The English Anthology, 1793-4

Joseph Ritson, The English Anthology (London: C. Clarke, 1793-4)

Information about the collection: in 3 volumes, with line numbers but no headnotes; dates of birth and death of the author are listed where known; poem titles are listed above or before the name of the author; original sources and years of publication are given in the table of contents (see the entries below) [volume1][volume 2][volume 3]

From the Advertisement: "The public is here presented with a selection of English poetry, in a chronological series, from the beginning of the sixteenth century (or, including an extract from Chaucer, from the latter part of the fourteenth) to the present time, upon a plan hitherto unattempted, at least in this country. It will not be thought possible that a collection in three volumes should comprise every poem in the language; but it may be confidently asserted that there is scarce a single poet of any eminence or merit who has not contributed generally his best, and in some cases his only, production, and that no publication of like nature ever comprehended such a number and variety of excellent poems, or was printed with superior elegance, fidelity, or correctness. No alteration (except in apparent mistakes) has been attempted either in the language or in the orthography, and as little as possible even in the punctuation, of the edition followed, which, if not always the best, will in no case be found a bad one" (i-ii)

"the editor is sufficiently familiar with the poetical productions of preceding centuries to pronounce with confidence, that no composition of a moderate length is to be found, prior to the year 1500, which would be thought to deserve a place in these volumes; the nicety of the present age being ill disposed to make the necessary allowances for the uncouth diction and homely sentiments of former times" (v)

"the idea originated from a sight of the elegant French song-book, intitled L'Anthologie Francoise" (vi)

Table of Contents, Volume 1 (spelling and punctuation not standardized):

The lover complaineth of the unkindness of his love. By Sir Thomas Wyatt. From "Poems of Henry Howard, earl of Surrey, &c." 1717.
Prisoner in Windsor, he recounteth his pleasure there passed. By Henry Howard, earl of Surrey. From the same authority.
Description and praise of his love Geraldine. By the same. From the same authority.
Eclogue. By Edmund Spenser. From his "Works," 1611.
Sonnet. By the Same. From the same authority.
Eclogue. By Michael Drayton, esq. From his "Works," 1753.
Sonnet. By William Shakespeare. From his "Sonnets," 1609, reprinted 1766.
On his mistress, the queen of Bohemia. By Sir Henry Wotton, kt. From "Reliquiae Wottonianae," 1685.
Upon the death of Sir Albert Mortons wife. By the same. From the same authority.
The bait. By John Donne, D.D. dean of St. Pauls. From his "Poems," 1635.
Epitaphs. by Benhamin Jonson, poet laureat. The first, On the countess of Pembroke, sister to Sir Philip Sidney, from the authors "Works," 1756; the second, On Michael Drayton, esq. from his monument in Westminster-Abbey.
To his son, Vincent Corbet. By Richard Corbet, bishop of Norwich. From his "Poems," 1672.
Songs. By Thomas Carew, esq. From his "Poems," 1651.
The farewell. By Henry King, bishop of Chichester. From his "Poems," 1657.
The story of Phoebus and Daphne applied. by Edmund Waller, esq. From his "Poems," 1645, compared with the editions of 1644, 1682, and 1730.
On my lady Isabella playing on the lute. By the same. From the same authorities.
On a tree cut in paper. By the same. From the edition of 1682, compared with that of 1730.
L'Allegro. By John Milton. From his "Poems," 1673, compared with the edition of 1645.
Il Penseroso. By the same. From the same authorities.
Lycidas. By the same. From the same authorities, collated also with the first edition in the "obsequies to the memorie of Mr. Edward King," 1638.
Sonnet. By the same. From the "Poems," 1673.
Miscellaneous thoughts. By Samuel Butler. From his "Posthumous works," 1759.
Coopers Hill. By Sir John Denham. From his "Poems," 1671.
To Althea, from prison. By Richard Lovelace, esq. From "Lucasta: Epodes," &c. 1649.
The waiting maid. By Abraham Cowley, esq. From his "Works," 1710.
The epicure. [From Anacreon] By the same. From the same authority.
Claudian's Old man of Verona. By the same. From the same authority.
Prayer. [From his own Latin.] By the same. From the same authority.
The nymph complaining for the loss of her fawn, by Andrew MArvell, esq. From "Miscellany Poems, published by Mr. Dryden," 1727.
Horace, Lib. iv. Ode 7. By Sir William Temple, bart. From his "Works," 1757.
Song. By Charles Cotton, esq. From his "Poems," 1689.
The morning quatrains. By the same. From the same authority.
Noon quatrians. By the same. From the same authority.
Evening quatrains. By the same. From the same authority.
Night quatrains. By the same. From the same authority.
Theodore and Honoria. [A translation from Boccace.] by John Dryden, esq. poet laureat. From his "Miscellaneous Works," 1760.
Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music; an ode, in honour of St. Cecilia's Day. By the same. From the same authority.
On hs mistress drown'd. By Thomas Spratt, bishop of Rochester. From "Miscellany Poems," published by Dryden, 1727.
Constancy. By Sir Charles Sedley, bart. From his "Works," 1778.
A song. By the same. From the same authority.
Inconstancy excused. Song. By John Sheffield, duke of Bucknghamshire. From his "Works," 1740.
On Lucinda's death. By the same. From the same authority.
Song. By Johm Wilmot, earl of Rochester. From Drydens "Miscellany poems," 1727.
The sixteenth ode of the second book of Horace. By Thomas Otway. From his "Works," 1768.
The retirement. By John Norris. From his "Miscellanies," 1692.
Song. By Charles Sackville, earl of Dorset. From the "Works of celebrated authors," 1750.
Written at Althrop, in a blank leaf of Waller's poems, upon seeing Vandyke's picture of the old Lady Sunderland. By Charles Montague, earl of Halifax. From the same authority.
Horace. Book IV. Ode III. Imitated by Francis Atterbury, bishop of Rochester. From the authors "Epistolary correspondence, &c," 1783. (the notes being omitted)
Epigram, written on a white fan borrowed from miss Osborne, afterwards his wife. By the same. From the same authority.
The Indian philospher. By Isaac Watts, D.D. From his "Horae Lyricae," 1758.
Pastoral. By Ambrose Philips. From his "Pastorals," &c. 1765.
To the earl of Dorset. By the same. From the same authority.
To signora Cuzzoni. By the same. From the same authority.
The splendid shilling. An imitation of Milton. By John Philips. From the edition of 1719.
To a painter. By John Hughes, esq. From his "Poems," 1735.
The peach-stone. By George Jeffreys, esq. From his "Miscellanies," 1754.
The hermit. By Thomas Parnell, D.D. archdeacon of Clogher. From his "Poems," 1711.
A fairy tale. In the ancient English stile. By the same. From the same authority.
Ronald and Dorna. By a highlander, to his mistress. From a literal translation of the original. by Aaron Hill, esq. From his "Works," 1753.
The messenger. By the same. From the same authority.
To the right honourable the earl of Warwick. [On the death of Mr. Addison.] By Thomas Tirkell, esq. From Addisons "Works," 1753.
The fatal curiosity. By the same. From Drydens "Miscellaneous poems," 1727.
Retirement. An ode. By Thomas Warton the elder. From his "Poems," 1745.
An invocation to a water-nymph. By the same. From the same authority.
An American love-ode. Taken from the second volume of Montagne's Essays. By the same. From the same authority.
'Damon. A Pastoral.' By Alexander Pope, esq. From his "Works," 1751 (the notes being omitted)
To Mrs. M.B. on her birth-day. By the same. From the same authority.
Epistle to the same. On her leaving the town after the coronation [1715]. By the same. From the same authority.
Elegy. To the memory of an unfortunate young lady. By the same. From the same authority.
The first satire of the second book of Horace imitated. By the same. From the same authority (the imitations and notes being omitted)
A prologue to a play for Mr. Dennis's benefit, in 1733, when he was old, blind, and in great distress, a little before his death. By the same. From the same authority (the notes being omitted).
Epitaphs. By the same. From the same authority.
Fables. By John Gay, esq. From his "Fables," (vol. 1) 1733, and (vol. 2) 1738.
Pastorals. By the same. From his "Shepherds Week," 1714.
The birth of the squire. An eclogue. In imitation of the Pollio of Virgil. By the same. From his "Poems," 1737.
On the setting-up Mr. Butler's monument in Westminster-abbey. By Samuel Wesley. From his "Poems," 1736.
Epigram, from the Greek. By the same. From the same authority.
The Bastard. Inscribed, with all due reverence, to Mrs. Brett, once countess of Macclesfield. By Richard Savage. From his "Works," 1775.
Epitaph on a young lady. By the same. From the same authority.
Upon the bishop of Rochester's banishment, in 1723. By Philip, duke of Wharton. From "The True Briton," 1732.
On the death of a young gentleman. By Christopher Pitt. From his "Poems," 1779.
Sonnet. By Thomas Edwards. From the "Cannons of criticism," 1758.

Table of Contents, Volume 2 (Note: The women authors are set apart as you see printed here):

Grongar-Hull. By John Dyer, LL.B. From his "Poems," 1770.
Horace, book II. ode XVI. imitated...By Soame Jenyns, esq. From his "Works," 1790.
The way to be wise. Imitated from La Fontaine. By the same. From the same authority.
A pipe of tobacco: in imitation of six several authors. By Isaac Hawkins Browne, esq. From his "Poems," 1768.
Father Francis's prayer. Written in lord Westmorland's hermitage. By Gilbert West, esq. From Dodsleys collection.
An inscription on the cell. By the same. From the same authority.
An inscription in the cell. By the same. From the same authority.
Verses, making part of an epitaph on 'his' lady. By George lord Lyttelton. From his "Works" 1776.
London. In imitation of the third satire of Juvenal. By Samuel Johnson, LL.D. From Dodsleys collection (the references being omitted).
Love elegies. By James Hammond, esq. From the edition of 1780.
Verses to Mr. Brooke, on the refusal of a license to his play of Gustavus Vasa. By Paul Whitebread, esq. From his "Poems," 1777.
Elegy. By William Shenstone, esq. From his "Works," 1777.
The school-mistress. In imitation of Spenser. By the same. From the same authority.
Inscription. On the back of a Gothic alcove. By the same. From the same authority.
Ode to the Tiber. On entering the Compania of Rome, at Otricoli, MDCCLV. By William Whitehead, esq. poet laureat. From his "Poems," 1774.
An ode on the death of Mr. Pelham. By David Garrick, esq. From Dodsteys collection.
Ad amicos. By Richard West, esq. From Masons "Memoirs of Mr. Gray," prefixed to his "Poems," 1775.
Ode on a different prospect of Eton college. By Thomas Gray, esq. From his "Poems," 1775.
The bard. A Pindaric ode. By the same. From the same authority.
The fatal sisters. An ode. From the Norse tongue. By the same. From the same authority.
Elegy written in a country church-yard. By the same. From the same authority.
The black bird. A makarony fable. By John Hall Stephenson, esq. From "Makarony fables," 1768.
Grazie a gl'ingammi tuoi, &c. Metastasio. To miss -- By the same. From "Lyric consolations," 1769.
Oriental eclogues. By William Collins. From his Poems, 1765.
Ode on the death of Mr. Thomson. By the same. From the same authority.
Odes. By Mark Akenside, M.D. From his "Poems," 1779.
Inscriptions. By the same. From the same authority.
Ode on the fifth of December, being the birth-day of a beautiful young lady. By Christopher Smart. From his "Poems," 1752.
An epistle from the king of Prussian to monsieur Voltaire, 1757. Translated from the French. By John Gilbert Cooper, esq. From his "Poems," 1764.
A fathers advice to his son: an elegy...By the same. From the same authority.
The lawyer's farewell to his muse. By Sir William Blackstone, Kt. From Dodsteys collection.
The triumph of Isis...By Thomas Warton the younger. From his "Poems," 1779.
Ode. The hamlet...By the same. From the same authority.
The contemplatist: a night piece. By John Cunningham. From his "Poems," 1771.
A landscape. By the same. From the same authority.
The deserted village. By Oliver Goldsmith. From the 1st edition, 1770; compared with the 7th, 1772.
A ballad. By the same. From his "Vicar of Wakefield," 1766.
The author. By Charles Churchill. From the first and last editions, in cuarto, 1763 and 176?
Chit-chat. An imitation of Theocritus. Idyll. XV. By Robert Lloyd. From his "Poetical works," 1774.
Madness. By Thomas Penrose. From his "Flights of fancy," 1775.
Elinoure and Juga. By Thomas Chatterton. From "Poems, supposed to have been written at Bristol, by Thomas Rowley, and others, in the fifteenth century," [published by Thomas Tyrwhitt, esq.] 1777; compared with the original publication in the "Town and country magazine," for May, 1769 (whence Mr. Tyrwhitt professes to reprint it)
Songe to Aella, lorde of the castel of Brystowe ynne daies of yore. By the same. From the same authority.
Bristowe tragedie: or the dethe of Syr Charles Bawdin. By the same. From the same authority.
A sonnet made on Isabella Markbame...by John Harington, esq. From "Nugae Antiquae," 1779. [N.B. It is not "a sonnet," which may induce one to think that the title was fabricated by the original editor.]
Epigrams. By Sir John Harington, Kt. From his "Epigrams," 1618.
The complaint of a scholar. By Thomas Nash. From "Pierce Pennilesse his supplication to the divell," 1595.
To Caelia. By Richard Duke. From Drydens "Miscellany poems," 1727.
A soliloquy out of Italian. By Sir Samuel Garth, Kt. M.D. From "A supplement to the works of the most celebrated minor poets," 1750.
To Mr. Gay, on his poems. By the same. From the same authority.
An ode to the right honourable John lord Gower...By Elijah Fenton. From his "Poems," 1717.
The rose-bud. To 'the right honourable the lady Jane Wharton.' By William Broome, LL.D. From his "Poems," 1750; compared with the edition of 1779.
Address to his elbow chair new clothed. By William Somerville, esq. From his "Poems," 1779.
The genius. An ode, written in 1717, on occasion of the duke of Marlbro's apoplexy. By Leonard Welsted. From his "Epistles, odes, &c." 1725
Verses designed for a watch-case. By John Byrom. From his "Poems," Manchester, 1773.
Extempore. Intended to allay the violence of party-spirit. By the same. From the same authority.
Bedlam. By Thomas Fitzerald. From his "Poems," Oxford, 1781.
The man of taste...By...Bramston. From Dodsleys collection.
Ode on the death of Matzel, a favourite bull-finch...By Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, K.B. From his "Odes," 1785, compared with Dodsteys collection.
An ode on Miss Harriet Hanbury, at six years old. By the same. From the same authority.
The sparrow. From Catullus. By Francis Fawkes. From his "Poems," 1761.
The wish. By James Merrick. From Dodsteys collection.
To a lady. Wrapped round a nosegay of violets. MDCCLXI. By John Langhorne, D.D. From his "Poetical works," 1766.
The fire-side. By Nathaniel Cotton, M.D. From Dodsteys Collection.

A retir'd friendship. To Ardelia. By Mrs. Katherine Philips. From her "Poems," 1710.
Tendres desirs, out of French prose. By the same. From the same authority.
Love arm'd. By Mrs. Aphra Behn. From "Poems by the most eminent ladies," 1773.
The resalve. By lady Chudleigh. From her "Poems," 1722.
The complaint of a lover. By miss Anne Killigrew. From her "Poems," 1686.
Despair. By Mrs. Elizabeth Rowe. From her "Works," 1750.
Sorrow. By Mrs. Laetitia Pilkington. From her "Memoirs," 1749.
Miras will. By miss Mary Laepor. From her "Poems," 1748.
Colinetta. By the same. From the same authority.
The atheist and acorn. By Anne countess of Winchilsea. From her "Poems," 1713.
A nocturnal reverie. By the same. From the same authority.
Sonetto. From Petrarch. By the honorable Mrs. Monk. From Marinda. Poems, &c." 1716.
Verses wrote upon her death-bed, at Bath, to her husband in London. By the same. From a manuscript copy, compared with thtat in "Poems by the most eminent ladies."
The small-pox. A town-eclogue. By lady Mary Wortley Montague. From Dodsteys collection.
At taking leave of a lady who was reading Norris's poems. By miss Mary Masters. From her "Poems," 1733.
An epistle to lady Bowyer. By miss Mary Jones. From her "Miscellanies," Oxford 1750.

A ballade of the not-browne mayde. From Mr. Capels "Prolusions," 1760, compared with the "Reliques of ancient English poetry," 1775.
Harpalus complaint of Phillidaes love bestowed on Corin, who loved her not; and denied him that loved her. From "Songes and sonettes written by Henry Haward earle of Surrey, and other," 1557.
Epigram. On wit. From "A collection of epigrams," 1737.
An epitaph on a poor honest man; intended to be plac'd on a stone in the chancel of the church of Bromham in the country of Wilts. From "The founding-hospital for wit," 1743.
A translation of an Irish song, beginning Ma ville flane g'un oughth chegh khune, &c. From "The gentleman's magazine," for October, 1751.
To Mr. Secretary Murray, on his turning evidence. From a printed copy, 1747.
The beggar. From Pearches collection.
An heroic epistle to Sir William Chambers, knight, &c. From the 14th edition, 1777.

Table of Contents, Volume 3:

"The Canterbury Tales of [Geoffrey] Chaucer." The prologue. From Mr. Tyrwhitts edition, 1775.
"The vision of Pierte Plowman." By Robert Langelande. From the first edition, 1550; compared with the second in the same year.
Induction to The complaynt of Henry duke of Buckingham, in "The seconde parte of the Mirrour for Magistrates." By Thomas Sackville, earl of Dorset. From the edition of 1563.
"The faerie queene. Disposed into XII books. Fashioning the XII moral virtues." By Edmund Spenser. "The Second Books. Contayning the legend of Sir Guyon. Or of Temperance." Cant. VI. From the first edition, 1590; compared with the second, 1596, and with the authors "Works," 1611.
"Godfrey of Bulloigne, or the recoverie of Jerusalem. Done into English heroicall verse, [From the Italian of Torquato Tasso] By Edward Fairefax, gent. The eighteenth booke." From the first edition, 1600.
"The purple island, or the isle of Man." By Phineas Fletcher. Cant. 1. Stan. 1. From the edition of 1633.
"Gondibert: an heroick poem." By Sir William Davenant. From the first edition, 1651.
"Paradise Lost. A poem in twelve books." The author John Milton. From the first edition, 1667.
"Hudibras. In three parts. Written in the time of the late wars." By Samuel Butler, esq. The third part. Canto III. From Dr. Greys edition, 1744. [The notes being omitted.]
"The complaint." By Edward Young, D.D. Night the first. On life, death, and immortality. From his "Works," 1757.
"Love of fame, the universal passion. In seven characteristic satires." By the same. Satire 1. From the same authority.
"Leonidas. A poem." By Richard Glover. Book 1. From the fourth edition, 1739.
"The pleasures of imagination. In three books." By Mark Akenside, M.D. Book the first. From his "Poems," 1774.
Ode to the nightingale. By Joseph Warton, D.D. From Pearches collection.
Ode to solitude. By the same. From the same authority.
Isis. An elegy. Written in the year 1748. By William Mason. From the first edition, 1749.
Gentle river, gentle river. Translated from the Spanish. By Thomas Percy, D.D. bishop of Dromore, From "Reliques of ancient English poetry," 1775.
Armine and Elvira. A legendary tale. In two parts. By Mr. Cartwright. From the fifth edition, 1772.
A Persian song of Hafiz. By Sir William Jones, From his "Poems," 1777.
Verses to the memory of Garrick. Spoken as a monody, at the theatre royal in Drury Lane. By Richard Brinsley Sheridan, esq. From the second edition, 1779.
Epilogue to the tragedy of Semiramis. By the same. From Dodsteys "Annual register, for 1777."