Project Gutenberg's The Arte of English Poesie, by George Puttenham

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Title: The Arte of English Poesie

Author: George Puttenham

Release Date: August 3, 2005 [EBook #16420]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE ARTE

OF ENGLISH

POESIE.

Contriued into three Bookes: The first of Poets and Poesie,
the second of Proportion, the third of Ornament.

[Illustration: AN CHORA SPEI (shield with hand coming out of a cloud and
holding onto an anchor entwined with vine)]

AT LONDON

Printed by Richard Field,
dwelling in the black-Friers, neere Ludgate.
1589.

TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE SIR WILLIAM CECILL KNIGHT,
LORD OF BVRGHLEY, LORD HIGH TREASVRER OF ENGLAND, R.F.

Printer wisheth health and prosperitie, with the commandement
and vse of his continuall seruice.

_This Booke (right Honorable) coming to my handes, with his bare title
without any Authours name or any other ordinarie addresse, I doubted how
well it might become me to make you a present thereof, seeming by many
expresse passages in the same at large, that it was by the Authour
intended to our Soueraigne Lady the Queene, and for her recreation and
seruice chiefly deuised, in which case to make any other person her
highnes partener in the honour of his guift it could not stand with my
dutie, nor be without some prejudice to her Maiesties interest and his
merrite. Perceyuing besides the title to purport so slender a subiect, as
nothing almost could be more discrepant from the grauitie of your yeeres
and Honorable function, whose contemplations are euery houre more
seriously employed upon the publicke administration and services:
I thought it no condigne gratification, nor scarce any good satisfaction
for such a person as you. Yet when I considered, that bestowing vpon your
Lordship the first vewe of this mine impression (a feat of mine owne
simple facultie) it could not scypher her Maiesties honour or prerogatiue
in the guift, nor yet the Authour