Sylvester was the son of a Kentish clothier. In his tenth year he was sent to school at King Edward VI School, Southampton, where he gained a knowledge of French. After about three years at school, he appears to have been put to business, and in 1591 the title-page of his Yvry states that he was in the service of the Merchant Adventurers' Company.
He was for a short time a land steward, and in 1606 Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales gave him a small pension as a kind of court poet. In 1613 he obtained a position as secretary to the Merchant Adventurers. He was stationed at Middelburg, in the Low Countries, where he died.
Our bisexed Parents, free from sin, In Eden did their double birth begin.
— Du Bartas his divine weekes and workes (1608)[1]
His Essay of the Second Week was published in 1598; and in 1604 The Divine Weeks of the World's Birth. The ornate style of the original offered no difficulty to Sylvester, who was himself a disciple of the Euphuists and added many adornments of his own invention. The Sepmaines of Du Bartas appealed most to his English and German co-religionists, and the translation was immensely popular. It has often been suggested that John Milton owed something in the conception of Paradise Lost to Sylvester's translation.[citation needed] His popularity ceased with the Restoration,[citation needed] and John Dryden called his verse "abominable fustian."
His works were reprinted by A. B. Grosart (1880) in the Chertsey Worthies Library. See also Charles Dunster, Considerations on Milton's early Reading (1800).
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sylvester, Joshua". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 284.
^Du Bartas his divine weekes and workes (1608) 267
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Digitized copy of Josuah Sylvester's Workes, 1621 by John Geraghty
August 22, 2023
josuah, sylvester, 1563, september, 1618, english, poet, contents, biography, works, references, external, linksbiography, editsylvester, kentish, clothier, tenth, year, sent, school, king, edward, school, southampton, where, gained, knowledge, french, after, . Josuah Sylvester 1563 28 September 1618 was an English poet Josuah Sylvester Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditSylvester was the son of a Kentish clothier In his tenth year he was sent to school at King Edward VI School Southampton where he gained a knowledge of French After about three years at school he appears to have been put to business and in 1591 the title page of his Yvry states that he was in the service of the Merchant Adventurers Company He was for a short time a land steward and in 1606 Henry Frederick Prince of Wales gave him a small pension as a kind of court poet In 1613 he obtained a position as secretary to the Merchant Adventurers He was stationed at Middelburg in the Low Countries where he died Works EditHe translated into English heroic couplets the scriptural epic of Guillaume du Bartas Our bisexed Parents free from sin In Eden did their double birth begin Du Bartas his divine weekes and workes 1608 1 His Essay of the Second Week was published in 1598 and in 1604 The Divine Weeks of the World s Birth The ornate style of the original offered no difficulty to Sylvester who was himself a disciple of the Euphuists and added many adornments of his own invention The Sepmaines of Du Bartas appealed most to his English and German co religionists and the translation was immensely popular It has often been suggested that John Milton owed something in the conception of Paradise Lost to Sylvester s translation citation needed His popularity ceased with the Restoration citation needed and John Dryden called his verse abominable fustian His works were reprinted by A B Grosart 1880 in the Chertsey Worthies Library See also Charles Dunster Considerations on Milton s early Reading 1800 References Edit This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Sylvester Joshua Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 26 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 284 Du Bartas his divine weekes and workes 1608 267External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Josuah Sylvester Wikisource has original works by or about Josuah Sylvester Wikiquote has quotations related to Josuah Sylvester Digitized copy of Josuah Sylvester s Workes 1621 by John Geraghty Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Josuah Sylvester amp oldid 1092196287, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
