as in his owne bée soong Wherein although for pleasant style I cannot make account Too match myne author who in that all other dooth surmount Yit gentle Reader doo I trust my trauell in this cace May purchace fauour in thy sight my dooings too embrace Considring what a sea of goodes and Iewelles thou shalt fynd Not more delyghtfull too the eare than frutefull too the mynd For this doo lerned persons déeme of Ouids present woorke That in no one of all his bookes the which he wrate doo lurke Mo darke and secret misteries mo counselles wyse and sage Mo good ensamples mo reprooues of vyce in youth and age Mo fyne inuentions too delight mo matters clerkly knit No nor more straunge varietie too shew a lerned wit The high the lowe the riche the poore the mayster and the slaue The mayd the wife the man the chyld the simple and the braue The yoong the old the good the bad the warriour strong and stout The wyse the foole the countrie cloyne the lerned and the lout And euery other liuing wight shall in this mirrour sée His whole estate thoughtes woordes and déedes expresly shewd too bée Whereof if more particular examples thou doo craue In reading the Epistle through thou shalt thy longing haue Moreouer thou mayst fynd herein descriptions of the tymes With constellacions of the starres and planettes in theyr clymes The Sites of Countries Cities hilles seas forestes playnes and floods The natures both of fowles beastes wormes herbes mettals stones woods And finally what euer thing is straunge and delectable The same conueyed shall you fynd most featly in some fable And euen as in a cheyne eche linke within another wynds And both with that that went before and that that followes binds So euery tale within this booke dooth séeme too take his ground Of that that was reherst before and enters in the bound Of that that folowes after it and euery one giues light Too other so that whoo so méenes too vnderstand them ryght Must haue a care as well too know the thing that went before As that the which he presently desyres too sée so sore Now too thintent that none haue cause héereafter too complaine Of mee as setter out of things that are but light and vaine If any stomacke be so weake as that it cannot brooke The liuely setting forth of things described in this booke I giue him counsell too absteine vntill he bée more strong And for too vse Vlysses feat ageinst the Meremayds song Or if he néedes will héere and sée and wilfully agrée Through cause misconstrued vntoo vice allured for too bée Then let him also marke the peine that dooth therof ensue And hold himself content with that that too his fault is due FINIS ¶ The first booke of Ouids Metamorphosis translated into Englyshe Meter OF shapes transformde to bodies straunge I purpose tâ— entreate Ye gods vouchsafe for you are they y â—wrought this woÌ„drous feate To further this mine enterprise And from the world begunne Graunt that my verse may to my time his course directly runne Before the Sea and Lande were made and Heauen that all doth hide In all the worlde one onely face of nature did abide Which Chaos hight a huge rude heape and nothing else but euen A heauie lump and clottred clod of séedes togither driuen Of things at strife among themselues for want of order due No sunne as yet with lightsome beames the shapelesse world did vew No Moone in growing did repayre hir hornes with borowed light Nor yet the earth amiddes the ayre did hang by wondrous slight Iust peysed by hir proper weight Nor winding in and out Did Amphitrytee with hir armes embrace the earth about For where was earth was sea and ayre so was the earth vnstable The ayre all darke the sea likewise to beare a ship vnable No kinde of thing had proper shape but ech confounded other For in one selfe same bodie stroue the hote and colde togither The moyst with drie the soft with hard the light with things of weight This strife did God and Nature breake and set in order streight The earth from heauen the sea from earth he parted orderly And from the thicke and foggie ayre he tooke the lightsome skie Which when he once vnfolded had and seuered from the blinde And clodded heape He setting eche from other did them binde In endlesse friendship to agree The fire most pure and bright The substance of the heauen it selfe bicause it was so light Did mount aloft and set it selfe in highest place of all The second roume of right to ayre for lightnesse did befall The earth more grosse drew down with it eche weighty kinde of matter And set it selfe in lowest place Againe the wauing water Did lastly chalenge for his place the vtmost coast and bound Of all the compasse of the earth to close the stedfast ground Now when he in this foresaid wise what God so ere he was Had broke and into members put this rude confused masse Then first bicause in euery part the earth should equall bée He made it like a mighty ball in compasse as we sée And here and there he cast in seas to whome he gaue a lawe To swell with euery blast of winde and euery stormie flawe And with their waues continually to beate vpon the shore Of all the earth within their boundes enclosde by them afore Moreouer Springs and mighty Méeres and Lakes he did augment And flowing streames of crooked brookes in winding bankes he pent Of which the earth doth drinke vp some and some with rest lesse race Do séeke the sea where finding scope of larger roume and space In steade of bankes they beate on shores He did coÌ„maund the plaine And champion groundes to stretch out wide and valleys to remaine Aye vnderneath and eke the woods to hide them decently With tender leaues and stonie hilles to lift themselues on hie And as two Zones doe cut the Heauen vpon the righter side And other twaine vpon the left likewise the same deuide The middle in outragious heat excéeding all the rest Euen so likewise through great foresight to God it séemed best The earth encluded in the same should so deuided bée As with the number of the Heauen hir Zones might full agrée Of which the middle Zone in heate the vtmost twaine in colde Excéede so farre that there to dwell no creature dare be bolde Betwéene these two so great extremes two other Zones are fixt Where temprature of heate and colde indifferently is mixt Now ouer this doth hang the Ayre which as it is more sleightie Than earth or water so againe than fire it is more weightie There hath he placed mist and cloudes and for to feare mens mindes The thunder and the lightning eke with colde and blustring windes But yet the maker of the worlde permitteth not alway The windes to vse the ayre at will For at this present day Though ech from other placed be in sundry coasts
lust Of one what God so ere he was disdeyning former fare Too cram that cruell croppe of his with fleshmeate did not spare He made a way for wickednesse And first of all the knyfe Was staynd with blood of sauage beastes in ridding them of lyfe And that had nothing béene amisse if there had béene the stay For why wée graunt without the breach of godlynesse wée may By death confound the things that séeke too take our lyues away But as too kill them reason was euen so agein theyr was No reason why too eate theyr flesh This leawdnesse thence did passe On further still Wheras there was no sacrifyse beforne The Swyne bycause with hoked groyne he wrooted vp the corne And did deceyue the tillmen of theyr hope next yéere thereby Was déemed woorthy by desert in sacrifyse too dye The Goate for byghting vynes was slayne at Bacchus altar whoo Wreakes such misdéedes Theyr owne offence was hurtful to theis twoo But what haue you poore shéepe misdoone a cattell méeke and méeld Created for too maynteine man whoos 's fulsomme duggs doo yéeld Swéete Nectar whoo dooth clothe vs with your wooll in soft aray Whoose lyfe dooth more vs benefite than dooth your death farreway What trespasse haue the Oxen doone a beast without all guyle Or craft vnhurtfull simple borne too labour euery whyle In fayth he is vnmyndfull and vnwoorthy of increace Of corne that in his hart can fynd his tilman too releace From plowgh too cut his throte that in his hart can fynde I say Those neckes with hatchets of too strike whoos 's skinne is worne away With labring ay for him whoo turnd so oft his land most tough Whoo brought so many haruestes home yit is it not ynough That such a great outrageousenesse committed is They father Theyr wickednesse vppon the Goddes And falsly they doo gather That in the death of peynfull Ox the hyghest dooth delyght A sacrifyse vnblemished and fayrest vntoo syght For beawtye woorketh them theyr bane adornd with garlonds and With glittring gold is cyted at the altar for too stand There héere 's he woordes he wotes not what y â— which y â— préest dooth pray And on his forehead suffereth him betwéene his hornes too lay The eares of corne that he himself hath wrought for in the clay And stayneth with his blood the knyfe that he himself perchaunce Hathe in the water shéere ere then behild by soodein glaunce Immediatly they haling out his hartstrings still aliue And poring on them séeke therein Goddes secrets too reâ—ryue Whence commes so gréedy appetyte in men of wicked meate And dare yée O yée mortall men aduenture thus too eate Nay doo not I beséeche yée so But giue good â—are and héede Too that that I shall warne you of and trust it as your créede That whensoeuer you doo eate your Oxen you deuowre Your husbandmen And forasmuch as God this instant howre Dooth moue my toong too speake I will obey his heauenly powre My God Apollos temple I will set you open and Disclose the woondrous heauens themselues and make you vnderstand The Oracles and secrets of the Godly maiestye Greate things and such as wit of man could neuer yit espye And such as haue béene hidden long I purpose too descrye I mynd too leaue the earth and vp among the starres too slye I mynd too leaue this grosser place and in the clowdes too flye And on stowt Atlas shoulders strong too rest my self on hye And looking downe from heauen on men that wander heere and there In dreadfull feare of death as though they voyd of reason were Too giue them exhortation thus and playnely too vnwynd The whole discourse of destinie as nature hath assignd O men amaazd with dread of death why feare yée Limbo Styx And other names of vanitie which are but Poets tricks And perrills of another world all false surmysed géere For whither fyre or length of tyme consume the bodyes héere Yee well may thinke that further harmes they cannot suffer more For soules are frée from death Howbéet they liuing euermore Theyr former dwellings are receyud and liue ageine in new For I myself ryght well in mynd I beare it too be trew Was in the tyme of Troian warre Euphorbus Panthevves sonne Quyght through whoos 's hart the deathfull speare of Menelay did ronne I late age in Iunos Church at Argos did behold And knew the target which I in my left hand there did hold Al things doo chauÌ„ge But nothing sure dooth perrish This same spright Dooth fléete and fisking héere and there dooth swiftly take his flyght From one place too another place and entreth euery wyght Remouing out of man too beast and out of beast too man But yit it neuer perrisheth nor neuer perrish can And euen as supple wax with ease receyueth fygures straunge And kéepes not ay one shape ne bydes assured ay from chaunge And yit continueth alwayes wax in substaunce So I say The soule is ay the selfsame thing it was and yit astray It fléeteth intoo sundry shapes Therfore least Godlynesse Bée vanquisht by outragious lust of belly beastlynesse Forbeare I speake by prophesie your kinsfolkes ghostes too chace By slaughter neyther nourish blood with blood in any cace And sith on open sea the wynds doo blow my sayles apace In all the world there is not that that standeth at a stay Things eb and flow and euery shape is made too passe away The tyme itself continually is fléeting like a brooke For neyther brooke nor lyghtsomme tyme can tarrye still But looke As euery waue dryues other foorth and that that commes behynd Bothe thrusteth and is thrust itself Euen so the tymes by kynd Doo fly and follow bothe at once and euermore renew For that that was before is left and streyght there dooth ensew Anoother that was neuer erst Eche twincling of an eye Dooth chaunge Wée see that after day commes nyght and darks the sky And after nyght the lyghtsum Sunne succéedeth orderly Like colour is not in the heauen when all things wéery lye At midnyght â—ound a sléepe as when the daystarre cléere and bryght Commes foorth vppon his milkwhyght stéede Ageine in other plyght The morning Pallants daughter fayre the messenger of lyght Deliuereth intoo Phebus handes the world of cléerer hew The circle also of the sonne what â—yme it ryseth new And when it setteth looketh red â–ª but when it mounts most hye Then lookes it whyght bycause that there the nature of the skye Is better and from filthye drosse of earth dooth further flye The image also of the Moone that shyneth ay by nyght Is neuer of one quantitie For that that giueth lyght Too day is lesser than the next that followeth till the full And then contrarywyse eche day her lyght away dooth pull What seest thou not how that the yéere as representing playne The age of man departes itself in quarters fowre first bayne And tender in the spring it is euen like a sucking babe Then gréene and
That such destruction vtterly on all mankinde should fall Demaunding what he purposed with all the Earth to doe When that he had all mortall men so cleane destroyde and whoe On holie Altars afterward should offer frankinsence And whother that he were in minde to leaâ—e the Earth fro thence To sauage beastes to wast and spoyle bicause of mans offence The king of Gods bade cease their thought questions in that case And cast the care thereof on him within a little space He promist for to frame a newe an other kinde of men By wondroâ—s meanes vnlike the first to fill the world agen And now his lightning had he thought on all the earth to throw But that he feared least the flames perhaps so hie should grow As for to set the Heauen on fire and burne vp all the skie He did remember furthermore how that by destinie A certaine time should one day come wherein both Sea and Lond And Heauen it selfe shoulde féele the force of Vulâ—ans scorching brond â–ª So that the huge and goodly worke of all the worlde so wide Should go to wrecke for doubt whereof forthwith he laide aside His weapons that the Cyclops made intending to correct Mans trespasse by a punishment contrary in effect And namely with incessant showres from heauen ypoured downe He did determine with himselfe the mortall kinde to drowne In Aeölus prison by and by he fettred Boreas fast With al such winds as chase y â— cloudes or breake theÌ„ with their blast And set at large the Southerne winde who straight with watry wings And dreadfull face as blacke as pitch forth out of prison flings His beard hung full of hideous stormes all dankish was his head With water streaming downe his haire that on his shoulders shead His vgly forehead wrinkled was with foggie mistes full thicke And on his fethers and his breast a stilling dew did sticke Assoone as he betwéene his hands the hanging cloudes had crusht With ratling noyse adowne from heauen the raine full sadly gusht The Rainbow Iunos messenger bedect in sundrie hue To maintaine moysture in the cloudes great waters thither drue The corne was beaten to the grounde the Tilmans hope of gaine For which he toyled all the yeare lay drowned in the raine â–ª Ioues indignation and his wrath began to grow so hot That for to quench the rage thereof his Heauen suffisde not His brother Neptune with his waues was faine to doe him ease Who straight assembling all the streames that fall into the seas Said to them standing in his house Sirs get you home apace You must not looke to haue me vse long preaching in this case Poure out your foree for so is néede your heads ech one vnpende And from your open springs your streames with flowing waters sende He had no sooner said the word but that returning backe Eche one of them vnlosde his spring and let his waters slacke And to the Sea with flowing streames yswolne aboue their bankes One rolling in anothers necke they rushed forth by rankes Himselfe with his threetyned Mace did lend the earth a blow That made it shake and open wayes for waters forth to flow The flouds at randon where they list through all the fields did stray Men beastes trées corne with their gods were Churches washt away If any house were built so strong against their force to stonde Yet did the water hide the top and turrâ—ts in that ponde Were ouerwhelmde no difference was betwéene the sea and ground For all was sea there was no shore nor landing to be found Some climbed vp to tops of hils and some rowde to and fro In Botes where they not long before to plough and Cart did go One ouer corne and tops of townes whome waues did ouerwhelme Doth saile in ship an other sittes a fishing in an Elme In meddowes gréene were Anchors cast so fortune did prouide And crooked ships did shadow vynes the which the floud did hide And where but tother day before did féede the hungry â—ote The vgly Seales and Porkepisces now to and fro did flote The Seanymphes wondred vnder waues the townes and groues to â—ée And Dolphines playd among the tops and boughes of euery trée The grim and gréedy Wolfe did swim among the siely shéepe The Lion and the Tyger fierce were borne vpon the déepe It booted not the foming Boare his crooked tuskes to whet The running Hart coulde in the streame by swiftnesse nothing get The fléeting fowles long hauing sought for land to rest vpon Into the Sea with werie wings were driuen to fall anon Th' outragious swelling of the Sea the lesser hillockes drownde Unwonted waues on highest tops of mountaines did rebownde The greatest part of men were drownde and such as scapte the floode Forlorne with fasting ouerlong did die for want of foode Against the fieldes of Aonie and Atticke lies a lande That Phocis hight a fertile ground while that it was a lande But at that time a part of Sea and euen a champion fielde Of sodaine waters which the floud by forced rage did yéelde Where as a hill with forked top the which Parnasus hight Doth pierce the cloudes and to the starres doth raise his head vpright When at this hill for yet the Sea had whelmed all beside Deucalion and his bedfellow without all other guide Arriued in a little Barke immediatly they went And to the Nymphes of Corycus with full deuout intent Did honor due and to the Gods to whome that famous hill Was sacred and to Themis eke in whose most holie will Consisted then the Oracles In all the world so rounde A better nor more righteous man could neuer yet be founde Than was Deucalion nor againe a woman mayde nor wife That feared God so much as shée nor led so good a life When Ioue behelde how all the worlde stoode lyke a plash of raine And of so many thousand men and women did remaine But one of eche howbeit those both iust and both deuout He brake the Cloudes and did commaund that Boreas with his stout And sturdie blasts should chase the floud that Earth might see the skie And Heauen the Earth the Seas also began immediatly Their raging furie for to cease Their ruler laide awaye His dreadfull Mace and with his wordes their woodnesse did alaye He called Tryton to him straight his trumpetter who stoode In purple robe on shoulder cast aloft vpon the floode And bade him take his sounding Trumpe and out of hand to blow Retreat that all the streames might heare and rease from thence to flow He tooke his Trumpet in his hand hys Trumpet was a shell Of some great Whelke or other â—â—she in facion like a Bell That gathered narrow to the mouth and as it did descende Did waxe more wide and writhen still downe to the nether ende When that this Trumpe amiâ— the Sea was set to Trytons mouth He blew so loude that all the streames both East West North South Might easâ—y heare him blow
thus No maruell though thou be so proude and full of wordes ywâ—s For euerie fonde and trifling tale the which thy mother makes Thy gyddie wit and hairebrainde heade forthwith for gospell takes Well vaunt thy selfe of Phoebus still for when the truth is séene Thou shalt perceyue that fathers name a forged thing to béene At this reproch did Phaëton wax as red as any fire Howbeit for the present tyme did shame represse his ire Unto his mother Clymen straight he goeth to detect The spitefull wordes that Epaphus against him did obiect Yea mother quoth he and which ought your greater griefe to bée I who at other tymes of talke was wont to be so frée And stoute had néere a worde to say I was ashamde to take So fowle a foyle the more because I could none answere make But if I be of heauenly race exacted as ye say Then shewe some token of that highe and noble byrth I pray And vouche me for to be of heauen With that he gently cast His armes about his mothers necke and clasping hir full fast Besought hir as she loude his life and as she loude the lyfe Of Merops and had kept hir selfe as vndefiled wyfe And as she wished welthily his sisters to bestowe She would some token giue whereby his rightfull Sire to knowe It is a doubtfull matter whither Clymen moued more With this hir Phaëtons earnest sute exacting it so sore Or with the slaunder of the brute layde to hir charge before Did holde vp both hir handes to heauen and looking on the Sunne My right deare childe I safely sweare quoth she to Phaëton That of this starre the which so bright doth glister in thine eyâ— Of this same Sunne that cheares the world with light indifferently Wert thou begot and if I fayne then with my heart I pray That neuer may I sée him more vnto my dying day But if thou haue so great desire thy father for to knowe Thou shalt not néede in that behalfe much labour to bestowe The place from whence he doth arise adioyneth to our lande And if thou thinke thy heart will serue then go and vnderstande The truth of him When Phaëton heard his mother saying so He gan to leape and skip for ioye He fed his fansie tho Upon the Heauen and heauenly things and so with willing minde From Aâ—thiop first his natiue home and afterwarde through Inde Set vnderneath the morning starre he went so long till as He founde me where his fathers house and dayly rising was Finis primi Libri THE SECONDE BOOKE of Ouids Metamorphosis THe Princely Pallace of the Sunne stood gorgeous to beholde On stately Pillars builded high of yellow burnisht golde Beset with sparckling Carbuncles that like to fire did shine The roofe was framed curiously of Yuorie pure and fine The two doore leaues of siluer cleare a radiant light did cast But yet the cunning workemanship of things therein farre past The stuffe wherof the doores were made For there a perfect plat Had Vulcane drawne of all the worlde Both of the sourges that Embrace the earth with winding waues and of the stedfast ground And of the heauen it selfe also that both encloseth round And first and formest in the Sea the Gods thereof did stande Loude sounding Tryton with his shirle writhen Trumpe in hande Unstable Protevv chaunging aye his figure and his hue From shape to shape a thousande sithes as list him to renue Aëgeon leaning boystrously on backes of mightie Whales And Doris with hir daughters all of which some cut the wales With splaied armes some sate on rockes and dride their goodly haire And some did ryde vppon the backes of fishes here and theare Not one in all poyntes fully lyke an other coulde ye sée Nor verse farre vnlike but such as sisters ought to bée The Earth had townes men beasts Woods with sundrie trées rods And running Ryuers with their Nymphes and other countrie Gods Directly ouer all these same the plat of heauen was pight Upon the two doore leaues the signes of all the Zodiak bright Indifferently six on the left and six vpon the right When Clymens sonne had climbed vp at length with wéerie pace And set his foote within his doubted fathers dwelling place Immediately he preaced forth to put him selfe in sight And stoode aloofe For néere at hande he could not bide the light In purple Robe and royall Throne of Emeraudes freshe and gréene Did Phoebus sitte and on eche hande stoode wayting well beséene Dayes Monthes yeares ages seasons times eke the equall houres There stoode the springtime with a crowne of fresh and fragrant floures There wayted Sommer naked starke all saue a wheaten Hat And Autumne smerde with treading grapes late at the pressing Fat. And lasâ—â—y quaking for the colde stood Winter all forlorne With rugged heade as white as Doue and garments all to torne Forladen with the Isycles that dangled vp and downe Uppon his gray and hoarie bearde and â—nowie frozen crowne The Sunne thus sitting in the middes did cast his piercing eye With which full lightly when he list he all thinges doth espye Upon his childe that stood aloofe agast and trembling sore At sight of such vnwoonted things and thus bespake him thore O noble ympe O Phaëton which art not such I sée Of whome thy father should haue cause ashamed for to bée Why hast thou traueld to my court what is thy will with mée Then answerde he of all the worlde O onely perfect light O Father Phoebus if I may vsurpe that name of right And that my mother for to saue hir selfe from worldely shame Hyde not hir fault with false pretence and colour of thy name Some signe apparant graunt whereby I my be knowne thy Sonne And let mée hang no more in doubt He had no sooner donne But that his father putting off the bright and fierie beames That glistred rounde about his heade like cleare and golden streames Commaunded him to draw him néere and him embracing sayde To take mée for thy rightfull Sire thou néede not be afrayde Thy mother Clymen of a truth from falshood standeth frée And for to put thée out of doubt aske what thou wilt of mée And I will giue thée thy desire the Lake whereby of olde We Gods do sweare the which mine eyes did neuer yet béeholde Beare witnesse with thée of my graunt he scarce this tale had tolde But that the foolish Phaëton straight for a day did craue The guyding of his winged Stéedes and Chariot for to haue Then did his Father by and by forethinke him of his oth And shaking twentie tymes his heade as one that was full wroth Béespake him thus thy wordes haue made me rashly to consent To that which shortly both of vs I feare mée shall repent Oh that I might retract my graunt my sonne I doe protest I would denie thée nothing else saue this thy fond request I may disswade there lyes herein more perill than thou wéene The things
Swan his wings to splay She added also how by Ioue in shape of Satyr gaye The faire Antiope with a paire of children was besped And how he tooke Amphitrios shape when in Alâ—menas bed He gate the worthie Hercules and how he also came To Danae like a shoure of golde to Aegine like a flame A sheepeherd to Mnemosyne and like a Serpent â—ly To Proserpine She also made Neptuâ—â—s leaping by Upon a Maide of Aeolus race in likenesse of a Bull And in the streame Enipeus shape begetting on a trull The Giants Othe and Ephialt and in the shape of Ram Begetting one Theophane Bisalties ympe with Lam And in a lustie Stalions shape she made him houering there Dame Ceres with the yellow lockes and hir whose golden heare Was turnde to crawling Snakes on whome he gate the winged horse She made him in a Dolphins shape Melantho to enforce Of all these things she missed not their proper shapes nor yit The full and iust resemblance of their places for to â—it In likenesse of a Countrie cloyne was Phebus picturde there And how he now ware Gossehaukes wings and now a Lions heare And how he in a shepeherdes shape was practising a wile The daughter of one Macarie dame Issa to beguile And how the faire Erygone by chaunce did suffer rape By Bacchus who deceyued hir in likenesse of a grape And how that Saturne in the shape of Genet did beget The double Chiron Round about the vtmost Uerdge was set A narrow Traile of pretie floures with leaues of Iuie fret Not Pallas no nor spight it selfe could any quarrell picke To this hir worke and that did touch Minerua to the quicke Who therevpon did rende the cloth in pieces euery whit Bicause the lewdnesse of the Gods was blased so in it And with an Arras weauers combe of Box she fiercely smit Arachne on the forehead full a dosen times and more The Maide impacient in hir heart did stomacke this so sore That by and by she hung hirselfe Howbeit as she hing Dame Pallas pitying hir estate did stay hir in the string From death and said lewde Callet liue but hang thou still for mée And least hereafter from this curse that time may set thée frée I will that this same punishment enacted firmely bée As well on thy posteritie for euer as on thée And after when she should depart with iuice of Hecats flowre She sprinkled hir and by and by the poyson had such powre That with the touch thereof hir haâ—re hir eares and nose did fade And verie small it both hir heade and all hir bodie made In steade of legs to both hir sides sticke fingars long and fine The rest is bellie From the which she nerethelesse doth twine A slender thréede and practiseth in shape of Spider still The Spinners and the Websters crafts of which she erst had sâ—â—ll All Lydia did repine hereat and of this déede the fanie Through Phrygie ran through the world was talking of the â—ame Before hir mariage Niobe had knowen hir verie well When yet a Maide in Meonie and Sipyle she did dwell And yet Arachnes punishment at home before hir eyes To vse discreter kinde of talke it could hir not aduise Nor as behoueth to the Gods to yéelde in humble wise For many things did make hir proud But neyther did the towne The which hir husband builded had nor houses of renowne Of which they both descended were nor yet the puissance Of that great Realme wherein they reignde so much hir minde enhauÌ„ce Although the liking of them all did greatly hir delight As did the offspring of hir selfe And certenly she might Haue bene of mothers counted well most happie had she not So thought hir selfe For she whome sage Tyresias had begot The Prophet Manto through instinct of heauenly powre did say These kinde of wordes in open strete Ye Thebanes go your way Apace and vnto Latoâ— and to Latons children pray And offer godly Frankinsence and wreath your haire with Bay Latona by the mouth of me commaundes you so to do The Thebaâ—e women by and by obeying therevnto Deckt all their heades with Laurell leaues as Maâ—to did require And praying with deuout intent threw incense in the fire Beholde out commeth Niobe enuironde with a garde Of seruaunts and a solemne traine that followed afterward She was hirselfe in raiment made of costly cloth of golde Of Phrygia facion verie braue and gorgeous to beholde And of hir selfe she was right faire and beautifull of face But that hir wrathfull stomake then did somewhat staine hir grace She mouing with hir portly heade hir haire the which as then Did hang on both hir shoulders loose did pawse a while and when Wyth loftie looke hir stately eyes she rolled had about What madnesse is it quoth she to prefer the heauenly rout Of whome ye doe but heare to such as daily are in sight Or why should Laton honored be with Altars Neuer wight To my most sacred Maiestie did offer incense Yit My Father was that Tantalus whome only as most fit The Gods among them at their boordes admitted for to sit A sister of the Pleyades is my mother Finally My Graundsire on the mothers side is that same Atlas hiâ— That on his shoulders beareth vp the heauenly Axeltrée Againe my other Graundfather is Ioue and as you sée He also is my Fathrinlawe wherin I glorie may The Realme of Phrygia here at hand doth vnto me obay In Cadmus pallace I thereof the Ladie doe remaine And ioyntly with my husbande I as péerlesse Princesse reigne Both ouer this same towne whose walles my husbands harpe did frame And also ouer all the folke and people in the same In what soeuer corner of my house I cast mine eye A worlde of riches and of goods I eurywhere espie Moreouer for the beautie shape and fauor growen in me Right well I know I doe deserue a Goddesse for to be Besides all this seuen sonnes I haue and daughters seuen likewise By whome shall shortly sonneinlawes and daughtrinlawes arise Iudge you now if that I haue cause of statelynesse or no. How dareye then prefer to me Latona that same fro The Titan Ceus ympe to whome then readie downe to lie The howgie Earth a little plot to childe on did denie From Heauen from Earth from the Sea your Goddesse banisht was And as an outcast through the world from place to place did passe Untill that Delos pitying hir sayde thou dosâ—e fléete on land And I on Sea and therevpon did lende hir out of hand A place vnstable Of two twinnes there brought a bed was she And this is but the seuenth part of the issue borne by me Right happie am I. who can this denie and shall so still Continuâ— who doth doubt of that abundance hath and will Preserue me I am greater thau that frowarde fortune may Empeache me For although she shoulde pull many things away Yet should she lâ—aue me many more My state is out of
whence all wisdome springs What man is he but would suppose the author of this booke The first foundation of his woorke from Moyses wryghtings tooke â–ª Not only in effect he dooth with Genesis agree But also in the order of creation saue that hee Makes no distinction of the dayes For what is else at all That shapelessâ— rude and pestred heape which Chaos he dooth call Than euen that vniuersall masse of things which God did make In one whole lump before that ech their proper place did take Of which the Byble saith that in the first beginning God Made heauen and earth the earth was waste and darknesse yit abod Uppon the deepe which holy wordes declare vntoo vs playne That fyre ayre water and the earth did vndistinct remayne In one grosse bodie at the first ¶ For God the father that Made all things framing out the world according too the plat Conceyued euerlastingly in mynd made first of all Both heauen and earth vncorporall and such as could not fall As obiects vnder sense of sight and also aire lykewyse And emptynesse and for theis twaine apt termes he did deuyse He called ayer darknesse for the ayre by kynd is darke And emptynesse by name of depth full aptly he did marke For emptynesse is deepe and waste by nature Ouermorâ— He formed also bodylesse as other things before The natures both of water and of spirit And in fyne The lyght which beeing made too bee a patterne most diuine Whereby too forme the fixed starres and wandring planets seuen With all the lyghts that afterward should beawtifie the heauen Was made by God both bodylesse and of so pure a kynd As that it could alonly bee perceyued by the mynd To thys effect are Philos words And certainly this same Is it that Poets in their worke confused Chaos name Not that Gods woorkes at any tyme were pact confusedly Toogither but bicause no place nor outward shape whereby To shew them too the feeble sense of mans deceytfull syght Was yit appointed vntoo things vntill that by his myght And wondrous wisdome God in tyme set open too the eye The things that he before all tyme had euerlastingly Decreëd by his prouidence But let vs further see How Ouids scantlings with the whole true patterne doo agree The first day by his mighty word sayth Moyses God made lyght The second day the firmament which heauen or welkin hyght The third day he did part the earth from sea and made it drie Commaunding it too beare all kynd of frutes abundantly The fowrth day he did make the lyghts of heauen to shyne from hye And stablished a law in them too rule their courses by The fifth day he did make the whales and fishes of the deepe With all the birds and fethered fowles that in the aire doo keepe The sixth day God made euery beast both wyld and tame and woormes That creepe on ground according too their seuerall kynds and foormes And in the image of himself he formed man of clay Too bee the Lord of all his woorkes the very selfsame day This is the sum of Moyses woords And Ouid whether it were By following of the text aright or that his mynd did beare Him witnesse that there are no Gods but one dooth playne vphold That God although he knew him not was he that did vnfold The former Chaos putting it in forme and facion new As may appeere by theis his woordes which vnderneath ensew This sâ—ryfe did God and nature breake and set in order dew The earth from heauen the sea from earth he parted orderly And from the thicke and foggie aire he tooke the lyghtsome skye In theis few lynes he comprehends the whole effect of that Which God did woork the first three dayes about this noble plat And then by distributions he entreateth by and by More largely of the selfsame things and paynts them out too eye With all their bounds and furniture And whereas wee doo fynd The terme of nature ioynd with God according too the mynd Of lerned men by ioyning so is ment none other thing But God the Lord of nature who did all in order bring The distributions beeing doone right lernedly anon Too shew the other three dayes workes he thus proceedeth on The heauenly soyle too Goddes and starres and planets first he gaue The waters next both fresh and salt he let the fishes haue The suttle ayre to flickering fowles and birds he hath assignd The earth too beasts both wyld and tame of sundry sorts and kynd Thus partly in the outward phrase but more in verie deede He seemes according too the sense of scripture too proceede And when he commes to speake of man he dooth not vainly say As sum haue written that he was before all tyme for ay Ne mencioneth mo Gods than one in making him But thus He both in sentence and in sense his meening dooth discusse Howbeâ—it yit of all this whyle the creature wanting was Farre more diuine of nobler mynd which should the resdew passe In depth of knowledge reason wit and hygh capacitee And which of all the resdew should the Lord and ruler bee Then eyther he that made the world and things in order set Of heauenly seede engendred man or else the earth as yet But late before the seedes thereof as yit hild inwardly The which Prometheus tempring streyght with water of the spring Did make in likenesse to the Goddes that gouerne euery thing What other thing meenes Ouid heere by terme of heauenly seede Than mans immortall sowle which is diuine and commes in deede From heauen and was inspyrde by God as Moyses sheweth playne And whereas of Prometheus he seemes too adde a vayne Deuyce as though he ment that he had formed man of clay Although it bee a tale put in for pleasure by the way Yit by thinterpretation of the name we well may gather He did include a misterie and secret meening rather This woord Prometheus signifies a person sage and wyse Of great foresyght who headily will nothing enterpryse It was the name of one that first did images inuent Of whom the Poets doo report that hee too heauen vp went And there stole fyre through which he made his images alyue And therfore that he formed men the Paynims did contryue Now when the Poet red perchaunce that God almyghty by His prouidence and by his woord which euerlastingly Is ay his wisdome made the world and also man to beare His image and too bee the lord of all the things that were Erst made and that he shaped him of earth or slymy clay Hee tooke occasion in the way of fabling for too say That wyse Prometheus tempring earth with water of the spring Did forme it lyke the Gods aboue that gouerne euery thing Thus may Prometheus seeme too bee theternall woord of God His wisdom and his prouidence which formed man of clod And where all other things behold the ground with groueling eye He gaue too man a stately looke replete with
aside The violence of their boystrous blasts things scarsly can abide They so turmoyle as though they would the world in pieces rende So cruell is those brothers wrath when that they doe contende And therefore to the morning graye the Realme of Nabathie To Persis and to other lands and countries that doe lie Farre vnderneath the Morning starre did Eurus take his flight Likewise the setting of the Sunne and shutting in of night Belong to Zephyr And the blasts of blustring Boreas raigne In Scythia and in other landes set vnder Charles his waine And vnto Auster doth belong the coast of all the South Who beareth shoures and rotten mistes continuall in his month Aboue all these he set aloft the cleare and lightsome skie Without all dregs of earthly filth or grossenesse vtterlie The boundes of things were scarsly yet by him thus pointed out But that appeared in the heauen starres glistring all about Which in the said confused heape had hidden bene before And to thintent with liuely things eche Region for to store The heauenly soyle to Gods and Starres and Planets first he gaue The waters next both fresh and salt he let the fishes haue The suttle ayre to flickring fowles and birdes he hath assignde The earth to beasts both wilde and tame of sundrie sort and kinde Howbeit yet of all this while the creature wanting was Farre more deuine of nobler minde which should the residue pasâ—e In depth of knowledge reason wit and high capacitie And which of all the residue should the Lord and ruler bée Then eyther he that made the worlde and things in order set Of heauenly séede engendred Man or else the earth as yet Yong lustie fresh and in hir floures and parted from the kie But late before the séede thereof as yet held inwardlie The which Prometheus tempring straight with waâ—er of the spring Did make in likenesse to the Gods that gouerne euerie thing And where all other beasts behold the ground with groueling eie He gaue to Man a stately looke replâ—â—e with maiestie And willde him to behold the Heâ—â—en wyth countnance cast on hie â–ª To marke and vnderstand what things were in the starrie skie And thus the earth which late before had neyther shape nor hew Did take the noble shape of man and was transformed new Then sprang vp first the golden age which of it selfe maintainde The truth and right of euery thing vnforst and vnconstrainde There was no feare of punishment there was no thrâ—â—ining lawe In brazen tables nayled vp to â—éepe the folke inlawe There was no man would cronch or créepe to Iudge with cap in hand They liued safe without a Iudge in euerie Realme and lande The loftie Pynetrée was not hewen from mountaines where it stood In séeking straunge and forren landes to roue vpon the flood Men knew none other countries yet than where themselues did kéepe There was no towne enclosed yet with walles and diches déepe No horne nor trumpet was in vse no sword nor helmet worne The worlde was suche that souldiers helpe might easly be forborne The fertile earth as yet was frée vntoucht of spade or plough And yet it yéelded of it selfe of euery things inough And men themselues contented well with plaine and simple foode That on the earth of natures gift without their trauell stoode Did liue by Raspis heppes hawes by cornelles plummes and cherries By sloes and apples nuttes and peares and lothsome bramble berries And by the acornes dropt on ground from Ioues brode trée in fielde The Springtime lasted all the yeare and Zephyr with his milde And gentle blast did cherish things that grew of owne accorde The ground vntilde all kinde of fruits did plenteously auorde No mucke nor tillage was bestowde on leane and barren land To make the corne of better head and ranker for to stand TheÌ„ streames ran milke then streames ran wine yellow honny flowde From ech gréene trée whereon the rayes of firie Phebus glowde But when that into Lymbo once Saturnus being thrust The rule and charge of all the worlde was vnder Ioue vniust And that the siluer age came in more somewhat base than golde More precious yet than freckled brasse immediatly the olde And auncient Spring did Ioue abridge and made therof anon Foure seasons Winter Sommer Spring and Autumne of and on Then first of all began the ayre with feruent heate to swelt Then Isyeles hung roping downe then for the colde was felt Men gan to shroud themselues in house their houses were the thickes And bushie queaches hollow caues or hardels made of stickes Then first of all were furrowes drawne and corne was cast in ground The simple Oxe with sorie sighes to heauie yoke was bound Next after this succeded streight the third and brazen age More hard of nature somewhat bent to cruell warres and rage But yet not wholy past all grace Of yron is the last In no part good and traetable as former ages past For when that of this wicked Age once opened was the veyne Therein all mischief rushed forth then Fayth and Truth were faine And honest shame to hide their heades for whom stept stoutly in Craft Treason Uiolence Enuie Pride and wicked Lust to win The shipman hoyst his sailes to wind whose names he did not knowe And shippes that erst in toppes of hilles and mountaines had ygrowe Did leape and daunce on vncouth waues and men began to bound With dowles and diches drawen in length the frée and fertile ground Which was as common as the Ayre and light of Sunne before Not onely corne and other fruites for sustnance and for store Were now exacted of the Earth but eft thy gan to digge And in the bowels of the ground vnsaciably to rigge For Riches coucht and hidden déepe in places nere to Hell The spurres and stirrers vnto vice and foes to doing well Then hurtfull yron came abrode then came forth yellow golde More hurtfull than the yron farre then came forth battle bolde That feightes with bothe and shakes his sword in cruell bloudy hand Men liue by rauine and by stelth the wandring guest doth stand In daunger of his host the host in daunger of his guest And fathers of their sonne in lawes yea seldome time doth rest Betwéene borne brothers such accord and loue as ought to bée The goodman séekes the goodwiues death and his againe séekes shée The stepdames fell their husbandes sonnes with poyson do assayle To sée their fathers liue so long the children doe bewayle All godlynesse lies vnder foote And Ladie Astrey last Of heauenly vertues from this earth in slaughter drowned past And to thintent the earth alone thus should not be opprest And heauen aboue in slouthfull ease and carelesse quiet rest ¶ Men say that Giantes went about the Realme of Heauen to win To place themselues to raigne as Gods and lawlesse Lordes therein And hill on hill they heaped vp aloft vnto the skie Till God almighty from the Heauen did let his
thunder flie The dint whereof the ayrie tops of high Olympus brake And pressed Pelion violently from vnder Ossa strake When whelmed in their wicked worke those cursed Caâ—tiues lay The Earth their mother tooke their bloud yet warme and as they say Did giue it life And for bicause some ympes should still remaine Of that same stocke she gaue it shape and limmes of men againe This ofspring eke against the Gods did beare a natiue spight In slaughter and in doing wrong was all their whole delight Their déedes declared them of bloud engendred for to bée The which as soone as Saturns sonne from Heauen aloft did sée He fetcht a sigh and therwithall reuoluing in his thought The shamefull act which at a feast Lycaon late had wrought As yet vnknowne or blowne abrode He gan thereat to storme And stomacke like an angry Ioue And therfore to reforme Such haynous actes he sommonde streight his Court of Parliament Whereto resorted all the Gods that had their sommons sent Highe in the Welkin is a way apparant to the sight In starrie nights which of his passing whitenesse milkie hight It is the streete that to the Court and Princely Pallace leades Of mightie Ioue whose thunderclaps eche liuing creature dreades On both the sides of this same waye do stand in stately port The sumptuous houses of the Pieres For all the common sort Dwell scattring here and there abrode the face of all the skie The houses of the chiefe estates and Princes doe supplie And sure and if I may be bolde to speake my fancie frée I take this place of all the Heauen the Pallace for to bée Now when the Goddes assembled were and eche had tane his place Ioue standing vp aloft and leaning on his yuorie Mace Right dreadfully his bushie lockes did thrise or four times shake Wherewith he made both Sea and Land Heauen it self to quake And afterward in wrathfull wordes his angrie minde thus brake I neuer was in greater care nor more perplexitie How to maintaine my soueraigne state and Princelie royaltie When with their hundreth handes a piece the Addersooted rout Did practise for to conquere Heauen and for to cast vs out For though it were a cruell foe yet did that warre depende Upon one ground and in one stocke it had his finall ende But now as farre as any sea about the worlde doth winde I must destroy both man and beast and all the mortall kinde I sweare by Styxes hideous streames that run within the ground All other meanes must first be sought but when there can be found No helpe to heale a festred sore it must away be cut Least that the partes that yet are sound in daunger should be put We haue a number in the worlde that mans estate surmount Of such whom for their priuate Gods the countrie folkes account As Satyres Faunes and sundry Nymphes with Siluanes eke beside That in the woods and hillie grounds continually abide Whome into Heauen since that as yet we vouch not safe to take And of the honour of this place copartners for to make Such landes as to inhabite in we erst to them assignde That they should still enioye the same It is my will and minde But can you thinke that they in rest and safetie shall remaine When proud Lycaon laye in waite by secret meanes and traine To haue confounded me your Lorde who in my hand doe beare The dreadfull thunder and of whome euen you doe stand in feare The house was moued at his words and earnestly requirde The man that had so traiterously against their Lord conspirde Euen so when Rebels did arise to stroy the Romane name By shedding of our Cesars bloud the horror of the same Did pierce the heartes of all mankinde and made the world to quake Whose feruent zeale in thy behalfe O August thou did take As thankfully as Ioue doth heare the louing care of his Who beckning to them with his hand forbiddeth them to hisse And therewithall through all the house attentiue silence is Assoone as that his maiestie all muttring had alayde He brake the silence once againe and thus vnto them sayde Let passe this carefull thought of yours for he that did offende Hath dearely bought the wicked Act the which he did entende Yet shall you heare what was his fault and vengeance for the same A foule report and infamie vnto our bearing came Of mischiefe vsed in those times which wishing all vntrew I did descend in shape of man th'infamed Earth to vew It were a processe ouerlong to tell you of the sinne That did abound in euery place where as I entred in The brute was lesser than the truth and partiall in report The dreadfull dennes of Menalus where sauage beastes resort And Cyllen had I ouerpast with all the Pynetrées hie Of cold Lyceus and from thence I entred by and by The herbroughlesse and cruell house of late Th'arcadian King Such time as twilight on the Earth dim darknesse gan to bring I gaue a signe that God was come and streight the common sort Deuoutly prayde whereat Lycaon first did make a sport And after said by open proufe ere long I minde to sée If that this wight a mighty God or mortall creature bée The truth shall trie it selfe he ment the sequele did declare To steale vpon me in the night and kyll me vnbeware And yet he was not so content but went and cut the throte Of one that laye in hostage there which was an Epyrote And part of him he did to rost and part he did to stewe Which when it came vpon the borde forthwith I ouerthrew The house with iust reuenging fire vpon the owners hed Who seeing that slipt out of doores amazde for feare and fled Into the wilde and desert woods where being all alone As he endeuorde but in vaine to speake and make his mone He fell a howling wherewithall for verie rage and moode He ran me quite out of his wits and waxed furious woode Still practising his wonted lust of slaughter on the poore And stelâ—e cattle thirsting still for bloud as heretofore His garments turnde to shackie haire his armes to rugged pawes So is he made a rauening Wolfe whose shape expressely drawes To that the which he was before his skinne is horie graye His looke still grim with glaring eyes and euery kinde of waye His cruell heart in outward shape doth well it selfe bewraye Thus was one house destroyed quite but that one house alone Deserueth not to be destroyde in all the Earth is none But that such vice doth raigne therein as that ye would beleue That all had sworne and solde themselues to mischiefe vs to greue And therefore as they all offende so am I fully bent That all forthwith as they deserue shall haue due punishment These wordes of Ioue some of the Gods did openly approue And with their sayings more to wrath his angry courage moue And some did giue assent by signes Yet did it grieue them all
the which thou doest desire of great importance béene More than thy weakenesse well can wielde a charge as well appeares Of greater weight than may agree with these thy tender yeares Thy state is mortall weake and frayle the thing thou doest desire Is such whereto no mortall man is able to aspire Yea foolish boy thou doest desire and all for want of wit A greater charge than any God coulde euer haue as yet For were there any of them all so ouerséene and blinde To take vpon him this my charge full quickly should he finde That none but I could sit vpon the fierie Axeltrée No not euen he that rules this wast and endlesse space we sée Not he that darts with dreadfull hande the thunder from the Skie Shall driue this chare And yet what thing in all the world perdie Is able to compare with Ioue Now first the morning way Lyes stéepe vpright so that the stéedes in coolest of the day And béeing fresh haue much a doe to climbe against the Hyll Amiddes the heauen the gastly heigth augmenteth terror still My heart doth waxe as colde yse full many a tyme and oft For feare to sée the Sea and land from that same place aloft The Euening way doth fall plump downe requiring strength to guide That Tethis who doth harbrowgh mée within hir sourges wide Doth stand in feare least from the heaueÌ„ I headlong down should slide Besides all this the Heauen aye swimmes and whéeles about full swift And with his rolling dryues the starres their proper course to shift Yet doe I kéepe my natiue course against this brunt so stout Not giuing place as others doe but boldely bearing out The force and swiftnesse of that heauen that whyrleth so about Admit thou had my winged Stéedes and Chariot in thine hande What couldste thou doe dost thinke thy selfe well able to withstande The swiftnesse of the whyrled Pooles but that their brunt and sway Yea doe the best and worst thou can shall beare thée quite away Perchaâ—nce thou dost imaginee there some townes of Gods to â—inde With groues and Temples richt with giftes as is among mankinde Thou art deceyude vtterly thou shalt not finde it so By blinde bywayes and vgly shapes of monsters must thou go And though thou knewe the way so well as that thou could not stray Betwéene the dreadful bulles sharp hornes yet must thou make thy way Agaynst the cruell Bowe the which the Aemonian archer drawes Against the ramping Lyon armde with gréedie téeth and pawes Against the Scorpion stretching farre his fell and venymd clawes And eke the Crab that casteth forth his crooked clées awrie Not in such sort as th' other doth and yet as dreadfully Againe thou neyther hast the powre nor yet the skill I knowe My lustie coursers for to guide that from their nosetrilles throwe And from their mouthes the fierie breath that bréedeth in their brest For scarcely will they suffer mée who knowes their nature best When that their cruell courages begin to catch a heate That hardely should I deale with them but that I know the â—eate But least my gift should to thy griefe and vtter perill tend My Sonne beware and whyle thou mayst thy fonde request amend Bycause thou woulde be knowne to bée my childe thou séemst to craue A certaine signe what surer signe I pray thée canst thou haue Than this my feare so fatherly the which I haue of thée Which proueth me most certainly thy father for to bée Beholde and marke my countenaunce O would to God thy sight Coulde pierce within my wofull brest to sée the heauie plight And heapes of cares within my heart Looke through the worlde so round Of all the wealth and goodes therein if ought there may be found In Heauen or Earth or in the Sea aske what thou lykest best And sure it shall not be denide This onely one request That thou hast made I heartely beséech thée to relent Which for to tearme the thing aright is euen a punishment And not an honour as thou thinkest my Phaëton thou dost craue In stead of honour euen a scourge and punishment for to haue Thou fondling thou what dost thou meane with fawning armes about My necke thus flattringly to hang Thou néedest not to dout I haue alreadie sworne by Styx aske what thou wilt of mée And thou shalt haue Yet let thy next wish somewhat wiser bée Thus ended his aduertisment and yet the wilfull Lad Withstood his counsell vrging still the promisse that he had Desiring for to haue the chare as if he had béene mad â–ª His father hauing made delay as long as he could shift Did lead him where his Chariot stood which was of Vulcans gift The Axeltrée was massie golde the Bucke was massie golde The vtmost fellies of the whéeles and where the trée was rolde The spokes were all of syluer bright the Chrysolites and Gemmes That stood vppon the Collars Trace and hounces in their hemmes Did cast a shéere and glimmering light as Phoebus shone thereon Now while the lustie Phaëton stood gazing here vpon And wondered at the workemanship of euerie thing béeholde The earely morning in the East béegan mée to vnfolde Hir purple Gates and shewde hir house bedeckt with Roses red The twinckling starres withdrew which by the morning star are led Who as the Captaine of that Host that hath no péere nor match Dooth leaue his standing last of all within that heauenly watch Now when his Father sawe the worlde thus glister red and trim And that his waning sisters hornes began to waxen dim He had the fetherfooted howres go harnesse in his horse The Goddesses with might and mayne themselues thereto enforce His fierifoming Stéedes full fed with iuice of Ambrosie They take from Maunger trimly dight and to their heades doe tie Strong reyned â—its and to the Charyot doe them well appoint Then Phoebus did with heauenly salue his Phaëtons heade annoint That scorching fire coulde nothing hurt which done vpon his haire He put the fresh and golden rayes himselfe was wont to weare And then as one whose heart misgaue the sorrowes drawing fast With sorie sighes he thus bespake his retchlesse sonne at last And if thou canst at least yet this thy fathers lore obay Sonne spare the whip reyne them hard they run so swift away As that thou shalt haue much a doe their fléeing course to stay Directly through the Zones all â—iue beware thou doe not ride A brode byway cut out a skew that bendeth on the side Contaynde within the bondes of thrée the midmost Zones doth lie Which from the grisely Northren beare Southren Pole doth flie Kéepe on this way my Charyot rakes thou plainely shalt espie And to thintent that heauen and earth may well the heate endure Driue neyther ouer high nor yet too lowe For be thou sure And if thou mount aboue thy boundes the starres thou burnest cleane Againe beneath thou burnst the Earth most safetie is the meane And least perchaunce
he drew Came smooking from his scalding mouth as from a séething pot His Chariot also vnder him began to waxe red hot He could no lenger dure thâ— sparkes and cinder flyeng out Againe the culme and smouldring smoke did wrap him round about The pitchie darkenesse of the which so wholy had him heâ—t As that he wist not where he was nor yet which way he went The winged horses forcibly did draw him where they wolde The Aethiopians at that time as men for truth vpholde The bloud by force of that same heate drawne to the outer part And there adust from that time forth became so blacke and swart The moysture was so dried vp in Lybie land that time That altogither drie and scorcht continueth yet that Clyme The Nymphes w t haire about their eares bewayld their springs lakes Beötia for hir Dyâ—ces losse great lamentation makes For Amimone Argos wept and Corinth for the spring Pyrene at whose sacred streame the Muses vsde to sing The Riuers further from the place were not in better case For Tanais in his déepest streame did boyle and steme apace Old Penevv and Cayâ—us of the countrie Teuthranie And swift Ismenos in their bankes by like misfortune frie. Then burnde the Psophian Erymanth and which should burne ageine The Troian Xanthus and Lycormas with his yellow veine Meander playing in his bankes aye winding to and fro Migdonian Melas with his waues as blacke as any slo Eurotas running by the foote of Tenare boyled tho Then sod Euphrates cutting through the middes of Babilon Then sod Orontes and the Scithian swift Thermodoon Then Ganges Colchian Phasis and the noble Istre Alpheus and Sperchins bankes with flaming fire did glistre The golde that Tagus streame did beare did in the chanell melt Amid Cayster of this fire the raging heat was felt Among the quieres of singing Swannes that with their pleasant lay Along the bankes of Lidian brakes from place to place did stray And Nyle for feare did run away into the furthest Clyme Of all the world and hid his heade which to this present tyme Is yet vnfound his mouthes all seuen cleane voyde of water béene Like seuen great valleys where saue dust could nothing else be séene By like misfortune Hebrus dride and Strymon both of Thrace The Westerne Riuers Rhine and Rhone and Po were in likeâ—case And Tyber vnto whome the Goddes a faithfull promise gaue Of all the world the Monarchie and soueraigne state to haue The ground did cranie euerie where and light did pierce to hell And made afraide the King and Quéene that in that Realme doe dwell The Sea did shrinke and where as waues did late before remaine Became a Champion field of dust and euen a sandy plaine The hilles erst hid farre vnder waues like Ilelandes did appeare So that the scattred Cyclades for the time augmented were The fishes drew them to the déepes the Dolphines durst not play Aboue the water as before the Seales and Porkpis lay With bellies vpward on the waues starke dead â–ª and fame doth go That Nereus with his wife and daughters all were faine as tho To dine within the scalding waues Thrise Neptune did aduaunce His armes aboue the scalding Sea with sturdy countenaunce And thrise for hotenesse of the Ayre was faine himselfe to hide But yet the Earth the Nurce of things enclosde on euery side Betwéene the waters of the Sea and Springs that now had hidden Themselues within their Mothers wombe for all the paine abidden Up to the necke put forth hir head and casting vp hir hand Betwéene hir forehead and the sunne as panting she did stand With dreadfull quaking all that was she fearfully did shake And shrinking somewhat lower downe with sacred voyce thus spake O King of Gods and if this be thy will and my desart Why doste thou stay with deadly dint thy thunder downe to dart And if that néedes I perish must through force of firie flame Let thy celestiall fire O God I pray thée doe the same A comfort shall it be to haue thée Author of my death I scarce haue powre to speak these words the smoke had stopt hir breath Behold my singed haire behold my dim and bleared eye Sée how about my scorched face the scalding embers flie Is this the guerdon wherewithall ye quite my fruitfulnesse Is this the honor that ye gaue me for my plenteousnesse And dutie done with true intent for suffring of the plough To draw déepe woundes vpon my backe and rakes to rend me through For that I ouer all the yeare continually am wrought For giuing foder to the beasts and cattell all for nought For yéelding corne and other foode wherewith to kéepe mankinde And that to honor you withall swéete frankinsence I finde But put the case that my desert destruction duely craue What hath thy brother what the Seas deserued for to haue Why doe the Seas his lotted part thus ebbe and fall so low Withdrawing from thy Skie to which it ought most neare to grow But if thou neyther doste regarde thy brother neyther mée At least haue mercy on thy heauen looke round about and sée How both the Poles begin to smoke which if the fire appall To vtter ruine be thou sure thy pallace néedes must fall Behold how Atlas ginnes to faint â–ª his shoulders though â—ull strong Unneth are able to vphold the sparkling Extrée long If Sea and Land doe go to wrecke and heauen it selfe doe burne To olde confused Chaos then of force we must returne Put to thy helping hand therfore to saue the little left If ought remaine before that all be quite and cleane bereft When ended was this piteous plaint the Earth did hold hir peace She could no lenger dure the heate but was compâ—lde to cease Into hir bosome by and by she shrunke hir cinged heade More nearer to the Stygnan caues and ghostes of persones deade The Sire of Heauen protesting all the Gods and him also That lent the Chariot to his child that all of forâ—e must go To hauocke if he helped not went to the highest part And top of all the Heauen from whence his custome was to dart His thunder and his lightning downe But neyther did remaine A Cloude wherewith to shade the Earth nor yet a showre of raine Then with a dreadfull thunderclap vp to his eare he bent His fist and at the Wagoner a flash of lightning sent Which strake his bodie from the life and threw it ouer whéele And so with fire he quenched fire The Stéedes did also réele Upon their knees and starting vp sprang violently one here And there another that they brast in pieces all their gere They threw the Câ—llars from their neckes and breaking quite a sunder The Trace and Harnesse flang away here lay the bridles yonder The Extrée plucked from the Naues and in another place The sheuered spokes of broken whéeles and so at euery pace The pieces of the Chariot torne lay strowed here and there But Phaeton fire
to féele in place he had not bée They hem him in on euerie side and in the shape of Stagge With gréedie téeth and griping pawes their Lord in péeces dragge So fierce was cruell Phoebes wrath it could not be alayde Till of his fault by bitter death the raunsome he had payde Much muttring was vpoÌ„ this fact Some thought there was exteÌ„ded A great deale more extremitie than neded Some commended Dianas doing saying that it was but worthely For safegarde of hir womanhod Eche partie did applie Good reasons to defende their case Alone the wife of Ioue Of lyking or misliking it not all so greatly stroue As secretly reioyst in heart that such a plague was light On Cadmus linage turning all the malice and the spight Conceyued earst against the wench that Ioue had set fro Tyre Upon the kinred of the wench and for to fierce hir ire Another thing cleane ouerthwart there commeth in the nicke The Ladie Semell great with childe by Ioue as then was quicke Hereat she gan to freat and fume and for to ease hir heart Which else would burst she fell in hande with scolding out hir part And what a goodyeare haue I woon by scolding erst she sed It is that arrant queane hir selfe against whose wicked hed I must assay to giue assault and if as men me call I be that Iuno who in heauen beare greatest swing of all If in my hande I worthie bée to holde the royall Mace And if I be the Quéene of heauen and soueraigne of this place Or wife and sister vnto Ioue his sister well I know But as for wife that name is vayne I serue but for a show To couer other priuie skapes I will confound that Whore Now with a mischiefe is she bagd and beareth out before Hir open shame to all the world and shortly hopes to bée The mother of a sonne by Ioue the which hath hapt to mée Not passing once in all my time so sore she doth presume Upon hir beautie But I trowe hir hope shall soone consume For neuer let me counted be for Saturns daughter more If by hir owne deare darling Ioue on whome she trustes so sore I sende hir not to Styxes streame This ended vp she rose And couered in golden cloud to Semelles house she goes And ere she sent away the cloud she takes an olde wyues shape With hoarie haire and riueled skinne with slow and crooked gate As though she had the Palsey had hir féeble limmes did shake And eke she foltred in the mouth as often as she spake She séemde olde Beldame Beroe of Epidaure to bée This Ladie Semelles Nourse as right as though it had béene shée So when that after mickle talke of purpose ministred Ioues name was vpned by and by she gaue a sigh and sed I wish with all my heart that Ioue bée cause to thée of this But daughter deare I dreade the worst I feare it be amisse For manie Uarlets vnder name of Gods to serue their lust Haue into vndefiled beddes themselues full often thrust And though it bene the mightie Ioue yet doth not that suffize Onlesse he also make the same apparant to our eyes And if it be euen verie hée I say it doth behoue He proue it by some open signe and token of his loue And therefore pray him for to graunt that looke in what degrée What order fashion sort and state he vse to companie With mightie Iuno in the same in euerie poynt and cace To all intents and purposes he thée likewise embrace And that he also bring with him his bright thréeforked Mace With such instructions Iuno had enformed Cadmus Néece And she poore sielie simple soule immediately on this Requested Ioue to graunt a boone the which she did not name Aske what thou wilt swéete heart quoth he thou shalt not misse the same And for to make thée sure hereof the grisely Stygian Lake Which is the feare and God of Gods beare witnesse for thy sake She ioying in hir owne mischaunce not hauing any powre To rule hir selfe but making spéede to hast hir fatall howre In which she through hir Louers helpe should worke hir owne decay Sayd Such as Iuno findeth you when you and she doe play The games of Venus such I pray thée shew thy selfe to mée In euerie case The God would faine haue stopt hir mouth But shée Had made such hast that out it was Which made him sigh full sore For neyther she could then vnwish the thing she wisht before Nor he reuoke his solemne oth Wherefore with sorie heart And heauâ—e countnance by and by to Heauen he doth depart And makes to follow after him with looke full grim and â—toure The flakie clouds all grisâ—y blacke as when they threat a shoure To which he added mixt with winde a fierce and flashing flame With drie and dreadfull thunderclaps and lightning to the same Of deadly vnauoyded dynt And yet as much as may He goes about his vehement force and fiercenesse to allay He doth not arme him with the fire with which he did remoue The Giant with the hundreth handes Typhoëus from aboue It was too cruell and too sore to vse against his Loue. The Cyclops made an other kinde of lightning farre more light Wherein they put much lesse of fire lesse fiercenesse lesser might It hight in Heauen the seconde Mace Ioue armes himselfe with this And enters into Cadmus house where Semelles chamber is She being mortall was too weake and féeble to withstande Such troublous tumultes of the Heauens and therefore out of hande Was burned in hir Louers armes But yet he tooke away His infant from the mothers wombe vnperfect as it lay And if a man may credit it did in his thigh it sowe Where byding out the mothers tyme it did to ripenesse growe And when the time of birth was come his Aunt the Ladie Ine Did nourse him for a while by stealth and kept him trym and fine The Nymphes of Nysa afterwarde did in their bowres him hide And brought him vp with Milke till tyme he might abrode be spyde Now while these things were done on earth and that by fatal doome The twice borne Bacchus had a tyme to mannes estate to come They say that Ioue disposde to myrth as he and Iuno sate A drinking Nectar after meate in sport and pleasant rate Did fall a ieasting with his wife and saide a greater pleasure In Venus games ye women haue than men beyonde all measure She answerde no. To trie the truth they both of them agrée The wise Tyresias in this case indifferent Iudge to bée Who both the man and womans ioyes by tryall vnderstood For finding once two mightie Snakes engendring in a Wood He strake them ouerthwart the backs by meanes whereof beholde As straunge a thing to be of truth as euer yet was tolde He being made a woman straight seuen winter liued so The eight he finding them againe did say vnto them tho And if to strike ye haue
blood Were died blacke The roote also bestained as it stoode A déepe darke purple colour straight vpon the Berries cast Anon scarce ridded of hir feare with which she was agast For doubt of disapointing him commes Thisbe forth in hast And for hir louer lookes about reioycing for to tell How hardly she had scapt that night the daunger that befell And as she knew right well the place and facion of the trée As whych she saw so late before euen so when she did sée The colour of the Berries turnde she was vncertaine whither It were the trée at which they both agréed to méete togither While in this doubtfull stounde she stoode she cast hir eye aside And there beweltred in his bloud hir louer she espide Lie sprawling with his dying limmes at which she started backe And looked pale as any Box a shuddring through hir stracke Euen like the Sea which sodenly with whissing noyse doth moue When with a little blast of winde it is but toucht aboue But when approching nearer him she knew it was hir loue She beate hir brest she shricked out she tare hir golden heares And taking him betwéene hir armes did wash his wounds with teares She meynt hir wéeping with his bloud and kissing all his face Which now became as colde as yse she cride in wofull case Alas what chaunce my Pyramus hath parted thée and mée Make aunswere O my Pyramus It is thy Thisb euen shée Whome thou doste loue most heartely that speaketh vnto thée Giue eare and rayse thy heauie heade He hearing Thisbes name Lift vp his dying eyes and hauing séene hir closde the same But when she knew hir mantle there and saw his scabberd lie Without the swoorde Unhappy man thy loue hath made thée die Thy loue she said hath made thée slea thy selfe This hand of mine Is strong inough to doe the like My loue no lesse than thine Shall giue me force to worke my wound I will pursue the dead And wretched woman as I am it shall of me be sed That like as of thy death I was the only cause and blame So am I thy companion eke and partner in the same For death which only coulde alas a sunder part vs twaine Shall neuer so disseuer vs but we will méete againe And you the Parentes of vs both most wretched folke alyue Let this request that I shall make in both our names byliue Entreate you to permit that we whome chaste and stedfast loue And whome euen death hath ioynde in one may as it doth behoue In one graue be together layd And thou vnhappie trée Which shroudest now the corse of one and shalt anon through mée Shroude two of this same slaughter holde the sicker signes for ay Blacke be the colour of thy fruite and mourninglike alway Such as the murder of vs twaine may euermore bewray This said she tooke the sword yet warme with slaughter of hir loue And setting it beneath hir brest did to hir heart it shoue Hir prayer with the Gods and with their Parentes tooke effect For when the frute is throughly ripe the Berrie is bespect With colour tending to a blacke And that which after fire Remained rested in one Tumbe as Thisbe did desire This tale thus tolde a little space of pawsing was betwist And then began Leucothoâ— thus hir sisters being whist This Sunne that with his streaming light al worldly things doth cheare Was tane in loue of Phebus loues now list and you shall heare It is reported that this God did first of all espie For euerie thing in Heauen and Earth is open to his eie How Venus with the warlike Mars adâ—outrie did commit It grieued him to sée the fact and so discouered it He shewed his husband Iunos sonne th' aduoutrie and the place In which this priuie scape was done Who was in such a case That heart and hand and all did faile in working for a space Anon he featly forgde a net of Wire so fine and slight That neyther knot nor nooze therein apparant was to sight This piece of worke was much more fine than any handwarpe oofe Or that whereby the Spider hanges in sliding from the roofe And furthermore the suttlenesse and slight thereof was such It followed euery little pull and closde with euery touch And so he set it handsomly about the haunted couch Now when that Venus and hir mate were met in bed togither Hir husband by his newfound snare before conuayed thither Did snarle them both togither fast in middes of all theyr play And setting ope the Iâ—orie doores callde all the Gods streight way To sée them they with shame inough fast lockt togither lay A certaine God among the rest disposed for to sport Did wish that he himselfe also were shamed in that sort The resdue laught and so in heauen there was no talke a while But of this Pageant how the Smith the louers did beguile Dame Venus highly stomacking this great displeasure thought To be reuenged on the part by whome the spight was wrought And like as he hir secret loues and méetings had bewrayd So she with wound of raging loue his guerdon to him payd What now auayles Hyperions sonne thy forme and beautie bright What now auayle thy glistring eyes with cleare and piercing sight For thou that with thy gleames art wont all countries for to burne Art burnt thy selfe with other gleames that serue not for thy turne And thou that oughtst thy cherefull looke on all things for to show Alonly on Leucothoë doste now the same bestow Thou fastnest on that Maide alone the eyes that thou doste owe To all the worlde Sometime more rathe thou risest in the East Sometime againe thou makste it late before thou fall to reast And for desire to looke on hir thou often doste prolong Our winter nightes And in thy light thou faylest eke among The fancie of thy faultie minde infectes thy feeble sight And so thou makste mens hearts afrayde by daunting of thy light Thou looxte not pale bycause the globe of Phebe is betwéene The Earth and thée but loue doth cause this colour to be séene Thou louest this Leucothoë so far aboue all other That neyther now for Clymenâ— for Rhodos nor the mother Of Circé nor for Clytië who at that present tyde Reiected from thy companie did for thy loue abide Most grieuous torments in hir heart thou séemest for to care Thou mindest hir so much that all the rest forgotten are Hir mother was Eurynome of all the fragrant clime Of Arabie estéemde the flowre of beautie in hir time But when hir daughter came to age the daugher past the mother As far in beautie as before the mother past all other Hir father was king Orchamus and rulde the publike weale Of Persey counted by descent the .vij. from auncient Bele Far vnderneath the Westerne clyme of Hesperus doe runne The pastures of the firie stéedes that draw the golden Sunne There are they fed with Ambrosâ—e in stead of grasse all
growed there Then streight without commission or election of the rest The formost of them preasing forth vndecently profest The chalenge to performe and song the battels of the Goddes She gaue the Giants â–ª all the praise the honor and the oddes Abasing sore the worthie déedes of all the Gods She telles How Typhon issuing from the earth and from the déepest helles Made all the Gods aboue afraide so greatly that they fled And neuer staide till Aegypt land and Nile whose streame is shed In channels seuen receiued them forwearied all togither And how the Helhound Typhon did pursue them also thither By meanes wherof the Gods eche one were faine themselues to hide In forged shapes She saide the Ioue the Prince of Gods was wride In shape of Ram which is the cause that at this present tide Ioues ymage which the Lybian folke by name of Hammon serue Is made with crooked welked hornes that inward still doe terue That Phebus in a Rauen lurkt and Bacchus in a Geate And Phebus sister in a Cat and Iuno in a Neate And Venus in the shape of Fish and how that last of all Mercurius hid him in a Bird which Ibis men doe call This was the summe of all the tale which she with rolling tung And yelling throteboll to hir harpe before vs rudely sung Our turne is also come to speake but that perchaunce your grace To giue the hearing to our song hath now no time nor space Yes yes quoth Pallas tell on forth in order all your tale And downe she sate among the trées which gaue a pleasant swale The Muse made aunswere thus To one Calliope here by name This chalenge we committed haue and ordring of the same Then rose vp faire Calliope with goodly bush of heare Trim wreathed vp with yuie leaues and with hir thumbe gan steare The quiuering strings to trie them if they were in tune or no. Which done she playde vpon hir Lute and song hir Ditie so Dame Ceres first to breake the Earth with plough the maner found She first made corne and stouer soft to grow vpon the ground She first made lawes For all these things we are to Cerâ—s bound Of hir must I as now intreate would God I could resound Hir worthie laude she doubtlesse is a Goddesse worthie praise Bicause the Giant Typhon gaue presumptuously assayes To conquer Heauen the howgie I le of Trinacris is layd Upon his limmes by weight whereof perforce he downe is weyde He striues and strugles for to rise full many a time and oft But on his right hand toward Rome Pelorus standes aloft Pachynnus standes vpon his left his legs with Lilybie Are pressed downe his monstrous head doth vnder Aetna lie From whence he lying bolt vpright with wrathfull mouth doth spit Out flames of fire â–ª he wrestleth oft and walloweth for to wit And if he can remoue the weight of all that mightie land Or tumble downe the townes and hilles that on his bodie stand By meanes whereof it commes to passe that oft the Earth doth shake And euen the King of Ghostes himselfe for verie feare doth quake Misdoubting least the Earth should cliue so wide that light of day Might by the same pierce downe to Hell and there the Ghostes affray Forecasting this the Prince of Fiendes forsooke his darksome hole And in a Chariot drawen with Stéedes as blacke as any cole The whole foundation of the I le of Sicill warely vewde When throughly he had sercht eche place that harme had none ensewde As carelessely he raungde abrode he chaunced to be séene Of Venus sitting on hir hill who taking streight betwéenâ— hir armes hir winged Cupid said my sonne mine only stay My hand mine honor and my might go take without delay Those â—ooles which all wightes do subdue and strike them in the hart Of that same God that of the world enioyes the lowest part The Gods of Heauen and Ioue himselfe the powre of Sea Land And he that rules the powres on Earth obey thy mightie hand And wherefore then should only Hell still â—nsubdued stand Thy mothers Empire and thine own why doste thou not aduaunce The third part of al the world now hangs in doubtful chaunce And yet in heauen too now their déedes thou séest me faine to beare We are despisde the strength of loue with me away doth weare Séeste not the Darter Diane and dame Pallas haue already Exempted them from my behestes and now of late so heady Is Ceres daughter too that if we let hir haue hir will She will continue all hir life a Maid vnwedded still For that is all hir hope and marke whereat she mindes to shoote But thou if ought this gracious turne our honor may promote Or ought our Empire beautifie which ioyntly we doe holde This Damsell to hir vncle ioyne No sooner had she tolde These wordes but Cupid opening streight his quiuer chose therefrâ— One arrow as his mother bade among a thousand mo But such a one it was as none more sharper was than it Nor none went streighter from the Bow the amed marke to hit He set his knée against his Bow and bent it out of hande And made his forked arrowes steale in Plutos heart to stande Neare Enna walles there standes a Lake Pergusa is the name Cayster heareth not mo songs of Swannes than doth the same A wood enuirons euerie side the water round about And with his leaues as with a veyle doth kéepe the Sunne heate out The boughes doe yéelde a coole fresh Ayre the moystnesse of the grounde Yéeldes sundrie flowres continuall spring is all the yeare there founde While in this garden Proserpine was taking hir pastime In gathering eyther Uiolets blew or Lillies white as Lime And while of Maidenly desire she fillde hir Maund and Lap Endeuoring to outgather hir companions there By hap Dis spide hir loude hir caught hir vp and all at once well nere So hastie hote and swift a thing is Loue as may appeare The Ladie with a wailing voyce afright did often call Hir Mother and hir waiting Maides but Mother most of all And as she from the vpper part hir garment would haue rent By chaunce she let hir lap slip downe and out hir flowres went And such a sillie simplenesse hir childish age yet beares That euen the verie losse of them did moue hir more to teares The Catcher driues his Chariot forth and calling euery horse By name to make away apace he doth them still enforce And shakes about their neckes and Manes their rustie bridle reynes And through the déepest of the Lake perforce he them constreynes And through the Palik pooles the which from broken ground doe boyle And smell of Brimstone verie ranke and also by the soyle Where as the Bacchies folke of Corinth with the double Seas Betwéene vnequall Hauons twaine did réere a towne for ease Betwéene the fountaines of Cyane and Arethuse of Pise An arme of Sea that meetes enclosde with narrow hornes there lies Of
them blacke and blew And while his bodie yit Remained they did cherish it and cherish it againe They kist his bodie yea they kist the chist that did containe His corse And after that the corse was burnt to ashes they Did presse his ashes with their brests and downe along they lay Upon his tumb and there embraste his name vpon the stone And fillde the letters of the same with teares that from them gone At length Diana satisfide with slaughter brought vpon The house of Oenie lifts them vp with fâ—thers euerichone Saue Gorgee and the daughtriulaw of noble Alâ—mene and Makes wings to stretch along their sides and horned nebs to stand Upon their mouthes And finally she altring quight their faire And natiue shape in shape of Birds dooth send them through the Aire The noble Theseus in this while with others hauing donne His part in killing of the Boare too Athens ward begonne Too take his way But Acheloy then being swolne with raine Did stay him of his iourney and from passage him restraine Of Athens valiant knight quoth he come vnderneath my roofe And for to passe my raging streame as yet attempt no proofe This brooke is wont whole trées too beare and euelong stones too carry With hideous roring down his streame I oft haue séene him harry Whole Shepcotes standing nere his banks with flocks of shéepe therin Nought booted buls their streÌ„gth nought stéedes by swiftnes there could win Yea many lustie men this brooke hath swallowed when y â— snow From mountaines molten caused him his banks too ouerflow The best is for you for too rest vntill the Riuer fall Within his boundes and runne ageine within his chanell small Content quoth Theseus Acheloy I will not sure refuse Thy counsell nor thy house And so he both of them did vse Of Pommy hollowed diuersly and ragged Pebble stone The walles were made The floore with Mosse was soft to tread vpon The roofe thereof was checkerwise with shelles of Purple wrought And Perle The Sunne then full two parts of day to end had brought And Theseus downe to table sate with such as late before Had friendly borne him companie at killing of the Bore A tone side sate Ixions sonne and on the other sate The Prince of Troyzen Lelex with a thin hearde horie pate And then such other as the brooke of Acarnania did Uouchsafe the honor to his boord and table for to bid Who was right glad of such a guest Immediatly there came Barefooted Nymphes who brought in meate And when that of the same The Lords had taken their repast the meate away they tooke And set downe wine in precious stones Then Theseus who did looke Upon the Sea that vnderneath did lie within their sight Said tell vs what is yonsame place and with his fingar right Hée poynted therevnto I pray and what that Iland hight Although it séemeth mo than one The Riuer answerd thus It is not one mayne land alone that kenned is of vs. There are vppon a fyue of them The distaunce of the place Dooth hinder too discerne betwéene eche I le the perfect space And that the lesse yée woonder may at Phoebees act a late To such as had neglected her vppon contempt or hate Theis Iles were sumtyme Waternimphes who hauing killed Neate Twyce fyue and called too theyr feast the Country Gods too eate Forgetting mee kept frolicke cheere At that gan I too swell And ran more large than euer erst and being ouer fell Iâ—stomacke and in streame I rent the wood from wood and féeld FroÌ„ féeld with the ground the Nymphes as then with stomacks méeld Remembring mée I tumbled to the Sea The waues of mée And of the sea the ground that erst all whole was woont too bée Did rend a sunder into all the Iles you yonder sée And made a way for waters now too passe betwéene them frée They now of Vrchins haue theyr name But of theis Ilands one A great way of behold yée stands a great way of alone As you may sée The Mariners doo call it Perimell With her shée was as then a Nymph so farre in loue I fell That of her maydenhod I her spoyld which thing displeasd so sore Her father Sir Hippodamas that from the craggy shore He threw her headlong downe to drowne her in the sea But I Did latch her streight and bearing her a flote did lowd thus crie O Neptune with thy thréetynde Mace who hast by lot the charge Of all the waters wylde that bound vppon the earth at large To whom wée holy streames doo runne in whome wée take our end Draw néere and gently to my boone effectually attend This Ladie whom I beare a flote myselfe hath hurt Bée méeke And vpright If Hippodamas perchaunce were fatherleeke Or if that he extremitie through outrage did not séeke He oughted too haue pitied her and for too beare with mée Now help vs Neptune I thée pray and condescend that shée Whom from the land her fathers wrath and cruelnesse dooth chace Who through her fathers cruelnesse is drownd may find the grace To haue a place or rather let hirselfe become a place And I will still embrace the same The King of Seas did moue His head and as a token that he did my sute approue He made his surges all too shake The Nymph was sore afrayd Howbéet shée swam and as shée swam my hand I softly layd Upon her brest which quiuered still And whyle I toucht the same I sensibly did féele how all her body hard became And how the earth did ouergrow her bulk And as I spake New earth enclosde hir swimming limbes which by and by did take Another shape and grew intoo a mighty I le With that The Riuer ceast and all men there did woonder much thereat Pirithous being ouer hault of mynde and such a one As did despyse bothe God and man did laugh them euerychone Too scorne for giuing credit and sayd thus The woords thou spaakst Are feyned fancies Acheloy and ouerstrong thou maakst The Gods to say that they can giue and take way shapes This scoffe Did make the héere 's all amazde for none did like thereof And Lelex of them all the man most rype in yéeres and wit Sayd thus Unmeasurable is the powre of heauen and it Can haue none end And looke what God dooth mynd too bring about Must take effect And in this case too put yée out of dout Upon the hilles of Phrygie néere of Teyle there stands a trée Of Oke enclosed with a wall Myself the place did sée For Pithey vnto Pelops féelds did send mée where his father Did sumtyme reigne not farre fro thence there is a poole which rather Had bene dry ground inhabited But now it is a meare And Moorecocks Cootes and Cormorants doo bréede and nestle there The mightie Ioue and Mercurie his sonne in shape of men Resorted thither on a tyme. A thousand houses when For roome too lodge in they had sought a thousand houses
There followed him a thowsand shippes not farre Conspyrd toogither with the ayde that all the Greekes could fynd And vengeance had béene tane foorthwith but that the cruell wynd Did make the seas vnsaylable so that theyr shippes were fayne At rode at fisshye Avvlys in Baeotia too remayne Héere as the Greekes according too theyr woont made sacrifyse Too Ioue and on the Altar old the flame aloft did ryse They spyde a speckled Snake créepe vp vppon a planetrée bye Uppon the toppe whereof there was among the braunches hye A nest and in the nest eyght birdes All which and éeke theyr dam That flickering flew about her losse the hungry snake did cram Within his mawe The standers by were all amazde therat But Calchas Thestors sonne who knew what méening was in that Sayd â–ª wée shall win Reioyce yée Greekes by vs shall perish Troy But long the tyme will bée before wée may our will enioy And then he told them how the birds nyne yéeres did signifie Which they before the towne of Troy not taking it should lye The Serpent as he wound about the boughes and braunches gréene Became a stone and still in stone his snakish shape is séene The seas continewed verry rough and suffred not theyr hoste Imbarked for too passe from thence too take the further coast Sum thought that Neptune fauored Troy bycause himself did buyld The walles therof But Calchas who both knew and neuer hilld His peace in tyme declared that the Goddesse Phebe must Appeased bée with virgins blood for wrath conceyued iust Assoone as pitie yéelded had too cace of puplicke weale And reason got the vpper hand of fathers louing zeale So that the Ladye Iphigen before the altar stood Among the wéeping ministers too giue her maydens blood The Goddesse taking pitie cast a mist before theyr eyes And as they prayd and stiâ—d about too make the sacrifyse Conueyes her quight away and with a Hynd her roome supplyes Thus with a slaughter méete for her Diana béeing pleasd The raging surges with her wrath toogither were appeasd The thousand shippes had wynd at poope And when they had abode Much trouble at the length all safe they gat the Phrygian rode Amid the world twéene heauen and earth and sea there is a place Set from the bounds of eche of them indifferently in space From whence is séene what euer thing is practisd any where Although the Realme bée nere so farre and roundly too the eare Commes whatsoeuer spoken is â–ª Fame hath his dwelling there Who in the toppe of all the house is lodged in a towre A thousand entryes glades and holes are fâ—amed in this bowre There are no doores too shet The doores stand open nyght and day The house is all of sounding brasse and roreth euery way Reporting dowble euery woord it heareth people say There is no rest within there is no silence any where Yit is there not a yelling out but humming as it were The sound of surges béeing heard farre of are like the sound That at the end of thunderclappes long after dooth redound When Ioue dooth make the clowdes too crack within the courts is preace Of common people which too come and go doo neuer ceace And millions both of trothes and lyes ronne gadding euery where And woordes confusely flye in heapes Of which sum fill the â—are That heard not of them erst and sum Colearyers part doo play Too spread abrode the things they heard And euer by the way The thing that was inuented growes much greater than before And euery one that getts it by the end addes sumwhat more Lyght credit dwelleth there There dwells rash error There dooth dwell Uayne ioy There dwelleth hartlesse feare and Brute that loues too tell Uncertayne newes vppon report whereof he dooth not knowe The author and Sedition who fresh rumors loues too sowe This Fame beholdeth what is doone in heauen on sea and land And what is wrought in all the world he layes to vnderstand He gaue the Troyans warning that the Gréekes with valeant men And shippes approched that vnwares they could not take them then For Hector and the Troian folk well armed were at hand Too kéepe the coast and bid them bace before they came a land Protesilay by fatall doome was first that dyde in féeld Of Hectors speare and after him great numbers mo were killd Of valeant men That battell did the Gréeks full déerly cost And Hector with his Phrygian folk of blood no little lost In trying what the Greekes could doo The shore was red with blood And now king Cygnet Neptunes sonne had killed where he stood A thousand Greekes And now the stout Achilles causd to stay His Charyot and his lawnce did â—lea whole bandes of men that day And séeking Cygnet through the féeld or Hector he did stray At last with Cygnet he did méete For Hector had delay Untill the tenth yeare afterward Then hasting foorth his horses With flaxen manes ageinst his fo his Chariot he enforces And brandisshing his shaking dart he sayd O noble wyght A comfort let it bée too thée that such a valeant knyght As is Achilles killeth thée In saying so he threw A myghty dart which though it hit the mark at which it flew Yit perst it not the skinne at all Now when this blunted blowe Had hit on Cygnets brest and did no print of hitting showe Thou Goddesse sonne ê™ Cygnet for by fame we doo the knowe Why woondrest at mée for too sée I can not wounded bée Achilles woondred much thereat This helmet which yée sée Bedect with horses yellow manes this shéeld that I doo beare Defend mée not For ornaments alonly I them weare For this same cause armes Mars himself likewyse I will disarme Myself and yit vnrazed will I passe without all harme It is too sum effect not borne too bée of Neryes race So that a man be borne of him that with thréeforked mace Rules Nereus and his daughters too and all the sea besyde This sayd he at Achilles sent a dart that should abyde Uppon his sheeld It perced through the stéele and through nyne fold Of Oxen hydes and stayd vppon the tenth Achilles bold Did wrest it out and forcybly did throwe the same agayne His bodye béeing hit ageine vnwounded did remayne And cléere from any print of wound The third went éeke in vayne And yitdid Cygnet too the same giue full his naked brist Achilles chafed like a Bull that in the open list With dreadfull hornes dooth push ageinst the scarlet clothes that therâ— Are hanged vp too make him féerce and when he would them teare Dooth fynd his wounds deluded Then Achilles lookt vppon His Iauelings socket if the head thereof were looce or gone The head stacke fast My hand byléeke is weakened then ê™ hée And all the force it had before is spent on one I sée For sure I am it was of strength both when I first downe threw Lyrnessus walles and when I did Ile Tenedos subdew And éeke
And gréeting had bothe giuen and tane shée looked chéerefully And graunting all that wée desyrde commaunded by and by A certeine potion too bée made of barly parched drye And wyne and hony mixt with chéese and with the same shée slye Had meynt the iewce of certeine herbes which vnespyde did lye By reason of the swéetenesse of the drink Wée tooke the cup Deliuered by her wicked hand and quaft it cléerly vp With thirstye throtes Which doone and that the cursed witch had smit Our highest heare tippes with her wand it is a shame but yit I will declare the truth I wext all rough with brisâ—led heare And could not make complaint with woordes In stead of spéech I there Did make a rawghtish grunting and with groueling face gan beare My visage downeward too the ground I felt a hooked groyne Too wexen hard vppon my mouth and brawned neck too ioyne My head and shoulders And the handes with which I late ago Had taken vp the charmed cup were turnd tâ—o feete as tho Such force there is in Sorcerie In fyne wyth other mo That tasted of the selfsame sawce they shet mée in a Stye From this missehappe Furilochus alonly scapte For why He only would not taste the cup. which had he not fled fro He should haue béene a bristled beast as well as we And so Should none haue borne Vlysses woorde of our mischaunce nor hée Haue coÌ„me too Circe too reuenge our harmes and set vs free The peaceprocurer Mercurie had giuen too him a whyght Fayre flowre whoos 's roote is black and of the Goddes it Moly hyght Assurde by this and heauenly hestes he entred Circes bowre And béeing bidden for too drink the cup of balefull powre As Circe was about too stroke her wand vppon his heare He thrust her backe and put her with his naked swoord in feare Then fell they too agréement streyght and fayth in hand was plyght And béeing made her bedfellowe he claymed as in ryght Of dowrye for too haue his men ageine in perfect plyght Shée sprincled vs with better iewce of vncowth herbes and strake The awk end of her charmed rod vppon our heades and spake Woordes too the former contrarie The more shée charmd the more Arose wée vpward from the ground on which wée daarde before Our bristles fell away the â—lift our clouen elées forsooke Our shoulders did returne agein and next our elbowes tooke Our armes and handes theyr former place Then weeping wée enbrace Our Lord and hing about his necke whoo also wept apace And not a woord wée rather spake than such as myght appéere From harts most thankfull too procéede Wée taryed theyr a yéere I in that whyle sawe many things and many things did héere I marked also this one thing with store of other geere Which one of Circes fowre chéef maydes whoos 's office was alway Uppon such hallowes too attend did secretly bewray Too mée For in the whyle my Lord with Circe kept alone This mayd a yoongmannes image sheawd of fayre whyght marble stone Within a Chauncell On the head therof were garlonds store And éeke a woodspecke And as I demaunded her wherfore And whoo it was they honord so in holy Church and why He bare that bird vppon his head Shée answéering by and by Sayd lerne hereby sir Macare too vnderstand the powre My Lady hathe and marke thou well what I shall say this howre There reignd erewhyle in Italy one Picus Saturnes sonne Whoo loued warlike horse and had delyght too sée them ronne He was of feature as yée sée And by this image héere The verry beawtye of the man dooth lyuelely appéere His courage matcht his personage And scarcely had he well Séene twentye yéeres His countnance did allure the nymphes y â— dwell Among the Latian hilles The nymphes of fountaines and of brookes As those that haunted Albula were rauisht with his lookes And so were they that Numicke beares and Anio too and Alme That ronneth short and heady Nar and Farfar coole and calme And all the nymphes that vsde too haunt Dianas shadye poole Or any lakes or méeres néere hand or other waters coole But he disdeyning all the rest did set his loue vppon A lady whom Venilia bare so fame reporteth on The stately mountayne Palatine by Ianus that dooth beare The dowble face Assoone as that her yéeres for maryage were Thought able shée preâ—erring him before all other men Was wedded too this Picus whoo was king of Lavvrents then Shée was in beawtye excellent but yit in singing much More excellent and thervppon they naamd her Singer Such The swéetenesse of her musicke was that shée therwith delyghts The sauage beastes and caused birdes too cease theyr wandring flyghts And moued stones and trées and made the ronning streames too stay Now whyle that shée in womans tune recordes her pleasant lay At home her husband rode abrode vppon a lustye horse Too hunt the Boare and bare in hand twoo hunting staues of force His cloke was crymzen butned with a golden button fast Intoo the selfsame forest éeke was Phebus daughter past From those same féeldes that of herself the name of Circe beare Too gather vncowth herbes among the frutefull hillocks there Assoone as lurking in the shrubbes shée did the king espye Shée was aâ—trawght Downe fell her herbes too ground And by and by Through all her bones the flame of loue the marée gan too frye And when shée from this forced heate had cald her witts agen Shée purposde too bewray her mynd But vntoo him as then Shée could not come for swiftnesse of his horse and for his men That garded him oâ— euery syde Yit shalt thou not ê™ shée So shift thée fro my handes although the wynd should carrye thée If I doo knowe myself if all the strength of herbes fayle not Or if I haue not quyght and cléene my charmes and spelles forgotte In saying theis same woordes shée made the likenesse of a Boare Without a body causing it too swiftly passe before King Picus eyes and for too séeme too get him too the woode Where for the thickenesse of the trées a horse myght doo no good Immediatly the king vnwares a whoâ—e pursute did make Uppon the shadowe of his pray and quikly did forsake His foming horses sweating backe and following vayne wan hope Did runne a foote among the woodes and through the bushes crope Then Circe fell a mumbling spelles and praying like a witch Did honour straunge vncowth Goddes w t vncowth charmes by which Shee vsde too make the moone looke dark and wrappe her fathers head In watry clowdes And then likewyse the heauen was ouerspred With darknesse and a foggye mist steamd vpward from the ground And neare a man about the king too gard him could beé found But euery man in blynd by wayes ran scattring in the chace Through her inchauntments At the length shée getting tyme place Sayd â–ª By those lyghtsum eyes of thyne which late haue rauisht myne And by
could not doo it And The stonny hardnesse which a late did in her stomacke stand Within a whyle did ouergrow her whole from sole too crowne And least you think this géere surmysde euen yit in Salamin towne Of Lady Anaxarete the image standeth playne The temple also in the which the image dooth remayne Is vntoo Venus consecrate by name of looker out And therfore weying well theis things I prey thée looke about Good Lady and away with pryde and be content too frame Thy self too him that loueth thée and cannot quench his flame So neyther may the Lentons cold thy budding frutetrées kill Nor yit the sharp and boystous wyndes thy flowring Gardynes spill The God that can vppon him take what kynd of shape he list Now hauing sayd thus much in vayne omitted too persist In bâ—â—â—ames shape and shewde himself a lusty gentleman Appéering too her chéerefully euen like as Phebus whan Hée hauing ouercomme the clowdes that did withstand his myght Dooth blaze his brightsum beames agein with fuller heate and lyght He offred force but now no force was néedfull in the cace For why shée béeing caught in loue with beawty of his face Was wounded then as well as hée and gan to yéeld a pace Next Proca reignd Amulius in Avvsonye by wrong Till Numitor the ryghtfull heyre deposed verry long Was by his daughters sonnes restorde And on the feastfull day Of Pale foundation of the walles of Rome they gan too lay Soone after Tacye and the Lordes of Sabine stird debate And Tarpey for her traytrous déede in opening of the gate Of Tarpey towre was prest too death according too desert With armour heapt vppon her head Then féerce and stowt of hart The Sabines like too toonglesse woolues without all noyse of talke Assayld the Romanes in theyr sléepe and too the gates gan stalke Which Ilias sonne had closed fast with lockes and barres But yit Dame Iuno had set open one and as shée opened it Had made no noyse of craking with the hindges so that none Perceyud the opening of the gate but Venus allalone And shée had shet it vp but that it is not lawfull too One God too vndoo any thing another God hath doo The waternymphes of Avvsonie hild all the groundes about The Church of Ianus where was store of springs fresh flowing out Dame Venus prayd theis nymphes of help And they conâ—iâ—ering that The Goddesse did request no more but ryght denyde it nat They opened all theyr fountayne veynes and made them flowe apace Howbéet the passage was not yit too Ianus open face Forclosed neyther had as yit the water stopt the way They put rank brimstone vnderneathe the flowing spring that day And éeke with smokye rozen set theyr veynes on fyre for ay Through force of theis and other things the vapour perced lowe Euen downe vnto the verry rootes on which the springs did growe So that the waters which a late in coldnesse myght compare Euen with the frozen Alpes now whot as burning furnace are The twoo gate posts with sprinkling of the fyry water smoakt Wherby the gate béehyghted too the Sabines quyght was choakt With rysing of this fountaine straunge vntill that Marsis knyght Had armed him Then Romulus did boldly offer fyght The Romane ground with Sabines with Romanes bothe were spred And with the blood of fathrinlawes which wicked swoord had shed Flowde mixt the blood of sonnâ—inlawes Howbéet it séemed best Too bothe the partyes at the length from battell for too rest And not too fyght too vttrance And that Tacye should becoome Copartner with king Romulus of souereintye in Roome Within a whyle king Tacye dyde And bothe the Sabines and The Romanes vnder Romulus in equall ryght did stand The God of battell putting of his glittring helmet then With such like woordes as theis bespake the fyre of Goddes and men The tyme O father in as much as now the Romane state Is wexen strong vppon the good foundation layd alate Depending on the stay of anâ— is comme for thee too make Thy promis good which thou of mée and of thy graundchyld spake Which was too take him from the earth and in the heauen him stay Thou once I markt thy gracious woordes and bare them well away Before a great assembly of the Goddes didst too mee say There shalbée one whom thou shalt rayse aboue the starry skye Now let they saying take effect Ioue graunting by and by The ayre was hid with darksom clowdes and thunder foorth did fly And lyghtning made the world agast Which Mars perceyuing too Bée lackye tokens for himself his enterpryse too doo Did take his 〈◊〉 vppon his speare and boldly lept intoo His bloodye charyot And he lent his horses with his whippe A yirking lash and through the ayre full smoothely downe did â—lippe And staying on the woody toppe of mountayne Palatine He tooke away king Romulus whoo there did then defyne The pryuate caces of his folk vnseemly for a king And as a leaden peller broade enforced from a â—ling Is woont too dye amid the skye euen so his mortall flesh Sank from him downe the suttle ayre In sted wherof a fresh And goodly shape more stately and more méete for sacred shryne Succéeded like our Quirin that in stately robe dooth shyne Hersilia for her féere as lost of moorning made none end Untill Quéene Iuno did commaund dame Iris too discend Uppon the Raynebowe downe and thus her message for too doo O of the Latian country and the Sabine nacion too Thou péerlesse perle of womanhod most woorthy for too bée The wyfe of such a noble prince as héertoofore was hée And still too bée the wyfe of him canonized by name Of Quirin cease thy teares And if thou haue desyre the same Thy holy husband for too sée ensew mée too the queache That groweth gréene on Quirins hill whoos 's shadowes ouerreache The temple of the Romane King Dame Iris did obey And â—yding by her paynted bowe in former woordes did say 〈…〉 too Hersilia Shée scarce lifting vp her eyes With sober countnance answerd O thou Goddesse for surmyse I cannot whoo thou art but yit I well may vnderstand Thou art a Goddess leede mée O déere Goddesse léede mée and My husband too mée shewe Whom if the fatall susters thrée Will of they gracious goodnesse graunt mée leaue but once too sée I shall account mée intoo heauen receyued for too bée Immediatly with Thavvmants imp too Quirins hill shée went There glyding from the sky a starre streyght downe too grouÌ„d was sent The sparkes of whoos 's bryght blazing beames did burne Hersilias heare And with the starre the ayreâ— did vher heare too heauenward beare The buylder of the towne of Roome receyuing streyght the same Betweene his old acquaynted handes did alter both her name And eeke her bodye calling her dame Ora. And by this Shée ioyntly with her husband for a Goddesse woorshipt is Finis Libri decimi quarti ¶ THE XV. BOOKE OF Ouids Metamorphosis
interchaungeably it one whyle dooth remayne A female and another whyle becommeth male againe The creature also which dooth liue by only aire and wynd All colours that it leaneth too dooth counterfet by kynd The Grapegod Bacchus when he had subdewd the land of Inde Did fynd a spotted beast cald Lynx whoos 's vrine by report By towching of the open aire congealeth in such sort As that it dooth becomme a stone So Corall which as long As water hydes it is a shrub and soft becommeth strong And hard assoone as it dooth towch the ayre The day would end And Phebus panting stéedes should in the Ocean déepe descend Before all alterations I in woordes could comprehend So sée wée all things chaungeable One nation gathereth strength Another wexeth weake and bothe doo make exchaunge at length So Troy which once was great and strong as well in welth as men And able tenne yéeres space too spare such store of blood as then Now béeing bace hath nothing left of all her welth too showe Saue ruines of the auncient woorkes which grasse dooth ouergrowe And tumbes wherin theyr auncetours lye buryed on a rowe Once Sparta was a famous towne Great Mycene florisht trim Bothe Athens and Amphions towres in honor once did swim A pelting plot is Sparta now great Mycene lyes on ground Of Theab the towne of Oedipus what haue we more than sound Of Athens king Pandions towne what resteth more than name Now also of the race of Troy is rysing so sayth fame The Citie Roome which at the bank of Tyber that dooth ronne Downe from the hill of Appennyne already hath begonne With great aduysement for too lay foundation of her state This towne then chaungeth by increase the forme it had alate And of the vniuersall world in tyme to comme shall hold The souereintye so prophesies and lotts men say haue told And as I doo remember mee what tyme that Troy decayd The prophet Helen Priams sonne theis woordes ensewing sayd Before Aenaeas dowting of his lyfe in wéeping plyght O Goddesse sonne beléeue mée if thou think I haue foresyght Of things too comme Troy shalnot quyght decay whyle thou doost liue Bothe fyre and swoord shall vntoo thée thy passage fréely giue Thou must from hence and Troy with thée conuey away in haste Untill that bothe thyself and Troy in forreine land bée plaast More fréendly than thy natiue soyle Moreouer I foresée A Citie by the ofspring of the Troians buylt shall bée So great as neuer in the world the lyke was séene before Nor is this present neyther shall be séene for euermore A number of most noble péeres for manye yéeres afore Shall make it strong and puyssant But hée that shall it make The souereine Ladye of the world by ryght descent shall take His first beginning from thy sonne the little Iule And when The earth hathe had her tyme of him the sky and welkin then Shall haue him vp for euermore and heauen shall bée his end Thus farre I well remember mée did Helens woordes extend Too good Aenaeas And it is a pleasure vntoo mée The Citie of my countrymen increasing thus too sée And that the Grecians victorie becommes the Troians weale But least forgetting quyght themselues our horses happe too steale Beyond the mark the heauen and all that vnder heauen is found Dooth alter shape So dooth the ground and all that is in ground And wée that of the world are part considring how wée bée Not only flesh but also sowles which may with passage frée Remoue them intoo euery kynd of beast both tame and wyld Let liue in saufty honestly with slaughter vndefyld The bodyes which perchaunce may haue the sprits of our brothers Our sisters or our parents or the spirits of sum others Alyed too vs eyther by sum fréendshippe or sum kin Or at the least the soules of men abyding them within And let vs not Thyëstes lyke thus furnish vp our boordes With bloodye bowells Oh how leawd example he auoordes How wickedly prepareth he himself too murther man That with a cruell knyfe dooth cut the throte of Calf and can Unmouably giue héering too the lowing of the dam Or sticke the kid that wayleth lyke the little babe or eate The fowle that he himself before had often fed with meate What wants of vtter wickednesse in woorking such a feate What may he after passe too doo well eyther let your stéeres Weare out themselues with woork or else impute theyr death too yéeres Ageinst the wynd and weather cold let Wethers yéeld yée cotes And vdders full of batling milk receyue yée of the Goates Away with sprindges snares and grinnes away with Risp and net Away with guylefull feates for fowles no lymetwiggs sée yée set No feared fethers pitche yée vp too kéepe the Reddéere in Ne with deceytfull bayted hooke séeke fishes for too win If awght doo harme destroy it but destroyt and doo no more Forbeare the flesh and féede your mouthes with fitter foode therfore Men say that Numa furnisshed with such philosophye As this and like returned too his natiue soyle and by Entreatance was content of Roome too take the souereintye Ryght happy in his wyfe which was a nymph ryght happy in His guydes which were the Muses nyne this Numa did begin Too teach Religion by the meanes whereof hée shortly drew That people vntoo peace whoo erst of nought but battell knew And when through age he ended had his reigne and éeke his lyfe Through Latium he was moorned for of man and chyld and wyfe As well of hygh as low degrée His wyfe forsaking quyght The Citie in vale Aricine did hyde her out of syght Among the thickest groues â–ª and there with syghes and playnts did let The sacrifyse of Diane whom Orestes erst had fet From Taurica in Chersonese and in that place had set How oft ah did the woodnymphes and the waternymphes perswade Egeria for too cease her mone what meanes of comfort made They Ah hâ—w often Theseus sonne her wéeping thus bespake O Nymph thy moorning moderate thy sorrow sumwhat slake Not only thou hast cause too hart thy fortune for too take Behold like happes of other folkes and this mischaunce of thyne Shall gréeue thée lesse would God examples so they were not myne Myght comfort thée But myne perchaunce may comfort thée If thou In talk by hap haste heard of one Hippolytus ere now That through his fathers lyght beleefe and stepdames craft was slayne It will a woonder séeme too thée and I shall haue much payne Too make thée too beléeue the thing But I am very hée The daughter of Pasyphae in vayne oft tempting mée My father chamber too defyle surmysde mée too haue sought The thing that shée with al her hart would fayne I should haue wrought And whither it were for feare I should her wickednesse bewray Or else for spyght bycause I had so often sayd her nay Shée chardgd mée with hir owne offence My father by and by Condemning mée did
tyme the heady easterne wynde Dooth whiz amongst them or as from the sea dooth farre rebound Euen such among the folk of Roome that present was the sound Howbéet in that confused roare of fearefull folk did fall Out one voyce asking whoo is hée And staring therewithall Uppon theyr foreheads they did séeke the foresayd hornes Agen ê™ Cippus lo yée haue the man for whom yée séeke And then He pulld ageinst his peoples will his garlond from his head And shewed them the twoo fayre hornes â—hat on his browes were spred At that the people dassheth downe theyr lookes and syghing is Ryght sorye whoo would think it trew too sée that head of his Most famous for his good deserts Yit did they not forget The honour of his personage but willingly did set The Lawrell garlond on his head ageine And by and by The Senate sayd Well Cippus sith vntill the tyme thou dye Thou mayst not coÌ„me within theis walles wée giue thée as much grouÌ„d In honour of thée as a téeme of stéeres can plough thée round Betwéene the dawning of the day and shetting in of nyght Moreouer on the brazen gate at which this Cippus myght Haue entred Roome a payre of hornes were graude too represent His woondrous shape as of his déede an endlesse monument Yée Muses whoo too Poets are the present springs of grace Now shewe for you knowe neyther are you dulld by tyme or space How Aesculapius in the I le that is in Tyber déepe Among the sacred sayncts of Roome had fortune for too créepe A cruell plage did héertoofore infect the Latian aire And peoples bodyes pyning pale the murreine did appayre When tyred with the buriall of theyr fréends they did perceyue Themselues no helpe at mannes hand nor by Phisicke too receyue Then séeking help from heauen they sent too Delphos which dooth stand Amid the world for counsell too bée had at Phebus hand Beséeching him with helthfull ayd too succour theyr distresse And of the myghtye Citie Roome the mischéef too redresse The quiuers which Apollo bryght himself was woont too beare The Baytrées and the place itself toogither shaken were And by and by the table from the furthest part of all The ChauÌ„cell spake theis woords which did theyr harts with feare appal The thing yée Romanes séeke for héere yée should haue sought more ny Your countrye Yea and néerer home go séeke it now Not I Apollo but Apollos sonne is hée that must redresse Your sorrowes Take your iourney with good handsell of successe And fetch my sonne among you When Apollos hest was told Among the prudent Senators they sercht what towne did hold His sonne and vntoo Epidavvre a Gallye for him sent Assoone as that th' Ambassadour arryued there they went Untoo the counsell and the Lordes of Gréekland whom they pray Too haue the God the present plages of Romanes for too stay And for themselues the Oracle of Phebus foorth they lay The Counsell were of sundry mynds and could not well agrée Sum thought that succour in such néede denyed should not bée And diuers did perswade too keepe theyr helpe not too send Theyr Goddes away sith they themselues myght néede them in the end Whyle dowtfully they of and on debate this curious cace The euening twylyght vtterly the day away did chace And on the world the shadowe of the earth had darknesse brought That nyght the Lord Ambassadour as sléepe vppon him wrought Did dreame he saw before him stand the God whose help he sought In shape as in his chappell he was woonted for too stand With ryght hand stroking downe his berd and staffe in toother hand And méekely saying feare not I will comme and leaue my shryne This serpent which dooth wreath with knottes about this staffe of mine Mark well and take good héede therof that when thou shalt it sée Thou mayst it knowe For intoo it transformed will I bee But bigger I will bée for I will séeme of such a syse As may celestiall bodyes well too turne intoo suffise Streyght with the voyce the God and with the voyce and God away Went sléepe and after sléepe was gone ensewed chéerfull day Next morning hauing cléerely put the fyrye starres too flyght The Lordes not knowing what too doo assembled all foorthryght Within the sumptuous temple of the God that was requyred And of his mynd by heauenly signe sum knowledge they desyred They scarce had doone theyr prayers when the God in shape of snake With loftye crest of gold began a hissing for too make Which was a warning giuen And with his presence he did shake The Altar shryne doore marble floore and roofe all layd with gold And vauncing vp his brest he stayd ryght stately too behold Amid the Church and round about his fyrye eyes he rold The syght did fray the people But the wyuelesse préest whoos 's heare Was trussed in a fayre whyght Call did know the God was there And sayd behold tiz God tiz God As many as bée héere Pray both with mouth and mynd O thou our glorious God appéere Too our béehoofe and helpe thy folke that keepe thy hallowes ryght The people present woorshipped his Godhead there in syght Repeating dowble that the préest did say the Romaynes éeke Deuoutly did with Godly voyce and hart his â—auour séeke The God by nodding did consent and gaue assured signe By shaking of his golden crest that on his head did shyne And hissed twyce with spirting toong Then trayld he downe the fyne And glistring gréeces of his church And turning backe his eyen He looked too his altarward and too his former shryne And temple as too take his leaue and bid them all fare well From thence ryght howge vppon the ground which swéete of flowres did smell That people strewed in his way he passed stately downe And bending intoo bowghts went through the hart of all the towne Untill that hée the bowwing wharf besyde the hauen tooke Where sâ—aying when he had as séemd dismist with gentle looke His trayne of Chapleynes and the folke that wayted on him thither Hée layd him in the Romane shippe too sayle away toogither The shippe did féele the burthen of his Godhed too the full And for the heauye weyght of him did after passe more dull The Romanes being glad of him and hauing killd a stéere Uppon the shore vntyde theyr ropes and cables from the péere The lyghtsum wynd did dryue the shippe The God auauncing hye And leaning with his necke vppon the Gallyes syde did lye And looke vppon the gréenish waues and cutting easly through Th' Iönian sea with little gales of westerne wynd not rough The sixt day morning came vppon the coast of Italy And passing foorth by Iunos Church that mustreth too the eye Uppon the head of Lacine he was caryed also by The rocke of Scylley then he left the land of Calabrye And rowing softly by the rocke Zephyrion he did draw Too Celen cliffs the which vppon the ryghtsyde haue a flawe
in which shée hid Aenaeas when shée from the swoord of Diomed did him rid Or Paris when from Menelay shée did him saufe conuey But Ioue her father staying her did thus vntoo hir say Why daughter myne wilt thou alone bée stryuing too preuent Unuanquishable destinie In fayth and if thou went Thy self intoo the house in which the fatall susters thrée Doo dwell thou shouldest there of brasse and stéele substantiall sée The registers of things so strong and massye made too bee That â—auâ— and euerlasting they doo neyther stand in feare Of thunder nor of lyghtning nor of any ruine there The destnyes of thyne ofspring thou shalt there fynd grauen déepe In Adamant I red them and in mynd I doo them kéepe And forbycause thou shalt not beiquyght ignorant of all I will declare what things I markt herafter too befall The man for whom thou makest sute hath liued full his tyme And hauing ronne his race on earth must now too heauen vp clyme Where thou shalt make a God of him ay honord for too bée With temples and with Altars on the earth Moreouer hée That is his heyre and beares his name shall allalone susteyne The burthen layd vppon his backe and shall our help obteyne His fathers murther too reuenge The towne of Mutinye Beséedged by his powre shall yéeld The féelds of Pharsaly Shall féele him and Philippos in the Realme of Macedonne Shall once ageine bée staynd with blood The greate Pompeius sonne Shall vanquisht be by him vppon the sea of Sicilye The Romane Capteynes wyfe the Quéene of Aegypt through her hye Presumption trusting too her match too much shall threate in vayne Too make her Canop ouer our hygh Capitoll too reigne What should I tell thee of the wyld and barbrous nacions that At bothe the Oceans dwelling bée The vniuersall plat Of all the earth inhabited shall all be his The sea Shall vntoo him obedient bée likewyse And when that he Hathe stablisht peace in all the world then shall he set his mynd Too ciuill matters vpryght lawes by iustice for too fynd And by example of himself all others he shall bynd Then hauing care of tyme too comme and of posteritye A holy wyfe shall beare too him a sonne that may supply His carefull charge and beare his name And lastly in the end He shall too heauen among the starres his auncetors ascend But not before his lyfe by length too drooping age doo tend â—nd therfore from the murthred corce of Iulius Caesar take â—is sowle with spéede and of the same a burning cressed make That from our heauenly pallace he may euermore looke downe Uppon our royall Capitoll and Court within Roome towne He scarcely ended had theis woordes but Venus out of hand Amid the Senate house of Roome inuisible did stand And from her Caesars bodye tooke his new expulsed spryght The which shée not permitting too resolue too ayer quyght Did place it in the skye among the starres that glister bryght And as shée bare it shée did féele it gather heauenly myght And for too wexen fyrye Shée no sooner let it flye But that a goodly shyning starre it vp a lost did stye And drew a greate way after it bryght beames like burning heare Whoo looking on his sonnes good déedes confessed that they were Farre greater than his owne and glad he was too sée that hée Excelled him Although his sonne in no wyse would agrée Too haue his déedes preferd beforâ— his fathers yit dooth fame Whoo ay is frée and bound too no commaund withstand the same And stryuing in that one behalf ageinst his hest and will Procéedeth too preferre his déedes before his fathers still Euen so too Agamemnons great renowne giues Atreus place Euen so Achilles déedes the déedes of Peleus doo abace Euen so beyond Aegaeus farre dooth Theseyes prowesse go And that I may examples vse full matching theis euen so Is Saturne lesse in fame than Ioue Ioue rules the heauenly spheres And all the trâ—ple shaped world And our Augustus beares Dominion ouer all the earth They bothe are fathers They Are rulers both Yee Goddes too whom both fyre and swoord gaue way What tyme yée with Aenaeas came from Troy yée Goddes that were Of mortall men canonyzed Thou Quiâ—in whoo didst réere The walles of Roome and Mars whoo wart the valcant Quirins syre And Vesta of the household Goddes of Caesar with thy fyre Most holy and thou Phebus whoo with Vesta also art Of household and thou Iupiter whoo in the hyghest part Of mountayne Tarpey haste thy Church and all yee Goddes that may With conscience sauf by Poëts bée appealed too I pray Let that same day bée slowe too comme and after I am dead In which Augustus whoo as now of all the world is head Quyght giuing vp the care therof ascend too heauen for ay There absent hence to fauour such as vntoo him shall pray Now haue I brought a woork too end which neither Ioues féerce wrath Nor swoord nor fyre nor freating age with all the force it hath Are able too abolish quyght Let comme that fatall howre Which sauing of this brittle flesh hath ouer mée no powre And at his pleasure make an end of myne vncerteyne tyme. Yit shall the better part of mée assured bée too clyme Aloft aboue the starry skye And all the world shall neuer Be able for too quench my name For looke how farre so euer The Romane Empyre by the ryght of conquest shall extend So farre shall all folke reade this woork And tyme without all end If Poets as by prophesie about the truth may ame My lyfe shall euerlastingly bée lengthened still by fame Finis Libri decimi quinti. Laus honor soli Deo ⧠IMPRINTED AT LONdon by Willyam Seres dwelling at the west end of Paules church at the signe of the Hedgehogge Out of the first booke Out of the second Out of the iij. Out of the iiij Out of the v. Out of the vj. Out of the vij Out of the viij Out of the ix Out of the x. Out of the xj Out of the xij Out of the xiij Out of the xiiij Out of the xv * Lydia * A Ware wolfe * Castor 〈◊〉 * Plexippus Toxeus * Eurytus Câ—eatus * Admetus * Enesimus Alcâ—n Dexippus †Laâ—rtes * Mopsus †Amphiaraus Mopsus Castor Pollux * Olyss * Philoctetâ— * 〈◊〉 The house of sleepe * The kings fisher * Pirithoâ—s * Now called Tyber The Elk. * It may be interpreted Applebee * Turner * Hercules * Horsesâ—aine * Twyce man
Candie Ioues owne foster place as long as I there raigne Shall vnto such a monstruous Wight a Harbrow place remaine This said he like a righteous Iudge among his vanquisht foes Set order vnder paine of death Which done he willed those That serued him to go a boorde and Anchors vp to wey When Scylla saw the Candian fléete a flote to go away And that the Captaine yéelded not so good reward as shée Had for hir lewdnesse looked for and when in fine she sée That no entreatance could preuaile then bursting out in ire With stretched hands and scattred haire as furious as the fire She shraming cryëd out aloud And whither doste thou flie Reiecting me the only meanes that thou hast conquerde by O cankerde Churle preferde before my natiue soyle preferd Before my father whither flyste O Carle of heart most hard Whose conquest as it is my sinne so doth it well deserue Reward of thée for that my fault so well thy turne did serue Doth neither thée the gift I gaue nor yet my faithfull loue Nor yet that all my hope on thée alonly rested moue For whither shall I now resort forsaken thus of thée To Megara the wretched soyle of my natiuitie Behold it lieth vanquished and troden vnder foote But put the case it flourisht still yet could it nothing boote I haue foreclosde it to my selfe through treason when I gaue My fathers head to thée Whereby my countriefolke I draue To hate me iustly for my crime And all the Realmes about My lewde example doe abhorre Thus haue I shet me out Of all the world that only Crete might take me in â–ª which if Thou like a Churle denie and cast me vp without relief The Ladie Europ surely was not mother vnto thée But one of Affricke Sirts where none but Serpents fostred bée But euen some cruell Tiger bred in Armen or in Inde Or else the Gulfe Charybdis raisde with rage of Southerne winde Thou wert not got by Ioue ne yet thy mother was beguilde In shape of Bull of this thy birth the tale is false compilde But rather some vnwieldâ—e Bull euen altogither wilde That neuer lowed after Cow was out of doubt thy Sire O father Nisus put thou me to penance for my hire Reioyce thou in my punishment thou towne by me betrayd I haue deserued I confesse most iustly to be payd With death But let some one of theÌ„ that through my lewdnesse smart â–ª Destroy me why doste thou that by my crime a gainer art Commit like crime thy selfe Admit this wicked act of me As to my land and Fatherward in deede most hainous be Yet oughtest thou to take it as a friendship vnto thée But she was méete to be thy wife that in a Cow of trée Could play the Harlot with a Bull and in hir wombe could beare A Barne in whome the shapes of man and beasts confounded were How sayst thou Carle coÌ„pell not these my words thine eares to glow Or doe the windes that driue thy shyps in vaine my sayings blow In faith it is no wonder though thy wife Pasiphaë Preferrde a Bull to thée for thou more cruell wert than he Now wo is me To make more hast it standeth me in hand The water sounds with Ores and hales from me and from my land In vaine thou striuest O thou Churle forgetfull quight of my Desertes for euen in spight of thee pursue thée still will I. Upon thy courbed Keele will I take holde and hanging so Be drawen along the Sea with thée where euer thou do go She scarce had said these words but that she leaped on the waue And getting to the ships by force of strength that Loue hir gaue Upon the King of Candies Kéele in spight of him she claue Whome when hir father spide for now he houered in the aire And being made a Hobby Hauke did soare betwéene a paire Of nimble wings of yron Mayle he soused downe a maine To seaze vpon hir as she hung and would haue torne hir faine With bowing Beake But she â—or feare did let the Caricke go And as she was about to fall the lightsome Aire did so Uphold hir that she could not touch the Sea as séemed tho Anon all â—ethers she became and forth away did flie Transformed to a pretie Bird that â—â—â—eth to the Skie And for bicause like clipped haire hir head doth beare a marke The Gréekes it 〈…〉 and we doe name the same a Larke Assone as Mâ—nos came a land in Crete he by and by Performde his vowes 〈◊〉 Iupiter in causing for to die A hundred Bulles for sacrifice And then he did adorne His Paâ—lace with the enmies spoyles by conquest wonne beforne The slaunder of his house encreast and now appeared more The mothers filthie whoredome by the monster that she bore Of double shape an vgly thing This shamefull infamie This monster borne him by his wife he mindes by pollicie To put away and in a house with many nookes and krinks From all mens sights and speach of folke to shet it vp he thinks Immediatly one Daedalus renowned in that lande For fine deuise and workmanship in building went in hand To make it He confounds his worke with sodaine stops and stayes And with the great vncertaintie of sundrie winding wayes Leades in and out and to and fro at diuers doores astray And as with trickling streame the Brooke Maeander séemes to play In Phrygia and with doubtfull race runnes counter to and fro And méeting with himselfe doth looke if all his streame or no Come after and retiring eft cleane backward to his spring And marching eft to open Sea as streight as any string Indenteth with reuersed streame euen so of winding wayes Unnumerable Daedalus within his worke conuayes Yea scarce himselfe could find the meanes to winde himselfe well out So busie and so intricate the house was all about Within this Maze did Minos shet the Monster that did beare The shape of man and Bull. And when he twise had fed him there With bloud of Atticke Princes sonnes that giuen for tribute were The third time at the ninth yeares end the lot did chaunce to light On Theseus King Aegaeus sonne who like a valiant Knight Did ouercome the Minotaur and by the pollicie Of Minos eldest daughter who had taught him for to tie A clew of 〈◊〉 at the doore to guide himselfe thereby As busie as the turnings were his way he out did finde Which neuer man had done before And streight he hauing winde With Minos daughter sailde away to Dia where And cruell creature that he was he left hir post alone vnkinde Upon the shore Thus desolate and making dolefull mone God Bacchus did both comfort hir and take hir to his bed And with an euerlasting starre the more hir fame to spred He tooke the Chaplet from hir head and vp to Heauen it threw The Chaplet thirled through the Aire and as it gliding flew The precious stones were turnd to starres which blased cleare bright
And tooke their place continuing like a Chaplet still to sight Amid betwéene the knéeler downe and him that gripes the Snake Now in this while gan Daedalus a wearinesse to take Of liuing like a banisht man and prisoner such a time In Crete and longed in his heart to sée his natiue Clime But Seas enclosed him as if he had in prison be Then thought he though both Sea and Land King Minos stop fro me I am assurde he cannot stop the Aire and open Skie To make my passage that way then my cunning will I trie Although that Minos like a Lord held all the world beside Yet doth the Aire from Minos yoke for all men frée abide This sed to vncoth Arts he bent the force of all his wits To alter natures course by craft And orderly he knits A rowe of fethers one by one beginning with the short And ouermatching still eche quill with one of longer sort That on the shoring of a hill a man would thinke them grow Euen so the countrie Organpipes of Oten réedes in row Ech higher than another rise Then fastned he with Flax The middle quilles and ioyned in the lowest sort with Wax And when he thus had finisht them a little he them bent In compasse that the verie Birdes they full might represent There stoode me by him Icarus his sonne a pretie Lad. Who knowing not that he in handes his owne destruction had With similing mouth did one while blow the fethers to and fro Which in the Aire on wings of Birds did flask not long ago And with his thumbes another while he chafes the yelow Wax And le ts his fatâ—ers wondrous worke with childish â—oyes and knax. Assone as that the worke was done the workman by and by Did peyse his bodie on his wings and in the Aire on hie Hung wauering and did teach his sonne how he should also flie I warne thée quoth he Icarus a middle race to kéepe For if thou hold to low a gate the dankenesse of the déepe Will ouer â—ade thy wings with wet And if thou mount to hie The Sunne will â—indge them Therfore sée betwéene theÌ„ both thou flie I bid thée not behold the Starre Boötes in the Skie Nor looke vpon the bigger Beare to make thy course thereby Nor yet on Orions naked sword But euer haue an eie To kéepe the race that I doe kéepe and I will guide thée right In giuing counsell to his sonne to order well his flight He fastned to his shoulders twaine a paire of vncoth wings And as he was in doing it and warning him of things His aged chéekes were wet his hands did quake in fine he gaue His sonne a kisse the last that he aliue should euer haue And then he mounting vp aloft before him tooke his way Right fearfull for his followers sake as is the Bird the day That first she tolleth from hir nest among the braunches hie Hir tender yong ones in the Aire to teach them for to flie â–ª So heartens he his little sonne to follow teaching him A hurtfull Art His owne two wings he waueth verie trim And looketh backward still vpon his sonnes The fishermen Then standing angling by the Sea and shepeherdes leaning then On shéepehookes and the Ploughmen on the handles of their Plough Beholding them amazed were and thought that they that through The Aire could flie were Gods And now did on their left side stand The Iles of Paros and of Dele and Samos Iunos land And on their right Lebinthos and the faire Calydna fraught With store of home when the Boy a frolicke courage caught To flie at randon Wherevpon forsaking quight his guide Of fond desire to flie to Heauen aboue his boundes he stide And there the nerenesse of the Sunne which burnd more hote aloâ—t Did make the Wax with which his wings were glewed lithe and soft Assoone as that the Wax was molt his naked armes he shakes And wanting wherewithall to waue no helpe of Aire he takes But calling on his father loud he drowned in the waue And by this chaunce of his those Seas his name for euer haue His wretched Father but as then no father cride in feare O Icarus O Icarus where art thou tell me where That I may finde thée Icarus He saw the fethers swim Upon the waues and curst his Art that so had spighted him At last he tooke his bodie vp and laid it in a graue And to the I le the name of him then buried in it gaue And as he of his wretched sonne the corse in ground did hide The cackling Partrich from a thicke and leauie thorne him spide And clapping with his wings for ioy aloud to call began There was of that same kinde of Birde no mo but he as than In times forepast had none bene séene It was but late anew Since he was made a bird and that thou Daedalus mayst rew For whyle the world doth last thy shame shall therevpon ensew For why thy sister ignorant of that which after hapt Did put him to thée to be taught full twelue yeares old and apt To take instruction He did marke the middle bone that goes Through fishes and according to the paterne tane of those He filed teeth vpon a piece of yron one by one And so deuised first the Saw where erst was neuer none Moreouer he two yron shankes so ioynde in one round head That opening an indifferent space the one point downe shall tread And tother draw a circle round The finding of these things The spightfull heart of Daedalus with such a malice stings That headlong from the holy towre of Pallas downe he thrue His Nephew feyning him to fall by chaunce which was not true But Pallas who doth fauour wits did stay him in his fall And chaunging him into a Bird did clad him ouer all With fethers soft amid the Aire The quicknesse of his wit Which erst was swift did shed it selfe among his wings and féete And as he Partrich hight before so hights he Partrich still Yet mounteth not this Bird aloft ne séemes to haue a will To build hir nest in tops of trées among the boughes on hie But flecketh nere the ground and layes hir egges in hedges drie And forbicause hir former fall she ay in minde doth beare She euer since all lofty things doth warely shun for feare And now forwearied Daedalus alighted in the land Within the which the burning hilles of firie Aetna stand To saue whose life King Cocalus did weapon take in hand For which men thought him merciful And now with high renowne Had Theseus ceast the wofull pay of tribute in the towne Of Athens Temples decked were with garlands euery where And supplications made to Ioue and warlicke Pallas were And all the other Gods To whome more honor for to show Gifts blud of beasts and frankincense the people did bestow As in performance of their vowes The right redoubted name Of Theseus through the lande of Gréece was spred by