Somewhat to reade for them
that liſt.
T
Empus adeſt plauſus aurea pompa
venit
, ſo endes the
ex puncto impudentiæ
, &
two famous
Mountains to goe to the conception of one Mouſe, that
haue
had your eares deafned with the eccho of Fames bra
ſen towres, when only they haue been toucht with a leaden
pen, that haue
ſeene Pan ſitting
in his bower of delights, &
a number of Midaſſes to
admire his miſerable hornpipes,
let not your ſurfeted ſight, new come frō ſuch puppetplay,
think ſcorne to turn aſide into
this Theater of pleaſure, for
here you ſhal find a paper ſtage ſtreud with
pearle, an arti
ficial heau'n to ouerſhadow the faire
frame, & chriſtal wals
to encounter your curious eyes, whiles the
tragicommody
of loue is performed by ſtarlight. The chiefe Actor here is
Melpomene,
whoſe dusky robes dipt in the ynke of teares, as
yet ſeeme to drop when I
view them neere. The argument
cruell chaſtitie, the Prologue hope, the
Epilogue diſpaire,
videte queſo et linguis
animisque fauete. And here peraduen
ture, my witles youth may be taxt with a margent note of
preſumption, for
offering to put vp any motion of applauſe
in the behalfe of ſo excellent a
Poet, (the leaſt ſillable of
whoſe name ſounded in the eares of iudgement,
is able to
giue the meaneſt line he writes a dowry of immortality) yet
thoſe that obſerue how iewels oftetimes com to their hands
that know not
their value, & that the cockſcombes of our
daies, like Eſops Cock,
had rather haue a Barly kernell wrapt
vp in a Ballet, then they wil dig for
the welth of wit in any
ground that they know not, I hope wil alſo hold me
excu
ſed, though I open the gate to his glory,
& inuite idle eares
to the admiration of his melancholy.
Quid petitur ſacris niſi tantum fama
poetis
.
casks, & the preſident bookes of ſuch as cannot ſee without
another mans ſpectacles, yet at length it breaks foorth in
ſpight of his
keepers, and vſeth ſome priuate penne (in
ſteed of a picklock) to procure
his violent enlargement.
A.3.
The
Somewhat to reade
The Sunne for a time, may maske his golden head in a
cloud: yet in the
end, the thicke vaile doth vaniſh, and his
embelliſhed blandiſhment
appeares. Long hath Aſtro
phel (Englands
Sunne) withheld the beames of his ſpirite,
from the common veiw
of our darke ſence, and night hath
houered over the gardens of the nine
Siſters, while Ignis
fatuus, and groſſe fatty flames (ſuch as
commonly ariſe out
of Dunghilles) haue tooke occaſion in the middeſt e
clipſe of his ſhining perfections, to wander
abroade with
a wiſpe of paper at their tailes like Hobgoblins, and
leade
men vp and downe in a circle of abſurditie a whole weeke,
and
neuer know where they are. But nowe that cloude of
ſorrow is diſſolued,
which fierie Loue, exhaled from his
dewie haire, and affection hath
vnburthened the labouring
ſtreames of her wombe, in the lowe ceſterne of
his graue:
the night hath reſigned her iettie throne vnto Lucifer,
and
cleere daylight poſſeſſeth the skie that was dimmed; wher
fore breake of your daunce you Fayries and Elues,
and
from the fieldes with the torne carcaſes of your Timbrils,
for
your kingdome is expired. Put out your ruſh candles,
you Poets and Rimers,
and bequeath your crazed quater
zayns to the
Chaundlers, for loe, here he cometh that hath
broek your legs. Apollo hath
reſigned his Iuory Harp vnto
Aſtrophel,
& he like Mercury,
muſt lull you a ſleep with his
muſicke. Sleepe Argus,
ſleep Ignorance, ſleep Impudence,
for Mercury
hath Io, & onely Io
Pæan belongeth to Aſtro
phel. Deare
Aſtrophel,
that in the aſhes of thy Loue, liueſt
againe like the Phoenix; ô might thy bodie (as thy name)
liue
againe likewiſe, here amongſt vs: but the earth, the
mother of mortalitie,
hath ſnacht thee too ſoone into her
chilled colde armes, and will not let
thee by any meanes, be
drawne from her deadly imbrace; and thy diuine
Soule,
carried on an Angels wings to heauen, is inſtalled in Her
mes place, ſole prolocutor to the Gods.
Therefore mayeſt
thou neuer returne from the Eliſian fieldes like Orpheus,
therefore muſt we euer mourne for our Orpheus.
it ſelfe on his ſweet remembrance: but Religion that rebu
keth
for them that liſt.
keth prophane lamentation, drinkes in the riuers of thoſe diſ
paireful teares, which languorous ruth hath
outwelled, & bids
me looke back to the houſe of honor, where fro
one & the ſelfe
ſame roote of renowne, I ſhal find many goodly
branches deri
ued, & ſuch as with the
ſpreading increaſe of their vertues, may
ſomwhat ouerſhadow the griefe
of his los. Amongſt the which
fayre ſister of Phœbus,
& eloquent ſecretary to the Muſes, moſt
rare Counteſſe of
Pembroke
per
thou art not to be omitted: whom
Artes doe adore as a ſecond Minerua,
and our Poets extoll as
the Patroneſſe of their inuention; for in thee, the
Lesbian
Sap
pho with her lirick Harpe is
diſgraced, & the Laurel Garlande
which thy Brother ſo brauely aduaunſt
on his Launce, is ſtill
kept greene in the Temple ofPallas
. Thou only ſacrificeſt thy
ſoule to
contemplation, thou only entertaineſt emptie handed
Homer,
& keepeſt the ſprings of Caſtalia from being dryed vp.
Learning, wiſedom, beautie,
and all other ornaments of Nobili
tie whatſoeuer,
ſeeke to approue themſelves in thy ſight, and
get a further ſeale of
felicity, from the ſmiles of thy fauour.
O Joue digna viro ni Joue nata
fores.
my thoughts with ſuch figuratiue admiration, but generall re
port that ſurpaſſeth my praiſe, condemneth my
rethoricke of
dulneſſe for ſo colde a commendation. Indeede to ſay the
truth,
my ſtile is ſomewhat heauie gated, and cannot daunce trip and
goe ſo liuely, with oh my loue, ah my loue, all my loues gone, as
other
Sheepheards that haue been fooles in the Morris time
out of minde: nor hath
my proſe any skill to imitate the Al
mond leape
verſe, or ſit tabring fiue yeres together nothing but
to bee, to hee: on a
paper drum. Onely I can keepe pace with
Grauesend barge, and care not if I
have water enough, to lande
my ſhip of fooles with the Tearme, (the tyde, I
ſhoulde ſay.)
Now euery man is not of that minde, for ſome to goe the
ligh
ter away, will take in their fraught of
ſpangled feathers, golden
Peebles, Straw, Reedes, Bulruſhes, or any thing,
and then they
beare out their fayles as proudly, as if they were baliſted
with
Bulbiefe. Others are ſo hardly beſted for loading, that they are
faine to retaile the cinders of Troy, and the ſhiuers of broken
A.4.
trunchions
Somewhat to reade
trunchions, to fill vp their boate that elſe ſhould goe empty:
and if
they haue but a pound weight of good Merchandiſe, it
ſhall be placed at
the poope, or pluckt in a thouſande peeces to
credit their
carriage.For my part euery man as he likes, Mens
cuinſque is eſt
quisque.
Tis as good to goe in cut fingerd Pumps
as
corke ſhooes, if one were Corniſh diamonds on his toes.
To
explain it by a more familiar example, an Aſſe is no great ſtate
man in the beaſtes common-wealth, though he weare
his eares
vpſenant muffe, after the
Muſcouy faſhion, & hange the lip like a
Capcaſe halfe open, or looke as demurely as a fixpenny browne
loafe, for he
hath ſome imperfections that do keepe him frō the
comon Councel: yet of
many, he is deemed a very vertuous me
ber, and one
of the honeſteſt ſort of men that are; So that our o
pinion (as Sextus Empedocus
affirmeth) giues the name of good
or ill to euery thing. Out of whoſe works
(late he tranſlated into
Engliſh, for the benefit of vnlearned writers) a
man might col
lect a whole booke of this argument,
which no doubt woulde
proue a worthy commonwealth matter, and far better
than wits
waxe karnell: much good vvorſhip haue the Author.
vvith golden Aſſes of all ſortes, that if learning had loſt it
ſelfe
in a groue of Genealogies, vvee neede doe no more but ſette an
olde gooſe ouer halfe a dozen pottle pots, (vvhich are as it vvere
the
egges of inuention) and vvee ſhall haue ſuch a breede of
bookes within a
little vvhile after, as will fill all the vvorld vvith
the vvilde fovvle of
good vvits; I can tell you this is a harder
thing then making golde of
quickſiluer, and vvill trouble you
more than the Morrall of Æſops
Glovv-vvorme, hath troubled
our Engliſh Apes, vvho ſtriuing to vvarme
themſelues, vvith
the flame of the Philoſophers ſtone, haue ſpent all their
vvealth
in buying bellovves to blovve the falſe fyre. Gentlemen, I
feare
I haue too much preſumed on your idle leyſure, and beene too
bold, to ſtand talking all this vvhile in another mans doore: but
novv I
vvill leaue you to ſuruey the pleaſures of Paphos, and of
fer your ſmiles on
the Aulters of Venus.
Yours in all deſire to pleaſe,
Tho: Naſhe.
