In some I meane and not in all his worke For pleasant folly couch't therein may lurke Yet the allusion and the meaning sure May reference haue vnto the Scripture pure And though it shines as Tytans westerne rayes By some 't is held but wanton in our dayes But most of all the ripenesse of these times The heauenly works vp to the clouds that climes The enuious eye which ouerlookes our deeds When each mans taste on sundry dishes feedes The snarling cur at euery thing that bites The slandring Mome which no good worke endites The monster curst with his vile forked tongue That from Hels vault vp to the earth first sprung With Hidra heads and Ianus double face To fawne before then wound to our disgrace Hath made my Muse vnwilling heere to sing As loath her selfe vpon the stage to bring To each mans view and her owne painefull toyle But that the sight may many vices spoyle When sin we see vnmasked brought to light And damn'd offences naked to our sight Like lezabel that did the Clouds aspire 1. Kin. 4. 18 19 Chap. 19. 2 Cha. 21. 10 23 In rusling silks and glorious braue atire Vnder a holy outward forme and rite Gods chosen flock are fleec't and murthered quite But once vnmask't the Minions of her court Hurle heri'th durt pash out her braines in sport And as a foule mishapen painted monster 2. Kin 9. 30 33 35 37. Conceit of her as all the world doth conster Then is she seene disrob'd disrank't of all The map of folly in her sudden fall Her cup with poyson damned Enuy fills Her cursed eyes haue seene those seuen built hills Where all the Saints Apostles Martyrs stood With crimson colours all imbru'd in bloud O glorious God inspiror of my Muse Grant that thy Word my soule may dayly vse And that what learning painefully it got Still from the truth may neuer swerue a iot That in her spring beginning and her bud May sing thy glory to the Churches good And in foule folly none asleepe I rock Nor giue offence to any of thy flock But that my speech as generall to all May like a Sermon in the Pulpit fall And not to wade in curious questions deepe But feede thy flock and edifie thy sheepe That none at all may haue a iust excuse By such examples as I shall produce And all that see their faults their liues may mend That to thy glory I this Worke may end Then shall the world with admiration see Her face vnmask't to all eternitee The famous actions heeretofore lay dead Shall then be rouz'd out from obliuions bed And all the noblest kingdoms euer knowne Will be reuiu'd within my verse be showne Their manners customes nature and their state Their end beginning fortune and their fate From Adam first throughout in euery age Shall heere be mustred on this publike Stage In Rurall Robes to giue the earth content How heeretofore the ages past weee spent O that my Muse might once but rest in peace Then would she sing diuinely neuer cease But worke out Truth within her holy Rimes Glyding along descending to our times And deare Vrania Soueraigne of my verse Should heere the glory of this world rehearse Vnfoulding still to Gods immortall glory The heauenly sweetenesse of a sacred story What may we thinke of all the iudgements iust Of great Iehouah buried in the dust Beside all those in holy Scriptures pend Which humane wit as yet could neuer mend Nor all the Rabbies in their learned fame Could euer tell how to correct the same Shall we go on and still be bold to thinke Hee 'le punish them and on vs alwayes winke For some of them the earth it selfe did gape How can we know that we are sure to scape The Angels which against the Lord did swell He quite casheer'd and cast them downe to hell Where being bound eternally in chaines They feele the torments of ten thousand paines Farre more then can expressed be in inke And all the world and sinfull man can thinke Adam what made thee wilfully at first To leaue thy of-spring to this day accurst So wicked foule and ouer growne with Sinne And in thy person all of it beginne That hadst thou stood in Innocenie fram'd Death Sin and Hell the world and all thou hadst tam'd Then hadst thou beene a Monarch from thy birth Gods onely Darling both in heauen and earth The world and all at thy command to bend And all heauens creatures on thee t' attend The sweetest life that euer man could liue What couldst thou aske but God to thee did giue Protected kept thee like a faithfull Warden As thy companion in that pleasant Garden No canckred mallice once thy heart did moue Free-will thou hadst endude from him aboue What couldst thou wish all worlds content and more The best Diuine that ere the Earth yet bore Gods onely Sonne the Prince of Peace except For thy sad fall how oft mine eyes haue wept Alas weakeman hadst thou in honour stood How heauenly blest thrice happy beene thy blood And all thy aged issue to this day Had liu'd secure as in the Month of May. What need had we that any should haue dy'd Vpon the Crosse our sinfull soules reuiu'd And that Messias God himselfe the Son Should here descend to put our nature on To liue deiected poore contemn'd forlorn'd Derided beate tost vpside downe and scorn'd And more to beare for this thy wofull fall Then euer man which liu'd vpon this ball Curst be that Diuell that first thy sence bely'd If thou hadst liu'd then we had neuer dy'd Oh God! to purchase with that bloody cost Our soules redeem'd when they were fully lost Here is a loue which farre surmounts the skies My sences rapts and dazles both mine eyes But tell me Adam what might be the cause That thou shouldst breake thy holy Makers lawes When of a thousand which might make vs weepe In all the world thou hadst but one to keepe And that but light Alas couldst thou not see But touch and taste that one forbidden tree Which in the midst of all the garden grew An ill knowne tree to make thy ofspring rew What pleasant tast or relish had the same How were thy senses dim'd and much to blame That had the Garden sole at thy command And all the fruits within thy sight to stand Farre better pure more daintier euery way Then such an Apple painted like a gay Fit for a woman or some lickorish foole A silly child or one that goes to schoole Thy wilfull foule absurd and grosse abuse Against thy God admits no iust excuse T is not the losse of one poore Apple mist That thou didst grapple in thy sinfull fist Could be the cause his anger to procure Fierce heauy wrath eternall to endure It was not that he did so much respect But thy foule error wilfull bad neglect Contempt of Him rebellion treason pride And all the sinnes within the world beside That linked
Iniurious dealings treacherous actions base Sly cunning traps to grind the poore mans face Vexations wrongs fell viperous proiects vile As bad and worse then those which do defile Their fowle blacke hands in Christian crimson blood Waste others State to do themselues no good The damned rout of hell spurd Furies curst That from Caines fact tooke all beginning first Would tire my Muse and weary all your eares Amaze your thoughts and fill you full of feares With Wonder strike you as a man halfe dead And set your haire vpright vpon your head To see since first this world by God was fram'd The enuious deeds not fitting to be nam'd But Time diuider of ech day from night Will all disclose and bring the Truth to light Successiuely shall lay them open all Iust as Occasion in my way may fall Meane while deare Muse let vs retire againe To shew the life of cursed enuious Caine And tell what course after this deed he tooke How round about on euery side his looke Was fearfull gazing least his fathers eye Might glance that way and so the fact espye And see Gods iudgement on his branded skin His blacke foule face for this vile murdring sin Asham'd and shamelesse barbarous wretch vnkind From thence he goes leaues Habel dead behind Steales out away and pryes in euery nooke For feare his fact should be bewraid by 's looke At length by chance as he was lingring late He finds his sister by his fathers gate Takes her away euen in the euening darke simile As doth a Kite a simple harmelesse Larke And when Alas she could not well descrye His foule blacke colour by her clowded eye His speech she knew which made her willing more To leaue her Iewels kindred and her store And go with him then all the rest beside She little thought his hands with blood were dide Simile All night they walkt talking of this and that She louely fayre he like an vgly Bat That shuns the light is neither bird nor beast Of both partakes a monster at the least Or like to those that in our dayes do hie From vs to Rome from thence againe do flye And little care so they may haue their will Mens Soules their Liues their State and all to spill As was the case of that damn'd murdring rout Which from Hels bowels brought their treasons out Vntill at last with wandring weary growne And want of sleepe together both lay downe Whilst he euen then layes open all his mind Tels her his loue he mindes with hers to binde That she shall be the Obiect of his eye His darling deare from her to neuer flye By meanes of which adulterous flattring wilde Incestuously he gets her there with childe But when Aurora glory of the World Heauens candle bright about the Earth had purld And but began to shew a burnisht face Vpon these two in that polluted place From slumbring sleepe his Sister sodaine wakt Starts vp and cryes most fearefully she quakt So foule a sight by her was neuer seene Thinking the diuell in shape of Caine had beene Vpright she stands her hayre vpon her head Rowzd in the light from her adulterous bed Faine would she run wishing her selfe at home Cursing the Time when she from thence did come And glad would be no longer here to stay But that from thence she knew not well the way Like to a Lady in an euening darke 〈◊〉 Walking alone within her pleasant Parke Thinking to meet her louing husband deere Her father brother or some welcome Peere Is by a villaine suddenly surprisde In shape speech gesture all of them disguisde Carryed away traynd on a long to walke Misdoubts no hurt in all his trecherous talke But freely spends the sable lowring night Her ioyes toyes pleasures in her loues delight Vntill the morning of the day appeares Draws wide heauens Curtain all the skies it cleares And makes her see how she hath bin misled By folly guile brought to an vnknowne bed Weeps mourns laments teareth her Amber hayres Raues frets and grieues as one distracted stares That once her body louely chaste and pure Should now be staind thus by a wretch impure And that her corpes when Heauens bright Candle winkt Should be but found close to a Monster linkt So may we iudge was this young Virgins case Traynd as I told you from that louely place Where father friends acquaintance all she had To cast her fortunes on a Varlet bad Damn'd homicide dame Natures vglyest marke To be betrayd thus trecherously i'thdarke The vnblowne Rose defended by the thorns Vermillion blush that both her cheeks adorns Chaste modest thoughts to giue the soule content When these shall be all ech in sunder rent Deflowr'd defac't by treason cropt and staind To haue i'th'end none but a Mungrell gain'd Thus in a maze astonisht all the while Caine looketh vp and on her face doth smile Gently entreats perswades her not to feare The Sun burnt colour that his skin did beare Tels her his face was nothing else but tan'd With walking much about his new plow'd land And that the colour on his face which lay Would cleane be washt and skowred all away She him beleeues and so from thence they went Like Vagabonds without a pasport sent Simile Roming about vntill at last they found A pleasant sweet delitious dainty ground Iust to the East hard to the lowring face Of sacred Iustice in that Orient place Far from their Friends their Country Church and God To liue with ease within the Land of Nod Heere first they stayd and to secure their state They built a house of timber stones and slate Turfe Morter Durt and euery thing they finde They pile vp close to keepe off showers and winde And at the length as if they were afraid That after wards their liues might be betrayd By sauage beasts in humane monsters feil Such as himselfe hath hatch't below in Hell Reuengefull Tyrants murthering men and all About his house he builds a spacious Wall And in the same he liues for many yeares His conscience stuft with horrour drad and feares At length his Wife brings forth her first borne child A bloudy Elfe deformed fowle and wild Like to the Sire so is his picture drawne Simile Brought vp to sweare cheate couzen lye and fawne No God to know his tongue to curse and fret With enuious face for like doth like beget And he againe his sister rude doth take Makes choyce of her to be his onely make That she and he and all the rest beside Which in that place within the walls did bide The cursed spawne of Caines adulterous race Did in short time soouerswarme the place With multitudes of that incestuous rout Poligamy from this vile Race sprangout That in seuen hundred twenty yeares and ten Their hatefull stocke grew to a world of men This was this Age that Caine did liue some say Genebrard â—x Rab. sol When then began his fatall lowring day For
Iustice alwayes in mans life or death Will yet at length her flaming sword vnsheath Lamech the fifth from his own bloud descended With one hard blow his vitall life straight ended Iust Iudgement of the Highest euer still To make the blind to execute his will That though man runs vnpunisht all his dayes Yet in the end he payes him many wayes And when the least of all his time he thinkes Then is he caught vnder Gods vengeance sinkes For as the Rabbyes of the Iewes do tell This monster Caine about these parts did dwell And was the first that euer City built Led thereunto by his fowle murthering guilt More to secure him in so strong a Wall And shun the curse then any thing at all Euen where sinne most of all the earth was bred He layes him downe and makes that place his bed There wallowes tumbles spends his aged dayes In wicked workes ten thousand kind of wayes When at the last he for a beast was slaine By Heauens iust Act in treacherous Tubal-Caine Guiding the hand of Lamech being blind To murther Caine against his fathers mind And Tubal-caine had his iust Guerdon paid For Lamech struck him that all dead he laid His bleeding corps vpon the cold greene ground What they wrought others they themselues haue found The City Caine by Henocks name did call His eldest Sonne whom most he lou'd of all Some say the same by Libanus was fram'd But afterwards by others Oenus nam'd And some affirme the building Iesca leed Great Iebab Mauly were his only deede And Tehe Celet Cities sixe in number Were raiz'd by him with such a world of lumber As in our dayes those that behold the place May see their ruines in Caines wofull case You Cities all how were you fram'd at first But in the sin of wicked Caine accurst Was not your Morter tempered with the bloud And slaughter vile of righteous Abel good Is not the Earth her bowels rent and torne Your walls to build and lofty towers adorne Great Thetis lap is all beslic't and cut To bring forth treasures in your wombs to put The lofty Ceders Timber Trees of worth Are hack't downe flat and leuel'd with the earth Base gold and siluer that mans mind appals Where doth it rust but in your cankred walls How are your streetes with Paracides bepestred With noysome Air contagious fowly festred So banesull growne that from you all or some Hels Antechrist the Prince of Diuels shall come So Babilon the tyrant of the earth Dan. 7. 8. And Rome Vsurper since her Popish birth How were they built but in the crimson gore Of thrice ten millions of mens soules and more Nimrod the hunter of Gods fearefull flock First raiz'd that Tower which seem'd the heauens to mock By tyranizing on the feeble weake As in my worke heereafrer I shall speake And Romulus the monster of his age How did he murther in his barbarous rage His brother Remus in whose scarlet bloud Rome first was built by Tybers treacherous floud And since the sincke of superstition made For euery wretch within her walls to trade Idoll of Nature sprang at first from hell As afterwards I shall haue cause to tell But what make we deareMuse within the walls Oftraiterous Townes and Citties full of braules Where nothing sauours wholesome sweete and faire But earthly bad to putrifie the Ayre Let vs retire into the country coates To heare Heauens birds to chirp ten thousand noates About the woods on euery side along Sweete Nightingales to warble forth their song The Lennet Larke the Blackbird Thrush and all How night and day their smooth sweete tunes do call Melodiously vnto the God offame To sound forth prayses to his glorions name And where our Grandsire Adam last was left When Caine his brother of his life bereft Whether the Soule of Habels body slaine By the curst hand of treacherous damned Caine His Genius spirit Angell bloud or Saint Or God himselfe did Adam first acquaint With the sad newes of this so vile a deede Or that suspicion in his brest might breede Abroad he walkes and findes the bleeding quarre Of Habell slaine vnder a fatall starre Weepes and laments grieues to haue lost his sonne Caine Daughter Brother all of them vndone He louing Father piles a wondrous heape Collossus like of massy stones not cheape Simile And with much care his dying name to saue Builds a huge Mount vpon his crimson graue From thence as one distracted for the time With deepe conceit of this so foule a crime Surcharg'd with sorrow ouergrowne with griefe He hates the place as Author of it chiefe And with his Wife and all his children left He bids adien vnto the ground and wept Trauels along like to a Pilgrim poore Or as a Hermit with small litlle store Simile Till at the last it was their chance to stay In Canaan and there their bones to lay As in this rugged ragged rurall verse I hope ere long diuinely to rehearse But sacred Muse here we must stay awhile seth borne And with Sethes birth the posting time beguile That sweete borne Babe of Heauen it selfe befriended From whom the Church is lineally descended Iust as a hundred twenty yeares and ten Of Adams age into this world of men He was begat Tipe of that promist Lambe To saue the World into the World first came Preaching Repentance all our liues to mend Whose Gouernment shall neuer earthly end Vntill the Trumpet in the skyes shall sound To summon soules from their dead sleepe i' th ground How did the Heauens euen in his infant birth Reioyce and dance about the Ball i' th earth Melodiously their sacred Organs went To see young Seth into the World thus sent In Minor yeeres their fortunes on him showred And on his head their deerest blessings powred Enduing him with towardnes and wit That on his temples all the Arts did sit About his Browes the Lawrell wreath haue wound As the first man that euer letters found How did the Saints at this thy Fortune smile True Isralite in whom there is no guile Ioh. 1. 47. Thy manly dayes they were not ouersway'd Gen. 4. 26. Chap. 5. 34. With fond conceits but in Religion stay'd Enuy Opression Lust and Rauine base Within thy heart could neuer find a place Nor yet the thought of any deede vnkind Could once be found to harbour in thy mind But full of peace like to thy father deare Or God himselfe in all his workes most cleare Simile So art thou blest to bring forth such a Sonne From whom the Church successiuely must runne True Picture of thy Body Mind and Thought Enoch the man to God himselfe that brought Enoch borne Thee sacred flock which wandring almost lame And taught them first to call vpon his Name By prayer preaching Heauen blest dearest Muse Which on the Sabaoth they did dayly vse Yet some do say the Church againe did fall In this mans dayes to wicked
wofull prison sick to lye and rot Not once to case assawge their griefes a iot And all the while in Equity and Right There 's nothing due but what is got by might By Wrong Oppression diuelish traps and guile And wicked plodding in such actions vile Lord pardon them forgiue their great offences Call once againe illuminate their sences Waken their carelesse too secure a slumber Forget their faults too infinite to number Let them Restore what they haue wrongly got Else will those goods consume away and rot And aye the Infant yet vnborne will cry For Vengeance iust on their posterity But let not vs good Lord O let not vs Trace out their steps to giue examples thus Make vs auoyde to fall into the like Lest suddenly thy Iudgements do vs strike With farre more terror on our bodyes knowne Then euer was vpon Gehezi showne Or all thy chosen people thou didst make A warning sad for vs in Time to take Besides the losse eternall of thy Grace Where such a one shall neuer see thy face But chaste Vrania Soueraigne of my Muse In whom the Heauens do their best guifts infuse Why dost thou now thy loue so farre ingage As to descend downe to our times and Age Leauing the world that at the first was drownd To ramble out beyond thy scope to sound Damn'd Vice vnmaske with those that wrest and lurch And all this while thus to forget the Church Retire againe and stay not with vs long Thou maist be blam'd for this thy wholesome song For 't is most true one harldly scapes of ten That hunts the Foxe too neare the Lions den Auoyde begone contend not much with these For feare perhaps thou dost some men displease And so incurre some danger on thy selfe For taxing those which are in loue with pelfe Come to the Church deare Muse where last of all Thou Henoch leftst vpon this goodly Ball. There thou art tide O do not much abound Take sanctuary in their holy ground And from these things till time shall serue surcease Then shalt thou Rest and liue in perfect Peace Henoch the seuenth from Adams pupillage Gen. 5. 21. Iud. 14. At sixtie fiue yeares of his manly Age Begat a childe whose like was neuer found From this worlds birth in all her spatious Round That liu'd to see so many weekes of dayes As this man did and yet no strength decayes Methuselah the wonder of his time Whose age may claime of all the earth the prime Which liu'd to see with Simeons heart inflam'd The Arke of Noah before his death all fram'd Luk. 2. 25. 26. 27. Tipe of that Church which from mount Sion purl'd When Caesars scepter swayd the Westerne world Methuselah both ancient graue and sage One hundred fourescore and seauen yeares of Age All chaste doth liue and then begets a Son Vpon whose death the world was quite vndon Lamech the father of that faithfull child Which sau'd seauens Soules and all the rest beguild When that the Arke was by the waters heaued O then they knew their wits were all deceiued Great Noahs selfe from Lamechs loynes descended When full one hundred eightie yeares were ended And that the Sun had foure times crost the line Then is he borne and in his birth did shine Like to a glimpse of that all sacred light Simile Which in these dayes may dazle all our sight His name fore-tiping from his mothers brest That he was borne to be the Churches Rest Ioh 1. 19. Fiue hundred yeares or neare vpon he past His manly dayes both continent and chaste And then espowsed to his future Fame A Noble Faire and courteous louely Dame Some thinke the sister of great Tubal-Caine Genebrard in Cron Iew Rab. Sweete Naamah his loue at first did gaine Though from the Line of cursed Caine descended Yet of the Heauens she was so highly friended As that her Lot before the world was drown'd Fell lucky forth within the Churches ground Oh God thy workes are farre beyond our reach The least of them may all our Sences teach Thou hast thy sheepe disperst in euery place From Henochs Seths and Caines proud enuious Race It is thy pleasure bad mens sins to pay To saue some yet and cast not all away The Flowres oft times which do mongst Cockle grow May smell more sweet then any plant we sow And tender Seeds out from the Popish Seate May yet at length proue Eares of perfect wheate Chiefly when Noah Gods husbandman shall till And worke the ground according to his will With pruning planting in that forme and manner As was the Church once vnder Caesars Banner So Abraham was out from Chaldee cald Gen. 12. 28. Chap. 12. 2. Cha 41. 42. 43 44. Iob. 1. Exod. 2. 5. 6. 11. 13. 15. Hest 2. 17. cha 7. 6. 10. And Ioseph great in Egypts Court instald Iob in the land of Vz amongst those men Where so he liu'd that grieues my soule to pen And Moses milde amongst the murdring sort Was nurst brought vp within king Pharohs Court Hester the Queene that made her foes a scorne Was marryed tide vnto a Pagan borne And Paul hims elfth ' Apostle of vs all Yet first was bred within prowd Tarsus wal And diuers others which my Muse could name Were traind vp thus and yet deseru'd no blame For he that builds vpon the slippery sand Yet Time may serue to make his fabricke stand And these were such as from the rest reculde The weaker sexe are by the greater rulde Though some perhaps haue tride the same and mist Yet wise men still do winde them as they list As by example from Noahs happy choyce This world of ours may euer iust reioyce To haue a mother without blurre or staine When all were lost to store the Earth againe But what make wee deare Muse with Noahs wife Chaste Matron graue preseruer of our life Whose Fame deserues heauens azurd richest gowne A garland deckt and Lawrell wreathed Crowne And in her lap the Frame of all to hold I fall were made of solid beaten gold What if she be deriued from the Race Of cursed Caine yet hath she better face A Conscience cleane Religion in her brest Within whose Soule Heauens dearest guifts do rest Tipe of the Church now to perfection wrought Which was at first but out of darknesse brought Looke backe againe and post not one too fast For feare thou beest beyond thy compasse cast Tell what befell to Adams issue left What misdemeanours all his ofspring kept Ech man his neighbor deadly hates and wounds Sin ouerflowes in euery place abounds The greater still deuouring vp the small That in the end th' oppressed blood doth call For vengeance iust vnto the God of Powre Who doth descend and on the world doth lowre Repents himselfe that ere he did begin To frame the same thus poysoned all with sin Whose true repentance from his eyes did draw That streame of teares which wofully they saw When all the Earth