Seneca, Lucius Annaeus / Studley, John · published 1581 · first performed or written 1566 (Annals) tragedy T56 Magic, spells and conjuring typicality 0.82 · 534 words · other edition — not in the analysis
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T56: magic, faustus, charms, charm, conjure, spirits, skill, ho, power, spells.
MY shivering mind amazed is, aghast, and sore dismayed: My chillish limbs with quaking cold do tremble all afraid, Such plagues & vengeance is at hand, in what exceeding wise Do sharp assaults of greedy grief still more & more arise, And of itself in smothering breast enkindles greater heat? Oft have I seen how ramping rage hath forced her to fret. With frantic fits, mad, bedlam wise, against the Gods to rail, And eke bewitched ghosts of heaven in plunging plagues to trail: But now Medea beats her busy brain to bring to pass A mischief greater, greater far, then ever any was. Erewhile when hence she tripped away astonished so sore, And of her poison closet close she entered had the door: She poureth out her jewels all, abroad to light she brings That which she dreading loathed long, most irksome ugly things: She mumbling conjures up by names of ills the rabble rout, In hugger-mugger couched long, kept close, unsearched out: All pestilent plagues she calls upon, whatever Libie land, In frothy boiling stream doth work, or muddy belching sand: What tearing torments Taurus breeds, with snows unthawed still Where winter flaws, and hoary frost knit hard the craggy hill, She lays her crossing hands upon each monstrous conjured thing, And over it her magic verse with charming doth she sing: A mowste, row'st, rusty rout with cankered Scales yclad From musty, fusty, dusty dens where lurked long they had, Do crawl: a wallowing serpent huge, his cumbrous Corpse out drags, In fiery foaming blaring mouth his forked tongue he wags. He stars about with sparkling eyes, if some he might espy, Whom snapping at with stinging spit he might constrain to die: But hearing once the magic verse he hushed as all aghast, His body bollen big, wrapped in lumps on twining knots he cast. And wambling to and fro his tail in links he rolls it round. Not sharp enough (quoth she) the plagues & tools that hollow ground Engenders for my purpose are, to heaven up will I call, To reach me stronger poison down, to frame my feat with all. Now is it at the very point, Medea thou assay, To bring about some farther fetch, then common Witches may. Let down, let down, that sprawling Snake that doth his body spread, As doth a running brook abroad his mighty channel shed. Whose swelling knobs of wondrous size & boisterous bobbing bumps Doth thump the great & lesser bear that feet his heavy lumps. The bigger bear with golden gleed the greekish fleet doth guide: But by the less the Sidon ships their passage have espied. He that with pinch of griping fist doth bruise the adders twain, His strening hard & clasping hand, let him unknit again. And crush their squeezed venom out, come further thou our charm O slimy serpent Python, whom Dame Iuno sent to harm Diana, and Apollo both, (those heavenly spirits twain) With whom Latona traveling did groan with pinching pain. O Hydra whom in Lerna pool Alcides gave the foil, And all the noisome vermin vile that Hercules did spoil. Which when on sunder they were cut with slicing deadly knife,
Other edition — placed after the fit, excluded from the main statistics
Position
nodes 995–1045 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 21 of 30 in this edition
Length
534 words · 747 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T56 — Magic, spells and conjuringcross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.818 (cosine to the topic centroid) · placed after the fit (approximate_predict), not counted in the topic statistics
Other seeds
seed 43: T45 · seed 44: T51 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
MY ſhiuering minde amazed is, agaſt, and ſore diſmayde: My chilliſh lims with quaking colde do tremble all afrayde, Such plagus & vengeāce is at hand, in what exceding wiſ Do ſharp aſſaults of greedy griefe ſtill more & more ariſe, And of it ſelfe in ſmothering breaſt enkindleſſe greater heate? Oft haue I ſeene how ramping rage hath forced her to freate. With franticke fits, mad, bedlem wiſe, againſt the Gods to rayle, And eke bewitched ghoſts of heauen in plunging plagues to trayle: But now Medea beates her buſie brayne to bring to paſſe A myſchiefe greater, greater farre, then euer any was. Erewhile when hence ſhe tript away aſtoniſhed ſo ſore, And of her poyſon cloſſet cloſe ſhee entred had the dore: Shee powreth out her Iewels all, abrode to light ſhee brings That which ſhe dreading athed long▪ moſt irkſome vgly things: She mumbling coniures vp by names of ills the rable rout, In hugger mugger cowched long, kept cloſe, vnſerched out: All peſtlent plagues ſhe calles vpon, what euer Libie lande, In frothy boyling ſtream doth worke, or muddy belching ſande: What tearing torments Taurus breedes, with ſnowes vnthawed ſtill Where winter flawes, and hory froſt knit hard the craggy hill, She layes her croſſing hands vpon each monſtrous coniurde thing, And ouer it her magicke verſe with chat ming doth ſhe ſing: A mowſte, rowſte, ruſty route with cancred Scales Iclad From muſty, fuſty, duſty dens where lurked long they had, Doe craull: a wallowing ſerpent huge, his cōbrous Corps out drags, In fiery foming blaring mouth his forked tongue hee wags. He ſtares about with ſparkling eyes, if ſome he might eſpy, Whom ſnapping at with ſtinging ſpit he might conſtrayne to dy: But hearing once the magycke verſe he huſht as all a gaſt, His body boalne big, wrapt in lumps on twining knots hee caſt. And wambling to and fro his tayle in linkes he rowles it round. Not ſharp enough (quoth ſhe) the plagues & tooles that hollow groūd Engenders for my purpoſe are, to heauen vp will I call, To reach me ſtronger poyſon down, to frame my feate with all. Now is it at the very poynt, Medea thou aſſay, To bring about ſome farther fetch, then common Witches may. Let downe, let downe, that ſprawling Snake that doth his body ſpred, As doth a running brooke abroade his myghty channell ſed. Whoſe ſwelling knobs of wondrous ſe & buyſtrous bobbing bumpes Doth thumpe the great & leſſer beare that feete his heauy lumpes. The bygger beare with golden gleede the greekiſh fleete doth guyde: But by the leſſe the Sidon ſhips their paſſage haue eſpide. He that with pinch of griping fiſt doth bruſe the adders twayne, His ſtrening hard & claſping hande, let him vnknit agayne. And cruſhe their ſqueaſed venome out, come further thou our charme O flymy ſerpent Python, whom Dame Iuno ſent to harme Diana, and Apollo both, (thoſe heauenly ſpyrites twayne) With whom Latona traueling did grone with pynching payne. O Hydra whom in Lerna poole Alcides gaue the foyle, And all the noyſome vermen vyle that Hercules did ſpoyle. Which when on ſunder they were cut with ſlyſing deadly knyfe,