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

Be rehersaile off many an old poete,
Be discent the lyne conueied doun,
Next Saturnus, the myhti kyng off Crete,
Ioue was crownyd bi successioun,
As next heir bi procreacioun,
Afftir his fadir the lond to enherite,
Regned in Crete, as poetis list to write.

Sone off the lynage, as I you tolde afforn,
Off the goddis most souereyn and enteere,
Yit thouh he was off blood so hih I-born,
He ches Europa for to been his feere,
And doun descendid from his heuenli speere,
As he that was, for al his deite,
Supprisid in herte with hir gret beute.

And she was douhter to the myhti kyng
Callid Agenor, by lyneal discent,
Whos myhti kyngdam & roial fair duellyng
Was in Phenice toward the orient;
And to Arabie his land was adiacent,
Ferre be south, as ye may reede and see,
Toward the parties of the Rede Se.

But Iubiter, whan he dede aduerte
Off Europa the gret[e] semlynesse,
Hym thouhte he was woundid thoruh the herte
Onto the deth, beholdyng hir fairnesse,
And for his constreynt, & his mortal distresse,
Seyng she was so fair founde in his siht,
He rauesshid hire off veray force & myht.

But Agenor, hir owyn fadir deere,
Gan on this cas ful pitously compleyne,
Whan she, allas, most goodli and enteere,
Was hym berafft, which doublid al his peyne;
Recur was noon, thouh he dede pleyne,
Til he, remembrynge in his regalie,
Thouhte he wolde senden to espie

His sone Cadmus hir to recure ageyn,
For to serche hire in many a regeoun,
Wherso his labour were fructuous or in veyn.
His fadir sette hym a fell condicioun,
Nat to retourne bi noon occasioun,—
And therupon maad hym to be bounde,—
Til that he hadde the kyngis douhter founde.

He took his shippis bi gret auysynesse,
And gan to saile be many a straunge se,
Dede his labour and his besynesse,
With many a worthi that were with hym preue;
But whan that he off resoun dede see,
Ther was no mene for which that he was sent,
For tacomplisshe the fyn off his entent,

With glad[e] herte, deuoid off al gruchyng,
Seyng the cas froward and contraire,
Humble off [his] cheer[e] took his exilyng,

And off manhod list nat hymsilff dispaire,
But with his meyne knyhtli gan repaire
Toward Grece, & proudli ther to londe,
Off Appollo for to vndirstonde,

To what parti that he myhte drawe.
He praied the god to wissyn hym & reede,
Sum tokne shewe or sum maner lawe,
Onto what ile that he myhte hym speede;
Or that he wolde graciously hym leede
Where-as he myhte bilden a cite,
That were accordyng for hym & his meyne.

And to Appollo he dede sacrefise,
And maad to hym his oblacioun,
The god requeryng goodli to deuise,
To what lond or to what regeoun
For his duellyng and habitacioun
He sholde drawe, withoute mor obstacle,
For hym and hise to make his habitacle.

And Cadmus thus tofforn Appollo stood,
Knelyng a-mong with ful gret reuerence,
And in the temple off Delphos stille a-bod,
With humble attendaunce & deuout dilligence
Meekli besekyng, bi woord or sum sentence,
That Appollo to hym wolde onclose,
To what parti he sholde hymsilff dispose.

This was his answere in conclusioun,
As the statue to hym dede expresse:
To goon and serche contrees enviroun,
And til he fond, doon his besynesse,
A bole that were excellyng of fairnesse,
Which, bi precept off Appollos lawe,
Hadde neuer afforn in no yok Idrawe.

And where that euer sekyng that he fond
A bole stonde stille in his pasture,
Appollo bad vpon the same lond,
Where-as he sauh this sihte off auenture,
That he sholde doon his besi cure
To bilde a cite, he and his folkis all,
And Boecia, afftir the bole, it call.

And whan that Cadmus the precept vndirstood,
And in serchyng dede his besynesse,
He fond a place where-as a bole stood
Fedyng hymselff, which as bi liklynesse
Was a place ful plesant off largesse,
Wher-as he stynte and gan a cite reise,
Which that poetis gretli comende & preise.

And that his bildyng myhte the more auaile,
Alle tho foreyns that dede a-boute hym duelle,
Ful lik a knyht, be force and be bataile
Out off that cuntre he dede hem expelle,
Reisyng a cite which that dede excelle,
And as Ouide recordeth eek the same,
Into this day off Thebes berith the name.

And he was nat onli glorefied
For reryng up off this grete cite,
But he was also gretli magnefied
For his manhod and magnanymyte,
And most comendid, yiff ye list to see,
For the surmountyng famous excellence
Which that he hadde in wisdam & science.

For as myn auctour list off hym endite,
Thoruh his noble prudent purueiance
He tauhte figures & lettris for to write,
And made lawes off ful gret ordynance
A-mong the Grekis, and sette gouernance
Ther vicious liff bi vertu to restreyne;
And who outraied was punshid with the peyne.

And off entent tencrecen his lynage,
And his cite also to multeplie,
He took a wiff, that was but yong off age,
And she was callid, as bookis specefie,
Hermyone; and touchyng hir allie,
Thouh that she were born off roial blood,
She was also bothe inly fair and good.

And this was doon, as writith myn auctour,
Afftir the deth of worthi Iosue,
Gothonyel beyng his successour,

Hauyng the ledyng and the souereynte
Off Israel whan Thebes the cite
Was foundid first in tho daies olde
Bi kyng Cadmus, tofforn as I you tolde.

Foure douhtren he hadde be his lyue,
Ful faire echon and goodli on to see;
And ther names to rehersen blyue,
Semele was eldest, and next Authonoe,
The thridde in order was callid Ynoe,
And Agaue was yongest off hem all,
Off which[e] douhtres thus [it] is be-fall:

Thei were echon off port & off maneer
Ful weel fauoured in euery manys siht,
Riht womanli and heuenli of ther cheer;
And for ther beute, ther fadir anoon riht,
As it was sittyng, with al his ful[le] myht,
Lik ther estatis, ther berthe & eek ther age,
Maad hem be weddid & ioyned in mariage

To worthi pryncis, his lynage to auaunce.
And thei encreced bi procreacioun,
Wheroff the kyng hadde ful gret plesaunce
And gret reioishyng in his opynyoun
To seen his lyne bi generacioun,
With his nevewes & cosyns off allie,
Fro day to day so wexe and multeplie.

And this encreced his felicite,
Whan he considred verrali in deede
The riche bildyng off his roial cite,
And how Fortune dede his bridil leede
To gret richesse, in bookis as I reede,
To gret noblesse, hauyng residence
In his cite off most magnyficence.

His douhter Semele, record off myn auctour,
Thouh she descendid were off the blood roiall,
To Iubiter she was paramour,
And bi his power aboue celestiall,
She conceyued in especiall,
As poetis list off hire tendite,
Hym that is god off grapis rede & white,

Callid Bachus, which hath the gouernaunce
Off wynis alle and the regalie.
Wheroff afftir ther fill ful gret vengaunce:
[For] whan Iuno dede first espie
Off Iubiter the grete auoutrie,
Off gret hatrede and envious desir,
She made Semeles be brent with sodeyn fir,

Bi descendyng off a sodeyn leuene,
Wherthoruh hir paleis was into asshes brent—
The vnwar strook cam doun fro [the] heuene,
And on Semeles the vengaunce is doun went;
And or the flawme consumed was & spent,
Ther was off hir lefft no remembraunce,
But off hir eende the woful mortal chaunce.

Eek Antheon, sone off Authonoe,
To gret[e] myscheeff and infortune born,
Whos fadir was callid Eristee,
Come off the kynrede that I you tolde afforn;
With cruel houndis, allas, he was to-torn,
For that he sauh, as bookis off hym tell,
Diane nakid bathe hire in a well.

And as poetis remembryn atte leste,
Whan the ladies off Thebes the cite
Heeld off Bachus solempneli the feste,
The yongest suster, callid Agaue,
Douhter to Cadmus,—allas, it was pite!—
Ageyn Pantheus, hir owyn sone deere,
She wex so wood & mortal off hir cheere,

Moordryng hym in ful cruel wise,
In hir rage she was so furious:
For he louh[e] at the sacrefise
In Thebes doon bi women to Bachus;
The which[e] sone was callid Pantheus,
Whom that she slouh with a ful sharp[e] dart,
In hir woodnesse, as she hym fond a-part.

These grete myscheuys fellyn in the lyne
Off kyng Cadmus thoruh his onhappi chaunce;
Fortune his noblesse gan to vndirmyne,

And thouhte she wolde his glory disauaunce.
Al worldli gladnesse is medlid with greuaunce,
Experience in Cadmus ye may see,
So importable was his aduersite.

For whil he sat most hiest in his glory,
No parti clipsed off his prosperite,
His briht renoun and his roial memory
In rewmis sprad and many ferr cuntre,
And he most welful in his kyngli see
Sat with his lynage, most hih in his noblesse,
Than cam Fortune, the fals enchaunteresse,

Off wilfulnesse, and fond occasioun
A-geyn this Cadmus, & maad his renoun dulle,
And off his kynrede, bi fals collusioun,
She gan a-wey the brihtest fethres pulle;
And whan his shynyng was wexe up to the fulle,
Afftir the chaung off Fortunys lawe,
His glory gan discrecen and withdrawe.

It was mor greuous to his dignite,
A sodeyn fall from his hih noblesse,
Than yiff that he neuer hadde be
Set in thestat off [so] gret worthynesse;
For the furious mortal heuynesse
Off his kynreede, withoutyn any more,
Wolde haue greued a poore man ful sore.

And a-mong his sorwes euerichon,
To reherse pleynli as it was,
I dar afferme how that there was oon,
Most horrible & dreedful in such cas;
For Cadmus sone, callid Athamas,
His sone-in-lawe, thoruh fals malencolie
Fill sodenli into a frenesie.

Off whom the wiff was callid Ynoe,
Cadmus douhter, as ye han herd expresse,
Which thoruh the constreynt off his infirmite,
In his rage and furious woodnesse
Thouhte that his wiff was a leonesse,
And in his wilde ymagynaciouns,
That his too childre were also too leouns.

And vpon hem ful loude he gan to crie,
Toward his wiff in haste he ran anon,
And from hir armys, ther was no remedie,
The child he rente, and on a craggi ston
He gan to brose it and breke it eueri bon.
The which[e] child, Bochas writith thus,
Ful tendir and yong, was callid Learchus.

And off this woful sodeyn auenture
Off his rage, whan that [s]he took heed,
As most sorweful off any creature,
Hir othir child she hente anoon for dreed;
For off socour she knew no betir speed,
So as she myhte gan haste out off his siht.
But wellaway, as she took hir to fliht,

Hir husbonde cam afftir pursuyng
Lich a wood leoun in his cruelte;
Doun from a mounteyn, which was dependyng,
She and hir child fill into the se.
Was it nat routhe, was it nat pite,
A kyngis douhter, hir lord in Thebes crownyd,
He to be wood and she for feer so drownyd!

Loo, heer the fyn off Cadmus euerideel,
His childre slayn and his allies all,
And he hymsilff[e] fro Fortunys wheel,
Whan he lest wende, ful sodenli is fall,
His litil sugir temprid with moch gall:
For a-mong[es] all his mortal peynes,
His liege-men, off Thebes citeseynes,

Made ageyn hym a conspiracioun,
Put hym in exil and his wiff also,
His sonys, his douhtris brouht to destruccioun;
And to thencrecyng off his dedli wo,
He and his wiff compellid bothe too
For verray pouert and verray indigence
In ther last age to purchace ther dispence.

Thus [of] Cadmus the sorwes to descryue
And his myscheeff to putte in remembraunce,
He banshid was twies bi his lyue,

First bi his fadris cruel ordynaunce
Off his suster to maken enqueraunce,
And althirlast in his vnweeldi age
He was compellid to holden his passage

Out off Thebes, his wiff and he allone,
In sorwe & wepyng taccomplissh up ther daies.
Into Illirie to-gidre thei be gone,
Ther pacience put at fell assaies,
Whos bittirnesse felte noon allaies.
Eek off ther eende nor ther vnhappi fate,
Nor off ther deth I fynde noon other date,

Sauff that Ouide maketh mencioun,
And Iohn Bochas the poete excellent
Seith that the brethre, Zeto & Amphioun,
Out off Thebes, bothe bi oon assent,
Haue this Cadmus into exil sent,
His wiff also, afftir ther hih noblesse,
To eende her liff in sorwe and wrechidnesse.

But the goddis, off merci and pite,
Whan thei hem sauh bi Fortune so cast doun
From ther estatis into pouerte,
Hauyng off hem ful gret compassioun,
Thei made a-noon a transformacioun
Off bothe tweyne, hem yeuyng the liknesse
Off serpentis, to lyue in wildirnesse.