The Elephant is strong, yet death doeth it subdue,
The bull is strong, yet cannot death eschue.
The Lion strong, and slaine for all his strength:
The Tygar strong, yet kilde is at the length.
Dread thou many, that dreadest not any one,
Many can kill, that cannot kill alone._
And so it fell out, for _Maximinus_ was slaine in a mutinie of his
souldiers, taking no warning by these examples written for his
admonition.
_CHAP. XX._
_The last and principall figure of our poeticall Ornament._
[Sidenote: _Exargasia_ or The Gorgious.]
For the glorious lustre it setteth vpon our speech and language, the
Greeks call it [_Exargasia_] the Latine [_Expolisio_] a terme transferred
from these polishers of marble or porphirite, who after it is rough hewen
& reduced to that fashion they will do set vpon it a goodly glasse, so
smoth and cleere as ye may see your face in it, or otherwise as it fareth
by the bare and naked body, which being attired in rich and gorgious
apparell, seemeth to the common vsage of th'eye much more comely &
bewtifull then the naturall. So doth this figure (which therefore I call
the _Gorgious_) polish our speech & as it were attire it with copious &
pleasant amplifications and much varietie of sentences all running vpon
one point & to one intent so as I doubt whether I may terme it a figure,
or rather a masse of many figurative speaches, applied to the bewtifying
of our tale or argument.
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