tion: so be the meane
matters, to be caried with all wordes and speaches of smothnesse and
pleasant moderation, & finally the base things to be holden within their
teder, by low, myld, and simple maner of vtterance, creeping rather then
clyming, & marching rather then mounting vpwardes, with the wings of the
stately subiects and stile.

_CHAP. VI._

_Of the high, low, and meane subiect._

The matters therefore that concerne the Gods and diuine things are highest
of all other to be couched in writing, next to them the noble gests and
great fortunes of Princes, and the notable accidents of time, as the
greatest affaires of war & peace, these be all high subiectes, and
therefore are deliuered ouer to the Poets _Hymnick_ & historicall who be
occupied either in diuine laudes, or in _heroicall_ reports: the meane
matters be those that concerne meane men their life and busines, as
lawyers, gentlemen, and marchants, good housholders and honest Citizens,
and which found neither to matters of state nor of warre, nor leagues, nor
great alliances, but smatch all the common conuersation, as of the
ciuiller and better sort of men: the base and low matters be the doings of
the common artificer, seruingman, yeoman, groome, husbandman,
day-labourer, sailer, shepheard, swynard, and such like of homely calling,
degree and bringing vp: so that in euery of the sayd three degrees, not
the selfe same vertues be egally to be praysed nor the same vices, egally
to be dispraised, nor their loues, mariages, quarels, contracts and other
behauiours, be like high nor do require to be set fourth with the like
stile: but euery one in his degree and decencie, which made that all
_hymnes_ and histories, and Tragedies, were written in the high stile; all
Comedies and Enterludes and other common Poesies of loues, and such like
in the meane stile, all _Eglogues_ and pastorall poemes in the low and
base flile, otherwise they had bene vtterly disproporcioned: likewise for
the same cause some phrases and figures be onely peculiar to the high
stile, some to the base or meane, some common to all three, as shalbe
declared more at large hereafter when we come to speake of figure and
phrase: also some wordes and speaches and sentences doe become the high
stile, that do not become th'other two. And contrariwise, as shalbe said
when we talke of words and sentences: finally some kinde of measure and
concord, doe not beseeme the high stile, that well become