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like, or some part of them: viz. Ouid. de Tristibus, or de Fonts, some piece of his Metamorphosis, or of Virgil, and be well acquainted with their Poeticall phrases.'
Here is the time-honored poetic grounding of grammar school. As we have already seen, in the first half of the century, after Terence the boys had moralized the Bucolics of Virgil and probably the Georgics. But they deferred Ovid till they took up versification. Then they added Virgil's /leneid and Horace .to complete their basic training. In the second half of the century, the Bucolica of Mantuan usually supplanted or preceded the Bucolica of his fellow Mantuan Virgil, and might be accompanied by the Zodiacus Vitae of Palingenius, or by the pious works of other equally godly modern poets. Ovid still occupied the place of honor along with versification, the specific works most frequently required from Ovid being De Tristibus and Metamorphoses, though Fasti, De Panto, and Epistolae Heroidum are also mentioned. But for illustrations of varied verse, Martial, Catullus, and other epigrammatists might supplement Ovid. Then came, as before, Virgil's Aeneid and Horace, with Lucan now regularly added. Other authors are occasionally required to supplement these basic writers, as Juvenal and Persius, or Seneca's Tragedies. Plautus also, at times at least, accompanied Terence. It is possible that in some cases Virgil occupied the basic position instead of Ovid, but there is no clear case of it. In some of the instances where Ovid is not required, neither is Virgil, the poetic authors being simply omitted. In the. few cases where Virgil is mentioned and not Ovid, it is possible that grounding was to be done upon him. But since, as we shall see, Shakspere has been specific that he was grounded upon Ovid, we need not labor the matter further. Brinsley is thus conventional in grounding upon De Tristibus or De Ponto and following with Metamorphoses or Virgil. His innovation is merely in his magic methods.
This universality of practice of versification in grammar schools Harrison in 1577 assumes.
Besides these vniuersities, also there are great number of Grammar schooles through out the realme, and those verie liberallie indued, for the better reliefe of Poore scholers, so that there are not mane corporat townes now vnder the queenes dominion, that hain not one Gramar schoole at the least, with a sufficient liuing for a maister and usher appointed to the same.
There are in like maner diuerse collegiat churches as Windsor, Wincester,
: Brinsley, Ludus Literariu.e (1627), pp. '91-192.
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