am I curs'd with Life why am I fain For thee false Jilt to bear eternal Pain 'T is not thy Letters which thy Crimes reveal Nor secret Presents which thy Falshood tell Would God! my just suspicions wanted cause That they might prove less fatal to my ease Would God! less colour for thy guilt there were But that alas too much of proof does bear Bless'd he who what he loves can justifie To whom his Mistriss can the Fact deny And boldly give his Jealousie the lye Cruel the Man and uncompassionate And too indulgent to his own Regret Who seeks to have her guilt too manifest And with the murd'ring secret stabs his Rest. I saw when little you suspected me When sleep you thought gave opportunity Your Crimes I saw and these unhappy eyes Of all your hidden stealths were Witnesses I saw in signs your mutual Wishes read And Nods the message of your Hearts convey'd I saw the conscious Board which writ all o're With scrawls of Wine Love's mystick Cypher bore Your Glances were not mute but each bewray'd And with your Fingers Dialogues were made I understood the Language out of hand For what 's too hard for Love to understand Full well I understood for what intent All this dumb Talk and silent Hints were meant And now the Ghests were from the Table fled And all the Company retir'd to bed I saw you then with wanton Kisses greet Your Tongues I saw did in your Kisses meet Not such as Sisters to their Brothers give But Lovers from their Mistrisses receive Such as the God of War and Paphian Queen Did in the height of their Embraces joyn Patience ye Gods cried I what is 't I see Vnfaithful why this Treachery to me How dare you let another in my sight Invade my native Property and Right He must not shall not do 't by Love I swear I 'll seize the bold usurping Ravisher You are my Free-hold and the Fates design That you should be unalienably mine These Favours all to me impropriate are How comes another then to trespass here This and much more I said by Rage inspir'd While conscious shame her Cheeks with Blushes fir'd Such lovely stains the face of Heav'n adorn When Light 's first blushes paint the bashful Morn So on the Bush the flaming Rose does glow When mingled with the Lillies neighb'ring Snow This or some other Colour much like these The semblance then of her Complexion was And while her Looks that sweet Disorder wore Chance added Beauties undisclos'd before Upon the ground she cast her jetty Eyes Her Eyes shot fiercer Darts in that Disguise Her Face a sad and mournful Air express'd Her Face more lovely seem'd in sadness dress'd Urg'd by Revenge I hardly could forbear Her braided Locks and tender Cheeks to tear Yet I no sooner had her Face survey'd But strait the tempest of my Rage was laid A look of her did my Resentments charm A look of her did all their Force disarm And I that fierce outrageous thing e're-while Grow calm as Infants when in sleep they smile And now a Kiss am humbly fain to crave And beg no worse than she my Rival gave She smil'd and strait a throng of Kisses prest The worst of which should Iove himself but taste The brandish'd Thunder from his Hand would wrest Well-pleas'd I was and yet tormented too For fear my envied Rival felt them so Better they seem'd by far than I e're taught And she in them shew'd something new methought Fond jealous I my self the Pleasure grutch And they displeas'd because they pleas'd too much When in my mouth I felt her darting Tongue My wounded Thoughts it with suspicion stung Nor is it this alone afflicts my mind More reason for complaint remains behind I grieve not only that she Kisses gave Tho that affords me cause enough to grieve Such never could be taught her but in Bed And Heav'n knows what Reward her Teacher had BOOK II. ELEGY X. To a Friend Acquainting him that he is in Love with two at one time Tu mihi tu certè memini Graecine negabas c. I 'VE heard my Friend and heard it said by you No Man at once could ever well love two But I was much deceiv'd upon that score For single I at once love one and more Two at one time reign joyntly in my Breast Both handsom are both charming both well-dress'd And hang me if I know which takes me best This Fairer is than that and that than this That more than this and this than that does please Tost like a Ship by diff'rent gusts of Love Now to this point and now to that I move Why Love why do'st thou double thus my pains Was 't not enough to bear one Tyrant's chains Why Goddess do'st thou vainly lavish more On one that was top-full of Love before Yet thus I 'd rather love than not at all May that ill Curse my Enemies befal May my worst Foe be damn'd to love of none Be damn'd to Continence and lie alone Let Loves alarms each night disturb my Rest And drowsie sleep never approach my Breast Or strait-way thence be by new Pleasure chas'd Let Pleasures in succession keep my Sense Ever awake or ever in a Trance Let me lie melting in my fair One's Arms Riot in Bliss and surfeit on her Charms Let her undo me there without controul Drain nature quite suck out my very Soul And if by one I can't enough be drawn Give me another clap more Leeches on The Gods have made me of the sporting kind And for the Feat my Pliant Limbs design'd What Nature has in Bulk to me denied In Sinews and in vigor is supplied And should my Strength be wanting to Desire Pleasure would add new Fewel to the Fire Oft in soft Battles have I spent the Night Yet rose next Morning vig'rous for the Fight Fresh as the Day and active as the Light No Maid that ever under me took pay From my Embrace went unoblig'd away Bless'd he who in Loves service yields his Breath Grant me ye Gods so sweet so wish'd a Death In bloody Fields let Souldiers meet their Fate To purchase dear-bought Honor at the rate Let greedy Merchants trust the faithless Main And shipwrack Life and Soul for sordid gain Dying let me expire in gasps of Lust And in a gush of Joy give up the ghost And some kind pitying Friend shall say of me So did he live and so deserv'd to die A FRAGMENT of PETRONIUS PARAPHRAS'D Foeda est in coitu brevis voluptas c. I Hate Fruition now 't is past 'T is all but nastiness at best The homeliest thing that man can do Besides 't is short and fleeting too A squirt of slippery Delight That with a moment takes its flight A fulsom Bliss that soon does cloy And makes us loath what we enjoy Then let us not too eager run By Passion blindly hurried on Like Beasts who nothing better know Than what meer Lust incites them to For
Triumphs sing Bring all your artful Notes and skilful Measures now Each charming air of Breath and string Bring all to grace the Obsequies of your dead King And high as then your Joy let now your Sorrow flow Saul your great Saul is dead Who you with Natures choicest Dainties fed Who you with Natures gayest Wardrobe clad By whom you all her Pride and all her Pleasures had For you the precious Worm his Bowels spun For you the Tyrian Fish did Purple run For you the blest Arabia's Spices grew And Eastern Quarries harden'd Pearly dew The Sun himself turn'd Labourer for you For you he hatch'd his golden Births alone Wherewith you were array'd whereby you him out-shone All this and more you did to Saul's great Conduct owe All this you lost in his unhappy overthrow VIII Oh Death how vast an Harvest hast thou reap'd of late Never before hadst thou so great Ne'er drunk'st before so deep of Iewish Blood Ne'er since th' embattled Hosts at Gibeah stood When three whole days took up the work of Fate When a large Tribe enter'd at once thy Bill And threescore thousand Victims to thy Fury fell Upon the fatal Mountains Head Lo how the mighty Chiefs lie dead There my beloved Ionathan was slain The best of Princes and the best of Men Cold Death hangs on his Cheeks like an untimely Frost On early Fruit there sits and smiles a sullen Boast And yet looks pale at the great Captive she has ta'en My Ionathan is dead oh dreadful word of Fame Oh grief that I can speak 't and not become the same He 's dead and with him all our blooming Hopes are gone And many a wonder which he must have done And many a Conquest which he must have won They 're all to the dark Grave and Silence fled And never now in story shall be read And never now shall take their date Snatch'd hence by the preventing hand of envious Fate IX Ah worthy Prince would I for thee had dyed Ah would I had thy fatal place supplied I 'd then repaid a Life which to thy gift I owe Repaid a Crown which Friendship taught thee to for go Both Debts I ne'er can cancel now Oh dearer than my Soul if I can call it mine For sure we had the same 't was very thine Dearer than Light or Life or Fame Or Crowns or any thing that I can wish or think or name Brother thou wast but wast my Friend before And that new Title then could add no more Mine more than Blood Alliance Natures self could make Than I or Fame it self can speak Not yearning Mothers when first Throes they feel To their young Babes in looks a softer Passion tell Not artless undissembling Maids express In their last dying sighs such Tenderness Not thy fair Sister whom strict Duty bids me wear First in my Breast whom holy Vows make mine Tho all the Virtues of a loyal Wife she bear Could boast an Union so near Could boast a Love so firm so lasting so Divine So pure is that which we in Angels find To Mortals here in Heav'n to their own kind So pure but not more great must that blest Friendship prove Could ah could I to that wisht Place and Thee remove Which shall for ever joyn our mingled Souls above X. Ah wretched Israel ah unhappy state Expos'd to all the Bolts of angry Fate Expos'd to all thy Enemies revengeful hate Who is there left their Fury to withstand What Champions now to guard thy helpless Land Who is there left in listed Fields to head Thy valiant Youth and lead them on to Victory Alas thy valiant Youth are dead And all thy brave Commanders too Lo how the Glut and Riot of the Grave thus lie And none survive the fatal Overthrow To right their injur'd Ghosts upon the barbarous Foe Rest ye bless'd shades in everlasting Peace Who fell your Country's bloody Sacrifice For ever Sacred be your Memories And may e're long some dread Avenger rise To wipe off Heav'ns and your Disgrace May then these proud insulting Foes Wash off our stains of Honor with their Blood May they ten thousand-fold repay our loss For every Life a Myriad every Drop a Flood THE ODE OF Aristotle in Athenaeus PARAPHRAS'D I. HOnour thou greatest Blessing in the gift of Heaven Which only art to its chief Darlings given Cheaply with Blood and Dangers art thou sought Nor canst at any rate be over-bought Thou shining Honor art the noblest chase Of all the braver part of Human Race Thou only art worth living for below And only worth our dying too For thee bright Goddess for thy charming sake Does Greece such wond'rous Actions undertake For thee no Toils nor Hardships she forgoes And Death amidst ten thousand ghastly Terrors wooes So powerfully do'st thou the mind inspire And kindlest there so generous a fire As makes thy zealous Votaries All things but Thee despise Makes them the love of Thee prefer Before th' enchantments of bewitching Gold Before th' embraces of a Parent 's arms Before soft ease and Love's enticing Charms And all that Men on Earth most valuable hold II. For Thee the Heav'n-born Hercules And Leda's faithful Twins in Birth no less So many mighty Labours underwent And by their God-like Deeds proclaim'd their high Descent By thee they reach'd the blest Abode The worthy Prize for which in Glory's paths they trod By thee great Ajax and the greater Son Of Peleus were exalted to Renown Envied by the Immortals did they go Laden with triumph to the shades below For thee and thy dear sake Did the young Hermias worthy of Atarna lately slake His Life in Battel to the chance of Fate And bravely lost what he so boldly set Yet lost he not his glorious aim But by short Death purchas'd eternal Fame The grateful Muses shall embalm his Memory And never let it die They shall his great Exploits rehearse And consecrate the Hero in immortal Verse Upon the WORKS of BEN. IOHNSON Written in 1678. ODE I. GReat Thou whom 't is a Crime almost to dare to praise Whose firm establish'd and unshaken Glories stand And proudly their own Fame command Above our pow'r to lessen or to raise And all but the few Heirs of thy brave Genius and thy Bays Hail mighty Founder of our Stage for so I dare Entitle thee nor any modern Censures fear Nor care what thy unjust Detractors say They 'l say perhaps that others did Materials bring That others did the first Foundations lay And glorious 't was we grant but to begin But thou alone couldst finish the design All the fair Model and the Workmanship was thine Some bold Advent'rers might have been before Who durst the unknown world explore By them it was survey'd at distant view And here and there a Cape and Line they drew Which only serv'd as hints and marks to thee Who wast reserv'd to make the full Discovery Art's Compass to thy painful search we owe Whereby thou went'st so far and we
when in Floods of Love we 're drench'd The Flames are by enjoyment quench'd But thus let 's thus together lie And kiss out long Eternity Here we dread no conscious spies No blushes stain our guiltless Joys Here no Faintness dulls Desires And Pleasure never flags nor tires This has pleas'd and pleases now And for Ages will do so Enjoyment here is never done But fresh and always but begun AN ODE OF ANACREON PARAPHRAS'D The CUP 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. MAke me a Bowl a mighty Bowl Large as my capacious Soul Vast as my thirst is let it have Depth enough to be my Grave I mean the Grave of all my Care For I intend to bury't there Let it of Silver fashion'd be Worthy of Wine worthy of me Worthy to adorn the Spheres As that bright Cup amongst the Stars That Cup which Heaven deign'd a place Next the Sun its greatest Grace Kind Cup that to the Stars did go To light poor Drunkards here below Let mine be so and give me light That I may drink and revel by 't Yet draw no shapes of Armour there No Cask nor Shield nor Sword nor Spear Nor Wars of Thebes nor Wars of Troy Nor any other martial Toy For what do I vain Armour prize Who mind not such rough Exercise But gentler Sieges softer Wars Fights that cause no Wounds or Scars I 'll have no Battles on my Plate Lest sight of them should Brawls create Lest that provoke to Quarrels too Which Wine it self enough can do Draw me no Constellations there No Ram nor Bull nor Dog nor Bear Nor any of that monstrous fry Of Animals which stock the sky For what are Stars to my Design Stars which I when drunk out-shine Out-shone by every drop of Wine I lack no Pole Star on the Brink To guide in the wide Sea of Drink But would for ever there be tost And wish no Haven seek no Coast. Yet gentle Artist if thou 'lt try Thy Skill then draw me let me see Draw me first a spreading Vine Make its Arms the Bowl entwine With kind embraces such as I Twist about my loving she Let its Boughs o're-spread above Scenes of Drinking Scenes of Love Draw next the Patron of that Tree Draw Bacchus and soft Cupid by Draw them both in toping Shapes Their Temples crown'd with cluster'd Grapes Make them lean against the Cup As 't were to keep their Figures up And when their reeling Forms I view I 'll think them drunk and be so too The Gods shall my examples be The Gods thus drunk in Effigy An Allusion to MARTIAL BOOK I. EPIG 118. AS oft Sir Tradewel as we meet You 're sure to ask me in the street When you shall send your Boy to me To fetch my Book of Poetry And promise you 'l but read it o're And faithfully the Loan restore But let me tell ye as a Friend You need not take the pains to send 'T is a long way to where I dwell At farther end of Clarkenwel There in a Garret near the Sky Above five pair of Stairs I lie But if you 'd have what you pretend You may procure it nearer hand In Cornhil where you often go Hard by th' Exchange there is you know A Shop of Rhime where you may see The Posts all clad in Poetry There H lives of high renown The noted'st TORY in the Town Where if you please enquire for me And he or 's Prentice presently From the next Shelf will reach you down The Piece well bound for half a Crown The Price is much too dear you cry To give for both the Book and me Yes doubtless for such vanities We know Sir you are too too wise THE DREAM Written March 10. 1677. LAte as I on my Bed reposing lay And in soft sleep forgot the Toils of Day My self my Cares and Love all charm'd to Rest And all the Tumults of my waking Breast Quiet and calm as was the silent Night Whose stillness did to that bless'd sleep invite I dreamt and strait this visionary Scene Did with Delight my Fancy entertain I saw methought a lonely Privacy Remote alike from man's and Heavens Eye Girt with the covert of a shady Grove Dark as my thoughts and secret as my Love Hard by a Stream did with that softness creep As 't were by its own murmurs husht asleep On its green Bank under a spreading Tree At once a pleasant and a shelt'ring Canopy There I and there my dear Cosmelia sate Nor envied Monarchs in our safe Retreat So heretofore were the first Lovers laid On the same Turf of which themselves were made A while I did her charming Glories view Which to their former Conquests added new A while my wanton hand was pleas'd to rove Thro all the hidden Labyrinths of Love Ten thousand Kisses on her Lips I fix'd Which she with interfering Kisses mix'd Eager as those of Lovers are in Death When they give up their Souls too with the Breath Love by these Freedoms first became more bold At length unruly and too fierce to hold See then said I and pity charming Fair Yield quickly yield I can no longer bear Th' impatient Sallies of a Bliss so near You must and you alone these storms appease And lay those Spirits which your Charms could raise Come and in equal Flouds let 's quench our Flame Come let 's and unawares I went to name The Thing but stopt and blusht methought in Dream At first she did the rude Address disown And check'd my Boldness with an angry Frown But yielding Glances and consenting Eyes Prov'd the soft Traitors to her forc'd Disguise And soon her looks with anger rough e're while Sunk in the dimples of a calmer smile Then with a sigh into these words she broke And printed melting Kisses as she spoke Too strong Philander is thy pow'rful Art To take a feeble Maids ill-guarded Heart Too long I 've struggled with my Bliss in vain Too long oppos'd what I oft wish'd to gain Loath to consent yet loather to deny At once I court and shun Felicity I cannot will not yield and yet I must Lest to my own Desires I prove unjust Sweet Ravisher what Love commands thee do Tho I 'm displeas'd I shall forgive thee too Too well thou know'st and there my hand she press'd And said no more but blush'd and smil'd the rest Ravish'd at the new grant fierce eager I Leap'd furious on and seiz'd my trembling Prey With guarding Arms she first my Force repell'd Shrunk and drew back and would not seem to yield Unwilling to o'recome she faintly strove One hand pull'd to what t'other did remove So feeble are the struglings and so weak In sleep we seem and only sleep to make Forbear she said ah gentle Youth forbear And still she hug'd and clasp'd me still more near Ah! will you will you force my Ruin so Ah! do not do not do not let me go What follow'd was above the pow'r of Verse Above the reach of Fancy to