The wisdome of Solomon paraphrased. Written by Thomas Middleton

Chapter II.

[verse 1] INdeede they doe presage what wil betide, With the misgiuing verdict of misdeeds, They knowe a fall will follow after pride, And in so foule a hart growes manie weeds: Our life is short, quoth they, no tis too long, Lengthned with euill thoughts, and euill tong.

A life must needs be short to them that dies, For life once dead in sin, doth weakely liue: These die in sin, and maske in deaths disguise, And neuer thinke, that death new life can giue; They say, life dead, can neuer liue againe, O thoughts, ô wordes, ô deeds, fond, foolish, vaine.

[verse 2] Vilde life, to harbor where such death abodes, Abodes worse then are thoughts, thoughts worse then words, Wordes halfe as ill as deeds, deeds sorrowes odes, Odes ill inchaunters of too ill records; Thoghts, words, and deeds conoyined in one song, May cause an Eccho from destructions tong.

Quoth they, tis chaunce whether we liue or die, Borne, or abortiue, be, or neuer bee, Wee worship fortune, shee's our deitie, If she denies, no vitall breath haue wee. Here are wee placed in this orbe of death, This breath once gone, we neuer looke for breath.

[verse 3] Betweene both life and death, both hope and feare, Betweene our ioy and griefe, blisse and dispaire, We here possesse the fruite of what is here, Borne euer for to die, and die deaths heire: Our heritage is death annexde to life, Our portion death, our death an endlesse strife,

What is our life but our liues tragedy, Extinguishde in a momentary time? And life to murder life, is cruelty Vnripely withering in a flowrie prime; And vrne of ashes pleasing but the showes, Once dry, the toiling spirit wandring goes.

[verse 4] Like as the traces of appearing clouds, Giues way when Tytan resalutes the sea, With new-changd flames guilding the Oceans flouds, Kissing the cabinet where I hetis lay: So fares our life, when death doth giue the wound, Our life is led by death, a captiue bound.

When Sol bestrides his golden mountaines toppe, Lightning heauens tapors with his liuing fire, All gloomye powers haue their diurnall stoppe, And neuer gaines the darknes they desire; So perisheth our name when wee are dead, Our selues nere cald to mind, our deeds nere read.

[verse 5] What is the time wee haue? what be our daies? No time, but shadowe of what time should be, Daies in the place of houres which neuer staies, Beguiling sight of that which sight should see; As soone as the begin they haue their fine, Nere waxe, still waine, nere stay, but still decline,

Life may be cald the shadowe of effect, Because the cloude of death doth shadow it, Nor can our life approaching death reiect, They both in one for our election sit; Death followes life in euery degree, But life to followe death you neuer see.

[verse 6] Come we, whose olde decrepit age doth hault, Like limping winter, in our winter, sin, Faultie wee know we are, tush, whats a fault? A shadowed vision of destructions gin; Our life begun with vice, so let it ende, It is a seruile labour to amend.

Wee ioyde in sin, and let our ioyes renewe, We ioyed in vice, and let our ioyes remaine, To present pleasures future hopes ensue, And ioy once lost, let vs fetch backe againe; Although our age can lend no youthfull pace, Yet let our mindes follow our youthfull race.

[verse 7] What though olde age lies heauie on our backe, Anotomie of an age crooked clime, Let minde performe that which our bodies lacke, And change olde age into a youthfull time; Two heauie things are more then one can beare, Blacke may the garments be, the body cleare.

Decaying thinges be needfull of repaire, Trees eaten out with years must needs decline, Nature in time with foule doth cloude her faire, Begitting youthfull daies with ages twine; We liue, and while we liue, come let vs ioy, To thinke of after life, tis but a toy.

[verse 8] Wee know God made vs in a liuing forme, But weele vnmake, and make our selues againe; Vnmake that which is made, like winters storme▪ Make vnmade things to aggrauate our paine, God was our maker, and he made vs good, But our descent springs from another blood.

He made vs for to liue, ••ee meane to die, He made the heauen our seate, we make the earth, Each fashion makes a contrarietie, God truest God, man falsest from his birth; Quoth they, this earth shal be our chiefest heauen, Our sin the anchor, and our vice the hauen.

[verse 9] Let heauen in earth, and earth in heauen consist, This earth is heauen, this heauen is earthly heauen: Repugnant earth, repugnant heauen resist, We ioy in earth, of other ioyes bereauen; This is the Paradice of our delight; Here let vs liue, and die in heauens spght.

Here let the monuments of wanton sports Be seated in a wantonnes disguise; Closde in the circuit of veneriall forts, To feed the long staru'd sight of Amours eyes; Bee this the Chronicle of our content, How wee did sport on earth, till sport was spen•…•…▪

[verse 10] But in the glory of the brightest day, Heauens smoothest browe sometime is furrowed, And cloudes vsurp the clime in dim array, Darkning the light which heauen had borrowed, So in this earthly heauen wee dayly see, That greife is placed where delight should bee.

Here liues the righteous, bane vnto their liues, O sound from forth the hollow caue of woe, Here liues age-crooked fathers, widowed wiues; Poore, and yet rich in fortunes ouerthrowe; Let them not liue, let vs increase their want, Make barren their desire, augment their scant▪

[verse 11] Our lawe is correspondent to our doome, Our lawe to doome, is dooming lawes offence, Each one agreeth in the others roome, To punish that which striues and wants defence; This Cedar-like doth make the shrub to bend, When shrubs doth wast their force but to contend.

The weakest power is subiect to obay, The mushroms humbly kisse the cedars foote, The cedar florishes when they decay, Because her strength is grounded on a roote Wee are the cedars, they the mushromes bee, Vnabled shrubs, vnto an abled tree.

[verse 12] Then sith the weaker giues the stronger place, The yong the elder, and the foote the top, The low, the high, the hidden powers, the face, All beastes, the Lion, euery spring, his stop; Let those which practise contrariety, Be ioynd to vs with inequallity:

They say that we offend, we say they doe, Their blame is laid on vs, our blame on them: They stricke, and we retort the strucken blowe, So in each garment there's a differing hem; Wee end with contraries as they begun, Vnequall sharing of what either wun.

[verse 13 14] In this long conflict betweene tongue and tong, Tongue new begining what one tonque did end, Made this cold battell hot in eithers wrong, And kept no pawsing limites to contend; One tongue was eccho to the others sound, Which breathed accents between mouth & ground

Hee which hath vertues armes vppon his shield, Drawes his descent from an eternall King: Hee knowes discretion can make follie yeild, Life conquere death, and vice a captiue bring: The other tutred by his mother sin, Respects nor deedes, nor words, but hopes to win.

[verse 15] The first, first essence of immortall life, Reprooues the hart of thought, the eie of sight, The eare of hearing ill, the minde of strife, The mouth of speach, the body of despight; •…•…art thinks, eies sees, eares heares, mindes meditate, Mouth vtters both the soule and bodies hate.

But Nature differing in each natures kinde, Makes differing hartes, each hart, a differing thought, Some hath shee made to see, some follie blinde, Some famous, some obscure▪ some good, some nought. So these which differeth in each natures reason, Had natures time, when t••me was out of season.

[verse 16] (Quoth they) he doth reprooue our hart of thinking, Our eies of sight, our eares of hearing ill, Our minds, our hearts in meditation linking, Our mouthes in speaking of our bodies will; Because hart, sight, and minde do disagree. Hee'ld make heart, sight, and mind of their decree.

Hee saies, our hart is blinded with our eies, Our eies are blinded with our blinded hart, Our bodies on both parts defiled lies, Our mouthes the trumpets of our vices smart; Quoth hee, God is my Father, I his sonne, His waies I take, your wicked waies I shun.

[verse 17] As meditated wrongs are deeper plaste, Within the deepe crue of a wronged minde, So meditated wordes is neuer past, Before their sounds a setled harbour finde; The wicked answering to the latter words, Begins to speake as much as speach affords.

One tong must answer other tongues replie, Beginning boasts, requires an ending fall; Wordes liuely spoke, do somtimes wordles dye, If not, liue Ecchoes vnto speeches call; Let not the shadow smother vp the deed, The outward leafe differs from in ward seed.

[verse 18] The shape and shewe of substance and effect, Doth shape the substance in the shadowes hue, And shadowe put in substance, will neglect The wonted shadowe of not being true: Let substance followe substance, showe a showe, And let not substance for the shadowe goe.

Hee that could giue such admonition, Such vaunting wordes, such words confirming vaunts, As if his tongue had mounted to ambition, Or clim'd the turrets which vaine-glory haunts: Now let his father, if he be his sonne, Vndoe the knot which his prowd boasts haue spun.

Wee are his enimies, his chaine our hands, [verse 19] Our wordes his fetters, and our hart his caue, Our sterne embracements are his seruile bands, Where is the helper nowe which he should haue? In prison like himselfe, not to be found, Hee wanteth helpe himselfe to be vnbound.

Then sith thy father beares it patiently, To suffer torments, griefe, rebuke, and blame, Tis needfull thou shouldst beare equallity, To see if meekenesse harbour in thy name, Help father, for thy sonne in prison lies, Helpe, sonne, or else thy helples father dies.

[verse 20] Thus is the righteous God and righteous man, Drownde in obliuion with this vices raigne, God wanteth power (say they) of what we can, The other would performe that which is vaine; Both faultie in one fault, and both alike, Must haue the stroke which our lawes iudgements strike

He calls himselfe a sonne, from heauens descent, What can earths force aualie gainst heauens defence? His life by immortalitie is lent: Then how can punishment his wrath incense? Though death her selfe in his arraignment decke, He hath his lifes preseruer at a becke.

[verse 21] As doth the Basiliske with poysoned sight, Blinde euery function of a mortall eye, Disarme the bodies powers of vitall might, Rob heart of thought, make liuing life to die: So doth the wicked with their vices looke, Infect the spring of clearest vertues brooke.

This Basiliske mortalities chiefe foe, And to the hearts long-knitted arterie; Doth sometime perish at her shadowes showe, Poysning her selfe with her owne poysoned eie: Needs must the sting fall out with ouer-harming, Needs must the tong burne out in ouer-warming.

[verse 22] So fares it with the practisers of vice, Laden with many venomous adders stings, Sometimes are blinded with their owne deuice, And tunes that song which their destruction sings; Their mischeife blindeth their mischeiuous eies, Like Basiliskes which in their shadow dies.

They goe and yet they cannot see their feete, Like blinded pilgrimes in an vnknowen way, Blind in perceiuing things which be most meete, But neede nor sight nor guide to goe astray; Tel them of good, they cannot vnderstand, But tell them of a mischeife, that's at hand.

The Basiliske, was made to blind the sight, [verse 23 24] The adder for to sting, the worme to creepe, The viper to deuoure, the dog to bite, The nightingale to wake when others sleepe; Onely man differs from his makers will, Vndoing what is good, and doing ill.

A god-like face he had, a heauenly hue, Without corruption, image without spottes. But now is metamorphosed anewe, Full of corruption, image full of blottes; Blotted by him that is the plot of euill, Vndone, corrupted, vanquisht by the deuill.