The Conspiracy of Charles Duke of Byron · chunk 16 of 33
Chapman, George · published 1608 · first performed or written 1608 [1607-1608] (Annals) history · Children of the Queen's Revels unassigned nearest T35 Fools, wit and railing · 495 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of the nearest topic T35: fool, wit, aristippus, achilles, wise, fools, patroclus, thersites, master, men.
How Strange is this? What? did your highness hear? Both heard and wondered, that your wit and spirit. And profit in experience of the slaveries, Imposed on us; in those mere politic terms, Of love, fame, loyalty, can be carried up, To such a height of ignorant conscience; Of cowardice, and dissolution, In all the freeborn powers of royal man. You that have made way through all the guards, Of jealous State; and seen on both your sides, The pikes points charging heaven to let you pass, Will you, (in flying with a Scrupulous wing, Above those pikes to heavenward) fall on them? This is like men, that (spirited with wine,) Pass dangerous places safe; and die for fear, With only thought of them, being simply sober; We must (in passing to our wished ends, Through things called good and bad) be like the air, That evenly interposed betwixt the seas, And the opposed Element of fire; At either toucheth, but partakes with neither; Is neither hot, nor cold, but with a sleight. And harmless temper mixed of both th' extremes; 'tis shrewd. There is no truth of any good To be discerned on earth: and by conversion, Nought therefore simply bad: But as the stuff, Prepared for Arras pictures, is no Picture, Till it be formed, and man hath cast the beams, Of his imaginous fancy through it, In forming ancient Kings and conquerors, As he conceives they looked, and were attired, Though they were nothing so: so all things here, Have all their price set down, from men's concepts, Which make all terms and actions, good, or bad, And are but pliant, and well-coloured threads, Put into feigned images of truth: To which, to yield, and kneel, as truth pure kings, That pulled us down with clear truth of their Gospel, Were Superstition to be hissed to hell. Believe it, this is reason; 'tis the faith, Of reason and of wisdom. You persuade, As if you could create: what man can shun, The searches, and compressions of your graces. We must have these lures when we hawk for friends, And wind about them like a subtle River, That (seeming only to run on his course) Doth search yet, as he runs; and still finds out, The easiest parts of entry on the shore; Gliding so slily by, as scarce it touched, Yet still eats some thing in it: so must those, That have large fields, and currants to dispose. Come, let us join our streams, we must run far. And have but little time: The duke Savoy, Is shortly to be gone, and I must needs, Make you well known to him, But hath your highness, Some enterprise of value joined with him? With him and greater persons? I will creep. Upon my bosom in your Princely service, Vouchsafe to make me known. I hear there lives not, So kind, so bounty full, and wise a Prince, But in your own excepted excellence.
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)
How Strange is this? What? did your highnesse heare? Both heard and wonderd, that your wit and spirit. And proffit in experience of the slaueries, Impos'd on vs; in those mere politique termes, Of loue, fame, loyalty, can be carried vp, To such a height of ignorant conscience; Of cowerdise, and dissolution, In all the free-borne powers of royall man▪ You that haue made way through all the guards, Of Ielouse State; and seen on both your sides, The pikes points chardging heauen to let you passe, Will you, (in flying with a Scrupulouse wing, Aboue those pikes to heauen-ward) fall on them? This is like men, that (spirrited with wine,) Passe dangerouse places safe; and die for feare, With onely thought of them, being simply sober; We must (in passing to our wished ends, Through things calld good and bad) be like the ayre, That euenly interposd betwixt the seas, And the opposed Element of fire; At either toucheth, but pertakes with neither; Is neither hot, nor cold, but with a sleight. And harmelesse temper mixt of both th' exstreames; Tis shrode. There is no truth of any good To be descernd on earth: and by conuersion, Nought therefore simply bad: But as the stuffe, Prepard for Arras pictures, is no Picture, Till it be formd, and man hath cast the beames, Of his imaginouse fancie through it, In forming antient Kings and conquerors, As he conceiues they look't, and were attirde, Though they were nothing so: so all things here, Haue all their price set downe, from mens concepts, Which make all terms and actions, good, or bad, And are but pliant, and wel-coloured threads, Put into fained images of truth: To which, to yeeld, and kneele, as truth pure kings, That puld vs downe with cleere truth of their Ghospell, Were Superstition to be hist to hell. Beleeue it▪ this is reason; T'is the saith, Of reason and of wisdome. You perswade, As if you could create: what man can shunne, The serches, and compressions of your graces. We must haue these lures when we hawke for friends, And wind about them like a subtle Riuer, That (seeming onely to runne on his course) Doth serch yet, as he runnes; and still finds out, The easiest parts of entry on the shore; Glyding so slyly by, as scarce it toucht, Yet still eates some thing in it: so must those, That haue large fields, and currants to dispose. Come, let vs ioyue our streames, we must runne far. And haue but little time: The duke Sauoy, Is shortly to be gone, and I must needes, Make you well knowne to him, But hath your highnes, Some enterprise of value ioynd with him? With him and greater persons? I will creepe. Vpon my bosome in your Princely seruice, Vouch-safe to make me knowne. I heare there liues not, So kind, so bounty full, and wise a Prince, But in your owne excepted excellence.