THE

POEMS AND AMYNTA S

OF

THOMA S ANDOLPH

EDITED BY

JOHN JAY PARRY, PH .D.

NEW HAVE N : YA LE UNIVERSITY PRE SSLONDON : HUMPHREY MILFORDOXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

MDCCCCXVII

PREFACE

T seems now as though the prediction of the seventeenth century editors of the Clievelandi Vindicice

th at Randolph would “ l i e embalmed in hi s own nativewax had indeed come true. In general when thepubli c has seen fi t to consign a wri ter to obl ivion i t i swi sest not to di spute its sentence. Yet in the presen tinstance I feel that the judgment of hi s contemporaries,rather th an that of the present d ay, i s the correctone, and that Randolph i s deserving of a much l argeraudience than he now has .Wholly aside from the fact that poetry, pa rticularly

old-fashioned poetry, no longer appeal s to the generalreader, there are several rea sons for the neglect intowhich the works of Randol ph have fallen . One i s thatafter hi s death an admiring brother publi shed whatever of his he could find , burying the honey in the waxand making no distinction between hi s early schoolexercises and hi s l ater poems . Because of thi s thej uvenil e efforts of the school-boy are often condemnedas though they were the work of hi s mature age .Another fact which has kept him from being betterknown i s that copies of hi s works are now hard tosecure ; one must read him either in the rare earl y editions , or in the astound ingly inaccurate rep rint of W .

C . Hazl i tt which i s i tself long out of p rin t. I t i s to doaway wi th the difficulty of secu ring a text that thi svolume, containing about one th i rd of Randolph

’ sextant works , has been prepared .

With the example of Hazl itt before me I have poss i

vi PREFACE

bly, in trying to avoid his errors, gone too far in th eopposite d irection . When one begin s to correct andamend i t i s d ifficul t to know where to stop, and thefinal resul t i s apt to be that the editor quite ecl ip sesth e author. For thi s reason I have not ventured tomake any changes of my own in the original texts .This i s not really such an ob stacl e a s i t might at fi rs tappear, since most of those who use thi s book willundoubtedly be person s famil i a r with seventeen th century l iterature and abl e to read the early texts without difliculty . For such persons the ol d spelling andpunctuation , i rregul ar as they are, have a certaincharm ; furthermore these persons may be sure thatthey are not, as so often happens, being led astray bysome error in judgment on the part of the editor when ,i f l eft to themselves, they could find a way out of thed ifficulty .

In editing a volume of thi s kind one receives assi stance from so many sou rces that it i s manifestly impossibl e to acknowledge them all . In particular howeverI wi sh to express my thanks to Professor William LyonPhelps of Yale who fi rst suggested th e subj ect to meand who has a ided me throughout the work ; to Professor Brooke and Professor Berdan , also of Yale, forvaluabl e assi stance ; to the staff of the Yale Lib raryfor innumerable kindnesses ; and to the l ib ra rians ofthe British Museum ,

the Bodlei an , and the Victori aan d Al bert Museum for the generosi ty with whichthey extended to me every facil i ty for consulting themanuscripts and early editions .

J . ;L Ii

ROME , N.Y.

January, 19 17 .

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE RANDOLPH FAM ILYTHE e x or THOMAS RANDOLPHTHE CHARACTER OF ms WRm NGs

OTHER MEMB ERS or THE RANDOLPH FAM I LYTHE Ammu s:

(a) History(5 ) Sources(c) The Fickle Shepherdess

THE TEXTBmu ocm rav

VERS E S PREF IXED TO THE 1638 VOLUM E

Ro. Randolph . M .A. Student of C. ChurchRo. Randol ph . ex [Ede ChristiI. T. A . M .

Tho.Terrent. M .A . ex [Ede ChristiAnonymous .

R. Bride-c ake. A .M . No. Col l .Ed . Gayton. M .A . Ioan .

G . W . Joan .

Ios. Howe. Trin . Col l . Oxon .

Owen Fel tham, Gent .R. Costelow . M’

. A . Oxon .

Ric . West . Bac . ofArts, and S tudent of Chr. Church .

PoEMs in THE 1638 VOLUM E

On the inestimable content he inioyes in the muses

In Anguem, qui Lycorin dormientem amplexus estA Complaint against Cupid that he never made him in Love .

A gratulatory to Mr Ben Johnson for his adop ting of him to

be his Son

In Lesbiam, 8: Histrionem

De Histrice. Ex Claudiano

vii i TABLE or CONTENTS

In Archimedis Sphzr ram ex ClaudianoDe Magnete . Ex Claud ianoDe Sene Veronensi. Ex Claud ianoThe second Epod: of Horace translatedAn Elegie upon the Lady Venetia DigbyAn Epitaph upon M” I. TAn EpithalamiumAn Epitaph upon his honour'd friend M' Warre

Vpon the losse of his little fingerOn the Passion of Christ

Necessary ObservationsA Platonick ElegieAn Apologie for his false Prediction that his Aunt Lanewould

be deliver’d of a SonneAn Epithalamium to Mr F. H.

To Mr Fel tham on his booke of ResolvesIn Natalem Augustissimi Principis CaroliVpon his PictureAn Ode to Mr Anthony Stafford to hasten himinto the

countryAn answer to Mr Ben Iohnson

’

sOde, to perswade him not to

leave the stageA Dialogue. Thirs1s. Lalage.

A Dialogue betwixt a Nymph and a Shepheard .

A PastorallOde

A SongThe Song of DiscordTo one Ov erheating his private d iscourseEpigram : 47 ex decimo Libro Martialis .

To the Vertuous and noble Lady, the Lady CottonAn Elegie on the death of that Renowned and Noble Knigh t

Sir Row land Cotton of Bellaport in Shropshire .

Ausonii Epigram 3 8 .

On the Death of a NightingaleVpon the report of the King of Swedens Death .

On St Robert Cotton the AntiquaryAn Elegie

.

’H

’

Hv¢vofis 1) r olmn s 73 gram s: AristAd Amicum Litigantem

In Corydonem Corinnam

To one admiring her selfe m a Looking-GlasseAn Eglogue occasion’d by two Doc tors d isputing upon predes

tination

An Eglogue to Mr IOhnson

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Pastorall Courtsh ipVpon a very deformed Gentlewoman, but of a voice incompar

ably sweetThe mil k-maids Epi thalamiumAn Eglogue on the noble Assemblies revived on Cotswol d Hills

by M . Robert DoverThe Song ofOrpheusA Maske for Lyd iaA parley with his empty PurseVpon Love fond ly refus

’

d for Conscience sake

POEMS NOT rN THE 1638 EDm ON BUT 1NCLUDED it:

THE 1640 AND SUB SEQUENT EDm oNs

On Importunate DunnesA Character . Aulico—Politico-AcademicoOn the losse of his FingerA paraneticon to the trul y noble Gentleman M . Endym1on

To a painted MistresseTo his wel l TimbredMistresseOn six Maids bathing themselves in a RiverThe Wedd ing Mom e

In praise ofWoemen in General lTo M . I . S. on his Grateful l Servant

POEMS (MORE OR LE S S DOUBTFULL) NOT 1N ANY or THE

CoLLEcTED EDITIONS BUT ADDED FROM VAmousSOURCE S

TheTowns-mens Petition of CambridgeOn the Fal l of theMitreTavern in CambridgeAnnagram . Vertue alone thy B lisseAn EpithalamiumOn amaide of honour seen by a scollar in sommerset garden .

Epigram[To Richard Weston]A letter to hisMistresseThe Character of a Perfect Woman

Ad Amicam

[On the Book Fish]On Mr parson OrganistofWestmmsterAbbye .

[OnW1lliam Laurence] .

x TABLE OF CONTENTS

Randol ph his answer to some merry companion[Randolph

’

s answer to the“Sons of Ben

Prazludium .

[The City of London] .

AMYN’

I‘

A S

NOTE STo the Poems

Amyntas

APPENDIX .

INDEx or FIRST LINE S

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait of Thomas Randolph frontif piece

The Bi rthplace of Thomas Randolph facing page 5

Genealogi cal Chart of the RandolphFamily page 25

Facsimile Title-page of the 1638

Edition (Poems with the MusesLooking Gl asse and Amyntas) page 65

Facsimil e Title-page of the 163 8

Edition (Amyntas or the Impossi bl e Dowry) page 23 3

THOMA S RANDOLPH

INTRODUCTION

I . THE RANDOLPH FAMILY

No one could be less vain of his ancestry than wasthe poet Thomas Randolph , yet he was descended fromone of the oldest families in the kingdom , was entitledto display coat-armor which had been recognized formore than three hundred years, and was admittedby his contemporaries to be a “ gentleman ,

” a termwhich meant much more in those days than it doesat present.There are Randolfs mentioned in England as earlyas the Domesday Book, but aside from the sim ilarityOf the name there i s nothing to connect them withthe poet. The first Of the name who can , with anydegree of probability, be assumed to be of his familyare to be found in Wiltshire and Hampshire about thebeginning of the fourteenth century . In the time ofEdward I we find mentioned among the knights Of

Hampshi re one“Johannes Randolph ,

” whose arms,as given by Tri stram Risdon , were,

“Gules, on a cross

argent, five mullets sable,” and in a Parliamentary roll

of arms ,1 undated but evidently of the early part ofthe fourteenth century, we find a

“ Sire John Randolf

Genealogirt, New Series, 1 1 , 17 5 .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

Of Wi ltshire and Hampshire whose arms were, Degoules a vne Crois de argent e V moles de sable en l acrois .” These are the same a rms that in later t imeswere used by a nephew of the poet, Col . William Randolph , the founder of the Virginia branch of the family .

This Sir John Randolph must have been a man ofconsiderable importance in his day, for among thepapers preserved in the British Record Oflice are anumber which refer to him . In the year 1 297 he andJoan his wi fe (she was a daughter of John de Acton)exchanged Chaddenwick in Wiltshi re for the manor ofAshe in the hundred of Overton , Hampshire . Laterthey acquired other lands in Hampshire and elsewhere .Si r John was made Keeper of the New Forest and heldfor the king the manor and castle of Christ Church’ deTwynham , and later the royal castle of Portchester.He also se rved for many years as Justice in Eyre forCommon Pleas, his circuits covering, at various times,much of the southern and western part of England .

He died some time between 1 3 34 and 1 3 37 .

We find mention of but one son , Robert, but it seemsvery probable that the William Randolf who is mentioned by Fuller as Sheriff of Wi ltshire in 1 333 andKnight of the Shire, was, i f not a son , at least some nearrelative of Si r John . He served as collector of the king’ srevenues for Wi ltshire, was Keeper of the royal forestand park of Claryndon, and in 1 3 5 6 was given a commission Of Oyer and Terminer for Wi ltshire . He heldlands in both Wiltshire and Hampshire, among thembeing the manor of Bereford St. Martin . He died sometime before 1 369 .

Another person who almost certainly belonged tothis particular family is the Thomas Randolph of Bere

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THOMAS RANDOLPHT

bers of the family in various other parts of England ,but in the present connection these have no significancefor us.

Although we may assume the poet’s kinship with

these earl ier Randolphs because it was claimed by oneof h is brothers and apparently never questioned , weare unable definitely to trace his ancestry any furtherback than his grandfather Robert, whom we find residing at Hams (now Hamsey) , near Lewi s, in county Sussex . He i s not mentioned in any of the pedigrees ofthe Kent Randolphs and it seems quite certain thathe was of the other branch of the family. This Robert Randolph who was “ a surveyor of land or landmeasurer,

” 1 married Rose, the daughter and co-hei ressof Thomas Roberts, who was the son of Thomas Roberts of Elford in Hawkhurst, county Kent .2 Like herhusband she was of gentle bi rth ; Berry gives theRoberts arms as Per pale gules and azure, three pheonsor,

” and these arms are recognized and credited toRoberts of Canterbury in the Visitation of Kent madein 1663 .

The only child of this union ofwhom we find any mention was a son, Wi lliam, born in 1 5 72 . He was verywild in his youth and because of this hi s father cut himOff in his will with only a groat or three pence . Whenthe high- spi rited young man received thi s legacy hen ailed it to the post of his father’s door and set out toshift for himself.3 He became steward to Si r George

This seems to be Aubrey’s meaning, al though it is not quiteclear towhom the statement refers.

Wm. Berry, Kent, 18 1 ; H. F . Waters, Cleaning , 925 .

Th is story rests solel y on the authority of Aubrey and must beaccepted with a certain amount of caution.

INTRODUCTION 5

Goring in Sussex, and later to Edward Lord Zouche, 1

settling at Houghton Parva or Little Houghton inthe county of Northampton . His financial resourcesmust have been very l imited , for two of his sons werelater admitted to Westminster School as QueensScholars, and no one was eligible for these scholarshipswhose father had an income of ten pounds or more

per year.William Randolph married Elizabeth , the daughterof Thomas Smith of Newnham near Daventry in thecounty of Northampton . Baker 2 gives a picture ofthe Smith house “which stands on a bank at the endof the lane leading to Dodford ,

” and to j udge fromthis picture the Smiths must have been people of considerable importance, although apparently not gentlefolk . This wife, who bore him three sons and onedaughter, seems to have died some time after 16 1 3 ,

for a few years later we find him married again , thi stime to Dorothy, the daughter of Richard Lane o fCurteenhall, Gent. and the sister of the Si r RichardLane, who became Lord Keeper of the Great Seal underCharles I . She was the widow of Thomas West of

Cotton End near Northampton , and the mother of theRichard West, who wrote the poem ,

“To thepious Memory of my dear Brother-in-law , Mr. ThomasRandolph ,

” prefixed to the collected editions Of Ran

dolph’s Poems . By his second marriage Wi lli am Randolph became the father of seven more children , fou rsons and three daughters . He died in 1660 .

1 There is in the Record Office a warrant (dated Sept . 1 3 , 16 19)from Lord Zouche toMaster Randol l,

”authorizing him to hold court

in his manor of Chowton, county Somerset, and to receive the rentsthere.

3 Northamptonf bire, 1 , 26 1 .

6 THOMAS RANDOLPH

I I . THE LLEE OF THOMAS RANDOLPH

Thomas , the oldest child 1 ofWilliam Randolph andhi s first wife Elizabeth was born at Newnham 2 in thehouse of his matern al grandfather on the fifteenthOf June, Early in li fe he began to exhibit aleaning toward poetry, and at the age of n ine he wrotethe Hif tory of our Saviour

’

: Incarnation in English verse ;this was never printed and no copy of it i s known tobe extant, but the original , in the young poet

’s ownhandwriting, was long preserved as a rarity by hisbrother John . We have the word of his “ brother-inlaw Richard West that some of the verses included inthe collected editions of the poems were written at anot very much more mature age, and that even inextreme youth books were his toys .” 4

1 Themodern accounts all fol low Baker,who says hewas the seconds on ; both Aubrey and the 1682 Visitation of Northamptonshire,'however, say that he was the Oldest child . Aubrey was often far:f rom accurate, but in this case he got his facts from Randol ph ’s‘

b rother John and had no reason for falsifying them ; he sent thefletter containing them to Wood for his Athenae. The Visitation wasanade during the lifetime of the poet’s brotherWil liam , and probabl y,in accordancewith the usual custom ,was from facts furnished by somem ember of the famil y .

2 Winstan ley, fol lowed by Langbaine, Motley and others, saysthat he was born at Houghton, which is probably a mere assump tionbased upon the fact that this was his father’s home ; Aubrey, Wood ,Baker, and the 1682 Visitation give Newnham .

3 B aker gives this as the date of his baptism, and this has beengeneral l y accepted ; Kottas says that the baptism is recorded in the

parish register of Newnham under that date . I believe this to bemerel y a graphic paraphrase of Baker’s statement and do not thinkthat he took the trouble to investigate for himsel f. I have beenu nable to learn whether or not the register for that date is stil l preserved . Aubrey , Wood , and theVisitation of 1682 all give June 1sthas the date of his birth .

4 See his verses prefixed to the editions of the Poems.

INTRODUCTION

In order to give to this promising youth all the advantages possible, his father sent him to the College ofSt. Peter, or, as it i s more generally known ,Westminste rSchool , where he secured one of the scholarships established by Queen El izabeth when she reorganized theschool . We do not know exactly when he entered , buti t was very likely somewhere about 16 18, as the usualperiod at the school was four or five years and Randolphleft it inAt the time when Randolph entered the school theheadmaster was John Wilson ,2 a man remarkable fora faculty more than ordinary in instructing youth .

”

The second master, to whom fell the task of instructingthe third and fourth forms, and who must thereforehave had charge of young Randolph during at leastpart of his career at the school , was Thomas Hardinge .Some of the students who were at the school at thistime, and with whom Randolph must have been wellacquainted , were William Hemmings, the son of theShakespeari an actor, James Duport, who later becameeminent as a Greek Scholar, and John Donne (son ofthe Dean of St . Paul’s) , Samuel Rutter, and WilliamCartwright, the poets .3

1 One who is at all familiar with Kottas’ method w il l hesitate to

accept even so positive a statement of his as the one that Randolphentered the schoo l in his twel fth year, when such statement is not

backed up by mention of his authori ties. I t is probably a good guess,nothing more; Kottas always gives his conjectures as if they wereproven facts.

3 Kottas’ statement that Camden was headmaster of Westmin

ster School until his death in 1623 hardly requires an elaboraterefutation .

3 The Alumni Wef tmonasterienf er gives the names of all the

Queens Scholars, with the dates when they were elec ted to theO O O o o 0

umversxties; those who desu e further information about Randol ph scompanions at the school are referred to this work .

8 THOMAS RANDOLPH

In 1622 Wilson resigned his headmastership and wassucceeded in the position by Lambert Osbolston, who“ bore the character of a learned man , and was an excellent master, and very fortunate in breeding up manywits .” Although Randolph left the school only ayear later, and so cannot have been for very long underOsbolston

’

s care, he has left us a sincere although rathereffusive tribute to the debt he owed his old master. l

Doubtless the character of the men under whom hestudied and of the course of study which he pursued inthis school did have considerable influence in moldinghis nature .At Westminster the chief emphasis was at this timeplaced upon acquiring a thorough acquaintance withthe Greek and Latin authors, and upon an ability towrite both prose and verse in these two languages .Geography also was taught to the boys, and apparentlyHebrew as well .2 Furthermore, they were required atfrequent interval s to try their skill in the compositionof English verses , and we learn from one of his schoolfellows that Randolph performed these tasks verywell , and that he wrote with remarkable facil ity .

3

On Sunday the boys were given the task of puttinginto English verse the sermon of the morning or elsethe gospel and epistle of the day, and it i s doubtlessto this custom that we owe the Necerrary Obreroa

1 See the Latin poem prefixed to the 7ealour Looerr .

3 Hebrew was prescribed by the statutes drawn up in the time ofE lizabeth for the use of the schoo l (F . H. Forshall, Wertminrter S cbool,

4 1 2) and in 166 1 Evel yn mentions both Hebrew and Arabic amongthe languages in which the boys leaving for the university were ab leto compose (ibid . Forshall gives a rather ful l account Of theschool life and studies at about this period .

3 James Duport, Muse Subrecioce, 269 -

7 0.

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IO THOMAS RANDOLPH

college books on July 8, as a lesser pen sioner,2

the usual status Of one whose father was in moderateci rcumstances, for it implied that he was able to p ayfor his son’s board and education . During that sameyear, however, he was given a scholarship in accordancewith the terms of his appointment from Westmin ster ?’

Masson , in his li fe of M ilton , whose career at Cambridge coincided so closely with that of Randolph , hasgiven us a very good picture of the general li fe at theuniversity during thi s period .

‘ Of Randolph’ s partin this life during the earlier portion of his course weknow practically nothing ; he contributed to the Cambridge collection Of verses celebrating the marri age ofCharles and Henrietta Mari a in 162 5

5 (probably thefirst Of his poems to appear in print) , and to the collection called forth in 1626 by the death of Bacon .

6 Wealso know that he wrote upon occasion English verse swhich circulated among his fellows and that as earlyas 1626 at least, he had acquired the reputation of awit.

7 In January 1627—8, having fulfilled all the re

quirements, he was graduated B .A . , his name standingeighth on the l ist of bachelors .8

1 Hazlitt from A . G. Greenhil l of Cambridge.

J . Venn 81. J . A . Venn, B ook of Matriculation: and Degrees.

W. W . R. Bal l J . A . Venn, Admissions to Trinity College.

3 Admissions to T. C. These scholarsh ips were awarded to the

students as soon after the election as any fel l vacant, but in practical l y every case at this time they were not given until the studenthad been at the university for about a year.

In Ful ler’sHistory of Cambridge ( 1840) there is a plan Of the townas it was on l y a few years after Randolph left it.

5 See Bibliography, Sec . III, NO. 1 , p . 42 .

See B ibliography, Sec . III, No. 2 .

7 See the quotation from Ful ler given on p . 369 .

8 This is the date given by Hazlitt ; the B oole of Matric . and De

grees and the Admissions to T. C. give merel y 1627—8 . Kottas gives

INTRODUCTION

That he was something more than a good fellow and

merry companion i s amply demonstrated by a letter 1

written on Aug. 1 1 , 1629, to Lord Holland the Chancellor, by Leonard Mawe the Master Of Trin ity, inwhich he recommends to him Thomas Randolph , B .A . ,

one of extraordinary parts of wit and learning, and so

approved by the whole Un iversity that scarce an agebrings forth a better or the like . I f he had been capableof a fellowship at the last election the writer had certainly provided for him but not being so he begs the Earlto procure for him his Majesties mandatory letter . He

has no friends to solicit for him but the Bishop of Lincoln 2 under whom he was bred at Westminster, and

the writer under whom he has l ived for four years inTrinity College .

” We do not know whether the kingdid interest himself in the young man (we know thathe was in the habit of interfering in university elections) , but at any rate Randolph was created a minorFellow on the 22d of September In all probability he had spent the inte rvening time at the university studying for his M .A . degree in accordance withthe usual custom . Apparently the only thing that hepublished during this period was a Latin poem Of fourlines, prefixed to Plumptre

’

s Epigrammata,‘ but two

the date as March 27 , 1628 . The truth apparentl y is that thecandidates finished their work at any time during the term, were

pronounced to be Bachelors of Arts at the end of the term, but

were al lowed to date their degrees from the beginning of it. (Mas

son, 1 5 51 Preserved in the Record Ofiice: Domestic Papers, Charles I I ,

1 This was John Wil liams, who later became Archbishop of York ;he had been Dean OfWestm inster while Randol ph was at the school .

Hazlitt ; B ook of Motric . and Degrees.

See Bibliography, Sec . III, No. 3 .

I 2 THOMAS RANDOLPH

at least of his English poems, which were not publi shedtill l ater, may be ascribed to this year.1

In the following April the University was closed onaccount of the plague and did not open unti l November,2

and it i s very likely that Randolph spent at least partof this time in London . To this period , or possibly toa still earlier date, must be referred his introductionto the “ Sons of Ben ,

” which certainly did tak e placeeven if not in the form described by Win stanley ; 3 BenJonson and Lord Zouche were intimate friends , and iti s very l ikely indeed that the former had vi sited atHoughton and had made the acquaintance of thebright young son of his friend’ s steward . It wouldtherefore be very natural that Randolph , who was beginning to come into notice as a poet and wit, shouldresolve when he was in London “ to go see Ben . Johnsonwith his associates, which as he heard at a set-timekept a Club together at the Devil-Tavern near TempleBar ; accordingly, at the time appointed he went th ither,but being unknown to them , and wanting Money,which to an ingenious spirit i s the most daunting thingin the World , he peep

’

d into the Room where they were,which being espied by Ben Johnson , and seeing him ina Scholars thred-bare habit, John BO—peep , says he,come in , which accordingly he did , when immediatelythey began to rime upon the meanness of his Clothes,

1 On six Maids bathing tbemseloes in a River (see p . and the

Towns-"tens Petition of Cambridge (see p .

1 Commons at Trinity ceased April 30, and were resumed on Nov ember 20. Cooper, Annals, 3 , 223 and 228 .

1 Much doubt has been cast upon the truth of th is story on the

ground that it is highly fanciful , but I see no reason why it may not

be substantial l y correct . The fact that Randol ph hadmost probabl yalready met Jonson seems to have been overlooked .

INTRODUCTION I 3

asking him, I f he could not make a Verse ? and withalto call for his Quart of Sack ; there being four of them,

he immediately thus replied ,

‘ I John Bo peep, to you four sheep,With each one his good fleece,I f that you are w il ling to give me five sh illing,’

Tis fifteen pence a piece.

’

By Jesus, quoth Ben . Johnson (his usual oath) , I believethis i s my Son Randolph , which being made known tothem , he was kindly entertained into their company,and Ben . Johnson ever after called him Son .

”

It was at about this time that the A ristippus andthe P edler, which had already been acted privately,probably at Cambridge, were p rinted . Two editionsby d ifferent publishers appeared within a short timeOf each other,1 but neither bore Randolph

’s name,and the authorship seems not to have been generally known for some time .2 Possibly he wrote atthis time his answer to Jonson’s Ode to Himself, forhis poem seems to have been written before that

1 JohnMariott entered for his copy in the S . R. Mar. 26, 1630

(Arber 4, and Robert Al lot entered for the Pedler by R. Dav

enport (a minor poet of the period) on Apr. 8 (Arber 4, Froma later entry (Jul y 1 , 1637, Arber 4 , 3 87) we see that the title to theAristippus rested wi th Al lot, who had republished it in 163 1 and againin 163 5 . I t would seem as ifHarper had in some way secured a copyof the play and proceeded to print it, and Randolph , learning of this,had furnished Allot with a correct text and, so far as he cou ld , withthe rights to it ; why Davenport

’

s name should have been used inthe entry I cannot see, unless it was through him that the arrangements were made.

1 In the poem by Hemmings, in MS . Ashmole 38 (mentioned on

p . 3 5 7) there is a reference to the Aristippus as the work of anunknown writer, not Randol ph .

14 THOMAS RANDOLPH

ode was printed in According to M i ss Marks 1

hi s Entertainment, the original version of the Muses

Looking-Glass, was licensed on Nov . 2 5 , 1630, having

apparently been acted in the previous - summer ; SirA ston Cokain says that it met with a good receptionwhen presented .

3

As soon as the university opened again in the fall,he probably returned to Cambridge and resumed hi sstudies there, for in 163 1 , three years after taking hisBachelor’s degree, he was graduated M .A .

4 Un like theBA . degrees, which were conferred quite informallyduring term time, the Master

’ s degrees were awardedat the annual commencement held early in July, and

i t was at this time undoubtedly that Randolph took his . 5

Some time during the same year (the exact date i sunknown) he was incorporated M .A . at Oxford ,6 arather unusual honor for one who had so recently takenthat degree from his own university, and a testimon i al

1 Tennant , in his edition of Jonson’s New Inne (p . xxv) , makes itappear certain that the poem is an answer to an earlier version thanthat printed in 163 1 .

2 English P astoralDrama , p . 167 .

3 P oems, p . 1 1 1 .

Book of Motric . and Degrees. Admissions to T.C.

5 Hazlitt is not at all clear here, but he apparently means thatRandol ph became M .A . on March 23 , 163 1—2 . This date does not

fi t in so wel l with the other facts of his life, and besides both the Boo/eof Matric . and Degrees and the Admissions to T.C. give 163 1 , not

163 1—2 . In the case of his BA . which he took in the spring, both

of these books give 1627—8 . There is add itional proof that Randolphtook his degree at the regular commencement in 163 1 , for he actedas Prz varicator in the fol lowing spring, and the person to performthis offi ce was always selected one year ahead of time, from amongthose graduating M .A . then . The person chosen to act at the com

mencement in the next year was always the last one sworn, al thoughusual ly one of the first to be cal led . (Peacock xxvi .)

Wood , Fasti, 1 , 46 1 .

INTRODUCTION 1 5

to the respect with which he was regarded not only byhis fellows but by his superiors as well .The rule requiring every person who took the master’ sdegree to reside at the university for five years longerhad long been a dead letter, and most students leftas soon as they were graduated , but Randolph , holdinga fellowship and apparently finding the life congenial,remained . During this year he contributed some Lati nverses to the Cambridge volume celebrating the bi rthof Princess Mary,1 and also secured what was un

doubtedly the greatest literary success of his wholecareer .

The King and Queen had announced thei r intentionof paying a visit to the University, and great preparations were made for celebrating so important an event,and for making thei r stay pleasant . Among the otherfestivities it was decided that a play should be presented , a form of entertainment common at the univ ersities, and upon this occasion , perhaps out ofdeference to the distinguished guests, the play was tobe in English . Two persons prepared and submittedcomedies for presentation : Peter Hausted of Queens,whose Senile Odium had been acted at the Universityduring the previous year, and Thomas Randolph ,whose ability had not yet received any such publicrecognition , but who was al ready very favorablyknown to a great number of the students, particularly,of course, to those of his own college .The whole university took sides with the two candidates, and in order to settle the question it was finallydecided that both plays should be presented . Throughthe influence of Dr. Butts, the Vice-Chancellor, Haus

1 See Bibliography, Sec. III, No. 4.

16 THOMAS RANDOLPH

ted arranged that h is play, the Rival Friends, shouldbe acted first. I t was presented on the l gth ofMarch 1

and proved an utter failure, partially, no doubt, because, as Hausted charged , i t was deliberately crieddown by the opposing faction, but chiefly because ofits dullness . Randolph’s play, the 7ealous Lovers,

which apparently was presented on the following day,was a great success ; not only was it liked by theuniversity, but, what was of much more importance,the King, and Queen , and the Court were all wellpleased with it ; 1 so well pleased that the Lord Chancellor severely reproved D r. Butts for his bad tastein preferring Hausted

’

s comedy and , indeed , in allowing the Rival F riends to be given at all . This rebuke,originating apparently with the king, so upset theDoctor who was already overloaded with troubles, thathe hanged himself upon Easter morn ing.

At the Commencement held in June of that year

(the year in which M ilton took his M .A.) Randolphfilled the oflice of Prz v aricator, the licensed jokerwithout whom no Commencement at this period wasconsidered complete . The speech he delivered uponthis occasion has been preserved ,3 and i s of comparativ ely l ittle merit ; but the fact that of all the graduatesof the year before, he should have been the one chosento this office, apparently an elective one, i s in itself sig

1 The title-page of the Rival Friends gives this date, as doesWood ;Sir Simonds D’

Ewes (Life, 2, 67) says that the King and Queen ar

rived ou the 19th , and left on the 20th . Baker, however (Cooper,Annals 3 , says that they arrived on the 22d.

1 See the verses prefixed to the 7'

ealons Lovers, especiall y those byJames Duport.

1 Hazlitt reprinted it from aMS . formerl y in the Huth Col lection.

The conclusion is found also in MS . Raw l . Poet 62 .

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1 8 THOMAS RANDOLPH

playwrights with whom he was upon intimate terms,it seems more likely that it came as the result of constantclose association with the stage . It was at thi s timethat he produced his Amyntas, which was acted at Courtand apparently in one of the theatres as well ; probablyhe also revised his Entertainment, now called the Muses

Looking-Glass, for a number of allusions in it seem to

point to about this date. Malone’s suggestion thathe may have assisted in the preparation of the second

( 163 2) folio of Shakespeare’ s works i s worth abso

lutely nothing unless i t was based upon some moreinformation than he has left us.

1

The qualities which had made him such a favoriteat Cambridge made him equally popular in London ,not only with Ben Jonson and his ci rcle, with whom heseems to have been upon terms of great intimacy, butwith the fine gentlemen as well, and even at Court hewas apparently no stranger.2 But this popularity hadits darker side as well , for the following story, given byWinstanley, certainly has some truth in it . He wasmaking merry in Gentlemen’ s company” and

“ as itoften happen s that in drinking high quarrel s ari se, sothere chanced some words to pass between Mr. Ran

dolph and another gentleman , which grew to be so high,that the Gentleman drawing his sword , and striking atMr. Randolph , cut Off his little finger, whereupon , in anextemporary humour he instantly made these Verses .3

Arithmetic/e nine digits, etc .‘1

1 See Boswel l’s note in Malone’s Shakespeare, 2 , 65 6 .

1 See the verses by Richard West prefixed to the Poems.

1 W . R. Chetwood (B ritish Theatre) gives a different account,saying that this accident occurred when he tried to separate two

friends who were fighting.

1 See p . 103 .

INTRODUCTION 19

The excesses into which the liberal conversation ofhis admirers” led h im undermined his constitution ,and he was obliged to leave London and go into thecountry in the hope of regaining his health . He spentsome time at Little Houghton in the home of his father,engaged in his “ delightful studies,

” as Wood callsthem

,until one day, meeting William Stafford of Blath

erwyck (a relative of his Old friend Anthony Stafford) ,he was by him engaged as tutor to his son and hei r,receiving therefor an allowance Of £ 100 per year.1

Not very long after this he died in Stafford’ s house,under precisely what circumstances we do not know,

but the general impression was that his death was theresult of his i rregular mode of l iving.

2

On the 1 7th of March , 1634—5 , he was buried in

Blatherwyck Church ,“ on the south side, at the lower

end of the north chancel,” 1 among the members of

the Stafford family . Soon afterward a monument ofwhite marble, wreathed about with laurel , was erectedover his grave at the expense of Si r Chri stopher (afterwards Lord) Hatton of Kirby ; the inscription uponit, which was composed by Randolph’s friend and former rival, Peter Hansted , is indeed , as Aubrey says,puerile.

1 Aubrey’s expression is, I think Cli per annum I thinkAubrey’s explanation a much better one than that usual l y given :that Randol ph wasvisiting S tafford purel y as a friend .

1 Wood , Langbaine, Bridges, etc .

1 Bridges, Northamptonshire, 2 , 280.

20 THOMAS RANDOLPH

MEMORIZE SACRUM

Thome Randolphi (dum inter pauciores) Fa liei ssimi et facillimi ingeni i Juvenis necnon majora promittentis si fata vi rum non inv idissent saeculo.

Her sleepe thirteeneTogether in one tombe

,

And all these greate, yet quarrell not for romeThe Muses and y

e Graces teares did meete

And grav’

d these letters on ye churli sh sheete,

Who having wept their fountaines dryeThrough the conduit Of the eye,

For thei r friend who here does lye,Crept into his grave and dyed ,And soe the Riddle i s untyed.

For W Ch thi s Church , proud y1 the Fates bequeathUnto her ever honour’d trustSoe much and that see precious dust,

Hath crown’d her Temples with an Iuye wreath ,WCh should have Laurelle beeneBut y

1 the grieved plant to see him deadTooke pet and withered .

Cujus cineres brevi hac (qua pOtuit) 1m0rtalitate

donat Christopherus Hatton , M i les de Balneo, etMusaru amator, i ll ins vero (quem deflemus) sup

plendzi carminibus quaemarmoris et aeris scandalummanebunt perpetuum .

INTRODUCTION

Of Randolph’ s personal appearance we are able toform a fai rly clear idea ; a portrait Of him ,

1 probablyengraved by Marshall, appears in the frontispiece ofthe 1640 edition of the Poems, and in some, but not all ,of the copies of each of the subsequent editions .1

Aubrey tells us that “ he was of a pale ill complexionand pock-bitten ,

” and Randolph himself tell s us thathe was marked by the small-pox . His hair was of verylight flaxen , almost white, and was flaggy as may beseen from his picture. He was of middle height orslightly less ; Of about my stature or scarce so tall”

says Aubrey, who tells us elsewhere that he h imselfwas Of middle stature .

I II . THE CHARACTER OF HIS WRm NGs

Randolph’ s fame was great indeed in his own day,but it was as “ one Of the most pregnant wits Of his age,

”

rather than as a poet, that most people thought Of him .

Even those who did apply to him the term “ poet”

were thinking, as they did so, rather of his wittyand “ ingenious ” poems, his timely satire, and his clevercomedies, than of these qualities which we usually associate with the idea Of true poetry. Randolph’s versei s by no mean s devoid of these attributes , for althoughit lacks any great depth Of feeling he does exhibit considerable l ightness and grace in much Of his work .

1 Hazlitt is very probably correct when he interprets the inscription “

E tatis suae 27 asmeaning that he was 27 when the likeness Ofhim was made, but an interesting coincidence is that Aubrey, whostates that he was born in June 1605 , and died in March 1634

[ 1634 refers to his death as having taken place in his twentyeighth year.

1 According to Baker (Northamptonshire) , this was republishedby Rodd , but I have not been able to find a copy of this reprint .

22 THOMAS RANDOLPH

But these qualities were common to the age and werepossessed in equal or even greater degree by a number ofh is contemporaries, so that they alone would not suffice to raise a man very much above the common level ;even Herrick, who possessed them in such a preéminent degree, was scarcely known in his own day .

I do not feel , as some critics have, that English poetrysuffered any very great loss through the prematuredeath of Randolph , because I believe that any poetictalent he may have possessed had had ample oppor

tunity to assert itsel f before he died . From early youthhe had been given constant practice in writing verses,and he must also have read a great quantity of the masterpieces of Greece and Rome, not only because thi swas required in school and college, but al so because h istastes were decidedly classical . Very likely, as he wasfond of reading, he knew most of the English poets asWell , but the classics are in themselves good models fora young poet . When we consider that in addition toth i s early train ing, he enjoyed the friendship of mostof the poets of his day, we may safely assume that anygen ius he may have had in this d irection would not havel ain dormant . Had he lived another thi rty years the

general average of his work would certainly have beenmuch higher, and he might have gained somewhat insweetness and delicacy, but his work would still h avebeen of much the same character as the more matureof those poems which he has left us .In the field of drama, however, the case i s far different .

Most of the plays which he witnessed before coming toLondon must have been the productions of classicaldrama, or of plays of the classical type, acted at schooland at the university. It was because he followed too

INTRODUCTION

closely these classical models that his early plays are,

from our point of view, failures . The 7ealous Lovers,although it has many good features, i s essenti allyunnatural in plot, while the Muses Looking

-Glass canhardly be called a play at all . When Randolph te

vi sed it he inserted scenes and characters from Londonlife as he had come to know it, but the general outlineOf the piece he did not and could not change . The bestof his early work i s the A ristippus, which does not pretend to be a play at all; here, unhampered by anyconventions or preconceived ideas of form , he has givenus a very reali stic picture of the life he knew, greatlyexaggerated , of course , for the sake of humor.It i s very probable that he had read the plays ofShakespeare and Jonson and perhaps of other Englishdramatists, but if so he was evidently unable to appreciate them at this time . A play intended for the stageloses half its force when read , especially when one i sacquainted only with a totally different type of drama .

I t must therefore have been something in the nature ofa revelation to Randolph when he came to London andgot into really close touch with the vigorous nativetype of drama . Play-writing demands a much longerapprenticeship than does the writing of poetry , yet inRandolph’s case a very short acquaintance with practical stagecraft worked wonders . The plot of the Amyntas , apparently the only one of hi s plays written whollyafter he came to London, i s by no means faultless, butmany of its defects are those inherent in the pastoraldrama, while others common to the type have beenskilfully avoided . In many ways the plot shows agreat amount of ingenuity, and , compared with otherplays of the type, the situations are natural and the

24 THOMAS RANDOLPH

characters well drawn . The Amyntas i s not merelya good pastoral ; 1 i t i s very significant also as an indication of Randolph’ s growing familia rity with thepossibil ities and limitations of the acted drama .

The parts of the Muses Looking~Glass which bear thestamp of his more mature workmanship also Showdecided promise . The characters remind us stronglyof Jonson , but Randolph , although he had great respectfor the Old dramatist, was by no means content to followhim slavishly. Here, as in other cases, he took thesuggestion which seemed to him good and developedit for himself, and as time went on and he came toknow more different sides of l ife, he would probablyhave developed a style more and more his own and lessbased upon the work of any one else.His greatness therefore lies more in promise than infulfilment ; he had nearly all of the qualities whichmake a great dramatist, but he had not yet realized hispowers and learned to use them to the best advantage .This, I think, would have come in time . I f he hadlived for a few years longer, keeping in close touchwith the theatre, and in equally close touch with l ife,he might very probably have produced realistic comedies that would have rivalled the best work of hi smaster, Jonson himself.

1 Most critics agree in giving it third place among the Englishp lays of this type, while a number rank it ahead of Jonson’s SadShepherd, and second onl y to F letcher’s Faithful Shepherdess.

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

IV. OTHER MEMB ERS OF THE RANDOLPH FAM ILY 1

The children of William Randolph of Little Houghn and of Elizabeth his first wife were :

I . THOMAS , the poet, born June 1 5 , 1605 , and died ,unmarried, in March 1634

—5 . His li fe has

already been given .

I I . WILLIAM , baptized on Oct. 1 8, 1607 . He settledatAscot in the County ofNorthampton , wherehe was still l iving in 1682 . He married threetimes ; by his fi rst wifeM argaret, the daughterof William Burket of Bugbroke in the CountyofNorthampton , he had the following children :

1 . Elizabeth, who died unmarried .

2 . Alice, who married James Neale, son ofRobert Neale of Fiflield in the County ofNorthampton .

3 . Margaret, who married William Walters ofEastcot in the Parish of Pattishull in theCounty ofNorthampton .

4 . William, who settled at Harrington in theCounty ofNo rthampton ; he died aboutthe year 167 5 , aged about 40 . His wifeElizabeth , who was the daughter ofRichard Sherman of Hom ton in theCounty ofOxford , left him two children :

(a) Elizabeth , born about 1666 .

(b) Thomas, born about 1668.

5 . Thomas, who died unmarried .

1 Much of this material has never before appeared in print , and istaccessible even in a large library, so that its inc lusion seems amply

INTRODUCTION 27

The second wife of William Randolph of Ascotwas Marie, the widow of Theodore Marks ofPatishull in the County of Warwick . Sheleft no children . His third wife Sarah , thedaughter of Thomas Ladbrooke of Cubbington in the County of Warwick , was still l ivingin 1682 . She bore him three more children :6 . Sarah, who married Thomas Bodington of

Codington in the County of Warwick .

7 . Samuel, who in 1682 was l iving in Londonin Pye Corner by Smithfield. He married Sarah , the daughter of RichardPinkerd of Ascot in the County ofNorthampton , by whom he had

(a) A daughter.8 . 701m, born about 165 4 ; l iving unmarried

in 1682 .

III . ROB ERT. He was baptized on May 26, 16 1 1 .

Educated at Westminster School, whence hewas elected to Chri st Church, Oxford , in 1629.

He was graduated B .A . June 1 , 163 3 , and M .A .

May 3 , 1636 (as Randall) . He became vicarof Bam etby and afterwards of Donington inHolland , Lincolnshire, where he was buriedon July 7 , 167 1 . He edited the works of hi sbrother Thomas after the latter’s death , andalso wrote a number of poems of his own . He

married twice ; his first wife, who was thedaughter of Whitestone of Whittlesey inthe Isle of Ely, bore him one son

justified . In general this sec tion fol lows the NorthamptonshireVisitation of 1682, but I have corrected and amplified this from othersources.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

1 . Thomas, whowas born about 165 1 , and whodied unmarried on July 2 5 , 167 1 .

His second wife was Joyce, the widow ofWeston . She died without i ssue.

IV. ELIZAB ETH, who was baptized on Nov . 27 , 16 1 3 .

She married George Burket of Bugbrook inthe County of Northampton .

The children of William Randolph of Little Houghn and of h is second wife Dorothy we

V. JOHN , who was born at Little Houghton in 16 19,and died in April 1680 . He was an attorneyand settled at Toceter in the County ofNorthampton . He married Dorothy, daughter of Lewis Attebury of Great Houghton , andhad one son1 . William, who was born Nov . 1 7 , 1643 , and

who in 1682 was still l iving unmarried .

VI . R ICHARD , baptized Feb . 23 , 162 1 . He settledat Morton Morall in the County of Warwickand died (in Dublin) in May 1678. He married Elizabeth , daughter of John Riland,

Gent . , of the County of Warwick , and si sterto Archdeacon Riland. They had the following children1 . Richard, a stationer of London . He mar

ried but died without issue .2 . William, born in 165 1 and emigrated to

Vi rginia (about where he died onApr. 1 1 , 17 1 1 . He became quite prominent in the colony, being known asColonel William Randolph of TurkeyIsland , and from h im is descended the

INTRODUCTION 29

famous family of the Randolphs ofVi rginia .

1 (For fu rther details in regardto him or his descendants , see T. A .

Glenn , Colonial Mans ions, 433 , or L . P.

du Bellet, Virginia Families, 2 ,

He and hi s descendants used the Old

Randolph arms Of the five mullets on across, and there i s still preserved in theHenrico County Court House a pape rdated 1698, which shows the seal of Col .William Randolph , bearing these a rms .1

3 . Thomas, died unmarried .

4. 701m, l iving in the Strand in London in1682 .

5 . Dorothy . In 1682 she was unmarried andwas l iving at the home of Si r EdwardBoughton in Warwickshire .

6 . Mary , married in the Countyof Dorset .

VII. HENRY, baptized Nov. 27 , 1623 . He went intoVirginia about 1642 , married two wives there,and had issue by both .

VII I . ANNE . Baptized Feb . 8 , 1625 , and died in thefollowing year.

IX. GEORGE , baptized July 29, 1627 . He was accidently slain in the late wars June 5 , 1645 ,

and was buried at Harrington in the Countyof North ampton .

1 Henry Randol ph (VII) also left ch ild ren in Virginia, and one of

the Kent branch of the famil y likewise settled there, but the Randolphs who were prominent in the affairs of the colony trace theirdescent to Colonel Wil liam .

1 Glenn, 434 ; Crozier, Virginia Heraldica, 16.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

X. MARGARET, baptized Apr. 30, 1629 . She mar

ried Roger Philips, an Apothecary in Brentford, in the County ofMiddlesex .

JUDITH , baptized Aug. 30, 1630. She marriedHenry Welton of Brentford .

V. THE AMYNTA S

(a) History

The English public never took very kindly to thepastoral type of drama , and the Amyntas was noexception to this rule . It made little or no sti r at thetime it was presented , and for this reason it i s difficult,i f not impossible, to discover anything definite aboutits stage history .

We know from the title-page of the printed edition sthat it was acted before the King and Queen at Whitehall (in 1632

—3 , by the Queen

’ s men , says Fleay) , butwe are absolutely ignorant of the nature of the receptionit met there .1 It must also have been acted at one ofthe regular theatres , or at least have been prepared forsuch presentation , for, as Fleay points out, the prologue and epilogue are not suitable for a court performance . So far as I have been able to discover, i t wasnever revived , although an altered version of it, underthe title of the Ficicle Shepherdess, was presented aboutthe beginning of the eighteenth century.

1 The Pastorall, which is recorded by Sir Henry Herbert ashaving been played at Court on EasterTuesday in 1634, is, according to F leay, Fletcher

’

s Faithful Shepherdess.

INTRODUCTION 3 I

(b) Sources 1

The Amyntas owes its indebtedness to a general typerather than to any individual play, for in neither plotnor characters has Randolph borrowed bodily from anyother work . What he has done is to create , using situations and characters taken here and there from varioussources, a play which is distinctly his own , althoughreminding us at every tu rn of something familiar.In his attempt to create a pastoral drama which wouldbe acceptable to an English audience, Randolph hasfused together two quite dissimilar elements : the Ital ianpastoral type, which was never really naturalized uponthe English stage, and the comedy element which hadbeen so essential a part of the native English drama eversince its origin . When one tries to trace incidents andsituations, rather than a complete plot, back to theirsources, i t i s very easy to overemphasize the indebtedness of one work to another, for many of these incidentsare common to a number of writers, besides being of sosimple a character that they might occur to any authorquite independently. This i s particularly true in thecase of the pastoral d rama, in which a certain numberof types and situations came to be standardized , so

that all later plays were composed of new combinationsof the old materi al .

1 The general subject of the pastoral drama has been so ful l yconsidered by Greg in his work on the pastoral , that it seemed id leto attempt anything of the kind here. He has also given a ratherextended d iscussion of the Amyntas and its place in the movement,and to that book the reader is referred for information on this subjec t .All that I have endeavored to do is to bring together the possiblesourcesmentioned by Greg and Kottas, and to add some otherswhichthey have overlooked .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

Randolph’s greatest debt i s undoubtedly to theAminta (1 5 73 ) of Tasso and the P astor F ido ( 1 5 90) ofGuarini , the two finest examples of this type of li terature. Both of these plays had appeared in Engl i shtranslations before the time when the Amyntas was written , so that a familiarity with them does not pre- supposeany knowledge of Itali an on the part of Randolph .

Medorus’ narration of the events which led up to

the curse upon Sicil ia resembles very closely that ofErgasto in the P astor Fido (1 , and the prayer of therej ected lover which caused the goddess to lay thiscurse upon the country i s likewise much the same in thetwo plays (except that in the Amyntas it is the fatherof the lover, not the lover himself, who makes theprayer) . The ambiguous oracle with which the goddessanswered the prayers of her suppliants i s a fairly common stock device , found in the P astor Fido, but also insuch works as Rutter’s Shepherd’s Holiday (not printeduntil 163 5 but acted earlier) , Daniel

’sHymen’

s Triumph,and the Maydes Metamorphosis (by Lyly l) . The an

swering of questions by the Echo was a device sufficiently common to excite the ridicule of Butler in hisHudibras . Examples of it occur in the P astor F ido andSidney’s A rcadia. Damon’s sudden discovery of hislove for Amary lli s after he had wounded her resemblesquite closely the scene between Silvio and Dorinda inthe P astor F ido (4, and the scene where Pilumnusi s saved , by a very unexpected interpretation of themeaning of the oracle, from the sacrifice of his son , bears aslight resemblance to the sacrifice scene in the same play.

The Damon-Amarylli s situation (that of a man inlove with a woman who spurns him , while he in turn i sloved by a woman whom he spurns) i s one of the most

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

even as Claius seems to have been inspired by the songof Lamon in Book I of the A rcadia.

Claius for skil l of herbs and shepherds artAmong the wisest was accounted wise .

”

The trick played upon Jocastus by Dorylas resemblessomewhat the scene in the Merry Wives, where thepseudo-fai ries pinch Falstaff, singing as they do so, andit also has certain points of similarity with the scene inthe A lchemist,where Dol , as theQueen of Faery, imposesupon Dapper ; I think that a closer parallel than eitherof these can be found in the Rival F riends, where theBedlam, disguised as Oberon , imposes upon Stipes andhis daughter Merda, promising, among other things,that he will make Stipes a gentleman . The promisedchange in the sex of Jocastus reminds us of the Gallathea of Lyly or of the Maydes Metamorphosis, whereEurymine i s changed into a man and later into awoman again .

(c) The F icicle Shepherdess

Who the author of this adaptation was seems neverto have been known , as all the early historians of thestage class it as “Anonymous .” According to Chetwood (B ritish Theatre) it was produced in 1695 , but itwas not printed until 1 703 , when an edition appeared“ as i t i s acted in the New Theatre in Lincoln’s Inn

Field s by Her Majestie’s Servants .” Genest (2 , 293)thinks from the prologue that it was acted in the spring,but he can give us no information beyond what we findin the printed copies of the play.

1

1 I t is quite possible that a search through the newspapers in theBritish Museum might yield something ; those which I have beenable to secure here do not mention the play .

INTRODUCTION 3 5

According to the title-page of this play it was playedall by women .

” The cast for the performance was:

Clorinda, a Fickle Shepherdess M . BarryAm intas, a mad shepherd in love with Urania Mrs. BracegirdleDamon Two rivals in Mrs. Bowman

Alexis love with Clorinda Mrs. PrinceMenalchas, Father to Clorinda Mrs. Wil lisAdrastus, High priestof Ceres,father ofDamon and Urania Mrs. Lee

Amaryllis, in love with Damon Mrs. PorterUrania, in love with Amintas Mrs. AlisonFlavia, an old Nymph, sister to Claius Mrs. MartinClaius, father to Amintas and Amaryllis Mrs. LawsonA Shepheard Miss ParsonsDorylas, a waggish boy The little Boy

The changes made in the play are such as we mightlook for from a person altering it to suit the taste ofthe highly “ correct” early eighteenth century . Inorder to secure unity of plot, Mopsus, Jocastus, Bromius, etc . , had to go , together with the comedy scenesin which they took part . (In the scene of Amyntas

’

madness the Shepherd takes the part originally given toMopsus .) In order that there may be no doubt concerning the motives of Laurinda, or Clorinda as she

appears here, the play is made to begin with a scene inwhich she confesses her inability to decide betweenher two lovers . Damon’s action in wounding Amarylli sdeliberately is too rude for a refined age ; in the laterversion she i s injured when she runs in front of the spearwhich he throws at Alexi s .In the greater part of the play the very words ofRandolph are used , changed just sufliciently to makeof it neither good verse nor good prose . This nondescript i s written as prose , and i s interspersed with passages of very Augustinian prose dialogue . Scatteredth roughout the play are dances and new songs .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

VI. THE TEXT

The first ( 163 8) edition is by far the best text whichwe have of both the P oems and the Amyntas . It wasevidently prepared with a considerable amount ofcare on the part of Robert Randolph , and from apurely mechanical point of view as well i t i s a verygood piece of work . The second (1640) edition is notso carefully p rinted , but it may possibly contain corrections by Robert Randolph of some of the errors ofthe first edition ; i t also contains some things not in thefirst. The third edition (P oems 1643 , Amyntas 1640)seems to have been printed from the second , while thefourth (165 2) was almost certainly printed from thethird . Both of these latter editions are very carelesslyset up and abound in errors . The fifth edition (P oems1664, Amyntas a much better piece ofwork, seemsto have been set up from the second , while the sixth andseventh (both 1668, the second of the two probably setup from the first of them) apparently follow thefifth .

These are both well printed , but the compositor hastaken great l iberties with the text in order to bring itinto harmony with his ideas of what Randolph wrote.The text which I give aims to be, as regards bothspelling and punctuation , an exact rep rint of the firstedition , with the following exception : where obviousmistakes in the first edition have been corrected in thelater ones I have adopted the correction , but in all suchcases I have given the original reading in the footnotes 1

so that it wi ll be possible for any reader who wi shesto reconstruct the original text exactly . I have given

1 Some of the oft-repeated but meaningless variations in the use

of italics are noted in an appendix.

INTRODUCTION 3 7

in the same place all the variant readings of the latereditions which may be of significance as altering eitherthe sense or the metre of the earlier text . In somecases a poem appeared in some collection of verses before it was included in the 163 8 volume ; I have recordedthe variants of these texts also, adopting them wherethey seemed preferable, but in every such case recordingthe fact in the notes .In the case of the poems appearing first in the 1640

volume I have been forced to follow the text of 1643(the other being exceedingly diflicult to obtain) , but asI have made a thorough collation of this with the earliertext

,the differences which I have not mentioned in the

footnotes will be confined to minor variations in spellingand italicizing . In the dramatic di alogue I haveprinted the half lines (which in the early editions alwaysbegin at the left of the page) in such a manner as toindicate their relation to the other half lines : in nocase, however, have I ventured to alter the line division ;where this seemed incorrect I have given my suggestion sat the bottom of the page .In general I have ignored manuscript versions ofpoems which are to be found also in printed copies,as the latter are practically always the more reliable .Where in default of a better text it i s necessary to relyupon a single manuscript or a single p rinted copy, Ihave endeavored to reproduce that text exactly, exceptthat I have ventured to expand such manuscript abbrev iations as are usually given in full in the earlyprinted books .Of the poems which have previously been credited toRandolph I have omitted , as certainly not his, the oneUpon a Hermaphrodite (Hazlitt, p . which i s by

38 THOMAS RANDOLPH

John Cleveland ; the To Dr Empiric (Hazlitt, p .

which is by Ben Jonson ; The high and mighty Com

mendation of the Virtue of a P ot of Good A le (Hazlitt,p . which is an old ball ad ; 1 and The Combat of theCocks (Hazlitt, p . which is by Robert Wild .

1

I have not included the epitaph upon Drayton whichin MS . Ashmole 38 i s credited to

“Tho : Randall,”

but which has been credited to Quarles, Jonson,Beaumont, and even to Drayton himself upon asgood or better grounds ; its authorship seems to havebeen in doubt even at the time when it was made

(see Aubrey, 1 , Neither have I included theballad called The Merry Hoastess (Roxburgh B allads ,

3 , which Chappell suggested might possibly beby Randolph , as It was p rinted with the in iti als T. R .

some time before 1664 ; it i s not in the least in hisstyle . Furthermore I have omitted the dedicatorypoems prefixed to the 7ealous Lovers which are cer

tainly by Randolph , but which belong more properlywith an edition of the play .

I have not included Randolph’ s Latin poems in thisedition , as they seem hardly to belong to English literature and would , I believe, prove interesting to very

few . They may all be found in Haz litt’

s edition of thepoet

,with the exception of two short ones which I

have given in the notes to this volume (pp . 3 5 0 anda translation of Jonson’s Ode to Himself which i s foundin the Crewe of K ind London Gossips, 1663 , and theverses on the marriage of King Charles and Henrietta

Mari a, which occur in the Cambridge collection ofverses entitled Epithalamium Caroli et H.

Mariae (Bibliography, Sec . I II , No .

1 See p . 4 1 .

INTRODUCTION 39

VII. B IB LIOGRAPHY

1 . Works published as Randolph’s

1 . Aristippus or the Iov iall Philosopher : demonstrativelie proouing, That Quartes, Pintes and Pottles,Are sometimes necessa ry Authors in a Scholers Library .

Presented in a priuate Shew. To which i s added , TheConceited Pedlar. Omnis A ristippum decuit color ED

’

status ( 5 res . Semel insaniuimus. London , Printedby Thomas Harper, [etc .j MDCXXX.

Another edition was published in the same year byRobert Allot (see footnote, p . Who republished itin 163 1 and 163 5 . There is also a Dublin edition whichwas apparently published in 163 5 . Later editions

(165 2 , 1662 , and two in 1668) were included in the

collected Works of Randolph .

2 . The Jealous Lovers a Comedie presented to thei rgracious majesties at Cambridge by the Studentsof Trinity-Colledge . Written by Thomas RandolphMaster of Arts, and Fellow of the House . Voleat resludicra, si me P alma negata macrum, donata reducit

opimum. Printed by the Printers to the Universitieof Cambridge . Ann . Dom . 163 2 . [etc .]This was reprinted in 1634, 1640, 1646, 165 2 , 1662 ,

and twice in 1668 . The first of these is occasionally,and the others are regularly, found with the collectededitions .

3 . Poems,With theMv ses Looking-glasse and Amyntas. By Thomas Randolph Master of Arts and l ateFellow of Trin ity Colledge in Cambridge . OxfordPrinted by Leonard Lichfield Printer to the Vniversity,for Franci s Bowman ; M .DC .XXXVIII .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

This was reprinted in 1640 , with the addition , insome copies, of the Jealous Lovers ; in 1 643 with theJealous Lovers ; and in 165 2 , 1664, and 1668 (twice) ,with the Aristippus and the Pedlar also .

The Harleian Catalogue, printed in 1743 , mentions an edition of

Randolph ’s “Poems, translations, and Plays. London 1634, in

and this edition has been mentioned by various persons, but no copyof it is now known, and it is possible that no such edition ever existed ,as Randolph ’s contemporaries make no mention of it.

4 . The Mv ses Looking-glasse . By T. R . Oxford,Printed by Leonard Lichfield, for Franci s Bowman ,163 8 .

This was reprinted in 1640, 165 2 , 1662 , andtwice in 1668, each time in connection with the collectedWorks . I t appeared again in with a dedication to (not by, as i s usually stated) Jeremy Collier. I twas included in Dodsley

’

s Old P lays, except in the lasted ition, and in Scott

’s B ritish Drama .

5 . Amyntas or the Impossible Dovv ry . A Pastorall

acted before the King 81 Queene at White-Hall .Written by Thomas Randolph . P astorem, Tityre,

pingues P ascere oportet oves, diductum dicere Carmen .

Oxford , Printed by Leonard Lichfield for FrancisBowman . 1638 .

This was reprinted in 1640 (twice) , 165 2, 1662 , and1668 (twice) , each time in connection with the collectedworks .

2 . Works credited to Randolph, butwhose authenticityis doubtful

1 . Cornelianvm Dolivm . Comoedia lepidissima, op

timorum judiciis approbata, 81 Theatrali coryphoeo,

nec imme rito , donata , palma chorali apprime digna .

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42 THOMAS RANDOLPH

whom it i s also credited in the Compleat Camster ofCharles and in Tom D’

Urfey’

s P ills to P urge

Melancholy . J . Hunt in his edition of Wild gives i t toh im without question . According to Hazlitt, a MS .

in the Huth collection gives the date of the battle asJune 1 7 , 163 7 , which is after Randolph

’ s death but whileWild was still at Cambridge.

3 . IIo roOOaAuia. HAOvro'yauia . A pleasant comedicEntituled Hey for Honesty, down with Knavery.

Translated out of Aristophanes his Plutus, by ThoRandolph . Augmented and Published by F . .J Dives

fabula sum satis superque: A t P auper satis Efl’

superP oeta . London , printed in the Year 165 1 .

This i s full of allusions to events which happenedafter Randolph’s death , but the general scheme of theplay and certain individual passages are much in hi sstyle . I see no reason to doubt that it i s what itpurports to be : an incomplete play of Randolph

’ s, finished after h is death by some person not now known .

4 . On June 29, 1660,“The P rodigall Scholar, a

Comedy by Tho : Randall” was registered with theStationers’ Company by Humphrey Moseley, butnothing further i s known of it .

3 . Volumes in which poems by Randolph made theirfirst appearance

1 . Epithalamium Illustriss. 8: Feliciss. Principum

Carol i regi s et H. Mari ae reginae Magnae Britanniae.

&c . A Musis Cantabrigiensibus decantatum . Excu

debat Cantrellv s Legge, Almae Matri s Cantabrigiae

Typographua MDCXXV .

2 . Memori ae Honoratissimi Domini Francisci, Baro

INTRODUCTION 43

ni s de Verulam io, Vice-Comitis Sancti Alban i , sacrum .

Londini in Oflicina Johannis Haviland . 1626 .

3 . Epigrammatwn Opv sccv lvm Dvobv s Libellis D i stinctvm . [etc .J Authore Huntingdono Plumptre inArtibusmagistro Cantab . LondiniTypisTho . Harper,imprensis Roberti Allot . An . Dom . 1629 .

4 . Genethliacum Illustrissimorum Principum CaroliM ariae a Musis Cantabrigiensibus Celebratum .

Excusum Cantabrigiae 163 1 .

5 . Rex Redux , Sive Musa Cantabrigiensis voti damnas De incolumitate 8: fel ici reditu Regi s Carol i postreceptam Coronam , Comitiaq ; peracta in Scotia . ExAcademiae Cantabrigiensis Typographeo, Ann . Dom .

MDCXXXII I .6 . Parentali a Spectatissimo Rolando Cottono EquitiAurato Salopiensi Memon ae St Pietatis ergo . Londini

Excudebat A . M . 163 5 .

7 . Annali a Dv brensia. Vpon the yeerely celebration of M1

. Robert Dovers Olimpick Games v pon

Cotswold-Hill s Written by [Drayton , Randolph, BenJonson, Owen Feltham , Shackerley Marmion , ThomasHeywood, and twenty-seven other less well known persons ] London , Printed by Robert Raworth forMatheweWalbancke 1636 .

8 . The Gratefv ll Servant. A Comedic . As i t waslately presented with good applause in the privateHouse in D rury-Lane . By her Majesties Servants.Wri tten by James Shirley Gent . Usque ego posteraCrescam laude recens . London : Printed by I . Okesfor Willi am Leake, and are to be sold at hi s shOp inChancery-l ane neere the Roules . 1637 .

This i s the second ed i tion of th i s play ; the firstd id not contain the poem by Randolph .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

9 . A Crew of Kind London Gossips All met to beMerry [etc .j To Which is Added Ingenious Poems orwit and d rollery . Written and newly enlarged by S .R .

[Samuel Rowlands] 1663 .

4. Alterations of works by Randolph

1 . The F ickle Shepherdess ; as it i s acted in theNew Theater in Lincolns-Inn F ields By Her Maj estiesServants . Play

’

d all by Women . London Eno author’ s

name] 1703 .

An adaptation of the Amyntas. See p . 3 3 .

2 . The Mirrour A Comedy in Three Acts with theAuthor’ s Life and an Account of the Alteration s .London . [etc .j MDCCLVIThis i s an adaptation of the Muses Looking

-Glass;

the author was H. Dell . A second edition appeared inthe next year.

5 . Chief sources for the life of Randolph

Aubrey, John ,“ Brief Lives, chiefly of Contemporaries .

Edited from the author’s MSS . by Andrew Clark .

Oxford , 1898 .

Baker, David Erskine, Biographia dramatica ; or a companion to the playhouse. Enlarged by I saac Reedand Stephen Jones . London, 1 8 12 .

Baker, George, The history and antiquities of thecounty ofNorthampton . London , 1 822- 41 .

Bridges , John , History and Antiquities of Northamp

tonshire. Edited from the author’ s MSS . by theRev. Peter Whalley. Oxford , 1 79 1 .

Chetwood, William Rufus, The British Theater. Con

INTRODUCTION 45

taining the l ives of the English Dramatic Poets .I) ubhn , 1 75 0.

Jacob , Giles, The poetical regi ster ; or, the Lives andcharacters of the English Poets . London , 1 723 .

Langbaine, Gerard , An account of the English dramati cpoets . Oxford , 169 1 .

The lives and characters of the Englishdramatic poets . London , 1699 .

Mawe, Leonard, Letter to Lord Holland . 1629 . Preserved in the B ritish Record Office .

Motley, John , A compleat li st of all the English Dra

matic Poets . Published in the volume withScanderbeg by Thomas Whincop . London , 1 747 .

Visitation of Northamptonshire made in the years 168286. Not Printed . There is a copy in the NewYork Public Library.

Winstanley, William , The lives of the most famousEnglish poets . London, 1687 .

Wood , Anthony 5 , Athenae Oxonienses to whichis added the Fasti . Edited by Philip Bliss . London , 1 8 1 3—20 .

TO THE MEMORY OF

H IS DEARE BROTHER

M r T HO . RA NDOLPH .

N such a solemne traine of freinds that singThy Dirge in p ious lines, and sadly bringReligious Anthemes to attend thy Hearse,

S triving t’

embalme thy precious name in verse :I , that should most, have no more power to raiseTrophies to thee , or bring one graine of praiseTo crowne thy Al tar, then the Orbes dispenceMotion without their sole Intel ligence.

For I confesse that power which workes in mee

Is but a weake resul tance tooke from thee;And if some scatter

’

d seeds of heate d ivineFlame in my brest, they are deriv

’

d from thineAnd these low sickly numbers must be such ,As when steel moves, the Loadstone gives the touch .

So l ike a spungy c loud that sucks up raineFrom the fat solle to send it back againe ;There may be now from me some language showne

To urge thy merit, but’ twas first thy owne

For though the Doners influence be pastFor new effects, the old impressions last .As in a bleeding trunk we oft descryLeaps in the head, and rowlings in the eye,

By vertue of some spiri ts, that aloneDoe tune those Organs though the soule be gone.

But since I adde unto this general l noiseOnl y weake sounds, and Echoes of thy voice;Be this a taske for deeper mouthes, while IThat cannot bribe the Phansy, thaw the eye

And on that Grave where they advance thy praiseDoe plant a sprigge of Cypresse not of Bayes.

47

48 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Yet flow these teares not that th y Reliques sit

Fix’d to their cel l a constant Anchorit:Nor am I stirr

’d that thy pale ashes have

O’re the darke Climate of a private Grave

No faire inscription : such d istempers flowFrom poore lay-thoughts, whose blindnesse cannot knowThat to d iscerning Spirits the Grave can be

But a large wombe to Immortality :And a faire vertuous name can stand aloneBrasse to the Tombe, and marble to the S tone .

No,’tis that Ghostl y progeny we mourne,

Which carelesse you let fal l into the Vrnez

We had not flow’d with such a lavish tideOf teares and greife, had not those Orphans dy

’

d.

For what had been my losse, who read ing th ine,A B rother might haue kiss’d in every line .

These that are left, Posterity must have ;Whom a strict care hath resen

’d from the GraveTo gather Strength by Vnion ; as the beamesOf the bright Sunne shot forth in severall streames,

And thinl y scatter’

d with lesse fervour passe,Wh ich cause a flame contracted in a Glasse.

These, if they cannot much advance thy fame,

May stand dumbe S tatues to preserve thy name

And like Sun-dialls to a day that’

s gone,Though poore in use, can tel l there was a Sunne.

Yet (if a faire confession plant no Bayes,Nor modest truth conceiv

’

d a lavish praise)I could to thy great glory tel l this age

Not one inv enom’

d line doth swel l the pageWith guil ty legends; but so cleare from all

That shoot malicious noise, and vomit gal l ,That ’

tis observ’

d in every leafe of thine,Thou hast not scatter

’

d snakes in any line.

Here are no remnants tortur’

d into rime

To gul l the reeling judgments of the time;Nor any stale reversions patch thy writGleand from the ragges and frippery of wit.

Each syllable doth here as trul y runne

Thine, as the light is proper to the Sunne.

Nay in those feebler lines which thy last breathAnd labouring brains snatch

’

d from the skirts of deathThough not so strongly pure, we may descryThe father in his last posterity,

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SO THOMAS RANDOLPH

Qua que stolata dedit sanctus Floralia vates,

Exuis, E5 nudos das sine veste sales.

Hinc tota immeritam jugulat censura papyrum,

Et levis ingenuos damnat arundo sales.

Carnifices calamos U rauce jurgia Muse

S implicitas casti sentit honesta libri .

Quid calpet fuerit si vatis amabile carmen

Lascivam casto schemate Iasit anum?Lintea si nudis iniecit pulchra pudendis?

Vel tegit incastam larva modesta Deam?

Nulla tuis regnant nisi nomina mascula chartis,S i quod famineum est culpa legentis erit;

(Vt proles, uteri primd qui claustra reliquit,Mascula, fcemineum vidimus arte Sporum.)

Das thalami lusus cortine at tegmine sanctos,

Cynthia quos lectos gestiat esse suos.

Dii bene’

, quam sanctis loquitur Venus impia verbis?

Tyndaris U raptus hic stupet esse pios.

Lecta puella tuis dum spectat crimina chartis,Visa sibi est furto sanctior ire suo.

I nunc ingenuee parcas lex Iulia charte ,

Scripta librum dederat, lecta lupanar erat.

R0 . R A N D O L P H. ex IEde Christi.

Lest Spirit, when I fi rst did see

The Genius of thy Poetrie,Nimble and fluent ; in a straine

Even with , if not beyond the braineOf Laureats that crown ’

d the stage,And liv

’

d the wonders of the age:

And th is but Sparkles from a fire

That flam’d up , and soar’d much higher;

I gaz’

d desierous to see

Whither th y Wit woul d carry thee.

Thy first rise was so high , that evenAs needs it must, the nex t was heaven.

I . T. A.

INTRODUCTORY POEMS

In Authorem

Anescant ali i , sterilique a tatis honore

La tentur; fecit te tua Musa senem.

Parcarum labor est vita: mensura peracta

Texuntur proprid stamina vestra manu ;

Felix qui primo excedis, Randolphe, sub a’vo,

Nec Genii extincti pravia fata vides;

Dii bene non dederint efi’

aetae frigora vita

Debes quo fueras natus in igne mori.

THO. T E R R E N T, M . A.

[Ede Christi

Vpon M1 Randolph’s P oems, collected and

published after his Death.

S when a swel ling Cloud mel ted to showres,Sweetly d iffuses fresh and active powers

Into the shrunke and thirstie veines of earth ;B lessing her barren wombe with a new birthOf graine and fruit : and so redeemes a landOf desperate people from th

’ destroying handOf merc

’

lesse Plague, Famine, or Dearth ; and thenCol lec ts it’s streames unto the Ocean:

80 thy diffusive soule, and fluent parts,(Great miracle of na tural] wit and Arts,)Rapt up some Regions ’bove our Spheare, did flowAnd showre their blessings downe on us belowWhilst we, dul l earth , in extasies did sit,Almost o’rewhelmed w ith thy Flouds of Wit.

What blond of verse is pump’t from our dry Braines,Sprung like a rushing Torrent from thy Veines.

When a long Drought p resag’

d some fatall Dearth ,Thy unexhausted Founts gave us new byrrhOf Wit and verse : when Cham, or Isis fel l ,Thy open

’

d Floudgates made their Riv ’

lets swel l’Bove their proud Banks: Where planted by thy handTh

’

Hesperian Orchards, Paphian Myrtles stand ,And those sweet Shades, where Lovers tel l their blissesTo

’

th’

whisp’

ring leaves, and summe’

em up in kisses.

SI

THOMAS RANDOLPH

There in ful l Quire the Muses us’

d to singMelod ious Odes, bathing in Cham, their SpringAnd all the Graces, TOM, dwel t with thee too,

Crowning thy Eront for old Citherons Brow.

Nor were we rich alone ; Climes farre from henceAcknowledge yet thy soveraigne influenceSicilians owe to thee their fruitfull Vale,And Cotswold Hill thy Dewes created Dale.

All Lands and Soyles from hence were fruitfull growne,And multipli

’

d the measures thou hadst sowne.

Green-sword-un til led m il k-maids wish no blissesBeyond a stammel Petticoat , and k isses,And thy sweet Dowry ! This alone, they cry,

Wil l make our Beasts and Mil k to mul tiply .

And the dul l Fal low Clownes, who never though tOf God or Heaven but in a floud or drought,Doe gape and pray for Crops of Wit, and vow

To make their Lads and Wenches Poets now .

For they can make their fields to laugh and singTo th

’ Muses Pipe, and Winter rhime to spring.

They pray for the first curse ; like Schollers now,

To carne their livings by their sweaty Brow .

Then the fine Gardens of the Court, are set

With F lowers sprung from thy Muses Coronet .Those pretty Imps in Plush , that on trust goeFor their fine clothes, and their fine Iudgments too,

The Frontispice or Titlepage of Playes,Whose whole discourse is — As the P oet sayes.

That Tavem es d raine, (for Ivy is the signeOf all such sack-shop wits, as wel l as wine.)And make their verses dance on either handWith numerous fee t, whilst they want fee t to stand .

That score up jests for every glasse or cup,

And th’

totall summe behind the Doore cast up ;These had beene all dry

’

d up, and many more,

That quaffe up Helicon upon thy score.

The sneaking Tribe, that d rinke and write by fits,As they can steale or borrow coine or wits,That Pandars fee for Plots, and then belieThe paper wi th — An excellent Comedie,

Acted (more was the pitty,) by th’

Red B ull

With great applause, of some vaine City Gul l ;That damne Philosophy, and prove the curse

Of emptinesse, both in the Braine and Purse ;

INTRODUCTORY POEMS

These that scrape legges and trenchers to my Lord ,Had starv

’

d but for some scraps pickt from thy Bord .

They’

had try’

d the Balladiers or Fidlers trade,01 a New Comedie at Tibnrne made.

Thus, TOM thy pregnant Phancy crown’

d us all

With weal thy showers, or Mines Poeticall.Nor did thy dews distil l in a cold raine,But with a flash of Lightning op

’

t thy Braine,Which thaw

’

d our stupid spirits with lively heat,And from our frosts forc ’d a Poé ticke sweat.And now, Wit

’

s Common-weal th by thee repriv’

d,

(For its consumption shewes it not long liv ’d,)Thy farre dispersed Streames d ivert their course,

(Though some are damned up) to th’ Muses Sourse,

This Ocean z — He that wil l fadome it,By

’

s Lines shal l sound an Ocean of wit;Not shallow, low, and troubled , but profound ,And vast, though in these narrow limits Bound .

The tribute of our eyes or pens, all we can pay,

Are some poore d rops to th y P actolus Sea,And first stolne thence, though now so muddy growneWith our fowle channels, they scarce seeme thy owne.

Thus have I seene a pcice of Coine, which boreThe Image of my King or Prince before,New cast

’

into some Peasant, loose its grace ;Yet

’

s the same body with a fow ler face.

I f our owne store must pay ; that Gold which wasLent us in sterling we must turne in brasse.

Hadst thou w rit lesse or worse, then we might laySomething upon thy Vrne thou d idst not say :

But thou hadst Phansies vast Monopolie,Our stocke w il l scarce amount t’an Elegie!Yet all the Legacies thy Fatall dayBequeath

’

d, thy sad Executour w il l pay.

To late Divines (by Wil l and Testament)A Paraphrase on each Commandement,In Moral l P recepts ; with a DisputationEnd ing the Quarrells

’bout P redestination .

To those that study how to spend the Day,

And yet grow wise The Ethicks in a Play .

To Poets,’

cause there is no greater curse,

Thou bequeathdst — Nothing, in thy empty Purse.

To City-Madams, that bespeak new facesFor every Play or Feast, Thy Looking-glasses.

5 3

5 4 THOMAS RANDOLPH

And to their chamber-maids, who on l y can

Adorne their Lad ies head , and dreame on man,

Th’

ast left a Dowry ; They til l now , by steal thVilrit onl y members of the Commonw eal th .

To Heaven thy Ravish’t Soule, (though who shal lWil l say it lives in each line of thy Book .)Thy Dust, unnaturall Reliques that could die,To Earth ; Thy Fame unto Eternitie .

A Husband to thy Widdow’

d Poetrie,Not from the Court but Vniversitie.

To thy sad Aunt , and now despairing mother,Thy li tle Orphans, and thy younger B rother;From all of wh ich this free Confessions fi t,The younger sister had the elder Wit.

Ad Authorem .

Ollia qudd tenui currant mihi carmina filo,Et meus in gyro stet breviore labor,

Dum tua constrictis assurgit Musa Cothurnis,

Et Veneres casto vincit Avena loco,

Cedimus inculti! Fato par Glor ia nostro

Quad Tua mirentur Carmina, Nostra legant.

R. B R I D E - O A K S . A . M. No .

Hat need thy book crave any other fame,I t is enough that it beares Randolphs name.

Who sees the title, and him understood ,Must much condemne himselfe, or say tis good .

Goe forth example to the Neophyte,Who hence should leame to Catechize his wit.

And dresse his Phancy by this glasse : whose Muse

Welfavour’

d is, should here her face peruse,I t wil l not flatter,

’ twil l reflec t the graceShe takes from th

’

owner of a beuteous faceBut if a menstruous, and il literate eye

B last her, the various Specks shal l soone descryThe foule beholder, and proclaime her spoile

Not to resul t from thence, but his owne soyle.

ED . G A Y T O N . M. A.

INTRODUCTORY POEMS 5 5

Mmortall B E N is dead ; and as that bal lOn Ida toss

’

d, so is his Crowne by all

The Infantry of wit. Vaine Priests! That chaireIs onl y fi t for his true Sonne and Heire .

Reach here the Lawrell: Randolph,’

tis thy praiseThy naked Scul l shal l wel l become the Bayes.

See, Daphne courts thy Ghost : and spite of fate,Thy Poems shal l be Poe t Laureat.

G . W . foam

To his worthy friend MIr R O B E R T R A N D O L P H

of Ch . Ch . on the publishing of hisB rothers P oems .

E thank, you worthy sir, that tis our hapTo praise even Randolph now without a clap,

And give our suffrage yet, though not our voice,To shew the odds betwix t his fame and noyse

Whose onl y modesty we could applaud ,That seldome durst presume to blush abroad ;And bear his vast Report, and setting forthHis vertues, grow a suff

’

rer of his worth ,Was scarce his own acquaintance, and did use

To hear himselfe reported but as newes,

So distant from himselfe, that one might dareTo say those two were nere familiar:Whose pollisht Phancy hath so smoothl y wrought,That ’

tis suspected , and might tempt our thoughtTo guesse it spent in every birth , so writNot as the guift but Legacy of his wit

Whose unbid braine d rops so much flowing worth ,That others are deliver

’

d, he brought forth ;That did not course in wit, and beat at leastTen lines in fal low to put up one Iest ;Which stil l prevents our thought, we need not stayTo th

’

end, the Epigram is in the way .

The Towne might here grow Poet, nay tis se’

d

Some May’

ors could hence as eas’l y rime as read ;

Whose losse we so much weepe, we cannot heareHis very Comedy

’

s without a teare;And when we read his mirth , are faine to prayLeave from our griefe to cal l the worke a play :

THOMAS RANDOLPH

Where fancy plaies with judgement , and so fits

That ’

tis enough to make a guard of wits;Where lines fulfi l l themselues, and are so righ tThat but a combats mention is a fight .His phrase does bring to passe, and hee has lentLanguage enough to give the Things Event ;The lines pronounce themselves, and we may say

The Actors were but Echoes of the PlayMe thinkes the book does act, and we not doub tTo say it rather Enters then Comes out ;

Wh ich even you seeme to envy , whose deviceHas made it viler even by its price,And taught its value, which we count so greatThat when we buy it cheapest we but cheat ;And when upon one Page we blesse our look ,How-ere we bargaine we have gain

’

d the book ;Fresh-men in th is are forc

’

t to have their right,And

’tis no purchase though ’ twere sold in spight ;

So doe we owe you stil l , that let us knowHe gave the world the Playes, and you the Show.

Ios. H o w E . Trin . Coll. OxoN .

On his beloved friend the Author,

and his ingenious P oems.

Hat need these busy wits? who hath a MineHis owne, thus rich , needs not the scatter’d shine

Of lesser heapes: Day dimmeS a taper’s light :And Lamps are uselesse, where there is no night.Why then this traine of writers? forreigne verse

Can adde no honour to a Poe t’s hearse,Whose every line, which he to paper lent,Buil ds for himselfe a lasting Monument.Brave verse this priviledge hath ; Though all be dumbe,That is the Authors Epitaph and Tombe .

Wh ich when ambitious Pyles, th’

ostents of Pride,To dust shal l fal l , and in their ruins hideTheir then no more remembred Founders NameThese (like Apollo ever young) shal l fameThe first composer; whose weigh

’

d workes shal l tel lWhat Noble thoughts did in his Bosome dwel l .

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

To cal l it Poem . If for Casar stood ,Great Pompey should be neither weak, nor Good .

Ohl had he liv’

d to plead the craggy Law,

Which now unsetled holds the world in awe,

He would have met some Ostracisme, I feare,Lest he had charm

’

d the purple Iudge to erre .

Nor could he onl y in his Native speechRobe his ripe thoughts; but even the COpious, Rich,And lofty Greek , w ith Latine, did appeare

In him , as Orient in their proper sphereThat when in them, himselfe he pleas

’

d t’

expresse ;

The rav isht hearer, could not but confesse,He might as wel l old Rome, or Athens claime

For birth , as B ritaine, circled with the Maine.

’Tis true, we have these languages stil l left ;But spoken, as apparrell got by theftIs worne: disguis

’

d, and shadowed . Had hee

Liv’

d but with us, til l grave maturity ;Though wee should ever in his change have lost,Wee might have gaind enough whereof to boastOur nations better Genius; but now

Or hopes are nipt, e’

re they began to blow .

And sure I am, his losse must needs strike deep,For whom in verse, thus Englands Eye doth weepe.

Whose teares thus dew’

d upon his mournefull dustI wil l not longer trouble. They that mustCarp though at better things; let them onl y read ;These Poems here w il l strike that humour dead .

Wh ich I should praise too : but in them I see

There is one blemish ; for he hath nam’

d mee.

Else, I’

le not think the Reader so distrestIn wit: but that he wil l admire the rest.Conclud ing thence, though in his forenoon-youth ,(And what I now shal l write is modest truth ,)He knowes not him , who doth so much excel l ,That could so quickly, doe so much , so wel l .

OW E N F E L T H A M

INTRODUCTORI'

POEMS

On the death of Mr Randolph .

Hen Donne, and Beaumont dyed , an EpitaphSome men (I wel l remember) thought unsafe;

And said they did presume to write, anlesse

They could their teares in their expression dresse.

But love makes me more bold , and tel les me IIn humble termes to vent my pietyMay safel y dare ; and reason th inks not fi t,For which I loy ’d , I now should feare that wit.Respect lookes like a bargaine, if confinde

To rules precise ; and is more just then kinde,I f by a poiz

’

d and equall testamentI t turnes good-wil l, into a covenant ;Must every present offer’d to a PrinceBe just proportion

’

d to his eminence?Or ought my Elegy unjust be thoughtBecause I cannot moume thee as I ough t?Such lawes as these, (if any be so bold)Ought those unskilfull but proud soules to hold,Who think they could and did, at a due rateLove thee ; not mee, whose love was passionate,And hath decreed , how ere the censure goe,

Thus much , al though but thus, to let men know.

I doe admire no Comet did presageThe mournfull period of thy wonder’d age ;

Or that no Sybil! did thy death fore tel l,Since that by it alone more ill befel lThe Laurell-God, then when the day was come

Wherein his Delphick-Oracle was dumbe:In meaner wits that proverbe chance may hold(That they which are soon ripe are seldome old)But

’ twas a poore one, and for thee unfi t,Whose infancy might teach their best years wit;Whose tal k was exemplary to their pains,And whose d iscourse was tutor to their streines;If thou wert serious, then the audienceHeard P latoe’s works in Tullies eloquenceIf sad, the mourners knew no thrifty sizeIn teares, but stil l cri’d out, oh lend more eyes.I f merry, then the juyce of ComedySoe sweetned every word , that we might see

5 9

THOMAS RANDOLPH

Each stander by having enough to doe

To temper mirth , until l some friend could wooeThee take the pains to write, that so that pressureChecking thy soules quick motions, some smal l leasureMight be obtain

’

d to make provisionOf breath , against the next S cen’

s action .

I could goe through thy works, which wil l surviveThe funerall of time ; and gladly striveBeyond my power, to make that love appeare

Which after death is best seen in a teare ;But praising one, I should d ispraise the rest,Since whatsoere thou d idst, was sti l l the bestSince then I am perswaded that in theeWit at her acmie was, and wee shal l seePosterity not daring to aspireTo equalize, but onl y to admireThee as their archetype ; with thought of theeHenceforth I’le thus enrich my memory .

While others count from Earth-quakes, and great frost ;And say i

’

th’ last deare yeare,

’ twould thus much cost .My time-distinctions this shal l be among,Since wits-decay, or Randolph

’

s death , — so long .

R. G O S T E L O W . Mr. A. Oxon.

To the pious Memory of my deare B rother

in-Law M 1 Thomas Randolph.

Eaders, prepare your Fayth ; who trul y tel lsHis History, must needs write mirac les.

Hee lisp’

d Wit worthy th’

Presse, as if that heeHad us

’

d his Cradle as a Librarie.

Some of these Fruits had birth , when other Boyes(His E lders) play

’

d with Nuts; Books were his Toyes.

Hee had not long of Playes Spectatour beeneBut his smal l Feete wore Socks fi t for the Scene .

Hee was not like those costive Wits, who blotA quire of paper to contrive a p lot .And e

’

re they name it, crosse it, til l it lookRased with wounds like an old Mercers Book .

What pleas’

d this yeare, is next in pelces torne,I t suffers many deaths e

’

re it be borne.

INTRODUCTORY POEMS

For Humours to lye leidger they are seene

Oft in a Taverne, and a Bowling-greene .

They doe observe each place, and company,As strictl y as a Travel ler or Spie.

And deifying dunghills, seeme t’adoreThe scumme of people, Watchman, Changling, Whore.

To know the vice, and ignorance of all,With any Ragges they

’

le d rink a pot of Ale;Nay, what is more (a strange unusuall thingWith Poets) they wil l pay the reckoning ;And sit with patience an houre by th

’

Heeles

To learne the Non-sence of the Constables.

Such Iig—like flim-flams being got to makeThe Rabble laugh , and nut-cracking forsake,They goe Home (If th

’ have any) and there sit

In Gowne and Night-cap looking for some wit.

E’

re they com pose, they must for a long spaceBe d ieted , as Horses for the race.

They must not Bacon, Beefe, or Pudd ing cate,A jest may chance be starv

’

d with such grosse meate.

The Good Houre come, and their Braine tun’d , they write,But slow as dying men their Wil ls indite.

They pen by d rams and scruples, from their quil lWords (al though d reggy) flow not, but distil l .They stare, and sowre their faces; nay to ventThe Braines they eate their fingers excrementAnd scratch their Heads, as if they were about(Their wit so hide-bound is) to pul l it out.

Ev’ry bald speech though Comicall it beeTo their rack

’

d members proves a Tragaedie.

When they have had the Counsel l of some freind,And of their begging Epilogue made an end,Their Play salutes the world, and claimes the S tageFor its inheritance, being now of Age.

But while they pump’ t their Phansy day and night ;Hee nothing harder found then not to write.

No dyer could corrupt , or mend his straine ;All tempers were the best to his sure Braine.

He could with raptures cap tivate the King,Yet not endanger Button, or Bandstring .

P oems from him gush’

d out so readilyAs if they’d onl y been in’

s Memory ;Yet are they with as marble fancies wrought,As theirs whose pen waits for the thirteenth thought.

6 1

62 THOMAS RANDOLPH

They erre who say things quickly done soone fade ;Nature and Hee all in an Instant made.

Those that doe measure Fansies by the glasse,And dote on such as cost more time, may passeIn rank with Gul ls, whom fol l y doth enticeTo thinke that best which has the greatest price.

Who poreing on, their Spungy Braine stil l squeeze,Neglec t the creame, and onl y save the Lees.

S topping their flying quil l, they c lip Fames w ing,Make Helicon a puddle that’s a Spring .

Nor was his Hast hoodwinkt ; his Rage was wise,His Fury counsel l had, his rashnesse eyes.

Though hee (as Engines arrowes) shot forth wit,Yet aim

’

d with all the proper marks to hit.

His Inke ne’

re stain’

d the Surplice ; he doth rightThat sometimes takes a care to misse the White.

Hee tum ’d no Scripture phrase into a jest ;Hee was inspir

’

d wi th raptures, not possest.Some Divelish Poets think their Muse does ill

a esse their verses doe prophane or kil l .They bold l y write what I should feare to thinke,Words that doe pale their paper, black their Inke.

The Titles of their Satyrs fright some, more

Then Lord have mercy writ upon a doore.

Al though his wit was sharp as others, yetI t never wounded ; thus a Razer set

In a wise Barbers hand tickles the skin,And leaves a smooth not carbonaded chin .

So sov eraigne was his Phansy, that you’d think

His quickning pen did Balsam d rop not Inke.

Read ’s Elegies and you wil l see his praiseDoth many soules ’fore th

’

Resurrection raise.

No venom ’

s in his Book ; his very SnakeYou may as safel y as a Flower take.

There’s none needs feare to surfet with his phrase,He has no Gyant raptures to amazeAnd torture weake capacities w ith wonderHe (by his Laurel l guarded) nere did thunderAs those strong bumbast Wits, whose PoetrieSounds like a Charme, or Spanish Ped igree .

Who with their Phancy towring’bove the Sun,

Have in their stile B abells confusion.

If puny eyes doe read their verses, theyWil l think ’

tis Hebrew writ the English way .

INTRODUCTORI’ POEMS

His Lines doe runne smooth as the feet of time ;Each leafe though rich , swel ls not with gouty rime.

Here is no thrum, or knot ; Arachne ne’

re

Weav’

d a more even Webb ; and as they are

Listed for smoothnesse, so in this againe

That each Thread ’s spun, and warp’

d by his own braine.

We have some Poetasters, who al thoughThey ne

’

re beyond the writing-Schoole did goe,Sit at Apollo

’

s Table, when as theyBut midwives are, not Parents to a Play .

Were they betray’

d, they’d be each Coblers scofl

'

e,

Laught at, as one whose Periwig’s blowne off .

Their Braines lye all in Notes; Lordl how they’d looke

If they should chance to loose their Table-book !Their Bayes, like Ivy, cannot mount at all

But by some neighbouring tree, or joyning wal l .With what an ex tasy shal l we behold

This Book, which is no Ghost of any old

Wormeaten Authour; heres no jest, or hint,But had his Head both for it’s Ore an

’

mint .Wer

’ t not for some Translations, none could knowWhether he had e

’

re look’

d in Book or no.

He could d iscourse of any subject, yetNO cold premeditated sence repeat ;As he that nothing at the Table talkes,But what was cook

’

d in’

s study or the wal kes;Whose wit (like a sun-diall) onl y can

Goe true in this, or that Meridian.

Each Climate was to him his proper Spheare ;You’d think he had been brought up every where.

Was he at Court ? his Complements would beRich wrought with Phansies best embroderie ;Which the spruse Gal lants Echo like would speakeSo oft, as they’d be thread-bare in a weeke.

They lov ’

d even his Abuses, the same jeereSo witty ’ twas, would sting and please their care.

Read’s flowry Pastoralls, and you wil l sweareHee was not Iohnsons onl y, but Pans Heire.

His smooth Amyntas would perswade even meTo think he alwaies liv

’

d in Sicilie.

Those happier Groves that shaded him, were all

As Trees of knowledge, and Propheticall

Dodon’

s were but the type of them ; Leaves wereBooks in old time, but became Schollers here.

64 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Had he liv’

d til l Westminster Hall was seen

In Forrest Townes, perhaps he fin’

d had been .

Whilst O thers made Trees Maypoles, he could doeAs Orpheus did, and make them Dancers too .

But these were the light sports of his spare time;He was as able to d ispute, as rime .

And all (two gifts ne’

re joyn’

d before) outwentAs wel l in Syllogisme as Complement.Who looks within his clearer Glasse, wil l sayAt once he w rit an Ethic/e Tract and P lay .

When he in Cambridge Schooles did moderate,(Truth never found a subtler Advocate)He had as many Auditours, as thoseWho preach , their mouths being S ilenc ’d, through the Nose.

The Grave Divines stood gazing, as if thereIn words was colour, or in th

’

eye an care

To heare him they would penetrate each other,Embrace a Throng , and love a noysome smother.

Though P lodding Pates much time and oyle had spentIn beating out an obscure Argument ;He could untie, not break, the subtlest knotTheir puz ling Art could weave ; nay he had got

The trick on’

t so, as if that he had beenWithin each B raine, and the nice folding seen.

Who went to th’ Schooles P eripateticks, came,If he disputed, home in P lato

’

s name.

His Oppositions were as Text; some le’

d

With wonder, thought he had not urg’

d but read .

Nor was his Iudgment all Philosophy :

He was in points of decpc DivinitieOn l y Not Doctor ; his true Catho’lique BraineThe Learning of a Councell did containe.

But all his Works are lost, his Fire is out;

These are but’s Ashes, which were throwne aboutAnd now rak

’

d up together ; all wee haveWith pious sacriledge snatch

’

d from his GraveAre a few meteours; which may make it se

’

d

That TOM is yet alive, but Randolph’

s dead .

Thus when a Merchant posting o’

re the sea

With his rich loaden shippo is cast away ;Some light smal l Wares doe swim unto the shore,But th

’ great and solid Prizes ne’

re rise more.

R I C . W E s T . B ac . of Arts, and Student of Chr.

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ON THE '

N E S T IM A B L E

CONTENT HE IN IOYES

IN THE MVSES ; TO THOSE

of his Friends that dehort him

from POETRY .

OE sordid earth , and hope not to bewitchMy high-borne soule, that fl ies a nobler pitch iThou canst not tempt herwith adulterate show,

She beares no appeti te that flaggs so low .

Should both the Indies spread their lapps to me,And court my eyes to wish their Treasurie,My better will they neither could entice ;Nor this with gold , nor that with all her spice .For what poore things had these possessions showne,When all were mine, but I were not mine owne l 10

Others in pompous wealth thei r thoughts may please,And I am rich in wishing none of these.For say ; which happinesse would you beg fi rst,Still to have drink, o r never to haue thi rst ?No servants on my beck attendant stand ,Yet are my passions all at my command ;Reason within me shall sole ruler be ,And every sense shall weare her l ive ry .

(6) their] my .

’

40 , E. ( 7 ) neither] never ’

43 , 5 . ( 18 ) her] his’

5 2.

67

68 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Lord of my selfe in cheife ; when they that haveMore wealth ,make that thei r Lord,which i s my sl ane. 20Yet I as well as they, with more contentHave in my selfe a Houshold government.My intellectuall soule hath there possestThe Stewards place, to governe all the rest .When I goe forth my Eyes two Vshers are,And dutifully walke before me bare .My Leggs run Footmen by me . Goe o r standMy ready Armes waite close on either hand .

My Lipps are Porters to the dangerous doreAnd either Eare a trusty Auditor :And when abroad I goe , Fancy shall beMy skilfull Coachman , and shall hurry meThrough Heaven Earth , and Neptune

’

s watry plaine,And in a moment d rive me back againe.

The charge of all my Cellar, Thirst, i s thine ;Thou Butler a rt and Yeoman of my wine .S tomacke the Cooke , whose dishes best del ight,Because thei r only sawce i s Appetite.

My other Cooke digestion ; where to meTeeth carve, and Palat will the taster be .And the two Eylids, when I goe to sleepe,

Like carefull groomes my silent chamber keepe.

Where least a cold Oppresse my v itall part,A gentle fire i s kindled by the Heart .And least too great a heat procure my paine,The Lungs fanne winde to coole those pa rts againe .

Within the inner closet of my braineAttend the nobler members of my traine .Invention Master of my M int growes there,And Memory my faithfull Treasurer.

(as) two] too’

3 8. (40) crave '

5 2. (48) noble ’68 .

POEMS

And though in Others ’ti s a treacherous pa rt,My Tongue is Secretary to my h ea rt .And then the pages of my soule and sen se,

’

Love, Anger, P leasure, Griefe, Concupiscence,And all affections else are taught t’ obeyLike subjects , not like favourites to sway.

This is my Mannor-house, and men shall seeI here live Maister of my family.

Say then thou man of worth ; in what degreeMay thy proud fortunes over-ballance me ?Thy many barks plough the rough Oceans backe ;And I am never frighted with a wracke.

Thy flocks of sheepe are numberlesse to tell ;And with one fleece I can be cloth’d as well .Thou hast a thousand sev erall farmes to let ;And I doe feede on ne’re a Tenants sweat .Thou hast the Commons to Inclosure b rought ;And I have fixt a bound to my vast thought .Variety i s sought for to delightThy witty and ambitious Appetite ;Three Elements, at least, dispeopled be ,To satisfie j udicious gluttonyAnd yet for this I love my Common s here,Above the choicest of thy dainty cheere.

Noe widdowes curse caters a dish of mine ,I d rinke no teares of Orphans in my wine .

Thou maist' perchance to some great oflice come,And I can rule a Common wealth at home .And that preheminence injoy more free,Then thou puft up with vaine Authority .

What boots it him a large command to have,Whose every part i s some poore vices sl ave ?

(5 9 ) man of wealth ; ’

40 ff. (6 1 ) Ocean’68 . (82) l ’3 8.

70 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Wh ich over h im as proudly Lords it there,As o’re

'

the rusticke he can dom ineere.

Whilst he poore swaines doth threat, In his own eyes 85.

Lust and Concupiscence doe Tyrannize ,Ambition wrackes his heart with j ealous feare,And bastard flattery captivates hi s care .He on posterity may fixe his care,And I can study on the times that were.He stands upon a pinacle to showHis dangerous height, whilst I sit safe below.

Thy father bords up gold for thee to spend ,When death wi ll pl ay the office of a friend ,And take him hence, which yet he thinkes too late : 95

My noth ing to inherit i s a fateAbove thy bi rth-right, should it double be ;No longing expectation to rtures me .I can my fathers reverend head survay,And yet not wi sh that every haire were gray .

My constant Genius sayes I happier stand ,And richer in his l ife, then in h is l and .

A nd when thou hast an heyre, that for thy goldWill thinke each day makes thee an yeare too old

And ever gaping to possesse thy store,C onceives thy age to be above fourescore’Cause his i s one and twenty, and will p rayThe too slow houres to hast, and every dayBespeake thy Coflin , cursing every bell ,That he heares tole,

’cause ’ti s anothers knell ; 1 10

(And j ustly at thy life he may repine,For hi s i s but a wardship during thine . )

POEMS 7 1

M ine shall have no such thoughts, i f I have oneHe shall be more a pupill then a sonneAnd at my grave weepe truth , and say death s hand , 1 1 5That bountifully unto thine gave land ,But rob ’d him of a Tutor ; Cursed store !There i s no piety but amongst the poore .Goe then confesse which of us fathers beThe happier made in our posterity :I in my Orphane that hath nought besideHis vertue, thou in thy rich parricide .

Thou severall A rtists doest imploy to showThe measure of thy lands ; that thou maist knowHow much of earth thou hast : while I doe call 125

My thoughts to scan how l ittle’ti s in all .

Thou hast thy hounds to hunt the timorous hare,The crafty fox, or the more noble deere ;Till at a fault perchance thy Lordship be,And some poore citty varlet hunt for thee .For

’ti s not poore A cta’ons fault alone ;Hounds have devour’d more Masters sure then one.Whilst I the while persueing my content,With the quicke Nostril s of a j udgment, sentThe hidden steps of nature, and there see

Your game m aintain’

d by her Antipathye.

Thou hast a Hawke, and to that height doth flyeThy understanding , i f it soare so highWhile I my soule with Eagles Pinions wing,To stoope at Heaven , and in her Talon s b ring 140

A glorious constellation , sporting thereWith him whose belt of starres adom es the spheare.Thou hast thy landskips, and the painters tryWith all thei r skill to please thy wanton eye .

( 143 ) lants-ch ipps ’

4o. lants-ch ip s ’64 .

72 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Here shadowy groves , and craggy mountaines there ; 145Here Rivers headlong fall , there springs runne cleare ;The heavens bright Raies through clouds must azure

showCircled about with I ris gawdy bow .

And what of this ? I reall Heavens doe see, 149

True springs , true groves ; whilst yours but shadows be .Nor of your houshhold stuffe so proudly boast,Compos

’

d of curiosity and cost .Your two best chambers are unfurn i shed ,Th’ inner and upper roome, the heart and head .

But you will say the comfort of a l ifeIs in the partner of your joyes, a wife.You may have choice of brides, you need not wooeThe rich , the faire ; they both are proferd you:But what fond virgin will my love preferre,That only in P arnassus joynture her ?Yet thy base match I scom e, an honest prideI harbour here that scornes a market bride .Neglected beauty now is priz

’

d by gold ,And s acred love i s basely bought and sold .

Wives are growne traffique, marri age i s a trade , 16 5

And when a nuptiall of two hearts is made,There must of moneyes too a wedding be,That coine as well as men may multiplye .

O humane bl indness ! had we eyes to see,

There is no wealth to valiant poetry !And yet what want I heaven or Earth can yeeld?

Me thinkes I now possesse th’ Elisian field .

( 146 ) there the Springs ’68 . ( 160) i]’

3 8.

( 147 ) most az ure shrew ’

5 2. ( 16 1 ) an] and’68 .

( 1 5 4 ) heart] breast ’5 2 . ( 167 ) too] to'

5 2 , E.

( 1 5 6 ) your] our ’

3 8 . ( 17 2) the Elision’

3 8.

( 1 5 7 ) brides] birds, ’

5 2.

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74 THOMAS RANDOLPH

When loe a snake hid in the neighbour howres,

(Ah who could think treason should lurke in flowers ?)Shootes fo rth her checker’d skin , and gently creepes

Ore my Lycoris, that as gently sleepes.

I saw i t, and a sodaine frost possestMy frighted soule in my then troubled brest.What feares appear

’

d not to my mind and me ?Thou fi rst wert call’d bemoan

’

d Euridice,

By serpents envy forced to expire ,From Orpheus rapt, and hi s death conquering lyre .But when I found he wore a guiltlesse sting,And more of love did then of treason b ring :How quickly could my former feare depart ,And to a greater leave my iealous heart !For the smooth Viper every member scands,Africk he loaths now , and the barren sandsThat nurst him , wondring at the glorious sightOf thighes and belly, and her brests more whiteThen thei r own milke : Ah might I still (quoth he)Crawle in such fields,

’

twixt two such mountaines be!

There me he spied , and fearing to be seen ,Shrowds to her neck , thinking

’

t had Lyllies been .

But viewing her bright cheekes, he soone did cryeVnder you Roses shall I safer lye.

Thence did her forehead with full veines appeare,Good heaven (quoth he) what violets growe hereOn this cleare P romontory? Hence he slidesVp to her lockes, and through her tresses gl ides,Her yellow tresses ; daz el

’

d to beholdA gl i stering groue, an intire wood of Gold .

( 1 5 ) neighbour] neighboring ’68 . (3 8 ) you] yon’

43 ,’64,

’68 . your 5 2.

( 16) could] would ’68 . (4 1 ) cleare] clean

’68 .

(29 ) scands] scans’68 .

POEMS 7 5

Th’

Hesperian wood he thinkes he now hath seene, 45That thought, but now , they had an Orchard beene ;For leaves and boughs the A rchimenian vine,The Dodon Oak and the Thessalian PineMust yeeld to these, no trees so bright as they,Nor P aphian Mirtles, nor P enéian bay !o now filld all h is brest, no timorous feareOf danger could find roome to harbour there .Downe slips he and about each limbe he hurlesHis wanton body into numerous curles .And while his taile had throwne i t sel fe a chaine 5 5

About her necke, his head beares up againe ;

With his black lips her warmer lip s he greets ,And there with kisses steept in Nectar meets .Thence Zephyr

’

s breath he suckes, then doth he smellPerfumes that all th’ A rabian gummes excell . 60

And spices that doe build the P hoenix Pyre,When she renewes her youth in funerall fire .Nor seekes he poyson there, but l ike the BeeThat on mount Hybla plyes her husbandry,He gathers honey thence, now , now I knowWith A ristwus flocks a snake m ay goe .Ah cold at hea rt, I fear

’

d some heavenly sleight,And l ove my rival ; that h is old deceitHad once againe this borrowed shape put onTo court my Nimph , as he Deois wonne .Up lift the snake his head (for pleasure nowHeld all hi s soule) and with erected browTo flatter’s Loue he sung ; he strives to play,And hisses forth a well tun’d Roundelay.

This wakes the Nymph ; her eyes admit the day ; 7 5

(45 ) wood] woods ’68 . (46 ) But

’

3 8 .

(49 ) most’

3 8 . (70) Deois] Dedis’

43 ,’

5 2 . as he had Dedu ’64 ,

’68 .

(64 )’

3 8 . (7 5 ) admit] admits ’68 .

76 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Here flowers , and there her scatter’

d garlands lay,Which as shee picks up and with bents retyes,Shee in her lap the speckled Serpent spyes.

The Nymph no signe of any terrour shows,(How bold is beauty when her strength shee knows !) 80And in her hand the tender worm she grasp

’

d,

While it sometimes about her finger clasp’

d

A ring enamel’

d, then her tender wastIn manner of a gi rdle round inbrac

’

t ;

And now upon her arme a braslet hungWhere for the greater ornament, he flungHis l imber body into severall folds,And twenty winding figures, where it holdsHer amorous pulse , in many a various twist,And many a love-knot tyes upon her wri st .Lycoris to the Gods thou art too cl eare,And too too much of heaven belov ’

d I feare .

This or that Nymph’ s the red-sea spoiles may be,But Lyhia ne

’re sent Iewels but to thee .What e’re to us are deaths and poysons sent,Desi re to be Lycoris ornament .For that same litle spider that hangs up ,Together with her web on the house top ,When shee beheld the snake a bracelet made,Struck with an envy, and a love ; she said ,And shall a snake thy Gemme Lycoris hee,

And such brightforme receive no tyres from mee?Then flings her nets away, and throwing byHer subtle toyl shee sets to catch the fly ;To th’ loom Arachne goes, and plyes i t there,To work a robe for my Lycoris weare .

(85 ) arme] om .

’

5 2 . wast ’64 . ( 101 ) thy] a’

5 2 .

(86 ) he] she’

5 2. ( 104 ) th e] a’68 .

POEMS 77

But thou , 6 Serpent, which so blest canst beeTo reap those joys for which I envy thee :That, happy worm , upon her l ip hast hung,Sucking in kisses with thy three-fork’d tongue,(So may

’st thou age and skin together cast,And oft recall thy youth , when it i s past . )Teach my Lycoris what your Arts may bee ,Let her th’ Ingredients of thy Cordial s see .

That shee may ne’re grow old, that times dull plow

May never print a wrincle in her brow. 1 16

I charge thee in the powr’

full Cupids nameMay a new beauty alwayes and the sameLycoris shew, ne

’re may shee in her glasseLook for her own , and find another face .Venus for be auty may shee then appear,When shee has liv ’d to old Sybilla

’

s year,And when , deare snake, thou wilt no more renewThy youthfull vigour, bid base earth adjew .

Adde glory to the night, or from his spheareHuge Python pull and fix thy torches there :Where like a river thou shalt bending go,And through the Orbe a starry torrent flow .

And thou Lycoris, when th’art pleas

’

d to takeNo more of l i fe, next thy beloved SnakeShine forth a constellation , full , and bright ;Blesse the poor heavens with more m ajestick l ight.Who in requitall Shall present you there,A riadnes Crown , and Cassiopceas Chayr

( 109 ) her] her’

3 8 . hast] fast ’

43 , if. ( 1 20) another] anothers ’

43 ,’

5 2,’64.

( 1 16 ) in] on’64 ,

’68 . ( 125 ) Adde] And '

43 . H.

( 1 17 ) p ow’rfull] powerful ’68.

A Complaint against Cupid that he nevermade him in Love.

Ow many of thy Captives (Love) complaine

Thou yoak’

st thy slaves in too severe a chaine ?I ’ have heard ’em thei r Poetique malice shew,

To curse thy Quiver, and blaspheme thy bow .

Calling thee boy, and blind ; threatning the rod ; 5

Prophanely swearing that thou art no God.

Or i f thou be ; not from the starry place ;But born below, and of the Stygian race .But yet these Atheists that thy shafts dislike ,Thou canst be freindly to, and daigne to strike .This on his Cloris spends his thoughts and time ;That chaunts Corinna in h is amorous rime .A third speaks raptures, and hath gaind a witBy praising Ce lia ; else had mis

’t of it.But that I th ink there can no freedom be,(Cupid) so sweet, as thy Captivity .

I that could wish thy chain s, and live contentTo wear them , not my Gives , but ornamentI that could any ransom pay to thee,Not to redeem but sell my liberty,I am neglected ; let the cause be known ;Art thou a niggard of thy arrows grown ,That wert so prodigall? or dost thou pleaseTo set thy Pillars up with HerculesWeary of conquest ? or should I disgraceThy victories, i f I were daign

’

d a place

(3 ) I’ have] I have ’

40,

’

43 ,’

5 2 ,’

64 . I’ve

’68 .

( 18 ) my] thy’

4o, 11.

(20) (22) Art thou niggard ’68 .

POEMS 79

Amongst thy other Trophies ? none of these,Witnesse thy dayly t riumphs : who but seesThou still pursuest thy game from high to low ;No age , no Sexe can scape thy pow

’

rfull bow .

Decrepite age whose veins and bones may beeAn A rgument against Philosophy,To prove an emptinesse ; that has no senseLeft but his feeling, feels thy influence ;And dying dotes : not babes thy shafts can misse ; 3 5How quickly Infants can be taught to kisse lAS the poorApes being dumb these words would borrow,I’

was born to day to get a babe to morrow.

Each plow-man thy propitious wounds can prove ,Tilling the earth , and wi shing t

’were hi s love .Am I invulnerable ? i s the dartRebeaten , which thou lev el

’

st at my heart ?Ill rest my Parents bones, i f they have doneAs Tethis once did to her God-l ike sonneThe great A chilles, dipt in Stygi an lake ;Though I am so, Cupid, thy arrows take ,Try where I am not proof, and let me feelThy archery, i f not i

’th heart , i’th heel .

Perchance my heart lyes there ; who would not beA Coward , to be valiant made by thee .I cannot say thy blindnesse i s the cause,That I am barr’d the freedom of thy laws ;The wretched out-Law of thy Mothers Court ,That place of comfort , Paradise of sport .For they may say, that say thou blind canst be, 5 5

Eagles want eyes , and only moles can see .

(30) powerful! ’

43 , fi'

. (44 ) Tethis] Thetis’68 .

(36) can] may’68 . (5 0)

’64 ,

’68 .

(3 8) I was’

43 , if . (5 2) barr’d] hard ’68 laws] layes '

68 .

(4 3 ) 111] 1'1c

’

43

80 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Not Argus with so many lights did shine,For each fai r Ladies Sparkling eyes are thine .Think

’

st thou because I doe the Muses love,I in thy Camp would a faint souldier prove ?How came Museeus, and Anacreon thenInto thy troops ? how came Tibullus penAm ongst thy speares ; and how came Ovid (say)To be enrold great Generall in thy pay ?And doubts thou me ? suspect you I will tellThe hidden misteries of your P aphian cell ,To the straight lac’d Diana? or betrayThe secrets of the night, unto the day ?No Cupid, by thy mothers doves I swear,And by her sparrows,

’ti s an idle fear.I f Philomel descend to sport with me,Know I can be (great Love) as dumb as shee,Though shee hath lost her tongue ; in such delightsAll should be like her, only talk by nights :Make me thy Prei st (i f Poets truth divine)I’ le make the Muses wanton ; at thy sh rineThey all shall wait ; and Dian

’

s selfe shall beA votresse to thy Mothers Nunnerie .

Where zeale with nature shall maintaine no strife ;Where none swear chastity, and single life .To Venus-Nuns an easier oath i s read ,Shee breaks her vow , that keeps her maiden head .

Reject not then your Flamin’

s ministryLet me but deacon in thy Temples be :And see how I shall touch my pow

’

rfull lyre ,And more irispir

’

d with thine, then Phoebus fire,Chaunt such a moving verse, as soon should frameDesi re of dalli ance in the coyest dame,

(70) Idle’

3 8. (7 1 )’

3 8. (79 ) Where]When ’

5 2. (88)’

3 8 .

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

I know not why, but warmer streams doe glideThorough my veins, sure

’ti s a wanton tide.But you perchance esteem my love the lesse,Because I have a fooli sh bashfulnesse,A shame-fac’d rose you find within my face

,

Whose modest blush frights you from my embrace ;That’s ready now to fall, i f you

’le but daigneTo pluck i t once, i t shall not grow againe.

Or doe you therefore cast my love away,Because I am not expert in the play ?My skill

’ s not known till i t be ventred on ;I have not A ristotle read alone .I am in Ovid a proficient too ;And if you’d heare my Lecture, could to youAnaliz e all hi s a rt, with so much moreIudgment and skill , then e

’re ’twas taught before ;That I might be cheife master, he, dull foole,The under usher in the Cyprian SchooleFor petty Paedagogue, poore Pedant, heFi rst writ the Art, and then the remedieBut I could set downe rules of love so sure,As should exceed Art, and admit no cure .Pictures I could invent (Love, were I thine)As might stand copies unto A retine.

And such new dalliance study, as should frameVariety in that which i s the same.I am not then uncapable (great Love)Would’st thou my skill but with one arrow prove,G iuc me a Mistresse in whose looks to joy,And such a Mistresse (Love) as will be coy,Not easily wonne, though to be wonne in tim e ;That from her nicenesse I may store my rhime

( 12 1 ) why ;’

3 8 . warmer] warme’68 . ( 136 )

’twas] was

’

5 2,’68 before ,

’

3 8.

POEMS 83

Then in a Thousand sighes, to thee I’le pay

My Morning Ori sons , and every dayTwo Thousand groans , and count these amorous

prayers, 1 5 5

I make to thee, not by my B eads, but Teares.

Besides, each day I’ le write an Elegy,

And in as l amentable PoetryAs any Inns of Court-man , that hath goneTo buy an Ovid with a Littleton .

But (Love) I see you will not entertaineThose that desire to Live amidst your traine ;For death and you have got a trick to fly

From such poore wretches as doe wi sh you nigh .

You scorne a yeelding sl ave, and plainly shew it, 165

Those that contemne your pow’er you make to know it .And such am I ; I slight your proud commands ;I mar’ le who put a bow into your hands ;A hobby-horse, or some such pretty toy,A rattle would befit you better, Boy .

You conquer Gods and men ? how stand I free,That will acknowledge no supremacie

Vnto your childish Godhead ? does it cry ?Give it a plumme to still i t’ s deity .

Good Venus let i t suck ; that it may keepLesse bawling ; gentle Nurse rock it a sleep .

Or i f you be past babie ; and are nowCome to weare breeches, must we then allowYour Boyship leave to shoot at whom you please ?No, whip it for such wanton tricks as these :I f this doe anger you , I

’le send a Bee,Shall to a single duell challenge thee :

( 1 5 3 ) sights ’68 . ( 168 ) marle ’

40, ff. who] you'

5 2.

( 166 ) power’

40, 5 . ( 176 ) brawl ing ’43 , ’

5 2.

84 THOMAS RANDOLPH

And make you to your Mam run , and complaine

The little serpent stung thee once againe .

Go hunt the butter flyes, and if you canBut catch ’em, make thei r wings into a fan .

Wee’

le give you leave to hunt and sport at them ,

So you let men alone. But I blaspheme

(Great Love) I feare I have offended thee,I f so, be mercifull, and punish me .

( 184 ) litlle’

3 8 litle ’

40 .

( 188 ) alone, ’

43 ,’64 ,

’68

( 19o)merc ifull,’

40

A gratulatory toM1 B en 7ohnson for his

adopting of him to be his S on .

Was not hom e to Helicon, nor darePresume to thinke my selfe a Muses heite .I have no title to P arnassus hill,

Nor any acre of it by the willOf a dead Ancestour, nor could I beeOught but a tenant unto Poétrie.

But thy Adoption quits me of all feare,And makes me challenge a childs portion there .

I am a kinne to Heroes being thine,And part of my alliance i s d ivine .Orpheus, Muse us, Homer too ; besideThy Brothers by the Roman Mothers s i de ;As Ovid, Virgil, and the Latine Lyre,That i s so like thee, Horace ; the whole quire

of] om.

'

5 2. (9) Hero’s

’

3 8 . ( 14) thy Horace ;’

3 8.

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86 THOMAS RANDOLPH

A lesser Orchard ? sure it cannot beeNor i s i t theft to steale some flames from thee .Grant this, and I ’le cry guilty, as I am ,

And pay a filiall reverence to thy name .

For when my Muse upon obedient knees ,Askes not a Fathers blessing, let her leeseThe fame of th is Adoption ;

’ti s a curseI wish her ’cause I cannot thinke a worse .And here, as Piety bids me, I intreatP hcebus to lend thee some of hi s own heat,To cure thy Fal sie ; else I will complaineHe has no skill in hearbs; Poets in vaineMake him the God of Physicke ;

’ twere h is praiseTo make thee as immortall as thy Baies ; 60

As hi s own Daphne;’twere a shame to see

The God, not love his Preist, more then his Tree .But if heaven take thee, envying us thy Lyre,’

Tis to pen Anthems for an Angels quire .

(60) thy] the’68 .

In Lesbiam, Efl’

Histrionem.

Wonder what should Madam Lesbia meaneTo keep young Histrio, and for what sceneSo bravely shee maintaines him ; that what sence

He please to blesse,’ti s done at her expence !

The play boy spends secure ; he shall h ave more, 5

As i f both Indies did supply his store .

As i f he did in bright P actolus swim ,

Or Tagus yellow waves did water himAnd yet has no revenews to defray

POEMS

These charges, but the Madam , shee must payHis prodigall disbursements : Madams areTo such as he, more then a treble share .Shee payes (which i s more then shee needs to doe)For her owne comming in , and for his too .

Th i s i s reward due to the sacred sin ;

No charge too much done to the beardlesse chinAllthough shee stint her poore old Knight S

’ IOhn ,

To live upon his exhibition ,

His hundred marks per Annum; when her o ,

Her sanguine darling, her sp ruce active boyMay scatter Angels ; rub out silks, and shineIn cloths of gold ; cry loud the world i s mineKeepe his Race-nags, and in Hide-parke be seenB ri ske as the best (as i f the stage had beenGrowne the Court’s Riv all) can to B rackly goe,To Lincolne Race, and to New-market too ;At each of these his hundred pounds has vie’dOn P eggabrigs, or Shotten-herrings side ;And looses without swearing . Let them curseThat neither have a Fortunatus purse,Nor such a Madam ; i f th i s world doe hold

(As very likely’ twill) Madams growne old

Wi ll be the best Monopolies ; Histrio mayAt Maw, or Gleeke, or at P rimero play .

Still Madam goes to stake, Histrio knowsHer worth , and therefore d ices too ; and goesAs deepe, the Caster, as the only SonneOf a dead Alderman , come to twenty oneA whole weeke since ; you

’d know the reason whyLesbia doe s this ; guesse you as well as I ;

( 10) charges: ’68 . (40) as I?

’64,

’68 .

(28 ) Shatter: herri ng ’68 .

88 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Then thi s I can no better reason tell ;’Tis ’cause he playes the womans part so well .I see old Madams are not only toyle ;No tilth so fruitfull as a barren soyle .Ah poore day labourers, how I pitty youThat shrinke, and sweat to l ive with much adoe !When had you wit to understand the right,’Twere better wages to have work ’d by night .Yet some that resting here, doe on ly thinkeThat youth with age is an unequall linke,Conclude that Histrio’s taske as hard must bee,As was Mez entius bloody cruelty .

Who made the l iving to embrace the dead ,And so expi re : but I am rather leadHis bargaine of the two the best to call ;He at one game keeps her, shee him at all .

(5 0) J’

3 8

De Histrice. Ex Claudiano.

Am’d S tymphall, I have heard , thy bi rd s in fl ightShoot showers of arrowes forth all levied right .And long the fable of those quills of Steele

D id seeme to me a tale incredible .Now I h ave faith ; the Porcupine I see,And then th’ Herculean birds no wonders bee .Her longer head like a swines snowt doth show ;Bri stles like hornes

‘upon her forehead grow.

A fiery heat glows from her flaming eye ;Vnder her shaggy back the shape doth lyeAs ’twere a whelpe : nature all Art hath try

’

d

In this small beast, so strangely fortified .

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90 THOMJ S RANDOLPH

And then her diligent stroke so certaine i sWithout all error, shee will seldome misse.No distance cozen s her ; the dumbe skin aimes right,And rules the levy of the skillfull fight . 46

What humane labour, though we boast it such ,With all her reason can perfo rme so much ?They from the Cretan Goats their hom es must take,And after, those with fi re must softer make . so

Buls guts must bend thei r bowes ; and e’re they fight

Steele armes their da rts : and fethers wing thei r fl ights .When loe a l ittle beast wee armed seeWith nothing but her owne Artillery :Who seeks no forraine aide ; with her all goe,Shee to her selfe is Quiver, darts, and bow .

One Creature all the Arts of warfare knows ;I f from examples then the Practice flowsOf humane life, hence did th

’ Invention growAt di stance to incounter with our foe.Hence the Cydonian: in structed areThei r Stratagems, and manner of their warre .Hence did the P arthian: leam e to fight, and fly ;Taught by thi s bird thei r skilfull Archery .

(48) Withall ’3 8. (so) those] am.

’68 . (5 9 )

’

3 8.

In Archimedir Spbm am ex Claudiano.

Ova saw the Heavens fram ’

d in a l ittle glasse,And l aughing, to the Gods these words did passe ;Comes then the power of mortall cares so farre ?

In brittle Orbes my labours acted are .The statutes of the Poles, the faith of things,The Laws of Gods th is Syracurian brings

POEMS 9r

Hither by art : Spi rits inclos’d attendTheir severall spheares, and with set motions bendThe living worke : Each yeare the faigned Sun ,Each Month retum es the counterfeited Moon ;And viewing now her world , bold IndustrieG rows proud , to know the heavens her subjects bee .Beleive Salmoniu: hath false thunders thrown ,For a poore hand i s Natures rivall grown .

Dr Magneta. Ex Claudiano.

H0 in the world with busy reason pryes,Searching the seed of things, 8: there descryesWith what defect labours th’ Ecclipsedmoon,

What cause commands a palenesse in the Sun ,Whence ruddy comets with thei r fatall haire, s

Whence winds doe flow, and what the Motions areThat shake the bowel s of the trembling earth ;What strikes the lightning forth ; whence clouds give

bi rthTo horrid thunders ; and doth also knowWhat light lends lustre to the painted BowI f ought of truth his soule doth understand ,Let him resolve a question I ’le demand :There is a stone which we the loadstone stile,

Of colour ugly, darke, obscure, and vile :It never deck’d the sleiked locks of Kings,No Ornament, no gorgeous Tire it bringsTo Vi rgins beauteous necks, i t never showneA splendent buckle in ther maiden Zone :

(8 ) give] have ’68 . (x6) ornaments

’68 .

92 THOMAS RANDOLPH

But only heare the wonders I will tellOf the black peeble, and

’twill then excellAll bracelets, and what e

’re the diving Moore

’Mongst the red weeds seeks for ’ i th Easterne shoreFrom Iron first it l ives , I ron it eats ,But that sweet feast it knows no other meats ;Thence shee renews her strength , vigor i s sentThrough all her nerves by that hard nouri shment ;Without that food shee dies, a famine numm

’

s

Her meager joynts, a thirst her veins consumes .Mar: that frights C ities with his bloody speares

,

And Vm u: that releases humane feares ,Doe both together in one Temple shine,Both joyntly honour

’

d in a common shrine ;But different Statues, Mar: a steele put on ,And Venn: figure was Magnetique stone .To them (as i s the custome every yeare)The Preist doth celebrate a Nuptiall there .The torch the Qui re doth lead , the threshold

’s greenWith hal lowed Mirtles, and the beds are seenTo smell with rosy flowers , the Geniall sheetSpread over with a purple Coverlet . 40

But heare (6 strange) the statues seem’

d to move,And Cytherea run s to catch her Love ;And l ike thei r former joyes in heaven possest,With wanton heat clings to her Marr

’

e: brest ;There hangs a gratefull burden ; then shee throwes 45Her a rmes about hi s helmet, to IncloseHer love in amorous G ives, least he get out,Here live embraces chaine h im round about .

He stir’

d with love breath’d gently,through his vein s,

I s drawne by unseene l inks and secret chaines so

(36) This line om. in’68 . (4 1 ) here ’

43 . if. (48) Here] Her'

5 2.

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

De Sene Veronensi. Ex Claudiano .

Appy the man that all h i s d ayes hath spentWithin his owne grounds, and no fartherwentWhom the same house that did him erst behold

A l ittle Infant, sees h im now grown old ,That with hi s staffe walkes where he crawl’d before, 5

Counts th’ age of one poore cottage and no more .Fortune ne’re him with various tumult prest,Nor dranke he unknown streams, a wandring guest.He fear’d no Merchants stormes, nor drummes of war,Nor ever knew the stri fes of the hoarse Bar. 10

Who though to th’ next Towne he a stranger bee,Yet heav ’

ns sweet prospect he injoyes more free .From fruits, not Consuls, computation brings,By Apples Autumnes knows , by flowers the sp ringsThus he the day by his owne orbe doth p rize ;In the same feild his Sunne doth set and ri se.That knew an oake a twigge, and walking thitherBehold s a wood and he grown up together.

Neighbou’ ring Veron he may for India take,And thinke the red sea i s B enacu: l ake .Yet i s his strength untam

’

d, and firme his knees,Him the third age a lusty Grandsire sees .Goe seeke who 3

’ will the farre Iberian shore,This man hath liv ’

d, though that hath trav el’

d more .

(6) the age’68 . (22) Him in the third age ’

64 .

( 19) Neighbouring ’43 . if . (23 ) who’s wi ll ’

5 2 .

POEMS 95

The second Epod: of Horace tranrlated.

Appy the man which farre from city care ;(Such as ancient Mortal s were)With his own oxen plows his fathers land ,

Free from Vsurers griping hand .

The souldiers trumpets never breake his sleepe,Nor angry seas that raging keepe .

He shunnes the wrangling Hall , nor foot doth set

On the proud threshold s of the Great :His l ife i s thi s (O l ife almost d ivine)To marry Elmes unto the Vine ;To prune unfruitfull branches, and for themTo graft a bough of happier stemme .

Or else within the low couch’

d vallies viewsHis well cloth’d flocks of bleating ewes .Sometimes his hony he in pots doth keepe,Sometimes he sheares his fleecy sheepe.

And when his fruits with Autumne ripened beeGathers his Apples from the Tree .

And joyes to tast the peares himselfe did plant,And Grapes that naught of purple want .

Vnder an Oake sometimes he layes his head ,Making the tender grasse his bed .

Meane while the streams along their banks doe floatAnd birds doe chaunt with warbling throat ;

And gentle sp rings a gentle murmure keepe,To lull him to a quiet sleepe .

When winter comes, and th’ ayre doth chill ie r grow,

Threatning showers and shivering snow ;

(7 ) food '

64 (9 ) l ) ’43 , H. ( 14) fioe’lu ’

3 8

96 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Either with hounds he hunts the tusked swineThat foe unto the com e and vine ;

Or l ayes hi s nets ; or l imes the unctuous bushTo catch the blackbird , or the th rush .

Sometimes the Hare he courses , and one wayMakes both a pleasure and a prey .

But if with him a modest wife doth meet,To guide hi s house and children sweet ;Such as the Sabine or Apalean wife,Something brown but chast of l ife ;Such as will make a good warme fire to bum e,Against her wearied Mate’s retum e ;

And shutting in her stalls her fruitfull Neat,Will milke the kines distended Teat

Fetch ing her husband of her selfe-brew’

d beere,And other wholesome Country cheere .

Suppe him with bread and cheese, Pudding or Pye, 45Such dainties as they doe not buy :

G ive me but these, and I shall never careWhere all the Lucrine oisters are ;

These wholsome Country dainties shall to meeSweet as Tencb or Sturgeon bee .Had I but these I well could be withoutThe Carp, the Sammon , or the Trout :Nor should the Phoenix selfe so much delightMy not ambitious appetite,

As should an Apple snatch’d from mine own trees , 5 5Or hony of my labouring Bees .My Cartel s udders should afford me food ,My sheep my cloth , my ground my wood .

Sometimes a lambe, snatch’

d from the wolfe shall beeA banquet for my freind and mee . 6o

(3 8) Sometimes’68 . (4s) Pye ] bye.

’

43.’

5 2‘

(42) Teat a’

5 2. (46 ) buy :] any :

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98 THOMAS RANDOLPH

By thy too nimble theft ? I know’ twas feare,

Lest he should come, that would have rescu’

d her.Monster confesse, didst thou not blushing stand ,And thy pale cheeke turne red to touch her hand ? 10D id shee not lightning-l ike strike suddaine heatThrou gh thy cold l imbs, and thaw thy frost to sweate ?Well since thou hast her, use her gently, Death,And in requitall of such pretious breathWatch sentinel] to guard her, doe not seeThe wormes thy rivals, for the Gods will bee .

Remember P aris, for whose pettier sin,The Troian gates let the stout Grecian: in ;So when time ceases, (whose unth ri fty handHas now almost consum ’

d his stock of sand )Myri ads of Angel s shall in Armies come,And fetch (proud ravisher) thei r Helen home.And to revenge th is rape, thy other storeThou shalt resigne too , and shalt steale no more.Till then faire Ladies (for you now are fai re,But till her death I fear’d your just dispaire, )Fetch all the spices that Arabia yeelds,D istill the choycest flowers of the fieldsAnd when in one their best perfections meetEmbalme her course, that shee may make them sweet .

Whilst for an Epitaph upon her stone 3 :

I cannot write, but I must weepe her one .

Epitaph.

Beauty it selfe lyes here, in whom alone,Each part injoy

’

d the same perfection .

In some the Eyes we praise ; in some the Haire ; 3 5

In her the Lips ; in her the Cheeks are faire ;( 10) turnd (20) Ha

’o’

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( 18 ) Grecian 5 2 . (22 ) their] there ’

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POEMS 99

That Nymphs fine Feet, her Hands we beauteousBut in this forme we praise no part, but all .The ages past have many beauties showne,And I more plenty in our time have knowne ;But in the age to come I looke for none,Nature despaires, because her patterns gone .

An Epitaph upon M rs I . T.

Eader if thou hast a teare,Thou canst not choose but pay it here.Here lyes moderty , mee/enerre, z eale,

Goodnen e, P iety, and to tellHer worth at once, one that had showne

All vertues that her sex could owne .

Nor dare my prai se too lavish bee,Least her dust blush for soe would shee .Hast thou beheld in the spring’s bowersTender buds breake to bring forth flowersSo to keepe vertues stock, pale deathTooke her to give her infant breath .

Thus her accounts were all made even,Shee rob’d not earth to adde to heaven .

Mittris I . T.

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

An Epithalamium.

Vse be a bride-maid , dost not heareHow honoured Hunt and his faire Deere,This day prepare thei r wedding cheere ?

The swiftest of thy pinions take,And hence a suddaine j ourney make,To help ’em breake thei r bridall Cake .

Hast em to Church , tell’em love sayes

Religion breeds but fond delayes,To lengthen out the tedious dayes .

Chide the slow Preist, that so goes on,As if he feard he should have doneHis sermon , e

’re the glasse be runne .

Bid him post o’er his words, as fastAs i f himselfe were now to tastThe pleasure of so faire a wast.

Now lead the blessed Couple home,And serve a dinner up for some ;Their banquet i s as yet to come .

M aids dance as nimbly as your blood ,Wh ich I see swell a purp le floodIn Emulation of that good

The b ride possesseth ; for I deeme

What shee enjoyes wil l be the themeThis n ight of every vi rgin s dreame.

No separation between ll . 18 and 19 in'

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

And in such strict embraces twineAs if you read unto the Vine,The Ivy, and the Columbine.

Then let your mutuall bosomes beat,Till they create by v irtuall heatM i rre, Balme, and spikenard in a sweat.

Thence may there spring many a pai reOf Sonnes and Daughters strong and fai reHow soone the Gods have heard my praier!

Me th inks al ready I espyThe cradles rock, the babies cry,And drousy Nurses Lullaby.

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An Epitaph upon his honour’dfreindM Warre.

Ere lyes the knowing head , the honest heart,Faire blood , and curteous hands, and every partOf gentle Warre, all with one stone content,

Though each deserv ’

d a sev erall monument .He was (believe me Reader) for

’ti s rare 5

Vi rtuous though young, and learned though an heite .Not with his Blood, or Natures gi fts contentHe paid them both the tribute which they lent .His ancestors in him fixed thei r pride,So with him all rev iv ’

d, with him all dyed .

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POEMS 103

This made death lingring come, asham’

d to beeAt once the m ine of a familie.Leame Reader here, though long thy line hath stood ,Time breeds consumptions in the noblest blood .

Leam e (Reader) here to what our Glories come , 15

Here’s no d i stinction ’twixt the House and Toombe.

( 13 ) lone ’68.

Vpon the losse Of his little finger .

Rithmetique nine digits, and no moreAdmits of, then I still h ave all my store .

For what mischance hath tane from my lefthand ,I t seemes did only for a Cipher stand .

But this I ’ le say for thee departed joynt,Thou wert not given to steale, nor pick, not pointAt any in disgrace ; but thou didst goVntimely to thy Death only to showThe other members what they once must doe ;Hand , arme, legge, thigh , and all must follow too.

Oft didst thou scan my verse, where if I misseHenceforth I will impute the cause to this .A fingers losse (I speake it not in sport)Will make a verse a Foot too short .Farewell deare finger, much I greive to seeHow soone mischance hath made a Hand of thee .

(6) nor p ick ,] not pick, ’

43 ,’64 to p ick , ’

5 2 or p ick , ’68 .

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

On the P assion Of Christ.

Hat rends the temples v ail,wher is day gone ?How can a generall darknesse cloud the Sun ?Astrologers thei r skill in vaine doe try ;

Nature must needs be sick , when God can dye .

(4 ) can] must ’68.

Necessary Observations .

I Precept .Irst worship God, he that forgets to prayB ids not himselfe good morrow nor good day .

Let thy first labour be to purge thy sin ;

And serve him first , whence all things did begin .

2 Pre.

Honour thy Parents to prolong thine end ,With them though for a truth doe not contend .

Though all should truth defend , doe thou loose ratherThe truth a While, then loose thei r Loves for ever.Who ever makes his fathers heart to bleed ,Shall have a child that will revenge the deed .

3 Pre .Thinke that i s j ust ;

’tis not enough to doe,a ess thy very thoughts are upright too .

4. Pre .

Defend the truth , for that who will not dye,A coward is, and gives himselfe the lye .

5 Pre .Honour the King, as sonnes their Parents doe,For he’s thy Father, and thy Country

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

1 5 Pre .To tell thy mise ries will no comfort breed ,Men helpe thee most that thinke thou hast no need .

But i f the world once they misfortunes know, 4 1

Thou soone sh alt loose a freind, and find a foe .

16 Pre .Keepe thy freinds goods ; for should thywants be known ,Thou canst not tell but they may be thine own .

1 7 Pre.To gather wealth through fraud doe not presume, 45

A little evill got will much consume.

1 8 Pre.F i rst thinke, and if thy thoughts approve thy willThen speake, and after what thou speakst fulfill .

19 Pre .Spare not, nor spend too much ; be this thy care,Spare but to spend , and only spend to spare. so

Who spends too much may want, and so complaine.

But he spends best that spares to spend againe.

20 Pre .I f with a stranger thou discourse first learneBy strictest observations to discerne,I f he be wiser then thy selfe ; i f soBe dumbe, and rather choose by him to know.

But i f thy selfe perch ance the wiser bee,Then doe thou speake that he may leam e by thee .

2 1 Pre .I f thou dispraise a man let no man know,

By any circumstance that he’s thy foe :I f men but once find that, they

’

l quickly seeThy words from hate, and not from judgment bee .

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I f thou wouldst tell h i s vice, doe what you canTo make the world believe thou loy ’st the man .

22 Pre .Reprove not in thei r wrath incensed men ,Good councell comes cleane out of season then .

But when his fury i s appeas’

d and past,He will conceive his fault and mend at last.When he i s coole, and calme then utter it ;No man gives Physick in the midst oth’ Fit.

23 Pre .Seeme not too conscious of thy worth , nor beThe first that knows thy own sufl'iciency .

I f to thy King and Country thy true careMore servicable i s then others are,That blaze in court, and every Action swayAs i f the Kingdome on their shoulders lay.

Or if thou serv’

st a master, and dost seeOthers prefer

’

d of lesse Desert then thee,Doe not complaine though such a Plaint be true,Lords will not give their Favours as a Due.But rather stay and hope : it cannot beeBut men at last must needs thy vertues see.

So shall thy trust endure, and greater grow,

Whilst they that are above thee, fall below.

24 Pre.Desire not thy mean fortunes for to setNext to the stately Mannors of the Great .He will suspect thy labours, and oppresse,Fearing thy greatnesse makes his wealth the lesse .

Great ones doe love no lEquals: But must beeAboue the Termes of all comparitie .

(68 ) mend] men’

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Such a rich Neighbour i s compared bestTo the great Pike that eats up all the rest .Or else l ike Pharaohs Cow, that in an houreWill seaven of hi s fattest freinds devoure.

Or like the sea whose v astnesse swallows cleaneAll other streams, though no encrease be seene .Live by the Poore, they doe the Poore no harme ;So Bees thrive best when they together swarme.

Rich men are B ears, and Poore men ought to feare’em .

Like ravenouswolfes ’tis dangerous l iving neate ’em . 100

2 5 Pre .Each man three Div ils hath , selfe borne affl ictions ;Th’ unruly Tongue, the Belly, and AHections.

Charme these, such holy Conj urations canGaine thee the friendship both of God and man .

26 Pre .

So liue with man as if Gods curious eye,D id every where into thine Actions prie.For never yet was sinne so void of sence,So fully fac’d with brazen Impudence,As that it durst before mens eyes commitTheir beastly lusts, least they should witnesse i t. 1 10

How dare they then offend , when God shall see,That must alone both Iudge and Iury bee ?

27 Pre.Take thou no care how to deferre thy death,And give more respit to this Mortall breath .

Would’st thou live long ? the only meanes are these 1 15’Bove Galens diet, or Hippocrates .

Strive to l ive well ; Tread in the upright wayes,And rather count thy Actions then thy dayes,

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43 , if. ( 106) thy ’68 .

( 10 1 ) hath ’3 8 bath ; '

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

3 1 Pre .

Iudge not between two freinds, but rather seeI f thou can st bring them freindly to agree .So shalt thou both thei r Loves to thee encrease,And gaine a Blessing too for making Peace ;But if thou should’ st decide the cause i ’ th’ end ,How e’re thou judge thou sure shalt loose a freind. 1 5 0

3 2 Pre .Thy credit wary keepe,

’

tis quickly gone ;Being got by many Actions , lost by one.

3 3 Pre .Vnto thy Brother buy not, sell , nor lend ,Such Actions have their own peculiar end ;But rather choose to give him , i f thou see

That thou hast pow’er, and hee necessitie .

34 Pre .Spare in thy youth , least Age should find thee pooreWhen time i s past, and thou canst spare no more.No coupl

’

d misery is so great in either,As Age and Want when both doe meet together. 160

3 5 Pre.Fly Drunkennesse, whose vile incontinenceTakes both away the reason and the sence .Till with Circa an cups thy mind possestLeaves to be man , and wholy turnes a Beast .Thinke whilst thou swallowest the capacious Bowle, 165Thou let’st i n Seas to wrack and drown the soule .That hell i s open , to remembrance call,And thinke how subj ect d runkards are to Fall .Consider how it soone destroyes the graceOf humane shape, spoyling the beauteous face .

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Puffing the cheekes, blearing the curious eye,Studding the face with v itious Heraldry.

What Pearles and Rubies doth the wine disclose,Making the purse poore to enrich the Nose ?How does it nurse disease, infect the heart .Drawing some sicknesse into every part !The stomack overcloyd, wanting a ventDoth up againe resend her excrement .And then (6 see what too much wine can doe !)The very soule being drunke spews secrets too .

The Lungs corrupted breath contagious ayre,Belching up fumes that unconcocted are .The Braine o’rewarm ’

d (loosing her sweet repose)Doth purge her filthy ordure through the nose .The vein s doe boyle glutted with v itious food ,And quickly Fevers the distemper

’

d blood .

The belly swells, the foot can hardly standLam

’

d with the Gout ; the Palsie shakes the Hand .

And through the flesh sick waters sinking in ,Doe bladder-l ike pufl

’

e up the dropsi’

d skin .

It weaks the B raine , it spoiles the memory ;Hasting on Age, and wilfull Poverty .

I t drownes thy better parts ; making thy nameTo foes a laughter, to thy freinds a shame .’Tis vertues poyson , and the bane of trust,The match of wrath , the fuell unto lust .

Quite leave thi s vice, and turne not to’t againe,

Vpon Presumption of a stronger braine.For he that holds more wine then others can,I rather count a Hogshead then a man .

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36 Pre .Let not thy Impotent lu st so pow

’

rfull beeOver thy Reason , Soule, and Liberty,As to enforce thee to a marryed l ife ,E’re thou art able to maintaine a wife .Thou canst not feed upon her l ips and faceShee cannot cloth thee with a poore imbrace.

My sel fe being yet alone, and but one still,With patience could endure the worst of ill .When fortune frownes, one to the wars may goeTo fight against his foes, and fortunes too .

But (6 ) the greife were trebled for to see

Thy wretched B ride halfe pin’d with Povertie.

To see thy Infants make their dumb complaintAnd thou not able to releiv e thei r want .The poorest begger when he’ s dead and gone,I s rich as he that sits upon the Throne .But he that having no estate i s wed ,Starves in his grave, being wretched when he

’

s dead .

37 Pre .

I f e’ re I take a wife I will have oneNeither for beauty nor for portion ,But for her vertues ; and I

’le married beeNot for my lust, but for posteritie.

And when I am wed , I’le never iealous bee,

But make her lesm e how to be chast by mee .And be her face what ’twill, I

’le thinke her fai reI f shee within the house confine her care .

I f modest in her words and cloths shee bee,Not daub ’d with p ride and prodigalitie .

I f with her neighbours shee maintaines no strife,And beare her selfe to me a faithfull wife,

(20 1) pow erful l ’40 powerfull ’43 , fi’. (2 1 1) treble '

43 . if.

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l 14 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Wer’t possible that my ambitious sin ,Durst commit rapes upon a Cherubin,

I might have lustfull thoughts to her, of allEarths heav ’

nly Quire the most Angelicall.Looking into my brest, her forme I findThat l ike my Guardian-Angell keeps my mindFrom rude attempts ; and when affections sti rre ;I calme all passion s with one thought of her.Thus they whose reasons love, and not thei r sence,The spi ri ts love : thus one IntelligenceReflects upon hi s like, and by chast lovesIn the same spheare this and that Angell moves .Nor i s thi s barren Love ; one noble thoughtBegets an other, and that still i s broughtTo bed of more ; vertues and grace increase,And such a numerous issue ne’re can cease .

Where Children , though great blessings, only beePleasures repriv

’

d to some posteritie.

Beasts love l ike men , i f men in lust delightAnd call that love which i s but appetite.When essence meets with essence, and soules joyneIn mutuall knots , thats the t rue Nuptall twine :Such Lady i s my Love, and such i s t rue ;All other Love i s to your Sexe, not You .

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An Apologie for his false P rediction that hisAunt Lane would be deliver

’

d of a Sonne.

Mdvr ts dow ros 6s r is elxbg'

et Kahé s.

The best Prophets are but good Guessers .

Re then the S ibils dead ? what i s becomeOf the lowd Oracles ? are the Augurs dumbe ?Live not the Magi th at so oft rev eald

Natures intents ? i s Gipsisme quite repeald?Is Friar B acon nothing but a name ?Or i s all witchcraft braind with Doctor Lambe?Does none the learned B ungies soule inherit ?Has Madam Daoers dispossest her spi rit ?Or will the Welchmen give me leave to say

There is no faith in Merlin? none, though they 10

Dare sweare each letter creed , and pawne thei r bloodHe pr0phecied, an age before the flood ,Of holy Dee; which was, as some have said ,Ten generations ere the Arke was made .All your predictions but Impostures are,And you but prophecy of things that were .And you Ce lesti al] Iuglers that pretendYou are acquainted with the starres, and sendYour spyes to search what

’ s done in every spheare,Keeping your state-intell igencers thereYour art i s all deceit ; for now I seeAgainst the Rules of dec pc Astrologie,Giries may be got when Mars his power doth vaunt,And boyes when Venus i s Predominant.

’eucdj

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THOMA S RANDOLPH

Nor doth the Moone though moist and cold sheeAlwaies at full, work to produce the shee :Had thi s been true I had foretold no lie

,

I t was the Art was in the wrong, not I .Thence I so dully err

’

d in my beleife,As to mistake an Adam for an Eve0 grosse mistake, and in the civill pleasError P ersona , M r Doctor sayes,And may admit divorce ; but farewell nowYou hungry star-fed Tribe, hence forth I vowTalmud, A lbumaz ar, and Ptolomie,With Erra-P ater shall no Gospel] bee .Nor will I ever after this I sweare

Throw D ice upon the shepheards Calender.But why doe I t’excuse my IgnoranceLay blame upon the Art? no, no, perchanceI have lost all my skill : for well I knowMy Physiognomie two years agoeBy the small Pox was mar’d , and i t may beeA fingers losse hath spoild my Palrnistry .

But why should I a grosse mistake confesse ?No I am confident I d id but guesseThe very truth : i t was a male child then ,But Aunt you staid til l ’twas a wench agen .

To see th’ unconstancy of humane things,How l ittle time great Alteration brings !All things are subject unto change we know,

And i f all things , why then not sexes too ?Tyresias we read a man was borneYet after d id into a woman tum e .

(34 ) vow] now’

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( 5 1 ) thing ’38 .

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1 1 8 THOMAS RANDOLPH

That can the subtle d ifference discryBetwixt aequivocation and a lie .And a rare scape by sly distinction findTo sweare the Tongue, and yet not sweare the mind .

Now a rm’d with A rguments I nothing dread ,But my own cause thus confidently plead .

I said there was a boy within your wombe,Not actually, but one in time to come .Or by Antiphrasis my words might beeThat ever understands the contrary ;Or when I said you should a man-child beare,You understood me of the sexe I feare,When I did meane the mind ; and thus defineA woman but of spi rit masculine .Or had I said it should a girle have beenAnd i t had prov

’

d a boy , you should have seen 100

Me solve it thus ; I meant a boy by fate,But one that would have been effeminate .Or thus I had my just excuse begun ,

I said my Aunt would surely bring a sonneI f not a daughter ; what we seers forseeI s certaine truth unlesse i t falshood bee .Or I aflirme because shee brought forth oneThat will bring boyes, shee hath brought forth a son .

For doe not we call Father Adam thus,Because that he got those that have got us ?What ere I said by simple Aflirmation,

I meant the right by mentall reservation .

(9 1 ) with in '

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An Epithalamium toM r F . H .

Ranke, when thi s Mom e the harbinger of dayBlush

’

d from her Easterne pil low where shee lay

Clasp’

d in her Tythons arms redwith those kisses,Which being injoy

’

d by night, by day shee misses .I walk ’d the feilds to see the teeming ea rth , 5

Whose wombe now swells to give the flowers a bi rth .

Where while my thoughts with every object tane,In sev erall contemplation s rapt my braine,A suddaine lustre l ike the Sunne did ri se,And with so great a light eclips

’

d mine eyes .At l ast I spyed a Beauty such another,As I have sometimes heard call thee her Brother.But by the chariot, and her teame of Doves,I guest her to be Venus, Queene of Loves .With her a pretty boy I there did see,

But for his wings I ’ had thought it had been thee .At l ast when I beheld h is quiver of darts,I knew t’was Cupid, Emp

’

ror of our hearts .Thus I accosted them , Goddesse divine,Great Queene of P aphos and Cytherian shrineWhose Altars no man sees that can departTill in those flames he sacrifice his heart ;That conquer

’

st Gods, and men ; and heaven divine,Yea and hell too : Beare witnesse P roserpine.

And Cupid, thou that canst thy Trophies showOver all these, and o

’re thy Mother too ;Witnesse the night which when with Mars shee lay,D i d all her sports to all the Gods betray :

(8) wrapt’

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5 2. (23 ) oonquerest’

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( 16 ) I had’

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Tell me great Powers ; what makes such glorious beamsVisit the lowly banks of Ninus streams ? 30

Then Venus smil’

d, and smiling bid me knowCupid and shee must both to Weston goe .

I guest the cause ; for Hymen came behindIn saffron robes, his Nuptiall knots to bind .

Then thus I pray’

d : Great Venus by the LoveOf thy Adonis; as thou hop

’st to moveThy Mars to second kisses ; and obtaine

Beauties reward, the Golden fruit againeBow thy faire c ares to my chast prayers, and takeSuch Ori sons as purest Love can make .Thou , and thy boy I know are posting thitherTo tye pure hearts in purest bonds together.Cupid thou know ’

st the maid : I ’ have seene thee lyeWith all thy arrowes lurking in her eye .Venus thou know

’

st her love, for I have scene

The time thou would ’st h ave faine her Riv all been .

O blesse them both ! Let their affections meetWi th happy omens in the Geniall sheet .Both comely, beauteous both , both equall fai re,Thou canst not glory in a fitter pai re .I would not thus have praid i f I had seen

Fourscore and ten , wed to a young fifteen .

Death in such Nuptials seems with love to play,And Ianuary seems to match with May

Autumne to wed the Spring ; Frost to desi reTo kisse the Sun ; Ice to embrace the fire .Both these are young, both sprightfull, both compleat,Of equall moisture, and of equall heat

And thei r desi res are one ; were all Loves suchWho would love sol itary sheets so much ?

(43 ) I have '

40.

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ve’64,

'68 . (5 9) Loves] love '

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

Th i s Ward a milder Pirat sure will prove,And only sailes the Hellespont of Love,As once Leander did ; his theft i s bestThat nothing steales but whats within the brest.Yet let that other Ward hi s thefts compare

,

And ransack all h is treasures, let him beareThe wealth of worlds, the bowels of the West

And all the richest treasures of the East.The sands of Tagus, all P actolus ore,With both the Indies; yet this one gets moreAt once by Love, then he by force could get,Or ravish from the Marchants ; let him set

His Ores together ; let him v ainely boastOf spices snatch’d from the Canary coast .The Gummes of E gypt, of the Tyrian fleeceD ied in his Native purple, with what Greece,Colchos, A rabia, or proud China yeilds,With all the Metals in Guiana feild s .When thi s h as set all forth to boast his prideIn various pompe thi s other brings his Bride,And I ’ le be judg

’

d by all judicious eyes,I f shee alone prove not the richer prize .0 let not death have power their Love to sever !Let them both love, and live and die together.0 let thei r beds be chast, and ban i sh thenceAs well all Iealousies, a s all offence !For some men I have known , whose wives have beenAs chast as Ice : such as were never seenIn wanton dall iance, such as untill deathNever smelt any, but thei r husbands breath . 120

Yet the Good-man still dream ’

d of hom es, still fea ringHis forhead would grow harder ; still appearing

( 101 ) Love ; ’

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To his own fancy, bull, or stag e, or more,Or Oxe at least, that was an Asse before .I f shee would have new cloaths, he streight will feareShee loves a Taylour ; i f shee sad appeare 1 26

He guesses soone it i s ’cause he’s at home ;I f jocund , sure shee has some freind to come .I f shee be sick, he thinkes no greife shee felt,But wi shes all Physitians had been guelt.But aske her how shee does , sets him a swearing,Feeling her pulse , i s love tricks past the bearing .

Poore wretched wife, shee cannot looke a wryBut wi thout doubt ’tis flat adultery .

And j ealous wives there be, that are afraidTo entertaine a handsome Chamber-maid .

Farre, farre from them be all such thoughts I pray,Let thei r Loves prove etem all, and no dayAdde date to thei r affections , grant (6 Queene)Their Loves like nuptiall bayes be alwaies greene . 140

And al so grant But here shee bid me stay,For well shee knew what I had else to say .

I ask’

d no more , wish’

d her hold on her raceTo joyne thei r hands, and send them night apace .Shee smil

’

d to heare what I in Sport d id say ,

So whip’

d her doves and smiling rid away .

( 13 1 ) set’

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40, 3 .

To M f Feltham on his booke of Resolves.

N this unconstant Age when all mens mindsIn various change Strive to outvie the winds .When no man sets h is foot upon the square,

But treads on globes and circles ; when we areThe Apes of Fortune, and desire to bee

1 24 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Revolved on as fickle wheeles as shee .

As if the planets, that our rulers are,M ade the soules motion too irregular.When minds change oftner then the Greek could dream ,

That made the Metempseucos’

d soule hi s theame ; 10

Yea oft to beastly formes : when truth to say

Moons change but once a month , we twice a day.

When none resolves but to be rich , and ill ;Or else resolves to be irresolute still .In such a tide of minds, that every houreDoe ebbe and flow ; by what inspi ring power,By what instinct of grace I cannot tell,Dost thou resolve so much , and yet so well ?While foolish men whose reason i s their sence,Still wander in the worlds circumferenceThou holding passions raines with strictest handDost firme and fixed in the Center stand .

Thence thou art setled, others while they tendTo rove about the circle find no end .

Thy booke I read , and read it with delight,Resolving so to l ive as thou dost wright.And yet I guesse thy life thy booke produces ,And but expresses thy peculia r uses .Thy manners d ictate, thence thy writing came,So Lesbians by thei r worke thei r rules doe frame,Not by the ru les the worke ; thy life had beenPatteme enough , had it of all been seen ,Without a book ; books make the difference here,In them thou liv ’

st the same but every where .

(6) Resolved ’

40, ff . (26 ) write'

40, ff.

16 ) flow,

’

43 . ff (30) works ’

40.’

43 .’

5 2

(20 ) v andring ’43 , if. (3 2) of] at’

5 2.

(2 1 ) Thou] Though ’5 2 . (3 3 )

(23 ) other-while ’

43 .'

5 2.’64 .

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I 26 THOMA S RANDOLPH

Thy book a Garden i s, and helps us mostTo regaine that which wee in Adam lost .Where on the Tree of knowledge wee may feed

,

But such as no forbidden fruits doth breed .

Whose leaves like those whence E ve her coat did frame ,Serve not to cover, but to cure our shame . 70

Fraught with all flowers , not only such as growsTo please the eye, or to delight the nose .But such as may redeeme lost healths againe,And store of Hellebore to purge the braine .Such as would cure the surfet man did takeFrom Adams Apples : such as faine would makeMans second Paradise, in which should beeThe fruits of li fe, but no forbidden Tree .I t i s a Garden ; ha, I thus did say

And maids, and Matron s blushing runne away.

But maids reenter these chast pleasing bowers ;Chast Matrons here gather the purest flowers .

Feare not : from thi s pure Garden doe not 'flye,

In i t doth no obsceane P riapus lye .

This i s an Eden where no serpents beeTo tempt the womans imbecillitie .

These l ines rich sap the fruit to heaven doth raise ;Nor doth the Cinnamon barke deserve lesse praise,I meane the stile, being pure and strong and round ,Not long but Pythy : being short breath

’

d, but sound .

Such as the grave, acute, wise Seneca sings , 9 1

That best of Tutours to the worst of kings .Not long and empty ; lofty but not proud ;Subtle but sweet, high but without a cloud .

Well setled full of nerves, in breife’tis such

That in a little hath comprized much ,

(65 ) helpe ’

3 8. (79 ) ha’ ’

3 8. (85 ) bee ;’

3 8 . (92) Tutour'

3 8.

POEMS 1 27

Like th’ I liads in a Nutshell : And I say

Thus much for stile ; though truth should not bee gayIn strumpets glittering robes, yet ne

’

rethelesse

Shee well deserves a Matrons comelinesse .

Being too brave shee would our fancies glut ;But we should loath her being too much the slut .The reasonable soule from heaven obtain

’

d

The best of bodies ; and that man hath gain’

d

A double praise, whose noble vertues areLike to the face, in soule and body faire .Who then would have a noble sentence cladIn russet-thread-bare words, is full as madA s i f Apelles should so fondly dote,As to paint Venus in old B aucys coat.They erre that would bring stile so basely under ;The lofty language of the Law was thunder.The wi sest ’pothecary knows ’ti s skillNeatly to candy o’re the wholesome pill .Best Physique then , when gall with sugar meets, 1 1 5

Tempting Absinthian bitternesse with sweets .Such i s thy sentence, such thy stile, being read .

Men see them both together happ’

ly wed.

And so resolve to keepe them wed , as weResolve to give them to posteritie.

’Mongst thy resolves put my resolves in too ;Resolve who’s will , thus I resolve to doeThat should my errours choose anothers lineWhereby to write, I meane to live by thine .

(98 ) gay .

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3 8. ( 1 16) Asb inthian'

3 8 sweats’68 .

( 107 ) nobler ’

5 2 . ( 122) whose ’

5 2.

( 108 ) russet thread-bare ’

68 .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

In Natalem Augustissimi P rincipis Caroli.

Thy fi rst bi rth Mary was unto a tombe,And sad Lucina cheated thy blest wombe .To heav’n thou then wert fruitfull, now to ea rth ,That canst give S aints as well as Kings a bi rth .

(3 ) thou wert ’

40 , if.

Vpon his P icture.

Hen age hath made me what I am n ot now ;And every wrinckle tel s me where the plowOf time hath furrowed ; when an Ice shalt

flow

Through every vein , and all my head wear snowWhen death displayes his coldnesse in my ch ecke,And I , my selfe in my owh e P i cture seeke.

Not fin ding what I am , but what I was ;In doubt which to beleive, this, or my glasseYet though I alter, this remaines the s ameAs i t was drawne, retaines the primitive frame,And first complexion ; here will still be seenBlood on the checke, and Downe upon the chin .

Here the smooth brow will stay, the l ively eye,The ruddy Lip , and hai re of youthfull dye .

Behold what frailty we in man may see,

Whose Shaddow i s lesse given to change then hee .

(4 ) wear] be’

40,’

43 ,’

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

There from the treeWee’ l cherries plucke, and pick the strawbery .

And every dayGo see the wholesome Country Girles make hay.

Whose browne hath lovlier grace,Then any painted face,

That I doe knowHide-P arke can show.

Where I had rather gaine a kisse then meet

(Though some of them in greater stateM ight court my love with plate) 3 5

The beauties of the Cheape, and wives ofLumbardstreet.

But thinke uponSome other pleasures, these to me are none,

Why doe I prateOf woemen, that are things again st my fate ?

I never meane to wed ,That torture to my bed .

My Muse i s sheeMy Love shall bee .

Let Clownes get wealth , and heires ; when I am gone,And the great Bugbeare grisly death

Shall take this idle breathI f I a Poem leave, that Poem is my Sonne .

Of this , no more ;Wee’ l rather tast the bright P omona’s store.

No fruit shall scapeOur pallats, from the damsen , to the grape .

Then full we’l seek a shade,And heare what musique’s made ;(29 ) Whose] whose '

3 8. hath] and '68.

(34- 5 ) No parentheses in ’

3 8 . (3 7 ) upon.

’

3 8. (40) om.

’

38 .

POEMS 1 3 1

How Philomell

Her tale doth tellAnd how the other B i rds doe fill the quire ;The Thrush and Blackbird lend thei r throatsWarbling melodious notes ;

Wee wi ll all sports enjoy, which others but desi re . 60

Ours i s the skie,Where at what fowle we please our Hauke shall flye ;

Nor will we spareTo hunt the crafty foxe, or timorous hare ;

But let our hounds runne looseIn any ground they

’

l choose,The Bucke shall fall,The stagge and all

Our pleasures must from thei r owne warrants bee,For to my Muse, i f not to mee,I ’me sure all game is free ;

Heaven , Earth , are all but parts of her great Royalty .

And when we meaneTo tast of B acchus blessings now and then ,

And d rinke by stealthA cup or two to noble B arkleys health .

I ’le take my pipe and tryThe P hrygian melody ;Wh ich he that hearesLets through hi s cares

A madnesse to distemper all the braine .Then I another pipe will takeAnd Dorique musique make,

To Civilize with graver notes our wits againe.

(5 8) B lack-birds ’

5 2. (62) Whereat ’38. ’40. ’43 , ’5 2.

( 5 9) Warbl ing] warbling '38. (84) greater ’

43 , fl'

.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

An answer toM Ben Iohnson’s Ode, to per

swade him not to leave the stage.

e not leave the stageCause ’

tis a loathsome age ;For Pride, and Impudence will grow too bold,

When they shall heare it toldThey frighted thee : stand high as i s thy cause,

Their h isse is thy applause .More just were thy disdaine,Had they approv

’

d thy vaine .So thou for them , and they for thee were borne,They to incense, and thou as much to scorne.

Wilt thou engrosse thy StoreOf wheat, and powre no more,

Because thei r Bacon-braines have such a tastAs more delight in mast ?

No ; set’em forth a board of dainties, fullAs thy best Muse can cull ;While they the while doe pineAnd thirst, midst all thei r wine .

What greater plague can hell it selfe devise,Then to be willing thus to tantalize ?

Thou canst not find them stuffe

That will be bad enoughTo please their pallats ; let

’em thine refuseFor some Pye-com er Muse ;

(8) appov’d

’

3 8 . (23 ) thine] then ’68. (24 ) Py e-corners

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1 34 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Yet let thy Muse as well some raptures raise,To please h im , as to praise .I would not have thee chooseOnly a treble Muse ;

But have this envious, ignorant Age to know,

Thou that canst sing so high , canst reach as low .

A Dialogue. Thirsis. Lalage.

Y Lalage when I beholdSo great a cold ,

And not a spark of heat in thy desi re,

I wonder what strange power of thineKindles in mine 5

So bright a flame, and such a burning fi re .

Can Thirsis in PhilosophyA Truant bee,

And not have learn’

d the power of the Sun ?How he to sublunary things , 10

A fervour brings ,Yet in himselfe i s subj ect unto none ?But why within thy eyes appeare

Never a teare,That cause from mine perpetuall showres to

fall ? 1 5

Foole’ti s the power of fire you know

To melt the snow,

Yet has no moisture in i t selfe at all.How can I be, deare Vi rgin Show,

Both fire and snow ? 20

(3 ) thy] my'68. ( 1 1 ) favour ’

3 8 .

(9 ) Son?’

43 Son ;’

5 2.

Chorus.

POEMS 1 3 5

Doe you that are the cause the reason tell ;More then miracle to me

It seemes to be,That so much heate with so much coldshould dwell .

The reason I will render thee ; 25

Why both should bee .Audacious Thirsis in thy love too bold,’Cause thy sawcinesse durst aspire

To such a fire,Thy love is hot ; but

’ti s thy hOpe i s cold . 30

Let pitty move thy gentle brestTo one opprest ;

This way, or that, give ease to my desire ;And either let Loves fire be lost

In hopes cold frost, 3 5

Or hopes cold frost be warm’

d in loves quickfire.

0 neither Boy ; neither of theseShall wdrke thy ease.

I ’le pay thy rashnesse with immortal paine,As hope doth strive to freeze thy flame, 40

Love melts the same :As Love doth melt it, Hope doth freez

’

t again .

Come gentle swaines lend me a groaneTo ease my moane.

Ah cruell Love how great a power i s th ine ?45Vnder the Poles although we lye

Thou mak’

st us fryeAnd thou canst make us freeze beneath the line .

I have arranged the whole poem in regard to speakers names, etc ., in the samemanner as i s the full page of the text in ’

3 8 . The half pages prew ding and fol

lowing this page are more irregular.(42) om,

’

3 8. (43 ) TIL] Placed before line 42 in ’

3 8.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

A Dialogue betwixt a Nymph and a Shepheard.

Hy sigh you swain ? this passion i snot common ;

I’

st for your kids, or Lambkin s ?For a woman .

How faire i s shee that on so sage a browPrints lowring looks ?

Iust such a toy as thou .

Is shee a maid ?What man can answer that ?

Or widdow ?

What then ?I know not what.

Saint-l ike shee loc kes, a Syren i f shee sing.

Her eyes are starres , her mind i s everyth ing.

Nymp: I f she be fickle, Shepheard leave to wooeOr fancy mee .

No thou art woman too ;But I am constant .

Then thou art not fai re .Bright as the morn ing .

Wavering as the Ayre.What grows upon thi s cheeke ?

A pure Carnation .

Come tast a kisse .

0 sweet, 6 sweet Temptation !

( 1 ) camon ;'

3 8. ( 12 ) as air’68 .

(6 ) What] what ’

3 8 . ( 14) a] and’

5 2.

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A Song.

Vsick thou Queene of soules, get up and stringThy pow

’

rful Lute, and some sad requiemsmg,

Till Rocks requite thy Eccho with a groaneAnd the dull cli fts repeate the duller toneThen on a suddaine with a n imble handRunne gently o’re the Chordes, and so commandThe Pine to dance, the Oake hi s Roots forgoe,The holme and aged Elme to foot it too ;Mirtles shall caper, lofty Cedars runne ;And call the Courtly Palme to make up one ;Then in the midst of all their Iolly traine,Strike a sad note ; and fixe

’em Trees againe.

The Song Of Discord.

Et Linus and Amphions lute,With Orpheus cittem e now be mute.The harshest voice the sweetest note ;

The Raven has the choicest throate.

A set of Frogs a quire for mee,The Mandrake shall the Chaunter bee .

Where neither voice, nor tunes agree ;This i s discords Harmonie .Thus had Orpheus learn’

d to play,The following Trees had run away .

POEMS 1 39

To one Overhearing his private discourse.

Wonder not my Lada fa rre can see,Since for her eyes shee might an Eagle bee,And dare the Sun ; but that shee heares so well

As that shee could my private whisperings tell ,I stand amaz

’

d ; her eares are not so long, 5

That they could reach my words ; hence then itsprung :

Love overhea ring fled to her bright eare,Gl ad he had got a tale to whisper there .

Epigram: 47 ex decimo LibroMartialis.

Hese are things that being possestWill make a life that’ s t ruly blestEstate bequeath

’

d, not got with toyle ;good hot fire, a gratefull soyle .

No strife, warm clothes, a quiet soule,A strength intire, a body whole .Prudent simplicity, equall freinds,A diet that no Art commends .A night not drunke, and yet secure ;A bed not sad, yet chast and pure .Long sleepes to make the nights but short,A will be to but what thou art .Naught rather choose ; contented lye,And neither feare, nor wish to dye .

(5 ) cloths ’

40,’

43 cloaths'

5 2, E.

(3 ) with] by ’68 . 10) not] nor

’

43 .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

To the Vertuous and noble Lady , the Lady Cotton .

I s not to force more teares from your sad eye,That we wr ite thus ; th at were a PietyTurn

’

d guilt and sinne ; we only beg to come,And pay due tribute to his sacred tombe.The muses did divide hi s Love with you ,And j ustly therefore may be mourners too .

Instead of Cypresse, they have brought fresh BaiesTo crowne hi s Vrne, and every dirge i s Praise .But since with him the learned tongues are gone,Necessity here makes us use our owne.

Read in his praise your owne, you cannot misse ;For he was but our Wonder, you were his.

(8) Urin,’

5 2 is] his’

5 2 , ff.In the Parentalia this poem is signed Tho. Randolph .

An Elegie on the death of thatRenowned and

Noble Knight S ir Rowland Cottonof B ellaport in Shropshire

Ich as was Cottons worth , I wish each line ;And every verse I breath like h im , a Mine.That by his vertues might created bee

A new st range miracle, wealth in Poetrie .But that invention cannot sure be poore,That but relates a pa rt of his large store .His youth began , as when the Sun doth ri seWithout a Cloud , and clearly trots the skies .

Simp ly A11 Elegie. in P ar.

( 1 ) so in Parentalia and’

40, fl". Cottons ’

38.

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142 THOMAS RANDOLPH

For when he leapt, the people dar’d to say

He was borne all of fire, and wore no clay .

Which was the cause too that he wrestled so,’Tis not fires nature to be kept below.

His course he so perform’

d with nimble pace,The time was not perceiv

’

d measur’

d the race .As it were true that some late Arti sts say,The Earth mov’d too , and run the other way .

All so soone finish’d, when the match was wonneThe Gazers by ask

’

d why they not begunne.

When he in masque us’d hi s harmonious feet,The Sphears could not in comelier order meet ;Nor move more gracefull, whether they advanceThei r measures forward , or reti re their dance .There be have seene h im in our Henry

’

s CourtThe glory and the envy of that Sport .And carping like a constellation ri se,Having fixt upon him all the Ladies eyes .

But these in him I would not vertues call,But that the world must know, that he had

When Henry dy’

d (our univ ersall woe)Wi ll ing was Cotton to dye with him too .

And as neate death he came as neare could bee ;Himselfe he buried in obscuritie,

Entomb’

d with in his study wals , and thereOnly the Dead his conversation were,Yet was he not alone ; for every dayEach Muse came thither with her sprig of Bay.

The Graces round about him did appeare,

The Genii of all Nations all met there .

(49 ) Musick ’68 . (5 3 ) Herm es Par.

(5 6 ) ha’d P ar. upon] on

’64,

’68 .

(66 ) Muse] not in italics in Par.

(68 ) Graces and Gem i not in ital ics in Par.

POEMS 143

And while immur’d he sat thus close at home,To him the wealth of all the world d id come .He had a language to salute the Sunne,Where he unharnest, and where

’ s teame begunneThe tongues of all the East to him were knownAs Naturall, as they were borne his own .

Which from his mouth so sweetly d id intice,As with thei r language he had m ix ’

d thei r spice .In Greeke so fluent, that with it compareTh’ Athenian Ol ives, and they saplesse are .Rome did submit her Fasces, and confesseHer Tully might talke more, and yet speake lesse. 80All Sciences were lodg

’

d in his large brest,And in that Fallace thought themselves so blestThey never meant to part, but he should beeSole Monarch , and dissolve thei r Heptarchic .

But 6 how vaine i s mans fraile Harmonie !We all are swannes, he that sings best must die .

Death knowledge nothing makes , when we come there ,We need no Language, nor Interpreter.Who would not laugh at him now, th at should seeke

In Cotton’

s Vrne for Hebrew or for Greeke ? 90

But hi s more heav ’

nly graces with him yet

Live constant, and about him ci rcled sit

A bright Retinue, and on each falls downeA robe of Glory, and on each a Crowne.

Then Madam (though you have a losse sustain’

d

Both infinite, and ne’ re to be regain’

d 96

Here in this world ) dry your sad eyes, once moreYou shall againe enter the Nuptiall dore

(79 ) Fasees] not in italics in P ar.

(88 ) no] nor P ar .

(9 1 ) heavenly Par.

(9 5 ) Par . leaves a line blank between 94 and 9 5 .

144 THOMAS RANDOLPH

A sprightly bride ; where you shall clothed beeIn garments weav ’

d of Immortalitie.

Nor greive because he left you not a Sonne,To Image Cotton forth now he i s gone .For i t h ad been a wrong to hi s great NameT’have liv ’

d in any thing but Heaven , and Fame.

( 102) Cotton P ar . and’

40, ff. Cotton ’

3 8 .

Poem signed Tho: Randolph in Par.

Ausonii Epigram 3 8 .

Hee which would not I would chooseShee which would I would refuse .Venus could my mind but tame ;

But not satisfie the same .Inticements offer

’

d I despise,And deny

’

d I slightly prize .I would neither glut my mind ,Nor yet too much torment find .

Twice gi rt Diana doth not take mee,Nor Venus naked joyfull make mee .The first no pleasure hath to joy mee,And the last enough to cloy mee .

But a crafty wench I ’de haveThat can sell the act I crave .

And joyne at once in me these two,I will, and yet I will not doe .

(6) This line is om. in’68 .

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146 THOMAS RANDOLPH

At that sad object Tybers bosome swell’

d,

And scarce from drowning all, by l ove withheld .

And shall we give this mighty ConquerourThat in a great and a more holy warre,Was pulling downe the Empire which he reard,A fall unmourn

’

d of Nature and unfear’

d ;

A death (unlesse the league of heav’

n withstood )Lesse wept then with an universall flood ?I f I had seene a Comet in the aireWith glorious eye, and bright disheveld haire,And on a suddaine with his gilded traineD rop downe ; I should have said that Sweden

’

s slaine,

Shot l ike that starre ; or if the earth had shooke

Like a weake floore, the falling roofe had broke ;I should have said the mighty King i s gone ;Fel’d as the tallest tree in Libanon .

Alasse i f he were dead ; we need no post,Uery instinct would tell us what we lost.And a chill damp (as at the generall doome)Creepe through each brest and we should know for

whome.

His German conquests are not yet compleat,And when they are, ther

’

s more remaining yet.

The world i s full of sin , not every LandO’re growne with sch isme hath felt hi s purging hand .

The Pope i s not confounded , and the Turke, 3 5

Nor was he sure design’

d for a lesse worke.

But if our sinnes have stop’

d him in the source,In mid’st Careere of hi s victorious course .

And heaven would trust the dulnesse of our senceSo farre, not to prepare us with portents .

(27 ) A lass ’68 no] not’68 . (3 3 ) not] nor

’

3 8 and'68 .

(28) Every ’68 instinct'

40,

’

43 ,’

5 2 . ( 36 ) He’

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POEMS

'Ti s we have th at the losse, and he hath caughtHis heav ’

nly garland e’re his worke be wrought.

But I,before I ’ le undertake to greive

So great a losse, will choose not to beleive.

(42) be] he'

5 2 .

On S r Robert Cotton the Antiquary .

Osterity hath many fates bemoan’

d,

But ages long since past for thee have groan’

d.

Times Trophies thou didst rescue from the grave

Who in thy death a second buriall have .Cotton, deaths conquest now compleat I see,Who ne’re had v anquish

’

d all th ings but in thee .

An Elegie

Eav’

n knowe my Love to thee, fed on desiresSo hallowed , and unmixt with vulgar fires ,As are the purest beams shot from the Sun

At his full height ; and the devotionOf dying Martyrs could not bum e more cleare,Nor Innocence in her first robes appeareWhiter then our Affections ; they did ShowLike frost forc’d out of flames, and fi re from snow.

So pure, the Phoenix when shee did refineHer age to youth , borrowed no flames but mine.But now my daies o

’

recast, for I have nowDrawne Anger like a tempest o’re the brow

(4) devotion.

’

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148 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Of my faire Mistresse ; those your glorious eyesWhence I was wont to see my day starre ri se

,

Threat like revengefull Meteors, and I feeleMy torment, and my guilt double my hell .’Twas a mistake, and might have v eniall been ,Done to another, but it was made sin ,And justly Mortall too by troubling Thee,Slight wrongs are treasons done to Majestie.

0 all yee blest Ghosts of deceased Loves ,That new l ive Sainted in th’ Elisian grovesMedi ate for mercy for me ; at her sh rineMeet in full quire, and joyne your praiers with mine.Conjure her by the merits of your kisses, 25

By your past sufferings and present blisses ;Conj ure her by your mutuall hopes, and feares ;By all your intermixed sighes, and teares ,To plead my pardon ; goe to her and tellThat you will walke the guardian sentinell,

My soules safe Genii ; that she need not feareA mutinous thought, or one close rebell there.But what needs that, when shee alone sits thereSole Angell of that Orbe ? in her own spheareAlone shee sits , and can secure i t freeFrom all i rregular motions , only sheeCan give the balsome that must cure this sore ;And the sweet Antidote to sin no more .

(22) the’Elision

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43 . (34) I] 3’

38

(26)’

3 8 . (3 8) the] thee ’68 .

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1 5 0 THOMAS RANDOLPH

And can no more one of thei r Nation bee ,Because recover’d of my lunacie .

But you may then succeed me in my placeOf Poet, no pretence to make your graceDenied you , for you goe to law,

’tis s aid ;And then ’ti s ta’ne for granted you are mad .

In Corydonem £5 Corinnam .

H wretch in thy Corinna’s love unblest !How strange a fancy doth torment thy brest ?When shee desi res to sport thou saist her n ay ;

When shee denyes then thou desir’st to play .

Love bum es you both . (6’ti s a happy tum e !)

But ’ti s at several! times love both doth bum e .

Wh en scorch ing heat hath Corydons heart possest,Then raignes a frost in cold Corinnas brest .And when a frost in Corydon doth raigne,

Then i s Corinnas brest on fire againe.

Why then with Corydon i s i t summer p rime,When with Corinna i t i s winter t ime ?Or why should then Corinnas summer beeWhen it i s winter Corydon with thee ?Can Ice from fire, or fire from Ice proceed ?Ah j est not Love i s so severe a deed !I hid thee not Corydons flame to blowC leane out ; nor cleane to melt Corinnas snow.

Bum e both ! freeze both ! let mutuall Fervour holdHis and her brest, or his and her

’ s a cold .

(6 ) doth both ’43 , ’

5 2.

( 17 ) flane’

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POEMS

T0 one admiring her selfe in a Looking-Glasse.

Ai re Lady when you see the GraceOf Beauty in your Looking-GlasseA stately forhead, smooth and high ,

And full of Princely Maj esty .

A sparkling eye, no gemme so fai re,Whose lustre dimmes the Cyprian starre .A glorious checke divinely sweet,Wherein both Roses kindly meet .A cherry Lip that would enticeEven Gods to kisse at any price .You thinke no beauty i s so rareThat with your Shaddow might compare .That your reflection is alone,The thing that men most dote upon .

Madam , alas your Glasse doth lye,And you are much deceiv ’

d ; for IA beauty know of richer grace,(Sweet be not angry )

’ti s your face .Hence then 6 leam e more milde to bee,And leave to lay your blame on mee ;I f me your reall substance move ;When you so much your Shaddow Love .Wise nature would not let your eyeLooke on her owne b right majestie ;Which had you once but gaz

’

d upon ,You could , except your selfe, love noneWhat then you cannot love, let me,That face I can , you cannot see .

Now you have what to loue, you’l say

What then i s left for me I pray ?

1 5 1

1 5 2 THOMAS RANDOLPH

My face sweet hart i f it please thee ;That which you can , I cannot seeSo either love shall gaine his due,Your’s sweet in mee, and mine in you .

An Eglogue occasion’

d by two Doctors

disputing upon predestination.

Corydon .

O j olly Thirsis whither in such hast ?I’

st for a wager that you run so fast ?Or past your houre below yon hawthome

Does longing Galatea loc ke for thee ?

No Corydon, I heard young Daphnis say

A lexis challeng’

d Tityrus to dayWho best shall sing of Shepheards Art, and praise ;But harke I heare ’em , l i sten to thei r laies .

Tityrus.

A lexis read , what means this mistique thing ;An Ewe I had two lambs at once did bring :Th

’ one black as Iett ; the other white as snowSay in just providence how i t could be so ?

Wi ll you P an’s goodnesse therefore partiall call,That might as well have given thee none at all ?

Tityrus.

Were they not both eand by the selfe same Ewe ?How could they merit then so d ifferent hue ?

(2) thou tun’st ’68 . (9 ) mastique

’68 .

(3 ) past] past past '43 , ’5 2. ( 16) merit] ment ’43. '5 2.

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1 5 4 THOMAS RANDOLPH

To your vaine piping on so deepe a reedThe Lambkins l isten , but forget to feed .

It gentle swain s befits of Love to sing,How Love left heaven ; and heav

’

ns immortal King,His comtem all Father, O admire, 45

Love i s a Sonne as an ancient as his si re .His Mother was a Vi rgin : how could comeA bi rth so great, and from so chast a wombe !His cradle was a manger ; Shepheards see

True faith delights in poore simplicitie .

He pres’

d no grapes, nor prun’

d the fruitfull vine,But could of water make a bri sker wine.Nor did he plow the earth , and to his BarneThe harvest bring, nor thresh , and grind the Corne.Without all these Love could supply our need ;And with five Loaves, five thousand Hungers feed .

More wonders did he, for all which supposeHow he was c rown

’

d, with Lilly, or with Rose ?The winding Ivy, or the glorious Bay,Or m irtle, with the which Venus, they say , 60

G i rt s her proud temples ? Shepheards none of themBut wore (poore head ) a thorny D i adem .

Feet to the Lame he gave ; with which they runTo worke thei r Surgeons last destruction .

The blind from him had eyes ; but us’d that l ight 65

Like Basylisques to kill h im with thei r sight .Lastly he was betray

’

d (6 sing of this )How Love could be betray

’

d!’twas with a kisse.

And then his Innocent hands, and guiltlesse feet

(44 ) heav’ns] heavens ’

43 , 5 . (46) his] the’68 .

(4 5 ) Father .

’

3 8 . (48)’68.

Between ll . 5 0 and 5 1 Harl . MS . 3 3 5 7 has the following coupletDecpc Sages, by a Star, hisMansion sought,Poore Swaines, by his owne Harbingers were tought.

POEMS 1 5 5

Were nayl’

d unto the Crosse, striving to meetIn his spread armes his spouse, so mild in showeHe seem’

d to court th ’ Imbraces of his foe.Through his pearc

’

d side, through which a speare wassent,

A torrent of all flowing Bal same went .Run Amarillis run : one drop from thenceCures thy sad soule, and d rives all anguish hence.Goe sunbum t Thestylis, goe , and repaireThy beauty lost, and be againe made fai re .Love-sick Amyntas get a P hiltrum here,To make thee Lovely to thy truly deare .

But coy Licoris take the Pearle from thine,And take the bloodshot from Alexis eyne.Weare this an Amulet ’gainst all Syrens smiles,The stings of snakes, and Teares of Crocodiles .Now Love i s dead : Oh no, he never dyes ;Three dayes he sleepes, and then againe doth rise

(Like fai re Aurora from the B asterne Bay)And with his beams drives all our clouds awayThis pipe unto our flocks, this sonnet get.But hoe, I see the Sun ready to set,

Good night to all ; for the great night i s come ;Flocks to your folds and shepheards hye you home !To morrow morning, when we all have slept,P an

’

s Com et’ s blowne, and the great Sheepshears kept.

(7 3-74) and (83—84) These fou r lines are not in Harl . MS . 3 3 5 7 .

(82) Alexis] Palz mons Harl . MS .

(83 ) against ’

5 2 ,’64,

’68 .

(85 ) dead .] lead : ’3 8 .

(92 ) high you home.

’

43 ,’

5 2.

(94 ) blowen ’

43 ,’

5 2.

An Eglogue toMr Iohnson .

Tityrus

NDER this beech why sits’

t thou hereso sad

Son Damon, that wast erst a jov iall l ad ?These groves were wont to Ecchowith the soundOf thy sh rill reed , while every Nymph daue

’dround .

Rowse up thy soule, P arnassus mount standshigh , 5

And must be climb’d with painefull industrie.amon . You Father on his forked top sit still,

And see us panting up so steepe a hill ;But I have broke my reed , and deeply sworeNever with wax, never to joynt it more . 1 0

Fond boy ’twas rashly done ; I meant tothee,

Of all the sons I have, by legacieTo have bequeath

’

d my pipe, thee, thee of all,I meant it should her second Master call .

Dam. And doe you thinke I durst presume toplay 1 5

Where Tityrus had worne hi s lip away !Live long thy selfe to tune it ;

’ti s from thee.I t has not from it self such Harmony,But if we ever such disaster h aveAs to compose our Tytirus in his grave ;Yonder upon yon aged Oak, that nowOl d trophies beares on every sacred bow,

( 1 ) this] his ’

3 8 . ( 13 ) p ipe :’68 .

(2) a] om.

’

5 2. (22 ) bears, on every sacred bow ’

40.

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1 5 8 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Two that have horns ; that while they buttingstand

Strike from thei r feet a cloud of numeroussand . 5 0

But what can make thee leave the Musesman ,

That such a Patron hast as mighty P an?Whence i s thy fury ? D id the partiall eareOf the rude Vulgar, when they late d id heareAi

‘

gon , and thee contend which best should

Pl ay, 5 5

Him Victour deem , and give thy ki d away ?Does Amarillis cause thi s high despaire ?Or Galatea’s coynesse breed thy care ?Neither of these, the Vulgar I contemn ;Thy pipe not alwaies Tytirus wins with

them : 60

And as for Love, in sooth I doe not knowWhether he wears a bow , and shafts or no .

Or d id I , I a way could quickly find ,To win the beauteous Galatea’s mind ,Or Amarillis: I to both could sendApples that with Hesperian fruit contendAnd on occasion could have quickly guestWhere two fayr ring-doves built their amorousnest.I f none of these, my Damon then aread 69

What other cause can so much passionbreed !

Father I will , in those indulgent earsI dare unload the burden of my fears .

(49) horns, ’40, if. (5 9) these ; ’68 .

(5 3 ) thy] this ’

43 . if. (68) fairing-doves ’68.

POEMS 1 5 9

The Reapers that with whetted siecles stand,Gathering the falling ears i’th’ other hand ;Though they endure the scorching summersheat, 7 5

Have yet some wages to allay thei r sweatThe Lopper that doth fell the sturdy OakLabours, yet has good pay for every stroke .The Plowman i s rewarded : only weThat sing, are paid with our own melody. 80

Rich churls have learn’t to praise us, andadmire,

But have not learn’t to think us worth thehire .

So toyling Ants perchance del ight to hearThe summer musique of the Grassopper,But after rather let him starve with pain , 85

Then spare him from thei r store one singlegrain .

As when great Iunos beauteous B i rd displaiesHer starry tail , the boyes doe run and gazeAt her proud train ; so look they now adaies

On Poets ; and doe think if they but praise, 90Or pardon what we sing, enough they doeI , and

’ti s well i f they doe so much too .

My rage i s swel’

d so high I cannot speak it,Had I P an’s pipe, or thine I now shouldbreak it !

Tit. Let moles del ight in Earth ; Swine dunghilsrake ; 9S

Crows prey on Carrion ; Frogs a pleasure takeIn sl imy pools ; And Niggard s wealth admire ;

(74 )’ith

’ ’

3 8,’

40,

'

43 ,’

5 2 . (82) learnt ’5 2, fi' .(8 1 ) learnt ’43 , ff. (83 ) delight] are like ’

64 ,’68.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

But we, whose souls are made of purer fire,Have other aimes : Who songs for gain hathmade,

Has of a l iberal] Science fram ’

d a Trade . 100

Hark how the Nightingale in yonder tree,Hid in the boughes , warbles melodiouslyHer various musique forth

,while the whole

Qui reOf other bi rds , flock around , and all admire !But who reward s her ? will the ravenousKite 105

Part with her prey, to pay for her del ight ?Or will the foolish , painted pratling I ayNow tum ’d a hearer, to requite her playLend her a straw ? or any of the restFetch her a feather when she builds her

nest ? H O

Yet sings she ne’re the lesse, till every denDoe catch at her last notes : And shall Ithen

His fortunes Damon ’bove my own commend ,Who can more cheese into the market send ?Clowns for posterity may cark and care, 1 1 5

That cannot out-l ive death but in an Heire :By more then wealth we propagate ourNames ,That trust not to succession s , but our Fames .Let hide-bound churls yoak the laborious Oxe ,M ilk hundred goats , and shear a thousand

flocks ; 120

Plant gainful Orchards, and in silver shine ;Thou of all fru its should ’st only p rune th e

Vine

(99 ) Who] Whose ’

5 2. ( 1 18 ) Flames ’

40.

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62 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Half choak’t with dust, parch

’

t with thesoultry heat ;

Tir’

d with his journey, and o’

recome withsweat, 1 5 0

F inding a gentle spring, at her cool brinkDoth not with more delight sit down anddrink,

Then I record hi s songs : we see a cloud,And fearing to be wet, doe run and shroudVnder a bush ; when he would sit and tell 1 5 5

The cause that made her mystie wombe toswell ;

Why it sometimes in drops of rain doth flow ,

Sometimes dissolves her self in flakes of snowNor gaz

’

d he at a Comet, but would frameA reason why it wore a beard of flame . 160

Ah Tytirus, I would with all my heart,Even with the best of my carv

’

d mazers part,To hear him as he us’d divinely shew,What ’ti s that paints the divers-colour’d bowWhence Thunders are discharg

’

d, whence thewinds stray, 165

What foot through heaven hath worn themi lky way l

And yet I let this t rue delight alone,Call

’

d thence to keep the flock of Corydon .

Ah woe i s me, anothers flock to keep ; 169

The care i s mine, the master shears the sheep !A flock it was that would not keep together ;A flock that had no fleece, when it came

hither.

( 1 5 3 ) we see] see’64 seeing ’68 . (166 ) ways ’

43 , wayes’

5 2.

( 16 1 ) withall’

3 8.’

40,’

43 .

INTEAJS

Nor would it learn to l isten to my layes ,For

’twas aflock made up of severall strayes;And now I would return to Cham, I hear 17 5

A desolation frights the Muses there !With rustique swains I mean to spend mytime

Teach me there father to preserve my rime .To morrow morning I will counsel thee,

Meet me at Faunus Beech ; for now yousee 180

How larger shadows from the mountains fall ,And Corydon doth Damon, Damon, call .Damon ,

’

tis time my flock were in the fold ,More then high time ; did you not erst beholdHow Hesperus above yon clouds appear

’

d, 185

Hesperus leading forth his beauteous heard ?

( 178) rime ] time.

’68.

A Pastorall Courtship .

Ehold these woods, and mark my SweetHow all the boughes together meet !The Cedar his fai re a rms displayes,mixes branches with the B ayes.

The lofty P ine deignes to descend ,And sturdy Oaks doe gently bend .

One with another subt’ly weavesInto one loom their various leaves ;As all ambitious were to beMine and my P hyllis canopie !

(2) the] these ’

5 2.

164 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Let’s enter, and discourse our Loves ;These are, my Dear, no tell-tale groves !There dwell no Pyes, nor Barrats there,To prate again the words they heare,Nor babling Eccho, that will tel lThe neighbouring hills one syllable .Being enter

’

d let’s together lye,Twin

’

d l ike the Zodiales Gemini!How soon the flowers doe sweeter smell ?And all with emulation swell,To be thy pillow ? These for theeWere meant a bed , and thou for me ;And I may with as j ust esteemPresse thee, as thou maist lye on them .

And why so coy ? What dost thou feare ?There lurks no speckled Serpent here .No Venomou s snake makes this hi s rode,No Canker, nor the loathsome toad .

And yon poor spider on the tree,Thy spinster will, no poisner be.There i s no Frog to leap , and frightThee from my arm s, and break delight ;Nor snail that o’re thy coat shall trace,And leave behind a sl imy lace .

This i s the hallowed shrine of Love,No wasp nor hornet haunts this grove,Nor pismire to make pimples ri se,Vpon thy smooth and ivory thighes .No danger in these shades doth lye,Nothing that wears a sting, but I :And in it doth no v enome dwell ,Although perchance it make thee swell .

( 1 1 ) lets ’

40. (29 ) yon] you’68 . (30) poisoner

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166 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Thou shalt be Nurse fai r Venus swearsTo the Next Cupid that she bears .Were it not then discreetly doneTo ope one sp ring to let two runne ?Fy, fy, this Belly, Beauty

’s mint,

Blushes to see no coyn stampt in’t .

Employ it then , for though it beOur wealth , it i s your royaltie ;And beauty will have currant graceThat bears the Image of your face .How to the touch the Ivory thighesVeil gently, and again doe ri se,As pliable to impression ,As Vi rgins waxe, or P arian stoneDissolv

’

d to softnesse, plump and full,More white and soft then Gotsall wooll;Or Cotten from the Indian Tree,Or pretty silkworms huswifrie.

T hese on two marble pillars rais’dM ake me in doubt which should be praisd;They, or thei r Columnes must ; but whenI view those feet which I have seen

S o nimbly trip it o’re the Lawns

T hat all the Satyrs and the fawnsHave stood amaz

’

d, when they would passeOver the leyes, and not a grasseWould feel the weight, nor rush , nor bentD rooping betray which way you went.O then I felt my hot desiresBurn more, and flame with double fires .

(82) your] our ’68 . ( 100) layes '

40, 5 .

(88) or] om.

’68 . ( 101 ) rash ’68.

(89 ) w itnesse ;’

40. fi'

. ( 102 ) .j]’

40,’

43 .’

5 2.’64.

(92) huswiferie'

40, 6 . ( 104 ) Burnt ’68, ’

38.

POEMS

Come let those th ighes, those legs , those feet,With mine in thousand windings meet,And woven in more subtle twinesThen woodbine, Ivy, or the vines .For when Love sees us circling thusHe’le like no Arbour more then us.

Now let us kisse, would you be gone ?Manners at least allows me one .Blush you at this, pretty one stay,And I will take that kisse away.

Thus with a second , and that tooA third wipes off ; so will we goeTo numbers that the starrs out run ,And all the Atoms in the Sun .

For though we kisse till Pha bus raySink in the seas, and kissing stayTill h is b right beams return again ,There can of all but one remainAnd if for one good manners call,In one good manners grant me all .Are kisses all ? they but forerunAnother duty to be done .Wh at would you of that minstrell sayThat tunes his pipes and will not play ?Say what are blossoms in their prime,That ripen not in harvest time ?Or what are buds that ne’re d iscloseThe long

’

d for sweetnesse of the rose ?So kisses to a Lover’s guestAre invitations not the feast .

See everything that we espyI s fruitfull, saving you and I

167

( 1 14 )’64,

’68 . ( 124) one, good manners, ’

40, H.

( 1 16 ) of’

3 8,’

40,’64

’

3 8. ( 125 ) kisses? all they ’64 ,

’68 .

168 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Veiw all the feilds, survey the bowers,The buds, the blossoms and the flowers ;And say if they so ri ch could beIn barren base Virginitie.

Earth’s not so coy as you are now,

But willingly admits the plow.

For how had man or beast been fed ,I f she had kept her maiden head ?Coelia once coy as are the restHangs now a babe on either brest ;And Chloris since a man she took ,Has lesse of greennesse in her look .

Our ewes have ean’d, and every dammeG ives suck unto her tender Lambe .As by these groves we walk’d along,Some Birds were feeding of their young,Some on their egges did brooding sit,

Sad that they had not hatch’d them yet .Those that were slower then the rest,Were busy building of thei r nest .You will not only pay the fine,You vow

’

d and ow’d to Valentine.

As you were angling in the brookWith silken line and silver hook ,Through Christall streams you might descryHow vast and numberlesse a fryThe fish had spawn

’

d, that all alongThe banks were crowded with the th rong .

And shall fai r Venus more commandBy water then she does by land ?

The P hoenix chast, yet when she dyes ,Her self with her own ashes lyes .

( 1 5 6) their] the '

43 ,'

5 2,’68 . ( 1 5 7 ) you only will not pay

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Vpon a very deformed Gentlewoman, but of avoice incomparably sweet.

chanc’

d sweet Lesbia’s voice to heare,0 that the pleasure of the eareContented had the appetite ;

But I must satisfy the sight ;Where such a face I chanc ’d to see

From which good Lord deliver me .I’

st not pr0phane i f I should tellI thought her one of those that fellWith Lucifers Apostate traineYet did her Angels voice retaine ?A cherubin her notes descry

’

d,

A D ivell every where beside .Aske the dark woods , and they

’

le confesseNone did such Harmony expresseIn all thei r howres from May to Iune,Yet nere was face so out of tune .Her Virginall teeth false time did keep,Her wrinkled forhead went too deep .

Lower then Gammut sunke her eyes,’

Bove Ela though her nose did ri se .I ’le trust Musitians now that tellBest musique doth in discords dwell .Her ayres entic ’d the gentle qui reOf Bi rds to come, who all admire,And would wi th pleasure longer stay,But that her looks frights them away.

Which for a good P riapus goesAnd well may serve to scarre the crowes.

incomparable’

43 , if. (25 ) stray ’68.(21 ) tell] rest ’

43 ,’

5 2.

POEMS

Her voice might tempt th’ immortall race,But let her only shew her face,And soone shee might extinguish thusThe lusting of an Incubus.

So have I seene a lute ore worme,Old and rotten , patcht and tom e,So ravish with a sound , and bringA close so sweet to every string,As would strike wonder in our eares,And work an envy in the Spheares .

Say monster strange, what maist thou be ?Whence shall I fetch thy Pedigree ?What but a Panther could begetA beast so foule, a breath so sweet ?Or thou of Syrens i ssue art,I f they be fish the upper part .Or else blind Homer was not madThen when he sung Vlysses hadSo strange a guift from Aiolus,

Who odour-breathing ZephyrusIn severall bottles did inclose,For certain thou art one of those .Thy loc kes, where other women placeThei r chiefest Pride, i s thy disgrace .The tongue, a part which us

’d to beWorst in thy Sexe, i s best in thee .Were I but now to choose my deareNot by my eye, but by my care,Here would I dote ; how shall I wooeThy voice, and not thy body too ?Then all the brood I get of thee,Would Nightingalls, and Cygnets be

THOMAS RANDOLPH

Cygnets betimes their throats to t rye,Borne with more Musique then they dye .Say Lesbia, say , what God will blesseOur Loves with so much happinesse ?Some women are all tongue, but 6Why art not thou my Lesbia so ?

Thy looks doe speak thee witch ; one spellTo make thee but invisible,Or dye ; resigne thy selfe to death ,And I will catch thy latest breath ;But that the nose will scarce I feareFinde it so sweet, as did the eare .

Or i f thou wouldst not have me coy,As was the selfe-inamour’d Boy,Turne only Voice, an Eccho prove,Here , here, by heav

’

n , I fixe my LoveI f not, you Gods, to ease my mind ,Or make her dumbe, or strike me blind ;For griefe, and anger in me ri se,Whil’st shee hath tongue, or I have eyes .

(62) they] the ’

43 ,’

5 2. (69 ) die! and resign ’68.

(66 ) i]’

3 8 . (76) I’le fit

’64,

’68 .

(67 ) looks doe] look doth ’68 .

The milk-maids Epithalamium.

Oy to the B ridegroome and the B rideThat lye by one anothers side !0 fie upon the Virgin Bedds,

No losse i s gain but Maiden heads .Love quickly send the time may beWhen I shall deal my Rosemary !

(4) gain’d

’68.

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An Eglogue on the noble Assemblies revived on

Cotswold Hills, by M . RobertDover .

Collen, Thenot.

Hat Clod-pates, Thenot, are ourB rittish swains ?

How lubber-l ike they loll upon theplains,

No life, no spirit in’um ! every Clown

Soone as he layes his Hook and Tarbox down ,That ought to take his Reed , and chant his layes ,Or nimbly run the windings of the Maze, 6

Now gets a bush to roam himselfe, and sleepe ;

Tis hard to know the shepheard from the sheepe.

And yet me thinks our Engli sh pastures beAs flowery as the Lawnes of A rcadie;

Our Virgins blith as theirs, nor can proud GreeceBoast purer ayre, nor sheer a finer fleece .

Yet view thei r out- side, Collen, you would sayThey have as much brawn in thei r necks as theyFai r Tempe braggs of; lusty armes that swell 1 5

Wi th able sinews, and might hurle as wellThe weightie Sledge ; thei r leggs, and thighs of

bone ,Great as Colossus, yet thei r strength is gone .They look like yonder man ofwood , that standsTo bound the limits of the Pari sh lands .

And Noble Assemblies revived on CotswoldH ills, by Mr

. ROBERT DOVER.

COLLEN. THENOT . (Heading in A. D. )

( 1 ) Call om. i]’

3 8. (7 ) room.

’

43 8 .

(2)’

3 8 . ( 14) they ; A .D. they. ’

5 2,’68 .

(3 )’em;

’

3 8. if. ( 1 5 ) 0111. AD .,

'

5 2.’68

’

43 .

(6) winding ’3 8 . ( 18) strengths are

POEMS 17 5

Dost thou ken , Collen, what the cause might beOf such a dull and generall Lethargie ?Swain , with thei r sports thei r soules were ta

’

ne

away .

Till then they all were active ; every dayThey exerci sed to weild their limbs, that now 25

Are numb’d to every thing, but flail and plow.

Early in May up got the jolly routCall

’

d by the Lark, and spred the feilds aboutOne for to breath himselfe, would coursing beFrom this same Beech , to yonder Mulberie. 30

A second leapt, his supple nerves to try,A third was practicing his melody.

This a new I igg was footing ; others wereBusied at wrastling, or to throw the BarreAmbitious which should beare the bell away, 3 5And kisse the Nut-brown Lady of the May .

This stirr’d ’um up ; a Iolly swain was heWhom P eg, and Susan after VictoryCrown

’

d with a garland they had made, besetWith Daisies, Pincks and many a Violet, 40

Cowslip , and Gilliflower. Rewards though smallEncourage vertue ; but if none at allMeet her, she l anguisheth , and dyes, as nowWhere worth’s deny

’

d the honour of a boughAnd, Thenot, this the cause I read to beOf such a dull and generall Lethargie .I ll thrive the Lowt that did thei r mirth gainsay,

Wolves haunt his flocks, that took those sportsaway !

(23 ) Swaine AD . (3 7 )’um]

’em

’

3 8. 6 . he] me’

43 ,'

5 2.

(24 ) active, ’

3 8. if. every day ; ’64, ’68 . (40) Daz ies A .D.

(3 3 ) i] s

’

3 80 6 0 (43 ) dYCSJ lyes ’

64 .

(34 ) wrestling ’38. ff. (48 ) his] these ’64,

’68 l]

176 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Some melancholy swains about have goneTo teach all Zeale, their own complectionCholer they will admit sometimes I seeBut Fleagme, and Sanguine no Religions be.These teach that Dauncing i s a Iez abell;And B arley-break, the ready way to Hell .The Morrice, Idolls; Wh itsun

’-ales can be

But prophane Reliques of a Iubilee!These in a Zeal , t

’

expresse how much they doeThe Organs hate, have silenc

’

d Bag-pipes too ;And harmlesse May

-poles, all are rail’

d uponAs i f they were the towers of B abilon . 60

Some think not fit there should be any sportI ’th Country,

’ti s a d ish proper to th’ Court .M i rth not becomes ’um , let the sawcy swainEate Beef, and Bacon , and goe sweat again .

Besides, what sport can in thei r pastimes be 65

When all i s but ridiculous fopperie?Collen, I once the famous Spain did see,

A nation glorious for her grav itie ;Yet there an hundred Knights on warlike steedsD id ski rmish out a fight a rm ’d but with reeds ;At which a thousand Ladies eyes did gaze, 7 1

Yet ’twas no better then our Pri son-base .What is the Barriers but a Courtly wayOf our more down right sport, the Cudgell

play ?Foot-ball with us may be with them Balc one, 75

As they at Tilt, so we at Quintaine runne .

( 5 0) z eal their ’

3 8, 3 .

(SS) Morrice Idols, ’

3 8.’64 ,

’68 Morrice-Idols '

43 ,’

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(63 )’em

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3 8, H. (66 ) i] (72) was’

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178 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Through all the landNo F iner wooll runnes through the spinstershand .

But silly Collen, i ll thou dost divine ;Canst thou mistake a B ramble for a Pine ?Or think this Bush a Cedar ? or suppose 105

Yon Hamlet, where to sleepe each shepheardgoes

In circuit, buildings , people, power and nameEqualls the Bow string

’

d by the silver Thame ?As well thou maist thei r sports with ours com

pare,As the soft wooll of Lambs, wi th the Goates

haire. 1 10

Last evening Lad , I met a noble swaine,That spurr

’

d his sprightfull Palfrey ore the plain ,His head with ribbands crown

’

d, and deckt as

gay

As any Lasse upon her Bridal! dayI thought (what easy faiths we shepheards

prove !) 1 15

This, not the Bull, had been Europa’

s Love !I ask

’

t the cause, they told me this was heWhom this daies Triumph c rown

’

d with Vi ctory .

Many brave steeds there were, some you shouldfinde

So fleet as they had been sonnes of the wmde : 120Others with hoofs so swift, beat o

’re the raceAs i f some engine shot ’um to the place .

So many and so well wing’

d Steeds there were ,As all the Brood of P egasus had been there.

( 106 ) Yo’n

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38 young '43 , ’

5 2. goes?(1 18 ) crownd

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POEMS 179

Rider, and horse could not distinguish’

d be, 125

Both seem’

d conjoyn’

d a Centaure’s Progeny.

A numerous troop they were, yet all so lightEarth never groan

’

d, nor felt um in thei rfl ight.Such Royall Pastimes Cotswold mountain s fi ll,

When gentle swains visit her glorious hill : 130

Where with such packs of Hounds they huntinggoe,

As Cyrus never woon’

d his Bugle to !Whose noise i s musicall; and with full c riesBeats o’ re the feilds, and Ecchoes through theskies .

Orion hearing wish’

d to leave hi s Spheare , 13 5

And call hi s Dogge from heaven , to sport it there .Watt though he fled for l ife , yet joy

’

d withall

So brave a dirge sung forth his funerall.Not Syrens sweetlier rill, Hares as they flieLook back , as glad to li sten , loth to die . 140

No doubt but from this brave Heroick fi reIn the more noble hearts, sparks of desireMay warme the colder Boores, and emulous

stri feGive the old M i rth and Innocence a new l ife .When thoughts of fame thei r quickned souls

shall fi ll 145

At every glaunce that shewes’um Cotswold hill .

There shepheard , there, the solemn games be

Playd,

Such as great Theseus, or Alcides made

( 1 3 2) ne’re did winde ’

38. E.

( 1 39 ) Not] Nor’68 .

( 146)’em ’

3 8.’

40.

’

43 .’64 .

’68 them ’

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180 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Such as Apollo wishes he had seene,And Iove desires had hi s invention beene ! 1 5 0

The Nemean , and the Isthmian pastimes stillThough dead in Greece, survive on Cotswold hill .Happy oh hill ! the gentle Graces nowShall trip o’re Thine and leave Citherons browP arnassus cl ift

,sh all sink below his sp ring, 1 5 5

And every Muse shall on thy frontlet sing .

The Goddesses againe in strife shall be,And from mount Ida make appeale to thee ;Olympus pay thee homage and in dreadThe aged Alpes shall bow his snowy head ; 160

Flora with al l her store thy Temples Crowne,Whose height shall reach the stars : Gods lookingdown

Shall blesse the Incense that thy flowers exhaleAnd make thee both a Mountain and a Vale .How many Ladies on thy top shall meet, 165

And presse thy tresses with their od’rous feet ?Whose eyes when wondring men see from a farre,They

’

le think thee Heaven and each of them astarre .But gentle Collen say what God or man

Fame we for thi s great worke, Daphnis or P an?Daphnis i s dead, and P an hath broke his Reed ,

Tell al l your flocks ’ti s Iov iall Dover’s deed .

Behold the shepheards in their ribbands goe,And shortly all the Nymphs shall weare ’um too

( 149- 1 5 0) The order of these lines reversed in ’64 and

’68 .

( 1 5 3 ) Oh happy hill ! ’3 8 .

( 1 5 5 ) cl ift shall ’3 8 .

( 16 1 ) storethy’

3 8 .

( 168) They’le th ink the heaven and earth of them a starre . A starre,

’

38.

( 169 ) Coll. B ut gentle Collen ’

3 8 . ( 17 2 ) DOVERS( 17 1 ) COIL] The.

’

3 8 . ( 174 )’em

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A Maske for Lydia .

Weet Lydia take this maske, and sh roudThy face within the silken cloud ,And veile those powerfull Skies

For he whose gazing dares so h igh Aspi re,Makes bu rn ing glasses of his eyes ,

And sets hi s hea rt on fire .

Vaile, Lydia vaile , for unto meeThere is no basiliske but thee .

Thy very loc kes doe killYet in those lookes so fixt i s my delight,

Poore soule (al as ) I l anguish stillIn absence of thy sight .

Close up those eyes, or we shall hudeToo great a lustre strike us blinde !

Or i f a Ray so goodOught to be seene, let i t but then appeare

When Eagles doe produce thei r brood ,To try thei r young ones there .

Or i f thou would ’st have me to knowHow great a brightnesse thou canst shew,

When they have lost the Sun ;Then doe thou rise, and give the world th is theme,

S ol from th’

Hesperides i s run ,And back hath whipt hi s reame .

Yet through the Goat when he shal l stray,Thou through the Crab must take thy way ;

( 14 ) strikes ’

5 2 l] ( 19) you would ’68 . (20)

POEMS 1 83

For should you both shine brightIn the same Tropic/e, we poore moles should get

Not so much comfort by the l ight,As torment by the heat

Where’s Lydia now ? where shall I seekeHer charming lip, her tempting checke

That my affections how’d ?So dark a sable hath ecclipst my faire,

That I can gaze upon the cloud ,That durst not see the Star.

But yet me thinkes my thoughts beginTo say there l ies a white within ,

Though black her pride controuleAnd what care I how black a face I see,

So there be whitenesse in the soule,Still such an Ethiop be .

(39 ) controu l t ’

5 2 .

A P arley with bi: empty P urse.

Vrse, who’

l not know you have a Poets beenWhen he shall look and find no gold herein ?What respect (think you ) will there now be shown

To this foule nest, when all the bi rds are flowne ?Vnnaturall vacuum, can your -

emptinesse

Answer to some sl ight questions , such as these ?How shall my debts be paid ? or can my scoresBe cleer’d with verses to my Creditors ?

( 1 ) who I not’

5 2, Poets] Poet ’

5 2,’68 .

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r84 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Hexameter': no sterling, and I feareWhat the brain coynes goes scarce for currant there . xcCan meeter cancell bonds ? i s here a timeEver to hope to wipe out chalke with rime ?Or i f I now were hurrying to the jaileAre the nine Muse: held sufiicient baile ?Would they to any composition come,I f we should morgage our Elirium,

Tempe, P arnarrur, and the golden streames

Of Taguf , and P actolur, those rich dreames

Of active fancy ? Can our Orpbew moveThose rocks, and stones with his best straines of Love ?Should I (like Homer) sing in lofty tones 2 1

To them A cbiller , and his Myrmidonr ;Hector, and A iax are but Sergeants names ,They relli sh bay- salt,

’bove the EpigramsOf the most season ’

d braine, nor will they beContent with Ode , or paid with Elegy.

M use, bu rn thy baies , and thy fond quill resigne,‘One crosse of thei rs i s worth whole books of mine .

Of all the treasure which the Poets holdT here’ s none at all they weigh , except our gold ; 30

And mine’s return ’

d to th’ Indier , and hath swore

Never to visit this cold cl imate more.

T hen crack your strings good Purse, for you need none ;Gape on , as they doe to be paid , gape on .

(22) a l ’43 . ’

5 2

(24) above ’68 .

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I 86 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Man i s the Lord of creatures , yet we see

That all h i s vassals loves are free ;The severe wedlocks fetters doe not bindThe Pard’ s inflam’

d, and amorous mind ;But that he may be like a B ridegroome ledEven to the Royall Lyons bed .

The birds may for a yeare thei r loves confine,But make new choyce each Valentine.

I f our affections then more servile beThen are our sl aves, where

’ s mans sov eraignty ?

Why then by pleasing more, should you lesse please,And spare the sweets, being more sweet then these ?I f the fresh Trunk have sap enough to give 41

That each insertive branch may l ive ;The Gardner grafts not only Apples there,But addes the Warden and the Peare ;

The Peach , and Apricock together grow,

The Cherry, and the Damson too .

Till he hath made by skilfull husbandryAn intire Orchard of one Tree .So least our Paradise perfection want,We may as well inoculate as plant . 5 0

What’ s Conscience but a Beldams midnight theme ?Or nodding nurses idle dreame ?

So feign’

d, as are the Goblin s, Elves, and Fai riesTo watch thei r Orchards, and thei r Dai ries .

For who can tell when first her reigne begun ?I ’ th’ state of innocence was none :

And since large conscience (as the proverb shewes)In the same sense with bad one goes,

(3 8) our] om.

’64,

’68 .

(40) the] am.

(so) may inoculate and plant.

’64,

’68 .

Bedlams ’64,

’68 .

POEMS 1 87

The lesse the better then , whence this will fall,’Tis to be perfect to have none at all .Suppose it be a vertue, rich and pure,

’

Ti s not for Sp ring, or Summer sure,Nor yet for Autumne ; Love must have his prime,His warmer heats, and harvest time .

Til l we have flourish’d, growne, and reap’

d ourwi shes, 65

What Conscience dares oppose our kisses ?But when times colder hand leads us neate home,Then let that winter-vertue come

Frost i s till then prodigious ; we may doeWhat youth and pleasure prompts us to .

(60) He’s perfect that hath none at all. ’

68.

(68 ) winter vertue ’

5 2.

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On Importunate Dunnes.

Ox take you all from you my sorrows swellYour Treacherous Faith makes me turn Infidell.

Pray vex me not for Heavens sake, or ratherFor your poor Childrens sake, or for their Father.You trouble me in vain , what

’ere you say

I cannot, will not , nay I ought not pay .

You are Extortioners ; I was not sentT’ encrease you r sins , but make you all repentThat ’ere you trusted me, wee

’re even here,I bought too cheap , because you sold too dear.Learn Conscience of your Wives, for they I swearFor the most part Trade in the better Ware.Heark Reader i f thou never yet hadst oneI ’le shew the torments of a Cambridge Dunne.

He railes where ’ere he comes, and yet can say

But this, that Randolph did not keep his day .

What ? can I keep the Day, or stop the SunFrom setting , or the Night from coming on .

Could I have kept dayes , I had chang’

d the doomOf Times and Seasons , that had never come .These ev ill spi rits haunt me every day,And will not let me eat, study, or pray .

I am so much in their Books that ’tis knownI am too seldome frequent in my owne.

What damage given to my Doors might beI f Doors might Action

’

s h ave of B attery !

(S) J :’641

’68 (26) l] i '68.

(9 ) J :’64 .

’68 .

192 THOMAS RANDOLPH

And when they finde thei r comming to no endThey Dunne by proxie, and thei r Letters send,In such a stile as I could never findIn Tullie: long, or Seneca

’

: short winde .

Good Matter Randolph , P ardon me, I prayIf I remember you forget your day .

I kindly dealt with you , and it would be

Vnkind in you, not to be kinde to me.

You know, S ir, I must pay for what I have.

My Creditor: will be paid, therefore I crave

P ay me a; I pay them S ir, for one B rother

I: bound in Conrcience to pay another .

B eside; ~ my Landlord would not be content,

If I Should dodge with him for’

: quarter: rent. 40

My Wife lie: in too, and I need: must payThe M idwife, least the fool be cart away .

And’

ti; a second charge to me poor manTo make the new born B abe a Christian .

B eside: the Churching a third charge will be

In butter’

d Habberdine and frummety .

Thur hoping you will make a courteous end,

I rest (I would thou would’ st) Your loving Friend.

A . B . M . H. T . B . H. L . I . O.

I . F . M . G . P . W . Nay I know

You have the same stile all , and as for meSuch as your stile i s shall your payment be,Just all alike ; see, what a cursed spellCharmes Devils up , to make my Chamber hell .

(39) .J’

43 . (5 2) ,J’

43 . fl. (5 3 ) £13 40,’

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194 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Then honest Devill to their Ink conveySome Aqua-forti: that may eat awayThei r books . To adde more torments to thei r l ives,Heaven I beseech thee, send

’um handsome Wives .Such as will pox thei r flesh , till sores grow in tThat all thei r Linnen may be spent in l int.And give them Child ren with ingenuous faces,Indued with all the Ornaments and GracesOf Soul and Body, th at it may be knownTo others, and themselves, they

’r not thei r own.

And i f thi s vex ’um not, I’le grieve the Town

With this curse, States put Trinity-Lecture down .

But my last Imprecation th is shall be,May they more Debtors h ave, and all l ike me .

(98) all] om.

’

43 .

A Character.

AulicO-P olitico—A cademico.

Hou Cozen to great M adams and allyed,

To all the Beauties that are Ladified,Thou Eagle of the Realm whose eyes can see,

Th’ invisible plots of forraign policie,Thou great and unknown Learning of thy NationMade not by studie, but by inspiration !The Court, the State, the Schooles together beBy th’ ears, and fight, and scratch, and all for thee .When I behold thee cringe in some fair Hall,And scrape proportions Mathematical],

(7 ) Schooles] Sebolleta ’64 Scholars ’

68 .

POEMS 195

Varying thy mouth as ’twere by Magick-spellTo circle, ovall , square, and triangle,And take a Vi rgin by the Ivory handM inting words to her, none can understandBut in a vision , and some verse repeatSo well inchanted, none the sense can get,Till they have conjur

’

d in lines strange and many .

To find what spi ri t it has, if it have any .

To see thy feet (though nature made them splay)Screw in the toes to dance and force a wayTo some smooth measure, as might justly vauntThou art turn’

d Monseur of an Elephant .Thy mother sure going to see some sport,Tilting, or Masque, conceav

’

d thee in the Court .But when I view thee gravely nod , and SpitIn a grave posture, shake the head , and fitPlots to bring Spain to England, and confineKing P hilip: Indie: unto M iddleton: M ine .When I read o’re thy comments sagely writOn the Currantoes, and with how much witThy profound Aphori:me: do expound to usThe Almanac/u, and Gallobelgicu: ;When I conceive what news thou wilt bring oreWhen thou retum st with thy Embassador ;What slops the Switz er wears to hide h is joynts, 3 5

How French and how the Spaniard trusse their points,How ropes of On ions at Saint Omer: go,And whether Turks be Chri stian s yea or no .

Then I believe one in deep points so able,Was surely got under the Councell-table .

( l s) verse] words ’68 . (28) Mine

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40.

( 16 ) set.’

43 .’68 . (3 3 ) o

're

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43 . fl’ .(z o) away

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w.

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43 (3 5 ) dope'68

(27 ) to England,’

4o.

196 THOMAS RANDOLPH

But when I hear thee of Celarent writeIn Ferio and B aralypton fight,Me thinks my then Prophetike soul durst tellThou must be born at A ri: totle: Well .But shall I tel l thee friend how thy blest fateBy chance hath made thy name so fortunate .The States-man thinks thou hast too much o’th’Court,The Courtier th inks thy sager parts do sortBest for the State ; as for the Ladies theyPos

’

d with the Medley of thy language, sayTh’ a rt a meer Scholler, and the Scholler swearsThou art of any tribe rather then thei rs .One thinks thee this, one that, a th ird thinks either,Thou thinkst thy self th’a rt all , and I think neither.

On the lo: : e of hi: Finger .

Ow much more blest are trees then men ,Their boughes 10pt off will grow agen ;

But if the steel our l imbs dissever,The joynt once lost is lost for ever.But fondly I dull fool complain ,Our members sh all revive again ;And thou poor finger th at art dustBefore the other members , mustRetu rn as soon at heavens command ,And reunited be to th’ handAs those that are not ashes yet ;Why dost thou then so envious sit,And malice Oaks that they to fateAre tenants of a longer date ?

( 1) J i’

43 , 5 . (9) soon as’

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198 rHOMAS RANDOLPH

A soul that staying would have wonders wrought,High as himself, or his great thought,

And full of dayes , and honours (wi th our prayers ,In stead of Beads summ’

d up with tears . )M ight of her own free fl ight to heaven h ave gone

,

Ofl'

er what’s heart, his h and , hi s sword had done .But sing not thou a tale of discontentTo him whose joy i s to lament .We ought to pay true tears upon the hearse,And l ay some up in faithfull verse,And so cast off our black ; for more then thusTroubles the saints for troubling us .Say to him , Cupid being once too kindeWept out h is eyes and so grew blinde .

For dead Adoni: , grief being paid her dueHe turn

’

d Loves wanton god , and so do you .

(x7 ) p rayer '

5 2. (20 ) .J’

40.

’

43 ,’

5 2. (27 ) Cupid ’

43 . ff .

To a paintedM

Here are who know what once to day it was;Your eyes, your Conscience, and your morningglasse ;

How durst you venture that adulterate partBelabour

’

d with your fucus, and best ArtTo the rude breath of every rash salute ?What d id your profer whisper ? expect suit ?You were too pliant with your ear, you wishtPomatum and Vermillion might be kiss’d,

(4) Fm r’

n . ff . (7 ) J ;’68 .

(6) i]’

68 . (8) Pomatum and Vermillion’

43 , fl'

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'68 .

POEMS l 99

That lip , that check by man was never known ,Those favours you bestow are not your own .

Hence forth such kisses I’ le dehe, l ike Thee,Which d ruggi sts sell to you , and you to me .

(9 ) known ; ’68 .

TO bi: well TimbredM

Weet, heard you not fames latest breath rehearseHow I left hewing blocks to hack at Verse,

Now grown the Master-Log, while others beBut shavings and the chips of Poetry .

And thus I Saw Deal-boards of beauty forth ,To make my Love a Warehouse of her worth .

Her leg s are heart of Oak , and columns standTo hear the amorous bulk ; then Muse commandThat Beech be work’d for thighes unto those legs,Turn

’

d round and carv’

d, and joynted fast with pegs. ro

Contrive her belly round , a dining roome,Where Love and Beauty will a feasting come,Another story make from wast to chinWith breasts l ike Pots to nest young sparrows in ;Then place the Garret of her head above,Thatcht with a yellow hai r to keep in Love .Thus have I finisht Beauties master prizeWere but the Gl asier here to make her eyes .Then Muse her out-works henceforth cease to rai seTo work within , and wainscot her with praise .

(a) at] a’

43 , if. ( I 8) here] neer ’

5 2 .

(no) joy nted] ioyned’

43 , E. ( 19 ) henceforth] am.

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

On : ix Maid: bathing them: elve: in a River .

en bashfull Day-l ight now was gone,hat hides a blush came on .

Six pretty Nymphs to wash awayThe sweating of a summers-day,In Cham: fai r streams did gently swimAnd naked bathe each cu rious l imbe .

0 who had this blest sight but seenWould think that they had Cloelia’: been .

A Scholler that a walk did take

(Perchance for meditation sake)This better object chanc ’d to finde,Straight all things else were out of minde ;What better study in this l ife ,For P ractick or Contemplative?He thought, poor soul , what he had seenDiana and her Nymphs had been ,And therefore thought in piteous fearA cteon: fortunes had been near.Or that the water-Nymphs they wereTogether met to sport them there .

And that to him such love they boreAs unto Hila: once before .

What could he think but that his eyeS ix Nymphs at once did there espieRise from the waves ? Or that perchanceFresh-water Syren: came to danceUpon the stream with tongue and lookTo tempt poor Schollers from thei r book ?

’

43 (x4 )’

40 .

’

4 3 .’

5 2

(5 ) did] stid ‘43 . ( 17 ) in] it’68.

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The WeddingMorne.

Rise, come forth , but never to returnTo the same Center,

’

tis thy virgin Urn,Bury it in those thoughts which did possesseThee from thy Cradle,

’till thi s happinesse ;Which but to think upon will make they cheek

,

Fairer then i s the mom you so much seekIn beauty to outvy ; and be the prideOf all that ever had the n ame of bride .Up Maids and let your nimble fingers beTrue instruments of curiositySet not a pin amisse, nor let a pleatBe folded in her gown but whats in state,And when her Ivory Temples you would deckForbear your Art, for Nature gives you check .

There in the ci rcuit of her radiant haireSee Cupid fetter’d in a golden snare .Marke the triumphant Throne wherein the BoyInstalled sits to give the B ridegroom Joy .

But when shees drest and that her listning ea rI s welcom ’

d by the B ridegrooms being neer,Look how she stands and how her stedfast eyeI s fix ’d on him at

’

s fi rst d iscovery .

Both being met, mark how thei r souls do striveTo be in eithers joy contemplative .Whose kisses raise betwixt them such a fi reThat should the Phoen ix see, he to expi reWould shun the spicy mountain , and so takeHimself between thei r lips a grave to make .

(2) thy] the’64 .

’68.

( 16) Cupid ’

43 , 5 .

( 19 ) and] or! .

’68.

POEMS 203

In prai: e of Woemen in Generall.

E is a Paricide to hi s mother’s name,And with an impious hand murthers her fame,

That wrongs the praise of women , that dares writeLibels on Saints , or with foul ink requiteThe milk they lent us: Better Sex commandTo your defence my more religious handAt sword , or Pen ; yours was the nobler bi rth ,For you of man were made, man but of earth ,The son of dust ; and though your sin did breedHis fall , again you rais

’

d him in your seed .

Adam in’ s sleep a gainfull losse sustain’

d

That for one ri b a better selfe regain’

d.

Who had he not your blest creation seen ,An Anchorite in Paradise had been .

Why in this work did the creation restBut that eternall providence thought you bestOf all hi s s ix dayes labour : beasts should doHomage to man , but man should wait on you .

You are of comlier sight, of daintier touch,A tender flesh , a colour b right, and suchAs P arian: see in marble, skin more fai r,More glorious head , and far more glorious hair,Eyes full of grace, and quicknesse, purer rosesBlush in your cheeks, a milder white composesYour stately fronts, your breath more sweet then his 25

Breaths spice, and Nectar drops at every kisse.

Your skins are smooth, b ri stles on theirs do growLike quill s of Pocupins, rough wooll doth flow

(7 ) row s] mm’

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43 .’

5 2.’64 im ] in

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(9 ) Sun’68 . (n ) Adam

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204 THOMAS RANDOLPH

0’ re all thei r faces, you approach more nearThe form of angel s ; they like beasts appearI f then in bodies where the souls do dwellYou better us, do then our souls excell ?No ; we in souls equall perfection see,There can in them nor male nor female be .Boast we of knowledge ? you have more then we 3 5

You were the first v entur’d to pluck the tree .And that more Rhetorick in your tongues doth lyLet him dispute again st th at dares denyYour least commands ; and not perswaded beWith Samp:on: strength, and David: pietic ,To be your willing Captives ; vertue sureWere blinde as fortune, should she choose the poorRough cottage man to l ive in , and despiseTo dwell in you the stately edifice .Thus you are prov

’

d the better sex , and weMust all repent that in our PedigreeWe choose the fathers n ame, where should we takeThe mothers , a more honour

’

d blood ,’twould make

Our generation sure, and certain be,And I ’de beleev e some faith in Heraldry !Thus perfect Creatures if detraction riseAgainst your sex d ispute but with your eyes ,Your hand , your l ip , your brow, there will be sentSo subtile and so strong an argumentWi ll teach the Stoick his affection too ,And call the Cinick from his Tub to woo .

Thus mustring up your beauteous tr00ps , go onThe fairest i s the val i ant Amaz on .

(3 7 ) doth] do ’68 .

(46) Pedigree.

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POEMS

MORE OR LESS DOUBTFUL

not in any of the early editions of Randolph ;

added from various sources.

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

That if to them a Town s-man speaks ,They will pull off his beard

But i f your Grace such licence gives ,Then let us all be dead ,

If each of us had not as l ieveHe should pull off his head .

They call us silly d runkard s too ;We know not why, nor where ;

All this , and more than th is, they do,’Cause they will domineer.

A speech if I do make,That hath much learning in’t,

A Scholar comes to take,And set it out in print ;

We dare not touch them for our l ives,Good King, have pity on us !

For fi rst they play upon our Wives,And then make songs upon us .

Would we have power to put,And tu rn on them the j eer,

Then we would do the best we could,But we would domineer,

They stand much on thei r wit,We know not what it i s

But surely had we l iked it,We had got some of this .

But since it will no better be,We are constrain’d to frame

Petitions to your Majesty,These witty ones to tame .

A sword would scare them all , I say,And put them in great fear ;

POEMS

A Sword of you , good King, we pray,That we may domineer

Which, i f your Grace permits ,Wee

’

ll make them look about ’um ;But yet they have such pleasant wits,We cannot live without ’um .

They have such pretty arguments,To run upon our score ;

They say fai r words , and good intentsAre worth twice as much more .

And that a clown i s highly grac’

t ,

To sit a Scholar near ;And thus we are l ike fools out-fac’t,And they do domineer.

But if you will renewTo us your Grace’s Charter,

Wee’ l give a ribbon blewTo some Knight of the Garter.

A cap also we want ,And Maintenance much more .

And yet those Scholars brag and vauntAs i f they had good store .

But not a penny we can see,Save once in twice 7 year

They say i t is no policy,Drunkards should domineer.

Now reason , reason cries , Al asGood Lord- l ings, mark it well,

A Scholar told me that it was

A perfect parallel .Their case and ours so equal standAs in a way-scale true ,

2 1 1

THOMAS RANDOLPH

A pound of Candles on each hand ,Will neither higher shew.

Then , prethee l i sten to my speech ,As thou shalt after hear

And then I doubt it not, my Liege,But we shall domineer.

Vice-Chancellors they haveAnd we have Mayors wise,

With Proctors and with Taskers grave,Our Bayliifs you may size

Thei r silver Staves keep much adoe,Much more our silver Maces ;

And some think , that our Serj eant tooThei r B eadle-Squires out-faces .

And if we had a Sword I thinkAlong the street to bear,

’Twould make the proudest of them shrink,And we should domineer :

They’ve Patrons of Nobility,And we have our partakers ;

They’ve Doctors of D ivinity,And we have Basket-makers

Thei r Heads , our brethren dear,Their Fellows, our householders ;

Shall match them , and we think to bearThem down by head and shoulders .

A Sword give us , 0 king, we pray,That we may top them there ;

Since every Dog must have its day,Let us once domineer .

When they had made the King to laugh,And see one kiss his hand ;

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

The d ismal fire of London-Bridge,Can move no heart of mine :

For that but o’re the water stood ,But this stood o’re the wine .

I t needs must melt, each Christi ans heart,That this sad newes but hears .

To think how the sad Hogsheads weptGood Sack and Claret tears,

The zealous Students of the placeChange of Religion fear,

Lest this mishap may chance bring inThe beresie of Beer .

Unhappy M itre ! I would knowThe cause of this sad hap

Came it by making legs too lowTo P embroole’: Cardinal s Cap ?

Then know thy self, and cringe no more,S ince Popery went down ,

That Cap must vail to thee , for nowThe M itre’s next the Crown .

Or was’t, because our companyD id not frequent thy Cell

As we were wont, to cure these cares,Thou fox ’dst thy self and fell ?

No sure , the Devil was ad ry,And c aus

’

d a fatal blow ;’Twas he that made the Cellar s ink ,That he might drink below .

POEMS

Yet, though some say , the Devil d id it,’

Cau se he might drink up all .I rather think the Pope was drunk ,And let hi s M itre fall .

Lament, ye Eaton-conjurers,Because your lack of knowledge

To let a Tavern fall that stoodOn the walls of your Colledge .

Let the Rose with the Falcon molt,Whiles S am enjoyes his wishes

The Dolphin too must cast her Crown ,Wine was not made for F i shes .

That Sign a Tavern best befits ,Which shews who loves Wine best

The M itre’s then the only Sign ,For that’s the Scholar’s crest .

Then drink Sack S am, and cheer thy heart,Be not dismaid at all;

For we will d rink it up again ,

Though our selves de catch a fall,

Wee’

ll be thy workmen day and night,In spight of bugbear-Proctors,

We drank like fresh-men all before,But now wee

’

ll drink like Doc tors.

2 1 5

Annagram . Virtue alone thy B li: : e.

1

Descent of bi rth i s a vaine goodDoubtfully sp rung from others bloud,Wealth , though it be the worldlings baite,Wise men but use to make up weightWitt in a woman I scarce knowWhether it be a praise or no :Beautie’ s a glorious flower, but goneAnd wither

’

d ere the spring be doneAll those thou dost as Jewells weare

,

But more thine owne perfections are ;For thine a nobler blond shall beeWhose pure descent flowes but from thee ;Thy wealth i s goodnesse, such a storeAs i s more pretious then the oareThat loades the yeerely fleetes of Spayne,For which the naked Indians slayne ;Thy witt soe chaste, thou mights

’t have beene

Not Sapho , but the Sheba Queene :A beauty thou thy selfe hast madeWhose Rose and Lilly shall not fade,Sett in the soule not in the face,That garden is a fading place ;In thee both soule and body are

Equally noble rich , and fai re ,Outward , and inward graces kisse,Cause

,virtue i s alone thy blisse ;

Nor i s this stollne, or borrowed fame,Thy praise i s all thine owne, thy name .

FromHad . MS. 69 17 , where it is credited to T : Randolph.

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On a maide of honour : een by a : collar in : ommer:et

garden .

1

As once in blacke I disrespected walk’t,Where glittering courtiers in their tissues stalk’t,I cast by chaunce my melancholy eye,Upon a woman (as I thought) pass

’

d by .

But when I v eiw’

d her w ife and beaver reardAs i f Pri apus-l ike she would have feard,The ravenous Harpyes from the clustred grape,Then I began much to mistrust her shape ;When v eiwing curiously, away she slipt,And in a fount her whited hande she dipt .The angry water as i f wrong

’

d thereby,Ranne murmuring thence a second touch to fly,At which away she stalkes, and as she goesShe v iewes the situation of each rose ;And having higher rays

’

d her gowne, she gaz’

d

Upon her crimson stocking, which amaz’

d

Blusht at her open impudence, and sentReflect ion to her cheeke, for punishment.As thus I stood the gard’ner chaunce to pass .My frend (quoth I ) what i s this stately lasse.A maide of honour Slr said he, and goes away,Drawing a riddle, was enough to poseThe crafty Oedipus, for I couldNor mayde, nor honour, sure no honesty .

1 From Addit . MS . where it is credited to Thomas Randolph .(23 ) Haz litt adds [see] which is very probably correct.

POEMS 2 19

Epigram.

1

Heavens decreed , before the world begun ,That such fai r beauty should not live a nun ;But i f thou needs thi s vow wilt undertake,I wish my arms a cloi ster for thy sake .

[To Richard We: ton .]

Although your Lordshipps happy annagram

give you of hard and honest both the n ameyet let that hand (I pray you ) fall on meegently, and pay mee with your honesty.

A letter to hi: M

Goe happy Paper by Command ,Take liberty to kisse a HandMore white than any part of thee,Although with spotts thou graced bee .The glorie of the chiefest day,The morning A i re perfum

’

d in May ,

The first born Rose of all the Spring,The Down beneath the Turtles Wing.

A Lute just reaching to the EareWhatere i s soft, i s sweet, i s fai reAre but her shredds who fil l s the placeAnd Sume of every Single grace .

Printed by Haz litt from the Scattergood MS . formerly in the collection of

Mr . Henry Huth .From the fly-leaf of the B ritishMuseum copy of the 1638 edition of thePoems.

It is there credited to “Tho Randolph .”

From Addit. MS . where it is credited to T. Randall .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

As in a Child the Nurse descriesThe Mothers Lips , the Fathers Eyes,The Uncles Nose, doth applyHonors to every part, So IIn her could Anali se the Store ,Of all that choice e’ re Nature woreEach Private piece to mind may callSome Earth , but none can match it all .Poore Emblemes, they , can but expresseOne Element of Comelynesse .

None are so rich to shew in OneAll Samples of Perfection .

Nor can the Pencill representMore than the Outward Lineament.Then who can lime the portraitourOf beauties l ive Behaviour ?Or what can figure evry kindOf Jewell that adorns her mind ?Thought cannot d raw her picture full ,Each thought to Her i s grosse 8: dull .

The Character of a P erfectWoman .

l

Apelles curious eye must gaze uponall beauties , and from choice of all make one ;Thais must lend a lipp , Lais a cheeke,

then for a b rowe we must Oenone seeke .

Spoyle Hermia for a nose, ravish an eyefrom Helen , and from Omphale snatch a thigheStopp Atal anta in her n imble raceto borrow Leggs , and parcel l of her face ;

i From Harl . MS . 69 18 , where it is credited to T. R . closely following otherpoems which are by Randolph .

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

and checke proud mortalls whose bold hopes mightbee

such gyants as to cou rt Divinitye ;Under the Lidd that Canopies her eyespure bashfullnesse in mayden curtaines lyes,from which, as morn ing, breakes a double sunne 45

more bright than eagles dare to gaze upon ;Which when in Zeale they fix e on heaven , and thenDeigne to bestow a lower looke on men ,amazed in my thoughts I know not whetherthey kindle more beate here, or send more thither 5 0Which though in us some wanton flames they move,againe their b rightness curbes ambitious Love ;As misty fogges which into clouds are swelldby the same heate that raised them are dispelld ;View in her cheekes pure bloud, nere tainted more 5 5than what an apple surfetted long before,And that refined , that in those christall tydesbut litt le of originall blott resides ;There modesty her virgin pallace keepes,behold yon bed of roses where she sleepes, 60

Looke on that blush , for nought her selfe h ath done,her only shame i s this that we have none ;Her corrall l ips for God and man prepareA stately banquet, then the Gods more rare ;Where to a friend if curtesie graunt a kisseti s frost in hers , yet lightning shot from his ;Within there runne two Ivory pales along,a needlesse fence for such a vertuous tongueWhich are but as a guard to a good princeNot given for safety, but magnificence ;When that Instrument that seldome speakesthough all attend , unwellcome silence breaks,

POEMS 223

how admiration takes our eares, that beeso rapt they thinke the ayre turnd harm ony ;Who sees her fingers in thei r quaint deviceWith cunning needle worke a paradise ,Where flowers , and trees , beasts , fi sh , and fowle appearWould think that peece Arts first creation were ;But when she takes her Lute, and strikes the stringsthemselves with wonder, at the hand that brings 80

D ivin ity into them , you might seeEach fowle, each fish, each beast, each flower, and treerunne from the worke, as if they orpheus heare,and to the hand that wrought them lend an care ;yet here another royall vertue dwells,her charity, that all the rest excells,and works of mercy in more plenty powresThan Ceres eares of wheate, or Jove his showres;Her waste i s untoucht snow girt with a zone 89

that bounds my course , as that in heaven the sunne ;Let wanton pencills her hid parts expresse ;the Sexe, and not perfection lyes in these ;To shadow every part will pose my skillwhose meditation is above my quill ;She is the workem an s glory, the creationknowes her a master-peece ; mans admiration

(though all hi s Limbes rebell) could not revealeto such perfection , so much love as zeale ;She hath a heart of soe strange temper framedit cannot simply hard , or soft be named ;the cause can make it Adamant, and thencan melt that Adamant to waxe againe ;

And thi s i s n atures phcr nix I presumethat chastly l ives and dyes in a perfume .

Ad Amicam.

l

Sweet, doe not thy beauty wrongBy thinking still thou art too young,The rose, l illy in each cheeke

Flourish , noe more ripenesse seeke.

Those flaming beames, shott from thineDoe shew Loves M idsomer i s nigh .

Love’s still young, 8: a buxome boy,And young things be allowed to toy,Then lose no time, for love hath wings,And fl ies away from aged things .

[On the B ook Fi: h.] 2

I f Fi shes thus do bring us Books, then weMay hope

‘to equal B odlye: Library .

On M par:on Organi: t of We: tmin: ter Abbye.

3

Death passing by, and hearing parsons playStood much Amazed at hi s depth of SkillAnd said this Artist must with me awayfor Death bereaves us of the better stil lYet let the Quire whils

’t hee keeps time sing onFor Parsons rests his service being Done

From MS . Tanner, 465 , where it is Credited to T . R.

3 From Fu ller’s Wortl ne: of England3 From MS . Ashmole 3 8, where it is credited to Th. Randall .

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

P raeludium.

1

Gen : Ho ! Histrio ! I thought a presse had 8

you all,ti s so long since I saw a l

have you not for want of exercise forquality ? Can you stroddle as wide,as loud as you were wont to doe ?

Histr ; Wee will Si r stretch legs St mouth 1service ; though in this dead v acatior

hath beene onely employd in theerrands ; the feete had little else towalke away the stomacke

Gen : Well I am glad the gagg is out of youwe have had a great dearth of wittthe tav em es 8: ordinaryes, for wan :

words, 8: had you ben longer sup]must either have new studyed Eu]return

’

d to Greene-s Arcadia, or havfidlers said nothing — D rinking iwou’d have come up againe.

It has beene a wretched time witlsure all over the towne ; such ancleane through ’um a fellow that hasenough to play Hercules , i s fallenmany Cubitts, all the cloths in ourwill not stufl

'

e him up to the statureof silke stockings serv ’

d s ix of ’um l

to October — another had nothing 1

a fortnight togeather but a propertiGent. Hard of digestion ! what play have yHist. One newly rev iv

’

d, the Hungry

From Addit. MS . where it is marked “T Randall aftlogue" in a hand which another note says is that of Ld. Ch. Cl:

POEMS 227

the hungry Courtier — no — let it be the 30hungry plaier — I would not sit on any stage’ ith towne this twelve-month , for i f they gapeas wide as they usd to doe, I should suspecta further danger — there i s nigh occasion tofeare the Actors will devoure the audiencewhat think you of a play nothing but ghosts ?would it not be excellently fitted for the persons ? Never a comedy where a pudding i seaten ? or bowleing with penny loaves ? o fora yeoman of the guard ’s pa rt at a chine of 4o

beef! I would hardly trust thee at one of yourwoodden pyes z

— faith how have you liv ’

d?

Does the Lady at fifty hold out ? prethee showme how by what miracle you have beene

preserv’

d

Faith Si r, I’le tell you — some of us have

beg’

d in blanke verse ; others have acted Tamberlaine to a butcher spoke themselves ’othscore for a sheepshead — many have peepedinto roomes l ike fidlers, Gentlemen will you so

have any speechesOh prethee now let me see thatI f you will give us a supper I doe thinke Ishall persuade ’um too’t .With all my heart ; in troth I pitty their 5 5

miseryes wee feed cloth them with monyes,

8: they Line us with wit . what — easily persuaded

I sir, looke you this i s a great Captaine .

Ent . CaptaineFrost ceiz e my bloud i f I can beare the dovwere I a pigmie, twould exalt my wrath

228 THOMAS RANDOLPH

to gyant bignesse resolutionawake 81 ri se put on thy cloaths of 1And draw thy sword march al

mee.Call for the traine band , sure hee

’

towne .

Fix’t i s my will d anger doe thy 1

were bones of matrons thevirgins

v anishd 8: slaughterd, built into a bulI would goe on spight of the musk:The Canons mouth , or Jaw of Cul !Death meet me in the horridst faceJove set thy thunders to oppose my

Mars 85 Bellona fyery daggers d rawyet I resolve as men of valour shoulTo tast 81 eat thi s peice of pasty crn

Gent . A desperate peice of service — I W!

him a Captaine at least, i f I meanta cupbord, or beseidge an Alms-tubeatS ir I have S eene others then plaierst ime not very fatt ; twas a Lent wibeleive an Ember weeke with son

when you have kept your F ryd a)three days together ; wee have mettimes , fasted fowre in a messe atHumphreysBut here comes a Lover

Lover Ah Cruell Cupid well I knew thw

happy I liv ’

d — now I lament St WEarth with my teares ; the windsmy sighs,

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230

Gent .

His.

Gent.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

Not the least of pestes .

A wing will serve .Noe , i f thou meane escaperesigne a collop . i f not so, to pott,sword cutt, 8c send him to the dressinwhat doe you meane, Gentlemen ! p )so earnest in theise unciv ille quarrellSi r thinke not by persuasion to contmy thirsty steele ; i t must have blOl

dnnk

thinke not Leane Rhetorique can aba *

of hungry blade, i t must have fleshI know you have both good stomacbee reconcil

’

d — walke downe the 5 1

chew the cud with my serv ingmer

then sword to sleepe in scabbard kthou art by miracle preserved allSay grace a forehand , least it breedI cannot hav eing said none many a

This i s well ended so 8: how

liv’

d what Chamelion shar’d Comryou ? what speech have you knawedfaith my gutts are noe great storese rves mee, and you seldome heard acomplaine of a dearth o

’

Corne yetWho’ s this ? how has he liv ’

d?

He has liv ’

d by speaking the prolo;play : he might ha’ done penance tcthat discharged his ordinary on a

dayI shall heare that in the cockpi1

shall sup with me ; I le send myspeake one dish .

POEMS 23 1

His. An oxe, with a pudding in’

s belly, per 160

chance for second course a dozen of calves ina dish , 8: so I shall expect you .

[The City of London ]1

O fortunate Cirie reioyce in thy FateThat hast so religious a MagistrateOh Jonas the ad i s sent unto theeAs Jonas the first to old Ninvee

Thou poenitat Citie of London

Div initie means to cure all soulesAnd Charitie means to repaire old PowlesThe -Clergie Laytie lovingly meete

Th’ one sweeps the Conscience the other the StreetIn the cleanly Citie of London

Each Citizen unto the Prison i s borneThat every night wi ll not hang out hi s hornYet spare all your Candles, good Providence mightAnd hang out thei r wives that are surely as l ight

In the delicate City of London .

Know thi s good magistrate hath a commandIn M iddlesex London chering Strand0 with what sins, with what sin s are w

’

opprest

When the Mayor on the Sabbath can take no restIn Westminster nor in London

1 From MS . Rawl . 62. It is credited in the margin to Randall in what seemsto be a later hand.

23 2 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Sobriety then shall ari se some thinkThat no man soe l ate in the night shall haYet then good fellows retain your old crimeRise early good fellows be drunk betimes

In the temperate Citty of Londc

Authoritie now smites u s noe moreTo d rinke in a Tavem e, or speake with a tThe late proclamation was go good senseThat banisht away all Gentlemen hence

From the chargeable Citie of LO

The Bankside i s honest 8r Bloomsbury ChaThe Ladies tum ’d carefull look to the WNor can we now Beershops in Tum bull StrNo Bawdy house now but St . Anthlins sha

In the Puritan Citie of London

28 go] thus inMS . ; perhaps intended for] so.

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Drammati: P en ance.

P ilumnw . The high Priest of Cere: : Father tand Vrania .

Father to Laurinda .

A wild Sylvan , father to Amyut

An under Priest .

Two Rivalls in Laurinda’: Love .

A mad Sheapheard.

A wavering Nymph .

A sad Nym ph , enamoured on AmyA distressed sheapheardesse, in l<Damon .

An old Nym ph , si ster to Claiur .

A fantastique sheapheard fai ry I4

His man , a blunt Clowne .A fooli sh Augur enamoured on The.

A knavish boy .

P rie: t: .

Choru: of S heaphec

Nympb:

Quorumfitmentio,Phila buL

Lalage.

Myeon .

(so) mand ’40b , ’

5 2 ( 16) at] and a’

The Scene Sicilie, in theholy Vale.

time an Astrologicall day frNoone to Noone .

man ’62,’68 .

PROLOGVS .

Nymph. Shepheard.

Le speak the P rologue.

Sheap . Then you doe mee wrong.

Nym . Why, dare your Sexe comparewith ours for Tongue ?

Sheap . A Female P rologue!Yes, as well as Male .

Shep . That’s a new t rick ;And t’other i s as stale .

Men are more eloquent then women made :But women are more powrfull to perswade.I t seemes so ; for I dare no more contend .

Then best give ore the stri fe, and make an end .

I will not yeeld.

Nym. Shall we divide it then ?Sheap . You to the Woemen speak .

You to the Men .

Sheap . Gentlemen , looke not from us Rurall swainsFor polish’d speech , high lines, or Courtly strainesExpect not we should bring a labour

’d Scene,Or complements ; we ken not what they meane.

Nym. And Ladies, we poore Country Girles doecome

With such behaviour as we learn’

d at home .23 5

236 THOMAS RANDOLPH

How shall we talke to Nymphs so t rim arThat nere saw Lady yet but at a May?

His Muse i s very bashfull, should 3A Snake into her Cradle, I doe knowShe i s no Hercule: to outlive your I re

Nym. One Hisse would make the fearfull fooWithout a sting .

Shep . Gentlemen doe but ytLike this, no matter what the Woemen

Nym. It was a sawcy Swaine thus to conclu(Ladies, the Gentlemen are not so rude,I f they were ever school’d by powrefull 1As to disl ike the things you shall approvI f you but like him

’twill be greater praiThen if each Muse of Nine had fetch’d l

18) yet,’

40b , 5 .

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238 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Laur. Sweet Doryla: let me know.

Dor . What pretty wear!These women are ! I serve a MistresseFit to have made a Planet : sheele waxe :Twice in a minute .

But good Doryla:Your newes .

Why excellent Newes !But what ?

Rare 1Newes fit,

For what ?To be conceal

’

d : why 1

The Riv alls, those on whom this PowerftDoth play the tyrant.

Laur. Doryla: what of thDor . Now, now shee wanes : O for a daintyHuTo make her a full Moone ! The

couple !Your brace of sweet hea rts Damon and ADesi re your audience .

I s this all your 11You may conceale it.

Now you have heartI may conceale i t !well I thank thee NatlThou didst create me Man, for I want wiEnough to make up woman : but good MWhat doe you think of Damon?

Laur. As a marWorthy the best ofNymphs .

What of Ale;

( 1 5 ) Rare newes?’68 . ( 17 ) Doth] Does

( I6).’

3 8’

4oa,’

5 2. (so) I]’

3 8. coup

AMTNTAS

Laur. As one that may deserve the fairest Vi rginIn S k flw.

What Vi rgin ?P ro: erpine,

Were Shee yet Cere: daughter.Dor. And what Damon?Lau . Hee ? Cere: selfe , were she not yet a Mother.Dor . Greet, Creet! There is no Labyrinth but a

woman !Laurinda , gentle Mistrese tell me whichOf these you love ?

Why Damon best of any . 3 5

Why so, that’ s well and plain .

Except Alexi: .

Why then you love Alexi: best ?Of any .

I am glad on ’t .But my Damon .

Be this trueAnd Ile be sworne Cupid i s turn’

d a jugler ;P ra : to! you love A lexi: best but Damon,And Damon but Love you Damon?

Lau . I doe .Dor. And not Alexi: ?Lau . And Alexi: .

Dor . Shee would ha’ both I thinke.

Laur. Not I by Cere: .

Dor. Then you love neither ?Lau . Yes, I doe love either. 45Dor. Either, and yet not both , both best, yet neither ;Why doe you torture those with equall Racks,

(28 )’

3 8.'

4oa. (3 8 ) out.

’

3 8.’

4oa, L4 14] L014.’

3 8 .

(3 2)’

3 8. (40) Prertol’

4oh , ff.(36 ) Alexir - 'm . ff.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

That both vow service to you ? I f your 11Have prefer

’

d Damon , tell Alexi: of it ;Or i f Alexir , let poore Damon know it ,That he which i s refus’d, smothering his fl

May make another choice, now doubtfullKindles desires in both .

Ah Doryla: ,

Thy yeates are yet uncapable of love !Thou hast not learn’

d the mysteries of CuDost thou not see through all Sicilia,From gentlest sheapheards to the meanestWhat inauspitious torches Hymen l ightsAt every wedding ?what unfortunate hanrLinke in the wedding ring ? Nothing but fIarres, discontents, suspicions, j ealousies,These many yeares meet in the Bridall sh:

Or if al l these be missing, yet a BarrennesA curse as cruell, or Abortive bi rthsAre all the blessings crowne the Geniall beTill the successe prove happier, and I findA blessed change, i le temper my afl

’

ection,

Conceale my flames , dissemble all my fireAnd spend those yeares I owe to Love ancOnly in choosing on whose love to fix eMy Love and beauty .

Rare Feminine wisWill you admit ’em .

Yes, goe call them 11Yet doe not, now I thinke on

’t : yet youAnd yet come back agnine .

Nay I wil l g(5 0) smothering in his ’

68 . (69 ) on] on( 5 2 ) desire '

4oa , if. (70 )’

3 l

(64 ) bed’

4oh ,’

5 2 bed.

’68 .

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242 THOMAS RANDOLPH

An art, that woods and forrests cannot slThat with persuasive magique could comA pitty in your soule, I would my tongueHad learn

’

d that powerfull art !Why

Thou know ’

st the brests I suck’

d we:

wolvesNor Tygers, and I have a heart of waxe.

Soft and soone melting ; try this amoro’tis not

Of fl int or marble .I f it were, Laurinda,

The teares of her, whose orator I comeHave power to soften it . Beauteous AmShee that in this unfortunate age of love,This haplesse time of Cupid: tyrannyPlac

’

d her affection on a skornfull sheaphOne that disdaines her love .

Disdaines

I tell thee The: tyli: in my poore judgmen

(And women if no envy blind their eyes,Best j udge of womens beauties ) AmarylliMay make a Bride worthy the proudest S!In all Sicilia: but wherein can IPitty thi s injur

’

d Nymph ?Thus she des

As you desire to th rive in him you love ;As you doe love him whom you most desNot to love Damon ! Damon alas repaie:Her love with skorne !Tis a request she s

She knowes you cannot grant, but i f youShee will not l ive to aske again .

( 12 ) ( 1 5 ) heart, ’4oh , if. (3 2)

AMYNTAS

Poore Nymph !My Amarylli: knowes my fidelity ;How often have we sported on the Lawnes,And danc

’

d a roundelay to Ioca: tu: pipe ?I f I can doe her service The: tyli: ,Be sure I will : Good wench , I dare not stayLeast I displease my Father ; who in this age 40

Of haplesse lovers watches me as closeAs did the Dragon the He:perian fruit.Farewell . Exit Laur.

Farewell Laurinda ! Thus poore fooleI toyle for others ; l ike the painfull BeeFrom every flower cull hony drops of loveTo bring to others h ives : Cupid does thisCause I am Claiu: sister. Other NymphsHave thei r v arietie of loves , for every gowne,Nay every petticote ; I have only one,The poore foole yet no matter wench, 5 0

Fooles never were in more request then now.

I le make much of him , for that woman lyesIn weary sheetes, whose Husband is too wise .

(34 ) (3 5 ) by fidelity, 2.

(44 ) others l ike the paxnfull B ee ,’

4oh,’

5 2 others, like e pamful Bee,'68 .

(46) other ’68 .

SCEN . 3 .

The: tyli: . Mop: u: . Ioca: tu: .

Mop . Ioca: tu: , I love The: tyli: abominably,The mouth of my affection waters at her.Be wary Mop:u: , learne of mee to skome

The mortalls ; choose a better match : goe loveSome Fairy Lady ! Princely Oberon

The.

IO.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

Shall stand thy friend : and beauteous

QueeneG ive thee a Maid of Honour .

How I

Marry a puppet ? Wed a mote ith’ SumGoe looke a wi fe In nutshells ?wooe a gnThat’ s nothing but a voice ? No no, IocI must have flesh and blood , and will haveA fig for F

Tis my sweet-hearAnd his wise brother : O the twins of follThese doe I entertaine only to seasonThe poore Amynta: madnesse .

Sacred redHow fares thy reverend beauty ?

Very ilSince you were absent, M where hBeene all thi s l ive-long houre ?

I h ave iD i scoursing with the bi rds .

Why, can bi rdsIn Fairyland they can : I h ave heard ’

err.

Very good Greeke and Latin .

And ourTalke better farre then they : a new-laidOf Sicilie shall out talke the bravest Pa1In Oberon: Vtopia.

But what languageDoe they speake, servant ?

Mop. Several! l a1As Cawation, Chirpation , Hootation,

Whi: tleation, Crowation, Cackleation,Shreeleation, Hi: : ation .

(x6) thy] the ’

5 2.

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

I t cannot choose but Strangelyhighnesse !

The. What are you studying of Ioca: tu: ,IO. A rare devise , a Masque to entert:

His grace of Fairy with .

A MasqueAn Anti-masque of fleaes, which I i

To dance Currantoes on a spiders threz

Mop . An Anti-masque of fleaes? brotherA masque of Birds were better, that corThe morrice in the aire, Wrens and

brests,Linnets, and Titmise.

So ! and whyYour Geese Sc Wood-cocks ? Mortal]

tongue,Thou dost not know the mystery .

Tis

He tells you Mop: u: , leave your AugurFollow his coun sell, and be wise .

Be 1I skorne the motion !follow his coun sel!That’s a fine trick i ’faith ! i s thi s an agi

For to be wise in ?Then you mean I

T’

expound the Oracle .I doe mean to

Th’ interpreter.And then a j ig c

IS excellent .What, to interpret Ora

A foole must be th ’ interpreter.

(45 ) la. It cannot ’68. (5 7 ) M0?

AMTNTAS 247

Then no doubtBut you will have the honour.

Nay I hopeIam as faire for’t as another man .

I f I should now grow wise against my will,And catch this wisdome !

The. Never feare it MOp: u: .

Mop. Twere dangerous vent’ring. Now I th ink on’ttoo 70

Pray Heaven this aire be wholsome ! is there notAn antidote against it ?what doe you thinkOf garlick every morning ?

Fy upon’

t,’Twill spoile our kissing ! and besides I tell youGarlick’ s a dangerous dish , eating of garlickMay breed the sicknesse, for as I rememberTis the Phylosophers dyet.

CertainlyI am infected , now the fit’3 upon mee !Tis some thing like an ague, su re I caught itWith talking with a Scholar next my heart .

How sad a life l ive I ,Betwixt their folly and Amynta: madnesse!

ForMop:u: I le prescribe you such a dietAs shall secure you .

Excellent she Doctor !Your women are the best Physitians,And have the better practice .

Fi rst my Mop: u: ,

Take heed of fasting, for your hungry meales

Nurse wisdome.

(66 ) have honour ’

4oh,'

5 2.

(70 ) ventring . ’

3 8 vent'ring now ’

5 2 too.

’68 .

(83 ) For, Mop:u: , I'68 .

248 THOMAS RANDOLPH

True ! O what a stomTo be her patient !

Besides, take specialYou weare not thred-bare clothes : ’

tw

leastSuspicion you are wise .

I marry will itAnd walke not much alone ; or i f y

With company, be sure you walke witlNone of the wise .

No, no I warrant yIle walke with no body but my brother 1Or you , or mad Amynta: .

By all meaiTake heed of Trav ell, your beyond-seaI s to be feard.

I f ere I travel! hang inNot to the Fai ry l and ?

Thith

But above all things weare no beardbeards

Are signes the braines are full , becausements

Come out so plenti fully .

Rather emptBecause they have sent out so much , asThei r brains were sunk into thei r be

Oberon

Has ne’re a beard , yet for hiswit I am 5

He might have beene a Gyant . Who 1

Enter Doryla: .

(88 ) True?'68 . ( 101 ) full :

(94 ) No, on,’

4os . ( 102 ) empty ;( ioo) ben ch] beards, ’38. ( 104 ) beard :

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25 0 THOMAS RANDOLPH

SCEN . 4 .

Doryla: . Laurinda.

Lau . I wonder much that Doryla: staies so

Faine would I heare whether they’

l come

DO. Ha?would you so ?

Lau . I see in you r ownYou can goe fast enough .

Indeed forsootI loiter’d by the way.

What, will they cc

Which of them ?

Nor he .How, neither? am I then 11

Damon wil l come .And not Alexi: to

Only Alexi: comes .Let him not comi

I wonder who sent for him ; unlesse bothIle speak with none .

Dor. Why both will vi siLau . Both ? one had been too many . Was e’r

So v ex ’

d as I ? you sawcy rascal! you,How doe you strive to crosse me ?

And sweet IStill I will crosse you ,

’ti s the only wayTruely to please you .

(3 ) own] ont’

4oh. if. J’

3 8.’

404

(6 ) Damon.

’62. ( 1 1 ) Why? ’

5 2.

AMTNTAS

SCENA 5 .

Enter Medora: .

So, you’ l all please her,

I wonder who’l please mee ? you all for herCan run on errants, carry love- sick letters ,And amorous eglogues from her howling suiters,To her, and back againe, be Cupid: Heraulds,

And point out meetings for her.Truly S ir,

Not I , pray aske my Mistresse : Doe I callYour sweet-hearts speak, nay speak it i f you

can .

Doe I ?Why no .

Nay say your worst, I care not,D id I goe ever ? 10

Never.La you now !

We were devising nothing but a snareTo catch the Pole-cat,

Sirrah get you in ;Take heed I doe not find your haunts .

Dor. What haunts ?Med. You’ l in !

Dar. I know no haunts I h ave but to the Dai ry , 1 5

To skimme the milke-bowles l ike a lickorish Fairy .

ExitDor.

(7 ) Doe I call] om. 4oh . ff.(8 ) Your sweet-hearts speak speak, may speak it if you can.

’

4os .

Your sweet hearts, speak nay speak if you can ;’

4oh.

Your sweet-hearts, speak , speak, nay speak if you can ;’

5 2. 3 .

(9 ) Doe I?] Doll? ’68 . ( 12 ) Med ] om.

'

3 8.

( to) La you'

4oh, if. ( 14 ) l] ’

4Oa , fl.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

He that’s a womans keeper, shouldA hundred more then A rgu: , and hi s e:Double the number : Now the newes, wWhat posy, ring or bracelet wooes to d .

What Grove to night i s conscious of yorCome tell me, for I fear your trusty SQ!Your little closet blabbes into your ear:Some secret, let me know it .

Then yoLea st I should be in love .

Indeed I dcCupid: a dangerous boy, and often wouThe wanton roving eye.

Were I in lowNot that I am (for yet by Dian

’

: bow

I have not made my choice, ) and yet s*

Suppose I say I were in love, What tlSo I would have thee, but not yet 1

Till loves prove happier, till the wretchHave satisfied the Gods .

Lau . Why Claiu:Me. Hast thou not heard it ?Lau . Never.Me. Tis inLau . How should I sir?you know that my

Thou knowest

I s all with walls and pictures, I nere m i

The Vi rgins on the downes .Why I will

The high Priest

(22 ) fear] know '

3 8 . (3 3 ) Have] Hath(28 ) Diana’: ’

5 2, fi'

. ( 3 7 ) — ’

4ob .

(29 ) it] om.

’

4ob , if. (38 ) P ilumbufl’

3(3 2 ) loves] lovers ’

5 2 .

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2 5 4 THOMAS RANDOLPH

The finest flowre of wheat, and sweetestVpon her Altars ! Lalage ru

’d the timeShe flowted brave Phileebu: . Now she v

With two sweet twins, the faire chast A 1.

And mad Amynta: ; (an unluckly paire !:These Shee brought forth , but never liithem

Lucina caus’

d her sorrowes Stop her breaLeaving th is matchlesse pai re of beauteorIn whom til! now she l ives .

After her d’

How far’d the sorrowful! P hila bw ?W1

Then ever : Shee being dead whose li fe vWhose lookes did hold his eyes from shu

He pin’d away in sorrowes, griefe it wasTo see she was not his, but greater fa rreThat she was not at all . Her Exequies lHe casts him down upon that turfe of eaVnder whose roofe his Lalage was hous

’

d

And parlied with her ashes ,’till hi s own

Was quite extinguish’

d with a fatal! darrHere ended th’ noble sheapheard.

Vnha

Tis pitty but the Vi rgins once a yeare,Should wash his tombe with maiden tea]

now

Both Lalage being dead , and her P hilebwHow comes it other loves should prove un

P ilumnu: having lost h is hopeflThough he had two more children , fai r

(67 ) and the sweetest’68 (7 3 )

’

3 8

(68 ) l] ’

4ob , fl'

.

AMTNTAS

And noble Damon; yet the death of LalageSuflic

’

d not his revenge, but he anew imploresHis goddesse wrath

’gainst Claiu: : Doth Cere:prize me thus ? 9 5

Shal l Claiu: tread upon the flowry Plaine,And walke upon the Ashes of my boy ?Will I be A rchyflamen where the GodsAre so remisse ? let wolves approach their shrines ;Their howlings are as powerful! as the Praiers 100

Of sad P ilumnu: ! Such disgusts at lastAwaken

’

d Cere: : with hollow murmuring noiseHer Ompha l ike a thunder

’gin s to roate .

(T he Ompha i f it menace speakes at l argeIn copious language, but perplexed termes . )And l aid th is curse on all Trinacria .

S icilian :waine: , ill luck :hall long betide

To every bridegroome, and to every bride:

NO : acri/ice, no vow : hall : till mine I re,

Till Claius blood both quench and kindlefire. 1 10

The wire : hall mi: conceive me, and the wit

S cornd, and neglected : hall my meaning hit.

Angry and Intricate !Al as for love !What then became of Claiu: ?

Why the OmphaHaving denounc’d against him , and he knowing 1 1 5The hate of old P ilumnu: fled away,I think hee’s sayl

’

d to the Antipode: .

No tydings can be brought what ground receivesh im ,

a esse Corymbu: make a h appy voyage ; 1 19

Corymbu: that will search both East and OccidentAnd when he finds him , spill h i s captive blood .

(97 ) boy! body ’

40b . 5 . ( 102) am.

'

5 2 .

(99 ) (’

40b.’

5 2 ( 1 14 ) Ompha,’

3 8.

THOMAS RANDOLPH

Which Cere: grant he may ! Tender La

Now dost thou see the reason of my carAnd why my watchful! eyes so close obsThy Steps and actions .

And I promise, 1To temper my affections,

’till the GoddcDoe mitigate her anger.

Doe so then

For now you see with what un fortunateP ilumnu: daughter, delicate Vrania loviThe mad Amynta: : for the angry Goddi

Though she repaid the wrong done to PYet not approving the reuengefull mindOfgreatP ilumnu: , scourg

’

d himwith his cBy threatning an unhappy marriageTo hi s Vrania, unlesse he that wooes hePay an impossible Dowry ; for as othersG ive Portions with their daughters, CertVse to receive for thei rs . The words arThatwhich thou ha: t not, may: t not, cai

Amyntas, i: the Dowry that I crave.

Re: t hopele: : e in thy love, or el: e divine

TO give Vrania thi: , and :he i: thine:

Which while the poore Amynta: wouldHe lost his wits . Take heed of love, LeYou see th’ unhappinesse of it in othersLet not experience in thy selfe instructBe wise my Girle : so some and follow 1

I ’le make a Garland for my kid andWhat a sad tale was here ! how full of SHappy the heart that never felt the sha!Of angry Cupid!

( 13 9) main not, nor eand not’

5 2 ( 146) om.

’

4oa,’

4oh

( 149 ) here ? ’3 8 sorrow? 3 8 ,’

4os .

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

Sin

Growne so importunate, and will notWith modest silence ; Know I wish y.

Alex . How, me Laurinda?Lau . Why I wish ,

I were thy wife .

Da. Then most unhappA lex . That word doth relish immortalitie .

Lau . And I doe wish thou wer’t my husi

Alex . Still more perplexed : what doe youLau . My head , Alexi: .

Da. And what I ?Lau .

Da . Which h and am I ?Laur . Damon, my ri

Lau . My left, Alexi: .

Thus you scorneLau . Not I , Alexi: : th

’art my on ly hopeDa. Then I am all despaire, no hope f01Lau. Why so my Damon? thou art my d

Alexi: i s my flame ; Damon my fi re .Alexi: doth deserve my nuptiall Bed ,And Damon’: worthy of my Maiden!

Alex. Damon , desist thy suit or loose thyThou heard’st Laurinda wish she wei

Da Thy wife, Alexir? But how can itWithout a Husband ? and I must be h

Alex . I am her head : That word doth sShe meanes my marri age .

(45 ) t import’62,

’68.

(46 ) my] me'68 How? ’

62,’68 .

AMTNTAS 2 5 9

How without her heart ?For that am I : besides you heard her sayI was the right hand , you the left, away,Desi st Alexi: , mine

’s the upper hand .

Alex . But, Damon, I next to her heart doe stand : 5 0

I am her hope, in that you plainly seeThe end of her intents doth aime at me .

Da. But I am her desi re, in that’tis showne

Her only wish is to make me her owne.

Alex . I am her flame .Da .

’Tis true, but I her fire .A lex . The flames the hotter, therefore her desire

Most aimes at mee .Yet when the flame is Spent,

The fire continues ; Therefore me she meant .A lex . She promis

’

d now I should injoy her Bed .

Da . Alexi: doe , so I her Maidenhead .

Alex . I see she still conceales i t, and with speechesPerplext and doubtfull masks her secret thoughts .

Da . Let’s have another meeting, S ince her wordsDelude us thus, wee

’

le h aue a pregnant signeTo shew her mind .

I goe that way a hunting, 65

And will call for her.l’

le the while reti reInto the Temple, i f I linger hereI am afraid of meeting Amarylli: ,Who with unwelcome love solici tes me .

A lex . And would she might preuaile !Da . Till then farewell .Alex . All happinesse to Damon be

Except Laurinda.

(48 ) w ay :’68 .

260

Da .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

All but her to the

Alex . Thus we in love and courtesie conte

Da. The name of Rivall should not loos <

F ini: actu: I .

Acrvs 2 . SCRN I .

P ilumnu: Vrania.

Ather per swade me not !The powCari never force me from Amynt

’Tis rooted here so deepe within myThat he which pulls it out, pulls outThat and my soule together.

FondCan ignorant love make thee affect t!The hateful! seede of cursed Lalage?D i d I for this beget thee ?

Father, yc

Div initie i s powerfull , Cupid: willMust not be question’d: When lovesport

(I’have heard your selfe relate it) he

The Wolfe and Lambe kisse freind!Lyon

T’forget hi s Majestic , and in amoronSport with the frisking Kid. WhenShee

’

le l inke the ravenous Kite, and iiTo the same chariot, and will yoak tThe necks of Doves and Eagles ; wh:

Commands, all things loose their An

( 1 1 ) I have '68.

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

SCEN . 2 .

P ilumnu: . Corymbu: .

welcome !Sacred Pilumn

And fruitfull S icilie I kisse thy dustWhat newes Corymbu: ? I s 0

Mischeif

Fetter’

d in chaines ?Thrice the su

Through the twelve Inns of heavdiligence

Has been imploy’

d in quest of him , v

Must give poore lovers li fe, the hateYet could I ne’ re heare of him :

whileHow fare the poore S icilianr? DoesStill bend her angry brow ? F ind theNo rest, no quiet yet ?

Corymbu:

The Goddess has not yet deign’

d to aOne s acrifice, no favourable EchoResounded from her Ompha; All heAre full , and doubtfull.

The true Si;Her wrath is not appeas

’

d.

AppRather againe incens

’

d so farre , CorAs that my selfe am plagu

’

d; My 13Dotes on Amynta: .

(8) beare] here ’68 .

( 14 ) Resounded] Sounded '68 .

AMYNTAS

F i rst shall our h ives swarme in the venemousyew, 20

And Goats shall browz e upon our myrtle wands !One of your blood , P ilumnu: , (i s it possible)

Love Lalage and Claiu: brood ?The chaine of fate

Will have it so ! And he lov ’d her as much .

That makes it something better. 25

Ah, thou knowest notWhat sting this waspish fortune pricks me with !I seeing their loves so constant, so inflexible,Chid with dame Cere: ’cause She us’d me thus .My words were inconsiderate, and the heavensPunish

’

d my rough expostu lationsBeing A rchiflamen of Trinacri aI d id demand a Dowry of that sheapheardThat askes my daughter : Set the price said I ,Thou Goddess, that dost cause such hateful! loves ;I f that Amynta: be thy darling swaine, 3 5

Aske thou , and set a Dowry for Vrania:With that the Altar groan

’

d, my haire grew stifl'

e,

Amyntor looked agast ; Vrania quiver’

d,

And the Ompha answer’

d

With an Echo;

Then I presage some ill ! 40

This darke demand ,Thatwhich thou ha: t not, mai: tnot, can:t nothave,

Amyntas, i: the dowry that I crave:

Re: thopele: : e in thy love, or el:e divine

TO give Vrania thi: and : he i: thine.

(22 ) your] our ’68 . (30) rough] rash ’5 2

(28)’cause] if

’

3 8,’

40a . (39 )’

4oh, fl'

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

And so he did, but the perplexed sensTroubled his braines so farre, he lost 1Yet still he loves, and shee , my griWill not permit me to relate the rest !I ’ le in into the Temple, and expresseWhat’ s yet behinde in teares .

Sad 8

And most distress’d S icilianr! Other 1

Are happy in their loves, you only annate !

In all my trav elles ne’r a spring but I

Her p aire of lovers, s inging to that mThe gentle buhling of her waters mad

Never a walke unstor’d with amorousTwind with so close imbraces, as i f b <Meant to growe one together ! every 5Sheltred some happy loves, th at counScor’d up the summes on one anotherThat met so oft and close, as if theyChang

’

d soules at every kisse. The 1As sweet and kind as they : at everyThe loving husband and full brestedWalk’d on the Downs so friendly, asHad been thei r wedding day . The I:And girles of foure, e

’re th at thei r lisHad learn

’

d to prattle plaine, wouldCourt One another, and in wanton daReturne such innocent kisses , you

’d h :You had seene Turtle s bill ing .

(48) the] am.

’

3 8 .

(7 1 ) Tur les’

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

Yo’

are to hawithout admiration .

I know t

How should you know it ?Why some bi

Fly from all countries hither, and theyBut how dare you converse wit!travell?

Mop . With an antidote I may : but myWhat strange bi rds h ave you seene be)

Ladies with fans and feathers ! dainty 1There were brave taking Augury .

Mop . BuAre those fine Lady-b i rds such prettyAs tame as sparrowes, and as sweetingal s .

Mop. IS the Cocklady-bi rd , or the HenlaiThe better?

All are hens .O admit

Would you had brought me one !but wlCO. A fan’S a Wing of one side .Mop. Del ic

And what’s their Feather ?Like the c

The Lap-Wing hasThe Lap-wing? then

With men they will ;Deli ciou

But have they such brave traines, s

tailes

As our bird s have ?

AMrNTAS 267

Like Peacocks, there’s the head

Of all their p ride .Nay

’ti s the taile Corymbu: ,Surely these things you call the Lady-birds 40

Are the true bi rds of Paradice !Enter carriager .

Very rightMop:u: , I cannot stay, I must attendMy carri age to the Temple : gentle Mop: u:

Farewell!Farewell Corymbu: ! By my troth

Inever long’d for any thing In my lifeSo much as Lady-bi rds ; dainty Lady-bi rds !I would fetch one of them ; but I dare not travel!For fear I catch the Wisdome. 0 sweet Lady-birds !With copple crownes, and wings but on one side !And tailes l ike Peacocks !curious Lady-birds ! 5 0

(40 ) the] our.’

5 2.

SCEN . 4 .

Amynta: . Vrania . Amarylli: . manetMop: u: .

Amyn . That which I have not, may not, cannot

have!

It i s the moone l Vrania, thou shalt weareThe horned Goddesse at thy beauteous care .

Come hither P ega: u: , I Wi ll mount thy back,And spu rte thee to her orbe .

Oh good Amynta: ! 5—Why, a rt thou foundred P ega: u: ? Am

arylli: ,

Fetch him a peck of p rovender.

268 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Vra . SweetAmy . What saies my Cytherea? wouldst thc

A golden Apple ? i f thou wilt, by Venu:I ’le rob th’ He:perian Orchard.

Mop . Ha haAmyn . Ha?dost thou laugh old Charon? si ri

Prepare thy boat !Ama . For what ? deere brothAmyn . Art thou my S i ster Helen? were we h

In the same eggshell ? Is your cock-bMop. I t i s, an

’t please your Worship .

Amyn . I

Row me to hell ! no faster ? I will ha

Chain’

d unto P luto’: gallies !Why to he

My deere Amynta: ?Amy . Why ? to borrowAma. Borrow there ?Amy . I there ! They say there be moreVsuri

Then all the world besides : see howRise !Puffe puffe Boreas . what a cyonder ?

Take heed of that wave Charon! ha ? gii

The oares! so so : the boat i s ov ertl

NOW Charon: drown’d : but I will swim ti

Vra. O Ceres, now behold him ! can thy eLooke on so sad an object, and not m1

Them and thy heart to pitty ?Ama . How tl

Racks my tormented soule ! but the neOf Damon more affl i cts mee : the wholeOf heaven decrees my ruine .

( I 3 ) sister?Hellen ’

5 2. (22) yonder ’

5 2 yonder; ’68 .

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2 70 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Vra . Amynta: , deere AAmyn . Who calls Amynta: ? beauteous P 1

Tis shee . —Fair Empresse of th’ Ely: 1Cere: bright daughter intercede for mee,To thy incensed mother : prithee bid heLeave talking riddles, with thou ?

How 1

Apply myselfe to his wild passions ?Ama.

What he conceives you .

Amy . Queen of darknThou supreme Lady of eternall night,Gran t my petition s !wilt thou beg of GeThat I may have Vrania?

Tis my praiAnd Shall be ever, I wi ll promise theeShee shall have none but him .

Amyn . Thankes J

Vra. Come sweet Amyntor , rest thy troHere in my lap : Now here I holdMy sorrow and my comfort : Nay ly sti

Amyn . I will : but P ro:erpineVra . Nay, good AmAmy . Should P luto chance to spy me, we

Be jealous of me ?7 ran .

Amy . Ty: iphone,

Tell not Vrania of it, least she feareI am in love Wi th P ro: erpine: doe not F

Ama . I Wil l not .Vra . Pray ly sti ll !

(5 6 ) ( 5 8 ) Thousupreme’

3 8.

(6 1 ) W il l] cm.

’68 .

(70) P ro: erpine :‘

40 b, 62 , ’68 .

AMYNTAS

Amy . You P ro:erpine,There i s in S icilie the fai rest Vi rginThat ever blest the land , that ever breath

’

d,Sweeter then Zephyru: ! didst thou never heareOf one Vrania ?

This poore Vrania 75

Loves an unfortunate sheapheard, one that’s mad ,Ty: iphone,

Canst thou believe it ? Elegant Vrania

(I cannot speak it Wi thout teares ) still lovesAmynta: , the distracted mad Amynta: .

I’

st not a constant Nymph ? B ut I will goe 80

And carry all Ely: ium on my back,And that shall be her joynture.

Good Amynta: ,Rest here a while !

Amy . Why weepe you P ro: erpine?

Vr. Because Vrania weepes to see Amynta:So restlesse and unquiet .

Does shee so ?Then I will ly as calme as doth the Sea,When all the winds are lock’d in At

‘

ola: j ayleI wi l l not move a haire, not let a nerveOr Pulse to beat, least I d isturbe her ! Hush ,Shee sleepes!

And so doe you . 90

Amy . You talk too loud ,You’ l waken my Vrania

I f Amynta: ,Her deere Amynta: would but take his rest,Vrania could not want it .

(79 ) distracted man, mad Amynta: . ’62,

’68. (83 ) sheeso?

’

3 8.

272 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Not so loudWhat a sad paire are wee ?

’

He that I love is not !

Ama And he tiDoe love, loves not ; or, i f he love, not 1

I h ave undone Amynta: !

Ama.

Has undone me .Vr. My kindnesse ruin

’

d himAma . But his unkindnesse, me ; unhappyVra. More wretched I , for Damon hasAnd he may love .

Ama. But does not : thyReturnes thee mutual! love .

True, Ame

But he has lost his reason ; mine ha s 10:

No reason .

Ama. Mine has reason , but no 1O mee !

My Amarylli: , how thy griefesMeete full with mine to make the truesOf perfect sorrow that ere eye bedew

’

d

With teares of Pitty !Ama. Come VraniaLet’s sit together like two marble monuOf ever weeping misery.

Enter Damon .

(94 ) miserable! ’4oa, ’4oh, ’

5 2’68 .

(95 ) — J 1'

4oh,’

sz’68

101—2) But does not thy Amynta:Returne thee mutual! love? ’

4oh, 5 .

Enter Damon ] om.

’

4oh,’

5 2.

( 105 ) griefe ’

5 2.

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274 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Still idly youTo crosse mee, Amarylli: , but in vaine !

Ama . O, I am sick to death !

Amy . What a lThe monsters braines would make !

( 13 7 )

SCEN . 5 .

The: tyli: . Mop:u: . Amynta:

Amarylli: . Vrania .

Ama. My griefe o’re

The. How fares my Amarylli: ?Ama. Like

Allmost burnt out : sometimes all a daAnd now and then a flash or two of conBut soone blown out againe. Ah The: t

I cannot long subsi st . For thee vaine 1Away ! I hate thee cause my Damon (101

And for that reason too I hate my selfeAnd every thing but h im !

Come my 8Poore riv all of my sorrowes: Goe withInto the Temple ; I

’ le intreat my B rotlTo use thee kindly : i f in mee it lye,I ’ le helpe thee .

Ama . Doe Vrania, or I dExeunt Vran

Amynta: . The: tyli: . Mop: u: .

What a strange thing i s Love !

(6) vain's labour ’

4os subsist; for the vaine ’

40

(7 ) thee] the ’

4oh ,’

5 2.

AMTNTAS

See how i t stares .Archer !O I have mist him !

Cupid !Looke how the rascal!Winkes a one eye, The: tyli: lNay draw your arrow home boy ! just i’th heart !O I am slaine '

Amy . Dost not see?My blood runs round about mee, I lye soaking 20

In a red Sea, take heed ! see The: tyli: ,What a fine Crimson ’ti s ?

Where ?Here you puppet !

Dost thou not see it ?Yes I see it playne,

But I spy nothing .

Amy . Then thou art a mole .Mop . Now I looke better on’t, I see it plaine ;

Does it not hu rt you ?Strangely ! Have at thee

How think you now ?

The. Be quiet good Amyntor .

Mop. You’ l fright away the bi rds else, and clean spoileMy augury .

Amyn . Goe about it, I am quiet !Mop. Now for some happy Omen . a Cuckoe Crie: .

Amy . Ha, ha, he ! 3o

Mop . Why laughs the madman ?Amy . Who can choose but laugh ?The bi rd cried Hom es !

( 16) thee] the ’

4oh,’

5 2. ( 18) Nay] May .

’

5 2

( I7 ) a] with ’68. (20) round] down ’

5 2 .

27 5

It i s a madnesse :

Have at thee thou blind

l 5

now I ’le stand thee

276 THOMAS RANDOLPH

What happinesseSweet Mop: u: ?

Constancy in Lov e, mThis bird is alwaies in a note .

The. Most e:Mop . Bird of the sp ring I thank ther

thanks thee .Amy . This is a man of skill, an Oedipu: ,

Apollo, Reverend Phcebu: , Don of DelphiMop. What a brave man am I ?Amy . Thou c

By thy great Art all questions : What 1That which I have not, may not, cannot

Mop. That which you have not, may 1

have ?I t is my skill, you cannot have my skill

Amy . Where lies that skill ?Mop . Lies ? here within 1Amy . Fetch me my wood kni fe I will cutAnd send it to Vrania for a dowry .

Map. No, no I am deceiv’

d, i t i s not thAmy . You dolt, you asse, you cockoe :Mop. GOO

(3 7 ) Reverent ’3 8. ’4os . (3 8) I] 1’68 .

(43 )’Lies here with in ’

4oh,’

5 2 ,’62

’Lieswithin

SCEN . 6 .

Doryla: . Mop: u: . Ioca: tu: . The: tyli: .

I st not a brave sight Doryla: ? can tCaper so nimbly ?

Verily they cannot !

(2) l ’3 8.

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278 THOMAS RANDOLPH

IO. A saphyre dary-roome.DO. A Ginger lI0. Chambers of Agate .Do. Kitchins of allAm. 0 admirable ! This i s it for certaini

IO. The j acks are gold .

DO. The spits are SpaI0. Then there be walkes .DO. Of Amber.IO. Curie

Do. That bear as well in winter as in $ 11IO. Bove all the fishponds! every pondDo. OfNectar : will this please you ? ev :

Stor’d with delightful! bi rds .But be

Lady-birds there ?Abundance .

To presage constancy ?

To seale the writings .Amy . There boy, so, ho,DO. What pretty th ings are these both

To Lands and Livings , we poore WittHave no inheritance but Braines

Enter Alexi: .

One of my Mistresse beagles .

I h ave had the bravest sport .

(25 ) d am-roome] dining-room ’68 .

(29 ) walkes ’

38 .

(34) i]'

3 8 .

AMYNTAS

In what, A lexi: ?In hunting, Doryla: : a brace of Grayhounds

cours’

d a stagWith equall sw iftnesse till the weari ed deere,Stood bay at both alike : the fearful! doggsDurst neither fasten .

So, and did not youCompare the stag to my fai r mistresse ? ha !Persued by you and Damon , caught by neither ?By Cupid th’art i’th right .

Al as poore whelpes,In troth I pitty you ! Why such a huntingHave we had here : Two puppies of a l itter,Mop:u: and wise Ioca: tu: hunting follyWith a full mouth .

I much wonder, Doryla: ,

Amynta: can be sad , h aving such foll iesTo provoke mirth .

And to that end his sisterKeepes them about him ; but in vaine, his Melan

choly 5 5

Has took so deepe impression .

Enter Damon .

My Alexi:Well met, I

’

ave been at your cottage to seeke you .

A lex . But I am ne’re at home ; Thou and I , Damon,Are absent from our selves .

Excellent application !To see the Wit of love !

Let u s goe seeke her,To have a final! j udgement .

(5 6 ) so] such’

4oa, ff.

(5 6) Alexirl’

4oa,b ff.

280 THOMAS RANDOLPH

That 11One of our miseries, and the others lif

DO. 0 l amentable !who would be in lowDa. Content.

SCEN. 7 .

Laurinda . Doryla: . A lexi: . Da

Da. Here comes my joy or death .

DO.

Al. My sweet aflliction .

DO. Pitifully swe<Nere feare your father, Mistresse, kissI ’ le be your Mercury , and charme a $ 11

Old A rgu: .

But i f he chanceYou and your sweet-hearts here, I know

Lau . You doe not !

DO. Nay you know if I had 1I should have told him .

Lau . Y’are a tnDO. Poore Doryla: i s blind , he sees not

Damon, no nor Alexi: .

Lau . No not hee !

DO Al ack I am innocent : i f the belly si

I did not fetch the poison .

Lau . No, begone .

Da . Laurinda now for mercy sake give 1To our long miseries .

(8) I shoul d have tol d him.] am.

’64 ,

’68.

(9 ) here.

’

4oh .

( Io) Damon. No nor'

4ob .

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282 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Damon, as I afl’

ect thee, so I vowTo wear this Garland that adornes thyThis wreath of flowres, Alexi: , which wBecause thou lov ’

st me truly, shall be 1This is plain dealing ; let not Cupid

’

: w

D rive your affections to unciv ill j arresNow happy Damon , Shee thy Garl:

That holds thy heart chain’d in her go!Alex. Most blessed I ! thi s Garland once d

About her head , that now imbracesminDam Desi st A lexi: , for she deignes to ha

:

The Garland that was mine .

That which was hers .Da. Tis more to takn

Alex . I think ’tis greater kindnesse to rec.

Da. By this your share’s the lesse, you lAl. And by your argument, yours you (1

Love i s the Garland .

Then shee did ap]Of my affection best, shee took my low

Fond Damon, she accepted love frcBut what i s more, she gave her love toIn giving that to mee, she proves my ri

Da . Why took she mine, but meaning 1Alex. I will d ispute no more .Do. Then let

Plead for us,And determine of our fe

Come Damon, by thi s argument let us 1Whi ch ti s of us Laurinda best doth 10Yet ti s, A lexi: , clean against our 1

(46) decism’68. sp heare:

AMYNTAS 283

Alex . True , Damon , and perchance may ru ine both !Da. So neither shall enjoy her.Ale. Cruell breath !

Besides th is i s the Sacred Vale, ti s deathTo staine the hallowed grasse but with one dropOf humane blood .

So both should loose their hope !And Wh at i s more,

’ti s again st her commands .Whose every breath has powre to stay our

hand s .Wee’ l h ave her answer make a certain end .

Till then , Alexi: , let me be thy friend .

Come Damon, lets together seeke reliefe .

Tis fit, being Riv alls both in love and griefe .

F ini: A ctu: : ecundi.

ACTVS 3 . SCEN 1 .

Damon. Alexi:. Laurinda.

Aurinda, by thy selfe, the sweetest oathThat can be sworn ,

By those faire eyes, whose lightComforts my soule ;

Dam. Whose heat inflameth mine ;Ale. a esse you deigne at length to end our stri fe,Da . We both have vow’d to sacrifice our life, 5

Ale. On one anothers speare .

Lau . What Shall I doe ?I find an equal!warre Wi th in my soule,My selfe divided ; now I would say Damon,Another time A lexi: , then againe

(2) sworn,— ’

4oh , 3 . (3 ) comfort '

3 8.

284 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Damon, and then like a SheaplThat sees on either hand a ravenous wOne snatching from his ewe a tender LThe other watching for a gentle Kid ,Knowes not poore soule which hand to t ‘

Now he would save his Lamb ; but seeinHalfe in the jaw of death , turnes back iTo rescue that, where viewing then hi sIn greater d anger, run-s to that again ;AS doubtfull which to save as which toSo fares it now with me. But love insti

Resolve .Or wee’l resolve

Enter Doryla: .

I f ever one was pepper’

d looke onWhy whats the matter ?

You ta lke of LoveI have been plagu

’

dwith a Whole swamWhat should thi s meane ?

I know not, blI have a thousand naturall rapiersStick in my flesh !

The meaning of t!The morall ?

In plain tearmes I h ave 1One of your swarmes of Bees , gentle LThe purest waxe give Damon

swaine,The hony to This i s plain .

Now will the hony and the wax fallth

’

eares.

(24 ) whole] om.

'68 . (25 ) What] whi

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286 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Alexi: come !Come Damon !

Cure 1There’s no helpe left but in a P elicO stay your hands, for by my maidHappy the man shall quit her of t!

Most happy Doryla: !I knew that

I have protested never to discloseWhich ’ti s that best I love : But the fiiAs soone as Titan guilds the Easterne 1And chirping bi rds, the Saints-bell of t

'

Ring in our eares a warn ing to devotioThat lucky damsel! what so e’re she beShall be the Goddesse to appoint my 11To say, Laurinda this shall be your chrAnd both shall sweare to stand to her

B oth. By fai r Laurinda’: hand we swear.Lau.

Be friends, and for this night it i s myYou sleep like friendly Rivalls arme in

B oth. Thankes to the fai r Laurinda !Al. Come Damon, you this night with

rest.Wert thou but my Laurinda I wei

ExeuntDamon

Mistresse, i f they should dreame I

And 1

(74) on her’

4os , fl'

.

AMYNTAS

SCEN . 2 .

Amarylli: . Vrania . Doryllir . Laurinda .

Vra . Sweet Amarylli: !Ama . Stay me not Vrania !Do. More Cupid: , more bees, more stinging yet !Ama. Dishev el

’

d haire, poore ornament of the headI ’le teare you from my crowne !what dost thou here ?Weake chaines ! my pride presum

’

d you had apowre 5

To fetter Heroe: ! and in amorous G ivesLead any sheapheard captive !

Vra.

Ama . But Damon breakes thee l ike a spiders loome !And thou poore face that wer’t S0 oft beli’deFor fai r and beauteous, by my flattering glasse ;I ’ le tear those crimson roses from my cheekes,That but my selfe nere yet inchanted any .

My will i s fixt!Lau . Where goe you , Amarylli: ?Ama. Since Damon hates my life I ’le goe and see 14

I f I can please him in my death : i f hee’le butdeign e

To kisse me, and accept my latest breath ,I Shall salute the Gods a happy soule .

This dart I ’le give him ; and upon my kneesBeg till I h ave obtain’

d to dye by him :

Death from that h and is welcome . 20

I will shew youA way most probable to redeeme his love .

( 1 1 ) my] thy ’68 .

( 19 ) dye] om.

'

4oh to dye by] it too by ’68 .

288 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Ama. I sh all wrong you , Laurinda ! NoThe treasure of the Earth : my latest wShall be praiers for you : mild Vrania,Sister in blood to Damon, not in afl

’

ectit

Nymph take th is whistle,’twas a Tritor

With which I call my Lamb-kins when’Tis Amarylli: l ast bequeathment to yO

‘

Vra. Live happy sheapheardesse and weAma . Laurinda, my great legacy i s yours

Gentle-ungentle Damon .

I re-bequeath him to my Amaryllis

Come therefore amorous maid , be rul’

d

This night wee’le sleepe together

Should dreame of Damon .

Doryla: , goe 1T’excuse her thi s nights absence . Ama

Wenches are nere so witty as a bed ,And two together make a statesmans he

Begon to The: tyli: .

So, I am sureStill Cupid: factor : well ere long I seeThere wil l be many an heire the more (7

My B ellamore y’a

’

re under good prcThe Temple gates will close unlesse I h :

Vrania, a happy night unto you !The like to her th at pitties theAmarylli: .

ExeuntLau . Ama . I

So so, this hony with the very tho1Has made my mouth so lickorish th at IHave something to appease the appetit

(30) is] in’

5 2. (3 3 )’68 . (36

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29° THOMAS RANDOLPH

I see the smoake steame from theThe fearful! huswife rakes the embersAll hush to bed . Sure no man will dis0 blessed vally ! I the wretched Clai.S alute thy happy soyle, I that have liPelted with angry curses in a placeAs horrid as my griefes, theLylibaean in

These sixteene frozen winters, there h .

B eene with rude out-l awes, l iving byAs runne 0’ th’ score with justice

’gainshewishes .

And when I would have tumbled dowiSome secret powre restrain’d me : Theard

By a disconsolate Pilgrim that sought 1

That my Amynta: wits (ah me !) wereTwas not a time to thinke to save myWhen my poore boy was lost. Lost

Phaebu: ,

I f there be soveraigne power in juice 0!And that the teeming earth yeeld medTo cure all maladies, I h ave sought tlNo leafe no root hath scap

’

d mee : I 11I h ave been natures d il igent ApothecBe lucky my emplaister ! I have ternThe surest Recipe the worlds garden’Twould put Ore: te: In his Wi ts again .

I know I step upon my death . the ODesires my blood for sacrifice, and P 1For hi s old hate still seekes i t : make 11I dare not, only I desire t

’

applyMy medicine and be gone . Who

’s t!

(7 5 ) Libyan’62,

’68 . (82) sh] ha

’

4oh , fl'

.

AMYNTAS

Sean . 3 .

The: tyli: . Amynta: . Mop: u: .

— I doe remember now that countenance ;It i s my sister The: tyli: , I

’le stand closeT

’

observ e their actions.Would to Cere:

She would be pleas’d at length to end her anger,And pitty poore Amynta: !

Cl. So pray I .Amy . I have the bravest spaniel! in the world ,

Of a Sharpe sent and quick . so ho ho , so ho ho !Ringwood, Iowler, Whitefoot, so ho ho ! so ho ho !

Mop. I shall be a whole kennel! of dogs anon .

Amy . 7uno, Vulcan, Venu: ! so ho ho, so ho ho ! 1 0

Map . Lord What a heavenly puppy he makes menow !

Amy . There Lady there !Mop . Ha? be there Lady-dogs as well as Lady-bird s

too ?Amy . B eauty , B eauty .

Mop . Slid I was never cal ’d that name beforeThe: tyli: , Amynta: calls me B eauty ,I prethee come kisse mee .

Thus I spend my lifeLaughing amidst my teares .

(7 ) so ho ho ! so ho ho ho!'62,

’68 .

(8) so ho ho ! so ho ho ho!’

62,’

68 .

( 1 2- 14 ) These lines are so d ivided in all the texts but they may be arrangedAmy . There Lady there!Mop . Ha? be there Lady~dogs

As well as Lady-birds too?Amy. Beauty . Beauty .

( 13 ) too!’

38. ( Is) S ’lid ’4os , ff.

292 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Amy . Now 1

Mop. I s th at a dog’ s name too ?wouldI f I’le h ave any of it for that trick .

Amy . Dost thou not sent it yet ? Cl <rogue !

By P an the curre hunts counter.Mop . Oh good master ! Bow WOW , l) 0W

‘

Amyn. So now he has’t again .

What at a fault you mungrell?will yStart me this Oracle ?

Start an OraAs i f an Oracle were a hare ?

Amy . So ’ti sAnd Skuds away so swift we cannot 1Start me this Oracle .

Start it Who’:For I ’ le not start it .

Amy . Then unkennelMop. Vnkennell i t ?Amy . I , ti s a

A cunning crafty rogue : no body knWhich way to finde him . Ha ?WhatDost thou not smell ?

Mop . What ?Amy . The meaning

Vnkennell i t, or I will lease thee.

(22-24 ) These lines may be arranged.By Pan the curre hunts counter .

Oh good master!Bow wow, bow wow wow

So now he has’t aga(29 ) who’s] who ’62,

’68 .

(3 3 ) ha?’

3 8 sent] om.

’68 .

(34 ) Oracle .

’

4oh , II .

(3 5 ) leashe’

4oa lathe’

4oh,’

5 2 lash ’62, ’68 .

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294 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Cl. As how IAmy . Why thus ; Melampu: was the si

Lwlap: to Lagon, Lagon to Ichnobate: ,Ichnobate: to P amphagur , and P amph.

ToDorceu: , he to Labro: , that was sireTo Ore: itrophu: , Ore: itrophu:To fleet Theridama: , Theridama:To swi ft Nebrophono: , Nebrophono:

To the quick-nos’d Aellur ; he to Dro

Droma: to Tygri: , Tygri: to Oryba: u: .

Oryba:u: to P terelar, he to Nape,

The damme ofMop: u:

Mop. So then Oryb.Was my great grandfather. ThoughI come of a good house . My AncestcWere all ofNoble names past understWhat a brave man’s my Master !wheAll thi s ?Ne’re sti rre now I could findTo leave my Augury and study Hera!A man I think may learn ’t as well asYet never fear of growing too wise upAnd then will I record the pedigreeOf all the dogs i’th’world. O that I lThe Armes of all our house by th’Mo

S ir I have brave things in a Basku

Give me your Dog, and you shall hawAmy . Take him .

Mop . O heavens ! and shall I changOne mad man for another ?

Curre bIhave said It, and my will shal l be a

( 5 8 and $ 9 ) Lelap:’

4os , 5 .

(5 9 and 60) Iekonbate:'

4oh ,

'

5 2.’62.

AMrNTAS 295

Mop . 0 good Sir, forMelampu: sake, and Dorceu: 85

La lapr , I chnobate: , Lagon, Melanchete: ,

Labro: , Nebrophono: , Ore: itrophu: ,

Tygri: , Oryba: u: , Therydama: ,

Aellu: , Droma: , Nape, and the restOf all my Noble ancestors deceas’d,Be merciful! unto me ! Pitty pittyThe only hope of all our family .

Si r, can he fetch and carry ?You shall see him .

Fetch S i rrah the curre i s runne,

away,Help me to catch my dog : you’ l bring you mungrell ? 95

Map. Yes much ! the bi rd s wil l not advise me to it.Exit.

Sylvan why gaze you on us ?would you frolikeWith poor Amynta

’

: madnes?’twould ill beseem

youTo make our griefe your pastime .

Not I by heaven !My joyes are counterfeit, my sorrowes reall 100

(I cannot hold from weeping) ah you know notWhat gri efe lies here within , (teares you

’ l betrayme !)

Give me my eye full of this noble sheapheard!Who hath not heard how he hath chac’d the boare ?And how his speare hath torne the panch ofwolves .

On th’ barke of every tree his name’s ingrav en . too

Now Planet struck, and all that vertue v anish’

d.

(88 ) Orybatu:’

3 8 ( 101 ) from] for ’

5 2.

(89 ) and all the rest ’68 . ( 104 ) i]’

3 8 .

(97 ) The Sylvan ’

4oh,’

5 2 ( 106 ) th’

] the’

4oh .

(98 ) Amynta: ?’68

296 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Thy lookes are fierce , thy words lGentle .

Amy . Why wep’t he The: tyli: ?The. I did notAmy . It was a mote in’s eye : I ’le kisse

I ’ le curle thy shackl’d looks, and cri speLike the streight-growing Cypresse.

putOur heads together. Thou art more tAnd shal’t expound to Cere: What SheIt i s a gallant Sylvan , The: tyli: .

I am not skill’d in riddles, no intOf D ivinations, but dare contendWith any Empyrick to doe a cure,Whether the body or the minde be 5That i s my study, I but crave the lea1

To try the powre of a rt upon this she ;I f zE: culapiu: be propitious to him ,

After the dew of one nights softer slur

I d are be hold to say he shall recover.

Amy . My dog againe ? dost read it in th1

What a strange man i s this ?Thy W

I meane ; O cast thy armes in my em

Speak carefull Nymph how came he th1

Amy . I doe you meane ?with a very-V 1

trickBy making verses .

Rest rest deludetThere was a time (alas that ere i

When my poore sheapheard fell in lo:

( 109 )’

3 8. ( 1 1 1 ) locks ’68 .

( I 10) eyes: ’

4os,'

4oh ,’

5 2. 129 ) a very-very-very

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298 THOMAS RANDOLPH

I ’le put the musique of his braines in UYou’ l cal l Vrania .

Doubt not si r, I wiOr send my servant Mycon by the Valt

Amy . Come Sylvan, i f the dogs doe barki’em ;

Wee’l sleepe to night together, and to 1Cl. Will end I hope thy madnesse, notAmy . Wee’ l goe a hunting, so ho ho !so ho

Mop: u: from the Orchard.

Mop . Are the mad dogs gone yet ?A l ittle more would have perswaded m i

Into a spaniell: and I may be oneFor any thing I know : Yet sure I am 1

Because methinkes I speake ; but an t!Should be but barking now : If I be a 1Heaven send me a better Master then

Cere: defend me What strange Elve: are

( 1 5 9 ) Col. You’l call ’3 8, ’

4os ,

’

4oh , 5 2.

( 169 ) an] and’62 ,

’

68 ( 170) z]

SCEN . 4 .

Doryla: with a B evy Of Fairie: .

How l ike you now my Grace ?countenance

Royal! and full ofMajesty ? Walke noLike the young Prince ofP igmie: ? Ha !

Wee’ l fil l our pockets . Looke looke yc

Would not yon apples tempt a better ( X

Then any we have to rob an Orchard ? l

( I ) now] may ’

4oh om.

’68 . (2 ) Walk I not ’68 .

AMrNTAS 299

Fairier , l ike Nymphs with child , must have thethings

They long for. You sing here a Fai ry catchIn that strange tongue I taught you : while our selfeDoe clime the Trees . Thus Princely Oberon I o

Ascends his throne of State.

No: beata Fauni P rOle: ,

Quibu: non e: tmagna mole: ,

Quamvi: Lunam incolamu: ,

Horto: :a'

pefrequentamu: .

Furto cuncta magi: bella,

Furto dulcior P uella .

Furto omnia decora .

FurtO poma dulciora .

Cum mortale: lecto j acent,NObi: poma noctu placent.Illa tamen : unt ingrata,

Ni: i furto : int parata .

Ioca: tu: . B romiur .

What divine noyse fraught with immortall

hannony

Salutes mine care ? 25

Why thi s immortallHarmonyRather salutes your Orchard : these young Rascalls

These pescod shalers doe so cheat my Master

(9) our] your ’

4oh,’

5 2 ,’62, my

’68 . ( 18) ornma

’

5 2 .

( I 3 ) mam mal “’

3 8 ( 19 ) Furto] Cum’

4oh , H.

( 16) cuncto’68

’68 . (25 ) ears’68 .

Th is poetry is not divided into stanz as in 40b , fl'

(27 ) pescod—shelers ’

,4oh’

5 2 pescod shellers ’62 ,

’68 .

300 THOMAS RANDOLPH

We cannot have an apple in the Orch zBut straight some Fairy longs for

’t : v

M ight have my will, a Whip again shouInto thei r old mortali ty

Dar’ st thou scWith thy rude croaking interrupt theiiWhose melody hath made the spheareThei r heavenly lutes aside, only to listTo thei r more charming notes ?

Say wI say a cudgell now were excellent MU

Oberon de: cende citu: ,

Ne cogari: hinc invitur .

Cane: audio latrante: ,

Et mortale: vigilante: .

Prince Oberon ? I heard his Gr:

0 ho : I spy hi s Grace ! Most 11 :

Come downe, or I wi ll pel t your GraceThat I bel i eve your Grace was ne’re 3 1

S ince t’was a G race .Bold mortall, holc

Immortal! Thiefe come down , 0you

Methidhs i t should impaire h is Grace:To steale poore mortals apples : Now

Ioca: tu: , we are Oberon, and weThat one so neere to us as you in fa:

Would not have sufl'

er’

d th is pr0phaneThus to impai re our royaltie .

(30) h’ein ’

4oh,’5 2

’em

’62,

’68

(3 1 ) old] om.

’68 .

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302 THOMAS RANDOLPH

They doe requ.

To grant them leave to dance a FayryAbout your servant, and for his offenerPinch him : doe you the while commandNot dare to sti rre, not once presume t<

Traytour, for so Prince Oberon deithee,

Stirre not nor mutter.To be thus ab

Ha?mutter’

st thou ?I have dese

Still mutter’

st thou ?I see I mus

Yet mutter’

st thou ? Now NobleWhen it shall please your honours .

Our noble freind permits, TititatieDoe you not si r ?

How Should I say ITi ti tatie.

Ti ti tatie my Noble

Quoniam per te violamur

Vngue: hic experiamur .

Statim dice: tibi datamCutem valdé variatam.

They dance.

Tititatie to your Lordships for tlmusick

This ’ ti s to have a coxcombe to or

(7 5 ) rebust’

5 2. (93 ) Lordship for(89 ) per te] part:

’

5 2 . (94 ) one’

s’

5 2, fl.

AMYNTAS

Still mutter’st thou ? 95

Exit B romiw .

Doryla: from the tree: Ioca: tu: fall: on hi: knee: .

And ri se up Sir Iocartur, our deare Knight .Now hang the hallowed bell about his neck

,

We call it a melli: onant Tingle Tangle,(Indeed a sheep-bell stolne from

’

s own fat wether.)

The ensigne of his knighthood . Sir Ioca: tu: ,Wee call to mind we promis

’

d you long sinceThe President of our Dances place ; we are nowPleas

’

d to confirme i t on you : give him thereHis Staffe of D ignity.

Your Grace i s pleas’

d

To honour your poor leigeman .

Now begone . 105

Farewell unto your Grace and eke to you,Tititatie my Noble Lords farewell . Exit.

Tititatie my noble foole farewellNow, my Nobility and honourd Lords , 109

Our grace i s pleas’

d for to part stakes ; here IocaloThese are your share ; these his, and these our

( iraces.

Have we not gull’

d him bravely ! see you Rascalls,These are the fruits of witty knavery .

Mop: u: enter: barking.

Heaven shield Prince Oberon, and his honour’

d

Lords !We are betraid.

B ow wow wow.

( 100 ) his] this ’68 .

( 107 ) Lord '68 ‘Exit.] not indicated in '

4oh,'

5 2.

( 1 1 1 ) your] you ’

4oh .

( 1 12) l]

304 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Nay nay since you h ave made a S!Brother

I ’le be a dog to keepe him .

DO. 0 good iMop . Does not your Grace, most lowe

Doryla: ,

Feare whipping now ?Good Mop:u: but

And I will promise by to morrow nighTo get thee The: tyli: .

Map . I will aske leaOf the birds first . An owle ? the bi

An c

That plainly shewes that by to morroHe may perform his promise .

Do. AI

Mop. Why then I will conceale youGrace

Must thinke your Grace beholding to

We doe .

Mop. And thanke the owle, She stoodAnd for thi s time my witty Grace fare

Nay be not so discourteous; Stat

An apple first : you Iocalo give him 0

And you another, and our Grace a thiMap . Your Grace i s liberall: But now

I am not hee that must interpret th’

My brother will prevent me, to my grI much suspect it, for this Doryla:A scarre-crow coz end him most shamcWhich makes me feare hee’s a more fi

( 126) 4oh’

5 2

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306 THOMAS RANDOLPH

D i scourteous ! let him get dogs of his 1For I have got my neck out of the colLet him unkennell

’

s Oracles himselfe

For Moprur, i f I starte or sp ring himI ’le dye the dogs death and be hang

’

d

The: . But Mop: u: , you may now secureMee and my house : Amyntor , heavenI s now recov er

’

d of his wits again .

Mop . How ? and grown wise !Cere: be pr

Mop . Shut up your doores then ; CarduiOr Dragon water may doe good upon

The: . What mean you Mop: u: ?Mop . Mean I ?whTo invite me to your house when ’ti s i

The: . InfectedMap. I , Amynta: has the W

And doe you think I ’ le keepe him corrThough , as I told you still, I am suspi

Ioca: tu: i s the man that mustThe.

Mop . It grieves me to think of it .

The. Out

Mop . That must interpret ; I have cau i

(With sorrow be it spoken) he Wi ll prcThe verier foole, but let him ; yet nowThat never failes me, tells me certain!That I sh all have thee, The: tyli: , yet 1

I t was an owle

( 18) Garduar , Benedietnr’

4oh,’

5 2.

(2 1 ) what mean you? ’5 2.(24 ) told you, still I am ’68 .

AMYNTAS

SCEN . 2 .

Claiu: . Amynta: .

And see see, The: tyli: ,Here comes the Ivy bush . I ’le stand aside,For I am Still most bodily afraid .

Amy . What Deity l ives here ? the soul of P harbu:Breaths in this powerful!man : sure E x ulapiu: 5

Revisits earth againe ; and in this shapeDeales health amongst us ! I before was nothingBut bru it and beast : 0 tell me by What reliquesOf heavenly fire you have inspir

’

d me withThis better soule of reason !worthy sir,

I f y’are some God (as lesse I cannot deeme you)That pittying of my miseries, came downeFrom heaven to cure mee , tell mee, that I mayWith sacrifice adore you .

Adore him ?Are there such Ruffian Gods in heaven as he ? 1 5

Such beggarly Deities ?Amyn . I f you will conceale i t,

And I by ignorance omit to payThose sacred duties that I ought, be pleas

’

d

To pardon me .Heighday !well The: tyli: ,

You may be glad your house is not infected ; 20

Hee’s ten times madder now then ere he was,To deify this rude ill-favour’d Silvan,This fellow with the beard all over : The: tyli: ,I dare not Stay ; unlesse my heeles maintaine 24

My safety I shall tu rne a dog againe. ExitMop:u: .

(4 ) lives? the soul ’62 , ’68 .

308 THOMA S RANDOLPH

I am as you are, mortall;’ti s my

In Physick , and experience in the raiVertue of herbes, that wrought this 111No D ivinity, or power in me.

The: t. Amynta: , when shall we requiti

nesse ?Amyut. Never, I would willingly

Have sacrific’d unto him , but his mod

Will not permit it : though he will no1

T’adore him as a God, yet we may paA reverence to him as a father.

Claiur .

’

0 those words doe touch the quieAmyn .

A father th at begot this flesh , this clWhat’s he to whom we owe our seconOf soule and reason ? Father, I mustBy that name, father.

Now the floudgatesAnd the full Stream of teares will i ssuTraitors, you wil l betray me !

Si r, wh 1

Claiu: . To thinke of th i s man’ s fatherhim

As dearely as my selfe ! (my words an

Breake out suspitious!) has he not a eAs I remember well, he said her name

Yes , I had almost

Forgot it, I would faine have seene I] !

The: t. You cannot now, because to nigWith one Laurinda .

(39 ) Father: ’

sz

(40) floud-gate’s ’

4oh, 5 2.

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3 10 THOMAS RANDOLPH

HappinessRemember i t Vrania.

FareExeunt Vran . A 1

Claiu: Solur .

Clai. Thus l ike a bat, or owle I spendIn night or darknesse, as asham

’

d ofAnd fearefull of the l ight : the sunneDare never be acquainted . O guilt,Thou and thy daughter feare are punPerpetual], every whistling of the winDoth seeme the noise of apprehenderAffright me more then men . Each 3I s danger. Life ?why to l ive longerNot live at all ? I heare a noyse : fal se 1

Deceive me not, my eyes instrucHeaven shield me

(3 3 ) ?J z’

38

SCEN . 4 .

Alexi: . Damon .

Fain I would enFor Amarylli: , but i f one of theseBee Damon, I am lost

Alex . How early, Damon , doe lovers 1

Cla . Tis he, I heare h is name, gooi

Dam . No Larkes so soon , Alexi: .

(3—6 ) These lines are so divided in all the ed itions. They tarranged to make blank verse :

B ee Damon, I am lost.Doe lovers rise?Good mole away .

How early, Damon,T is he, I bears his name,

No Larkes so soon,

AMYNTAS

Alex . He that of us shall have Laurinda, Damon

Will not be up so soone : ha !would you Damon?Dam. A lexi: , no ; but if I misse Laurinda,

My sleepe shall be eternall.Alex. I much wonder the Sunne so soone can ri se !Da. D id he lay hi s head in fai re Laurinda’: lap,

We should have but short dales .No summer, Damon .

Dam. Tbeti: to her i s browne .

And he doth ri seFrom her to gaze on faire Laurinda’: eyes .

Dam . 0 now I long to meet our Arbitresse .

Alex. On whom depends our only happinesse .

Dam. I t must be the first Virgin that we greetFrom Cere: Temple.

Alex . Yes , the first we meet .Dam. I heare no noise of any yet that move .

Alex . Devotion’ s not so early up as love.Dam. See how Aurora blushes !we supposeWhere Titkan l ay to night .

That modest roseHe grafted there .

0 heaven,’tis all I seeke

make that colour in Laurinda’: checke.The virgin s now come from the Temple .

Appeale unto the first .

( 13 ) Alexi: . We should ’3 8.

( 17 ) only] daily ’

5 2.

3 1 2 THOMAS RANDOLPH

SCEN . 5 .

The virgin: pan e over the J tage wiz

in their hand: , Amary l l i s goe: the jstaid by Damon , as unknown to he

being vail’

d and having on her head t

Laurinda took from Damon .

Chast beanCere: so grant your prayers, as you 1

Justly our cause !Amar . Cere: has heai

For all my morn ing orisons beg’

d no

Then one kind word from Damon .

Dam.

A lex . That name breaths l ife soul t<Amar . The same ; why startle you ?

metA poyson, Damon .

D am. Yes a thousandHave stung my soule .

As many joyWith happinesse.

Dam. Would I had me

Infectious vapors nursing plagues, nNo curse but that had power to ruin

A lex . No other bless ing hath preserveAmar. What should this mean , my

have IDispleas

’

d you , sweet ? heaven kn

praier

More then for heaven , to please yor

(n ) vapors, ’62,

’68.

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3 14 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Which of us two must have the faire 1Write your award ; our mutuall oatlus

Not to deny’

t.

’Tis a meere plot coBetwix t th is cursed Nymph , and you ,

Alex. Damon , you wrong us both .

Dam. Where dThis Garland ? i t was mine.

Ama.

Because it once was thine .For th at I h

Cause it i s th ine, had it been true toMe thinkes as soone as it h ad toucht 1

I t should have withered .

Amar . So it woulHad it not first touch

’

t yours . La

meThis Garland , but nere told me of thi

Alexi: , you deale false,’ti s a con

’Twixt you and her.How can it ? you k l

Ihave not beene one minute from yor

You tooke your time while I was

Nor I nor you could sleepe one winkeThe expectation of thi s morning tryallD id keepe us both awake .

I doe notBut there is some trick in’t, and I

’le aFrom her too partiall sentence .

(3 8) Nymph and you ,

’

4oh , H.

(4 1 ) I’

3 8.

AMYNTAS 3 1 5

I ’le the while goe fetch Laurinda, shee shal lforce you stand

Vnto her tryall . Exit.Amar. Damon, thy harsh language is more then death

Vnto me .I doe charge you to teare the paper

,

And refuse to judge between us . 60

Amar. No, I am resolv’

d to write what I determine .Da . Now thou hast indeed a time wherein thou

maistRevenge my scorne. Take it, but I

’le prevent thee .he .rtrike: her .

Amar . Welcome death !

From him all things are so . Damon, fly hence, 65

Thou hast shed bloud here in the Sacred Valley ,Make hast away or thou art lost for ever.

Dam. Thy counsell’s good , no matter whose the guilt.ExitDamon .

Ama . Whatwas it he said last ? Thou hast indeedA time wherein thou maist revenge my scorne. 70

-With love, no otherwise : and there thou shalt not

(5 6) This should undoubtedly be arranged thus, to finish out line 5 5I'le the while

Goe fetch Laurinda , shee shall force you stand(5 8-64 ) These lines will scan if rearranged as follows

Amar. Damon, thy harsh languageIs more then death unto me.

Do. I doe charge youTo tear the paper, and refuse to judgeBetween us.

No, I am resolved to writeWhat I determine.

Now thou hast indeedA time wherein thou maist revenge my scorne.

Take it, but I’le prevent thee. he striker lief .

Welcome death !(5 9 ) doe] M L

'63 . (63 ) scorne ; take it: ’

68 .

(6 1 ) what] om.

’

4oh ,’

5 2. (70) my] thy ’5 2.

3 16 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Prevent mee, Damon . I will writeDeserves not to record the name ofTis black and ugly ; thou thy selfe h astWith that of better colour. ’Tis my l:That’s truly Cupid: inke : love ought 1

Only with that ; This paper is ti

0 that I had my heart, to write it theBut so i t i s already. Would I hadA Parchment made of my own skin , iTo write the truth of my affection ,A wonder to posterity ! Hand maAs my bloud does, or I shall faint I fl

Ere I have done my story .

SCEN . 6 .

Enter Doryla: .

These m ilkemaids are the dain1

they kisseAs sweet as sill ibubs, su rely OberonLives a delitious l ife !Ha !who lies heA Nymph ? I f

’ t'

were but now in 064To steale away her maidenhead , as sl

0’twould be excellent sport, to see h

Would misse it when she wakes : wh:To be a boy ; why could not my g001

Have got me five yeares sooner ? hereA purchase : well,

’tis but five yeatesAnd I shall hope to see a merrier woiNo body neere too ! Slid the very ti

Enough to make me man oth suddenI ’le kisse her though .

(3 ) Ha who’

4oh ,

’

5 2. ( 12) S’lid ’4os , fi' .(7 )

'tis] it is

’

4oh, fl'

. 1 3 ) o’

the’

4ob ,’

5 2

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3 1 8 THOMAS RANDOLPH

How dead ? oh mee,See how her blood hath stain

’

d the hoWell you have done me wrong to killOnly to have me sacrific ’d on the AltI nere deserv ’

d i t.Ama. Fear not Doryla:Dor. Fear not to dye so l ike a

Dorylar oh

Ama . Good B orylar be gone, whilest ye

Dor .

Will give me leave to say i t was not ySee that you doe, and so farewell

Amar .

How fearfull death i s unto them , whoHad any sweetnesse in it ! my daies h :Been so oreworne with sorrow, that thI s unto me rather a salve then sore,More physick then disease : whither nShall lead me now ; through what dplace,

Among what monsters, hags and

Furies,Am I to goe, I know not ; but my lifeHath been so spotlesse, chast, and innMy death so undeserv

’

d, I h ave no re

(I f there be Gods) but to expect the 1Yet what doth most torment me, i s tlHow long ’twill bee ere I again enjoy

My Damon’

: presence : untill then , ElWill be no place of pleasure ; and percWhen he comes thither too , he then m :As much as now .

— That very fearthee

Dye, wretched Amaryllir .

’

(42) while ’62,

’68 .

Sc an . 7 .

Enter Claiu: .

How no feareCan make me loose the father ! Death or dangerThreat what you can ; I have no heart to goeB ack to the mountaines,

’till my eyes have seenMy Amarylli: !

Amar . O was ever loveSo cros

’

d as mine ! was ever Nymph so wretchedAs Amarylli: ?

Ha ! I heard the soundOf Amarylli: ; where

’s that blessed creature ,That owes the name ? are you the Vi rgin ?

Ama .

That fatall name is mine . I shall anonBe nothing but the name .

0 speak, what hand ,What barbarous Tigers issue, what cursed whelpeOf Beares or Lyon , had the marble heartTo wound so sweet a Nymph ?

Amar . O sir, my blondCalls none but fortune guilty . I by chanceStumbled on mine own dart, and hurt my selfe . 1 5

Then I have hearbs to cure it : heaven I thankthee

That didst instruct me hither ! still the blondFlowes l ike a scarlet torrent, whose quick streameWill not be checkt : speak Amarillif , quickly,What hand this sinne hath stain

’

d, upon whosesoule 20

( 5 ) l] ’68 . ( 1 2) Lyons ’

4oh,’

5 2 Lions’62,

’68 .

(6) ?J’68 . ( 1 5 ) mine] my

’68 .

3 20 THOMAS RANDOLPH

This blond writes murther ; till you seBefore your eyes, that gave the hurt ,In Physick i s despaire She will 11And now the cure growes to the last.I h ave a Recipe wil l revive her spi rits,And

’till the last drop of her blood beApplie: a medicine and rub:

Exhausted from those azure veines , prBut then shee

’

s lost for ever ! Then , 0I f there be any in these groves , men ,Beast, bi rd , or trees , or any th ing dettThis horrid fact

, reveale i t ! Sacred gr:Whose hallowed greene thi s bloudy

stain’

d,

Aske nature for a tongue to name theI ’le to the Temple I f this place cAny D ivinity, Piety, or Religion ,I f there be any God at home, or PriesOmpha, or Oracle, Shrine, or Altar, spWho did it : who is guilty of thi s sinneThat dyes the earth with blond , 82heavens

Asham’

d to stand a witnesse ?

(25 ) receipt’

4oh , ff.temples] téple:

’

3 8 . In the original editions this stagemargin Opposite ll . 26- 29 .

(29 ) Virgin.

’

4oh.’

5 2 .

SCEN . 8 .

Enter P ilumnu: . Corymbu: .

P ilum. Wh atD i sturbs our pious Orgyes?

A virgin all in gore .

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3 22 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Laurell and Cedar beares i t regi stredVpon his tender barke ; i t i s a nameIn which is all the l i fe I yet have leftA name I long to speake ; yet I had 1Dye all the severall sorts of death twThen speake it once.

I charge theeThou ow’

st to me, Amarillis, that thoi

Who gave thee li fe .What should this me

And by the womb that bare thee, lOf thy dead mother, Lalage,

This isConceale him not ! in plain , I am

Thy father, Amarillis, that commandBy these gray haires to tell mee . I

P ilum. How , Claius ! and so fortunatly lClaius. I , glut your hate, P ilumnus ; letThat has so long thirsted to drinke nSwill till my veines are empty ; and cDeep in my heart, till you grow drunAnd vomit up the surfet, that your c

Quaft off with so much pleasure ; I hLong l ike a fatall oake, at which gre:Levels his thunder ; all my boughes lBlasted and wither’d ; now the trunkHeaven end thy wrath in mee !

P ilum . Ble

Wh at unexpected happines i s here ?Rejoyce S icilians ; miserable lovers,Crowne all your browes with roses , aThe Deity that sent h im : he i s come

(3 2) !J’68 . (49 ) ( 5 0)

AMrNrAs 3 23

Whose blood must quench the fi re of Ceres wrath,And kindle more auspitious flames of loveIn every brest .

I , doe , I feare not death .

Let every Vi rgins hand when I am slaine

Ring me a knell of Plaudits : let my Di rgesBe amorous Di tties , and in stead of weepingDance at my funerall! Tis no griefe for meeTo dye to make my countrymen some sport .Here’s one in whom I only wish to l iveAnother age .

Amar . What joy have I to live,That nere liv ’

d yet ? the time that I have spentSince first I wept, then , when I first had entranceInto this world , this cold and sorrowful!world , 65

Was but a scene of sorrow ; wretched I !

Fatall to both my parents ! For my bi rthRuin

’

d my mother, and my death my father.

O Tragick l ife ! I either should have beenNere borne , or nere have died . When I began 70

To be, my sinne began , why should it thenOut live mee ? for, though now I cease to be ,That still continues : Eyes , flow forth a pace ,And be asham

’

d to see my wound run blood

Faster then you drop teares

Enter Damon .

See, here he comes .

His absence never until! now I wisht .

Dam. My Conscience brings me back, the feet ofgu ilt

Goe slow and dull ,’

tis hard to run awayFrom that we beare about us !

(63 ) ?J (70) ne’re

'62 (7 2) Out-live '

4os ,’

sob ,’

sa.

3 24 THOMAS RANDOLPH’

l

I s it thi s place, the issue of her bloocI s stop

’

d o’th’ sudden . Cruel man ,Hast done this bloudy act, th at willThe story of our nation , and imprintSo deepe a blemish in the age we liv‘

For savage Barbari sme, that eternityShall nere weare out : P ilumnus, on 1I beg the j ustice of Sicilian l awesAgainst thi s monster.

P ilum. Claius,’ti s yo

And old revenge instructs you to accMy sonne : you would have fellc

death ,And to that purpose you pretend , IWhat mysteries of art !

Speak Ama

I s’t not this wolfe ?P ilum. Say, virgin , was iAma. O, I am angry with my blood foThis coward ebbe against my wil l beThe streame i s turned , my eyes run 1

P ilum. Can you accuse my sonne ?Amar. By

I h ave no heart to doe it : does thatLook cruell ? doe those eyes sparkle 1

Or malice ? Tell me, Father, lookes tAs i f i t could but frowne ? Say, can 1

Tis possible Damon could have the hTo wound a Vi rgin ? surely barbarovDwels not in such a brest : mercy, aiCourtesy, love, and sweetnesse brea!

(8 1 ) oth’ '

3 8. (99 ) doe]doe

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3 26 THOMAS RANDOLPH

SCEN . 9 .

A lexis. Laurinda .

I w

And so he must i f oathes be any tyeAlex . To lovers they are none, we

bondsAs easily as threds of silke : A brace]Made of your maidens haire’s a str01Then twenty cobweb oathes, wh

breakVenus but laughs : i t must be your 1:That works h im to it .

Damon, you 1To what you promis

’

d, how shall I l:Those other oathes you sweare, i f yoThis one no better ? It was my devTo have her j udge, was it not, Amar

How, all in blood !Yes, this unmerc

(I f he be man that can doe such a ClHas wounded her.

Amar. Indeed it was nc

P il. You see her selfe frees him .

Lau . When lShe was with Damon .

Amar. Pray believeShe speaks it out of anger, I nere sa

Damon to day before .And when w

He was incens’d.

(6) J :'

40b. 5 (u )

AMrNTAS 3 27

Amar . You are no competent witnesse ;You are his Rivall in Laurinda’s love,And speak not truth but mal ice ;

’tis a plotTo ruin innocence .

O ungrateful! man !The wolfe that does devoure the brest that nurst

It

I s not so bad as thou : here, here, thi s LetterTh’ eternall Chronicle of affection ,That ought with golden characters to be wri tIn Cupids Annals , will (false man) convincethee

Of fowle ingratitude : you shall hear me read it .

The Letter.

Laurinda , you have put it unto meeTo choose a husband for you , I will be

A judge impartiall, upright, j ust and true,Yet not so much unto my selfe as you .

Alex Now I expect to hear my blessed doome.

Lau . Alex i s well deserves, but Damon more ;I wish you him I wishtmy selfe before.

Alex. 0, I am ruin’

d in the height of hope .

How l ike the hearb Solstitiall i s a lover,Now borne

, now dead again , he buds , sproutsforth ,

Flouri shes, ri pens, withers in a minute .

Take him, the best of men , that ever eye

B eheld, and live with him for whom I dye.

Amarillis .

Here look on’t .

(22) 3]’

3 8. (28 ) Annall’

5 2 .

3 28 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Dam. Writ with blood ? 0 let 1My bill of Accusation l here my nam c

Lookes l ike my soule, all crimson , eV1Word , syllable , and letter, weares theOf my unnaturall action . Amarillis

That name of all i s black , which was

Worthy so pretious inke ; as i f disdaiThe character of cruelty, which the rWere cloath’d in : for as if that wordD id weare this morn ing colour, to beThe funeral! of my vertue, that lies lHere in th is l iving tombe , this movi

Know murtherer I hate thy bed ,Unkind , unthankfull V i llaine.

Ama. Nay,You have bound your selfe to stand 1

The sentence now i s past, and you mIt cannot be revers’d ; you are deceixHe is not guilty of this sinne, his lovTo me for mine, makes him againstSeeme to confesse it, but bel ieve himNor will I , he i s all fal sehood , an

Laurinda, you may spare in tl

guageTo utter your dislike : had you a bee

More than immortall, and a face wh

Farre outshind angels , I would make

Here, and no where but here ; her V t

Moves a more noble flame within mThen ere your beauty d id ; I am en

(47 ) weare’

4oh , were’

5 2 wear’62

(5 6) murderer ’68 thee] then 5 2.

(62) To me,’

3 8 To me ;’

4oa.

(64 ) I] om.

’

3 8 .

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3 3c THOMA S RANDOLPH

Amarillis sola.

Amar. All , all but the distressed AmariliAre happy, or lesse wretched ; fair La1I s ready for a wedding, old P ilumnusHath lost a sonne, yet mitigates his g1In Claius death , my father Claius diesYet joyes to have the sonne of his oldA partner of his sorrowes; my fatherOnly himselfe ; and Damon too no moAmyntas but a father, onely IHave lost all these ; I have lost ClaiusAnd my selfe too ; A father with AmyAnd al l the rest in Damon, and whichAffects mee, I am cause of all ; P ilum:

Had not else lost his sonne, nor had AWept for a Father, nor poore Thestyli.Bewail

’

d a brother ; Damon might h i“And Claius but for mee ; all circumsta

Concurre to make my miseries compleAnd sorrowes perfect : for I lost my f:As soone as I had found him , and myAs soone as I h ad found he loy ’d meeAll I can find i s losse ; 0 too too wretcD i stressed virgin ! when they both areVisit thei r Ashes, and first weepe an 11On Claius Vrne, then go, and Spend aAt Damon’s ; thence again goe wet thc

Of thy dead father, and from thence 1Back to thy lovers grave ; thus SpendIn sorrowes ; and till death doe end tlBetwixt these two equally share thy t

Finis A ctus quartz .

Aer y s . 5 . Scan . 1 .

Dorylas, and a Chorus of Swaines.

Ome neighbours, let’s goe see the

sacrificeMust make you happy lovers : oh

’twil l beA fortunate season ! Father Coridon ,

You and old mother B aucis shall be friends .The sheepe-hooke and the distafl

'

e shall shakehands . 5

You lovely freeze-coats, noth ing now but kissing,Kissing and culling, culling and kissing, heighday lIn hope it will be one day so with meeI am content to l ive . Now let’s ascend .

SCEN . 2 .

Alexis. Laurinda. Medoras.

Alex. Now my Laurinda, now (0 happy now !)All lets that stood between my joy and meeAre gone and fled .

Long, 0 too long, Alexis,My doubtfull fancy wavered whom to love,Damon, or you ; in both was happinesse,But double happinesse was my Single miserySo far’d it once, A lexis, (for I wellRemember it) with one of my poore ewes,Equally mov’d between two tufts of grasse,This tempting one way, that inticing t

’

other,

( 1 ) 011’

40a 0’

40b

3 3 2 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Now she would this, then that, then tlVntill poore foole (true emblem of heShee almost starv ’

d in choosing whichAt l ast (so heaven pittied the innocen1

A westerne gale nipt one, which beingShee fed upon the other.

Pretty fool ! lets now no morenuptial joyes .

Med. How sweet a folly i s thi s loveyouth , A lexis,

(AS youth i s rash) runnes indiscreetlyWhile mature judgment ri pened by exStayes for loves season .

Season ? whyBe ever out of season ?

Yes, Alexis,Nothing’s bo rne ri pe, all things at firs

Alex. Lau . And such Shall our affection 8‘

Med. You are to hasty reapers that (106For Sickles in the spring.

Loves har

(Lovers you know) his harvest ought 1All the yeare long .

In Cupids husba1Who reapes not in the spring, reapes

Med. Woemen indeed too soone begin 1Yet till curst Claius dye, as now he mA lexis, and Laurinda, let my counsellAsswage the heat of youth ; pray be p

( 1 2) Until the poor fool ’68 .

( 17 ) Pretty fooll] These words of Alexis undoubtedly be!is metrica ll y incomp lete, while is complete without them.

(18) ll ’

3 8.

(23 ) .J’

3 8 .

(26 )'

38 Loves, ’3 8 .

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3 34 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Come S i ster, he will let us , for thoughWas our sad mother, yet the Gods willWeepe for her : come, come Amarillis

SCEN . 4.

Mopus. Iocastus.

Iocast. Brother, aread , what meanes his grMop. I t s ignifies you bear the bell away

From all hi s Graces nobles .D ivinely

For this I ’le make thee Augur to his grMop. Belwether of Kn ight-hood , you si

to you .

I ’le have’t no more a sheep-bell ; IOf the Mellisonant Tingletangle.

Mop. Sure one of my progeny ; tell 1

brother,Was this Mellisonant Tingle tangle nonOf old A cte ons hounds ?

Ignorant mt

Thou dost not understand the termes 1Mop . How should I sir, my trees be

apples :AS mine, th

’ Hesperian fruit arl

mine,Hence came the Knight—hood , hence .

(x) aread,] read, ’68 . (3 ) ;J

’

4oh , if.

( 1 2) How should I sir? my trees beares no such apples.

’

4oh

beares] bear ’68 .

(14- 16) These lines should p robably be arranged as followsHence came theKnight—hood , hence.

Map . The fame whereofRings loud.

10. We know it.Mop. Foure such knight-hood s mo:

AMYNTAS

Mop. The fame whereof rings loud .

Ia. We know it .Mop. Foure such knight-hoods moreWould make an excellent peale .

IO. I ’le have ’em so.

Mop . But you must get a squirell too .

Io. For what ?Mop . To ring your Knight-hoods .IO. I ’le h ave any thing,

His grace Will not deny me , 0 sweet orchard .

Mop . To see the fruit th at came of such an orchard !I0. But shall we not see Claius sacrific ’d?Mop. Oh by all meanes .I0. But how deserv ’

d he death ?Mop . No matter for deserving it or no ;Tis fit he suffer for example sake .And not ofl

'

end?

Tis fit he should ofl'

end.

They take their places.

(so)'68

’

4oh, 6 .

Scan . 5 .

Pilumnus with a sacrificing knife, fire laid on the

Altar, a P riest holding a Taper ready to kindle it,

another P riest powring water on Claius head, who

was bound: Corymbus leading outDamon bound.

Sicilians, Nature and religionAre at contention in mee : my sad souleD ivided

’twixt my Goddesse and my sonne,Would in her strange distractions , either have mee

3 36 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Turne Parricide or Apostate : AwefullFor whom I feed the fattest of my L:To whom I send the holiest of my pr:Vpon the smoaky wings of sweetest nInstruct thy doubtful Flamen ! AS I cForget I am thy priest : for sooner shOu r Lambs forget to feed , our swaineOur Bees forget first, from the fruitfuTo cull them bag s of Nectar: every 1

Forget his nature, ere I can forgetI am thy Priest : Nor can I but reme1That Damon i s my sonne : yet take hYou need not powre water Upon his lI ’le doe it with my teares . Ceres, I lThy anger will not bind the Fathers 1To look into the Bowels of his sonne,I ’le therefore first spill on thy hallowThis Captives blood ; and then retireNot to be present at my Damons deaLeast nature might tume Rebell to

Song.

Ceres , to whomwe owe thatyetWe doe notMast and Acornes eat

That didst provide us better meat,The purestflower of finestwheat.This blond we spill at thy desireTo kindle and to quench afire.

0 let it quench thy flame of ire,And kindle mercies more entire.

(9) As] as’

4oh,’

5 2. (30) a ire.

’

3 8

( 19 ) blind ’68 . (3 1 ) trail/ire.

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338 THOMAS RANDOLPH

(0 sad sweet n ame !) may with her p01Witnesse his tyrannous reigne : here iTurtles grow jealous, Doves are turn

’

The very Pellicans of Trinacrean wooAre found unnaturall, and th irst theOf thei r young brood , (alas who canWhom they were wont to suckle WitlO wretched season ! Bitter fruits of lThe very Storks with us are ParricidcNay even the senselesse trees are sen:Of this imperious rage : the gentle Vi1

(The happy embleme once of happierThat with such amorous twines and cD id cling about the loved-loving elmc

With slacker branches now fall s downI f then to adde more fuel! to the flamTo powre in oyle and sulphure be to 1

The flame is quench’

d Nor are 3lumnus,

That must expound the Oracle,’Tis 2

Such as mine i s neglected , that mustThe Goddesse meaning : you , the l iviOf Sicilie, the breathing Ompha of t!Will misconceive the Goddesse ; youSkil

’

d in the vertues of all herbs, anWhat makes our Ewes can best, whasound ;

Can tell us all the mysteries of heaveThe number, height, and motion of t!Tis a mad brain , an intellect you scc

That must unty this riddle .(60) Witnesse his tyrannous reigne here in Sicilia.

’

40b

(83 ) can] can’

4ob ,'

5 2. them] th '

e' ’

3 8 .

’

5 2.

(86 ) an] and’68 intel lect, ’

3 8 . (87 ) u

AMTNTAS

But I knowThe wrath of Ceres cannot be appeas

’

d

But by the bloud of Claius.

So it i s .How can that bee ? yet his accursed gore 90

Hath not imbru’

d the Altar.Amyn . But his bloud

Hath been already shed in AmarillisShee i s hi s bloud, so i s Vrania yours,And Damon i s your bloud ; That is the bloudThe Goddesse aimes at, that must still her ire, 95

For her bloud hath both quench’

t and kindledfire .

What hath it quencht or kindled ?Amyn . Love, the fireThat must be quench

’

t and kindled . Damonslove

To his Laurinda in that bloud extinguish’

d,

I s by that powerfull bloud kindled anewTo Amarillis, now grown his desi reThus Claius bloud hath quench

’

t and kindled fire.

Amyntas, Amyntas, Amyntas, Amyntas.

And is the fire of my Damon kindledBut to be quench

’

t againe : Ceres ! a frostDwell on thy Altars, ere my zeale renewReligious fires to warme ’em .

Amyn . Spare these blasphemies,For Damon i s acquitted 8c assoil’dOf any trespasse .

How Amyntas? speake !Thou that hast say ’d a Father, save a sonne .

(98 ) must] mnst’

3 8.

( 105 ) z]’68 l] ’62,

'68 .

340 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Amyn . Thus, Amarillis i s the SacrificeThe Goddesse aim

’

d at : and the blone

(As you all know) may lawfully be spiEven in the Holy vale, and so it was ;Besides your Damon i s a Priest by himAnd therefore by that Title, he may S]The sacrifiz ed Amarillis bloud.

I f th is interpretation be not true,Speak you S icilians, I

’le be judg’

d byAmyntas, Amyntas , Amyntas, Am;

Amyntas, thou hast now made fulFor my P hilebus death ; Claius all envEnvy the viper of a venemous souleShall quit my brest : This i s the man ,The man to whom you owe your liber1Goe Vi rgins, and with Roses strow hisCrowne him with violets, and lilly wreCut off your golden tresses, and fromWeave him a robe of love : Damon, paThe debt of duty that thou ow ’

st to 11Hence was thy second birth .

Or hitheThe Balsame of Sicilia flowed fromheHence from this scarlet torrent, whoseM ight ransome Cupid were he captive

Amaril. How much owe I my Damon,hand

Made mee the publique sacrifice ! coulAs many drops of blood , even from th

As A rethusa drops of water can ,I would outvie her at the fullest tide,That other Vi rgins loues might happyAnd mine my Damon be as blest in tl

( 1 1 1 ) ,3 ( 1 18) sacrificed

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342 THOMA S RANDOLPH

Mop. Now, Thestylis, thou shalt mibee,

Hence forth I will interpret none butThes. Why haue the bi rds (my Mopsus

so?

Mop . They say I must, whether you wThes. How know I that ?Mop . The bi rds doe s

Dorilas with c

Harke, Thestylis, the bi rds say so agaThes. I understand them not.Mop . Will you

By th’ next we meet ?Mopsus, I am

you will stand unto it as well as I .Mop . By Ceres, Thestylis, most willing!

Enter Dorylas.

Mop. Ah Dorilas, heard you what t’

say ?

I Mopsus, you are a happy manWhat said they boy ?

As i f you 6But Thestylis.

Why sure she 1111?

Have you to her thi s l anguage neverMop . No, Dorylas, I can teach her besDor . The Bi rds said twice : (as you

know)You must have Thestylis whether she

( 167 ) counsel’d

’

4ob , if .

This stage direction is in the margin opposite 1!

( 17 7 ) Dor .] Mop.

’62 .

AMrNTAS 343

Thes. And am I caught ? Tis no great matter though ;For this time Mopsus I wi ll marry thee ;The next I wed , by P an , shall wi ser bee !

Mop . And have I got thee ? thankes my witty boy.

DO. Harke , Thestylis, the birds doe bid you joy.

Thes . For fooling Mopsus , now’tis time give ore .

Mop . Mad man I may, but will be foole no moreThes. Mad after marri age as a foole before .

For hee’s a foole that weds , all wives being bad ;And shee

’

s a foole makes not her husband mad .

( 188)’62,

’68 .

SCEN . 6 .

Iocastus with a Morrice, himselfe maidMarrian , B romius the Clowne.

See, Mopsus, see, here comes your Fairybrother,

Hark you , for one good turne deserves another.ExeuntDor. Mop.

Iocast. I d id not think there had been such delightIn any mortallMorrice, they doe caperLike quarter Fairies at the least : by my Knight

hood , 5

And by this sweet Mellisonant Tingle tangle,

The ensigne of my glory, you shall beeOf Oberons Revels .

What to doe I pray ?

To dance away your Apples ?

(7 ) of] or’

5 2.

(9 ) your] om’

4oh. ff. '

3 8 .

‘

344 THOMAS RANDOLPH

Iocas. SureThou art not fit for any oflice there .EnterDorylas like theK ing of Fairies.

See, blind mortall, see,With what a port, what grace, what rThis p rincely Oberon comes , your Grac

A beauteous Lady, bright and ra1

Queen Mab her selfe i s not so faire .Does your grace take me for a weYes beauteous virgin ; Thy each 1

Has shot an arrow through my heart ;Thy blazing eye, thy lip so thinne,Thy azure cheek , christall chinne,

Thy rainbow brow, with many a rose ;Thy saphyre cares, and ruby nose,All wound my soule , O gentle beOr Lady you will ruin mee .

B romius, what Shall I doe ? I amIf geelding of me will preserve your g1With all my heart

No master, let 1Steale away all your orchard Apples .

Beauteous Queen Mab may loose her iHow’s this ? are you no woman tl

Can such bright beauty live with men

An’t please you r grace, I amIocastus.

Indeed I thought no man but heeCould of such perfect beauty bee .Cannot your Grace distill me to

(28) I , and he shall, ’62, '68 .

(3 5 ) I]’

3 8.’

4oa.’

eoh .

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

GraciousI alwaies thought I was borne to bCome let us walke, majestique Que

Of Fairy mortalls to be seene .In chaires of Pearle thou plac

’

t sh alt beAnd Empresses shall envy thee,When they behold upon our throneIocasta with her Dorilas.

All. Ha, ha , ha !I0. Am I deceiv ’

d and cheated , guld a1

Mop. Alas sir you were borne to be a QuIO. My l ands, my livings, and my orciDor. Your grace hath said it, and i t mu :B ro. You have enough beside in Fairyl:

What would your Grace commandof honour ?

Well I restore your lands : only theI will reserve for fear Queen Mab Shoul l

Mop. Part I ’le restore unto my liberal! sIn leiw of my great Knighthood .

PartI am beholding to your l iberality.

I ’ le some th ing give as well as doeTake my fooles coat, for you deserve it

IO. I shall grow wiser.Dar. Oberon will bThes. I must goe call Vrania that she me

Come vow Virgin ity.

(7 7 ) orchar'd ’3 8.

(84) on’t'

3 8 .

AMrNTAS 347

SCEN . 7 .

P ilumnus. Amyntas . 8 c .

Amyn . Ceres, I doe thank thee,That I am author of this publique joy °

But is it j ustice (Goddesse) I aloneShould have no share in’t ? Every one I seeI s happy but my selfe th at made ’em so ,

And my Vrania that should most be so .

I thirst amid the Bowles ; when others sit

Quafling off Nectar, I but hold the cup ;And stand a sadder Tantalus of love,Starving in all thi s plenty ; Cere

’

s Demand 10

Feeds me with gall ; stretching my doubtfull

thoughtsOn many thousand racks : I would my DowryWas all the gold of Tagus, or the oreOf bright P actolus channel! But, Vrania,

Tis hid , alas I know not what it i s .

SCEN . 8 .

Vrania . Thestylis.

My Thestylis, since first the Sea-gods TridentD id rule the small three pointed peece of earthOf this our conquering soile, i t has not beenA place of so much story as to day,So full of wonders : O ’twill serve (my Thestylis)For our discourse when we goe fold our Ewes,Those Sheapheards that another day shall keep

( 1) This l ine not indented in ’

38.’

4os ,’

4oh,’

5 2.

(6 ) fol’d ’3 8 .

THOMAS RANDOLPH

Their Kiddes upon these mountaines

Relate the miracle to thei r wondringOf my Vrania ; i t will fil l their caresWith admiration .

Thes. Si r, Vrania’

s hereAmyn . How ! i s this habit ! This me thiA Lover, my Vrania.

Yes, Amyntas

This habit well befits a Vi rgins life .For since my Dowry never can be paThus for thy sake I ’le l ive and dye a

Amyn . O i s it j ust, so faire a one as yShould vow Virginity ?must the sacr.

Of my Vrania fit to have brought fo1A fruitfull race of Gods , be ever barrNever expect Lucina ? shall thi s beauLive but one age ? how curs

’

d i s ou 1That shall have no Vrania’s ! can onContain all goodnesse ? Ceres ratherThe corne thou gav

’

st us : let th1

barren ;These trees, and flowers wither eternLet our Plowes toyle in vaine, and 1No more a harvest : Every losse i s 3 11Yea though the P ha nix selfe sho

ashesAnd nere revive again ! But let the1Some more Vrania’s

P ilum.

’Tis necessiWe must obey .

Amyn . But yet Vrania,I hope we may sometimes come pm ;

(22) cura’d is] curs’d’s '

40b,’

5 2.

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THOMAS RANDOLPH

But bear a part in that harmon ious sonYet if she will after such melodyEndure to hear the harsh Amyntas spea

Ec . Amy 1

When wilt thou think my torments areEc .

Alas, how is it possible I should hope iEcho.

How shall I pay the Dowry that you askEcho. A

I aske a Dowry to be made a Husband .

Echo. 1

Answer directly to what I said last.Echo. What

A Husband , Ceres? Why is th at the gm1

That which I have not, may not, cannot

I have not, may not, cannot have a HuTis true, I am a man , nor would I charMy sexe, to be the Empresse of the woVrania, take thy Dowry,

’ti s my selfe ;A Husband , take it .

7 ran. Tis the richest 1That ere my most ambitious praiers couBut I will bring a portion , my AmyntasShall equall i t, i f it can equall

’

d beeThat which I have not, may not, canncShall be thy portion ,

’tis a wife, AmyntcAmyn . Should greater Queenes wooe mee

Pride,And in thei r laps bring me the wealthI should prefer th is portion ’fore the be

(79 ) am.

'

3 8. (82)’forc] for

’

4oi

AMrNTAS 3 5 1

Thankes Ceres, th at hast made us both be blest.Echo. Be blest.

P ilumnus, let us now grow young againe,And like two trees robb’d of their leafy boughes 85By winter, age, and B oreas keener breath ,Sprout forth and bud again : This spring of joyCuts forty yeares away from the gray summe.Once more in triumph let us walke the Village !

P ilum. But first I will intreat this company 90

To deigne to take part in this publique joy.

Pilumnus Epilogizes .

A ll Loves are happy , none with us there bee,

Now sick of coynesse, or unconstancy .

The wealthy summes of Kisses doe amount

TO greater scores then curious art can count!

Each eye isfix’

d upon his M istris face,And every arme is lock

’

t in some embrace.

Each cheeke is dimpled; every lip doth smile

Such happinesse I wish this blessed Isle,This little world of Lovers: and leastyou

Should think this blisse no reall j oyes, nor true,Would every Lady in this orbe might see

Their Loves as happy as we say they be!

And for you gentle youths, whose tender hearts

A re not shot proofe’

gainst love and Cupids darts;These are my P rayrs, (I would those prayrs were

charmes) 1 5

That each had here his M istrisse in his armes.

True Lovers, (for tis truth gives love delight)T0 you our Author only means to write.

(18) Authors’

3 8 wright '

3 8 .

THOMA S RANDOLPH

If he have pleas’

d (as yet he doubtfull staFor his applause clap lips instead of Han

He beggs nor B ayes, nor Ivy; only this,

Seale his wisht Plaudite with an amorous

Exeunt Cantantes .

F I N I S .

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NOTES

ON THE INTRODUCTORY POEMS

ROB ERT RANDOLPH . The brother of the poet . See p . 27 .

I . T. A . M . Probably this is Jerameel Terrent , M.A . , who was a

graduate ofWestminster School and of Christ Church , Oxford .

He was wel l known as a tutor atOxford and later became rectorof Clewer, Berkshire.

Trio . TERRENT . He also was a graduate ofWestminster School andof Christ Church , and served as curate of Bensington. He

contributed to a number of col lec tions ofOxford poems.

R. BRIDE-CAK E . Ral ph Brideoake ( 16 13 a graduate of Brasenose Col lege , Oxford . In 1634 he was made Prochaplain ofNew

Col lege, and was afterward Bishop of Chichester and Masterof the Manchester Free Grammar School .

ED. GAYTON . Edmund Gaytoun or Gayton, one of the Sons of

Ben .

”He was a fel low of St . John’

s Col lege, Cambridge, and,accord ing to Wood , was the author of a number of works “ somegood , others most vain and trashy th ings.

”

G . W . 7oan . Apparently George Wilde ( 16 10 a graduate of

S t . John’s Col lege, Oxford , where he became a fe l low in 163 1 ;

in 163 5 he was incorporated at Cambridge. He was considereda w it in his younger days, and it was his p lay which was actedbefore the royal party in the Col lege Hal l in 1636 . He was

chaplain to Archbishop Laud , and after the Restoration became

Bishop of Derry .

Ios. HOWE . Josias Howe, a graduate and fel low ofTrinity Col lege,Oxford . Wood says that he has “

several copies of verses thatare extant in various books wh ich shew him to have been a good

it”

OWEN FELTHAM . ( 1602 best known for his Resolves, a seriesof moral essays. See p . 3 5 9 .

R. Cosr stow . Richard Gostelow, who was graduated BA . fromCorpus Christi,Oxford , in 163 1 (asGorstelow) andM.A . m 1634.

3 5 5

3 5 6 NOTES .

When he in Cambridge Schooles did moderate,The Moderator was the person chosen to pre“ d isputations” or exercises in the University Sc!of all candidates for degrees.

R1C. WE ST . This Richard West was not, accord ing 1terminology, the “brother-in-law

”of the poet ; he

Randol ph’s step-mother and her first husband, ThCotton End. See p . 5 .

NOTES ON THE POEMS

p . 73 . IN ANGUEM, QU1 Ly coam DORMIENTEM AMPLEIn the original ed itions this poem is precede

version which bears th is title, while the Englishsimpl y Englished thus Hapaeppaarueé s.

p . 78, l. 1 3 . A third speaks raptures, and bath gaind a 1

By praising Ce lia,

This is apparentl y a reference to the poems of

were not, however, pub lished un til 1640.

p . 84. A GRATULATORY TO Mr BEN 1011113011 .

See the story of Randol ph ’s “adoption giver

duction, p . 12 , and his own account given on

tel ls us (Biog. Dram . 2, 5 90) that Jonson“admin

of his adopted Sons in theMuses, and held him inwith the ingenious Mr. Cartwright .”

p . 86 l. 5 7 . To cure thy Palsie;

Jonson, according to his own statement, waswith the palsy in the year 1628.

IN LB SB IAM, 81 HISTRIONEM.

p . 87, l. 12. more then a treble share.

At th is time the actors did not have regular salrece1ved, in accordance with his abiliues, a cert

of the profi ts.

p . 87, II. 25—26 . can to B ra

To Lincolne Race, and toNew-Market too;

Newmarket in Suffol k has long been famousraces; formerl y they were held also at Brackley

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3 5 8 NOTES

p . 104 . ON THE PassroN or Cnrusr .

In MS . Egerton 2725 , wh ich contains this poemby the fol lowing Latin version.

In d iem passionis.

Quid templum abscindit? quo luxque diesque rt

An potuit tenebras totus Apol lo habi ?Astrologi dubitatec , fides ait ; Haud ita mirumNatura malo si sit, moriente‘: Deo.

In A collection of Select Epigrams, published inHackett, there is another version of this poem, w

sibly be the original one, but is more probably(Epigram clxii) .TheTemple’s Veil is rent, the Day is gone ;A sudden gen

’

ral Darkness hides the Sun :Why Nature thus shou’d deviate from her LawsPhilosophers amaz

’

d explore the Cause.

Give o’

er weak Men ; in vain your Skil l ye try ;Nature must needs be sick, when God can die.

p . 104 . NECE SSARY OB S ERVATION S .These “

Observations” were most probably sc

of the young poet . See p . 8 .

p . 1 13 . A PLATONICK ELE01E .

This poem belongs, apparently, to the last yearlife. James Howel l , writing on June 3 , 1634, saysaffords little news at present, but that there isplatonic love, which much sways there of latesets the wits of the town on work ; and they say

a masque shortl y of it.

”

p . 1 1 5 . AN Arow ora roa ms FALS E PREDICTION, et

This Aunt Lane” was some relative of Ra

mother, probably the wife of Sir Richard Lane.

Mor n : fipm os 69 7 2s eixbi‘

a. saws.

This saying (in the form Mby fl s 6’apropos 60m :

is cred ited by Plutarch to Euripides, but it is 1

his extant works.

p . 1 1 5 , l. 6 . Doctor Lambe.

Dr. John Lambe, who was accused of prac ticArt, was beaten to death by a London street mob

NOTES 3 5 9

p . 1 1 5 , I. 8 . Madam Davers

E leanorTouchet, w ife of Sir John Davies, was the author ofseveral fanatical books on prophecy . She gained notice throughbeing popularl y supposed to have pred icted the death ofWil liamHerbert , Earl of Pembroke, in 1630.

p . 1 3 5 . AIbumaz ar

The Arabic astrologer Abu-Maaschar (805—885 )

p . 1 16, l. 36 . Erra-Pater

A Jew, born in Jewry , Doctor of Astronomy and Physick,accord ing to the title-page of his book of prophecy . The name

was sometimes applied to Wil liam Lil ly, the astrologer.p . 1 16, l. 38 . Shepheards Calender .

For thiswork see the note on p . 364 .

p . 1 17 , I. 5 5 . Levinas

Lov inusLemnius, a Dutch physician of the Six teenth Centurythe author of a number of books. He was a native of Zierikseon the island of Schouwen in Zeeland .

p . 1 19 . AN EPITHALAM IUM To Mr F . H .

The references in th is poem to Ninus (the Nene) , andWestonmake it clear that the parties concerned lived in the neighborhood ofNorthampton . At this time there were Wards living atLittle Houghton, the home of Randolph

’

s father, and there wereHarveys at Weston Favel l not far away . (See the 16 19 V!si

tatian of Northamptonshire, pp . 1 5 1 6c In th is latter familythere were several Francis Harveys, and it is very probablyone of these, the father of the bride, who is the

“F.H. and the

“ Frank” addressed here. I t is interesting, though not par

ticularly significant, that Mary Harvey of this famil y marriedLewisAtterbury of Great Houghton, and that the poet

’

s brotherWil liam afterwards married their daughter.

p . 1 2 1 , I. 87 . be thatawed the seas,“Captain” (John ?) Ward , who flourished 1601—16 1 5 , was a

notorious pirate.

p . 123 . To Mr FELTHAM ON ms BOOKS or Resonvss.

These Resolves, a series of moral essays, appeared first in1620 and a Seconde Centurie in 1628 . These two parts wen tthrough a number of ed itions, but in none of them that I haveseen are Randolph’s verses printed.

360 NOTES

p . 124 , l. 30 . So Lesbians by their worke their rules doe

Aristotle (Nic . Eth. 5 , 10) says,“Of a Lesb ia

rule is leaden, since the rule is bent conformab le lthe stone, and does not remain the same.

”

p . 128 . IN NATALEM Auousr rssnvu PRINCIPIS CAROIIn the original editions this poem is preceded l:

Latin of which th is is but a paraphrase.

On May 1 3 , 1629 , Henrietta Maria, Queen of (

birth prematurel y to her first child , a boy, wh

hours. Her next ch ild , afterwards Charles II , wa29 , 1630.

p . 1 29 . AN ODE To Mr ANTHONY STAFFORD To RASTErCOUNTRY.

Anthony Stafford ( 1 5 87 descendedthat name living in Blatherwyck , was a goodread in antient h istory , poets and other authors,

’

the author of a number of books.

p . 1 29, l. 16 . Punic of the Innes of Court.A recently admitted student or freshman at tl

p . 13 1 , l. 76. noble Barkley

George Berkeley , eighth Baron Berkeley ( 1whom S tafford ded icated his Gn ide of Honour .

p . 132 . AN ANSWER To Mr BEN IOHNSON’

S ODE, c i

On Jan. 19, 1628—9 , Jonson

’

s p lay The New Insthe B lackfriarsTheater and was a hopeless failu1later Jonson printed it together with his Ode tohad apparently been written soon after the failunant’s edition of the New Inne .) The Ode inspof answers besides this one of Randolph ’s.

In the Crewe of Kind London Gossips, 1663 ,Johnson’

s Discontented Soliliqui upon the sinis

his play, called theNew Inn, Translated into Latin

Versefor Verse byTHOMAS RANDALL ,” and the 3 a:

in several of the MSS . in which this poem appean

p . 13 3 , l. 34. what B roome sweptfrom thee.

Tennant has shown that Jonson’s original v 4read “

B rome’

s sweepings,”

and that this waspublication . B rome, who had been Jonson

’

s set

his Love-sickMaid three weeks after the failure ofand it proved a great success.

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362

p . 146, l. 14 . a greatand a more holy warre

On

One of Gustavus’s reasons for attemp ting to

the Hol y Roman Empire was that he wished to

for his fel low-Protestants who were oppressed by i*

p . 147 . ON 5 : ROB ERT COTTON, THE ANTiQUARY.

Th is is Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, whose libarHouse was a meeting-place for all the scholarstry . Ben Jonson was intimate with him and oftenCotton d ied on May 6, 163 1 .

p . 149 .

’H

’Evcpvofis 7) m inor: 1? p an xofi: ARI ST.

Aristotle (Poetics, Chap . 17) says: einpvofis 16 1

fl p avwofi.

p . 1 5 0. IN CORYDONEM CORINNAM .

In the original ed itions th is title is prefixed to tl

sion which precedes these lines; the English versessimply P araphras

’

d.

p . 1 5 2 . AN ECLOCUE OCCA S ION’

D BY Two DOCTORS DIS !PREDE STINATION .

In the Bri tish Museum there is a manuscript v s3 3 5 7) which contains, among metrical translations Od ivine med itations, etc . , a version of th is poem ;cred ited to “

T. Randol ph gent .” I t d iffers consider:version given in the printed ed itions of Randolph ,being Thyrsis, Corydon, Thenot, and Colin Clout .163 3 , given in the manuscript, be correc t, we mustwe have here an earlier version which Randolplrevised, for the whole book is too careful l y cop ied fpose the d ifferences due to pure carelessness.

In the front of the book is the fol lowing inscripnarietta Hol les her book given her by her fatherthe last Duke Of that name. She married the late lLd Oxford , son of Robert Harley first Ld of 0)

fam ily.

”

p . 3 7-

38 . In MS . Harl . 33 5 7 these two lines re:

Doaturd you fow le on PansOmniscience fal l ,Col.

Dunce, you his goodness into question call

NOTES 363

p . 1 5 6. AN ECLOCUB To M" IOBNSON.

In th is poem it seems tolerably certain that Tity rus is in

;‘endec

l

l

f

to represent Jonson, while Damon stands for Randol phunse

p . 162 , l. 168 . Call’

d thence to keep theflock of Corydon .

This is the passage upon which F leay bases his conjecture thatRandol ph acted as assistant to the manager of the companyplaying at the Salisbury Court Theater under the name of

Prince Charles’ Men.

”

p . 163 , l. 1 76 . A desolation frights the Muses there!

I t seems most natural to refer this to the plague wh ich causedthe closing of the university from April to November, 1630 ,

during which time Randol ph was almost certainl y in London.

In this case, however, Fleay’

s conjecture cannot be correct, forPrince Charles’ Men did not come to Salisbury Court unti lJanuary, 163 2 .

p . 170. VPON A van D EFORMED GENTLEWOMAN .

In MS . Malone 2 1 this is cred ited to“Dr. Lewis, but the

evidence in Randolph’s favor is overwhelming .

p . 170, ll. 19 , 20 . Gammat, Ela .

Gammut was the lowest tone in the med ie val system as Ela

was the highest .

p . 17 1 , l. 4 1 . What but a Panther

See Pliny, Nat. Hist , 8, 23 .

THE M ILK-MA IDS EPI‘I‘HALAMIUM .

p . 172 , I. 6 . When I shall dealmy Rosemary .

Rosemary was supposed to strengthen the memory and so

was used at both funerals and wedd ings.

p . 174 . AN ECLOCUE ON THE NOBLE ASSEMBLIES REVIVED ONCOT SWOLD HrLLs.

These verses appeared first in the Annalia Dubrensia (see

bib liography, Sec . 3 , No. which was licensed on Jan. 1 1 ,

1636 . The poems in this volume, all dea ling with Dover and theCotswold Games, were b y various poets and must have beenwri tten at differen t times, as several Of the authors were deadwhen the volume appeared .

NOTES

The col lection has been reprinted by Grosart 5Issues, and there is a d iscussion of it in Anglia Vol.

purposes Of col lation I have used the copy in the Briwhich bears the signature of Dover himself.Accord ing to Wood (Athena: 4 , the games

by Dover and by him continued for forty years, Ia certain time each year on Cotswold Hil ls in G1:They were finall y abolished by the Puritans. The

the sports held there ismade c lear from this poem 0

p . 176, l. 5 4 . Barley-break, the ready way to Hell.

In the game of Barley-break the middle inclosuHel l .

p . 176, l. 70. Did skirmish out afight arm’

d butwith f ttt

The“cane game,

”or jousting with hol low can

lances was a fairl y common mode of amusement ;have ori ginated at Messina when Richard I was 0the Hol y Land .

p . 18 1 , l. 1 82 . Shepheards CalendarThis work is a translation of the French Le com

drier des B ergers, a work very popular in the Sixteemost of the ed itions contained , among other th ings,astrology and a

“Kalender with the figures of eue

is hallowed in the yeare.

p . 185 . VPON LOVE FONDLY RETUS ’D FOR CONSC1ENCSamuel Austin, in his Epistle to the Reader pn

Panegyric declares that he intends to

Authors answer to Mr. Randol phs poem styledrefusedfor Conscience Sake E‘f c,

”but nothing furthe

this answer.

POEMS ADDED IN THE 1640 EDITH

ON IMPORTUNATE DUNNE S .191 , ll. 43

-

44 . And’

tis a second charge tome, poor m

To make the new born B abe a Christia'

At the time of the christening it was the custoentertainment at which the guests not onl y are all

but from which they carried away in their pocke1they pleased ; at the time of the Church ing it wasgive another large entertainment .

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366 NOTBS

p . 200. ON srx MA1DS BATH1NC TH EMS ELVE S 1N A R1v 1In the Scattergood MS . , formerly in the Huthpoem is headed ,

“On 6 CambridgeMaids bathing

Queen’

s Col l .” and the date is given as June 1 5 ,th is manuscript Haz litt has added two lines not

printed cop ies, and I have fol lowed him in this (l

p . 200, l. 8 . Clcelia

Clce lia was a Roman v irgin who was given as

Porsena; with nine of her companions she escapedby the Etruscans, swam across theTiber to safety .

Li

p . 20 1 , l. 48 . Tiberius eye

Suetonius tel ls us that the eyes ofTiberius, whihad a wonderful facul ty for seeing in the night-tindark .

p . 205 . To M . I . S . ON 1113 GRATEFULL S ERVANT .

These lines were prefixed to the 1637 editior

Gratefull Servant, and were reprinted in the 16

Randol ph ’s Poems.

POEMS NOT IN ANY OF THE COLLECTED

p . 209 . THE TowNs-MENS PET1T10N or CAMBRrDOE .

Al though this poem is not in any of the earl

Randolph’s col lected works and the earliest ascrihim is in 1662 , there can be little doub t of its authonl y is it quite in his style but it also deals with aoccurred while he was at Cambridge.

On Sept . 1 , 1629 , John Shirwood, who was at thOf the town of Cambridge, was d iscommoned by 1for interfering with the punishment of three chandUniversity had found guil ty of se l ling cand les trat a price above that fixed b y its own Officers.

l Sthree d ifferent trips to London to put the town smt

case before the king,’ comp laining , aswe learn frcof the University ' to his plea that he had been

( 1 ) Baker MS . 25 , 25 Quoted b Coo Annals 8 , 2815 .

(2) Accounts of the reasurers ofythe

"Him . 5 s: 6 Car. QAnnals 3 20 .

(3 eetic papersbstharles I, Dec .

3;1629 . Cooper mentior

of the Diversity (dated 6 , 1629 ) whi is now in the Down ing

NOTES 367

mayor was ever used before . The king , by anOrder of Councildated Dec . 4, ordered the townsmen to pay the fines imposedupon them by the University , and to

“make pub lic confession

in the V. Chan“. court Of their faul t in breaking the said rates Gtprices so set, 6: refusing to pay the fines assessed upon them,

questioning the Priv iliges of the University .

” I think it quitec lear that the poem al ludes to this d ispute and to the humiliation of the townspeople which resul ted .

p . 2 1 3 , l. 1 3 1 . They’

l have the Town made a City,There had been considerable agitation to this effect not longbefore this time .

p . 213 . ON THE FALL or THE MrrRB TAVERN 1N CAN BR1DOE .

This poem likew ise is not in the col lec ted ed itions, yet thereis little doub t Of its authenticity . Three earl y commonplacebooks which I have seen (MSS . Raw l . 62 , d 108 , and d 1092) allcred it it to Randol ph ; Dr. B liss had a fourth in his own col leetion, and Hazlitt mentions stil l another in the Huth Library .

In the cop ies wh ich I have seen the d ivision into stanzas is ineach case ind icated , so that in this matter I have departed fromthe printed text .The Mitre Tavern , which Stood on the south end of the site

now occupied by the screen of King’s Col lege, fel l down in 1633 ,

or thereabouts; it was subsequentl y rebuil t .p . 2 14, l. 5 . The dismal fire of London-B ridge

During the night of the 1 3 th of February , 1632—33 , forty

three of the houses on the B ridge were consumed by a fire whichbroke out at about e leven O’c lock and raged until eight in the

morning .

p . 2 14, l. 20 . Pembrook’

s Cardinals Cap.

The tavern cal led the Card inal ’s Cap , stood nearl y OppositePembroke Hal l , occupying a portion of the site Upon wh ich thePitt Press has since been erec ted .

p . 2 14, l. 24 . the Crown .

The Crown was another Cambridge tavern of the period , aswere the Rose, Falcon and Dol ph in mentioned below .

p . 2 15 , l. 37 . Eaton-conjurers

Until comparatively recently, King’

s Col lege was what isknown as a

“c lose col lege” for Eton ; that is, all of the fellow

ships, scholarships, etc . ,were Open onl y to graduates of that

school , and most Of the students in the col lege were Eton men.

( 1 ) Quoted by Dyer , P riviliges 1 , 142.

368 NOTES

p . 216 . ANNAGRAM . V1RTUE ALONE THY BL1S SE .

The ascription of th is poem , and the two whic

Randol ph rests, in each case, upon the authority of ascript . Th is is scanty evidence upon which to a

work to a given author, yet in both subject math

they so closely resemble the undisputed work of R:th ird not quite so c losel y as the other two) that inof any other c laimant for them I think that thecred ited to him .

p . 2 19 . EPiGRAM .

This is from a manuscript wh ich I have not seer

been forced to follow Haz litt’s transcription Of it, w

ably onl y approximatel y correc t . Considerable (1

upon the authenticity Of this poem by the fac t thepigram printed by Hazlitt from the same manuscri

Jonson . In the absence of definite evidence to thowever, I have thought it best to inc lude this amorOf Randolph .

p . 2 19 [To R1CHARD WE STONJIn the British Museum copy where this poem i

preceded by the fol lowing Latin verses:v ir durus ac honestusRichardus VVestonus

v ir Durus ac ComusTe licet Durum vocal ac hOl’lCStUlnominis felix annagramma vestri

sis tamen quaeso mih i miti durusvalde et hones

I have been unable to identify the particular Ricto whom the poem is addressed .

p . 2 19 . A LETTER TO 1118 MtsTRES SE .

Wh ile this poem may not be by Randol ph (al thobelieve that it is) it is certain that the scribe whovolume thought it his. The names Randol ph andalmost interchangeable at this period ; the poetoften cal led Randal l , wh ile his brother Robert tias Randol ph but hisM .A . as Randal l .

p . 220. THE CHARACTER or A PERFECT WOMAN .

The asc ription of th is poem to in the mic

of Randol ph ’s poems shows that the scribe believ r

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a lways accurate in its attributions. The c laimit, which has been advanced , rests upon no gro

Since he expressly states that he is quoting it fromwit.

” I t was probabl y written soon after the dc:which occurred earl y in 1623 ; at this time Rani

atWestminster School .

225 . [ErrrAPH ON W1LL1AM LAWRENCE ]Dr. Busby , schoolmaster of Westminster, w

dol ph ’s school-fel low and coetanean, and sayththese verses ’

Tis his vaine:Aubrey, Life

Th is ep itaph was placed over the tomb of Lain the North wal k of the Cloisters atWestminsterrence d ied on Dec. 28, 162 1 .

p . 225 . RANDOLPH HIS ANSWER TO SOME MERRY COM

Henry Oxinden of Barham gives the fol lowing iplace-book, 1647 (I quote Haz litt

’

s transcrip ti<wits being a d rinking together, hearing that Ramwas in the house, being desirous to make sport 1for him into their company . Randol ph came to 1

their d iscourse propounded who was the best pocVirgil , another Horace, anotherOv id , &c . and gav q

Randolph , being demanded his op inion, said h iswee t singer Of Israel the best . They asked him 1

because‘From all the il ls, etc.

p . 225 . [RANDOLPH’S ANSWER TO THE SON S or BEFor Winstanley

’

s account of the circumstancesproduction of this poem see the introduc tion, p .

p . 226. PRE LUDIUM .

I have compared the indorsement on the Mpaperswhich are known to be by Clarendon, and tlseems to be the same . Clarendon was a friend ofwas in London at the time Randol ph was theremore than likel y that they knew each other, but ino proof. (The Edward Hide whose verses were 17ealous Lovers is almost certainl y the one who c l

College fromWestminster in If Clarendonrect I can see but two possible explanations of itRandol ph wrote the prologue for some revival ofman Hater (cal led also the Hungry Courtier in the

NOTES 37 1

of which we have no record . I t is quite within the bounds ofpossibility that some such revival took place before Randolph’sdeath , and that the secondary title was given it at th is time,but the prologue seems hardly appropriate to this play .

The more likely explanation is that it was written by some oneelse for a performance of one of Randol ph’s plays,l given in all

probability subsequent to the Closing of the theaters. (The leantimes referred to may, of course, be merel y one of the times whenthe theaters were c losed because of the plague In that case thename

“Hungry Courtier” was chosen simply for its appropriate

ness, wi thout regard to any play ac tual ly in existence. The

language of this prologue sounds much more like a burlesque OfRandolph’s style than like his own serious work .

23 1 . [THE CrrY or LONDON]The fac t that the name Randal l was evidently added in

the margin at some time after the rest of the page was writtenis in itself suspicious; this taken in conjunc tion with the fac tthat in none of the poems unquestionably his does Randol phuse a metre prevailingly dac tylic makes me quite certain thatthe poem is not by him. The events referred to in the poemwouldalso seem to point to a date later than Randol ph’s death . Since,however, I cannot assign it to any other author I have thoughtit better to include it here among the doubtful poems.

NOTES ON THE AMYNTAS.

The Latin quotation on the title-page is from Virgil, EclogueVI , ll. 4

—5 .

ACT I .Sc. 11, ll. 47

—48 . Other Nymphs

(p . 243 ) Have their varietie of loves, for every gown,

Probably an echo of Guarini’s“Corisca, mi dicea, si vuole appuntoFar degli amant i quel che della vestiMolti averne, un godeme, e cangiar spesso;

Pastor Fido, I ,Sc. v, I. 103 . Ompha

(p . 25 5 )A word apparently coined by Randol ph from the Greek ,

a divine voice or prophecy ; he may also have associatedwith it the Del phic OppaMs.

1 ) Corn especially with this p rologue the j ealous Lovers, III, iv v, Gr andthe [icy [orHonesty . IV, i.

ACT I I .Sc. iii, l. 34. copple crowne

(1) -266)A crest or tuft of feathers on a bird’s head .

they’

l — ly .

An al lusion to the lapwing’s wil y methods 0

stranger away from its nest.Sc . vi, 1. 28 . Spanish needles.

(9 278)At this period the best need les stil l were, as t]been, imported from Spain.

1. 36 . so, ho, ho.

So ho”was the cal l used to direc t the dogs wl

hunting the hare.

ACT III .Sc . i, l. 62 . P elian speare

(p . 286)Compare this with the Pelias hasta of Ovid ,

Achil les cut on Mount Pelion .

Sc . ii, I. 7 5 . Lyliba an mountaines

(p . 290)Lilybaeum, the modern Marsala, is a town in

part of Sicil y.

Sc . iii, II. 26 -

41 . Start unkennel sprin

Amyntas uses of the oracle the terms applied toof game by the hunters; they spoke of

“starting”

kennel ling” a fox, and“springing” a bird .

Sc . v, I. 70. Ti-ti-ta-tie

(p . 301 )These same words are used by the pseudo-fairi

chemistwhen they impose upon Dapper: Gifford S lto be merel y a h int to the performers to use some

inarticulate jargon.

ACT IV.

Sc. i, I. 18. Carduus Benedictus(p 306 )

The plant known as the B lessed Thistle, whicl:his Herbal says “

is given with great profite agair

lence” Dragonwaterwas another popular remedy.

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Sc

Sc .

Sc .

Sc .

Sc .

Sc .

Sc

APPENDIX

Variations, too unimportant for mention in the foot-notes,between the 1638 text of the Amyntas and that given in thisvolume .

ACT I

i. From Z. 46 to the end of the scene the capital D’

s in the italiciz ed words are in roman type .

ii. From 1. 7 to l. 22 the L’

s and in l. 3 1 the D’

s in italicized wordsare roman.

iii. From 1. 8 1 to the end of the scene (except in II. 9 1 8:the I

’

s, when standing alone, are italic .

iv . In this scene all the I’

s are italic, and from I. 4 to the end all

the D’

s in italicized words are roman.

v . In ll. 2 to 10, and 36 to 7 5 the I’

s are ital ic ; in II. 6, 9 , 16,

and 28 the D’

s, and in ll. 5 0, 63 , 68 , 73 , 75 , 83 , and 86 the L’

s,

in italicized words are roman.

v i. In I. 26, and l. 44 to the end of the scene the I’

s are italic ;in l. 14 the smal l i in p ity is also italic . In 11. 12, I 5 , 32, and l.

37 to the end the L’

s, and in 11. 1—19 , 38—5 0, and 60 to the end

the D’

s are roman in italicized words.

ACT I I11. l. 47 , Corymbus

ii . d ittoiv . In ll . 34, 3 5 , and 38 the I

’

s are italic, and in II. 7 and 9 , and60 to 94 the V

’

s in italicized words are roman .

v . In 11. 16—29 the I’

s are italic ; from the beginning to I. 3 1 theA

’

s in italicized words are roman.

v i. In I. 17 the I is italic ; from I. 40 to the end the D’

s in

italicized words are roman .

v ii. Throughout the scene the D’

s, and from I. 3 2 to the end the

A’

s, in italic ized words, are roman ; in l. 5 6 the I of In is ita lic .

ACT III

Sc . i. All the I’

s as far as l. 5 6 are italic ; throughout the scene the

D’

s, and as far as I. 43 the A’

s (except in l. in the italiciz edwords, are roman.

3 76 APPENDIX

Sc . ii. In ita licized words the D’

s and L’

s as far as I.

as are the A’

s in II. 45 and 5 9 . The I in I. 5 8 is it:Sc . iii. The 1

’

s in II. 19—5 7 (excep t I. 77 , 1 1 1

—1 24end of the scene are italic ; so also is the first yll . 5 8 , 5 9, 86 , and 87 the L

’

s are roman, as is the C

opposite I. 46 .

Sc. iv . In 11. 1—29 the I’

s are italic .

Acr IV

Sc . 11. The 1’

s in II. 3 , 7 , and 1 1 (the first) are italic ;is roman.

Sc . iii. The 1’

s in II. 1 5 , 18 and 19 are italic .

Sc. v. The I’

s from I. 4 1 to the end of the scene (exitalic ; the D

’

s in ll. 25—5 0, 62, and 68

—73 , and 1

are roman.

Sc. v i. The 1’

s in II. 1 1 , 25 (the second) , 48 , and 5 7D

’

s from I. 1 to the end of the scene, and the A

62 are roman in the italicized words.

Sc . v ii. The 1’

s in II. 3 and 6 are italic ; the A’

s in l

roman.

Sc. ix . The D in I. 19 is roman, as are the j’

s in I. 32 .

AC’

I‘ V

S c. ii. The I in l. 28 is italic .

S c. v . The C’

s in 11. 1 6 and 18 are roman .

S c. v i. The 1’

s in the italicized words in II. "2, 30, 47 ,are roman.

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INDEX OF FIRST LINES

A freind is gold ; if true heele never leave thee,Ah wretch in thy Corinna’s love unblest !Al though your Lordshipps happy annagram .

Apel les curious eye must gaze uponAre then the Sibils dead ? what is become .

Arise, come forth , but never to returnArithmetique nine digits, and no more

As once in blacke I d isrespected wal k’t .

Beauty it sel fe l yes here, in whom alone,Behold these woods, and mark my SweetBen doe not leave the stage .

Be wel l advis’d, and wary counsel l make, .

B lisse court thee sweetest soule, and fal l soe thick

Come spurre away,Coy Ce lia dost thou see

Death passing by, and hearing parsons play .

Death, who’

ld not change p rerogatives with thee,Defend the truth, for that who Wi l l not dye,Descent of birth is a vaine goodDesire not thy mean fortunes for to set .

Each man t hree Div ils hath, selfe borne affl ic tions;

Faire Lady when you see the GraceFam

’

d Stymphall, I have heard, thy birds in flight .

First thinke, and if thy thoughts approve thy wi llFirst worship God, he that forgets to prayF ly Drunkennesse, whose vile incontinenceFranke, when thisMorne the harbinger of dayFrom all the il ls that I have done, Lord , quit me out ofhand , .

From witty men and mad

3 80 INDEX OF FIRS T LINES

Goe bashful Muse, thy message is to one

Goe happy Paper by Command, .

Goe solitary wood , and henceforth beGoe sordid earth , and hope not to bewitch

Haile sacred Deserts, whom kind nature madeHappy the man that all his dayes hath spentHappy the man which farre from city care ;Heare much but little speake, a wise man feares .

Heavens decreed , before the world begun,Heav

’

n knowes my Love to thee, fed on desiresHe is a Paricide to his mother’s name,Here l yes the knowing head , the honest heart, .

Ho! H istrio! I thought a presse had swallowed you all

Ho jol ly Thirsis whither in such hast?Honour the King, as sonnes their Parents doe .

Honour thy Parents to prolong thine end,How many of thy Captives (Love) complaineHow much more blest are trees than men,

I cannot fulminate or tonitruate wordsI chanc’d sweet Lesbia’s voice to heare,I f e’re I take a wife I wil l have oneIf Fishes thus do bring us Books, then weI f thou dispraise a man let no man know, .

I f with astranger thou discourse first learneI John Bo Peep , to you four sheep,I’

le not beleive’

t; if fate should be so crosse .

In this unconstant Age when all mens mindsI was not borne to Helicon, nor dare .

I wonder not my La:da farre can see, .

I wonder what should Madam Lesbia meane

Iove saw the Heavens fram’

d in a little glasse,o to the Bridegroome and the B rideIudge not between two freinds, but rather see

Keepe thy freinds goods; for shoul d th y wants be know

Lament, lament, ye Scholars all,Let Linus and Amphions lute,Let not thy Impotent lust so pow

’

rfull bee

Love, give me leave to serve thee, and be wise

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3 82 INDEX OF FIRST LINES

To gather weal th through fraud doe not presume,To tel l th y miseries will no comfort breed,Trust not a man unknown he may deceive thee

Vnder this beech why sit’

st thou here so sad

Vnto thy Brother buy not, sel l, nor lend,

VVhat Clod-pates, Thenot, are our Brittish swains?What rends the temples vail, where is day gone?When age hath made me what I am not now ;

When bashful Day-light now was gone,

Who in the worl d with busy reason pryes,Why sigh

'

you Swain ? this passion is not common ;With d iligence and trust most exemplaryWonder not friend that I do entertainWoul d you commence a Poet S’, and be