in Arches of Triumph (The Royal Entry of King James I into London) — Harrison, Stephen; Dekker, Thomas; Middleton, Thomas; Jonson, Ben; Ruytinck, Simon; Cool, Jacob; Thorius, Raphael
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Arches of Triumph (The Royal Entry of King James I into London)
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The populous Globe of this our English I'll. Seemed to move backward at the funeral pile Of her dead female Majesty: All states From Nobles down to Spirits of meaner Fates, Moved opposite to Nature and to Peace, As if these men had be Antipodes. But see, the virtue of a regal eye, Th'attractiue wonder of men Majesty, Our Globe as drawn in a right line again, And now appear new faces and new men: The Elements, Earth, Water, Air and Fire, (Which ever c'ipt a natural desire, To combat each with other) being at first Created enemies, to fight their worst, See: as the peaceful presence of their King, How quietly they move without their Sting. Earth not devouring: Fire not defacing, Water not drowning: and the Air not chasing: But propping the quaint Fabric that here stands, Without the violence of their wrathful hands. Mirror of times, lo, where they Fortune sits Above the world, and all our human wits, But thy High Virtue above that: what pen Or Art, or Brain, can reach thy Virtues then? At whose Immortal brightness and true light, Envies infectious eyes have lost their sighed: Her Snakes (not daring to shoot forth their stings, Gainst such a glorious Object) down she flings Their forks of Venom into her own maw, While her rank teeth the glittering poisons chew, For 'tis the property of Envies blood, To dry away at every Kingdoms good, Especially when she had eyes to view These four Main Virtues which here figure you, Justice in causes: Fortitude gainst foes, Temperance in spleen; and Prudence in all those: And then so rich and Empire, whose fair breast Contains four Kingdoms by your entrance blessed, By Brutus divided, but by you alone, All are again united, and made One: Whose fruitful glories shine so far and even, They touch not only earth, but they kiss heaven, From whence Astraea is descended hither, Who with our last Queens Spirit fled up thither, Foreknowing on the earth she could not rest, Till you had locked her in your rightful breast, And therefore all estates, whose proper Arts Live by the breath of Majesty, had hearts, Burning in holy Zeals Immaculate sire's, With quenchless Ardors and unstained desires. To see what they now see, your powerful Grace, Reflecting Joys on every Subjects face. These painted flames and yellow-burning stripes, Upon this robe being but as shows and types, Of that great Zeal; And therefore in the name, Of this glad City, whither no Prince ever came, More loved, more longed for, lowly I entreat You'd be to her as gracious as you're great: So with reverberate shouts our Globe shall ring, The Musics close being thus, God save our King.
Plot summary
Plot — Arches of Triumph (The Royal Entry of King James I into London)
King James formally enters the City of London. Arriving in Fenchurch Street at the first triumphal arch (representing London), the King is welcomed to London by the Genius of the City: with his accession, Britain has gained a liberty which the Genius anticipated ever since the city’s foundation by King Brute. He rebukes his daughters for their silence in the King’s presence, and commands the River Thames to utter some praise; the river replies that not all sincere joy has a tongue. The Genius commends the Lord Mayor of London to the King, and also greets Prince Henry and Queen Anne. At the second arch in Gracechurch Street, a Latin speech on behalf of the city’s resident Italians wishes him well and flatters him with his achievements as a philosopher. At the third arch by the Royal Exchange, a boy (speaking for the city’s resident Dutchmen, again in Latin) praises his virtues, especially in religion. The upper end of Soper Lane is the location of the New Arabia Felix Arch. The King’s approach wakes up some allegorical figures. Oblivion and Detraction are seeking to drain the fount of virtue, but they are dispelled by the King’s presence, and the fountain, hitherto almost dry, flows abundantly once more. King James is identified as the Phoenix and therefore Queen Elizabeth’s true successor, England as the Arabian nest where the monarch-bird is reborn from its own ashes. At the Little Conduit, he is approached by Sylvanus, a messenger from Lady Eirene, who has been banished from every kingdom she has tried to settle in. Now she has come to England, and seeks his patronage. He escorts the King to the fifth triumphal arch, an arbour representing the Garden of Plenty, where Vertumnus tells him that his presence has given protection to the Muses and the Liberal Arts. Singers celebrate his 1604 arrival as the coming of spring; England is figured as the garden state tended by its royal husbandman. At Fleet Street he comes to the New World Arch, Zeal declares how the King’s arrival has created harmony: the orders of the commonwealth are united, the four elements are working together, and Envy eats her own poison at the sight of his virtues and fortune; the union of the kingdoms has even persuaded the goddess Astraea to return to Earth. At the final arch by Temple Bar, a Flamen is interrupted by the Genius of the City as he begins a pagan rite: he was woken by the noise of the pageantry and, on discovering the date to be the Ides of March, has come to sacrifice to…