CONTAINING HIS LITE, witte

ACCOUNT OF HIS WORKS, PREFACES,

TESTIMONIES OF AUTHORS INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSES, CONCERNING HIM,

&c. &c. &c.

But natheles certain
I can right now no thrifty Tale sain,
But CHAUCER, (though he can but lewedly
On metres and on riming craftily)
Hath fayd hem in swiche Englifh as he can
of olde time, as knoweth many a man;
And if he have not sayd bem, leve brother,
In book, he hath fayd hem in another....
Who in that wol his large Volume seke. TALES, ver. 4465.

Dan CHAUCER, weli of English undefil'd,
On Fame's eternal bead-roll worthy to be fild-
Old Dan Geffrey, in whore gentle spright
The pure well-head of poetry. did dwell....
He whilf he lived was the foveraigne head
Of thepherds all.---- -

SPENSER.
Old CHAUCER, like the morning flar,
Tous discovers day from far,
His light those mifts and clouds diffolvid
Which our dark nation-long involv'd;
But he descending to the shades
Darkness again the age invades.

DENHAM.
CHAUCER, him who firft with harra ny inform'd
Thelanguage of our fathers... His legends blithe
He sang of love or knighthood, or the wiles
Of homely life, thro' each eftate and age
The fashions and the follies of the world
With cunning band portraying-----
Him who in times.-----
Dark and untaught began with charming verse
Totame the rudeness of his native land.

AKENSIDE.

EDINBURG:
&T THE Apollo Press, By TUE MARTINS.

Anno 1782.

In doing into fets

BELL's Poets of 5. Brit, from Chaucer to Cburchill.

VOLS. 1. Chaucer, b. 1328, d. 1400, ag. 72, 14 vols. 1514 2. Spenjer, b. ab. 1553, d. 1598, ag. 45, 8 do. 15222 3. Donne, b. ab. 1573, d. 1631, ag. 58, 3 do. 23-25 4. Wailer, b. 1605, d. 1687, ag. 82, - do.

26, 27 5. Milion, b. 1608, d. 1614, ag. 66, 4do.

28-31 6. Butler, b. 1612, d. 1680, ag 68, 3 do. 32-34 7. Denham, b. 1615, d. 1668, 19:53, 1 do:

.35 8. Cowley, b. 1618, d. 1567, ag. 49, 4 do. 35-39 9. Dryden, b. 1631, d. 176k,tag. 70; 3 do. 404042 10. Rofcommon, b. bef. 1640, a. 1684, ag. ab. 48, I do. 43 11. Buckingham, b. 1649d 1721, ag 72, I do. 44 12. King, b. ab. 1663, 0.1911, ag: 40, 2 do: 45, 46 13. Prior, b. 1664, d. 1721, ag. 57, 3 do. 47-49 11. Lansdown, b. ab. 1667,d11735, ag. 68, 1 do. 50 15. Pomfret, b.ab. 1667, d. 1702 or 1703, ag. 36, 1do.

51 16. Swift, b. 1667, d. 1745, ag: 78, 4.do. 17. Canzrepe, brab, 1975, 4.1729, ap. 58, I do 18. Addijon, b. 1672, d. 1719, ag. 47, 1 do. 19, Rowe, b. 1673, d. 1718, ag. 47, i do.

58 20. Warts, b. 1614, d. 1748, ag. 74, 7 do. 21. Philips, John b. 167618. 1708, ag. 32, }i do. 23. Parnell, b. 1676, d. 1718, ag. 42, 2 do. 167, 68 24. Garib,

d. 1719, i do. 25. Hugbes, b. 1667, d. 1720, ag. 43, 2 do: 70, 71 26. Fenton, d. 1730, do. 27. Tickell, b. 1686, d. 1740, ag. 54. I do. 28. Somerville, d. 1742, 2 do.

74, 75 29. Pope, b. 1688, d. 1744, ag. 56, 4 do.

76-79 30. Gay, b. 1683, d. 1732, ag. 44, 3 do.

80-82 34. Broome, d. 1745, I do.

83

52-55

56 $17

59-65

72

73

VOLS. 32. Young, 6. 1697, d. 1765, ag. 68, 4 do. 84-87 33. Savage, b. 1698, d. 1743, ag. 45, 2 do. 88, 89 34. Pitt, b. 1699, d. 1748, ag. 49,1 do.

90 35. Thomson, b. 1700, d. 1748, ag. 48, 2 do. 91, 92 36. Philips, Ambrose. d. 1749, i do.

93 37. Dyer, b. 1700, d. 1757, ag. 57, i do.

94 38. Weft, Gilbert - d. 1756, 1 do.

95 39. Lyttelton, b: 1709, d. 1773, ag. 64, I do.

96 40. Hammond, b. 1710, d. 1742, ag. 32,

ido. 41. Collins, b. 1720, d. 1756, ag. 36,. 42. Moore, d. 1757, z do. 43. Sbenfone, -d. 1763, 2 do.

99, 100 9. 44. Mallet, d. 1764 of 1765, I do.

101 4. Armytrong,

I do.

IOZ $ 46. Gray, b. 1716, d. 1771, ag. 55,

1 do. 47. Wef, Richard b. 1716, d. 1742, ag. 26, 48. Akenkide, b, 1721, d. 1770, ag. 49, 2 do. 104, 105 49. Cunningham, b. ab, 3728, 1 do.

106 50. Churchill, d. 1764, 3 do.

107-109

}

97

98

103

TITLES.

POETS OF POETS OF POETS OF G.BRITAING. BRITAIN G.BRITAIN 1 ху

XXIII

And so on to the end of the 109 volumes.

42V,

GEOFFREY CHAUCER. GEOFREY CHAUCER, the Father of our Englishpoets, and the first great improver and reformer of our language, flourished in the 14th century, and ashe justly obtained the highest admiration amongst his contemporaries, fo his memory has ever since been highly honoured. One would imagine from this that every historicalcircumstancerelating to him, or at least those of the greatest moment, should be well preserved, and be perfectly clear, which however is so far from being the cafe that nothing can hitherto be certainly determined concerning his descent, or so much as who was his father. Leland says that he was of a noble stock, Pitts that he was the fon of a knight, Speght that his father was a vintner, Hearne that he was a merchant, and the fifth and last opinion, which is the best, is, that nothing can be said with any tolerable assurance of his family at all, but that there is somewhat more probability of his being the son of a gentleman rather than of a tradesman*,

* Raiber than of a tradesman.] It is a point well agreed amongst our ancient authors that the French firname of this family, which was variously written, as for infance Chaucier, Chaucierris,Chauffet, Chaufit, fc. fignified a fhoemaker ; but not withitanding this it is very well known that the founder of this family in England was a Norman chief that came over with William the Conquefour, as appears by the roll of Battle-Abbey; and in succeeding times there were several perfonis of note