The Epistle Dedicatorie.

5

tude.

Cicero.

ance.

which giueth to euery man his right, yet if shee be not constant, which is the gifte of Fortitude; nor equal in discerning right from wrong, wherein is Prudence; nor vse proportion in iudgement and sentence, which pertayneth to Temperaunce: shee can neuer bee called equitie or iustice, but fraude, deceite, iniustice and iniurie. And, to speake of Fortitude, which FertiCicero defineth, a cōsyderate vndertaking of perills, and enduring of labours; if he whome wee suppose stoute, valiaunt, and of good courage, want Prudence, lustice, or Temperaunce, he is not couted wise, righteous and constant, but sottish, rude and desperate. For Temperaunce (sayth Cicero) is Cicero. of reason in lust and other euel assaultes of the minde, a suer Temper and moderate dominion & rule. This noble vertue is deuided into three partes, that is Cōtinency, Clemencie, and Modestye, which well obserued and kept (if grace bee to them adioyned) it is impossible for him that is endued with the aboue named vertues euer to fall into the infortunate snares of calamity, or misfortune. But Ambition which is immoderate desire of honour, rule, dominion, and superioritie, (the very distruction of nobility and common weales, as among the Romanes; Sylla, Marius, Carbo, Cinna, Cateline, Pompey, and Cæsar, are witnesses) hath brought great decay to our cōtrey, and countreymen. Which Master Baldwin hath so touched in his Epistle of the laste volume of this booke, that I nede not therewith deale any further.3 further. I haue here (right honorable) in this booke only reproued foly in those which are heedelesse: Iniurie in extortioners, rashnes in venterers,

He is not counted bolde, manly and constant but made beastly and desperate. I will also sith I haue gone so farre with the vertues (and the place so vrgeth) lastly set downe the difinition of Temperaunce, according to Cicero his opinion. Temperaunce (saith he) is of reason, &c. ib. 6 Vertue hath three. ib. 7 Well and wisely.

8 An immoderate. ib.

2 Other. ib.

9 Also to. ib.

Learnedly touched. ib.

3 Further. [Onely I would to God it were so ofte read and regarded of all Magistrates as the matter requireth.] ib.

* Booke (which I am so bold to dedicate to your honors.) ib.

[trecherie in traytours, riote in rebelles,] and excesse in such as suppresse not vnruly affections. Now I truste you will so thinke of it (althougbe the style deserue not like commendation) as you thought of the other parte. Which if you shall, I doubt not but it may pleasure some; occasio to others which ca do better, either to to publish their owne." And thus to discerne what is meete for your callings, Iustice in the

if not, yet geue

amend these, or

wishing you Prudence

administration of your functions, we defence of

in

in

your Countrey, and Temperaunce in moderation of all your affections, with increase of honours, and cuerlasting felicity: I bid you in Christ Iesu farewell. At Winceham the vit. my is er (60.99979 mom tolug day of December. Jod we JU You bude pod

1586,

'JOHN HIGINS.

the Lord,

10

ada

Can do farre better either with eloquence to amend that is amisse in mine, or else when they see these so rudely pende, to publish their own, ib. Your humble Iohn Higgins. [ed. 1575.] From edition, 1587.

THE READER.

"Amongst diuers and sondry chronicles of many nations, I thinke there are none (gentle reader) so vncertaine and brief in the beginning as ours: at which I cannot but maruayle, sith at all tymes our Ilande had as learned wryters (some singuler men excepted) as any nation vnder the sunne. Againe, those which now are our best chroniclers as they report, haue great antiquities; but what they publish of late yeares may be enlarged in many places by chronicles of other nacions: whereby it is manifest they are either ignoraunt of the togues, or els not giuen to the studie of that, which they most professe. For if they were, me-thinkes it were easie for them, with such antiquities as they brag they haue, to fetche our histories from the beginning; and make them as ample, as the chronicles of any other country or nation. But they are faine, in steede of other stuffe, to talk of the Romains, Greekes, Persians, &c. and to fill our histories with their facts and fables. This 1 speake not to the end I wold have ours quite seperate from other, without any mention of them; but I would haue them there only named, where th' affayres of both countries, by warre, peace, truce, mariage, trafique, or some necessary cause or other, is intermixed. I haue seen no auncient antiquities in written hand but two: one was Galfridus of Munmouth, which I lost by misfortune; the other, an old chronicle in a kind of Englishe verse, beginning at Brute and ending at the death of Humfrey Duke of Gloucester; in the which, and diuers other good chronicles, I finde many thinges not mentioned in that great tome engroced

of late by Maister Grafton; and that, where he is most barraine and wantes matter. But as the greatest heades, the grayest hayres, and best clarkes, haue not most wytte; so the greatest bookes, titles, and tomes, contayne not most matter. And this haue I spoken, because in wryting the Tragedies of the first infortunate princes of this Isle, I was often fayne to vse mine owne simple inuention, yet not swaruing from the matter: because the chronicles (although they went out vnder diuers men's names) in some suche places as I moste needed theyr ayde, wrate one thing, and that so brieflye, that a whole prince's raigne, life, and death, was comprysed in three lines; yea, and sometimes mine olde booke, aboue mentioned, holpe mee out when the rest forsoke mee. As for Lanquet, Stowe, and Grafton, [they] were alwayes nighe of one opinion: but the Floure of Histories somewhat larger some helpe had I of an old chronicle imprinted the yeare 1515. But surely methinkes, and so do most which delite in histories, it were worthely done, if one chronicle wer drawne from the beginning in such perfect sort, that al monuments of vertuous men (to the exalting of God's glory) and all punishments of vicious persons (to the terrour of the wicked) might be registred in perpetuall remembraunce. To which thing the right reuerende father in God Matthew [Parker] Archbishop of Canterbury, and Metropolitane of Englande, hath brought such ayde, as wel by printing as preseruing the written chronicles of this realme; that by his grace's studie and paynes, the labour, in tyme to come, wil be farre more easy to them, that shall take such trauayle in hand. But to leaue with these, and declare the cause of my purpose. As I chaunced to reade the Mirour for Magistrates, a worke by all men wonderfully commended, and full of fitte instructions for preseruation of eche estate: taking in hand the chronicles and minding to conferre the times, meethoughte the liues of a number euen at the beginning, the like infortunate princes offered themselues vuto mee as matter very meete for imitation, the like admoni.

tion, miter, and phrase; and seing Baldwine by these woordes moued mee somewhat thereto; It were (saith hee) a goodly and a notable matter to searche and discourse our whole storye from the beginning of the inhabiting of this Isle, &c. I read the storyes, I considered of the princes, I noted their liues, and therewith conferred their deathes. On this, I tooke penne in hande, minding nothing lesse than to publishe them abroade, but onely to trye what I could do if neede were, or time and leasure were giuen mee to bestowe in such wyse. I wrote the twoo first, euen as they now are, and because I would not kepe secrete my first labours in this kinde of study (though I might well haue blushed at the basenes of my style) I shewed them to a friend of myne,, desiring his vnfayned iudgement in this matter; which when he had read, he neuer left intreating me to wryte other, til I had ended all to the byrth of Christ: and yet not so content; he desired mee t' accomplish the residue til I came to the Conquest, (which were wel nighe fiftie Tragedies): but, wearied with those which I had written, I desired him pause on this, till tyme and leasure were giuen mee. Yet hee, making relation to other his frendes what I had done, left mee not quiet till they likewyse had seene them: whose perswasion, as it seemed without any suspition of assentation or flattery, so hath it made mee bolder at this present then before. though (sayd they) your Tragædies be simple, and not comparable to those which the other before haue written; yet when men consider that many wrote those, but one these; that they are graue writers, you are but yong; the perfection of those stories, and the imperfection of these: finally, the good wil you beare to your country, the commendation of vertue, the detestation of vice, the fal of ambition, the horrible, end of traytours, harlots, tyrauntes, adulterers, enchaunters, murderers, and such like; When men (said they) consider these things, they cannot, (how simple soeuer your verse bee,) but thinke well of the matter." At length, with these perswasions

"Al