'young Marcellus of our tongue,' whatever he might have done to have earned it had he lived, less happily expressed his characteristics than that by which he was better known—the 'English Juvenal;' an appellation which is justified no less by the power and severity of his strictures, than by their animated portraiture of contemporary life and manners. In this latter point of view, his poems possess an obvious historical value.
During Oldham's life his Satires were received with great favour, and several times reprinted[1] A third edition of the Satires on the Jesuits was published in 1685; and in 1686 his works were collected in a single volume by the publisher who had previously issued them separately. In 1710 they reached a seventh edition; and were republished in two volumes in 1722. The last edition, edited by Captain Edward Thompson, appeared in 1770.[2] They have never been included in any general collection of the English Poets; being denied admission as a whole, no doubt very
- ↑ Oldham had some admirers who considered him entitled to take rank amongst the first poets in the language. Winstanley says of him that he was 'the delight of the muses, and glory of these last times; a man utterly unknown to me, but only by works, which none can read but with wonder and admiration; so pithy his strains, so sententious his expressions, so elegant his oratory, so reviving his language, so smooth his lines, in translation outdoing the original, and in invention matchless.' Winstanley's critical opinion, it is scarcely necessary to say after this indiscriminate panegyric, is not worth much, but it indicates how highly Oldham was esteemed in some quarters by his contemporaries.
- ↑ Thompson, whose critical pretensions brought upon him the merciless ridicule of his critics, also edited the works of Marvell and Paul Whitehead. He belonged to the maritime service, and appears to have resorted to literature as a pis aller when the peace of 1762 threw him out of employment. His first venture was a licentious poem called the Meretriciad, in which he celebrated the most notorious women of the town; this was followed by the Courtezan and the Demirep, the subjects of which may be inferred from their titles. He also published a sort of rambling account of his own life, called Sailors' Letters. In his professional capacity he acquired a more creditable reputation, and was considered a man of ability and courage. As a writer, the best things he produced were some sea-songs, excellent in their kind. 'The topsails shiver in the wind,' and a few others, still retain their popularity.
