The Arte of English Poesie Part 16

Honour perchance? it restes in other men: Glorie? a smoake: but wherein hopest thou then?

In G.o.ds iustice? and by what merite tell?

In his mercy? o' now thou speakest wel, But thy lewd life hath lost his loue and grace, Daunting all hope to put dispaire in place._

We read that _Crates_ the Philosopher Cinicke in respect of the manifold discommodities of mans life, held opinion that it was best for man neuer to haue bene borne or soone after to dye, [_Optimum non nasci vel cit mori_] of whom certaine verses are left written in Greeke which I haue Englished, thus.

_What life is the liefest? the needy is full of woe and awe, The wealthie full of brawle and brabbles of the law: To be a married man? how much art thou beguild, Seeking thy rest by carke, for houshold wife and child: To till it is a toyle, to grase some honest gaine, But such as gotten is with great hazard and paine: The sayler of his s.h.i.+ppe, the marchant of his ware, The souldier in armes, how full of dread and care?

A shrewd wife brings thee bate, wiue not and neuer thriue, Children a charge, childlesse the greatest lacke aliue: Youth witlesse is and fraile, age sicklie and forlorne, Then better to dye soone, or neuer to be borne._

_Metrodorus_ the Philosopher _Stoick_ was of a contrary opinion, reuersing all the former suppositions against _Crates_, thus.

_What life list ye to lead? in good Citie and towne Is wonne both wit and wealth, Court gets vs great renowne, Countrey keepes vs in heale, and quietnesse of mynd, Where holesome aires and exercise and pretie sports we find: Traffick it turnes to gaine, by land and eke by seas, The land-borned liues safe, the forriene at his ease: Housholder hath his home, the roge romes with delight, And makes moe merry meales, then dothe the Lordly wight: Wed and thost hast a bed, of solace and of ioy, Wed not and haue a bed, of rest without annoy: The setled loue is safe, sweete is the loue at large, Children they are a store, no children are no charge, l.u.s.tie and gay is youth, old age honourd and wise: Then not to dye or be unborne, is best in myne aduise._

_Edward_ Earle of Oxford a most n.o.ble & learned Gentleman made in this figure of responce an emble of desire otherwise called _Cupide_ which for his excellencie and wit, I set downe some part of the verses, for example.

_When wert thou borne desire?

In pompe and pryme of May, By whome sweete boy wert thou begot?

By good conceit men say, Tell me who was they nurse?

Fresh youth in sugred ioy.

What was thy meate and dayly foode?

Sad sighes with great annoy.

What hast thou then to drinke?

Vnfayned louers teares.

What cradle wert thou rocked in?

In hope deuoyde of feares._

[Sidenote: _Synteiosis_, or the Crosse copling.]

Ye haue another figure which me thinkes may well be called (not much sweruing from his originall in sence) the _Crosse-couple_, because it takes me two contrary words, and tieth them as it were in a paire of couples, and so makes them agree like good fellowes, as I saw once in Fraunce a wolfe coupled with a mastiffe, and a foxe with a hounde. Thus it is.

_The n.i.g.g.ards fault and the unthrifts is all one, For neither of them both knoweth how to vse his owne._

Or thus.

_The couetous miser, of all his goods ill got, Aswell wants that he hath, as that he hath not_.

In this figure of the _Crosse-couple_ we wrate for a forlorne louer complaining of his mistresse crueltie these verses among other.

_Thus for your sake I daily dye, And do but seeme to liue in deede: Thus is my blisse but miserie, My lucre losse without your meede._

[Sidenote: Atanaclasis, or the Rebounde.]

Ye haue another figure which by his nature we may call the _Rebound_, alluding to the tennis ball which being smitten with the racket reboundes backe againe, and where the last figure before played with two wordes somewhat like, this playeth with one word written all alike but carrying diuers sences as thus.

_The maide that soone married is, soone marred is._

Or thus better because _married_ & _marred_ be different in one letter.

_To pray for you euer I cannot refuse, To pray vpon you I should you much abuse._

Or as we once sported vpon a countrey fellow who came to runne for the best game, and was by his occupation a dyer and had very bigge swelling legges.

_He is but course to runne a course, Whose shankes are bigger then his thye: Yet is his lucke a little worse, That often dyes before he dye.

Where ye see this word _course_, and _dye_, vsed in diuers sences, one giuing the _Rebounde_ vpon th'other.

[Sidenote: _Clymax_, or the Marching figure.]

Ye haue a figure which as well by his Greeke and Latine originals, & also by allusion to the maner of a mans gate or going may be called the _marching figure_, for after the first steppe all the rest proceeds by double the s.p.a.ce, and so in our speach one word proceedes double to the first that was spoken, and goeth as it were by strides or paces: it may aswell be called the _clyming_ figure, for _Clymax_ is as much to say as a ladder, as in one of our Epitaphes shewing how a very meane man by his wisedome and good forture came to great estate and dignitie.

_His vertue made him wise, his wisedome broght him wealth, His wealth won many friends, his friends made much supply: Of aides in weale and woe in sicknesse and in health, Thus came he from a low, to sit in state so hye._

Or as _Ihean de Mehune_ the French Poet.

_Peace makes plentie, plentie makes pride, Pride breeds quarrell, and quarrell brings warre: Warre brings spoile, and spoile pouertie, Pouertie pacience, and pacience peace.

So peace brings warre, and warre brings peace._

[Sidenote: _Antimetauole_, or the Counterchange]

Ye haue a figure which takes a couple of words to play with in a verse, and by making them to chaunge and s.h.i.+ft one into others place they do very pretily exchange and s.h.i.+ft the sence, as thus.

_We dwell not here to build us boures, And halles for pleasure and good cheare: But halles we build for us and ours, To dwell in then whilst we are here._

Meaning that we dwell not here to build, but we build to dwel, as we liue not to eate, but eate to liue, or thus.

_We wish not peace to maintaine cruell warre, But we make warre to maintaine us in peace._

Or thus.

_If Poesie be, as some haue said, A speaking picture to the eye: Then is a picture not denaid, To be a muet Poesie._

Or as the Philosopher _Musonius_ wrote.

_With pleasure if we worke vnhonestly and ill, The pleasure pa.s.seth, the bad it bideth still.

Well if we worke with trauaile and with paines, The paine pa.s.seth and still the good remaines._

A wittie fellow in Rome wrate vnder the Image of _Caesar_ the Dictator these two verses in Latine, which because they are spoke by this figure of _Counterchaunge_ I haue turned into a couple of English verses very well keeping the grace of the figure.

_Brutus for casting out of kings, was first of Consuls past, Caesar for casting Consuls out, is of our kings the last._

_Cato_ of any Senatour not onely the grauest but also the promptest and wittiest in any ciuill scoffe, misliking greatly the engrossing of offices in Rome that one should haue many at once, and a great number goe without that were as able men, said thus by _Counterchaunge_.

_It seemes your offices are very litle worth, Or very few of you worthy of offices._

Againe: _In trifles earnest as any man can bee, In earnest matters no such trifler as hee._

[Sidenote: _Insultatio_, or the Disdainefull.]

Yee haue another figure much like to the _Sarcasimus_, or bitter taunt wee spake of before: and is when with proud and insolent words, we do vpbraid a man, or ride him as we terme it: for which cause the Latines also call it _Insultatio_, I chose to name him the _Reproachfull_ or _scorner_, as when Queene _Dido_ saw, that for all her great loue and entertainements bestowed vpon _aeneas_, he would needs depart and follow the _Oracle_ of his destinies, she brake out in a great rage and said disdainefully.

_Hye thee, and by the wild waues and the wind, Seeke Italie and Realmes for thee to raigne, If piteous G.o.ds haue power amidst the mayne, On ragged rocks thy penaunce thou maist find._

Or as the poet _Iuuenall_ reproached the couetous Merchant, who for lucres sake pa.s.sed on no perill either by land or sea, thus: _Goe now and giue thy life unto the winde, Trusting unto a piece of bruckle wood, Foure inches from thy death or seauen good The thickest planke for s.h.i.+pboord that we finde._

[Sidenote: _Ant.i.theton_, or the renconter]

Ye haue another figure very pleasnt and fit for amplification, which to answer the Greeke terme, we may call the encounter, but following the Latine name by reason of his contentious nature, we may call him the Quarreller, for so be al such persons as delight in taking the contrary part of whatsoeuer shalbe spoken: when I was scholler in Oxford they called euery such one _Iohannes ad oppositum._ _Good haue I doone you, much, harme did I neuer none, Ready to ioy your gaines, your losses to bemone, Why therefore should you grutch so sore as my welfare: Who onely bred your blisse, and neuer causd your care._

Or as it is in these two verses where one speaking of _Cupids_ bowe, deciphered thereby the nature of sensual loue, whose beginning is more pleasant than the end, thus allegorically and by _ant.i.theton_.

_His bent is sweete, his loose is somewhat sowre, In ioy begunne, ends oft in wofull bowre._

Maister _Diar_ in this quarelling figure.

_Nor loue hath now the force, on me which it ones had, Your frownes can neither make me mourne, nor fauors make me glad._

_Socrates_ the Greek Oratour was a litle too full of this figure, & so was the Spaniard that wrote the life of _Marcus Aurelius_ & many of our moderne writers in vulgar, vse it in excesse & incurre the vice of fond affectation: otherwise the figure is very commendable.

In this quarrelling figure we once plaid this merry Epigrame of an importune and shrewd wife, thus: _My neighbour hath a wife, not fit to make him thriue, But good to kill a quicke man, or make a dead reuiue.

So shrewd she is for G.o.d, so cunning and so wise, To counter with her goodman, and all by contraries.

For when he is merry, she lurcheth and she loures, When he is sad she singes, or laughes it out by houres.

Bid her be still her tongue to talke shall neuer cease, When she should speake and please, for spight she holds her peace, Bid spare and she will spend, bid spend she spares as fast, What first ye would haue done, be sure it shalbe last.

Say go, she comes, say come, she goes, and leaues him all alone, Her husband (as I thinke) calles her ouerthwart Ione._

[Sidenote: _Erotema_, or the Questioner.]

There is a kinde of figuratiue speach when we aske many questions and looke for none answere, speaking indeed by interrogation, which we might as well say by affirmation. This figure I call the _Questioner_ or inquisitiue, as when _Medea_ excusing her great crueltie vsed in the murder of her owne children which she had by _Iason_, said: _Was I able to make them I praie you tell, And am I not able to marre them all aswell?_