Nero Cæsar, or Monarchie depraued An historicall worke. Dedicated, with leaue, to the Duke of Buckingham, Lord Admirall. By the translator of Lucius Florus.

§. VI. Maine doubts, touching Agrippina's escape, not to be cleared out of Tacitus, Suetonius, or Dio, attempted to be cleared otherwise.

IN this water-scene of AGRIPPINA'S tra∣gedy, nothing did euer trouble mee so much, vvith the shevv of improbabilite, as to con∣ceiue, hovv so tender, and delicate a lady should saue her selfe by svvimming, from among so ma∣ny deadly enemies, till the skiffes, or vvherries, came to the rescue, though the shore (saith TA∣CITVS) vvas neere at hand. For I neuer heard that the ladies of ROME did practise svvimming since CLAELIAS time. This speculation moued one TARCAGNOTA, an ITALIAN, to vvrite in his histories, that she saued her selfe, vp∣on a peece of vvood. Nor vvas that a vvodden or poore deuice had he named some other vvarrant for it, beside his ovvne. I my selfe could thinke vpon other vvayes also, hovv to remoue the scru∣ple, but that it is not all one to penne a historie, as to vvrite a poem; vvhere all things are permitted to phansie, and vvhere nothing. IVLIVS CAE∣SAR saith excellently vvell, that the immortall gods (to speake his ovvn vvords) haue an hand or stroake in all things, but specially in those vvhich

cannot be carried by reason. Which seemes to bee verified in this strange escape, for I cannot ansvver to my selfe this doubt of her swimming by any thing which remaines in TACITVS, and doe therefore the rather incline to follow a poets au∣thoritie of those times, who in my opinion is not a poet in that particular. The tragedy of OCTA∣VIA (NERO'S wife) passing among those of SE∣NECA'S, affirmes vnto vs, that when AGRIP∣PINA was whelmed out of the galley into the water, she sunke, and rose againe, padling with her hands to keepe her selfe aloft. In that estate some cheard her vp in her faintings with their voices, and held her vp in her sinkings with their offici∣ous hands, till (as that tragedian writes) shee mett with assured succours by such of her seruants who for her sake despised death and danger. Her maruailous escape was enough a lone to make her seeme doubly venerable, both as AVGVSTA, and as preserued by the speciall fauour of the immor∣tall gods, the peculiar friends (as TACITVS saith elsewhere) of the CLAVDIAN family; whose lineall of-spring by the fathets side she was. Another greater point, not lesse dimme, or mistie then the former (for any thing which TACI∣TVS hath registred for clearing it) was the for∣tune of the galley it selfe, which though by his narrations it doth well appeare not to haue beene dissolued (at leastwise not vpon the sodaine) yet DIO CASSIVS most credibly reports, that it was dissolued, and the same ancient tragicke poet (who was contemporanie to the fact, whi∣ther he was SENECA or no) describes the foun∣dring of the vessell, and a face of manifest ship∣wracke, some vpon planks, and rafters, others

plying their armes in sted of oares, these escaping, and others drowning. Nor could it in reason bee otherwise, euen by that which TACITVS him∣selfe tels vs, of ouersetting the galley, so to turne AGRIPPINA out into the deepes, whereby A∣NICETVS, and his complices being forced to prouide for their proper safeties, she was the more free to escape, vnder the protection of night, which came somewhat soone, because the vernall aequinox was as then but newly passed.