How Seuerus the Emperour of Rome, and Gouernour of Britayne, was slaine at Yorke, fighting against the Pictes, about the yeere after Christ, 206, after others, 213.

The stay of stately throne is nothing sure,

Where great estates on brybes or blodshed build;

As Didius Iulian put for proofe in vre,

Th’emperiall seate he bought, and soone was kild:

So Niger after him by armes assayde the same,

Albinus then, from Britayne armed came,

[For Empire sake they lost their heades and fame.]

These three stoode in my way to high estate,

Which I sore thirsted for, but yet at last

I made thereto, by bloudshed bold, a gate,

And letlesse so vnto[1057] the throne I past:

The souldiers Iulian slewe, for insufficient pay:

My seruants eke at Antioch Niger slay:

[At Lyons siege they tooke Albinus head away.]

Then was my seate, me thought, assurde to bide,

There could no tempest teare my sayles adowne:

No showre could cause my fixed foote to slide,

Nor vnder creeper crooke[1058] from me the Crowne

Which had the guyde of all Europae’s [wealth and] might,

He, needed not to feare the force of fight,

[Nor yet the ire of any worldly wight.]

Encouraged with loue of lasting fame,

I entred with an armie into th’East,

Armenia can full well reporte the same,

Whereas my warlike glory first increast.

Angarus I subdude by fight the noble King,

And bid his sonnes to Rome for hostage bring,

[For which my fame through all the worlde did ring.]

Arabia Fælix felt my force likewise,

Although those warres had not so good successe:

Yet made I them with bowes (good archers) rise,

Or else they had bene driue to great distresse.

Their [fethered] shaftes from Arras shot, made vs to smarte,

They poysoned of my men by policy and arte,

[And forced mee afflicted sore, with souldiers to departe.]

To Parthia thence, agaynst of armes the lawe,[1059]

Wee gate, forgot the truce before was plight:

And when occasion fit to serue therefore wee sawe,[1060]

King Artabane w’assaylde, and put him thence to flight.[1061]

With fire and sword wee brent, [turmoylde,] and spoylde his land,

Tooke captiues, slewe the men that did vs ought with-stand,[1062]

[Enritcht with boetyes thence retournde, whereof great store we fand.]

To Rome I came, and caused chartes[1063] bee drawne

Of iourneys mine, by land and seas the plats:

Not erst before such expedition sawne,

Nor of those Countryes seene so perfect mapps.

The worlde did wonder at my heaps of haps,

The Romaynes honourde mee[1064] with triomphes when I came,

They vnto mee of Parthique gaue to name,

[And Poets pennes perpetuate my prowes, facts, and fame.]

But when can Princes best assure themselues?

What state without the stormes of strife doth stand?

What barke beares sayle in tempeste on the shelues?

What blisse abides and lasts, by sea or land?

Who takes to raygne the scepter in his hand,

Is like to him in sterne to stirre that sits,

Commaunding all the rest, theyr race hee fits,

[Mishandling there the helme with losse of all on rockes hee hits.]

For while that I abroade for glory hunt,

My sonnes at home in pleasures spent the time:

And as their father erst before was wont,

Endeuourde howe aloft they both might clime.

The elder fearce and cruell Antonine,

The yonger Geta gentle more and milde[1065] then hee,

Could not at any time in peace agree,

[Desiring both t’inioy the empire after mee.]

10.

So I endeuourde to appeaze the strife,

But nought at all I could therein preuaile:

This made mee woe and wery of my life,

Which erst so many kingdomes did assaile.

I had the hap mine enmyes force to quaile,

To rule the Romaynes well, and all the rest:

But for to rule my sonnes, which should bee best,[1066]

[I could no counsayle finde, nor haue the hurte redrest.]

11.

Perceiuing then some persons lewde there were,

Which counsailde ofte my sonnes embracing vice,

(As still is seene in court enueaglers are,

Procurers of despite, contemners of the wise,[1067]

That flatery hold for gayne a gift of price)

I causde them[1068] put to death those Thrasoes vile,

And some were sent or banishte to exile:

[But yet the griefe encreased all this while.]

12.

Mine[1069] elder sonne did thinke my life to long,

The yonger lou’d the elder’s life as ill:

They studied both to make their parties strong,

Which griefe my griped harte well nere did kill.

Such are the mischieues of the stately still.

In Britayne eke the Pictes rebelling rose,

Some Britaynes there became our secret foes,

[Wherfore in age my selfe againe to warres I did despose.]

13.[1070]

First to bee absent from the force at home,

And partly greater glory to attayne,

My children sought, perdy, my death[1071] in Rome,

[Without of lawes or Senate house the dome.]

But chiefly Antonine tooke herein payne,

I should by gard or Phisicke drugges bee slayne,

That so the Empire might to hym remayne.[1072]

14.

Yet no man would accomplishe his intent,

For my Phisitions bare mee loyall hartes:

My seruaunts eke full true no treason ment,

But playde in eache respect their faithfull partes.

They knewe themselues so bound by due desertes,

They ought not, seruaunts, such a Lord betray,

That gaue so great rewardes and giftes alway;

[To pleasure him, that sought his father’s owne decay.]

15.

To Britayne I addrest an army great, perdy,[1073]

To quaile the Pictes that rufled in that Ile:

And for to cops the Britaynes tributes that deny,[1074]

Which were withheld from Romaynes there a while,

And to bee absent from my sonnes so vile.

But see what haps befall vs in the end,

Which so to clime aloft, to raygne[1075] alone contend:

[Marke whereunto our laboures great and bloudsheds bend.]

16.

For when I was to Britayne come that [famous] land,

Where people stout, vntamde, vnuanquisht dwelt:

Although once Cæsar Fortune’s fauour fand,

That erst before their valiaunt valure felt:

I found the people nothing prest to pelt,

To yeeld, or hostage geue, or tributes [due to] pay,

Or couenaunts to accept, or fearefully to fray:

[But bade by war to win the price, and beare the palme away.]

17.

They sayde that we did tributes sore exacte,

Whereby their Isle empouerisht greately was:

The Pictes likewise them robde, and spoyle, and sackte,

Whereof the Romaynes seemed naught to pas.

Wee ought (they sayd) to tame the Galloglasse,

The ranging Scythian Picte that them did spoyle,

[Empouerishing their people, them to foyle:]

If wee would reape a taxe or tribute[1076] of their toyle.

18.

On which at length, I did conclude a peace,

And ioynde with them in league[1077] agaynst the Picte:

But yet the wilfull people did not cease,

My Britaynes good [and mee] by inroades to afflicte:

Whereon to wall them out I did my force addicte[1078]

Long sixe score miles and twelue,[1079] the [Scotishe] banke I made

From sea to sea, that Pictes should not [them so] inuade:

[Till yet the signes thereof are seene, for neuer thence to vade.]

19.

By helpe of this, I chaste the Pictes away,

And draue them into Albany to dwell:

Whereon Fulgentius Scythian sans delay[1080]

To Scythia sayld, an army new to tell:[1081]

Which gathered great of Pictes[1082] apoynted well,

Hee did retourne with speede to Britayne strand:

(That time I lay by North to guide the land,

[Which holpe the Britaynes erst the Scythians to withstand.)]

20.

At length to Yorke with all his host hee came,

Beseegeing it full sharpe assaultes hee gaue:

Where I likewise for to defend the same,

And from our foes the castell good to saue

Came with my powre, as destnyes on mee draue:

But in that fielde it was my chaunce to fall,

I tooke my deadly wound, there ended all

[Renowned lyfe, my warres, my tryomphes, and my thrall.]

21.

The Scythian eke receiude a deadly wounde,

Which came to conquere vs, and lost his feelde:

Thus Fortune fares her children to confounde,

Which on her wheele their bastiles brauely beelde.

Let noble Princes then to reason yeelde,

The daynefull ladie daintie and demure,

Dame Fortune’s fauour fickle is vnsure,[1083]

[Her ioyes and triomphes tickle, timelesse to endure.]

22.

Some say that I retournde to Rome agayne,

Sore troubled with the gowte, desiring death:

And that I would haue taken poyson fayne,

Which me denyde, to reaue my vitall breath

I tooke a surfet great, which wrought my death.

The Britaynes say, at Yorke my bones doe lye,

The Romaynes say at Rome in Italy:

[But where so ere they be, I nothing recke them I.]

23.

But this I wish, all noble wights to viewe

Howe I by slaughter gate the throne at furst,

My souldiers noble men for empire slewe,

This way to rise of all I proued wurst:

For why, his hand of gods and men is curst,

To rise aloft that layes the ground with bloud:

The states of such vnstable still haue stood,

[Despisde of mighty Ioue, that loues the gentle, meeke, and good.]