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Constancy and Commonwealth: Nero and English Political Culture C.1580-C.1630

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Constancy and Commonwealth: Nero and English Political Culture C.1580-C.1630 Constancy and Commonwealth: Nero and English Political Culture c.1580-c.1630 Celia Elizabeth Goodburn PhD University of York History September 2015 Abstract In the mid-sixteenth century early modern authors became interested in the historical works of the Roman writer Tacitus, and in the philosophy of the Roman statesman Seneca. Richard Tuck has termed this movement “new humanism” – a cynical and sceptical form of humanism based on the political and philosophical outlook of Tacitus and Seneca - to distinguish it from old humanism which had been largely inspired by the writings of Cicero. In England “new humanism” was reflected in historical, philosophical and dramatic works crafted from around 1580 onwards. These works took inspiration from Tacitus’s pessimistic treatment of the psychology of power, and from Seneca’s philosophy of constancy which taught men how to survive in the capricious world of politics. English “new humanism” created a rhetoric that was often critical of political life, and that called for men to oppose the political culture associated with the royal court. In existing scholarship this political dimension of “new humanism” has been characterised as “republican” in tone. However, this overstates the radical character of the political thought associated with this interest in Tacitus and Seneca. This thesis reappraises existing scholarship on the politics of English “new humanism” and points to the conservative aspects of the movement. It uses early modern figurations of the emperor Nero as a case study to explore English interaction with the histories of Tacitus and the philosophy of Seneca, to demonstrate that English “new humanism” was entirely compatible with belief in monarchical power. 2 Contents Abstract 2 Contents 3 Acknowledgements 5 Author’s Declaration 7 Introduction 8 Humanism and “new humanism” 10 The political significance of “new humanism” in Early Modern England 21 The scope of the present study 30 Textual introduction 32 The structure of the present study 40 Chapter One: Henry Savile’s The End of Nero 44 The anatomy of a tyrant: Nero and Philip II 53 The legitimacy of resistance 60 Rebellion and social discord 72 Quiet virtue and inner freedom 82 Chapter Two: Matthew Gwinne’s Nero Tragaedia Nova 95 Custom and innovation 100 The language of necessity 107 Resistance and political change 117 Types of virtue 133 Chapter Three: The anonymous play, The Tragedy of Nero 148 Heroic constancy and the performance of virtue 157 Liberty and liberation 171 Theatrical selves 174 3 Worlds apart: stoic cosmopolitanism 184 Chapter Four: Edmund Bolton’s Nero Caesar, or Monarchie Depraved 194 The Sage and the subject 201 Discipline and sovereignty 213 Custom, chaos and freedom 224 Divine knowledge and liberty 235 Conclusion 240 Abbreviations 245 Bibliography 248 Manuscripts 248 Primary Works 252 Secondary Works 266 4 Acknowledgements I would first like to acknowledge the Department of History at the University of York for awarding me a Departmental Teaching Scholarship to fund my research over the last three years, and for awarding me a James Jarvis Bursary in 2014 to allow me to access manuscript materials held in Milan. My supervisor, Professor David Wootton, has provided much guidance and support throughout my studies. His supervision meetings have been enriching and inspiring, and I thank him for his insight into my research. I would also like to thank the members of my Thesis Advisory Panel: Dr Richard Rowland and Dr Mark Jenner. Richard provided constructive feedback on a number of excerpts and I am grateful for his advice on both the literary dimension of this study, and the presentation of the work. Mark prompted me to think more about the scope and direction of my work and I thank him for his advice. I am very grateful for the suggestions provided by my thesis examiners, Professor Paulina Kewes and Dr Mark Jenner. I thank them for their comments and for their advice about the focus and impact of my work. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of staff at various libraries I have used during my research: the J. B. Morrell Library at the University of York; the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan; the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford; the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds; the Document Supply Centre at the British Library, Boston Spa; and Leeds Central Lending Library. A number of people have provided assistance, suggestions for further research, and guidance throughout the last three years. These individuals include: Henrice Altink, Simon Ditchfield, Angela Nuovo, Patricia Osmond de Martino, Anna Maria Raugei and Filippo de Vivo. I am very grateful for the help of my aunt, Jennifer Goodburn, who translated email correspondence, and assisted me in making contact with various libraries in Italy. I would also like to thank Christine Knaack who has provided friendship and support throughout my studies at York, and whose shared interest in early modern politics and literature has sparked many interesting conversations. Finally, my family have provided help and guidance throughout my studies. I am very grateful for the help of my mother, Helen, who provided constructive comments on a draft of this thesis. I would also like to thank my brother, Francis, for his continued encouragement and reassurance throughout my research. Both have made this experience more enjoyable through their love, support and humour. I would also like to 5 acknowledge the encouragement and enthusiasm of Philip, my grandad, who passed away while I was in the final stages of completing my thesis. He would, I hope, have been pleased to see this work finished. This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Philip Honoré Goodburn. 6 Author’s Declaration I declare that, except where explicit reference has been made to the contribution of others, this thesis is the result of my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree or diploma at the University of York or any other institution. There is a discussion of the provenance of the Tragedy of Nero and of theatre as a metaphor in this play in my 2011 Master’s thesis — ““[B]ehold an Emperor dancing,/Playing oth’stage”: Theatrical Politics and Political Theatre in the Tragedy of Nero (1624 &1633)”. 7 Introduction In late Elizabethan and early Stuart England many playwrights, political thinkers and scholars became interested in the works of the historian Tacitus, and of the philosopher Seneca. Early modern writers identified these men as astute judges of human affairs, who provided much advice for readers who wished to understand human behaviour and historical causation. One such early modern author was William Cornwallis, an essayist and critic, who, writing in the closing years of Elizabeth’s reign, recognised his contemporaries’ fascination with Tacitus and Seneca. In an attempt to appeal to contemporary tastes, he produced two works deeply indebted to these two classical writers. In 1601, he published a ground-breaking work on the political philosophy of Seneca’s tragedies.1 Here, Cornwallis takes a number of sentences or phrases from Seneca’s works and provides an exegesis to explain precisely what relevance Seneca’s words might have for the early modern reader. Cornwallis draws attention to the nuggets of wisdom contained within the dramatic works of the Roman statesman, and points to Seneca’s acuity in revealing the make-up of man’s personal and political existence. Around the same time as writing this work on Seneca, Cornwallis was working on providing his own words of wisdom in the form of his Essayes, which acted as a series of reflections on human life. This work is modelled on the Essais of the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, and Cornwallis consciously emulates the style of his French counterpart, and displays “a high level of respect” for Montaigne even where their opinions differ.2 Montaigne’s work was infused with content drawn from Seneca’s philosophical writing, and Cornwallis continues this reverence for Seneca in, for example, his treatment of the theme of constancy. In this later work, Cornwallis also addresses the popularity of the historian Tacitus. He underscores the political value of Tacitus’s work, and draws attention to the idea that the interpretation of Tacitus’s writing had become politically charged. 1 Lisa Ferraro Parmelee, “Neostoicism and Absolutism in Late Elizabethan England,” in Politics, Ideology and the Law in Early Modern Europe: Essays in Honor of J. H. M. Salmon, ed. Adrianna E. Bakos (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 1994), 17. Lisa Ferraro Parmelee notes that this work was the “first English book devoted entirely to Seneca”. 2 William M. Hamlin, Montaigne’s English Journey: Reading the Essays in Shakespeare’s Day (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 80. 8 Of History if you wil haue me showe you the best first, I must begin, and ende with Tacitus so graue a stile, so Iudicial a Censure, and so piercing an eye into the designes of Princes, and States, neuer met in one man: he is so worthie, that I wish hee were as rare, for I holde no eye meete to wade in him, that is not at the helme of a State.3 Tacitus, he suggests, should be admired not only for his style of writing, but for his forensic-like examination of the art of politics. Later in the same collection, Cornwallis heaps more praise upon the Roman author, by arguing that “he is more wise, then [sic] safe”, but that this lack of safety is caused less by Tacitus himself than by those who have so “ill handeled” him.4 Cornwallis suggests that those who want to read, study and borrow from Tacitus, approach his works with trepidation, not because Tacitus is a “dangerous” or subversive author, but because no reader can easily throw off the meaning attributed to his works by early modern commentators and exegetes.
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