University of Virginia Library

THE ESSAYES OF A PRENTISE, IN THE DIVINE ART OF POESIE.

SONNET.

[If Martiall deeds, and practise of the pen]

If Martiall deeds, and practise of the pen
Haue wonne to auncient Grece a worthie fame:
If Battels bold, and Bookes of learned men
Haue magnified the mightie Romain name:
Then place this Prince, who well deserues the same:
Since he is one of Mars and Pallas race:
For both the Godds in him haue sett in frame
Their vertewes both, which both, he doth embrace.
O Macedon, adornde with heauenly grace,
O Romain stout, decorde with learned skill,
The Monarks all to thee shall quite their place:
Thy endles fame shall all the world fulfill.
And after thee, none worthier shalbe seene,
To sway the Svvord, and gaine the Laurell greene.

SONNET.

[The glorious Grekis in stately style do blaise]

The glorious Grekis in stately style do blaise
The lawde, the conqurour gaue their Homer olde:
The verses Cæsar song in Maroes praise,
The Romanis in remembrance depe haue rolde.
Ye Thespian Nymphes, that suppe the Nectar colde,
That from Parnassis forked topp doth fall,
What Alexander or Augustus bolde,
May sound his fame, whose vertewes passe them all?
O Phœbus, for thy help, heir might I call,
And on Minerue, and Maias learned sonne:
But since I know, none was, none is, nor shall,
Can rightly ring the fame that he hath wonne,
Then stay your trauels, lay your pennis adowne,
For Cæsars works, shall iustly Cæsar crowne.

SONNET.

[The mightie Father of the Muses nyne]

The mightie Father of the Muses nyne
Who mounted thame vpon Parnassus hill,
Where Phœbus faire amidd these Sisters fyne
With learned toung satt teaching euer still,
Of late yon God declared his woundrous will,
That Vranie should teach this Prince most rare:
Syne she informed her scholler with such skill,
None could with him in Poesie compaire.
Lo, heir the fructis, Nymphe, of thy foster faire,
Lo heir (ô noble Ioue) thy will is done,
Her charge compleit, as deid doth now declaire.
This work will witnesse, she obeyed the sone.
O Phœbus then reioyce with glauncing glore,
Since that a King doth all thy court decore.

SONNET.

[When as my minde exemed was from caire]

When as my minde exemed was from caire,
Among the Nymphis my self I did repose:
Where I gaue eare to one, who did prepaire
Her sugred voice this sequell to disclose.
Conveine your selfs (ô sisters) doe not lose
This passing tyme which hasteth fast away:
And yow who wrytes in stately verse and prose,
This glorious Kings immortall gloire display.
Tell how he doeth in tender yearis essay
Aboue his age with skill our arts to blaise.
Tell how he doeth with gratitude repay
The crowne he wan for his deserued praise.
Tell how of Ioue, of Mars, but more of God
The gloire and grace he hath proclaimed abrod.

SONNET.

[Can goldin Titan shyning bright at morne]

Can goldin Titan shyning bright at morne
For light of Torchis, cast ane greater shaw?
Can Thunder reard the heicher for a horne?
Craks Cannons louder, thoght ane Cok sould craw?
Can our weak breath help Boreas for to blaw?
Can Candill lowe giue fyre a greater heit?
Can quhytest Svvans more quhyter mak the Snavv?
Can Virgins tears augment the Vinters weit?
Helps pyping Pan Apollos Musique sweit?
Can Fountanis small the Ocean sea incresse?
No, they augment the greater nocht a quheit:
Bot they them selues appears to grow the lesse.
So (worthy Prince) thy works sall mak the knawin.
Ours helps not thyne: we steynzie bot our awin.

ANE QVADRAIN OF ALEXANDRIN VERSE.

Immortall Gods, sen I with pen and Poets airt
So willingly hes servde you, though my skill be small,
I pray then euerie one of you to help his pairt,
In graunting this my sute, which after follow shall.

SONNET. 1.

[First Ioue, as greatest God aboue the rest]

First Ioue, as greatest God aboue the rest,
Graunt thou to me a pairt of my desyre:
That when in verse of thee I wryte my best,
This onely thing I earnestly requyre,
That thou my veine Poetique so inspyre,
As they may suirlie think, all that it reid,
When I descryue thy might and thundring fyre,
That they do see thy self in verie deid
From heauen thy greatest Thunders for to leid,
And syne vpon the Gyants heads to fall:
Or cumming to thy Semele with speid
In Thunders least, at her request and call:
Or throwing Phæthon downe from heauen to eard,
With threatning thunders, making monstrous reard.

SONNET. 2.

[Apollo nixt, assist me in a parte]

Apollo nixt, assist me in a parte,
Sen vnto Ioue thou secound art in might,
That when I do descryue thy shyning Carte,
The Readers may esteme it in their sight.
And graunt me als, thou worlds ô onely light,
That when I lyke for subiect to deuyse
To wryte, how as before thy countenaunce bright
The yeares do stand, with seasons dowble twyse,
That so I may descryue the verie guyse
Thus by thy help, of yeares wherein we liue:
As Readers syne may say, heir surely lyes,
Of seasons fowre, the glasse and picture viue.
Grant als, that so I may my verses warpe,
As thou may play them syne vpon thy Harpe.

SONNET. 3.

[And first, ô Phœbus, when I do descriue]

And first, ô Phœbus, when I do descriue
The Springtyme sproutar of the herbes and flowris,
Whomewith in rank none of the foure do striue,
But nearest thee do stande all tymes and howris:
Graunt Readers may esteme, they sie the showris,
Whose balmie dropps so softlie dois distell,
Which watrie cloudds in mesure suche downe powris,
As makis the herbis, and verie earth to smell
With sauours sweit, fra tyme that onis thy sell
The vapouris softlie sowkis with smyling cheare,
VVhilks syne in cloudds are keiped closs and well,
VVhill vehement Winter come in tyme of yeare.
Graunt, when I lyke the Springtyme to displaye,
That Readers think they sie the Spring alwaye.

SONNET. 4.

[And graunt I may so viuely put in verse]

And graunt I may so viuely put in verse
The Sommer, when I lyke theirof to treat:
As when in writ I do theirof reherse,
Let Readers think they fele the burning heat,
And graithly see the earth, for lacke of weit,
With withering drouth and Sunne so gaigged all,
As for the grasse on feild, the dust in streit
Doth ryse and flee aloft, long or it fall.
Yea, let them think, they heare the song and call,
Which Floras wingde musicians maks to sound.
And that to taste, and smell, beleue they shall
Delicious fruictis, whilks in that tyme abound.
And shortly, all their senses so bereaued,
As eyes and earis, and all may be deceaued.

SONNET. 5.

[Or when I lyke my pen for to imploy]

Or when I lyke my pen for to imploy
Of fertile Harvest in the description trew:
Let Readers think, they instantly conuoy
The busie shearers for to reap their dew,
By cutting rypest cornes with hookes anew:
Which cornes their heauy heads did dounward bow,
Els seking earth againe, from whence they grew,
And vnto Ceres do their seruice vow.
Let Readers also surely think and trow,
They see the painfull Vigneron pull the grapes:
First tramping them, and after pressing now
The grenest clusters gathered into heapes.
Let then the Harvest so viue to them appeare,
As if they saw both cornes and clusters neare.

SONNET. 6.

[Bvt let them think, in verie deid they feill]

Bvt let them think, in verie deid they feill,
When as I do the VVinters stormes vnfolde,
The bitter frosts, which waters dois congeill
In VVinter season, by a pearcing colde.
And that they heare the whiddering Boreas bolde,
With hiddeous hurling, rolling Rocks from hie.
Or let them think, they see god Saturne olde,
Whose hoarie haire owercouering earth, maks flie
The lytle birds in flocks, fra tyme they see
The earth and all with stormes of snow owercled:
Yea let them think, they heare the birds that die,
Make piteous mone, that Saturnes hairis are spred.
Apollo, graunt thir foirsaid suitis of myne,
All fyue I say, that thou may crowne me syne.

SONNET. 7.

[And when I do descriue the Oceans force]

And when I do descriue the Oceans force,
Graunt syne, ô Neptune, god of seas profound,
That readars think on leeboard, and on dworce,
And how the Seas owerflowed this massiue round:
Yea, let them think, they heare a stormy sound,
Which threatnis wind, and darknes come at hand:
And water in their shipps syne to abound,
By weltring waues, like hyest towres on land.
Then let them thinke their shipp now low on sand,
Now climmes & skippes to top of rageing seas,
Now downe to hell, when shippmen may not stand,
But lifts their hands to pray thee for some eas.
Syne let them think thy Trident doth it calme,
Which maks it cleare and smothe lyke glas or alme.

SONNET. 8.

[And graunt the lyke when as the swimming sort]

And graunt the lyke when as the swimming sort
Of all thy subjects skaled I list declare:
As Triton monster with a manly port,
Who drownd the Troyan trumpetour most raire:
As Marmaids wyse, who wepis in wether faire:
And marvelous Monkis, I meane Monkis of the see.
Bot what of monsters, when I looke and staire
On wounderous heapes of subiectis seruing the?
As whailes so huge, and Sea eylis rare, that be
Myle longs, in crawling cruikis of sixtie pace:
And Daulphins, Seahorse, Selchs with oxin ee,
And Mersvvynis, Pertrikis als of fishes race.
In short, no fowle doth flie, nor beast doth go,
But thow hast fishes lyke to them and mo.

SONNET. 9.

[O dreidfull Pluto, brother thrid to Ioue]

O dreidfull Pluto, brother thrid to Ioue,
With Proserpin, thy wife, the quene of hell:
My sute to yow is, when I like to loaue
The ioyes that do in Elise field excell:
Or when I like great Tragedies to tell:
Or flyte, or murne my fate: or wryte with feare
The plagues ye do send furth with Diræ fell.
Let Readers think, that both they see and heare
Alecto, threatning Turnus sister deare:
And heare Celænos wings, with Harpyes all:
And see dog Cerberus rage with hiddeous beare,
And all that did AEneas once befall.
When as he past throw all those dongeons dim,
The foresaid feilds syne visited by him.

SONNET. 10.

[O furious Mars, thow warlyke souldiour bold]

O furious Mars, thow warlyke souldiour bold,
And hardy Pallas, goddess stout and graue:
Let Reidars think, when combats manyfold
I do descriue, they see two champions braue,
With armies huge approching to resaue
Thy will, with cloudds of dust into the air.
Syne Phifers, Drummes, and Trumpets cleir do craue
The pelmell chok with larum loude alwhair,
Then nothing hard but gunnis, and ratling fair
Of speares, and clincking swords with glaunce so cleir,
As if they foght in skyes, then wrangles thair
Men killd, vnkilld, whill Parcas breath reteir.
There lyes the venquisht wailing sore his chaunce:
Here lyes the victor, rewing els the daunce.

SONNET. 11.

[And at your handis I earnestly do craue]

And at your handis I earnestly do craue,
O facound Mercure, with the Muses nyne,
That for conducting guyde I may you haue,
Aswell vnto my pen, as my Ingyne.
Let Readers think, thy eloquence deuyne
O Mercure, in my Poems doth appeare:
And that Parnassis flowing fountaine fyne
Into my works doth shyne lyke cristall cleare.
O Muses, let them thinke that they do heare
Your voyces all into my verse resound.
And that your vertewis singuler and seir
May wholly all in them be also found.
Of all that may the perfyte Poems make,
I pray you let my verses haue no lake.

SONNET. 12.

[In short, you all forenamed gods I pray]

In short, you all forenamed gods I pray
For to concur with one accord and will,
That all my works may perfyte be alway:
Which if ye doe, then sweare I for to fill
My works immortall with your praises still:
I shall your names eternall euer sing,
I shall tread downe the grasse on Parnass hill
By making with your names the world to ring:
I shall your names from all obliuion bring.
I lofty Virgill shall to life restoir,
My subiects all shalbe of heauenly thing,
How to delate the gods immortals gloir.
Essay me once, and if ye find me swerue,
Then thinke, I do not graces such deserue.