University of Virginia Library

An Epitaph vpon the death of the honorable, syr Edward Saunders Knight,

Lorde cheefe Baron of the Exchequer, who dyed the .19. of Nouember .1576.

You Muses weare your mourning weedes, strike on the fatal Drome,
Sounde Triton out the Trumpe of Fame, in spite of Parcas dome:
Distyll Parnassus pleasant droppes, possesse Pierides plase,
Apollo helpe with dolefull tune, to wayle this wofull case.
Wring hard your handes, wayle on your losse, lament the fate that fell,
With sobbes and sighes to Saunders say, oh Saunders nowe farewell.
Whom Phœbus fed with Pallas pappe, as one of Sibils seede,
Loe here where Death did rest his corpes, the vermines foule to feede:
Whom Impes of Ioue with Nectar sweete, long in Libethres noursht,
Behold howe dreadfull Death him brought, to that whence he came first.
Lycurgus he for learned lawes, Rhadamanthus race that ranne,
A nother Nestor for aduise, Zaleucus fame that wanne.
A Damon deare vnto his freend, in faith like Phocion found,
A Cato that could counsell geue, to prince a subiect sound:
Not Athens for their Solon sage, not Rome for Numa waile,
As we for Saunders death haue cause, in flooddes of teares to saile.
Not Sparta card for Chilos death, ne proud Prienna prest,
To weepe for Bias as we wayle, our Saunders late possest.
His learned pathes his talentes rare, so nowe by Death appeares,
As he that Salomon sought to serue, in prime and youthfull yeares,
His counsell sadde, his rules, his lawes, in countrey soyle so wrought,
As though in Cuma he had been, of sage Sibilla taught:
His vertuous life was such I say, as Uertue did embrace,
By Uertue taught in vertuous schoole, to growe in vertuous race:
Might tender babes, might orphantes weake, might widowes rere the cry,
The sound thereof should pearce the cloudes, to skale the empire sky:
To bidde the goddes to battel bend, and to dissend in sight,
Though farre vnfit, and mates vnmeete, with mortall men to fight.
Too late (alas) we wyshe his life, to soone deceiued vs Death,
Too little witte we haue to seeke, the dead agayne to breath.
What helplesse is, must carelesse be, as Natures course dooth shewe,
For Death shall reape what life hath sowen, by Nature this we knowe:
Where is that erce Achilles fled, where is king Turnus shroude,
What is become of Priamus state, where is Periander proude:
Hector, Hanno, Hanibal, dead, Pompei, Pirrhus spild,
Scipio, Cirus, Cæsar slayne, and Alexander kild.
So long there Fortune fast dyd floe, and charged Fame to sound,
Tyll frowning Fortune foyld by fate, which fawning Fortune found:
Shun Fortunes feates, shake Fortune of, to none is Fortune sound,
Sith none may say of Fortune so, I Fortune faithfull found.
Beholde where Fortune flowed so fast, and fauoured Saunders lure,
Tyl fickle Fortune false agayne, did Saunders death procure.
Lo clothed could in cloddes of clay, in drossy dust remayne,
By fate returnd from whence he came, to his mothers wombe agayne.
Who welnigh thirtie yeeres was Iudge, before a Iudge dyd fall,
And iudged by that mighty Iudge, which Iudge shall iudge vs all.
The heauens may of right reioyce, and earth may it bewayle,
Sith heauen wan, and earth hath lost, the guide and arke of vayle,
There gayne is much, our losse is great, there myrth our moue is such,
That they may laugh as cause doo yeelde, and we may weepe as much:
O happy he, vnhappy we, his happe dooth aye encrease,
Happy he, and haplesse we, his hap shall neuer cease.
We liue to dye, he dyed to liue, we want, and he possest,
We bide in bandes, he bathes in blisse, the gods aboue him blest.
Being borne to liue, he liued to dye, and dyed to God so plaine,
That birth, that life, that death, doo shewe, that he shall liue agayne:
His youth to age, his age to death, his death to fame applied,
His fame to tyme, his time to God, thus Saunders liued and dyed.
O happy life, O happier Death, O tenne times happy he,
Whose happe it was such happe to haue, a Iudge this age to be.
Oh ioyfull time, oh blessed soyle, where Pallas rules with witte,
O noble state, O sacred seate, where Saba sage dooth sitte.
Like Susan sound, like Sara sadde, with Hesters mace in hande,
With Iudiths sworde Bellona like, to rule this noble lande.
I had my wyll, you haue your wishe, I laugh, reioyse you may,
I wan now much, you gaine no lesse, to see this happy day.
Wherein I died, wherein you liue, Oh treble happy cost,
Wherein I ioyed in glory greate, wherein you triumpth most.
Kneele on your knees knocke hard your brests, sound forth ye ioyful Drome.
Clappe loude your hands, sounde Eccho say, the golden worlde is come.
Reioyce you Iudges may of right, your mirth may now be such,
As neuer earst you Iudges had, in England mirth so much.
Here Cuma is, here Sibill raignes, on Delphos seate to sitte,
Here shee like Phœbus rules, that can Gordius knotte vnknitte.
I liued to nature long yenough, I liued to honor much,
I liued at wish, I died at wyll, to see my country such.
As neither needes it Numas lawes nor yet Apollos sweard,
For Mauger Mars, yet Mars shalbe of this our Queene afeard.
O peerlesse pearle, O Diamond deer, O Queene of Queenes farwell,
Your royall Maiestie god preserue, in England long to dwell.
Farwell the Phœnix of the woorld, farwell my soueraigne Queene,
Farwell most noble vertuous prince, Mineruas mate I weene.
No Iuel, Gemme, no Gold to geue, no perles from Pactolus lo,
No Persian Gaze, no Indian stones, no Tagus sandes to show.
But faith and will to natiue soyle a liue and dead I finde,
My hart my mind my loue I leaue, vnto my prince behinde.
Farwell you nobles of this land, farwell you Iudges graue,
Farwell my felowes freends and mates, your Queene I say God saue.
What rise in time in time dooth fall, what sloweth in time dooth ebbe,
What liues in time. in time shall die, and yeelde to Parcas webbe.
The sunne to darknesse shallbe turnde, the starres from skies shall fall,
The Moone to blood, the worlde with fire shallbe consumed all.
As smoke or vapour vanishe streight, as bubbles rise and fall,
As clowdes doo passe, or shadowe shiftes we liue, we die so all.
Our pompe our pride, our triumph most, our glory greate herein,
Like shattering shadowe passe away, as though none such had bin.
Earth, water, ayre, and fyre, as they were earst before,
A lumpe confused, and Chaos calld, so shall they once be more.
And all to earth, that came from earth, and to the graue descend,
For earth on earth, to earth shall goe, and earth shalbe the end:
As Christ descended vp in cloudes, so Christ in cloudes shall come,
To iudge both good and badde on earth, at dreadfull day of dome.
From whence our fleshe shall ryse agayne, euen from the drossy dust,
And so shall passe, I hope vnto, the mansion of the iust.