Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A67197
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Epistles to the King and Duke
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Wycherley, William, 1640-1716.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing W3742; ESTC R217195
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17,127
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70
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come without care But holy Play-houses like others do Act Tragedies on Kings in Puppet show And with the Royal leave or sufferance By acting so the active cause advance Of Rapin Rage Rebellion nay Lust too Where rais'd up Eyes each Dame and Purse look throw There with rude Worship Church and Court defame In Pray'r take most in vain God's and your name Yet often'st in their Pray'r you are left out But in Pray'r only 'scape blaspheming Throat Such old Reformers did old Laws withstand Such by King-killing made yours holy Land And such again forbid Eternal Pow'r Would so exalt their King as once before But you without Deaths stroak will ever live In deeds of Mercy like a God you give Yet Death or vengeance deal with slowest Arm By mercy Sir you only can do harm Yours is in sparing but destructive hand With stroaks you 'd heal State-evil of your Land But when you think all 's Cur'd the hum'rous Sore Missing your Gold breaks out worse than before Rebellion like a Fellon must endure Squeesing and anguish ere 't will find a Cure You ne'r are cruel but when you forgive And Rebels whom your laws condemn reprieve Saving such lives risques that by which all live When a King 's Murder'd one Man do's not die Whole Nations suffer Death in Monarchy And lose their dearest Life old Liberty Your Arm like Heaven's fences with your Foes To save those lives who would your power depose Excess of Mercy is self cruelty Hazzarding Life that Murderers mayn't die Yet sometimes Trait'rous Friend bids Friend have care Makes him turn's Head to take him unaware When none but his own Trait'rous hand was near But your own sparing hand you need but fear 'Cause 't wou'd not kill but only rage disarm Vent'ring your self not enemy to harm Late is your Veng'ance if it comes at all Like Heavens hand your great Original Tardy in punishment in giving swift When merit calls you give 'till nothing's left Kings names by th' King of Mettles ought to live Yet not by Dross they stamp but Gold they give Kings are Land-Pyrats from their taking pow'r By gift not stamp of Gold Kings are made more By giving each King grows an Emperour Yet the sole fault of giving is excess It's overflowing maks its shallowness By giving Liberality will cease All but your self in your Court are at ease All but your self there too proud big and high O'reflowing honour dreins Spring Majesty And when a Prince puts Royal stamp on Brass Raising the Mettles price will his debase Some worthless wretches wear high Character As Copper Farthings too Kings Image bear As well as Gold which weighs well and looks right Of worth Intrinsick glorious too in sight When honours grow too cheap it is a sign In other Courts of scarcity of Coin So Royal stamp in Exigences has Coin'd Leather and for sterling made it pass But your stamp is the same on Lead and Brass In heat of stamping often dull Dross may Mix with pure Gold and steal its stamp away Yet some there are deserve the stamp I know And as true Coin may make the false to go When Princes justly honour too confer Such honour'd is his Prince's honourer You can make any thing but your self proud Best Kings are like best Gold easiest bow'd Such is your gentle condescending Reign As when Gods rul'd each Village and each Plain Ere Ceremony sway'd Pride or Disdain Or rust of Avarice did Conscience stain And ere intruding lowd Religion strove To change for tattle silence of the Grove Left Heav'nly solitude t' improve the Earth And scourc'd silent content for noisy mirth Such your Reign as when Gods rul'd infant Times Your patience bounty mercy are your Crimes If they are faults the Gods are Gods by them More than by Thunder or Stars Diadem Your power alone in saving you employ You still save more than Tyrants wou'd destroy Some Kings out of revenge but Justice do But out of easiness their pitty show And out of highest Vanity seem low You are your Nations King yet Father too Your haughty Brother Kings by ruin Reign Offenders of your Mercy but complain When they act o're their Villanies again You by forgiving make and Conquer Foes And bind men more by letting of 'em loose Pard'ning in other Kings is but an art More to enslave they give Life for a Heart Which never must from them again depart So give Life but to take away a Life For Death to wretch from slavery's reprief Such Kings reprieve wretch from the quiet grave To make him live in Hell here Gally slave To force slave Subjects is Kings slavery A Rape on Hearts begets disloyalty Making your Subjects Hearts unask'd to give Is only Gods and your Prerogative Force on Allegiance worse than Rape on Love Pleasure and rule by force but Tiresom pain will prove With your rude Nation you have kindly strove But after all your Courtship still you find The hum'rous sullen harlot scarce is kind The only she to whom your love apply'd Who sawcily her kindness has deny'd Yet will she beastly prostrate be lie down And common grow to Fop of Shire and Town Not worthy for such Majesty to own Your Nation was your Mistriss next to Fame 'Till she prov'd false your wrong is but her shame The more you Court the Jilt becomes more coy Your shew of Love do's but your hopes destroy French Hectors kick coy Jade e're she 'll be kind That way of wooing's best most Monarchs find Neglect scorn and ill nature best subdue Her who then 's only lost when you pursue She to be follow'd will run out of view False Common-wealth dear Pation of her Prince She who has been chief Mistriss of expence Is first who at your giving takes offence Jade Common-wealth who in your bosom lay Her whom you watch'd all night Courted by day Proves now your false and weakning Dalila Betraying first your strength your Life wou'd lose Clipping your power you to Philistians expose Philist'ans to Almightiness old Foes Who from your strength to mightiness first rose She too wou'd make great Master but her slave Grown proud scorns him from bountys first he gave Such fickle false and humorous next Fame Is Mistriss Common-wealth her Lovers shame Who suffers her too high wou'd be too tame Truckling's the way to make Love still despis'd For haughtiness more than for truth oft pris'd That Love which can engage yet will not awe Contempt in fine on profferer will draw False Subjects like false Whores but true for fear Are Loyallest when they are kept most bare After new Conquests you ne're vainly roam To make War which tho scouring far from home At length do's to home rage and plundring come Nay Princes ravage home to sack abroad With burth'nous War own Paisents first they load To make strange Subjects Vassals to their Throne Some squeez tax torture and fire too their own Ambitiously to others ruin run First by own loss
but outside brow Thick Sculs frought with but out-side confidence Have seldom need of inside bashful sense They speak as eat but from their lib'ral Prince Honey of Courts makes there such dronish swarms Mens impudence is wealth there Womens charms But now to modesty I 've lost pretence Daring Sir at your praise is impudence Sawcy Address to Majesty Offence But you the highest humblest of your Court Have pardon'd Millions of this ins'lent sort No modest Writer but with Pen in 's hand Thinks he has priviledge to mak's Prince stand Poems are but Petitions too in Verse Which Authors sufferings and wants reherse Large Portions they of Fame to Princes give That you in Verse and they may by it live Like sensless Courtiers with mean flattery Think so Kings grace they do not beg but buy Bold wretches to your Memory still sue For promises you gave to them ne're due And beg to be remembred still by you A Princess easy'st boon forgetfulness I only beg for which too none else press Such grant too without asking Princes give By your forgetting I new way shou'd thrive To be forgotten Sir were grace to me The only ruin'd by your Memory Worst crime is still rejecting Heavens grace Worst punishment is not to see Gods Face None wretched are who can come where you are Wretch is damn'd here who must that joy forbear You are but terrible abroad to Foes Your loaded Forehead here no terrour shows You do not rule your Subjects with your brows With no proud threats your Neighbours e're alarme Nor seek vain stile to do your Subjects harm Conqu'ring abroad brings desolation home Old Subjects are enslav'd new to o'recome Like Torrents Kings o'rethrow own banks to roam But your smooth stream seeks not to overthrow Her own Banks that to strange Coasts it may go Your streams of power on own Banks ne'er intrude Yet yours Gods overflowing hands similitude You like your Thames Sir keep a temp'rate Course The Shore you glide by 's fatten'd not the worse Your even Stream seeks but to keep its own From choaking Sands which wou'd its current drown But not to undermine its wealthy Coast O'reflowing streams by their own Banks are lost The more abroad the stream of pow'r o'reflows Drier and narrower at home it grows Dividing do's oft name and current lose Branching of Pow'r dreins but the first Spring-head Foraign o'reflowing makes home dry and dead Making a War is making Victors less And getting power but at their wealths decrease Let other vain Kings their Wild gaddings boast What treasures they of men for blows have lost The cheapest Victories too dearly cost 'T is sensless glory got by growing poor Making new Subjects by the loss of more Kings when they kill are Men Gods when they give Not Deaths or Rapin bounty makes Kings live Fierceness but makes men fly Gold makes Men kneel 'T is plyant Gold that Conquers not hard steel More pow'r Man has the less 't is to be us'd Using pow'r ill God whence it came's abus'd Subject's a Rascal whose unequal pow'r In Duel-war has made him Conquerour Who with the longest Sword chooses to fight Nor cause nor heart 't is to be fear'd has right 'T is infamous by meer strength to o'recome Becoming not a King but wrestling Groom Kings who exceed Commission to 'em giv'n Are themselves Traitours to the Prince of Heav'n And who do's not to execute Heav'ns will In sparing Traitours Blood his own do's spill God great Example to Vicegerents gave When he threw down the first Rebellious slave The Rebels punishments good Subjects save And Justice done reprieves near dying Laws Half ty'd up choak'd by the new good old Cause But Death's the only slow reward you give With Heavenly patience you for Stiff-necks grieve Whilst Hypocrites to you use self deceit Who wou'd cheat a wise God good King himself do's cheat Traitours to you stabs to own Conscience give Ill Life 's worst punishment's to let it live The envious you execute by their reprieve Who for the good you do tho 't were to them wou'd grieve To pardon them will hardly give you leave And guilty Conscience is worst Hangman too Severest Justice to it self will do And Subjects are Self-Felons i th' true Sence Who wou'd destroy a Just and Pard'ning Prince The Life of free-born Man is Liberty And Life of Liberty is Monarchy If we best first Man's service thraldom call What must it be to serve then always all The Government o' th' Skies ours imitates Rul'd by one single pow'r and yet three States O might our imitation throughly run Your Godlike Reign Eternally last on Excepting perpetuity alone Our sparing King lives here a Deity Of whom nothing but 's wrath can ever dye 'T is but your Justice do's ill Men incense You for Rebellion leave Slaves no pretence Are Good Great Merciful ev'n to Offence Kings but condemn the Just when they the guilty save Suffering Tyrant Slaves they their own Crowns enslave And Subjects mutiny is madness rage When each for th' publick 'gainst themselves engage For fear of one King set up Hundreds more Who have but pow'r too but to make 'em poor Yet now are saving on unthrifty score So treacherous Trustees take only care To spare the Tenants but to rack the Heir To force releases keep him low and bare But since your Slaves for you too high wou'd grow At their own perils let it e'en be so In spight heap Titles on 'em more and more That since Purse proud they may be honour poor That heaviest Tax of honour none deny A Tax with which all Fools most Knaves comply A Tax to beggar their Posterity So Pyramids more high they grow grow less Their heighth is but their substances decrease FINIS Errata in the Poem to the King Page the 1. Line 8. for Defaming Profaning p. 7. l. 15. for passs'd by by all pass'd by p. 8. l. 11. for World to World too p. 14. l. 10. for honour to honour too Errata in the Dukes Page 5. Line 9. for brake break p. 8. l. 9. for our is ours is p. 11. l. 8 for your fate your fates p. 15. l. 8. for praises praise p. 22. l. 2. for help to help me to p. 24. l. 17. for conj'ring conqu'ring p. 26. l. 6. for Jock-friends Foe-friends p. 29. l. 9. for but in but here TO THE DUKE Written in his Absence occasion'd from the sight of some Defamatory Libels on Him THe Brave and Just life to himself does give Ready'st to dye is fittest still to live Nor Virtues nor the Crimes of Ancestors Can truly magnify or lessen Ours Why should Syres Mothers Sisters or Wives Sin Be a Reproach to him that 's next of Kin Man may to Stock or Blood Related be From Friends ill Fame Ignoble Vice yet free Virtue is still the best Nobility Justice and Truth most lasting Heraldry Let Jockeys Huntsmen of long Stocks take heed Value a Horse or Dogg but for their Breed