University of Virginia Library

The SOCRATICK SESSION,

OR The Arraignment and Conviction, of Julius Scaliger.

To the Author on his Socratick Session.

'Twas boldly ventur'd (Friend) what, to defie,
And fight with him, with whom all do complie,
Most out of feare, and others of affection,
This 'tis to have Apollo's grand protection:
Such a Dilinquent Scaliger was ever,
He hath been blam'd, (till now) arraigned never:
How doth the grand Mœonian Bard rejoyce
To hear the sound of thy Stentorian voyce,
Reverberated by the Trump of Fame,
Purging his Honour, Deifying his Name:
Such power is in thy spell, (not like Medea
To raise up Pluto) but call down Astrea,
That at thy summons all the witts do come,
And for thy sake, forsake Elizium:
Their censure's just, and so is mine, thy Praise
Should not be Thankes, but Anadems of Bayes.

The SOCRATICK SESSION,

OR The Parliament of Poets, Containing, The Arraignment, and Conviction OF Julius Scaliger.

The Persons in this Parliament.

• ORPHEUS.
• LINUS.
• HESIOD.
• MUSEUS.
• MENANDER.
• ARISTOPHANES.
• SOPHOCLES.
• EURIPIDES.
• PINDAR.
• ANACREON.
• THEOCRITUS.
• ÆSCHELINUS.
• APOLLONIUS.
• JUVENAL.
• VIRGIL.
• SENECA.
• MARTIUS.
• CAPELLA.
• LUCRETIUS.
• HORACE.
• PERSIUS.
• MARTIAL.
• OVID.
• LUCAN.
• STATIUS.
• CLAUDIAN.
• TIBULLUS.
• MANTUAN.
• PROPERTIUS.
• CATULLUS.
• AUSONIUS.
• PALINGENIUS.
• MANILLIUS.
• BOETHIUS.
• HOMER, (as a mute)
• SCALIGER, the Delinquent.
• APOLLO, President.
• NEMESIS, A Furie employed.
• THE CONVOCATION HOUSE.
• CASTALIA.
• MERCURY, Cryer of the Court.

Mercury.
O yes, O Yes, come on, come on,
Ye tiplers of cleare Helicon,
Here take your seates, ye wise, and grave,
And cramme up this Castalian Cave,
No matter though you sit all night,
Since countenanc'd by the god of light.

Apollo, With A Traine Of Bards.
Apollo
to Homer.
Sit here (grave Sir) or else more rather
Fill that Throne, my most honour'd Father,
Thy Dorick Lyre
Made th'Heavenly Quire
More wonder, and more joccund farre
Then when I sung the Gyants Warre:
The rest (Hermes) I leave to thee,
Place each man, as is his Degree.

Mercury.
Orpheus, Linus, Hesiod,
Who gav'st a birth to every God:
You three
Accompany,
Unlesse you please for to preferre
This ancient School-Master
To your Societie;

ORP. LIN.
He merits it,
Is not this he Leander writ?

Mercury.
The same, why heres Menander too,
Faith (Sir) we did look for you.
Please (Sir) to be
Alone, You ere lov'd singularity,
Pray take your ease,
Sir, Aristophanes,
With Sophocles,
And Euripides,
You need not brawle—
For roome, this Forme will hold you all,
This seat must be reserv'd alone
For Pindar, and Anacreon,
They come amongst the rest for to discusse,
What! my smooth Theocritus,
Most accute in every Page,
Possess'd with Lymphatick Rage,
Here are no Neat-heards—sit thee down,
Whence comes this muffled Clown?

Pindar.
Oh tis our Friend
Æschelinus, see his head
Is wounded, some Malevolent Feind
Shap'd like an Eagle.

Mercury.
Tread
Softly, for feare
Hyperion heare,
Whose wrath I must expect to beare,
If any I admit to come
With a crack't pericranium.
Good Sir come in,
The game is ready to begin,
Here onely wants
You, and your Argonantes.

Apollonius Enters.
The Grecians all are marshal'd for the Fight,
Now let me ranke Æneas off-spring Right.
Virgil Enters.
Stay (Sir) have you the face
To claim a place
'Fore Juvenal, we know your Muse
Juvenal preferred before Virgil by Mercury.
Did the Mœonian, and Ascræan use,
Him no supply,
All sprang from his own Ingenuitie.
Now you may sit
Having done homage to his Wit,
Make way
For Seneca.
Seneca Enters. A Scuffle for Superioritie.
Nay be not angry (Sirs) for you must know it,
Hee's a Peripatetick, and a Poet.
Martius Capella Enters.
The like to us
Art thou (sweet Martius,)
Lucretius Enters.
And thou Lucretius,
Sit yee together, be not vex't
Deare Horace, thou art next.
Horace Enters with Persius.
Horace.
I cannot Persius brook,
H'as such a crabbed look.

Mercury.

Martial Enters.
—You have been mist
Quaint Epigrammatist.
Ovid Enters.
Oh Sir, y've lost the Day,
By your too tardy stay,
Admired Naso t'would not please,
If we should Metamorphose these
Already seated, 'twould become
Another Tristium.
Therefore, though great
In worth, there take thy seate.
Apollo.

Lucan And Statius next Apollo.
Yee worthy paire, who did great Acts reherse,
In farre more mighty and Immortall Verse,
It is your due,
That I should honour you.—here sit.
Mer.

Claudian Enters, with Tibullus, Propertius, Catullus, Ausonius, Palingenius, Manillius, Boethius.
Sit Claudian, now approach Tibullus,
Propertius, Mantuan, and Catullus,
Ausonius, Palingenius too,
(Sir) here is hardly roome for you,
Yet enter, th'ast a throate
Will help make up the Vote.
Mercury.
By the faith of gods, and men
You have undone us Gentlemen,
You cannot now inherit
The places which you merit.

Manil.
Wee'l onely bee spectators.

Boe,
We
Will not disturbe the Company.

Mercury.
Your assent,
Must mix in this great Parliament,
Sweet Naso is alone
Without Companion,
You two sit next him.

Apollo.
Are all plac'd?

Mer.
Yes Sir, with much adoe, at last.

Apollo.

Nemesis enters with Scaliger, places him at the Barre.
Mer.
Rhamnusian Nemesis—appear
With the Cur'st Critick Scaliger.
Great light, he doth refuse to kneele.

Apol.
Whip him (stern Feind) and let him feele
Thy strokes.

Scal.

Scalliger tormented.

Hold, hold, I am content,
Oh, wherefore am I hither sent?

Apol.

Scal.
My guilty sence
Cannot afford me so much impudence
For to deny
My treachery.
Great Phœbus, I acknowledge my offence,
By thy bright selfe, I sweare,
I held great Homer deare:
His Poesie
As sung by thee,
Above all humane wit did seem to me,
Yet by Ambition lead,
I rashly censured
His most incomparable works; as low
That by eclipsing him, I great may grow.

Apollo.
This Ingenious free confession
Mitigates much of the Transgression,
But must not Anticipate
The destin'd rigour of thy fate.
You heare (great Rivall) and the rest
Of my lov'd Sonns, this Critick hath confest
His Treachery, but thers no reason,
Acknowledgement should expiate a Treason,
Great Homer must not be
His Judge, do you decree
Each give his verdict,
But Impartially.—Speak dearest Son—

Scaliger Censured.
Orpheus.
Unto a Rock of yce.
Let him be chain'd.

Linus.
To expiate his vice
With Ixion, give him torture on a wheele.

Hesiod.
Tantalus torment let him feele.

Museus.
I still must sing as I was wont,
Plunge him (Leander like) i'th Helespont.

Menander.
Let Cerberus still worrie him, or let
Him to the chin in Phlegeton be set.

Sophoc.
Let him be given into Ænyos hand.

Euripides.
Let fell Mægera lash him with her brand.

Pindar.
In a steepe gulph of fire
Let him howle, and nere expire.

Anacreon.
Falling ever
From on high,
Wishing still
A greater ill,
And yet never,
Any other torture try.

Lucan.
His Critick Soule into some flesh preferre.
Destin'd by Fate to be a School-Master.

Statius.
Or else by power Divine,
Seclude it in some Swine.

Æschelinus.
Titius Kites still teare his heart.

Apollonius.
Horror from him never part.

Juvenal.
Beneath mount Ætna give him place
With the Ringleaders, of the snakefoot-race,
Once darted mountaines at Joves face.

Virgil.
Sysiphus snow-ball let him roule.

Seneca.
Let the three Furies teare his Soule
Eternally, with furious ire.

Martius Capella.
Confine him to that Lake of fire
Gyrts Erebus.

Lucretius.
I confirm his Vote.

Horace.
Let Sulphur down his throate
Continually be powr'd.

Persius.
Let him give ease
Unto the Belides,
And ever mourn,
Filling the fatall Urne.

Ovid.
Let him still curse his Fate,
While he the Elizian Joyes doth contemplate.

Claudian.
Charons assotiate let him be
To ferrie,
Soules in his Wherrie,
And tug the oare, till the earth dissolved be.

Tibullus.
And then be cag'd with swart Tysiphone.

Propertius.
Sodoms destruction still inviron him.

Mantua.
Ever in black Cocytus let him swim.

Ausonius.
Seat him where Nero sits.

Catullus.
Place him on
Some ever-flaming Grydion.

Pal.
The like I Vote.

Manilus.
Let him still melt, and ne're expire
In THIESTES sickly fire.

Boethius.
With Homers Momus (Lucian) seat him,
And let his Fancy ever cheat him.

Apollo.
These are your Votes.

Omnes
They are.

Apollo.
A Shout.

Omnes.
Thankes great Apollo, Heaven and Earth
Still blesse thy Beames.

Apollo.
Now all be gon,
Thus endeth our SOCRATICK SESSION.

Mercury.

Hyperion, a name of Apollo.

Hyperion, and Homer all alone,
Are flown up to the milkie path,
And now every Bard that hath
Place in Elizium, follow me along,
Each Prophet chaunting a Triumphant song.