Mr. Philips fuppofes a greater part of his works to be loft, than what now remains of him; of that number may be many a fong, and many a wanton lay, which perhaps might have been written by him while he was a ftudent at Cambridge.

The Court of Love, as before obferved, was written while he refided at Cambridge in the 18th of his age.

year

The Crafty Lovers was written in the year of our Lord 1348, and probably the Remedy of Love was written about that time, or not long after.

The Lamentation of Mary Magdalen, taken from Origen, was written by him in his early years, and perhaps Boethius de Confolatione Philofophiæ was · tranflated by him about the fame time.

The Romaunt of the Rofe is a tranflation from the French: this poem was begun by William de Lerris, and continued by John de Meun, both famous French poets; it feems to have been tranflated about the time of the rife of Wickliffe's Opinions, it confifting of violent invectives against religious orders.

The Complaint of the Black Knight, during John of Gaunt's courtship with Blanch is fuppofed to be written on account of the duke of Lancaster's marriage.

The poem of Troilus and Crefeide was written in the early part of his life, tranflated (as he fays) from Lollius an hiftoriographer in Italy; he has added feveral things of his own, and borrowed from others what he thought proper for the embellishment of this work, and in this refpect was much indebted to his friend Petrarch.

The Houfe of Fame; from this poem Mr. Pope took the hint of his Temple of Fame.

The book of Blanch the Duchefs, commonly called the Dreme of Chaucer, was written upon the death of that lady.

The

The Aflembly of Fowls (or Parlement of Briddis, as he calls it in his Retraction) was written before the death of queen Philippa.

The Life of St. Cecilia feems to have been first a fingle poem, afterwards made one of his Canterbury Tales which is told by the fecond Nonne: and fo perhaps was that of the Wife of Bath, which he advífes John of Gaunt to read, and was afterwards inferted in his Canterbury Tales.

The Canterbury Tales were written about the year 1383. It is certain the Tale of the Nonnes Priest was written after the Infurrection of Jack Straw and Wat Tyler.

The Flower and the Leaf was written by him in the Prologue to the Legende of Gode Women.

Chaucer's ABC, called la Priere de noftre Dame, was written for the ufe of the duchefs Blanch.

The book of the Lion is mentioned in his Retraction, and by Lidgate in the prologue to the Fall of Princes, but is now loft.

De Vulcani vene, i. e. of the Brocke of Vulcan, which is likewife mentioned by Lidgate.

La belle Dame fans Mercy, was tranflated from the French of Alain Chartier, fecretary to Lewis XI. The Complaint of Mars and Venus was tranflated from the French of Sir Otes de Grantson.

The Complaint of Annilida to falfe Arcite."

The Legend of Gode Women (called the Affembly of Ladies, and by fome the Nineteen Ladies) was written to oblige the queen, at the request of the countess of Pembroke,

The treatise of the conclusion of the Aftrolabie was written in the year 1391.

Of the Cuckow and Nightingale. This feems by the defcription to have been written at Woodstock

The Ballade beginning In Feverre, &c. was a compliment to the countefs of Pembroke

Several other ballads are afcribed to him, fome of which are suspected not to have been his. The come

dies

dies imputed to him are no other than his Canterbury Tales, and the tragedies were those the monks tell in his Tales.

The Teftament of Love was written in the latter part of his life.

The Song beginning Fly fro the Prefe, &c. was written on his death-bed.

Leland fays, that by the confent of the learned in his time, the Plowman's Tale was attributed to Chaucer, but was fuppreffed in the edition then extant, because the vices of the clergy were expofed in it. Mr. Speight, in his life of Chaucer, printed in 1602, mentions a tale in William Thynne's firft printed book of Chaucer's works, more odious to the clergy than the Plowman's. One thing must not be omitted concerning the works of Chaucer. In the year 1526 the bishop of London prohibited a great number of books which he thought had a tendency to deftroy religion and virtue, as did alfo the king in 1529; but in fo great efteem were his works then, and fo highly valued by the people of taste, that they were excepted out of the prohibition.

The following is given as a Specimen of his Stile and Language.

The PARDONERS PROLOGUE.

Lordings! quoth he, in chirch when I preche,
I paine mee to have an hauteine speche';
And ring it out, as round as doth a bell;
For I ken all by rote that I tell.
My teme is always one, and ever was,
(Radix omnium malorum eft cupiditas)
First, I pronounce fro whence I come,

And then my bills, I fhew all and some:
Our liege-lords feal on my patent!
That fhew I firft, my body to warrent;

That

That no man be so bold, priest ne clerk,
Me to disturb of Chrift's holy werke;
And after that I tell forth my tales,
Of bulls, of popes, and of cardinales,
Of patriarkes, and of bishops I fhew;
And in Latin I fpeake wordes a few,
To faver with my predication,
And for to ftere men to devotion.

Then fhew I forth my long christall stones,
Ycrammed full of clouts and of bones;
Relicks they been, as were they, echone!
Then have I, in Latin a fhoder-bone,
Which that was of an holy Jewes-fhepe.
Good men, fay, take of my words kepe!
If this bone be washen in any
well,
If cow, or calfe, fhepe, or oxe fwell
That any worm hath eaten, or hem ftrong,
Take water of this well, and wash his tong,
And it is hole a-non: And furthermore,
Of pockes, and fcabs, and every fore
Shall fhepe be hole, that of this well
Drinketh a draught: Take keep of that I tell!
If that the good man, that beafts oweth,
Woll every day, ere the cocke croweth,
Fafting drink of this well, a draught,
(As thilk holy Jew our elders taught)
His beafts and his ftore fhall multiplie :
And firs, alfo it healeth jealoufie,
For, though a man be fall in jealous rage,
Let make with this Water his potage,
And never fhall he more his wife miftrift,
Thughe, in footh, the default by her wist:
Al had the taken priefts two or three!
Here is a mittaine eke, that
ye may fee.

He that has his hand well put in this mittaine;
He shall have multiplying of his graine,
When he hath fowen, be it wheat or otes;

So that he offer good pens or grotes!

Thofe

Those who would prefer the thoughts of this father of English poetry, in a modern drefs, are referred to the elegant verfions of him, by Dryden, Pope, and others, who have done ample juftice to their illuftrious predeceffor.

I'

LANGLAND.

Thas been difputed amongst the critics whether this poet preceded or followed Chaucer. But we are rather inclined to believe that he was cotemporary with him, and our conjecture is ftrengthened by the confideration of his ftile, which is equally unmufical and obfolete with Chaucer's; and though Dryden has told us that the latter exceeded thofe who followed him at 50 or 60 years distance, in point of smoothness, yet with great fubmiffion to his judgment, we think there is fome alteration even in Skelton and Harding, which will appear, to the reader, to the beft advantage, by a quotation.

Selden

Of Langland's family we have no account. in his notes on Draiton's Poly-Olbion, quotes him with honour; but he is entirely neglected by Philips and Winstanly, tho' he feems to have been a man of great genius: Befides Chaucer, few poets in that or the fubfequent age had more real infpiration or poctical enthusiasm in their compofitions. One cannot read the works of this author, or Chaucer, without lamenting the unhappinefs of a fluctuating language, that buries in its ruins even genius itfelf; for like edifices of fand, every breath of time defaces it, and if the

form