The Brazen Age (The Age of Brass) · chunk 40 of 40
Heywood, Thomas · published 1613 · first performed or written 1611 [1610-1611] (Annals) classical legend or myth · Queen Anne's Men T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue typicality 0.86 · 480 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T20: hercules, hercles, ioue, deianeira, alcides, hand, lo, death, skies, hell.
The monster Cacus; thousands more than these, That Hercules in death dares thee to chide, And shows his spirit, which torments cannot hide. Lie there thou dread of Tyrants, and thou skin, Invulnered still, burn with thy masters bones: For these be arms which none but we can wield. My bow and arrows Philoctetes take, Reserve them as a token of our love, For these include the utmost fate of Troy, Which without these; the Greeks can near destroy. You Hero's all farewell, heap fire on fire, And pile on pile, till you have made a structure To flame as high as heaven, and record this Though by the Gods and Fates we are o'erthrown, Alcides dies by no hand but his own. Iuno thou hast done thy worst; he now defies What thou canst more, his fame shall mount the skies. What heavenly music's this? His soul is made a star, and mounted heaven, I see great Ioue hath not forgot his son: All that his mothers was is changed by fire, But what he took of Ioue, and was divine, Now a bright star in the high heavens must shine. We all have seen Alcides deified. But what news brings Atreus? A true report of Deianeira's death, Who when she heard the tortures of her Lord, And what effect her fatal present took, Exclaimed on Nessus, and to prove herself Guiltless of treason in her husband's death, with her own hand she boldly slew herself. That noble act proclaimed her innocent, And clears all black suspicion: but fair princes, Let universal Greece in funeral black, Mourn for the death of Theban Hercules. Who now shall monsters quel, or tyrants tame? Th'oppressed free, or fill Greece with their fame. Princes your hands, take up these monuments Of his twelve labours in a marble Temple (We will erect and dedicate to him) Reserve them to his lasting memory: His brazen pillars shall be fixed in Gades, On which his monumental deeds we'll grave. Armed with these worthy Trophies let's march on Towards Thebes, that claims the honour of his birth. His body's dead, his fame shall near expire, Earth claims his earth, heaven shows his heavenly fire. He that expects five short Acts can contain Each circumstance of these things we present, methinks should show more barrenness than rain: All we have done we aim at your content, Striving to illustrate things not known to all, In which the learned can only censure right: The rest we crave, whom we unlettered call, Rather to attend then judge: for more than sight We seek to please. The understanding ear Which we have hitherto most gracious found, Your general love, we rather hope than fear: For that of all our labours is the ground. If from your love in any point we stray, Think HOMER blind, and blind men miss their way.
seed 43: T17 · seed 44: T19 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
The monster Cacus; thousands more then these, That Hercules in death dares thee to chide, And shewes his spirit, which torments cannot hide. Lye there thou dread of Tyrants, and thou skin, Invulner'd still, burne with thy maisters bones: For these be armes which none but we can weild. My bow and arrowes Philoctetes take, Reserue them as a token of our loue, For these include the vtmost fate of Troy, Which without these; the Greekes can nere destroy. You Hero's all fare-well, heape fire on fire, And pile on pile, till you haue made a structure To flame as high as heauen, and record this Though by the Gods and Fates we are ore-throwne, Alcides dies by no hand but his owne. Iuno thou hast done thy worst; he now defies What thou canst more, his fame shall mount the skies. What heauenly musicke's this? His soule is made a star, and mounted heauen, I see great Ioue hath not forgot his sonne: All that his mothers was is chang'd by fire, But what he tooke of Ioue, and was deuine, Now a bright star in the high heauens must shine. We all haue seene Alcides deifi'd. But what newes brings Atreus? A true report of Deianeira's death, Who when she heard the tortures of her Lord, And what effect her fatall present tooke, Exclaim'd on Nessus, and to proue herselfe Guiltlesse of treason in her husbands death, Witth her owne hand she boldly slue herselse. That noble act proclaim'd her innocent, And cleares all blacke suspition: but faire princes, Let vniuersall Greece in funerall blacke, Mourne for the death of Theban Hercules. Who now shal monsters quel, or tyrants tame? Th'oppressed free, or fill Grece with their fame. Princes your hands, take vp these monuments Of his twelue labours in a marble Temple (We will erect and dedicate to him) Reserue them to his lasting memory: His brazen pillers shall be fixt in Gades, On which his monumentall deeds wee'l graue. Arm'd with these worthy Trophies lets march on Towards Thebes, that claimes the honour of his birth. His body's dead, his fame shall nere expire, Earth claimes his earth, heauen shewes his heauenly fire. He that expects fiue short Acts can containe Each circumstance of these things we present, Me thinkes should shew more barrennesse then hraine: All we haue done we aime at your content, Striuing to illustrate things not knowne to all, In which the learnd can onely censure right: The rest we , whom we vnlettered call, Rather to attend then iudge: for more then sight We seeke to please. The erstanding eare Which we haue hitherto most gracious found, Your generall loue, we rather hope then feare: For that of all our labours is the ground. If from your loue in any point we stray, Thinke HOMER blind, and blind men misse their way.