Selected quad for the lemma: law_n
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A14918
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The mirror of martyrs, or The life and death of that thrice valiant capitaine, and most godly martyre Sir Iohn Old-castle knight Lord Cobham
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Weever, John, 1576-1632.
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1601
(1601)
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STC 25226; ESTC S111646
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22,568
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94
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we seen Fore-running kings nor kingdomes ouerthrow And kings with kingdomes vanquished haue been When neuer Comet in the Aire did show To prophesie from Comets or deuine T is foolerie they neither cause nor signe If euer sheild-shapt Comet was portent Of Criticke day foule and pernitious Then to the Frenchmen this assigne was sent Disaster fatall inauspitious Whose bloudie tresses tilting did foreshow At Agincourt their blooddie ouerthrow Or else it was would it had neuer been But the fore-runner of my Tragedie And heauens saw oh had they neuer seen I should sollicite nimble Mercurie To ingraue my words vpon the hardest mettle Whose Characters in harts of steele may setle Which when heauens saw what doth not heauens see With raine of teares she seemes my case to weepe Vsing all meanes but all meanes would not bee From death insuing danger me to keepe But hard it is for heauens to preuent When destinies for death giue once consent My Destinies are set in parlament Aboue their heades a curious frame of stone Marble below and during Adamant On each side flint and softer object none Saue that in chaires of hardest oake they sate In steede of wooll-packes neere the barred gate In scarlet vestments winter-coloured tresses Iron their wands of brasse their writing table Pens made of tinne for inke strong aqua fortis Their paper steele their carpet Indian sable Their countenance like Caiphas mou'd to ruth For god religion valour age nor youth In Paules thus sate this vniuersall Sinode The cheife Archbishop Thomas Arundell More sterne then Minos Eacus or Herode Like Rhadamanth the grim-fac'd iudge of hell In the first yeare of Henries happy raigne Last of my ioy and midle of my paine First the forsworne Inquisitours sent to them Of Wickleues as they tearm'd them villanies Ouf of whose bookes they did collect to shoe them Two hundred sixtie and six heresies All stricken dumbe they star'd as if their eies Should for an answere then intreate the skies To stop the worlds talkatiue wide mouth Wherefore they sate vpon this conuocation They hired men to blazon for a much It was all for the churches reformation Thus mischeife will her vice in vertue mother Blearing mens eyes with one deceit or other For first the sun dissolue might with his beames The icie bulke of way lesse Caucasus On whose snowie mantled top it neuer gleames Then these frost-bitten prelates sembled thus Would otherwise haue all their causes ended But as before the Sinode they pretended Nay Mercurie if with thy charming wand Thou had'st descended from the' Olimpique spheares To plead for pittie at their feete to stand With both thine eyelids full of swelling teares This sense-beguiling action had but ended My iudgement as before it was pretended Before these deepe-braind all-fore-seeing Doctours These reuerent fathers purgatorie teachers I was complain'd of by the generall proctours To be a great maintainer of good preachers O times vntaught men scorners of sound teaching Louers of playes and loathers of good preaching That Richard Henries both I had enformed Of the clergies great and manifold abuses That popish bulls and ceremonies scorned Roomes dignitie her rites and sacred vses And that I wisht the popes dominion Might stretch no surr then Callis Oâ—â—an That I had caused Wâ—ckleues bookes be sent Faire writ to Boheme France and Germanie Whereof two hundred openly were brent By Prages Archbishops great authoritie That I preâ—erd vp Bills in Parliament Where to the King and Lords gaue all consent Of all the Cleargies villainous abusion Which I put vp in open Paâ—lement Writ in a briefe-containing sharpe conclusion These verses were the summarie content Whose soules with sin empoisning hate did anguish That they ne're left me till thâ—y law me languish Plangunt Auglorum Gentes crimen Sodomorum Paulus fert horum sunt idola causa malorum Surgunt ingrati Grezite symone nati Nâ—mâ—ne prâ—lati hoc defâ—nsare parati Qui reges estiâ— populis quicunque praestis Qualiter hijs estis gladios prohibere potestis Bewaile may England sinne of Sodomites For Idoles and they are ground of all their wo Of Symon Magus a sect of hypocrites Surnamed Prelates are vp with them to go And to vphold them in all that they may do You that be rulers peculiarly selected How can you suffer such mischiefes vncorrected Now least delay bred danger they were prest For to proclaime me for an heretike But one of more experience than the rest Such hazard rash proceedings did not like Because I was in fauour with the King T was best he thought to haue his councelling My life-surmising Bishops swolne in rage Ambitiously high Prelates lowlines As if th 'ad vow'd sin-pard'ning pilgrimage With tapers to Saint Peters holines Went to the king made great complaints and lies Blemisht my name with grieuious blasphemies Which when he heard kings then too much would heare them Then he desir'd why should not kings coÌ„mand In mild-perswading words and deedes to beare them To mee the chiefest pillar of his land Vnto the church to bring me without rigour Respecting knighthood prowesie stocke and vigour And promis'd them vpon his excellence If in pursute they tooke deliberation In smoother-edge-rebating eloquence To conquer me by might of sweete perswasion The clergie gone Henry for Cobham sent I came and shew'd my selfe obedient Looke how some tender bleeding-harted father When 's son hath vow'd a vertue-gaining voyage Flint-rock-relenting arguments will gather All to diswade him from this pilgrimage And prayes intreates intreates and prayers vaine At length considers t is for vertues gaine Yet bout his necke he vseth kissing charmes And downe his bosome raines a shower of teares Hugges culles and clippes him in his aged armes This thing he doubts another thing he feares Takes leaue turnes backe returnes intreates anew Giues ouer weepes and last bids him a dew Euen so the king to stay my voyage tended My vowed voyage to the holy land Ten thousand reasons both begunne and ended That gainst the Pope I should in no wise stand Then vowes prayes treates vowes treates and praiers vaine From prayers treates and vowes he doth refraine To whom I answerd in humilitie Because I knew kings were the Lords annoynted To him I yeelded all supremacie As Gods sword-bearing minister appointed My body goods my life my loue my land Were his to vse distribute or command Then in a sorrow-sighing extasie Seeing my zealous burning true affection Denying to the Pope supremacie Yeelding to him foote-treading low subjection Henry tooke leaue turn'd backe entreated new Gaue ouer wept and last bade me adew If tyrants will vsurpt authoritie Must be obey'd what reuerence me behoued To giue this king this tyrants enemie Feared for loue and for his vertues loued Whose honours ensigne o're the world had spred him In warres and peace if church men had not led him And tyrants tended on with injurie With murders rapes lou'd only but for feare Whose sword and scepter gards iniquitie Ought t' haue
their subiects reuerence to them beare As we our selues so must the common wâ—â—lth Some sicknesse sometimes suffer sometimes health As some disease or bed infecting bile Whose pricking ach sharpe agonie and stings Must be sustaind and suffred for a while Till time to his maturitie him brings Not rashly then but as the Surgeon will Least suddain handling all the bodie spill Euen so a Tyrant Realmes infectious bile Must not be robd of his regalitie Till death him of his regiment beguile Or wise men for this griefe find remedie Not rashly then for altring of a State Breedes often outrage bloodshed and debate Euen as the head the bodie should commaund And all his parts to peace or warfare lead So with a mightie Monarch doth it stand His subjects parts and he himselfe the head But if those parts do grudge and disobay Head bodie Monarch subiects all decay A God a King are conuertible voices Then Kings like Gods should gouerne and beare sway What Gyants broode in vprore so rejoices That gainst the Gods his banners will display Though with his huge weight Pelion Ossa prest And fought with Ioue he neuer got the best How many blessed Patriarches suffred wrong By cruell Tyrants sin-reuenging rod And haue endur'd such heauie bondage long Accounting it a torture sent from God The Tyrant as a man may be rejected His place and office yet must be respected What punishment for practizing belongs But punishment nor practise will I name Men more doe follow most forbidden wrongs When by forbidding they doe know the same For Parricide the Romaines made no Law Least such a sin the people so might knaw Now Arundell resorts vnto the King By Popish charmes inchaunting him thereto To send Cytations fore them me to bring What was it not but Clergie men could do The Sumner came to Cowling but as one Afraid turnd back his message left vndone The Kings doore-keeper in the silent night Iohn Butler sent for was by Arundell For this heauen-martyring deede he doubtlesse might In Cerberus place haue kept the doore of Hell With great rewards and warrantize from blame He caus'd him cyte me in king Henries name This kiss-betraying Iudas writ I stood Who with a lie thus left me in the lurch But still the Bishop thurstie of my blood Caus'd writs be set on Rochesters great Church In paine of curse commaunding me remember To appeare at Ledeâ— th' eleuenth of September All were rent downe He excommunicates And cites a fresh with curse and interdiction Compels the Lay power them he animates T' assist him in Apostataes conuiction In more reproach and vile contempt to haue me Such like opprobrious names the Bishop gaue me At last thus tost I writ my faiths confession Vnto the foure chiefe Articles answered Of Penance Shrift Saints transubstantiation Which gainst me all by Arundell were laid I come to Court and written with me bring My Swans last funerall dirgee to the king Which to receiue Henry began to grudge Marke but the power of Clergie men those daies Commaunding me deliuer it to my judge Here Arundell both sword and miter swaies The Archbishop But with a flat deniall I did appeale vnto the Pope for triall But this deny de in presence of the king Without vainglorious ostentation I proffred an hundreth Knights to bring Esquiers as many for my iust purgation Not once depending on their safe protection But to the King shew dutifull subjection Againe I offred in my faiths true quarrell By law of Armes to fight for life or death With Christ'n Heathen Turk Iew Infidell The king excepted any that drew breath They answered me I was too valorous bold Then in the Tower they laid me fast in hold Valour the sonne of mightie Ioue esteemed Where blooddie Mauors borroweth his name Of old Philosophers onelie vertue deemed Learnings bright sheild the register of Fame Which to expresse the Grecians could afford For Valour Mauors Vertue but one word Death scorning Arioth why is not regarded Thy Sun-resplendant kingdome conquering power Is Mars-amazing Turnaments rewarded With Traitors meede impris'nment in the Tower From bearing Armes valour hath me exempted Why was my challenge else not then accepted Sir Robert Morley then the Towers Lieutenant Twice to be briefe did bring me to appeare In Plutoes court before this Rhadamant The Arguments of my strong faith to heare Yet he no faith had was it not a wonder That he was faithlesse all the Church Faith vnder In all mine answeares taking great aduise As a true faith-professing Protestant Not superstitious nor too fond precise Whose firme resolue no tyrannie can dant So with mine answeares as it seemd amazed My iudgement on the soddaine forth they blazed To heauens all seeing light vpon my knees The sentence giuen humblie did I fall With heau'd-vp hands pray'd for mine enemies In his great mercie to forgiue them all Bound hand and foote back through the Sluce I 'm led The gazers eyes like sluces in his head Whilst there I lie in midnight-dark immur'd My friends emblazoned forth mine injurieâ— Whereby the Priests great obloquie incur'd Both of the Commons and Nobilitie In pollicie to haue this tempest staid They to my Bils an abjuration made A parlament was cald at Leicester Because I had such fauour bout the citie They would not haue it kept at Westminster This act establisht was O more then pittie That such strange acts should be establisht euer Which man from wife from goods lands doth seuer That whosoeuer in the mothers tong Should reade or heare the sacred Scriptures scand For this so hainous heauen-offending wrong From him his heires should lose his goods and land Gainst Heauens and gainst the Kings great majestie He should be hang'd for treason burnt for heresie O murder-poisned ruthlesse Rhadamants Blood thurstie Neroes brainsicke Bacchides Earth swallowed Typhons currish Coribants Beare-fostered Dracons damn'd Busirides Liue by your euill know for euill done Liues with the father dyes not with the son Now to release my bodie from the Tower How might the Tower include so old a castle Case-altring bribes I vs'd not strength nor power But with my wit out of her bonds I wrastle The prentice bard of freedom thus aduentures To break his bonds and cancell his indentures Riches in thraldome no contentment bring All lordship 's lost when libertie is gone What vaileth it a lion be a king Closely shut vp within this tower of stone Man was made free and lord o're euery creature To be in bondage then is gainst his nature The husband man more glad is at the plough That browne-bread crusts and restie bacon eates Then th' imprisoned king that hath inough Of wastell cakes and far more lushious meates No bird takes solace by her songs in hold Although her meate be curds her cage of gold Nor vnto mee that lay in prison bound In musicke mirth was or in riches pleasure Iingling of fetters had no merie sound My griefe too much for ioyes on earth