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P. 27. There are many allusions, in these poems, to the science of astronomy, but they are all drawn from the systems of the ancient philosophers, particularly that of Ptolemy; which, like the doctrines of Aristotle in logic and metaphysics, kept possession of the schools for near 2000 years. In the Ptolemaic system, there were supposed to be twelve distinct heavens, one above another. The highest was called empyreum, and was the seat of the Deity; beneath this were the crystalline heavens, and then came the firmament. The crystalline heavens were supposed to be without stars, and to encompass the inferior, starry, and planetary heavens; to which also they communicated their motion.

An allusion, I suppose, to the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, by which the kingdoms of Castile and Arragon were united; and the different kingdoms of Spain were formed, like France, into one single monarchy.

The sprightliness of the dialogue in these poems, contrasted with the learned allusions drawn from so many different subjects, both of art and science, is very amusing. The memory or the imagination are continually exercised.

P. 29. The expression lip-rhetorick occurs before, p. 8:—