Selected quad for the lemma: life_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A59167
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Lucius Annæus Seneca, his first book of clemency written to Nero Cæsar.; De clementia. English. 1653
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Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, ca. 4 B.C.-65 A.D.
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1653
(1653)
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Wing S2510; ESTC R37363
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21,694
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48
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often cut thereby to make them grow So does a Princes cruelty augment And not the number of his foes prevent For parents children kindred friends substain The places of those men whom he hath slaine How true this is shall now be understood By an example fetch'd from thine own blood Divine Augustus was a gentle Prince If him at least we shall consider since He swayd alone the Scepter for t is true While he with others rul'd his sword he drew And having pass'd the age of eighteen years As thou hast now he had as it appeares Suborn'd some friends with secret armes to lie In wait t' intrap the Consul Anthony And had his share in the Triumvirate But when his age arriv'd beyond the date Of forty years he being in France was told That Lucius Cinna a weak man but bold Design'd his death the manner place and when T' was to be acted was discovered then By one of the confederates His intent Was to inflict on him sharp punishment But with his friends consulting what was best He could not in the night take any rest For thinking that he was to ruine quite A noble youth and but for that upright Nephew to Pompey so loth was he now T' have one man die who could before avow With Anthony at supper time a list Of dire proscriptions Thus did he persist In sad and various thoughts What then Shall I Suffer so treacherous an enemie To walk secure while I with cares am fraught And shall not he be punish'd that hath sought Not only to destroy but sacrifice This head for it was then their joynt advice To slay him at the Alter that in vaine Hath been so often threatned with the bane Of civill wars and having quite allayd So many stormes at Land and Sea hath made Peace through the world then having paus'd a while He spake much louder and did more revile Himselfe then Cinna wherefore dost thou live If to so many men thy death will give A benefit what end will there be Of rigour what of blood this head I see Must be submitted to young nobles rage That they against it may their swords ingage Life is not so much worth that unless I Be now destroy'd so many men must die But his wife Livia interposing spake Unto him thus A woman's counsell take Doe like Physitians who are us'd to trie When proper med'cines faile the contrary Rigour hath yet stood thee in little stead For Lepidus Salvienus followed Muraena Lepidus Muraena gon Caepio appear'd and after him came on Egnatius for the rest I need not name Whose very attemps to mention were a shame Be therefore at the length content to try What profit will arise from Clemency And pardon Lucius Cinna He 's made sure He cannot hurt he may thy fame secure Augustus joyfull that his inward strife Was stopt by this good counsell thankt his wife And making it soon known to all those friends He first consulted he for Cinna sends And being come he makes an other chaire Be set for him bidding the rest forbeare Cinna said he I do desire that thou Wilt without interruption here me now And the mean while not into passion break Thou after shall have liberty to speak When thee I found in armes not only made But borne my foe I did my wrath perswade To save thy life and thy estate restore Nor is there at this day a man that more Abounds with wealth and happiness so high That Conquerors the Conquerd do envy The Preist-hood I at thy request gave thee Omitting those whose fathers joyn'd with me In severall wars and now thou goest about To flay me for my love When he cry'd out May such a madnesse be by me abhord Caesar reply'd Cinna thou breakst thy word It was our first agreement thou shouldst not Give interruption thou I say dost plot To take away my life he nam'd the place The day and the associats and did trace The whole designe nay he was so exact He nam'd the man appointed for the fact And when he saw him dasht and silent now Through guilt not promise what said he dost thou Aime at in this to be made Prince alas The Common-wealth is but at an ill passe If only I obstruct thy way t is known Thou art not able to support thine own House hold affaires A man made newly free In a late private cause prevail'd gainst thee Can any thing be easier then to strive With Caesar but proceed if I survive To cross thy hopes alone Canst thou suppose Emilius Fabius Maximus and those Sprung from the Cossi and Servilii Will indure thee such as do not relie On empty names whom their own worth prefers And are an honour to their Ancestors But lest by rendring his whole speach I make A volume know two houres and more he spake And having so inlarg'd the punishment With which alone he meant to be content Cinna said he I give thee life once more A Parricide found now a soe before Let friendship between us begin henceforth Let us contend whether shall shew most worth I in bestowing thou in owing life He after made him Consull and the strife Was that he durst not ask it to the end Cinna remaind his true and faithfull friend And made him his sole heir From that time none T' have ploted gainst Augustus life was known Thy great grand fathers father pardoned those Whom he subdued how else could he suppose There would be any left ore whom to reigne From the foes party he did Salust gain And the Cocceians also drew off then And the Duillians with that band of men Who in so great fidelity persisted That they into his own Life-guard were listed Beside at that time 〈◊〉 the Domitians With the Messala's and Asinians The Ciceronians and the flower of Rome To his great mercy debters were become How long did he keep Lepidus alive And him of Princely titles not deprive From taking the High-Priesthood he abstain'd So long as Lepidus in life remaind For he that purer honour would not soile So much as that it should be cal'd a spoyle This mercy his estate and life assur'd And more good will and more esteem procurd Although he had not fully laid his hand On Rome which yet had stoopt to no command And at this day preserves him in such fame As that no Prince alive the like can clame For with the gods we ranke him not because We are hereto enjoyned by the Lawes But that we so believe And we confesse Augustus a good Prince whose worthiness Deserv'd that attribute his Countries Farther For which we can no better reason gather Then that he us'd no cruell punishment Gainst contumelie which great men resent Above an injury that he reproaches slighted And that he thought the punishment still lighted Upon himself which he on others laid And finding th' honour of his house betrayd By his own daughters lewd adulteries That he could those indignities dispise And did not only not
no human ill It is a bestiall fury to delight In blood and slaughter and to throw off quite Th' essentiall qualities of humane nature And transmigrate into a savage creature Here I O Alexander faine would know What difference t is Lysimacus to throw Forth to a Lyon or else not forbear With thine own teeth in pieces him to teare That throat is thine that cruelty thine own How heartily thou 'd'st wish thy nailes were grown To Talons and that thou could'st stretch thy jawes To devour those thou catchest in thy pawes We wish not that thy hand thy best friend's bain Should mercy towards any entertaine Or thy fierce heart destructive to mankind Should without blood-shed satisfaction finde T is mercy cal'd when he his friends would kill That men be brought to execute his will This renders rage abominable when It first breakes wonted then the bounds of men It seekes new torments studies severall wayes And Instruments of cruelty displayes Whereby it varies and inlarges pain And fetches pastime out of human bane That dire disease of minde comes to the height Of madnesse when in blood it takes delight And hath so far proceeded that it can Take pleasure in the ruine of a man Destruction hatred poyson swords attend At this mans back to bring him to his end By whom as many dangers still are feard As he for many often hath prepard Somtimes from private plots at other times Through open detestation of his crimes For light and private mischeifes doe not raise Whole Cities but when wickedness displaies It selfe with rage and threatens all t is met By multitudes and round about beset Small Serpents creep away When one's beheld So great that t is into a monster sweld When with its breath it poysons common springs And where it goes destroyes and venome flings It is with crosse-bows shot at Petty ills Deceive and scape not much against our wills But great ones are oppos'd So is a house Not shun'd by any nor thought dangerous VVhen one alone is sick But if 't appeare By frequent deaths to be the Plague a fear Possesses the whole Town from whence men flie And to the gods with lifted hands do cry So when a fire a private house does sease Servants and neighbours bringing water ease The rest of trouble quenching it alone But when the flame is to a vastnesse grown And many buildings burnt it is put out With devastion of what 's round about Sometime the cruelty of private men Hath been reveng'd by servile hands even when Their death was certaine People Nations And all that have to Tyrants had relations And have endur'd or feard their cruell rage Have in their ruine ventur'd to ingage Their very guards have risen up at length And all the hatred cruelty and strength Of impiousnesse which they by them were taught They on the Authors back again have brought For what good expectation can be had From them whom we instructed to be bad Iniquity obays not long nor will Be alwayes at command in doing ill But le ts imagine cruelty secure Yet what a Kingdom must that Prince indure A Realme that like a City sack't does wear The dishiall face of universall fear Where all 's confus'd and sad and no delight Can be enjoy'd without continuall fright Where feasts afford no safety but among His cups each must set watches on his tongue Nor publike shew wherein occasion 's sought T' have men both into crimes and dangers brought And though they be set forth with great expence With wealth of Kings by men of excellence Yet upon whom should folly so prevaile To seeke to goe from sports into a Gaile What wickednesse is this good Gods to slay And suffer cruell rage to bear such sway As not to have a sense of human paines And to delight in ratling of chaines And in be-heading men to come no where Without much blood-shed bringing terror there How could our lives be worse if we were rul'd By Lyons and by Bears or if we should Be governed by serpents and each creature That lives by blood and abhors man by nature These void of reason and condemn'd by us For cruelty are never furious To their own kinde 'mong them similitude Is safe and is not bloodily pursu'd But among men not kindred is excus'd Allies like strangers are by Tyrants us'd That by particular slaughters they may grow Whole kingdomes by degrees to overthrow Who to sire Towns old Cities to devoure And plow up the foundations think it power And count it not imperiall to kill But now and then and that unless they fill Themselves with blood of many men ordaind T' indure the stroke think cruelty restraind But he that many saves and does restore To life such as lie gasping at deaths dore Merits by Clemency a high renown And worthily deserves the Civique Crown Then which no ornament can more beseem A Princes head or gain him more esteem Upon whose Gate this Motto is ingrav'd In Characters For having Subjects sav'd No Chariot red with blood of barbrous Kings No spoyle of conquered foes such honour brings T is divine power to save by Troops in view Of all the world but many to pursue VVith cruelty and that without respect Of fire and sword the power is and th' effect FINIS