SYLVESTER, JOSHUA (1563-1618)

—Poet and translator, is chiefly remembered by his translation from the French of Du Bartas' Divine Weeks and Works , which is said to have influenced Milton and Shakespeare. He seconded the Counterblast against Tobacco of James I. with his Tobacco Battered and the Pipes Shattered... by a Volley of Holy Shot thundered from Mount Helicon (1620), and also wrote All not Gold that Glitters , Pan the a: Divine Wishes and Meditations (1630), and many religious, complimentary, and other occasional pieces. S., who was originally engaged in commerce, acted later as a sort of factor to the Earl of E ex .