The wisdome of Solomon paraphrased. Written by Thomas Middleton

Chapter XVII.

[verse 1] Oflie the bed of vice the lodge of sin, Sleep not too long in your destructions plesures Amend your wicked liues, and new begin, A more new perfect way to heauens tresures: Oh rather wake and weep, then sleep and ioy, Waking is truth, sleep is a flattring toy.

O take the morning of your instant good, Be not benighted with obliuious eye, Behold the sunne which kisseth Neptunes floud, And resalutes the world with open skie: Else sleep, and euer sleep: Gods wrath is great, And will not alter with too late intreat.

[verse 2] Why wake I them which haue a sleeping minde, Oh words, sad sargiants to arrest my thoughts, If wakt, they cannot see, their eyes are blinde, Shut vp like windolets which sleep hath bought: Their face is broad awake, but not their hart, They dreame of rising, yet are loth to start.

These were the practisers how to betray, The simple-righteous with beguiling words, And bring them in subiection to obay Their irreligious lawes and sins accords: But nights black coloured vale did cloud their will, And made their wish rest in performance skill.

[verse 3] The darkesome clouds, are summoners of raine, In being somthing blacke, and somthing darke, But cole-blacke clouds makes it poure downe amaine, Darting forth thunderbolts and lightnings sparke: Sin of it selfe is black, but black with black, Augments the heauie burthen of the back.

They thought that sins could hide their sinfull shames, In being demi-clouds, and semi-nights, But they had clouds enough to make their games, Lodg'd in black couerings of obliuious nights: Then was their vice afraid to lie so darke, Troubled with visions from Alastors parke.

[verse 4] The greater poyson, beares the greater sway, The greatest force, hath still the greatest face, Should night misse course, it would infect the day, With foule risle vapours from a humorous place, Vice hath some clouds, but yet the night hath more, Because the night was fram'd and made before.

That sin which makes afraid, was then afraid, Although enchambred in a dens content, That would not driue back feare, which comes repai'd, Nor yet the ecchoes which the visions sent: Both sounds and showes, both words and action, Made apparitions satisfaction.

[verse 5] A night in pitchie mantle of distresse, Made thick with mists and oppsite to light, As if Cocytus mansion did possesse, The gloomy vapours of suppressing sight, A night more vgly then Alastors pack, Mounting all nights vpon his night-made back.

The moone did mourne in sable-suted vale, The stars her hand maids were in black attire, All nightly visions tolde a hideous tale, The scrich-owles made the earth their dismall quire: The moone and stars diuide their twinckling eies, To lighten vice, which in obliuion lyes.

[verse 6] Onely appear'd a fire in dolefull blaze, Kindled by furies, raisde by enuious winds, Dreadfull in sight, which put them to amaze, Hauing before, furie-despairing minds: What haire in reading, would not stand vpright, What pen in writing, would not ceasse to write

Fire is Gods Angell, because bright and cleare, But this an euill Angell, because dread, Euill to them, which did already feare, A second death to them which were once dead: Annexing horror to dead strucken life, Connexing dolor to liue natures strife.

[verse 7] Deceit was then deceau'd, treason betrayed, Mischiefe beguilde, a night surpassing night, Vice fought with vice, and feare was then dismayde, Horror it selfe appal'd at such a sight: Sin••s snare was then ensnarde, the fisher cought, Sinnes net was then entrapt, the fouler fought.

Yet all this conflict, was but in a dreame, A show of substance, and a shade of truth, Illusions for to mocke in flattring theame, Beguiling mischiefe with a glasse of ruth: For boasts require a fall, and vaunts a shame, Which two vice had, in thinking but to game.

[verse 8] Sinne tolde her creditours, she was a Queene, And now become reuenge, to right their wrong, With hony-mermaids speech alluring seene, Making new-pleasing words, with her olde tongue: If you be sick, quoth she, I'le make you whole, Shee cures the body, but makes sicke the soule.

Safe is the body, when the soule is wounded, The soule is ioyfull in the bodies griefe, Ones ioy vpon the others sorrow grounded, Ones sorrow placed in the ones releefe: Quoth si••, feare nothing, know that I am heere, When shee alas, her selfe was sick for feare.

[verse 9] A promise worthy of derisions place, That feare shoulde helpe a feare, when both are one, Shee was as sick in hart, though not in face, With inward griefe, though not with outward mone: But shee claspt vp the closure of the tongue, For feate that words should do her body wrong.

Cannot the body weepe without the eies? Yes and frame deepest canzons of lament, Cannot the body feare, without it lies Vpon the outward shew of discontent: Yes, yes, the deeper feare sits in the heart, And keeps the parliament of inward smart,

[verse 10] So sin did snare in minde, and not in face, The dragons iaw, the hissing serpents sting, Some liu'd, some dide, some ran a fearefull race, Some did preuent that which ill fortunes bring: All were officious seruitours to feare, And her pale connizance in heart did weare.

Malice condemnd her selfe guiltie of hate, With a malicious mouth of enuious spight, For Nemesis is her owne cruell fate, Turning her wrath vpon her owne delight: Wee need no witnes for a guiltie thought, Which to condemne it selfe a thousand brought.

[verse 11 12] For feare deceiues it selfe in being feare, It feares it selfe in being still afraid, It feares to weepe, and yet it sheds a teare, It feares it selfe, and yet it is obaid: The vsher vnto death, a death to doome, A doome to die in horrors fearefull toome.

His owne betrayer, yet feares to betray, He feares his life, by reason of his name, He feares lament, because it brings decay, And blames himselfe in that he merites blame: He is tormented, yet denies the paine, He is the king of feare, yet loath to raigne.

[verse 13] His sons were they which slept and dreamt of feare, A waking sleepe, and yet a sleepy waking, Which passt that night more longer than a yeare, Being griefes prisners, and of sorrowes taking: Slept in nights dungeon insupportable, Lodgde in nights-horror too indurable.

Oh sleepe, the image of long-lasting woe, Oh waking image of long-lasting sleepe, The hollow caue where visions come and goe, Where serpents hisse, where mandrakes grone & creep Oh fearefull shew, betrayer of a soule, Dieng each heart in white, each white in foule.

[verse 14 15] A guilefull hole, a prison of deceit, Yet nor deceit, nor guile, in being dead, Snare without snarer, net without a bait, A common lodge, and yet without a bed: A holow-sounding vault, knowne and vnknowne, Yet not for mirth, but too too well for mone.

Tis a free prison a chainde libertie, A freedomes caue, a sergeant and a baile, It keepes close prisoners, yet doth set them free, Their clogges not yron, but a clog of waile: It stayes them not, and yet they cannot goe, Their chaine is discontent, their prison woe.

[verse 16] Still it did gape for more, and still more had, Like greedy auarice without content, Like to Auernus which is neuer glad, Before the dead-liude wicked soules be sent: Pull in thy head thou sorrowes tragedy, And leaue to practise thy olde cruelty.

The merry shepheard can not walke alone, Tuning sweete Madrigals of haruests ioy, Caruing loues Roundelayes on euery stone, Hanging on euery tree some amorous toy: But thou with sorrow enterlines his song, Opening thy iawes of death to do him wrong.

[verse 17 18] Oh now I know thy chaine, thy clog, thy fetter, Thy freechainde prison, and thy clogged walke, Tis gloomy darknesse, sins eternall detter, Tis poysoned buds, from Acharonticke stalke: Sometime tis hissing winds which are their bands, Somtime inchanting birds which binds their hands

Sometime the foaming rage of waters streame, Or clattring downe of stones vpon a stone, Or skipping beasts at Titans gladsome beame, Or roaring lions noyse at one alone: Or babbling Eccho tell-tale of each sound, From mouth to skie, from skie vnto the ground.

[verse 19 20] Can such like feares folow mans mortall pace, Within drie wildernes of wettest woe, It was Gods prouidence, his will, his grace, To make midnoone midnight in being so: Midnight with sin, midnoone where vertue lay, That place was night, all other places day.

The sun not past the middle line of course, Did cleerely shine vpon each labours gaine, Not hindring daily toyle of mortall force, Nor clouding earth with any gloomy staine: Onely nights image was apparant there, With heauy-leaden appetite of feare.