Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A03513
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Achilles shield Translated as the other seuen bookes of Homer, out of his eighteenth booke of Iliades. By George Chapman Gent.; Iliad. Book 18. English. Chapman. Selections
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Homer.; Chapman, George, 1559?-1634.
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1598
(1598)
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STC 13635; ESTC S106158
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13,144
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30
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with a spunge his breast with hayres like wire His brawned necke his hard handes and his face He clensde put on his robe assumde his mace And halted forth and on his steps attended Handmaides of gold that with stronge paces wended Like dames in flowre of life in whom were mindes Furnisht with wisedome knowing all the kinds Of the Gods powers from whom did voyces flie In whom were strengthes and motions voluntary These at his elbow euer ministred And these drawing after him his legges he led To Thetis seated in a shining throne Whose hand he shooke and askt this question What wisht occasion brings the seas bright Queen To Vulcans house that euer yet hath beene So great a stranger shew thy reuerend will Which mine of choyce commands me to fulfill If in the reach of all mine Arte it lie Or it be possible to satisfie Thetis powrd out this sadreply in teares O Vulcan is there any Goddesse beares Of all the deities that decke the skie So much of mortall wretchednes as I Whom Ioue past all depriues of heauenly peace My selfe of all the blew Nereides He hath subiected to a mortals bed Which I against my will haue suffered To Peleus surnamed Aeacides Who in his court lies slaine with the disease Of wofull age and now with new infortunes He all my ioyes to discontents importunes In giuing me a sonne chiefe in renowne Of all Heroes who hath palme-like growne Set in a fruitfull soyle and when my care Had nurst him to a forme so singulare I sent him in the Grecians crooke-sternd fleete To Ilion with the swiftnes of his feete And dreadfull strength that his choyce lims indude To fight against the Troian fortitude And him I neuer shall receyue retirde To Peleus court but while he liues inspirde With humaine breath and sees the Suns cleare light He must liue sad and moodie as the night Nor can I cheer him since his valures price Resignde by all the Grecians comprimise Atrides forst into his fortunes part For which Consumption tires vppon his hart Yet since the Troians all the Greekes conclude Within theyr forte the Peeres of Greece haue sude With worthynes of gifts and humble prayers To winne his hand to harten their affayres Which he denyde but to appease theyr harmes He deckt his dear Patroclus in his armes And sent him with his bandes to those debates All daye they fought before the Scaean gates And well might haue expugnde by that black light The Ilian Cittie if Appollos spight Thirsting the blood of good Menetius sonnes Had not in face of all the fight foredone His faultlesse life and authord the renowne On Hectors prowesse making th' act his owne Since therefore to reuenge the timelesse death Of his true friend my sonne determineth T'embrue the field for want whereof he lies Buried in dust and drownde in miseries Hereat thy knees I sue that the short date Prefixt his life by power of enuious fate Thou wilt with heauenly armes grace and maintaine Since his are lost with his Patroclus slaine He answerd be assurde nor let the care Of these desires thy firmest hopes empaire Would God as farre from lamentable death When heauie fates shall see it with his breath I could reserue him as vnequald armes Shal be found neere t'auert all instant harmes Such armes as all worlds shall for art admire That by their eyes their excellence aspire This said the smith did to his bellowes goe Set them to fire and made his Cyclops blow Full twentie paire breathd through his furnace holes All sorts of blastes t'enflame his temperd coles Now blusterd hard and now did contrarise As Vulcan would and as his exercise Might with perfection serue the dames desire Hard brasse and tinne he cast into the fire High-prised gold and siluer and did set Within the stocke an anuile bright and great His massie hammer then his right hand held His other hand his gaspingtongues compeld And first he forgde a huge and solid Shield 〈…〉 may 〈◊〉 varâ—ant artship yeeld 〈…〉 three ambitious circles cast 〈…〉 and refulgent and without he plac't A siluer handle fiuefold proofe it was And in it many thinges with speciall grace And passing arteficiall pompe were grauen In it was earthes greene globe the sea and heauen Th'vnwearied Sunne the Moone exactly round And all the starres with which the skie is crownd The Pleyades the Hyads and the force Of great Orion and the Beare whose course Turnes her about his Sphere obseruing him Surnam'de the Chariot and doth neuer swimme Vpon the vnmeasur'de Oceans marble face Of all the flames that heauens blew vayle enchace In it two beautious Citties he did build Of diuers languag'd men the one was fild With sacred nuptialles and with solemne feastes And through the streetes the faire officious guests Lead from their brydall chambers their faire brides With golden torches burning by their sides Hymens sweet triumphes were abundant there Of youthes and damzels dauncing in a Sphere Amongst whom masking flutes harps were heard And all the matrones in their dores appearde Admiring their enamored braueries Amongst the rest busie contention flies About a slaughter and to solemne Court The Cittizens were drawne in thicke resort Where two contended for a penaltie The one due satisfaction did deny At th'others hands for slaughter of his friend The other did the contrarie defend At last by arbitration both desirde To haue their long and costly suit expirde The friends cast sounds confusde on eyther side Whose tumult straight the Herraldes pacifide In holy circle and on polisht stones The reuerend Iudges made their sessions The voycefull Herralds awfull scepters holding And their graue doomes on eyther side vnfolding In middest two golden talents were proposde For his rich see by whom should be disclosde The most applausiue sentence th'other towne Two hoste besiegde to haue it ouerthrown Or in two parts to share the wealthy spoyle And this must all the Cittizens assoyle They yeeld to neyther but with close alarme To sallies and to ambuscados arme Their wiues and children on their walles did stand With whom and with the old men they were mand The other issude Mars and Pallas went Propitious Captaaines to their braue intent Both golden did in golden garments shine Ample and faire and seemde indeede diuine The soldiers were in humbler habites deckt When they had found a valley most select To couch their ambush at a riuers brinke Where all their heards had vsuall place to drinke There clad in shining steele they close did lie And set farre off two sentinels to spie When all their flocks and crooke-hancht heards came neere Which soone succeeded and they followed were By two poore heardsmen that on bagpipes plaid Doubtlesse of any ambuscados laid The sentinels gaue word and in they flew Tooke heards and flockes and both their keepers slew The enemie hearing such a strange vprore About their cattell being set before In solemne counsell instantly tooke horse Pursude and at the flood with mutuall force
was the absolute inspiration of thine owne ridiculous Genius neuer didst thou more palpably damn thy drossy spirit in al thy all countries-exploded filcheries which are so grossely illiterate that no man will vouchsafe their refutation then in thy sencelesse reprehensions of Homer whose spirit flew asmuch aboue thy groueling capacitie as heauen moues aboue Barathrum but as none will vouchsafe repetition nor answere of thy other vnmanly fooleries no more will I of these my Epistle being too tedious to your Lo besides and no mans iudgement seruing better if your high affaires could admit their diligent perusall then your Lo to refute and reiect him But alas Homer is not now to bee lift vp by my weake arme more then he is now deprest by more feeble oppositions if any feele not their conceiptes so rauisht with the eminent beauties of his ascentiall muse as the greatest men of all sorts and of all ages haue beene Their most modest course is vnlesse they will be powerfully insolent to ascribe the defect to their apprehension because they read him but sleightly not in his surmised frugalitie of obiect that really and most feastfully powres out himselfe in right diuine occasion But the chiefe and vnanswerable meane to his generall and iust acceptance must be your Lo. high and of all men expected president without which hee must like a poore snayle pull in his English hornes that out of all other languages in regard of the countries affection and royaltie of his Patrones hath appeard like an Angell from a clowde or the world out of Chaos When no language can make comparison of him with ours if he be worthily conuerted wherein before he should haue beene borne so lame and defectiue as the French midwife hath brought him forth he had neuer made questiō how your Lo. would accept him and yet haue two of their Kings embraced him as a wealthy ornament to their studies and the main battayle of their armies If then your bountie would do me but the grace to conferre my vnhappie labours with theirs so successefull commended your iudgement seruing you much better then your leysure yet your leisure in thinges honourable being to bee inforced by your iudgement no malitious dishonorable whisperer that comes armed with an army of authority and state against harmeles armeles vertue could wrest your wonted impression so much from it self to reiect with imitation of tiranous contempt any affection so zealous able in this kind to honor your estate as mine Onely kings princes haue been Homers Patrones amongst whom Ptolomie wold say he that had sleight handes to entertayne Homer had as sleight braines to rule his common wealth And an vsuall seueritie he vsed but a most rationall how precise and ridiculous soeuer it may seeme to men made of ridiculous matter that in reuerence of the pietie and perfect humanitie he taught whosoeuer writ or committed any proud detraction against Homer as euen so much a man wanted not his malitious deprauers hee put him with torments to extreamest death O high and magically raysed prospect from whence a true eye may see meanes to the absolute redresse or much to be wished extenuation of all the vnmanly degeneracies now tyranysing amongst vs for if that which teacheth happinesse and hath vnpainefull corosiues in it being entertayned and obserued to eate out the hart of that raging vlcer which like a Lernean Fen of corruption furnaceth the vniuersall sighes and complaintes of this transposed world were seriously and as with armed garrisons defended and hartned that which engenders disperseth that wilfull pestilence would bee purged and extirpate but that which teacheth being ouerturned that which is taught is consequently subiect to euersion and if the honour happinesse and preseruation of true humanitie consist in obseruing the lawes fit for mans dignitie and that the elaborate prescription of those lawes must of necessitie be authorised fauoured and defended before any obseruation can succeed is it vnreasonable to punish the contempt of that mouing prescription with one mans death when at the heeles of it followes common neglect of obseruation and in the necke of it an vniuersall ruine This my Lord I enforce only to interrupt in others that may reade this vnsauorie stuffe the too open mouthd damnation of royall vertuous Ptolomies seueritie For to digest transforme and sweat a mans soule into rules and attractions to societie such as are fashiond and temperd with her exact and long laborde contention of studie in which she tosseth with her impertiall discourse before her all cause of fantasticall obiections and reproofes and without which she were as wise as the greatest number of detractors that shall presume to censure her and yet by their flash and insolent castigations to bee sleighted and turnde ouer their miserably vaine tongues in an instant is an iniurie worthy no lesse penaltie then Ptolomie inflicted To take away the heeles of which running prophanation I hope your Lo. honourable countenance will be as the Vnicorns horne to leade the way to English Homers yet poysoned fountaine for till that fauour be vouchsafed the herde will neuer drinke since the venemous galles of some of their fellowes haue infected it whom alas I pittie Thus confidently affirming your name and dignities shall neuer bee more honored in a poore booke then in English Homer I cease to afflict your Lordshippe with my tedious dedicatories and to still sacred Homers spirit through a language so fitte and so fauourles humbly presenting your Achilleian vertues with Achilles Shield wishing as it is much more admirable and diuine so it were as many times more rich then the Shield the Cardinall pawnd at Anwerp By him that wisheth all the degrees of iudgement and honour to attend your deserts to the highest George Chapman To the vnderstander YOu are not euery bodie to you as to one of my very few friends I may be bold to vtter my minde nor is it more empaire to an honest and absolute mans sufficiencie to haue few friendes then to an Homericall Poeme to haue few commenders for neyther doe common dispositions keepe fitte or plausible consort with iudiciall and simple honestie nor are idle capacities comprehensible of an elaborate Poeme My Epistle dedicatorie before my seuen bookes is accounted darke and too much laboured for the darkenes there is nothing good or bad hard or softe darke or perspicuous but in respect in respect of mens light sleight or enuious perusalles to whose loose capacities any worke worthily composde is knit with a riddle that the stile is materiall flowing not ranke it may perhaps seeme darke to ranke riders or readers that haue no more soules then burbolts but to your comprehension in it selfe I know it is not For the affected labour bestowed in it I protest two morninges both ended it and the Readers Epistle but the truth is my desire strange disposition in all thinges I write is to set downe vncommon and most