THE

QUINTESSENCE

OF

English POETRY:

Or, a COLLECTION of all the

BEAUTIFUL PASSAGES

IN OUR

POEMS and PLAYS:

From the Celebrated SPENCES,

The WHOLE Instructive, Moral, and Humour-
ous; and adapted to all Degrees of Mankind:
Alphabetically digefted under proper Heads, in
Chronological Order of Time.

Collected from many handied: Volumaas

Several EMINENT HANDS.

To which is prefix'd,

An Alphabetical Catalogue of AUTHOR'S, POEMS, and
PLAYS quoted in the Collection. Also an Historical
and Critical Review of all the ESSAYS of this Kind
hitherto published.

In THREE VOLUME.

VOL I.

LONDON:

Printed for O. PAYNE at Horace's-Head in Pope's..
Head-Alley, opposite the Royal-Exchange.

M DCC XL.

WARTON'S HIST. OF
The most comprehensive and exact common-place of the
works of our most eminent poets throughout the reign of
Queen Elizabeth and afterwards.

ENGLISH POETRY.

TO THE

: Honourable the Lady

Wortley Montagu.

DAM,

Tis an honour to the British Nation, that it has, from time to time, produced fo many illustri

ous Patrons of the British Muse; but,

* A