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Sir Fulke Greville's Life of Sir Philip Sidney
Sir Fulke Greville's Life of Sir Philip Sidney Author:Fulke Greville Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE Life of the Renowned Sr PHILIP SIDNET CHAP. I. THe difference which I have found between times, and confequently the changes of life into which the... more »ir naturall viciffitudes doe violently carry men, as they have made deep furrowes of impremons into my heart, fo the fame heavy wheeles caufe me to retire my thoughts from free traffique with the world, and rather feek comfortable eafe or imployment in the fafe memory of dead men, than difquiet in a doubtfull converfation amongft the living. Which I ingenuoufly confefle, to be one chief motive of dedicating thefe exercifes of my youth to that Worthy Sir Philip Sidney, fo long fince B departed.departed. For had I grounded my ends upon ad:ive Wifedomes of the prefent, or fought Patronage out of hope, or fear in the future; Who knowes not, that there are fome Noble friends of mine, and many Honourable Magiftrates yet living, unto whom both my Fortune, and Reputation were, and are far more fubjedt ? But befides this felf-refpect of Dedication, the debt I acknowledge to that Gentleman is farre greater, as with whom I fhall ever account it honour to have been brought up: and in whom the life it felf of true worth, did (by way of example) far exceed the pictures of it in any moral Precepts. So that (if my creation had been equal) it would have proved as eafie for me, to have followed his patern, in the practice of reall vertue, as to engage my felf into this Charafterifticall kind of Poefie: in defence whereof he hath written fo much, as I fhall not need to fay any thing. For that this reprefenting of vertues, vices, humours, counfells, and ad:ions of men in feigned, and unfcan- dalous Images, is an inabling of free- bornborn fpirits to the greateft affaires of States: he himfelf hath left fuch an inftance in the too fhort fcene ...« less