SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.

  The admired mirror, glory of our isle,
  Thou far, far more than mortal man, whose style
  Struck more men dumb to hearken to thy song
  Than Orpheus’ harp, or Tully’s golden tongue. 
  To him, as right, for wit’s deep quintessence,
  For honor, valor, virtue, excellence,
  Be all the garlands, crown his tomb with bay,
  Who spake as much as e’er our tongue can say.
Britannia’s Pastorals, Bk.  II.  Song 2.  W. BROWNE.

  EDMUND SPENSER.

  Divinest Spenser, heaven-bred, happy Muse! 
  Would any power into my brain infuse
  Thy worth, or all that poets had before,
  I could not praise till thou deserv’st no more.
Britannia’s Pastorals, Bk.  II.  Song 1.  W. BROWNE.

  FRANCIS, LORD BACON.

If parts allure thee, think how Bacon shined,
The wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind!
Essay on Man, Epistle IV.  A. POPE.

BEN JONSON.

O rare Ben Jonson!
Epitaph.  SIR J. YOUNG.

                  What things have we seen
  Done at the Mermaid! heard words that have been
  So nimble, and so full of subtle flame,
  As if that every one from whence they came
  Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest,
  And had resolved to live a fool the rest
  Of his dull life:  then when there hath been thrown
  Wit able enough to justify the town
  For three days past; wit that might warrant be
  For the whole city to talk foolishly
  Till that were cancelled; and when that was gone,
  We left an air behind us, which alone
  Was able to make the two next companies
  (Right witty, though but downright fools) more wise.
Letter to Ben Jonson.  F. BEAUMONT.

  WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.

  Renowned Spenser, lie a thought more nigh
  To learned Chaucer, and rare Beaumont lie
  A little nearer Spenser, to make room
  For Shakespeare in your threefold, fourfold tomb.
On Shakespeare.  W. BASSE.

  ABRAHAM COWLEY.

  Old mother-wit and nature gave
  Shakespeare and Fletcher all they have;
  In Spenser and in Jonson art
  Of slower nature got the start;
  But both in him so equal are,
  None knows which bears the happiest share;
  To him no author was unknown,
  Yet what he wrote was all his own.
Elegy on Cowley.  SIR J. DENHAM.

  EARL OF MARLBOROUGH.

  [Lord President of the Council to King James I. Parliament was
  dissolved March 10, and he died March 14, 1628.]

  Till the sad breaking of that Parliament
  Broke him.... 
  Killed with report that old man eloquent.
To the Lady Margaret Ley.  MILTON.

  JOHN WICKLIFFE.

  As thou these ashes, little Brook! wilt bear
  Into the Avon, Avon to the tide
  Of Severn, Severn to the narrow seas,
  Into main ocean they, this deed accursed
  An emblem yields to friends and enemies,
  How the bold Teacher’s doctrine, sanctified
  By truth, shall spread, throughout the world dispersed.
Ecclesiastical Sonnets, Part II. xvii.  To Wickliffe.  W. WORDSWORTH.