This huge quarto of 875 pages, all in verse, is the final form, though far from the latest impression, of a poetical7 miscellany which had been swelling8 and spreading for nearly sixty years without ever losing its original character. We may obtain some imperfect notion of the Mirror for Magistrates if we imagine a composite poem planned by Sir Walter Scott, and contributed to by Wordsworth and Southey, being still issued, generation after generation, with additions by the youngest versifiers of to-day. The Mirror for Magistrates was conceived when Mary's protomartyrs were burning at Smithfield, and it was not finished until James I. had been on the throne seven years. From first to last, at least sixteen writers had a finger in this pie, and the youngest of them was not born when the eldest9 of them died.
It is commonly said, even by such exact critics as the late Dean Church, that the Mirror for Magistrates was planned by the most famous of the poets who took part in its execution, Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst. If a very clever man is combined in any enterprise with people of less prominence10, it is ten to one that he gets all the credit of the adventure. But the evidence on this point goes to prove that it was not until the work was well advanced that Sackville contributed to it at all. The inventor of the Mirror for Magistrates seems, rather, to have been George Ferrers, a prominent lawyer and politician, who was master of the King's Pastimes at the very close of Henry VIII.'s reign12. Ferrers was ambitious to create a drama in England, and lacked only genius to be the British Aeschylus. The time was not ripe, but he was evidently very anxious to set the world tripping to his goatherd's pipe. He advertised for help in these designs, and the list of persons he wanted is an amusing one; he was willing to engage "a divine, a philosopher, an astronomer13, a poet, a physician, an apothecary14, a master of requests, a civilian15, a clown, two gentlemen ushers16, besides jugglers, tumblers, fools, friars, and such others," Fortune sent him, from Oxford17, one William Baldwin, who was most of these things, especially divine and poet, and who became Ferrers' confidential18 factotum19. The master and assistant-master of Pastimes were humming merrily on at their masques and triumphs, when, the King expired. Under Queen Mary, revels20 might not flourish, but the friendship between Ferrers and Baldwin did not cease. They planned a more doleful but more durable21 form of entertainment, and the Mirror for Magistrates was started. Those who claim for Sackville the main part of this invention, forget that he is not mentioned as a contributor till what was really the third edition, and that, when the first went to press, he was only eighteen years of age.
Ferrers well comprehended the taste of his age when he conceived the notion of a series of poems, in which famous kings and nobles should describe in their own persons the frailty22 and instability of worldly prosperity, even in those whom Fortune seems most highly to favour. One of the most popular books of the preceding century had been Lydgate's version of Boccaccio's poems on the calamities23 of illustrious men, a vast monody in nine books, all harping24 on that single chord of the universal mutability of fortune. Lydgate's Fall of Princes had, by the time that Mary ascended25 the throne, existed in popular esteem26 for a hundred years. Its language and versification were now so antiquated27 as to be obsolete28; it was time that princes should fall to a more modern measure.
The first edition of Baldwin and Ferrers' book went to press early in 1555, but of this edition only one or two fragments exist. It was "hindered by the Lord Chancellor29 that then was," Stephen Gardiner, and was entirely30 suppressed. The leaf in the British Museum is closely printed in double columns, and suggests that Baldwin and Ferrers meant to make a huge volume of it. The death of Mary removed the embargo32, and before Elizabeth had been Queen for many months, the second (or genuine first) edition of the Myrroure for Magistrates made its appearance, a thin quarto, charmingly printed in two kinds of type. This contained twenty lives—Haslewood, the only critic who has described this edition, says nineteen, but he overlooked Ferrers' tale of "Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester"—and was the work, so Baldwin tells us, of seven persons besides himself.
The first story in the book, a story which finally appears at p. 276 of the edition before us, recounts the "Fall of Robert Tresilian, Chief Justice of England, and other of his fellows, for misconstruing the laws and expounding33 them to serve the Prince's affections, Anno 1388." The manner in which this story is presented is a good example of the mode adopted throughout the miscellany. The corrupt34 judge and his fellow-lawyers appear, as in a mirror, or like personages behind the illuminated35 sheet at the "Chat Noir," and lamentably36 recount their woes38 in chorus. The story of Tresilian was written by Ferrers, but the persons who speak it address his companion:
Baldwin, we beseech39 thee with our names to begin
—which support Baldwin's claim to be looked upon as the editor of the whole book. It is very dreary40 doggerel41, it must be confessed, but no worse than most of the poetry indited42 in England at that uninspired moment in the national history. A short example—a flower culled43 from any of these promiscuous44 thickets—will suffice to give a general notion of the garden. Here is part of the lament37 of "The Lord Clifford":
_Because my father Lord John Clifford died,
Slain45 at St. Alban's, in his prince's aid,
Against the Duke my heart for malice46 fired,
So that I could from wreck47 no way be stayed,
But, to avenge48 my father's death, assayed
All means I might the Duke of York to annoy,
And all his kin11 and friends for to destroy.
This made me with my bloody49 dagger50 wound
His guiltless son, that never 'gainst me stored;
His father's body lying dead on ground
To pierce with spear, eke51 with my cruel sword
To part his neck, and with his head to board,
Invested with a royal paper crown,
From place to place to bear it up and down.
But cruelty can never 'scape the scourge52
Of shame, of horror, or of sudden death;
Repentance53 self that other sins may purge54
Doth fly from this, so sore the soul it slayeth;
Despair dissolves the tyrant's bitter breath,
For sudden vengeance55 suddenly alights
On cruel deeds to quit their bloody spites_.
The only contribution to this earliest form of the Mirror which is attributed to an eminent56 writer, is the "Edward IV" of Skelton, and this is one of the most tuneless of all. It reminds the ear of a whining57 ballad58 snuffled out in the street at night by some unhappy minstrel that has got no work to do. As Baldwin professes59 to quote it from memory, Skelton being then dead, perhaps its versification suffered in his hands.
This is not the place to enter minutely into the history of the building up of this curious book. The next edition, that of 1563, was enriched by Sackville's splendid "Induction60" and the tale of "Buckingham," both of which are comparatively known so well, and have been so often reprinted separately, that I need not dwell upon them here. They occupy pp. 255-271 and 433-455 of the volume before us. In 1574 a very voluminous contributor to the constantly swelling tide of verse appears. Thomas Blener Hasset, a soldier on service in Guernsey Castle, thought that the magisterial61 ladies had been neglected, and proceeded in 1578 to sing the fall of princesses. It is needless to continue the roll of poets, but it is worth while to point out the remarkable62 fact that each new candidate held up the mirror to the magistrates so precisely63 in the manner of his predecessors64, that it is difficult to distinguish Newton from Baldwin, or Churchyard from Niccols.
Richard Niccols, who is responsible for the collection in its final state, was a person of adventure, who had fought against Cadiz in the Ark, and understood the noble practice of the science of artillery65. By the time it came down to him, in 1610, the Mirror for Magistrates had attained66 such a size that he was obliged to omit what had formed a pleasing portion of it, the prose dialogues which knit the tales in verse together, such pleasant familiar chatter67 between the poets as "Ferrers, said Baldwin, take you the chronicles and mark them as they come," and the like. It was a pity to lose all this, but Niccols had additions of his own verse to make; ten new legends entitled "A Winter Night's Vision," and a long eulogy68 upon Queen Elizabeth, "England's Eliza." He would have been more than human, if he had not considered all this far more valuable than the old prose babbling69 in black letter. This copy of mine is of the greatest rarity, for it contains two dedicatory sonnets71 by Richard Niccols, one addressed to Lady Elizabeth Clere and the other to the Earl of Nottingham, which seem to have been instantly suppressed, and are only known to exist in this and, I believe, one or two other examples of the book. These are, perhaps, worth reprinting for their curiosity. The first runs as follows:—
My Muse31, that whilom wail'd those Briton kings,
Who unto her in vision did appear,
Craves72 leave to strengthen her night-weathered wings
In the warm sunshine of your golden Clere [clear];
Where she, fair Lady, tuning73 her chaste74 lays
Of England's Empress to her hymnic75 string
For your affect, to hear that virgins77 praise,
Makes choice of your chaste self to hear her sing,
Whose royal worth, (true virtue's paragon,)
Here made me dare to engrave78 your worthy79 name.
In hope that unto you the same alone
Will so excuse me of presumptuous80 blame,
That graceful81 entertain my Muse may find
And even bear such grace in thankful mind.
The sonnet70 to the Earl of Nottingham, the famous admiral and quondam rival of Sir Walter Raleigh, is more interesting:—
As once that dove (true honour's aged3 Lord),
Hovering82 with wearied wings about your ark,
When Cadiz towers did fall beneath your sword,
To rest herself did single out that bark,
So my meek83 Muse,—from all that conquering rout84,
Conducted through the sea's wild wilderness85
By your great self, to grave their names about
The Iberian pillars of Jove's Hercules,—
Most humbly86 craves your lordly lion's aid
'Gainst monster envy, while she tells her story
Of Britain's princes, and that royall maid
In whose chaste hymn76 her Clio sings your glory,
Which if, great Lord, you grant, my Muse shall frame
Mirrors most worthy your renown87èd name.
But apparently88 the "great Lord" would not grant permission, and so the sonnet had to be rigorously suppressed.
The Mirror for Magistrates has ceased to be more than a curiosity and a collector's rarity, but it once assumed a very ambitious function. It was a serious attempt to build up, as a cathedral is built by successive architects, a great national epic89, the work of many hands. In a gloomy season of English history, in a violent age of tyranny, fanaticism90, and legalised lawlessness, it endeavoured to present, to all whom it might concern, a solemn succession of discrowned tyrants91 and law-makers smitten92 by the cruel laws they had made. Sometimes, in its bold and not very delicate way, the Mirror for Magistrates is impressive still from its lofty moral tone, its gloomy fatalism, and its contempt for temporary renown. As we read its sombre pages we see the wheel of fortune revolving93; the same motion which makes the tiara glitter one moment at the summit, plunges94 it at the next into the pit of pain and oblivion. Steadily95, uniformly, the unflinching poetasters grind out in their monotonous96 rime97 royal how "Thomas Wolsey fell into great disgrace," and how "Sir Anthony Woodville, Lord Rivers, was causeless imprisoned98 and cruelly wounded"; how "King Kimarus was devoured99 by wild beasts," and how "Sigeburt, for his wicked life, was thrust from his throne and miserably100 slain by a herdsman." It gives us a strange feeling of sympathy to realise that the immense popularity of this book must have been mainly due to the fact that it comforted the multitudes who groaned101 under a harsh and violent despotism to be told over and over again that cruel kings and unjust judges habitually102 came at last to a bad end.
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1
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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exempted
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| 使免除[豁免]( exempt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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annexed
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| [法] 附加的，附属的 | |
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imprinted
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| v.盖印（imprint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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astronomer
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| n.天文学家 | |
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apothecary
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| n.药剂师 | |
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civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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ushers
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| n.引座员( usher的名词复数 )；招待员；门房；助理教员v.引，领，陪同( usher的第三人称单数 ) | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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factotum
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| n.杂役；听差 | |
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revels
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| n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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durable
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| adj.持久的，耐久的 | |
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frailty
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| n.脆弱；意志薄弱 | |
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calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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harping
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| n.反复述说 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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antiquated
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| adj.陈旧的，过时的 | |
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obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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embargo
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| n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商） | |
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expounding
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的现在分词 ) | |
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corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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lamentably
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| adv.哀伤地，拙劣地 | |
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lament
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| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
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woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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doggerel
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| n.拙劣的诗，打油诗 | |
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indited
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| v.写（文章，信等）创作，赋诗，创作( indite的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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culled
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| v.挑选，剔除( cull的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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promiscuous
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| adj.杂乱的，随便的 | |
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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eke
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| v.勉强度日，节约使用 | |
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scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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purge
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| n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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professes
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| 声称( profess的第三人称单数 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉 | |
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induction
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| n.感应，感应现象 | |
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magisterial
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| adj.威风的，有权威的；adv.威严地 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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sonnet
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| n.十四行诗 | |
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sonnets
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| n.十四行诗( sonnet的名词复数 ) | |
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craves
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| 渴望，热望( crave的第三人称单数 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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tuning
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| n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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hymnic
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| 颂唱 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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virgins
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| 处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母） | |
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engrave
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| vt.（在...上）雕刻，使铭记，使牢记 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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82
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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83
meek
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| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
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84
rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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85
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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86
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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87
renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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88
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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89
epic
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| n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的 | |
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90
fanaticism
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| n.狂热，盲信 | |
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91
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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92
smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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93
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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94
plunges
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| n.跳进，投入vt.使投入，使插入，使陷入vi.投入，跳进，陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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95
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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96
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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97
rime
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| n.白霜；v.使蒙霜 | |
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98
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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99
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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100
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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101
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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102
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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