ot the only blot upon
Lyly's Oxford life. From the hints thrown out by his contemporaries, and
from some allusions, doubtless personal, in the _Euphues_, we learn
that, as an undergraduate, he was an irresponsible madcap. "Esteemed in
the University a noted wit," he would very naturally become the centre
of a pleasure-seeking circle of friends, despising the persons and
ideas of their elders, eager to adopt the latest fashion whether in
dress or in thought, and intolerant alike of regulations and of duty.
Gabriel Harvey, who nursed a grudge against Lyly, even speaks of
"horning, gaming, fooling and knaving," words which convey a distinct
sense of something discreditable, whatever may be their exact
significance. It is necessary to lay stress upon this period of Lyly's
life, because, as I hope to show, his residence at Oxford, and the
friends he made there, had a profound influence upon his later
development, and in particular determined his literary bent. For our
present purpose, however, which is merely to give a brief sketch of his
life, it is sufficient to notice that our author's conduct during his
residence was not so exemplary as it might have been. It must,
therefore, have called forth a sigh of relief from the authorities of
Magdalen, when they saw the last of John Lyly, M.A., in 1575. He
however, quite naturally, saw matters otherwise. It would seem to him
that the College was suffering wrong in losing so excellent a wit, and
accordingly he heroically took steps to prevent such a catastrophe, for
in 1576 we find him writing to his patron Burleigh, requesting him to
procure mandatory letters from the Queen "that so under your auspices I
may be quietly admitted a Fellow there." The petition was refused,
Burleigh's sense of propriety overcoming his sense of humour, and the
petitioner quitted Oxford, leaving his College the legacy of an unpaid
bill for battels, and probably already preparing in his brain the
revenge, which subsequently took the form of an attack upon his
University in _Euphues_, which he published in 1578.

It is interesting to learn that in 1579, according to the common
practice of that day, he proceeded to his degree of M.A. at Cambridge,
though there is no evidence of any residence there[10]. Indeed we know
from other sources that in 1578, or perhaps earlier, Lyly had taken up
his position at the Savoy Hospital. It seems probable that he became
again indebted to Burleigh's generosity for the roo