Lydgate's Fall of Princes :: :: University of Virginia Library

These olde poetis with ther sawes swete
Ful couertli in ther vers do feyne,
How olde Saturne was whilom kyng of Crete,
And off custum dede his besy peyne,
Off his godhed list for to ordeyne
That he sholde, as off his nature,
Echon deuoure as by his engendrure.

In this mateer shortli to soiourne,
To vndirstonde off poetis the processe,
Thei meene pleynli that this woord Saturne
Doth in it-silff nothyng but tyme expresse;
And philisophres bere also witnesse,
That as in tyme, foorth euery thyng is brouht,
So tyme ageynward bryngith euery thing to nouht.

Clerkis recorde eek in ther writyng,
Vndir support as I dar reherse,
How that fir wastith euery thyng,
And iren hard doth nesshe thynges perse;
Yiff auht a-bitt that they may nat transuerse,
Yit comyth tyme, and bi contynuaunce,
And al consumeth with his sharp[e] launce.

His sharp[e] toth of consumpcioun
In stille wise doth his besi cure
For to anentise, in conclusioun,
Alle thynge that is brouht foorth bi Nature,
Bi long abidyng thei may hem nat assure;
For olde thyngis deuourid men may see,
Fer out off mynde, as thei neuer had be.

Who can or may remembre in any wise
The glorious prowesse off these pryncis olde,
Or the noblesse of philisophres wise,
Or off poetis the feynyng to onfolde:
Processe off yeris, allas! as I you tolde,
Deuoured hath ther fame and ther noblesse,
Derkid ther renoun bi foryetilnesse.

Thus off ther namys is lefft no memory,
Tyme with his rasour hath doon so gret vengance,
Shauen a-wey the honour and the glory
Off many a noble, ful myhti off puissance,
That there is lefft now no remembrance
Off pryncis, poetis, nor off philisophres;
For whan that deth nailed hem in ther cofres,

Kam tyme vpon, and bi processe off yeeris
Ther memory hath duskid and ther mynde,
And reuolucioun off the heuenli speeris,
Bi offte turnyng ther glory hath lefft behynde:
Thus euery thyng which subiect is to Kynde,
Is in this liff withoute mor auauntage
Wastid with tyme and processe off long age.

In the firste age from Adam to Noe,
Prudent listres, which list in bookis reede,
Fynde off Fortune no mutabilite,
Nor off hir chaungis took[e] tho noon hede;
But from Adam ther reknyd been in deede
Onto Nembroth, bi turnyng off the heuene,
A thousand yeer, seuene hundrid and elleuene.

In which[e] space, who that considreth weel,
Ther be no thyngis write in special,
Digne off memorie nor spoke off neueradeel,

Which that be notable nor historial;
But fro the tyme Nembroth hadde a fal,
Onto Cadmus the yeeris to contene,
Thei were a thousand, foure hundrid & fourtene.

Touchyng [this] Cadmus, as Bochas list tendite,
It is rehercid bi rethoriciens,
How oon Vixoses, in bookis as thei write,
Was maad first kyng off the Egipciens,
Where philisophres & nygromanciens
Gan first tabounde ther renoun to auaunce,
Nachor that tyme hauyng the gouernaunce

Off the Hebreus, as maad is mencioun—
Afftir Nembroth, bi trewe rehersaile,
Thre hundred yeer bi computacioun,
Four score & tuelue, which tyme, it is no faile,
That Vixorses gan to werre & eek bataile
Off volunte geyn straunge naciouns,
And to conquere citees, burwes [&] touns.

Bi force onli, withoute title off riht,
He wan al Egipt to encrece his name;
But for al that, who list to haue a siht,
There is now lefft no report off his fame,
Sauf Bochas writ, how he first dede attame
His myhti conquest off entencioun
That the glory and the hih renoun

Ascryued were onto his worthynesse,
And the residue and the surplusage
Off gold, off tresor, off good & off richesse
Turne sholde to comoun auauntage
Off al his peeple, that euery maner age
Reporte myhte, it was to hym mor nerre
Boue syngulerte his comoun to preferre.

Eek Thanaus off Cithie first kyng,
Whan Saruch was duk & souereyne
Ouer the Iewes, be record off writyng,—

Too hundred yeer, sexti and eek tweyne
Afftir Nembroth, this Tanaus gan ordeyne
A myhti power and a strong bataile
Hem off Cithie proudli to assaile,

Conqueryng fro thens onto the ile
Callid Ponto, in ful cruel wise:
And thouh his lordship last nat but a while,
Al that he wan, it was for couetise;
And as Bochas doth off these folk deuise,
Processe off yeris, for al ther gret puissaunce,
Hath put ther namys out off remembraunce.

Zorastres eek, for al his grete myht,
Off Bactrians kyng and possessour,
Lord off Trace and a ful manli knyht,
Off all his dedis and off his gret labour,
Off his conquest nor off his gret honour
Is nothyng lefft, off writyng us beforn,
Sauf that he louh the hour whan he was born.

He began ful soone to be merie,
With sodeyn lauhtir at his natyuyte;
And worthy Nynus, that was kyng off Assirie,
Expowned his lauhtre to gret felicite,
The which[e] Nynus wan many a straunge cuntre,
And day be day his power gan encrese,
For which he wolde off his conquest nat cese.

For this the maner off these conqueroures:
Whan thei haue had in armis o victorie,
Thei do ther myht, ther peyne & ther laboures
With newe emprises to be put in memorie;
For ther corages, supprisid with veynglorie,
Can nat be stille content in ther estat
Til her parodie sey to hem chek-maat.

Fortune off armys, in bookis ye may reede,
With a fals lauhtre on folkis thouh she smyle,
She froward euere, or thei can takyn heede,
Off hir nature will falsly hem be-gyle;
Conquest bi werre lastith but a whyle,

For who bi deth doth sturdi violense,
God will bi deth his vengaunce recompense.

This worthy Nynus gan myhtili preuaile
A-geyn Zorastres, off whom I spak tofore;
For he with hym fauht last in bataile,
In which Nynus hath hym so weel Ibore,
That Zorastres hath the feeld Ilore.
And he was auctour, as bookis specefie,
Off fals magik and off nygromancie.

He fond the nature off euery element,
Ther kyndeli werkyng & ther mutaciouns,
The cours off sterris & off the firmament,
Ther influencis, ther disposiciouns,
Ther aspectis and ther coniuncciouns,
Wrot in peleris deuised off metall
The seuene sciencis callid liberall.

Eek in pilers off brik ful harde Ibake,
Which were up set, longe, large & huge,
He gan eek write hem & to vndirtake
To make hem seur, as for ther refuge,
That thei sholde be flood nor [no] deluge
Diffacid been, as off ther scripture,
But in ther grauyng perpetueli endure.

But thouh Zorastres this crafft first out fond,
Ful lite or nouht to hym it myhte auaile;
And thouh he were a good knyht off his hond,
He was off Nynus slay[e]n in bataile,
Loste his rewm and royal apparaile;
And Nynus deide withynne a litil throwe,
But in what wise the story is nat knowe.

Eek Moides kyng off Sodomee,
I fynde off hym no memory be writyng,
Sauff in a story, as men may reede and see,
He and his peeple were fre in ther lyuyng;
But he that was off Assiriens kyng,
Thoruh fals Fortune, that can so offte varie,
To Babiloyne made hem tributarie.

We han eek sey[e]n and rad also
The vengaunces and the pestilence
Doon in Egipt to kyng Pharao,
For that he made a maner resistence
Ageyn[e]s God, off wilful necligence;
Therfore his peeple vpon a day and he
Were dreynt echon amyd the Rede Se.

The peeplis off God lad be Moyses,
Withoute trouble off any maner wawe,
Wente echon sauf in quiete & in pes;
And Pharao, as he gan afftir drawe
Hem to pursue, bi a ful mortal lawe,
In his pursut froward and atteynt,
A-mong the wawes with his host was dreynt.

In Exodo ben the menciouns
Ceriousli put in remembraunce,
The twelue plages and persecuciouns
In Egipt doon, bi ful gret vengaunce;
And off ther tresor & ther gret substaunce
Thei were dispoilid bi Hebreus, it is told,
Off ther vesselis off siluer & off gold.

And out off Egipt ful gret tresor thei ladde,
Such as thei thouhte myhte hem most auaile;
And Pharao, I fynde that he hadde
Too hundrid charis enarmyd for bataile,
Hem to pursue and proudli to assaile,
And fifti thousand, in whom ther was no lak,
Off men off armys folwyng on horsbak.

Too hundred thousand off footmen hym aboute,
And off Egipt al this cheualrie;
And Pharao with al [t]his gret[e] route
Gan Israel pursuen off envie,
But for his pride and fals surquedie,
He and his peeple wer drownyd euerichon,
Off al his noumbre ther was lefft nat oon.

His froward herte a-geyn God indurat,
Fulfillid off malis and obstynacie,
And [in] his purpos proud and obstynat:

These foule vicis, or he koude hem espie,
From his glory and his regalie
He was cast doun, thouh he tofforn was crownyd,
A-myd the se a-mong his peeple drownyd.