forms, and _Foure
Letters Touching Robert Greene and Others: with the Trimming of Thomas
Nash, Gentleman_. A sample of him, not in his abusive-dull, but in his
scholarly-dull manner, may be given:--

"Mine own rules and precepts of art, I believe will fall out not
greatly repugnant, though peradventure somewhat different: and
yet I am not so resolute, but I can be content to reserve the
copying out and publishing thereof, until I have a little better
consulted with my pillow, and taken some further advice of Madame
Sperienza. In the mean time, take this for a general caveat, and
say I have revealed one great mystery unto you: I am of opinion,
there is no one more regular and justifiable direction, either
for the assured and infallible certainty of our English
artificial prosody particularly, or generally to bring our
language into art, and to frame a grammar or rhetoric thereof;
than first of all universally to agree upon one and the same
orthography in all points conformable and proportionate to our
common natural prosody: whether Sir Thomas Smithies in that
respect be the most perfit, as surely it must needs be very good;
or else some other of profounder learning and longer experience,
than Sir Thomas was, shewing by necessary demonstration, wherein
he is defective, will undertake shortly to supply his wants and
make him more absolute. Myself dare not hope to hop after him,
till I see something or other, to or fro, publicly and
authentically established, as it were by a general council, or
Act of Parliament: and then peradventure, standing upon firmer
ground, for company sake, I may adventure to do as others do.
_Interim_, credit me, I dare give no precepts, nor set down any
certain general art: and yet see my boldness, I am not greatly
squeamish of my _Particular Examples_, whereas he that can but
reasonably skill of the one, will give easily a shrewd guess at
the other: considering that the one fetcheth his original and
offspring from the other. In which respect, to say troth, we
beginners have the start, and advantage of our followers, who are
to frame and conform both their examples and precepts, according
to precedent which they have of us: as no doubt Homer or some
other in Greek, and Ennius, or I know not who else in Latin, did
prejudice, and