the earth and all did quake He sighed and most sorrowfull he was That euer mortall man was brought to passe He grieu'd in heart thâ—…t euer he created Man who with sinne was so contaminated All things quoth he wherin remaineth breath I purpose to destroy 〈◊〉 sudden death This hand which 〈◊〉 all mortall things aliue All earthlie things of life shâ—…ll now depriue From man to beasts from birds to things which creep All flesh shall taste of my displeasure deep The birds swift winges shall not his body saue The Lyons forâ—… nor Gâ—…ants courage braue Thus am I minded thus doe I intend All liuing creatures now shall haue an end But yet on earth one only man there dwelled All other men in justice who excelled The third from Enoch was he in discent Enoch who all his life vprightly spent Enoch of life who neuer was bereauen Enoch â—…ho liuiug was rapt into heauen Methushelah who all men did surpasse In length of life his Grandsire cleped was It was just Nâ—…ah Lamecâ—…s sonne vpright Three sonnes he had Shâ—…m Ham Iaphet hight He loued vertue vice he did eschew Iehouah therfore â—…auour did him shew Againe Earths founder his all seeing eyes Cast on the world from top of Cerule skies Againe he saw all wickednes abound In all the earth no justice could be found The children bathed in their fathers blood All nought he saw and nothing that was good Vast fields of sin Abysses fraught with lewdnes Realmes full of errors mountaines huge of shrewdnes The height whereof vnto his throne ascended And with their stench his nostrils fore offended Then vnto Noah Lâ—…mechs sonne he spake An end of all things now I meane to make All flesh wherin remaineth liuing spirit Of vitall breath I purpose to disherit Ah how it grieues me now that I haue framed Man who wiâ—…h sin the earth hath so defamed Make thee an Arke of Pine trees verie strong Three hundred cubits shalt thou make it long Threescore in breadth and thirty cubits hie Make rooms in it where seueral things may lie Three sundrie stories sâ—…lt thou in it frame And round about with pitch close vp the same For I vpon the earth a flood will bring Wherwith I will subuert ech liuing thing But vnto thee my couenant will I make My couenant which I neuer meane to breake Thou with thy wife thy sons thy sons wiues Shal in the arke be shut and saue your liues Of euery lining creature also twaine A male and female shall with thee remaine And lay vp food for thee and euery creature Euen seuerall food according to their nature The ark was made al things brought to passe As God commanded so it framed was Then spake Iehouah vnto him goe thou Into the arke with all thy houshold now For seu'n dayes hence shall mighty rain abound Wherwith I mean to couer al the ground Then Noah with his family also Iust eight persons into the arke did goe And now the hower was neer the fatal hower Wherin Iehouah meant to shew his power Sixe times Aurorâ—… with her blushing hew Had seene the earth all darke with hoary dew Now pitchie night six times gan dim the skies Last night of sollace vnto mortall eyes O Luna still detaine thy blackish horse Let neuer dismall Tytan run his course Bright Vesper still continue thou thy race Let neuer fatall day-star thee deface Who can alas expresse the doleâ—…ull ruin And piteous horror of the day â—…nsuin Now fro her chamber comes the scowling morning Her selfe still in a night-gowne blacke adorning Tytan arose but yet his glorious head With pitch-resembling cloudes was ouerspread Blacke foggie mystes rose from the earthly mole Ascending vp vnto the aâ—…ry pole Windes thronged foorth and stroue in skies aloft As ciuill warres among them had been wrought As craggie hils had broken been by charmes As all Eâ—…lia had beene vp in armes Windes ayre and cloudes all meant the ayre to sacke O now or neuer goes the world to wracke Then thou O woe heauens Architect began To poure thy feareful threats on mortall man The glowring skies reâ—…ounded like a thunder As though heauens sacred vault had cleft in sunder As though ten thousand Cannons huge discharged Their roaring sounds with fall offorts enlarged His right hand shoke the earth his left hand crushed The clouds then raine in great aboundance rushed Raine poured foorth yet not content his anger Enforced swelling tydes on earth to wander Then broken were the heads of watrie fountaines They gushed from the feet of craggie mountaines Seas lent them waues their courses to maintaine Earth made them passage to his vtter bane Now had the morne still clad in mourning weeds Thrise open'd gates to Phaebus fiery steeds Steeds smoking wet yet from his flaming carre No light did come blacke mystes his light did scarre And now the three dayes raine and flowing flouds Had spoyled quite green hearbs and pleasant buds And shortly did the husband man complaine That all his whole years trauell and his paine Were brought to ruin corne and goodly flowers Were prostrate laid with ouer-flowing showers The sillie birds with violence of weather In bushes thicke did â—…hroud themselues together Beasts shrinking vnder grouie hedges stood Halfe drown'd with wet halfe dead for want of food By this time waters all the earth did couer The falling raine and rising flouds ran ouer All champion countries where men lately plowed Now waters stood and Scullers might haue rowed O then on earth was heard a piteous crie Men crying out beasts roaring plaintiuely Then first of all began the Gyants sterne To shake for feare and flinty hearts to yerne Raine falling and seas rising without piâ—…tie Made entrance into euerie house and cittie As when a Fort or sacked citties walles With violence of â—…ampir'd engines falles The furious foe runnes raging through the streeâ—…s With bloody weapons killing whom he meetes An hideous â—…ry and â—…ound arriâ—…eth then Of maymed women and distressed men Men seeing weapons come to worke their bane Yet could not shun them O what greater paine So fat'd it with the people of this time Some vpon roofes and turrets high did clime One takes the highest mountaine he can see Another sits a fishing in a tree One thrusts himselfe into a wherry boat And desperately vpon the waues doth floate And euery one did seâ—…ke to clyme aloâ—…t For eurie one to shun the waters sought They saw the waters come to stop their bâ—…eath Yet could not shun't O greater griâ—…fe then death Their dollours might haue been compared well To one that dying heares the passing bell Some were already drown'd thus stood the case He liu'd the longest who had highest place And now were turrets high and mountaines couered And leauie trees which in the aire erst houered O lend me words the dollours to display The Fatall horrors of this dismall day There might you see how louingly the mother With her sweet daughter kissed one the other One piteously
ADAMS Complaint THE Olde Worldes Tragedie Dauid and Bathsheba A Ioue Musa ✚ HEB DDIEV HEB DDIM Imprinted at London by Richard Iohnes at the Rose and Crowne next aboue Saint Andrewes Church in Holborne 1596. To the Right Reuerend Father Richard by the Prouidence of God Bishop of Peterborough F. S. wisheth increase of temporall and spirituall blessings LEarned Mecoenas fauorite of Muses Renowned Patron hater of abuses Who sitting in Religions golden Chaire Thou her she thee adornes with vertues rare As Phoebe from her Phoebus borrowes light Wherwith againe she decketh him by night So likewise thou She thee with swauity Thou graceâ—…t her with moderne grauitie Both I my selfe and Muse will now assay Our tributorie debt to thee to pay By dutie bound vnbound I can be neuer Vow'd to your Lordships seruice now and euer Your Lordships at commandment FRANCIS SABIE ADAMS Complaint NEw formed Adam of the reddish earth Exilde from Eden Paradice of pleasure By Gods decree cast down to woes from mirth From lasting joyes to sorrowes out of measure Fetch'd many a sigh comparing his estate With happie blisse which he forewent of late Rowse vp thy selfe my Muse a tale to tell A dolefull tale in sad and plaintiue verse How man in blisse from happinesse once fell Although not woont such horrors to rehearse Oh great Iehouah heauens great Architect In this sad worke my fainting Muse direct With pensiue heart he trac'd the earth new founded Wringing his hands in lamentable wise Earth neuer with ground-cleauing ploughshare wounded Now to the starry globe he cast his eyes And now to Eden where he erst remained From which with fiery sword he was detained O haplesse Adam quoth he vnkind father Vnnaturall Parent childrens fatall foe From whence all mankind doe such curses gather Authour of death first bringer in of woe No sooner fram'd of thine al-making God Then purchasing his sin-correcting rod. Did not Iehouah lend to thee his grace More plentifull then other liuing things Who hauing fram'd thee did prouide a place Euen Paradice the shadow of his winges Amongst a thousand sundry kindes of meat Forbidding thee one only fruit to eat Consider birds beasts fish and other Creature Behold they all looke groueling on the ground He vnto heauen erected hath thy feature That thou maist see his woonders which abound Yet thou on whom most louingly he looked Hast first of all to anger him prouoked For thee he made heauens Azur-painted cou'ring Adorning it with starres with Sunne with Moone The blustring windes within the aire be hou'ring That thou his maruels mightst behold alone Yet thou his greatest fabricke with thy sinne To anger him didst first of all beginne For thee he fram'd earths euen-poysed globe Hanging it in the aire to humaine woonder And decked it with fruites as with a robe Making the seas deuide the same in sunder The seas he dight with fish the earth with beasts For thee yet thou hast broken his behests What didst thou want amid that pleasant plot Prepar'd for thee by his all-working skill Thou canst not thinke the thing thou haddest not Without all griefe thou liued'st not knowing yll Pride and desire of knowledge made thee taste The fruite which did indeed thy knowledge waste Had not thy God sayd taste not of the tree The fruit perhaps had still remain'd vntouched Hencefoorth shall this enormity by thee In minds of thy posterity be couched Burning desire of secrets which are hidden And fiery zeal of things which are forbidden What made thy wife the fruit so to desire The goodly hue and beautie of the same What did allure and set thy mind on fire The glozing words of thy seducing Dame Henceforth therfore will womens words beautie Seducers be of mankind from their dutie Blind Euah saw'st thou not as in a glasse How Sathan with his guiles did circumuent thee Beheldst thou not the brittle world alas How it with vading vanity did tempt thee Then how the flesh did combate with the Spirite And all of heauenly blisse thee to disherite O certaine type true figure perfect map Of future euilles t'all mankind to fall These still with sleights as in a subtill trap Will seeke to make all humaine ofspring thrall Whilst Sun remaines whilst Moon doth endure These archfoes will their treason put in vre Wouldst thou in blisse not keep one little law How wilt thou now a multitude obserue When many thousand deuils thy mind withdraw To which thou canst not choose but needs must swerue And hauing sweru'd thy conscience plainly saith That euery sin deserues a seuerall death Then viewed he the cerule-colored Pole With pitchy clouds which gan to be obscured Blacke foggie mists rose from earths lumpish mole Earths mole by plow-swaine neuer yet manured Ay me quoth he this may a token be That for my sinne my maker frownes on me Day-guiding Sol with his bright-burning lampe Obscures his beames in clowdes his glorie hiding Night-ruling 〈◊〉 waxeth pale and dampe Asham'd of me my glory not abiding Star-bearing skies with your earth-cou'ring valt For me it is you frowne for my default Rain-sending clowdes poure out your watry showers On earth vast Orbe which from the seas yuo borrow Cold-causing frosts deface the fragrant flowers With hoarie rymes true types of future sorrow Adam now made his maker hath offended To whom so many blessings he extended Ah how Dame Vâ—…r the ground with flowers spread Vauting her selfe amid that pleasant pallace Foure chrystalâ—… lakes distilled from one head Refreshing hearbs with humor thee with sollace Thou didst not sow no labour didst thou take The earth bore all things neuer toucht with rake See now how Sommers beauty-spoyling drought Earth of her party-colloured vestments robs Transporting all the buds which Ver had brought To fruitlesse hay dry straw and withered shrubs Then mystie Autumne with his raigne boreaues The earth of hearbes the trees of parched leaues If any Vernall remnant yet be left By Aestaes heat and Autumns raine not spoyled The same by chil-cold Winter is bereft Of vigor and with hoary frosts deâ—…oyled Frost making earth a Chaos to resemble For mine offence wheron to thinke I tremble The blewish skyes did only me protect I sought not for a stately brick-built Castle I needed not a sheltring roofe erect Against tempestuous windes and raine to wrastle The sturdie Oake in mountain tops did stand The stones lay still I tooke them not in hand Now Adam stir thee like the nimble pricket Pursu'd with houndes ransacke thy Grandams bones Cut downe the massie Oke from grouie thicket To forge a tyled roofe for playned stones Forge thee a shelter edifie an holde To shield thee from the rage of winde and colde As I was made so liu'd I with my spouse Both naked were yet knew it not O rarenesse We felt no colde yet liued in no house We blushed not one at anothers barenesse But out alas what shamefastnes we suffred When vgly sinne our nakednesse vncou'red Learne heer O
requesting others help Yet neither of them knew to ayd himselfe The dying sonne now at the latest gaspe About his clasping fâ—…hers â—…eck did claspâ—… And ready now to bid their lâ—…t farewell Were snatched both with seas and billows fel The Lord seruant both at one time snatched One furiously hold on the other catched And still in surging waues together cleft Till both of breath together were bereft The tyrannizing Giants bodies grim Now with the criples liuelesse corps did swim The subject with the â—…cepter-bearing king The murthring billows spar'd no liuing thing Some might you see half dead and halfe aliue Like water-fowles now rise now to diue Some turning round and violently borne Al headlong downe their lims in sundâ—…r torn The brisle-bearing bore and gentle sheepe Swam both together in the surging deep The silly Lambe was with the rauening Wolfe Drown'd in the vast no-pitie taking gulfe The liuelesse Lyon in the deep did swim Nought did the Tygers courage profit him Nought booted it the Beare to roar and grind No profit by his swiftnesse got the Hind And hauing long time with exceeding paine Flowne through the aire disturbed still with raine The wearie bird not finding any ground Fals downe in seas and at the last is drown'd And now the Arke where Noah did abide Was hoisted vp with ouer-swelling tide One while all hidden to the earth it fell As though it would haue gone to visit hell One while againe it seemed to arrise And suddenly would mount vp to the skies No sterne it had no mast no sayle no guide But caried was at pleasure of the tide Twise twenty dayes as blacke as any cole The murthering raine distilled from the Pole The tallest mountaines in the world so wide Now couered were with ouer-swelling tide The ayrie Alpes and eke Pernassus faire Now hidden were with waues a woonder rare Snow-bearing Pindus and Olympus steep Both at this time lay hidden in the deep Now first of all igniferous Aetnas caues And Ciclops flames were quench'd with salt-sea waues Sweet-smelling Ide and sacered Ismarus Aspiring Pelion and hard Caucasus In Scythian mounts where murthering Tygres hanted Now vgly shapes of monstrous sea-fish vanted The Dolphins woonders vnder watrie floods To see faire turrets and thicke grouie woods In steed of sacrifice on Altars faire Sit seemly Marmaydes combing of their haire In Churches eke their Organists now wanting Melodious Odes and ditties now recanting The vglie dog-fish and deuouring Whales Gainst pinacles did dash their shining skales And where the Goat was woont her food to swallow Foule Porposses and seaish monsters wallow Now from his glorious pallace heauens creator Look'd downe and saw the world a sea of water All was a sea yet wanted it a coast Then thought he on the Arke and Nâ—…ah tost Through all the world and earth which manie a night Hid vnder seas had seen no cheerfull light Foorthwith he charg'd the foggie mysts to vanish Then all the windes tempestuous did he banish And â—…hen retreyt vnto the water soundes Commanding it to keepe within his bounds Commanding it his fountaines to restraine And them to stop their springing heads againe Clouds foorthwith fled and tempestes were appeased The seas return'd and running fountaines ceased The scowling morne now left his mourning robe And smilinglie blush'd on the watery globe And shortly might you see meane turrets peepe And tops of Pine-trees from the flouds to creepe The fleeting arke which long had cleft in sunder the vast deluge both caried vp and vnder Now vnto East and now vnto the west At length in mounts of Arâ—…y did rest Twise twentie times had Phoebus drencht his beames And Car in graue Oceanâ—…s his streames When as the framer of the subtill Barke A window did set open in th Arke And foorth he sent a Rauen thence to know If waters still the land did ouerflow Foorth flew she but returned presently So went and came vntill the earth was drie Againe he sends a siluer-winged Doue To see if still the waters were aboue Out flies the Doue through the aire doth go As swift as any arrow ftom a bowe Much aire she cuts and in the earth not seeing One liuing creature any where haue being Nor any ground wheron she might remaine With weary wings returnes to him againe Then rested he vntill the day-star bright Seuen times remoou'd the canopie of night Then once againe the Doue he sendeth out She mounts aloft and flieth round about And finding much dry ground on earth presumes To fall theron and rouse her ruffled plumes Now shakes her selfe and with her bill them peckes Now layes them downe and orderly them deckes And hauing long time frolik'd at her will Returned with a green leafe in her bill By this knew Noah that the Flood decreased Yet other seuen dayes in the arke he rested And when bright Vesper in the Welkin pale Had thrise and foure times drawne the clowdy vale The third time forth againe he sends the Doue She swiftly in the aire her wings doth mooue And finding food her body to sustaine And ground to rest on neuer came againe Yet rested Lâ—…chs osspring in the Arke Till seuen times againe in Welkin darke Bâ—…otes guider of the greater Beare Had showne himself and then expelling feare Sets ope the doore and plainely did espie Floods quite decreas'd and face of earth all dry And then the lord commandment to him gaue That he with all things els the Arke should leaue No stay they made all things man bird aud beastes VVhom Titaâ—… saw from either of his restes Aliue on earth came foorth with from the arke There streâ—…ht their limmes vnweldy yet and starke There Enochs ofspring to his God erected An altar who from Floods had him protected And theron for his preseruation Did ofâ—…er vp a just oblation The smell wherof vnto his throne arose And cast a pleasant odour to his nose Expelling quite that detestable stinke VVhich erst ascended from worldes filthy sinke Delighted therfore in this pleasant â—…uour He blest all mankind with his gracious fauour Hencefoorth quoâ—…h he no more my wrathfull â—…urse Vpon the world or man I will disburfe For all his thoughts with wickednes are stayned Fuen from his birth to time that he is wayned Hencefoorth in â—…eason shall â—…e plant and sow In season shall he after reape and mowe In his due course hot Sommer will I send And winter till the earth shall haue an end Increase aboundantly bring foorth and breed And earth againe replenish with your seed Beholde your feare all creatures shall appall Rule thou as Lord and maister ouer all Whoso shall man bereaue of vitall breath His life shall be abridg'd with cruell death Blood will haue blood whoso shall cut manslife His also shall be cut with blooudy knife Encrease aboundantly bring foorth and breed The earth againe replenish with your seed Behold with thee I make a couenant sure A couenant which for euer shall endure With earth