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

Touchyng þe stori in ordre heer folwyng
Of Seleuchus & gret Anthiochus,
Off his mooder Laodices & þe ryng,
With other toknes & signes merueillous,
And how also the famous Seleuchus
Hadde in his theih, as writen is heer-toforn,
Preent of an anker the day whan he was born,

And al the childre bi successioun
Hadde be discent, bor[e]n of his lynage,
Preent of an anker, as maad is mencioun,
The fourte book, with al the surplusage
Of othir toknis ther told in pleyn langage.
And of the seide same Seleuchus
Cam be discent the saide Antiochus.

Whos herte was set of hih[e] couetise
To folwe his lustis and delectacioun[s];
And specialli he caste gan & deuise
To wynne in Grece dyuers regiouns.
And of the peeple he cauhte occasiouns,
Bi ther fauour to conquere that contre
And to rebelle ageyn Rome the cite.

With multitude & gret apparaille
He gat in Grece castellis & eek touns
Longyng to Roome, conquered be bataille;
Took upon hym in his presumpciouns
Falsli to folwe the inclynaciouns
Of his berthe, whil he dede abide
In a cite that callid was Calcide.

627

For cause of slouthe he leffte his cheualrie,
Forsook[e] Mars & took hym to Cupide,
Restyng the wyntir, he spente in lecherie,
In wach and riot, ches Venus to his guide:
Sensualite maad resoun stonde aside;
And bi thes menys, for short conclusioun,
He was conveied to his destruccioun.

And whan that wyntir with his frostis colde
Ipassid was and al his stormys keene,
In riot spent and wastid, as I tolde,
And ver cam in with his newe greene,
And fressh[e] Flora, which is of flouris queene,
Off custum gynneth hir motles out to dresse,—
In which[e] sesoun, as auctours alle expresse,

Kynges, princis, with marcial apparaille,
Tyme whan Phebus in the Ram doth shyne,
Thei hem dispose to gon out to bataille,
For exersise of marcial disciplyne.
And doun fro Roome, expert in that doctryne,
Descendid is Marchus Actilius
Ageyn this vicious proude Anthiochus.

This noble Mark, preued in armis weel,
Which in his tyme was soo good a kniht,
With al his hoost[e], armyd in briht steel,
Ageyn Antiochus cam to the feeld doun riht,
Vpon a morwe whan Phebus shon ful briht.
Set his wardeyns be capteyns that he ches
Vpon an hill callid Termophiles.

Antiochus upon the tothir side,
Whom glotonye & riot dede oppresse,
And dronke Bachus, which with hym dide abide,
With Morpheus wiff, of slombre cheeff goddesse,—
Which caused hym thoruh slouthe & idilnesse
That prouidence out of his court was gon,
Causyng that day the slauhtre of many on.

Whan the consul, Marchus, the worthi knyht,
His aduersaries proudli gan assaille,
Thei vnpurueied, took hem to the fliht;
Disaraied thei myhte nat auaile.
Thus Anthiochus fledde out of bataille;

628

For ageyn Romeyns he myht nat endure:
Therfore on hym fill the disconfiture.

Thus rebukid fledde to Ephesie,
Ferr in Grece, and ther to duelle he ches,
Sente Romeyns a gret embassatrie
With said[e] Marchus for to trete of pes.
But his embassiat, this verray dout[e]les,
Whan thei atteyned of Marchus the presence,
Wer refusid & hadde non audience.

Of which Antiochus gretli was a-shamed,
Caste ageyn Roome of hate & enmyte
To reise a poweer, & hath of newe attamyd
To gadre shippis & make a gret arme,
Gynne a werre ageyn hem on the se,
Hauyng an hope, vndir a coward dreede,
Bet on the watir than on the lond to speede.

Made his shippis be stuffed with vitaille,
And his capteyns han the lond forsake;
But whan the Romeyns gan hym of newe assaille,
His shippis brent & al his stuff was take.
And lik myn auctour compendiousli doth make,
Thries on the se the Romeyns werreyng,
He was outraied, the stori witnessyng.

Yit efft ageyn to his confusioun
Vpon the lond[e] he gan make hym strong,
Mette with Cornelie callid Scipioun,
With waynes, cartes maad for the werre long,
Shod with hard iren, sharp sithes set among
In trauers wise bi gret ordenaunce;
But for al that, he was brouht to myschaunce.

With olyfauntis & castellis on the[r] bak
That day was slayn many a worthi kniht,
Vpon his host so cruel was the wrak,
That he constreyned took hym to the fliht,
Forsook the contre, fledde out of mennys siht.
To the Romeyns, he coude it nat delaie,
Ech yeer constreyned a tribut for to paie.

629

But he of fraude, because of his tribut
For couetise feyned sore pouerte,
Gadred robbours, & be fals pursut
Oppressid marchauntis, spoilled the contre,
Robbed templis, of hatful cruelte,
And fro Iubiter callid Dodonyan
Took alle the reliques, the story telle can.

Dide sacrilege & entrid in that cloos
Withoute reuerence or any obseruaunce,
For which the temple ageyn[es] hym aroos,
And, as it is put in remembraunce,
Bi the goddis ther fill a gret vengaunce
Vpon this tiraunt, quakyng in his dreed,—
Al sodenli he fill to grounde ded.