graceful Horace who suffered an amusing martyrdom from the bore in the Via Sacra, and again by the more aggressive English poet who saw nothing incongruous in masquerading under the Roman's name. The bore himself appears incontinently as the Tigellius or the Crispinus, half knave, half fool, whose immortality is to spring from the goodhumored allusions of the Augustan satirist, or as the foppish and bombastic poet-ape under whose fantastic form the testy Elizabethan satirist chooses to introduce his not insignificant nor highly malicious fellow-dramatist Marston. But a confusion of the ancient and the contemporary, of the historical and the fanciful subjects of treatment, is evident in the Horace of Poetaster, and in the case of Crispinus, Demetrius, and Virgil, to mention no others, has made itself felt sufficiently to lead critics to differ widely in estimating the proportion of the Augustan, the Elizabethan, and the purely imaginative elements in these dramatic personalities. It is because of this two-fold or even three-fold treatment that it has seemed necessary to go rather minutely into the various sources, phases, and implications of each character in our drama. The arrangement of names is made alphabetical for the sake of convenience in reference. Finally, in entering upon the discussion of identifications, we cannot do better than to keep in mind Jonson's own warning upon this subject in the Induction of Bartholomew Fair. To this it may be replied that Poetaster is avowedly a satire upon contemporaries. Nevertheless, granting that the characters of Horace, Crispinus, and Demetrius are in the main meant for the poet and his dramatic enemies, the present editor is convinced that in general Jonson does not paint exclusively and scrupulously a living person even when having such in his mind's eye, but rather throws in a characterizing stroke now and again, so that the result is not a portrait, but a caricature, or merely a fanciful or a conventional sketch that suggests to us more or less vividly some person we know. This

explains certain contradictions which some critics have discovered-in Virgil as here presented, for example-and it should also warn us against uncritically reading into any character of Poetaster an identity which Jonson's portraiture may from time to time seem to suggest.

Aesop. Clodius Aesopus, probably a freedman of the Gens Clodia, was the most celebrated tragic actor in Rome in the time of Cicero, whose friend he became. He left a large fortune to a spendthrift son.

Of the Aesop who appears, but says no word, in Poetaster, Gifford notes (GC. 2. 483): 'He was an actor at the Fortune play-house, which is all that I can say of him. Our author treats him with marked dislike: he merely allows him to make his appearance, and then hurries him off the stage to undergo a servile punishment.'

The facts supplied by the play concerning this doubtful character are as follows: 3. 4. 311-5; 'Doe not bring your AESOPE, your politician; vnleffe you can ram vp his mouth with cloues; the flaue smells ranker then fome fixteene dunghills, and is feuenteene times more rotten.' This is said by Tucca to Histrio, and makes it clear that Aesop and the present Histrio are not identical, as some critics have argued, though they belong to the same company. Of the player who is said by Lupus to have discovered to him the 'libel' written by Horace upon Caesar, Tucca says (5. 3. 112-3): 'I, an honest fycophant-like flaue, and a politician, besides.' Aesop is called in, and, though promised by Tucca a monopoly of playing for his 'covey,' is ordered by Caesar to be whipped for tale-bearing.

The only warranted conclusion from the above is that Aesop is an individual, and not to be confused with Histrio; that he is a member of some company hostile to Jonson, a meddler in politics, and a fellow of low character. For further discussion of Aesop, see under HISTRIO. Albius. Jonson may have taken this name from Horace, Sat. 1. 4. 28: 'Stupet Albius aere.'

Albius is the typical citizen, rich and uxorious, shrewd and foolish, whom Jonson has already ridiculed as Deliro in Every Man Out (see the Character of the Persons).

Aristius. Aristius Fuscus was a friend of Horace, who addressed to him Carm. 1. 22; cf. also Sat. 1. 9. 61; Epist. 1. 10. He represents no contemporary of Jonson.

Caesar. Augustus Caesar, the patron of literary men, had himself claims to the honors of authorship. Servius, Suetonius, and Plutarch tell us that he wrote thirteen books of Memoirs of his life; Suetonius adds that he composed a Summary of the Empire; Pliny and others state that he published Letters to his grandson Caius. The following facts will be of use in our subsequent discussions: he was born Sept. 23, B. C. 63, the son of C. Octavius by Atia, a daughter of Julia, the sister of C. Julius Caesar; he became undisputed master of Rome, B. C. 30, and died Aug. 19, A.D. 14.

Chloe. A Chloe appears in Horace, Carm. 1. 23 and 3.9. Chloe is here the typical city wife, with aspirations above her station. Cf. Fallace, Every Man Out (the Character of the Persons): 'Deliro's wife, and idol; a proud, mincing peat, and as perverse as he is officious. She dotes as perfectly upon the courtier [Fastidious Brisk], as her husband doth on her, and only wants the face to be dishonest.' With Albius and Chloe, Deliro and Fallace, compare Cornutus and the Cittie Wife in Every Woman in her Humor, especially in act 4. The Cittie Wife is a scolding wanton, and Cornutus as besotted as Deliro. Cornutus is always crying 'Mum, mum!' like Albius. This play was first published in 1609, but Fleay thinks it was acted in 1602.

Crispinus. Rufus Laberius Crispinus: most of the occurrences of these names have been noted by Small, in the Stage-Quarrel. The Crispinus ridiculed by Horace (Sat. I. I. 120; I. 3. 138; 1. 4. 13-6) is generally supposed to have been a bad poet and pseudo-philosopher surnamed Aretalogus who wrote verses on the Stoics. The name,

L

however, may be merely a fiction of Horace's. Rufus Nasidienus is the foolish host in Sat. 2. 8. But, as Small and others have remarked, Jonson probably adopts Rufus for its meaning red, suggesting the color of Crispinus' hair and beard (cf. 2. 2. 83 ff. of Poetaster, and our note). Laberius Decimus (B. C. 107-43), referred to by Horace, Sat. 1. 10. 6, as one whose works were witty but not beautiful, was a Roman eques and a celebrated writer of mimes. He has been censured for strange expressions and too frequent word play, and it may be these that prompted Horace's sneer. Penniman has noted the stricture of Aulus Gellius (Attic Nights, book xvi, ch. 7) upon the diction of Laberius. The chapter heading is: Quod Laberius verba pleraque licentius petulantiusque finxit: quod multis item verbis utitur, de quibus an sint Latina quaeri solet. It is obvious that to Jonson the name Laberius possessed associations applicable to John Marston, with his fondness for pompous and uncouth phraseology.

The full description of Crispinus as he appears in Poetaster now follows. He is a gentleman born (2. 1. 92 ff.; 3. 1. 27; 3. 4. 172-3); has little legs (2. 1. 95-7); is an observer of men and manners (2. 1. 156, 171–2); is unattractive as to face, beard and hair, which are probably red, cf. his name Rufus (2. 2. 83 ff.; 3. 1. 29); sings well (2. 2. 183–5); 3. I. 190-1, et passim); plays the viol (4. 3. 55 ff.). He is a poet (3. 1. 24, 44, 91 ff.; 4. 6. 30); a satirist (3. 1. 24 ff.); a gallant and reveler (3. 1. 178-188); he pretends to scholarship (3. 1. 20); he is ambitious of the patronage of the great (3. 1. 247 ff., 285 ff.). He has dealings with brokers (2. 2. 236); is in debt to his apothecary, who causes his arrest (3. 1. 162 ff.; 3. 3. 4 ff.); is in debt to his mercer likewise (3. 1. 80-2); his clothing is fashionable but shabby (3. 1. 72-8; 3. 3. 1-3); he has no money in his pocket (3. 4. 82-5). He writes plays, in loud and tragic style (3.4. 171-7); Histrio, who is a stranger to him (3. 4. 168 ff., 303-5), gives him 'in earnest' (3. 4. 302-5); he is accused of

plagiarizing from Horace (4. 3. 98-9); is called 'poetaster and plagiary' (5. 3. 225); will write only 'innocence' in the play (Satiromastix) that is to abuse Horace (4. 7. 30−4) ; calumniates Horace (5. 3. 231-240, 285-303, 429-435). He is not familiar with Greek literature (5. 3. 564-5); writes in style and with vocabulary demonstrably Marstonian (5. 3. 285-303); vomits up Marstonian words (5. 3. 484548); is an 'Untrusser' or 'Whipper of the Age' (5. 3. 627-8).

That Crispinus is meant for the well-born satirist and dramatist Marston is now, I suppose, universally admitted; had the testimony of Dekker and of Jonson himself been properly weighed, there need never have been any doubtscf. Satiromastix, pp. 195-9, et passim, and the oft-quoted passage from the Conversations with Drummond: 'He had many quarrells with Marston, beat him, and took his pistol from him, wrote his Poetaster on him.' Moreover, in the verses ascribed to Crispinus (5. 3. 285-303), and in the words he vomits up (5. 3. 484-548), Poetaster itself furnishes conclusive proof of this identification. This matter of Crispinus' diction, which is most important, is elsewhere dealt with in detail-cf. the starred words in the Glossary and the discussion of them in the notes. We shall here confine our attention chiefly to other points of evidence. In Satiromastix (p. 195) Dekker plainly identifies himself with Anaides of Cynthia's Revels and Demetrius of Poetaster, and Marston with Hedon of the former play and Crispinus of the latter, thus:

Asinius. Nay I ha more news, ther's Crispinus & his Iorneyman Poet Demetrius Faninus [sic] too, they sweare they 'll bring your life & death vpon'th stage like a Bricklayer in a play.

Horace. I thinke but what they are, and am not moou'd.

The one a light voluptuous Reueler,

The other, a strange arrogating puffe,

Both impudent, and arrogant enough.

Asin. S'lid do not Criticus Reuel in these lynes, ha Ningle ha? Hor. Yes, they're mine owne.