced in the fourth century by ,aphthonius in ,greek1 and afterwards by ,flavius ,avianus in ,latin4 ,in the ,saxon ode on the victory of ,athelstan1 a very particular account is given of the beasts of prey present at the carnage4 ,theodosius1 the blind ,emperor1 is said to have been restored to sight by a serpent1 whom he had benefited1 coming in while he was asleep1 and placing a precious stone upon his eyes4 ,in one of the early romances of ,marie1 a baron is transformed into a bisclaveret1#ci or wolf1 for three days every week1 much to his wife's discomfort2 in another a falcon changes into a knight1 who is finally caught in a bird-trap2 in another a lady falls into a trance1 and is supposed to be dead1 until her rival1 seeing a weasel restore another one by placing a vermilion flower in its mouth1 she places it in the lady's mouth and thus awakens her4 ,the same element is largely present in the other romances4 ,alexander ,neckam1 who lived in the latter part of the twelfth century1 shows how fond our forefathers were of animals1 and how they kept them in their houses4 ,the castles were often full of them1 some roving about1 others necessarily in confinement4 ,monkeys were in high favour4 ,some of them were taught to fight as in a tournament1 which we are told caused great laughter4 ,in medival times there was a love of all kinds of hybrid animals1 and there was a certain amount of belief that all sorts of monsters came from the ,east or ,north4 ,giraldus ,cambrensis tells us that there were in ,ireland such mixtures as half ox and half man1 half dog and half monkey4 ,all these stories remind us of the fabular period in old ,greek history1 and bespeak a time1 when both taste and knowledge were in their infancy2 but when1 at the same time1 the rays of the ideal were breaking upon the mind1 and men appeared as trees walking4 ,allied to a love of fabling was that of allegory1 which1 as soon as literary activity began to appear in the early church1 produced an abundant harvest4 ,this tendency exhibited itself in the first progress of thought in ,england4 ,philippe de ,than1 one of the most ancient ,anglo-,norman poets1 wrote a work describing the character of each bird and beast1 upon which he grounded moral reflections4 ,robert ,grosseteste1 ,bishop of ,lincoln1 who died in #abec1 was celebrated for a copious dissertation on mystical divinity1 and a poem is extant ascribed to him1 called the ,castle of ,love by ,leland1 in which the creation and redemption are represented as an allegory--our ,lord being supposed to enter a magnificent castle1 the body of the ,virgin4 ,the ,gesta ,romanorum strongly exhibits the want of discrimination at this time1 for although the dramatis person are generally ,roman ,emperors1 the deepest ,christian mysteries are supposed to be shadowed forth by their actions4 ,some of the stories are evidently invented to enforce religious teaching4 ,we read of an angel accompanying a hermit on his wanderings1 the angel robs or murders all who receive him1 but explains afterwards that it is for their good4 ,he gives a golden goblet to a rich man who refuses to entertain them1 to comfort him in this world1 as he will go to hell in the next4 ,vincent of ,beauvais1 a learned ,dominican of ,france1 who flourished in the thirteenth century1 observes that it was a practice of preachers to rouse their congregation by relating a fable of sop4 ,in the ,british ,museum there is a collection of two hundred and fifteen stories1 romantic1 allegorical1 and legendary1 evidently compiled for the use of monastic preachers4 ,mystic similitudes were at this time greatly affected in all branches of learning4 ,in the ,romaunt of the ,rose1 the difficulties of a lover are represented under the form of a man seeking a rose in an inaccessible garden4 ,this flower1 alchemists considered to be emblematic of the ,philosopher's ,stone1 while theologians referred it to the white rose of ,jericho--a state of grace into which the wicked could not enter4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,anglo-,saxon ,humour--,rhyme--,satires against the ,church--,the ,brunellus--,walter ,mapes--,goliardi--,piers the ,ploughman--,letters of ,obscure ,men--,erasmus--,the ,praise of ,folly--,skelton--,the ,ship of ,fools--,doctour ,doubble ,ale--,the ,sak full of ,nuez--,church ,ornamentation--,representations of the ,devil4 ,the rude character of the ,anglo-,saxon humour may be gathered from our having derived from it the word fun4 ,this term which we often apply to romping and boisterous games1 refers principally to the sense of feeling1 and always implies some low kind of amusement connected with the senses4 ,we also discover among the ,anglo-,saxons an unamiable tendency to give nicknames to people from their personal peculiarities4 ,but if we look for anything better1 we can find only a translation of the ,latin riddles of ,symposius by ,aldhelm1 ,bishop of ,shirburn4 ,this prelate1 who was a relation of ,ina1 ,king of the ,west ,saxons1 was in attainments far superior to his age4 ,he was celebrated as a harper1 poet1 and theologian1 and wrote several works1 especially one in praise of ,virginity4 ,his translations from ,symposius were probably intended for the post-prandial delectation of the monks4 ,aristophanes seems to have made the first approach to rhyming1 for he introduced some repetitions of the same word at the end of lines4 ,he probably thought the device had an absurd effect and used it as a kind of humour4 ,aulus ,gellius blames ,isocrates1 who lived about #djj ,b4,c41 for introducing jingles into his orations1 and as he also refers to ,lucilius' condemnation of them1 he would probably have objected to them in poetry4 ,classic ,latin versification is supposed to have died out with ,fortunatus1 ,bishop of ,poitiers in the sixth century1 but an advance was made towards playing with words by the introduction of rhymes in the church hymns4 ,some trace of them is found in the verses of ,hilary in the fourth century1 but we find them first regularly adopted in a ,latin panegyric written for ,clotaire ,,ii4 in ,france at the commencement of the seventh4 ,some suppose that ,leonine verses were invented shortly afterwards by ,pope ,leo ,,ii4 ,as in the days of ,greece and ,rome1 the development of poetry was accompanied by a considerable activity in the fabrication of metres4 ,this did not limit itself to a distich or alternate rhyme called tailed or interlaced1 but included the horned1 crested1 and squared verses--the last forming double acrostics4 ,sometimes half a dozen lines were made to rhyme together4 ,this movement1 pedantic as it was1 showed an advance in finding similarities in things dissimilar1 a change in the appreciation of the harmony4 ,previously rhymes were considered ludicrous1 as they seem to us now in prose1 and even in the ,french drama4 ,the old ,welsh poetry depended merely upon alliteration--as in the words ascribed to the ,british ,queen-- ,ruin seize thee1 ruthless king4 ,and among our old proverbs we have ,many men of many minds4 ,fools build houses1 for wise men to live in4 ,first come1 first served4 ,the motto of the ,duke of ,athole runs ,furth fortune and fill the fetters4 ,the ,exeter ,book1 presented to his cathedral by ,leofric1 first ,bishop of ,exeter in #ajdf deserves notice1 as indicative of the course of early ,anglo-,saxon literature4 ,here we have first religious meditations and legends of ,saints1 then proverbial1 or as they are called gnomic verses1 next allegorical descriptions by means of animals1 and finally riddles4 ,the last are very long1 and generally consist of emblematic descriptions4 ,it is a part of the great system of compensation under which we live1 that those who are most highly praised are most exposed to the attacks of the envious1 and that those who stand on an eminence above others should have their bad as well as their good deeds recorded4 ,and thus we find that the earliest shafts of censure were directed against princes and priests1 and the first ,norman satires of which we hear were some songs called ,sirventois1 against ,arnould1 who was chaplain to ,robert ,courthose in the time of ,william ,rufus4 ,he was apparently an excellent man1 established schools at ,caen1 and was afterwards promoted to be patriarch of ,jerusalem4 ,the next attack of which we have any record was that made by ,luc de la ,barr against ,henry ,i4 ,the nature of the imputations it contained may be conjectured from the fact1 that the king ordered the writer's eyes to be put out4 ,another satire was directed against ,richard1 ,king of the ,romans1 who was taken prisoner at ,lewes4 ,it was written to triumph over him1 and taunt him with his defeat1 and the nearest approach to humour in it is where it speaks of his making a castle of a windmill1 which is supposed to refer to his having been captured in such a building4 ,the humour in the satires of this time was almost entirely of a hostile or optical character4 ,we have two metrical ballads of the thirteenth century directed against the ,scotch and ,french1 but containing little but animosity4 ,there is also one complaining of heavy taxation in the reign of ,edward ,i41 but generally the church was attacked1 as the clergy formed a prominent mark in every parish in the country1 and were safer game than the king or barons4 ,thus1 in the ,harleian ,,mss41 there is an ancient ,french poem pretending to eulogise a new conventual order for both men and women1 who are to live together in great luxury and be bound to perpetual idleness4 ,several monasteries in ,england are mentioned as affording instances of such a mode of living4 ,the earliest literary assault we have on the church in this country was written probably in the thirteenth century--,warton says1 soon after the conquest--in a mixture of ,saxon and ,norman4 ,a monastery1 composed of various kinds of gems and delicacies1 represents the luxury of the monks-- ,fur in see1 bi west ,spayngne ,is a lond ihote ,cokaygne3 ,ther nis lond under heuen-riche ,of wel of godness hit iliche4 ,ther is a wel fair abbei1 ,of white monkes and of grei1 ,ther beth bowris and halles ,al of pasteiis beth the walles ,of fleis1 of fisse1 and rich met1 ,the likfullist that man mai et4 ,fluren cakes beth the schingles#dj alle ,of cherche1 cloister1 boure1 and halle4 ,the pinnes#da beth fat podinges ,rich met to princez and kinges4 ,an other abbei is ther bi ,for soth a gret fair nunnerie2 ,vp a riuer of sweet milke1 ,whar is gret plente of silk4 ,he goes on to speak of the monks and nuns as dancing together in a very indecorous manner4 ,the clergy were often humorous themselves--,nigellus ,wireker1 a monk of ,canterbury1 who is supposed to have lived in the time of ,richard ,i41 wrote a very amusing attack on his brethren4 ,it is in ,latin elegiac verse1 and as being directed against ambition and discontent may be compared with the first satire of ,horace4 ,but he wrote in a less advanced state of civilisation to that in which the ,roman poet lived1 and he carries on his discourse by means of conversations of animals4 ,the work is called the ,brunellus--the name of an ass4 ,the poem is directed against passion and avarice--and especially against the monks1 who1 he says deserve to be called pastors1 not a pascendo but a poscendo4 ,but he takes so much interest in the animals he introduces1 that he seems to lose sight of his moral object4 ,he delights in the speeches of a cock and crow1 but his main story is that the ass1 ,brunellus1 is dissatisfied1 because1 having long ears he thinks he ought to have a long tail4 ,he betakes himself to ,galienus to consult him1 who endeavours to dissuade him from adopting any surgical or medical means1 and reminds him that if he has a short tail he has a very large head4 ,he inculcates contentment by a story of two cows1 one of which1 through impatience when her tail has stuck in the mud1 says it is not an honour but an onus1 and so pulls it off1 and becomes a laughing stock to the world4 ,the other cow waits patiently1 and makes a long speech containing references to ,cato and the ,trojan war4 ,prescription given by ,galienus to the ass ,brunellus to make his tail grow3 ,some marble's fat and seven fold furnace shade ,the offspring of a male and female mule1 ,a little of the milk of goose and kite ,a punchbowl's racing1 and a wolf's alarms2 ,of dogs and hares alliance take a drachm1 ,and kisses which the lark gives to her hawk4 ,the ass begs ,galienus to bestow upon him his blessing1 which he does with mock gravity-- ,may ,jove to thee a thousand omens give1 ,and to thy tail ten thousand omens more2 ,mayst thou drink water1 and on thistles feed1 ,be thy bed marble1 and thy covering dew4 ,may hail and snow and rain be ever near1 ,ice and hoar frost thy constant comfort be6 ,the ass1 whose extraordinary performances are narrated1 is appointed the nuntius of a bishop4 ,the man who showed at this time the greatest judgment in humour and insight into its nature1 was ,john of ,salisbury4 ,his ,polycraticus is worthy of a religious character2 but he speaks in it of ,court ,trifles under which he places dice1 music and dreams4 ,many of his observations show a taste and knowledge in advance of his time4 ,our age1 he says1 has fallen back to fables1 and he speaks as though the jesters of the day indulged in very questionable jokes and performances4 ,he notices the force of a jest made by a man who would himself fall under it1 as when a pauper laughs at poverty4 ,also he refers to the effect of accusing a man of the faults to which his virtues may lead1 as of telling a liberal man he is a spendthrift4 ,so ,diogenes told ,antisthenes1 his master1 that he had made him a doctor instead of a rich man--a dweller in a tub1 instead of in a mansion4 ,well-timed pleasantries1 he says1 are of use in oratory1 but convivial jesting is dangerous1 remarks or personal defects are objectionable1 and as ,lycurgus ordered1 all jokes should be without bitterness4 ,but ,walter ,mapes seems to have been the first man of note1 who reconciled divinity and wit4 ,he was born on the borders of ,wales about the beginning of the twelvth century1 and having studied at the ,university of ,paris became a favourite of ,henry ,,ii41 and was made a ,canon of ,st4 ,paul's1 and ,archdeacon of ,oxford4 ,it may be worth notice that his name was really a monosyllable1 ,map1 a man's appellation being not always without influence in determining his character and conduct4 ,from being a man of humour he obtained the credit of being a man of pleasure1 but as far as we can collect from the writings1 which are with certainty attributed to him1 he was strongly imbued with religious feelings4 ,he delights to recount the miracles of saints4 ,peter of ,tarentaise exorcised1 he tells us1 a devil from one possessed1 and the man proved his cure by exclaiming1 ,mother of ,god1 have mercy upon me6 whereupon ,john the bishop said of ,peter4 ,this is the only bishop--the rest of us are dogs unable to bark4 ,mapes also reflects the credulity of the age in which he lived1 by narrating extraordinary stories of infidels walking about after death1 and calling people by name1 who always died shortly afterwards4 ,he gives us a collection of ,welsh apparitions4 ,we must suppose that even at that day there was something peculiarly fanciful in the mind of the man who collected such tales4 ,but1 although he commends his favourite saints as being jocund and pleasant men1 we are disappointed when we look for his own wit4 ,it is either verbal or sententious1 and does not rise higher than1 ,few things are impossible to women4 ,may ,god omnipotent grant you not to be deceived by woman omnipotent4 ,the dog does not gnaw a dry bone1 nor the leech stick to an empty vein4 ,his ,mirror of the ,church is full of violent attacks upon the monastic orders1 especially the ,cistercian1 evidently written in serious indignation1 although he sometimes indulges in a play upon words4 ,in this he was unlike many writers1 who attacked the monks merely to amuse1 for which there was a good opening1 as the brethren1 though in some cases weak1 were generally viewed with respect1 and tales about them were easily regarded as humorous4 ,there is a story of ,walter ,mapes having been called to see a ,cistercian ,abbot1 when dangerously ill1 and the ,archdeacon recommended him to quit his order1 and give up avarice and rapacity4 ,the ,abbot refused1 and even administered to the ,archdeacon the rebuke1 ,get thee behind me1 ,satan4 ,shortly afterwards ,mapes was taken ill1 and the ,abbot going to visit him1 strongly recommended him to renounce his light jesting habits1 to give up his pluralities1 and take refuge in the bosom of the ,cistercian order--at the same time producing a gown and cowl1 with which he proposed to invest him4 ,mapes1 with characteristic humour called his servants1 and told them that1 if ever in a fit of sickness he expressed a desire of becoming a monk1 they were to consider it a sign that he had lost his senses1 and keep him in close confinement4 ,the character which ,mapes obtained for himself1 caused a large amount of poetry of a somewhat later date to be attributed to him4 ,it is called ,goliardic1 as it gives the views of a class of wild ecclesiastical or ,university men1 who spent their time in composing lampoons1 and were called ,goliards1 from their supposed gluttony4 ,in an epigram1 one of these men is represented coming to a bishop's palace1 and stating that he is all ready to dine1 somewhat in the way of the old ,greek parasites4 ,the bishop tells him he does not want such disreputable company1 but that as he has come1 he may have his food4 ,we may suppose1 however1 that he and his poorer brethren did not occupy any dignified position at the repast1 as one of them complains ,abbas ire sede sursum1 ,et prioris juxta ipsum1 ,ego semper stavi dorsum ,inter rascalilia4 ,all these poems are in ,latin rhyme4 ,two of them are especially attributed to ,mapes4 ,one is on not marrying2 ,golias here sets forth a very appalling catalogue of the miseries of matrimony4 ,the husband is a donkey who is spurned by his wife4 ,her tongue is a sword4 ,he thanks heaven he has escaped from the danger he was once in from the fascinations of a beautiful lady4 ,the other piece is the ,confessions of ,golias1 which are very frank with regard to various unclerical weaknesses4 ,some of the stanzas may be translated as follows1 ,i purpose in a tavern to die1 ,place to my dying lips the flowing bowl1 ,may choirs of angels coming from on high ,sing1 ',god be gracious to the toper's soul4'#db ,the race of poets shun both drink and food1 ,avoid disputes1 withdraw from public strife1 ,and to make verses that shall long hold good ,o'ercome with labour1 sacrifice their life4 ,nature allots to each his proper course1 ,in hunger ,i could never use my ink1 ,the smallest boy then equals me in force1 ,i hate as death the want of food and drink4 ,in one of these poems1 ,golias calls down every kind of misery1 spiritual and temporal1 upon the man who has stolen his purse4 ,he hopes he may die of fever and madness1 and be joined to ,judas in hell4 ,one of the most amusing pieces is a consultation held among the priests1 on account of the ,pope having ordered them to dismiss their women-servants4 ,they finally come to the conclusion that parish priests should be allowed two wives1 monks and canons three1 and deans and bishops four or five4 ,we are not surprised to hear that such effusions as these called down the displeasure of the heads of the ,church1 and in #abhi1 a statute was published that no clerks should be joculatores1 goliardi seu bufones4 ,about the middle of the fourteenth century1 a ,french monk1 ,robert ,langlande1 wrote the ,vision of ,piers ,plowman1 an account of a dream he is supposed to have had when among the ,malvern ,hills4 ,it is possible that the sight of the grand old abbey may have suggested his theme1 for he inveighs not only against the laity1 but especially against the ecclesiastics for their neglect of the poor4 ,the poem is remarkable for being without rhythm1 but alliterative1 such as was common in the neighbouring district of ,wales4 ,it somewhat resembles one of the old ,mysteries1 introducing a variety of allegorical characters4 ,some of the personifications are very strange4 ,he says that1 ,dowel and ,dobet and ,dobest the thirde coth he ,arn thre fair vertues and ben not fer to fynde4 ,dobest is above bothe1 and berith a bieschopis crois ,and is hokid on that on ende to halie men fro helle ,and a pike is in the poynt to putte adon the wyked4 ,in another place1 the effects of starvation are described both the man's eiyen wattred1 and he loked like a lanterne4 ,in another work by the same hand1 ,piers1 the ,ploughman's crede1 the author--a simple man--wishes to know how he is to follow ,christ1 and betakes himself to the friars for information4 ,but he finds that each order thinks of little beyond railing against some other4 ,the friars preachers are thus described1 ,than turned ,i ayen whan ,i hadde al ytoted ,and fond in a freitoure a frere on a benche ,a greet chorl and a grym1 growen as a tonne1 ,with a face so fat1 as a ful bleddere ,blowen bretful of breth1 and as a bagge honged4 ,all the humour of ,piers the ,ploughman seems to be more or less of this personal kind4 ,we must here notice the humorous though scurrilous attack made upon the ,roman clergy in the ,letters of ,obscure ,men1 published in ,germany at the commencement of the sixteenth century4 ,there was something novel in the idea of a series of ironical letters1 and from their appearance1 the steady progress of the ,reformation may be dated4 ,the greater part of them seems to have been written by ,ulrich von ,hutten1 and are addressed to ,ortuin ,gratius1 a professor of the ,university of ,cologne1 who had attacked ,reuchlin1 a celebrated ,hebraist4 ,the original quarrel was only about some translations of ,rabbinical works1 but it extended into a contest between the ,church party1 represented by ,gratius1 and those desirous of reformation4 ,doctrine is scarcely touched upon in these letters1 but accusations of immorality abound4 ,there is great variety in the plan upon which the irony and satire are conducted4 ,for instance1 the writer says he has just heard from ,gratius that he is sending flowers and gifts to another man's wife4 ,reuchlin has written a defence of himself against ,gratius1 in which he calls him an ass4 ,reuchlin ought to be burnt with his book4 ,some people say the monks are grossly dishonest--it is a horrible lie4 ,a preacher1 after taking a little too much wine1 has actually said that the principals of the ,university are given to drink and play4 ,some profane men say that the coat of our ,lord at ,treves is not genuine1 but only an old rag2 he does not believe there is now any hair of the ,virgin in the world2 and the preaching friars who sell indulgences are only a set of buffoons who deceive old apple-women4 ,another fool says that the preaching friars committed fearful abominations at ,berne1 and one day put poison into the consecrated elements4 ,a great calamity has happened6 ,a thief has stolen three hundred florins1 which the preachers had gained by the sale of indulgences4 ,the people who gave the money are in sad trouble to know whether they still have absolution--they need not be alarmed1 they have as much as they had before they gave their money to the friars4 ,query4 ,is it a sin to play at dice in order to buy indulgences8 ,gratius1 in a letter to another ,father of the ,church1 expresses his astonishment at hearing that he thinks so much about the ladies4 ,such thoughts come from the devil2 wherever they are suggested1 he must make the sign of the cross on his back1 and put a pinch of blessed salt on his tongue4 ,women make him ill by employing charms and sorceries against him2 it is no wonder1 for he has grey hair and eyes1 a red face1 a large nose1 and a corporation4 ,no man should ever make use of necromancy to obtain a woman's love1 for a student of theology once fell in love with a baker's daughter at ,leipzig1 and threw an enchanted apple at her1#dc which caused her to fall violently in love with him1 and finally led to a scandal in the church4 ,no one enjoyed these epistles more thoroughly than ,erasmus1#dd who1 perhaps1 from being himself a monk1 appreciated them the better4 ,he is said to have laughed so immoderately over some parts of them1 that he burst an abscess1 which might have proved fatal to him4 ,he was one of those few celebrated men who combine both humour and learning1 and he seems to have imbibed somewhat of the spirit of ,lucian1 whose works he translated1 and who also lived in an age of religious controversy and transition4 ,there was such a love of amusement1 and so little earnestness in ,erasmus1 that he could laugh on both sides of the question1 with the ,reformers and against them4 ,when the monks told him that ,luther had married a nun1 and that the offspring of such an unholy alliance must needs be ,antichrist1 he merely replied3 ,already are there many ,antichrists6 ,writing to a zealous ,catholic in ,london1 he says that he grudges the heretics their due1 because that1 whereas winter is approaching1 it will raise the price of fagots4 ,in another place he attacks dignities3 ,no situation1 he says1 could be more wretched than that of the vicegerents of ,christ1 if they endeavoured to follow ,christ's life4 ,there was scarcely anything sacred or profane which was safe from the lash of his ridicule1 and if1 as some say1 he sowed the seeds of the ,reformation1 it was mostly because he could not resist the temptation to laugh at the clergy4 ,he wrote a very characteristic ,work entitled ,the ,praise of ,folly1 ,encomium ,mori 7a play on the name of ,sir ,thomas ,more71 in which he maintains a sort of paradox1 setting forth the value and advantages of folly1 i4e41 of indulging the light fancies and errors of imagination4 ,with much humorous illustration he enumerates a great many conceits1 and includes among them jests1 but his main argument may be thus condensed4#de ,who knows not that man's childhood is by far the most delightful period of his existence8 ,and why8 ,because he is then most a fool4 ,and next to that his youth1 in which folly still prevails2 while in proportion as he retires from her dominion1 and becomes possessed through discipline and experience of mature wisdom1 his beauty loses its bloom1 his strength declines1 his wit becomes less pungent1 until at last weary old age succeeds1 which would be absolutely unbearable1 unless folly1 in pity for such grievous miseries1 gave relief by bringing on a second childhood4 ,nature herself has kindly provided for an abundant supply of folly in the human race1 for since1 according to the ,stoic definition1 wisdom means only being guided by reason2 whereas folly1 on the other hand1 consists in submitting to the government of the passions2 ,jupiter wishing to make life merry1 gave men far more passion than reason1 banishing the latter into one little corner of his person1 and leaving all the rest of the body to the sway of the former4 ,man1 however1 being designed for the arrangement of affairs1 could not do without a small quantity of reason1 but in order to temper the evil thus occasioned1 at the suggestion of folly woman was introduced into the world--a foolish1 silly creature1 no doubt1 but amusing1 agreeable1 and well adapted to mitigate the gloom of man's temper4 ,woman owes all her advantages to folly4 ,the great end of her existence is to please man1 and this she could not do without folly4 ,if any man doubts it1 he has only to consider how much nonsense he talks to a woman whenever he wishes to enjoy the pleasures of female society4 ,erasmus wrote an ode in honour of ,henry ,,vii4 and his children1 and in it he recommends him to keep with him ,skelton1 the one light and ornament of ,british literature4 ,he says that no doubt the advice is unnecessary1 as he hears the ,king is most anxious to retain his services4 ,he was tutor to the young prince--afterwards ,henry ,,viii4 ,skelton was born about #adfj4 ,many of his humorous writings are lost1 such as ,the ,balade of the ,mustarde ,tarte4 ,he became a poet laureate1 at that time a degree in grammar1 rhetoric and versification1 on taking which1 the graduate was presented with a laurel crown4 ,having taken orders in #adih1 he was afterwards suspended for living with a lady whom he had secretly married4 ,this suspension was much owing to his having incurred the anger of the ,dominican ,friars1 whom he had attacked in his writings4 ,we are told that he was esteemed more fit for the stage than the pulpit4 ,the humour of ,skelton consists principally of severe personal vituperation4 ,in ,colyn ,cloute he assailed the clergy generally1 but he wrote personal attacks on ,garnesche 7a courtier71 and on ,wolsey4 ,the ,cardinal had been his patron at one time1 and ,skelton had dedicated poems to him1 among them ,a ,replycacion against the followers of ,wickliffe and ,luther--of which pious effusion the following lines will give a specimen3-- ,to the honour of our blessed lady ,and her most blesed baby1 ,i purpose for to reply ,agaynst this horryble heresy ,of these young heretics that ,stynke unbrent4 ,i say1 thou madde marche hare1 ,i wondre how ye dare ,open your ianglyng iawes1 ,to preche in any clawes ,lyke pratynge poppyng dawes4 ,i say1 ye braynless beestes1 ,why iangle you such iestes4 ,in your diuynite ,of ,luther's affynite ,to the people of lay fee ,raylying in your rages ,to worshyppe none ymages ,nor do pylgrymages4 ,the cause of his quarrel with ,wolsey is not known1 but he afterwards wrote a severe personal attack upon him entitled1 ,why come ye not to ,courte8 ,the tone of this effusion may be gathered from such expressions as3-- ,god save his noble grace ,and grant him a place ,endlesse to dwell1 ,with the deuyll of hell1 ,for and he were there ,we nede neuer feere1 ,of the fendys blake2 ,for ,i vndertake ,he wolde so brag and crake1 ,that he wolde then make ,the deuyls to quake1 ,to shudder and to shake4 ,owing to such attacks1 he was obliged to flee and take sanctuary at ,westminster1 where he died4 ,his most entertaining pieces are ,speke ,parrot1 ,phyllyt ,sparrowe1 and ,elynour ,rummynge4 ,in the first a fair lady laments the death of her bird1 killed by those vylanous false cattes4 ,she sings a requiescat for the soul of her dear bird1 and recounts all his pretty ways-- ,sometyme he wolde gaspe ,when he sawe a waspe2 ,a fly or a gnat ,he wolde flye at that2 ,and prytely he wold pant ,when he saw an ant2 ,lord1 how he wolde pry ,after the butterfly6 ,lord1 how he wolde hop ,after the gressop1 ,and whan ,i said ,phypp1 ,phypp1 ,than he wolde lepe and skyp1 ,and take ane by the lyp4 ,alas it will me slo ,that ,phillyp is gone we fro6 ,she gives a long list of birds1 who are to attend at his funeral1 from which our nursery story of cock-robin may be taken4 ,skelton seems to have been fond and observant of birds4 ,in ,speke ,parrot1 he thus describes ,with my beeke bent1 my lyttyl wanton eye1 ,my fedders freshe as is the emrawde grene1 ,about my neck a cyrculet lyke the ryche rubye ,my lyttyl leggys1 my feet both fete and clene1 ,i am a mynyon to wayt uppon a quene2 ,my proper parrot my lyttyl prety foole1 ,with ladyes ,i lerne and go with them to scole4 ,it will be observed that the humour in the above pieces is little separated from poetry4 ,in ,elynour ,rummynge however1 we have something undoubtedly jocose1 and proportionally rustic and uncouth4 ,skelton adopted1 as we have seen1 a quick1 short metre1 somewhat analogous to the ,swift ,iambics1 of the ,greek humorists4 ,sometimes also he alternated ,latin with ,english in a conceit not very uncommon towards the end of the fourteenth and in the fifteenth century as-- ,freeres1 freeres1 wo ye be6 ,ministri malorum1 ,for many a mannes soul bringe ye1 ,ad poenas infernorum4 ,no work became more popular than the ,ship of ,fools by ,sebastian ,brandt4 ,it was published in ,germany in #adid1 and was speedily translated into ,latin and ,french4 ,alexander ,barclay altered it so considerably in the rendering as almost to make a new work1 especially applicable to the state of things existing in this country4 ,ersch and ,grber speak of ,brandt's fools as contemptible and loathsome1 and say what he calls follies might be better described as sins and vices4 ,but here and there we meet with touches of humour in the mishaps and absurd actions of those he censures4 ,the whole work is rather of a moral and religious complexion1 as the following heading of the poem will suggest-- ,of newe fassions and disgised garmentes4 ,of ,avaryce and prodygalyte4 ,of vnprofytable stody4 ,of lepynges and dauncis and ,folys that pas theyr tyme in suche vanyte4 ,of ,pluralitees1 of flatterers1 and glosers4 ,of the vyce of slouth4 ,of ,usurers and okerers4 ,of the extorcion of knyghtis4 ,of follisske1 cokes1 and buttelers4 ,literature increased greatly in the fifteenth century1 and began to take that general form it afterwards bore4 ,one of the satires on the fashions of the period1 which in every age seem to have afforded materials for mirth1 begins as follows-- ,ye prowd gallonttes hertlesse ,with your hyghe cappis witlesse1 ,and youre schort gownys thriftlesse1 ,have brought this londe in gret hevynesse4 ,with youre longe peked schone4 ,therfor your thrifte is almost don1 ,and with youre long here into your eyen ,have brought this londe to gret pyne4 ,there is a good satire written on a priest about the time of the ,reformation1 showing considerable humour both in matter1 language and versification4 ,it is called ,doctor ,doubble ,ale4 ,a little episode is given arising from the priest's ignorance-- ,his learning is exceeding ,ye may know by his reading1 ,yet coulde a cobbler's boy him tell ,that he red a wrong gospell ,wherfore in dede he served him well1 ,he turned himselfe as round as a ball1 ,and with loud voyce began to call1 ',is there no constable among you all ,to take this knave that doth me troble8' ,with that all was on a hubble shubble1 ,there was drawing and dragging1 ,there was lugging and lagging1 ,and snitching and snatching1 ,and ketching and catching1 ,and so the pore ladde1 ,to the counter they had1 ,some wolde he should be hanged1 ,or else he shulde be wranged2 ,some sayd it were a good turne ,such an heretyke to burn4 ,a great many of the humorous poems written against the church were republished at the time of the ,reformation to show that for centuries the misdoings of the clergy had been a source of comment4 ,in the ,sak full of ,nuez--a rare book#df referred to in #aege1 containing a collection of humorous pieces of a rough and rude character--we find several hits at the expense of the church4 ,a friar used to visit the house of an old woman1 who1 when he was coming1 very prudently hid whatever she had to eat4 ,one day coming with some friends1 he asked her if she had not some meat4 ,and she said1 ',nay4' ',well1' quoth the friar1 'have you not a whetstone8' ',yea1' quoth the woman1 'what will you do with it8' ',marry1' quoth he1 ',i would make meat thereof4' ,then she brought a whetstone4 ,he asked her likewise if she had not a frying-pan4 ',yea1' said she1 'but what the divil will ye do therewith8' ',marry1' said the fryer1 'you shall see by and by what ,i will do with it2' and when he had the pan1 he set it on the fire1 and put the whetstone therein4 ',cocks-body1' said the woman1 'you will burn the pan4' ',no1 no1' quoth the fryer1 'if you will give me some eggs1 it will not burn at all4' ,but she would have had the pan from him1 when that she saw the pan was in danger2 but he would not let her1 but still urged her to fetch him some eggs1 which she did4 ',tush1' said the fryer1 'here are not enow1 go fetch ten or twelve4' ,so the good wife was constrayned to fetch more1 for feare that the pan should burn1 and when he had them he put them in the pan4 ',now1' quoth he1 'if you have no butter1 the pan will burn and the eggs too4' ,so the good-wife1 being very loth to have her pan burnt1 and her eggs lost1 she fetcht him a dish of butter1 the which he put into the pan and made good meat thereof1 and brought it to the table1 saying1 ',much good may it do you1 my hostess1 now may you say you have eaten of a buttered whetstone4' ,another story runs as follows3-- ,there was a priest in the country1 which had christened a child2 and when he had christened it1 he and the clerk were bidden to the drinking that should be there1 and being there1 the priest drank and made so merry that he was quite foxed1 and thought to go home before he laid him down to sleep2 but1 having gone a little way1 he grew so drousie that he could go no further1 but laid him down by a ditch-side1 so that his feet did hang in the water1 and lying on his back1 the moon shined in his face2 thus he lay till the rest of the company came from drinking1 who1 as they came home1 found the priest lying as aforesaid1 and they thought to get him away1 but do what they could1 he would not rise1 but said1 ',do not meddle with me1 for ,i lie very well1 and will not stir hence before morning1 but ,i pray lay some more cloathes on my feet1 and blow out the candle4' ,at first it occasions us no little surprise to find the clergy of the early centuries so prone to attack and ridicule one another1 but we must remember that there was then no reading public1 and that the few copies of books in existence were mostly within the walls of the monasteries4 ,thus1 the object of these writers would be like that of ,st4 ,jerome in his letters1 not so much to disgrace the ,church as to improve its discipline4 ,we can also1 perhaps1 understand how the conflicts between the parish priests and monks led them sometimes to caricature each other in the grotesque heads of corbels and gargoyles2 nor does it surprise us that ,luther1 indignant and rude1 should portray the ,pope to the public under the form of a jackass4 ,but how can we account for the strange and profane caricatures which are so numerous in the stone and wood carvings of our cathedrals8 ,in the scriptural ornamentation of the thirteenth century in ,strasburg ,cathedral1 there was the representation of a funeral performed by animals--a hare carried the taper1 a wolf the cross1 and a bear the holy water--while in another place a stag was celebrating mass1 and an ass reading the gospel4 ,we often find carvings in which foxes are habited as ecclesiastics1 sometimes accompanied by geese1 who represent their flock1 and thus we can understand the significance of the design in ,sherborne ,minster and ,wellingborough1 where two geese are hanging a fox4 ,in ,st4 ,mary's1 ,beverley1 are two foxes dressed as ecclesiastics1 each holding a pastoral staff1 while a goose's head is peeping out of his hood4 ,at ,boston ,church we find a fox in a cope and episcopal vestments1 seated on a throne1 and holding a pastoral staff1 while on the right is an ass holding a book for the bishop to read4 ,the fact was that no means were left untried by the ,church to make converts and to obtain a hold on the people4 ,they wished to render religion as attractive as possible1 and perhaps to direct and control tendencies which they could not destroy4 ,it was then a favourite doctrine that the end justified the means--the ,roman ,church instituted persecutions1 adopted heathen rites1 and ordained fasts and festivals to impress the mind4 ,it is recorded that ,theophylact of ,constantinople introduced into the ,church1 in the tenth century1 the licentious ,feast of ,fools1 to wean the people from the revels of their old religion1 and have we not until late years celebrated the ,nativity of our ,lord1 not only by games and frolics1 but gluttony and drunkenness1 and riotous proceedings1 under pagan misletoe6 ,i believe that among the masses of the people the ,roman saturnalia still survive4 ,we need not then be surprised that the early ,christians tried to recommend religion by unsuitable ornamentation4 ,they adopted all kinds of floral designs1 they represented fables and romances4 ,in the old church of ,budleigh1 in ,devonshire--which ,sir ,walter ,raleigh attended1 and where his head is buried--all kinds of devices are represented on the pews1 from a pair of scissors to a man-of-war1 including a cook holding a sheep by the tail4 ,it was only a step from this to introduce humour1 and as men's feelings had not then been chastened or brought into order by reflection1 they probably overlooked the lowering tendencies of levity4 ,those who came to laugh1 might remain to pray1 and so a strange crop of incongruities germinated upon the sacred soil4 ,thus1 in ,beverley ,minster1 we have a monkey riding upon a hare--a bedridden goat1 with a monkey acting as doctor2 and at ,winchester a boar is playing on the fiddle1 while a young pig is dancing4#dg ,even scenes of drunkenness and immorality are not always excluded4 ,but the principal representations attributed human actions to birds and beasts--people who could laugh at stories of this kind1 could also at depictions of them4 ,it may be maintained that men were then highly emotional1 and demanded but little complexity or truth in humour1 so that they could see something amusing in a boar playing upon the bagpipes1 or in such a device as a monster composed of two birds1 with the head of a lion1 or another with a human head on a lion's body6 ,but there must have been something more than this--some peculiar estimation of animals to account for such numerous representations4 ,they were common in the secular ornamentation of the day1 for instance1 in a ,,ms4 copy of ,froissart of the fifteenth century1 there is a drawing of a pig walking upon stilts1 playing the harp1 and wearing one of the tall head-dresses then in fashion4 ,this love of the comic seems to have been fostered by the leisure and the lively turn of some ecclesiastics4 ,in the injunctions given to the ,british ,church in the year #fhj1 no bishop is to allow tricks or jocosities 7ludos vel jocos7 to be exhibited before him1 and later we read of two monks1 near ,oxford1 receiving a man hospitably1 thinking he was a jougleur1 and could perform tricks1 but kicking him out on finding themselves mistaken4 ,we find some of the monks amusing themselves with cloister humour1 consisting principally of logical paradoxes2 while others indulged in verbal curiosities1 such as those of ,tryphiodorus1 the lipogrammatist1 who wrote an ,odyssey in twenty-four books without once using the letter ,a4 ,some were more fond of pictorial designs1 and carved great figures on the chalk downs1 such as the ,giant of ,cerne ,abbas1 in ,dorsetshire1 and the ,long ,man of ,wilmington1 in ,sussex4 ,as we found reason to believe that the earliest kind of laughter was that of pleasure1 so in this revival of civilization1 we often see humour regarded as having no influence beyond that of ministering to amusement4 ,the mind was scarcely equal to regarding things in more than one light4 ,a jest was often viewed as entirely unimportant1 its levity and depreciatory character being altogether overlooked4 ,to this and to the hostile element then very prominent1 we may attribute the caricatures of the devil1 formerly so common4 ,before the tenth century1 the devil was thought too dreadful to be portrayed1 but afterwards1 as the ,church made a liberal exhibition of the torments of hell1 the idea occurred of deterring offenders by representing evil spirits in as frightful a form as possible4 ,some think that such figures were suggested by the ,roman satyrs1 but they may have come from ,jewish or ,runic sources4 ,there is a medival story of a monk having carved an image of the devil so much more repulsive than he really was1 that the sable gentleman called upon him one night to expostulate4 ,the monk1 however1 was inexorable4 ,but the story says further that1 although the holy man was proof against the entreaties of the devil1 he was not so well armed against the fascinations of the fair1 and owing to his suffering a defeat at the hands of the latter came afterwards to be shut up in prison4 ,the original of his portrait again called upon him1 and the monk agreed that1 if he would obtain his release1 he would represent him as a handsome fellow4 ,as times advanced1 people began to fear the devil less1 and to be amused at these strange carvings4 ,from regarding them as ludicrous1 it was only a step to make humorous caricatures--and there could be little harm in ridiculing the ,devil4 ,thus we frequently find imps and demons brought in to perform the comic parts in the ,church mysteries4 ,it was a short advance from the ludicrous to the humorous1 and thus we find the devil a merry fellow1 playing all kinds of practical jokes on mankind4 ,such representations would now appear rather ludicrous than humorous1 and are seldom seen1 except to amuse children on ,valentine's ,day4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,origin of ,modern ,comedy--,ecclesiastical ,buffoonery--,jougleurs and ,minstrels--,court ,fools--,monks' ,stories--,the ,tournament of ,tottenham--,chaucer--,heywood--,roister ,doister--,gammer ,gurton4 ,as the early drama of ,greece arose from the celebration of religious rites1 so that of modern times originated in the church4 ,this does not seem so strange when we remember that religion is in connection with abstract thought1 and with an exercise of the representative powers of the mind4 ,and if we ask how comedy could have been thus introduced1 the reply must be that the ideal of former ages was very different from our own4 ,in the days when the mind was dull and inactive1 striking illustrations were very necessary to awaken interest in moral and spiritual teaching4 ,they changed in accordance with the progress of the times and country--sometimes the medium was fables or other such impossible fictions1 sometimes it was similitudes from nature1 as parables1 and sometimes dramatic performances4 ,whatever drama the ,jews had was of a religious character4 ,it is supposed by some that the words--,when your children shall say unto you1 ',what mean ye by this service1' refers to some commemorative representation4 ,however this may be1 we know that about the year #ajj ,b4,c41 ,ezekiel1 an ,alexandrian ,jew1 wrote a play in ,greek on the ,exodus1 which somewhat resembled a mystery4 ,luther thought that the books of ,judith and ,tobit were originally in a dramatic form2 and1 even among the ,jews1 a comic element was sometimes introduced--as in the ancient ,ahasuerus' play at the feast of ,purim--with a view of attracting attention at a time when people had little reflection1 and were not very particular about the intermingling of utterly incongruous feelings1 whether religion and cruelty1 or religion and humour4 ,we have traced the gradual decline of the drama in ,rome1 until it consisted but of buffooneries and mimes2 and so its revival in modern times commenced with performances in dumb show1 the low intellectual character of the age being reflected in popular exhibitions4 ,the mimi were people who performed barefooted1 clothed in skins of animals1 with shaven heads1 and faces smeared with soot4 ,the ,italians gradually came to relish nothing but a sort of pantomime1 and it seems to have occurred to the ,roman ,church1 always enterprising and fond of adaptation1 that they might turn this taste of the people to some account4 ,accordingly1 we read of religious mummings in ,spain as early as the sixth century1 and in #abfd the ,brotherhood of the ,gonfalone was founded in ,italy to represent the sufferings of ,christ in dumb show and processions4#dh ,in ,france the performance of holy plays1 termed ,mysteries1 dates from the conclusion of the fourteenth century1 when a company of pilgrims from the ,holy ,land1 with their gowns hung with scallop shells and images1 assisted at the marriage of ,charles ,,vi4 and ,isabella of ,bavaria4 ,they were incorporated as a ,society in ,paris to give dramatic entertainments1 and were known as the ,fraternity of the ,passion4 ,originally the intention was to represent scenes in ,scripture history1 but gradually they introduced ,moralities--fanciful pieces in which ,god1 the ,devil1 the ,virtues1 c41 were the dramatis person4 ,in one of these1 for instance1 the ,devil invites the ,follies to a banquet on their arrival in hell4 ,when they sit down the table seems hospitably spread1 but as soon as they begin to touch the food it all bursts into flame1 and the piece concludes with fireworks4 ,we can see that a comic element might easily be introduced into such performances4 ,but ,charles ,,vi41 who seems to have been fond of all mimetic exhibitions1 formed another company named ,l',institution ,joyeuse1 composed of the sons of the best families in ,paris1 who1 under the name of the ,enfans sans ,souci1 and presided over by the ,prince des ,sots1 made ,france laugh at the follies of the day1 personal and political4 ,the above mentioned religious fraternity joined these gay performers without apparently seeing anything objectionable in such a connection1 and under the name of the ,clercs de la ,bazoche1 or clerks of the revels1 acted with them alternately4 ,even in the ,mysteries1 an occasional element of humour was evidently introduced1 although many things which would appear ludicrous to us did not so affect the people of that day4 ,a tinge of buffoonery was thought desirable4 ,thus in the ,massacre of the ,holy ,innocents1 a good deal of scuffling takes place on the stage1 especially where the women attack with their distaffs a low fool1 who has requested ,herod to knight him that he may join in the gallant adventure4 ,in ,france there was ,the ,feast of ,asses1 in which the priests were attired like the ,ancient ,prophets1 and accompanied by ,virgil6 ,balaam1 armed with a tremendous pair of spurs1 rode a wooden ass1 in which a man was enclosed4 ,robert ,grosseteste1 ,bishop of ,lincoln1 forbade the celebration in churches of the ,feast of ,fools1 in which the clergy danced and gesticulated in masks4 ,the ,mysteries seem sometimes to have been of extraordinary length1 for there was a play called ,the ,creation1 performed at ,clerkenwell which lasted eight days4 ,pageantry as well as humour--devices appealing to the senses--were largely employed to enliven the exhibitions of early times4 ,in the ,christmas games in the reign of ,edward ,i41 we find they made use of eighty tunics of buckram of various colours1 forty-two vizors1 fourteen faces of women1 fourteen of men1 and the same number of angels1 as well as imitations of dragons1 peacocks1 and swans4 ,the taking of ,constantinople in #adec scattered the men of learning throughout the ,west1 and led to a revival of literature4 ,the drama recommenced with representations of the old plays of ,plautus4 ,they were performed at the ,universities1 and on state occasions1 as in #aebh1 when ,henry ,,viii4 had a stage erected in his great hall at ,greenwich4 ,but the first development seems to have been in ,spain1 where the old ,romans had left their impress1 and where the cruel games of the circus still survive in the form of bull-fights4 ,lopez de ,reuda1 of ,seville1 first brought comedy on the stage1 but ,cervantes tells us that then the whole wardrobe of an actor consisted of four sheep-skins1 trimmed with gilt leather1 four beards1 four wigs1 and four shepherds' crooks4 ,nevertheless1 after the classical period1 ,spain became the repertory for the comedians of ,europe4 ,so far we have traced the origin of comedy as to public performance4 ,we now come to consider what tendencies of disposition opened the way for it1 and led to its becoming a branch of literature4 ,the love of amusement1 which is so strong in man1 induced the patronage1 which in early times was extended to the various kinds of professors of light arts4 ,in the days of ,greece1 as in those of ,rome1 there were ball-players1 and mountebanks1 and we may remember an occasion on which ,terence complained that a rope-dancer had enticed away his audience4 ,in ,sparta there were men who represented the tricks of thieves and impostors in dances1 and whose entertainments1 though poor1 were superior to that of mere mountebanks4 ,the mimes were a still greater improvement1 in which a certain amount of amusing narrative was illustrated by dances1 songs1 contortions1 and as the name implies by mimicry4 ,we have seen ,plato introducing mimi from ,greece1 and ,julius ,csar interesting himself in such performers4 ,our medival fool has been traced to the ,roman mime1 who continued to please the country-people with coarse and debased representations after ,rome had fallen1 and comedy had perished4 ,some have even given a classic origin to our pantomime1 considering harlequin to be ,mercury1 the clown ,momus1 pantaloon ,charon1 and columbine ,psyche4 ,the ,roman ,sannio and ,manducus certainly somewhat corresponded to our fool and clown1 the latter especially in his gormandising propensities4 ,but it is scarcely necessary to travel so far back1 for the desire for amusement has in all countries produced an indigenous supply4 ,court-jesters are heard of as early as the reign of ,philip of ,macedon1 but they seem to have been at first little more than parasites of inferior rank and education4 ,in ,roman times they were little more than buffoons1#di and not very different from the medival fools4 ,they seem to have received nicknames1 and ,petronius describes a very low buffoon performing antics in a myrtle robe with a belt round his waist4 ,as in ancient times we find ,achilles singing to his lyre1 so the ,english musicians and story-tellers were originally amateurs of high rank4 ,we read of ,king ,alfred charming the ,danes with his minstrelsy4 ,so also in the ,arthurian legends ,sir ,kaye is represented as amusing the company2 but at the time of ,hoel ,dha's ,welsh laws1 the bard was paid1 for we read that the king was to allow him a horse and a woollen garment1 and the queen to give him a linen robe2 the prefect of the palace is privileged to sit near him on festivals and to hand him his harp4 ,canute seems to have treated his scalds with less ceremony1 for he threatened to put one of them to death because he recounted his exploits in too short a poem1 but the man escaped by producing thirty strophes on the subject next day4 ,the ,saxon gleemen were generally of humble origin and not only performed music1 but exhibited tricks4 ,so also among the ,normans we find the barons originally amusing one another with gabs1 i4e4 boastful and exaggerated accounts of their achievements4 ,but soon a greater amount of leisure and luxury led them to pay for amusement2 professed musicians and story-tellers were introduced1 and were classed with the ministri or servants1 whence came the name minstrel1 which was soon confined to them alone4 ,we find ,talliefer going before ,william the ,conqueror at the battle of ,hastings chanting the brave deeds of ,charlemagne and making a display of skill in tossing and catching his sword and spear4 ,this union of tricks and music became so common that the words minstrel and jougleur were soon synonymous1 though there was originally a distinction between them4 ,the word jougleur1 sometimes by mistake written jongleur1 is derived from the latin joculator4 ,this class of people were conjurers1 as their name suggests1 and often went about the country with performing animals1 especially bears and monkeys4 ,they gradually added songs to their accomplishments1 which more assimilated them to the minstrels1 and they became connected with1 and were sometimes called troubadours4 ,in these minstrels or jougleurs1 though sometimes strolling independently1 being often attached to great households1 we find an element of the domestic1 or as he is called1 court fool1 and we find another in their performances being of that primitive character1 which appeals chiefly to the perception of the senses4 ,for although the jocular part1 originally subordinate1 had been increased1 it took so rude a form that the ludicrous was not always easily distinguished from the humorous4 ,the ,fool was a strange mixture of both1 varying from a mere idiot and butt to a man of genius1 far superior to his masters4 ,he made shrewd remarks1 and performed senseless antics1 the city fool1 on ,lord ,mayor's day1 was to jump clothes and all into a large bowl of custard4 ,to a certain extent he generally corresponded with his name in having some mental weakness or eccentricity1 and it was a recommendation if he were dwarfish or deformed4 ,he wore a motley suit of discordant colours to make him ridiculous1 and correspond with the incongruity of his mind and actions--a dress similar to the hundred patched paniculus centunculus of the ,roman mimes4 ,sometimes he wore a petticoat or calf-skin to resemble an idiot4 ,finally1 he had his head shaved and wore a cowl to make him like a monk1 as his buffooneries would thus have a stranger character1 and the nobles had no great affection for the church4#ej ,the domestic fool was common in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries up to the time of ,louis ,,xiv42 but it is said that there were such men at the ,court of ,louis le ,dbonnaire4 ,giraldus ,cambrenses writes that when he was preaching for the ,crusades in ,south ,wales1 one ,john ,spang who by simulating fatuity1 and having a quick tongue was wont to be a great comfort to the court1 said to ,resus1 the king3 ,you should be greatly indebted to your relative the ,archdeacon for sending a hundred of your men to day to follow ,christ1 and if he had spoken ,welsh ,i do not believe that one of all your people would remain to you4 ,this was towards the end of the twelfth century1 but it does not seem clear that ,john ,spang was a court jester4 ,we may fairly consider that the institution of the domestic fools1 the employment of men1 who professed jocularity as a branch of art distinct from music and legerdemain increased mental activity1 and a growing desire for humour4 ,but the men who made jesting their profession were generally regarded with contempt1 and an ,act of ,parliament in the reign of ,edward ,,iii4 ordered strollers of this kind to be whipped out of the town4 ,an old satire written at the time of the ,reformation brings together actors1 dustmen1 jugglers1 conjurers1 and sellers of indulgences4 ,but we want something more than wits and drolleries1 and even public performances1 to complete our idea of ,comedy4 ,we must have literary composition and artistic construction4 ,from songs of warlike achievements such as were chanted by the old scalders to cheer their chiefs over the bowl1 there arose by degrees fanciful tales with which the ,saxons and their successors amused themselves after their dinner1 and round the blazing hearth4 ,in the tenth century the clergy found stories to amuse the post-prandial hour--extravagant1 indelicate1 or profane--such were the times1 but marking improved activity of thought4 ,thus they enjoyed such a tale as that a prophet went to ,heriger 7,archbishop of ,mayence about #ibj7 and told him he had been to the nether world1 a place1 he said1 surrounded by woods4 ,the ,archbishop replied that1 if that was the case1 he would send his lean swine there to eat acorns4 ,the prophet added that afterwards he went to heaven1 and saw ,christ and his saints sitting at table and eating2 ,john the ,baptist was the butler1 and served the wine1 and ,st4 ,peter was the cook4 ,the ,archbishop asked the stranger how he fared himself1 and on his saying that he sat in the corner and stole a piece of liver--,heriger instead of praising his sanctity ordered him to be tied to a stake1 and flogged for theft4 ,the ,supper1 as old as the tenth century1 is another humorous description4 ,a grave assembly of scriptural characters1 from ,adam and ,eve downwards1 are invited1 ,cain sits on a plough1 ,abel on a milk-pail c42 two1 ,paul and ,esau1 are obliged to stand for want of room1 and ,job complains of having nothing to sit on but a dunghill4 ,jonah is here the butler4 ,samson brings honey to the dessert1 and ,adam apples-- ,tunc ,adam poma ministrat1 ,samson favi dulcia4 ,david cytharum percussit1 et ,maria tympana1 ,judith choreas ducebat et ,jubal psalteria ,asael metra canebat1 saltabat ,herodias4#ea ,thus stories1 by degrees1 began to be not only composed1 but written1 and although not intended for acting1 to be dignified with the old name of ,comedies4 ,such poems were written by ,robert ,baston1 who accompanied ,edward ,,ii4 to ,scotland4 ,the ,tournament of ,tottenham is a merry story of this kind1 written in the reign of ,henry ,,vi4 ,it is full of a rough kind of hostile humour1 and shows the sort of things which amused at that time4 ,here we have a burlesque upon the deeds of chivalry4 ,a mock tournament is held1 the prize is to be the ,reve of ,tottenham's daughter1 a brood hen1 a dun cow1 a grey mare1 and a spotted sow4 ,the combatants--clowns and rustics--provide themselves with flails1 and poles1 and sheep skins ,they armed tham in mattes2 ,they set on ther nollys 7heads7 ,for to kape ther pollys1 ,gode blake bollys 7bowls7 ,for t' batryng of battes 7cudgels74 ,the fierceness of the combat is described3 ,and fewe wordys spoken1 ,there were flayles al to-slatered1 ,ther were scheldys al to-flatred1 ,bollys and dysches al to-schatred1 ,and many hedys brokyn4 ,we find some specimen of the kind of tales called ,comedies1 which preceded acted ,comedy1 in the works of ,chaucer1 who died in #adjj4 ,scarcely any part of ,chaucer's writings would raise a laugh at the present day1 though they might a blush4#eb ,but he was by no means a man who revelled in indelicacy4 ,we may suppose that he was moderate for the time in which he lived1 and when he makes an offensive allusion1 he usually adds some excuse for it4 ,the antiquated language in which his works are written prevents our now appreciating much of the humour they contained2 generally1 there is more refinement and grace in his writings4 ,no doubt at the time he was thought witty1 and his tendency in this direction is shown by his praise of mirth in the ,romaunt of the ,rose4 ,full faire was mirth1 full long and high1 ,a fairer man ,i never sigh3 ,as round as apple was his face1 ,full roddie and white in every place1 ,fetis he was and well besey1 ,with meetly mouth and eyen gray1 ,his nose by measure wrought full right1 ,crispe was his haire1 and eke full bright1 ,his shoulderes of large trede ,and smallish in the girdlestede3 ,he seemed like a purtreiture1 ,so noble was he of his stature1 ,so faire1 so jolly1 and so fetise ,with limmes wrought at point devise1 ,deliver smart1 and of great might2 ,ne saw thou never man so light ,of berd unneth had he nothing1 ,for it was in the firste spring1 ,full young he was and merry of thought1 ,and in samette with birdes wrought ,and with golde beaten full fetously ,his bodie was clad full richely4 ,wrought was his robe in straunge gise ,and all slitttered for queintise ,in many a place1 low and hie1 ,and shode he was with great maistrie ,with shoone decoped and with lace1 ,by drurie and by solace ,his leefe a rosen chapelet ,had made1 and on his head it set4 ,he speaks in equally high terms of ,dame ,gladnesse4 ,we can appreciate ,chaucer's address to his empty purse-- ,to you my purse1 and to none other wight ,complaine ,i1 for ye be my lady dere1 ,i am sorry now that ye be light1 ,for certes ye now make me heauy chere ,me were as lefe laid vpon a bere1 ,for which vnto your mercy thus ,i crie ,be heauy againe or els mote ,i die4 ,now vouchsafe this day or it be night ,that ,i of you the blissful sowne may here1 ,or see your colour like the sunne bright ,that of yelowness had neuer pere2 ,ye be my life1 ye be my hertes stere ,queen of comfort1 and good companie ,be heauy againe1 or els mote ,i die4 ,now purse that art to me my liues delight ,and sauiour1 as downe in this world here1 ,out of this towne helpe me by your might ,sith that you woll not be my treasure1 ,for ,i am shave as nere as any frere1 ,but ,i pray vnto your curtesie ,be heauy againe1 or els mote ,i die4 ,chaucer was very fond of allegory4 ,this is especially visible not only in the ,romaunt of the ,rose1 but in the ,court of ,love1 ,flower and ,leaf1 the ,house of ,fame1 and the ,cuckoo and ,nightingale4 ,in the ,assembly of ,fowls we have a fable4 ,chaucer was attached to the service of ,john of ,gaunt1 which may have led to his attacking the clergy1 but in his youth he was fined two shillings for beating a ,franciscan friar in ,fleet ,street4 ,he favoured ,wickliffe1 and was for this reason eventually obliged to flee the country2 but he returned and obtained remunerative appointments4 ,it is said that on his death-bed he lamented the encouragement which vice might receive from his writings1 but their indelicacy was not really great for the age in which he lived4 ,henry ,heywood has been called the ,father of ,english ,comedy1 and he was certainly one of the first that wrote original dramas1 representing the ordinary social life of this country4 ,his pieces1 which all appeared before #aeej1 were short and simple1 and seem to us very deficient in delicacy and humour4 ,but in his day he was considered a great wit1 and as a court-jester drew many a lusty laugh from old ,king ,hal1 and could even soothe the rugged brow of the fanatical ,mary4 ,one of his best sayings was addressed to her4 ,when the ,queen told ,heywood that the priests must forego their wives1 he answered4 ,then your ,grace must allow them lemans1 for the clergy cannot live without sauce4 ,he was called the epigrammatist1 but the greater part of his jests seem to have little point4 ,some of them have been attributed to ,sir ,thomas ,more4 ,one of the earliest ,english comedies written by ,nicholas ,udall1 and found entered in the books of the ,stationers' ,company in the year1 #aeff1 is ,royster ,doister4 ,which against the vayne glorious doth invey ,whose humour the roysting sort continually doth feede4 ,the play turns on ,ralph ,royster ,doister--a conceited fool--thinking every woman must fall in love with him4 ,much of the humour is acoustic1 and depends on repetitions-- ,then twang with our sonnets1 and twang with our dumps1 ,and hey hough for our heart1 as heavie as lead lumps4 ,then to our recorder with toodle doodle poope1 ,as the howlet out of an yvie bushe should hoope ,anon to our gitterne1 thrumpledum1 thrumpledrum thrum1 ,thrumpledum1 thrumpledum1 thrumpledum1 thrumpledum1 thrum4 ,royster is duped into sending ,custance a love-letter1 telling her that he seeks only her fortune1 and that he will annoy her in every way after marriage4 ,on discovering the deception1 he determines to take vengeance on the scribbler who wrote the love-letter for him3-- ,yes1 for although he had as many lives ,as a thousande widowes and a thousande wives1 ,as a thousande lyons and a thousande rattes1 ,a thousande wolves and a thousande cattes1 ,a thousande bulles1 and a thousande calves ,and a thousande legions divided in halves1 ,he shall never 'scape death on my sworde's point ,though ,i shoulde be torne therefore joynt by joynt4 ,where he prepares to punish ,custance and her friends for refusing him1 there is a play on the word stomacke--used for courage3 ,ralph ,royster4 ,yea1 they shall know1 and thou knowest ,i have a stomacke4 ,m4,m4 ,a stomacke 7quod you7 you1 as good as ere man had4 ,r4 ,royster4 ,i trowe they shall finde and feele that ,i am a lad4 ,m4,m4 ,by this crosse ,i have seene you eate your meat as well4 ,as any that ere ,i have seene of1 or heard tell1 ,a stomacke quod you8 he that will that denie1 ,i know was never at dynner in your companie4 ,r4 ,royster4 ,nay1 the stomacke of a man it is that ,i meane4 ,m4,m4 ,nay1 the stomacke of a horse or a dogge ,i weene4 ,r4 ,royster4 ,nay1 a man's stomacke with a weapon mean ,i4 ,m4,m4 ,ten men can scarce match you with a spoon in a pie4 ,gammer ,gurton's ,needle was acted in #aeeb4 ,it bears marks of an early time in its words being coarsely indelicate1 but not amatory4 ,the humour is that of blows and insults and we may observe the great value then attached to needles4 ,it is a right pithy1 pleasant and merry comedy--a country story of an old dame who loses her needle when sewing a patch on the seat of her servant ,hodge's breeches4 ,the cat's misdoings interrupt her1 and her needle is lost4 ,the hunt for the needle is amusing1 and ,gammer ,gurton and ,dame ,chat1 whom she suspects of having stolen it1 abuse and call each other witches4 ,hodge1 the man with the patched breeches encourages ,gammer ,gurton1 who seems little to require it4 ,smite1 ,i say ,gammer1 ,bite1 ,i say ,gammer1 ,where be your nails8 ,claw her by the jawes ,pull me out both her eyen4 ,hoise her1 souse her1 bounce her1 trounce her1 ,pull out her thrott4 ,on some one giving ,hodge a good slap1 the needle runs into him1 and is thus happily found4 ,at the opening of the second act of ,gammer ,gurton there is a drinking song1 which deserves notice as it was the first written in ,english1-- ,i cannot eat but little meat ,my stomack is not good3 ,but sure ,i think that ,i can drink ,with him that wears a hood4 ,though ,i go bare1 take ye no care ,i nothing am a colde2 ,i stuff my skin so full within ,of ioly good ale and olde4 ,backe and side go bare1 go bare1 ,booth foot and hand go colde2 ,but belly1 ,god send thee good ale inoughe1 ,whether it be new or olde2 ,i love no rost1 but a nut browne toste ,and a crab laid in the fire2 ,a little bread shall do me stead ,moche bread ,i noght desire4 ,no frost1 no snow1 no wind ,i trowe ,can hurt me if ,i wolde4 ,i am so wrapt and throwly lapt ,of ioly good ale and olde4 ,backe and side1 c4 ,and ,tib my wife1 that as her life ,loveth well good ale to seeke1 ,full oft drinkes shee1 till ye may see ,the teares run downe her cheeke4 ,then doth she trowle to me the bowle ,even as a mault-worm sholde1 ,and saith 'sweet heart ,i tooke my part ,of this ioly good ale and olde4' ,backe and side1 c4 ,now let them drinke1 till they nod and winke1 ,even as good fellows should do2 ,they shall not misse to have the blisse ,good ale doth bring men to4 ,and al goode sowles that have scoured bowles1 ,or have them lustely trolde1 ,god save the lives of them and their wives ,whether they be yong or olde4 ,backe and side1 c4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,robert ,,greene4 ,robert ,greene--,friar ,bacon's ,demons--,the ,looking ,glasse--,nash and ,harvey4 ,one of the principal humorists at this time was ,robert ,greene1 born at ,norwich about #aefj4 ,he was educated at ,cambridge1 and was generally styled ,robert ,greene1 ,maister of ,artes4 ,early in life he became1 as he tells us1 an author of playes and a penner of love pamphlets4 ,from the titles of some of them1 and from his motto1 ,omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci1 it is evident that they were intended to be humorous4 ,thus1 his ,euphues professes to contain ,mirth to purge ,melancholy2 his ,quips for an ,vpstart ,courtier is ,a ,quaint ,dispute between ,velvet-breeches and ,cloth-breeches1 and his ,notable ,discovery of ,coosnage has a delightfull discourse of the coosnage of ,colliers2 his ,second and last part of conny-catching has new additions containing many merry tales of all lawes worth the reading1 because they are worthy to be remembered4 ,discoursing strange cunning coosnage1 which if you reade without laughing1 ,ile give you my cap for a ,noble4 ,but in all these works there is but little humour1 and what we learn in reading them is1 that a very small amount of it was then thought considerable1 and that stories1 which we should think slightly entertaining1 appeared in that simple age to be very ingenious and even comic4 ,in the ,comicall ,historie of ,alphonsus1 ,king of ,arragon1 we do not find anything that could have possibly been humorous1 unless the speaking of a brazen head1 and the letting ,venus down from ,heaven and drawing her up again1 could have been so regarded4 ,greene is characteristic of his time in his love of introducing magic and enchanters1 and of characters from classic and scripture history4 ,in the ,looking-,glasse for ,london and ,england1 in which our metropolis is compared to ,nineveh1 we have angels and magicians brought in4 ,a hand out of a cloud threateneth a burning sword1 and ,jonas is cast out of the whale's belly upon the stage4 ,greene is fond of introducing devils4 ,in ,the ,honourable ,historie of ,frier ,bacon and ,frier ,bongay1 ,ralph says1 ,why1 ,sirrah ,ned we'll ride to ,oxford to ,friar ,bacon4 ,o6 he is a brave scholar1 sirrah2 they say he is a brave necromancer1 that he can make women of devils1 and he can juggle cats into coster-mongers4 ,further on in the same play a devil and ,miles1 ,bacon's servant1 enter4 ,miles4 ,a scholar1 quoth you2 marry1 ,sir1 ,i would ,i had been a bottle maker1 when ,i was made a scholar1 for ,i can get neither to be a deacon1 reader1 nor schoolmaster4 ,no1 not the clerk of the parish4 ,some call me dunce1 another saith my head is full of ,latin1 as an egg's full of oatmeal3 thus ,i am tormented that the devil and ,friar ,bacon haunt me4 ,good ,lord1 here's one of my master's devils6 ,i'll go speak to him4 ,what ,master ,plutus1 how cheer you8 ,d4 ,dost know me8 ,m4 ,know you1 ,sir8 ,why are not you one of my master's devils1 that were wont to come to my master1 ,doctor ,bacon at ,brazen-,nose8 ,d4 ,yes1 marry am ,i4 ,m4 ,good ,lord1 ,master ,plutus1 ,i have seen you a thousand times at my master's2 and yet ,i had never the manners to make you drink4 ,but1 ,sir1 ,i am glad to see how comformable you are to the statutes4 ,i warrant you he's as yeomanly a man as you shall see2 mark you1 masters1 here's a plain honest man without welt or guard4 ,but ,i pray you ,sir1 do you come lately from hell8 ,d4 ,ay1 marry1 how then8 ,m4 ,faith1 'tis a place ,i have desired long to see3 have you not good tippling houses there8 ,may not a man have a lusty fire there1 a good pot of ale1 a pair of cards1 a swinging piece of chalk1 and a brown toast that will clap a white waistcoat on a cup of good drink4 ,d4 ,all this you may have there4 ,m4 ,you are for me1 friend1 and ,i am for you4 ,but ,i pray you1 may ,i not have an office there8 ,d4 ,yes1 a thousand2 what wouldst thou be8 ,m4 ,by my troth1 ,sir1 in a place where ,i may profit myself4 ,i know hell is a hot place1 and men are marvellous dry1 and much drink is spent there4 ,i would be a tapster4 ,in one play ,greene introduces a court-fool1 and he mixes with the stupidity and knavery of his clowns1 a sort of artificial philosophy and argumentative ingenuity1 which savours much of the old jesters4 ,in ,james the ,fourth ,slipper says3-- ,o mistress1 mistress1 may ,i turn a word upon you8 ,countess4 ,friend1 what wilt thou8 ,slipper4 ,o6 what a happy gentlewoman be you truly2 the world reports this of you1 mistress1 that a man can no sooner come to your house1 but the butler comes with a black-jack1 and says1 ,welcome1 friend1 here's a cup of the best for you1 verily1 mistress1 you are said to have the best ale in all ,scotland4 ,countess4 ,sirrah1 go fetch him drink an attendant brings drink4 ,how likest thou this8 ,slip4 ,like it mistress6 why this is quincy quarie1 pepper de watchet1 single goby1 of all that ever ,i tasted4 ,i'll prove in this ale1 and toast the compass of the whole world4 ,first1 this is the earth2 it ties in the middle a fair brown toast1 a goodly country for hungry teeth to dwell upon2 next this is the sea1 a fair pool for a dry tongue to fish in2 now come ,i1 and seeing the world is naught1 ,i divide it thus3 and because the sea cannot stand without the earth1 as ,aristotle saith1 ,i put them both into their first chaos1 which is my belly1 and so1 mistress1 you may see your ale is become a miracle4 ,further on ,slipper again shows his readiness in dialogue-- ,sir ,bartram4 ,ho1 fellow6 stay and let me speak with thee4 ,slip4 ,fellow6 friend thou dost abuse me3 ,i am a gentleman4 ,sir ,b4 ,a gentleman6 how so8 ,slip4 ,why1 ,i rub horses1 ,sir4 ,sir ,b4 ,and what of that8 ,slip4 ,o simple-witted6 mark my reason4 ,they that do good service in the commonweal are gentlemen1 but such as rub horses do good service in the commonweal1 ergo1 tarbox1 master courtier1 a horse-keeper is a gentleman4 ,sir ,b4 ,here is over much wit in good earnest4 ,but1 sirrah1 where is thy master8 ,slip4 ,neither above ground nor under ground2 drawing out red into white1 swallowing that down without chawing1 which was never made without treading4 ,sir ,b4 ,why1 where is he then8 ,slip4 ,why in his cellar1 drinking a cup of neat and brisk claret in a bowl of silver4 ,oh1 ,sir1 the wine runs trillill down his throat1 which cost the poor vintner many a stamp before it was made4 ,but ,i must hence1 ,sir1 ,i have haste4 ,sir ,bertram intimates that he wants his assistance1 and will pay him4 ,slip4 ,a good word1 thou hast won me2 this word is like a warm caudle to a cold stomach4 ,sir ,b4 ,sirrah1 wilt thou for money and reward ,convey me certain letters1 out of hand1 ,from out thy master's pocket8 ,slip4 ,will ,i1 ,sir8 ,why were it to rob my father1 hang my mother1 or any such like trifles1 ,i am at your commandment1 ,sir4 ,what will you give me1 ,sir8 ,sir ,b4 ,a hundred pounds4 ,slip4 ,i am your man2 give me earnest4 ,i am dead at a pocket1 ,sir2 why ,i am a lifter1 master1 by occupation4 ,sir ,b4 ,a lifter6 what is that8 ,slip4 ,why1 ,sir1 ,i can lift a pot as well as any man1 and pick a purse as soon as any thief in the country4 ,these humorous characters remind us a little of the slaves and parasites in ,roman comedy1 of whom1 no doubt1 ,greene had read4 ,his amusing fellows are free livers1 and fond of wine like himself4 ,in the ,looking-,glasse above mentioned1 ,nineveh represents ,london1 and a fast being proclaimed1 we find ,adam1 a smith's journeyman1 trying to evade it4 7,enter ,adam solus1 with a bottle of beer in one slop 7trouser7 and a great piece of beef in the other47 ,adam4 ,well1 goodman ,jonas1 ,i would you had never come from ,jewry to this country2 you have made me look like a lean rib of roast beef1 or like the picture of ,lent1 painted upon a red-herring's cob4 ,alas6 masters1 we are commanded by the proclamation to fast and pray6 ,by my troth1 ,i could prettily so1 so away with praying1 but for fasting1 why 'tis so contrary to my nature1 that ,i had rather suffer a short hanging than a long fasting4 ,mark me1 the words be these3 thou shalt take no manner of food for so many days4 ,i had as lief he should have said1 thou shalt hang thyself for so many days4 ,and yet1 in faith1 ,i need not find fault with the proclamation1 for ,i have a buttery and a pantry and a kitchen about me2 for proof1 ecce signum6 ,this right slop is my pantry1 behold a manchet2 this place is my kitchen1 for lo6 a piece of beef4 ,o6 let me repeat that sweet word again6--for lo6 a piece of beef4 ,this is my buttery1 for see1 see1 my friends1 to my great joy a bottle of beer4 ,thus1 alas6 ,i make shift to wear out this fasting2 ,i drive away the time4 ,but there go searchers about to seek if any man breaks the king's command4 ,o1 here they be2 in with your victuals1 ,adam4 7,enter two ,searchers47 #ast ,searcher4 ,how duly the men of ,nineveh keep the proclamation6 how they are armed to repentance6 ,we have searched through the whole city1 and have not as yet found one that breaks the fast4 #bnd ,sear4 ,the sign of the more grace2 but stay1 there sits one1 methinks at his prayers2 let us see who it is4 #ast ,sear4 ',tis ,adam1 the smith's man4 ,how1 now1 ,adam8 ,adam4 ,trouble me not2 thou shalt take no manner of food1 but fast and pray4 #ast ,sear4 ,how devoutly he sits at his orisons6 ,but stay1 methinks ,i feel a smell of some meat or bread about him4 #bnd ,sear4 ,so thinks me too4 ,you1 ,sirrah1 what victuals have you about you8 ,adam4 ,victuals6 ,o horrible blasphemy6 ,hinder me not of my prayer1 nor drive me not into a choler4 ,victuals8 why heardest thou not the sentence1 thou shalt take no food1 but fast and pray8 #bnd ,sear4 ,troth1 so it should be2 but1 methinks1 ,i smell meat about thee4 ,adam4 ,about me1 my friends8 these words are actions in the case4 ,about me8 no6 no6 hang those gluttons that cannot fast and pray4 #ast ,sear4 ,well1 for all your words we must search you4 ,adam4 ,search me8 take heed what you do6 my hose are my castles2 'tis burglary if you break ope a slop2 no officer must lift up an iron hatch2 take heed1 my slops are iron4 #bnd ,sear4 ,o1 villain6 ,see how he hath gotten victuals--bread1 beef and beer1 where the king commanded upon pain of death none should eat for so many days1 not the sucking infant4 ,adam4 ,alas6 ,sir1 this is nothing but a modicum non nocet ut medicus daret2 why1 ,sir1 a bit to comfort my stomach4 #ast ,sear4 ,villain6 thou shalt be hanged for it4 ,adam4 ,these are your words1 ,i shall be hanged for it2 but first answer me this question1 how many days have we to fast still8 #bnd ,sear4 ,five days4 ,adam4 ,five days6 a long time2 then ,i must be hanged4 #ast ,sear4 ,ay1 marry must thou4 ,adam4 ,i am your man1 ,i am for you1 ,sir1 for ,i had rather be hanged than abide so long a fast4 ,what6 five days6 ,come1 ,i'll untruss4 ,is your halter1 and the gallows1 the ladder1 and all such furniture in readiness4 #ast ,sear4 ,i warrant thee thou shalt want none of these4 ,adam4 ,but hear you1 must ,i be hanged8 #ast ,sear4 ,ay1 marry4 ,adam4 ,and for eating of meat4 ,then1 friends1 know ye by these presents1 ,i will eat up all my meat1 and drink up all my drink1 for it shall never be said1 ,i was hanged with an empty stomach4 ,it has been supposed that ,greene was very indelicate in his language1 as well as reckless in his life4 ,but we cannot find in his plays anything very offensive1 considering the date at which he wrote1 and in the tract called ,greene's ,funeralls1 we read3-- ,his gadding ,muse1 although it ran of love1 ,yet did he sweetly morralize his song2 ,ne ever gaue the looser cause to laugh ,ne men of judgement for to be offended4 ,greene died in most woefull and rascall estate at the house of a poor shoemaker near ,dowgate4 ,he had previously written his ,groat's-worth of ,wit bought with a ,million of ,repentance2 in which he warns his former companions and gentlemen who spend their wits in making playes1 to take warning by his fate4 ,he could get none of his friends to visit him at the last but ,mistress ,appleby1 and the mother of his base sonne ,infortunatus ,greene4 ,he gave the following note for his wife--whom he had not seen for six years--to the shoemaker3 ,doll1 ,i charge thee by the love of our youth1 and by my soule's rest1 that thow wilte see this man paide2 for if hee and his wife had not succoured me1 ,i had died in the streetes4 ,,robert ,,greene4 ,gabriel ,harvey writes1 ,my next businesse was to inquire after the famous author who was reported to lye dangerously sicke in a shop neere ,dowgate1 not of plague1 but of a surfett of pickle herringe and rennish wine4 ,thomas ,nash was one of ,greene's jolly companions at this fatal banquet4 ,after ,greene's death ,harvey replied to some reflections made upon him by ,greene1 and called him in accordance with the amenities of the times1 a wilde head1 ful of mad braine and a thousand crotchets2 a scholler1 a discourser1 a courtier1 a ruffian1 a gamester1 a lover1 a souldier1 a trauailer1 a merchant1 a broker1 an artificer1 a botcher1 a pettifogger1 a player1 a coosener1 a rayler1 a beggar1 an omnium-gatherum1 a gay-nothing1 a stoare-house of bald and baggage stuffe1 unworth the answering or reading1 a triuall and triobular autor for knaves and fooles1 c41 c4 ,nash1 although he seems to have forsaken ,greene in his last distress1 became the defender of his character after his death1 and answered this vituperation by still coarser abuse and invective1 saying1 ,had hee lived1 ,gabriel1 and thou shouldest vnartifically and odiously libel against him as thou hast done1 he would have made thee an example of ignominy to all ages that are to come1 and driven thee to eate thy owne booke buttered1 as ,i saw him make an ,appariter once in a tavern eate his ,citation1 waxe and all1 very handsomely served 'twixt two dishes4' ,from this he proceeds to caricature ,gabriel's person4 ,that word complexion is dropt forth in good time1 for to describe to you his complexion and composition entred ,i with this tale by the way4 ,it is of an adust swarth chollericke dye1 like restie bacon1 or a dried scate-fish2 so leane and so meagre1 that you wold thinke 7with the ,turks7 he observed #d ,lents in a yere1 or take him for a gentleman's man in the courtier1 who was so thin-cheeked1 and gaunt1 and starv'd1 that as he was blowing the fire with his mouth the smoke took him up like a light strawe1 and carried him to the top or funnell of the chimney1 wher he had flowne out ,god knowes whither if there had not been crosse barres overthwart that stayde him2 his skin riddled and crumpled like a piece of burnt parchment2 and more channels and creases he hath in his face than there be fairie circles on ,salsburie ,plaine1 and wrinckles and frets of old age1 than characters on ,christ's sepulcher in ,mount ,calvarie1 on which euerie one that comes scrapes his name1 and sets his marke to shewe that hee hath been there2 so that whosoever shall behold him ,esse putet ,bore triste furentis opus1 will sweare on a book ,i have brought him lowe1 and shrowdly broken him2 which more to confirme1 look on his head1 and you shall find a gray haire for euery line ,i have writ against him2 and you shall have all his beard white too1 by that time he hath read over this booke4 ,for his stature1 he is such another pretie ,jacke-a-,lent as boyes throw at in the streete1 and lookes in his blacke sute of veluet1 like one of these jet-droppes which divers weare at their eares instead of a iewell4 ,a smudge peice of a handsome fellow it hath been in his dayes1 but now he is olde and past his best1 and fit for nothing but to be a nobleman's porter1 or a knight of ,windsor4 ,nash was so full of invective and personal abuse that he scarcely deserved the name of a satirist1 and so great was the animosity with which the quarrel between him and ,gabriel ,harvey was conducted1 that the ,archbishop of ,canterbury and ,bishop of ,london issued an order in #aeii that all such books be taken wheresoever they be found1 and that none of the said books be ever printed hereafter4 ,his humour was remarkable1 as it largely consisted of coining long and almost unintelligible words4 ,this he laid great store by1 and he speaks wrathfully of one who translated his ,piers ,penniless1 into what he calls maccaronical language4 ,in his ,lenten ,stuffe or ,praise of the ,red ,herring1 i4e41 of ,great ,yarmouth1 he calls those who despised ,homer in his life-time dull-pated pennifathers1 and says that those grey-beard huddle-duddles and crusty cum-twangs were strooke with stinging remorse of their miserable euchonisme and sundgery4 ,peele was one of the gay play-writers to whom ,greene addressed his warning4 ,they seem at this time to have united the professions of dramatist and actor1 and to have been infected with that dissipation which has since been attributed with more or less justice to the stage4 ,peele is as fond as ,greene of surprises and miraculous interventions4 ,in the ,arraignment of ,paris a golden tree grows up1 and in the ,old ,wives ,tale1 the most humorous of his works1 the head of ,huanebango rises from a well4 ,he is fond of dealing in phonetic words ,latinisms and barbarisms2 in one place he makes ,corebus say3 ,o falsum ,latinum ,the fair maid is minum ,cum apurtinantibus gibletis and all4 ,peele was very popular in his day1 and was often called upon to write pieces for the ,lord ,mayor and for royal receptions4 ,he sometimes used ,hexameter lines such as3 ,dub1 dub-a-dub bounce1 quoth the guns with a sulphurous huff shuff4 ,gabriel ,harvey first introduced this metre into ,english1 and he tried to induce ,spenser to adopt it4 ,nash calls it that drunken staggering kind of verse which is all vp hill and downe hill1 like the way betwixt ,stamford and ,beechfeild1 and goes like a horse plunging through the mire in the deep of winter1 now soust vp to the saddle and straight aloft on his tip-toes4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,donne--,hall--,fuller4 ,already we have seen that some of our earliest humorists were ecclesiastics1 and it would be unfitting that we should here overlook three eminent men1 ,donne1 ,hall1 and ,fuller4 ,pleasantry was with them little more than a vehicle of instruction2 the object was not to entertain1 but to enforce and illustrate their moral sentiments4 ,hence their sober quaintness never raises a laugh1 much less does it border upon the profane or indelicate4 ,donne was born in #aegc1 in ,london1 and was educated1 as was not then uncommon1 first at ,oxford1 and then at ,cambridge4 ,his ability in church controversy attracted the attention of ,james1 and he was made chaplain to the ,king4 ,he became preacher at ,lincoln's ,inn1 and afterwards was made ,dean of ,st4 ,paul's4 ,he lived to be fifty-eight4 ,his sermons are full of antitheses and epigrammatic diction4 ,there is an airy lightness in his letters and poems1 but he scarcely ever actually reaches humour4 ,the following poem1 an epistle to ,sir ,edmund ,herbert at ,juliers1 will give an idea of his style4 ,man is a lump1 where all beasts kneaded be1 ,wisdom makes him an ark where all agree2 ,the fool in whom these beasts do live at jar1 ,is sport to others1 and a theatre4 ,nor scapes he so1 but is himself their prey1 ,all which was man in him is eat away1 ,and now his beasts on one another feed1 ,yet couple in anger1 and new monsters breed4 ,how happy's he1 which hath due place assigned ,to his beasts1 and disaforested his mind6 ,empaled himself to keep them out1 not in1 ,can sow1 and dares trust corn where they've been2 ,can use his horse1 goat1 wolf1 and every beast1 ,and is not ass himself to all the rest4 ,bishop ,hall was born in #aegd1 and commenced his extensive literary labours by writing when twenty-three years of age1 at ,emmanuel ,college1 ,cambridge1 three books of satires called ,virgidemi4 ,these books he calls ,toothless ,satyres1 poetical1 academical1 and moral1 and he attacks bad writers1 astrologers1 drunkards1 gallants1 and others4 ,alluding to the superabundance of indifferent poetry in his days1 he says3-- ,let them1 that mean by bookish business ,to earn their bread1 or holpen to profess ,their hard-got skill1 let them alone for me ,busy their brains with deeper bookery4 ,great gains shall bide you sure1 when ye have spent ,a thousand lamps1 and thousand reams have rent ,of needless papers2 and a thousand nights ,have burned out with costly candle-lights4 ,in the following year1 he produced three books of ,byting ,satyres4 ,in these he laughs at the effeminacy of the times--the strange dresses and high heels4 ,when comely striplings wish it were their chance ,for ,cnis' distaff to exchange their lance1 ,and wear curled periwigs1 and chalk their face ,and still are poring on their pocket-glass2 ,tired with pinned ruffs and fans and partlet strips ,and busks and verdingales about their hips2 ,and tread on corked stilts1 a prisoner's pace1 ,and make their napkin for a spitting place1 ,and gripe their waist within a narrow span1 ,fond ,cnis that wouldst wish to be a man6 ,the most severe is against the ,pope3-- ,to see an old shorn lozel perched high ,crossing beneath a golden canopy2 ,the whiles a thousand hairless crowns crouch low ,to kiss the precious case of his proud toe2 ,and for the lordly fasces borne of old ,to see two quiet crossed keys of gold2 ,but that he most would gaze and wonder at ,to the horned mitre and the bloody hat1 ,the crooked staff1 the cowl's strange form and store ,save that he saw the same in hell before2 ,to see the broken nuns1 with new shorn heads ,in a blind cloister toss their idle heads4 ,although ,bishop ,hall wrote learnedly and voluminously on theological subjects1 this light medley is now more esteemed than his graver works4 ,he claimed upon the strength of it to be the earliest ,english satirist1 and perhaps none of our writings of this kind had as yet been of equal importance4 ,the work was one of those condemned to the flames by ,whitgift and ,bancroft4 ,fuller was born in ,northamptonshire1 in #afjh4 ,he became a distinguished man at ,cambridge1 where he obtained a fellowship at ,sidney ,sussex ,college4 ,he was also an eminent preacher in ,london1 and a prebendary of ,salisbury4 ,in the ,civil ,war1 being a stanch ,royalist1 he was driven from place to place1 and held at one time the interesting post of ,infant ,lady's ,chaplain to the ,princess ,henrietta4 ,in his ,worthies of ,england1 ,fuller not only enumerates the eminent men for which each country is distinguished1 but gives an account of its products and proverbs4 ,a ,proverb is much matter decocted into few words4 ,six essentials are wanting to it--that it be short1 plain1 common1 figurative1 ancient1 true4 ,the most ordinary subject is enlivened by his learned and humorous mind4 ,thus1 in ,bedfordshire1 under the head of ,larks1 he tells us1 ,the most and best of these are caught and well-dressed about ,dunstable in this shire4 ,a harmless bird while living1 not trespassing on grain1 and wholesome when dead1 then filling the stomach with meat1 as formerly the ear with music4 ,in winter they fly in flocks1 probably the reason why ,alauda signifieth in ,latin both a lark and a legion of soldiers2 except any will say a legion is so called because helmeted on their heads and crested like a lark1 therefore also called in ,latin ,galerita4 ,if men would imitate the early rising of this bird1 it would conduce much unto their healthfulness4 ,fuller abounds with figures and illustrations in which learning and humour are excellently intermingled4 ,they that marry where they do not love1 will love where they do not marry4 ,he knows little1 who will tell his wife all he knows4 ,speaking of children1 he says that a man complained that never father had so undutiful a child as he4 ,yes1 said the son1 my grandfather had4 ,alluding to servants1 and saying that the ,emperor ,charles the ,fifth being caught in a tempest had many horses thrown overboard to save the lives of the slaves--which were not of so great market-value--he asks1 ,are there not many that in such a case had rather save ,jack the horse than ,jockey the keeper8 ,of widows' evil speaking he observes1 ,foolish is their project who1 by raking up bad savours against their former husbands1 think thereby to perfume their bed for a second marriage4 ,of celibacy he says1 ,if ,christians be forced to run races for their lives1 the unmarried have the advantage of being lighter by many ounces6 ,speaking of the ,controversial ,divine1 he says1 ,what8 make the ,muses1 yea the ,graces scolds8 ,such purulent spittle argues exulcerated lungs4 ,why should there be so much railing about the body of ,christ1 when there was none about the body of ,moses in the act kept betwixt the devil and ,michael1 the ,archangel8 ,on schoolmasters he wrote1 ,that schoolmaster deserves to be beaten himself1 who beats ,nature in a boy for a fault4 ,and ,i question whether all the whipping in the world can make their parts1 that are naturally sluggish1 rise one minute before the hour ,nature hath appointed4 ,the following are some good sayings that have been selected from his works by an eminent humorist3-- ,virtue in a short person4 ,his soul had but a short diocese to visit1 and therefore might the better attend the effectual informing thereof4 ,intellect in a very tall one4 ,oft times such1 who are built four storeys high1 are observed to have little in their cock-loft4 ,mr4 ,perkins1 the ,divine4 ,he would pronounce the word ,damn with such an emphasis1 as left a doleful echo in his auditor's ears a good while after4 ,memory4 ,philosophers place it in the rear of the head2 and it seems the mine of memory lies there1 because men there naturally dig for it1 scratching it when they are at a loss4 ,to this we may add something from his ,holy ,state1--a pleasant and profitable work1 in which ,fuller is happy in making his humour subserve the best ends3--,of ,the ,good ,wife1 he says1 ,she never crosseth her husband in the spring-tide of his anger1 but stays till it be ebbing-water4 ,and then mildly she argues the matter1 not so much to condemn him as to acquit herself4 ,surely men1 contrary to iron1 are worst to be wrought upon when they are hot1 and are far more tractable in cold blood4 ,it is an observation of seamen1 ',that if a single meteor or fire-ball falls on their mast1 it portends ill-luck2 but if two come together 7which they count ,castor and ,pollux7 they presage good success4' ,but sure in a family it bodeth most bad when two fire balls 7husband's and wife's anger7 both come together4 ,in speaking of good parents1 he says1 ,a father that whipt his son for swearing1 and swore at him while he whipt him1 did more harm by his example than good by his correction4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,shakespeare--,ben ,jonson--,beaumont and ,fletcher--,the ,wise ,men of ,gotham4 ,greene1 in his admonition to his brother sinners of the stage1 tells them that there is an vpstart crow beautified with our feathers an absolute ,johannes factotum1 in his own conceyt the onely ,shake-scene in a countrey1 and in truth these olden writers are principally interesting as having laid the foundations upon which ,shakespeare built some of his earliest plays4 ,the genius of our great dramatist was essentially poetic1 and some of his plays1 which we now call comedies1 were originally entitled histories4 ,how seldom do we hear any of his humorous passages quoted1 or find them reckoned among our household words6 ,from some of his observations we might think he was altogether averse from jocosity4 ,henry ,v4 says ,how ill gray hairs become a fool--a jester6 ,in ,much ado about ,nothing1 ,beatrice speaks as follows-- ,why1 he is the ,prince's jester2 a very dull fool1 only his gift is in devising unprofitable slanders2 none but libertines delight in him1 and the commendation is not in his wit1 but in his villany1 for he both pleases men and angers them1 and then they laugh at him and beat him4 ,but notwithstanding all this condemnation ,beatrice is herself the liveliest character in ,shakespeare1 and her lady's wit is some of the best he shows-- ,beatrice4 ,for hear me1 ,hero2 wooing1 wedding1 and repenting is as a ,scotch jig1 a measure and a cinque-pace2 the first suit is hot and hasty1 like a ,scotch jig1 and full as fantastical2 the wedding mannerly-modest1 as a measure full of state and ancientry2 and then comes repentance1 and with his bad legs1 falls into the cinque-pace faster and faster1 till he sinks into his grave4 ,leonato4 ,cousin1 you apprehend shrewdly4 ,beat4 ,i have a good eye1 uncle2 ,i can see a church1 by daylight4 ,in the ,merchant of ,venice ,lorenzo thus answers ,launcelot-- ,how every fool can play upon the word4 ,i think the best grace of wit will shortly turn into silence1 and discourse grow commendable in none but parrots4 ,again ,lorenzo-- ,oh1 dear discretion1 how his words are suited1 ,the fool hath planted in his memory ,an army of good words3 ,and ,i do know ,a many fools that stand in better place ,garnished like him1 that for a tricksie word ,defie the matter4 ,comedians from ,aristophanes downwards have been wont to complain in one place of that which they adopt in another--their object not being to adopt fixed principles so much as to show the varying shades of human thought4 ,shakespeare required something light to bring his deep reflections into bolder relief1 and therefore frequently had recourse to humour4 ,we are not surprised that he had no very high estimate of it1 when we find him so much dependant upon the alms-basket of words4 ,there is so much of this in his plays1 that it is almost superfluous to quote1 but a few instances may be taken at random4 ,falstaff to ,poins-- ,you are straight enough in the shoulders2 you care not who sees your back--call you that backing your friends8 ,a plague upon such backing2 give me a man who will face me4 ,falstaff to ,prince ,henry4 ,act ,i4 ,scene ,,ii4 ,i prythee1 sweet wag1 when thou art king1 as ,god save thy grace--majesty1 ,i should say1 for grace thou wilt have none-- ,p4 ,hen4 ,what6 none8 ,fal4 ,no1 by my troth2 not so much as will serve to be prologue to an egg and butter4 ,in ,love's ,labour ,lost4 ,act ,i4 ,scene ,,ii4 ,armado4 ,comfort me1 boy4 ,what great men have been in love8 ,inoth4 ,hercules1 master4 ,arm4 ,most sweet ,hercules6 ,more authority1 dear boy1 name more2 and1 sweet my child1 let them be men of good repute and carriage4 ,inoth4 ,samson1 master2 he was a man of good carriage1 for he raised the town gates on his back like a porter1 and he was in love4 ,in the musicians scene1 in ,romeo and ,juliet1 ,act ,,iv4 ,scene ,v4 we find-- ,musician4 ,pray you put up your dagger1 and put out your wit4 ,peter4 ,then have at you with my wit4 ,i will dry beat you with my iron wit1 and put up my iron dagger4 ,answer me like3 ,when griping grief the heart doth wound1 ,and doleful dumps the mind oppress1 ,then music with her silver sound-- ,why silver sound8 ,why music with her silver sound8 ,what say you1 ,simon ,catling8 ,first ,mins4 ,marry1 ,sir1 because silver hath a sweet sound4 ,peter4 ,pretty4 ,what say you1 ,hugh ,rebeck8 ,sec4 ,mins4 ,i say silver sound1 because musicians sound for silver4 ,peter4 ,pretty1 too6 ,what say you1 ,james ,soundpost8 ,third ,mins4 ,faith6 ,i know not what to say4 ,peter4 ,o6 ,i cry for mercy2 you are the singer2 ,i will say for you4 ,it is music with her silver sound1 because musicians have no gold for sounding4 ,we may here observe that the puns of ,shakespeare are never of the atrocious class2 there is always something to back them up1 and give them a shadow of probability4 ,the tournaments of humour which he is fond of introducing1 although good in effect upon the stage1 are not favourable for any keen wit4 ,such conflicts must be kept up by artifice1 cannot flow from natural suggestion1 and degenerate into a mere splintering of words4 ,one cause of the absence of salt in his writings is that he was not of a censorious or cynical spirit2 another was that his turn of mind was rather sentimental than gay4 ,shakespeare evidently knew there might be humour among men of attainments1 for he writes1-- ,none are so surely caught1 when they are catched1 ,as wit turned fool2 folly is wisdom hatched1 ,hath wisdom's warrant and the help of school ,and wits' own grace to grace a learned fool4 ,but with him1 those who indulge in it are clowns1 simpletons1 and profligates4 ,few of his grand characters are witty4 ,perhaps he was conscious of the great difficulty there would be in finding suitable sayings for them4 ,indelicacy and hostility would have to be alike avoided1 and thus when the sage ,gonzalo is to be amusing1 he sketches a ,utopian state of things1 which he would introduce were he ,king of the island on which they are cast4 ,he would surpass the golden age4 ,sebastian and ,antonio laugh at him1 and cry ,god save the ,king1 ,alonzo replies ,prythee1 no more1 thou dost talk nothing 7i4e4 nonsense7 to me4 ,gonzalo replies that he did so purposely to minister occasion to those gentlemen1 who are of such sensible and nimble lungs that they always use to laugh at nothing4 ,they retort that they were not laughing at his humour1 but at himself4 ,who1 he replies1 in this merry fooling am nothing to you meaning1 apparently1 that he is acting the fool intentionally and out of his real character4 ,hamlet1 when his mind is distraught1 like sweet bells jangled1 is allowed to indulge in a little punning1 and ,biron is humorous1 for which he is reproached by ,rosalind1 who tells him that he is one ,whose influence is begot of that loose grace ,which shallow laughing hearers give to fools2 that only silly thoughtless people admire wit1 and that ,a jest's prosperity lies in the ear ,of him that hears it--never in the tongue ,of him that makes it4 ,here the variable character of humour is recognised1 but it is not to be supposed that ,rosalind's arguments were intended to be strictly correct4 ,very much must depend upon the form in which a jest is produced1 and without the tongue of the utterer1 it cannot exist though the sympathy of the listener is required for its appreciation4 ,in ,shakespeare's plays1 and in most comedies we find humour in the representation of ludicrous characters4 ,words1 which would be dull enough in ordinary cases1 become highly amusing when coming from men of peculiar views4 ,sometimes people are represented as perpetually riding their hobby1 or harping on one favourite subject4 ,we have an instance of this in ,holophernes and his pedantry2 and the conversation between the two gravediggers in ,hamlet1 is largely indebted for its relish to the contrast between the language of the men and their occupation4 ,in the same way1 the ignorance and misrepresentations of rustics in play acting1 which ,shakespeare had probably often observed in the provinces--gives zest to the exaggerated caricature in ,midsummer ,night's ,dream4-- ,bottom4 ,there are things in this comedy of ,pyramus and ,thisbe that will never please4 ,first1 ,pyramus must draw a sword to kill himself1 which ladies cannot abide4 ,how answer you that8 ,snout4 ,by'r lakin a parlous fear4 ,starveling4 ,i believe we must leave the killing out1 when all is done4 ,bottom4 ,not a whit4 ,i have a device to make all well4 ,write me a prologue1 and let the prologue seem to say1 we will not do harm with our swords1 and that ,pyramus is not killed indeed2 and for the more better assurance1 tell them that ,i1 ,pyramus1 am not ,pyramus1 but ,bottom the weaver2 this will put them out of fear4 99 99 99 99 99 ,snout4 ,will not the ladies be afeard of the lion8 ,sta4 ,i fear it1 ,i promise you4 ,bottom4 ,masters1 you ought to consider with yourselves to bring in--,god shield us6 a lion among ladies is a most dreadful thing2 for there is not a more fearful wildfowl than your lion living1 and we ought to look to it4 ,snout4 ,therefore another prologue must tell1 he is not a lion4 ,bottom4 ,nay1 you must name his name1 and half his face must be seen through the lion's neck2 and he must himself speak through1 saying thus1 or to the same effect--,ladies1 or ,fair ladies1 ,i would wish you1 or ,i would request you1 or ,i would entreat you not to fear1 nor to tremble3 my life for yours4 ,if you think ,i come hither as a lion1 it were pity of my life3 no1 ,i am no such thing4 ,i am a man as other men are1 and there then let him name his name and tell them plainly he is ,snug the joiner4 ,when the play comes on for performance and ,snug the joiner roars like any sucking dove1 the ,duke ,theseus remarks-- ,a very gentle beast1 and of a good conscience4 ,demetrius4 ,the very best as a beast1 my lord1 that e'er ,i saw4 ,lysander4 ,this lion is a very fox for his valour4 ,theseus4 ,true1 and a goose for his discretion4 ,demetrius4 ,not so1 my lord1 for his valour cannot carry his discretion1 and the fox carries the goose4 ,theseus4 ,his discretion1 ,i am sure1 cannot carry his valour1 for the goose carries not the fox4 ,the enigmas and logical quibbles1 which he occasionally intermingles with his verbal conceits1 remind us of the old philosophic paradoxes4 ,sometimes a riddle is attempted2 thus1 he asks--,what was a month old at ,cain's birth1 that's not five weeks old now8 ,answer--,the ,moon4 ,taken generally1 there is such a remarkable uniformity in ,shakespeare's humour as must acquit him of all charge of plagiarism in this respect1 and may go some way towards proving the general originality of his plays4 ,certainly1 verbal conceits were then in high favour1 and the character of ,shakespeare's humour is only one of many proofs that pleasantry had not at this time reached its highest excellence4 ,to ,shakespeare's kindness and discretion ,ben ,jonson owed his first introduction to dramatic fame4 ,the young poet had presented ,every ,man in his ,humour1 to one of the leading players of the company to which ,shakespeare belonged1 and the comedian upon reading it1 determined to refuse it4 ,jonson's fate was trembling in the balance2 he was a struggling man1 and1 had he been unsuccessful1 might have eventually1 returned to his bricklayer's work1 but he was destined to be raised up for his own benefit and that of others4 ,shakespeare was present when his play was about to be rejected1 asked to be allowed to look over it1 and1 at once recognising the poet's talent1 recommended it to his companions4 ,from that moment ,jonson's career was secured4 ,but he was never destined to acquire the lasting fame of ,shakespeare4 ,with him the stream of ,comedy was losing its deep and strong reflections1 and beginning to flow in a swifter and shallower current1 meandering through labyrinths of court and city life4 ,perhaps1 also1 his large amount of humorous illustration1 which must have been mostly ephemeral1 tended to cut short his fame4 ,the best of it is interwoven with his several designs and plots1 as where1 in ,the ,alchemist1 a gentleman leaves his house in town1 and his housekeeper fills it with fortune-tellers vagabonds1 who carry on their trade there2 and in ,the ,fox a rich and childless man is courted by his friends1 from whom he obtains presents under the pretence that he will leave them his property4 ,in this last play a parasite is introduced1 and in general these plays abound with classical allusions1 sometimes very incongruously intermixed with modern concerns4 ,an indiscriminating admiration of ancient literature and art was as much one of the features of the day1 as was its crude humour--a cleverness joined to folly and attributed to boobies and simpletons4 ,much of this jocosity scarcely deserves the name of humour1 and we may remark that in ,jonson's time it did not receive it4 ,with him humour is thus defined-- ,to be a quality of air or water1 ,and in itself holds these two properties1 ,moisture and fluxure4444 ,now thus far ,it may by metaphor apply itself ,unto the general disposition3 ,as when some one peculiar quality ,doth so possess a man1 that it doth draw ,all his affects1 his spirits1 and his power4 ,the social peculiarities of the day are frequently alluded to by ,jonson4 ,in ,every ,man out of his own ,humour1 we have complete directions for the conduct of a gentleman of the time4 ,smoking1 then lately introduced1 is especially mentioned as one of the necessities of foppery4 ,cob1 a water-bearer says1 ,ods me1 ,i marle what pleasure or felicity they have in taking this roguish tobacco4 ,it's good for nothing but to choke a man1 and fill him full of smoke and embers3 there were four died out of one house last week with taking of it1 and two more the bell went for yesternight2 one of them they say will never 'scape it3 he cast up a bushel of soot yesterday4 ,in ,cynthia's ,revels a courtier is thus described-- ,he walks most commonly with a clove or toothpick in his mouth3 he is the very mint of compliment1 all his behaviours are pointed3 his face is another volume of essays1 and his beard is ,aristarchus4 ,he speaks all cream skimmed1 and more affected than a dozen waiting women4 ,the other gallant is his zany1 and doth most of these tricks after him1 sweats to imitate him in everything to a hair1 except his beard1 which is not yet extant4 ,but the stamp of the age is especially prominent in the constant recurrence of verbal conceits4 ,jonson was fond of coining words1 and of using such as are long and little known4 ,he evidently found this a successful kind of humour1 and may have partly imitated ,plautus-- ,lady ,politick ,would-be1 to ,volpone1 supposed sick-- ,seed pearl were good now1 boiled with syrup of apples1 ,tincture of gold1 and coral1 citron pills1 ,your elicampane root1 myrobalanes-- ,volpone 7tired with her talk7 ,ah me6 ,i have ta'en a grasshopper by the wing4 ,in ,the ,alchemist ,subtle says to ,face1 ,sirrah my varlet1 stand you forth and speak to him ,like a philosopher3 answer in the language1 ,name the vexations and the martyrizations ,of metals in the work4 ,face4 ,sir1 putrefaction1 ,solution1 ablution1 sublimation1 ,cohabation1 calcination1 ceration and ,fixation4 ,from ,every ,man out of his ,humour4 ,macilente4 ,pork6 heart6 what dost thou with such a greasy dish8 ,i think thou dost varnish thy face with the fat on't1 it looks so like a glue-pot4 ,carlo4 ,true1 my raw-boned rogue1 and if thou wouldst farce thy lean ribs with it too1 they would not like rugged laths1 rub out so many doublets as they do2 but thou knowest not a good dish thou4 ,no marvel though1 that saucy stubborn generation1 the ,jews1 were forbidden it1 for what would they have done1 well pampered with fat pork1 that durst murmur at their ,maker out of garlick and onions8 ',slight6 fed with it--the strummel-patched1 goggle-eyed1 grumbledones would have gigantomachized4-- ,the following extracts will give a slight idea of ,ben ,jonson's varied talent4 ,at the conclusion of a play directed against plagiarists and libellers1 he sums up-- ,blush1 folly1 blush6 here's none that fears ,the wagging of an ass's ears1 ,although a wolfish case he wears4 ,detraction is but baseness varlet ,and apes are apes1 though clothed in scarlet4 ,from ,the ,alchemist4 ,tribulation4 ,what makes the devil so devilish1 ,i would ask you4 ,sathan our common enemy1 but his being ,perpetually about the fire1 and boiling ,brimstone and arsenic8444 ,fastidious4 ,how like you her wit4 ,macilente4 ,her ingenuity is excellent1 ,sir4 ,fast4 ,you see the subject of her sweet fingers there 7the viol7 oh1 she tickles it so that--she makes it laugh most divinely--,i'll tell you a good jest just now1 and yourself shall say it's a good one4 ,i have wished myself to be that instrument1 ,i think a thousand times1 and not so few by heaven4 ,the two following are from ,bartholomew ,fair4 ,littlewit4 ,i envy no man my delicates1 ,sir4 ,winwife4 ,alas1 you have the garden where they grow still4 ,a wife here with a strawberry breath1 cherry lips1 apricot cheeks1 and a soft velvet head like a melicotton4 ,lit4 ,good i' faith6 now dulness upon us1 that ,i had not that before him1 that ,i should not light on't as well as he6 ,velvet head6444 ,knockem4 ,sir1 ,i will take your counsel1 and cut my hair1 and leave vapours4 ,i see that tobacco and bottle ale1 and pig and whit1 and very ,ursula herself is all vanity4 ,busy4 ,only pig was not comprehended in my admonition--the rest were3 for long hair1 it is an ensign of pride1 a banner3 and the world is full of those banners--very full of banners4 ,and bottle ale is a drink of ,satan's1 a diet-drink of ,satan's devised to puff us up1 and make us swell in this latter age of vanity2 as the smoke of tobacco to keep us in mist and error3 but the fleshly woman1 which you call ,ursula1 is above all to be avoided1 having the marks upon her of the three enemies of man--the world1 as being in the ,fair1 the ,devil1 as being in the fire2#ec and the flesh as being herself4 ,ben ,jonson has a strange1 and ,i believe original conceit of introducing persons to explain their plays1 and make remarks on the characters4 ,sometimes many interruptions of this kind occur in the course of a drama1 affording variety and amusement to the audience1 or the reader4 ,in ,midsummer's ,night's ,dream we have the insertion of a play within a play4 ,the following taken from ,jonson's epigrams have fine complexity1 and show a certain tinge of humour4 ,,the ,,hour ,,glass4 ,consider this small dust here in the glass1 ,by atoms moved3 ,could you believe that this the body was ,of one that loved2 ,and in his mistress' flame1 playing like a fly1 ,was turned to cinders by her eye3 ,yes2 and in death as like unblest1 ,to have't exprest1 ,ev'n ashes of lovers find no rest4 ,,my ,,picture4--,,left ,,in ,,scotland4 ,i now think ,love is rather deaf than blind1 ,for else it could not be ,that she1 ,whom ,i adore so much1 should so slight me1 ,and cast my suit behind2 ,i'm sure my language to her was as sweet1 ,and every close did meet ,in sentence of as subtle feet1 ,as hath the youngest1 he1 ,that sits in shadow of ,apollo's tree4 ,oh6 but my conscious fears ,that fly my thoughts between ,tell me that she hath seen ,my hundreds of gray hairs1 ,told seven and forty years1 ,read so much waste1 as she cannot embrace ,my mountain belly1 and my rocky face1 ,and all these through her eyes have stopt her ears4 ,although fond of indulging in strong language1 ,jonson is scarcely ever guilty of any really coarse allusion--he expresses his aversion from anything of the kind1 and this in the age in which he lived1 argued great refinement of feeling4 ,in ,fletcher we mark a progress in humour4 ,ben ,jonson was so personal that he made enemies1 and was suspected of attacking ,inigo ,jones and others1 but ,fletcher was general in his references1 and merely ridiculed the manners of the age4 ,the classic element disappears1 and quibbling and playing with words--so fashionable in ,shakespeare's time--is not found in this author1 whose humour has more point1 and generally more sarcasm1 but of a refined character4 ,the name of ,fletcher is invariably connected with ,beaumont4 ,the two young men lived together in the same house1 and it is even said wore each other's clothes4 ,but ,beaumont only lived to be twenty-nine1 and has left little in comparison with the voluminous works of ,fletcher4 ,they were both born in a good position1 and1 mingling in the fashionable society of their day1 filled their pages with love intrigues1 in colours not then offensive4 ,fletcher never married1 and those who look for contrasts between fathers and children may learn that his father1 who was ,bishop of ,london1 was suspended by ,elizabeth for taking a second wife4 ,our author is said to have been himself a comedy1 and his death1 if we can believe the story1 was consistent with his gay life1 for we are told that1 through waiting in ,london for a new suit of clothes1 he died of cholera1 which was raging there at the time4 ,here is a specimen of his sketches--the character of a rich usurer-- ,sanchio4 ,thou'art very brave4 ,cacafogo4 ,i've reason2 ,i have money4 ,san4 ,is money reason8 ,cac4 ,yes1 and rhyme too1 captain4 ,if you've no money you're an ass4 ,san4 ,i thank you4 ,cac4 ,you've manners6 ever thank him that has money4 ,san4 ,wilt thou lend me any8 ,cac4 ,not a farthing1 captain2 captains are casual things4 ,san4 ,why1 so are all men3 ,thou shalt have my bond4 ,cac4 ,nor bonds1 nor fetters1 captain3 ,my money is my own2 ,i make no doubt on't4 ,juan4 ,what dost thou do with it8 ,cac4 ,put it to pious uses-- ,buy wine-- ,juan4 ,are you for the wars1 ,sir8 ,cac4 ,i am not poor enough to be a soldier1 ,nor have ,i faith enough to ward a bullet2 ,this is no living for a trench1 ,i take it4 ,juan4 ,you have said wisely4 ,cac4 ,had you but money ,you'd swear it1 colonel4 ,i'd rather drill at home ,a hundred thousand crowns1 and with more honour1 ,than exercise ten thousand fools with nothing2 ,a wise man safely feeds1 fools cut their fingers4 ,the prurient coarseness of ,fletcher is due to the peculiar licentiousness of the period4 ,in his plays1 although kissing is sometimes provocative of jealousy1 it is generally regarded1 even by persons of rank1 as of less importance than it is now by boys and girls1 who play ,kiss in the ring4 ,in ,rule a wife and have a wife ,margarita says to the ,duke ,i may kiss a stranger1 ,for you must be so now4 ,this lady is desirous of obtaining a very easy husband1 who will let her do whatever she likes4 ,a friend says she has found one for her in ,leon1 who is forthwith introduced4 ,margarita puts some questions to him to ascertain his docility1 and then says-- ,let me try your kisses-- ,how the fool shakes6--,i will not eat you1 ,sir4 ,beshrew my heart1 he kisses wondrous manly6 ,you must not look to be my master1 ,sir1 ,nor talk i' th' house as though you wore the breeches1 ,no1 nor command in anything4 4 4 ,you must not be saucy1 ,no1 nor at any time familiar with me2 ,scarce know me when ,i call not4 ,after trying and approving his kisses again1 she tells him that he is not to start or be offended if he sees her kissing anyone else4 ,he is to keep in the cellar1 when not wanted4 ,the proposed husband promises to be most obedient and accommodating in everything1 but as soon as he is accepted and the ceremony performed1 he appears in a totally different character4 ,he informs his wife1 in whose magnificent house he goes to live-- ,you've nothing to do here1 ,madam1 ,but as a servant to sweep clean the lodgings1 ,and at my farther will to do me service4 ,margarita 7to her servants47 ,get me my coach6 ,leon4 ,let me see who dare get it ,till ,i command2 ,i'll make him draw your coach ,and eat your couch1 7which will be hard duty74 ,on ,cacafogo making some slighting remark1 this gentle individual exclaims-- ,peace6 dirt and dunghill6 ,i will not lose mine anger on a rascal2 ,provoke me more1--,i will beat thy blown body ,till thou rebound'st again like a tennis-ball4 ,in ,monsieur ,thomas we have the following jovial passage-- ,francisco4 ,what hast thou there8 a julep8 ,hylas4 ,he must not touch it2 ',tis present death4 ,thomas4 ,you are an ass1 a twirepipe1 ,a ,jeffery ,john ,bo-peep6 ,thou minister8 ,thou mend a left-handed pack-saddle8 ,out6 puppy6 ,my ,friend1 ,frank1 but a very foolish fellow4 ,dost thou see that bottle8 view it well4 ,fran4 ,i do1 ,tom4 ,tho4 ,there be as many lives in it as a cat carries2 ',tis everlasting liquor4 ,fran4 ,what8 ,tho4 ,old sack1 boy4 ,old reverend sack2 which for ought that ,i can read yet ,was the philosopher's stone the wise ,king ,ptolomus ,did all his wonders by4 ,fran4 ,i see no harm1 ,tom4 ,drink with a moderation4 ,tho4 ,drink with sugar1 ,which ,i have ready here1 and here a glass1 boy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,hang up your juleps1 and your ,portugal possets1 ,your barley broths and sorrel soups2 they are mangy ,and breed the scratches only3 ,give me sack6 ,the devil now becomes a constant resource for humour4 ,in ,the ,chances ,antonio has lost his jewels4 ,his servant suggests that the thieves have taken towards the ports4 ,ant4 ,get me a conjurer1 ,one that can raise a water-devil4 ,i'll port 'em4 ,play at duck and drake with my money8 ,take heed1 fiddler1 ,i'll dance ye by this hand3 your fiddlestick ,i'll grease of a new fashion1 for presuming ,to meddle with my de-gambos6 get me a conjurer1 ,inquire me out a man that lets out devils4 ,beaumont and ,fletcher were great conversationalists1 their racy raillery is said to have been as good as their plays4 ,they were members of the celebrated ,mermaid ,club in ,fleet ,street1 a centre where the wits of the day sharpened their humour in friendly conflict4 ,in his epistle to ,ben ,jonson1 ,beaumont writes-- ,what things have we seen ,done at the ',mermaid6' heard words that have been ,so nimble and so full of subtle flame1 ,as if that every one from whom they came ,had meant to put his whole wit in a jest1 ,and had resolved to live a fool the rest ,of his dull life4 ,here it was that ,shakespeare and ,jonson often contended1 the former like a light ,english man-of-war the latter like a high-built ,spanish galleon4 ,to some portion of the seventeenth century1 we must attribute those curious stories called ,the ,merry tales of the ,wise ,men of ,gotham although by some they have been attributed to ,andrew ,gotham1 a physician of ,henry ,,viii4 ,they are said to have been suggested by a circumstance which occurred in the time of ,king ,john4 ,he intended to pass through ,gotham1 a village in ,northamptonshire1 but the inhabitants placed some difficulties in his way4 ,on his expressing his determination to carry out his project1 and sending officers to make inquiries about the opposition offered1 the inhabitants were seized with a panic and pretended to have lost their senses4 ,this was the tradition upon which1 in after-times1 these tales were founded1 and being unobjectionable they are well adapted for the nursery1 but being mere exercises of ingenuity they afford but very slight pleasure to older minds4 ,although aimless1 there is something clever in them4 ,the ,wise ,men determine to hedge round a cuckoo to keep it in so that it should sing all the year4 ,the bird seeing the hedge flies away4 ,a vengeance on her1 say the ,wise ,men1 we made not the hedge high enough4 ,there is the story of the young man1 whose mother told him to throw sheep's eyes at his sweetheart1 and who1 literally1 performed her bidding4 ,one ,good ,friday the ,men of ,gotham consulted what to do with their red herrings1 and other salt fish1 and agreed to cart them into a pond that the number might increase next year4 ,at the beginning of the next summer they drag the pond1 and only find a great eel4 ,a mischief on him1 they say1 he hath eaten up our fish4 ,some propose to chop him in pieces1 but the rest think it would be best to drown him1 so they throw him into another pond4 ,twelve men of ,gotham go to fish1 and some stand on dry land1 and some in the water4 ,and one says ,we have ventured wonderfully in wading2 ,i pray that none of us come home drowned4 ,so they begin to count1 and as each omits himself he can only count eleven1 and so they go back to the water1 and make great lamentation4 ,a courtier1 who meets them1 convinces them of their mistake by laying his whip on each of them1 who calls out in turn ,here's one1 until twelve are counted4 ,the minister of ,gotham preaches that men should not drink in ,lent4 ,a man1 who comes for absolution1 and confesses to having been drunk in ,lent1 replies that fish should swim4 ,yes1 returns the priest1 but in water4 ,i cannot enjoin your prayer1 he adds1 for you cannot say your ,paternoster4 ,it is folly to make you fast because you never get meat4 ,labour hard1 and get a dinner on ,sunday1 and ,i will come and dine with you4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,jesters--,court of ,queen ,elizabeth--,james ,i4--,the ,counterblasts to ,tobacco--,puritans--,charles ,,ii4--,rochester--,buckingham--,dryden- -,butler4 ,professed fools seem to have been highly appreciated in the time of ,shakespeare4 ,they do not correspond to our modern idea of a fool1 because there was intention in their actions1 and yet we could not have considered them to be really sensible men4 ,nor had they great talent1 their gifts being generally lower than those of our professed wits4 ,addison observes that1 when a man of wit makes us laugh1 it is by betraying some oddness or infirmity in his own character1 and at the present day1 not only do those who indulge much in humour often say things approaching nonsense1 and make themselves in other ways ridiculous1 but their object1 being entirely idle diversion and pleasantry1 appears foolish and puerile4 ,those who cultivate humour are not generally to be complimented on their success1 and a popular writer has thus classified fools--,first1 the ordinary fool2 secondly the fool who is one1 and does not know it2 thirdly1 the fool who is not satisfied with being one in reality1 but undertakes in addition to play the fool4 ,thus1 to a certain extent we may always regard a professed wit as a silly fellow1 but still at the present day the acts or sayings of an absolute idiot or lunatic1 would be depressing and offensive1 and could afford little amusement in any way except accidentally4#ed ,they would resemble the incongruities in dreams which although strange are not generally laughable4 ,and if we are not amused with a fool1 neither are we with a man who imitates him1 although ,cicero says that humour consists in a man who is not a fool1 speaking as though he were one4 ,some mistake supposed to be made by an ordinary man is what amuses us1 and although humorous sayings originated in an imitation of ludicrous things1 and ,quintilian's observation sometimes holds good that the same things1 which if they drop from us unintentionally are foolish1 if we imitate them are humorous2 still humour is not confined to this2 there is generally no such imitation1 and the witty sayings of the present day are seldom representations of such things as anyone would utter in earnest1 whether he were a fool or not4 ,we must not confuse folly and wit1 though they may exist in the same person and in close relationship4 ,the latter requires intelligence and intention4 ,if a humorous man ever purposely enacts the dullard1 the impersonation is always modified--he is like ,snug1 the joiner1 who does not fright the ladies4 ,there is always some peculiar point in his blunders2 if he acted the fool to the life we should not laugh with him4 ,we always see something clever and admirable in him1 and to be successful in this way1 a man should possess considerable mental gifts1 and be able to gauge the feelings of others4 ,still we can hardly assent to the proposition that it takes a wise man to make a fool4 ,a man may be witty without having any constructive power of mind4 ,it is easier to find fault than to be faultless1 to see a blemish than to produce what is perfect--a pilot may point out rocks1 but not be able to steer a safe course4 ,at the time of which we are now speaking1 the double character of the court fool corresponded with that early and inferior humour which was always on the verge of the ludicrous4 ,the connection thus established1 long remained and led to witty observations being often spoken of as foolerie4 ,upon this conceit or confusion ,shakespeare founded the speech of ,jaques in ,as you like it4 ,act ,,ii4 ,scene ,,iv4 ,jaques4 ,a fool6 a fool6--,i met a fool i' the forest1 ,a motley fool3--a miserable fool6-- ,as ,i do live by food1 ,i met a fool3 ,who laid him down1 and basked him in the sun1 ,and railed on ,lady ,fortune in good terms4 ,in good set terms--and yet a motley fool4 ,good morrow1 fool1 quoth ,i4 ,no1 ,sir1 quoth he1 ,call me not fool till heaven hath sent me fortune4 ,and then he drew a dial from his poke1 ,and looking on it with lack lustre eye1 ,says very wisely1 ,it is ten o'clock2 ,thus we may see1 quoth he1 how the world wags2 ',tis but an hour ago since it was nine1 ,and after one hour more t'will be eleven1 ,and so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe1 ,and then from hour to hour we rot and rot1 ,and thereby hangs a tale4 ,there is nothing very laughable in the above reflections1 but they contain a deep satire1 and afford a beautiful example of ,shakespearian complexity4 ,from the mixture of wisdom and folly compounded in the fool of the day--who was then1 it must be remembered1 the monitor of the great--it is here implied that in his awkward way he sometimes arrived at truth better than the sage4 ,as supremely wise men are often regarded as fools1 so what seems folly may be the highest wisdom--motley's your only wear4 ,the fool is generally represented in ,shakespeare as saying things which have a certain wit and shrewdness4 ,clown4 ,god bless thee1 lady4 ,olivia4 ,take the fool away4 ,clo4 ,do you not hear1 fellows8 ,take away the lady4 99 99 99 99 99 ,good ,madonna1 why mournest thou8 ,oli4 ,good fool1 for my brother's death4 ,clo4 ,i think his soul is in hell1 ,madonna4 ,oli4 ,i know his soul is in heaven1 fool4 ,clo4 ,the more fool1 ,madonna1 to mourn for your brother's soul being in heaven4 ,take away the fool1 gentlemen4 ,in ,king ,lear4 ,fool4 ,dost thou know the difference1 my boy1 between a bitter fool and a sweet one8 ,lear4 ,no1 lad1 teach me4 ,fool4 ,that lord that counselled thee ,to give away thy land1 ,come place him here by me-- ,do thou for him stand3 ,the sweet and bitter fool ,will presently appear1 ,the one in motley here1 ,the other found out there4 ,lear4 ,dost thou call me fool1 boy8 ,fool4 ,all thy other titles thou hast given away that thou wast born with4 ,kent4 ,this is not altogether a fool1 my lord4 ,the fact was that wit was now gradually improving1 and was being wielded by so called fools in such a way that it could not be confounded with fatuity4 ,the time was approaching when the humour manufactured by professed jesters would not be appreciated4 ,something higher and keener1 such as ,shakespeare has here shadowed forth would be required4 ,this was not reached in ,ben ,jonson's time1 but fools and their artifices are by him discarded for something more natural1 for country bumpkins and servants1 ludicrous in their stupidity1 knavery and drunkenness4 ,as civilization advanced1 jugglers and clowns were relegated to country fairs4 ,henry the ,eighth1 at the commencement of his reign was a great patron of men of wit and learning1 and probably the humour of ,more1 as well as his virtue1 recommended him to the ,king4 ,we read that at ,cardinal ,morton's entertainments of his ,christmas company1 the future ,chancellor1 then a boy1 would often mount the stage and extemporize with so much wit and talent as to surpass all the professional players4 ,during his university course1 and shortly afterwards1 he wrote many neat ,latin epigrams of which the two following rough translations will give some idea-- ,a thief about to be accused1 implored ,advice1 and sent his counsel many a pound1 ,the counsel1 when o'er mighty tomes he'd pored1 ,replied1 ',if you'd escape1 you must abscond4' ,once in the loving cup1 a guest saw flies1 ,removed them1 drank1 and then put back a few4 ,and1 being questioned1 sagely thus replies1 ',i like them not--but cannot speak for you4' ,he was to the last fond of pleasantry and kept a jester4 ,the daughter of ,henry the ,eighth and ,anne ,boleyn#ee could scarcely have been deficient in mirthfulness1 and we find that the dangers through which she passed in her youth were not able to extinguish ,elizabeth's love of humour4 ,according to the custom of the day she exhibited this not only in her sayings1 but1 as comedians were then often received in great houses1 she ordered in #aehc that twelve of them should be made grooms of the chamber1 be sworn the ,queen's servants1 and be arrayed in her livery4 ,the most remarkable of these was ,tarlton4 ,he came of humble origin4 ,fuller says that1 while tending his father's swine1 a servant of ,robert1 ,earl of ,leicester1 passing by was so pleased with his happy unhappy answers that he took him to court4 ,but ,tarlton's humour was often that of the common fool1 and depended generally upon action1 look1 and voice4 ,his face was in this respect his fortune1 for he had a flat nose and squinting eyes4 ,nash mentions that on one occasion he peept out his head1 probably with a grimace1 at the audience1 which caused a burst of laughter1 and led one of the justices1 who did not understand the fun1 to beat the people on the bare pates1 inasmuch as they1 being farmers and hinds1 had dared to laugh at the ,queen's men4 ,he was celebrated for his jigs1 i4e4 extempore songs accompanied with tabor and pipe1 and sometimes with dancing4 ,fuller says he had great influence with ,elizabeth1 and could undumpish her at pleasure4 ,her favourites were wont to go to him to prepare their access to her1 and he told the ,queen more of her faults than most of her chaplains1 and cured her melancholy better than all her physicians4 ,bohun says that1 at supper she would divert herself with her friends and attendants1 and if they made no answer she would put them upon mirth and pleasant discourse with great civility4 ,she would then also admit ,tarlton1 a famous comedian and pleasant talker1 and other men to divert her with stories of the town1 and the common jests or accidents1 but so that they kept within the bounds of modesty4 ,tarlton1 on one occasion1 cast reflections upon ,leicester2 and said of ,raleigh1 the knave commands the ,queen1 at which she was so much offended that she forbade any of her jesters to approach her table4 ,the jests of ,scogan1 or rather those attributed to him1 were very popular in ,elizabeth's time4 ,this man was court-fool to ,henry ,,vii41 and is said to have been of pleasant wit and bent to merrie devices4 ,he was fond of practical jokes1 and often attacked the clergy4 ,elizabeth seems to have had a natural gift of humour1 and we read of many of her witty sayings4 ,on one occasion1 upon an archbishop finding fault with some of her actions1 and quoting ,scripture to prove she had acted more as a politician than a ,christian4 ,i see1 my lord1 she replied1 that you have read the scriptures1 but not the book of ,kings4 ,she was so well acquainted with proverbs1 that on being presented with a collection of ,english aphorisms1 and told by the author that it contained them all1 she answered1 ,nay1 where is ',bate me an ace1 quoth ,bolton4' ,among the sayings1 good for the period1 which have been attributed to her1 we read that when the ,archduke raised the siege of ,grave1 the ,queen who heard of it before her secretary1 said to him1 ,wot you that the ,archduke is risen from the ,grave4 ,when at ,lord ,burleigh's she promised to make seven knights1 and the gentlemen to be so honoured were placed in a line as the ,queen was going out4 ,the least worthy of them1 however1 were through interest with ,lord ,burleigh placed first1 so that they might have precedence of creation4 ,but the ,queen passed down the row and took no notice of them2 but when she had reached the screen1 turned1 and observing1 ,i had almost forgotten my promise1 proceeded to knight from the lower end4 ,on one of her ,privy ,council saying ,your ,majesty was too politic for my ,lord ,burleigh1 she replied1 ,i have but followed the scripture--'the first shall be last and the last first4' ,the cares of sovereignty1 and the opposition of her ,roman ,catholic subjects led ,elizabeth's humour to assume a somewhat severe complexion4 ,her thoughts gradually became more earnest1 and her jests cynical4 ,moreover1 as seen in ,shakespeare1 the age in which she lived was reflective1 and the budding activity of mind was directed towards great interests4 ,there was not that impression of the vanity of all things1 which grows up with the extension and maturity of society1 and attracts the mind to more fanciful and less grave considerations4 ,a good contrast between ,elizabeth's position1 and that of ,james ,i4 may be seen in the following occurrences4 ,when ,henry ,,iv4 had given the order of ,st4 ,michael to ,nicolas ,clifford and ,anthony ,shirley1 she commanded them to return it4 ,i will not1 she said1 have my sheep follow the pipe of a strange shepherd2#ef but when ,james ,i4 was told that several noblemen of his court and council1 received pensions from ,spain1 the ,king replied that he knew it well1 and only wished the ,king of ,spain would give them ten times as much1 as it would render him less able to make war upon him4 ,james was a man of a very eccentric and grotesque fancy1 combined with a considerable amount of intelligence and learning4 ,he was particularly fond of religious controversy1 and wrote what he considered to be an important work on ,demonologie4 ,from one passage we might suppose that he thought it sinful to laugh1 as he says that man can only laugh1 because he can only sin4 ,but he kept two clowns for his amusement1 and also appreciated ,ben ,jonson1 to whom he gave the direction of the ,court ,masques4 ,he occasionally made some caustic remarks1 which have come down to us1 such as1 ,who denys a thing he even now spake1 is like him that looks in my face and picks my pocket4 ,a travelling preacher and a travelling woman never come to any good at all4 ,sir ,henry ,wooton told him how the ,prince of ,cond sued for the title of ,altesse from the ,synod of ,venice4 ,the ,king replied1 ,the ,prince had good reason to sue for it1 and that the ,seigniory had done ill to deny it him1 considering that the world knew how well he deserved it2 it being his custom to raise himself upon every man's back1 and to make himself the higher by every man's tail he could get upon4 ,and for that cause he hoped to see him elevated by the just ,justice of ,god to as high a dignity as the gallows at last4 ,james the ,first's writings were mostly of a religious character1 and some of them were sufficiently ludicrous4 ,but in his ,counterblaste to ,tobacco1 his indignation is often mixed with humour4 ,he observes that smoking came from the ,indians1 and continues-- ,and now1 good countreymen let vs 7,i pray you7 consider what honour or policy can move vs to imitate the barbarous and beastly maneres of the wilde1 ,godlesse and slavish ,indians1 especially in so vile and stinking a custome8 ,shall wee that disdaine to imitate the manners of our neighbour ,france4444 ,shall wee1 ,i say without blushing abase ourselves so farre as to imitate these beastly ,indians1 slaves to the ,spaniards1 refuse to the world1 and as yet aliens from the ,holy ,covenant of ,god8 ,why doe wee not as well imitate them in walking naked as they doe8 in preferring glasses1 feathers1 and such toyes to gold and precious stones1 as they doe8 ,yea1 why do wee not deny ,god1 and adore the divel as they doe8 ,he proceeds to combat the theory1 ,that the braines of all men beeing naturally cold and wet1 all drie and hote things should be good for them4 ,it is1 he says1 as if a man1 because the liver is hote1 and as it were an oven to the stomache1 would therefore apply and weare close upon his liver and stomache a cake of lead2 he might within a short time 7,i hope7 bee susteined very cheape at an ,ordinarie1 besides the clearing of his conscience from that dreadful sinne of gluttonie4 ,towards the end he gives some medical testimony-- ,surely smoke becomes a kitchin farre better than a dining chamber1 and yet it makes a kitchin also oftentimes in the inward parts of men1 soyling and infecting them with an vnctuous and oily kind of soote1 as hath been found in some great tobacco takers1 that after their death1 were opened4 ,addison1 speaking of ,james' love of jesting1 observes3--,the age in which the pun chiefly flourished was in the reign of ,king ,james the ,first4 ,that learned monarch was himself a tolerable punster1 and made very few bishops or privy-councillors that had not sometime or other signalized themselves by a clinch or a conundrum4 ,it was therefore in this age that the pun appeared with pomp and dignity4 ,it had been before admitted into merry speeches and ludicrous compositions1 but was now delivered with great gravity from the pulpit1 or pronounced in the most solemn manner at the council-table4 ,verbal humour continued to be admired for its ingenuity in the reign of ,charles ,i4 ,the childish taste of the time in this respect is prominently exhibited in the ,fames ,roule1 written by a ,mrs4 ,mary ,fage1 in honour of the royal family and principal peers of the realm4 ,it consists of short poems1 and each one forms an acrostic1 and commences with an anagram of the name4 ,the following will give specimens of this ridiculous composition3-- ,to the high and mighty4 ,princesse ,mary1 ,eldest ,daughter of our ,soveraigne ,lord ,king ,charles4 ,,mary ,,stvarte4 ,anagramma4 ,a ,,merry ,,statv4 ,m irth may with ,princes very well agree1 ,a ,merry ,statv then faire ,madam be2 ,r ightly 'twill fit your age1 your vertues grace2 ,y eelding ,a ,merry ,statv in your face4 ,s mile then1 high ,lady1 while of mirth write ,i1 ,t hat so my ,muse may with alacrity1 ,u nto your ,highness sing without all feare1 ,a nd a true ,statv of your vertues reare3 ,r eaching whereto1 that she may higher flee1 ,t hus humbly beg ,i on my bended knee1 ,e ver ,a ,merry ,statv be to me4 ,,george ,,manners4 ,anagramma4 ,,nor ,,as ,,green ,,gem4 ,g reat honoured ,peere1 and ,rutland's ,noble ,earle1 ,e ven in vertue shining like a ,pearle ,o ver all ,europe1 adding to your birth1 ,r adiant bright beames of your true honoured worth3 ,g em great and precious1 see you are remaining ,e ver the rayes of vertue's beames retaining4 ,m aking all ,europe stand amazed quite1 ,a nd wonder much at ,rutland's glorious light1 ,n or as a green gem let your lustre be1 ,n o1 greenness here betokens levity1 ,e ver more as a precious gem remain you1 ,r ed or some orient colour still retaine you2 ,s o nor as green gem1 will the world proclaime you4 ,the jester still remained in office in ,charles the ,first's reign and ,archee assumed the old prerogative of the motley in telling home truths to his master4 ,on one occasion he was ordered by the ,king to say grace1 as the chaplain was away1 upon which the jester pronounced it1 ,all glory be to ,god on high1 and little ,laud to the devil4 ,at which all the courtiers smiled1 because it reflected upon the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 who was a little man4 ,the ,king said he would tell ,laud1 and what would he do then8 ,oh6 said ,archee1 ,i will hide me where he will never find me4 ,where is that8 asked the ,king4 ,in his pulpit1 answered ,archee1 for ,i am sure he never goes there4 ,the rebellion against ,charles the ,first and the success of the ,puritans led to a remarkable development of religious feeling4 ,men seemed for the moment to think more of the next world than of the present1 seasoned their language with texts1 and from ,scripture adopted new names suitable to a new life4 ,their usual tone of conversation is thus humorously described by ,harrison ,ainsworth4 ,captain ,stelfax pays ,colonel ,maunsel a domiciliary visit1 and an old ,royalist retainer tells the redoubtable ,roundhead that he looks more like a roystering ,cavalier than a ,puritan1 to which the latter replies-- ,go to1 knave1 and liken me not to a profane follower of ,jehoram4 ,take heed that thou answerest me truthfully4 ,thou art newly returned from the battle-field whereat the young man ,charles ,stuart was utterly routed1 and where our general1 like ,pekah the son of ,remaliah slew many thousands of men in one day1 because they had forsaken the ,lord ,god of their fathers4 ,didst thou bear arms in the service of ,ahaz8 ,one ,increase ,micklegift soon afterwards fell into the captain's bad graces-- ,i begin to suspect it was by thy instrumentality that he hath escaped4 ,how could that be seeing ,i was with thee in the closet4 ,micklegift rejoined4 ,it might easily be1 since it was by thy devise that ,i was led into the snare4 ,bitterly shalt thou rue it1 if ,i find thee leagued with the ,amalekites4 ,all this affords a good idea of the phraseology of these men1 some of whom indulged in such names as ,nehemiah1 ,lift-up-,hand and ,better-,late-than-,never1 and it must be remembered1 to their credit1 that there never was a more orderly army than that of ,cromwell4 ,in accordance with the sentiments then entertained all theatrical exhibitions were prohibited4 ,such austerity and self-denial could not be of long continuance--it was kept up by an effort1 and led to an inevitable reaction1 and so we find that the court of the ,merry ,monarch became notorious in history for its dissipation4 ,humour proportionally changed from what it had been under ,charles ,i41 and we read that that the old ,earl of ,norwich1 who had been esteemed the greatest wit1 was now quite out of fashion4 ,barbarous nations have little idea of delicacy of any kind2 and civilisation finds it hard entirely to change nature1 so that where-ever the ground is allowed to lie fallow1 the old weeds appear in their noisesome rankness4 ,hence from time to time we find indelicacy springing up1 and made to serve the purposes of those who know that the evil plant is not radically extirpated4 ,one of the most offensive men in this respect was ,peter ,aretinus1 an ,italian adventurer1 who became a great favourite with the ,emperor ,charles ,v4 ,he is said to have died from falling back over his chair in a fit of laughter1 on hearing some indelicate joke4 ,but modes of death have often been invented to accord with the lives of those who suffered them1 just as dithyrambic ,anacreon is said to have been choked by a grape stone4 ,louis ,,xi4 was also addicted to this jesting which is not convenient4 ,we read that he told ,edward ,,iv4 in a jocose way that he was right glad to see him at ,paris1 and that if he would come and divert himself with the gay ladies there1 he would assign for his confessor1 the ,cardinal of ,bourbon1 who1 he knew1 would grant him easy absolution for peccadilloes of love and gallantry4 ,edward was much pleased with this raillery1 for he knew the ,cardinal was a gay man4 ,louis was afterwards in great alarm upon ,edward's acceptance of his invitation4 ,the humour of ,charles ,,ii4 and his court consisted more of jollity than wit4 ,the king was always ready to laugh outright1 even in church at the sermon4 ,he encouraged and led the way in an indelicate kind of jesting1 which he seems to have learned during his travels in ,france4 ,on his telling ,lord ,shaftesbury1 ,i believe ,shaftesbury1 that thou art the wickedest dog in ,england1 the statesman humbly replied1 ,may it please your ,majesty1 of a subject1 ,i believe ,i am4 ,we should not expect too much from the son of ,henrietta ,maria4 ,it is related that one morning when at ,exeter1 pressing her hand to her head she said to her physician1 ,mayerne1 ,i am afraid ,i shall go mad some day4 ,nay1 he replied1 your ,majesty need not fear going mad2 you have been so some time4 ,but ,charles owed much to his gay and easy manner4 ,notwithstanding his faults he was so pleasant a man that no one could be sorrowful under his government4 ,he sometimes dined at the annual civic banquet1 and one of the company present on the occasion when ,sir ,robert ,viner was ,lord ,mayor1 refers to it as follows4 ,sir ,robert was a very loyal man1 and if you will allow the expression1 very fond of his sovereign1 but what with the joy he felt at heart for the honour done him by his prince and through the warmth he was in with continual toasting healths of the royal family1 his lordship grew a little fond of ,his ,majesty1 and entered into a familiarity not altogether so graceful in so public a place4 ,the king understood very well how to extricate himself in all kinds of difficulties1 and with a hint to the company to avoid ceremony1 stole off and made towards his coach which stood ready for him in ,guildhall yard4 ,but the ,mayor liked his company so well1 and was grown so intimate1 that he pursued him hastily and catching him fast by the hand1 cried out with a vehement oath and accent1 ',sir1 you shall stay and take t'other bottle4' ,the airy monarch looked kindly at him over his shoulder1 and with a smile and graceful air 7for ,i saw him at the time and do now7 repeated this line of the old song ',he that's drunk is as great as a ,king1' and immediately turned back and complied with his request4 ,tom ,killegrew was the last of his cloth2 forced and constant jesting becoming less and less appreciated4 ,as the jesters approached their end1 they had more of the moralist and politician in them than of the mountebank4 ,we may judge of ,killegrew's wit1 when we read that one day on his appearance ,charles said to his gay companions1 ,now we shall hear our faults4 ,no1 replied the jester1 ,i don't care to trouble my head with that which all the town talks of4#eg ,killegrew must have had fine scope for his sarcasm4 ,in these times the character of the monarch gave the tone to society1 and was reflected in the dramatists4 ,thus we find the earnestness of ,elizabeth in ,shakespeare1 the whimsicality of ,james in ,jonson1 and the licentiousness of ,charles ,,ii4 in the poets of the ,restoration4 ,the deterioration of men and of humour in the last reign is marked by the fact that ridicule was mostly directed not against vice as in ,roman satire1 but against undeserved misfortunes4 ,even virtue and learning did not afford immunity2 ,bishop ,warburton writes3 ,this weapon 7in the dissolute times of ,charles ,,ii47 completed the ruin of the best minister of that age4 ,the historians tell us that ,chancellor ,hyde was brought into his ,majesty's contempt by this court argument4 ,they mimicked his walk and gesture with a fire-shovel and bellows for the mace and purse4 ,the indelicacy of which ,charles and his companions was guilty1 was not of a primitive and ignorant kind1 but always of an amatory character1 and at the expense of the fair sex2 jests formerly so common as to obtain the name of japes4 ,the writers of that day are objectionable not merely for coarseness of this kind1 but for the large amount of it1 as one artiste in complimentary attire might be tolerated where a crowd of seminude performers could not4 ,the poems of ,sedley and ,rochester are as abundant in indelicacy as they are deficient in humour4 ,the epigram of ,sedley to ,julius gives a more correct idea of his character than of his usual dullness4 ,thou swearest thou'll drink no more2 kind ,heaven send ,me such a cook or coachman1 but no friend4 ,rochester might have produced something good4 ,his verses have more traces of poetry and humour than we should expect from a man who out of the thirty-four years of his life1 was for five of them continually drunk4 ,he nearly always attunes his harp to the old subject1 so as to become hopelessly monotonous4 ,inconstancy has great charms for him1 and he consequently imputes it also to the ladies-- ,womankind more joy discovers ,making fools1 than keeping lovers4 ,again3 ,love like other little boys1 ,cries for hearts as they for toys1 ,which when gained1 in childish play1 ,wantonly are thrown away4 ,he seems to have been oppressed by a disbelief in any kind of good in the world4 ,his philosophy1 whenever he ventured upon any1 was sceptical and irreverent4 ,his best attempt in this direction was a poem ,upon ,nothing1 which commences3 ,nothing6 thou elder brother ev'n to shade1 ,that had'st a being 'ere the world was made1 ,and 7well fixt7 art alone of ending not afraid4 ,ere ,time and ,place were1 ,time and ,place were not1 ,when primitive ,nothing1 ,something straight begot1 ,then all proceeded from the great united--,what8 ,sometimes he amused himself writing libels on the king1 and some of his satires contain more or less truth1 as-- ,his father's foes he does reward1 ,preserving those that cut off's head1 ,old ,cavaliers1 the crown's best guard1 ,he lets them starve for want of bread4 ,never was a ,king endued ,with so much grace and gratitude4 ,buckingham does not appear to have agreed with ,rochester about ,charles1 for he writes1 ,he was an illustrious exception to all the common rules of physiognomy1 for with a most saturnine and harsh sort of countenance1 he was both of a merry and merciful disposition4 ,buckingham's humour was of a very poor description1 but he wrote a ,comedy ,the ,rehearsal1 which was highly approved1 mostly1 however1 because aimed at ,dryden1 and the heroic drama4 ,from one passage in it1 we observe that he noticed the difference between the effect of humour in the plot1 and in the dialogue of the play-- ,prettyman4 ,well1 ,tom1 ,i hope shortly we shall have another coin for thee2 for now the wars are coming on1 ,i shall grow to be a man of metal4 ,bayes4 ,o1 you did not do that half enough4 ,johnson4 ,methinks he does it admirably4 ,bayes4 ,i1 pretty well1 but he does not hit me in't1 he does not top his part4 ,thimble4 ,that's the way to be stamped yourself1 ,sir1 ,i shall see you come home like an angel for the king's evil1 with a hole bored through you4 ,bayes4 ,there he has hit it up to the hilt4 ,how do you like it now1 gentlemen8 is not this pure wit8 ,smith4 ',tis snip snap1 ,sir1 as you say1 but methinks not pleasant nor to the purpose1 for the play does not go on4 ,the plot stands still4 ,bayes4 ,why1 what the devil is the plot good for but to bring in fine things4 ,dryden could scarcely be expected to remain silent under the blow here aimed at his plays4 ,an opportunity for revenge soon presented itself1 when he undertook to compose a political satire upon ,monmouth and his intrigues4 ,some say that this remarkable poem was written at the command of ,charles4 ,it had a great success1 five editions being sold within the year--one cause of its popularity being its novel character4 ,the idea of introducing ,scriptural impersonations into a poem was new or nearly so1 and very successful4 ,monmouth had already been called ,absalom1 and as the ,king 7,david7 was very fond of him1 it was desirable to place his shortcomings to the account of his advisers1 represented by ,achitophel4 ,the way in which ,dryden handled his adversaries may be understood from such passages as3-- ,levi1 thou art a load3 ,i'll lay thee down ,and show rebellion bare1 without a gown2 ,poor slaves in metre1 dull and addle-pated ,who rhime below e'en ,david's psalms translated4 ,doeg is another enemy3-- ',twere pity treason at his door to lay ,who makes heaven's gate a lock to its own key4 ,let him rail on1 let his invective muse ,have four and twenty letters to abuse1 ,which1 if he jumbles to one line of sense ,indict him of a capital offence4 ,this satire led to some replies1 which ,dryden crushed in his ,mac ,flecnoe1 a poem named after an ,irish priest--an inferior poet--who1 but for this notice1 would never have been known to posterity4 ,shadwell was the man really aimed at2 ,mac ,flecnoe exclaims3-- ,shadwell alone1 of all my sons1 is he ,who stands confirmed in full stupidity1 ,the rest to some faint meaning make pretence ,but ,shadwell never deviates into sense4#eh ,after much in the same strain1 he finishes with3-- ,thy genius calls thee not to purchase fame ,in keen iambics1 but mild anagram4 ,leave writing plays1 and choose for thy command ,some peaceful province in acrostic land1 ,there thou mayest wings display and altars raise1 ,and torture one poor world ten thousand ways4 ,dryden calls this kind of satire ,varronian1 as he weaves a sort of imaginary story into which he introduces the object of his attack4 ,he was under the impression that this was the first piece of ridicule written in heroics1 and his claim seemed correct as far as ,england was concerned1 but ,boileau and ,tassoni had preceded him4 ,willmot says1 ,dryden is wanting in the graceful humour of ,tassoni1 and exquisite power of ,boileau4 ,his wit has more weight than edge--it beat in armour1 but could not cut gause4 ,the greater part of ,dryden's satire could not cut anything1 nor be distinguished from elaborate vituperation4 ,he wrote an essay on ,satire1 in which he shows a much better knowledge of history than of humour4 ,his best passages are in the ,spanish ,friars1 but they are weak and mainly directed against the profligacy of the ,church4 ,the servant says of the friar1 ,there's a huge1 fat religious gentleman coming up1 ,sir4 ,he says he's but a friar1 but he's big enough to be a ,pope2 his gills are as rosy as a turkey-cock's2 his great belly walks in state before him like an harbinger1 and his gouty legs come limping after it4 ,never was such a ton of devotion seen4 ,samuel ,butler affords one of the many examples of highly gifted literary men who have died in great poverty4 ,his works1 recommended by ,lord ,dorset1 were read largely1 and even by the ,king himself2 but there was then no great demand for books1 and authors had to look to patrons1 and eat the uncertain bread of dependence4 ,we may suppose1 however1 that he was an improvident man1 for during his life he held several offices1 and was at one time steward of ,ludlow ,castle4 ,butler possessed a real gift of humour1 and an astonishing fertility of invention4 ,to us there seems to be still too much indelicacy in his writings1 though less than heretofore1 and there is a considerable amount of bear-fighting1 both in the literal and metaphorical sense4 ,this rough and cruel pastime was very common in that day4 ,we read of bear-baiting at ,kenilworth to amuse ,queen ,elizabeth1 and ,alleyn1 the munificent founder of ,dulwich ,college1 was not only a dramatic author and manager1 but ,master of the bears and dogs1 which seems to have been a post of honour4 ,to the present day1 a ring for such sports is to be seen outside the principal gate of ,battle ,abbey4 ,we have already observed that the drama of ,spain became the model for that of modern ,europe1 and we are not therefore surprised to find that the main design in ,sir ,hudibras is to produce an ,english ,don ,quixote4 ,all the accessories of the work point to this imitation2 there is a long account of his arms1 his ,squire1 and horse4 ,but beyond this1 he aimed at several well-known rogues of his day1 especially those pretending to necromancy and prophetic powers1 who seem to have been numerous4#ei ,this gave the poem an interest at that day which it cannot have now1 and it was increased by the amusing hits he makes at the ,puritans1 who had lately convulsed the ,state1 and whom he had been able to gauge when he was employed by ,sir ,samuel ,luke4#fj ,the lines are well known in which he speaks of the time3-- ,when pulpit1 drum1 ecclesiastic1 ,was beat with fist1 instead of a stick2 and the general outcry against dignitaries is thus represented3-- ,the oyster women locked their fish up ,and trudged away to cry ',no ,bishop'2 ,botchers left old clothes in the lurch1 ,and fell to turn and patch the church2 ,some cry'd the ,covenant1 instead ,of pudding1 pies1 and gingerbread6 ,sir ,hudibras is a ,presbyterian true blue4 ,such as do build their faith upon ,the holy test of pike and gun2 ,decide all controversies by ,infallible artillery3 ,and prove their doctrine orthodox ,by apostolic blows and knocks4 ,rather than fail1 they will defy ,that which they love most tenderly2 ,quarrel with minced pies1 and disparage4 ,their best and dearest friend1 plum porridge2 ,fat pig and goose itself oppose1 ,and blaspheme custard through the nose4 ,sir ,hudibras was learned in controversy3-- ,for he a rope of sand could twist ,as tough as learned ,sorbonist ,and weave fine cobwebs fit for skull ,that's empty when the moon is full1 ,such as take lodgings in a head ,that's to be let unfurnished4 ,he had been at the siege of ,bullen1 by ,henry ,,viii41 and his breeches were lined ,with many a piece ,of ammunition1 bread and cheese1 ,and fat black puddings1 proper food ,for warriors that delight in blood4 ,for as he said he always chose ,to carry victual in his hose1 ,that often tempted rats and mice ,the ammunition to surprise4 ,hudibras speaking of men fighting with an unworthy enemy1 says3-- ,so th' ,emperor ,caligula ,that triumphed o'er the ,british sea1 ,took crabs and oysters prisoners1 ,and lobsters 'stead of cuirassiers2 ,engaged his legions in fierce bustles ,with periwinkles1 prawns1 and mussels1 ,and led his troops with furious gallops ,to charge whole regiments of scallops2 ,not like their ancient way of war1 ,to wait on his triumphal car2 ,but1 when he went to dine or sup1 ,more bravely ate his captives up4 ,butler begins one canto with ,ah me6 what perils do environ ,the man that meddles with cold iron4 ,his political views are seen in the following3 ,for as a fly that goes to bed ,rests with its tail above its head1 ,so in this mongrel state of ours ,the rabble are the supreme powers4 ,that horsed us on their backs to show us ,a jadish trick at last1 and throw us4 ,several minor poems have been attributed to ,butler1 but most of them have been considered spurious4 ,some1 however1 are admitted--one of which is a humorous skit against the ,royal ,society1 who were supposed at that day to be too minutely subtle4 ,it is called ,an ,elephant in the ,moon4 ,some learned astronomers think they have made a great discovery1 but it is really owing to a mouse and some gnats having got into their telescope4 ,the light1 short metre in which ,butler composed his comic narrative was well suited to the subject1 and corresponded to the swift iambics of ,archilochus4 ,dryden says that double rhymes are necessary companions of burlesque writing4 ,addison1 however1 is of opinion that ,hudibras would have made a much more agreeable figure in heroics1 to which ,cowden ,clarke replies1 ,why1 bless his head6 the whole and sole intention of the poem is mock heroic1 and the structure of the verse is burlesque1 and he also tells us that ,butler's rhymes constitute one feature of his wit4 ,certainly he had some strange terminations to his lines4 ,hudibras speaking of hanging ,sidrophel and ,whackum says3-- ,i'll make them serve for perpendiclars ,as true as e'er were used by bricklayers4 ,one of the bear-baiting mob annoys ,rapho's steed1 who ,began to kick1 and fling1 and wince1 ,as if he'd been beside his sense1 ,striving to disengage from thistle ,that gall'd him sorely under his tail4 ,again we have3-- ,an ancient castle that commands ,th' adjacent parts1 in all the fabric ,you shall not see one stone1 nor a brick4 ,the astrologers made an instrument to examine the moon to ,tell what her diameter per inch is2 ,and prove that she's not made of green cheese4 ,by the interchange which often takes place between the poetical and ludicrous1 this roughness of versification1 then allowable1 appears now so childish1 that ,lamb and ,cowden ,clark mistook it for humour4 ,but we might extract from the writers of that day many ridiculous rhymes1 evidently intended to be serious4 ,the humour of ,butler was in his time more popular than the sentiment of ,milton1 but he obtained no commensurate remuneration4 ,wycherley kindly endeavoured to interest ,buckingham on his behalf1 and had almost succeeded1 when two handsome women passed by1 and the ,duke left him in pursuit of them4 ,john ,wesley's father has written ,butler's epitaph in imperishable sarcasm3-- ,see him when starved to death and turned to dust1 ,presented with a monumental bust2 ,the poet's fate is here in emblem shown1 ,he asked for bread1 and he received--a stone4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,comic ,drama of the ,restoration--,etherege--,wycherley4 ,the example set by ,beaumont and ,fletcher seems to have been much followed by their immediate successors4 ,decker wrote conjointly with ,webster and ,middleton1 and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish his work4 ,his power of invective was well known2 and in his humour there is such straining after strong words and effective phrases1 as to seem quite unnatural4 ,his ,gull's ,hornbook is written against coxcombs1 and he says their vinegar railings shall not quench his ,alpine resolutions4 ,etherege and ,wycherley ushered in the comic drama of the ,restoration4 ,they were both courtiers1 and the successful writers of this period took their tone from that of the quality4 ,george1 7afterwards ,sir ,george7 ,etherege was born in #afcf4 ,he was known as ,gentle ,george or ,easy ,etherege1 and it is said that he was himself a fop1 and painted the character of ,dorimant in ,sir ,fopling ,flutter from himself4 ,in his principal plays there is very little humour1 though he gives some amusing sketches of the affectations of the metropolis4 ,mistress ,loveit4 ,you are grown an early riser1 ,i hear4 ,belinda4 ,do you not wonder1 my dear1 what made me abroad so soon8 ,lov4 ,you do not use to do so4 ,bel4 ,the country gentlewomen ,i told you of 7,lord6 they have the oddest diversions7 would never let me rest till ,i promised to go with them to the markets this morning1 to eat fruit and buy nosegays4 ,lov4 ,are they so fond of a filthy nosegay8 ,bel4 ,they complain of the stinks of the town1 and are never well but when they have their noses in one4 ,lov4 ,there are essences and sweet waters4 ,bel4 ,o1 they cry out upon perfumes they are unwholesome1 one of 'em was falling into a fit with the smell of these ,narolii4 ,lov4 ,methinks1 in complaisance1 you should have had a nosegay too4 ,bel4 ,do you think1 my dear1 ,i could be so loathsome to trick myself up with carnations and stock-gilly flowers8 ,i begged their pardon1 and told them ,i never wore anything but ,orange-flowers and ,tuberose4 ,that which made me willing to go was a strange desire ,i had to eat some fresh nectarines4 ,wycherley was the son of a ,shropshire gentleman who being a ,royalist1 and not willing to trust him to the ,puritans1 sent him to be educated in ,france4 ,he became a ,roman ,catholic1 but afterwards recanted4 ,wycherley was remarkable for his beauty1 and stalwart proportions1 he was called manly or brawny ,wycherley2 and the notorious ,duchess of ,cleveland was so captivated by his appearance1 that she made his acquaintance when passing in her carriage by jocosely calling out at him some abusive epithets4 ,afterwards1 we are told that she often visited ,wycherley at the ,temple1 disguised as a country girl in a straw hat1 with pattens on her feet1 and a basket on her arm4 ,later1 he had the misfortune to make the acquaintance of the ,countess of ,drogheda on the ,pantiles at ,tunbridge ,wells1 and by secretly marrying her incurred the ,king's displeasure4 ,he was finally reduced to great distress1 but ,james ,,ii41 recognising his talent1 gave him a pension1 and saved him from destitution in his old age4 ,wycherley wrote his first play in #affg4 ,in comparing him with ,shakespeare we find the same difference as existed between the old and new comedy in ,greece4 ,political characters have disappeared together with hostility and combats on the stage1 while amorous intrigue is largely developed4 ,there is at the same time considerable sprightliness in the dialogue1 and the tricks1 deceptions and misadventures of lovers fill the pages with much that is ingenious and amusing4 ,in the ,gentleman ,dancing ,master1 a young spark pretends to a rich father that he is only visiting his daughter to teach her to dance4 ,a rival lover--a ,frenchified puppy--is made unconsciously to co-operate in his own discomfiture1 while the duped father jokes with the supposed dancing master1 and asks him whether he is not engaged to one of his rich pupils1 laughing heartily at the picture he draws to himself of her father's indignation4 ,again1 in ,a ,country ,wife1 a jealous husband obliges his spouse to write a disdainful letter to a gallant1 but the lady slyly substitutes one of quite a different character1 which the husband duly and pompously delivers to him4 ,the humour of ,wycherley is almost entirely of this kind4 ,here are no verbal quips1 no sallies of professed fools1 no stupidities of country boobies4 ,these have passed away from good comedy4 ,speaking of the change1 he says that formerly they were contented to make serving-men fools on the stage1 but now you shall scarcely see a fool on the stage who is not a knight4 ,the fact was that a higher kind of humour was required1 and accordingly we now1 for the first time1 hear of wits--men of good birth and position1 who prided themselves on their talent4 ,they were generally remarkable for their manners and address1 and affected a superiority in acuteness1 but not always in humour4 ,wycherley speaks of wits not exactly in the sense of humorists1 but rather as coxcombs1 endued with a certain cunning3 ,your court wit is a fashionable1 insinuating1 flattering1 cringing1 grimacing fellow1 and has wit enough to solicit a suit of love2 and if he fail he has malice enough to ruin the woman with a dull lampoon2 but he rails still at the man that is absent1 for all wits rail2 and his wit properly lies in combing perukes1 matching ribbons1 and being severe1 as they call it1 upon other peoples' clothes4 ,lydia4 ,now1 what is your coffee wit8 ,dapperwit4 ,he is a lying1 censorious1 gossiping1 quibbling wretch1 and sets people together by the ears over that sober drink--coffee2 he is a wit as he is a commentator upon the ,gazette2 and he rails at the pirates of ,algiers1 the ,grand ,signior of ,constantinople1 and the ,christian ,grand ,signior4 ,lydia4 ,what kind of wit is your pollwit8 ,dap4 ,he is a fidgetting1 busy1 dogmatical1 hot-headed fop1 that speaks always in sentences and proverbs1 and he rails perpetually against the present ,government4 ,his wit lies in projects and monopolies1 and penning speeches for ,parliament men-- ,he goes on to speak of the scribble wit1 and judge wit or critic1 but in general wits were regarded as rakes and not long afterwards we find it debated whether a woman can be witty and virtuous4 ,wycherley did not aim much at facetiousness1 nor introduce many humorous episodes1 but passages incidentally occur which show he had considerable talent in that direction4 ,the first from ,love in a ,wood1 is an ironical conflict between one ,gripe1 a rich but parsimous ,alderman1 and a ,mrs4 ,joyner1 a sly1 designing old woman4 ,gripe4 ,i am full of your praise1 and it will run over4 ,joyner4 ,nay1 sweet ,sir1 you are---- ,gripe4 ,nay1 sweet ,mrs4 ,joyner1 you are---- ,joy4 ,nay1 good your worship1 you are---- 7,stops her mouth with his handkerchief7 ,gripe4 ,i say you are---- ,joy4 ,i must not be rude with your worship4 ,gripe4 ,you are a nursing mother to the saints2 through you they gather together1 through you they fructify and increase1 and through you the child cries out of the hand-basket4 ,joy4 ,through you virgins are married1 or provided for as well2 through you the reprobate's wife is made a saint2 and through you the widow is not disconsolate1 nor misses her husband4 ,gripe4 ,through you---- ,joy4 ,indeed you will put me to the blush4 ,gripe4 ,blushes are badges of imperfection--,saints have no shame4 ,you are the flower of matrons1 ,mrs4 ,joyner4 ,joy4 ,you are the pink of courteous ,aldermen4 ,gripe4 ,you are the muffler of secrecy4 ,joy4 ,you are the head-band of ,justice4 ,gripe4 ,thank you1 sweet ,mrs4 ,joyner2 do you think so indeed8 ,you are--you are the bonfire of devotion4 ,joy4 ,you are the bellows of zeal4 ,gripe4 ,you are the cupboard of charity4 ,joy4 ,you are the fob of liberality4 ,gripe4 ,you are the rivet of sanctified love or wedlock4 ,joy4 ,you are the pick-lock and dark-lantern of policy2 and in a word a conventicle of virtues4 ,gripe4 ,your servant1 your servant1 sweet ,mrs4 ,joyner6 ,you have stopped my mouth4 ,joy4 ,your servant1 your servant1 sweet ,alderman6 ,i have nothing to say4 ,indelicacy in words has by this time become very much reduced1 although here and there we find some cant expressions of the day which shock our sensibilities4 ,much refinement in this respect could not be expected at a period where a young lady of fortune could be represented as calling her maid1 and afterwards herself1 a damned jade1 and a lady from the country as saying she had not yet had her bellyful of sights in ,london4 ,the ,plain ,dealer is a naval captain in the time of the ,dutch war4 ,olivia says1 ,if he be returned1 then shall ,i be pestered again with his boisterous sea-love2 have my alcove smell like a cabin1 my chamber perfumed with his tarpaulin ,brandenburgh1 and hear volleys of brandy-sighs1 enough to make a fog in one's room4 ,foh6 ,i hate a lover that smells like ,thames ,street4 ,the ,plain ,dealer1 i4e41 the sea-captain ,manly1 meets with a lawyer1 and they converse in this way1 ,manly4 ,here's a lawyer ,i know threatening us with another greeting4 ,lawyer4 ,sir6 ,sir6 your very servant2 ,i was afraid you had forgotten me4 ,man4 ,i was not afraid you had forgotten me4 ,law4 ,no1 ,sir2 we lawyers have pretty good memories4 ,man4 ,you ought to have by your wits4 ,law4 ,o1 you are a merry gentleman1 ,sir2 ,i remember you were merry when ,i was last in your company4 ,man4 ,i was never merry in your company1 ,mr4 ,lawyer1 sure4 ,law4 ,why ,i am sure you joked upon me1 and shammed me all night long4 ,man4 ,shammed6 prithee what barbarous law-term is that8 ,law4 ,shamming6 why1 don't you know that8 'tis all our way of wit1 ,sir4 ,man4 ,i am glad ,i don't know it1 then4 ,shamming6 what does he mean by it1 ,freeman8 ,free4 ,shamming is telling an insipid dull lie with a dull face1 which the sly wag1 the author1 only laughs at himself2 and making himself believe 'tis a good jest1 puts the sham only upon himself4 ,manly meets an ,alderman4 ,man4 ,here's a city-rogue will stick as hard upon us as if ,i owed him money4 ,ald4 ,captain1 noble ,sir1 ,i am yours heartily1 d'ye see2 why should you avoid your old friends8 ,man4 ,and why should you follow me8 ,i owe you nothing4 ,ald4 ,out of my hearty respects to you2 for there is not a man in ,england---- ,man4 ,thou wouldst save from hanging at the expense of a shilling only4 ,ald4 ,nay1 nay1 but ,captain1 you are like enough to tell me---- ,man4 ,truth1 which you wont care to hear2 therefore you had better go talk with somebody else4 ,ald4 ,no1 ,i know nobody can inform me better of some young wit or spendthrift1 who has a good dipped seat and estate in ,middlesex1 ,hertfordshire1 ,essex1 or ,kent2 any of these would serve my turn2 now if you know of such an one1 and would but help---- ,man4 ,you to finish his ruin4 ,ald4 ,i' faith you should have a snip---- ,man4 ,of your nose1 you thirty in the hundred rascal2 would you make me your squire-setter8 7,takes him by the nose47 ,two lovers1 ,lord ,plausible and ,novel1 have the following dialogue about their chances of success with a certain lady who is wooed by both4 ,novel4 ,prithee1 prithee1 be not impertinent1 my lord2 some of you lords are such conceited1 well assured impertinent rogues4 ,plausible4 ,and you noble wits are so full of shamming and drollery1 one knows not where to have you seriously4 ,nov4 ,prithee1 my lord1 be not an ass4 ,dost thou think to get her from me8 ,i have had such encouragements-- ,plau4 ,i have not been thought unworthy of 'em4 ,nov4 ,what8 not like mine6 ,come to an claircissement1 as ,i said4 ,plau4 ,why1 seriously then2 she told me ,viscountess sounded prettily4 ,nov4 ,and me1 that ,novel was a name she would sooner change hers for1 than any title in ,england4 ,plau4 ,she has commended the softness and respectfulness of my behaviour4 ,nov4 ,she has praised the briskness of my raillery in all things1 man4 ,plau4 ,the sleepiness of my eyes she liked4 ,nov4 ,sleepiness6 dulness1 dulness4 ,but the fierceness of mine she adored4 ,plau4 ,the brightness of my hair she liked4 ,nov4 ,brightness6 no the greasiness1 ,i warrant6 ,but the blackness and lustre of mine she admires4 ,plau4 ,the gentleness of my smile4 ,nov4 ,the subtilty of my leer4 ,plau4 ,the clearness of my complexion4 ,nov4 ,the redness of my lips4 ,plau4 ,the whiteness of my teeth4 ,nov4 ,my jaunty way of picking them4 ,plau4 ,the sweetness of my breath4 ,nov4 ,ha6 ha6 nay there she abused you1 'tis plain2 for you know what ,manly said3 the sweetness of your pulvillio she might mean2 but for your breath6 ha6 ha6 ha6 ,your breath is such1 man1 that nothing but tobacco can perfume2 and your complexion nothing could mend but the small-pox4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,tom ,brown--,his ,prose ,works--,poetry--,sir ,richard ,blackmore--,d',urfey--,female ,humorists--,carey4 ,whether it was owing to the commotions of the ,civil ,war in which fears and jealousies had soured the people's blood1 and politics and polemics had almost driven mirth and good humour out of the nation1 or whether it was from a dearth of eminent talent1 humour seems to have made little progress under the ,restoration4 ,the gaiety of the ,merry ,monarch and his companions had nothing intellectual in it1 and although ,tom ,brown#fa tells us that it was during the reign of ,charles ,,ii4 that learning in general flourished1 and the ,muses1 like other ladies1 met with the civilest sort of entertainment1 his own works show that the best wits of the day could not soar much above the attempts of ,sedley and ,rochester4 ,had ,brown not acquired in his day the character of a humorist1 we should think that he equally well deserved that of a man of learning1 for whereas he shows an acquaintance with the classics and modern languages1 his writings1 which are of considerable length1 contain little ,attic salt4 ,he was born in #affc1 the son of a substantial ,shropshire farmer1 and was sent to ,christ ,church1 ,oxford1 where he became as remarkable for his quickness and proficiency1 as for the irregularity of his conduct4 ,on one occasion1 owing to his having been guilty of some objectionable frolic1 he was about to be expelled1 when1 upon his writing a penitential letter1 the ,dean1 who seems to have known his talent1 promised to forgive him on his translating extempore the epigram of ,martial4 ,non amo te1 ,zabidi1 nec possum dicere quare2 ,hoc tantum possum dicere non amo te4 ,the young delinquent replied in words now better known than the original1 ,i do not love you1 ,dr4 ,fell1 ,but why ,i cannot tell1 ,but this ,i know full well1 ,i do not love you1 ,dr4 ,fell4 ,at this period he occasionally indulged in such silly effusions as the ,adverbial ,declaration1 which he first wrote in ,latin1 on ,mother ,warner's bellows at ,oxford4 ,brown was finally obliged to leave the ,university1 and went up to ,london to seek his fortune4 ,the unpromising and reckless spirit in which he set out1 is probably reflected in one of his pieces entitled ,a ,dialogue between two ,oxford scholars4 ,a4 ,well1 ,i see thou art resolved to leave us4 ,i will not say1 ,go1 and be hanged1 but go and turn country parson4 ,b4 ,that's almost as bad1 as the world goes now4 ,but thanks to my stars1 ,i know a better trick than that4 ,a4 ,it may be thou art fallen out with mankind1 and intendest to turn quack2 or as they call it in the country1 doctor4 ,b4 ,no such matter2 the ,french can kill men fast enough1 and for women thou knowest my kindness4 ,a4 ,but some of them have lived too long2 and there are others so miserable1 that even compassion will incline thee to help them out of the world4 ,i can assure thee 'tis a profitable calling2 for whether thou dost kill or cure1 thy fees will be put in thy hand4 ,b4 ,yes1 when they are found4 ,but1 prithee1 speak no more of it1 for ,i am resolved against it4 ,a4 ,what1 then1 art thou resolv'd for the law8 ,methinks thou should'st have too much ,university learning and wit for that profession-- ,b4 ,and too much honesty4 ,but ,i'll spare thee the pains of guessing1 and tell thee in short what my condition is1 and what ,i design4 ,my portion is all spent--save fifty pounds2 and with that ,i am resolved for ,london or some other wealthy place1 where conventicles abound3 and as a man of tender conscience and infinitely dissatisfied with several things in the ,church of ,england1 ,i will endeavour by some means or other to force myself into an acquaintance with some of their leading men1 and more especially with some of the most zealous and wonderful women among them2 and this point once gained1 ,i doubt not1 but before my stock is half spent1 ,i shall receive a call to be pastor or holder-forth in some congregation or other--why dost smile8 ,a4 ,at my friend's design4 ,and ,i cannot but admire how it came into thy head4 ,thy ability to manage such a design ,i know very well2 but how thou wilt dispense with the knavery of it1 ,i am yet to learn4 ,b4 ,that's a small matter4 ,as the world goes one must practise a little knavery1 or resolve to leave the world4 ,dost thou know that religious cheats are licensed by a law8 and shall ,i live and die without taking advantage of it8 ,believe me1 friend1 ,nature has fitted me pretty well to be one of these godly mountebanks1 and a little art1 together with a few months' conversation with that sort of people will supply all natural defects4 ,cannot ,i put on1 when ,i please1 a grave and serious countenance1 and with head depending on one shoulder a little more than on the other1 sigh for the iniquities of the time and corruptions of the ,church8 ,cannot ,i wipe mine eyes with the fair pocket-cloth1 as if ,i wept for all your abominations8 ,cannot ,i grieve in spirit as if ready to burst with grief and compassion4 ,and cannot ,i likewise1 when time serves1 and company is disposed to be kindly affected with it1 smile and fleer as takingly8 ,and what hurt is there in this8 ,sure ,i may use my own face as ,i please4 ,we need scarcely say that ,brown failed in his shrewd scheming2 and he was soon fain to take the humble position of a schoolmaster at ,kingston upon ,thames1 for which his acquirements qualified him4 ,but his literary ambition would not allow him to remain long at this drudgery1 and we soon find him wandering up again to town1 where he was again unfortunate4 ,at this time1 men of letters expected little from the sale of books2 but often obtained patrons who conferred valuable appointments upon them4 ,brown's temper and position rendered him ineligible for this sort of promotion4 ,not being a gentleman by birth1 he had no good introductions1 nor would he have been very acceptable in the houses of the great4 ,his coarseness in writing--excessive even in that day--was probably reflected in his manners and language1 and he had so little prudence that he ridiculed not only the clergy1 but was always ready to lose a friend rather than a joke4 ,mere literary talent will not procure success in society4 ,brown wrote a variety of essays1 generally rather admonitory than humorous4 ,his ,pocket-book of ,common ,places resembles a collection of ,proverbs or good sayings4 ,it commences1 ,to see the number of churches and conventicles open every ,sunday1 a stranger would fancy ,london all religion4 ,but to see the number of taverns1 ale-houses1 c41 he would imagine ,bacchus was the only ,god that is worshipped there4 ,if no trades were permitted but those which were useful and necessary1 ,lombard ,street1 ,cheapside1 and the ,exchange might go a-begging4 ,for more are fed by our vanities and vices than by our virtues1 and the necessities of ,nature4 ,but his favourite and characteristic mode of writing was under the form of letters4 ,we have ,letters ,serious and ,comical1 ,diverting ,letters to ,gentlemen4 ,one letter is to four ladies with whom the author was in love at the same time4 ,he probably took his idea of ,letters from the ,dead to the ,living1 from ,lucian4 ,he never spares ,dissenters1 and comically makes a ,quaker relate his warm reception in the lower world3-- ,a parcel of black spiritual ,janissaries saluted me as intimately as if ,i had been resident in these parts during the term of an apprenticeship2 at last1 up comes a swinging1 lusty1 overgrown1 austere devil1 armed with an ugly weapon like a country dung-fork1 looking as sharp about the eyes as a ,wood ,street officer1 and seemed to deport himself after such a manner that discovered he had ascendancy over the rest of the immortal negroes1 and as ,i imagined1 so 'twas quickly evident2 for as soon as he espied me leering between the diminutive slabbering-bib and the extensive rims of my coney-wood umbrella1 he chucks me under the chin with his ugly toad-coloured paw1 that stunk as bad of brimstone as a card-match new-lighted1 saying1 ',how now1 ,honest ,jones1 ,i am glad to see thee on this side the river ,styx1 prithee1 hold up thy head1 and don't be ashamed1 thou art not the first ,quaker by many thousands that has sworn allegiance to my government2 besides1 thou hast been one of my best benefactors on earth1 and now thou shalt see1 like a grateful devil1 ,i'll reward thee accordingly4' ',i thank your excellence kindly1' said ,i1 'pray1 what is it your infernal protectorship will be pleased to confer upon me8' ,to which his mighty ugliness replied1 ',friend ,naylor1 ,i know thou hast been very industrious to make many people fools in the upper world1 which has highly conduced to my interest4' ,then turning to a pigmy arial1 who attended his commands as a running footman1 ',haste1 ,numps1' says he1 'and fetch me the painted coat1' which was no sooner brought1 but by ,lucifer's command ,i was shoved into it1 neck and shoulders1 by half a dozen swarthy valets de chambre1 and in a minute's time found myself tricked up in a rainbow-coloured coat1 like a merry-,andrew4 ',now1 friend1' says the ill-favoured prince of all the hell-born scoundrels1 'for the many fools you have made above1 ,i now ordain you mine below2' so all the reward truly of my great services was to be made ,lucifer's jester1 or fool in ordinary to the devil2 a pretty post1 thought ,i1 for a man of my principles1 that from a ,quaker in the outer world ,i should be metamorphosed into a jack-adam in the lower one4 ,the occupation of people in the ,nether world is described after ,rabelais1 thus3--,cardinal ,mazarin keeps a nine-holes2 ,mary of ,medicis foots stockings2 and ,katharine of ,sweden cries ',two bunches a penny card-matches--two bunches a penny6' ,henry the ,fourth of ,france carries a raree-show1 and ,mahomet sells mussels4 ,seneca keeps a fencing-school1 and ,julius ,csar a two-penny ordinary4 ,at the present day it is rather amusing to read1 ,a ,comical ,view of ,london and ,westminster--a weekly prophecy intended to ridicule the increasing use of barometers and other scientific instruments for predicting changes of weather4 ,wednesday ,october #afth4 ,cloudy1 foggy weather at ,garraway's and ,jonathan's1 and at most coffee-houses at about twelve4 ,crowds of people gather at the ,exchange by one2 disperse by three4 ,afternoon1 noisy and bloody at her ,majesty's bear-garden at ,hockly-in-the-,hole4 ,night--sober with broken chaplains and others that have neither credit nor money4 ,this week's transactions censured by the virtuosos at ,child's from morning till night4 ,thursday #agth4 ,coffee and water-gruel to be had at the ,rainbow and ,nando's at four4 ,hot furmity at ,bride-bridge at seven4 ,justice to be had at ,doctor's ,commons1 when people can get it4 ,a lecture at ,pinner's hall at ten4 ,excellent pease-pottage and tripe in ,baldwin's ,gardens at twelve4 ,a constable and two watchmen killed1 or near being so in ,westminster2 whether by a lord or lord's footman1 planets don't determine4 ,friday4 ,damsels whipped for their good nature at ,bridewell about ten4 ,several people put in fear of their lives by their god-fathers at the ,old ,bailey at eleven4 ,great destruction of ,herrings at one4 ,much swearing at three among the horse-coursers at ,smithfield2 if the oaths were registered as well as the horses1 good ,lord1 what a volume 'twould make6 ,several tails turned up at ,st4 ,paul's ,school1 ,merchant ,taylors1 c4 for their repetitioning4 ,night very drunk1 as the two former4 ,saturday #aith4 ,twenty butchers' wives in ,leadenhall and ,newgate markets overtaken with sherry and sugar by eight in the morning4 ,shop-keepers walk out at nine to count the trees in ,moorfields1 and avoid duns4 ,people's houses cleansed in the afternoon1 but their consciences we don't know when4 ,evening pretty sober4 ,sunday4 ,beggars take up their posts in ,lincoln's ,inn ,fields and other places by seven1 that they may be able to praise ,god in capon and ,march beer at night4 ,great jingling of bells all over the city from eight to nine4 ,parish clerks liquor their throats plentifully at eight1 and chaunt out ,hopkins most melodiously about ten4 ,sextons1 men of great authority most part of the day1 whip dogs out of the church for being obstreperous4 ,great thumping and dusting of the cushion at ,salter's ,hall about eleven2 one would almost think the man was in earnest he lays so furiously about him4 ,a most refreshing smell of garlic in ,spittlefield's and ,soho at twelve4 ,country fellows staring at the two wooden men at ,st4 ,dunstan's from one to two1 to see how notably they strike the quarters4 ,the great point of ,predestination settled in ,russell-court about three2 and the people go home as wise as they came4 ,afternoon sleepy in most churches4 ,store of handkerchiefs stolen at ,st4 ,paul's4 ,night1 not so sober as might be wished4444 ,the following are some of the best specimens of ,brown's poems--squibs on the fashions and occurrences of the day-- ,the emblem of the nation1 so grave and precise1 ,on the emblem of wisdom has laid an excise2 ,pray tell me1 grave sparks1 and your answer don't smother1 ,why one representative taxes another8 ,the ,commons on salt a new impost have laid ,to tax wisdom too1 they most humbly are pray'd2 ,for tell me ye patrons of woollen and crape1 ,why the type should be fined and the substance escape8 ,a song in ridicule of a famous musician1 who was caught serenading his mistress with his bass-viol on a very frosty night3-- ,look down1 fair garreteer bestow ,one glance upon your swain1 ,who stands below in frost and snow4 ,and shaking sings in pain4 ,thaw with your eyes the frozen street1 ,or cool my hot desire1 ,i burn within1 altho' my feet ,are numbed for want of fire4 ,chorus4 ,thrum1 thrum1 thrum1 thrum1 ,come1 come1 come1 come1 ,my dearest be not coy1 ,for if you are 7zit1 zan1 zounds7 ,i ,must without your favour die4 ,the sentiment in the following is easily appreciated1 but is there not also some slight essence of humour8 ,,on ,,flowers ,,in ,a ,,lady',s ,,bosom4 ,behold the promised land1 where pleasures flow6 ,see how the milk-white hills do gently rise1 ,and beat the silken skies6 ,behold the valley spread with flowers below6 ,the happy flowers1 how they allure my sense6 ,the fairer soil gives them the nobler hue ,her breath perfumes them too3 ,rooted i' th' heart they seem to spring from thence1 ,tell1 tell me why1 thou fruitful virgin breast1 ,why should so good a soil lie unpossest8 ,brown's humour partook of the coarseness of most of the writers of his times1 and scandalized the more religious and decent muse of ,sir ,richard ,blackmore1 who endeavoured to correct this general failing in his ,satire upon ,wit4 ,this called forth many sarcastic replies1 and critiques on ,blackmore's works2 such as ,brown's ,epigram occasioned by the news that ,sir ,r----d ,b----e's paraphrase upon ,job was in the ,press-- ,when ,job contending with the devil ,i saw ,it did my wonder1 not my pity draw2 ,for ,i concluded that without some trick1 ,a saint at any time could match old ,nick4 ,next came a fiercer fiend upon his back1 ,i mean his spouse1 stunning him with her clack1 ,but still ,i could not pity him1 as knowing ,a crab tree cudgel soon would send her going4 ,but when the quack engaged with ,job ,i spy'd1 ,the ,lord have mercy on poor ,job ,i cry'd4 ,what spouse and ,satan did attempt in vain ,the quack will compass with his murdering pen1 ,and on a dunghill leave poor ,job again1 ,with impious doggrel he'll pollute his theme1 ,and make the saint against his will blaspheme4 ,upon the knighting of ,sir ,r----d ,b----e4 ,be not puffed up with knighthood1 friend of mine1 ,a merry prince once knighted a ,sir-loin1 ,and if to make comparisons were safe ,an ox deserves it better then a calf4 ,thy pride and state ,i value not a rush ,thou that art now ,knight ,phyz1 wast once ,king ,ush4 ,blackmore1 who was successively physician to ,william ,,iii4 and ,queen ,anne1 had been once a schoolmaster4 ,tom ,brown died at the early age of forty4 ,his life was full of misfortunes1 but we can scarcely say that he was unhappy1 for nothing could conquer his buoyant spirit4 ,at one time he was actually in prison1 for what was deemed a libellous attack1 but we are told that he obtained his enlargement from it1 upon his writing the following ,pindaric ,petition to the ,lords in ,council4 ,should you order ,tho' ,brown ,to be whipped thro' the town ,for scurvy lampoon1 ,grave ,southern and ,crown ,their pens wou'd lay down2 ,even ,d',urfey himself1 and such merry fellows ,that put their whole trust in tunes and trangdillioes ,may hang up their harps and themselves on the willows2 ,for if poets are punished for libelling trash ,john ,dryden1 tho' sixty1 may yet fear the lash4 ,no pension1 no praise1 ,much birch without bays1 ,these are not right ways ,our fancy to raise1 ,to the writing of plays ,and prologues so witty ,that jirk at the city1 ,and now and then hit ,some spark in the pit1 ,so hard and so pat ,till he hides with his hat ,his monstrous cravat4 ,the pulpit alone ,can never preach down ,the fops of the town ,then pardon ,tho' ,brown ,and let him write on2 ,but if you had rather convert the poor sinner ,his foul writing mouth may be stopped with a dinner4 ,give him clothes to his back1 some meat and some drink ,then clap him close prisoner without pen and ink ,and your petitioner shall neither pray1 write1 or think4 ,unfortunately his pecuniary difficulties were not removed1 but accompanied him through life4 ,what a strange mixture of gaiety1 learning and destitution is brought before us1 when on a clamorons dun vowing she would not leave him until she had her money1 he exclaimed in an extempore version of two lines of ,martial-- ,sextus1 thou nothing ow'st1 nothing ,i say6 ,he something owes1 that something has to pay4 ,in an imitation of another epigram of ,martial he gives an account of the unpromising position of his affairs3-- ,without formal petition ,thus stands my condition1 ,i am closely blocked up in a garret1 ,where ,i scribble and smoke1 ,and sadly invoke ,the powerful assistance of claret4 ,four children and a wife ',tis hard on my life1 ,besides myself and a ,muse ,to be all clothed and fed1 ,now the times are so dead1 ,by my scribbling of doggrel and news2 ,and what ,i shall do1 ,i'm a wretch if ,i know ,so hard is the fate of a poet1 ,i must either turn rogue1 ,or what's as bad--pedagogue1 ,and so drudge like a thing that has no wit4 ,how much are we indebted to the pecuniary embarrassments of poets for the interest we take in them4 ,who could read sentiment written by a man faring sumptuously every day8 ,towards the end of his life1 ,brown became acquainted with ,lord ,dorset1 and we read of his once dining with that nobleman and finding a note for fifty pounds under his plate4 ,tom ,brown seems to have regarded with great contempt his contemporary ,tom ,d',urfey--best known as a composer of sonnets--words and music4 ,he addresses to him upon his incomparable ballads1 called by him ,pindaric ,odes1 the following acrimonious lines-- ,thou cur1 half ,french half ,english breed1 ,thou mongrel of ,parnassus1 ,to think tall lines1 run up to seed1 ,should ever tamely pass us4 ,thou write ,pindaricks and be damned ,write epigrams for cutlers1 ,none with thy lyricks can be shammed ,but chambermaids and butlers4 ,in t'other world expect dry blows2 ,no tears can wash thy stains out1 ,horace will pluck thee by the nose ,and ,pindar beat thy brains out4 ,such unworthy attacks are not unfrequently made by ill-natured literary men4 ,brown was no doubt jealous of his rival1 but ,addison's generous heart formed a very different estimate of ,d',urfey's talent4 ,he says that after having made the world merry he hopes they will make him easy in his pecuniary affairs1 for that although ,tom had written more ,odes than ,horace1 and four times as many ,comedies as ,terence1 he was reduced to great difficulties by a set of men who had furnished him with the accommodations of life1 and would not1 as we say1 be paid with a song4 ,as my friend1 he continues1 after the manner of all the old lyrics1 accompanies his works with his own voice1 he has been the delight of the most polite companies and conversations from the beginning of ,king ,charles ,,ii4's reign to our present times4 ,many an honest gentleman has got a reputation in his country by pretending to have been in company with ,tom ,d',urfey4 ,i myself remember ,king ,charles ,,ii4 leaning on ,tom ,d',urfey's shoulder more than once1 and humming over a song with him4 ,it is certain that monarch was not a little supported by ',joy to great ,csar1' which gave the ,whigs such a blow as they were not able to recover that whole reign4 ,my friend afterwards attacked ,popery with the same success--he has made use of ,italian tunes and ,sonatas for promoting the ,protestant interest1 and turned a considerable part of the ,pope's music against himself4 ,little need be added to this eloquent commendation1 except that it was written to obtain patronage for a benefit in behalf of an aged poet and friend4 ,d',urfey wrote through the reigns of ,charles ,,ii41 ,james ,,ii41 ,william and ,anne1 into that of ,george ,i4 ,his plays1 which were thought attractive at the time1 contained much that was gross1 and were deficient in humour and power4 ,thus1 they were soon forgotten1 and neither he nor his rival ,brown were able to reach a point1 which would give them a permanent position in literature4 ,the following description would have led us to expect something better of him1 at least in farcical talent#fb-- ,mr4 ,d',urfey generally writes state-plays1 and is wonderfully useful to the world in such representations4 ,this method is the same that was used by the old ,athenians1 to laugh out of countenance or promote opinions among the people4 ,my friend has therefore against this play is acted for his own benefit1 made two dances which may be also of an universal benefit4 ,in the first he has represented absolute power in the person of a tall man with a hat and feathers1 who gives his first minister who stands just before him a huge kick2 the minister gives the kick to the next before2 and so to the end of the stage4 ,in this moral and practical jest you are made to understand that there is in an absolute government no gratification1 but giving the kick you receive from one above you to one below you4 ,this is performed to a grave and melancholy air2 but on a sudden the tune moves quicker1 and the whole company fall into a circle and take hands2 and then1 at a certain sharp note1 they move round and kick as kick can4 ,this latter performance he makes to be the representation of a free state2 where1 if you all mind your steps1 you may go round and round very jollily1 with a motion pleasant to yourselves and them you dance with3 nay1 if you put yourselves out1 at the worst you only kick and are kicked by friends and equals4 ,but ,d',urfey's short songs and poems were his most successful productions--sometimes he breathed martial strains in honour of ,marlborough's victories1 sometimes formed adulatory addresses to members of the ,royal ,family4 ,his ,pills to purge ,melancholy1 at times approached humour4 ,the following is taken from the ,banquet of the ,gods1 and refers to ,hermes visiting the ,infernal regions-- ,fierce ,cerberus1 who the gate did keep1 ,first with a sop he lays asleep1 ,then forward goes to th' room of ,state1 ,where on a lofty throne of jet1 ,the grizly ,king of ,terrors sate1 ,discoursing with his ,proserpine ,on things infernally divine4 ,to him the winged ,ambassador ,his message tells1 then adds to her ,how much her mother ,ceres mourns ,in ,sicily1 till she returns2 ,that now she hoped 7the long half-year ,being ended7 she would see her there1 ,and that instead of shrieks and howls1 ,the harmony of par-boiled souls1 ,she'd now divert with tunes more gay1 ,and go with her to see a play4 ,d',urfey often introduces fresh and pleasing glimpses of country life4 ,he is more happy in this direction than in his humour1 which generally drifted away into maudlin and indelicate love-making between pseudo-,roman ,corydons and ,phyllises4 ,the following effusion is very characteristic of the times1-- ,one ,april morn1 when from the sea ,phoebus was just appearing6 ,damon and ,celia young and gay1 ,long settled ,love indearing2 ,met in a grove to vent their spleen1 ,on parents unrelenting2 ,he bred of ,tory race had been1 ,she of the tribe ,dissenting4 ,celia1 whose eyes outshone the ,god1 ,newly the hills adorning1 ,told him mamma wou'd be stark mad1 ,she missing prayers that morning2 ,damon1 his arm around her waist1 ,swore tho' nought should 'em sunder1 ,shou'd my rough dad know how ,i'm blest1 ,t'would make him roar like thunder4 ,great ones whom proud ambition blinds1 ,by faction still support it1 ,or where vile money taints the mind1 ,they for convenience court it2 ,but mighty ,love1 that scorns to show1 ,party should raise his glory2 ,swears he'll exalt a vassal true1 ,let it be ,whig or ,tory4 ,the following is a song from ,the ,country ,miss and her ,furbelow4 ,celladon1 when spring came on1 ,woo'd ,sylvia in a grove1 ,both gay and young1 and still he sung ,the sweet ,delights of ,love4 ,wedded joys in girls and boys1 ,and pretty chat of this and that1 ,the honey kiss1 and charming bliss ,that crowns the marriage bed2 ,he snatched her hand1 she blushed and fanned ,and seemed as if afraid1 ',forbear6' she crys1 'youre fawning lyes1 ,i've vowed to die a maid4' ,celladon at that began ,to talk of apes in hell1 ,and what was worse1 the odious curse ,of growing old and stale4 ,loss of bloom1 when wrinkles come1 ,and offers kind when none will mind1 ,the rosie joy1 and sparkling eye ,grown faded and decayed1 ,at which1 when known1 she changed her tone1 ,and to the shepherd said1 ',dear swain1 give o'er1 ,i'll think once more1 ,before ,i'll die a maid4' ,d',urfey was a disciple of the gentle art4 ,addison says ,i must not omit that my friend angles for a trout1 the best of any man in ,england4 ,mayflies come in late this season1 or ,i myself should have had one of his hooking4 ,we can thus understand his enthusiastic commendation of fishing-- ,of all the world's enjoyments1 ,that ever valu'd were1 ,there's none of our employments1 ,with fishing can compare2 ,some preach1 some write1 ,some swear1 some fight1 ,all golden lucre courting1 ,but fishing still bears off the bell ,for profit or for sporting4 ,chorus4--,then who a jolly fisherman1 a fisherman will be8 ,his throat must wet1 ,just like his net1 ,to keep out cold at sea4 ,the country squire loves running ,a pack of well-mouthed hounds1 ,another fancies gunning ,for wild ducks in his grounds2 ,this hunts1 that fowls1 ,this hawks1 ,dick bowls1 ,no greater pleasure wishing1 ,but ,tom that tells what sport excels1 ,gives all the praise to fishing4 ,then who1 c4 ,a good ,westphalia gammon ,is counted dainty fare2 ,but what is't to a salmon ,just taken from the ,ware2 ,wheat-ears and quailes1 ,cocks1 snipes and rayles1 ,are prized while season's lasting1 ,but all must stoop to crawfish soup1 ,or ,i've no skill in casting4 ,then who1 c4 ,and tho' some envious wranglers1 ,to jeer us will make bold1 ,and laugh at patient anglers1 ,who stand so long i' th' cold2 ,they wait on ,miss1 ,we wait on this1 ,and think it easie labour2 ,and if you know1 fish profits too1 ,consult our ,holland neighbour4 ,then who1 c4 ,d',urfey was a favourite with ,queen ,anne1 and many of his poems were written at ,knole1 ,penshurst1 and other seats of the nobility4 ,up to the time we have now reached1 we have not had the opportunity of enrolling the name of a lady among our humorists4 ,although in society so many of the fair sparkle and overflow with quick and graceful raillery1 we find that when they come to impress their thoughts upon paper they are invariably sentimental4 ,authors are often a contrast to their writings1 but no doubt the female mind is generally of a poetical complexion4 ,thus1 in the early part of the last century we meet with only three lady humorists1 ,mrs4 ,manley1 mostly noted for her scandalous stories3 ,mrs4 ,behn1 whose humour was crude1 chiefly that of rough harlequinade and gross immorality1 and ,mrs4 ,centlivre4 ,early opportunities of study were afforded to the last in a remarkable way4 ,when flying from the anger of her stepmother1 she met ,anthony ,hammond1 then at ,cambridge1 and went to live with him at the ,university1 disguised in boy's clothes4 ,remarkable for her beauty1 she married1 when only fifteen1 a nephew of ,sir ,stephen ,fox1 and upon his death at sixteen1 a ,captain ,carrol1 who was killed in a duel4 ,it was then partly owing to pecuniary embarrassments that she went on the stage and wrote plays--the first of her dramas appearing in her twentieth year4 ,so great was the prejudice then against lady writers1 that at her publisher's suggestion her first production was anonymous4 ,but those1 who began by deriding her pretensions1 ended by acknowledging her merit2 she became a great favourite and constant writer for the stage1 and an intimate friend of ,farquhar and ,steele4 ,there is an absence of indelicacy in her plays1 but not a little farcical humour1 especially in the character of ,marplot in ,the ,busybody1 and of rich ,mrs4 ,dowdy with her vulgarity and admirers in ,the ,platonic ,lady4 ,she often adopts the tone of the day in ridiculing learned ladies4 ,in one place she speaks as if even at that time the founding of a college for ladies was in contemplation-- ,lady ,reveller4 ,why in such haste1 ,cousin ,valeria8 ,valeria4 ,oh6 dear ,cousin1 don't stop me2 ,i shall lose the finest insect for dissection1 a huge flesh fly1 which ,mr4 ,lovely sent me just now1 and opening the box to try the experiment1 away it flew4 ,lady4 ,i am glad the poor fly escaped2 will you never be weary of these whimsies8 ,val4 ,whimsies6 ,natural ,philosophy a whimsy6 ,oh6 the unlearned world6 ,lady4 ,ridiculous learning6 ,mrs4 ,alpiew4 ,ridiculous indeed for women4 ,philosophy suits our sex as jack-boots would do4 ,val4 ,custom would bring them as much in fashion as furbelows1 and practice would make us as valiant as e'er a hero of them all2 the resolution is in the mind4 ,nothing can enslave that4 ,lady4 ,my stars6 ,this girl will be mad--that's certain4 ,val4 ,mad6 ,so ,nero banished philosophers from ,rome1 and the first discoverer of the ,antipodes was condemned for a heretic4 ,lady4 ,in my conscience1 ,alpiew1 this pretty creature's spoiled4 ,well1 cousin1 might ,i advise you should bestow your fortune in founding a college for the study of philosophy1 where none but women should be admitted2 and to immortalize your name1 they should be called ,valerians2--ha6 ha6 ha6 ,val4 ,what you make a jest of1 ,i'd execute1 were fortune in my power4 ,her notices of married life are interesting1 as she had great experience1 having taken for her third husband ,mr4 ,centlivre1 cook to ,queen ,anne4 ,in ,the ,wonder1 a ,woman keeps a ,secret1 we have the following dialogue upon this important subject3 ,col4 ,britton4 ',egad1 ,i think ,i must e'en marry1 and sacrifice my body for the good of my soul2 wilt thou recommend me to a wife1 then--one that is willing to exchange her moydores for ,english ,liberty--ha friend8 ,fred4 ,she must be very handsome1 ,i suppose8 ,col4 ,the handsomer the better1 but be sure she has a nose4 ,fred4 ,ay6 ay6 and some gold4 ,col4 ,oh1 very much gold4 ,i shall never be able to swallow the matrimonial pill1 if it be not well gilded4 ,fred4 ,puh1 beauty will make it slide down nimbly4 ,col4 ,at first1 perhaps it may1 but the second or third dose will choke me4 ,i confess1 ,frederick1 women are the prettiest playthings in nature2 but gold1 substantial gold gives 'em the air1 the mien1 the shape1 the grace and beauty of a goddess4 ,fred4 ,and has not gold the same divinity in their eyes1 ,colonel8 ,col4 ,too often--money is the very god of marriage1 the poets dress him in a saffron robe by which they figure out the golden ,deity1 and his lighted torch blazons those mighty charms1 which encourage us to list under his banner4 ,in ,the ,artifice we have a matrimonial contention3 ,lucy4 ,if you two are one flesh1 how come you to have different minds1 pray1 ,sir8 ,watchit4 ,because the mind has nothing to do with the flesh4 ,mrs4 ,w4 ,that's your mistake1 ,sir2 the body is governed by the mind4 ,so much philosophy ,i know4 ,wat4 ,yes1 yes2 ,i believe you understand natural philosophy very well1 wife2 ,i doubt not the flesh has got the better of the spirit in you4 ,look ye1 madam6 every man's wife is his vineyard2 you are mine1 therefore ,i wall you in4 ,ods budikins1 ne'er a coxcomb in the kingdom shall plant as much as a primrose in my ground4 ,mrs4 ,w4 ,i am sure your management will produce nothing but thorns4 ,wat4 ,nay1 every wife is a thorn in her husband's side4 ,your whole sex is a kind of sweet-briar1 and he who meddles with it is sure to prick his fingers4 ,lucy4 ,that is when you handle us too roughly4 ,mrs4 ,w4 ,you are a kind of rue3 neither good for smell nor taste4 ,wat4 ,but very wholesome1 wife4 ,mrs4 ,w4 ,ay1 so they say of all bitters1 yet ,i would not be obliged to feed on gentian and wormwood4 ,some subjects are peculiarly suitable for light female humour4 ,in ,the ,beau's ,duel1 or a ,soldier for the ,ladies1 we have the following soliloquy by ,sir ,william ,mode1 a fop1 as he stands in his night-gown looking into his glass3 ,this rising early is the most confounded thing on earth1 nothing so destructive to the complexion4 ,blister me1 how ,i shall look in the side box to-night1 wretchedly upon my soul4 looking in the glass all the while4 ,yet it adds something of a languishing air1 not altogether unbecoming1 and by candle light may do mischief2 but ,i must stay at home to recover some colour1 and that may be as well laid on too2 so 'tis resolved ,i will go4 ,oh 'tis unspeakable pleasure to be in the side box1 or bow'd to from the stage1 and be distinguished by the beaux of quality1 to have a lord fly into one's arms1 and kiss one as amorously as a mistress4 ,then tell me aloud1 that he dined with his ,grace and that he and the ladies were so fond of me1 they talked of nothing else4 ,then says ,i1 ,my lord1 his ,grace does me too much honour4 ,then1 my lord1 ,this play 'tis not worth seeing2 we havn't been seen at t'other house to-night2 and the ladies will be disappointed not to receive a bow from ,sir ,william4 ,he1 he1 he1 says ,i1 my lord1 ,i wait upon your lordship4 ,then1 says my lord1 lead the way ,sir ,william4 ,o1 pray my lord1 ,i beg your lordship's pardon4 ,nay1 ,sir ,william4 ,pray my lord1 7,enter ,la ,riviere1 ,sir ,w's valet74 ,pray ,sir ,william4 ,pray my lord4 7,as he says this several times ,la ,riviere enters behind him1 but as he designs to pass by him1 is still prevented by his turning from one side to t'other1 as he acts himself for the lord47 ,la ,riv4 ,hey6 ,what the devil is he conjuring and talking with invisible lords8 ,he's in his airs1 some pleasing imagination hurries him out of his senses4 ,but ,i must to my cue4 ,hem6 hem6 ,sir1 dere be one two gentlemen below come to wait upon you dis morning1 sal ,i show dem up8 ,sir4 ,w4 ,no1 my lord1 by no means1 ,i know better things-- ,la ,riv4 ,what then am ,i a lord8 ,egad ,i never knew my quality before4 7,aside47 ,sir ,w4 ,pshaw6 this blockhead has rous'd me from the prettiest entertainment in the world 7,aside74 ,well1 what would you1 ,sir8 ,la ,riv4 ,i voo'd tell you1 ,sir1 dere be one two gentlemen wait upon you4 ,sir ,w4 ,and let 'em wait till ,i have done4 ,i had a thousand fine things to say on that occasion1 but this rude fellow has frightened 'em all out of my head4 7,aside47 ,well1 since my better diversion is over1 show 'em up4 ,in ,the ,wonder we have an amusing scene between ,lissardo1 servant to ,felix1 and ,flora1 maid to ,violante4 ,the former had been very sweet upon the latter--telling her that his chaps watered for a kiss1 and that he would revenge himself on her lips2 but a change comes over him on his being presented by ,violante with a ring to be worn for his master's sake4 ,lissardo4 ,i shall1 ,madam1 7puts on the ring47 ,methinks a diamond ring is a vast addition to the little finger of a gentleman4 7,admiring his hand47 ,flora4 ,that ring must be mine4 ,well1 ,lissardo1 what haste you make to pay off arrears now8 ,look how the fellow stands6 ,liss4 ,egad6 methinks ,i have a very pretty hand--and very white--and the shape6 ,faith6 ,i never minded it so much before6 ,in my opinion it is a very fine shaped hand1 and becomes a diamond ring as well as the first grandee's in ,portugal4 ,flo4 ,the man's transported6 ,is this your love8 ,this your impatience8 ,liss4 7,takes snuff47 ,now in my mind1 ,i take snuff with a very jaunty air4 ,well1 ,i am persuaded ,i want nothing but a coach and a title to make me a very fine gentleman4 7,struts about47 ,flo4 ,sweet ,mr4 ,lissardo1 7curtseying17 if ,i may presume to speak to you1 without affronting your little finger-- ,liss4 ,do so1 ,madam1 ,i ask your pardon4 ,is it to me or to the ring you direct your discourse1 ,madam8 ,flo4 ,madam6 ,good lack6 how much a diamond ring improves one6 ,liss4 ,why1 tho' ,i say it1 ,i can carry myself as well as anybody4 ,but what wert thou going to say1 child8 ,flo4 ,why1 ,i was going to say1 that ,i fancy you had best let me keep that ring2 it will be a very pretty wedding-ring4 ,liss4 ,would it not8 ,humph6 ,ah6 ,but--but--but--,i believe ,i shan't marry yet a while4 ,flo4 ,you shan't1 you say2 very well6 ,i suppose you design that ring for ,inis8 ,liss4 ,no1 no1 ,i never bribe an old acquaintance4 ,perhaps ,i might let it sparkle in the eyes of a stranger a little1 till we come to a right understanding4 ,but then1 like all other mortal things1 it would return from whence it came4 ,flo4 ,insolent6 ,is that your manner of dealing8 ,liss4 ,with all but thee--kiss me1 you little rogue1 you4 7,hugging her47 ,flo4 ,little rogue6 ,prithee1 fellow1 don't be so familiar1 7pushing him away17 if ,i mayn't keep your ring1 ,i can keep my kisses4 ,liss4 ,you can1 you say6 ,spoke with the air of a chambermaid4 ,flo4 ,reply'd with the spirit of a serving-man4 ,d',urfey is said to have been the first1 and ,carey the last of those who at this period united the professions of musician1 dramatist and song writer4 ,the latter was the natural son of the ,marquis of ,halifax1 who presented the crown to ,william ,,iii4 ,he wrote the popular song ,sally in our ,alley1 and ridiculed ,ambrose ,philips in a poem called ,namby ,pamby4 ,overcome either by embarrassed circumstances1 or the envy of rivals1 he died by his own hand in #agdc4 ,he has much that is clever mingled with extravagant fancies4 ,most of his songs are amorous1 though never indelicate4 ,some are for drinking bouts4 ,come all ye jolly ,bucchanals ,that love to tope good wine1 ,let's offer up a hogshead ,unto our master's shrine1 ,come1 let us drink and never shrink1 ,for ,i'll tell you the reason why1 ,it's a great sin to leave a house till we've drunk the cellar dry4 ,in times of old ,i was a fool1 ,i drank the water clear1 ,but ,bacchus took me from that rule1 ,he thought 'twas too severe2 ,he filled a bumper to the brim ,and bade me take a sup1 ,but had it been a gallon pot1 ,by ,jove ,i'd tossed it up4 ,and ever since that happy time1 ,good wine has been my cheer1 ,now nothing puts me in a swoon ,but water or small beer4 ,then let us tope about1 my lads1 ,and never flinch nor fly1 ,but fill our skins brimfull of wine1 ,and drain the bottles dry4 ,many of his plays were burlesque operas1 introducing songs4 ,in one of them the ,dragon of ,wantley1 we have-- ,zeno1 ,plato1 ,aristotle1 ,all were lovers of the bottle2 ,poets1 ,painters1 and ,musicians1 ,churchmen1 ,lawyers1 and ,physicians2 ,all admire a pretty lass1 ,all require a cheerful glass1 ,every pleasure has its season1 ,love and drinking are no treason4 ,he was fond of jocose love-ditties1 such as3 ,pigs shall not be ,so fond as we2 ,we will out-coo the turtle-dove1 ,fondly toying1 ,still enjoying1 ,sporting sparrows we'll outlove4 ,among his successful farces is the well-known ,chrononhotonthologos written to ridicule some bombastic tragedies of the day4 ,chrononhotonthologos is king of ,queerummania1 ,bombardinian is his general1 while his courtiers are ,aldiborontiphoscophornio and ,rigdum ,funnidos4 ,the following gives a good specimen of his ballad style4 ,o6 ,london is a dainty place1 ,a great and gallant city1 ,for all the streets are paved with gold1 ,and all the folks are witty4 ,and there's your lords and ladies fine1 ,that ride in coach-and-six1 ,who nothing drink but claret wine1 ,and talk of politicks4 ,and there's your beauxs with powdered clothes1 ,bedaubed from head to shin2 ,their pocket-holes adorned with gold1 ,but not one sous within4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,vanbrugh--,colley ,cibber--,farquhar4 ,vanbrugh--a man of ,dutch extraction as his name suggests--was one of the few whom literature led1 though indirectly1 to fortune4 ,he became first known as a playwriter1 but also having studied architecture conceived the idea of combining his two arts by the construction of a grand theatre on the site of the present ,haymarket ,opera ,house4 ,the enterprise was doomed to be one of the many failures from which that ill-starred spot has become remarkable1 and ,vanbrugh after vainly attempting to support his undertaking by the exertion of all his dramatic power1 determined to quit literature altogether1 and devoted himself to the more remunerative profession4 ,in this he was successful--he built ,blenheim1 ,castle ,howard1 and half-a-dozen of the stately halls of ,england4 ,we may suppose that he acquired wealth1 for he built several houses for himself1 and in them seems to have exhibited his whimsical fancy4 ,one which he built near ,whitehall was called by ,swift a thing like a goose pie1 and he called that which he built for himself1 near ,greenwich1 the mince pie4 ,there is a considerable amount of rough humour in ,vanbrugh1 and some indelicacy1 more like that of ,aristophanes than of ,english writers4 ,we find one gentleman calling another ,old ,satan1 and fashionable ladies indulging freely in oaths4 ,a nobleman tells a lady1 before her husband1 that he is desperately in love with her1 strike me speechless2 to which she replies by giving him a box on the ear1 and her husband by drawing his sword4 ,everything bespeaks a low and primitive state of society2 but we must also remember that while something strong was required1 it was not then thought objectionable that the scenes of the drama should be very different from those of real life4 ,the following are from the ,relapse1 the first play that made ,vanbrugh known1 and which we might therefore expect to be one of his most humorous comedies4 ,here we have a good caricature of the fops of the day4 ,in the first1 ,lord ,foppington in his fashionable twang1 gives us his views1 and sketches his mode of life4 ,amanda4 ,well ,i must own ,i think books the best entertainment in the world4 ,lord ,f4 ,i am so much of your ladyship's mind1 madam1 that ,i have a private gallery where ,i walk sometimes1 which is furnished with nothing but books and looking glasses4 ,madam1 ,i have gilded 'em so prettily1 before ,g--1 it is the most entertaining thing in the world to walk and look upon 'em4 ,amanda4 ,nay1 ,i love a neat library too1 but 'tis ,i think the inside of a book should recommend it most to us4 ,lord ,f4 ,that1 ,i must confess1 ,i am not altogether so fond of4 ,for to my mind the inside of a book is to entertain oneself with the forced product of another man's brain4 ,now1 ,i think a man of quality and breeding may be much better diverted with the natural sprouts of his own4 ,but to say the truth1 madam1 let a man love reading never so well1 when once he comes to know this town1 he finds so many better ways of passing away the four-and-twenty hours that 'twere ten thousand pities he should consume his time in that4 ,for example1 madam1 my life1 my life1 madam1 is a perpetual stream of pleasure that glides through such a variety of entertainments1 ,i believe the wisest of our ancestors never had the least conception of any of 'em4 ,i rise1 madam1 about ten o'clock4 ,i don't rise sooner because it is the worst thing in the world for the complexion1 not that ,i pretend to be a beau1 but a man must endeavour to look wholesome1 lest he make so nauseous a figure in the side box1 the ladies should be compelled to turn their eyes upon the play4 ,so at ten o'clock ,i say ,i rise4 ,now1 if ,i find it a good day ,i resolve to take a turn in the park1 and see the fine women2 so huddle on my clothes and get dressed by one4 ,if it be nasty weather ,i take a turn in the chocolate house1 where as you walk1 madam1 you have the prettiest prospect in the world2 you have looking glasses all round you4 ,but ,i'm afraid ,i tire the company4 ,berinthia4 ,not at all2 pray go on4 ,lord ,f4 ,why then1 ladies1 from thence ,i go to dinner at ,lacket's1 where you are so nicely and delicately served that1 stab my vitals6 they shall compose you a dish no bigger than a saucer1 shall come to fifty shillings4 ,between eating my dinner 7and washing my mouth1 ladies7 ,i spend my time till ,i go to the play1 when till nine o'clock ,i entertain myself with looking upon the company2 and usually dispose of one hour more in leading them out4 ,so there's twelve of the four-and-twenty pretty well over4 ,the other twelve1 madam1 are disposed of in two articles1 in the first four ,i toast myself drunk1 and t'other eight ,i sleep myself sober again4 ,thus1 ladies1 you see my life is an eternal round ,o of delight4 ,lord ,foppington's interview with his ,court artists is well described-- ,tom ,fashion4 ,there's that fop now1 has not by nature wherewithal to move a cook-maid1 and by that time these fellows have done with him1 egad he shall melt down a countess6 ,but now for my reception2 ,i'll engage it shall be as cold a one as a courtier's to his friend1 who comes to put him in mind of his promise4 ,lord ,f4 7to his tailor47 ,death and eternal tortures6 ,sir1 ,i say the packet's too high by a foot4 ,tailor4 ,my lord1 if it had been an inch lower it would not have held your lordship's packet-handkerchief4 ,lord ,f4 ,rat my packet-handkerchief6 have not ,i a page to carry it8 ,you may make him a packet up to his chin a purpose for it2 but ,i will not have mine come so near my face4 ,tailor4 ',tis not for me to dispute your lordship's fancy4 ,lord ,f4 ,look you1 ,sir1 ,i shall never be reconciled to this nauseous packet1 therefore pray get me another suit with all manner of expedition1 for this is my eternal salvation4 ,mrs4 ,calico1 are not you of my mind8 ,mrs4 ,cal4 ,o1 directly1 my lord6 ,it can never be too low4 ,lord ,f4 ,you are positively in the right on't1 for the packet becomes no part of the body but the knee4 7,exit tailor47 ,mrs4 ,cal4 ,i hope your lordship is pleased with your steenkirk4 ,lord ,f4 ,in love with it1 stap my vitals6 bring your bill1 you shall be paid to-morrow4 ,mrs4 ,c4 ,i humbly thank your honour4 7,exit47 ,lord ,f4 ,hark thee1 shoemaker6 these shoes an't ugly but they don't fit me4 ,shoemaker4 ,my lord1 methinks they fit you very well4 ,lord ,f4 ,they hurt me just below the instep4 ,shoe4 7feeling his foot7 ,my lord1 they don't hurt you there4 ,lord ,f4 ,i tell thee they pinch me execrably4 ,shoe4 ,my lord1 if they pinch you ,i'll be bound to be hanged1 that's all4 ,lord ,f4 ,why wilt thou undertake to persuade me that ,i cannot feel8 ,shoe4 ,your lordship may please to feel what you think fit2 but the shoe does not hurt you4 ,i think ,i understand my trade4 ,lord ,f4 ,now by all that's great and powerful thou art an incomprehensible coxcomb6 but thou makest good shoes and so ,i'll bear with thee4 ,tom ,fashion personates his brother1 ,lord ,foppington1 and goes down to the country seat of ,sir ,tunbelly ,clumpsey1 in hope of marrying his rich daughter4 ,the old ,squire at first turns out to meet him with guns and pitchforks1 but changes to the utmost servility on hearing that he is a lord4 ,it is now ,tom's object to have the marriage ceremony performed before he is discovered4 ,fashion4 ,your father1 ,i suppose you know1 has resolved to make me happy in being your husband1 and ,i hope ,i may depend upon your consent to perform what he desires4 ,miss ,hoyden4 ,sir1 ,i never disobey my father in anything but eating of green gooseberries4 ,fash4 ,so good a daughter must needs be an admirable wife2 ,i am therefore impatient till you are mine1 and hope you will so far consider the violence of my love as not to defer my happiness so long as your father designs it4 ,miss ,h4 ,pray1 my lord1 how long is that8 ,fash4 ,madam1 a thousand years--a whole week4 ,miss ,h4 ,a week6 why ,i shall be an old woman by that time4 ,fash4 ,and ,i an old man4 ,miss ,h4 ,why ,i thought it was to-morrow morning as soon as ,i was up1 ,i am sure nurse told me so4 ,fash4 ,and it shall be to-morrow morning still1 if you'll consent4 ,miss ,h4 ,if ,i'll consent6 ,why ,i thought ,i was to obey you as my husband4 ,fash4 ,that's when we're married1 till then ,i am to obey you4 ,miss ,h4 ,why then if we are to take it by turns it's the same thing4 ,i'll obey you now1 and when we are married you shall obey me4 ,fash4 ,with all my heart2 but ,i doubt we must get nurse on our side1 or we shall hardly prevail with the chaplain4 ,miss ,h4 ,o ,lord1 ,i can tell you a way how to persuade her to anything4 ,fash4 ,how's that8 ,miss ,h4 ,why tell her she's a wholesome comely woman1 and give her half-a-crown4 ,fash4 ,nay1 if that will do1 she shall have half a score of them4 ,miss ,h4 ,o gemini6 for half that she'd marry you herself4 ,i'll run and call her4 ,fash4 ,so matters go swimmingly4 ,this is a rare girl i' faith4 ,i shall have a fine time on't with her in ,london1 ,i'm much mistaken if she don't prove a ,march hare all the year round4 ,what a scampering chase will she on't1 when she finds the whole kennel of beaux at her tail6 hey to the park1 and the play1 and the church and the devil2 she'll show them sport1 ,i'll warrant 'em4 ,but no matter1 she brings me an estate that will afford me a separate maintenance4 ,the following from ,the ,provoked ,husband1 gives a good specimen of social hypocrisy4 ,servant4 ,madam1 here's my ,lady ,fanciful to wait upon your ladyship4 ,lady ,brute4 ,shield me1 kind heaven6 what an inundation of impertinence is here coming upon us6 ,at the end of this unwelcome visit1 we have the following hit at the ceremonious politeness then fashionable4 ,lady ,b4 ,what going already1 madam4 ,lady ,fan4 ,i must beg you excuse me this once1 for really ,i have eighteen visits to return this afternoon4 ,so you see ,i am importuned by the women as well as by the men4 ,bel4 7aside74 ,and she's quits with 'em both4 ,lady ,f4 ,nay1 you shan't go one step out of the room4 ,lady ,b4 ,indeed1 ,i'll wait upon you down4 ,lady ,f4 ,no sweet1 ,lady ,brute1 you know ,i swoon at ceremony4 ,lady ,b4 ,pray give me leave4 ,lady ,f4 ,you know ,i wont4 ,lady ,b4 ,indeed ,i must4 ,lady ,f4 ,indeed you shan't4 ,lady ,b4 ,indeed ,i will4 ,lady ,f4 ,indeed you shan't4 ,lady ,b4 ,indeed ,i will4 ,lady ,f4 ,indeed you shan't1 indeed1 indeed1 indeed you shan't4 7,exit running47 ,the aversions and disputes of husbands and wives furnish the subject of some of his humour4 ,sir ,john ,brute says3-- ,sure if women had been ready created1 the devil instead of being kicked down in hell had been married4 ,lady ,brute4 ,are you afraid of being in love1 ,sir8 ,heartfree4 ,i should if there were any danger of it4 ,lady ,b4 ,pray1 why so8 ,heart4 ,because ,i always had an aversion to being used like a dog4 ,belinda4 ,why truly1 men in love are seldom used much better4 ,lady ,b4 ,but were you never in love1 ,sir8 ,heart4 ,no1 ,i thank heaven1 madam4 ,bel4 ,pray1 where got you your learning then8 ,heart4 ,from other people's expense4 ,bel4 ,that's being a spunger1 ,sir1 which is scarce honest4 ,if you'd buy some experience with your own money1 as 'twould be fairlier got1 so 'twould stick longer by you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,berinthia4 ,ah1 ,amanda1 it's a delicious thing to be a young widow6 ,aman4 ,you'll hardly make me think so4 ,ber4 ,phu6 because you are in love with your husband2 but that is not every woman's case4 ,aman4 ,i hope 'twas yours at least4 ,ber4 ,mine1 say ye8 ,now ,i have a great mind to tell you a lie1 but ,i should do it so awkwardly you'd find me out4 ,aman4 ,then e'en speak the truth4 ,ber4 ,shall ,i8 ,then after all1 ,i did love him1 ,amanda1 as a man does penance4 ,aman4 ,why did you not refuse to marry him1 then8 ,ber4 ,because my mother would have whipped me4 ,aman4 ,how did you live together8 ,ber4 ,like man and wife--asunder4 ,he loved the country1 ,i the town4 ,he hawks and hounds1 ,i coaches and equipage4 ,he eating and drinking1 ,i carding and playing4 ,he the sound of a horn1 ,i the squeak of a fiddle4 ,whenever we met we gave one another the spleen4 ,aman4 ,but tell me one thing truly and sincerely4 ,ber4 ,what's that8 ,aman4 ,notwithstanding all these jars1 did not his death at last extremely trouble you8 ,ber4 ,o1 yes4 ,not that my present pangs were so very violent1 but the after pangs were intolerable4 ,i was forced to wear a beastly widow's band a twelvemonth for 't4 ,in the ,journey to ,london1 written at the end of ,vanbrugh's life1 and not finished1 there is a very amusing account of the manner in which a country squire and family travelled up to ,london in the seventeenth century4 ,james4 ,they have added two cart-horses to the four old mares1 because my lady will have it said she came to town in her coach-and-six2 and ha6 ha6 heavy ,george1 the ploughman1 rides postilion6 ,uncle ,richard4 ,very well2 the journey begins as it should do--,james6 ,james4 ,sir6 ,uncle ,r4 ,dost know whether they bring all the children with them8 ,james4 ,only ,squire ,humphry and ,miss ,betty1 ,sir2 the other six are put to board at half-a-crown a week a head with ,joan ,growse1 at ,smoke-dunghill ,farm4 ,uncle ,r4 ,the ,lord have mercy upon all good folks6 ,what work will these people make6 ,dost know when they'll be here8 ,james4 ,john says1 ,sir1 they'd have been here last night1 but that the old wheezy-belly horse tired1 and the two fore-wheels came crash down at once in ,waggon-rut ,lane4 ,sir1 they were cruelly loaden1 as ,i understand4 ,my lady herself1 he says1 laid on four mail trunks1 besides the great deal-box1 which fat ,tom sat upon behind4 ,uncle ,r4 ,so4 ,james4 ,then within the coach there was ,sir ,francis1 my lady1 the great fat lap-dog1 ,squire ,humphry1 ,miss ,betty1 my lady's maid1 ,mrs4 ,handy1 and ,doll ,tripe1 the cook--but she puked with sitting backward1 so they mounted her into the coach-box4 ,uncle ,r4 ,very well4 ,james4 ,then1 ,sir1 for fear of a famine before they should get to the baiting-place1 there was such baskets of plum-cake1 ,dutch gingerbread1 ,cheshire cheese1 ,naples biscuits1 maccaroons1 neats' tongues1 and cold boiled beef2 and in case of sickness1 such bottles of usquebaugh1 black-cherry brandy1 cinnamon water1 sack1 tent1 and strong beer1 as made the old coach crack again4 ,uncle ,r4 ,well said6 ,james4 ,and for defence of this good cheer1 and my lady's little pearl necklace1 there was the family basket-hilt sword1 the great ,turkish cimiter1 the old blunder-buss1 a good bag of bullets1 and a great horn of gunpowder4 ,uncle ,r4 ,admirable6 ,vanbrugh's friend1 ,colley ,cibber1 was also of foreign origin4 ,his father was a native of ,holstein1 and coming over to ,england before the ,restoration1 is known as having executed the two figures of lunatics1 for the gates of ,bethlehem ,hospital4 ,colley commenced life as an actor and playwriter1 and ,vanbrugh was so pleased with his ,love's ,last ,shift1 or the ,fool of ,fashion1 that he wrote an improved version of it in ,the ,relapse4 ,thus ,sir ,novelty ,fashion was developed into ,lord ,foppington1 and ,vanbrugh1 who patronized ,cibber1 employed him to act the character4 ,he was an exception to the rule that a good playwriter is not a good performer4 ,in ,cibber1 we especially mark the ,spanish element1 which then tinged the drama1 and although somewhat prosy and sententious1 he is fertile and entertaining in his love intrigues4 ,of real humour1 he seems to have no gift--some of his best attempts referring to such common failures as sometimes occur at hotels4 ,we have in ,she wou'd1 and she wou'd not1 ,host4 ,did you call1 gentlemen8 ,trapparti4 ,yes1 and bawl too1 ,sir4 ,here the gentlemen are almost famished1 and nobody comes near 'em4 ,what have you in the house now that will be ready presently8 ,host4 ,you may have what you please1 ,sir4 ,hypolita4 ,can you get us a partridge8 ,host4 ,we have no partridges2 but we'll get you what you please in a moment4 ,we have a very good neck of mutton1 ,sir1 if you please1 it shall be clapt down in a moment4 ,hyp4 ,have you any pigeons or chickens8 ,host4 ,truly1 ,sir1 we have no fowl in the house at present2 if you please1 you may have anything else in a moment4 ,hyp4 ,then1 prithee1 get us some young rabbits4 ,host4 ,upon my word1 ,sir1 rabbits are so scarce1 they are not to be had for money4 ,trap4 ,have you any fish8 ,host4 ,fish6 ,sir2 ,i dressed yesterday the finest dish that ever came upon a table2 ,i am sorry we have none1 ,sir2 but1 if you please1 you may have anything else in a moment4 ,trap4 ,hast thou nothing but ,anything else in the house8 ,host4 ,very good mutton1 ,sir4 ,hyp4 ,prithee1 get us a breast1 then4 ,host4 ,breast6 ,don't you love the neck1 ,sir8 ,hyp4 ,ha' ye nothing in the house but the neck8 ,host4 ,really1 ,sir1 we don't use to be so unprovided1 but at present we have nothing else left4 ,trap4 ,faith1 ,sir1 ,i don't know but a ,nothing else may be very good meat1 when ,anything else is not to be had4 ,sometimes there is a little smartness in the dialogue1 and in the ,careless ,husband1 ,lord ,foppington uses such strange expletives as ,sun burn me1 ,stop my breath1 ,set my blood4 ,but the greater part of any amusement that there is1 depends1 as in the ,roman ,comedy1 upon the tricks of low-minded mercenary servants4 ,although neither of the two last-named writers was ,english by descent1 they were both so by adoption1 and the same may be said of the next author1 ,farquhar1 who was born at ,londonderry in #afgh1 but whose ,irish characters want the charm of the pure national comicality4 ,he was the son of a clergyman who sent him to the ,university1 but his taste being averse to the prescribed course of study1 he left it1 and became an actor4 ,want of voice soon excluded him from the stage1 and he entered the army--a profession which we might conclude1 from the experiences of ,wycherley and ,vanbrugh1 was somewhat favourable for the cultivation of dramatic talent4 ,the constant companionship of men of wild and fanciful dispositions1 the leisure for observing their talents and peculiarities1 and the perpetual demand for the exercise of light repartee1 would all tend to furnish effective materials for the stage4 ,farquhar soon married1 and his poverty1 with an increasing family1 led to his producing a play nearly every year from #agjc to #agjg4 ,finally he sold out1 and was in deep distress4 ,speaking of his condition with his accustomed gaiety1 he says3-- ,i have very little estate1 but what is under the circumference of my hat1 and should ,i by perchance come to lose my head1 ,i should not be worth a groat4 ,he thus sketches his mental peculiarities3-- ,as to my mind1 which in most men wears as many changes as their body1 so in me 'tis generally drest like my person1 in black4 ,melancholy is its every-day apparel2 and it has hitherto found few holidays to make it change its clothes4 ,in short1 my constitution is very splenetic and yet very amorous1 both which ,i endeavour to hide lest the former should offend others1 and that the latter might incommode myself2 and my reason is so vigilant in restraining these two failings1 that ,i am taken for an easy-natured man with my own sex1 and an ill-natured clown by yours4 ,farquhar was very fond of jesting about his own misfortunes1 and perhaps the following from ,love in a ,bottle1 exhibits a scene in which he had been himself an actor in real life4 ,widow ,bullfinch4 ,mr4 ,lyric1 what do you mean by all this8 ,here you have lodged two years in my house1 promised me eighteen-pence a week for your lodging1 and ,i have never received eighteen farthings1 not the value of that1 ,mr4 ,lyric1 7snaps her fingers47 ,you always put me off with telling me of your play1 your play6 ,sir1 you shall play no more with me3 ,i'm in earnest4 ,lyric4 ,there's more trouble in a play than you imagine1 ,madam4 ,bull4 ,there's more trouble with a lodger than you think1 ,mr4 ,lyric4 ,lyric4 ,first there's the decorum of time4 ,bull4 ,which you never observe1 for you keep the worst hours of any lodger in town4 ,lyric4 ,then there's the exactness of characters4 ,bull4 ,and you have the most scandalous one ,i ever heard4444 ,lyric4 7,aside7 ,was ever poor rogue so ridden4 ,if ever the ,muses had a horse1 ,i am he4 7,aloud7 ,faith6 ,madam1 poor ,pegasus is jaded4 ,bull4 ,come1 come1 ,sir2 he shan't slip his neck out of collar for all that4 ,money ,i will have1 and money ,i must have4 ,the above is taken from ,farquhar's first play1 and we generally find richer humour in the first attempts of genius than in their later and more elaborate productions4 ,widow ,bullfinch says that ,champagne is a fine liquor1 which all your beaux drink to make em' witty4 ,mockmode4 ,witty6 oh by the universe ,i must be witty6 ,i'll drink nothing else4 ,i never was witty in all my life4 ,i love jokes dearly4 ,here1 ,club1 bring us a bottle of what d'ye call it--the witty liquor4 ,bull4 ,but ,i thought that all you that were bred at the ,university would be wits naturally8 ,mock4 ,the quite contrary1 ,madam1 there's no such thing there4 ,we dare not have wit there for fear of being counted rakes4 ,your solid philosophy is all read there1 which is clear another thing4 ,but now ,i will be a wit1 by the universe4444 ,is that the witty liquor8 ,come fill the glasses4 ,now that ,i have found my mistress1 ,i must next find my wits4 ,club4 ,so you had need1 master1 for those that find a mistress are generally out of their wits4 7,gives him a glass47 ,mock4 ,come1 fill for yourself4 7,they jingle and drink47 ,but where's the wit now1 ,club8 ,have you found it8 ,club4 ,egad6 master1 ,i think 'tis a very good jest4 ,mock4 ,what8 ,club4 ,what8 why drinking--you'll find1 master1 that this same gentleman in the straw doublet1 this same will-i'-th'-wisp is a wit at the bottom4 7,fills47 ,here1 here1 master2 how it puns and quibbles in the glass6 ,mock4 ,by the universe1 now ,i have it6--the wit lies in the jingling4 ,all wit consists most in jingling2 hear how the glasses rhyme to one another4 ,again3-- ,mock4 ,could ,i but dance well1 push well1#fc play upon the flute1 and swear the most modish oaths1 ,i would set up for quality with e'er a young nobleman of 'em all4 ,pray what are the most fashionable oaths in town8 ,zoons1 ,i take it1 is a very becoming one4 ,rigadoon4 7a dancing-master47 ,zoons is only used by the disbanded officers and bullies1 but zauns is the beaux pronunciation4 ,mock4 ,zauns6 ,rig4 ,yes1 ,sir2 we swear as we dance2 smooth and with a cadence--,zauns6 ',tis harmonious1 and pleases the ladies1 because it is soft4 ,zauns1 ,madam1 is the only compliment our great beaux pass on a lady4 ,mock4 ,but suppose a lady speaks to me2 what must ,i say8 ,rig4 ,nothing1 ,sir2 you must take snuff grin1 and make her a humble cringe--thus3 7,bows foppishly and takes snuff2 ,mockmode imitates him awkwardly1 and taking snuff1 sneezes47 ,o ,lord1 ,sir6 you must never sneeze2 'tis as unbecoming after orangery as grace after meat4 ,mock4 ,i thought people took it to clear the brain4 ,rig4 ,the beaux have no brains at all1 ,sir2 their skull is a perfect snuff-box2 and ,i heard a physician swear1 who opened one of 'em1 that the three divisions of his head were filled with orangery1 bergamot1 and plain ,spanish4 ,mock4 ,zauns6 ,i must sneeze1 7sneezes47 ,bless me6 ,rig4 ,oh1 fy6 ,mr4 ,mockmode6 what a rustical expression that is6 ',bless me6' ,you should upon all such occasions cry1 ,dem me6 ,you would be as nauseous to the ladies as one of the old patriarchs1 if you used that obsolete expression4 ,sir ,harry ,wildair gives a good sketch of a lady's waiting-woman of the time4 ,colonel ,standard4 ,here1 here1 ,mrs4 ,parly2 whither so fast8 ,parly4 ,oh ,lord6 my master6 ,sir1 ,i was running to ,mademoiselle ,furbelow1 the ,french milliner1 for a new burgundy for my lady's head4 ,col4 ,s4 ,no1 child2 you're employed about an old-fashioned garniture for your master's head1 if ,i mistake not your errand4 ,parly4 ,oh1 ,sir6 there's the prettiest fashion lately come over6 so airy1 so ,french1 and all that4 ,the pinners are double ruffled with twelve plaits of a side1 and open all from the face2 the hair is frizzled all up round the head1 and stands as stiff as a bodkin4 ,then the favourites hang loose on the temples1 with a languishing lock in the middle4 ,then the caul is extremely wide1 and over all is a coronet raised very high1 and all the lappets behind4 ,this lady on being questioned1 says that her wages are ten pounds a year1 but she makes two hundred a year of her mistress's old clothes4 ,but ,farquhar is best known as the author of the ,beaux ,stratagem4 ,though not so full of humour1 as ,love in a ,bottle1 it had more action and bolder sensational incidents4 ,the play proved a great success1 but one which will always have sad associations4 ,it came too late4 ,farquhar died in destitution1 while the plaudits resounded in his ears4 ,the following are specimens from his last play3-- 7,aimwell 7a gentleman of broken fortune looking for a rich wife7 goes to church in the country to further his designs47 ,aimwell4 ,the appearance of a stranger in a country church draws as many gazers as a blazing star2 no sooner he comes into the cathedral1 but a train of whispers runs buzzing round the congregation in a moment3 ,who is he8 ,whence comes he8 ,do you know him8 ,then ,i1 ,sir1 tips me the verger with half-a-crown2 he pockets the simony1 and inducts me into the best pew in the church2 ,i pull out my snuff-box1 turn myself round1 bow to the bishop1 or the dean1 if he be the commanding officer1 single out a beauty1 rivet both my eyes to hers1 set my nose a bleeding by the strength of imagination1 and show the whole church my concern--by my endeavouring to hide it2 after the sermon the whole town gives me to her for a lover1 and by persuading the lady that ,i am a-dying for her1 the tables are turned1 and she in good earnest falls in love with me4 ,archer4 ,there's nothing in this1 ,tom1 without a precedent2 but instead of rivetting your eyes to a beauty1 try to fix 'em upon a fortune2 that's our business at present4 ,aim4 ,psha6 no woman can be a beauty without a fortune4 ,let me alone1 for ,i am a marksman4 ,talking afterwards of ,dorinda1 whom he observes in church1 he says1 ,aimwell4 ,call me ,oroondates1 ,cesario1 ,amadis1 all that romance can in a lover paint1 and then ,i'll answer3--,o1 ,archer6 ,i read her thousands in her looks1 she looked like ,ceres in her harvest2 corn1 wine and oil1 milk and honey1 gardens1 groves1 and purling streams played in her plenteous face4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,congreve--,lord ,dorset4 ,the birthplace of ,congreve is uncertain1 but he was born about #afga1 and was educated in ,kilkenny and ,dublin4 ,he is an instance of that union of ,irish versatility with ,english reflection1 which has produced the most celebrated wits4 ,we also mark in him a considerable improvement in delicacy4 ,the ,old ,batchelor was his first play1 the success of which was so great that ,lord ,halifax made him one of the commissioners for licensing hackney-coaches2 he afterwards gave him a place in the ,pipe ,office and ,custom ,house4 ,belmour begins very suitably by saying-- ,come come1 leave business to idlers1 and wisdom to fools2 they have need of 'em4 ,wit be my faculty1 and pleasure my occupation2 and let ,father ,time shake his glass4 ,speaking of ,belinda1 he says-- ,in my conscience ,i believe the baggage loves me1 for she never speaks well of me herself1 nor suffers anybody else to rail at me4 ,heartwell1 an old bachelor1 says-- ,women's asses bear great burdens2 are forced to undergo dressing1 dancing1 singing1 sighing1 whining1 rhyming1 flattery1 lying1 grinning1 cringing1 and the drudgery of loving to boot4444 ,every man plays the fool once in his life1 but to marry is to play the fool all one's life long4 ,in ,belinda we have a specimen of one of the fast young ladies of the period1 who certainly seems to have used strong language4 ,she cries1 ,oh1 that most inhuman1 barbarous1 hackney-coach6 ,i am jolted to a jelly1 am ,i not horridly touz'd8 ,she chides ,belmour1 ,prithee hold thy tongue6 ,lord6 he has so pestered me with flowers and stuff1 ,i think ,i shan't endure the sight of a fire for a twelvemonth4 ,belmour4 ,yet all can't melt that cruel frozen heart4 ,bel4 ,o1 gad6 ,i hate your hideous fancy--you said that once before--if you must talk impertinently1 for ,heaven's sake let it be with variety2 don't come always like the devil wrapped in flames4 ,i'll not hear a sentence more that begins with1 ,i burn1 or an ,i beseech you1 ,madam4 ,at last she exclaims1 ,o6 my conscience6 ,i could find in my heart to marry thee1 purely to be rid of thee4 ,there is frequently a conflict of wit4 ,sharper tells ,sir ,joseph ,willot that he lost many pounds1 when he was defending him in a scuffle the night before4 ,he hopes he will repay him4 ,money is but dirt1 ,sir ,joseph2 mere dirt1 ,sir ,joseph4 ,sir ,joseph4 ,but ,i profess 'tis a dirt ,i have washed my hands of at present4 ,lord ,froth in ,the ,double ,dealer says1 ,there is nothing more unbecoming in a man of gravity than to laugh1 to be pleased with what pleases the crowd4 ,when ,i laugh1 ,i always laugh alone4 ,brisk4 ,i suppose that's because you laugh at your own jests4 ,sir ,paul ,plyant in great wroth expresses himself as follows3 ,the subjects of ,congreve's ,comedies would often be thought objectionable at the present day4 ,the humour is not in the plot1 but in the general dialogue4 ,in ,love for ,love1 ,ben ,legend1 a sailor1 speaking of lawyers1 says-- ,lawyer1 ,i believe there's many a cranny and leak unstopt in your conscience4 ,if so be that one had a pump to your bosom1 ,i believe we should discern a foul hold4 ,they say a witch will sail in a sieve1 but ,i believe the devil would not venture aboard your conscience4 ,the last play he wrote1 which failed1 was deficient in wit1 but had plenty of inebriety in it4 ,after singing a drinking song1 ,sir ,wilful says in ,the ,way of the ,world4 ,the sun's a good pimple1 an honest soaker1 he has a cellar at your ,antipodes4 ,if ,i travel1 ,aunt1 ,i touch at your ,antipodes--your ,antipodes are a good rascally sort of topsy-turvy fellows4 ,if ,i had a bumper ,i'd stand on my head1 and drink a health to them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,scandal4 ,yes1 mine 7pictures7 are not in black and white1 and yet there are some set out in their true colours1 both men and women4 ,i can show you pride1 folly1 affectation1 wantonness1 inconstancy1 covetousness1 dissimulation1 malice and ignorance all in one piece4 ,then ,i can show your lying1 foppery1 vanity1 cowardice1 bragging1 incontinence1 and ugliness in another piece1 and yet one of them is a celebrated beauty1 and t'other a professed beau4 ,i have paintings1 too1 some pleasant enough4 ,mrs4 ,frail4 ,come1 let's hear 'em4 ,scan4 ,why1 ,i have a beau in a bagnio cupping for a complexion1 and sweating for a shape4 ,mrs4 ,f4 ,so---- ,scan4 ,then ,i have a lady burning brandy in a cellar with a hackney coachman4 ,mrs4 ,f4 ,oh6 well1 but that story is not true4 ,scan4 ,i have some hieroglyphics1 too2 ,i have a lawyer with a hundred hands1 two heads1 and but one face2 a divine with two faces and one head2 and ,i have a soldier with his brains in his belly1 and his heart where his head should be4 ,it has been said that ,congreve retired on the appearance of ,mrs4 ,centlivre1 but so high was the opinion entertained of his genius that he was buried in ,westminster ,abbey1 and his pall was supported by noblemen4 ,pope was one of his greatest admirers1 and dedicated his translation of ,homer to him4 ,dryden writes on ,congreve4 ,in easy dialogue is ,fletcher's praise1 ,he moved the mind1 but had not power to raise1 ,great ,jonson did by strength of judgment please1 ,yet doubling ,fletcher's force1 he wants his ease4 ,in differing talents both adorned their age1 ,one for the study1 t'other for the stage1 ,but both to ,congreve justly shall submit1 ,one matched in judgment1 both over-matched in wit4 ,macaulay says the wit of ,congreve far outshines that of every comic writer1 except ,sheridan1 who has arisen within the last two centuries4 ,lord ,dorset of whom we have above spoken deserves some passing notice4 ,he was high in the favour of ,charles ,,ii41 ,james1 and ,william2 and was one of the most accomplished of the courtiers of that day1 who1 notwithwstanding their dissipation1 were more or less scholars1 and wrote poetry4 ,what was better1 he was a munificent supporter of real literary genius1 and patronized ,dryden1 and to judge by their commendations was not neglectful of ,congreve and ,pope4 ,most of his poems are in the pastoral strain1 but do not show any great talent4 ,two or three of them have some humour-- ,dorinda's sparkling wit and eyes ,united1 cast too fierce a light1 ,which blazes high1 but quickly dies1 ,pains not the heart1 but hurts the sight2 99 99 99 99 99 ,love is a calmer1 gentler joy1 ,smooth are his looks1 and soft his pace2 ,her cupid is a blackguard boy ,that runs his link right in your face4 ,lord ,dorset was at the battle of ,opdam when the ,dutch ,admiral's fleet was destroyed in #affe4 ,the night before the engagement he wrote the well known epistle ,to all you ladies now on land1 ,we men at sea indite1 ,and first would have you understand ,how hard it is to write2 ,the ,muses now and ,neptune too1 ,we must implore to write to you4 ,with a fa la la la la4 ,for though the ,muses should prove kind1 ,and fill our empty brain1 ,yet if rough ,neptune raise the wind1 ,to wave the azure main1 ,our paper1 pen and ink1 and we1 ,roll up and down our ships at sea4 ,with a fa1 la1 c4 ,should foggy ,opdam chance to throw ,our sad and dismal story1 ,the ,dutch would scorn so weak a foe1 ,and quit their fort at ,goree2 ,for what resistance can they find ,from men who've left their hearts behind8 ,with a fa1 la1 c4 ,in justice you cannot refuse ,to think of our distress1 ,when we for hope of honour lose ,our certain happiness2 ,all those designs are but to prove ,ourselves more worthy of your love4 ,with a fa1 la1 c4 ,and now we've told you all our loves1 ,and likewise all our fears1 ,in hopes this declaration moves1 ,some pity from your tears2 ,let's hear of no inconstancy1 ,we have too much of that at sea4 ,with a fa la la la la4 ,we can easily understand how the above lines were suggested1 for in those times the same officers served both in army and navy1 and many of the young sparks taken from the gaieties of ,london had not yet acquired their sea legs4 ,wycherley is said to have been present at some of the engagements with the ,dutch4 ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,first ,,volume4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,footnotes3 #a ,of course this will scarcely apply in those cases in which1 by abstraction1 we overlook the creative action of the mind1 and regard its humorous productions as ludicrous4 ,nor does it hold good where from long exercise of ingenuity a habit has been formed and amusing fancies spring up1 as it were naturally1 and so involuntarily that1 for the moment1 we see them only as ludicrous4 ,this view changes almost instantaneously1 and beneath it we often find the best humour4 ,it may be said that such cases should be placed entirely under the head of humour1 but can we maintain that a man is unaware when he is humorous8 ,the most telling effects are produced by the ludicrous1 and where the creative action of the mind is scarcely discernible4 ,efforts to be humorous are seldom crowned with success2 we require something that appears to be real or original1 either as a close rendering of actual occurrences1 or a spontaneous efflorescence of genius4 ,among the latter class we may reckon some of our most exquisite and permanent sayings4 #b ,a story is told of a ,mr4 ,crispe1 a merchant of ,london1 who although deaf1 when ,sir ,alexander ,cary made a speech before his execution1 followed the motion of his lips so as to be able to relate it to his friends4 #c ,mrs4 ,barbauld had such a perpetual smile that one of her friends said it made her jaws ache to look at her4 #d ,st4 ,paul1 who was brought up at the feet of ,gamaliel1 gives a different account in ,rom4 iv4 #ai4 ,see also ,heb4 xi4 #aa4 #e ,soame ,jenyns strangely imagined that a portion of the happiness of ,seraphim and of just men made perfect would be derived from an exquisite perception of the ludicrous2 while ,addison mentions that a learned monk laid it down as a doctrine that laughter was the effect of original sin1 and that ,adam could not laugh before the fall4 ,some of the early ,christians felt so strongly the incompatibility of strong human emotions with the divine nature that they expunged the words ,jesus wept4 #f ,perhaps ,solomon was amused by them1 for in the catalogue of the valuable things brought in his ships are apes and peacocks4 #g ,i cannot see in ,homer any of that philosophic satire on the condition of mortals1 which some have found in those passages where men are represented as being deceived and tricked by the gods4 ,anything so deep would be beyond humour4 ,he very probably conceived that the gods1 whom he represented as similar to men1 were sometimes not above playing severe practical jokes on them4 ,the so-called irony of ,sophocles in like manner1 is too philosophical and bitter for humour4 #h ,tom ,brown1 the humorist1 says1 ,lycambes complimented the ,iambics of ,archilochus with the most convincing proof of their wit and goodness4 #i ,archilochus could not have been called a satirist in the correct sense of the word4 ,his observations were mostly personal or philosophical4 ,he had evidently considerable power in illustrating the moral by the physical world1 and one of his sayings ,speak not evil of the dead1 has become proverbial4 #aj ,irony had previously been used in ,asia4 ,the only specimens of humour in the ,old ,testament are of this character1 as in ,job1 ,no doubt but ye are the people1 and wisdom shall die with you2 where ,elijah says to the prophets of ,baal1 ,cry aloud1 for he is a god1 and the children call after ,elisha1 ,go up1 thou bald-head4 #aa ,magnes and others of the day used similar titles4 ,we read that there were once three ,homeric hymns extant1 named ,the ,monkeys1 ,the seven-times-shorn ,goat1 and ,the ,song on the ,thrushes4 #ab ,after disposing of his daughters for a bunch of garlic and a little salt1 he exclaims1 ,oh1 ,mercury1 ,god of ,traffic1 grant that ,i may sell my wife as profitably1 and my mother too6 #ac ,so the pun may be represented4 #ad ,certainly not before #dfj ,b4,c4 #ae ,compare our ,billingsgate4 #af ,we sometimes speak of a seedy coat4 #ag ,the answers to the above riddles are1 thistledown1 sleep1 night and day1 shade4 #ah ,gugga seems to have corresponded with our ,nigger4 #ai ,about three and nine pence4 #bj ,roman mirrors made of silver4 #ba ,scurra originally meant a neighbour1 then a gossip1 then a pleasant fellow1 and finally a jocose1 and in those rude times a scurrilous man4 #bb ,there is a story of ,caligula having had an actor burnt alive for making an offensive pun in an ,atellane play4 ,sometimes nicknames were thus made4 ,placidus was ,acidus1 ,labienus1 ,rabienus2 ,claudius ,tiberius ,nero was ,caldius ,biberius ,mero4 #bc ,i have been obliged to omit some of the pungent indelicacy of the original4 ,the ,pope was the sacrificing priest4 #bd ,we meet with such words as verrucosus1 sanna1 a grimace1 and stloppus1 the sound made by striking the inflated cheeks4 #be ,a satirist is always to be suspected1 who to make vice odious dwells upon all its acts and minutest circumstances with a sort of relish and retrospective fondness4--,lamb4 #bf ,palindromes1 such as ,tibi subito motibus ibit4 ,we have some in ,english1 as where our forefather addresses his wife ,madam1 ,i'm ,adam4 #bg ,pyrogenes has a double meaning1 born of corn1 and born of fire1 alluding to ,bacchus' mother having been burnt4 ,bromos is a kind of cereal1 ,bromion a name for ,bacchus4 #bh ,a man of ,capre1 having caught an unusually large barbel1 presented it to ,tiberius1 who was so enraged at his being able to find him in his retreat1 that he ordered his face to be scrubbed with the fish4 #bi ,some of the pagans put off ,christian baptism till the last moment under this idea4 #cj ,there seems to me to be several reasons for drawing this conclusion4 #ca ,semel minusne1 an bis minus2 non sat scio1 ,an utrumque eorum1 ut quondam audivi dicier ,jovi ipsi regi noluit concedere4 #cb ,the answers to these enigmas are rose1 fleas1 sea-mew1 visions1 wheels4 #cc ,as late as the fourteenth century there were only four classical works in the ,royal ,library at ,paris4 #cd ,ritson characteristically observes1 ,there is this distinction between the heathen deities and ,christian saints1 that the fables of the former were indebted for their existence to the flowing inspiration of the sublime poet1 and the legends of the latter to the gloomy fanaticism of a lazy monk or a stinking priest4 #ce ,sometimes anciently called ,west ,wales4 #cf ,king ,alfred advanced so far as to make a translation of a classical history written by ,orosius in #daf2 but the object of the work was to show that ,christianity was not the cause of the evils which had befallen the ,roman ,empire4 #cg ,two of them are mentioned as superior to ,homer4 ,one pretended to be derived from ,dares1 a ,phrygian1 who fought on the ,trojan side1 and another from ,dictys1 a ,cretan1 who was with the ,greeks4 #ch ,the kind of stories prevalent in these countries may be conjectured from the two related by ,john of ,bromton1 as believed by the natives4 ,one relates that the head of a child lies at the bottom of the ,gulf of ,sataliah in ,asia ,minor1 and that when the head is partly upright1 such storms prevail in the gulf that no vessel can live1 but when it is lying down there is a calm4 ,the other asserts that once in every month a great black dragon comes in the clouds1 plunges his head into the stream1 but leaves his tail in the sky1 and draws up the water1 so that even ships are carried into the air4 ,the only way for sailors to escape this monster1 is to make a great noise by beating and shouting1 so as to frighten him4 #ci ,originally an ,arcadian superstition4 #dj ,pinnacles4 #da ,tiles4 #db ,the following is the original4 ,meum est propositum in taberna mori1 ,vinum sit appositum morientis ori1 ,ut dicant cum venerint angelorum chori1 ,deus sit propitius huic potatori4 #dc ,an idea probably borrowed from the classical writers4 #dd ,or the ,amiable1 a translation of his father's name4 #de ,mr4 ,drummond in his ,life of ,erasmus4 #df ,reprinted by ,halliwell4 #dg ,see ,art-,journal4 #dh ,i remember to have seen such a procession at ,como in the ,holy ,week4 ,the various accessories of the ,passion were borne along on the top of poles with appropriate mottoes1 for example3 ,two ladders crossed1 ,he bowed the heavens and came down4 ,a stuffed cock1 ,the cock crew4 ,a barber's basin1 ,pilate washed his hands1 c4 ,the effect was almost ludicrous4 #di ,lucian makes the father of ,cleanthis congratulate himself on having obtained a buffoon for his son's wedding feast4 ,this individual was an ugly little fellow with close shaven head1 except a few straggling hairs made up to resemble a cock4 ,he began by dancing and contorting his body and spouting some gytian verses1 then he launched all kinds of fooleries at the company4 ,most laughed1 but on his calling ,alcidamas a ,maltese puppy1 he was challenged to fight or have his brains dashed out4 #ej ,but this may have been traditional1 for the fools in classic times were sometimes shaven4 #ea ,wright's ,history of the ,grotesque4 #eb ,such as the ,wife of ,bath's tale1 and in ,january and ,may1 or the ,marchante's ,tale4 #ec ,she was roasting a pig4 #ed ,most of the ridiculous answers said to have been made at examinations are mere humorous inventions4 ,we almost think there must be a slight improvement made in the following1 though they are upon the authority of an examiner1 ,what are the great ,jewish ,feasts8 ,purim1 ,urim1 and ,thummin4 ,what bounded ,samaria on the ,east8 ,the ,jordan4 ,what on the ,west8 ,the other side of ,jordan4 ,derive an ,english word from the ,latin necto8 ,necktie4 ,nor can we doubt that a slight humorous colouring has been introduced into the following from the ,memorials of ,archibald ,constable1 recently published by his son4--,an old deaf relation said on her death-bed to her attendant1 ,ann1 if ,i should be spared1 ,i hope my nephew will get the doctor to open my head1 and see whether anything can be done for my hearing4 #ee ,one of ,anne ,boleyn's principal favourites was ,sir ,thomas ,wyatt1 who was celebrated at that day as a man of humour1 though at present we see nothing in his poems but a few poetical conceits4 ,the titles of them are suggestive3 ,the ,lover sending sighs to move his suit4 ,of his ,love who pricked her finger with a needle4 ,the ,lover praiseth the beauty of his ,lady's hand4 ,he wrote the following upon the ,queen's name3-- ,what word is that1 that changeth not1 ,though it be turned and made in twain8 ,it is mine ,anna1 ,god it wot1 ,the only causer of my pain2 ,my love that meedeth with disdain2 ,yet is it loved1 what will you more8 ,it is my salve and eke my sore4 #ef ,christina of ,sweden made a similar remark when the ,order of the ,garter was sent to ,charles ,gustavus4 #eg ,pace had said the same to ,queen ,elizabeth1 and from such strokes jesters were called 'honest1' as ',honest ,jo1' c4 #eh ,there is little humour in ,shadwell's works2 he succeeded ,dryden as ,poet ,laureate1 which was perhaps the cause of the above lines4 ,rochester said1 ,if ,shadwell had burnt all he wrote1 and printed all he spoke1 he would have had more wit and humour than any poet4 ,probably his wit would have been like ,rochester's4 ,whether ,shadwell were himself a good poet or not1 he made a hit at the poetasters of his day1 in which he showed some genius4 ,poet4 ,o1 very loftily6 ,the winged vallance of your eyes advance ,shake off your canopied and downie trance3 ,phoebus already quaffs the morning dew1 ,each does his daily lease of life renew4 ,now you shall hear description1 'tis the very life of poetry4 ,he darts his beams on the lark's mossy house1 ,and from his quiet tenement doth rouse ,the little charming and harmonious fowl ,which sings its lump of body to a soul4 ,swiftly it clambers up in the steep air ,with warbling notes1 and makes each note a stair4 #ei ,sir ,roger ,l',estrange gives the names of the people attacked4 #fj ,one of ,cromwell's principal officers4 #fa ,thus familiarly called1 no doubt owing to the custom of giving pet names to jesters4 #fb ,guardian1 ,vol4 ,i4 ,no4 #b4 #fc ,fence4 ,london3 ,printed by ,a4 ,schulze1 #ac1 ,poland ,street4