Poesy, stiles Ben. Jonson the greatest man of the last age; meaning as a dramatic writer; but the moderns are by no means disposed to award him applause so pre-eminent. It is unfortunate for the fame of Jonson, that he is almost inevitably viewed in connection with Shakespeare, in comparison with whom, a giant may sink into a pigmy. But the observation and judgment discovered in the above remarks, prove him to have possessed a mind of no ordinary stamp. COTTON. SIR ROBERT COTTON, antiquarian and historian, son of Thomas Cotton, Esq. was descended of an ancient family, and born at Denton in Huntingdonshire, in 1570. He was of Trinity College, Cambridge, where he proceeded B. A. in 1585. His inclination was directed early to antiquities; and removing to London, he was soon admitted into the society of antiquaries, which improved his opportunities for prosecuting his favorite studies. On the accession of James 1. he was created a knight, and during the whole of that reign, his authority was deservedly very high relative to points of history and antiquity. Sir Robert distinguished himself, too, by promoting the project of creating a new order of knights, stiled baronets, which was one of the expedients resorted to by king Poesy, stiles Ben. Jonson the greatest man of the last age; meaning as a dramatic writer; but the moderns are by no means disposed to award him applause so pre-eminent. It is unfortunate for the fame of Jonson, that he is almost inevitably viewed in connection with Shakespeare, in comparison with whom, giant may sink into a pigmy. But the observation and judgment discovered in the above remarks, prove him to have possessed a mind of no ordinary stamp. a COTTON, SIR ROBERT COTTON, antiquarian and historian, son of Thomas Cotton, Esq. was descended of an ancient family, and born at Denton in Huntingdonshire, in 1570. He was of Trinity College, Cambridge, where he proceeded B. A. in 1585. His inclination was directed early to antiquities; and removing to London, he was soon admitted into the society of antiquaries, which improved his opportunities for prosecuting his favorite studies. On the accession of James 1. he was created a knight, and during the whole of that reign, his authority was deservedly very high relative to points of history and antiquity. Sir Robert distinguished himself, too, by promoting the project of creating a new order of knights, stiled baronets, which was one of the expedients resorted to by king James, to supply the deficiencies of the royal revenue, which had been prodigally squandered. For his exertions Cotton was rewarded with a baronetsy: and he was the twentyninth baronet that was created. He died at Westminster, in 1631. The works of sir Robert Cotton are nume rous. 1. "A Brief Abstract of the Question of Precedency between England and Spain." This tract was occasioned by Elizabeth expressing a desire to know the ideas of the antiquarian society relative to that point; and is still extant in the Cotton-library. 2. Being appointed in the year 1608, one of the commissioners to enquire into the state of the navy, which had been neglected since the death of Elizabeth, he drew up on this occasion," A Memorial of their Proceedings," to be presented to the king. This piece is also reposited in the Cottonian library. 3. "A Discourse of the Lawfulness of Com bats to be performed in the presence of the King or the Constable and Marshal of England," written in 1609, and printed in 1651, and in 1672. 4. The same year he wrote, "An Answer to |
