39- Tucker Brooke, 



Marlowe's wit and spriteliness of conversation had often the unhappy 

 effect of tempting him to sport with sacred subjects; more perhaps from 

 the preposterous ambition of courting the casual applause of profligate and 

 unprincipled companions, than from any systematic disbelief of religion. His 

 scepticism, whatever it might be. was construed by the prejudiced and peevish 

 puritans into absolute atheism : and they took pains to represent the unfortu- 

 nate catastrophe of his untimely death, as an immediate judgment from 

 I'.eaven upon- his execrable impiet>-. 



In contradiction of this passage, the caustic Ritson seized the 

 occasion to print for the hrst time the previously unknown charges 

 of Baines.i'^'' 



Toward the close of the eighteenth century a lively rivalr\' arose 

 among the chief Shakespearean scholars of the day in the collec- 

 tion of the rare editions of ^larlowe and the solution of the 

 bibliographical problems they raised. Reed. Steevens. and ^lalone 

 became enthusiastic connoisseurs of Marlowe. Malone paid the 

 then extraordinary sum of sixteen guineas, at the Wright sale in 

 1787. for the rare Dido. Steevens was given a copy by Reed, and 

 entered a grateful memorandum on a flyleaf : 'This copy was given 

 me by ]Mr. Reed. Such liberality in a collector of Old Plays is at 

 least as rare as the rarest of our dramatic pieces. G. S.' 



Edmund Malone provided himself with a one-volume collection 

 of Marlowe's works by binding together early editions of the vari- 

 ous pieces, eked out by manuscript transcripts where originals were 

 not obtainable. This interesting book, bound in red morocco, is 

 now in the Bodleian (Malone 133). and is rendered additionally 

 valuable by Malone's many manuscript annotations. Some of the 

 last have still a significance or curious interest sufficient to warrant 

 quotation : — 



The various pieces in this volume, together with the paper into which 

 they are let in, the expence of the inlaying, and the binding, cost five 

 guineas. The two manuscript plays^"^ are not included in this estimate. They 

 are two of the scarcest plays extant. M^"- Capel sought for the tragedy of 

 Dido for 30 years in vain. This is, I believe, the only complete collection of 

 ilarlowe's Works, now extant. E. M. 



'"' Obsen-ations on VVarton. 1782. p. 39 ff. 



^'^ Sic. But there are no MS. plays in the volume as now made up — only 

 a transcript of Ovid's Elegies and of the Passionate Shepherd song. The 

 Dido transcript referred to is evidently the one now in the Huntington 

 Library, which bears a note by J. P. Kemble. dated 1798 : 'This copy was 

 made by George Stevens, and given to me by Edmond Malone.' 



