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

CALLIOPE.

THere are two things in the mind chieflie predominant, Knowledge, and Disposition,* 1.1 which as Plato saith, are in continuall and restlesse motion. Knowledge, which by the Sophists vnder a colour of truth, is abused, with things false and erroneous; and Disposition or Affection, which tempted by the popular Poets, vnder a bait of delight and pleasure swallowes the hooke of many perturbations and distractions: those Orators that are meerelie su∣perficiall and not seene in the grounds of wisedome, corrupted; with idle and vaine reasons, they delude the knowledge, and with vnnecessarie curiosi∣ties precipitate the affection. From Sophists we must altogether beware, as pe∣stiferous and infectious: from Poets and Orators, in some kinds, but not in all cases. Plato confineth Sophisters euery where and from all places, and Po∣ets too, but not all; such onelie as comment false and scandalous tales of the gods; nor these from all places, but from the citties onelie, that is, from the so∣cietie of young men, and such as are ignorant, prone to perturbation, and not capable of the allegoricall sence included: admitting onely such as speake well of the gods, sing diuine Hymnes, and brauelie register the acts of noble and illustrious persons; Such is the practise that Calliope teacheth her Poets: which practise as Ficinus witnesseth, is nothing but the rapture of the soule, with a transmigration into the maiestie of the Muses. This Poesie rouseth vs from the sleepe of the body, to the awaking of the mind, from the darkenesse of ignorance to the light of knowledge, from death to life, and from dull obliui∣on

to a contemplation diuine and heauenlie: But where the wit failes, there is no helpe to be expected from the inuention, for it is not within the compasse of mans capacitie to compasse deepe and great matters in a moment, for all knowledge is inspired from aboue. And since Poetrie comes not by fortune, nor can be attained to by art, it must consequentlie be a gift from the gods and Muses. For when Plato names the god, he intends Appollo; when the Muses, he vnderstands the soules of the spheares: for Iupiter is the mind of the deitie, who extasies and illuminates Appollo, Appollo the Muses, the Muses the Poets, the Poets inspire their interpreters, the interpreters make impression in the Auditours. By diuerse Muses diuers soules are enlightned, as it is in Tymaeus, that sundry soules are attributed to sundry spheares. The Muse Calliope, is a voyce resulting or rebounding from the sound of the other spheares, and of the rest the most excellent,* 1.2 who is not onely a friend of Poets, but the compa∣nion of Kings, as Hesiod saith:

Calliopeque & haec excellentissima est omnium, Haec enim & reges venerandos comitatur.

Hee makes her the mother of Orpheus, and to inspire him as Vrania did the Poet Musaeus; Clio, Homerus; Polyhimnia, Pyndarus; Erato, Sapho; Melpomene, Tha∣myras; Terpsichore, Hesiodus; Thalia, Virgilius; Euterpe, Pub. Ouidius. Thus the nine Muses, who haue reference and hold correspondence with the nine coele∣stiall sounds, make one harmonie and consent by inspiring nine illustrious Po∣ets: Amongst them Calliope is held to be the most antient. Antient likewise is Poesie, whose inuention is giuen to Calliope, as to the Championesse that de∣fends the standard of the Muses. Besides Orpheus, some say she had two other sons, Ialmus and Hymenaeus, of whom we spake before. Hymenaeus was beloued of Thamiras, who was the first Poetiser of vnchast venerie. She is also said to haue a sonne called Cymothon, by Oeagrus; some also make the Syres the daugh∣ters of Calliope, others of Melpomene: Venus (because Orpheus the sonne of Calli∣ope discouered Adonis, whom she had deliuered to Proserpina to be six moneths concealed) gaue him to be lacerated and torne in pieces by the Thracian wo∣men. But now to search what was chieflie aymd at by the Poets in this Muse Calliope: It appeares that by her they apprehended the sweetnesse and modula∣tion of song, as taking her denomination à bona voce, of a good and tunable cleere voice; therefore she is called Vox deae clamantis, The voyce of the calling goddesse; from which they gaue her the dominion ouer the persuasiue art of Rhetoricke and Poetrie. The generall tractat of the Muses, ayming onelie at this, That the first thing requisite, is to haue a will to knowledge and learning; the second, to be delighted in that will; the third, to be constant in that wee delight; the fourth, to attaine to that in which wee are constant; the fift, to commemorate that which we haue attained; the sixt, to make similitude and compare what we haue commemorated; the seauenth, to iudge of those likes which we haue made and compared; the eighth, to make elections of such things as thou hast iudged; the last, eloquentlie to speake, and facundiouslie to delate of that thing of which before thou hast made election. So much Fulgen∣tius. And those no doubt that haue long and much exercised themselues in these disciplines, and haue beene the deuout adorers of the Muses, the daugh∣ters of Iupiter, and practised themselues as well in the gentler sciences as the hidden mysteries of Philosophie, shall not onelie by their endeauours attaine to the perfection of fame and glorie, but purchase to themselues incredible

ioy, pleasure, content, and delectation.

A word or two of the Muses in generall, and so conclude with them. They are held to be the soules of the Spheares: Vrania, of the starrie Heauen, and of that spheare which is called Aplanes; Polyhimnia, of Saturne; Terpsichore, of Iupiter; Clio, of Mars; Melpomene, of the Sonne; Erato, of Venus; Euterpe, of Mer∣cury; Thalia, of Luna. These eight Muses are referred to the eight Tones of the spheares; from all which Calliope, not till now named amongst them, ariseth and is begot; these being neere to the body that is first mooued, which is said to be next to the seat of the supreame deitie, are said by Hesidus to daunce a∣bout the Altar of Iupiter. But because diuerse and sundry are the studies of these Muses, therefore by their influence the minds of mortall men are in∣spired with sundry and diuerse delectations, which (as the Pythagorians thinke) descend downe vpon them from these spheares. Those ouer whom the Moone hath predominance, participate of the nature of Thalia, and are therefore de∣lighted with comick lasciuiousnesse and wantonnesse. Those whom the spheare of Saturne gouernes, or Polyhimnia, being of a drie and cold tempera∣ture, they are wondrous retentiue in the remembrance of things long past. For the dispositions of the mind, and constitutions of the body, haue a conso∣nance to the nature of that planet vnder which they were borne: therefore some are delighted with one study, some another, according to the aspects of the planet. For example, if Mercury be in a good and pleasing aspect, he be∣gets eloquence, facunditie, and elegancie of speech, besides skill and know∣ledge in many things, but especiallie in the Mathematicks: the same being in coniunction with Iupiter, they are bred Philosophers and Diuines: beeing ioyn'd with Mars in his happy aspect, it makes men skilfull Physitians and for∣tunate; but in his bad aspect, such as prooue vnskilfull, vnluckie, and some∣times theeues and robbers, which commonlie happens when he is scorcht with the planet of the Sunne. Being in coniunction with Venus, thence proceedes Musitians and Poets; ioyn'd with Luna, warie merchants, and diligent and thrif∣tie husbands; with Saturne, it infuseth men with prediction and prophesie. But let this little serue to illustrate the rest, so from the Muses we come to the Sybells.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Plat. in Gor.
• * 1.2

  Lib. 2. Theog.