Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n
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A02903
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The faire Æthiopian Dedicated to the King and Queene. By their Maiesties most humble subiect and seruant, William L'isle.
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Lisle, William, 1579?-1637.; Heliodorus, of Emesa. Aethiopica.
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1631
(1631)
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STC 13047; ESTC S118754
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106,013
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192
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round about bedight His strong Phalanges march on either side And troopes of Cataphracts before him ride With whom he counts himselfe most safe and sure And this the guise is of that Armature Some choyce well-timber'd man of courage stout An helmet close puts-on which round about His head defends and from the Crowne to necke His left hand holds the reine his horse to checke His right a launce whereof butte-end is set In horses armed flanke that will not let It backward slide but guided with a span Combines in thrust the strength of horse and man Which armed both in steele wrought smooth by file And ioynted close like scales of Crocodile When horse hath reine on necke and spur at flanks As iron Statue breakes the formost ranks And piercing th'armour first then flesh and bones Some two or three sometime thrusts th'row at once Now Persian Satrap with such men and horses And as before had order'd all his forces He forward sets And so the Blackmore King Who sets against the Mede-and-Persian wing His Meroans not men of armour light But well appointed for a standing fight On th' other side his Troglodytes and those Who dwell where all the best Amomy growes All armed light and verie swift of foot And cunning all to hit whereat they shoot And when he saw in middle battaile most Consist the strength of all the Persian Hoast Himselfe in person leads against the same His towred Elephants with Sere and Blame A people strong who fighting though on foot Such armour wore as none could thorow-shoot And these although at first they meet at large Had after battell ioyn'd a speciall charge To creepe aground accustom'd to such acts And gore th'vnarmed paunch of Cataphracts With trump the Persian th'Aethiope with drum Both strike Alarm when they to th'Onset come The Persian came-on with a full careere Of armed horse-men thunder-like to heare Hydaspes softly that the Persian horse Before th' encounter might abate his force And lest he should by speeding-on th'Auants Vngarded leaue his slow-pac'd Elephants But when â—hey met these hardy men of Blame Creepe vnd'r vnarmed horses hoh them lame And wound th'vnarmed paunch with thâ—â—st and cuts So make the gored beast run-out his guts And cast the riders who for armours waight Now cannot stirre and are dispatched straight By first-come enemie me thinkes to fight Were bett'r on foot both for pursuit and flight A whizzing cloud of arrowes dimd the Sun And blowes are strooke as loud as moderne gun To cut-off armed limbs the field is spred With legs armes heads and bodies but halfe-dead At right wing and at left areare avant The neighing Horse and roring Elephant With fall of beast and man some o're some vnder Made such a noyse they could not heare it thunder And now begin the nimble men of Sere Retire to guard their Elephants areare The Persian horse as many as scapt the gore At Seres run yet backward start and snore At sight of th'Elephant that hill of beast That with his snout can take of graine the least And yet enroule an armed man and send him Aloft in t ' aire and by the downfall rend him As then were many seru'd each Elephant Had two men on each side and two avant In foure-square armed towre there was no faile But only that way which was next the taile And fed the beasts were more to make them fight With grapes and mulberries their chiefe delight The Seres were so skill'd in Archeries They made their arrowes sticke in Persian eyes That on their browes they seem'd haue growing hornes Or in mid-forhead like our Vnicornes Yea some in mouth receiu'd a hidden stripe And 'twixt their lips hung th'arrow like a pipe So Persian Leaders troubled in their face Fly backe themselues and draw the rest apace Orondates on swiftest horse of Nyze His chariot leauing with the formost flyes And this the wise and valiant King of Blacke From turret set on tallest Elpen backe Beholds triumphing in his victorie And loth to shed much bloud of enemie Sends-out command to spare their liues and bring The Persian Duke aliue vnto the King And so they did while he the manner view'd The Persian noting first the multitude Of Blackemors Armie kept the Nile behinde him For feare they should all round about enwinde him So barr'd himselfe the flight and now forsaken Of all his men on banke aliue is taken Though Achaemen repenting what he told And fearing th' end in flying was so bold To stab his Lord it was no deadly blow And yet reueng'd with Aethiopian bow That surer strooke the Traytour so with ease Was into presence brought Orondates To whom the King I hold it most renowne By weapon standing and by fauour downe To vanquish foe and you doe freely giue Though euer false to me this leaue to liue The Satrap answer'd False I was to you But thereby more vnto my Master true The King reply'd Say truth and doe not swerue Y' are ouercome what doe you now deserue The same quoth he that would my King require Of one of yours that were to you entire But O my friend then quoth the King againe Although you trustie were it was in vaine And part vnwise for you to set vpon My forces here that are ten to your one I knew it well quoth he but euer finde How much my King mislikes a fearfull minde And seeing plaine you meant to set on me Thought best begin For oft a ieoperdee May fall out well and many a chance in war May bring th'vnlikely lucke the likely bar So might befall me well and oft in doubt Some friendly Fortune fauours courage stout But if it fell out so I did but liue I might the bett'r account my Sou'raigne giue The King his answer lik'd and straight him sent To Sien Towne and after softly went And leauing th' armies Lieutenants charge In royall state vpon his Elpen large Enters the gate that strange it was to see On monster blacke so blacke a King as hee Then forth to meet him all the Citie went Man woman childe of high and low descent And cast him garlands coronets and posies Of all the fairest lilâ—ies pinks and roses That grew on banke of Nile congratulating His victories and him-to them prostrating He first of all vnto the Temple goes Pesents the Gods with sundrie solemne showes For victorie then lookes vpon the Well That wont with Nilus floud to sinke and swell The polisht stone within it hauing lines To count how much it rises or declines And Dials saw though they no newes to him Because they had the like at Meroim Both Citie and Isle with Gnomons bolt-vpright That gaue no shade at noone but round had light There also puits that nere so deepe were sunke Had Sun at noone that of their water drunke For North and South on each side equall lay And Nadir mid-night Zenith made mid-day For either Pole respectiue seene was there At landskop-end South Crosse
meanes vs 't is without dispute They cannot hurt vs here although they land Yet if we slay them can we get by th' hand When cloud so backe hath round about beset vs At land and water O then rather let vs Them entertaine with speeches faire and kinde And giue attentiue eares vnto their minde The Gouernour himselfe and all the rest Commend his words and standing there abrest On either side the breach lay downe their armes To heare the Blacke mans oratorie charmes From ship as 't were at hau'n who thus began Of Perse or Sien know you eu'rie man Both young and old From meanest state to best Hydaspes King of Indies East and West Yours also now can tame his proudest foes And yet is gracious euermore to those That yeeld and mercie craue on you therefore Whose life is in his hands he layes no more Now after your so pitifull petitions Then turne to him and make your owne conditions No Tyrant is he gouerning by lust But towards all his people kingly iust To this the Sienaans answer gaue That they their wiues and children all they haue Were at his seruice vse them as he please As for the Gouernour Orondates He promiseth to leaue the Smaragd-Mines With Towne of Phile and all the next confines Which caus'd the warre and only craues the grace That to his person nought be tender'd base And that they would two Persian Souldiours take And beare and let goe safe beyond the Lake Vnt ' Elpentine pretending thither sent To know if that Towne also were content To yeeld as doth Siene they the two Take to their King and message quickly doe He smiles to see the Persian captiuate Now past all helpe of man capitulate Yet loth to stroy a multitude for one Forbeares him yea and lets his spies alone As light-regarding what they could in fine Against his drift consult at Elpentine But sets his owne a worke with pin and planke Of wood that grew on either side the banke And some whole trees to make as tanke and take The goole of Nile before they draine the Lake Then steele-shod piles are driu'n th'row channel-rocks With iron-bound commanders downe-right knocks And for the draine of trench they cut the band That inlet stopt and outlet made the land About the Towne might sooner drie and beare An Armies waight and as they labour there Though night her darknesse did vpon them send Ere either could their purpose bring t'an end So in the Citie nothing is forgot To saue their liues and now their mining plot Is follow'd hard from wall to banke the scope Aboue with eye below they meat with rope By torch their wall by torch they view their cell And finding all as for the time but well Had thought to rest yet were they sore affright By sudden fearfull sound they heard that night Themselues and enemies it thought a fall And of no lesse than their whole Citie-wall But was not so part of that circle-bay Relaps'd the water made it selfe a way The morning light them put all out of doubt And shew'd the drained Lake all round about Aboue the mud are crawling seene by millions Ichneumonets Lagartos Crocodillions New out of shell and on the sandie sholts Sirenets Sea-calues Hippopotam-colts For th' elder monsters wont in channell deepe With seuen-head Nilus or with Neptune keepe So wont the Pow'rs Diuine as well they can In sauing life preuent the worke of man Though first by diligence the goole was caught The Gods will helpe such as for helpe haue wrought Though water 's gone yet neither t'other come Nor can the ground o're-spred with muddy scum So soft as yet will beare nor horse nor man Thus two or three dayes passe they and for than In signe of peace the Blackemoore disarmates And they of Sien open wide their gates Nay celebrate a feast that fell the while In honour of their mightie riuer Nile Whom they as God adore and him to pray When Summer and Sunsted makes the longest day But after feasting when the night grew deepe And all the Sienaeans fast asleepe Lay buried in their wines Orondates Occasion tooke to crosse those muddy seas Commanding eu'rie Souldiour beare a planke And one at others heeles succeed in ranke So made a sudden bridge at hay now hay To liue or die and closely stole away With all his forces leauing horse behinde For feare of noyse and waking those of Iude They soundly slept that night and set no watch But such as were to finish and dispatch That worke begun at Nilus broken flanke With stone and clay to ram the boorded stanke And earnest these and busie about their charge Perceiue them not nor came they neere the marge Of Nilus streame And by this sleight so fine The Persian brought his men in t ' Elpentine A Towne he knew that soone receiue them ment Prepar'd thereto by those two men he sent The Sienaeans knew not they were fled Till such as had the Souldiours billetted Them mist in house and from the wall to banke At morning saw the ioyntlesse bridge of planke For this the Towne perplexed was the more Their second faults reuenge now fearing sore That after mercie shew'd them trayterously May seeme gaue way for Persian force to fly To cleere themselues and get a second grace Both old and young they come forth of their place And o're the planke-bridge toward th'Aethiopes In humble sort goe to renew their hopes And all afar-off kneeling on their knees Made lowly signe of suite Hydaspes sees And sends to know the cause why came they then Without the Persian Leader and his men Their Priests that went before declare the case And how the Persians to their foule disgrace Vnknown to Sien stole away by night When all the Towne was doing Nilus right What further meant was could they not define But thought to gather force at Elpentine And pray'd Hydaspes ent'r and take the Towne And euermore command it as his owne He thought not meet himselfe to goe but sent To sound yet furrher th' enemies intent And keepe the Towne a Garrison of strong And well appointed men and sent along The Sienaeans with them promising Both life and freedome like a gracious King Then led his Armie forth in good array To giue or take encounter by the way And forth with word was brought him by his Spies That fast were comming-on his enemies And now began the Persian pride appeare Orondates and many in armour cleare All double-guilt against the rising Lamp Reflects a lightning on the Blackmore Camp His right wing holds the Persian and the Mede Of them the strongest-armed still precede And vnder these more safe to shoot and fight Their Archers follow nimbl ' and armed light Vpon his left wing care was had to range Th'Aegyptians Afers and all people strange And after them came other Bowes and Slings To fight a flanke and counterguard the wings Himselfe betweene them rode in charr'ot bright With sharp-edg'd hookes all