Towarde Parthois fast gan him hye:
By hys letters proudly gan defy
The sayd Herodes, & wyth great apparayle.
Myd his countre profred him battayle.
The next morowe whā Crassus toke y• felde,
To him was brought of blacke a cote armure
Which whan his knightes auisedly beheld
Dempt it a token of discomfiture,
For in contrary Romayns do their cure
Whan their capitaine shal fighte or be hed,
His cote armur is outher white or red.
Another token frowarde to beholde,
The fyrst Egle beate in his banere
Also soone as men dyd it vnfold,
Contrariously he tourned loke and chere,
The back to Crassus folke sawe yt stode nere:
A pronostyke to Romayns ful certaine
Howe fortune to them was that daye againe.
By the flud passinge of Eufrates,
wt vnware tempestes hys standerdes echone
In to the ryuer were cast amonge the prees,
To reken them all vpryght stode not one:
Wherof astoyned they wold no further gone,
These pronostykes made them so afrayed
Lyke men in hert dispaired and dismaied.
Of these tokens Crassus was recheles
The pronostykes also he dyd dyspyse,
Toke vpon him to passe Eufrates
To entre Parthoys onely for couetise:
To whom Herodes sendeth in thys wyse
That hys commynge was more for pyllage
Than for knyghthode, manhode, or corage.
Al the power of Parthoys tho came downe
With many Prefecte & men of great courage,
Agayne Crassus & them of Rome towne,
Which as I tolde abode on their pyllage,
That turned after to their great domage:
The sonne of Crassus slayne in that fray,
His father take, and al vpon a daye.
His head smyt of, in whom was no defence,
But disconfyted wyth many a legion,
The heade of Crassus brought to the presence
Of Herodes within his royal toun,
Whych hath comaunded golde to be broughte doune
To be molte there as he lay dead,
And to powre thereof full hys head.
This thinge was done for a mockery,
In signe onely (the storye doth deuyse)
That golde nor treasour vpon no party
Staunche myght his thrust of couetyse:
Suche gredines eche man should dispyse,
For auaryce of custome in eche place
Of hye prowes doth the prise difface.
Herodes after dyd serche all the wardes
Through al the felde vpon Crassus syde,
Toke the penons, baners, & standardes,
And in his tempels large, longe, and wyde
Let hange them vp of surquedy and pride,
In signe onely and eke for a memory
He of Romains hath get the victory.
With whiche he lyst not onely be content
Wenyng his fortune shoulde abyde stable,
In to Surry he hath hys sonne sēt
Called Pachorus, made him a constable
Of that region, with him to be partable
Of al treasours and mouables y• he founde
Whereuer he rode throughout al lond.
This Pachorus by hys chyualry
Encrease gan in his tendre age,
Wherof Herodes his father had enuy
Fearful it shoulde tourne to his domage,
Lest he would by tytle of heritage
Maugre him at hys agayne commynge,
Take vpon him of Parthoys to be king.
Than Pachorus was called home agayne
Out of Surrye, where in conclusion
Al that he had wrought was in vayne,
Bycause one Cassius fro Rome was come
Slewe al the people in the region
Whych appertayued to Pachorus, as I find, doun,
Without capitaine for they were left behynde.
To withstande this Romayne Cassius
Herodes hath his sonne sent agayne,
Whych anone after, the story telleth thus,
Amyd the felde vnhappely was slayne:
To trust fortune it is a thynge but vayne,
Whiche of custome to day is fauourable
And to morowe geryshly chaungeable.
Of Pachorus dethe whan the noise arose
And the distressynge of his chyualry,
And to Herodes abydyng in Parthois
Tyding was brought, farde as he would die,
Of hertely sorow fyl in to a frensy:
Heyre was none left of the royall lynes