Although to bee a God with us admitted were this wyght,Yit was he borne a forreiner. But Caesar hathe obteyndHis Godhead in his native soyle and Citie where he reignd. Whom peerelesse both in peace and warre, not more his warres up knitWith triumph, nor his great exployts atcheeved by his wit,Nor yit the great renowme that he obteynd so speedely,Have turned to a blazing starre, than did his progenie.For of the actes of Caesar, none is greater than that hee Left such a sonne behynd him as Augustus is, to beeHis heyre. For are they things more hard: to overcomme thy RealmeOf Britaine standing in the sea, or up the sevenfold streameOf Nyle that beareth Paperreede victorious shippes to rowe,Or to rebelliouse Numidye to give an overthrowe, Or Juba, king of Moores, and Pons (which proudely did it beareUppon the name of Mythridate) to force by swoord and speareTo yeeld them subjects unto Rome, or by his just desertTo merit many triumphes, and of sum to have his part,Than such an heyre to leave beehynd, in whom the Goddes doo showe Exceeding favour unto men for that they doo bestoweSo great a prince uppon the world? Now to th'entent that heeShould not bee borne of mortall seede, the other was too beeCanonyzde for a God. Which thing when golden Venus see,(Shee also sawe how dreadfull death was for the bisshop then Prepaard, and how conspiracye was wrought by wicked men)Shee looked pale. And as the Goddes came any in her way,Shee sayd unto them one by one: Behold and see, I pray,With how exceeding eagernesse they seeke mee to betray,And with what woondrous craft they stryve to take my lyfe away, I meene the thing that only now remayneth unto meeOf Jule the Trojans race. Must I then only ever beeThus vext with undeserved cares? How seemeth now the payneOf Diomeds speare of Calydon to wound my hand ageyne?How seemes it mee that Troy ageine is lost through ill defence? How seemes my sonne Aenaeas like a bannisht man, from thenceTo wander farre ageine, and on the sea to tossed bee,And warre with Turnus for to make? or rather (truth to say)With Juno? What meene I about harmes passed many a dayAgeinst myne ofspring, thus to stand? This present feare and woPermit mee not to think on things now past so long ago.Yee see how wicked swoordes ageinst my head are whetted. IBeseeche yee keepe them from my throte, and set the traytors byTheyr purpose. Neyther suffer you dame Vestas fyre to dyeBy murthering of her bisshop. Thus went Venus wofully Complayning over all the heaven, and moovde the Goddes therby.And for they could not breake the strong decrees of destinye,They shewed signes most manifest of sorrowe to ensew.For battells feyghting in the clowdes with crasshing armour flew.And dreadfull trumpets sownded in the aire, and homes eeke blew, As warning men before hand of the mischeef that did brew.And Phebus also looking dim did cast a drowzy lyghtUppon the earth, which seemd lykewyse to bee in sorrve plyght.From underneathe amid the starres brands oft seemd burning bryght.It often rayned droppes of blood. The morning starre lookt blew, And was bespotted heere and there with specks of rusty hew.The moone had also spottes of blood. The Screeche owle sent from hellDid with her tune unfortunate in every corner yell.Salt teares from Ivory images in sundry places fell.And in the Chappells of the Goddes was singing heard, and woordes Of threatning. Not a sacrifyse one signe of good afoordes.But greate turmoyle to bee at hand theyr hartstrings doo declare.And when the beast is ripped up the inwards headlesse are.About the Court, and every house, and Churches in the nyghtsThe doggs did howle, and every where appeered gastly spryghts. And with an earthquake shaken was the towne. Yit could not allTheis warnings of the Goddes dispoynt the treason that should fall,Nor overcomme the destinies. The naked swoordes were broughtInto the temple. For no place in all the towne was thoughtSo meete to woork the mischeef in, or for them to commit The heynous murder, as the Court in which they usde to sitIn counsell. Venus then with both her hands her stomacke smit,And was about to hyde him with the clowd in which shee hidAenaeas, when shee from the swoord of Diomed did him rid,Or Paris, when from Menelay shee did him saufe convey. But Jove her father staying her did thus unto hir say:Why, daughter myne, wilt thou alone bee stryving to preventUnvanquishable destinie? In fayth and if thou wentThy self into the house in which the fatall susters threeDoo dwell, thou shouldest there of brasse and steele substantiall see The registers of things so strong and massye made to bee,That sauf and everlasting, they doo neyther stand in feareOf thunder, nor of lyghtning, nor of any ruine there.The destnyes of thyne offspring thou shalt there fynd graven deepeIn Adamant. I red them: and in mynd I doo them keepe. And forbycause thou shalt not bee quyght ignorant of all,I will declare what things I markt herafter to befall.The man for whom thou makest sute, hath lived full his tymeAnd having ronne his race on earth must now to heaven up clyme.Where thou shalt make a God of him ay honord for to bee With temples and with Altars on the earth. Moreover heeThat is his heyre and beares his name, shall all alone susteyneThe burthen layd uppon his backe, and shall our help obteyneHis fathers murther to revenge. The towne of MutinyeBeseedged by his powre, shall yeeld. The feelds of Pharsaly Shall feele him, and Philippos in the Realme of MacedonneShall once ageine bee staynd with blood. The greate Pompeius sonneShall vanquisht be by him uppon the sea of Sicilye.The Romane Capteynes wyfe, the Queene of Aegypt, through her hyePresumption trusting to her match too much, shall threate in vayne To make her Canop over our hygh Capitoll to reigne.What should I tell thee of the wyld and barbrous nacions thatAt bothe the Oceans dwelling bee? The universall platOf all the earth inhabited, shall all be his. The seaShall unto him obedient bee likewyse. And when that he Hathe stablisht peace in all the world, then shall he set his myndTo civill matters, upryght lawes by justice for to fynd,And by example of himself all others he shall bynd.Then having care of tyme to comme, and of posteritye,A holy wyfe shall beare to him a sonne that may supply His carefull charge and beare his name. And lastly in the endHe shall to heaven among the starres, his auncetors, ascend,But not before his lyfe by length to drooping age doo tend.And therfore from the murthred corce of Julius Caesar takeHis sowle with speede, and of the same a burning cresset make, That from our heavenly pallace he may evermore looke downeUppon our royall Capitoll and Court within Rome towne.He scarcely ended had theis woordes, but Venus out of handAmid the Senate house of Rome invisible did stand,And from her Caesars bodye tooke his new expulsed spryght The which shee not permitting to resolve to ayer quyght,Did place it in the skye among the starres that glister bryghtAnd as shee bare it, shee did feele it gather heavenly myght,And for to wexen fyrye. Shee no sooner let it flye,But that a goodly shyning starre it up aloft did stye And drew a greate way after it bryght beames like burning heare.Whoo looking on his sonnes good deedes confessed that they wereFarre greater than his owne, and glad he was to see that heeExcelled him. Although his sonne in no wyse would agreeTo have his deedes preferd before his fathers: yit dooth fame, (Whoo ay is free, and bound to no commaund) withstand the sameAnd stryving in that one behalf ageinst his hest and will,Proceedeth to preferre his deedes before his fathers still.Even so to Agamemnons great renowne gives Atreus place,Even so Achilles deedes, the deedes of Peleus doo abace. Even so beyond Aegaeus, farre dooth Theseyes prowesse go.And (that I may examples use full matching theis) even soIs Saturne lesse in fame than Jove. Jove rules the heavenly spheres,And all the tryple shaped world. And our Augustus bearesDominion over all the earth. They bothe are fathers: they Are rulers both. Yee Goddes to whom both fyre and swoord gave way,What tyme yee with Aenaeas came from Troy: yee Goddes that wereOf mortall men canonyzed: thou Quirin whoo didst reereThe walles of Rome: and Mars who wart the valeant Quirins syreAnd Vesta of the household Goddes of Caesar with thy fyre Most holy: and thou Phebus whoo with Vesta also artOf household: and thou Jupiter whoo in the hyghest partOf mountayne Tarpey hast thy Church: and all yee Goddes that mayWith conscience sauf by Poets bee appealed to: I prayLet that same day bee slowe to comme and after I am dead, In which Augustus (whoo as now of all the world is head)Quyght giving up the care therof ascend to heaven for ay,There (absent hence) to favour such as unto him shall pray.Now have I brought a woork to end which neither Joves feerce wrath,Nor swoord, nor fyre, nor freating age with all the force it hath Are able to abolish quyght. Let comme that fatall howreWhich (saving of this brittle flesh) hath over mee no powre,And at his pleasure make an end of myne uncerteyne tyme.Yit shall the better part of mee assured bee to clymeAloft above the starry skye. And all the world shall never Be able for to quench my name. For looke how farre so everThe Romane Empyre by the ryght of conquest shall extend,So farre shall all folke reade this woork. And tyme without all end(If Poets as by prophesie about the truth may ame)My lyfe shall everlastingly bee lengthened still by fame.