Coelum Britannicum (The British Heaven) · chunk 10 of 15
Carew, Thomas · published 1634 · first performed or written 1634 [Feb 18] (Annals) masque · before the Court unassigned nearest T19 Virtue, Fortune and Vice as abstractions · 492 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of the nearest topic T19: virtue, fortune, virtues, honour, fame, vice, envy, world, pride, great.
For entertainment of this hour, I'll call A race of people to this place, that live At Nature's charge, and not importune heaven To chain the winds up, or keep back the storms, To stay the thunder, or forbid the hail To thresh the unreaped ear; but to all weathers, Both chilling frost, and scalding Sun, expose Their equal face, Come forth, my swarthy train, In this fair circled dance, and as you move, Mark, and foretell happy events of Love. I cannot but wonder that your perpetual conversation with Poets and Philosophers hath furnished you with no more Logic, or that you should think to impose upon us so gross an inference, as because Plutus and you are contrary, therefore whatsoever is denied of the one, must be true of the other; as if it should follow of necessity, because he is not Iupiter, you are. No, I give you to know, I am better versed in cavils with the gods, than to swallow such a fallacy, for though you two cannot be together in one place, yet there are many places that may be without you both, and such is heaven, where neither of you are likely to arrive: therefore let me advise you to marry yourself to Content, and beget sage Apothegms, and goodly moral Sentences in dispraise of Riches, and contempt of the world. Thou dost presume too much, poor needy wretch, To claim a station in the Firmament, Because thy humble Cottage, or thy Tub Nurses some lazy or Pedantic virtue In the cheap Sunshine, or by shady springs With roots and potherbs; where thy rigid hand, Tearing those humane passions from the mind, Upon whose stocks fair blooming virtues flourish, Degradeth Nature, and benumbeth sense, And Gorgonlike, turns active men to stone. We not require the dull society Of your necessitated Temperance, Or that unnatural stupidity That knows nor joy nor sorrow; nor your forced Falsely exalted passive Fortitude Above the active: This low abject brood, That fix their seats in mediocrity, Become your servile minds; but we advance Such virtues only as admit excess, Brave bounteous Acts, Regal Magnificence, All-seeing Prudence, Magnanimity That knows no bound, and that Heroic virtue For which Antiquity hath left no name, But patterns only, such as Hercules, Achilles, Theseus. Back, to thy loathed cell, And when thou seest the new enlightened Sphere, Study to know but what those Worthies were. Tiche, enters, hor head bald behind, and one great lock before, wings at her shoulders, and in her hand a wheel, her upper parts naked, and the skirt of her garment wrought all over with Crowns, Sceptres, Boakes, and such other things as express both her greatest and smallest gifts. See where Dame Fortune comes, you may know her by her wheel, and that veil over eyes, with which she hopes like a seeled Pigeon to mount above the Clouds, and perch in the eighth Sphere: listen, she begins.
seed 43: unassigned · seed 44: unassigned — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
For entertainment of this howre, I'll call A race of people to this place, that live At Natures charge, and not importune heaven To chaine the winds up, or keepe backe the ſtormes, To ſtay the thunder, or forbid the hayle To threſh the unreap'd eare; but to all weathers, Both chilling froſt, and skalding Sunne, expoſe Their equall face, Come forth, my ſwarthy traine, In this faire cireled dance, and as you move, Marke, and foretell happy events of Love. I cannot but wonder that your perpetuall converſation with Poets and Philoſophers hath furniſhed you with no more Logicke, or that you ſhould thinke to impoſe upon us ſo groſſe an inference, as becauſe Plutus and you are contrary, therefore whatſoever is denyed of the one, muſt be true of the other; as if it ſhould follow of neceſſity, becauſe he is not Iupiter, you are. No, I give you to know, I am better vers'd in cavils with the gods, then to ſwallow ſuch a fallacie, for though you two cannot bee together in one place, yet there are many places that may be without you both, and ſuch is heaven, where neither of you are likely to arrive: therefore let me adviſe you to marry your ſelfe to Content, and beget ſage Apothegms, and goodly morall Sentences in diſpraiſe of Riches, and contempt of the world. Thou doſt preſume too much, poore needy wretch, To claime a ſtation in the Firmament, Becauſe thy humble Cottage, or thy Tub Nurſes ſome lazie or Pedantique virtue In the cheape Sun-ſhine, or by ſhady ſprings With roots and pot-hearbs; where thy rigid hand, Tearing thoſe humane paſſions from the mind, Vpon whoſe ſtockes faire blooming vertues flouriſh, Degradeth Nature, and benummeth ſenſe, And Gorgon-like, turnes active men to ſtone. We not require the dull ſociety Of your neceſſitated Temperance, Or that unnaturall ſtupidity That knowes nor joy nor ſorrow; nor your forc'd Falſly exalted paſſive Fortitude Above the active: This low abject brood, That fix their ſeats in mediocrity, Become your ſervile minds; but we advance Such vertues onely as admit exceſſe, Brave bounteous Acts, Regall Magnificence, All-ſeeing Prudence, Magnanimity That knowes no bound, and that Heroicke vertue For which Antiquity hath left no name, But patternes onely, ſuch as Hercules, Achilles, Theſeus. Backe, to thy loath'd cell, And when thou ſeeſt the new enlightned Spheare, Study to know but what thoſe Worthies were. Tiche, enters, hor head bald behind, and one great locke before, wings at her ſhoulders, and in her hand a wheele, her apper parts naked, and the skirt of her garment wrought all over with Crownes, Scepters, Boakes, and ſuch other things as expreſſe both her greateſt and ſmalleſt gifts. See where Dame Fortune comes, you may know her by her wheele, and that vaile over eyes, with which ſhe hopes like a ſeel'd Pigeon to mount above the Clouds, and pearch in the eighth Spheare: liſten, ſhe begins.