This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 Excerpt: ...was commonly used as a Christian name in Spenser's day, and would have been perfectly familiar to him in a literary way through the Vision of Piers Plowman. As a surname it would have been scarcely less familiar to that age, on account of Dr. John Piers, who held in succession the sees of Rochester, Salisbury, and York, receiving the first in April, 1576, and the second in November, 1577. Whatever name the original of Piers may have borne, from the facts that he is placed in opposition to Dr. Perne (Palinode), and that he imparts the advice of an older man to Kirke (Cuddie), or to some other young friend of Spenser's with poetical aspirations, or even to the poet himself, an older member of the University, a fellow, or perhaps a Head of a college, was probably intended. Judging from the contents of the two eclogues, this man must have been interested in both ecclesiastical and poetical topics, some one with whose views the Puritan Spenser could sympathize. As an absolute identification seems impossible, I merely offer the opinion that Piers may have been intended for Thomas Preston, best known to later times as the author of the tragedy Cambyses, which Shakespeare ridicules in the mouth of Falstaff. What we know of Preston satisfies the requirements of the situation. In the first place, Spenser not only knew him, but probably enjoyed a certain amount of intimacy with him, for, in his letter of October 5 (16), 1579, from Leicester House, he cautions Harvey against showing his verses composed in classical metres to anyone except "your "Introduction, p. lix. verie entire friendes, Maister Preston, Maister Still, and the reste."16 In the second place, Preston possessed great talents, which first showed to conspicuous advantage at the time of the ...