Ere there was mountain made or hill, From age to age, and ever still, For ever thou art God: Thou bringest man through grief and pain To death and dust, and then, And then thou sayest, return again, Again, ye sons of men. The lasting of a thousand year What is it in thy sight? As yesterday it doth appear, Or as a watch by night: Whene'er thy judgements come on men, Which in the morning shines most bright, But fadeth bye and bye, And is cut down e're it be night, All withered dead and dry. So through thy wrath our days soon waste Our years consume as words or blaste And ne'er return again, Our age is three score years and ten That we the sun behold, Four score if any see, yet then We count them wondrous old; Are little else but painfull strife, Untill our breath be gone,' Instruct us then, O Lord, to know How long our days remain, That we may now our thoughts apply, True wisdom to attain." &c. VOL. IX. L I have I have removed two or three vulgar expressions for such as are less exceptionable, lest they should depreciate the rest, but they might not have had that vulgarity in the age of Elizabeth; and the common editions have in like manner changed some obsolete words; yet none of these affect the meritorious part of the version, which otherwise exhibits the true state of the English language in that reign, as it subsisted in the ordinary mode of composition; and on this account, at least, may deserve a place among the other remains of that age; while at the same time the use of a few obscure or insipid words may be rather the fault of the age than the author; excepting the removal of which, not the least other alteration is made, in order that, he may speak for himself whether he ought to be altogether excluded from among the relics of what is called poetry in that reign. The new version of this psalm can bear no comparison with that of Sternhold. S. ART. V. The golden boke of Marcus Aurelius Emperour and eloquente oratour. Londini An. M.D.XLVI. Oct. 278 leaves. John Bourchier, Lord Perners, the translator, died at Calais 1532, aged sixty-three. His life, with several additional notices, may be found in the last edition of the Noble Authors, Vol. I. p. 239. Of the present work Herbert has placed a copy without date in 1534, 8vo. as printed by Berthelet. Another edition in 4to. 1536, printed by him, is mentioned by Warton. Three copies are in my possession, dated respectively 1546, 1553, (both without a printer's name) and 1559, having for colophon "Imprinted at London in Fletestrete, in the late house of Thomas Berthelet. Cum, &c." These are small octavo, and the titles in the ornamented compartment with the date 1534 used for the works of Sir Thomas Eliott. The original was found in the collection at Florence made by Cosmo de Medicis, and progressively translated from Greek into Latin, Castilian, French, and English. The prologue was by the first translator, and concludes with the following account of finding the original."Whan I departed from the college of my study, and went to preache in the palays, where I sawe so many newe nouelties in the courtes, I delyuered my selfe with greatte desyre to knowe thynges, and gaue my selfe to searche and knowe thynges auncient. And the case fortuned on a daie, readyng an historie, I founde therein matter to be noted in a pistell, and it seemed to me so good, that I put all mine humaine forces to serche farther. And after in reuoluyng dyuers bokes, serchyng in diuers libraries, and also speakyng with diuers sages of diuers realmes, finally I found this tretise in Florence, among the bokes lefte there by Cosme de Medicis, a man of good memory. I haue vsed in this writyng, the which is humayne, that that diuerse tymes hath bene vsed in diuinitee, that is to reduce, not word for word but sentence for sentence. We other interpretours are not bounde to gyue for the meane the wordes, it sufficeth to gyue for the weyght the sentence. As the historiographers, of whom there were dyuers, and the history that they made was all but one thyng, I wyll not deny but I haue L. 2 haue left out some wordes, which were not mete nor well sittyng, rude and least of valure, and I haue medled with other more swete and profytable. I thynke that euery wise man, after he hath read this boke, wyll not saie that I am the principall auctour of this worke, nor yet to iudge me so ignoraunte to exclude me cleane from it; for so hygh sentences are not founde at this present tyme, nor to so hygh a style they of tyme paste neuer attained. Here endeth the prologue." Marcus Aurelius bore upon his coins "Impm. M. Aurelius Antoninus." As emperor he reigned nineteen years, which terminated A. D. 180. He was a renowned warrior and a virtuous and enlightened magistrate. Having early imbibed the rigid principles of the stoics, it enabled him to obtain a control over his passions, and behold the little changes of life with stern and tranquil indifference. To correct the manners of the people he publicly read lectures on philosophy, and upon a sudden excess banished their favourite mimes of every description. The circumstances of this transaction, and the letter written by him upon the occasion, furnish an amusing selection. "This emperour was so wyse in all thynges, that among theim that were mery, he was of great mirthe, And in verities he was very veritable. In his pastimes he was greatly temperate, and a louer of musike, specially in good voice and instrumentes, and sore displeased yf ye hard any discorde therein. He passed most of his youth in learnyng of sciences. Whan he came to mans estate, he exercised feates of knyghtehode: he loued discipline and hated adulacion. He was apt and happie in armes, but yet in ridyng of horses horses he hadde oft tymes ill happe. In his younge age he dely ted to plaie at the tennys, and at the chesse in his age. He loued not these counterfaityng plaiers of farces and mummeries, and yet lesse trewandes* that been natural, fooles, † iuglers, and iesters, for pleasure. The plaiers and iesters suffered great varietie in the empire, accordyng to the diuersitee of emperours. Julius Cæsar susteyned theim; Octauian his neuew droue theim away; Caligula called the agayne; cruell Nero banisshed theim; Nerua made theim come agayn; good Trajan banished them out of all Italy; Anthoni Pius brought theim in again; and by the handes of this good emperour Marcus Aurelyus, they ended. And the occasion was, the Romaines did celebrate with great ioye, the iiii daie of May, the great feast of the mother Berecynte, mother of all the goddes. The sacred priestes flammes diales, wold haue brought thither these minstrelles iugglers and iesters, for to reioyce the feast, and contrary wise the holy nunnes vestales would [not] haue done the same, so that variunce fell betwene theim, some with force, and some with resistence, and some ranne thither in fauouryng of bothe parties, and not a few to depart theim. The cruell and great noyse of slaughter among theim was suche, that it tourned the feast to wepynges, the pleasures into sorowes, and their songes into wailynges. This good emperour laboured to peace this furie of the people, and to set peace among the neighbours of Rome. Whan all was dooen he made curiouse diligence to searche out all the plaiers, iuglers, and Beggars. Yet there was a fool he kept" named Galindo, at whose wordes the emperour often toke pleasure." |