The Triumph of Fame, Chapter III

I Coulde not in noo wyse away put my syght
From these greate honorable men of myght
When as me thoughte one to me dyd saye
Loke on the lefte hande there see thou may
The dyuyne Plato that goeth I say full nye
Unto the marke of fame euen by and by
Next vnto Plato Aristotle there he is
Pytagoras foloweth that mekely calde Iwys
Phylosophy he dyd geue it that name
Socrates and Xenophontes folowed the same
And that fyery olde auncient man
To whome the musys were so fraudely than
That dyscryued Argo Micena and Troye
Howe that for Helene they lost all their ioye
And he dyd wryte of Laertes sonne also
And of Achilles that was the Troyanes woo
He was the fyrst paynter it is so tolde
Of the auncient and venerable actes olde
There went with hym in that place hand in hand
The Mantuan poete I do well vnderstand
Stryuyng which of them should goo before
And there folowed after in hast more and more
He that as he passyde in that noble passe
It semed the flowres dyd spryng on the grasse
It is he the most eloquent Marcus Tullius
The selfe same eyes and the tunge gloriouse
Unto all the Latynes there there was he
And after hym there came Demostyne
That semyd to be not very well content
Because he was not accompted most excellent
To goo hymselfe next vnto worthy fame
He toke it to be to hym great wrong and shame
He semyd to be alyghtnyng all one fyre
But next vnto hym all full of grete desyre
Went Eschyues which myght perceaue and se
Howe vnmete he was vnto Demostyne
I cannot saye in ordre nether wryte nor tell
Of one and other that dyd there exell
Nor howe I dyd them se nor when
Nor who went foremost nor hynmost then
For it were so to do to great a wondre
They went not fare these clarkes a sondre
But so thycke that both eye and mynd
In lokyng on them theyr names I could not find
But well I knowe that Solon he was there
That planted soo good holsome frute to bere
And yet to lytle effect at length it was
With hym the syx wyse sage grekes dyd pas
Which Grece doth boste of for theyr wyt
In one bande together they were knyt
and I dyd with these also well beholde
Uarro which all our nacione had enrolde
As theyr Duke the thyrde in place was he
Of all the Romaynes in that high degree
The more that I lokte vpon hym there
The more his face semed fayre and clere
Crispo Salustius went with him hande in hande
And Tytus Liuius by hym dyd there stande
Scant contented but lokyng very sadde
Because the fyrst honoure there he ne had
And as I loked fast on this Tytus Liuius
Came by me the excellent naturall Pluuius
Quick in wrytyng but quycker to the death
To muche boldenes dyd stoppe alas his breath
I sawe after hym the great clarcke Plotinus
That wenyng by hys lyfe solytariouse
To haue preuented his harde chaunce & destenye
yet fell he therin for truth this is no lye
His sage foresyght dyd profyt hym nothyng
When necessitie therto dyd hym brynge
There was in lykewyse among the rest also
Crasso, Antonio, and sage Hortensio
Sergius, Galba, and the disdayning Licinius
Whiche were to muche proude and to to curiouse
For with theyr tunges vntrue and vniuste
They sclaudered Cicero they were ye lesse to trust
There folowed after Lucides in that pres
That ordeyned wt wisedome the howres doutles
And wrote of the batrels & wher they were done
And Herodotus with his style holesome
And he beganne the crafty sciense of Geometre
The triangle and the rounde Arball in degre
And of the quadrant fyrme and fast also
The Sophisticall Porphirus next hym dyd go
And falsely dysputed agaynst our religion
And he of […]oo that with his disputacion
Made muche matter in his Amphorisomis
Apollo and Esculapius with hym is
Howbeit they were so auncyent and olde
That scant I could decerne what they would
There was one in that preace of Pargamo
His science is now past it is verye so
But in his tyme it was muche set by
Anaxarco without dread most hardye
And Denocrates more fyrme then a stone
So that there coulde no euyll temptation
Moue hym to any thinge that was vyle
Or by vnclennes his chast body defyle
There folowed hym self there Archemenides
With sadde regarde he stode in that pres
And the pensyfe Democryte next in ordre there
Blynde of both his eyes he had no pere
There was Hyppia also of great auncient age
That durst affyrme that he was so wyse and sage
That he knewe and vnderstode all thynge
Archisilao ensued not much vnlyke such rekening
That he accompted by hys scyence playne
All thynge to be doubtfull and certayne
I sawe Heraclito with wordes couert and close
And Diogenes folowyng his sensual purpose
That lytle shamed his desyre to ensue
Amonge the other this straunge clerke I knewe
And he that shewed a gladde mery chere
When al his landes were lost and other gere
There was also Dicearco the curyouse
Quintilian, Sceneke, and Plutarke the famouse
And after these excellent and connynge men
I sawe a great number together then
Disputinge of dyuers sundry cases
Not to knowe but to fynde secret places
One contrarye vnto the tother alwayes
That it semed there clateryng was lyke iayes
With a romblynge as the shyppes that be
In a raygne tempest vpon the large see
Euen as Lyons and serpentes hurle together
Withoute profyte nowe hyther nowe thyther
Was there disputation and after these than
Wyttye Carneades that well lerned man
That coulde with speach a case so fyle
That were it true or false hys subtyll style
It was harde his craft to knowe and discerne
He lyued longe without all syknes and harme
Tyll false enuy agaynst hym dyd soo aryse
That he coulde not although he were wyse
Resyst the fury of them that hym hatyd
Nor the veneme that agaynst hym was debatyd
There was also the bablyuge Epicurus
That agaynst Cirus was greatlye contrariouse
That affirmed oure soules neuer to dye
This Epycure cleene contrary dyd denye
And sayd that our soules were very mortall
And perysshes as best soules do with the body all
Wherby he deserued to haue reproue and blame
And scant worthy for to folowe fame
I sawe dyuers other folowinge thys secte
Lyppo and Metrodorus and Aristippus ye electe
For theyr excellent conniuge that they then hade
Praysed greatly though theyr saynges were bad
There was also that Phylozopher yt in very dede
Spune the subtle and wonderouse crafty threde
Hys wyt was so excellent and his learning so fine
That he semed to haue a knowledge deuyne
zemone the Father of the Stoykes secte
Aboue the rest he was best electe
Well declared he as he dyd there stande
By the palme and closyng of his hande
Howe the truth was in eche season and case
For he so declared it with his wyse face
The vayne argumentes from the true euen so
That many after hym dyd ensue and go
Here I do leue to speake more of the rest
And nowe wyll tell of that thyng which is best.