Baxter’s Complaint, with an Admonition to the Reader
To see the Dove of Architas, being all of wood, to fly,
To hear Albertus’ brazen head to speak effectually,
To view, with Egyptian Arnuphus, wings the clouds to pierce,
To see a rock fall from the sun, as Pliny doth rehearse, To see a deadly corpse by man called out of grisly grave —To see these things, or like to these, how many should we have
In thronging troops of each estate, with winged feet to haste, In pompous pride on earthly sights their golden times to waste? What youthful dame, what man, what child, doth stick the path to tread Which unto pleasure’s flattering sights the ready way doth lead?
But to thy sacred shrine to fly, O Love, celestial king,
What slothful steps, what lingering haste, what lazy waltering wing,
What drowsy sleep doth close the eyes of men of each degree, What long delays these days are made when men should come to thee! What farms are bought and must be seen, what wives are married eke, What lets, almost, in all men are, when they thy grace should seek!
O sovereign God, thou knowest how men in earthly things did toil To find out arts and handicrafts, with pain, in every soil. For Memnon he first letters found among th’ Egyptians,
And Rhadamanthus did the like among th’ Assyrians, And letters for the Romans first Nicostrata did find, And Phoenicians the like for Greeks first found, by studious mind. And grammar first, that royal art, by learned Cadmus was shown, Eke poetry by Homer first, and Hesiod, were known. And Xenophon, that worthy wight, first wrote a history, And rhetoric, that glittering dame, was found by Mercury. Yea, gladsome music’s sovereign found, that Hebrew Jubal brought, And treasures of philosophy were first by Vulcan sought.
Eke Atlas and Prometheus first found astrology,
In physic eke Apollo shone, and Aesculapius in surgery. Thus began the world, though for a time, as in a novelty, The troublous gulfs of arts and skills to seek with eagerness. So that Pythagoras and Democritus these journeys took in hand, From Greece to sail to Egypt, and to Persia, and Chaldean land,
To know some worthy stratagem, to search the secret skill Of learned arts, whereof they had their long-desired fill. Th’ Athenians first planted trees, the Phrygians chariots made, Aristaeus oil and honey found, Phoenicians the crossbow trade, The Samian Theodorus first found keys, and Jason ships to sail,
By Erichthonius silver first was found for man’s avail, And gold was found by Cadmus first, and copper, lead, and brass By learned wit of Cinyras first was invented, as it was. Yea, Danaus first digged wells, and Bacchus found out wine,
And corn first Ceres sought to sow, to stop the hungry pine. With painful toil thus men found out these things terrestrial,
But ignorance did blind their eyes in things celestial. For we do see: Diagoras and Theodorus denied God to be; The sun and moon and stars were gods, as judged Aleinus;
Parmenides thought God to be as a circle, all of light; Called Stephanus — Cleanthes thought God was an airy spirit;
Chrysippus terms God to be Divine Necessity, And Aristotle calls God Mental Divinity.
And as they erred concerning God in definition,
So erred they, as touching God, in constitution.
For lo: When mortal men did once offend by original corruption, They thought, by sacrifice to devils, to get remission.
Unto Minerva an owl they gave, a hart unto Diana, A sow to Ceres offered they, to Venus eke a swan, The wakeful cock they sacrificed to Aesculapius, To Faunus goats, to Neptune bulls, the ass to Priapus, To Mars the magpie they sacrificed, the phoenix to the sun,
To Juno, Pluto, Pallas, and to others like was done —And hoped, by their sacrifice, the direful furious rage Of gods conceived against their sin to mitigate and assuage. No God, no Christ, no death of Christ for man’s redemption —
No way but such knew they to purge their vile corruption, In the sacred sink of dreadful death, all plunged in misery, In gulf of hell, in mournful plaint, in pinching penury —
O woeful wights!
Therefore they dwell, with fiends in damned state,
With wailing tears and gnashing teeth, to mourn their fearful fate.
O mortal wights, in these our days, that read this rustic verse,
With diligence attend unto the words which I rehearse.
Consider well
That learning wanted not in them, if thereby they might know Whence mercy, grace, and pardon for offences all did flow —But mighty love had closed their eyes, and would not grant them grace With penitence to view themselves and see their sinful case. And so, with fixed minds, hold fast our Christ, the appointed means, Who by his precious death hath made repentant sinners clean. Again, behold your joyful time, how Christ to you is shown,
Who unto the philosophers was utterly unknown.
For if he had been known to them — since such labour they took
With painful toil to travel far to read each human book Which treated of philosophy and moral virtues taught, And framed their lives accordingly — would they have set at naught
That precious gem and jewel rich of life celestial?
They would have taken it thankfully; yet we condemn the same,
And spend our time in trifling toys, to our perpetual shame.
We do delight in Machiavelli’s cruel policy,
And read the book of Arthur’s knights, being full of papistry,
And Guy of Warwick, Scoggin’s jests, and Gargantua, The Court of Venus, Howleglass, Legenda Aurea —And whatsoever book comes forth of lies or tales profane (Yea, though it teach mere blasphemy, the name of God to stain),
By mortal man’s invention, if it once printed be,
The same most men of each estate desirous are to see.
Oh, this they like, they praise his wit that first this fable framed,
They like his style, commend his vein — a poet he is named, They paint his praise in silvered leaf, each man his book will buy,
They say: “Lo, here a famous work, crowned with eternity!” But if to write some sacred book some one intends his skill —“Tush,” says the world, “we hear each day, in church, of this our fill;
We care not for these serious works, half tales and history,
New printed books, pleasant conceits, or any poetry.”
Well, well — I grant you: look to see what book is best to read,
That we to perpetuity the sure way may tread.
Leave off to crave the sight of books which lead to vanity;
Seek how to bring your sinful souls to immortality.
This Calvin shows in Jonah here, translated for your sake —
It is but small: the sooner, then, to read it undertake. FINIS.
MARSILIUS: “BEATE VIVERE EST verum intelligere, consultare bene, velle bonum, agere bona.” (To live blessedly is to understand truly, to take good counsel, to will the good, to do good deeds.)