I ragguagli di Parnasso, or, Advertisements from Parnassus in two centuries : with the politick touch-stone / written originally in Italian by that famous Roman Trajano Bocalini ; and now put into English by the Right Honourable Henry, Earl of Monmouth.

The LVI. ADVERTISEMENT.

Apollo, to secure the rivers of his State from Pyracie, makes Bernardo Capello General of the Ionick Sea, and gives him excellent directions.

APPOLLO being desirous to provide against many evils which Learning suffers under by the Frigots of ignorant Pyrats, in the rivers of Corinth, declared Bernardo Capella two days ago, in the great Senat of Litterati, to be Admiral or General of the Ionick Sea; whom he strictly commanded, that to that purpose he should levy foot, and was content that he should take along with him some of the best born young Poets of that State; who to begin the mysterie of bearing arms, did offer themselves to serve his Majestie upon this occasion. Apollo afterwards sent for Capello, whom he strictly commanded, under the pain of being declared to be wofully ignorant, that he should molest none with his Gallies, but the Frigots of ignorant Pyrats; and that he should suffer Merchants ships, of what Nation soever, to go free, toge∣ther with their Merchandize, to do them all possible honour; and that he should be ayding to them upon all occasions, as they well deserved, for that by theirnoble industry, men enjoyed the commodities of the remotest Countreys; to the end that the zeal that his Majestie desired to shew unto the world, of defending his subjects and their faculties from the rapine of Pyrats, might not be turned into a greater inconveni∣ence by his filling the Seas with new and a worser sort of Sea Rob∣bers.

His Majestie then said, It would be too shameful a thing that the robbing of publike Merchants ships should be done in the name of the most exquisitely vertuous Prince, who should be much to blame if he imployed his prime Nobility in such an exercise, wherein they should be∣gin their Militia with shame enough, if their first action should be to

pillage Merchants ships. And to the end that all the world might know, that his Majesty had no interest in a business of such weight, save only the publick good; he charged Capello to kill as many Pyrats as he should take; not only the more to terrifie so pernitious a race of men, but that so usefull a work might not by taking of ransoms, be turned into a pub∣lick prejudicial Merchandice; it being proved by many things which had hapned, that such Pyrats as had first been prisoners, and had afterwards purchast their Liberties, did very willingly expose themselves afterwards to all sorts of danger to reimburse the money which they had paid for their ransom. The last and chiefest order which his Majesty gave to Ca∣pello, was, that his charge being only to guard the Rivers belonging to Par∣nassus, he should keep himself from going out of them at any time▪ as he would do from fire, lest he might fall upon the same shame as those fools do, who forsaking their marriage-bed to commit adultery with other mens wives, became cuckolds.