literary opinion after the sixteenth century, on the other hand, was decidedly negative. in his 1781 "history of english poetry", british poet laureate thomas warton called the sternhold and hopkins psalter "obsolete and contemptible," "an absolute travesty," and "entirely destitute of elegance, spirit, and propriety." in 1819, thomas campbell condemned their "worst taste" and "flat and homely phrasing." sternhold and hopkins render the beginning of the 24th psalm in this way: