| |
| AS 1 in an army royall, led by a king, | |
| After the canons’ sulphurous thundering; | |
| Horror on all sides roaring; wings here flying | |
| At wings like armed eagles; here troopes dying | |
| A butcherous execution through the field, | 5 |
| Bellowing with fiend-like threats, where yet none yeeld, | |
| Though death stalkes vp and downe, ghastly and pale, | |
| The victor’s wreath lying in a doubtfull scale;— | |
| The king himselfe safe guarded on a hill, | |
| Seeing this black day, yet stirring not vntill | 10 |
| He findes fit time to strike; then downe amayne | |
| Whorrying he comes—a glorious dreadful trayne | |
| Of high heroic spirits circling him round, | |
| Who with swift vengeance do their foes confound, | |
| And, slaue-like, drag them at prowd chariot-wheeles, | 15 |
| Whilst miseries worse than death tread on their heeles:— | |
| So with great terror, state, and wonder, | |
| Heauen’s Supreme Monarch—one hand griping thunder, | |
| The other stormes of hail, whirlwinds and fire— | |
| (Ensignes of his hot burning, quenchlesse ire,) | 20 |
| When the world’s building smothered lay in smoake, | |
| With sparkling eyes maiestically broke, | |
| Out of his pallace nere set ope before, | |
| And stood like a triumphant conqueror, | |
| Trampling on death and hell. About him round, | 25 |
| Like petty vizroyes, spirits methought all crownde, | |
| Show’d as if none but kings had bin his guard; | |
| Whole hierarchies of saints were then preferd, | |
| With principalities, powers, and dominations, | |
| Thrones, angels, and archangels, all att once | 30 |
| Filling the presence; then, like heauen-born twinnes, | |
| Flew fiery cherubins and seraphins; | |
| Whilst the old patriarches, cloath’d all in white, | |
| Were rap’d with joy to see beames more bright | |
| About the prophets and the apostles runne, | 35 |
| Than those whose flames were kindled at the sun. | |
| Martyrs, methought, with selfe same lustre shinde, | |
| As gold which seuen times was by fire refinde; | |
| Virgins whose soules in life from lust liu’d cleare | |
| Had siluer robes, and on their heads did weare | 40 |
| Coronets of diamonds. * * * * | |
| God’s heire-apparent (here once made away) | |
| Triumphed in this his coronation-day, | |
| In which heauen was his kingdome, mercy his throne, | |
| Justice his scepter, a communion | 45 |
| Of sanctified souls the courtly peeres, | |
| And his star-chamber lords; who now had yeeres | |
| Which neuer turn’d them gray by time’s rough weather: | |
| Greatness was nowe no more called fortune’s fether, | |
| Nor honour held a fruitlesse golden dreame, | 50 |
| Nor riches a bewitching swallowing streame, | |
| Nor learning laughed at, as the begger’s dower, | |
| Nor beauty’s painted cheeke a summer-flower. | |
| No, no: life endlesse was, yet without loathing; | |
| Honor and greatnesse wore immortal cloathing; | 55 |
| Riches were subiect to no base consuming, | |
| Learning burnt bright without contentious fuming; | |
| Beauty no painting bought, but still renew’d: | |
| Each one had heere his full beatitude. | |
| That face whose picture might have ransomed kings, | 60 |
| Yet put vp spettings, baffulings, buffetings,— | |
| That head which could a crowne of starres haue worne, | |
| Yet spightfully was wrench’d with wreathes of thorne,— | |
| Those handes and feete where purest stamps were set, | |
| Yet nail’d vp like to pieces counterfet,— | 65 |
| Those lippes, which though they had command ore all, | |
| Being thirsty, vinegar had to drinke and gall. | |
| That body scourg’d, and torne with many a wound, | |
| That his deere bloud, like balme, might leaue vs sound; | |
| The well of life which with a speare being tride, | 70 |
| Two streames mysterious gush’d out from his side: | |
| Messias, great Jehouah, God on hie, | |
| Yet hail’d King of the Jewes in mockery. | |
| The manger-cradled babe, the beggar borne, | |
| The poorest worme on earth, the heighth of scorne; | 75 |
| That Lord by his own subiects crucified, | |
| So at his grand assize comes glorified, | |
| With troopes of angels, who his officers are, | |
| To call by sound of trumpe his foes to a bar. | |
| Thus stood he arm’d—justice his breastplate was, | 80 |
| Judgement his helmet, stronger farre than brasse; | |
| On his right arme truth’s shield he did advance: | |
| And turnde his sharpned wrath into a lance; | |
| Out of his mouth a two-edged sword did flie, | |
| To wound body and soule eternally: | 85 |
| Armed cap-a-pe thus who gainst him durst fight? | |
| There was no ground for strength, nor yet for flight. | |
| At this methought all graues that ever held | |
| Dead coarses, yawnd wide open, and compell’d | |
| The bones of dead men up with flesh to rise; | 90 |
| Yea, those on whom the seas did tyrannize, | |
| And drown’d in wrackes, and which were peecemeal eaten, | |
| With liuely bodies to the shoares were beaten; | |
| Whom sword or fire, jibbets or wheels had torne, | |
| Had their own limbes againe, and new were borne: | 95 |
| From the first man God made to the last that died, | |
| The names of all were here examplified. | |
| Emprours and kings, patriarches, and tribes forgotten, | |
| The conquerors of the world—moldred and rotten— | |
| Lords, beggars, men and women, young and old, | 100 |
| Vp at a bar set forth, their hands did hold. | |
| The Judge being set in open court, were layd | |
| Huge books, at sight of which were all dismaid, | |
| Would faine haue shrunck back, and fell downe with feare. | |
| In sheets of brasse all stories written were | 105 |
| (Which those great volumes held) charactred deepe | |
| With pens of steele, eternall files to keepe | |
| Of euery nation since the world began, | |
| And every deede, word, thought, of euery man. | |
| Sins hatched in caues, or such whose bawd was night, | 110 |
| The minutes of the act were here set right; | |
| Great men, whose secret damned sins vizards wore | |
| So close that none upon their browes could score | |
| The least black line—because none durst—had here | |
| A bill of items in particular, | 115 |
| What their soules owed for sin to death and hell; | |
| Or if it happened that they e’er did well, | |
| In these true journals it at large was found, | |
| And with rich promise of reward was crowned. | |
