University of Virginia Library

The Quene a sepultur sche maid,
Quhar sche king Nynus body laid,
Off curius crafty wark & wycht,
The quhilk had stagis ix. of hycht,
& ten stagis of breid it wes:
Diodore saith it wes no les.
For aucht Stagis one myle thow tak,
And thairefter thy nummer mak.
So, be this compt, it wes, full rycht,
One myle als and one stage of hycht.
Except the Towre of Babilone,
So heych one wark I reid of none.

Semiramis, this lustye Quene,
Consyddring quhat dainger bene
To haif on King of tender aige,
Quhilk mycht nocht vse no vassalage,
Scho tuke one curagious consait,
Thinkand that scho wald mak debait,
Geue ony maid rebellioun
Contrar hir Sonne, or his Regioun,
Quhome sche did foster tenderly,
And kepit hym full quyetly.
Scho laid apart hir awin cleithyng,
And tuke the Rayment of ane king.
Quhen scho wes in tyll Armour dycht,
Mycht no man knaw hir be one knycht.
Scho valȝeantlye went to the weir,
And to gyf battell tuke na feir,
Dantyng all Realmes rounde aboute,
That all the warld of hir had doute,
More fortunat, in hir conquessing,
Nor wes hir Husband, Nynus king.

Babilone scho did fortyfie.
Templis and towris, tryumphandlie,
So plesandlye did thame prepair,
Quhilk in the erth had no compair.
Quhowbeid Nemrod, of quhome I spake,
The hydduous dungeoun he gart make,
And of the Citie the Fundiment,
To quhome God maid Impediment,
Quhare Nemrod left, thare scho began,
And pat to wark mony one man
Off all the Realmes round aboute.
Off most Ingyne scho socht thame oute.
Scho had, wyrkand with tre and stonis,
Twelf hundreth thousand men at onis.
Go reid the buke of Diodore,
And thow sall fynd the nummer more.
On euerilk syde of Euphrates
That nobyll Citie beildit wes,
And so that ryuer of renown
Ran throuch the mydpart of the town.
Ouerthort that flude scho bryggis maid
Off maruellous strenth, boith lang and braid.
Thay wer fyue stagis large of lenth:
On euerilk bryg scho maid ane strenth.
The circuit, as I said affore,
Foure hundreth stagis and four score.
The wallis hycht, quho wald discryue,
Thre hundreth fute, thre score, and fyue.
Sax Cairtis mycht pas, rycht easalie,
Abufe the wallis of that Citie,
Sydlingis, withoute Impediment.
Consydder, be ȝour Iugement,
Geue those wallis wer hie, or nocht,
And also curiouslye wer wrocht,
As Diodore hes done defyne,
Quhilk doith transcend my rude Ingyne,
Off Babilone the magnificens,
To quhome ȝe wald gyf no credens,
Geue I at lenth wald put in wryte,
Quhilk Diodore hes done indyte.
Compare of Cities fynd I none
Tyll Nyniue and Babilone.
Frome Nyniue in Asseria,
Tyll Babilone in Caldia,
By Bryggis plesandlye ȝe may pas,
Upone the flude of Euphratas.
Amang the fludis of Paradyce
This Euphratas maye beir the pryce.
All warkis quhilkis the Quene began
Transcendit the ingyne of man.
The proude Quene Pantasilia,
The Princes of Amasona,
With hir Ladyis tryumphandlye,
Att Troye quhilk faucht so wailȝeantlye,
Nor ȝit the fair Madin of France,
Danter of Inglis Ordinance,
To Semeramis, in hir dayis,
Wer no compare, as bukis sayis.
Except tryumphand Iulyus,
Strong Hanniball, or Pompeyus,
Or Allexander the Concreoure,
I fynd no gretter Werioure.

Wald I rehers, as wryttis Clerkis,
Hir wounderfull and vailȝeand werkis,
It wer to me one gret laubour,
And tiddious to the Auditour.
Quhat scho did in Ethopia,
And in the lande of Medea,
Beildand Cities, Castellis, and Towris,
Parkis, and Gardyngis of plesouris,
For the exaltyng of hir name,
And Immortall to mak hir fame.
Off Iarcieus the heych Montanis
Scho gart ryue down and mak thame planis.
Gret Orontes, that Montane wycht,
Twenty and fyue stagis of hycht,
Tyll hir Palyce to draw ane louche,
By fors of men scho raif it throche.

Had scho kepit hir Chastitie,
Scho mycht haue bene one A. per se.
Quhen scho had ordorit hir Impyre,
Off Uenus wark scho tuke desyre.
One secreit Mansioun scho gart mak,
Quhare scho maist plesandlye mycht tak
Ȝoung Gentyll men, for hir plesour;
The quhilk scho vsit abufe mesour.
One man allone mycht nocht be abyll
To stanche hir luste insaciabyll.
Quhen scho wes satifyit of one,
Scho gart ane vther cum anone.
The Lustiest of all the land
Come quyetlye, at hir command.
Quhen thay, at lenth, had lyin hir by,
Scho slew thame all, rycht creuelly.
Quhen hir Sone come tyll aige perfyte,
Off hym scho tuke so gret delyte,
Scho causit hym with hir to lye,
Amang the rest, rycht quyetlye.
Sum sayis, throuch sensuall lustis rage,
Scho band hym in to Mariage,
And held hym vnder tutorye,
To vphald hir auctoritye.