Shakespeare's Sonnet 121, John Vicars, and Vile Things

I believe I am the first person to notice this.

In 1619 John Vicars published an English translation of John Owen's book of epigrams: Epigrams of that most wittie and worthie epigrammatist Mr. Iohn Owen, Gentleman. Translated by Iohn Vicars. Here is the ESTC entry and the EEBO full text.

The Epigram to Henry Neville is of particular interest. The original epigram was written to Henry Neville of Abergavenny, the husband of Mary Sackville Neville and the son-in-law of Thomas Sackville, the 1st Earl of Dorset. It was not about the Henry Neville of Billingbear who may have written the works of Shakespeare.

However, both Henry Nevilles shared the same family motto: "ne vile velis". John Davies of Hereford wrote a Sonnet to Henry Neville of Billingbear in his 1603 Microcosmos, and in that book he makes a pun on this family motto (see the full Sonnet here): "All which presume thou art not gilt by guile / Because they noble name* denies the vile." *Ne-vile  [Note the asterisk and the gloss are included in the original book.]

Here is the John Vicars' translation of the Epigram:

EPIG. 66. Sir Henry Nevill his Adagie. Wish no vaine thing.
NO vaine, nor vile thing wish to have,
This Counsell is both wise and grave:
For, base things are of base esteeme,
And wisemen, vaine things, nought worth deeme.

Shakespeare's Sonnet 121

There is a very interesting parallel here with Shakespeare's Sonnet 121 which also has "vile" repeated twice and rhymes "esteemed" with "deemed":

’Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed,
When not to be receives reproach of being,
And the just pleasure lost, which is so deemed

Thomas Vicars Reference to Shakespeare and John Vicars

In 1628, Thomas Vicars, whose mother-in-law was Henry Neville's widow, published a curious note about William Shakespeare in his book. The note includes a reference to John Vicars, who wrote the above epigram (translation from the Philological Museum):

To these, I think, should be added that well-known poet who takes his name from the shaking of a spear, John Davies,  and a pious and learned poet who shares my surname, John Vicars.

[Thanks to James Leyland for his helpful discussion of this issue.]