Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN THE JUST WORTH OF JOHN WEBSTER, UPON HIS MASTER-PIECE OF TRAGEDY, by THOMAS MIDDLETON


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IN THE JUST WORTH OF JOHN WEBSTER, UPON HIS MASTER-PIECE OF TRAGEDY, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In this thou imitat'st one rich and wise
Last Line: Illa, ruina malis, claris fit vita poetis.
Subject(s): Webster, John (1580-1625)


In this thou imitat'st one rich and wise,
That sees his good deeds done before he dies:
As he by works, thou by this work of fame
Hath well provided for thy living name.
To trust to others' honourings is worth's crime,
Thy monument is raised in thy life-time;
And 'tis most just; for every worthy man
Is his own marble, and his merit can
Cut him to any figure, and express
More art than death's cathedral palaces
Where royal ashes keep their court. Thy note
Be ever plainness; 'tis the richest coat:
Thy epitaph only the title be,
Write DUCHESS, that will fetch a tear for thee;
For who e'er saw this Duchess live and die,
That could get off under a bleeding eye?
In Tragœdiam.
Ut lux ex tenebris ictu percussa tonantis,
Illa, ruina malis, claris fit vita poetis.





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