Excerpt from The Literary Miscellany, or Selections and Extracts, Classical and Scientific, Vol. 19: With Originals, in Prose and Verse; Poets, Viz; Collins, Shenstone, Gray, Lyttelton William Collins was born at Chichesterjn Sussex, on the 25th of December, 1721. His father was a hatter of good reputation, and alderman lot that city He received his early education in his native place. In 1733 he was admitted a scholar of winchestorcolv lege, where he continued seven years under the luff; tion of Dr. In 1740 he had the meritctot procure a distinguished place m the list ofthose sdhol-r lars who are elected upon the foundation of Winches:-r ter to New College in Oxford; but as there werethem no vacancies in that society, he was admitted 'a com moner of queen's-college in the same University.' During his residence there, be was at once distin~ guished for genius and indolence, bis exercisesmben he could be prevailed onto write, bearing visible char acteristics of both. No vacancy happeningjn New College, he was recommended by his tutor to the am ciety of Magdalen, wherehe was chosen a Demy, in July 1741. The uncommon abilities and learning which be displayed on this occasion principahy con tributed to his election. He continued at Magdalen College till he had taken his Bachelor's def gree; and poetry being his principal pursuit, he wrote, about this time, his Oriental Eclogues, which were pub lished in 1742, under the title of Persian Eclog'ues The success of these poems was far from being equal to their merit; but to a novice in the pursuit of fame, the least encouragement is sufficient: if he does not at once acquire that reputation to which his merit entitles him, be embraces the encomiums of the few. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.