button to main menu  Drayton 1622, preface part 1, 3

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preface to part 1, 3:-
  kissing
Hen. VII.) that it was death by the English laws for any man to weare a Visard, with many like errors in his History, of our Trials by XII. Shrives, Coate of the Kingdome, Parliaments, and other like; Bartol's delivering the custome in this Isle to be, [star] quod Primogenitus succedit in omnibus Bonis; The Greeke Chalcondylas his slanderous description of our usuall forme of kinde entertainment to begin with the Wives Courteous admission to that most affected pleasure of Lascivious fancy (he was deceiv'd by misunderstanding the Reports of Our Kissing Salutations, given and accepted amongst us with more freedom then in any part of the Southern world, erroneously thinking, perhaps, that every Kisse must be thought seconded with that addition to the Seven promist by Mercury in name of Venus to him that should find Psyche; or as wanton, as Aristophanes his [...Greek...]) as many untruth's of like Nature in Others. Concerning the Arcadian deductions of our British Monarchy; within that time, from Brute, suppos'd about MMDCCCL. of the world (Samuel then Judge of Israel) unto some LIV. before Christ about when, Julius Caesar visited the Island) no Relation was extant, which is now left to our use. How then are they, which pretend Chronologies of that Age without any Fragment of Authors before Gildas, Taliesin and Nennius (the eldest of which was since D. of Christ) to be credited? For my part, I beleeve much in them as I do the finding of Hiero's Shipmast in our [star] Mountaines, which is collected upon a corrupted place in Athenaeus, cited out of Moschion; or, that Ptolemy Philapdelph sent to Reutha King of Scots some MDCCCC. years since, for discovery of this Country, which Claude Ptolomy afterwards put in his Geography; or that Julius Caesar built Arthurs Hoffen in Stirling Shirifdome; or, that Britons were at the Rape of Hesione with Hercules, as our excellent wit Joseph of Excester (published falsly under name of Cornelius Nepos) singeth: which are even equally warrantable, as Ariosto's Narrations of Persons and Places in Rowlands, Spensers Elfin Story, or Rablais his strange discoveries. Yet the Capricious faction will (I know) never quit their Beliefe of wrong; although some Elias or Delian Diver should make open what is so inquired after. Briefly, untill Polybius, who wrote neere MDCCC. since (for Aristotle [...Greek...] is cleerely counterfeited in title) no Greeke mentions the Isle; untill Lucreti' (some C. years later) no Roman hath exprest a thought of us; untill Caesars Commentaries, no piece of its description was known, that is now left to posterity. For time therfore preceding Caesar, I dare trust none; but with Others adhere to Conjecture. In Ancient matter since, I relie on Tacitus and Dio especially, Vopiscus, Capitolin, Spartian (for so much as they have, and the rest of the Augustan Story) afterwards Gildas, Nennius (but little is left of them, and that of the last very imperfect) Bede, Asserio, Ethelwerd (neere of bloud to King Alfred) William of Malmesbury, Marian,
Florence
[star1] Ad C. de summ. Trinit. l. I. num. 42.
[star2] Unum blandientis, as pulsu~ lingue longe mellisum. Apuleius De Aur. Asin. 6. and you may remember (as like enough he did) that in Plautus Curcul. Qui vult Cubare pangit saltem suavium, & such more in other wanton Poets, with the opinio~ of Baldus, that a Kisse in those Southerne Nations, is sufficient consent to imperfit espousels, nothing of that kind, but Copulation, with us & our neighbouring Dutch being so.
[star3] [...Greek...]
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