University of Virginia Library

Amyd the seys mycht be persauyt weill
The weirly schippis with thar snowtis of steill,
The Actiane batalys, semyng as quha dyd se
The mont Lewcata, standand by the seye,
For ostis arrayt glowand as the gleyd;
Of glitterand gold schane all the flude on breid.
On that a party, thar myght thou behald
Cesar August Octauyan the bald,
Movand to batale the Italyanys,
With hym senatouris and worthy pepill Romanys,
And goddis domestik, quhilk Penates hait,
With all the gret goddis of mair estait;
Heich in the forstam stand he mycht be sene,
From hys blyth browys brent and athir eyn
The fyre twynklyng, and hys faderis star
Schew from hys helmys top schynand on far.
The byg and stowt Agrippa, hys frend deir,
Hys navy led at hand weil by neir,
As he that in hys help and succurss fyndis
The prosper favouris baith of goddis and wyndis:
Quhais forhed schane of ane prowd syng of weris,
A crown with stammys sic as schippis beris.
Marcus Antonyus cummys thame aganys
With hail suppovel of barbaryanys,
As nobill victour and cheif conquerour,
Careand with hym of Orient the flour;
Diuerss armyis and pepillys for melle,
From Perss, Egipt and costis of the Red See,
The power all assemblit in hys flote,
Ane huge rowt and multitude, God wote,
The ȝondermast pepill, clepit Bractanys,
Quhilk neir the est part of the warld remanys.
Hym followys to the feild, ane schame to say,
Hys spouss Egiptiane, Queyn Cleopatra.
Thai semyt sammyn ruschand all togidder,
Quhill all the sey vpstowris with a quhidder;
Ourweltit with the bensell of the ayris,
Fast fra forstammys the flude swowchis and raris,
As thai togiddir matchyt on the depe.
Thou suld haue wenyt, quha tharto tuke kepe,
The gret ilandys, Ciclades, hail vprent,
Apon the sey fletand quhar thai went,
Or huge hie hillys, concurrand all atanys,
Togiddir rusch and meyt with other montanys;
On athir hand with sa gret forss and weght
The men assalys in schip of towr to feght.
Thai warp at other brycht blesys of fyre,
The kyndillyt lynt and hardis byrnand schire;
The castyng dartis fra hand to hand dyd fle,
Slang gaddis of irne, and stane cast gret plente:
Neptunus feildis, all the large flude,
For new slauchter wolx blandit red of blude.
Amyd the ostis Cleopatra queyn
The rowtis dyd assembill to feght bedene,
With tympane sound, in gyss of hir cuntre,
Prouocand thame to move in the melle:
Nor ȝit beheld scho not the eddris twane
Behynd hir bak, that efter hes hir slane.
The monstruus goddis figuris, of al kynd
That honorit ar in Egipt or in Inde,
And eik the barkand statw, Anubis,
Agane Neptune, agane Venus, I wyss,
And als agane Mynerva, porturat standis
In that bargane, with wapynnys in thar handis.
Amyd the feld stude Mars, that felloun syre,
In plait and mail, wod brym and ful of ire;
The sorofull Fureys from the firmament
By the goddys to tak vengeans war sent;
In went Discord, ioyus of that iourne,
With mantill rent and schorn men mycht hir se;
Quham followit Bellona of batell,
With hir kynd cosyng, the scharp scurgis fell.
Actyus Appollo, seand in the sky
Of this melle the dowtsum victory,
Hys bow abufe thar hedis hes he bent,
Lyke forto schote hys dartis and down sent;
For dreid of quham all the Egiptianys,
All thai of Ind, and the Arabyanys,
And thai of Sabey, turnyt bak to fle.
Cleopatra the queyn thar mycht thou se
Wynd sayll about, and gang befor the wynd,
Ay mar and mair dredand persute behynd,
Sclakand schetis, and haldand rowme at large,
With purpour saill abufe hir payntit barge.
The mychty god of fyre hir wrocht and maid
Ful pail of hew, sorowfull and not glaid,
In syng tocum of hir smert hasty ded,
Amangis ded corpsis new of slauchter red,
And, with the west wynd and the wallys haw,
Frawart the flude of Nyle our stremys blaw;
Quhilk Nylus ryver, murnand for thar diseyss,
Hys large skyrt onbrede spred thame to pless,
With all his habyt oppynnyt thame to call,
As thocht hym list ressaue the venquyst all
Within hys watry bosum, large and rude,
And hyde in secret condyte of his flude.
Within the wallis syne of Romys cite,
Cesar, ressauyt with triumphis thre,
Thou mycht behald, thar offerand on his gyss
Till Itale goddis immortal sacryfyce;
Our all the cite, in maist singular ioy,
The blysfull fest thai makyng man and boy,
So that thre hundreth ryall tempillys dyng
Of ryot, ryppet and of revellyng
Ryngis, and of the myrthful sportis seir
The stretis soundyng on solacius maner;
At euery sanctuary and altar vpstent
In caralyng the lusty ladeis went;
Befor the altaris eik, in cirkyll round,
The brytnyt bestis strowyt all the ground.
Cesar hym self, seysit in sete ryall,
Within the snaw quhite statly merbill wall
Of God Phebus tempill, thar as he sat
Visseand the pepillis gyftis, this and that,
And on the prowd pillaris, in takynnyng
Of hys triumphe, maid thar be vp hyng.
The pepill by hym venquyst mycht thou knaw,
Befor hym passand per ordour, all on raw,
In langsum tryne; and how feil kyndis seir
Of tungis and of langage men mycht heir,
Alss mony diuerss habyttis wor thai strange,
Alss feil sortis of armouris dyd thai change.
Vlcanus heir the beltles Numydanys,
And thai folkis that in Affrik remanys,
Had gravyn weill; and ȝonder porturat was
The Leleganys, and the pepill Carras,
And Gelones, tha pepill of Sythia,
In archery the quhilk ar wonder thra.
The mekill flude Eufrates, fast by,
With streym now semyt flow mair sobirly;
The Moryn pepill eik, fast by the see,
Of men reput the last extremite,
The forkyt flude of Reyn eik pantit was,
And the ondantit Danys thar dyd pass,
The flude Arax of Armeny alsso,
Havand disdene a bryg our it suld go.
Eneas, of hys moderis gyft wondryng,
Our al Vlcanus scheild samony a syng
Wrocht on sic wyss, nocht knawand the mater,
To se the figouris of thir storeis seir
Reiosyt wolx, and syne deliuerly
Apon hys schulder hyntis vp in hy
The famus honour, and hie renownye,
Or gloryus iestis of hys postheryte. etc.