CONTENTS.

BOOK IV.
RENAISSANCE CRITICISM.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY—ERASMUS.
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The Critical starting-point of the Renaissance. 3
Influences at work: General 4
Particular 5
Weakness of Vernaculars 6
Recovery of Ancient Criticism 6
Necessity of defence against Puritanism 7
The line of criticism resultant 7
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Not necessarily anti-mediæval 8
But classical 9
And anti-Puritan 9
Erasmus 10
The Ciceronianus 11
The Colloquies 13
The Letters 15
Distribution of the Book 17
CHAPTER II.
EARLY ITALIAN CRITICS.
The beginnings 19
Savonarola 20
Pico, &c. 22
Politian 23
The Manto 24
The Ambra and Rusticus 25
The Nutricia 25
Their merits 26
And danger 26
Petrus Crinitus: his De Poetis Latinis 27
Augustinus Olmucensis: his Defence of Poetry 27
Paradoxical attacks on it by Cornelius Agrippa, Landi, Berni 28
Vida 29
Importance of the Poetics 30
Analysis of the piece 30
Essential poverty of its theory 34
Historical and symptomatic significance 34
The alleged appeal to reason and Nature 35
The main stream started 37
Trissino 38
Division of his Poetic 39
His critical value 40
Editors, &c., of the Poetics 41
Pazzi 41
Robortello, Segni, Maggi, Vettori 42
Theorists: Daniello 42
Fracastoro 44
Formalists: Mutio. Tolomei and classical metres 46
Others: Tomitano, Lionardi, B. Tasso, Capriano 47
Il Lasca 48
Bembo 49
Caro 49
Varchi 49
Minturno 51
The De Poeta 52
The Arte Poetica 55
Their value 57
Giraldi Cinthio’s Discorsi 58
On Romance 58
On Drama 59
Some points in both 59
On Satire 61
Pigna 62
Lilius Giraldus: his De Poetis Nostrorum Temporum 63
Its width of range 64
But narrowness of view 64
Horror at preference of vernacular to Latin 64
Yet a real critic in both kinds 65
Short précis of the dialogues 66
Their great historic value 68
CHAPTER III.
SCALIGER, CASTELVETRO, AND THE LATER ITALIAN CRITICS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
Julius Cæsar Scaliger 69
The Poetic 70
Book I.: Historicus 71
Book II.: Hyle 72
Books III. and IV.: Idea and Parasceve 73
Books V. and VI.: Criticus and Hypercriticus 73
Book VII.: Epinomis 75
General ideas on Unity and the like 76
His Virgil-worship 77
His solid merits 78
Castelvetro 80
The Opere Varie 81
The Poetica 82
On Dramatic conditions 83
On the Three Unities 83
On the freedom of Epic 84
His eccentric acuteness 84
Examples: Homer’s nodding, prose in tragedy, Virgil, minor poetry 86
The medium and end of Poetry 86
Uncompromising championship of Delight 87
His exceptional interest and importance 88
Tasso and the controversies over the Gerusalemme 89
Tasso’s Critical writings 92
And position 93
Patrizzi: his Poetica 94
The Deca Istoriale 95
The Deca Disputata 96
The Trimerone on Tasso 100
Remarkable position of Patrizzi 101
Sed contra mundum 101
The latest group of sixteenth-century Critics 102
Partenio 102
Viperano 103
Piccolomini 103
Gilio 104
Mazzoni 105
Denores 106
Zinano 107
Mazzone da Miglionico, &c. 107
Summo 108
CHAPTER IV.
THE CRITICISM OF THE PLÉIADE.
The Rhetorics of the Transition 109
Sibilet 111
Du Bellay 112
The Défense et Illustration de la Langue Française 113
Its positive gospel and the value thereof 114
The Quintil Horatien 116
Pelletier’s Art Poétique 117
Ronsard: his general importance 119
The Abrégé de l’Art Poétique 120
The Prefaces to the Franciade 122
His critical gospel 125
Some minors 127
Pierre de Laudun 127
Vauquelin de la Fresnaye 128
Analysis of his Art Poétique 129
The First Book 130
The Second 130
The Third 132
His exposition of Pléiade criticism 133
Outliers: Tory, Fauchet, &c. 134
Pasquier: The Recherches 135
His knowledge of older French literature 136
And criticism of contemporary French poetry 137
Montaigne: his references to literature 138
The Essay On Books 140
CHAPTER V.
ELIZABETHAN CRITICISM.
Backwardness of English Criticism not implying inferiority 144
Its cause 145
The influence of Rhetoric and other matters 146
Hawes 146
The first Tudor critics 147
Wilson: his Art of Rhetoric 149
His attack on “Inkhorn terms” 149
His dealing with Figures 150
Cheke: his resolute Anglicism and anti-preciosity 151
His criticism of Sallust 152
Ascham 153
His patriotism 154
His horror of Romance 154
And of the Morte d’Arthur 155
His general critical attitude to Prose 156
And to Poetry 156
The craze for Classical Metres 157
Special wants of English Prosody 157
Its kinds—  
    (1) Chaucerian 158
    (2) Alliterative 158
    (3) Italianated 159
Deficiencies of all three 159
The temptations of Criticism in this respect 160
Its adventurers: Ascham himself 160
Watson and Drant 161
Gascoigne 162
His Notes of Instruction 163
Their capital value 164
Spenser and Harvey 165
The Puritan attack on Poetry 169
Gosson 169
The School of Abuse 170
Lodge’s Reply 170
Sidney’s Apology for Poetry 171
Abstract of it 172
Its minor shortcomings 174
And major heresies 175
The excuses of both 175
And their ample compensation 176
King James’s Reulis and Cautelis 176
Webbe’s Discourse 178
Slight in knowledge 179
But enthusiastic 180
If uncritical 180
In appreciation 182
Puttenham’s (?) Art of English Poesie 182
Its erudition 183
Systematic arrangement 184
And exuberant indulgence in Figures 185
Minors: Harington, Meres, Webster, Bolton, &c. 186
Campion and his Observations 187
Daniel and his Defence of Rhyme 189
Bacon 191
The Essays 192
The Advancement of Learning 192
Its denunciation of mere word-study 193
Its view of Poetry 194
Some obiter dicta 194
The whole of very slight importance 195
Stirling’s Anacrisis 196
Ben Jonson: his equipment 197
His Prefaces, &c. 198
The Drummond Conversations 199
The Discoveries 200
Form of the book 203
Its date 204
Mosaic of old and new 204
The fling at Montaigne 205
At Tamerlane 206
The Shakespeare Passage 206
And that on Bacon 206
General character of the book 208
INTERCHAPTER IV. 211
BOOK V.
THE CRYSTALLISING OF THE NEO-CLASSIC CREED.
CHAPTER I.
FROM MALHERBE TO BOILEAU.
The supplanting of Italy by France 240
Brilliancy of the French representatives 241
Malherbe 242
The Commentary on Desportes 244
What can be said for his criticism 246
Its defects stigmatised at once by Regnier 247
His Ninth Satire 247
The contrast of the two a lasting one 249
The diffusion of seventeenth century criticism 250
Vaugelas 251
Balzac 252
His Letters 252
His critical Dissertations 253
Ogier and the Preface to Tyr et Sidon 254
Chapelain: the hopelessness of his verse 257
The interest of his criticism 257
The Sentiments de l’Académie sur le Cid 258
Prefaces 259
Sur les Vieux Romans 260
Letters, &c. 261
Corneille 261
The Three Discourses 263
The Examens 263
La Mesnardière—Sarrasin—Scudéry 264
Mambrun 266
Saint-Evremond 268
His critical quality and accomplishment 269
His views on Corneille 270
On Christian subjects, &c. 270
On Ancients and Moderns 270
Gui Patin—his judgment of Browne 272
Tallemant, Pellisson, Ménage, Madame de Sévigné 273
The Ana other than Ménage’s, especially 274
The Huetiana 275
Valesiana 275
Scaligerana 276
And Parrhasiana 276
Patru, Desmarets, and others 277
Malebranche 279
The history of Boileau’s reputation 280
The Art Poétique 281
Its false literary history 281
Abstract of it 282
Critical examination of it 286
Want of originality 287
Faults of method 287
Obsession of good sense 288
Arbitrary proscriptions 289
Boileau’s other works 290
The Satires 290
The Epigrams and Epistles 292
Prose—The Héros de Roman; the Réflexions sur Longin 292
The “Dissertation on Joconde” 293
A “Solifidian of Good Sense” 295
The plea for his practical services 296
Historical examination of this 296
Concluding remarks on him 299
La Bruyère and Fénelon 300
The “Des Ouvrages de l’Esprit” 301
General observations 302
Judgments of authors 303
Fénelon. The Dialogues sur l’Eloquence 305
Sur les Occupations de l’Académie Française 306
And its challenge to correctness 307
The Abbé D’Aubignac 309
His Pratique du Théâtre 309
Rapin 310
His method partly good 311
His particular absurdities as to Homer in blame 311
As to Virgil in praise 312
As to others 313
The reading of his riddle 313
Le Bossu and the Abstract Epic 314
Bouhours 315
Encyclopædias and Newspapers 316
Bayle 316
Baillet 317
The ethos of a Critical Pedant 318
Gibert 319
The Ancient and Modern Quarrel 320
Its small critical value 321