To Athens State; With Arms And With Provision Stores Them Well, The Better 'Gainst Cassander To Rebel. Demetrius Thether Goes, Is Entertain'D Not Like A King, But Like Some God They Feign'D; Most Grosly Base Was Their Great Adulation, Who Incense Burnt, And Offered Oblation: These Kings Afresh Fall To Their Wars Again, Demetrius Of Ptolemy Doth Gain. 'Twould Be An Endless Story To Relate Their Several Battels And Their Several Fate, Their Fights By Sea, Their Victories By Land, How Some When Down, Straight Got The Upper Hand Antigonus And Seleucus Then Fight Near Ephesus, Each Bringing All His Might, And He That Conquerour Shall Now Remain, The Lordship Of All Asia Shall Retain; This Day 'Twixt These Two Kings Ends All The Strife, For Here Antigonus Lost Rule And Life: Nor To His Son, Did E're One Foot Remain Of Those Vast Kingdomes, He Did Sometimes Gain. Demetrius With His Troops To Athens Flyes, Hopes To Find Succours In His Miseries; But They Adoring In Prosperity, Now Shut Their Gates In His Adversity: He Sorely Griev'D At This His Desperate State Tryes Foes, Sith Friends Will Not Compassionate. His Peace He Then With Old Seleucus Makes, Who His Fair Daughter Stratonica Takes, Antiochus, Seleucus, Dear Lov'D Son, Is For This Fresh Young Lady Quite Undone; Falls So Extreamly Sick, All Fear'D His Life, Yet Durst Not Say, He Lov'D His Fathers Wife, When His Disease The Skill'D Physitian Found, His Fathers Mind He Wittily Did Sound, Who Did No Sooner Understand The Same, But Willingly Resign'D The Beautious Dame: Cassander Now Must Dye His Race Is Run, And Leaves The Ill Got Kingdomes He Had Won. Two Sons He Left, Born Of King Philips Daughter, Who Had An End Put To Their Dayes By Slaughter; Which Should Succeed At Variance They Fell, The Mother Would, The Youngest Might Excell: The Eld'St Inrag'D Did Play The Vipers Part, And With His Sword Did Run Her Through The Heart: Rather Then Philips Race Should Longer Live, He Whom She Gave His Life Her Death Shall Give. This By Lysimacus Was After Slain, Whose Daughter He Not Long Before Had Ta'Ne; Demetrius Is Call'D In By Th' Youngest Son, Against Lysimachus Who From Him Won. But He A Kingdome More Then'S Friend Did Eye, Seaz'D Upon That, And Slew Him Traitrously. Thus Philips And Cassander'S Race Both Gone, And So Falls Out To Be Extinct In One; And Though Cassander Died In His Bed, His Seed To Be Extirpt, Was Destined; For Blood, Which Was Decre'D That He Should Spill, Yet Must His Children Pay For Fathers Ill; Jehu In Killing Ahab'S House Did Well, Yet Be Aveng'D Must Blood Of Jezerel. Demetrius Thus Cassander'S Kingdoms Gains, And Now In Macedon As King He Reigns; Though Men And Mony Both He Hath At Will, In Neither Finds Content If He Sits Still: That Seleucus Holds Asia Grievs Him Sore, Those Countryes Large His Father Got Before. These To Recover, Musters All His Might, And With His Son In Law Will Needs Go Fight; A Mighty Navy Rig'D, An Army Stout, With These He Hopes To Turn The World About: Leaving Antigonus His Eldest Son, In His Long Absence To Rule Macedon. Demetrius With So Many Troubles Met, As Heaven And Earth Against Him Had Been Set; Disaster On Disaster Him Pursue, His Story Seems A Fable More Then True. At Last He's Taken And Imprisoned Within An Isle That Was With Pleasures Fed, Injoy'D What Ere Beseem'D His Royalty, Only Restrained Of His Liberty: After Three Years He Died, Left What he'd Won, In Greece Unto Antigonus His Son. For His Posterity Unto This Day, Did Ne're Regain One Foot In Asia; His Body Seleucus Sends To His Son, Whose Obsequies With Wondrous Pomp Was Done. Next DI'd The Brave And Noble Ptolemy, Renown'D For Bounty, Valour, Clemency, Rich Egypt Left, And What Else He Had Won, To Philadelphus His More Worthy Son. Of The Old Heroes, Now But Two Remain, Seleucus And Lysimachus These Twain, Must Needs Go Try Their Fortune And Their Might, And So Lysimachus Was Slain In Fight; 'Twas No Small Joy Unto Seleucus Breast, That Now He Had Out-Lived All The Rest: Possession Of Europe Thinks To Take, And So Himself The Only Monarch Make; Whilst With These Hopes In Greece He Did Remain, He Was By Ptolemy Ceraunus Slain. The Second Son Of The First Ptolemy, Who For Rebellion Unto Him Did Fly; Seleucus Was A Father And A Friend, Yet By Him Had This Most Unworthy End. Thus With These Kingly Captains Have We Done, A Little Now How The Succession Run, Antigonus, Seleucus And Cassander, With Ptolemy, Reign'D After Alexander; Cassander'S Sons Soon After'S Death Were Slain, So Three Successors Only Did Remain: Antigonus His Kingdomes Lost And Life, Unto Seleucus, Author Of That Strife. His Son Demetrius, All Cassanders Gains, And His Posterity, The Same Retains; Demetrius Son Was Call'D Antigonus, And His Again Was Nam'D Demetrius. I Must Let Pass Those Many Battels Fought, Betwixt Those Kings, And Noble Pyrrhus Stout, And His Son Alexander Of Epire, Whereby Immortal Honour They Acquire; Demetrius Had Philip To His Son, (Part Of Whose Kingdomes Titus Quintius Won) Philip Had Perseus, Who Was Made A Thrale T' Emilius The Roman General; Him With His Sons In Triumph Lead Did He, Such Riches Too As Rome Did Never See: This Of Antigonus, His Seed'S The Fate, Whose Empire Was Subdu'D To Th' Roman State. Longer Seleucus Held The Royalty, In Syria By His Posterity; Antiochus Soter His Son Was Nam'D, To Whom The Old Berosus (So Much Fam'D,) His Book Of Assurs Monarchs Dedicates, Tells Of Their Names, Their Wars, Their Riches, Fates; But This Is Perished With Many More, Which Oft We Wish Was Extant As Before. Antiochus Theos Was Soter'S Son, Who A Long War With Egypts King Begun; The Affinityes And Wars Daniel Sets Forth, And Calls Them There The Kings Of South & North, This Theos Murther'D Was By His Lewd Wife, Seleucus Reign'D, When He Had Lost His Life. A Third Seleucus Next Sits On The Seat, And Then Antiochus Sirnam'D The Great, Whose Large Dominions After Was Made Small, By Scipio The Roman General; Fourth Seleucus Antiochus Succeeds, And Next Epiphanes Whose Wicked Deeds, Horrid Massacres, Murthers, Cruelties, Amongst The Jews We Read In Machabees. Antiochus Eupater Was The Next, By Rebels And Impostors Dayly Vext; So Many Princes Still Were Murthered, The Royal Blood Was Nigh Extinguished; Then Tygranes The Great Armenian King, To Take The Government Was Called In, Lucullus, Him, (The Roman General) Vanquish'D In Fight, And Took Those Kingdomes All; Of Greece And Syria Thus The Rule Did End, In Egypt Next, A Little Time Wee'L Spend. First Ptolemy Being Dead, His Famous Son Call'D Philadelphus, Did Possess The Throne. At Alexandria A Library Did Build, And With Seven Hundred Thousand Volumes Fill'D; The Seventy Two Interpreters Did Seek, They Might Translate The Bible Into Greek. His Son Was Evergetes The Last Prince, That Valour Shew'D, Virtue, Or Excellence, Philopater Was Evergetes Son, After Epiphanes Sate On The Throne; Philometor, Evergetes Again, And After Him, Did False Lathurus Reign: Then Alexander In Lathurus Stead, Next Auletes, Who Cut Off Pompeys Head. To All These Names, We Ptolemy Must Add, For Since The First, They Still That Title Had. Fair Cleopatra Next, Last Of That Race, Whom Julius C?Sar Set In Royal Place, She With Her Paramour, Mark Anthony Held For A Time, The Egyptian Monarchy, Till Great Augustus Had With Him A Fight At Actium, Where His Navy'S Put To Flight; He Seeing His Honour Lost, His Kingdome End, Did By His Sword His Life Soon After Send. His Brave Virago Aspes Sets To Her Arms, To Take Her Life, And Quit Her From All Harms; For 'Twas Not Death Nor Danger She Did Dread, But Some Disgrace In Triumph To Be Led. Here Ends At Last The Grecian Monarchy, Which By The Romans Had Its Destiny; Thus King & Kingdomes Have Their Times & Dates, Their Standings, Overturnings, Bounds And Fates: Now Up, Now Down Now Chief, & Then Broght Under, The Heavn'S Thus Rule, To Fil The World With Wonder The Assyrian Monarchy Long Time Did Stand, But Yet The Persian Got The Upper Hand; The Grecian Them Did Utterly Subdue, And Millions Were Subjected Unto Few: The Grecian Longer Then The Persian Stood, Then Came The Roman Like A Raging Flood; And With The Torrent Of His Rapid Course, Their Crowns, Their Titles, Riches Bears By Force. The First Was Likened To A Head Of Gold. Next Arms And Breast Of Silver To Behold, The Third, Belly And Thighs Of Brass In Sight, And Last Was Iron, Which Breaketh All With Might; The Stone Out Of The Mountain Then Did Rise, And Smote Those Feet Those Legs, Those Arms & Thighs Then Gold Silver, Brass, Iron And All The Store, Became Like Chaff Upon The Threshing Floor. The First A Lion, Second Was A Bear, The Third A Leopard, Which Four Wings Did Rear; The Last More Strong And Dreadful Then The Rest, Whose Iron Teeth Devoured Every Beast, And When He Had No Appetite To Eat, The Residue He Stamped Under Feet; Yet Shall This Lion, Bear, This Leopard, Ram, All Trembling Stand Before The Powerful Lamb. With These Three Monarchyes Now Have I Done, But How The Fourth, Their Kingdomes From Them Won, And How From Small Beginnings It Did Grow, To Fill The World With Terrour And With Woe; My Tyred Brain Leavs To Some Better Pen, This Task Befits Not Women Like To Men: For What Is Past, I Blush, Excuse To Make, But Humbly Stand, Some Grave Reproof To Take; Pardon To Crave For Errours, Is But Vain, The Subject Was Too High, Beyond My Strain, To Frame Apology For Some Offence, Converts Our Boldness Into Impudence: This My Presumption Some Now To Requite, Ne Sutor Ultra Crepidum May Write. The End Of The Grecian Monarchy. After Some Dayes Of Rest, My Restless Heart To Finish What'S Begun, New Thoughts Impart, And Maugre All Resolves, My Fancy Wrought This Fourth To Th' Other Three, Now Might Be Brought: Shortness Of Time And Inability, Will Force Me To A Confus'D Brevity. Yet In This Chaos, One Shall Easily Spy The Vast Limbs Of A Mighty Monarchy, What E're Is Found Amiss Take In Good Part, As Faults Proceeding From My Head, Not Heart.