# 1695 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1695.

## Events

* April – The Parliament of England decides not to renew the Licensing Order of 1643, thus effectively abolishing most press censorship.
* unknown dates
** After twelve years of de facto theatrical monopoly in London, the senior actors of the mismanaged United Company break away to form a rival cooperative company led by Thomas Betterton, Elizabeth Barry and Anne Bracegirdle. This makes a brilliant start with the première on April 30 of William Congreve's comedy Love for Love, at the New Theatre, Lincoln's Inn Fields.
** Antoine Le Maistre and his brother Louis-Isaac Lemaistre de Sacy complete their translation of the Catholic Bible into French (the Bible de Port-Royal).
** Wren Library, Cambridge, the library of Trinity College, designed by Christopher Wren, is completed.

## New books
### Prose

* Mary Astell (anonymous) – A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, for the Advancement of Their True and Greatest Interest
* Charles Blount – Miscellaneous Works (ed. Charles Gildon)
* Gilbert Burnet – An Essay on the Memory of the Late Queen (see 1694 in literature, as many memorials were written to Mary II of England)
* Jeremy Collier – Miscellanies upon Moral Subjects: The second part
* John Dennis – The Court of Death
* John Dryden – De Arte Graphica (trans. of Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy)
* Laurence Echard – The Roman History (vol. I)
* "N. H." – The Ladies Dictionary, being a general entertainment of the fair-sex: a work never attempted before in English (published by John Dunton)
* Nicolaas Heinsius the Younger – The Delightful Adventures and Wonderful Life of Mirandor (Den vermakelijken Avanturier)
* William Laud – The History of the Troubles and Tryal of William Laud
* John Locke
** Further Considerations Concerning Raising the Value of Money
** The Reasonableness of Christianity as Delivered in the Scriptures
** A Vindication of the Reasonableness of Christianity (reply to John Edwards)
* John Norris – Letters Concerning the Love of God (letters to Mary Astell)
* Sir William Petty – Quantulumcunque Concerning Money (published posthumously)
* John Phillips – A Reflection on Our Modern Poetry
* Sujan Rai – Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh
* Robert South – Tritheism (vs. William Sherlock)
* Sir William Temple – An Introduction to the History of England
* Lionel Wafer – A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of America
* Ned Ward – Female Policy Detected; or, The Arts of a Designing Woman Laid Open
* Wu Chucai and Wu Diaohou (compiled and edited) – Guwen Guanzhi, anthology of more than 200 works from Warring States period to Ming dynasty

### Children

* Charles Perrault – Histoires ou contes du temps passé. Les Contes de ma Mère l’Oye (Tales and stories of the past with morals. Tales of Mother Goose)

### Drama

* John Banks – Cyrus the Great
* Catherine Trotter Cockburn – Agnes de Castro
* William Congreve – Love for Love
* Robert Gould – The Rival Sisters
* George Granville – The She-Gallants
* Charles Hopkins – Pyrrhus King of Epirus
* Peter Anthony Motteux – The Loves of Mars and Venus
* George Powell – Bonduca, or the British Heroine
* Elkanah Settle – Philaster; or, Love Lies A-Bleeding (adapted from Fletcher's Philaster)
* Thomas Scott – The Mock Marriage
* Thomas Southerne – Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave: a tragedy (adapted from Aphra Behn's novel Oroonoko)
* Ariadne – She Ventures and He Wins

### Poetry

* Joseph Addison – A Poem to His Majesty
* Richard Blackmore – Prince Arthur
* Colley Cibber – A Poem on the Death of our Late Sovereign Lady, Queen Mary
* William Congreve – The Mourning Muse of Alexas: A pastoral (on Mary II)
* John Milton – The Poetical Works of Mr John Milton (ed. Patrick Hume)
* Matthew Prior – An English Ballad: In answer to Mr Despreaux's Pindarique ode on the taking of Namure
* Richard Steele – The Procession: A poem on Her Majesties funeral
* See also 1695 in poetry

## Births

* April 8 – Johann Christian Günther, German poet (died 1723)
* September 20 – Hedvig Catharina Lillie, Swedish salonnière (died 1745)

## Deaths

* February 7 – Dorothy Osborne (Lady Temple), English letter writer (born 1627)
* April 13 – Jean de la Fontaine, French poet and fabulist (born 1621)
* April 17 – Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican poet (born 1651; plague)
* April 23 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh metaphysical poet (born 1622)
* June 11 – André Félibien, French court historian (born 1619)
* August 12 – Huang Zongxi, Chinese political theorist (born 1610)
* October – Sir William Killigrew, English playwright and courtier (born 1606)
* November 28 – Anthony Wood, English antiquary (born 1632)