Renaissance Drama — Topics · seed 42

Alaham · chunk 38 of 43

Greville, Fulke · published 1633 · first performed or written 1600 [c.1598-c.1600] (Annals)
tragedy
T25 Kings, power and law: political sententi typicality 0.85 · 480 words

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Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T25: feare, kings, power, princes, lawes, loue, state, downe, honor, men.

With bruit, and rumor, as with hope, and feare, You lay vs low, or lift vs from our earth; You trie what nature, what our States can beare; By law you bind the liberties of birth; Making the People bellowes vnto Fame, Which vshers heauy doomes with euill name. Kings gouerne People, ouer-racke them not: Fleece vs; but doe not clippe vs to the quicke. Thinke not with good, and ill, to write, and blot: The good doth vanish, where the ill doth sticke. Hope not with trifles to grow popular; Wounds that are heal'd for euer leaue a scarre. To offer People showes makes vs too great: Princes descend not, keep your selues aboue. The Sunne drawes not our browes vp, but our swear: Your safest racke to winde vs vp is Loue. To maske your vice in pompes is vainly done: Motes lie not hidden in beames of a Sunne. The stampe of Soueraignty makes currant Home brasse to buy, or sell, as well as gold: Yet marke! the Peoples standard is the warrant What man ought not to doe, and what he should. Of words we are the Grammar, and of deeds The haruest both is ours, and eke the seeds. We are the glasse of Power, and doe reflect That Image backe, which it to vs presents: If Princes flatter, straight we doe neglect; If they be fine, we see, yet seeme content. Nor can the Throne, which Monarchs doe liue in, Shaddow Kings faults, or sanctifye their sinne. Make not the Church to vs an instrument Of bondage, to your selues of libertie: Obedience there confirmes your Gouernment; Our Soueraignes, Gods Subalternes you be: Else while Kings fashion God in humane light, Men see, and skorne what is not Infinite. Make not the end of Iustice, Checquer -gaine, It is the Liberality of Kings: Oppression, and Extortion euer raigne, When Lawes looke more on Scepters, than on things. Make crooked that line which you measure by; And marre the fashion straight of Monarchie. Why doe you then prophane your Royall line, Which we hold sacred, and dare not approach? Their wounds, and wrongs proue you are not diuine, And we learne, by example, to encroch. Your Fathers losse of eyes foretells his end: By craft, which lets downe Princes, we ascend. How shall the People hope? how stay their feare, When old foundations daily are made new? Vncertaine is a heauy loade to beare; What is not constant sure was neuer true. Excesse in one makes all indefinite: Where nothing is our owne, there what delight? Kings then take heed! Men are the bookes of fate, Wherein your vices deep engrauen lye, To shew our God the griefe of euery State. And though great bodies do not straightwaies die; Yet know, Your errors haue this proper doome, Euen in our ruine to prepare your tombe.
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Details

Metadata, position in the edition, topic in the other seeds
PlayAlaham
AuthorGreville, Fulke
Publication year (edition)1633
First performance / composition (Annals)1600 [c.1598-c.1600]
First performance (BritDrama)1600 [1598-1600]
Genre (British Drama)tragedy
Play typeCloset/Unacted;Nonprofessional
Edition / TCP / DEEPedition 1015 · TCP A02226 · DEEP 5101.01
Edition roleRepresentative edition — used in the analysis
Positionnodes 2345–2404 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 38 of 43 in this edition
Length480 words · 727 tokens
Topic (seed 42)T25 — Kings, power and law: political sententiae cross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.846 (cosine to the topic centroid)
Other seedsseed 43: T25 · seed 44: T6 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
With bruit, and rumor, as with hope, and feare, You lay vs low, or lift vs from our earth; You trie what nature, what our States can beare; By law you bind the liberties of birth; Making the People bellowes vnto Fame, Which vshers heauy doomes with euill name. Kings gouerne People, ouer-racke them not: Fleece vs; but doe not clippe vs to the quicke. Thinke not with good, and ill, to write, and blot: The good doth vanish, where the ill doth sticke. Hope not with trifles to grow popular; Wounds that are heal'd for euer leaue a scarre. To offer People showes makes vs too great: Princes descend not, keep your selues aboue. The Sunne drawes not our browes vp, but our swear: Your safest racke to winde vs vp is Loue. To maske your vice in pompes is vainly done: Motes lie not hidden in beames of a Sunne. The stampe of Soueraignty makes currant Home brasse to buy, or sell, as well as gold: Yet marke! the Peoples standard is the warrant What man ought not to doe, and what he should. Of words we are the Grammar, and of deeds The haruest both is ours, and eke the seeds. We are the glasse of Power, and doe reflect That Image backe, which it to vs presents: If Princes flatter, straight we doe neglect; If they be fine, we see, yet seeme content. Nor can the Throne, which Monarchs doe liue in, Shaddow Kings faults, or sanctifye their sinne. Make not the Church to vs an instrument Of bondage, to your selues of libertie: Obedience there confirmes your Gouernment; Our Soueraignes, Gods Subalternes you be: Else while Kings fashion God in humane light, Men see, and skorne what is not Infinite. Make not the end of Iustice, Checquer-gaine, It is the Liberality of Kings: Oppression, and Extortion euer raigne, When Lawes looke more on Scepters, than on things. Make crooked that line which you measure by; And marre the fashion straight of Monarchie. Why doe you then prophane your Royall line, Which we hold sacred, and dare not approach? Their wounds, and wrongs proue you are not diuine, And we learne, by example, to encroch. Your Fathers losse of eyes foretells his end: By craft, which lets downe Princes, we ascend. How shall the People hope? how stay their feare, When old foundations daily are made new? Vncertaine is a heauy loade to beare; What is not constant sure was neuer true. Excesse in one makes all indefinite: Where nothing is our owne, there what delight? Kings then take heed! Men are the bookes of fate, Wherein your vices deep engrauen lye, To shew our God the griefe of euery State. And though great bodies do not straightwaies die; Yet know, Your errors haue this proper doome, Euen in our ruine to prepare your tombe.