alas dare say for very shame How fame my soule an interchaunge would make Twixt this her present State and Limbo lake And yet she dread's least when she paites from hence Her Heates be such that Charon will retire And let her passe for prayer nor for pence For feare his with'red boat be set on fire So daung'rous are the flames of Mighty Loue In Stix it selfe in earth or heau'n aboue Wherefore déere Dame voutchsafe to rew my case And salue the soare which thou thy selfe hast made My Heates first grew by gazing on thy face Whose lights were such that I could find no shade And thou my weary Soule bend all thy force By Plaintes and Teares to moue her to remorse L In this Passion is effectually set downe in how straunge a case he liueth that is in loue and in how contrary an estate to all other men which are at defiaunce with the like follye And this the Authour expresseth here in his owne person therewithall calling vpon Loue to stand his frend or if he faile vpon death to cut of his wearysome life WHile others féede my fancy makes me fast While others liue secure I feare mischaunce I dread no force where other stand agast I follow sute where Fortune leades the Daunce Who like a mumming mate so throwes the Dice That Reason léesing all Loue winnes the price Which Loue by force so warketh in my brest That néedes perforce I must encline my will To die in dreames whiles others liue in rest And liue in woes while others feele none ill O gentle Death let heere my dayes haue ende Or mightie Loue so vse me as thy frend Mine eyes are worne with teares my wittes with woe My coulour dride with cares my hart with paines My will bewitcht my limmes consumed soe That scarsely bloud or vitall breath remaynes While others ioy or sleepe I wayle and wake All this Deere Dame I suffer for thy sake LI Tityus was the sonne of Iupiter and for attempting to dishonest Latona was slaine by Apollo Since which time the Poetes faine that for punishment he lieth in hell miserably tormented with a rauening Vulture which feedeth vpon his bowels continuallie and they as they are consumed still miraculously growe vp againe to breede his endlesse miserie as the Poet witnesseth Quid dieam Tityum cuius sub vulnere saeuo Viscera nascuntur grauibus certanitia poenis The Authour compareth his passions with the paines of this Tityus and imitateth Seneca writing to the like effect Vultur relicto transuolet Tityo ferus Meumque poenae semper accrescat iccur IF Tityus wretched wight beheld my paines He would confesse his woundes to be but small A Vultur worse then his teares all my vaines Yet neuer lets me die nor liue at all Would Gods a while I might possesse his place To iudge of both which were in better case The Hell is darke wherein he suffreth smarte And wants not some Compartners of his gréefe I liue in Light and see what hurtes my hart But want some mourning mates for my releefe His Paine is iust rewarde his crimes were such My greatest fault is this I loue too much Why then since too much loue can breede offence Thou daung'rous Bird the roote of my desire Goe pearch elswhere remoue thy selfe from hence I freeze like Ile and burne like flaming fire Yet stay good Bird for if thou scare away Twixt Frost and Flame my dayes will soone decay LII Here the Authour after some dolorous discourse of his vnhappines and rehearsall of some particular hurtes which he susteineth in the pursute of his loue first questioneth with his Lady of his deserte and then as hauinge made a sufficiente proofe of his innocency perswadeth her to pitie him whom she herselfe hath hurte Moreouer it is to be noted that the first letters of all the verses in this Passion being ioyned together as they stand do conteine this posie agreeable to his meaning Amor me pungit vrit A AWâ—â—ld of woes doth raigne within my brest m My pensiue thoughtes are cou'red all with care o Of all that sing the Swanne doth please me best r Restraint of ioyes exiles my woonted fare M Mad mooded Loue vsurping Reasons place e Extremitie doth ouer rule the case P Paine drieth vp my vaines and vitall bloud u Unlesse the Saint I serue geue helpe in time n None els but she alone can do me good g Graunt then ye Gods that first she may not clime i Immortall heau'ns to liue with Saintes aboue t Then she vouchsafe to yeeld me loue for loue E Examine well the time of my distresse t Thou dainty Dame for whom I pine away V Unguyltie though as needes thou â—nust confesse r Remembring but the cause of my decay i In vewing thy sweete face arose my griefe t. Therefore in time vouchsafe me some reliefe LIII The two first partes of this Sonnet are an imitation of certaine Greeke verses of Theocritus which verses as they are translated by many good Poets of later dayes so moste aptlye and plainely by C. Vrcinus Velius in his Epigrammes hee beginneth thus Nuper apis furem pupugit violenter Amorem Ipsum ex alueolis clam mella fauosque legentem Cui summos manuum digitos confixit at ille Indoluit laesae tumuerunt vulnere palmae Flanxit humum saltu trepidans pulsauit ipsi Ostendens Veneri casum narrauit acerbum c. WHere tender Loue had laide han downe to sleepe A little Bee so stong his fingers end That burning ache enforced him to wéepe And call for Phebus Sonne to stand his frend To whome he cride I muse so small a thing Can pricke thus déepe with suche a little Sting Why so sweet Boy quoth Venus sitting by Thy selfe is yong thy arrowes are but small And yet thy shotte makes hardest harts to cry To Phebus Sunne she turned there withall And prayde him shew his skill to cure the sore Whose like her Boy had neuer felt before Then he with Herbes recured soone the wound Which being done he threw the Herbes away Whose force through touching Loue in selfe same ground By haplesse hap did breede my hartes decay For there they fell where long my hart had li'ne To waite for Loue and what he should assigne LIIII In this Passion the Authour boasteth howe sound a pleasure he lately enioyed in the companie of his Beloued by pleasing effectually all his fiue senses exterior and that through the onely benefite of her friendly presence and extraordinarie fauour towards him And in many choyse particulars of this Sonnet he imitateth here and there a verse of Ronsardes in a certaine Elegie to Ianet peintre du Roy which beginneth thus Pein moi Ianet pein moiie te supplie Dans ce tableau les beautés de m'amie De la façon c. WHat happie howre was that I lately past With her in whome I fedde my senses all With one sure sealed kisse I pleas'd my
speedie fauoure and goodwill alleaginge what hurte may growe through her longer delaye THat thing wherein mine eyes haue most delight Is greatest cause my heart doth suffer paine Such is the hurt that comes by wanton sight Which reason striues to vanquish all in vaine This onely sense more quicke then all the rest Hath kindled holie fire within my brest And so my mourning hearte is parching drie With sending sighes abroade and keeping care That néedes it must consume if longe if lye In place where such a flame doth make repare This flame is Loue whome none may well intreate But onely shee for wheme I suffer heate Then péerelesse Dame the ground of all my griefe Uoullâ—fe to cure the cause of my complainte No fauouâ—e els but thine can yeelde reliefe But helpe in time be ore I further fainte For Daunger growes by lingringe till the last And phisick hath no helpe when life is past LX The Authour groundeth this Passion vpon three poyntes In the first he sheweth howe he witting and wilfully followeth his owne hurt with such like words as Medea sometime vsed Video meliora proboque Deteriora sequor c. In the second he excuseth his fault vpon the maine force and tyrannie of Loue being the onely gouernour of his wil. And lastly he humbly entreateth his Lady for the restitution of his wonted libertie desiring her not to exact more of him then his abilitie of bodie or mind can well susteine according to the olde verse Pelle magis rabida nihil est de Vulpe pettendum WAs euer man whose Loue was like to mine I follow still the cause of my distresse My Hart foreseeing hurte doth yet encline To seeke the same and thinkes the harme the lesse In doing thus you aske me what I ayle Against maine force what reason can preuaile Loue is the Lord and Signor of my will How shall I then dispose of any deede By forced Bond he holdes my freedome still He duls each sense and makes my hart to bleede Thou Sacred Nimph whose vertue wanteth staine Agree with Loue and set me free againe Of this my weary Life no day shall fall Wherein my penne shall once thy praise forget No Night with sleepe shall close mine eyes at all Before I make recount of such a debt Then force me not to more then well I may Besides his Skinne the For hath nought to pay LXI The inuention of this Passion is borrowed for the most parte from Seraphine Son 125. Which beginneth Selgran tormento i fier fulmini accesi Perduti hauessi e li suoi strali Amore I n'ho tanti traffitti in meggio el core Che sol da me li potriano esser resi Ese de gli ampli mari in terra stesi Fusse priuo Neptuno io spando fore Lagryme tante che con piùliquore Potrebbe nuoui mari hauer ripresi c. IF Loue had lost his shaftes and Ioue downe threw His thundring boltes and spent his forked fire They onely might recou'red be anew From out my Hart croswounded with desire Or if Debate by Mars were lost a space It might be found within the selfe same place If Neptunes waues were all dride vp and gone My wéeping eyes so many teares distill That greater Seas might grow by them alone Or if no flame were yet remayning still In Vulcans forge he might from out my brest Make choise of such as should befit him best If Aeole were depriu'd of all his charge Yet soone could I restore his windes againe By sobbing sighes which sorth I blow at large To moue her mind that pleasures in my paine What man but I could thus encline his will To liue in Loue which hath no end of ill LXII That the vulgar sorte may the better vnderstand this PassioÌ„ I will briefly touch those whom the Author nameth herein being al camned soules as the Poets faine destinate vnto sundrie punishmentes Tantalus hauing his lippes still at the brinke of the riuer Eridanus yet dieth for thirst Ixion is tied vnto a wheele which turneth incessantly A vulture feeâ—eth vpon the bowels of Tityus which growe vp againe euer as they are deuoured Sisyphus rowleth a great rounde stoane vp a steepe hill which being once at the top preseÌ„tly falleth downe amaine Belides are fifty sisters whose continuall taske is to fill a bottomlesse tub full of water by lading in their pitchers full at once IN that I thirst for such a Goddesse grace As wantes remorse like Tantalus I die My state is equall to Ixions case Whose rented limm's ar turn'd eternally In that my tossing toyles can haue no end Nor time nor place nor chauÌ„ce will stand my friend In that my heart consuming neuer dyes I féele with Tityus an equall payne On whome an euer feeding Uultur lyes In that I ryse through hope and fall againe By feare like Sisyphus I labour still To turle a rowling stoane against the hill In that I make my vowes to her alone Whose eares are deafe and will reteine no sound With Belides my state is all but one Which sill a tub whose bottome is not sound A wondrous thing y â— Loue should make the wound Wherein a second Hell may thus be found LXIII Loue hath two arrowes as CoÌ„radus Celtis witnesseth in these two verses Per matris astrum per fera spicula Quae bina fert saeuus Cupido c. The one is made of leade the other of golde and either of them different in quality from the other The Authour therfore faineth in this Passion that when Cupid had strokeÌ„ him with that of lead soone after pittying his painefull estate he thought good to strike his beloued with the other But her brest was so hard that the shaft rebounding backe againe wounded Lone him selfe at vnawares Wherehence fell out these three inconueniences first that Loue himselfe became her thrall whome hee shoulde haue conquered then that she became proud where she should haue been frieÌ„dly and lastly that the Authour by this meanes despaireth to haue any recure of his vnquiet life therefore desireth a spee die death as alluding to those seÌ„teÌ„tious verses of Sophocles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which may be thus Englished paraphrastically What can it him auaile to liue a while Whome of all others euilles are betyde LOue hath two shaftes the one of beaten gold By stroake wherof a sweete effect is wrought The other is of lumpishe leaden mould And worketh none effect but what is nought Within my brest the latter of the twaine Breades feare feare thought and thought a lasting paine One day amongst the rest sweete Loue beganne To pitty mine estate and thought it best To perce my Deare with golde that she might scanne My case aright and turne my toyles to rest But from her brest more hard then hardest flint His shafte flewe backe and in him selfe made printe And this is cause that Loue doth stoup her lure Whose heart he
part 1. whose wordes are those Piu volte gia per dir le labbra apersi Poirimase la voce in mez z'lpetto Ma qual suon poria mai salir tant'alto Piu volte incominciai di scriuer versi Ma la penna e la mano e lo'ntelletto Rimaser vinto nel primier assalto WHen first these eyes behold with great delight The Phoenix of this world or second Sunne Her beames or plumes bewitched all my sight And loue encreast the hurte that was begunne Since when my griefe is grow'ne so much the more Because I finde no way to cure the soare I haue attempted oft to make complainte And with some dolefull wordes to tell my griefe But through my fearefull heart my voyce doth fainte And makes me mute where I shoulde craue releife An other while I thinke to write my paine But streight my hand laies downe the pen againe Sometimes my mind with heapes of doubtefull cares Conioyn'd with fawning hoapes is sore opprest And sometime suddeine ioy at vnawares Doth moue to much and so doth hurte my brest What man doth liue in more extréemes then these Where death doth séeme a life and paines doe please XL The sense contained in this Sonnet will seeme strange to such as neuer haue acquainted themselues with Loue and his Lawes because of the contrarieties mentioned therein But to such as Loue at any time hath had vnder his banner all and euery part of it will appeare to be a familier trueth It is almost word for word taken out of Petrarch where hee beginneth Pace non truouo e non ho da far guerra E temo e spero c All except three verses which this Authour hath necessarily added for perfecting the number which hee hath determined to vse in euery one of these his Passions I Ioy net peace where yet no warre is found I feare and hope I burne yet freeze withall I mount to heau'n yet lie but on the ground I compasse nought and yet I compasse all I liue her bond which neither is my soe Nor frend nor holdes me fast nor lets me goe Loue will not that I liue nor lets me die Nor lockes me fast nor suffers me to scape I want both eyes and tongue yet see and cry I wish for death yet after helpe I gape I hate my selfe but loue an other wight And féede on greefe in lieu of sweete delight At selfe same time I both lament and ioy I still am pleasd and yet displeased still Loue sometimes seemes a God sometimes a Boy Sometimes I sincke sometimes I swimme at will Twixt death and life small difference I make All this deere Dame befals me for thy sake XLI This Passion is framed vpon a somewhat tedious or too much affected continuation of that figure in Rhethorique whiche of the Grekes is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Latines Reduplicatio whereof Susenbrotus if I well remember me alleadgeth this example out of Virgill Sequitur pulcherrimus Austur Austur equo fidens O Happy men that finde no lacke in Loue I Loue and lacke what most I do desire My déepe desire no reason can remoue All reason shunnes my brest that's set one fire And so the fire mainetaines both force and flame That force auayleth not against the same One onely helpe can slake this burning heate Which burning heate procéedeth from her face Whose face by lookes bewitched my conceite Through which conceite I liue in woefull case O woefull case which hath no ende of woe Till woes haue ende by fauour of my foe And yet my foe maintetaineth such a Warre As all her Warre is nothing els but Peace But such a Peace as breedeth secreat Iarre Which Iarre no witte no force no time can cease Yet cease despaire for time by witte or force May force my frendly foe to take remorse XLII In this Passiō the Authour vnder colour of telling his dreame doth very cunningly and liuely praise his Mistres so farre forth as not onely to prefer her before Helen of Greece for excellencie of beautie but also before howe many soeuer are nowe liuing in this our age The dreame of it selfe is so plainely effectually set downe albeit in fewe wordes that it neede no further annotation to explaine it THis latter night amidst my troubled rest A Dismall Dreame my fearefull hart appald Whereof the somme was this Loue made a Feast To which all Neighbour Saintes and Gods were calde The cheere was more then mortall men can thinke And mirth grew on by taking in their drinke Then Ioue amidst his cuppes for seruice done Can thus to iest with Gaymede his boy I fame would finde for thée my preaty Sonne A fayrer Wife then Paris brought to Troy Why sir quoth he if Phebus stand my frend Who know's the world this géere will soone haue end Then Ioue replide that Phebus should not choose But do his best to finde the fayrest face And she once found should neither will nor choose But yéelde her selfe and chaunge her dwelling place Alas how much was then my hart affright Which bade me wake and watch my faire delight XLIII The sense or matter of this Passion is taken out of Seraphine in his Strambotti who writeth thus Se Salamandra in fiamma viue e in fuoco Non me stupisce quel che fà natura Macostei che è di giaccio io di fuoco E in mezo del mio cuor viue sicura Chi la defende in cosi ardente fuoco Che douendo sguagliar aiuenta dura Solo Amor di Natura aspro aduersario Che à suo dispetto vnisce ogni contrario THe Salamander liues in fire and flame And yet but wonder small in Natures worke By straunger force loue winnes away her fame As causing colde in midst of heat to lurke Who list of these my paines to take the view Will soone confesse that what I say is true For one as colde as hardest frozen yse Is fixed fast and lodgeth in my brest Whome reason can remoue by no deuise Nor any force can cause to let me rest And yet I still so swimme in hoate desire That more I burne then either flame or fire How straunge is this can contraries so grée That Ise in flame will neither waste nor melt But still encrease and harder growe to bée Then erst before all this my selfe haue felt For Loue Dame Natures foe without remorse Thus coopleth contraries in me by force XLIIII In this Passion the Authour misliketh one while his estate by and by after liketh of the same againe vppon hoape and likelyhoode of amendment throughout the whole Sonnet hee fayneth his Mistres to bee a Second Sunne and by expressinge his priuate infelicitie in either alwayes meltinge away with Loue or growinge stiffe throughe Death approachinge neere him by reason of dayly cares hee maketh allusion vnto the diuerse effectes of the Sunne whiche maketh the clay much harder and the wax
tast Mine eares with woordes which seemed Musicall My smelling with her breath like Ciuet sweete My touch in place where modestie thought meete But shall I say what obiectes held mine eye Her curled Lockes of Gold like Tagus sandes Her Forehead smooth and white as Iuory Where Glory State and Bashfullnes held handes Her Eyes one making Peace the other Warres By Venus one the other rul'd by Mars Her Egles Nose her Scarlate Cheekes halfe white Her Teeth of Orient Pearle her gracious smile Her dimpled Chinne her Breast as cleere as light Her Hand like hers who Tithon did beguile For worldly ioyes who might compare with mée While thus I fedde each sense in his degree LV The whole inuention of all this Passion is deducted out of Seraphine Sonnet 63. whose verses if you reade you will iudge this Authors imitatioÌ„ the more praise worthy these they are Come alma assai bramosa poco accorta Che mai visto hauea amor se non depinto Disposi vn di cercar suo Laberinto Vedere él monstro tanta gente morta Ma quel fil dèragion che chi per scorta Del qual fu tutto el ceco loco cinto Subito ahime fu da lui rotto vinto Talche mai piu trouar seppi la porta MY heedelesse hart which Loue yet neuer knew But as he was describ'd with Painters hand One day amongst the rest would needes goe view The Labyrinth of Loue with all his hand To see the Minotaure his ougly face And such as there lay slaine within the place But soone my guiding thrid by Reason spunne Wherewith I past a long his darkesome caue Was broake alas by him and ouerrunne And I perforce became his captiue slaue Since when as yet I neuer found the way To leaue that maze wherein so many stray Yet thou on whome mine eyes haue gaz'd so longe May'st if thou wilt play Ariadnaes part And by a second Thrid reuenge the wronge Which through deceit hath hurt my guiltlesse hart Uouchsafe in time to saue and set me free Which seeke and serue none other Saint but thee LVI The first Staffe of this Passion is much like vnto that inuention of Seraphuâ—e in his Strambotti where he saith Morte che vuoi te bramo Eccomi appresso Prendemi a che che manchi el mio dolore Non posso ohime non puoi non per adesso Perche pero che in te non regnail core c. The second Staffe somewhat imitateth an other of his Strambotti in the same leafe it beginneth thus Amor amor chi è quel che chiama tanto Vn tuo seruo fidel non ti conosco c. The Authour in the laste Staffe returneth to entreate Death a new to ende his dayes as being halfe perswaded that Loue would restore vnto him his hart againe COme gentle Death who cals one thats opprest What is thy will that thou abridge my woe By cutting of my life cease thy request I cannot kill thee yet alas why soe Thou want'st thy Hart. Who stoale the same away Loue whom thou seru'st intreat him if thou may Come come come Loue who calleth me so oft Thy Uassall true whome thou should'st know by right What makes thy cry so faint my voyce is softe And almost spent by wayling day and night Why then whats thy request that thou restore To me my Hart and steale the same no more And thou O Death when I possesse my Hart Dispatch me then at once why so By promise thou art bound to end my smart Why if thy Hart returne then whats thy woe That brought from colde It neuer will desire To rest with me which ani more hote then fire LVII Here the Authour cheerefully comforting himselfe rebuketh all those his frendes or others whatsoeuer which pitie his estate in Loue and groundeth his inuention for the moste part vpon the old Latine Prouerbe Consuetudo est altera natura Which Prouerbe hee confirmeth by two examples the one of him that being borne farre North seldome ketcheth colde the other of the Negro which beinge borne vnder a hote climate is neuer smoothered with ouermuch heate ALl yee that gréeue to thinke my death so néere Take pitie on your selues whose thought is blind Can there be Day vnlesse some Light appeare Can fire be colde which yeeldeth heate by kinde If Loue were past my life would soone decay Loue bids me hoape and hoape is all my stay And you that sée in what estate I stand Now hote now colde and yet am liuing still Persuade your selues Loue hath a mightie hand And custome frames what pleaseth best her wil A ling'ring vse of Loue hath taught my brest To harbor strife and yet to liue in rest The man that dwelles farre North hath seldome harme With blast of winters wind or nipping frost The Negro seldome féeles himselfe too warme If he abide within his nature coast So Loue in me a Second Nature is And custome makes me thinke my Woes are Blisse LVIII Aetna called in times past Inesia as Volaterranus witnesseth is a hollow hill in Sicilia whose toppe burneth continuallie the fire being maintained with a vaine of brimstone and other such like Mineralles which are within the said Mountaine Which notwithstanding the bottome of the hill is verie pleasant as well for the aboundance of sweete fruites and flowers as for the number of freshe springes and fountaines The Poetes faine that when Iuppiter had with his thunderboltes beaten downe the Gyantes of the earth which rebelled against heauen he did forthwith couer and oppresse them all with the weight of this hill Aetna These thinges being well considered together with the verse of Horace Deus immortalis haberi Dum cupit Empedocles ardeutem frigidus Aetnam Insiluit It may easily appeare why the Author in this passion compareth his heart vnto the hill THere is a monstrous hill in Sicill soyle Where workes that limping God which Vulcan hight And rebell Gyantes lurke whome Ioue did foyle When gainst the heau'ns they durst presume to fight The toppe thereof breathes cut a burning flame And Flora sittes at bottome of the same My swelling heart is such an other hill Wherein a blinded God beares all the swaye And rebell thoughtes resisting reasons skill Are bound by will from starting thence awaye The toppe thereof doth smoake with scalding smart And seldome ioyes obtaine the lowest parte Yet learne herewith the difference of the twaine Empedocles consum'd with Aetnaes fire When godheade there he sought but all in vaine But this my heart all flauming with desire Embraceth in it selfe an Angels face Which beareth rule as Goddesse of the place LIX The Author in this passion accuseth his owne eyes as the principall or onelie cause of his amorous infeliâ—itie wl er in his hearte is so oppressed continuallie with euils which are contrarie in them selues that reason can beare no swaye in the cause Therefore in the ende he instantlie entreatetâ— his Ladie of her
the last staffe of this sonnet he falleth into this fiction that whilest he greedelie laied open his eares to the hearing of his Ladies voice as one more then halfe in a doubt that Apollo him selfe had beene at hand Loue espiyng a time of aduantage transformed him selfe into the substance of aier and so deceitfullie entered into him with his owne great goodwill and desire and nowe by mayne force still holdeth his possession SOme that reporte great Alexanders life They say that harmonie so mou'd his mind That oft he roase from meat to warlike strife At sounde of Trumpe or noyse of battle kind And then that musickes force of softer vaine Caus'd him returne froÌ„ strokes to meat againe And as for me I thinke it nothing strange That musick hauing birth from heau'ns aboue By diuers tunes can make the minde to change For I my selfe in hearing my sweete Loue By vertue of her song both tasted griefe And such delight as yeelded some reliefe When first I gan to giue attentiue eare Thinking Apolloes voice did haunte the place I little thought my Lady had beene there But whilest mine eares lay open in this case Transform'd to ayre Loue entred with my will And nowe perforce doth kéepe possession still XV Still hee followeth on with further deuise vppon the late Melodie of his Mistres in this sonnet doth namelie preferre her before Musicke her selfe and all the three Graces affirming if either he or els Apollo bee ordeined a iudge to giue sentence of their desertes on either side that then his Ladie can not faile to beare both pricke and prize awaie NOwe Musicke hide thy face or blush for shame Since thou hast heard hir skill warbling voice Who far béefore thy selfe deseru's thy name And for a Science should bée had in choise Or if thou still thy title wilt retame Equall hir song with helpe of all thy traine But as I déeme it better were to yéelde Thy place to her to whom the price belonges Then after strife to léese both fame and field For though rude Satyres like of Marsias songes And Choridon estéeme his oaten quill Compare them with hir voice and both are ill Nay which is more bring forth the Graces thrée And each of them let sing hir song apart And who doth best twill soone appeare by mée When she shall make replie which rules my heart Or if you néedes will make Apollo iudge So sure I am to winne I néede not grudge XVI In this passion the Authour vpon the late sweete song of his Mistres maketh her his birde therwithall partlie describeth her worthines partlie his owne estate The one parte he sheweth by the coulour of her feathers by her statelie minde and by that souereintie which she hath ouer him the other by description of his delight in her companie and her strangenes drawing backe from a dewe acceptance of his seruice MY gentle birde which sung so swéete of late Is not like those that flie about by kind Her feathers are of golde shée wantes a mate And knowing wel her worth is proud of mind And wheras sâ—m do keepe their birds in cage My bird kéepes mée rules me as hir page She séedes mine eare with tunes of rare delight Mine eye with louing lookes my heart with ioy Wherhence I thinke my seruitude but light Although in déede I suffer great annoye And sure it is but reason I suppose He féele the pricke that séekes to pluck the Rose And who so mad as woulde not with his will Leese libertie and life to heare her sing Whose voice excels those harmonies that fill Elisian fieldes where growes eternall spring If mightie Ioue should heare what I haue hard She sure were his and all my market marde XVII The Authour not yet hauing forgotten the songe of his mistres maketh her in this passion a seconde Phoenix though not of Arabia and yet no lesse acceptable to Apollo then is that bird of Arabia And the cheife causes why Sol shoulde fauour hir he accounteth to be these two hir excellent beawtie and hir skill in musike of which two qualities Sol is well knowen to be an especiall cheife patrone and sometimes the only author or giuer of the same YF Poets haue done well in times long past To glose on trifling toyes of little price Why should not I presume to fame as fast Espying forth a ground of good deuise A Sacred Nimph is ground whereon ile write The fairest Nimph that euer yet saw light And since her song hath fild mine eares with ioye Hir vertues pleas'd my minde hir face mine eye I dare affirme what some will thinke a toy She Phoenix is though not of Arabie And yet the plumes about hir neck are bright And Sol him selfe in her hath chiefâ— delight You that will know why Sol afoordes her loue Séeke but the cawse why Peakocks draw the place Where Iuno sitts why Venus likes the Doue Or why the Owle befitts Mineruaes grace Then yf you grudge that she to Sol belonge Marke but hir face and heare hir skill in songe XVIII This sonnet is perfectly patheticall and consisteth in two principall pointes wherof the first coÌ„teyneth an accusatioÌ„ of Loue for his hurtfull effects vsuall tyrannie the second part is a sudden recantation or excuse of the Authors euill words by castinge the same vpon the necke of his beloued as being the onely cause of his late frenzy and blaspheamous rage so lauishly powred forth in fowle speaches LOue is a sowr delight a sugred greefe A liuinge death an euerdying life A breache of Reasons lawe a secret theefe A sea of teares an euerlasting strife A bayte for fooles a scourge of noble witts A Deadly wound a shotte which euer hitts Loue is a blinded God an angry boye A Labyrinth of dowbts an ydle lust A slaue to Beawties will a witles toy A rauening bird a tyraunt most vniust A burning heate A cold a flattringe foe A priuate hell a very world of woe Yet mightie Loue regard not what I saye Which lye in traunce berest of all my witts But blame the light that leades me thus astraye And makes my tongue blaspheme by frantike fitts Yet hurt her not lest I susteyne the smart which am content to lodge her in my heart XIX The Author in this passion reproueth the vsuall description of loue which olde Poetes haue so long time embraced and proueth by probabilities that he neither is a childe as they say nor blinde nor winged like a birde nor armed archer like with bowe arrowes neither frantike nor wise nor yet vncloathed nor to conclude anie God at all And yet wheÌ„ he hath said al he can to this end he cryeth out vpon the secret nature and qualitie of Loue as being that whereunto he can by no meanes attaine although he haue spent a long tedious course of time in his seruice IF Cupid were a childe as Poets faine How comes it then that Mars doth feare
his might If blind how chance so many to theire paine Whom he hath hitte can witnesse of his sight If he haue wings to flie where thinkes him best How happes he lurketh still within my brest If bowe and shaftes should be his chiefest tooles Why doth he set so many heartes on fire If he were madde how could he further fooles To whet theire wits as place and time require If wise how could so many leeze theire wittes Or doate through loue and dye in frantike sittes If naked still he wander too and froe How doth not Sunne or frost offend his skinne If that a God he be how falles it so That all wants end which he doth once beginne O wondrous thing that I whom Loue hath spent Can scarcely knowe him self or his intent XX In this passion the Authour being ioyfull for a kisse which he had receiued of his Loue compareth the same vnto that kisse which sometime Venus bestowed vpoÌ„ Aesculapius for hauing taken a Bramble out of her foote which pricked her through the hidden spitefull deceyte of Diana by whom it was laied in her way as Strozza writeth And hee enlargeth his inuention vppon the french prouerbiall speech which importeth thus much in effect that three things proceed from the mouth which are to be had in high account Breath Speech and Kissing the first argueth a mans life the second his thought the third and last his loue IN time long past when in Dianaes chase A bramble bush prickt Venus in the foote Olde Aesculapius healpt her heauie case Before the hurt had taken any roote Wherehence although his beard were crisping hard She yeelded him a kisse for his rewarde My lucke was like to his this other day When she whom I on earth do worship most In kissing me vouchsafed thus to say Take this for once and make thereof no bost Forthwith my heart gaue signe of ioy by skippes As though our soules had ioynd by ioyning lippes And since that time I thought it not amisse To iudge which were the best of all these three Her breath her speach or that her daintie kisse And sure of all the kisse best liked me For that was it which did reuiue my hart Opprest and almost deade with dayly smart XXI In the first staffe of this passion the Authour imitateth Petrarch Sonetto 211. Chi vuol veder quantunque può Natura El ciel tranoi venga à mirar costei c. And the very like sense hath Seraphine in one of his Strambotti where he beginneth thus Chi vuol â—eder gran cose altiere nuoue Venga a mirar costei laquale adoro Doue gratia dal ciel continuo pioue c. WHo list to vewe dame Natures cunning skil And see what heau'n hath added to the same Let him prepare with me to gaze his fill On her apasâ— whose gifts exceed y â— truÌ„p offaÌ„e But let him come a pase before she flye From hence to fixe her seate aboue the skye But Iunoes gift she beares a stately grace Pallas hath placed skill amdd'st her brest Venus her selfe doth dwell within her face Alas I faint to thinke of all the rest And shall I tell wherewith I most haue warres with those her eyes which are two heau'nly starres Theire beames drawe forth by great attractiue power My moistned hart whose force is yet so small That shine they bright or list they but to lowre It scarcely dare behold such lights at all But sobbes and sighes and saith I am vndonne No bird but Ioues can looke against the sunne XXII The substance of this passion is taken out of Seraphine sonetto 127. which beginneth thus Quando nascesti amor quando la terra Se rinueste di verde e bel colore Di che fusticreato d'vn ardore Che cio laesciuo in se rinchiude e serra c. But the Author hath in this translation inuerted the order of some verses of Seraphine and added the two last of himselfe to make the rest to seeme the more patheticall WHen werte thou borne sweet Loue who was thy sire WheÌ„ Flora first adornd Dame Tellus lap Then sprung I forth from Wanton hote desire Who was thy nurse to feede thée first with pap Youth first with tender hand bound vp my heade Then saide with Lookes alone I should be fed What maides had she attendant on her side To playe to singe to rocke thée fast a sleepe Vaine Nicenesse Beautie Faire and Pompous Pride By stealth when further age on thee did creepe Where didst thou make thy chiefe abiding place In Willing Hartes which were of gentle race What is't where with thou wagest warres with me Feare colde as Ise and Hope as hote as fire And can not age or death make end of thee No no my dying life still makes retire Why then sweete Loue take pittie on my paine Which often dye and oft reuiue againe XXIII The Author in this passion wisheth he were in like estate and condition with the Loooking Glasse of his mistres by that meanes the oftner to be made happie with her fauourable and faire aspect And in the last staffe he alludeth somewhat to the inueÌ„tion of Seraphine where he vseth these wordes in writing vpon the Glasse of his beloued Che ho visto ogni qual vetro render foco Quando è dal Sol percosso in qualche parte Eâ— Sol che in gliocchi toi dando in quel loco Douria per reflexion tutta infiammarte c. THou Glasse whetein that Sunne delightes to see Her own aspect whose beams haue dride my hart Would God I might possesse like state with thee And ioy some ease to quaile my bitter smart Thou gazest on her face and she on thine I see not hers nor she will looke on mine Once hauing lookt her fill she turnes thée froe And leaues thee though amaz'd yet wel content But carelesse of my cares will I or noe Still dwels within my breast with teares besprent And yet my hart to her is such a thrall That she drâ—â—'n out my life departs withall But thou deceitfull Glasse I feare with guyle Hast wrought my woes to shield thy selfe from ill Shot forth her beames which were in thee erewhile And burnt my tender brest against my will For Christall from it selfe reflectes the Sunne And fyres his coate which knows not how tis done XXIIII Seraphine in his Strambotti hath many prettie inuentions concerning the Lookingglasse of his Mistres wherhence many particulars of this passion are cunningly borrowed part beeing out of one place and part out of an other And in the latter end is placed this fiction by the Authour that Cupid shooting his arrowe from out the faire eies of his Mistres did so wounde him with loue and desire that nowe he is past all recure by any phisicke and therefore is faine to vse the olde verse Hei mihi ê™ nullis amor est medicabilis herbis THou glasse wherein my Dame hath such delight As when she braues then most
With coulours to set downe her comely face Who farre excells though Venus were in place Praxiteles might likewise stand in doute In metall to expresse her forme arighte Whose praise for shape is blowne the world throughout Nor Virgill could so good a verse indite As onely would suffise to tell her name Nor Homer with his Muse expresse her fame Tully whose speach was boulde in eu'ry cause Yf he were here to praise the Saint I serue The number of her giftes would make him pause And feare to speake how well she doth deserue Why then am I thus bould that haue no skill Enforst by Loue I shew my zealous will XXX In the first part of this Passion the Author prooueth that hee abideth more vnrest and hurt for his beloued then euer did Laeander for his Hero of which two paramours the mutuall feruency in Loue is most excellently set foorth by Musaeus the Greeke Poet. In the second part he compareth himselfe with Pyramus and Haemon king Creons Sonne of Thebes which were both so true hearted louers that through Loue they suffered vntimely death as Ouid. metam lib. 4. writeth at large of the one And the Greeke Tragedian Sophocles in Antig. of the other In the last in making comparison of his paynes in Loue to the paines of Orpheus descendinge to hell for his Eurydice he alludeth to those two verses in Strozza Tartara Cymba Charon Pluto rota Cerberus angues Cocytes Phlegeton Stix laepis vrna sitis WHat though Leander swamme in darksome night Through troubled Heles pont for Heroes sake And lost his life by losse of Sestus light The like or more my selfe do vndertake When eu'ry howre along the lingring yeare My ioye is drownde and hope blowne out with feare And what though Pyram spent his vitall breath For Thiebes sake or Haemon choase to die To follow his Antigone by death In harder case and worser plight am I Which loue as they but liue in dying still And faine would die but can not haue my will We reade that Orpheus with his Harpe of golde For his Euridice went downe to hell The toyle is more by that time all be tolde Which I endure for her whose heart is fell The Stigian Curre the Wheele the Stone the Fire And Furies all are plac't in my desire XXXI There needeth no annotation at all before this Passion it is of it selfe so plaine and easilye conuayed Yet the vnlearned may haue this helpe geuen them by the way to know what Galaxia is or Pactolus which perchaunce they haue not read off often in our vulgar Rimes Galaxia to omit both the Etimologie and what the Philosophers doe write thereof is a white way or milky Circle in the heauens which Ouid mentioneth in this manner Est via sublimis coelo manifesta sereno Lactea nomen habet candore not abilis ipso And Cicero thus in somnio Scipionis Erat autem is splendidissimo candore inter flammas circulus elucens quem vos vt a Graijs accepistis orbem lacteum nuncupatis Pactolus is a riuer in Lidia which hath golden sandes vnder it as Tibullus witnesseth in this verse Nec me regna inuant nec Lydius aurifer amnis WHo can recount the vertues of my deare Or say how farre her fame hath taken flight That can not tell how many starres appeare In part of heau'n which Galaxia hight Or number all the moates in Phebus rayes Or golden sandes whereon Pactolus playes And yet my hurts enforce me to confesse In crystall breast she shrowdes a bloudy hart Which hart in time will make her merits lesse Unlesse betimes she cure my deadly smart For nowe my life is double dying still And she defam'de by suffrance of such ill And till the time she helpes me as she may Let no man vndertake to tell my toyle But onely suche as can distinctly say What Monsters Nilus breedes or Affricke soyle For if he doe his labour is but lost Whilst I both frie and freeze twixt flame and frost XXXII Here the Author by fayning a troublesome dreame expresseth a full Passion of Loue. And how soeuer some wil conster of this kinde of Inuention it is euident that the like hath bin vsuall amongst those that haue excelled in the sweetest vaine of Poetrie And to let the rest goe it may please him that is curious to finde some president hereof to visite but the workes of Hercules Strozza who in his Somnium hath writteÌ„ so exquisitely that the Dreame will quite his trauaileâ— that shall peruse it with due attention IN Thetis lappe while Titan tooke his rest I slumbring lay within my restlesse bedde Till Morpheus vs'd a falsed soary iest Presenting her by whom I still am ledde For then I thought she came to ende my wo But when I wakt alas t'was nothing so Embracing ayre in steed of my delight I blamed Loue as authour of the guile Who with a second sléepe clozd vp my sight And said me thought that I must bide a while Ixions paines whose armes did oft embrace False darkned clouds in steed of Iunoes grace When I had laine and slumbred thus a while Rewing the dolefull doome that Loue assign'd A woman Saint which bare an Angels face â—ad me awake and ease my troubled minde With that I wakt forgetting what was past And sawe t'was Hope which helped thus at last XXXIII In this Sonnet the Authour is of opinion that his Mistres by the fatall appoyntement of destinie was from the beginning reserued to liue in these times and to bee the onely gouernesse subiect of his thoughtes whereas if either she had bene borne when Paris was to giue sentence vpon Ida for bestowing the Golden Apple she had as he supposeth bene preferred before Iuno Pallas and Venus moreouer supplied that place in the loue of kinge Priams sonne whiche Helen of Greece obteined or if shee had then liued when Bacchus tooke Ariadne to wife she had bene conuayed in her steede vnto that place in heau'n where nowe the Crowne of Ariadne called Corond Gnosia doth shine continuallie beinge beautified with greate varietie of lightsome starres WHen Priams sonne in midst of Ida plaine Gaue one the price and other two the foile If she for whome I still abide in paine Had liued then within the Troyan soile No doubt but hers had bene the golden ball Helen had scaped rape and Iroy his fall Or if my Dame had then enioyed life When Bacchus sought for Ariadnaes loue No doubt but she had onely bene his wife And flowne from hence to sit with Gods aboue For she excéedes his choise of Create so farre As Phebus doth excell a twinckeling starre But from the first all fates haue thus assign'd That she should liue in these our latter dayes I thinke to beare a sway within my minde And féede my thoughtes with frendly sweete delayes If so it be let me attend my chaunce And fortune pipe when I beginne to daunce XXXIIII
The Author in this Sonnet very highly commendeth the most rare excellencies of his mistres auouching her to haue no equall And he imitateth the second Sonnet Nelle rime di messer Agnolo Fiorenzuola the Florentine whose beginning is all one with that heere and this it is Deh le mie belle donne et amorose Ditemi il ver per vostra cortesia Non è chiara tra voi la donna mia Come e'l Sol chiar tratutte l'altre cose YE stately Dames whose beauties farre excell Of courtesie confesse at my request Doth not my Loue amongst you beare the bell As Phebus goulden rayes obscures the rest Of Planet Starres and dimmeth eu'ry light That shines in heau'n or earth by day or night Take wistly heed in vewing her sweete face Where nature hath exprest what cre she could Eather for bewties blaze or comely grace Since when to prize her worke she brake the moulde So that who seekes to finde her Equall out Intends a thing will nere be brought about Therefore sweete Ladies all voutchsafe with me To folow her desert and my desire By praysing her vnto the ninth degree For honour by due right is vertues hire And Enuies mouth must saye when all is donne No Bird but one is sacred to the sunne XXXV In this Passion the Authour as being blinded with Loue first compareth himselfe with Tiresias the old Soothsayer of Thebes whome Iuno depriued of sight but loue rewarded him with the spirit of prophecy Then he alludeth vnto Actaon And lastly he sheweth why he is in worse case then those which by vewing Medusaes heade were turned into stoanes leesing both life and light at once and so concludeth that olde accursed Oedipus of all other best befitteth him for a companion WHen first mine eyes were blinded with Desire They had newe seene a Second Sunne whose face Though cleere as beaten snowe yet kindled fire Within my brest and moulte my heart apase Thus learned I by proofe what others write That Sunne and fire and snowe offend the sight O ten times happie blinded Theban wight Whose losse of sight did make him halfe diume Where I alas haue lost both life and light Like him whose hornes did plague his heedles eyen And yet was he in better case then I Which neither liue nor can obtaine to dye All Perseus foes that sawe Medusaes heade By leesing shape and sense were quitte from thrall But I feele paines though blinde and double deade And was my selfe efficient cause of all Wherefore of all that ere did cease to see Old Oedipus were meetest mate for me XXXVI Here the Author misliketh of his wearisome estate in loue for that he neither obtaineth any fauour at the handes of his Mistres for his good thought or speach nor by his louinge lookes or presents nor by his humilitie in writing or long sufferance in seruitude And herehence he blameth her ouerhardnes of heart and the froward constellation of his owne natiuitie and therewithall abandoning all further desire of life hath in request vntimely death as the only end of his infelicitie EAch thought I thinke is frend to her I Loue I still in speach vse course of gentle workes My louing lookes are such as ought to moue My giftes as greate as mine estate affordes My letters tell in what a case I stand Though full of blots through fault of trembling hand I dewly daunce attendance as I may With hope to please and feare to make offence All sou'ramdie to her I graunt for aye And where she hurtes yet make I no defence Sobbes are the songe wherein I take delight And shew'rs of teares do dayly dimme my sight And yet all this doth make but small auaile Her heart is hard and neuer will relent No time no place no prayer can preuaile The heau'ns them selues disfauour mine intent Why should I then desire a longer life To weaue therein a webbe of endlesse strife The Author in this passion doth by manner of secret comparison preferre his beloued before all other women whatsoeuer and persuadeth vpon the examples of all sortes of Goddes whom loue hath ouertaken at one time or other that the worthines of his Mistres being well considered his owne fondnes in loue must of force be in it selfe excusable IF loue himselfe be subiect vnto Loue And cange the woodes to finde a mortall praie If Neptune from the seas himselfe remoue And seeke on sandes with earthly wightes to plaie Then may I loue my peerelesse choise by right Who farre excels each other mortall wight If Pluto could by loue be drawne from hell To yeeld him selfe a silly Virgins thrall If Phebus could voutsafe on earth to dwell To winne a rustike maide vnto his call Then how much more should I adore the sight Of her in whom the heau'ns themselues delight If cuntrie Pan might folowe Nymphe's in chase And yet through loue remaine deuoyd of blame If Satirs were excus'd for seeking grace To ioy the fruites of any mortall Dame Then why should I once doubt to loue her still On whom ne Goodes nor men can gaze theire fill XXXVIII In the firste staffe of this Passion the Authour expresseth howe fondly his friendes ouer trouble him by questioninge with him touching his loue or accidents thereof In the two last verses of the second staffe he imitateth those verses of Sophocles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which may be thus Englished That man which champion like will striue with Loue And combate hand to hand hath little witte For as he list he rules the Gods aboue And in the last he setteth downe his mind fully bent to persist constantly in the loue seruice of his Ladie like to that which Stephanus Forcatulus an excellent Ciuilian and one of the best Poetes of Fraunce for these many yeares wrote vnto his beloued Clytia Quin noctu pluuiuâ—â— citiùs mirabimur arcum Solque domo Hesperidum mane propinquus erit Quà m capiaâ— lepide me foeda obliuiâ— nymphae c SOme aske me when and how my loue begunne Some where it lies and what effectes it hath Some who she is by whome I am vndone Some what I meane to treade so lewde a path I answere all alike by answ'ring nought But ble'st is he whome Cupid neuer caughtâ— And yet I coulde if sorrowe woulde permit Tell when and howe I fix't my fancie first And for whose sake I lost both will and wit And choase the path wherein I liue accurst But such like deedes would breed a double feare For loue gainesaide growes madder then before But note herewith that so my thoughts are bound To her in whome my libertie lies thrall That if she would veutchsafe to salue my wound Yet force of this my loue should neuer fall Till Phoebus vse to rise from out the West And towardes night seeke lodging in the East XXXIX The second part of this Passion is borrowed from out the fifte Sonnet in Petrarch
softer then it was before THat Second Sunne whose beames haue dund my sight So scorched hath my hart and senses all That cloggd with cares and voide of all delight I onely seeke and sue to be her thrall Yet soe this heate increaseth day by day That more and more it hast neth my decay Sometimes I melt as if my limmes were wex Sometimes grow stiffe as if they were of clay Thrise happy he whome Loue doth neuer vexe Nor any Second Sunne doth mealt away Nay cursed I blaspheme the fayrest Light That euer yet was seene by day or night Perchaunce her parching heates will once repaire My hart againe and make me all anew The Phenix so reuiues amids the ayre By vertue of that Sunne which all men view The vertue of my Sunne exceedes the skye By her I shall reuiue though first I die XLV The Authour vseth in this Passion the like sense to that which he had in the last before it calling his Mistres a Second Sunne vpon earth wherewith Heauen it selfe is become in Loue But when he compiled this Sonnet he thought not to haue placed it amongst these his English toyes FOelices alij iuuenes quos blandula Cypris Aptos fecit amoribus Exoptare solent tenebrosa crepuscula noctis Aurorae maledicere At multo est mihi chara magis pulcherrima coniux Tythoni gelidi senis Dum venit in prima surgentis parte diei Et Soles geminos mihi Apperit moesto foelices reddit ocellos Quòd Soles videam duos Qui simili forma simili sic luce coruscant Et mittunt radios pares Vt Polus ipse nouo Terrae laqueatus amore Fâ—â— nmis inuideat meis Solis ignoto se torreat igne secundi Oblitus decoris sui Haud secus atque olim Cum veris prima venustas Multo flore superbijt Et nitidos primùm strophijs ornâre capillos Pulchri Naïadum chori XLVI Here the Author bewaileth the extremitie of his estate growinge dayly to be more troublesome then before and all through the hard hart of his beloued whome he therefore aptly compareth vnto a stony rocke which nothinge can moue or waste awaye but longe continuance of time And hereuppon after hauing longe striued with himselfe and his passions hee is quyetly resolued to haue patience so long to perseuer in the still hoping minde of a trewe louer till by long continuance of time Loue be induced to stande his friend ALl yee that loue compare your paines with mine Which voyde of hoape continue still her thrall Whose hart is hard and neuer will assigne A raunsome day nor once will bowat all Much like the stony rocke whose hardned side Will scarsely weare with course of time or tide And yet since time can weare each thinge away I will enforce my selfe to liue content Till so my thoughtes haue fed upon delay That Reason rule the roast and loue relent O vaine attempt in striuing with Dispaire I build nought els but castles in the ayre For why the Qunne may sooner shine by night And twinckling starres giue glimsinge sparkes by day Then I can earn to serue my Sweete delight Whome neither force nor time can driue away Therefore in hoape that loue will stand my frend I thus conclude Each thing but loue hath end XLVII This Passion conteineth a relation through out from line to line as from euery line of the first staffe as it standeth in order vnto euery line of the second staffe and from the second staffe vnto the third The oftener it is read of him that is no great clarke the more pleasure he shall haue in it And this posie a scholler set down ouer this Sonnet when he had well considered of it Tam casu quà m arte industria The two first lines are an imitation of Seraphine Sonnetto 103. Col tempo el Villanello al giogo mena El T or si fiero e si crudo animale Col tempo el Falcon s'vsa à menar l'ale Eritornare à te chiamando à pena IN time the Bull is brought to weare the yoake In time all haggred Haukes will stoope the Lures In time small wedge will cleaue the sturdiest Oake In time the Marble weares with weakest shewres More fierce is my sweete loue more hard withall Then Beast or Birde then Tree or Stony wall No yoake preuailes shee will not yeeld to might No Lure will cause her stoope she beares full gorge No wedge of woes make printe she reakes no right No shewre of teares can moue she thinkes I forge Helpe therefore Heau'nly Boy come perce her brest With that same shaft which rabbes me of my rest So let her feele thy force that the relent So keepe her lowe that she vouchsafe a pray So frame her will to right that pride be spent So forge that I may speede without delay Which if thou do Ile sweare and singe with ioy That Loue no longer is a blinded Boy XLVIII This Passion conteineth two principal pointes In the first are placed two similitudes in both which the Authour expresseth his own wilfulnes in loue In the second he compareth the beautifull eyes of his Mistresse vnto the eyes of the Basilique which killeth a man with his onely sight being a farre of whereof Lucan lib. 9. saith thus Sibilaque effundens cunctas terrentia pestes Ante venena nocens latè sibi submouet omne Vulgus in vacua regnat Basiliscus arena And Mantuan in like manner Natus in ardenti Libyae Basiliscus arena Vulnerat aspectu luminibusque necat LIke as the sillie Bird amids the night When Birders beate the bush and shake his nest He fluttring forth streight flies vnto the light As if it were the day newe sprong from East Where so his wilfull wings consume away That néedes he must become the Birders pray Or as the Flye when candles are alight Still playes about the flame vntill he burne Euen so my heart hath seene a heau'nly sight Wherehence againe it hardly can returne The beames thereof couteine such wondrous flame That Ioue him selfe would burne to see the same I meane a Virgins face whose beautie rare Much like the Basilique in Lybia soyle With onely sight is cause of all my care And loads my yeelding heart with endlesse toyle Yet needes I must confesse she hath more grace Then all the Nimphes that haunt Dianaes chase XLIX The Author in this Song bewrayeth his dayly Passions in loue to be so troublesome that to auoide the flames thereof hee gladly faine would yeelde himselfe to die were it not that he feareth a further inconuenience would then arise For he doubteth least those flames wherein his soule continuallye burneth shall make Charon afraide to graunt him passage ouer the Lake of Stix by reason his old withered boat is apt to take fire SO great a Light hath set my mind on fire That flesh and boane consume with secreat-flame Each vaine dries vp wit yéeldes to déepe desire I scarce
it out againe And cure me so that skarre should scarce appeare Or if Alcides shaft did make me bleed Machaons art would stand me in some steede But being as it is I must compare With fatall woundes of Telephus alone And say that he whose hand hath wrought my care Must eyther cure my fatall wounde or none Helpe therefore gentle Loue to ease my heart Whose paines encrease till thou withdraw thy dart LXIX In the first staffe of this Passion The Authour as one more then halfe drowping with despaire sorowfully recounteth some particular causes of his vnhappinesse in Loue. In the residue he entreateth a better aspecte of the Planets to the end that either his life may bee inclined to a more happie course or his death be hastned to end all his misery at once MY ioyes are donne my comfort quite dismay'd My weary wittes bewitch't with wanton will My will by Fancies headeles faulte betrayd Whose eyes on Beauties face are fixed still And whose conceyte Folly hath clouded soe That Loue concludes my heart must liue in woe But change aspect ye angry starres aboue And powrs diuine restore my liberty Or graunte that soone I may enioye my Loue Before my life incurre more misery For nowe so hotte is each assault I feele As woulde dissolue a heart more harde then steele Or if you needes must worke my deadly smart Performe your charge by hasting on my death In sight of her whose eyes enthrall my heart Both life and death to her I doe bequeath In hope at last she will voutsafe to say I rewe his death whose life I made away LXX In this passion the Authour some what a farre off imitateth an Ode in Gervasius Sepinus written to Cupid where hee beginneth thus Quid tenelle puer Pharetra vbinam est Vbi arcus referens acuta Lunae Bina cornua vbi flagrans Amoris fax vbi igneus ille arcus in quo De ipsis Coelicolis virisque victis Vinctisque ante iugum aureus triumphas Haud possent tua summa numina vnam Vnam vincere Virginem tenellam Qui fortes animos pudicae Elisae Fortioribus irrigans venenis Vicisti c. CVpid where is thy golden quiuer nowe Where is thy sturdy Bowe and where the fire Which made ere this the Gods themselues to bow Shall she alone which forceth my Desire Report or thinke thy Godhead is so small That she through pride can scape from being thrall Whilom thou ouercam'st the stately minde Of chast Elisa queene of Carthage land And did'st constraine Pasiphae gainst her kind And broughtest Europa faire to Creta sande Quite through the swelling Seas to pleasure Ioue Whose heau'nly heart was touch't with mortall loue Thus wert thou wunt to shewe thy force and slight By conqu'ring those that were of highest race Where nowe it seemes thou changest thy delight Permitting still to thy no small disgrace A virgin to despise thy selfe and me Whose heart is hers where ere my body be LXXI The Authour writeth this Sonnet vnto his very friend in excuse of his late change of study manners and delights all happening through the default of Loue. And here by examples he proueth vnto him calling him by the name of Titus as if him selfe were Gysippus that Loue not onely worketh alteration in the mindes of men but also in the very Gods them selues and that so farre forth as first to drawe them from their Celestiall seates and functions and then to ensnare them with the vnseemely desire of mortall creatures a Passion ill befitting the maiesty of their Godheads ALas deere Titus mine my auncient frend What makes thee muse at this my present plight To sée my woonted ioyes enioy their end And how my Muse hath lost her old delight This is the least effect of Cupids dart To change the minde by wounding of the heart Alcides fell in loue as I haue done And layd aside both club and Lions skinne Achilles too when he faire Bryses wunne To fall from warres to wooing did beginne Nay if thou list suruey the heau'ns aboue And sée how Gods them selues are chang'd by Loue Ioue steales from skies to lye by Laedaes side Arcas descendes for faire Aglaurus sake And Sol so soone as Daphne is espied To followe her his Chariot doth forsake No meruaile then although I change my minde Which am in loue with one of heau'nly kinde LXXII In this Sonnet The Authour seemeth to specifie that his Beloued maketh her aboade in this our beautifull and faire Citty of London situate vpon the side of the Themse called in latine Thamesis And therefore whilst he faineth that Thamesis is honourably to be conueyed hence by all the Gods towardes the Palace of old Nereus he seemeth to growe into some iealosie of his mistres whose beautie if it were as well known to thē as it is to him it would as he saith both deserue more to be honoured by thē and please Tryton much better then Thamesis although she be the fairest daughter of old Oceanus OCeanus not long agoe decreed To wedd his dearest daughter Thamesis To Tryton Neptunes sonne and that with speede When Neptune sawe the match was not amisse Hee prayde the Gods from highest to the least With him to celebrate the Nuptiall feast Ioue did descend with all his heau'nly trayne And came for Thamesis to London side In whose conduct each one imployd his paine To reuerence the state of such a Bride But whilst I sawe her led to Nereus Hall My iealous heart begann to throbb withall I doubted I lest any of that crewe In fetching Thamesis shoud see my Loue Whose tising face is of more liuely hewe Then any Saintes in earth or heau'n aboue Besides I fear'd that Tryton would desire My Loue and let his Thamesis retyre LXXIII Here the Author by faining a quarrell betwixt Loue and his Heart vnder a shadow expresseth the tyrannie of the one the miserie of the other to sturre vp a just hatred of the ones iniustice and cause due compassion of the others vnhappines But as he accuseth Loue for his readines to hurt where he may so he not excuseth his Heart for desiring a faire imprisonment when he neded not thereby specifying in Loue a wilfull malice in his Heart a heedlesse follie I Rue to thinke vpon the dismall day When Cupid first proclamed open warre Against my Hearte which fledde without delay But when he thought from Loue to be most farre The winged boy preuented him by flight And led him captiuelyke from all delight The time of triumph being ouerpast He scarcely knewe where to bestowe the spoile Till through my heedlesse Heartes desire at last He lockt him vp in Tower of endlesse toyle Within her brest whose hardned wil doth vexe Her silly ghest softer then liquid wex This prison at the first did please him well And seem'd to be some earthly Paradise Where now alas Experience doth tell That Beawties bates can make the simple wise And biddes him
He tyres their limines and doth bewitch their minde And makes within them selues a lasting warre Reason with much adoe doth teach me this Though yet I cannot mend what is a misse LXXIX The Auhour in this Passion seemeth vppon mislike of his wearisome estate in loue to enter into a deepe discourse with him selfe touching the particular miseries which befall him that loueth And for his sense in this place hee is very like vnto him selfe where in a Theame diducted out of the bowelles of Antigone in Sophocles which he lately translated into Latine and published in print he writeth in very like manner as followeth Mali quando Cupidimis Venas aestus edax occupat intimas Artes ingenium labitur in malas Iactatur variè nec Cereris subit Nec Bacchi studium peruigiles trahit Noctes eura animum sollicita atterit c. And it may appeare by the tenour of this Passion that the Authour prepareth him selfe to fall from Loue and all his lawes as will well appeare by the sequell of his other Passions that followe which are all made vpon this Posie My Loue is past VVHere heate of loue doth once possesse the heart There cares oppresse the minde with wondrous ill Wit runns awrye not fearing future smarte And fond desire doth euermaster will The belly neither cares for meate nor drinke Nor ouer watched eyes desire to winke Footsteps are false and waur'ing too and froe The brightsome flow'r of beauty fades away Reason retyres and pleasure brings in woe And wisedome yeldeth place to black decay Counsell and fame and friendship are contem'nd And bashfull shame and Gods them selues condem'nd Watchfull suspect is linked with despaire Inconstant hope is often drown'd in feares What folly hurtes not fortune can repayre And misery doth swimme in Seas of teares Long vse of life is but a lingring ioe And gentle death is only end of woe LXXX MY LOVE IS PAST ALL such as are but of indiffereÌ„t capacitie and haue some skill in Arithmetike by viewing this Sonnet following compiled by rule and number into the forme of a piller may soone iudge howe much art study the Author hath bestowed in the same Where in as there are placed many preaty obseruations so these which I will set downe may be marked for the principall if any man haue such idle leasure to looke it ouer as the Authour had wheÌ„ he framed it First therfore it is to be noted that the whole piller except the basis or foote thereof is by relation of either halfe to the other Antitheticall or Antisillabicall Secondly how this posie Amare est insanire ruÌ„neth twyse through out y e Columne if ye gather but the first letter of euery whole verse orderly excepting the two last and then in like manner take but the last letter of euery one of the said verses as they stand Thirdly is to bee obserued that euery verse but the two last doth end with the same letter it beginneth and yet through out the whole a true rime is perfectly obserued although not after our accustomed manner Fourthly that the foote of the piller is Orchematicall y e is to say founded by transilition or ouer skipping of number by rule and order as from 1 to 3 5 7 9 the secret vertue whereof may be learned in Tâ—ithemius as namely by tables of transilition to decypher any thing that is written by secret transposition of letters bee it neuer so cunningly conueighed And lastly this obseruation is not to be neglected that when all the foresaide particulars are performed the whole piller is but iust 18. verses as will appeare in the page following it Per modum expansionis LXXXI A Pasquine Piller erected in the despite of Loue. A 1 At 2 last though 3 late farewell 4 olde well a da A m 5 Mirth or mischance strike a 6 vp a newe alarM And m 7 Cypria la nemica r 8 miA Retire to Cyprus Ile a e 9 cease thy waRR Els must thou proue how r E 10 Reason can by charmE Enforce to flight thy e s 11 blindsolde bratte thee So frames it with mee now E t 12 that I confesS The life I ledde in Loue deuoyde â— I 12 of resT It was a Hell where none felte more then I â—â—â— n 11 Nor anye with lyke miseries forlorN Since n s 10 therefore now my woes are wexed lesS And s a 9 Reason bidds mee leaue olde welladA a n 8 No longer shall the worlde laughe mee i 7 to scorN I'le choose a path that n r 6 shall not leade awrie Rest i 5 then with mee from your 4 blinde Cupids carR r e. 3 Each one of 2 you that 1 serue 3 and would be 5 srcE H'is dooble thrall e. 7 that liu's as Loue thinks best whose 9 hande still Tyrant like to hurte is preste LXXXII Expansio Columnae praecedentis A At last though late farewell olde wellada A m Mirth for mischaunce strike vp a newe alarm m a And Ciprya la nemica mia a r Retyre to Cyprus Ile and cease thy warr r e Els must thou proue how Reason can by charme e E Enforce to flight thy blyndfold bratte and thee E s So frames it with me now that I confess s t The life I ledde in Loue deuoyd of â—est t I It was a Hell where none felt more then I I n Nor any with like miseries forlorn n s Since therefore now my wors are wexed less s a And Reason bids me leaue olde welâ—â—da a n No longer shall the world laugh me to scorn n i I'le choose a path that shall not leade awri i r Rest then with me from your blinde Cupids carr r e. Each one of you that serue and would be free â— â—H'is double thrall that liu's as Loue thinks best Whose hand still Tyrant like to hurt is prest LXXXIII In this Sonnet the Author hath imittaed one of Rionsardes Odes which beginneth thus Les Muses lierent vn iour De chaisnes de roses Amour Et pour le garder le donnerent Aus Graces à la Beautè Qui voyans sa desloyautè Sus Parnasâ—l ' emprisonnerent c. THe Muses not long since intrapping Loue In chaiâ—es of roases linked all araye Gaue Beawrie charge to watch in there behoue With Graces three lest he should wend awaye Who fearing yet he would escape at last On high Parnaslus toppe they clapt him fast When Venus vnderstoode her Sonne was thrall She made post haste to haue God Vulcans ayde Solde him her Gemmes and Ceston therewithall To ransome home her Sonne that was betraide But all in â—ame the Muses made no stoare Of gold but bound him faster then before Therefore all you whom Loue did ere abuse Come clappe your handes with me to see him thrall Whose former deedes no reason can ercuse For killing those which hurt him not at all My selfe by him was lately led awrye Though now at last I force my loue to dye
c. 3. Seneca Amor est ociosae causa sollicitudinis 4. Propertius Errat qui finem vesani quaerit amoris 5. Horatius Semper ardentes acueÌ„s sagittas 6. Xenophon scribit amorem esse igne flamma flagrantiorem quòd ignis vrat tangentes et proxima tantuÌ„ cremet amor ex longinquo spectante torreat 7. Calenti Plurima Zelotipo sunt in amore mala 8. Ouidius Inferet arma tibi saeua rebellis amor 9. Pontanus Si vacuum sineret perfidiosus amor 10. Marullus Quid tantum lachrimis meis proterue Insultas puer 11. Tibullus At lasciuus amor rixae mala verba ministrat 12. Virgilius Bellum saepe petit ferus exitiale Cupido LOue hath delight in sweete delicious fare Loue neuer takes good Counsell for his frende Loue author is and cause of ydle care Loue is distraught of witte and hath no end Loue shoteth shaftes of burning hote desire Loue burneth more then eyther flame or fire Loue doth much harme through Iealosies assault Loue once embrast will hardly part againe Loue thinkes in breach of faith there is no fault Loue makes a sporte of others deadly paine Loue is a wanton Childe and loues to brall Loue with his warre bringes many soules to thrall These are the smallest faultes that lurke in Loue These are the hurtes which I haue cause to curse to curse These are those truethes which no man can disproue These are such harmes as none can suffer worse All this I write that others may beware Though now my selfe twise frée from all such care XC In this Latine passion the Authour translateth as it were paraphrastically the Sonnet of Petrarch which beginneth thus Tennemi Amor anni vent ' vno ardendo Lieto nel foco eâ—nel duol pien dispeme c. But to make it serue his owne turne he varieth from Petrarches wordes where he declareth howe manie yeares he liued in loue as well before as since the death of his beloued Lawra Vnder which name also the Authour in this Sonnet specifieth her whom he lately loued ME sibi ter binos annos vnum subegit Diuus Amor latusque fui licet ignibus arsi Spemque habui certam curis licèt ictus acerbis Iamque duos alios exutus amore perêgi Ac si sydereos mea Laura volârit in orbes Duxerit et secum veteris penetralia cordis Pertaesum tandem vitae me panitet actae Et pudet erroris peâ—è absumpsisse sub vmbra Semina virtutum Sed qua pars vltima restat Supplice mente tibi tandem Deus alte repono Et malè transactae deploro temporae vitae Cuius agendus erat meliori tramite cursus Litis in arcendae studijs et pace colenda Ergò summe Deus per quem sum clausus in isto Carcere ab aeterno saluum fac esse periclo XCI In the latter part of this Sonnet the Authour imitateth those verses of Horace Me tabula saeer Votiua paries indicat vuida Suspendisse potenti Vestimenta maris Deo Whom also that renowned Florentine M. Agnolo Firenzâ—ola did imitate long agoe both in like manner and matter as followeth O miseri coloro Che non prouar di donna fede mai Il pericol ch'io corsi Nel tempestoso mar nella procella Del lor cradel Amore Mostrar lo può lataeuoletta posta Eâ—le vesti ancor molli Sospese al tempio del horrendo Dio Di questo mar crudele YE captiue soules of blindefold Cyprians boate Marke with aduise in what estate yee stande Your Boteman neuer whistles mearie noate And Folly keeping sterne still puttes from lande And makes a sport to tosse you to and froe Twixt sighing windes and surging waues of woe On Beawties rocke she runnes you at her will And holdes you in suspense twixt hope and feare Where dying oft yet are you liuing still But such a life as death much better were Be therefore circumspect and follow me When Chaunce or chaunge of maners sets you frée Beware how you returne to seas againe Hang up your votiue tables in the quyre Of Cupids Church in witnesse of the paine You suffer now by forced fond desire Thou hang your through wett garmentes on the wall And sing with me That Loue is mixt with gall XCII Here the Author by comparing the tyrannous delightes and deedes of blinde Cupid with the honest delightes deedes or other his fellow Goddestes and Gods doth blesle the time and howre that euer he forsooke to follow him whom he confesseth to haue bene greate forcible in his doings though but litle of stature and in apparence weakelie Of all the names here mentioned Hebe is seldomest redde wherfore know they which know it not alreadie that Hebe as Seruius writeth is Iunoes daughter hauing no father now wife to Hercules and Goddesse of youth and youthlie sporting and was cupbearer to Ioue till she fell in the presence of all the Goddes so vnhappelie that they sawe her priuities whereupon Ioue being angry substituted Ganimedes into her office and place PHebus delightes to view his Lawrel Tree The Popplar pleaseth Hercules alone Melisla mother is and fautrix to the Bee Pallas will weare the Oliue branche or none Of shepheardes and theire flocke Pales is Quene And Cores rypes the corne was lately gréene To Chloris eu'ry flower belonges of right The Dryade Nimphs of woodes make chiefe accoumpt Oreades in hills haue theire delight Diana doth protect each bubblinge Fount To Hebe louely kissing is asign'd To Zephire eu'ry gentle breathing winde But what is Loues delight to hurt each where He cares not whome with daites of deepe desire With watchfull iealosie with hope with feare With nipping cold and secrete flames of fire O happye howre wherein I did forgoe This litle God so greate a cause of woe XCIII In the first and sixt line of this Passion the Authour alludeth to two sentencious verses in Sophocles whereof the first is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O foole in euills fretting nought auailes The second 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For who can make vndon what once is done In the other two staffes following the Authour pursueth on his matter beginning and ending euery line with the selfe same sillable he vsed in the first wherein hee imitateth some Italian Poets who more to trie their witts hen for any other conceite haue written after the like manner MY loue is past woe woorth the day and how'r When to such folly first I did encline Whereof the very thought is bitter sow'r And still would hurte were not my soule diuine Or did not Reason teach that care is vaine For ill once past which cannot turne againe My Loue is past blessed the day and how'r When from so fond estate I did decline Wherein was little sweet with mickle sow'r And losse of minde whose substance is diuine Or at the lest expence of time in vaine For which expence no Loue returneth