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The poems of William Habington

Edited with introduction and commentary by Kenneth Allott

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Dominus Dominantium.
  
  
  
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Dominus Dominantium.

Supreame Divinitie! Who yet
Could ever finde
By the bold scrutinie of wit,
The treasurie where thou lock'st up the wind?
What Majesty of Princes can
A tempest awe;
When the distracted Ocean
Swells to Sedition, and obeyes no Law?
How wretched doth the Tyrant stand
Without a boast?
When his rich fleete even touching land
He by some storme in his owne Port sees lost?
Vaine pompe of life! what narrow bound
Ambition
Is circled with? How false a ground
Hath humane pride to build its triumphs on?

144

And Nature how dost thou delude
Our search to know?
When the same windes which here intrude
On us with frosts and onely winter blow:
Breath temprate on th' adjoyning earth;
And gently bring
To the glad field a fruitfull birth
With all the treasures of a wanton Spring.
How diversly death doth assaile;
How sporting kill?
While one is scorcht up in the vale
The other is congeald oth' neighboring hill.
While he with heates doth dying glow
Above he sees
The other hedg'd in with his snow
And envies him his ice although he freeze.
Proud folly of pretending Art,
Be ever dumbe.
And humble thy aspiring heart,
When thou find'st glorious Reason overcome.
And you Astrologers, whose eye
Survayes the starres!
And offer thence to prophesie
Successe in peace, and the event of warres.
Throw downe your eyes upon that dust
You proudly tread!
And know to that resolve you must!
That is the scheme where all their fate may read.