As much to say, God sheweth his power by the night raines.  Caesar his magnificence by the pompes of the day.

These two verses were very well liked, and brought to th’Emperours Maiestie, who tooke great pleasure in them, & willed the author should be knowen.  A sausie courtier profered him selfe to be the man, and had a good reward giuen him:  for the Emperour him self was not only learned, but of much munificence toward all learned men:  whereupon Virgill seing him self by his ouermuch modestie defrauded of the reward, that an impudent had gotten by abuse of his merit, came the next night, and fastened vpon the same place this halfe metre, foure times iterated.  Thus.
  Sic vos non vobis
  Sic vos non vobis
  Sic vos non vobis
  Sic vos non vobis

And there it remained a great while because no man wist what it meant, till Virgill opened the whole fraude by this deuise.  He wrote aboue the same halfe metres this whole verse Exameter.
  Hos ego versiculos feci tulit alter honores.

And then finished the foure half metres, thus.
  Sic vos non vobis Fertis aratra boues
  Sic vos non vobis Vellera fertis oues
  Sic vos non vobis Mellificatis apes
  Sic vos non vobis Indificatis aues.

And put to his name Publius Virgilius Maro.  This matter came by and by to Th’emperours eare, who taking great pleasure in the deuise called for Virgill, and gaue him not onely a present reward, with a good allowance of dyet a bonche in court as we vse to call it:  but also held him for euer after vpon larger triall he had made of his learning and vertue in so great reputation, as he vouchsafed to giue him the name of a frend (amicus) which among the Romanes was so great an honour and speciall fauour, as all such persons were allowed to the Emperours table, or to the Senatours who had receiued them (as frendes) and they were the only men that came ordinarily to their boords, & solaced with them in their chambers, and gardins when none other could be admitted.

  CHAP.  XXVIII.

Of the poeme called Epitaph used for memoriall of the dead.

An Epitaph is but a kind of Epigram only applied to the report of the dead persons estate and degree, or of his other good or bad partes, to his commendation or reproch:  and is an inscription such as a man may commodiously write or engraue vpon a tombe in few verses, pithie, quicke and sententious for the passer by to peruse, and iudge vpon without any long tariaunce:  So as if it exceede the measure of an Epigram, it is then (if the verse be correspondent) rather an Elegie then an Epitaph which errour many of these bastard rimers commit, because they be not learned, nor (as we are wont to say) their catftes masters, for they make long and tedious discourses, and write them in large tables to be hanged vp in Churches and chauncells ouer the tombes of great men