Francis Petrarcha.  The Lord Vaux his commendation lyeth chiefly in the facillitie of his meetre, and the aptnesse of his descriptions such as he taketh vpon him to make, namely in sundry of his Songs, wherein he sheweth the counterfait action very liuely & pleasantly.  Of the later sort I thinke thus.  That for Tragedie, the Lord of Buckhurst, & Maister Edward Ferrys for such doings as I haue sene of theirs do deserue the hyest price:  Th’Earle of Oxford and Maister Edwardes of her Maiesties Chappell for Comedy and Enterlude.  For Eglogue and pastorall Poesie, Sir Philip Sydney and Maister Challenner, and that other Gentleman who wrate the late shepheardes Callender.  For dittie and amourous Ode I finde Sir Walter Rawleyghs vayne most loftie, insolent, and passionate.  Maister Edward Dyar, for Elegie most sweete, solempne and of high conceit. Gascon for a good meeter and for a plentifull vayne. Phaer and Golding for a learned and well corrected verse, specially in translation cleare and very faithfuly answering their authours intent.  Others haue also written with much facillitie, but more commendably perchance if they had not written so much nor so popularly.  But last in recitall and first in degree is the Queene our soueraigne Lady, whose learned, delicate, noble Muse, easily surmounteth all the rest that haue written before her time or since, for sence, sweetnesse and subtillitie, be it in Ode, Elegie, Epigram, or any other kinde of poeme Heroick or Lyricke, wherein it shall please her Maiestie to employ her penne, euen by as much oddes as her owne excellent estate and degree exceedeth all the rest of her most humble vassalls.

  THE SECOND BOOKE,
  OF PROPORTION POETICAL.

  CHAP.  I.

Of Proportion Poeticall.

It is said by such as professe the Mathematicall sciences, that all things stand by proportion, and that without it nothing could stand to be good or beautiful.  The Doctors of our Theologie to the same effect, but in other termes, say:  that God made the world by number, measure and weight:  some for weight say tune; and peraduenture better.  For weight is a kind of measure or of much conueniencie with it:  and therefore in their descriptions be alwayes coupled together (statica & metrica) weight and measures.  Hereupon it seemeth the Philosopher gathers a triple proportion, to wit, the Arithmeticall, the Geometricall, and the Musical.  And by one of these three is euery other proportion guided of the things that haue conueniencie by relation, as the visible by light colour and shadow:  the audible by stirres, times and accents:  the odorable by smelles of sundry temperaments:  the tastible by sauours to the rate:  the tangible by his obiectes in this or that regard.  Of all which we leaue to speake, returning to our poeticall proportion, which holdeth of the Musical, because as we sayd before