Preface to the Works of Shakespeare (1734) by Lewis Theobald
page 18 of 70 (25%)
page 18 of 70 (25%)
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I take to be the same, who, by _Dugdale_ in his Antiquities of
_Warwickshire_, is said to have dyâd in the Year 1614, and for whom at the upper End of the Quire, of the Guild of the Holy Cross at _Stratford_, a fair Monument is erected, having a Statue thereon cut in Alabaster, and in a Gown with this Epitaph. âHere lyeth enterrâd the Body of _John Combe_ Esq; who dyâd the 10th of _July_, 1614, who bequeathed several Annual Charities to the Parish of _Stratford_, and 100_l._ to be lent to fifteen poor Tradesmen from three years to three years, changing the Parties every third Year, at the Rate of fifty Shillings _per Annum_, the Increase to be distributed to the Almes-poor there.â--The Donation has all the Air of a rich and sagacious Usurer. _Shakespeare_ himself did not survive Mr. _Combe_ long, for he dyâd in the Year 1616, the 53d of his Age. He lies buried on the North Side of the Chancel in the great Church at _Stratford_; where a Monument, decent enough for the Time, is erected to him, and placâd against the Wall. He is represented under an Arch in a sitting Posture, a Cushion spread before him, with a Pen in his Right Hand, and his Left rested on a Scrowl of Paper. The _Latin_ Distich, which is placed under the Cushion, has been given us by Mr. _Pope_, or his Graver, in this Manner. INGENIO _Pylium_, Genio _Socratem_, Arte _Maronem_, Terra tegit, Populus mæret, Olympus habet. I confess, I donât conceive the Difference betwixt _Ingeniô_ and _Geniô_ in the first Verse. They seem to me intirely synonomous Terms; nor was the _Pylian_ Sage _Nestor_ celebrated for his Ingenuity, but for an Experience and Judgment owing to his long Age. |
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