The wisdome of Solomon paraphrased. Written by Thomas Middleton

Chapter XIIII.

[verse 1] AS doth one little sparke make a great flame, Kindled from forth the bosome of the flint, As doth one plague infect with it selfe name, With watrie humours making bodies dint: So, euen so, this idoll worshipper, Doth make another idoll practiser.

The shipman cannot teeme dame Tethis waues, Within a winde-taught-capring anchorage, Before hee prostrate lies, and suffrage craues, And haue a block to be his fortunes gage: More crooked then his sterne, yet he implores her, More rotten then his ship, yet he adores her.

[verse 2 3 4] Who made this forme? he that was form'd and made, Twas auarice, twas shee that found it out, Shee made her crafts-man crafty in his trade, Hee cunning was in bringing it about: Oh had he made the painted shew to speake, It would haue calde him vaine, herselfe to wreake.

It would haue made him blush aliue, though hee, Did die her colour with a deadly blush, Thy pouidence (ó father) doth decree, A sure sure way, amongst the waues to rush: Thereby declaring that thy power is such, That thogh a man were weake, thou canst do much.

[verse 5] What is one single barre to double death? One death in death, the other death in feare, This single barre, a borde, a poore bords breath, Yet stops the passage of each Neptunes teare: To see how many liues one borde can haue, To see how many liues one borde can saue.

How was this borde first made? by wisedomes art, Which is not vaine, but firme, not weake, but sure, Therfore do men commit their liuing hart, To plancks which either life or death procure: Cutting the stormes in two, parting the winde, Plowing the sea till they their harbour finde.

[verse 6] The sea whose mountaine billowes, passing bounds Rusheth vpon the hollow-sided barke, With rough-sent kisses from the water grounds, Raising a foaming heat with rages sparke, Yet sea, nor waues, can make the shipman feare, Hee knowes that die he must, hee cares not where.

For had his timorous heart beene dide in white, And sent an eccho of resembling woe, Wisedome had beene vnknowne in follies night, The sea had beene a desolations showe: But one world hope lay houering on the sea, When one worlds hap did end with one decay.

[verse 7 8] Yet Phoebus drowned in the oceans world, Phoebe disgrast with Tethis billow-roules, And Phoebus firie-golden-wreath vncurl'd, was seated at the length in brightnes soules: Man tosst in wettest wildernes of seas, Had seed on seed, encrease vpon encrease.

Their mansion-house a tree vpon a waue, O happy tree, vppon vnhappy ground, But euery tree is not ordain'd to haue Such blessednes, such vertue, such abound: Some trees are carued images of nought, Yet God-like reuerenc'd, ador'd, besought.

[verse 9] Are the trees nought, alas, they sencelesse are, The hands which fashion them, condemne their groth, Cuts downe their branches, vailes their forehead bare, Both made in sin, though not sins equall both: First God made man, and vice did make him new, And man made vice from vice; and so it grew.

Now is her haruest greater then her good, Her wonted winter, turn'd to summers ayre, Her ice to heat, her sprig to cedars wood, Her hate to loue, her lothsome filth to faire: Man loues her well by mischiefe new created, God hates her ill, because of vertue hated.

[verse 10] O foolish man mounted vppon decay, More vgly then Alastors pitchie backe, Nights dismall summoner, and end of day, Carrying all duskie vapours hemde in blacke: Behold thy downfall ready at thy hand, Behold thy hopes wherein thy hazards stand.

Oh spurne away that blocke out of thy way, With vertues appetite, and wisedomes force, That stumbling blocke of follie and decay, That snare which doth ensnare thy treading corse: Beholde thy body falls, let vertue beare it, Beholde thy soule doth fall, let wisedome reare it.

[verse 11] Say art thou yong, or olde, tree, or a bud, Thy face is so disfigured with sin, Yong I doe thinke thou art, in what? in good, But olde I am assur'd by wrinckled skin: Thy lips, thy tongue, thy heart, is yong in praying, But lips, and tongue, and heart is olde in straying.

Olde in adoring idolls, but too yong, In the obseruance of diuinest lawe, Yong in adoring God, though olde in tong, Olde and too olde, yong, and too yong in awe: Beginning that, which doth begin misdeeds, Inuenting vice, which all thy body feeds.

[verse 12 13] But this corrupting and infecting foode, This caterpiller of eternitie, The foe to blisse, the canker vnto good, The new accustom'd way of vanitie: It hath not euer beene, nor shall it be, But perish in the branch of follies tree.

As her descent was vanities aline, So her descending like to her descent, Here shall shee haue an end, in hell no fine, Vaine glory brought her, vainely to be spent: You know all vanity drawes to an end, Then needs must shee decay because her frend.

[verse 14] Is there more follie then to weepe at ioy, To make eyes watrie, when they should be drie, To greeue at that, which murders griefes annoy, To keepe a shower where the sunne should lie? But yet this folly-cloude doth oft appeare, When face should smile and watry eie bee cleere.

The father mournes to see his sonne life-dead, But seldome mournes to see his sonne dead-liu'd, Hee cares for earthly lodge, not heau'ns bed, For death in life, not life in death suruiu'd: Keeping the outward shadow of his face, To worke the inward substance of disgrace.

[verse 15] Keeping a shew to counterpoize the deed, Keeping a shadow to be substance heire, To raise the thing it selfe from shadowes seed, And make an element of liuelesse aire: Adoring that which his owne hands did frame, Whose hart inuention gaue, whose tong the name.

But could infection keepe one setled place, The poyson would not lodge in euery brest, Nor feede the hart, the minde, the soule, the face, Lodging but in the carcasse of her rest: But this Idolatry once in mans vse, Was made a custome then without excuse.

[verse 16] Nay more: it was at tyrannies commaund, And tyrants cannot speake without a doome, Whose iudgement doth proceed from heart and hand, From heart in rage, from hand in bloudy tombe: That if through absence any did neglect it, Presence should pay the ransome which reiect it.

Then to auoide the doome of present hate, Their absence did performe their presence want, Making the image of a kingly state, As if they had new seed from sins olde plant: Flattring the absence of olde mischiefes mother, With the like forme and presence of another.

[verse 17] Making an absence with a present sight, Or rather presence with an absent view, Deceiuing vulgars with a day of night, Which know not good from bad, nor false from true: A crafts-man cunning in his crafty trade, Beguiling them with that which he had made.

Like as a vane is turn'd with euery blast, Vntill it point vnto the windie clime, So stand the people at his worde agast, Hee making olde, new forme in new-olde time, Defies, and deifies all with one breath, Making them liue and die, and all in death,

[verse 18] They like to Tantalus are fed with shoes, Shewes which exasperat: and cannot cure, They see the painted shadow of suppose, They see her sight, yet what doth sight procure? Like Tantalus they feed, and yet they starue, Their foode is caru'd to them, yet hard to carue.

The crafts-man feeds them with a staruing meat, Which doth not fill but empty hungers gape, Hee makes the idoll comely, faire, and great, With well limnd visage, and best fashioned shape: Meaning to giue it to some noble view, And faine his beautie with that flattring hue,

[verse 19] Enamour'd with the sight, the people grew, To diuers apparitions of delight, Some did admire the portraiture so new, Hew'd from the standard of an olde trees hight, Some were allur'd through beutie of the face, With outward eye to worke the soules disgrace.

Adored like a God though made by man, To make a God of man, a man of God, Tis more then humaine life or could, or can, Though multitudes applause in error trode, I neuer knew since mortall lifes abod, That man could make a man much lesse a God.

[verse 20] Yes man can make his shame, without a maker, Borrowing the essence from restored sin, Man can be vertues foe, and vices taker, Welcome himselfe without a welcome in: Can he doe this? yea more, oh shamlesse ill, Shamefull in shame, shamelesse in wisedomes will.

The riuer of his vice can haue no bound, But breakes into the ocean of deceit, Deceiuing life with measures of dead ground, With carued idols, disputations baite: Making captiuitie cloth'd all in mone, Bee subiect to a God made of a stone.

[verse 21] Too stony hearts had they which made this lawe, Oh had they beene as stony as the name, They neuer had brought vulgars in such awe, To be destructions pray, and mischiefes game: Had they beene stone-dead both in looke & fauour They neuer had made life of such a sauour.

Yet was not this a too sufficient doome, Sent from the roote of their sin-oregrowne tong, To cloud gods knowledge with hel mischiefs gloome To ouerthrowe truths right with falshoods wrong: But dayly practised a perfect way, Still to begin and neuer end to stray.

[verse 22 23] For either murders pawe did gripe their harts, With whispring horrors drumming in each eare, Or other villanies did play their parts, Augmenting horror to newe strucken feare: Making their hands more then a shambles stall, To slay their children ceremoniall.

No place was free from staine of blood or vice, Their life was markt for death, their soule for sin, Marriage, for fornications thawed ice, Thought for despaire, body for eithers gin: Slaughter did either end what life begunne, Or lust did end what both had left vndone.

[verse 24 25] The one was sure, although the other faile, For vice hath more competitors then one, A greater troupe doth euermore auaile, And villanie is neuer found alone, The bloud-hound folows that which slaughter kild And theft doth folow what deceit hath spild.

Corruption mate to infidelitie, For that which is vnfaithfull is corrupt, Tumults are schoole fellowes to periury, For both are full when either one hath supt: Vnthankfullnes, defiling, and disorders, Are fornications and vncleannes borders.

See what a sort of rebells are in armes, [verse 26] To root out vertue, to supplant her raigne, Opposing of them selues against all harmes, To the deposing of her empires gaine: O double knot of treble miseries, Oh treble knot, twice, thrice, in villanies.

O idoll-worshipping, thou mother art, Shee procreatresse of a he offence, I know thee now, thou bearst a womans part, Thou nature hast of her, shee of thee sence: These are thy daughters, too too like the mother, Black sins I dim you all with inckie smother

[verse 27] My pen shall be officious in this scene, To let your harts blood in a wicked veine, To make your bodies cleare, your soules as cleane, To cleanse the sinkes of sin, with vertues reine: Behold your cole-blacke blood my writing inke, My papers poysoned meate, my pens fowle drinke.

New christned are you, with your owne new blood, But madde before; sauage, and desperate, Prophecying lies, not knowing what was good, Liuing vngodly euermore in hate: Thundring out oathes, pale Sergeants of despaire, Swore, and forswore, not knowing what you were.

[verse 28] Now looke vpon the spectacle of shame, The well-limnd image of an ill-limnd thought, Say, are you worthy now of praise or blame, That such selfe-scandall in your owne selues wrought? You were heart-sicke before I let you blood, But now heart-well since I haue done you good.

Now wipe blinde folly from your seeing eies, And driue destruction from your happy mind, Your follie now is wit, not foolish-wise, Destruction, happinesse, not mischiefe blinde: You put your trust in idoles, they deceiude you, You put your trust in God, and he receiude you.

[verse 29] Had not repentance grounded on your soules, The climes of good or ill, vertue or vice, Had it not flowde into the tongues enrowles, Ascribing mischiefes hate, with good aduice: Your tong had spild your soul, your soul your tong Wronging each function with a double wrong.

Your first attempt was placed in a show, Imaginary show without a deed, The next attempt was periury, the foe To iust demeanors, and to vertues seede: Two sins, two punishments, and one in two, Makes two in one, and more than one can do.

[verse 30] Foure scourges from one paine, al comes from sin, Single, yet double, double, yet in foure, It slayes the soule, it hems the body in, It spills the minde, it doth the heart deuoure: Gnawing vpon the thoughts, feeding on blood, For why, she liues in sin, but dies in good.

She taught their soules to stray, their tongs to sweare, Their thought to thinke amisse, their life to die, Their heart to erre, their mischiefe to appeare, Their head to sin, their feete to treade awry: This sceane might well haue bin destructions tent, To pay with paine, what sin with ioy hath spent.