As the Greek tongue is made famous and eloquent by HOMER, HESIOD, EURIPIDES, AESCHYLUS, SOPHOCLES, PINDARUS, PHOCYLIDES, and ARISTOPHANES; and the Latin tongue by VIRGIL, OVID, HORACE, SILIUS ITALICUS, LUCANUS, LUCRETIUS, AUSONIUS, and CLAUDIANUS:  so the English tongue is mightily enriched, and gorgeously invested in rare ornaments and resplendent habiliments by Sir PHILIP SYDNEY, SPENSER, DANIEL, DRAYTON, WARNER, SHAKESPEARE, MARLOW, and CHAPMAN.

As XENOPHON, who did imitate so excellently as to give us effigiem justi imperii, “the portraiture of a just empire” under the name of CYRUS, (as CICERO saith of him) made therein an absolute heroical poem; and as HELIODORUS wrote in prose, his sugared invention of that picture of love in THEAGINES and CARICLEA; and yet both excellent admired poets:  so Sir PHILIP SIDNEY writ his immortal poem, The Countess of PEMBROKE’s “Arcadia" in prose; and yet our rarest poet.

As SEXTOS PROPERTIUS said, Nescio quid magis nascitur Iliade:  so I say of SPENSER’s Fairy Queen; I know not what more excellent or exquisite poem may be written.

As ACHILLES had the advantage of HECTOR, because it was his fortune to be extolled and renowned by the heavenly verse of HOMER:  so SPENSER’s ELIZA, the Fairy Queen, hath the advantage of all the Queens in the world, to be eternized by so divine a poet.

As THEOCRITUS is famoused for his Idyllia in Greek, and VIRGIL for his Eclogues in Latin:  so SPENSER their imitator in his Shepherds Calendar is renowned for the like argument; and honoured for fine poetical invention, and most exquisite wit.

As PARTHENIUS Nicaeus excellently sang the praises of ARETE:  so DANIEL hath divinely sonnetted the matchless beauty of DELIA.

As every one mourneth, when he heareth of the lamentable plangors [plaints] of [the] Thracian ORPHEUS for his dearest EURYDICE:  so every one passionateth, when he readeth the afflicted death of DANIEL’s distressed ROSAMOND.

As LUCAN hath mournfully depainted the Civil Wars of POMPEY and CAESAR:  so hath DANIEL, the Civil Wars of York and Lancaster; and DRAYTON, the Civil Wars of EDWARD II. and the Barons.

As VIRGIL doth imitate CATULLUS in the like matter of ARIADNE, for his story of Queen DIDO:  so MICHAEL DRAYTON doth imitate OVID in his England’s Heroical Epistles.

As SOPHOCLES was called a Bee for the sweetness of his tongue:  so in CHARLES FITZ-GEFFRY’s DRAKE, DRAYTON is termed “golden-mouthed,” for the purity and preciousness of his style and phrase.

As ACCIUS, MARCUS ATILIUS, and MILITHUS were called Tragaediographi; because they writ tragedies:  so we may truly term MICHAEL DRAYTON, Tragaediographus:  for his passionate penning [the poem of] the downfalls of valiant ROBERT of NORMANDY, chaste MATILDA, and great GAVESTON.