THE

LIVES

OF THE

POETS

OF

GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND.

Compiled from ample Materials scattered in a Variety of Books, andespecially from the MS. Notes of the late ingenious Mr. COXETER andothers, collected for this Design,

By Mr. CIBBER, and other Hands.

VOL. III.

MDCCLIII.

VOLUME III.

Contains the

LIVES

OF

Denham
Killegrew
Howard
Behn, Aphra
Etherege
Mountford
Shadwell
Killegrew, William,
Howard
Flecknoe
Dryden
Sedley
Crowne
Sackville, E. Dorset
Farquhar
Ravenscroft
Philips, John
Walsh
Betterton
Banks
Chudley, Lady
Creech
Maynwaring
Monk, the Hon. Mrs.
Browne Tom.
Pomfret
King
Sprat, Bishop
Montague, E. Hallifax
Wycherley
Tate
Garth
Rowe
Sheffield, D. Buck.
Cotton
Additon
Winshelsea, Anne
Gildon
D'Urfey
Settle

THE

LIVES

OF THE

POETS.

* * * * *

Sir JOHN DENHAM.

An eminent poet of the 17th century, was the only son of Sir John
Denham, knight, of Little Horsley in Essex, and sometime baron of the
Exchequer in Ireland, and one of the lords justices of that kingdom.
He was born in Dublin, in the year 1615[1]; but was brought over from
thence very young, on his father's being made one of the barons of the
Exchequer in England 1617.

He received his education, in grammar learning, in London; and inMichaelmas term 1631 he was entered a gentleman commoner in TrinityCollege, Oxford, being then 16 years of age; where, as Wood expressesit, 'being looked upon as a slow dreaming young man, and more addictedto gaming than study, they could never imagine he could ever enrich theworld with the issue of his brain, as he afterwards did.'

He remained three years at the university, and having been examinedat the public schools, for the degree of bachelor of arts, he enteredhimself in Lincoln's-Inn, where he was generally thought toapply himself pretty closely to the study of the common law. Butnotwithstanding his application to study, and all the efforts he wascapable of making, such was his propensity to gaining, that he wasoften stript of all his money; and his father severely chiding him, andthreatening to abandon him if he did not reform, he wrote a little essayagainst that vice, and presented it to his father, to convince him ofhis resolution against it[2]. But no sooner did his father die, thanbeing unrestrained by paternal authority, he reassumed the practice, andsoon squandered away several thousand pounds.

In the latter end of the year 1641 he published a tragedy called theSophy, which was greatly admired, and gave Mr. Waller occasion to sayof our author, 'That he broke out like the Irish rebellion, threescorethousand strong, when no body was aware, nor in the Ieast expected it.'Soon after this he was pricked for high sheriff for the county of Surry,and made governor of Farnham-Castl

...

THE

LIVES

OF THE

POETS

OF

VOL. III.

MDCCLIII.

VOLUME III.

LIVES

OF

THE

LIVES

OF THE

POETS.

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