Petrarch in English

by Thomas Roche (ed)

  That pleased my syght as much or more

  120 As all the syght that I had sene before

  There sawe I goyng together in a bande

  Antiope and Arithia well armyd stand

  And fayre swete Ipolita sory and sadde

  Because that no comforth of her son she had

  And Manylipe that vanquished Hercules

  And her Suster also was there in prese

  The tone Hercules toke vnto hys wyfe

  The tother with Theseus led her lyfe

  There folowed the hardy wydowe that dyd se

  130 Hyr dere sone slayne most constantly

  And reuenged hys death vpon kyng Cyrus

  It was a noble hardy acte and valerouse

  She abatyd therby so his gloriouse fame

  That wel nere it blotted his dedes & eke his name

  There was also she her selfe that lost her ioye

  By great mysfortune comming vnto Troye

  And among other that bolde Lady of Italye

  That domaged bi armes the Troia[n]s maruelously

  And euen by her went that hardy Lady

  140 That halfe her fayre here bounde vp curiously

  And let the tother for to hange besyde

  Tyll she abatyd the babilonicall pryde

  Cleopatra that was burnte with loues fyre

  There she was with all her hote desire

  And among the thickest of the prese

  Was Xenobia which was doutelesse

  Wondre fayre and swete for to beholde

  Soo much of hardines her high harte dyd holde

  That with her helme of stele on her hedde

  150 She put in daunger in feare and eke in dreade

  The high mightye Emperoure of Rome towne

  Tyll fortune vnkynde dyd thrawe her downe

  That at the last she was made I saye

  Vnto the Romaynes a great huge pray

  And albeit that I do here forgete

  Both men and women that wer highe and great

  Yet the chast Iudeth wyll I call to mynde

  That slewe dronken Holyferne in loue blynde

  And dronken as he lay routing in his bedde

  160 Wyth hys owne sworde she smote of his hedd

  But alas why do I present her forget

  That noble gentelman among the rest to sett

  Which pride brought from his trone dou[n]e opprest

  To lyue seuen yeares as a brutyshe beste

  Or why do I not remember in this place

  Zorastro that the fyrst Inuentor was

  Of arte magyke of Errour the ground

  Or why art not thys twayne here founde

  That passyd Euphrates and put Italye to sorow

  170 Or Metridates that both euen and morowe

  To the Romaynes was ennemie perpetuall

  And wynter and somer fled ouer all

  Great thynges in fewe wordes I do tell

  Where is kyng Arthur that dyd excell

  And the thre Cesares surnamed Augustus

  One was of Aufryke a Prynce gloriouse

  The tother he was of the Regyone of Spayne

  And the thyrde of the country of Lorrayne

  But setting this nobles for a whyle a syde

  180 The good Godfrey after fame faste hyde

  Surnamed Bulleyne that toke with his hand

  Iherusalem the Cytie and eke the holy lande

  Nowe alas I say a place neclecte of vs

  Wherfore ryght well I may saye thus

  Go ye proude and wreched christen men

  And consume the tone the tother then

  And care not for shame among you at all

  Though dogges possesse the sepulcre royall

  Alas why do you suffer it for pitie

  190 But after these as farre as I coulde se

  Fewe or none was that deserued fame

  Sauing that behynde there went by name

  One Sarracene that dyd much payne and wo

  To christen men it is euen playnely soo

  and Saladyne after dyd folowe a great pase

  and one Duke of Lancaster after there was

  That with sheilde, and swerde, and bowe & launce

  Was a sharpe scourge vnto the realme of fraunce

  and thus marueylyng as I lokte all aboute

  200 as one that was desyrouse amongest the route

  To se more of these valliaunt men

  At the last I dyd behold there and then

  Twayne worthy men that lately alas dyd dye

  There they went in that honorable companye

  The good kyng Robert of Cecyll he was there

  That with his wyse syght sawe fare and nere

  And my good Columnes went in that arraye

  Vallyaunt and free and constant alway.

  The Thirde Chapiter of Fame

  I coulde not in noo wyse away put my syght

  From these greate honorable men of myght

  When as me thoughte one to me dyd saye

  Loke on the lefte hande there see thou may

  The dyuyne Plato that goeth I say full nye

  Vnto the marke of fame euen by and by

  Next vnto Plato Aristotle there he is

  Pytagoras foloweth that mekely calde Iwys

  Phylosophy he dyd geue it that name

  10 Socrates and Xenophontes folowed the same

  And that fyery olde auncient man

  To whome the musys were so fra[n]dely than

  That dyscryued Argo Micena and Troye

  Howe that for Helene they lost all their ioye

  And he dyd wryte of Laertes sonne also

  And of Achilles that was the Troyanes woo

  He was the fyrst paynter it is so tolde

  Of the auncient and venerable actes olde

  There went with hym in that place hand in hand

  20 The Mantuan poete I do well vnderstand

  Stryuyng which of them should goo before

  And there folowed after in hast more and more

  He that as he passyde in that noble passe

  It semed the flowres dyd spryng on the grasse

  It is he the most eloquent Marcus Tullius

  The selfe same eyes and the tunge gloriouse

  Vnto all the Latynes there was he

  And after hym there there came Demostyne

  That semyd to be not very well content

  30 Because he was not accompted most excellent

  To goo hymselfe next vnto worthy fame

  He toke it to be to hym great wrong and shame

  He semyd to be a lyghtnyng all one fyre

  But next vnto hym all full of grete desyre

  Went Eschy[n]es which myght perceaue and se

  Howe vnmete he was vnto Demostyne

  I cannot saye in ordre nether wryte nor tell

  Of one and other that dyd there exell

  Nor howe I dyd them se nor when

  40 Nor who went foremost nor hynmost then

  For it were so to do to great a wondre

  They went not fare these clarkes a sondre

  But so thycke that both eye and mynd

  In lokyng on them theyr names I could not find

  But well I knowe that Solon he was there

  That planted soo good holsome frute to bere

  And yet to lytle effect at length it was

  With hym the syx wyse sage grekes dyd pas

  Which Grece doth boste of for theyr wyt

  50 In one bande together they were knyt

  and I dyd with these also well beholde

  Varro which all our nacione had enrolde

  As theyr Duke the thyrde in place was he

  Of all the Romaynes in that high degree

  The more that I lokte vpon hym there

  The more his face semed fayre and clere

  Crispo Salustius went with him hande in hande

  And Tytus Liuius by hym dyd there stande

  Scant contented but lokyng very sadde

&
nbsp; 60 Because the fyrst honoure there he ne had

  And as I loked fast on this Tytus Liuius

  Came by me the excellent naturall Pl[in]ius

  Quick in wrytyng but quycker to the death

  To muche boldenes dyd stoppe alas, his breath

  I sawe after hym the great clarcke Plotinus

  That wenyng by hys lyfe solytariouse

  To haue preuented his harde chaunce & destenye

  yet fell he therin for truth this is no lye

  His sage foresyght dyd profyt hym nothyng

  70 When necessitie therto dyd hym brynge

  There was in lykewyse among the rest also

  Crasso, Antonio, and sage Hortensio

  Sergius, Galba, and the disdayning Licinius

  Whiche were to muche proude and to to curiouse

  For with theyr tunges vntrue and vniuste

  They sclau[n]dered Cicero they were [the] lesse to trust

  There folowed after [Th]ucides in that pres

  That ordeyned [with] wisedome the howres doutles

  And wrote of the battels & wher they were done

  80 And Herodotus with his style holesome

  And he beganne the crafty sciense of Geometre

  The triangle and the rounde Arball in degree

  And of the quadrant fyrme and fast also

  The Sophisticall Porphirus next hym dyd go

  And falsely dysputed agaynst our religion

  And he of Coo that with his disputacion

  Made muche matter in his Amphorisomis

  Apollo and Esculapius with hym is

  Howbeit they were so auncyent and olde

  90 That scant I could decerne what they would

  There was one in that prease of Pargamo

  His science is now past it is verye so

  But in his tyme it was muche set by

  Anaxarco without dread most hardye

  And [X]enocrates more fyrme then a stone

  So that there coulde no euyll temptation

  Moue hym in any thinge that was vyle

  Or by vnclennes his chast body defyle

  There folowed hym self there Archemenides

  100 With sadde regarde he stode in that pres

  And the pensyfe Democryte next in ordre there

  Blynde of both his eyes he had no pere

  There was Hyppia also of great auncient age

  That durst affyrme that he was so wyse and sage

  That he knewe and vnderstode all thynge

  Archisilao ensued not much vnlyke such rekenyng

  That he accompted by hys scyence playne

  All thynge to be doubtfull and certayne

  I saw Heraclito with wordes couert and close

  110 And Diogenes folowyng his sensual purpose

  That lytle shamed his desyre to ensue

  Amonge the other this straunge clerke I knewe

  And he that shewed a gladde mery chere

  When al his landes were lost and other gere

  There was also Dicearco the curyouse

  Quintilian, Sceneke, and Plutarke the famouse

  And after these excellent and connynge men

  I sawe a great number together then

  Disputinge of dyuers sundry cases

  120 Not to knowe but to fynde secret places

  One contrarye vnto the tother alwayes

  That it semed there clateryng was lyke iayes

  With a romblynge as the shyppes that be

  In a [ragynge] tempest vpon the large see

  Euen as Lyons and serpentes hurle together

  Withoute profyte nowe hyther nowe thyther

  Was there disputation and after these than

  Wyttye Carneades that well lerned man

  That coulde with speach a case so fyle

  130 That were it true or false hys subtyll style

  It was harde his craft to knowe and discerne

  He lyued longe without all syknes and harme

  Tyll false enuy agaynst hym dyd soo aryse

  That he coulde not although he were wyse

  Resyst the fury of them that hym hatyd

  Nor the veneme that agaynst hym was debatyd

  There was also the bablynge Epicurus

  That agaynst Cirus was greatlye contrariouse

  That affirmed oure soules neuer to dye

  140 This Epycure cleene contrary dyd denye

  And sayd that our soules were very mortall

  And perysshe as best soules do with the body all

  Wherby he deserued to have reproue and blame

  And scant worthy for to folowe fame

  I sawe dyuers other folowinge thys secte

  Lyppo and Metrodorus and Aristippus [the] electe

  For theyr excellent conninge that they then hade

  Praysed greatly though theyr saynges were bad

  There was also that Phylozopher [that] in very dede

  150 Spune the subtle and wonderouse crafty threde

  Hys wyt was so excellent and his learning so fine

  That he semed to haue a knowledge deuyne

  [Z]e[n]one the Father of the Stoykes secte

  Aboue the rest he was best electe

  Well declared he as he dyd there stande

  By the palme and closyng of his hande

  Howe the truth was in eche season and case

  For he so declared it with his wyse face

  The vayne argumentes from the true euen so

  160 That many after hym dyd ensue and go

  Here I do leue to speake more of the rest

  And nowe wyll tell of that thyng which is best.

  The Triumph of Time

  HENRY PARKER, LORD MORLEY (1476–1556)

  The Excellente and Moste Dyuyne Tryumphe of Time

  Frome hys golden harboroughe & restyng place

  The fayre Aurora going afore his face

  Yssewed out the sonne so clear & fyrmely set

  With radient and bryght beames burnished & bet

  That thou woldest haue said euen with a thought

  Thys faire swete planet was gotten vp a loft

  Thus vp rysen in lyke maner and guyse

  As do these sage men sober sadde and wyse

  He loked all about and to hymselfe he sayde

  10 What doest thou nowe I se well at this brayde

  Yf to thyne one selfe thou take no better hede

  All thy great glory wylbe gone in dede

  Take thou then I aduyse the good and wise cure

  For yf that it be very certeyne and sure

  That worthy men by fame dyeng do not dye

  Thys vniuersall and fyrme course eternally

  Of the large heuen most sure and certayne

  Shalbe accompted at the last but vayne

  And yf fame mortall for euer do encrease

  20 That a litle short houre shuld cause to sease

  I se my great excellence shall soone declyne

  And howe can I haue a worse ende and fyne

  Than to haue no more in the heuenly skye

  Than man in earth that dying cannot dye

  That thynkes myselfe equall by speciall grace

  Aboue all other to haue the highest place

  In the great wyde and large see Occeane

  Foure horses of myne are there and than

  That with great studye I nourishe and dresse

  30 In theyr rennyng course of infinite switenesse

  And yet for all theyr great wonderfull hoste

  Cannot a mortall man that is dead and past

  Put in forgetting neyther his laude nor fame

  It muste neades greue and anger me that same

  Not onely I my selfe the chefe in my degree

  But the thyrde or seconde wold therat greued be

  I must than hast my selfe with a great zele

  Agaynst these men for the wrong that I fele

  In doublyng my course to there double harme

  40 For I do enuy there fame that is so farme

/>   That after a thousand and a thousand yeares

  Theyr hyghe renowme and theyr glory cleres

  Muche more after theyr death then in theyr lyfe

  Which playne is vnto me a perpetuall stryfe

  That am nowe no higher nor in no better rate

  Than I was or the earth was in his firste state

  Goyng in compasse with my beames bryght

  By thys great round bole which is infinite

  When this fayre beautifull sonne had thus sayde

  50 Dysdaynyng furthwith and euen at a brayde

  She toke her course far more swyfter I say

  Then Faukon that from a high flyeth to [the] praye

  Her wonders swiftnes I can nether tel nor write

  For it is not possible for me it to endyte

  Noo I say with my thought to expresse it in dede

  So that to remember it I am in feare and dreade

  Then I saye when that wyttely I mynded this

  I compted oure lyfe to be a vyle thinge as it is

  And none other nor no better but a terrible vanite

  60 To put oure hartes on that which sone doth fle

  So fast away that euen with a thought

  Wenyng to holde hym we holde hym nought

  He whosoeuer doth loke vnto his state

  Let hym sone prouyde for hym selfe algate

  Whyles he hath his fre wyl in his propre myghte

  In thynges that be stable to set his delyght

  For when I sawe the tyme goo so fast

  After his guyde that maketh post hast

  I wyll not saye it, for tell it I ne can

  70 For I sawe euen at one verye poynte than

  The yse and the rose one after the other

  Nowe colde nowe hote euen with the tother

  That for to tell it is a maruelous case

  Howe after the tone the tother hyeth a pase

  He that with a wyse iudgement this markes

  Shall se by true experience all these warkes

  Whiche lytle I noted in my yonge lusty age

  And that maketh me nowe with my selfe to rage

  For then I confesse all my hoole delyght

  80 Was in folowyng my folysh appetyte

  But now afore my feble eyes is a glasse

  Wherin I spye my greate faulte that was

  Styll goynge downeward to my last ende & fyne

  Remembryng therto how fast it doth declyne

  I was a chylde euen this same present daye

  And nowe an olde man prest to passe away

  So that for a very truth to tell it I shall

  Lesse then a sely daye is oure lyfe mortall

  Cloudy and colde, and ful of woo and payne

  90 That semeth to be fayre, and yet is but vayne

  This is the vnstable hope of all our kynde

  Why are we then so proude why are we so blynd?