53. Edmund Waller. By Clarendon
54. Thomas Hobbes. By Clarendon
55. " " Notes by John Aubrey
56. Thomas fuller. Anonymous
57. John Milton. Notes by John Aubrey
58. " " Note by Edward Phillips
59. " " Notes by Jonathan Richardson
60. Abraham Cowley. By himself
61. " " By Thomas Sprat
62. Charles ii. By Halifax
63. Charles ii. By Burnet
64. Charles ii. By Burnet
65. The earl of Clarendon (Edward Hyde, first Earl), By Burnet
66. The earl of Lauderdale (John Maitland, second Earl, created
Duke 1672). By Clarendon.
67. The earl of Lauderdale (John Maitland, second Earl, created
Duke 1672). By Burnet
68. The earl of shaftesbury (Anthony Ashley Cooper, first Earl).
By Burnet
69. The earl of shaftesbury (Anthony Ashley Cooper, first Earl).
By Dryden
70. The duke of Buckingham (George Villiers, second Duke). By Burnet
71. The duke of Buckingham (George Villiers, second Duke). By Dryden
72. The Marquis of Halifax (George Savile, first Marquis). By Burnet
73. Sir Edmund Saunders. By Roger North
74. Two groups of divines: (1. Benjamin Whitchcot, Ralph Cudworth, John
Wilkins, Henry More, John Worthington; 2. John Tillotson, Edward
Stillingfleet, Simon Patrick, William Lloyd, Thomas Tenison). By
Burnet
75. James ii. By Burnet
76. James ii. By Burnet
THE CHARACTER
The seventeenth century is rich in short studies or characters of its great men. Its rulers and statesmen, its soldiers and politicians, its lawyers and divines, all who played a prominent part in the public life, have with few notable exceptions been described for us by their contemporaries. There are earlier characters in English literature; but as a definite and established form of literary composition the character dates from the seventeenth century. Even Sir Robert Naunton’s Fragmenta Regalia, or Observations on the late Queen Elizabeth her Times and Favourites, a series of studies of the great men of Elizabeth’s court, and the first book of its kind, is an old man’s recollection of his early life, and belongs to the Stuart period in everything but its theme. Nor at any later period is there the same wealth of material for such a collection as is given in this volume. The eighteenth century devoted itself rather to biography. When the facts of a man’s life, his works, and his opinions claimed detailed treatment, the fashion of the short character had passed.