Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A31555
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Sylla's ghost a satyr against ambition and the last horrid plot.
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C. C.
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1683
(1683)
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Wing C300aA; ESTC R5627
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6,750
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17
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did the Sword 's less cruel Empire cease But rul'd and rag'd alike in VVar and Peace Virgins were ravish'd aged Matrons made Objects of Lust and Victims to the Blade Nor the least pity or remorse was shown From their first shriek to their last dying groan Infants were pull'd from their dear Parents Arms Their Prayers and tender tears had lost their charms The Temples flaming and the Gods pull'd down And blood and ruin rag'd in every Town Old-age dishonour'd lawless Youth bore rule And Vertue made a sneaking Ridicule Methinks I see grim Scylla's Ghost appear With furious looks and wild dishevel'd hair Pointing out Death and slaughter every where Prompting the Catilines of this head-strong Age To Plots and Treasons and Intestine Rage I hear the Snakes hiss from the Fury's head And see around the place their Venom spread Methinks I see the horrid Fiend arise Darting infernal Light'ning from his Eyes Methinks I view him at the damn'd Caball And each Conspirator by Name doth call Go on Great Patriots with your worthy Cause Contemn all Monarchs and confront their Laws Go on in your religious Villany And be as fam'd for horrid deeds as I Think on the Mischiefs I before have done When Son the Father kill'd Father the Son O that I had but Jove's Celestial Fire I soon with my fell Rage would you inspire That still should urge you still your thoughts possess With monstrous and Gigantick wickedness Or would the cruel Destinies once more For a short space my thread of Life restore VVhat glorious and unheard of Deeds I 'd do Death should be tir'd and I would still pursue New horror till no horror could could be new No Sex nor Age should ' scape my Cruelty Nor Infants in the Porch of Life be free Thus have I done to be for ever known Thus have I done to make the World my own But first young Pupils I 'd begin at home And there lay the first Scene of Bloud to come Amuze the Rabble buzz into their Ears And dun 'em still with Jealousies and Fears Tell them that Strangers would your Rights invade And you your selves be Slaves to strangers made Tell them of dire Portents and fearful Signs Fit masks to cover all your black Designs Of Jago-Pilgrims Armies in the Air And Traytors though you tell not who or where When you your selves the real Traytors are Assert your Liberties and maintain your Rights And even be the People's Favourites Let every Plot let every base Design Cloath'd with Religion's fairest out-side shine 'T will please the Vulgar and advance the Cause That bleeding lies crush't by the stronger Laws Still let Religion be the specious prize When Wealth and Interest at the bottom lyes Interest makes Cowards valiant Parties great And is the rankest Venom in a State Think on your Wants and let their force prompt on Your free-born Souls to Insurrection If any Roman bloud flows in your Veins If any spark of Roman fire remains Think on your Debts abroad and Wants at home And that more desperate Slavery to come Your Youth is blooming and your Age in prime And all conspire to bless the grand Design Your number 's mighty and your Party strong Rise then great Spirits and revenge your wrong Nought but your Sloth and Folly can prevent So great so pious and so brave Attempt Unless like vulgar Slaves you 'd rather dy Than free-born men to live victoriously So said an ominous silence fill'd the place And Horror strait appear'd in every Face With Groans and desperate Rage departs the Fiend But left his loathsom sulphurous Breath behind The curs'd Advice no longer was withstood They strait resolv'd to Christen all in Blood Voting it Justice Innocents to kill And meritorious Royal-blood to spill Too well they knew what secret Magick lies In their Religion Rights and Properties This arms the Rout and makes the Faction great And breeds the tallest Monsters in a State The first that mov'd within this Treacherous Sphear Was once a real fix'd now wandring Star Ah! Lentulus how Graceful was thy meen In thy fair Breast what Vertues once were seen Flush'd with green Honour in his Golden dayes His early Valour won the Victor's Bays His blooming Fame by every Muse was sung And his great Name the ecchoing Valleys rung He forc'd the Northern Rebels to obey And to their Caesar just Allegiance pay In Peace no less was his great Youth approv'd Ador'd by many but by all belov'd Still by his Gracious Father was caress'd With more than common Happiness possess'd And in his Favour exquisitely bless'd Then he was Loyal had he kept but here He still had shin'd within our Hemisphere Had not the too large draughts of Honour's bowl Debauch'd his Genius and o're-charg'd his Soul Had not that Pigmy-Proteus of the State Decoy'd his Sense and urg'd him to his Fate By him he fell by him his Easie Breast Was with Ambition's tow'ring thoughts possest Hence was it that he needs must soar so high To spread his Streamers in the open Sky Big with vain hopes he travers'd all the Land Whilst hot-brain'd crowds still prest to kiss his hand These drank his Health in every jocund Bowl And with the thoughts of Empire charm'd his Soul That three Cornelii were to reign in Rome Cinna and Sylla past and Lentulus to come These with loud shouts and acclamations high Send up his bubble-Name to th' lofty Sky The Cods bless Lentulus was all their cry Thus on the wings of Popular applause He bore the Idol of the Rout the Cause Royal and Rebel too 't is wondrous strange What Circean Charm could work so ill a change Like him of old as sacred Stories tell The Rebel-regiment of Angels fell How happy still how glorious had they been Had not Ambition been a God-like sin Th' Almighty Power they boldly did defie And thought to Lord it o're the Deity Till to the dark Abyss of horrid Night He forc'd the plotting Troops to take their flight Next him tho deeper in the black Design For horrid deeds renown'd was Catiline With a foul Soul in a fair Body fixt Thus Aconite with th' choicest Wines is mixt Fair to the outside but within doth kill Like deadly Venom in a Golden Pill Betimes Ambition his hot thoughts possest And sow'd its fatal Seeds within his Breast Nor did his thoughts only on Greatness run Nor did Ambition only reign alone Well might Aurelia curse th' unhappy day When at her feet her Rebel-brother lay When naked from his lewd incestuous Bed Trembling and pale the debauch'd Charmer fled Ah Catiline the Gods are ever just And oft severely punish Lust with Lust Else why did beauteous Laura spend her Charms Within the Circle of another's Arms Must this to Plots and Massacres invite And thy bold Soul to Treason strait excite Could nought your lawless bloody rage suffice But God-like Caesar fall the Sacrifice And for none other Crime than this alone For being his Glorious Martyr'd Father's
Son Next him in order rash Cethegus came One that by Blood and Wounds hath got a Name An upstart Bully whose chief Talent lyes In Swearing Duels nauseous Whores and Dice Down with 'em to the Ground the Hot-spur bawls Not all Jove's thunder shall prevent their falls Lop every Branch of the Caesarean Line To prove Succession's not of Right Divine What my Strong Arm ' ere now has done you know For want of work 't will dull and useless grow ' S'death I 'll murder all the Senate at a blow The talking Consul shall in Flames expire And his own Palace prove his funeral pyre Mistaken Hector stop thy rash career Princes and States are Heavens peculiar Care The Gods protecting them protected are Think what in Scotland thou before wa'st known Then a Moss-Trooper now a Vagabond Think on thy former Murders think tho Fate Defers a while yet 't will not always wait Traytors at last to their own Grief will find The Gods are never deaf nor like Tiresias blind Next the Scotch Augur enters who but he The Chaplain to the precious Villany That motly Popish-puritan who swears 'T is meritorious what the Party dares All the past precedents that are now in Hell Cannot this Priestly Villain parallel What Bigots are those silly Fools he cryes That a religious Monarch Idolize When Princes by their Subjects Fury fall Th' old Romish Gentleman shall pay for all That Prince that doth his Subjects Rights annoy 'T is fit his Subjects should that Prince destroy It is not for Religion that he dyes But for his Subjects Rights and Liberties 'T is such a deed't would make the whole World shake And Foreign Princes more indulgent make And other Subjects our Example take 'T is great and glorious and would raise our Names Higher than his that fir'd Diana's Fane And he that this transcendent deed shall do To his great Name a lasting Statue's due Higher than th Monument and deserves to be Enroll'd amongst the Liberatores Patriae These things thus ransack't in the dire Cabal Some neighbring Forces to their Aid they call The Scotch Allobroges were soon betray'd And Horse and Armour promis'd to their Aid A People envious of the Roman Fame And bore a mortal hatred to their Name Unnat'ral Monsters who to break their Chain Would still rebell tho knew 't was but in vain Thus when they 'd every where Sedition sown And the rank Venom to that height was grown Though with the greatest care the impious Crew Conceal'd the Villany they thought to do Though Plots on Plots and new Designs were laid Yet still they were discover'd still betray'd When at the last Impatient of Delay The Purging Poyson found its Sought-for-way Then like obscene and dismal Birds of Prey Dreading the piercing Power of Phaebus ray To bogs and Glomy Regions took their flight And Skul'kt in the obscurer shades of Night Soon as the horrid Stratagem took Air And reach'd the injur'd God-like Caesar's Ear The pious Prince with sacred anger fir'd Like some great Prophet from above inspir'd Unhappy men said he that know no odds Between my Peaceful reign and Cromwels Iron-rods What makes 'em thus in love with misery And free-born-men to Plot for slavery Has time yet the remembrance worn away Of that deplorable unhappy day When at the stake three helpless Kingdoms lay When all the Isle by threatning storms was tost When That a King and I a Father lost What loss what ruine did we then sustain And must the same be Acted o're again Have we not felt great Heav'ns avenging hand But lately stretch'd to vex our factious Land What raging Pestilence has there lately been When Thousands gasping in one Street were seen Yet all too little to attone the Sin That done succeeded Next th' all-Conquering fire And Earth as well as Heaven did Conspire To purge the Nation and avenge the Blood Of a slain Monarch one so great so good Must wretched Albion then for ever be The only stage of Blood and Cruelty No more let Mercy and indulgent Grace Possess the wrong'd Astraeas awful Place No more shall it be said the tottering Cause Shall go unpunish't by th' impartial Laws But let unbiass'd Sentence still be given 'T will wash the Guilt and grateful be to Heaven But why ye mighty Powers should Caesar prove So much unhappy in his Subjects Love 'T was never known that Heav'n afflictions sent Upon a Prince that 's wholly Innocent Why should Sedition with so black a dye Strike at such sacred marks as Majesty Are these the tender-Concienc'd-men who dare Attempt what others do with horror hear That would to Moloch sacrifice the Nation Under the specious mask of Reformation Grant Heaven their fury may no further run They 've kill'd the Father and would fain the Son Let their Seditious Rage be at an end And smiling Peace once more the Throne ascend No more let Impious Faction rule the Day Nor point to Anarchy th' unhappy Way Let all Rebellion Discord Vice and Rage That have in Patriots forms debauch't our Age Vanish with all the Ministers of Hell And meet the Fate of base Achitophel No more let Civil Wars torment our Isle But all things with an Halcyon quiet smile And Caesar blest with more than Nestor's Years Caesar the Theam of all our Pray'rs and Tears With Choicest blessings Heaven crown his Reign And grant once more our Golden Age again In him let every Subject happy prove And he be happy in each Subjects Love FINIS