The Fall of King Forrex, Slain by His Brother Porrex

Complayne I may with tragiques on the stage,
Compeld I am amongst the rest that fell:
I may complayne that felt of warres the wage,
Vntimely death I drewe, doth mee compell.
If I had not bin crowned king I had bene well:
There had no enuie vndermin’d my state,
Nor fortune foil’d the seate whereon I sate.

What blisse enioyd I while my father raynd!
I had no care, in honour I did liue:
Would God I had in that estate remaynd,
But what vs fortune wonted is to giue,
Good happe that holds as water in a siue:
Shee showes a glimpse of thousand ioyes, and moe
Which hides in it tenne thousand seas of woe.

That hatefull hellish hagge of vgly hue,
With rustie teeth and meygre corps misshape,
I meane that monster vile, the worst in viewe,
Whome some call Discorde, Enuie, Ire, and Hate:
She set my brother first with me at bate:
When we fiue yeeres had raygned ioyntly well,
By her intisements, foule at strife we fell.

We liu’d that space well in this noble Ile,
Deuyded well wee ioyntly did inioye
The princely seate, while Fortune fayre did smile,
Without disdayne, hate, discorde or anoye:
Euen as our father raignd, the noble Roy,
In wealth, peace, prayse, purporte, renowne and fame,
Without the blots of euerlasting blame.

But when ambition bleared both our eyes,
And hasty hate had brother-hoode bereft:
Wee frendship fayre and concorde did dispise,
And far a part from vs wee wisedome left:
Forsooke each other at the greatest heft.
To rule the kingdome both wee left, and fell
To warring, iarring like two hounds of hell.

For bounds we banded first on either syde,
And did incroach each one on others right.
T’inlarge the limetes of our kingdome wide,
We would not sticke full oft to fray and fight.
The wretched ground had so bewicht our sight.
For why, the earth that once shall eate vs all,
Is th’only cause of many Princes fall.

On th’earth wee greeue the grounde for filthy gayne,
On th’earth wee close the earth t’inlarge our land:
In th’earth wee moyle with honger, care, and payne,
Wee cut, wee dig thence Siluer, Gold, and Sand:
The bowels of the earth wee moyle with might of hand,
With Steele and Iron tearing vnder ground,
And rigging all the earth to make our ioyes abound.

For th’earth forget wee God, (vnfaythfull fooles)
For grounde forsake wee fayth and all our frends:
For th’earth wee set our selues to subtile schooles,
Of grounde lyke swine wee seeke the farthest ends:
Wee spoyle the grounde that all our liuing lends:
Of grounde to winne a plat a while to dwell
Wee venter liues, and send our soules to hell.

If wee consider could the substance of a man,
How hee composed is of Elements by kinde,
Of earth, of water, ayre, and fire, than
Wee would full often call vnto our minde,
That all our earthly ioyes wee leaue behinde:
And when wee passe to th’earth wee turne to rot:
Our pompe, our pride, and glory is forgot.

The fire first receaues his heate againe,
The ayre the breath bereaues away by right:
The watry and the earthly parts remaine,
Of elements composed scarce so light:
And in the ground a place is for them dight.
The moistures dry, the bones consume to dust,
The wormes with fleshe suffice their greedy lust.

But wee forget our composition olde,
Both whence wee came, and whereunto wee shall:
Wee scarce remember wee bee made of mould,
And how the earth agayn consumeth all.
This great forgetfulnesse breedes Princes thrall.
While present ioyes wee gaze vppon, meane while
A fadeing blisse doth all our wits beguile.

All this I speake to th’end it may aduise
All Princes great, and noble peeres that ar,
To learne by mee the rather to bee wise,
And to abandon hate and malice far:
To banishe all ambitious bloudy warre:
To liue content in peace, with their estate:
For mischiefe flowes from discord and debate.

And now Ile tell what discord vile hath done
To mee King Forrex. Thus the case it stood.
I thought in deede to haue some castels wonne
And holds, which were my brother’s, strong and good.
So might I intercept his vitayles, forrage, food,
Abate his pride, obtaine the Kingdome all:
Mee thought the halfe a portion was to small.

Ther’s no man takes an enterprise in hand,
But hee perswades him selfe it is not ill:
Hee hath of reasons eke in steede to stand,
As hee supposeth framed wise by skill.
So I was led by reason rude, to kill
My brother, if I caught him at the nicke,
Because the quarell first hee gan to picke.

And for because I was the elder Prince,
The elder sonne, and heyre vnto the crowne:
Me thought no lawe, nor reason could conuince
Mee from the fact, though I did beate him downe.
This was my way to winne and reape renowne.
I did prouide an army strong, encampte a fielde,
Not far from where I hoapte to cause him yeelde.

And sundry sharpe assautes on each wee gaue,
On purpose both enflamed for to fight:
Wee had in parle receaued counsayle graue
Of wise and worthy men, perswading right.
'It pitie was (they sayd) so fowle a sight,
That brethren twayne, both Princes of a land,
Should take at home such woefull warres in hand.’

But where ambition dwelles is no remorce,
No countrey’s loue, no kinred holden kinde,
No feare of God, no sentence wise of force
To turne the harte, or mollify the minde:
Good words are counted wasting of your wynde.
The gayne proposde, the crowne and scepter hye,
Are th’only thinges whereat men gaze and prye.

At length my brother for to ende the strife,
Thought best to worke the surest way to winne:
He founde the meanes to take away my life,
Before which time the warres could neuer linne.
How much might better both contented binne!
For hope is sloape, and hold is hard to snatche,
Where bloud embrues the hands that come to catch.

Thus our ambition brewde our subiects smart:
Our broyles pourde out their guiltlesse bloud on ground:
Which vile deuise of mine ambitious heart
Procured Ioue my purpose to confound.
Therefore beware yee wights whose wealths abound,
Content your selues in peace to spend your dayes,
By vertues good aloft in earth your names to rayse:
So shall you liue in Heauen with mighty loue alwayes.

Lenvoy.

What cruell heartes had both these Princes then,
To raigne alone, which sought their brother’s life:
These tyrants were no perfect noble men,
But buchers rather raignyng all by knife:
A woefull thing to heare such brother strife,
Where loue aye lasting loyall should endure,
That crowne or kingdome bloudshed should procure.

And here you one thing chiefely haue to note,
That his pretence was punisht as the fact:
For hee no bloudshed wrought (as well you wote)
But purposde was to worke a bloudy act,
And that both time and place therefore hee lact:
Let such then know, as haue such thoughts in vre,
No murder stable Kingdome can procure.

For if Iehoua did his purpose dint,
How much will hee the factours punish more:
Let noble men from such endeuours stint,
And loue embrace where hatred was before:
Iehouae’s ioyfull impes embrace this lore:
For Porrex here can tell, they may bee sure,
No murder stable kingdome can procure.