COWLEY.

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HE Life of Cowley, notwithstanding the penury of English biography, has been written by Dr. Sprat, an author whofe pregnancy of imagination and elegance of language have deservedly fet him high in the ranks of literature; but his zeal of friendship, or ambition of eloquence, has produced a funeral oration rather than a hiftory: he has given the character, not the life, of Cowley; for he writes with fo little detail, that fcarcely any thing is diftinctly known, but all is fhewn confufed and enlarged through the mift of panegyrick.

ABRAHAM COWLEY was born in the year one thousand fix hundred and eighteen. His father was a grocer, whofe condition Dr. Sprat conceals under the general appellation of a citizen; and, what would probably not have been lefs carefully fuppreffed, the omiffion of his name in the register of St. Dunstan's parifh gives reafon to fufpect that his father was a fectary. Whoever he was, he died before the birth of his fon, and confequently left him to the care of his mother; whom Wood repre VOL. IX. fents

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fents as ftruggling earnestly to procure him a literary education, and who, as she lived to the age of eighty, had her folicitude rewarded by feeing her fon eminent, and, I hope, by feeing him fortunate, and partaking his profperity. We know at leaft, from Sprat's account, that he always acknowledged her care, and juftly paid the dues of filial gratitude.

In the window of his mother's apartment lay Spencers' Fairy Queen; in which he very early took delight to read, till, by feeling the charms of verse, he became, as he relates, irrecoverably a poet. Such are the accidents which, fometimes remembered, and perhaps fometimes forgotten, produce that particular defignation of mind, and propenfity for fome certain fcience or employment, which is commonly called Genius. The true Genius is a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to fome particular direction. Sir Joshua Reynolds, the great Painter of the prefent age, had the firft fondnefs for his art excited by the perufal of Richardfon's treatife.

By his mother's folicitation he was admitted into Westminster-school, where he was foon diftinguifhed. He was wont, fays Sprat, to relate, "That he had "this defect in his memory at that time, that his "teachers never could bring it to retain the ordinary "rules of grammar."

This is an inftance of the natural defire of man to propagate a wonder. It is furely very difficult to tell any thing as it was heard, when Sprat could not refrain from amplifying a commodious incident, though the book to which he prefixed his narrative contained its confutation. A memory admitting

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fome things, and rejecting others, an intellectual digeftion that concocted the pulp of learning, but refufed the hufks, had the appearance of an instinctive elegance, of a particular provifion made by Nature for literary politenefs. But in the author's own honeft relation, the marvel vanishes: he was, he fays, fuch" an enemy to all constraint, that his "mafter never could prevail on him to learn the "rules without book." He does not tell that he could not learn the rules, but that, being able to perform his exercises without them, and being an enemy to constraint," he fpared himfelf the labour.

Among the English poets, Cowley, Milton, and Pope, might be faid to lifp in numbers;" and have given fuch early proofs, not only of powers of language, but of comprehenfion of things, as to more tardy minds feem fcarcely credible. But of the learned puerilities of Cowley there is no doubt, fince a volume of his poems was not only written, but printed in his thirteenth year*; containing, with other poetical compofitions, "The tragical "Hiftory of Pyramus and Thifbe," written when he was ten years old; and "Conftantia and Philetus," written two years after.

While he was yet at fchool he produced a comedy called "Love's Riddle," though it was not publifhed till he had been fome time at Cambridge. This comedy is of the paftoral kind, which requires no acquaintance with the living world, and therefore

* This volume was not published before 1633, when Cowley was fifteen years old. Dr. Johnfon, as well as former Biogra phers, feems to have been milled by the portrait of Cowley being by mistake marked with the age of thirteen years. R.

the time at which it was compofed adds little to the wonders of Cowley's minority.

In 1636, he was removed to Cambridge, where he continued his ftudies with great intenseness; for he is faid to have written, while he was yet a young ftudent, the greater part of his "Davideis;" a work of which the materials could not have been collected without the study of many years, but by a mind of the greatest vigour and activity.

Two years after his fettlement at Cambridge he published "Love's Riddle," with a poetical dedication to Sir Kenelm Digby; of whofe acquaintance all his contemporaries feem to have been ambitious; and Naufragium Joculare," a comedy written in Latin, but without due attention to the ancient models; for it is not loofe verfe, but mere profe. It was printed, with a dedication in verfe, to Dr. Comber, mafter of the college; but, having neither the facility of a popular nor the accuracy of a learned work, it feems to be now univerfally neglected.

At the beginning of the civil war, as the Prince paffed through Cambridge in his way to York, he was entertained with a reprefentation of the "Guar"dian," a comedy, which Cowley fays was neither written nor acted, but rough-drawn by him, and repeated by the fcholars. That this comedy was printed during his abfence from his country, he appears to have confidered as injurious to his reputation; though, during the fuppreffion of the

*He was a candidate this year at Weftminster-school for election to Trinity-college, but proved unfuccessful. N.

theatres,