no Land to basterdy By natures Lawes we thee a Bastard finde Then hence to heauen vnkind for thy childs part Goe Bastard for sure of thence thou art Amour 41. Rare of-spring of my thoughts my deerest Loue Begot by fancy on sweet hope exhortiue In whom all purenes with perfection stroue Hurt in the Embryon makes my ioyes abhortiue And you my sighes Symtomas of my woe The dolefull Anthems of my endlesse care Lyke idle Ecchoes euer aunswering so The mournfull accents of my loues dispayre And thou Conceite the shadow of my blisse Declyning with the setting of my sunne Springing with that and fading straight with this Now hast thou end and now thou wast begun Now was thy pryme and loe now is thy waine Now wast thou borne now in thy cradle slayne Amour 42 Plac'd in the forlorne hope of all dispayre Against the Forte where Beauties Army lies Assayld with death yet arm'd with gastly feare Loe thus my loue my lyfe my fortune tryes Wounded with Arrowes from thy lightning eyes My tongue in payne my harts counsels bewraying My rebell thought for me in Ambushe lyes To my loues foe her Chieftaine still betraying Record my loue in Ocean waues vnkind Cast my desarts into the open ayre Commit my words vnto the fleeting wind Cancell my name and blot it with dispayre So shall I be as I had neuer beene Nor my disgraces to the world be seene Amour 43. Why doe I speake of ioy or write of loue When my hart is the very Den of horror And in my soule the paynes of hell I proue With all his torments and infernall terror Myne eyes want teares thus to bewayle my woe My brayne is dry with weeping all too long My sighes be spent with griefe and sighing so And I want words for to expresse my wrong But still distracted in loues Lunacy And Bedlam like thus rauing in my griefe Now rayle vpon her hayre now on her eye Now call her Goddesse then I call her thiefe Now I deny her then I doe confesse her Now doe I curse her then againe I blesse her Amour 44. My hart the Anuile where my thoughts doe beate My words the hammers fashioning my desires My breast the forge including all the heate Loue is the fuell which maintaines the fire My sighes the bellowes which the flame increaseth Filling myne eares with noyse and nightly groning Toyling with paine my labour neuer ceaseth In greevous passions my woes styll bemoning Myne eyes with teares against the fire stryuing With scorching gleed my hart to cynders turneth But with those drops the coles againe reuyuing Still more and more vnto my torment burneth With Sisiphus thus doe I role the stone And turne the wheele with damned Ixion Amour 45 Blacke pytchy Night companyon of my woe The Inne of care the Nurse of drery sorrow Why lengthnest thou thy darkest howres so Still to prolong my long tyme lookt-for morrow Thou Sable shadow Image of dispayre Portraite of hell the ayres black mourning weed Recorder of reuenge remembrancer of care The shadow and the vaile of euery sinfull deed Death like to thee so lyue thou still in death The graue of ioy pryson of dayes delight Let heauens withdraw their sweet Ambrozian breath Nor Moone nor stars lend thee their shining light For thou alone renew'st that olde desire Which still torments me in dayes burning fire Amour 46. Sweet secrecie what tongue can tell thy worth What mortall pen suffyciently can prayse thee What curious Pensill serues to lim thee forth What Muse hath power aboue thy height to raise thee Strong locke of kindnesse Closet of loues store Harts Methridate the soules preseruatiue O vertue which all vertues doe adore Cheefe good from whom all good things we deriue O rare effect true bond of friendships measure Conceite of Angels which all wisdom teachest O richest Casket of all heauenly treasure In secret silence which such wonders preachest O purest merror wherein men may see The liuely Image of Diuinitie Amour 47. The golden Sunne vpon his fiery wheeles The horned Ram doth in his course awake And of iust length our night and day doth make Flinging the Fishes backward with his heeles Then to the Tropicke takes his full Careere Trotting his sun-steeds till the Palfrays sweat Bayting the Lyon in his furious heat Till Virgins smyles doe sound his sweet reteere But my faire Planet who directs me still Vnkindly such distemprature doth bring Makes Summer Winter Autumne in the Spring Crossing sweet nature by vnruly will Such is the sunne who guides my youthfull season Whose thwarting course depriues the world of reason Amour 48. Who list to praise the dayes delicious lyght Let him compare it to her heauenly eye The sun-beames to that lustre of her sight So may the learned like the similie The mornings Crimson to her lyps alike The sweet of Eden to her breathes perfume The fayre Elizia to her fayrer cheeke Vnto her veynes the onely Phoenix plume The Angels tresses to her tressed hayre The Galixia to her more then white Praysing the fayrest compare it to my faire Still naming her in naming all delight So may he grace all these in her alone Superlatiue in all comparison Amour 49. Define my loue and tell the ioyes of heauen Expresse my woes and shew the paynes of hell Declare what fate vnlucky starres haue giuen And aske a world vpon my life to dwell Make knowne that fayth vnkindnes could not moue Compare my worth with others base desert Let vertue be the tuch-stone of my loue So may the heauens reade wonders in my hart Behold the Clowdes which haue eclips'd my sunne And view the crosses which my course doth let Till mee if euer since the world begunne So faire a Morning had so foule a set And by all meanes let black vnkindnes proue The patience of so rare diuine a loue Amour 50. When first I ended then I first began The more I trauell further from my rest Where most I lost there most of all I wan Pyned with hunger rysing from a feast Mee thinks I flee yet want I legs to goe Wise in conceite in acte a very sot Rauisht with ioy amidst a hell of woe What most I seeme that surest am I not I build my hopes a world aboue the skye Yet with the Mole I creepe into the earth In plenty am I staru'd with penury And yet I surfet in the greatest dearth I haue I want dispayre and yet desire Burn'd in a Sea of Ice drown'd amidst a fire Amour 51. Goe you my lynes Embassadors of loue With my harts trybute to her conquering eyes From whence if you one teare of pitty moue For all my woes that onely shall suffise When you Minerua in the sunne behold At her perfection stand you then and gaze Where in the compasse of a Marygold Meridianis sits within a maze And let Inuention of her beauty vaunt When Dorus sings his sweet Pamelas loue And tell the Gods Mars is predominant Seated with Sol
IDEAS MIRROVR AMOVRS IN QVATORZAINS Che serue é tace assai domanda AT LONDON Printed by Iames Roberts for Nicholas Linge Anno. 1594. Gentle Reader correct these faults escaped in the printing AMour 13. lyne 13. for by Tempe reade my Tempe Amour 16. line 3. for deluered reade deliuered Amour 34. line 13. for forforne read forlorne Amour 40. line 14. for Goe Bastard read Goe bastard goe To the deere Chyld of the Muses and his euer kind Mecaenas Ma. Anthony Cooke Esquire VOuchsafe to grace these rude vnpolish'd rymes Which long deer friend haue slept in sable night And come abroad now in these glorious tymes Can hardly brooke the purenes of the light But sith you see their desteny is such That in the world theyr fortune they must try Perhaps they better shall abide the tuch Wearing your name theyr gracious liuery Yet these mine owne I wrong not other men Nor trafique further then thys happy Clyme Nor filch from Portes nor from Petrarchs pen A fault too common in thys latter tyme. Diuine Syr Phillip I auouch thy writ I am no Pickpurse of anothers wit Yours deuoted M. Drayton ANkor tryumph vpon whose blessed shore The sacred Muses solemnize thy name Where the Arcadian Swaines with rytes adore Pandoras poesy and her liuing fame Where first this iolly Sheepheard gan rehearse That heauenly worth vpon his Oaten reede Of earths great Queene in Nectar-dewed verse Which none so wise that rightly can areede Nowe in conceite of his ambitious loue He mounts his thoughts vnto the highest gate Straynd with some sacred spirit from aboue Bewraies his loue his fayth his life his fate In this his myrror of Ideas praise On whom his thoughts and fortunes all attend Tunes all his Ditties and his Roundelaies How loue begun how loue shal neuer end No wonder though his Muse then soare so hie Whose subiect is the Queene of Poesie Gorbo il fidele Amour 1. REade heere sweet Mayd the story of my wo The drery abstracts of my endles cares With my liues sorow enterlyned so Smok'd with my sighes and blotted with my teares The sad memorials of my miseries Pend in the griefe of myne afflicted ghost My liues complaint in doleful Elegies With so pure loue as tyme could neuer boast Receaue the incense which I offer heere By my strong fayth ascending to thy fame My zeale my hope my vowes my praise my prayer My soules oblations to thy sacred name Which name my Muse to highest heauen shal raise By chast desire true loue and vertues praise Amour 2. My fayre if thou wilt register my loue More then worlds volumes shall thereof arise Preserue my teares and thou thy selfe shalt proue A second flood downe rayning from mine eyes Note but my sighes and thine eyes shal behold The Sun-beames smothered with immortall smoke And if by thee my prayers may be enrold They heauen and earth to pitty shall prouoke Looke thou into my breast and thou shalt see Chaste holy vowes for my soules sacrifice That soule sweet Maide which so hath honored thee Erecting Trophies to thy sacred eyes Those eyes to my hart shining euer bright When darknes hath obscur'd each other light Amour 3. My thoughts bred vp with Eagle-birds of loue And for their vertues I desierd to know Vpon the nest I set them forth to proue If they were of the Eagles kinde or no. But they no sooner saw my Sunne appeare But on her rayes with gazing eyes they stood Which proou'd my birds delighted in the ayre And that they came of this rare kinglie brood But now their plumes full sumd with sweet desire To shew their kinde began to clime the skies Doe what I could my Eaglets would aspire Straight mounting vp to thy celestiall eyes And thus my faire my thoughts away be flowne And from my breast into thine eyes be gone Amour 4. My faire had I not erst adornd my Lute With those sweet strings stolne frō thy golden hayre Vnto the world had all my ioyes been mute Nor had I learn'd to descant on my faire Had not mine eye seene thy Celestiall eye Nor my hart knowne the power of thy name My soule had ne'r felt thy Diuinitie Nor my Muse been the trumpet of thy fame But thy diuine perfections by their skill This miracle on my poore Muse haue tried And by inspiring glorifide my quill And in my verse thy selfe art deified Thus from thy selfe the cause is thus deriued That by thy fame all fame shall be suruiued Amour 5. Since holy Vestall lawes haue been neglected The Gods pure fire hath been extinguisht quite No Virgine once attending on that light Nor yet those heauenly secrets once respected 'Till thou alone to pay the heauens their dutie Within the Temple of thy sacred name With thine eyes kindling that Celestial flame By those reflecting Sun-beames of thy beautie Here Chastity that Vestall most diuine Attends that Lampe with eye which neuer sleepeth The volumes of Religions lawes shee keepeth Making thy breast that sacred reliques shryne Where blessed Angels singing day and night Praise him which made that fire which lends that light Amour 6. In one whole world is but one Phoenix found A Phoenix thou this Phoenix then alone By thy rare plume thy kind is easly knowne With heauenly colours dide with natures wonder cround Heape thine own vertues seasoned by their sunne On heauenlie top of thy diuine desire Then with thy beautie set the same on fire So by thy death thy life shall be begunne Thy selfe thus burned in this sacred flame With thine owne sweetnes al the heauens perfuming And stil increasing as thou art consuming Shalt spring againe from th'ashes of thy fame And mounting vp shalt to the heauens ascend So maist thou liue past world past fame past end Amour 7. Stay stay sweet Time behold or ere thou passe From world to world thou long hast sought to see That wonder now wherein all wonders be Where heauen beholds her in a mortall glasse Nay looke thee Time in this Celestiall glasse And thy youth past in this faire mirror see Behold worlds Beautie in her infancie VVhat shee was then and thou or ere shee was Now passe on Time to after-worlds tell this Tell truelie Time what in thy time hath beene That they may tel more worlds what Time hath seene And heauen may ioy to think on past worlds blisse Heere make a Period Time and saie for mee She was the like that neuer was nor neuer more shalbe Amour 8. Vnto the World to Learning and to Heauen Three nines there are to euerie one a nine One number of the earth the other both diuine One wonder woman now makes 3. od nūbers euen Nine orders first of Angels be in heauen Nine Muses doe with learning still frequent These with the Gods are euer resident Nine worthy men vnto the world were giuen My Worthie one to these nine Worthies addeth And my faire Muse one Muse vnto the nine And my good Angell in my soule
Regions registred by Fame By theyr ten Sibils haue the world controld Who prophecied of Christ or ere he came And of hys blessed birth before fore-told That man-god now of whom they dyd diuine This earth of those sweet Prophets hath bereft And since the world to iudgement doth declyne In steed of ten one Sibil to vs left Thys pure Idea vertues right Idea Shee of whom Merlin long tyme did fore-tell Excelling her of Delphos or Cumaea Whose lyfe doth saue a thousand soules from hell That life I meane which doth Religion teach And by example true repentance preach Amour 20. Reading sometyme my sorrowes to beguile I find old Poets hylls and floods admire One he doth wonder monster-breeding Nyle Another meruailes Sulphure Aetnas fire Now broad-brymd Indus then of Pindus height Pelion and Ossa frosty Caucase old The Delian Cynthus then Olympus weight Slow Arrer frantick Gallus Cydnus cold Some Ganges Ister and of Tagus tell Some whir-poole Po and slyding Hypasis Some old Pernassus where the Muses dwell Some Helycon and some faire Simois A fooles thinke I had you Idea seene Poore Brookes and Banks had no such wonders beene Amour 21. Letters and lynes we see are soone defaced Mettles doe waste and fret with cankers rust The Diamond shall once consume to dust And freshest colours with foule staines disgraced Paper and yncke can paynt but naked words To write with blood of force offends the sight And if with teares I find them all too light And sighes and signes a silly hope affoords O sweetest shadow how thou seru'st my turne Which still shalt be as long as there is Sunne Nor whilst the world is neuer shall be done Whilst Moone shall shyne by night or any fire shall burne That euery thing whence shadow doth proceede May in his shadow my Loues story reade Amour 22. My hart imprisoned in a hopeles Ile Peopled with Armies of pale iealous eyes The shores beset with thousand secret spyes Must passe by ayre or else dye in exile He framd him wings with feathers of his thought Which by theyr nature learn'd to mount the skye And with the same he practised to flye Till he himselfe thys Eagles art had taught Thus soring still nor looking once below So neere thyne eyes celestiall sunne aspyred That with the rayes his wasting pyâ—eons fired Thus was the wanton cause of hys owne woe Downe fell he in thy Beauties Oâ—â—an drenched Yet there he burnes in fire thats neuer quenched Amour 23 Wonder of Heauen glasse of diuinitie Rare beauty Natures ioy perfections Mother The worke of that vnited Trinitie VVherein each fayrest part excelleth other Loues Methridate the purest of perfection Celestiall Image Load-stone of desire The soules delight the sences true direction Sunne of the world thou hart reuyuing fire Why should'st thou place thy Trophies in those eyes Which scorne the honor that is done to thee Or make my pen her name imortalize Who in her pride sdaynes once to looke on mee It is thy heauen within her face to dwell And in thy heauen there onely is my hell Amour 24. Our floods-Queene Thames for shyps Swans is crowned And stately Seuerne for her shores is praised The christall Trent for Foords fishe renowned And Auons fame to Albyons Cliues is raysed Carlegion Chester vaunts her holy Dee Yorke many wonders of her Ouse can tell The Peake her Doue whose bancks so fertill bee And Kent will say her Medway doth excell Cotswoold commends her Isis and her Tame Our Northern borders boast of Tweeds faire flood Our Westerne parts extoll theyr VVilys fame And old Legea brags of Danish blood Ardens sweet Ankor let thy glory be That fayre Idea shee doth liue by thee Amour 25. The glorious sunne went blushing to his bed When my soules sunne from her fayre Cabynet Her golden beames had now discouered Lightning the world eclipsed by his set Some muz'd to see the earth enuy the ayre Which from her lyps exhald refined sweet A world to see yet how he ioyd to heare The dainty grasse make musicke with her feete But my most meruaile was when from the skyes So Comet-like each starre aduaunc'd her lyght As though the heauen had now awak'd her eyes And summond Angels to thys blessed sight No clowde was seene but christaline the ayre Laughing for ioy vpon my louely fayre Amour 26. Cupid dumbe Idoll peeuish Saint of loue No more shalt thou nor Saint nor Idoll be No God art thou a Goddesse shee doth proue Of all thine honour shee hath robbed thee Thy Bowe halfe broke is peec'd with olde desire Her Bowe is beauty with ten thousand strings Of purest gold tempred with vertues fire The least able to kyll an hoste of Kings Thy shafts be spent and shee to warre appointed Hydes in those christall quiuers of her eyes More Arrowes with hart-piercing mettel poynted Then there be starres at midnight in the skyes With these she steales mens harts for her reliefe Yet happy he thats robd of such a thiefe Amour 27 My Loue makes hote the fire whose heat is spent The water moysture from my teares deriueth And my strong sighes the ayres weake force reuiueth This loue tears sighes maintaine each one his element The fire vnto my loue compare a painted fire The water to my teares as drops to Oceans be The ayre vnto my sighes as Eagle to the fire The passions of dispaire but ioyes to my desire Onely my loue is in the fire ingraued Onely my teares by Oceans may be gessed Onely my sighes are by the ayre expressed Yet fire water ayre of nature not depriued Whilst fire water ayre twixt heauen earth shal be My loue my teares my sighes extinguisht cannot be Amour 28. Some wits there be which lyke my method well And say my verse runnes in a lofty vayne Some say I haue a passing pleasing straine Some say that in my humor I excell Some who reach not the height of my conceite They say as Poets doe I vse to fayne And in bare words paynt out my passions payne Thus sundry men their sundry minds repeate I passe not I how men affected be Nor who commend or discommend my verse It pleaseth me if I my plaints rehearse And in my lynes if shee my loue may see I proue my verse autentique still in thys Who writes my Mistres praise can neuer write amisse Amour 29. O eyes behold your happy Hesperus That luckie Load-starre of eternall light Left as that sunne alone to comfort vs When our worlds sunne is vanisht out of sight O starre of starres fayre Planet mildly moouing O Lampe of vertue sun-bright euer shyning O mine eyes Comet so admyr'd by louing O cleerest day-starre neuer more declyning O our worlds wonder crowne of heauen aboue Thrice happy be those eyes which may behold thee Lou'd more then life yet onely art his loue VVhose glorious hand immortall hath enrold thee O blessed fayre now vaile those heauenly eyes That I may blesse mee at thy sweet arise Amour 30.