J. H. L.
Visions of Hell (Vol. iii., p. 70.).—In solving the Query propounded by F. R. A. as to "whether Bunyan was the author of the Visions?" it is very necessary that all the editions should be known of and collated. I have one not yet referred to, styled The Visions of John Bunyan, being his last Remains, giving an Account of the Glories of Heaven, the Terrors of Hell, and of the World to come, London, printed and sold by J. Hollis, Shoemaker Row, Blackfriars, pp. 103., with an address to the reader, subscribed "thy soul's well-wisher, John Bunyan," without date. "Thomas Newby, of Epping, Essex," is written in it; he might have been only the first owner of the book, which was certainly published before the year 1828 or 20, but I should say not much earlier.
Blowen.
"Laus tua non tua Fraus," &c. (Vol. i., p. 416.). Verse Lyon.—Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie, published in 1589, contains an earlier allusion to this epigram than any of those mentioned by your correspondents at Vol. ii., p. 77., and assigns to Pope Alexander [Qy. VI.] the doubtful honour of being the subject of it. The passage is at p. 11., and is as follows:—
"Another of their pretie inuentions was to make a verse of such wordes as lay their nature and manner of construction and situation might be turned backward word by word, and make another perfit verse, but of quite contrary sence, as the gibing monke that wrote of Pope Alexander these two verses:
'Laus tua non tua fraus, virtue non copia rerum,
Scandere te faciunt hoc decus eximium:'
which if ye will turne backward, they make two other good verses, but of a contrary sence, thus:
'Eximium decus hoc faciunt te scandere, rerum
Copia, non virtus, fraus tua, non tua laus;'
and they call it Verse Lyon."
Query, Why? and where else is Verse Lyon alluded to?
J. F. M.
[Is not "Verse Lyon" Puttenham's translation of Leonine Verse?]
Passage from Cymbeline (Vol. ii., p. 135.).—