OF

THE

FIRST BOOKE OF ALBION'S ENGLAND.

CHAP. L

I TELL of things done long agoe,
Of many things in few:
And chiefly of this clyme of ours,
The accidents pursue.
Thou high director of the same,
Assist mine artlesse pen,

To write the gests of Brutons stout,
And actes of English men.

When arked Noah, and seuen with him,
The empty'd world's remaine,
Had left the instrumentall meane,
Of landing them againe:

And that both man and beast, and all,
Did multiplie with store,

To Asia Sem, to Affrick Cham,
To Europe Iapheth bore
Their families. Thus triple wise
The world deuided was:

One language common vnto all;

Vntill it came to passe,

That Nembroth sonne to Chus, the sonne

Of Cham, old Noah his sonne,
In Caldea (neuer seene before)
An empire had begonne,

As he and his audacious crew,
The tower of Babell reare,
Pretending it should check the cloudes,
So to auoyd the feare

Of following flouddes, the creator

Of creatures beheld

The climing toppes of cloud-high towers,

And more to be fulfilde.

To cut off which ambicious plot,
And quash their proud intent,
Amongst a world of people there
He sundry speeches sent,
So that, vnable to conferre

About the worke they went,
The tower was left vnfinished:
And euery man withdrew
Himselfe apart, to ioyne with those
Whose language best he knew:
And thus confused tongues at first,
To euery nation grew.

THE Babylonian Saturne though
His building's speede was bad,
Yet found the meanes that vnder him
He many nations had.

He was the first that rulde as king,
Or forraine landes subdude,

Or went about into the right
Of others to intrude:

Ere this aspiring mindes did sleepe,
And wealth was not pursude.
His sonne Toue Belus after him,
Succeeded and puruaide

For dreadfull warres, but awlesse Death
His dreadfull purpose staide.

Then Ninus prosecutes the warres,
Preuented Belus sought,

And fild the wrong d worlde with armes,
And to subiection brought

Much people, yet not capable
Of such his nouile fight.

From Caldea to Assyria he

Translates the empire quite:

And caused fire on horses' backes,

Before him euer borne,

To be adorned for a god.

Thus out of vse was wore

In Caldea and Assyria too
The honour rightly due
To high Iehoua, God indeede.
Idolatrie thus grew

From Ninus first: he first of all

A monarchie did frame, And bewtified Niniuie,

That bore the builder's name. His warlike wife Semiramis,

Her husband being dead, And sonne in nonage, faining bith Long ruled in his stead: Delating in a male's attyre,

The empire new begonne :

The which, his yeares admitting it, She yeelded to her sonne.

Thus Cham his broode did borgeon first,
And held the worlde in awe :
But Iapheth's line to Jauan's land
From Assur doth vs drawe.

MVCH prayse is spoke of Thessalie,
And Pegasus his springs,
And how the nimphes of Meonie,
In Tempe did great things,

And how that Cecrops and his seede

Did honour Athens so,

As that from thence are sayd the springs Of sciences to flow.

Not onely artes, but cheualry,

From Greece deriue we may:
Whereof (omitting many things)
My Muse, alonely say

How Saturne, Ioue, and Hercules,
Did fill the world with fame
Of justice, prowesse, and how they
Both men and monsters tame:
And so from these deriue the meane
How Brute to Albion came.

In Crete did florish in those dayes
(The first that florisht so)
Vranos: he in wealth and witte

All others did out goe.

This tooke to wife (not then forbod)
His sister Vesta fayre,

That crooked Titan did to him
And comely Saturne baer.
The elder for deformities,

In making and of minde,
With parents and the people too
Did lesser liking finde:
The younger by the contraries,
Gaue hansel in his prime
Of many virtues, honouring

Their owner's elder time.

Away slips age: death spareth none:
Vranos leaues the stage,
His body (now depriv'd of pomp)
Interrd, the wormes doe gage.

Well may a rich man's hearse want teares,
But heires he shall not mis,

To whome, that he is dead at length
No little ioye it is.

Howbeit, at the least for forme,

Vranos' sonnes lament:

But scarce their parted father's ghost
To Heauen or Hell was sent,

When that his heires did fall at oddes
About the vacant raigne;

And Titan chafes, disabled then
The scepter to sustame.

Each eye did follow Saturne's forme,
Each heart applaudes his fame,
And to conclude, with whole consent,
He winnes away the game.

Yet, for because the birth-right should
Inure to Titan still,

In Mars his church did Saturne yow
His issue's males to kill.

Not meanely glad was Saturne then
His head possest of crowne,
When, of his building, he was lord
Of many a peopled towne.

He giueth lawes, his lawes are kept,
He bids, and all obay,
And equally belou'd and feard

He wealds a kingly sway.

He teacheth men (vntaught before)
To eare the lusty land:
And how to pearse the pathlesse ayre,

With shaft from bow-man's hand.
God Dis did quaile to see his golde

So fast conuay'd from Hell,
And fishes quakte, when men in ships
Amidst their flouds did dwell:
Who loues not him? wherein did not
The king of Crete excell.

But what auaile or townes, or lawes,
Or what doe subjects moue?
Sheaues, shafts, or ships, or gold, or all?
King Saturne is in loue.

He loues, and is beloude againe ;
Yeat so might not suffice,

In former vow to Titan made

His paine of pleasure lies:
But no man from the monaike Lone
By wealth or weapons flies.
Cybella, fayre Cybella is
Espoused to her brother:
And as doe Venus' billing birds
So loue they one another.
In coiture she doth conceive:

One sonne is borne, and slayne:
And Saturne of the hansell hard,
Doth male-content remayne.

CHAP. IL

THE Sunne had compast all the signes,
And Cybell brought to light
Her second breede, a smiling boy,
And Iupiter he hight:
Together with the queene of gods
(So Iuno's stile we wright).