What object to my eyes And what grief to my soul It is so great that I wonder it hath not alreadie deprived me of all sorrow everie thing I see Torments me and everie thing I think of makes me dispair for Cyrus when the unlawful passion of Araspes gave me cause to complain If I had then had my recourse to Death I had preserved Abdradates his life I had secured my honor And you should not have had cause to accuse a man who was beloved of you I should have altogether satisfied my husband my own glory and the great Cyrus I owed him that respect not to have complained of his favorite and if I had been rationall death should have hindred my complaints then And my tears to day But fate had otherwise resolved it Would t the Gods in so sad as adventure that as Abdradates showed himself a husband worthie of Panthea and worthy of Cyrus his friendship I may also manifest to posterity that Panthea was a wife worthy of Abdradates And that she was not unworthie of Cyrus his protection I well perceive O excellent Prince by the many sacrifices that are prepared and by the magnificent ornaments That are brought to me upon your account That you design to make the obsequies of my dear Abdradates such as are suitable to this Illustrious Conqueror But because his Glorie is the onlie thing that I ought to care most for O great Cyrus let Posteritie know by a Glorious Monument and by true Inscriptions what Abdradates was Eternise altogether your glorie his and my unhappiness The Gold and the Marble which you will make use of in it will not be unprofitable to you And the Tomb which you cause build to Immortalise Abdradates shall make your self immortall There are more People who can do a brave action then give account of it themselves Who can acknowledge and publish it as it ought to be Have not that Jealousie which Glorie gives to the most Illustrious And believe that if You take care of that of Abdradates the Gods will also take care of yours The blood which he has lost for you merits me thinks this gratitude Nor shall I doubt my obtaining what I desire of you I see that you consent to me And that I have no sooner thought of my request but your goodness oblidges me to thank you However I have another yet to ask of you It is O Illustrious Cyrus that without hastening the doolfull Pomp of my dear Abdradates I may be yet suffered a while to wash his wounds with my tears All the Victims that are necessare for appeasing his Ghost are not yet in that order they should be O Cyrus let them not then be pressed I shall not make them wait long my last fare-wells shall be quicklie said And moreover it is verie just that since he died for me I shed so manie tears as he did drops of blood And since I ought to see him no more in this World I may enjoy the sight of him so long as it is possible for me Yes Cyrus that lamentable and most pittifull object is the onlie good I have remaining It is both my despare and comfort I cannot see it without dying and perhaps I shall die how soon I am deprived of seeing it any more Wherefore I 〈◊〉 you that I be not pressed And because you â—â—tyed me to tell you into what place I would go I promise to you that you shall quickly know the place that I shall choose for my retirement THE EFFECT OF THIS HARRANGUE ALace This beautifull and sad Queen was but too true For scarcelie had she deceived Cyrus by making him believe that she was capable to live after the death of Abdradates And that Generous deceipt was the issue of her Harrangue but she choose her retiring place I mean her husbands Tomb. I say Cyrus was not well gone from her but she plunged a Poiniard in her heart and expired upon the dead body of Abdradates This Generous monarch was incredibly greived And to eternise the memorie of these two rare persons and his own gratitude with them He builded for them a Glorious Monument Where manie ages after his the Marble and the Brass declared the Vertues of Panthea and the Valor of Abdradates And the River Pactose which is there represented upon whose banks this Tom was builded seems to tell that she esteems their Reliques more precious then all the Gold that rolles on her sands AMALASONTHA TO THEODATES THE TENTH HARRANGUE ARGUMENT A Malasontha daughter of Theodorick the great Reigned after the death of Eutharick her Husband eight years in Italie with a marvollous Splendor dureing the minority of Athalarick her Son But this young Prince being dead whither it was that she would discharge her self partlie of state affairs Or that she believed the Goths were desirous of a King She placed upon the Throne Theodates Son of Amalfreda Sister to Theodorick her Father Yet with intention to partake of the Soveraign Authoritie with him But this ungrate man had the Scepter no sooner in his hand then he banished this great Princess Who immediatly upon her departure did express her self in these words AMALASONTHA TO THEODATES HAve you forgot Theodates which way you was conducted to the Throne Have you forgot how you received that Crown which you carrie Have you forgot of whom you hold that Scepter which I see in your hands And that absolute power which I so cruellie have triall of to day Did it come to you by your Valor Was it given you by the Laws of this Kingdome Or by the depopulation of all the Goths Have you conquered that great Extent of Earth which acknowledges your Authoritie Are you either Conqueror Usurper or Legittimate King Answer everie thing Theodates Or at least let me answer for you Because if I be not deceived you cannot make it for your advantage And I am more indulgent then to oblidge you to tell anie thing that would be irkesome to you They who desire not to acknowledge a benefit can have no greater punishment then to be forced to publish it Wherefore I will not constrain you to avouch from your own mouth that neither by right of Birth nor of a Conquerour nor by that of our Lawes could you while I am alive have anie pretensions to the Kingdom of the Gothes Because I was in possession of it as Daughter Wife and Mother of them whose in was And who left it to me after them as their lawfull Heiress Nor are you ignorant that you are born my Subject And that you would have still been so If by a verie extraordinare goodness I had not descended from the Throne to conduct you to it However after I had taken the Crown from off my own head to give it you After I had deposited my Scepter in your hands and was resolved to make a King of your Person After all that it was seen that I had much ado to make the Gothes obey you
not have you oppose the Emperor I will not have you acquire the Senats hatred I will not have you irritate the People against you I will not have you endeavour to make the Legions Rebel I will not have you refuse the fair Arricidea who I know is appointed for you I will not I say have you lose the Empire for love of me On the contrare I counsel and conjure you to obey the Emperor to follow the Senats advice to content the humours of the people to keep your legiones to make new conquests to receive on the Throne the too happy Arricidea and preserve the Empire which Fate promises and birth gives you But when to my prejudice you have satisfied all the World be so just as to remember that Berenicea should by your only passion If I obtain this favour from you I shall depart with some pleasure Maugre all my sorrows so far from making imprecationes against my Enemies I shall make Vowes for their felicity as I shall doe for your preservation May you then O Titus gain so many Victories as you give Battles May you Reign over your people with as much Authority as clemency May you be feared of all the Earth May you have so much Glorie 〈◊〉 you merit May your Reign be as happy as I am unfortunate In fine may you doe so many brave actions both by your excellent Vallour and rare goodness That by consent of all Nations you may one day be called The love and delight of mankind THE EFFECT OF THIS HARRANGUE THese wishes were too passionate no to be èxâ—â—ushed Titus Was as great and as much beloved as Berenicia did wish And if the since of Historie deceive me not she was his last passion according to her desires So that it may be said that she obtained all that she asked though she parted from Râ—me and abandoned Titus PANTHEA TO CYRUS THE NINTH HARRANGUE ARGUMENT PAnthea Queen of Susania being taken prisoner of War by the great Cyrus was favourablie treated in acknowledgement of which courtesie she obliedged Abdradates her Hushand to for sake the Lydeane partie and joyn his Armes with those of this invincible Conqueror But that mightie man of War to signalise his gratitude and courage asked permission from Cyrus to fight in the advance guards in the day of Battle That glorious favour being granted to him he did prodigious things and so little spared himself that he gained the Battle and loft his life His body was brought back all covered with wounds to â—he inconsolable Panthia And Cyrus having gone to comfort her or rather to hear a part of her affliction for a loss equal to them both this sorrowâ—â—ll Princess spoke to him in these words PANTHEA TO CYRUS YOu see O Great aâ—â— Generous Cyrus what the Victorie hath cost you Abdradates hath been the Victime which has made the Gods Propitious to you His Bloud hath dyed the Laurels which are wreathed about your head He is dead in Crowning of you And to speak trulie of the matter Cyrus and Panthea are rather the cause of his death then the Lydeans Valor Yes Cyrus your Generositie his gratitude and mine have put him in the deplorable condition that he is in You see him all covered with his own bloud and with that of your enemies The great manie wounds he hath received over all his bodie are certaine proof of what he gave to them who fought him His mightie Courage changed that of the Aegyptians into despair And that Illustrious hand which they have almost separated from his arm alace what an object to Panthea makes it sufficientlie seen that he quitted not his armes but by quitting his life He was seen Generous Cyrus fight with such Ardencie that it was said that the gaining of that Battle ought to put the Crown of the World upon his head He hath retributed the obligations I had from you with his person his blood and his life And in this manner O invincible Cyrus as I have told you alreadie your Generositie his Gratitude and mine have caused his death and my miserie However I do not accuse you I am too just to do that On the contrate I thank you kindlie for offering your assistance to comfor me I praise in you O Cyrus that Generous sentiment which makes your shed tears the verie day of your Victorie And which makes you greive more for the death of your freind then rejoice for the gaining of the Battle and defaiting all your enemies But after I have done your Vertue this justice suffer me without either accusing you or repenting me to complain of the rig our of my fate which owing the preservation of my honour to you would oblidge me my self to expose my dear Abdradates to a fight where multitudes made him Succumb It was onlie for the love of me that he abandoned Cresus forces For though he had just enough cause not to serve him the memorie of the dead King his Father who loved him dearlie made him not abandone the Son though less Vertuous But I no sooner made my obligations from you known to him then he freelie offered to acquitt me with you for so sensible an obligation Your fame had formerlie disposed his heart to consent to what I asked And having alreadie esteemed you infinitlie it was easie for him to love you In fine Cyrus you know he testified at that time great Gratitude to you and great love to me No said he to me Generous Panthea Abdradates cannot be your Protectors enemie He hath dried up your tears and I must spend my blood in his service he hath been carefull of your glorie and my Valour must increase his He hath lost a man whom he verie much loved by Protecting you I ought to repaire that loss And if it be possible not let it be perceived in the day of Battle that Araspes is not there Yes said he to me a loud I shall loss my life or I shall testifie to Cyrus that they who receive benefits as they ought are some times as generous as they who give them Wo is me Must I tell it I never gain-said this discourse And without apprehending any fatall Event from so Noble an Intention I praised his resolution and designe I thanked him for that which was to become the cause of my supream misfortune contributing to my own unhappiness I excited his courage to do thins which have caused his death to day And yet which will make him live Eternallie O cruell Remembrance O injustice of Fortune of all the Conquerours why should Abdradates onlie been overcome And having so profitably shed his blood for gaining of the Battle why should he almost have been the onlie one who enjoyed not the Fruits of the Victorie But it was not in this encounter alone that I contributed to my own Disaster So great was my blindness that I expected that fatall day like a day of Triumph My spirit was filled with nothing but hope My
Reader and because I endeavour to divect you be at least so complacent as not to approve of the action of the insensible and too wise Massinissa ZENOBIA TO HER DAUGHTERS THE SIXTH HARRANGUE ARGUMENT THis Discourse and the Precedent lets us clearly see that all things have two Faces And that we may arrive at the same end by different wayes I mean at Vertue Sophonisba would die the Valiant Zenobia would live And both would live and die by Principels of Generositie The one beholds Libertie as the Chief good The other believes that Chief good consists in Soveraign Wisdom The one could not indure the Idea of a Chariot because she believed it Ignominious to its Followers The other followed the Chariot without trouble because she thought nothing shamefull but crime The one beheld a Conquerors Triumph with dispair as a mightie disgrace The other considered it with disdain as a chance of Fortune The one died the other lived The one searched Glorie where the other believed it Infamie However as I have said the one and the other had a Vertuous Subject So true is it that all things have diverse Faces according to the byass they are regarded You have heard the Reasons of the one hear also the other and then judge of both ZENOBIA TO HER DAUGHTERS IT is now a long time dear unfortunat Princesses that I have seen your tears trickle in vain My Constancie hath to no purpose taught you that Heroick Spirits can endur great sorrows without despaire The Idea of the Throne which you have lost and of the chariot which you have followed being alwaies fresh in your memorie makes my example Fruitless And all the days of your life renew your affliction You still carrie in your hearts the Irons which you had on your hands that cursed day wherein you entred Rome And without losing anie of that Noble pride which Illustrious Birth inspires in them who are born with that advantage Aurellian Triumphs yet over you everie time you call to minde his Triumph I am verie sorrie O my Daughters that having made you partakers of my disgraces I cannot give you constancie necessar to support them Yet it s the onlie heritage I can leave you a dying and I do most affectionatlie wish that that Vertue may pass from my heart into yours To the end that being unable to live as Queens you may at least reign over your selves If through excess of misfortune anie could with Reason despaire it is certain Zenobia may do it For as she has had more Glorie then anie of her sex could ever obtain So her misfortunes have been more deplorable then any was ever heard of You know that on my side you may reckon the Ptolomees Kings of Aegypt for your fore Fathers and that I am come of the Illustrious Blood of Cleopatra But alace It may be said that the Triumphant Chariot which Augustus appointed for her is come to me by right of succession And that I have onlie followed what was prepared for her Yet Fortune hath treated me with greater inhumanitie For you are not ignorant that I followed a chariot which I thought I led and which I had caused do with design to make Triumph of him who Triumphed over me You also know that the beginning of my life was full of happiness The Valiant Odenat your Father and my dear Lord After he had given me the Crown of Palmiranea would also make me partaker of his Glorious conquests And I can say without vanitie and without wronging that Heros that if he gave to Zenobia the Crown which she carried She did also with her own hand add leaves of Laurell to that which Victorie had put upon his head Yes my Daughters I can say without offending the memorie of Odenat that we together conquered all the East And being encouraged by just resentments we did undertake to revenge upon the Persians the indignities they made the Emperour Valerian suffer whom Sapor keeped prisoner When in the interim the infamous Galienus his Son abandoned himself to all sorts of delight Yet Odenat did not forebear to send him all the prisoners we made in that War We took the best places in Mesopotamia Carres and Nisibea rendered to my dear Lord And pursueing the Victorie we routed at Ctesiphont an innumerable multitude of Persians We made manie Satrapps prisoners their King also fled away And continuing almost whollie Victorious in all our Encounters Renown made such Proclamations of Odenates Valour that Galienus in fine roused himself Then stimulated by fear rather then gratitude he made him Colleague in the Empire And to give him also more honour you know he caused Medalles be made wherein my dear Odenat dragged the Persians captives ever till then I had felicitie Victorie and Fortune equallie favoured me But alace And must I say it When my dear Odenat was assasined with the eldest of my Children I past from one extreamitie to an other And became as miserable as I had been happie Then was it my Daughters that I had need of all my Vertue to endure that misfortune And certainlie Odenates death is that which hath made the loss of my freedom the less rude I had more trouble to follow my dear Lord to the Tomb then I had to follow Aurelians chariot And his lamentable Pompe made me shed mere tears then did all the Magnificence of the Triumph was made of me But though my grief was excessive I spent not too long time in weeping I thought of preserving the Empire for my Children and of washing of the Blood which he shed with that of his enemies And as it might have been said that Valor was the Soul of that Heros I made vows to pass my Life time in gathering Palms to put upon his Tomb That it might be one day said my hand alone had revenged his death Preserved the Empire for his Children And Elevated a Trophie to his Glorie I believed I say that it was more worthie to hang above his Coffine the spoils of these enemies I should conquer then to drown his Ashes with my tears And being this resolved I took armes in one hand and the reins of the Empire in the other I was alwaies of the opinion my Daughters that all Vertues could not be incompatible That it was not impossible for one Person to possess them all That those of men might be Practised by Women That true Vertue affects no Sex That one may be both chaste and Valiant testifie great courage at one time and humilitie at an other Be severe and meek at severall Occasions Command and obey Know how to carrie Irons and a Crown with the same countenance It is by this consideration my Daughters that I have done things so appearentlie different though I have ever been what I am to day But to recount all my life to you you know that death which robbed me of my dear Odenat did not take the happiness of his armes from me On the contrate I
I have lived longer then I ought because I have survived my chastitie Think not Collatinus that I will diminish my crime to appease your furie I see in your eies more splen against Tarquin then hatred to Lucretia Doubtless you rather pittie then accuse me and all the former actions of my life assist to vindicate me in your heart And moreover as I have said alreadie though I am unwillinglie guiltie yet I consent that Collatinus do love me no more I speak not this to flatter you But onlie to carrie you the more ardentlie on to revenge Me thinks in vindicateing my self I make the Tirran the more odious The more innocent I appear the more guiltie he seems The more unhappie I am the more he deserves to be and the more tears I shed the more blood you should make him shed Behold Collatinus the cause of my discourse of my tears and of my life Let me not be said to have lived infamous to no purpose Think of revenge Generous Collatine consider what you are and what your enemie is or to speak better the publick enemie You are a Roman you are Vertuous you are Noble And if I dare also say so you are Lucretias husband But for him he is of a strange race he is the son and Grand-Son of Tyrrans The Proud Tarquin you know mounted not the Throne but by pulling a Vertuous Prince from it whose Daughter he married The Scepter which he holds cost the life of him who formerlie carried it And to secure himself in his dominions he has committed more crimes then he hath subjects Behold Collatinus who is the Father of my ravisher If I be not deceived his mother does not make him more considerable For in fine I cannot be live that the son of the infamous Tullia who dared to drive her Chariot over her Fathers bodie that she might arrive at the Throne she aspired to Had not so manie enemies at Rome as there are Vertuous men in it And more over the Vertue of Sextus Tarquinius did not deface the crimes of his predecessors The best action that he did was the betraying a great manie People who trusted in him Behold Collatinus what an enemie you sis go then go and assault him couragiouslie You shall no sooner speak of the abuse he hath done to me but you shall have all the Romans on your side It shall be both a Generall and Particular quarell to them They will be feared for their Wives Their Daughters And their Sisters They shall all look upon the treacherous Tarquin as their enemie And if their yet remain anie who will follow him they will certainly be cowardly esteminate whom it wil be no hard matter to overcome The Senate waits but a pretext to declare themself The People are wearie of carrieing chaines They will seek a hand to unbind them And the equitie of the gods shall favour your partie You shall see that the Tirrans verie Relations shall tear the Crown from off his head Yes I see Brutus listening to me with intention to revenge my abuse Doubtless he will follow you in such a generous design And if the confidence whsch I have of Heaven deceive me not I alreadie see the Proud Tarquin chased out of Rome His infamous Son die by some unknown hand And all bloodie fall in the dust For I doubt if the gods will suffer him to die by so Illustrious a hand as yours Yes Collatinus the Victorie is yours I alreadie see all his Souldiers revolt and all the Citizens mutiny Hatred to the Tirran and desire of libertie shall equallie press them And would to the gods that I may be the Victime to obtain from their goodness my countreys libertie Yes Collatine all the Souldiers who are in his camp who fight to day under his colours shall become worse enemies to him then they of Ardea whom he now besidges Go then and make my misfortune known over all And believe Collatine that you shall not publish my crime but onlie that of Tarquin And moreover I am verie certain not to hear what the People will say For having been my own accuser my witness my partie and my defender I must be also my judge and Executioner Yes Collatinus I must die Do not tell tell me then that because my inclinations are innocent I ought to live that I might have the pleasure of seeing how you revenge my injuries It is enough that you promise me And therefore I can sweetlie die But I can have no pleasure in life There is a Lucretia within me whom I cannot endure I must separate from her she is insupportable to me I cannot see her I cannot suffer her I owe herblood to the others justification and to the revenge which you will take When the Roman people shall see Lucretia killed by her own hand because she would not survive her misfortune They will the more easilie believe that a Woman who loved glorie better then life was not capable willinglie to loss it That last action shall justifie all mine The blood which I shall shed will beget Souldiers to you to help your punishing the Tirran And in this manner I my self shall assist to my revenge My tears shall doubtless have some effect And moreover though I am unhappie I dare believe that my death will trouble you Yes Collatinus Yes my Father you shall be sensible of my death And finding your selves oblidged both together to revenge the honor and life of your Wife and Daughter You shall be the more irritated against the Tirran Say not to me that my death is use-less or that it will be evillie explicated No they who judge sincerlie of affairs will not take it for the effect of my crime Remorse doth ordinarlie shed more tears then blood And if I be not mistaken death is the remedie of the generous or desperat Repentance is alwaies a sign of weakness And whosoever is capable of having it may live after they have fâ—â—lled I have the Authoritie of all ages for me Which lets it appear that almost everie day they who have emploied their hands against their own life do it onlie to dissapoint Fortunes crueltie To shun a shamofull death Or to hinder themselves from being slaves and not for their punishment When we have erred we are alwaies favorable judges to our selves And there are few people who condemn themselves to death Let none tell me then that the blood which I shall shed will rather blemish my life then deface what the Tirran hath done to it No Collatin my intention is too pure and the gods are too just to suffer all men to be unjust to me I die not through remorse or despair I die with reason I have told you what causes I have do not then oppose my design for you cannot hinder it Think of vengeance and not of my preservation Because the one may be glorious to you and the other will be unprofitable Further Lucretias example shall perswade