This geer will soon be amended Upon them but frown VVhen you have them at home And all this quarrel is ended Sharp Hawks you are sure VVill come to the lure So for favours in private starve them And strait you 'll see In publick they 'll be More ready and glad to deserve them The Conclusion To his MAJESTY VOuchsafe great Sir on these to cast your sight Made chiefly for your Majesties delight By him has cast off all ambicion But onely the delighting you alone Counting it highest honour can befall To delight him who 's the delight of all EPIGRAMS DIVINE AND MORAL DEDICATED To Her Majesty Nunc cetera ludicra pono Hor. Printed in the Year 1670. TO Her MAJESTY CATHERINE of PORTVGAL Queen of Great Brittain c. MADAM AS never any Stranger was more oblig'd than I unto the King your Father of glorious Memory so never any had greater desire than I to make acknowledgement of it to your Majesty but living in obscurity retyr'd from the light of Court and making no Figure there I imagined it would have no Grace for such a shadow and Cypher as I to present my self unto your Majesty and other presents I had none but onely this which by its littleness shews the greatness of my desire to declare my self MADAM Your Majesties In all Humility and Devotion Richard Flecknoe Divine and Moral EPIGRAMS The Fourth BOOK To her MAJESTY Of the dignity and efficacy of prayer AS by the Sun we set our Dyals so Madam we set our Pietys by you Without whose light we shud in darkness be And nothing truely good nor vertuous see You in the Temple so assidual are Your whole Life seems but one continued Prayer And every place an Oratory you make When from the Temple y' are returned back Like vapours prayers ascend and heaven in rain Of blessings showers them down on us again And if Heaven suffers violence from whence But onely prayer proceeds this violence Fools were those Gyants then since if insteed Of heaping hills on hills as once they did They had but heapt up prayers on prayers as fast they might have easily conquer'd heaven at last O mighty prayer that canst such wonders do To force both Heaven and the Almighty too On these words of our B. S. O woman great is thy Faith O Lord when shall our Faith be praised thus And we deserve t' have thus much said of us Others count all things possible to thee We nothing possible but what we see They more to faith than sences credit give We more our sences than our faith believe They believe all we but believe by halfs Their Faiths are Gyants ours but onely dwarfs Why I write these pious Epigrams so short SInce long discources thou'lt not harken to I make these short to see what that will do On the Nativity of our B. S. AFter the Glory which to God on high Was given to day at his Nativity If piously curious you woud know What Peace it was was given to men below That peace of God infallibly it was All humane understanding does surpass Which whilst the high proud do seek in vainâ— The low and humble onely do obtain Seek then to know no farther but be wise This is the Mystery of Mysteries After which none that any Reason hath Can doubt of any mystery of Faith That God's a Man and 's Mother a Virgin is What can there be more wonderful than this Of the Circumcision of our B. S. HOw soon O Lord to day didst thou begin To shed thy blood for us when first was seen Spring forth the Fountain of thy pretious bloud Which at thy passion ended in a floud On the death and passion of our B. S. O Blessed God! and wouldst thou dye For such a wretched thing as I This of thy Love 's so great a proof Angels can ne'er admire enough And all the Love by far transcends Of Parents and of dearest friends T' have such a benefit bestow'd Woud undo any but a God And Love it self make Bankrout too By leaving't nothing more to do Had King or Prince done this for me What wondring at it woud there be And wondring at it now there 's none When by a God himself 't is done Strange blindness man shud more esteem Of any thing that 's given to him By earthly Kings than what is given Unto him by the King of heaven Of Iudgement DEath terriblest of terriblest they call But here behold the terriblest of all For none fear death but those who judgement fear For some offences th 'ave committed here Life 's but a prison we the prisoners are Death Iaylor or the Turnkey as it were Who but delivers us when Sessions come To the Tribunal to receive our doom When as we well or ill have lived here We shall be punisht or rewarded there And this now is the most that death can do The rest let each ones Conscience look unto Happy are those who in that dreadful day With good Hylarion confidently may say Go forth my soul this many and many a year Thou hast serv'd God now why shudst thou fear Leave that to those who whilst they made aboad In this world here did serve it more than God The good and vertuous wish for death the bad And vitious onely are of death affraid Death is the shadow of life and as in vain A beast shud look for th' shadow of a man So those who have not liv'd the life shud trust In vain at last to dye the death o'th'just Of Easter and Christmas OF Easter a great word was said This is the day the Lord hath made Of Christmas yet a greater word This is the day that made the Lord. On these words of our B. S. I am the Way the Truth and the Life Paraphrase THou art the Way the Truth and Life thou sayst As well thou mayst What Fool is he then woud forsake the way And go astray What Fool is he who woud the Truth refuse And falshood chuse But above all what fool and mad man's he Woud forsake thee Who art Eternal Life and chuse to dye Eternally On Gods beholding all we do THou fearst the sight of men when thou dost ill Why not the sight of God who sees thee still On our dependancy on the hands of Almighty God HAve you not markt how little puppets move By their dependanee from some hand above Just such is man i' th' hands of God if he But well consider'd his dependancy And who if this he well consider woud Shud ever dare to offend Almighty God Who gently leads those who his will obey And those who won't he hales and drags avvay Rebel and fool then struggle not in vain To flee the hand of God and break thy chain Which thou canst never do nor ever flee But from God pleas'd to God displeas'd with thee Struggle no longer with him then for woe Unto thee if he once but let thee go On these words of
they are who give Their freedoms to I know not who If my weakness cannot save it But 't must go what ere it cost Some more strong than I shall have it Who can keep what I have lost Still some excellency shud be More i' th' Mr. than the Slave Which in others till I see None my liberty shall have Nor is' t excellency enough Time or chance can marr or make But 't shall be more lasting stuff Shall from me my fâ—eâ—dom take Those to whom I 'll give away That which none too dear can buy Shall be made of better clay And have better souls than I. To the Lord John Bellasis 'T Is not to honour but be honour'd by 't I mention you my Lord in what I write Since to my Book can be no greater Fame Noâ— greater honour unto me again Then to have him who has the Fame to be His Countries honour thus to honour me To the Lady Elizabeth Gage On her Marriage and Conversation to the C. Religon NEver was greater Testâ—mony given Madam how Marriages are made in Heaven Then is by yours that both Religion had For makâ—ng it and hath religion made So as if Marriges be holy all We this of yours may doubly holy call In which y 'ave doubly offer'd up your vowes Both to your heavenly and your earthly Spouse Whence 't is a joyful one indeed has made Not onely Men but even the Angels glad To whom it does more properly belong Than unto us to sing your Nuptial Song Which whilst above i' th' higher world they do We here below congratulate them and you To the Lord George Barkley SInce as by clear experience we see Vertue is onely true Nobility There 's none gives greater proof of it than you My Lord that your Nobility is true And that 't may so continue you provide By adding to 't true Piety beside For Piety is but Vertue dyed in grain Can ne'r change colour nor take spot or stain Such Courtiers Heaven desires such Kings shud Desire too if they 'd have them great and good Happy the whilst my Lord are such as you Fit both for th' heavenly Court and earthly too Of Friends and Foes TWo Painters friend and foe once went about To paint Antigones whose one eye was out which t'on to shew and t'other for to hide That turn'd his blinde and this his better side Just so 'twixt Friends and Foes men are exprest By halfs set forth whilst they conceal the rest None as their Friends or Foes depaint them woud Being ever half so bad or half so good On the Riches o' th' Barbadoes to Mr. H. D. Esq HOw Rich Barbadoes is of other things We well may see by th' wealthy Trade it brings How rich it is in men we well may see By binging fourth brave Drax such men as thee On the Marriage of the Lord Brakley With the Lady Elizabeth Cranfield made An. 65. THe fairest Flower of Cranfields Race And noblest branch of Edgerton Accompanied with every Grace By Hymen now are joyn'd in one And now the Nuptial rites are past In passing o'er the rest was done Let 's to the Bridal Chamber haste Where th' Bridgroom longs I 'm sure to come Go happy Youth and taste abed The pleasures far Eliza yeilds By far surpassing all that 's sed O' th' pleasures o' th' Elizian Fields And fair Eliza bee'nt affraid O' th' Bug-bears of a Marryed life Those fears which haunt you now a Maid Will vanish soon when y' are a Wife And in their place such joys shall leave When once you are a Mother grown No humane thought can ere conceive Or ere b' exprest by humane Tongue On his Arara Drowned in his return from Brasil THou how so like unto the Phaenix wer 't In shape and plumes and almost every par That so unlike shud be your destiny That shud by Fire and thou by Water dye Consolation To Poor Porters TAke courage Porter every one must bear Somewhat or other whilst they tarry here And every one if that be good are free As well as thou o' th' Porters Company Nor is' t so base a Trade perhaps as thou Imaginst it since if that saying be true Great honours are great burthens we may call The Porters Trade the honourablest of all Out of Ronsard Of a happy life CEluy n'est pas heureux qu' on monstre par larue Que le peuple cognoit que le peuple salâ—e Mais heureux est celuy que la Gloâ—re n'es point Que ne cognoit personne qu' on ne cognoit point The same in English HE is not happy they point at i' th' Streets Whom the people does know and salutes as it meets But happy is he who ambition has none Nor others to know nor by others be known To certain Ladys Who said they like not your old Wits LAdies you like not your old Wits you say And what new ones are those you like I pray Perhaps y 'ave squeemish stomacks just like those Loath vvonted fare and'd have some new quelque chose And 't is the nature of Green-sickness Wits As 't is of your Green-sickness Appetits Toâ— in the souls t'other the bodies food To lâ—ke the bad and to mislike the good Oâ— just as Heresie at first begun With crying down the old Religion So 't is a kinde of Heresie in you To cry down old Wits and cry up the new If so Ladies o' th' new say what you will With your good leave I 'm for the old ones still Of Friends and Acquaintance WHo 'twixt Acquaintances and Friends does make No difference is just like him does take Each peeble-sto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of which enough are found In each High-way for some Rich Diamond A Friend 's a Cabinet-piece and to be sought All the World o'er nor can too dear be bought Whilst t'other's a cheap trivial thing you meet And take up when you please in every street Believe not all who friendship then protest But prove them first and after chuse the best For he who every one a friend does call In time of need shall finde no friend at all The Ant. LIttle thinkst thou poor Ant who there With so much pains in so short time A grain or two to th' Cell dost bear There 's greater work i' th' world than thine I' th' small Republick too at home Where thou' rt perhaps some Majestrate Little think'st thou when thou dost come There 's greater in the world than that Nor is' t such wonder now in thee No more o' th' world nor things dost know That all thy minde o' th' ground shud be And thoughts on things so poor and low But that man so base minde shud bear To fix it on a clot of Ground As there no other business were Nor greater world for to be found He so much of the man does want As metamorphoz'd quite agen Whilst thou' rt but man turn'd groveling an t Such grovelers seem but ants turnd men
sacred Cell Where ancient Hermits formerly did dwell And never ceast importunating Heaven Till some great blessing unto Earth was given Is this a Ladies Closset 't cannot be For nothing here of vanity we see Nothing of curiosity nor pride As most of Ladies Clossets have beside Scarcely a Glass or Mirror in 't you finde Excepting Books the Mirrors of the minde Nor is' t a Library but onely as she Makes each place where she comes a Library Here she 's in rapture herein extasie With studying high and deep Philosophy Here those cleer lights descend into her minde Which by reflection in her Books you finde And those high Notions and Idea's too Which but her self no Ladies ever knew Whence she 's the chiefest Ornament and Grace O' th' times and of her Sex Hayle sacred place To which the world in after-times shall come As unto Homers Shrine or Virgils Tomb Honouring the Walls wherein she made aboad The air she breath'd ground whereon she trod So Fame rewards the Arts and so agen The Arts reward all those who honour them Whilst those in any other things do trust Shall after death lye in forgotten dust To M rs STUART STuart a Royal name that springs From Race of Caledonian Kings Whose vertuous minde and beautious fame Adds honour to that Royal Name What praises can I worthy finde To celebrate thy form and minde The greatest power that is on Earth Is given to Princes by their Birth But there 's no power in Earth nor Heaven More great then what 's to Beauty given That makes not onely men relent When unto rage and fury bent But Lyons tame and Tygers milde All fierceness from their breasts exil'd Such wonders yet coud ne'er be done By Beauties force and power alone Without the power and force to boot Of excellent goodness added to 't For just as Jewels we behold More brightly shine when set in Gold So Beauty shines far brighter yet In vertue and in goodness set Continue then but what you ar So excellently good and fair Let Princes by their birthrights sway You 'll have a power as great as they On her dancing in White-hall All shining with Iewels SO Citharea in th' Olympick Hall And th' rest o' th' Stars dance their Celestial Ball As Stuart with the rest o' th' Nymphs does here The brightest Glories of the Brittish Sphear Who woud not think her heaven to see her thus All shine with Starry sewels as she does Or somewhat more then Heaven to see her Eyes Out shine the starry Jewels of the Skies Onely her splendor's so exceeding bright Th' excess confounds blinds us with the sight Just as the Sun that 's bright to that degree Nothing is more nothing less seen then he Mean time the rapid motion of the Sphers Is not so sweet and Ravishing as hers Nor is' t the harmony makes her dance but she In dancing 't is that makes the harmony Next to divinest Cynthia Queen of light Never was seen a Nymph so fair and bright Nor ever shall 'mong all her starry train Though those in Heaven shud all come down again On her Marriage With the Duke of Richmond THe fairest Nimph of all Diana's train For whom so many sigh'd sigh'd in vain She who so oft had others Captive made And who so oft o'er others triumpht had Is Venus Captive now her self and led In triumph to the noble Richmonds bed Nor is it strange to see about her fly As many Cupids as are Stars i' th' sky As many Graces as are sands i' th' Sea Nor yet as many Venus's as they But to behold so many Vertues throng About a Nymph so beautiful and young Is strange indeed and clearly shews she had Call'd all in counsel when the match was made And Venus Urania onely 't was who came Her self from Heaven to celebrate the same To LILLY Drawing the Countess of Castlemains Picture STay daring man and ne'r presume to draw Her Picture till thou mayst such colours get As Zeuxis and Appelles never saw Nor ere were known by any Painter yet Till from all Beauties thou extracts the Grace And from the Sun the beams that guild the Skies Never presume to draw her beautious face Nor paint the radiant brightness of her Eyes In vain the whilst thou doest the labour take Since none can set her forth to her desert She who 's above all Nature ere did make Much more 's above all can be made by Art Yet bee'nt discouraged since whoe'er do see 't At least with admiration must confess It has an air so admirably sweet Much more then others though then hers much less So those bold Gyants who would scale the Skie Although they in their high attempt did fall This comfort had they mounted yet more high Then those who never strove to clime at all Comfort thee then and think it no disgrace From that great height a little to decline Since all must grant the Reason of it was Her too great Excellence and no want of thine Somewhat to Mr. J. A. On his excellent Poem of Nothing OF Nothing nothing's made they say but thou By what th' ast made disprov'st that saying now And prov'st thy self maker of Poems right Coudst out of nothing bring such ones to light Which I as Creatures him who does creat Onely on Somewhat dully imitat Mean time at least say all they can agin it I hope they needs must say there 's somewhat in it Or granting it as good as nothing be The greater honour still for it and me To Mr. Henry Jermin On their demanding why he had no higher Titles c. STill noble gallant generous and brave What more of Titles woud these people have Or what can they imagine more to express How great thou art that woud not make thee less He who is proud of other Titles is Proud of a thing that 's Fortunes none of his A thing that 's but the Title-page o' th' Book On which your Fools and Children onely look Or garnishment of dishes not to eat But empty nothings to set off the meat Thou enviest none their honours but woudst be Sorry they shud deserve them more than thee And 't were in thee but vain ambition To seek by other Titles to be known When Harry Iermins name alone affords As great and lowd a sound as any Lords Be still thy self then and let others be High as they will in place what 's that to thee Their worth is all without but thine within And man 't is fills the place but worth fills him The Title of a worthy person 's more Then all the Titles which your Clowns adore And there 's no Office we may greater call Then doing of good offices to all This is thy Office these thy Titles are The rest take those that list thou dost not care Of an unworthy Nobleman SEe you yond' thing that looks as if he 'd cry I am a Lord a mile ere he comes nigh And thinks to
B. S. Be ye perfect YOu bid us to be perfect Lord and we Continue still imperfect as you see What shud we say O Lord but onely this Give what you bid and bid us what you please On these words of the Apostle Nihil ex me possum facere And again Omnia possum in eo qui me Confortat HAppy are those who doubly armed are Against presumption and against dispair By these words of th' Apostle first that man Without Gods help of himself nothing can and next that he can all things do again By Grace of God who helps and comforts him On the saying of a certain holy man MY God and I can all things do said one And if it seems too great presumption To name himself with God 't is without doubt A greater yet to name one's self without On these words Deo service Regnare est HArk all who just like Tantalus's starve Whilst you in vain for worldly greatness serve And know that all this world is but a cheat And how there 's nothing in 't that 's truely gyeat But if indeed true greatness thou dost love 'T is onely to be sought i' th' world above And to serve God whilst in this World w' are here Is th' onely way to arrive unto it there Know then the onely true Ambition Is for to serve Almighty God alone For who serve others are but slavish things But 't is to Raign to serve the King of kings On the Picture of a weeping Magdalen ARt as well as Nature coud Have made a speaking if it woud As well as weeping Magdalen But that it is the nobler way In those who grieve for love they say to grieve and never to complain On the Magjis following the Star OTher Astrologers of opinion were That all the World was lesser than a Star But these it seems believed it alone Who woud leave all the world to follow on Of the rooting out vices VIce is in man as weeds in Gardens are And lest we daily take especial care To weed and root them out they grow so fast We shud be quit o'er grown with them at last More shame for us each silly Gardner then Shud take more care to keep his Garden clean Than we our selves and with a hand more nice purge it from weeds than we our selves from vice Of the pleasure of doing good c. DO good with pain this pleasure in 't you finde The pain 's soon past the good remains behinde Do ill with pleasure this y 'ave for your pains The pleasure passes soon the ill remains On a Ladies Beauty suddenly decay'd O Heavens is this that so admired face Where yesterday such world of Beauty was And now to day 't is all so wholly gon No shadow coud be vanish'd half so soon If this the end of mortal Beauty be O thou imortal rather unto thee Let me my vows and my devotions pay That ever lasts and never canst decay Then such frail Idols which whilst we adore To day are here to morrow are no more Of Sin WHo woud but think when th' are about to sin O' th' pains which sinners for 't in Hell are in They 'd sooner throw themselves i' th' fire here Than hazard â—eing thrown i' th' fire that 's there This if thou dost believe I see not how Thou canst a sinner be and if that thou Dost not believe it then I do not see How thou agen a Christian canst be O cursed sin nor heaven nor earth can bear Cast Angels out of heaven created there man out of Paradise who there did dwell And all the rest for sinning into Hell The Harmes of procrastination You say Repentance never comes too late But let not sinners be deceiv'd with that It may too late be to Repent if they Defer it yet untill an other day How many sinners have unto their sorrow Lost Heaven by putting't off until to morrow And Hell is full of those who sinning cry'd To morrow still till unawars they dy'd Then let 's not croaking Ravens imitate By crying cras cras still till 't be too late But leaving of this damned cry let 's say To morrow is too late begin to day Of hearing the Word of God IF those as Holy Scripture makes it clear Who have the Spirit of God God's Word will hear We well may fear what spirit makes abood In those who will not hear the Word of God On our B. S. curing the Leaper And our own infirmity O Lord thou knowst how most infirm I am Blinde unto Truth vertuous actions lame O therefore thou that makst the blinde to see And lame to walk help my infirmity I know O Lord thou needst but onely say Be cur'd as thou to th' Leaper didst to day And thou knowst Lord so great 's my misery That I am far more Leaporous than he For mine 's not onely in the outward skin But in the very heart and minde within And does not onely make the body soul But even infects and taints the very soul. O therefore thou that knowst my infirmitie Make haste O Lord to help and succour me Of Revenge GOd says Revenge onely to him belongs The Laws to them the righting others wrongs For us to seek Revenge then what is's else But to wrong them whilst we woud right our selves Of Heaven WHat God is he might undertake as well As what Heaven is shud go about to tell For God makes Heaven as Kings make Courts and he No more by man can comprehended be Then can the Ocean that is infinit Be comprehended in some narrow pit Just then as less the Oceans bottom's found More dieply those ingulpht in it are drown'd And as the more 's our ravishment the less We can the joyes which ravish us express We well may say it ne'er can be exprest What joys are there prepared for the blest And 't were not Heaven if we knew what it were But more a Heaven the whilst to those are there Of the thought of death I Can't conceive how any can be said Happy to live who are of death affraid Since daily we in every thing do see 't And every where w' are put in minde of it Happy was he then every night did go To bed as 't were unto his grave and so Got such a habit of 't at last he did Go to his grave but as he went to bed Since every where death waits for us 't is fit We likewise every where shut wait for it Of a Noble Ladies imbracing a Religious Life Eglouge A gentle Sheepherdess as ere did tread Upon the Plains whereon her Flock were fed Inspir'd by him who all good thoughts inspires Felt in her breast till then unfelt desires To taste Heavens pleasures seeing Earth had none A Soul in longing long coud feed upon But changing one a weary of the first She found the latter pleasure still the worst And so went still deluded in her minde Seeking for that which she coud never finde This Infant thought with pious care she fed And with Religious Education bred Giving it now an Aspiration Or vote of that blest life to feed upon And now a sigh and now a tear agen For never knowing that happiness till then Avoiding carefully those Rocks and Shelves On which so many souls had wrackt themselves Those two extreams on which so many fall To undertake too much or nought at all For 't is with new-born-children of desire As 't is with sparks you kindle unto fire Starv'd with too little fewel 't will not lighs Opprest with too much 't is extinguisht quite And now she 's all a fire happiness be Fair Virgin to thy best desires and thee So full so high so great a happiness As nothing can be more that is not less Nothing beyond but down the Hill again And all addition rather loss then gain By glad experience mayst thou finde all store Of hearts contentment thou expects and more And learn that Magick of Religion there Makes every thing quite contrary appear To you than unto us Rich poverty Triumphant sufferance brave humility Soft hardness greatest difficulties slight Sweet bitterness and heaviest burthens light Ease in your labour pleasure in your pain A Heaven on Earth and all things else but vain FINIS