APPENDIX, No. II.
Reading edition
LYDGATE.
Extracts from the Dedication to Henry of Monmouth of his poem, "The Death of Hector:"
"For through the world it is known to every one, And flying Fame reports it far and wide, That thou, by natural condition, In things begun wilt constantly abide; And for the time dost wholly set aside All rest; and never carest what thou dost spend Till thou hast brought thy purpose to an end. And that thou art most circumspect and wise, And dost effect all things with providence, As Joshua did by counsel and advice, Against whose sword there is none can make defence: And wisdom hast by heavenly influence With Solomon to judge and to discern Men's causes, and thy people to govern. For mercy mixt with thy magnificence, Doth make thee pity all that are opprest; And to withstand the force and violence Of those that right and equity detest. With David thou to piety art prest; And like to Julius Cæsar valorous, That in his time was most victorious. And in thine hand (like worthy Prince) dost hold Thy sword, to see that of thy subjects none Against thee should presume with courage bold And pride of heart to raise rebellion; And in the other, sceptre to maintain True justice while among us thou dost reign. More than good heart none can, whatsoe'er he be, Present nor give to God nor unto man, Which for my part I wholly give to thee, And ever shall as far forth as I can; Wherewith I will (as I at first began) Continually, not ceasing night nor day, With sincere mind for thine estate thus pray. "The time when I this work had fully done By computation just, was in the year One thousand and four hundred twenty-one Of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour dear; And in the eighth year complete of the reign Of our most noble lord and sovereign King Henry the Fifth. "In honour great, for by his puissant might He conquered all Normandy again, And valiantly, for all the power of France; And won from them his own inheritance, And forced them his title to renew To all the realm of France, which doth belong To him, and to his lawful heirs by true Descent, (the which they held from him by wrong And false pretence,) and, to confirm the same, Hath given him the honour and the name Of Regent of the land for Charles his life; And after his decease they have agreed, Thereby to end all bloody war and strife, That he, as heir, shall lawfully succeed Therein, and reign as King of France by right, As by records, which extant are to light, It doth appear. And I will never cease, both night and day, With all my heart unto the Lord to pray "For Him, by whose commandment I tooke On me (though far unfit to do the same) To translate into English verse this booke, Which Guido wrote in Latin, and doth name 'The Siege of Troy;' and for HIS sake alone, I must confess that I the same begun, When Henry, whom men Fourth by name did call, My Prince's father, lived, and possest The crown. And though I be but rustical, I have therein not spared to do my best To please my Prince's humour."
This poem, "The Life and Death of Hector," was published after the marriage of Henry with Katharine, and before her arrival in England. Among its closing sentiments are the following, intended probably as an honest warning to his royal master, that in the midst of life we are in death, and that the messenger from heaven knocks at the palace of the conquering monarch with no less suddenness than at the cottage of his humblest subject. How appropriate was the warning! Henry did not survive the publication of this poem more than a single year.
"For by Troy's fall it plainly doth appear That neither king nor emperor hath here "A permanent estate to trust unto. Therefore to Him that died upon the rood (And was content and willing so to do, And for mankind did shed his precious blood,) Lift up your minds, and pray with humble heart That He his aid unto you will impart. For, though you be of extreme force and might, Without his help it will you nought avail; And He doth give man victory in fight, And with a few is able to prevail, And overcome an army huge and strong: And by his grace makes kings and princes long "To reign here on the earth in happiness; And tyrants, that to men do offer wrong And violence, doth suddenly suppress, Although their power be ne'er so great and strong. And in his hand his blessings all reserveth For to reward each one as he deserveth. "To whom I pray with humble mind and heart, And so I hope all you will do no less, That of his grace He would vouchsafe to impart And send all joy, welfare, and happiness, Health, victory, tranquillity, and honour, Unto the high and mighty conqueror. "King Henry the Fifth, that his great name May here on earth be extolled and magnified While life doth last; and when he yields the same Into his hands, he may be glorified In heaven among the saints and angels bright, There to serve the God of power and might. "At whose request this work I undertook, As I have said. God He knows when I this work began, I did it not for praise of any man, "But for to please the humour and the hest Of my good lord and princely patron, Who [dis]dained not to me to make request To write the same, lest that oblivion By tract of time, and time's swift passing by, Such valiant act should cause obscured to be; "As also 'cause his princely high degree Provokes him study ancient histories, Where, as in mirror, he may plainly see How valiant knights have won the masteries In battles fierce by prowess and by might, To run like race, and prove a worthy knight. "And as they sought to climb to honour's seat, So doth my Lord seek therein to excel, That, as his name, so may his fame be great, And thereby likewise idleness expel; For so he doth to virtue bend his mind, That hard it is his equal now to find. "To write his princely virtues, and declare His valour, high renown, and majesty, His brave exploits and martial acts, that are Most rare, and worthy his great dignity, My barren head cannot devise by wit To extol his fame by words and phrases fit. "This worthy Prince, whom I so much commend, (Yet not so much as well deserves his fame,) By royal blood doth lineally descend From Henry King of England, Fourth by name, His eldest son, and heir to the crown, And, by his virtues, Prince of high renown. "For by the graft the fruit men easily know, Encreasing the honour of his pedigree; His name Lord Henry, as our stories show, And by his title Prince of Wales is he. Who with good right, his father being dead, Shall wear the crown of Britain on his head. "This mighty Prince hath made me undertake To write the siege of Troy, the ancient town, And of their wars a true discourse to make; From point to point as Guido set it down, Who long since wrote the same in Latin verse, Which in the English now I will rehearse."
In the poem called the "Siege of Troy," written in different metre, Lydgate, addressing Henry, "O most worthy Prince! of Knighthood source and well!" thus proceeds to state the circumstances under which he wrote his work:
"God I take highly to witness That I this work of heartily low humbless Took upon me of intention, Devoid of pride and presumption, For to obey without variance My Lord's bidding fully and pleasance; Which hath desire, soothly for to sayn, Of very knighthood to remember again The wortheness (if I shall not lie) And the prowess of old chivalry, Because he hath joy and great dainty To read in books of antiquity To find only virtue to sow By example of them, and also to eschew The cursed vice of sloth and idleness; So he enjoyeth in virtuous business, In all that longeth to manhood, dare I sayn, He busyeth ever. And thereto is so fain To haunt his body in plays martial, Through exercise to exclude sloth at all, (After the doctrine of Vigetius.) Thus is he both manful and virtuous, More passingly than I can of him write; I want cunning his high renown to indite, So much of manhood men may in him seen. And for to wit whom I would mean, The eldest son of the noble King Henry the Fourth; of knighthood well and spring; In whom is showed of what stock that he grew, The root is virtue; Called Henry eke, the worthy Prince of Wales, Which me commanded the dreary piteous tale Of them of Troy in English to translate; The siege, also, and the destruction, Like as the Latin maketh mention, For to complete, and after Guido make, So I could, and write it for his sake; Because he would that to high and low The noble story openly were knowe In our tongue, about in every age, And written as well in our language As in Latin and French it is; That of the story the truth we not miss, No more than doth each other nation; This was the fine of his intention. The which emprise anon I 'gin shall In his worship for a memorial. And of the time to make mention, When I began on this translation, It was the year, soothly to sayn, Fourteen complete of his Father's reign."
Though this Preface was written when Henry was still Prince of Wales, the work was not finished till he had ascended the throne; when the poet sent it into the world with this charge, which he calls "L'Envoy:"
"Go forth, my book! veiled with the princely grace Of him that is extolled for excellence Throughout the world, but do not show thy face Without support of his magnificence."
TESTIMONY OF OCCLEVE.
The interesting circumstances under which the poet represents the following dialogue to have taken place are detailed in the body of the work.[351] The old man addresses Occleve as his son, and the poet calls his aged monitor father.
Father. "My Lord the Prince,—knoweth he thee not? If that thou stood in his benevolence, He may be salve unto thine indigence." Son. "No man better: next his father,—our Lord the Liege His father,—he is my good gracious Lord." F. "Well, Son! then will I me oblige, And God of heaven vouch I to record, That, if thou wilt be fully of mine accord, Thou shalt no cause have more thus to muse, But heaviness void, and it refuse. Since he thy good Lord is, I am full sure His grace shall not to thee be denied. Thou wotst well he benign is and demure To sue unto: not is his ghost maistried[352] With danger; but his heart is full applied To grant, and not the needy to warn his grace. To him pursue, and thy relief purchase. What shall I call thee—what is thy name?" S. "Occlive[353] (Father mine), men callen me." F. "Occlive? Son!"—S. "Yes, Father, the same." F. "Thou wert acquainted with Chaucer 'pardie?" S. "God save his soul! best of any wight." F. "Syn thou mayst not be paid in the Exchequer, Unto my Lord the Prince make instance That thy patent unto the Hanaper May changed be."—S. "Father, by your sufferance, It may not so: because of the ordinance, Long after this shall no grant chargeable Over pass. Father mine, this is no fable." F. "An equal charge, my Son, in sooth Is no charge, I wot it well indeed. What! Son mine! Good heart take unto thee. Men sayen, 'Whoso of every grass hath dread, Let him beware to walk in any mead.' Assay! assay! thou simple-hearted ghost; What grace is shapen thee, thou not wost. —--Now, syn me thou toldest My Lord the Prince is good Lord thee to; No maistery is to thee, if thou woldest To be relieved, wost thee what to do. Write to him a goodly tale or two, On which he may disport him by night, And his free grace shall on thee light. Sharp thy pen, and write on lustily; Let see, my Son, make it fresh and gay, Utter thine art if thou canst craftily; His high prudence hath insight very To judge if it be well made or nay. Wherefore, Son, it is unto thee need Unto thy work take thee greater heed. But of one thing be well ware in all wise, On flattery that thou thee not found, For thereof (Son) Solomon the Wise, As that I have in his Proverbs found, Saith thus: 'They that in feigned speech abound, And glossingly unto their friends talk, Spreaden a net before them, where they walk.' This false treason common is and rife; Better were it thou wert at Jerusalem Now, than thou wert therein defective. Syn my Lord the Prince is (God hold his life!) To thee good Lord, good servant thou thee quit To him and true, and it shall thee profit. Write him nothing that sowneth to vice, Kyth[354] thy love in matter of sadness. Look if thou find canst any treatise Grounded on his estate's wholesomeness; Which thing translate, and unto his highness, As humbly as thou canst, it thou present. Do thus, my Son."—S. "Father! I assent, With heart as trembling as the leaf of asp."[355]