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“In Buckinghamiæ Ducem. ultimo Aug: 1628”1

Sooner I may some fixed statue be

Then proove forgetfull of thy death and thee.

Can’st thou begonn soe quickly? Can a knife

Lett out soe many titles,2 and a life?

Nowe Ile mourne thee. Oh that soe huge a pyle

5

Of state should passe thus, in soe small a whyle!

Lett the rude Genius of the giddie traine

Bragg in a furie, That it hath stabb’d spaine,

Austria, and the skipping French, yea all

Those home-bredd Papists, that would sell our fall,

10

Th’ecclips of two wise Princes judgements, more

The waste whereby our land was still kept poore3

I’le pittie yet; at last thy fatall end

Shott like a lightning from a violent hand

Taking the hence unsumm’d.4 Thou art to me

15

The great example of Mortalitie.

And when the Tymes to come shall want a name

To startle Greatnes; heere is Buckingham

Fall’n like a Meteor: and its hard to say

Whether it was that went the strainger way,

20

Thou, or the hand that slue thee, thy estate

Was highe, and hee was resolute bove that,

Yet since I hold of none engag’d to thee

Death, and that liberty shall make me free.

Thy Mists5 I knowe not, If thou hadd’st a falt

25

My Charitie shall leave it in thy vault

There for thyne owne accompting: ’tis undue

To speake ill of the dead, thoughe it be true,6

And this, even those that envy’d thee confesse

Thou hadd’st a mynd; a floweing noblenesse

30

A fortune, frends, and such proportion

As call for sorrowe, thus to be undone.

Yet should I speak the Vulgar,7 I should boast

Thy bold assassinate, and wish all most

He weere noe Christian, that I upp might stand

35

To praise th’intent of his misguided hand

And sure when all the Patriots in the shade

Shall ranke, and theire full musters theire be made

Hee shall sitt next to Brutus,8 and receive

Such bayes,9 as heath’nish Ignorance can give

40

But then the Christian checking that, shall say

Thoughe hee did good, hee did it the wrong way

And oft they fall into the worst of ills

That act the Peoples wish, without theire wills.10

---

Source. Bodleian MS Malone 23, pp. 132-33

Other known sources. Felltham 2.6; Bodleian MS Ashmole 38, p. 20; Bodleian MS CCC. 328, fol. 51v; Bodleian MS Douce 357, fol. 17v; Folger MS V.a.125, fol. 1r; Houghton MS Eng. 1278, item 7

Piii8

Quick links to other poems within this section

Select page here P0. Introduction Pi1. lett Charles & george Pi2. Sith number with thy Pi3. Thy numerous name Pi4. Anagram of George Pi5. A yere of wonder Pi6. The Shepheards struck Pi7. Thus Buck-in-game Pi8. England was sick Pi9. Lord, what are wee Pi10. Beehold this Obsequie Pi11. This little Grave Pi12. The pale horse Pi13. Here lies Leachery Pi14. Here lyes great George Pi15. Great Buckingham’s Pi16. Pride lies heere Pi17. Fortunes darling Pi18. Heere lies a gratious Pi19. Had our great duke Pi20. Great potent Duke Pi21. And art thou dead! Pi22. Pale death, with Iron Pi23. Great Gorge, and art Pi24. Thou that on topp Pi25. What once was said Pi26. If good mens graces Pi27. Great Duke, which art Pi28. At Portsmouth Duke Pi29. Make haste I pray Pi30. No sooner had the Pi31. Great Duke, Although Pi32. Away, away, great George Pi33. My honour, favour, life Pi34. I that my countrey Pi35. Mother / My humble Pi36. The Argument is cold Pi37. Ye gastly Spiritts Pii1. Anagram on John Felton Pii2. Anagram on John Felton Pii3. Felton, awake Pii4. The heavens approve Pii5. Some say the Duke Pii6. The Duke is dead Pii7. Why: is our Age Pii8. Immortall Man of glorie Pii9. I mmortal man of glory Pii10. Enjoy thy Bondage Pii11. Sir, I your servant Pii12. You auntient Lawes Pii13. Feare not brave Pii14. Sorrow and Joy Pii15. Heere uninterr’d Pii16. Here uninterd suspends Pii17. Wants hee a grave Pii18. Is Felton dead? Pii19. Here Lyes the bonnes Pii20. Awake, sad Brittaine Piii1. M alignant characters Piii2. Heere lyes the best Piii3. Dearling off Kings Piii4. You braveing spiritts Piii5. I did not flatter thee Piii6. Yee snarling Satyrs Piii7. Heere lyes thy Urne Piii8. Sooner I may some Piii9. Yet weere Bidentalls Piii10. Reader stand still Piii11. Our countrie Merry Piii12. Honor, worth, greatnes Piii13. What! shall I say now Piii14. Who ever lov’d man Piii15. When Poets use to Piii16. Might Teares Revive Piii17. Death come thy selfe Piii18. Hee that can reade Piii19. Nourishd with sighs Piii20. When in the brazen Piii21. Reader when these Piii22. Noe Poets triviall rage

¹   In Buckinghamiæ Ducem. ultimo Aug: 1628: “On the Duke of Buckingham, the last day of August, 1628”. <back>

²   soe many titles: while many libellers made fun of the excessive list of the Duke’s titles, Felltham’s tone here is more astonished than mocking. <back>

³   Lett the rude Genius...still kept poore: in these lines Felltham alludes to many of the charges commonly levelled against Buckingham: that he was in league with England’s Catholic enemies, both external (Spain, Austria and France) and internal; that he had deluded the judgements of his royal masters (James I and Charles I); and that his riotous excess had impoverished the nation. <back>

⁴   unsumm’d: uncounted, not summed up; perhaps unsummoned. <back>

⁵   Mists: perhaps mistakes, errors. <back>

⁶   ’tis undue...thoughe it be true: a commonplace moral saw held that one should speak nothing of the dead unless it was complimentary. <back>

⁷   speak the Vulgar: speak what the common people say. Just as he associates the criticism of Buckingham with the “rude Genius” of the lower orders, Felltham links support for Felton to vulgar opinion. <back>

⁸   Brutus: i.e. Marcus Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar. <back>

⁹   bayes: laurels, the leaves of which were used to make crowns of victory. <back>

¹⁰   without theire wills: “without Laws will” (Felltham). <back>