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Bellum perniciosissimum

Now Warre presents it selfe, O glorious war!
I doe admire thee, and adore thy skil:
Thou arte in earth another hopeful starre,
The chiefe profession of the wit and will,
In thee Religion thriues, Goodnesse doth florish,
For thou dost Vice correct, and Vertue nourish.
Thou breakst the slender twist of childish Art,
Scorning the curbe of Apish pollicies:
Thou Lawe, and all Corruption dost subuart,
Ore throwing querkes, and verball fallacies.
Thou rootst vp euery euill which doth increase
Within the ydle raigne of drowsie Peace.


Thou exerci'st the Body and the Mind,
Which in the time of rest did bring forth weeds;
By cause it could no good imployment find,
Nor answere fruitfull haruest of bad Seeds.
Thou mak'st the man esteem'd more then his gold,
Though Peace doth that in far more reckning hold.
Thou teachest Patience how to indure
The skorching heate; and liuer-freezing cold;
To fast, and watch, and pray, thou dost inure
The sturdy souldier, that's in sinne growne bold.
Thou dost temptations & affections slay,
And mortifies our Bodies euery day.


But ah! too soone thy cause of praises cease,
And fresh present-ments of thy cruell deedes
Makes men prefer an vniust prouling peace
Before a iust Warre that destruction feedes.
Which helpes the brother to destroy the brother
And makes one friend to rise against an other.
Thou hast no mercy nor no iustice in thee,
To pitty, or to punnish any creature;
Nor teares, nor praiers, gifts, nor vowes can winne thee
To fauour any sex, or any feature.
Thou art chiefe executioner vnto Death,
And like a prodigall, consum'st much breath.


O why should men in enuy, pride, and hate,
In swolne Ambition, lust and Couetise,
Vsurpe the bloudy rule of Death and Fate;
Becomming one an others destinies?
Is there not sea inough for euery Swanne?
And land inough to bury euery Man?
Why should our ships so iustle in the deepe,
As though the waters were not large and wide?
Or our huge armies so vnkindely sleepe,
Their bloody weapons in a christians side?
Why should I trauel into skorching Spaine,
To meete my Death, when I may here be slaine?


Fie that the priuate hate, or loue of any,
Should make me be a murtherer of Men:
And one Mans will should ouerthrow a many,
Such as himselfe perhaps far worthier then.
For oftentimes wee see it falles out true,
We kill our friend for him we neuer knew.
O bloody Warre, to th' unexperien'st sweete,
That robst, and spoilst, and butcherest euery sex,
That tramplest all things with vpheaued feet,
And quiet states with ciuill broyles dost vex.
That saist, all things are iust thou dost with might,
But to th' unable, there remaines no right.


That like a wilful woman run'st astray,
In causeles Enmity and deadly Fude,
Hauing for thy directer all the way,
That many headed beast, the Multitude.
Who without all respect of wrong or right
Will do as others do, or flee or fight.
That art the Instrument of sterne reuenge,
Fore-plotted in the subtile skonce of Hate,
And seru'st the spreading wings of youth to senge,
A pretty drug to purge a gowty state.
That swolne with poysoned surfets, like to burst,
Voydes vp those Humors to preuent the worst.


But as our priuate Doctors phisicke learned,
Kill more diseased Persons then they cure,
Yet thinke they iustly haue their wages earned;
Teaching their patient torment to indure.
Or as Cyriurians do more hurt then good,
When with small ill, they let out much pure blood.
So these sword Paracelsians get such power,
That oft they stroy when they should cure the state,
And with confusion all things do deuoure;
Making well-peopled kingdoms desolate.
Much like a sprite raisd vp by Arts deepe skil,
Which doth much hurt against the Bookemans wil.


Euen as we see in marches and in fennes,
The carefull husband thinking to destroy
The fruitles sedge (wherein the adder dennes,)
Set's fire vpon some part, with which to toy
The Northern winde begins, and burneth downe,
Spite of all help the next abutting towne.
So Warre once set aflote, addes strength to strength,
And where it was pretended to confound,
The foes of Vertue, it proceeds at length;
Vertue, the state, and states-mans selfe to wound.
And like a mastiue harted to a Beare,
Turnes backe, and doth his masters bowells teare.


O you deepe master Polititians,
Conuert your stratagems against the Turke,
And like to carefull state-phisitians
Gainst him apply this wit-begotten worke.
Lest Christian Kingdoms, growne too weake with purging
Yeeld, being not able to withstād his vrging.
Let those that take delight in doing harme,
And sauage minded ioy in shedding blood;
With iron walls their guilty bodies arme,
And doe all things but onely that that's good.
For my part, I am yet resolu'd to finde,
Some better thing to please my trobled minde.
Finis.

Non solum aduentus belli, sedmetus ipse affert calamitatem.

Cic: prole ge Manil.