The chief Points or Summs of

the Addresses.

C

I.

Oncerning the Historical Use of the old Book of BRUTE, dedicated to ROBERT Earl of GLOCESTER, Brother of the Empress MAWD.

II.

The religious Necessity of Impartiality in Historiographers, and of Abstinence, in general, from Censure.

III.

The Historical States of Times among us, from JULIUS CASAR till King HENRY the Seventh, with Discovery's of our chief Historical Dangers.

IV.

Prime Gardens for gathering English: according to the true Gage or Standard of the Tongue, 'about 15 or 16 years ago.

1 Antony à Wood thinks these Addresses were written about 1610. Not. MS. 2 Past. MS. Rawlinson.

HYPERCRITICA:

OR

A Rule of Judgement, for writing or reading our History's.

Tit

ADDRESSE THE FIRST.

O write the History of England is a Work superfluous, if it ever had an History: but, having had all other Honours, it only wanteth that. Polydor Virgil in England, and Paulus Emilius in France, both of them Italians, were entertain'd of Purpose. As if their Narrations ought to have most Belief, which were written by their Pens, who had least Interest in the Argument, or Relation to the Party's. This Counsel, whatsoever it seem'd to the Givers, or Receivers, found less in Success among us then it had in Probability. Many great Volumes carry among us the Titles of History's. But Learned men, and 'Sr Henry Savil one of them, absolutely deny, that any of ours discharge that Office which the Titles promise. For my part I think that the most of them have their Praises, and all of them their Uses towards the composition of an universal History for England.

SECT. II.

Among the greatest wants in our ancient Authours, are the wants of Art and Style, which as they add to the lustre of the Works and Delights of the Reader; yet add they nothing to

1 The place is set down in my third Addresse.

the

the Truth; which they so esteemed, as they seem to have regarded nothing else. For without Truth, Art and Style come into the Nature of Crimes by Imposture. It is an act of high Wisdom, and not of Eloquence only, to write the History of so great, and noble a People as the English. For the Causes of things are not only wonderfully wrapt one within the other, but placed oftentimes far above the ordinary Reach's of human Wit; and he who relates Events, without their Premisses and Circumstances, deserves not the name of an Historian; as being like to him who numbers the Bones of a Man anatomized, or presenteth unto us the Bare Skeleton, without declaring the Nature of the Fabrick or teaching the Use of Parts.

SECT. III.

The Part of heavenly Providence in the Actions of Men is generally left out by most of the Ethnicks in their Histories. Among whom copious Livy seems worthily the most religious, and consequently of theirs the best: as Cornelius Tacitus (let not plain Dealing offend his other Admirers) either the most irreligious, or with the most and therefore the less worthy to be in Honour as a Cabinet Counsellour with any man, to whom Piety towards powers divine is pretious. This some affirm deliberately notwithstanding all that which Boccalini in his late Lucianical Ragualias hath undertaken on his Behalf; as in their Anti-Tacitus, for Justification of those censures of levity, malice, and most apparent falsehood, which Tertullian, Orosius, and other of the ancient; Casaubon, and other of the modern, brand upon him, is (as they conceive) fully proved. On the other side Christian Authors, while for their ease they shuffled up the reasons of events, in briefly referring all causes immediately to the Will of God, have generally neglected to inform their Readers in the ordinary means of Carriage in human Af

1 Epist. ad Hen. 4tum, Gall. Reg. ante Polybium: illos excusari non posse judicamus, qui unicum hunc historicum omnibus aliis anteponunt. Quid enim principi, præsertim juveni lectione illorum Annalium esse queat perniciosius.

fairs,

I

fairs, and thereby singularly maimed their Narrations. Philip de Comines, and our Sr Thomas More (both of them great Counsellors of State to their several Princes) are two of those very few. Worthies, who respecting as well the superior, as the inferior Efficients of Operations in the World, come near to accomplish the most difficult duty of Historians. In which number as I wish to be 3 one, so there is no fault to endeavour to be the only one; for, according to that of Quinctilian: Quid erat futurum, si nemo plus fecisset eo quem sequebatur ?

SECT. IV.

Truth is the soveraigne praise of an History. For want whereof Lucian did condemn unto his hell, Ctesias, Herodotus, and other of his Country men. And although himself were as false a Companion as any, yet Learning and Reason told him, that Truth in Story was only to be sacrificed unto, as the Goddess of that brave Province; and that all other respects came after, with a very large distance between. Which makes Velleius Paterculus, that courtly Historian, with his bis penetrata Britannia in flattery of Cæsar, rather to live for his Latin, and conceitful notions, then for his authority in matter; and Ammianus Marcellinus, notwithstanding his half barbarous style, to have a better and a greater Fame then polite Paterculus.

SECT. V.

There is a great complaint among some of the most Learned, against Galfridus Arthurius, or Galfridus Monumethensis, for want of Truth, and Modesty, as creating a BRUTE unto us for the Founder of our Britain. But who is he that proving it to be a Fiction, can prove it withal to be his? If that Work be quite abolished, there is a vast Blanck upon the Times of our

1 Esstate MS. Rawlinson. 2 Of good Ib.

3 I most heartily wish He had; for any Person of Skill, in every Paragraph, may easily discover Him to be a complete Master of his Subject. A. H. 4 Here Mr. Hearne's Fragment begins, and ends with the Address. A. H.

Country

I

Country, from the Creation of the World till the coming of Julius Cæsar, not terra incognita it self being less to be known then ours. The Things of which Ages as we understand not the more for Monmouths history, unless the same be true; so neither seem they (as being those Times which our Criticks mark with their "Adλov, and their Múxov, their Ignotum, and Fabulosum) much to be stood upon. Nevertheless, out of that very Story (let it be what it will) have Titles been framed in open Parliament, both in England, and Ireland, for the Rights of the Crown of England, even to entire Kingdoms. And though no Parliament can make that to be a Truth, which is not such in the proper Nature thereof, nor that much Authority is added thereby to that traditional Monument, because Parliament men are not always Antiquaries, yet are we somewhat the more, and rather ty'd to look with favour on the Case. Therefore it pleased me well, what once I did read in a great Divine, that in Apocryphis non omnia esse Apocrypha. And that very much of Monmouths book, or pretended Translation, de Origine & gestis Britannorum be granted to be fabulous, yet many Truths are mixed.

SECT. VI.

The main Controversy concerning that Work is, whether it be an Antiquity or an Imposture. That it is full of Fables or Discohærencies no man denyeth, and Giraldus Cambrensis himself though being his Country-man, and living in that Age, 3 angerly taxeth it for such, albeit he grants a Brute, and much of the principal Substance to be true, and follows it. The Adversaries are both many, and many of special Account, as Nubrigensis, Whethamsted &c. among the ancient; and among the

1 Apud Matth. Westm. Epist. Edv. 1. Regis A. ad Bonifaciam P. M. 1301. Et Epist. Procerum Angl. Anno eodem. II. Elizab. ap. Dubl. 23 Febru. Sr H. Sidney L. Deputy. 3 Sicut fabulosa Gaufredi Arthuri mentitur Historia: These are the words of Giraldus cited by Sr John Prise, out of Giraldus, de Cambria descriptione, where Giraldus denies, and truly denies, that Wales was so called, either of Duke Wallo or of Queen Wendolena.

modern