That soule immortall and the same 't is now Death cannot raze th' affects shee now retayneth And then may shee be any where shee will The soules of parents rule not childrens soules When death sets both in their dissolu'd estates Then is no child nor father then eternitie Frees all from any temporall respect I come my OVID take me in thine armes And let me breathe my soule into thy brest OVID O stay my loue the hopes thou do'st conceiue Of thy quicke death and of thy future life Are not autenticall Thou choosest death So thou might'st ioy thy loue in th' other life But know my princely loue when thou art dead Thou onely must suruiue in perfect soule And in the soule are no affections We powre out our affections with our bloud And with our blouds affections fade our loues No life hath loue in such sweet state as this No essence is so deare to moodie sense As flesh and bloud whose quintessence is sense Beautie compos'd of bloud and flesh moues more And is more plausible to bloud and flesh Then spirituall beautie can be to the spirit Such apprehension as we haue in dreames When sleepe the bond of senses locks them vp Such shall we haue when death destroies them quite If loue be then thy obiect change not life Liue high and happy still I still below Close with my fortunes in thy height shall ioy IVLI. Ay me that vertue whose braue eagles wings With euery stroke blow starres in burning heauen Should like a swallow preying toward stormes Fly close to earth and with an eager plume Pursue those obiects which none else can see But seeme to all the world the emptie aire Thus thou poore OVID and all vertuous men Must prey like swallowes on inuisible foode Pursuing flies or nothing and thus loue And euery worldly phansie is transpos'd By worldly tyrannie to what plight it list O father since thou gau'st me not my mind Striue not to rule it Take but what thou gau'st To thy disposure Thy affections Rule not in me I must beare all my griefes Let me vse all my pleasures vertuous loue Was neuer scandall to a Goddesse state But hee 's inflexible and my deare loue Thy life may chance be shortned by the length Of my vnwilling speeches to depart Farewell sweet life though thou be yet exil'd Th' officious court enioy me amply still My soule in this my breath enters thine eares And on this turrets floore will I lie dead Till we may meet againe In this proud height I kneele beneath thee in my prostrate loue And kisse the happy sands that kisse thy feet Great IOVE submits a scepter to a cell And louers ere they part will meet in hell OVID Farewell all companie and if I could All light with thee hells shade should hide my browes Till thy deare beauties beames redeem'd my vowes IVLI. OVID Shee calls him backe my loue alas may we not stay A little longer think'st thou vndiscern'd OVID For thine owne good faire Goddesse doe not stay Who would ingage a firmament of fires Shining in thee for me a falling starre Be gone sweet life-bloud if I should discerne Thy selfe but toucht for my sake I should die IVLI. I will be gone then and not heauen it selfe Shall draw me backe He calls her backe OVID Yet IVLIA if thou wilt A little longer stay IVLI. I am content OVID O mightie OVID what the sway of heauen Could not retire my breath hath turned back IVLI. Who shall goe first my loue my passionate eyes Will not endure to see thee turne from mee OVID If thou goe first my soule will follow thee IVLI. Then we must stay OVID Ay me there is no stay In amorous pleasures if both stay both die I heare thy father hence my deitie Feare forgeth sounds in my deluded eares I did not heare him I am mad with loue There is no spirit vnder heauen that workes With such illusion yet such witchcraft kill mee Ere a sound mind without it saue my life Here on my knees I worship the blest place That held my goddesse and the louing aire That clos'd her body in his silken armes Vaine OVID kneele not to the place nor aire Shee 's in thy heart rise then and worship there The truest wisdome silly men can haue Is dotage on the follies of their flesh Act V. Scene I. CAESAR MECOENAS GALLVS TIBVLLVS HORACE EQVITES RO. WE that haue conquer'd still to saue the conquer'd And lou'd to make inflictions feard not felt Grieu'd to reproue and ioyfull to reward More proud of reconcilement then reuenge Resume into the late state of our loue Worthy CORNELIVS GALLVS and TIBVLLVS You both are gentlemen you CORNELIVS A souldier of renowne and the first prouost That euer let our Roman eagles flie On swarthy Aegypt quarried with her spoiles Yet not to beare cold formes nor mens out-termes Without the inward fires and liues of men You both haue vertues shining through your shapes To shew your titles are not writ on posts Or hollow statues which the best men are Without Promethean stuffings reacht from heauen Sweet poesies sacred garlands crowne your gentrie Which is of all the faculties on earth The most abstract and perfect if shee bee True borne and nurst with all the sciences Shee can so mould Rome and her monuments Within the liquid marble of her lines That they shall stand fresh and miraculous Euen when they mixe with innouating dust In her sweet streames shall our braue Roman spirits Chace and swim after death with their choise deeds Shining on their white shoulders and therein Shall Tyber and our famous riuers fall With such attraction that th' ambitious line Of the round world shall to her center shrinke To heare their musicke And for these high parts CAESAR shall reuerence the Pierian artes MECoe. Your Maiesties high grace to poesie Shall stand 'gainst all the dull detractions Of leaden soules who for the vaine assumings Of some quite worthlesse of her soueraigne wreaths Containe her worthiest prophets in contempt GALL. Happy is Rome of all earths other states To haue so true and great a president For her inferiour spirits to imitate As CAESAR is who addeth to the sunne Influence and lustre in encreasing thus His inspirations kindling fire in vs HORA. PHOEBVS himselfe shall kneele at CAESARS shrine And deck it with bay-garlands dew'd with wine To quite the worship CAESAR does to him Where other Princes hoisted to their thrones By fortunes passionate and disordered power Sit in their height like clouds before the sunne Hindring his comforts and by their excesse Of cold in vertue and crosse heate in vice Thunder and tempest on those learned heads Whom CAESAR with such honour doth aduance TIBV. All humane businesse fortune doth command Without all order and with her blinde hand Shee blinde bestowes blinde gifts that still haue nurst They see not who nor how but still the worst CAES. CAESAR for his rule and for so much stuffe As fortune puts
O who shall follow vertue and embrace her When her false bosome is found nought but aire And yet of those embraces centaures spring That warre with humane peace and poyson men Who shall with greater comforts comprehend Her vnseene being and her excellence When you that teach and should eternize her Liue as shee were no law vnto your liues Nor liu'd her selfe but with your idle breaths If you thinke gods but fain'd and vertue painted Know we sustaine an actuall residence And with the title of an Emperour Retaine his spirit and imperiall power By which in imposition too remisse Licentious NASO for thy violent wrong In soothing the declin'd affections Of our base daughter we exile thy feete From all approch to our imperiall court On paine of death and thy mis-gotten loue Commit to patronage of iron doores Since her soft-hearted fire cannot containe her MECoe. O good my lord forgiue be like the Gods HORA. Let royall bountie CAESAR mediate CAESA. There is no bountie to be shewed to such As haue no reall goodnesse Bountie is A spice of vertue and what vertuous act Can take effect on them that haue no power Of equall habitude to apprehend it But liue in worship of that idoll vice As if there were no vertue but in shade Of strong imagination meerely enforc't This shewes their knowledge is meere ignorance Their farre-fetcht dignitie of soule a phansy And all their square pretext of grauitie A meere vaine glorie hence away with 'hem I will preferre for knowledge none but such As rule their liues by it and can becalme All sea of humour with the marble trident Of their strong spirits Others fight below With gnats and shaddowes others nothing know Act IIII. Scene VII. TVCCA CRISPINVS PYRGVS HORACE MECoeNAS LVPVS HISTRIO WHat 's become of my little punke VENVS and the poult-foot stinkard her husband ha CRIS. O they are rid home i' the coach as fast as the wheeles can runne TVCC. God IVPITER is banisht I heare and his cockatrice IVNO lockt vp 'Hart and and all the poetrie in Parnassus get me to bee a player againe I 'le sell 'hem my share for a sesterce But this is humours HORACE that goat-footed enuious slaue hee 's turn'd fawne now an informer the rogue 't is hee has betraid vs all Did you not see him with the Emperour crouching CRIS. Yes TVCC. Well follow me Thou shalt libell and I 'le cudgell the rascall Boy prouide me a truncheon Reuenge shall gratulate him tam MARTI quà m MERCVRIO PYRG. I but Master take heed how you giue this out HORACE is a man of the sword CRIS. 'T is true in troth they say he 's valiant TVCC. Valiant so is mine arse gods and fiends I 'le blow him into aire when I meet him next He dares not fight with a puck-fist PYRG. Master Horace passes by here he comes TVCC. Where IVPITER saue thee my good poet my noble prophet my little fat HORACE I scorne to beate the rogue i' the court and I saluted him thus faire because hee should suspect nothing the rascall Come wee 'll goe see how forward our iourney-man is toward the vntrussing of him CRIS. Doe you heare Captaine I 'le write nothing in it but innocence because I may sweare I am innocent HORA. Nay why pursue you not the Emperor for your reward now LVPVS MECoe. Stay ASINIVS you and your stager and your band of LICTORS I hope your seruice merits more respect Then thus without a thankes to be sent hence HIST. Well well iest on iest on HORA. Thou base vnworthy groome LVPV. I I 't is good HORA. Was this the treason this the dangerous plot Thy clamorous tongue so bellowed through the court Hadst thou no other proiect to encrease Thy grace with CAESAR but this woluish traine To prey vpon the life of innocent mirth And harmelesse pleasures bred of noble wit Away I lothe thy presence such as thou They are the moths and scarabes of a state The bane of empires and the dregs of courts Who to endeare themselues to any employment Care not whose fame they blast whose life they endanger And vnder a disguis'd and cob-web masque Of loue vnto their soueraigne vomit forth Their owne prodigious malice and pretending To be the props and columnes of his safety The guards vnto his person and his peace Disturbe it most with their false lapwing-cries LVPV. Good CAESAR shall know of this beleeue it MECoe. CAESAR doth know it wolfe and to his knowledge Hee will I hope reward your base endeuours Princes that will but heare or giue accesse To such officious spies can ne're be safe They take in poyson with an open care And free from danger become slaues to feare Act IIII. Scene VIII. OVID BAnisht the court Let me be banisht life Since the chiefe end of life is there concluded Within the court is all the kingdome bounded And as her sacred spheare doth comprehend Ten thousand times so much as so much place In any part of all the empire else So euery body moouing in her spheare Containes ten thousand times as much in him As any other her choice orbe excludes As in a circle a magician then Is safe against the spirit he excites But out of it is subiect to his rage And loseth all the vertue of his arte So I exil'd the circle of the court Lose all the good gifts that in it I ioy'd No vertue currant is but with her stamp And no vice vicious blaunch't with her white hand The court 's the abstract of all Romes desert And my deare IVLIA th' abstract of the court Meethinkes now I come neere her I respire Some aire of that late comfort I receiu'd And while the euening with her modest vaile Giues leaue to such poore shaddowes as my selfe To steale abroad I like a heart-lesse ghost Without the liuing body of my loue Will here walke and attend her For I know Not farre from hence shee is imprisoned And hopes of her strict guardian to bribe So much admittance as to speake to me And cheere my fainting spirits with her breath Act IIII. Scene IX. IVLIA Shee appeareth aboue as at her chamber window OVID OVID my loue OVID Here heauenly IVLIA IVLI. Here and not here O how that word doth play With both our fortunes differing like our selues Both one and yet diuided as oppos'd I high thou low Ô this our plight of place Doubly presents the two lets of our loue Locall and ceremoniall height and lownesse Both waies I am too high and thou too low Our mindes are euen yet Ô why should our bodies That are their slaues be so without their rule I 'le cast my selfe downe to thee If I die I 'le euer liue with thee no height of birth Of place of dutie or of cruell power Shall keepe mee from thee should my father locke This body vp within a tombe of brasse Yet I 'le be with thee If the formes I hold Now in my soule be made one substance with it
spare 'hem But as things now stand Fathers to spare these men were to commit A greater wickednesse then you would reuenge If there had beene but time and place for you To haue repair'd this fault you should haue made it It should haue beene your punishment to' haue felt Your tardie error but necessitie Now bids me say let 'hem not liue an houre If you meane Rome should liue a day I haue done SEN. CATO hath spoken like an oracle CRA. Let it be so decreed SEN. We are all fearefull SYL. And had beene base had not his vertue rais'd vs SEN. Goe forth most worthy Consul wee 'll assist you CAES. I 'am not yet chang'd in my sentence Fathers CAT. No matter What be those SER. Letters for CAESAR CAT. From whom let 'hem be read in open Senate Fathers they come from the conspirators I craue to haue 'hem read for the republique CAES. CATO reade you it 'T is a loue-letter From your deare sister to me though you hate me Doe not discouer it CAT. Hold thee drunkard Consul Goe forth and confidently CAES. You 'll repent This rashnesse CICERO PRAE. CAESAR shall repent it CIC. Hold friends PRAE. Hee 's scarce a friend vnto the publike CIC. No violence CAESAR be safe Leade on Where are the publike executioners Bid 'hem wait on vs On to SPINTHERS house Bring LENTVLVS forth Here you the sad reuengers Of capitall crimes against the publike take This man vnto your iustice strangle him LEN. Thou do'st well Consul 'T was a cast at dice In FORTVNES hand not long since that thy selfe Should'st haue heard these or other words as fatall CIC. Leade on to QVINTVS CORNIFICIVS house Bring forth CETHEGVS Take him to the due Death that he hath deseru'd and let it be Said He was once CET. A beast or what is worse A slaue CETHEGVS Let that be the name For all that 's base hereafter That would let This worme pronounce on him and not haue trampled His body into Ha! Art thou not mou'd CIC. Iustice is neuer angrie Take him hence CET. O the whore FORTVNE and her bawds the Fates That put these tricks on men which knew the way To death by a sword Strangle me I may sleepe I shall grow angrie with the gods else CIC. Leade To CAIVS CAESAR for STATILIVS Bring him and rude GABINIVS out Here take 'hem To your cold hands and let 'hem feele death from you GAB. I thanke you you doe me a pleasure STA. And me too CAT. So MARCVS TVLLIVS thou maist now stand vp And call it happy Rome thou being Consul Great parent of thy countrie goe and let The old men of the citie ere they die Kisse thee the matrons dwell about thy necke The youths and maides lay vp 'gainst they are old What kind of man thou wert to tell their nephewes When such a yeere they reade within our Fasti Thy Consul-ship Who 's this PETREIVS CIC. Welcome Welcome renowned souldier What 's the newes This face can bring no ill with 't vnto Rome How do's the worthy Consul my colleague PET. As well as victorie can make him sir He greets the Fathers and to me hath trusted The sad relation of the ciuill strife For in such warre the conquest still is black CIC. Shall we with-draw into the house of Concord CAT. No happy Consul here let all eares take The benefit of this tale If he had voyce To spread vnto the poles and strike it through The center to the Antipodes It would aske it PET. The streights and needs of CATILINE being such As he must fight with one of the two armies That then had neere enclos'd him It pleas'd Fate To make vs th' obiect of his desperate choise Wherein the danger almost paiz'd the honor And as he riss' the day grew black with him And Fate descended neerer to the earth As if shee meant to hide the name of things Vnder her wings and make the world her quarrie At this we rous'd lest one small minutes stay Had left it to be enquir'd what Rome was And as we ought arm'd in the confidence Of our great cause in forme of battaile stood Whilst CATILINE came on not with the face Of any man but of a publique ruine His count'nance was a ciuill warre it selfe And all his host had standing in their lookes The palenesse of the death that was to come Yet cryed they out like vultures and vrg'd on As if they would precipitate our fates Nor staid we longer for 'hem But himselfe Strooke the first stroke And with it fled a life Which cut it seem'd a narrow necke of land Had broke betweene two mightie seas and either Flow'd into other for so did the slaughter And whirl'd about as when two violent tides Meet and not yeeld The Furies stood on hills Circling the place and trembled to see men Doe more then they whilst pietie left the field Grieu'd for that side that in so bad a cause They knew not what a crime their valour was The sunne stood still and was behind the cloud The battaile made seene sweating to driue vp His frighted horse whom still the noyse droue backward And now had fierce ENYO like a flame Consum'd all it could reach and then it selfe Had not the fortune of the common-wealth Come PALLAS-like to euery Roman thought Which CATILINE seeing and that now his troops Couer'd that earth they had fought on with their trunkes Ambitious of great fame to crowne his ill Collected all his furie and ran in Arm'd with a glorie high as his despaire Into our battaile like a Lybian lyon Vpon his hunters scornefull of our weapons Carelesse of wounds plucking downe liues about him Till he had circled in himselfe with death Then fell he too t' embrace it where it lay And as in that rebellion 'gainst the gods MINERVA holding forth MEDVSA'S head One of the gyant brethren felt himselfe Grow marble at the killing sight and now Almost made stone began t' inquire what flint What rocke it was that crept through all his limmes And ere he could thinke more was that he fear'd So CATILINE at the sight of Rome in vs Became his tombe yet did his looke retayne Some of his fiercenesse and his hands still mou'd As if he labour'd yet to graspe the state With those rebellious parts CAT. A braue bad death Had this beene honest now and for his countrey As 't was against it who had ere fallen greater CIC. Honor'd PETREIVS Rome not I must thanke you How modestly has he spoken of himselfe CAT. He did the more CIC. Thanks to the immortall gods Romans I now am paid for all my labours My watchings and my dangers Here conclude Your praises triumphs honors and rewards Decreed to me only the memorie Of this glad day if I may know it liue Within your thoughts shall much affect my conscience Which I must alwayes studie before fame Though both be good the latter yet is worst And euer is ill got without the first THE