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A07324 A continuation of Lucan's historicall poem till the death of Iulius Cæsar by TM May, Thomas, 1595-1650.; Lucan, 39-65. Pharsalia.; Cockson, Thomas, engraver. 1630 (1630) STC 17711; ESTC S108891 70,154 154

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loue of death now prayes the hypocrite Nights silent reigne had robb'd the World of light To lend in lieu a greater benefit Repose and sleepe when euery mortall brest Whom care or griefe permitted tooke their rest But Cato's brest was not alone set free From perturbation and anxietie By vertues constant vse for soft repose Or sleepe the common end but to compose And raise it selfe vnto an act more high The contemplation of eternitie In contemplation the vntroubled Soule Parts from the bodies bonds free from controule Of fleshly passions by no cares distracted Not as in sleepe she does to lie contracted Within her selfe and from all action cease But to imploy her purest faculties At nobler distance where no sense of sight Or outward organ can direct her flight There by her selfe the Soule can take suruey Of those high glorious bodies which display Obiects too bright for sense in their owne light Some beames and glimpses of that infinite Eternall essence from whose fulnesse they Deriue their beauties there the Soule would stay Or wishes that from lets corporeall free She might what now she cannot plainly see Those formes and does in that desire imply Her owne vndoubted immortalitie But ere the minde of man can fitted be To search the depth of true Philosophy It must be purg'd by morall rules and freed From impious lusts from vice of thought and deed And as a wise Physitian euer giues Before his medicines cleane preparatiues So let no Soule contemplate till it be Prepar'd and purg'd by sound moralitie First let it practise vertue here before With contemplations wings it dare to soare In search of that which is the perfect'st good And height of all that can be vnderstood Lest as in Physicke th' vnpurg'd humours may Distract the medicines working force so they Not purg'd from vices through false glasses see And oft deceiu'd in speculation be Vnto thy selfe first morall Physicke giue And then securely be contemplatiue So cleans'd was Cato's soule and fit was he For strictest precepts of Philosophy Since vertues paths which rough to others seeme Long vse had made habituall to him To whom the Fates present as now on high His thoughts were soaring to eternitie An obiect fit casting his eye aside Diuinest Plato's Phaedon he espy'd Oh welcome Booke sent from the gods quoth he To teach a dying man Philosophy And though thou canst not further or controule The resolution of my fixed soule Since Fate has doom'd my end yet may'st thou giue Comfort to those few houres I haue to liue Man's Soule immortall is whilest here they liue The purest mindes for perfect knowledge striue Which is the knowledge of that glorious God From whom all life proceeds in this abode Of flesh the Soule can neuer reach so high So reason tells vs if the Soule then die When from the bodies bonds she takes her flight Her vnfulfill'd desire is frustrate quite And so bestow'd in vaine it followes then The best desires vnto the best of men The great Creator did in vaine dispence Or else the Soule must liue when gone from hence And if it liue after the body fall What reason proues that it should die at all Since not compounded as the body is And mixt of euer-fighting contraries But one pure substance like it selfe and may By reasons rules subsist alone for aye And though we yeeld that God who did create Can if he please againe annihilate The Soule and nothing in that sense can be Indissoluble saue the Deitie Yet Soules which in their nature doe agree So neare with that shall nere d●ssolued be Till they at last their wished end attaine And so immortall by themselues remaine True grounds quoth he diuine Philosopher Else what were vertue or true knowledge here But waking dreames Why more than beasts should we Oblige our selues to Lawes of pietie Or curbe our lusts Oh why should vertue be Iudg'd by the wisest true felicitie Before wealth honour pleasure Vertue here Does not alas so beautifull appeare But poore and wretched rather nor is she Vnlesse which in this life we doe not see Some fairer substance or true forme she haue Ought but an emptie name or Fortunes slaue The wisest men are glad to die no feare Of death can touch a true Philosopher Death sets the Soule at libertie to flie And search the depth of that Diuinitie Which whilest imprison'd in the body here She cannot learne a true Philosopher Makes death his common practice while he liues And euery day by contemplation striues To separate the soule farre as he can From off the body what 's the death of man But separation of those two Should he That euery day did striue in some degree To gaine this freedome feare it at the time When nature has allotted it to him Would birds incag'd that with all motions trie And seeke all wayes to gaine their libertie The cage set ope refuse to flie from thence Nay more haue louers in impatience Forc'd out their liues and violently fled Into the other World to finde their dead Deare loues And should the Soule which here below Clos'd in the body euery day did wooe And court that knowledge which is perfect blisse Refuse to goe and finde it where it is Then when the gods haue open'd her the way But here till then the Soule is bound to stay Nor must she leaue her station till that God Dee call her hence that gaue her this abode Here Cato stopt and paws'd is death quoth he Vnlawfull then till rude necessitie Inforce a man to taste it And must I Weare this loath'd life till Caesar bid me die Is not the fatall ouerthrow so late In Thapsus fields and ruine of the State Necessitie of death enough for me May I not thinke the gods in that decree The death of Cato But must hold my hand Expecting till the Conquerour command And giue more power to him whose lawlesse might Already has vsurp'd aboue his right Or begge for life acknowledging him so My Lord whom iustly I adiudg'd Romes foe So saue my life by sinning or el●e die With one sinne more if mercy he deny But this sure hand shall saue that hazard now Plato and all diuinest Lawes allow Rather than act a crime a man should die Should I take life from Caesar's clemencie It would be iudg'd by all what ere were ment I did approue of Caesar's gouernment How great a crime might mine example proue How great a wrong to Rome and all that loue Her Lawes and liberties Great Pompey's sonnes That now doe arme the Westerne regions And for their Countrie yet intend to fight Might thinke themselues excus'd if I submit And from their iustest resolution swerue When old free Cato were content to serue I le trie since most assur'd the Soules doe liue What Lawes to vs the other World will giue For sure the gods ' mongst Soules departed hence Twixt good and bad will put a difference Those happy Soules that while they liued
to the Senate and bestow That one poore day if not vpon his owne Deare safetie yet vpon her feares alone And grant to her as much as to a wife Was due of int'rest in a husbands life That he those Spanish guards would entertaine Which had so lately beene dismiss'd againe That safe preuention of a danger neere Was Noble still and could be stiled feare No more than scorning the gods threats could be True fortitude or magnanimitie Caesar replies Ah deare Calphurnia Dearer to me than that life-breath I draw Would'st thou forbeare thy griefe it could not lie Within the power of any prodigie To make this day a sad one should I here Begin to learne that superstitious feare Of fatall dayes and houres what day to me Could ere hereafter from such feares be free I onely should my wretched life torment And not my destin'd time of death preuent But liue for euer with vaine feares diseas'd When ere Astrologers or Augurs pleas'd Euery beasts entrailes were a care to me And flight of euery bird a malady If Caesar's danger grow from discontent Of Rome not one dayes absence can preuent Nor scarce repriue my Fate and once to die Better than euer feare conspiracie What good can strongest guards on me conferre But make me liue perpetuall prisoner Why should I feare the peoples discontent Who now enioy vnder my gouernment More wealth more safetie and prosperitie Than by my death they could The death of me That haue already reach'd the height of all Glory and State that can to man befall And wrought my farthest ends can neuer be So much mine owne as their calamitie Who will againe with Ciu●ll iarres be rent And wish a safe and setled gouernment Oh doe not feare thy dreame Calphurnia Nor sad presages from such trifles draw If dreames were fatall Loue sleepe were not rest Since most our cares would be by sleepe increast But if they were presages tell me then For our two dreames to night haue different beene Which should preuaile Me thought I flew aboue The loftie Cloudes and touch'd the hand of Joue And to my selfe did seeme more great and high Than ere before what but felicitie Should this portend I dare not now suspect In calmest peace those powers that did effect My roughest warres Oh let no sad surmise With causelesse griefe distaine Calphurnia's eyes Aurora now from T●thon's purple bed Arose and th' Easterne skie discoloured Gaue cheerefull notice of th' approaching Sunne When forth through Rome th' officious clients ●unne The Palace all with early visitants Was fill'd to wait when Caesar would aduance Forth to the Senate striuing to be seene Neere th' earthly Sunne and in his raies to shine Some to doe grace and grace receiue from him Some like malignant cloudes prepar'd to dim Or in eclipse eternall bury quite Before the set of Phaebus Caesar's light Among the rest did Decimus attend With fained seruice and the name of friend To Fatall ends abusing hasten'd on Perswaded Caesar to destruction Though ere they goe the Sacrifices all Threatning and blacke appear'd and did appall The fearefull Priests who from those entrailes show Portent of dire calamitie and woe Some Bulls they could not at the Altar stay Who breaking thence fled through the streets away In others which were slaine and open'd there None but th' infernall gods deign'd to appeare The hearts were perish'd and corruption flow'd Through all the vitall parts blacke was the blood The burning entrailes yeelded onely fume No flame at all but darkely did consume Mouldring away to ashes and with blacke Vnsauoury clouds through th' aire a darkenesse make But Caesar maugre what the entrailes threat Vndaunted passes on how wondrous great Is Destiny and as he goes neglects That Scroll presented to him which detects The whole conspiracy which as of small Import he pockets vp not read at all And enters Pompey's bloody Court led on By powerfull Fate to his destruction Where ominously receiu'd he mounts his high Dictator's Sell of Gold and Iuory The Lords obeisance make in humblest wise When different passions in their brests arise Euen those bold hearts that vow'd his Tragedy Almost relent the mans great Maiestie That awfull Fortune that did still attend His deeds in all extremes a constant friend Produce a feare t' encounter discontent Nor doe their fancies onely him present Inuincible in open field as when He stood enuiron'd with his armed men But such as when alone he wrought his ends Aided by none but Fortune as his friends As when he scap'd th' Aegyptian treachery When he appeas'd his Souldiers muteny Or when the stormy Seas he crossed ore By night and safely reach'd Brundusium's shore And why should not that friendly Fortune now As then thinke they preuent his ouerthrow And to their ruine quite defeat the plot But shame forbid them to relent the knot Among too many conscious brests was ty'd To let them start and on the other side Reuenge encourag'd by the multitude Of Actors enter'd and all feares subdu'd First to his Sell bold Cimber made approach And seiz'd his Purple robe at whose rude touch While Caesar's wrath together with amaze Began to rise the rest from euery place Drawne neere no longer hiding their intent The fatall Ponyards to his brest present The first wound on him Casca did bestow Whose Ponyard Caesar wresting to his foe Returnes a stabbe backe for the stabbe he gaue Striuing in vaine with one poore strength to saue A life assaulted by so many hands No succours could approach no guard nor bands Of aiding friends were nigh that courage quite Was lost that nere was lost before in fight Vntill enfeebled by a deeper wound And by inuading death enuiron'd round Hopelesse he hides his face and fixed stands T' endure the fury of reuenging hands Repressing groanes or words as loth to shame His former life or dying staine the fame Of those great deeds through all the World exprest These silent thoughts reuoluing in his brest Yet has not Fortune chang'd nor giuen the power Of Caesar's head to any Conquerour By no Superiours proud command I die But by subiected Romes conspiracy Who to the World confesses by her feares My State and strength to be too great for hers And from earths highest Throne sends me to be By after-ages made a Deitie Through many wounds his life disseized fled At last and he who neuer vanquished By open warre with blood and slaughter strew'd So many lands with his owne blood embrew'd The seat of wronged Iustice and fell downe A sacrifice t' appease th' offended gowne FINIS Plat. Phaed.