Gynaikeion: or, Nine bookes of various history. Concerninge women inscribed by ye names of ye nine Muses. Written by Thom: Heywoode.

MELPOMENE.

BY sweete modulation, all things are mooued. Plato in his dialogue de Furore, calls her the daughter of Iupiter, and voyce of Appollo; nor without merit, if we but retire our selues and looke backe into the originall of things. Her name deriued from the Greeke dialect, importing Ca••ere, to sing; and Concentum face∣re, to make consent or concord: which includes the temperature and modula∣tion of the whole world. For what is better moderated or kept within a more due proportion than melody: For as the many limbes and members of the body, though they haue diuers place and motion, and haue sundry gifts and of∣fices, yet all their faculties are directed to one businesse, as hauing one scope and ayme: so the varietie that ariseth from diuers voyces or strings, all agree and meete to make one melody, which as Plutarch writes in his booke de Musi∣ca, signifies a* 1.1 member of the body. And that euery creature liuing is deligh∣ted with harmonie, Plato doth gather, because celestiall spirit from which the world first tooke life, had his first liuelie being and existence from musick. Strabo writes that the elephants are made gentle, by the voyce and the bea∣ting of the timbrell, or the tabor. And Plutarch in Symposiac, That many bruit beasts are much affected to, and delighted in musicke: Nam video, &c. For I see (saith he) creatures wanting reason are much pleased with harmony; as the Hart with the pipe, and the Dolphin with the harpe and voyce: Of which Pindarus and Virgill are manifest witnesses:

—Inter Delphinus Arion—

Which Arion, Plutarch in his Conuiuium thus elegantlie describes.

Quod mare nonnomit? quis nescit Ariona tell us? Carmine currentes ille tenebat aquas, Sepe sequens Agnam, &c.

Which I thus english.

What sea, what earth, doth not Arion know? Whose verse could make the waters ebbe or flow;

His voyce hath cald the woolfe backe from pursuite Of the mild lambe, and made his howlings mute. Oft at his voyce, the sillie lambe hath staid, Whilst on his life the fierce wolfe might haue praid. Oft in one shade the hare and hound hath lyne, Both listning to a musicke so diuine. The Lionesse, and Ewe together are Attentiue both: but neither fierce, nor iarre. The prating crow to Pallas owle is ny, And quarrels not: the doue, the hawke sits by. Oft Cinthia hath he set thine heart on fire, And made thee sweare, his, was thy brothers Lyre All the Sicilian cities are at ones, And Italy is rapt with thy Lyrick tones. Bound homewards good Arion shipping takes, With all the store his art, or musicke makes. He feard to see the wind and waters rise; But there more comfort than a shipbord lyes. Behold the captaine with his sword in hand, With all that guiltie crew at his command, Inguirt him round: he (well nigh dead with feare) Intreates them their rude violence to forbeare: Or if so madlie they his death desire, He first may take some comfort of his Lyre. They grant him leaue, and smile at his delay: He takes his chaplet of the still-greene Bay, A chaplet which euen Phoebus might haue tryde, Then don's a roabe in Tyrian purple dyde: And as the swanne that dying sweetlie sings, So he betakes him to his voyce and strings: And from th'inuiron of these marine knaues, Downe suddenlie he slips into the waues. The crooked Dolphin takes him on her backe, To saue Arion from the present wracke. She swimmes, he sits and playes vpon his Lyre, And payes with musicke the swift Dolphins hyre.

But to leaue to speake of vnreasonable creatures. In man there is a peculiar reason aboue the rest, by which his mind is made pliant and tractable to this modulation, for it insinuates into his bosome soonest. For none is of so rude and rough hewne a disposition, that yeelds not an attention to melodie, and is not captiuated and surprised with the rauishing sounds of Melpomene. In the monuments of antient writers there are obserued fiue seuerall sorts of songs:* 1.2 the first Suphronistiche, such were the songes that were vsed to bee relisht in the eares of Clitemnestra; and all such singers are called Sophronistai, accor∣ding to the Greekes; the second were Encomiastice, Laudatory; in which the prayses of the most excellent men were celebrated; and such were soong by Achittas: the third, Drinetiche, or Cantus Lugubris, the mournefull song; the fourth, Orchematiche, or Saltatoria, the dauncing dyttie; the fifth, Pianiche, such as is in Homers Isliads, and is called Po••ean, or Po••an; such were Hymnes

to Apollo, not only in a plague time, that the Pest should cease, but for the cessa∣tion of warre, or any other present mischeife then immediat whatsoeuer. Mel∣pomene is likewise the chiefe, and hath the prime precedencie in the Tragedie: as Virgill in the verse before remembred.

Melpomene, tragico, &c.

Therefore it was the custome in all the Tragedyes of old, to annexe to the end of euerie act, a Chorus, with some sad and mournfull song: and the nee∣rer they grew to the catastrophe or conclusion, the songs were set to the more passionate tunes, and soong with the more sorrowfull accent, expressing an augmentation of griefe both in countenance and gesture. Some of the great Authors conferre vpon her the inuention of Rhetorick, of which opinion was Pharnutus, who doth etimologise Melpomene, from Molpe, which signifies the Sweetenesse of the voice: for one of the chiefest ornaments in an Orator is first Action, then a constancie in Voyce, Motion, & Gesture beseeming and comly. Most certaine it is, that all these things commented of Melpomene, either con∣cerning the deriuation of her name, or her inuention of arts, meete in this one center (to which so many lines ayme) to signifie to vs a well spoken, learned, and eloguent man, from whose lipps issue all foecunditie and sweetenes: And that he may attaine to this elegancie which so much graceth an Orator, be∣hooues him take counsell of M. Cicero, that is, to ioyne Wisdome with his E∣loquence, and substance and matter to his pronuntiation and phrase; by which practise, he may proue to the Common-wealth a most necessarie and profita∣ble member. Lastly Fulgentius teacheth, that by this Muse is meant a maid gi∣uen to meditation: as first, Clio begets a will; secondly, Euterpe a desire to pro∣secute that which the will is bent vnto; thirdly, Thalia to be delighted in that which wee haue acquired; fourthly Melpomene, to meditate vpon that in which we are delighted. And so much for meditation, or the fourth of the Muses.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Melos.
• * 1.2

  Fiue seuerall sorts of songs