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

Next [in ordre] to Bochas, as I reede,
Out of Affrik & Cartage, þerwithal
Ther cam a duk þat hadde most hatrede
Ageyn the Romeyns in especiall,
This famous prince callid Hanyball,
Bi whos prowesse, as it is weel knowe,
The seid Romeyns wer dauntid & brouht lowe.

And among othir worthi dukes alle,
As olde cronicles make mencioun,
Of Hanybal the fate is so befalle,
At his berthe bi disposicioun,
That of his natural constellacioun
Set in the heuene, that he sholde bee
Perpetueli enmy to Roome the cite.

As the stori of hym doth deuise,
Whil his fader, duk whilom of Cartage,
Callid Amulchar dede onys sacrifise
To his goddis, & he nyne yeer of age,
Swor & avowed, of herte & of corage,
Duryng his lyff withoute excepcioun
Euer to been enmy vnto Roome toun.

This Martis child, this lusti yonge kniht
Was to Cartage the strong[e] myhti wall,
Which succeedid in his fadris riht
Afftir the deth of worthi Hastruball.
First he made a werre ful mortall
Geyn Saguntynoys, as it is specefied,
Cause with Romeyns that thei wer allied.

A drem he hadde; & was thus in sentence:
That he sholde conquere in bataille,
Maugre al tho that stoden at diffence,
Too myhti contrees, first Spaigne & than Itaille,
Doun descendyng with gret apparaille,
Passyng the famous ryueer Iberius,
And wher he rood alway victorious.

639

With hym of Affrik many cheuenteyns
Rood thoruh Gaule, fond no resistence,
Of Pirenes bi the hih mounteyns
To shewe the rigour of his magnificence,
Ouer the Alpies be sturdi violence,
Natwithstondyng the passage was ful wikke,
Of slidyng frostis & of snowis thikke.

A gret[e] parti of his men he loste
Bi the constreynt of that fell passage,
Hors, olefauntis, that many besaunt coste,
Fond gret daunger off them in his cariage.
Assaut of brigauntis, whan thei fond auauntage;
And as Bochas put in remembraunce,
Felte gret losse of al his ordenaunce.

The Alpies passid with trauaile & gret wo,
This Hanybal with al his cheualrie
Approched is the ryueer off the Poo,
Cam to a toun that callid is Cursie,
Which stant upon the cite of Pauye,
Wher a consul named Scipioun
Gaff hym bataille euene affor the toun.

The same consul, Gneus Scipioun,
Which bi prowesse of manli Hanyball
Was disconfited, as maad is mencioun,
Tofor Pauye hadde a riht foul[e] fall:
The first victorie in especiall
That he hadde beyounde the mounteyns,
Whan he purposed tassaile the Romeyns.

Sempronyus, a-nother consuleer,
That was felawe to said[e] Scipioun,
Sent eek fro Roome with a ful proud cheer
Geyn Hanyball; but in his comyng doun
Tofor Tresbie, a large myhti toun,
Outraied was bi fatal auenture
And aftir neuer myhte his fall recure.

640

Off too consuleris this was the wooful fyn,
Sempronyus & Gneus Scipioun.
Ouer the mounteyn callid Appenyn
Wente Hanybal, thoruh his hih renoun,
To gret damage & gret confusioun
Of his peeple that passid the mounteyns,
Destroied with cold, gret snowh & hidous reyns.

Loste his knihtis, his tresours & his goodis,
Ther myht as tho be maad[e] no diffence;
His grete steedes drowned in the floodes
Bi the watris myhti violence,
Fond for the tyme no bettir resistence,
Sauf he eskaped fro that sodeyn wrak,
Of an olyfaunt, he ridyng on the bak.

So importable was his greuous peyne,
Onli born up of marcial corage,
Yit ther he lost oon of his eyen tweyne,
Kept of knihthod o cheer & o visage.
Thoruh Itaille heeld alwey his passage,
Slouh a consul callid Flamynyus;
Thus in thre batailles he was victorious.

But in this while, as seith myn auctour,
Quyntus Fabius, subtil & deceyuable,
Which was in Roome a famous dictatour,
And he apparceyued be toknes ful notable,
No Romeyn capteyn was in tho daies able,
As it was shewed be experience,
Geyn Hanybal to make resistence.

Yit in his conceit he subtili gan serche;
To fynde a weie he dede his besi peyne,
Day be day gan felli theron werche,
Outher be fraude or sum compassid treyne
To ligge await & secreli ordeyne
Enbusshmentis to his auauntages,
Of Hanybal to stoppe the passages.

641

But al his treynys seruid hym of nouht;
For Hanybal, this worthi Affrican,
In his conquest so prudentli hath wrouht,
So lik a prince & a knihtli man,
Fro thilke tyme that he werris gan
Ageyn the Romeyns, bothe on se & lond,
That thei wer feeble his poweer to withstond.

This Quintus Fabius kept hym alway cloos,
Liggyng await to falle on Hanyball;
And of assent eek to his purpos
Ther was oon Varo, manli & wis withal.
And so thes tweyne in especial,
Withynne Poile, a large gret contre,
Fauht with Hanybal at Kannes the cite.

As the stori maketh rehersaile,
The Romeyn parti, of worthi werreiours
Wer fourti thousand slay[e]n in bataille:
Emylius Paulus, thretti senatours,
Twenti in noumbre that hadde be pretours,
And thre hundred capteyns of estat,
Slayn be Hanybal in that mortal debat.

And bi the slauhtre of Emilius,
The noble consul, Romeyns disespeired.
And Hanybal, that day victorious,
To his loggyng is ageyn repeired,
His foon outraied & mortalli appeired,
Knew no refut ageyn this manli kniht,
But at myscheeff took hem to the fliht.

The which[e] day, yiff that Hanybal
Hadde hem folwed proudli to the toun,
Bi the counseil of oon Marthabal,
A manli kniht, a prince of hih renoun,
He sholde haue had ful pocessioun
That day of Roome, lik to his entente,—
But I suppose Fortune list nat assente.

In this processe, pleynli, as I reede,
This Hanybal wex proud & riht pompous,
Of foure victories dempte hymsilf in deede

642

Aboue al othir to be most glorious,
Of his corage most inli surquedous.
But, o alas, a litil slouthe & pride,
For lak of pursut, his conquest set aside.

Yit in his conquest, of knihtis that lay ded,
Of consuleris old & yong of age,
With senatours, the processe who list reed,
Slayn in the feeld[e] in that mortal rage,
Duk Hanybal sente to Cartage,
Of cleene gold, be record of writyngis,
Out of the feeld thre busshel ful of ryngis.

Aftir foure victories heer remembrid,
Bi and bi, the processe who list see,
In which[e] many worthi was dismembrid,
Bothe of Affrik & Roome the cite,
Abate gan the gret prosperite
Of Hanybal be froward auenture:
Set onys bak, hard fortune to recure.

Aftir the flouris of his felicite,
His noblesse drouh to declynacioun.
To Capue he wente, a myhti strong cite,
Ther to soiourne, as maad is mencioun,
Al the tyme of wyntres cold sesoun,
Wher to his lust & bodili plesaunce,
Off al vitaille fond gret habundaunce.

Which made his knihtis slouh vnto the werre;
For wyn, wommen and plente of vitaile
Ful offte sithe cause men to erre,
Make hem feeble ther enmyes to assaille:
Gorges agroteied, enboced ther entraille,
Disposeth men rather to reste & slepe,
Than of ther enmyes for to taken keepe.

But whan wyntir with his frostis colde
Was ouergon in thilke regioun,
Hanybal gan his purpos holde,
To leyn a siege vnto Roome toun.
But so gret reynys fill from heuen doun,
So gret[e] tempest vpon eueri side,
For the constreynt he myht[e] nat abide.

643

To fortefie, the said[e] Hanybal,
Ageyn his enmyes wher he hadde a-doo,
Sente lettres vnto Hastrubal,
In riht gret haste for to come hym too.
But Fortune hir wheel hath turnid so,
That Hastrubal, wher he was loth or fayn,
Be Salynator venquisshed was & slayn.

Of which[e] myscheeff & disconfiture
Hanybal gan dulle in his corage,
Compleyned sore of this mysauenture,
Knew no refut ageyn this mortal rage,
Herd eek seyn that Affrik & Cartage
Were of newe, to his confusioun,
Strongli werreyed be worthi Scipioun.

Siphax also of Numedie kyng,
Which ageyn Romeyns gan a werre make,
Maugre his myht & al his fel werkyng
Was bi force of Scipioun Itake,
Wherthoruh his corage gretli gan a-slake.
And how Cartage, cheeff of that regeoun,
Beseged was also be Scipioun.

Thus Hanybal constreyned was of neede
Hom to repeire for rescus off Cartage,
And was also, in bookis as I reede,
The same tyme falle ferre in age,
And at myscheeff & gret disauauntage
Ageyn Scipioun ful lite[l] myht auaille,
Bi whom he was sconfited in bataille.

Cartage constreynid of necessite,
Them to submitte vnto Roome toun;
And for ther mor hard aduersite,
Gneus Seruilius was fro Rome sent doun,
Onli of purpos for this conclusioun:
For to procure in especiall
Fynal destruccioun & deth off Hanyball.

Afftir al his marcial labours,
His old felicite wex froward & vnmeete,
In holuh images put al his tresours,

644

Took his passage into the lond of Creete,
Found Fortune contrarie & vnsueete,
Made officeeris keepyn his richesse
In the temple of Diane the goddesse.

Sumwhat for trust & parcel eek for dreede,
To fynde socour he wente [un]to the kyng
Of Bithynye to helpe hym in his neede,
Callid Prusias; but of his komyng
The sleihti Romeyns hadde knowlechyng:
To Bithynye doun ther lettres sente,
“Yif Hanybal scape, echon ye shal repente.”

The lettres radde, the kyng the same day
Made his peeple besege the dongoun
Wher duk Hanybal of truste allone lay.
Al destitut whan he knew this tresoun,
Tescape his enmyes drank wilfulli poisoun,
Ches rather so, sith othir escap was noon,
Than in the handis to fallyn of his foon.

Toforn his deth[e] saide this orisoun,
To alle the goddis deuoutli doun knelyng,
That thei wolde of this fals tresoun
Take vengaunce on Prusias the kyng,
Which was cause, bi his fals werkyng,
Of [the] destruccioun and the deth fynall
Of this riht famous worthi Hanyball.