The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson

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  • Letter (f), William Drummond to Jonson (1619)

Letter (f), William Drummond to Jonson (1619)

 Letter (f), from William Drummond of Hawthornden

To his worthy friend, Master Benjamin Jonson:


Sir,

The uncertainty of your abode was a cause of my silence this time past. I have adventured

this packet upon hopes that a man so famous cannot be in any place either of the city or court

where he shall not be found out. In my last I sent you a description of   Loch Lomond with a 5

map of     Inchmarnoch, which may by your book be made most   famous, with the form of the

government of Edinburgh, and the method of the colleges of   Scotland; for all inscriptions I

have been curious to find out for you, the   impresas and emblems on a   bed of state wrought and

embroidered all with gold and silk by the late Queen  Mary, mother to our sacred sovereign,

which will embellish greatly some pages of your book, and is worthy your remembrance. The 10

first is the loadstone turning towards the pole; the word, Her Majesty’s name turned   in an

anagram,  Maria Stuart, sa vertu m’attire;  which is not much inferior to  veritas armata.

This hath reference to a crucifix, before which with all her royal ornaments she is humbled on

her knees most lively, with the word  undique;  an impresa of   Mary of Lorraine, her mother, a

 phoenix in flames; the word,  en ma fin git mon commencement. The impresa of an apple 15

 apple tree growing in a thorn, the word  per vincula crescit. The impresa of   Henry II, the French

king: a crescent; the word,  donec totum impleat orbem.  The impresa of King   Francis I, a

salamander crowned in the midst of flames; the word,  nutrisco et  extinguo. The impresa

of   Godfrey of  Boulogne,  an arrow passing through three birds; the word,   dederit ne viam

casusve deusve.  That of Mercurius charming  Argus with his hundred eyes, expressed by his 20

 caduceus, two flutes, and a peacock; the word,  eloquium tot lumina clausit.  Two women

upon the wheels of fortune, the one holding a lance, the other a cornucopia; which   impresa

seemeth to glance at Queen Elizabeth and herself, the word,  fortunae comites.  The impresa

of the Cardinal of Lorraine, her uncle: a pyramid overgrown with ivy, the vulgar word, te

stante virebo; a ship with her mast broken and fallen in the sea: the word,  nunquam 25

nisi  rectum.  This is for herself and her son: a big lion and a young whelp beside her; the

word, unum quidem, sed leonem. An emblem of a lion taken in a net and hares wantonly

passing over him; the word:  et lepores devicto insultant leoni.  Camomile in a garden;

the word,  fructus calcata dat amplos.  A palm tree: the word,  ponderibus virtus innata

resistit. A bird in a cage and a hawk flying above, with the word  il mal me preme et 30

me spaventa peggio. A triangle with a sun in the middle of a circle; the word,  trino non

convenit orbis.  A porcupine amongst sea rocks; the word,  ne volutetur.   The impresa of

King Henry VIII: a portcullis; the word, altera securitas. The impresa of the Duke of Savoy,

the annunciation of the Virgin Mary; the word, fortitudo eius Rhodum tenuit. He had

kept the isle of Rhodes . Flourishes of arms, as helms, lances, corselets, pikes, muskets,   canons, 35

and [ ]: the word,  dabit deus his quoque finem. A tree planted in a churchyard environed

with dead men’s bones; the word,  pietas revocabit ab orco.  Eclipses of the sun and the

moon; the word,  ipsa sibi lumen quod invidet aufert; glancing, as may appear, at Queen

Elizabeth.   Brennus’s balances, a sword cast  in to weigh gold; the word,  quid nisi victis

dolor? A vine tree watered with wine, which instead to make it spring and grow, maketh it 40

fade; the word,  mea sic mihi prosunt. A wheel rolled from a mountain in the  sea:  piena

de dolor voda de speranza: which appeareth to be her own, and it should be  precipitio

senza speranza. A heap of wings and feathers dispersed; the word,  magnatum vicinitas.

A trophy upon a tree, with mitres, crowns, hats, masks, swords, books, and a woman with a

veil about her eyes or muffled, pointing to some about her, with this word:  ut casus dederit. 45

 Three crowns, two opposite, and another above in the  sea; the word, aliamque moratur.

The sun in an eclipse; the word, medio occidet die.

I omit the arms of Scotland, England, and France severally by themselves, and all quartered

in many places of this bed. The workmanship is curiously done, and above all value, and truly

it may be of this piece said  materiam superabat opus. 50

I have sent you (as you desired)   the oath which the old valiant knights of Scotland gave

when they received the Order of Knighthood, which was done with greater solemnity and

magnificence.

W. Drummond

July 1, 1619 55

Letter (f) First published in Drummond’s The History of Scotland from the Year 1423 until the Year 1542 . . . (1655), 263. A copy of part of the letter, to line 18 in the present text (‘extinguo’) is among the Hawthornden MSS, vol. 9, fol. 28, National Library of Scotland. The letter is reprinted in the 1711 folio of Drummond’s Works (‘Sage’), p. 137, with minor ‘corrections’. Drummond is sending Jonson further materials for incorporation into his projected account of his journey to Scotland, A Discovery (= ‘your book’, 6). [Editor: Ian Donaldson]
5 Loch Lomond See Letter 14, line 9n.
6 Inchmarnoch] this edn; Inchmerinoch Hawthornden; Inch-merinoch 1655, Sage
6 Inchmarnoch A small island in the Firth of Clyde, 2 miles west of the Isle of Bute; in ancient times, a settlement of Culdee monks (Scoto-Irish order of anchorites). The reason for Jonson’s interest in the site is not clear.
6 famous, with] 1655, Sage; famous. With Hawthornden
7 Scotland; for] 1655; Scotland. For Sage
8 impresas and emblems On imprese, see Informations, 457n. Drummond explains the distinction between these two related forms in his ‘Short Discourse Upon Impresas and Anagrams’: ‘Though emblems and impresas sometimes seem like [each] other, what is perfection in an emblem is a great fault in an impresa: the words of the emblem are only placed to declare the figures of the emblem; whereas, in an impresa, the figures express and illustrate the one part of the author’s intention, and the word the other’ (Works, 1711, 228–9). Jonson too had a keen interest in such emblematic forms, as evidenced, e.g., by his poem to Thomas Palmer (‘Palmer’, 1.229) and observations recorded in Informations, 457ff. For his personal reservations about imprese, however, see Blackness, 220–4 and nn.; and cf. King’s Ent., 204 and n.
8–9" bed . . . sovereign During her early years in France, Mary Queen of Scots had developed a strong interest in emblems and imprese, which were then popular at the French court, and learnt to incorporate them in her embroidery. During her later period of captivity in England, Mary used such embroidery to convey coded messages to the Duke of Norfolk and other supporters. The set of royal bed hangings described here were embroidered by Mary some time after her return to Scotland in 1561 and prior to 1586. Many of the imprese noted are devices of French royalty and nobility familiar from French sources such as Claude Paradin’s Devises héroïques; others appear to be original. See Freeman (1948), 50–1; Bath (1994), 16–20; Dunn (2003), 408–10.
9 Mary] Marie Hawthornden
11 in an] Hawthornden, 1655; into an Sage
12 Maria . . . m’attire ‘Mary Stewart, her virtue attracts me’ (Fr.). The anagrammatic motto (but not the loadstone) is incorporated in an embroidery panel thought to be Mary’s own work, now at Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk (illustrated in Wormald, 1991, 140).
12 which . . . armata] marginal insertion, Hawthornden
12 veritas armata ‘armed truth’ (Lat.). Another (near) anagram of ‘Maria Stuart’.
14 undique ‘everywhere’ (Lat.).
14 undique; an] 1655; undique. An Sage
14 Mary] Marie Hawthornden
14 Mary of Lorraine Otherwise known as Mary of Guise; b. 1515, daughter of Claude, first Duke of Lorraine; married to James V of Scotland in 1538; mother of Mary Queen of Scots (who was born in 1542, the year of James’s death). Mary of Guise acted as Regent in Scotland from 1554 until her own death in 1560, a period of fierce Protestant resistance to French Catholic influence in the Scottish court.
15 phoenix in flames A familiar emblem signifying renewal (Paradin, 1591/1984, 110; Whitney, 1586/1989, 177); here suggesting the continuation of James’s (and Mary of Guise’s) ideals in their daughter Mary Queen of Scots.
15 en . . . commencement ‘in my end lies my beginning’ (Fr.). This motto was embroidered on Mary Queen of Scots’ chair of state. ‘In looking upon her cloth of estate, I noticed this sentence embroidered: “En ma fin est mon commencement”, which is a riddle I understand not’ (Nicholas White, friend of William Cecil, visiting Mary at Tutbury in 1569; cit. Baring, 1931, 7).
15–16 apple tree Sacred to Apollo; associated with health and immortality.
16 per vincula crescit ‘through bondage it grows’ (Lat.). Or, ‘she grows’: hinting at Mary’s own state. (I am grateful to Professor G. W. Clarke for guidance on the Latin mottos throughout this letter.)
16 Henry II] Henrye the second Hawthornden
16 Henry II (1519–59) second son of Francis I, husband of Catherine de’ Médici, and father-in-law of Mary Queen of Scots (who married their son, Francis II). Henry’s sister Madeleine (d. 1537) had married James V of Scotland.
17 donec . . . orbem ‘until it completes its full circle’, or ‘until he fills the entire globe’ (Lat.).
17–18 The impresa. . . extinguo The salamander (‘which worm, saith Pliny, is of such a cold nature that she quencheth the fire like ice. Others write that she liveth, and is nourished in the fire’) was a well-known device associated with Francis I, which had earlier been used by his father and grandfather. See Paradin (1591/1984), 17–18; Knecht (1982), 6–7; Russell (1985), 45. A small wingless dragon or lizard, sometimes resembling a dog, the salamander was regarded as the creature of fire, and heraldically represented ‘bravery and courage unquenched by the fires of affliction’ (Cooper, 1978, 144).
17 Francis I] K. Frances the first Hawthornden
17 King Francis I 1494–1547, King of France from 1515, a strong ruler and patron of the arts, popularly known as le grand roi François; father of Henry II.
18 nutrisco et extinguo ‘I nourish and I extinguish’ (Lat.); (‘that is, I nourish the virtuous, and destroy the wicked’; Paradin, 1591/1984, 18).
18 extinguo] Sage; extingo 1655
19 Godfrey] 1655, Sage; Godfroy H&S
19 Godfrey of Boulogne Godfrey of Boulogne or Bouillon (c. 1060–1100), Duke of Lower Lorraine, son of Eustache II, Count of Boulogne; a leader in the first crusade, and ruler of Jerusalem, 1099.
19 Boulogne] this edn; Bullogne 1655, Sage
19 an arrow] Sage; an row 1655
19 dederit ne] 1655; Dederitne Sage
19–20 dederit . . . deusve ‘let not fate or god grant a way’ (meaning either ‘get in his way’, or ‘leave him exposed’).
20–1 That of. . . clausit According to legend, Argus had 100 eyes, only two of which were asleep at any one time. Juno set Argus to watch Io, whom her husband Jupiter – who had turned Io into a heifer – was hoping to seduce. On Jupiter’s instructions, Mercury lulled all of Argus’s eyes asleep by the melodious sound of his lyre, and then killed him. Juno ordered Argus’s eyes to be set in the tail of the peacock, a bird sacred to her.
20 Argus] this edn; Argos 1655, Sage
21 caduceus Mercury’s wand, entwined with snakes, given to him by Apollo in exchange for the gift of a lyre; it had the power to lull people to sleep, or raise them from the dead.
21 eloquium . . . clausit ‘his speech has closed so many eyes’ (Lat.).
21–3 Two women . . . herself The contrasting fortunes of Mary and Elizabeth were sometimes depicted emblematically (e.g. by cat and mouse: Dunn, 2003, illustration between pp. 380 and 381). Here the lance represents Elizabeth’s martial victories, and the cornucopia Mary’s fertility. Together with the wheels of fortune, the cornucopia hints at the possibility of Mary’s ultimate triumph through James’s succession.
22 impresa] Impresa Sage; Impressa 1655 (spelt thus elsewhere in 1655)
23 fortunae comites ‘companions in fortune’ (Lat.).
23–5 The impresa. . . virebo Mary was brought up in France under the watchful eye of her uncle, the rapacious and wealthy cleric, Charles de Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine (1527–74), brother of François, second duc de Guise. Together, the Guise brothers effectively ruled France, wielding even greater power than the King. The device described here traditionally implies the interrelationship of church (the ivy) and state (the pillar): the one will continue to grow so long as the other endures. The motto translates: ‘While you stand I shall flourish’. See Whitney, 1586/1989, 1. When Charles adopted the device, however, Protestant satirists snidely observed that ivy tends to pull down stone edifices (Russell, 1985, 71).
25–6 nunquam nisi rectum ‘never unless upright’. An unusual application, as the sinking ship traditionally signifies the transitoriness of human affairs: Whitney, 1586/1989, 11.
26 rectum] 1655; rectam Sage
26–7 This. . . leonem A lion rampant was part of the heraldic arms of Mary Queen of Scots (Paradin, 1561, 121). The ‘young whelp’ is Mary’s son, James VI and I; the motto translates: ‘One, to be sure, but a lion’ (Lat.). The lion taken in a net represents Mary during her period of captivity in England from 1568. But the hare was the family crest of her lover Bothwell (Fraser, 1970, illustration following 360), who had abducted Mary near Stirling and held her captive prior to marriage the previous year; a secondary reference may therefore be intended.
28 et lepores . . . leoni ‘and hares taunt the conquered lion’ (Lat.).
28 Camomile Camomile was commonly planted as a lawn, and gave off a fragrant smell when walked upon.
29 fructus . . . amplos ‘though trodden under foot it produces abundant fruit’. Hinting again at Mary’s ultimate vindication through the agency of James, her son.
29 A palm tree The palm tree was thought to flourish when weights were hung on it. This common emblem sometimes referred to those who appeared to survive, or benefit from, conquest or subjection (Paradin, 1551/1989, 261–2).
29–30 ponderibus . . . resistit ‘innate virtue survives subjection’ (Lat.)
30–1 il mal . . . peggio ‘unease afflicts me, and deepens my fear’ (It.).
31–2 trino . . . orbis ‘a circle does not fit a triangle’ (Lat.).
32 A porcupine The porcupine served as an identifying mark for many noble orders in the middle ages, and was associated in later times with Louis XII: Paradin (1551/1989), 25; Russell (1985), 26.
32 ne volutetur ‘it shall not be rolled over’ (Lat.).
32–3 The impresa. . . securitas Henry VIII’s insignia of the portcullis was widely used (and is seen, e.g., in the decorative elements of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge). The Latin motto translates: ‘A second security or safety’: Paradin (1591/1984), 39–40.
33–5 The impresa . . . Rhodes Paradin (1591/1984), 43–5, illustrates this device, whose Latin motto means ‘his bravery kept hold of Rhodes’. It is associated with Amatus Vertius, founder of the Knights of Rhodes and governor of the island, which he saved from siege. The golden chain with which Amatus invested his knights was made up of love knots, with a pendant bearing the angel Gabriel’s message to the Virgin Mary.
35–6 canons, and Drummond left a space at this point, evidently intending to add another word.
36 dabit . . . finem ‘God shall grant an end even to these’ (Lat.).
37 pietas . . . orco ‘devotion will call them back from the underworld’ (Lat.); possibly hinting at Mary’s own hope of recall from exile.
37 Eclipses Often regarded as ominous. Cf. Gloucester’s ‘These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us’ (Lear, 1.2.107–8); and ‘The mortal moon hath her eclipse endured’, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 107 (line 5), often taken as referring to the death of Elizabeth.
38 ipsa . . . aufert ‘the light which she begrudges she takes away even from herself’ (glancing again at Elizabeth).
39 Brennus’s] Sage; Brennos 1655
39 Brennus’s balances Brennus was the leader of an army of Celtic Gauls who attacked Rome in 390 bc, capturing all of the city except for the Capitoline hill. Brennus insisted that the Romans pay 1,000 pounds of gold to ransom the city. As the gold was being measured, the Romans complained about the accuracy of the weights. Brennus threw his sword on the scales, crying ‘Vae victis!’ (‘Woe to the conquered!’), forcing the Romans to bring more gold. At that moment a Roman army led by Marcus Furius Camillus arrived, and defeated the Gauls. The story – pertinent again to Mary’s condition – turns on the ambiguities of conquest, and the sudden reversals of fortune.
39 in] 1655; into Sage
39–40 quid . . . dolor? ‘what does it bring except grief to the conquered?’ (Lat.)
41 mea. . . . prosunt ‘thus do my affairs profit me’ (Lat.).
41 sea] 1655; Sky Sage, H&S
41–2 piena . . . speranza ‘full of sorrow and empty of hope’ (It.).
42–3 precipitio senza speranza ‘press on without hope’ (It.).
43 magnatum vicinitas This puzzling phrase could mean something like ‘My neighbour has taken away my high station’ (with a verb such as aufert or abstulit understood).
45 ut casus dederit ‘thus shall fate have granted’ (Lat.).
46–7 Three. . . die The three suns evidently represent the three kingdoms of Scotland, England, and France with which Mary was connected; the motto (‘one is holding back another’) referring to her thwarted hopes of succession. The image of the sun in eclipse glances again at the suppression of her royal power: ‘it will set in the middle of the day’. Yet the Latin phrase is characteristically ambiguous, meaning, on another reading of occidet, ‘she will kill in broad daylight’ (hinting at Elizabeth).
46 sea Sage’s reading ‘sky’, accepted by H&S (see collations), may be a misguided correction, based on realistic rather than heraldic conventions.
50 materiam superabat opus ‘the workmanship surpasses the material’ (Lat.).
51 the oath H&S (like Laing before them) assume that the oath referred to here is ‘The Challenge of the Knights Errant’ described in a letter from Drummond, written at Greenwich on 1 June 1606 ‘To the Right Honourable, the Earl of——’, which immediately follows the present letter in the 1711 folio (pp. 231–2), though not in the 1655 History of Scotland. ‘The Challenge’ does not however correspond to the description in this letter, and is unlikely to represent the material sent to Jonson. (It is not necessarily therefore ‘misplaced’ in the 1655 History of Scotland, as H&S assume.)