In an effort to educate myself, I am reading The Oxford Book of Essays, chosen and edited by John Gross. [copies for sale here] There’s 142 of the blighters, so it will take me all year. To make this “stick” I am going to blog each essay.
This essay is online,
Who was the author:
John Dryden (/ˈdraɪdən/; 19 August [O.S. 9 August] 1631 – 12 May [O.S. 1 May] 1700) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England’s first Poet Laureate.[1][2]
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Romantic writer Sir Walter Scott called him “Glorious John”.[3]
What happened the year they were born (and the C02 ppm): 1631
The Big Events they were alive for: Civil War, restoration etc
What happened in the year they died (and the C02 ppm): 1700
My awareness of/appreciation of this author (if any): Awareness yes, read owt? nope
What’s the essay?
The essay is called “Chaucer.” It’s 5 pages long. For me, the key take-aways were that Dryden was a Chaucer fan
Best line(s)
There was plenty enough, but the Dishes were ill sorted; whole Pyramids of Sweet-meats for Boys and Women; but little of solid Meat for Men: All this proceeded not from any want of Knowledge, but of Judgment; neither did he want that in discerning the Beauties and Faults of other Poets; but only indulg’d himself in the Luxury of Writing; and perhaps knew it was a Fault, but hoped the Reader would not find it
For Mankind is ever the same, and nothing lost out of Nature, though every thing is alter’d.
(compare Ecclesiastes, nothing new under the sun) And Full Fathom Five from The Tempest
Stuff I had to look up
poeta , nimis poeta Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus (Classical Latin: [ˈɡaːius waˈlɛrius kaˈtullus]; c. 84 – c. 54 BC), known as Catullus (kə-TUL-əs), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes.[2]
“too much the poet, too poetical”
Scandalum Magnatum
a defamatory speech or writing published to the injury of a peer, judge, or other great officer of England
Compare Lèse-majesté or lese-majesty[1][2] (UK: /ˌliːz ˈmædʒɪsti/ leez MAJ-ist-ee, US: /ˌleɪz -/ layz -)[3][2] is an offence or defamation against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or of the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from medieval Anglo-Norman French, where lese majesté, leze majesté or lese magestate (among other variants) meant ‘an offence against the person or dignity of the Crown‘,[4] which traces back to Classical Latin laesa māiestās (‘hurt or violated majesty’), which was a form of treason against the emperor under the law of maiestas in Ancient Rome.[5][2] The modern spellings are due to the later influence of modern French (in the case of lèse-majesté), and the gradual transformation of Anglo-Norman into a highly Anglicised form known as Law French (in the case of lese-majesty),[5] which also accounts for the Anglicised pronunciation.[6]
Baptista Porta
Giambattista della Porta (Italian: [dʒambatˈtista della ˈpɔrta]; 1535 – 4 February 1615), also known as Giovanni Battista Della Porta, was an Italian scholar, polymath and playwright who lived in Naples at the time of the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution and Counter-Reformation.
Giambattista della Porta spent the majority of his life on scientific endeavours. He benefited from an informal education of tutors and visits from renowned scholars. His most famous work, first published in 1558, is entitled Magia Naturalis (Natural Magic).[1] In this book he covered a variety of the subjects he had investigated, including occult philosophy, astrology, alchemy, mathematics, meteorology, and natural philosophy. He was also referred to as “professor of secrets”.[2]
Stuff worth thinking about.
xx
Connects to (watch this space – if there are later essays that resonate with this one, I’ll come back and add a link to the post for that essay).
marchudson.net 
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