Anonymous · published 1594 · first performed or written 1592 [Jun 10] (Annals) moral · Derby's (Strange's) Men T1 Death, grief and revenge typicality 0.76 · 508 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T1: death, life, dead, die, blood, revenge, soul, father, heart, heaven.
I took a bribe, and set the prisoners free: So by such dealings I have got the wealth, Which I would have disbursed among you all, With this proviso, that you all shall live, And lead such lives as I have set you down, Carve to yourselves, and care not what they say, That bid you fear the fearful judgement day. Live to yourselves while you have time to live, Get what you can, but see ye nothing give: But hark my sons, methinks I hear a noise, And ghastly visions makes me timorous, Ah see my sons, where death, pall Death appears, To summon me before a fearful judge: methinks revenge stands with an iron whip, And cries repent, or I will punish thee: My heart is hardened, I cannot repent. Ah hark, methinks the judge doth give my doom, And I am damned to ever burning fire: Soul, be thou safe, and body fly to hell. Brother, why do you not read to my father? Truly my book of exhortation is at my place of Exercise, and without it I can do nothing: God's peace be with him. FAther say on, for now my leisure serves, And Edgar gives thee leave to tell thy mind, For I perceive thine eyes are full of tears, Which shows that many inward passions troubles thee. If any here have wronged thine aged years, In keeping that from thee that is thy due, Name but the man, and as I am England's King, Thou shalt have all the favour I can show. Then virtuous Prince, mirror of courtesy, Whose judgements, and whose laws for government, And punishing of every foul abuse, Is like the judgement of great Alexander, Third of that name, whom some termed the Severe, Or like Vespasian, Rome's virtuous governor, Who for a blow his son did give a Swain, Did straight command that he should lose his hand. Then virtuous Edgar, be Vespasian once, In giving sentence on a graceless child, Know (virtuous Prince) that in my pride of years, When lustful pleasure pricked my wanton mind: Even in the April of my flourishing time, I was betrothed, and wedded to a wife, By whom, too soon, I had that unkind boy, Whose disobedience to his aged Sire, The Lord will plague with torments worse than death, This disobedient child, nay base Abstranogant, Whom I with care did nourish to this state, Puffed with a pride, that upstart Courtiers use, And seeing that I was brought to poverty, He did refuse to know me for his Sire. And when I challenged him by Nature's laws, To yield obedience to his Father's age, He told me straight, he took it in great scorn, To be begot by one so base as I. My age that ill could brook his sharp reply, Did with this wand (my Lord) reach him a blow: But he contrary laws of God and men, Did strike me such a blow in vild disdain, That with the stroke I fell to earth again.
nodes 346–405 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 7 of 33 in this edition
Length
508 words · 666 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T1 — Death, grief and revengecross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.758 (cosine to the topic centroid)
Other seeds
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)
I tooke a bribe, and set the prisoners free: So by such dealings I haue got the wealth, Which I would haue disburst among you al, With this prouiso, that you all shall liue, And lead such liues as I haue set you downe, Carue to your selues, and care not what they say, That bid you feare the fearfull Iudgment day. Liue to your selues while you haue tyme to liue, Get what you can, but see ye nothing giue: But hearke my sonnes, me thinks I heare a noyse, And gastlie visions makes me timerous, Ah see my sonnes, where death, pall Death appeares, To summon me before a fearfull Iudge: Me thiuks reuenge stands with an yron whip, And cries repent, or I will punish thee: My heart is hardened, I cannot repent. Ah hark, me thinkes the Iudge doth giue my doome, And I am damnd to euer burning fyre: Soule, be thou safe, and bodie flie to hell. Brther, why do you not read to my father? Trulie my booke of exhortation is at my place of Exercise, and without it I can doe nothing: Gods peace bee with him. FAther say on, for now my leisure serues, And Edgar giues thee leaue to tell thy minde, For I perceiue thine eies are full of eares, Which showes that manie inward passions troubles thee. If anie here haue wronged thine aged yeares, In keeping that from thee that is thy ue, Name but the man, and as I am Englands King, Thou shalt haue all the fauour I can shew. Then vertuous Prince, myrrour of curtesie, Whose Iudgements, and whose lawes for gouernment, And punishing of euerie foule abuse, Is like the iudgement of great Alexander, Third of that name, whom some tearmed the Seuere, Or lyke Vaspasian, Romes vertuous gouernour, Who for a blowe his sonne did giue a Swaine, Did straight commaund that he should loose his hand. Ten vertuous Edgar, be Vaspasian once, In giuing sentence on a gracelesse childe, Know (vertuous Prince) that in my pride of yeares, When lustfull pleasure prickt my wanton minde: Euen in the April of my flourishing time, I was betrth'd, and wedded to a wyfe, By whome, too soone, I had that vnkind boy, Whose disobedience to his aged Syre, The Lord will plague with torments worse than death, This disobedient child, nay base Abstranogant, Whome I with care did nourish to this state, Puft with a pride, that vpstart Courtiers vse, And seeing that I was brought to pouertie, He did refuse to know me for his Syre. And when I challenged him by Natures lawes, To yeeld obedience to his Fathers age, He told me straight, he took it in great scorne, To be begot by one so base as I. My age that ill could brook his sharpe replie, Did with this wand (my Lord) reach him a blow: But he contrary lawes of God and en, Did me such a blowe in vild disaine, That with the stroke I fel to earth againe.