Poems, viz. 1. A panegyrick to the king. 2. Songs and sonnets. 3. The blind lady, a comedy. 4. The fourth book of Virgil, 5. Statius his Achilleis, with annotations. 6. A panegyrick to Generall Monck. / By the Honorable Sr Robert Howard.

A PANEGYRICK To the KING.

THE true Parnassus (Sir) which Muses know, Are Subjects which they choose; to whom they owe Their Inspirations, differing as the times, Unhappy Vertues, or successfull Crimes. The greatest Choyce is, where the most Successe Makes Fears as great, nor their Ambitions lesse. With the Usurped Crowns they strive for Bays; Those readier not to Act than These to Praise.

My Muse (Great Sir) has no such fears, or knows A better Impiration than your Woes. To sing those Vertues which are all your own, Not brought you by Successes 〈◊〉〈◊〉 a Throne; But by the malice of the world withstood: So much 'tis easier to be Great than Good. Which knows no end, or change by human things, But like the world (Eternall) whence it springs. Greatness is, as forbidden Pleasures are, Reach'd by th'impious hands, that will but dare Attempt all Crimes, still scorning a retreat: Onely the Bad can be unjustly Great.

By Falls from Thrones, such, and the vertuous know What Fate to them, or they to Fortune owe. By courage nor by vertue can be staid Fortune, which tired grows by lending aid. So, when all Thrones on Caesar were bestow'd, Not Fate to him, but he to Fortune ow'd, And paid her back the vastest Principall She ever lent, in his too-wretched Fall; To whose successfull Courage once she gave The * 1.1 Mistress of the World to be his Slave.

To fair days, storms succeed; to storms, the fair: We know but what we are by what we were. And Mans condition's valu'd more or lesse, By what he had, not what he does possesse. For no Extreams could ever gain a Height From their own natures, but each other's weight.

So * 1.2 Lucan made the flying Pompey blame, Not present Woes, but his too-early Fame. Great * 1.3 Scipio, whose too happy courage made His Country free, and Hannibal's enslay'd, Had been more happy, had he been but lesse, And not fear'd want of glory, but excesse. Whose Countrie-men's ungrateful fears were more, For his successe, than Hannibal's before. So much Plebeian Souls from Nature's School, Are fitted more for Servitude than Rule.

Would such Examples had been onely known; But we have felt a greater of our own, In your Great Father seen; whose Sunshine-days▪ Deserves not more our wonder than our praise: Nor did his days of Tempests lesse proclaim, But taught us more of Miracle and Fame. And equal'd all the miseries it brought; By vertues, which unequal'd sufferings taught.

Frailty affliction brings; and yet a friend, In giving those afflictions too an end. Yet immortality can no blessing give, But make that perfect, which must ever live. His soul, refin'd so by Celestiall heat, One could not hurt; and t'other ha's made great. He pay'd his scores of Frailty, and of Joy's, To live, where nothing that's enjoy'd destroy's. And sell, lest this frail World like Heaven might be, At once admitting Him, and Constancy.

Happy were we, had we but understood, None were too great, nor we out selves too good! Within our selves, and by our selves confin'd: One by our Ocean; t'other by our Mind. Whilst the obliged World, by War unsought, Was willingly by gentler Traffick brought. Secure and Rich; whilst every swelling Tide, That brought us safety, brought us Wealth beside▪ Above the reach of the World's power grown, And had been safe, had we but fear'd our owne. What the Grave Spaniard, and the Belgian too, The active French, by power could not do, Our passions did; and quickly made it known, We could be Conquered by our selves alone. And acting that which others could not do, Are now fit for their Scorn, and Conquest too. How just, and sure Heaven's revenges are! We slighted peace; and grow despis'd by War. Like Mad men then, possest with Lunacy; We now must find a Cure in misery.

And by our suffering, to our wits redeem'd, Our long-lost peacefull temper grows esteem'd. For man does most, by the Comparative, At the true knowledge of Extreams arrive. And in affliction's ready to adore, That which he hardly could indure before. How fatally this Nation proves it true, In mourning for our banish't Peace; and You!

To You, Great Sir, Fortune's in debt alone, Who can be no way pai'd, but by your owne. Your Vertues have not more made Crowns your due, Than sufferings taught you how to use them too. Stroaks upon solid bodies do provoke A secret brightnesse free, unmixt with smoak: No grossnesse mingled; but bright sparks declare, What mighty firmnesse their Composures are. So whilst the stroaks of Fortune on You light, Your mighty frame appears more firm and bright. Affliction often by its powerfull weight, Is the Case-shot of Destiny and Fate. Routing faint principles together brought By prosperous vertues; not by hazards taught. Whilst the weak man is too much understood, His frailty more, than his substantiall good.

As in the low declining of the day, Mens shaddows more enlarged shew, than they; So in the worlds great, last, adversity, When every Element their power must try; To dissolution they must all retire, And leave but one pure Element of fire.

All that was grosse, which from weak nature flows, In your great trialls, so expiring shows. And all unto your Nobler Soul resign'd, Nothing seems l••fe in you, but what's refin'd. No longer, now, subject to what is frail, But have from Nature, cut off the entail.

Nor yet could Fortune with her pow't or frowns, Ravish your Father's Veroues, though his Crowns; So little was th' esteem of human things, To that once best, and now most blest, of Kings. One that in all his time, was never known, Greedy of Lives, though weary of his own. Peace Crown'd his thoughts, though not his wretched time, His Nature was his fate, his Crown his crime: Despis'd by his own people, first; because, He stoop't below his power, and their laws. His easie gifts seem'd all but debts; when they, Had nothing left to ask, nor he to pay. Yet that he might unjust, or mean, appear, For what his nature gave, they thank't his fear. All the fair vertues of his Halcyon-times Instead of gratitude contracted crimes In those, who from the fears he ever had, Of being ill, took boldnesse to be bad. Such as on peace, the name of [idle] fling, And make their Prince a Tyrant or no King; So fell that Prince, too good for such bad times, By his own Vertues, and by others Crimes.

Now against you, Great Sir, their swords are turn'd, And joy in what the VVorld besides has mourn'd.

Still constant in their Crimes and Cruelty, All Conscience turn'd into Necessity. Which by the view of acted sins before, Does safe appear, onely by doing more: As those who quit firm shores, when the wind raves, Must not retire, but bustle still in waves. The wandring Needle so can never stay, Till it finds out the Point it should obey. Our Constitution toucht by Monarchy, Till it rests there, must always wandring bee; And that must fix in You: None could convay True light, but He that ought to rule the day. VVhen Phaeton did to that heighth aspire, He brought not influence to the world, but fire: So those led by Ambition to your Throne, Have brought us ruine, and have found their own.

VVhilst thus our Sphear is over-cast with Clowds, You (the bright Sun) their envious darkness shrouds, As ready to break forth, when Factions here Divide, as when dark clowds part in the Sphear, The Sun can be. No offer you neglect, To warm us with your lustre, and protect From such foggs of mean Souls, which still will flie O're us, till all's dispell'd by Majesty.

Once for your Kingdome's sake you durst oppose Your Laurel'd Enemies with your * 1.4 conquer'd foes. Yet Heaven from your assistance then was staid, Lest the ill Act the good had over-vveigh'd;

And in the Victory those Scots had found Their Crimes together vvith your Vertues crovvn'd. Then 'twas You did attempt your debt to pay To Us or Nature, by a noble way. The bold * 1.5 Aeneas so, having left Troy In its own funerall flames, scorn'd to enjoy Safety alone; but, led by Vertues great As vvere the Dangers he was to repeat, Return'd among his ruin'd Friends and State, To bring them safety, or to fetch their fate. VVhilst our dull souls all nobler vvarmth deny'd, The Covvard and th'Insensible divide Our vvoes made habits by the use, or dare Not think vve knovv hovv great our sufferings are. Like those vvho dvvell in still-resounding Caves, VVhere Nile sends headlong dovvn his rapid vvaves, Are deaf, because the Clamors constant are, The VVater not out-thundered by the Air. So, still oppress'd, Custom at last denies Unto our Souls the use of Faculties.

Thus is Your case in forlorn habits drest, Rob'd of your friends by fear and interest. VVhilst Princes little think (since change is sure) To pitty others is to be secure; Like those, vvho neither dying men deplore, Nor have more thoughts of frailty than before.

But HE above, to make his Povver knovvn, VVhat exceeds ours, has fitted for his ovvn; And can by those bad Instruments restore Your Crovvns, that were their ravishers before. By Jealousie, and their ambitious Pride, VVhich may their Crimes among themselves divide; Till in each others guilty bosome too, They sheath their Svvords more justly than they drew. Like Cadmus children that vvere born vvith strife, Their quarrell's not lesse antient than their life, VVhich never in successive mischief dyes, And factions still on other's ruines rise. So a svvell'd VVave in all its pride appears, VVhose certain fate the follovving billovv bears. In Storms, ruine on ruine still depends, Till vvant of giddy vvaves the quarrell ends.

So Justice your returning Throne prolongs, Till they upon themselves revenge your vvrongs. That without Vict'ry you may Conquest find, And without Blood your peacefull Brows may bind With all those Crowns, which are as much your due As Birth and Vertue can contribute to.

Thus the great Power of all, having first chose To make your Vertues great and safe by Woes, Will, by as unexpected ways, restore Your ravish'd Crowns, as they were lost before.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Rome, call'd by Livie, Totius Orbis D••minatri••.
• * 1.2

  —Sed longi poenas Fortuna favoris Exigit a misero, quae tanto pondere famae Res premit adversas, fatisque prioribus urget.

  Lucan. Phar. lib. 8.
• * 1.3

  Hannibal, in his excellent Speech to Scipio between their Armies, then ready to fight, set down by Livie; among other motives to Scipio for peace, by his own example, advises him to be secure from the Ingratitude of his Country; which afterwards was too largely evi∣dent by their reducing him to Privacy as great as his for∣mer Glories, and render'd themselves unworthy of his Ashes, which to this day lie in an unknown Grave.
• * 1.4

  Comming in with the Scots, who were before Conquer'd by the English at Dunbar.
• * 1.5

  Stat casus renovare omneis, omnemque reverti Per Trojam, et rursus caput objectare perîclis. Virg. lib. 2. Aeneid.