Edward Fairfax Edward Fairfax ( 1580 ? - 1635 ) was a translator , the natural son of Sir Thomas Fairfax and thus a half-brother of Ferdinando Fairfax , 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron . Fairfax lived at Fuystone , near Knaresborough , England in peace and prosperity . His translation of Tasso 's Jerusalem Delivered , for which he is best known , is considered a masterpiece , one of the comparatively few translations which in themselves are literature . It was highly praised by Dryden and Waller . The first edition appeared in 1600 , and was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I of England . Fairfax also wrote a treatise on Demonology , in which he was a devout believer . External links Works by Edward Fairfax at Project Gutenberg This article incorporates public domain text from : Cousin , John William ( 1910 ) . A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature . London , J.M. Dent & sons ; New York , E.P. Dutton . This article about a writer or poet from the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . Categories : A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature | 1580 births | 1635 deaths | English people | Translators | United Kingdom writer stubs In other languages : Français Edward+Fairfax Edward Fairfax 