Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 42.djvu/22

 do not pay. Pepys, who collected Ogilby's publications, relates his success in this lottery (Diary, ed. 1849, iii. 159).

Ogilby's translation of Virgil into heroic verse was first published in large 8vo in 1649, and was sumptuously reprinted in 1654 in royal folio, with plates by Hollar, and again in 8vo in 1665. His mastery over the heroic couplet is creditable; his version is sufficiently close to the words of Virgil—much more so than Dryden's—and though he shows no trace of poetical feeling, he writes in fair commonplace English. He was ridiculed, but his version continued to be bought until Dryden's appeared, and the ‘sculptures,’ which form a prominent feature in this as in his other books, were considered good enough to be borrowed by Dryden. His work heads the list of the ‘Lady's Library’ in the ‘Spectator,’ and in our own day was included among the books recommended for examination to those whom Dean Stanley of Westminster brought together with a view to enlisting their services in the production of a new English dictionary.

Ogilby also published in 1658 a beautiful folio edition of the Latin original, embellished with 101 illustrations by Lombart, Faithorne, Hollar, and others. His rhyming paraphrase of Æsop's ‘Fables’ followed in 1651, 4to, being recommended in some verses by Sir William Davenant and James Shirley. In 1665 a second part appeared in folio, which included some fables of his own, called ‘Æsopics,’ composed during his stay at Kingston-on-Thames in the time of the plague. Both parts were issued in folio in 1665–8, and contain engravings by W. Hollar, D. Stoop, and F. Barlow. Another edition, in two vols. 8vo, is dated 1675.

Of his translation of Homer the ‘Iliad’ appeared in 1660, and the ‘Odyssey’ in 1665, both on imperial paper, and with plates by Hollar and others. According to Spence (Anecdotes, p. 276) it was this illustrated edition which first allured Pope to read the ‘Iliad’ when he was a boy at school. With the assistance of Dr. John Worthington and other divines Ogilby brought out at Cambridge in 1660 a noble edition of the Bible (two vols. royal folio), illustrated with ‘chorographical sculps’ by Ogilby himself, and 107 engravings by N. J. Visscher. Having presented a splendidly bound copy of it to the king on his first coming to the royal chapel at Whitehall, he was commanded to supply other copies for use in the chapel, closet, library, and council chamber, at a cost of 200l. He presented another copy to the House of Commons, for which he received 50l. About August 1661 he petitioned the king to prohibit any one for ten years from printing a folio bible such as his, and to commend his edition to all churches and chapels, that he might thereby be encouraged in his design of printing a polyglott bible (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1661–2, pp. 67, 68, 433). His bible was severely censured by Bishop Wetenhall in his ‘Scripture authentick and Faith certain,’ 1686. In Acts vi. 3 the word ‘ye’ was substituted for ‘we.’

Ogilby published in ten folio sheets a rough sketch of Charles II's coronation, entitled ‘The Relation of his Majesties Entertainment passing through the City of London to his Coronation,’ 1661. This was followed in 1662 by the splendid folio known as ‘The Entertainment of … Charles II in his Passage through the City of London,’ &c. The letterpress was revised by the king's command by Sir Edward Walker, Garter (ib. Dom. 1660–1, p. 606, 1661–2, p. 350); the plates are mostly by Hollar. This work, of which another edition was published by William Morgan in 1685, has proved of great service in similar ceremonies of subsequent date.

During the last years of his life Ogilby devoted himself to the production of books of geography and topography, copiously illustrated with maps and engravings by Hollar and others. These were: 1. ‘An Embassy from the East India Company of the United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperour of China, delivered by their Excellencies Peter de Gayer and Jacob de Keyzer at his Imperial City of Peking,’ fol., London, 1669 (2nd edit., to which was added ‘Atlas Chinensis’—also published separately in 1671–2 vols. fol., London, 1673). This work was compiled from the Dutch of Jan Nieuhof, Olfert, Dapper, and Arnoldus Montanus. 2. ‘Atlas Japanensis; being remarkable Addresses, by way of embassy, from the East India Company of the United Provinces to the Emperor of Japan,’ fol., London, 1670, compiled from Montanus. 3. ‘Africa,’ fol., London, 1670, translated from Dapper, and ‘augmented with observations.’ In the preface he gives an entertaining account of his own writings. 4. ‘America,’ fol., London, 1671. 5. ‘Asia. The first part,’ fol., London, 1673. The second part was the ‘Embassy to the Emperour of China,’ already published in 1669, and again in 1673. 6. ‘Britannia. Volume the first, or an Illustration of the Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales, by a Geographical and Historical Description of the principal Roads thereof, printed on one hundred copper plates,’ fol., London, 1675 (2nd edit., revised and apparently abridged, 1698); it was undertaken by the express desire of the king. This ‘noble de-