by hope and
greatnes of the house, to the succession of the Empire, and establishment
thereof in that familie: whereupon _Virgill_ could do no lesse then to vse
such manner of stile, whatsoeuer condition the poeme were of and this was
decent, & no fault or blemish, to confound the tennors of the stiles for
that cause. But now when I remember me againe that this _Eglogue_, (for I
haue read it somewhere) was conceiued by _Octauian_ th'Emperour to be
written to the honour of _Pollio_ a citizen of Rome, & of no great
nobilitie, the same was misliked againe as an implicatiue, nothing decent
nor proportionable to _Pollio_ his fortunes and calling, in which respect
I might say likewise the stile was not to be such as if it had bene for
the Emperours owne honour, and those of the bloud imperiall, then which
subiect there could not be among the _Romane_ writers an higher nor grauer
to treat vpon: so can I not be remoued from mine opinion, but still me
thinks that in all decencie the stile ought to conforme with the nature of
the subiect, otherwise if a writer will seeme to obserue no _decorum_ at
all, nor passe how he fashion his tale to his matter, who doubteth but he
may in the lightest cause speake like a Pope, & in the grauest matters
prate like a parrat, & finde wordes & phrases ynough to serue both turnes,
and neither of them commendably, for neither is all that may be written of
Kings and Princes such as ought to keepe a high stile, nor all that may be
written vpon a shepheard to keepe the low, but according to the matter
reported, if that be of high or base nature: for euery pety pleasure, and
vayne delight of a king are not to accompted high matter for the height of
his estate, but meane and perchaunce very base and vile: nor so a Poet or
historiographer, could decently with a high stile reporte the vanities of
_Nero_, the ribaudries of _Caligula_, the idleness of _Domitian_, & the
riots of _Heliogabalus_. But well the magnanimitie and honorable ambition
of _Caesar_, the prosperities of _Augustus_, the grauitie of _Tiberius_,
the bountie of _Traiane_, the wisedome of _Aurelius_, and generally all
that which concerned the highest honours of Emperours, their birth,
alliaunces, gouernment, exploits in warre and peace, and other publike
affaires: for they be matter stately and high, and require a stile to be
lift vp and aduaunced by choyse of wordes, phrases, sentences, and
figures, high, loftie, eloquent, & magnifik in propor