arts; he afterwards studied the law in the Inner-Temple, and became a
barrister; but his genius being too lively to be confined to a dull
plodding study, he chose rather to dedicate his hours to poetry and
pleasure; he was the first that wrote scenes in verse, the Tragedy of
Ferrex and Perrex, sons to Gorboduc King of Britain, being performed
in the presence of Queen Elizabeth, long before Shakespear appeared[2]
on the stage, by the Gentlemen of the Inner-Temple, at Whitehall the
18th of January, 1561, which Sir Philip Sidney thus characterises: "It
is full of stately speeches, and well founding phrases, climbing to
the height of Seneca's stile, and as full of notable morality, which
it doth most delightfully teach, and so obtain the very end of
poetry." In the course of his studies, he was most delighted with the
history of his own country, and being likewise well acquainted with
antient history, he formed a design of writing the lives of several
great personages in verse, of which we have a specimen in a book
published 1610, called the Mirror of Magistrates, being a true
Chronicle History of the untimely falls of such unfortunate princes
and men of note, as have happened since the first entrance of Brute
into this Island until his own time. It appears by a preface of
Richard Nicolls, that the original plan of the Mirror of Magistrates
was principally owing to him, a work of great labour, use and beauty.
The induction, from which I shall quote a few lines, is indeed a
master-piece, and if the-whole could have been compleated in the same
manner, it would have been an honour to the nation to this day, nor
could have sunk under the ruins of time; but the courtier put an end
to the poet; and one cannot help wishing for the sake of our national
reputation, that his rise at court had been a little longer delayed:
It may easily be seen that allegory was brought to great perfection
before the appearance of Spencer, and if Mr. Sackville did not
surpass him, it was because he had the disadvantage of writing first.