LIttleLittle I hope, needeth me at large to discourse the first Originall of Æglogues, hauinghaving alreadie touched the same. But for the vvordword Æglogues I knovvknow is vnknowenunknowen to most, and also mistaken of some the best learned (as they think) I vvyllwyll say somevvhatsomewhat thereof, being not at all impertinẽt impertinent to my present purpose.

They vverewere first of the Greekes the inuentoursinventours of them called ÆglogajÆglogai as it vverewere αἴγωνAegon, or αἰγονόμων λόγοιαἰγονόμων.λόγοι.Aeginomon logi, that is Goteheards tales. For although in Virgile and others the speakers be most shepheards, and not Goteheards,mo[ſt] [ſh]epheards, and Goteheards,mo[ſt] [ſh]epheardes, & Goteheardes,mo[ſt] [ſh]eepheardes, & Goteheardes,mo[ſt] [ſh]epheardes, & Goteheardes,more Shepherds, then Goatheards, yet Theocritus in whom is more ground of authoritie, 9. then: thanthenthan in Virgile, this specially from that deriuingderiving, as from the first head and vvelspringwelspring the vvholewhole InuencionInvencion InuericionInuericion Inuentioninuention of his Æglogues, maketh Goteheards the persons and authors of his tales. This being, vvhowho seeth not the grossenesse of such as by colour of learning would make vsus beleeuebeleeve that they are more rightly termed Eclogai, as they vvouldwould say, extraordinary discourses of vnnecessarieunnecessarie matter, vvhichwhich difinition albe in substaunce and meaning it agree with the nature of the thing, yet nowhit answereth with the ἀνάλυσις and interpretation of the word. For they be not termed Eclogues, but Æglogues. vvhichwhichVVhichWhich sentence this authour very vvellwell obseruingobserving, vponupon good iudgementjudgement, though indeede fevvfew Goteheards hauehave to doe herein, nethelesse doubteth not to cal thẽthem by the vsedused and best knovvenknowen name. Other curious discourses hereof I reseruereserve to greater occasion. These xij.xii. Æclogues eueryevery where answering to the seasons of the tvveluetweluetwelve monthes may be vvellwell deuideddevided into three formes or ranckes. For eyther they be PlaintiuePlaintive, as the first, the sixt, the eleuentheleventh, &and the twelfth, or recreatiuerecreative, such as al those be, vvhichwhich conceiueconceive matter of louelove, or commendation of special personages, or Moral: vvhichwhich for the most part be mixed with some Satyrical bitternesse, namely the second of reuerencereverence devvedewe to old age, the fift of coloured deceipt, the seuenthseventh and ninth of dissolute shepheards &and pastours, the tenth of contempt of Poetrie &and pleasaunt vvitswits. And to this diuisiondivision may eueryevery thing herein be reasonably applyed: A few onely except, vvhosewhose speciall purpose and meaning I am not priuieprivie to. And thus much generally of these xij.xii. Æclogues. Now vvillwill vvewe speake particularly of all, and first of the first. vvhichwhichVVhichWhich he calleth by the first monethes name IanuarieJanuarie: wherein to some he may seeme fovvlyfowly to hauehave faulted, in that he erroniously beginneth with that moneth, vvhichwhich beginneth not the yeare. For it is wel known, and stoutely mainteyned vvithwith stronge reasons of the learned, that the yeare beginneth in March.March, for then the sonne renevvethreneweth his finished course, and the seasonable spring refresheth the earth, and the plesaunce thereof being buried iniuin the sadnesse of the dead winter novvnow vvorneworne avvayaway, reliuethreliveth. This opinion maynteine the olde Astrologers and Philosophers, namely the reuerendreverend Andalo, and Macrobius in his holydayes of Saturne, which accoumpt also vvaswas generally obseruedobserved both of Grecians and Romans. But sauingsaving the leaueleave of such learned heads, vvewe mayntaine a custome of coumpting the seasons from the moneth IanuaryJanuary, vponupon a more speciall cause, 45. then: thanthenthan the heathen Philosophers euerever coulde conceiueconceive, that is, for the incarnation of our mighty SauiourSaviour and eternall redeemer the 47. L.: LordL.Lord Christ, vvhowho as then renevvingrenewing the state of the decayed vvorldworld, and returning the cõpasse compasse of expired yeres to theyr former date and first commencement, left to vsus his heires a memoriall of his birth in the ende of the last yeere and beginning of the next. vvhichwhichVVhichWhich reckoning, beside that eternall monument of our saluationsalvation, leaneth also vpponuppon good proofe of special iudgemẽtiudgementjudgemẽtjudgement. For albeit that in elder times, vvhenwhen as yet the coumpt of the yere was not perfected, as aftervvardeafterwarde it was by IuliusJulius Cæsar, they began to tel the monethes from Marches beginning, and according to the same God (as is sayd in Scripture) comaunded the people of the IevvesIewesJewes to count the moneth AbibAbilAbil , that vvhichwhich vvewe call March, for the first moneth, in remembraunce that in that moneth he brought them out of the land of Ægipt: yet according to tradition of latter times it hath bene othervviseotherwise obseruedobserved, both in gouernmentgovernment ofof ofof the church, and rule of Mightiest Realmes. For from IuliusJulius Cæsar vvhowho first obseruedobserved the leape yeere vvhichwhich he called Bissextilem Annum, and brought in to a more certain course the odde vvandringwandring dayes vvhichwhich of the Greekes vverewere called ὑπερβαίνοντες,ὑπερβαίνοντες.HyperbainontesHyperbainontesHyperbainontes, of the Romanes intercalares (for in such matter of learning I am forced to vseuse the termes of the learned) the monethes hauehave bene nombred xij. vvhichVVhichwhicnWhich in the first ordinaunce of Romulus vverewere but tenne, counting but CCCiiij.CCCiiii. dayes in eueryevery yeare, and beginning with March. But Numa Pompilius, vvhowho vvaswas the father of al the Romain ceremonies and religion, seeing that reckoning to agree neither vvithwith the course of the sonne, nor of the Moone, therevntothereunto added tvvotwo monethes, IanuaryJanuary and February: wherin it seemeth, that vvisewise king minded vponupon good reason to begin the yeare at IanuarieJanuarie, of him therefore so called tanquam IanuaJanua anni the gate and entraunce of the yere, or of the name of the god IanusJanus, to which god for that the old Paynims attributed the byrth &and beginning of all creatures nevvnew comming into the vvorldeworlde, it seemeth that he therfore to him assigned the beginning and first entraunceenrraunceentranceentrance of the yeare . vvhichyeare, which account for the most part hath hetherto continued. NotvvithstandingNotwithstanding that the Ægiptians beginne theyr yeare at September, for that according to the opinion of the best Rabbins, and very purpose of the scripture selfe, God made the vvorldeworlde in that Moneth, that is called of them Tisri.TiſriTiſri.Tiſri.Tisri. And therefore he commaunded them, to keepe the feast of PauilionsPavilions in the end of the yeare, in the xv. day of the seuenthseventh moneth, vvhichwhich before that time was the first.

But our Authour respecting nether the subtiltie of thone parte, nor the antiquitie of thother, thinketh it fittest according to the simplicitie of commen vnderstandingunderstanding, to begin vvithwith IanuarieJanuarie, wening it perhaps no decorũdecorum, that ShepheardSepheardShepheards[ſh]epheards should be seene in matter of so deepe insight, or canuasecanvase a case of so doubtful iudgmentjudgment. So therefore beginneth he, &and so continueth he throughout.