These {21} be subdivided into sundry more special denominations; the
most notable be the heroic, lyric, tragic, comic, satyric, iambic,
elegiac, pastoral, and certain others; some of these being termed
according to the matter they deal with; some by the sort of verse
they like best to write in; for, indeed, the greatest part of poets
have apparelled their poetical inventions in that numerous kind of
writing which is called verse. Indeed, but apparelied verse, being
but an ornament, and no cause to poetry, since there have been many
most excellent poets that never versified, and now swarm many
versifiers that need never answer to the name of poets. {22} For
Xenophon, who did imitate so excellently as to give us effigiem
justi imperii, the portraiture of a just of Cyrus, as Cicero saith
of him, made therein an absolute heroical poem. So did Heliodorus,
{23} in his sugared invention of Theagenes and Chariclea; and yet
both these wrote in prose; which I speak to show, that it is not
rhyming and versing that maketh a poet (no more than a long gown
maketh an advocate, who, though he pleaded in armour should be an
advocate and no soldier); but it is that feigning notable images of
virtues, vices, or what else, with that delightful teaching, which
must be the right describing note to know a poet by. Although,
indeed, the senate of poets have chosen verse as their fittest
raiment; meaning, as in matter they passed all in all, so in manner
to go beyond them; not speaking table-talk fashion, or like men in a
dream, words as they changeably fall from the mouth, but piecing
each syllable of each word by just proportion, according to the
dignity of the subject.
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