on thée to gaze I maruel howe her beames that are so bright Do neuer cause thy brittle sides to craze Thou should'st by reason mealt or easly breake To feele such force thy substance being weake For when she first with seeming stately grace Bestowd on me a louing sweete regard The beames which then proceeded from her face Were such as for the same I found no warde But needes persorce I must become content To mealt in minde till all my wittes were spent And therewithall Cupido plaid his part He shotte a shaft throughout her christall eyes Wherewith he clest in twaine my yeelding heart And this is cause my panting heart still cries I breake I mealt helpe heau'ns in my behoue No herbe doth growe whose vertue cureth loue XXV It is to be considered in reading this Passion howe in some answeres the accent or poynting of the wordes is altered and therewithall howe the Authour walking in the woods and bewayling his inward passion of Loue is contraried by the replies of Echo whose meaning yet is not so much to gainsay him as to expresse her owne miserable estate in daily cōsuming away for the loue of her beloued Narcissus whose vnkindnes Ouid describeth at large together with the extreme loue of Echo Author IN all this world I thinke none lou's but I. Echo None lou's but I. Auth. Thou foolish tattling ghest In this thou telst a lie Echo thou telst a lie Author Why Loue him selfe he lodgeth in my brest Echo He lodgeth in my brest Auth. I pine for griefe And yet I want reliefe Echo I want reliefe Author No starre more faire then she whom I adore Echo Then he whom I adore Auth. Herehence I burne Stil more and more Echo I burne stil more and more Author Loue let my heart returne Echo my heart returne Auth. Is then the Saint for whom thou makest mone And whom I loue but one Echo I loue but one Author O heau'ns is there in loue no ende of ills Echo In loue no ende of ills Auth. Thou pratling voyce Dwelst thou in th' ayre or but in hollow hills Echo In hollow hills Auth. Cease of to vaunt thy choyse Echo Cease of to vaunt thy choyse Auth. I would replie But here for loue I die Echo for loue I die XXVI Here the Author as a man ouertaken with some deepe melancholie compareth him selfe vnto the Nightingale and conferreth his vnhappie estate for that by no meanes his Mistresse will pitie him with her nightly complaints to whose harmonie all those that giue attentiue eare they conceiue more delight in the musicall varietie of her noates then they take iust compassion vpon her distressed heauines WHen Maye is in his prime and youthfull spring Doth cloath the tree with leaues and ground with flowres And time of yere reuiueth eu'ry thing And louely Nature smiles and nothing lowres Then Philomela most doth straine her brest With night-complaints and sits in litle rest This Birds estate I may compare with mine To whom fond loue doth worke such wrongs by day That in the night my heart must néedes repine And storme with lighes to ease me as I may Whilst others are becalmd or lye them still Or sayle secure with tide and winde at will And as all those which heare this Bird complaine Conceiue in all her tunes a sweete delight Without remorse or pitying her payne So she for whom I wayle both day and night Doth sport her selfe in hearing my complaint A iust reward for seruing such a Saint XXVII In the first sixe verses of this Passion the Author hath imitated perfectly sixe verses in an Ode of Ronsard which beginneth thus Celui qui n'ayme est malheureux Et malheureux est l'amoureux Mais la misere c And in the last staffe of this Passion also he commeth very neere to the sense which Ronsard vseth in an other place where he writeth to his Mistresse in this maner En veus tu baiser Pluton La bas apres che Caron T'aura mise en sanacelle V Nhappy is the wight thats voide of Loue And yet vnhappie he whom Loue torments But greatest griefe that man is forc't to proue Whose haughtie Loue not for his loue relents But hoysing vp her sayle of prowd disdaine For seruice done makes no returne of gaine By this all you which knowe my tickle state May giue deserued blame to whom I serue And say that Loue hath miserie to mate Since labour breedes but losse and letts me sterue For I am he which liues a lasting thrall To her whose heart affords no grace at all She hopes perchance to liue and flourish still Or els when Charons boate hath felt her peaze By louing lookes to conquer Plutoes will But all in vaine t'is not Proserpin's ease She neuer will permit that any one Shall ioy his Loue but the her selfe alone XXVIII In this Passion the Authour doth very busilie imitate angment a certaine Ode of Ronsard which hee writeth vnto his Mistres he beginneth as followeth Plusicurs de leurs cors denués Se sont veuz en diuerse terre Miraculeusement ninés L'vn en Serpent l'autre en Pierre L'vn en Fleur l'autre en Arbriffeau L'vn en Loup c MAny haue liu'd in countreys farre and ny Whose heartes by Loue once quite consum'd away Strangely their shapes were changed by and by One to a Flow'r an other to a Bay One to a Streame whose course yet maketh mone One to a Doue an other to a Stone But harke my Deere if wishing could preuaile I would become a Christall Mirrour I Wherein thou might'st behold what thing I aile Or els I would be chang'd into a Flie To tast thy cuppe and being dayly ghest At bord and bedde to kisse thee mid'st thy rest Or I would be Perfume for thee to burne That with my losse I might but please thy sinell Or be some sacred Spring to serue thy turne By bathing that wherein my heart doth dwell But woe is me my wishing is but vaine Since fate bidds Loue to work my endlesse paine XXIX The Authour in this Sonnet in a large maner setteth forth the surpassinge worthines of his Ladie reporting her beawtie and forme to be so singuler that neither Appelles can perfectly drawe her portraicte nor Praxiteles trewly frame her image and likenes in any kinde of mettall And the like vnablenes he awardeth vnto Virgill and Homer the two Paragons of Poetrye if they should but once endeuour to praise her And the like insufficiencie he sayeth would be found in Tullie him selfe if he should endeuour to commend her And thē finally he excuseth his owne bould hardines shewed in praysing her vpon the forcible extremitie which he abideth in Loue and the earnest desire which he hath to please SUch is the Saint whom I on earth adore As neuer age shall know when this is past Nor euer yet hath like byn séene before Apelles yf he liu'd would stand agast
LXXXIIII The Authour in this Sonnet expresseth his mallice towardes Venus and her Sonne Cupid by currying fauour with Diana and by suing to haue the selfe same office in her walkes and forrest which sometimes her chast and best beloued Hippokins enioyed Which Hippolitus as Seruius witnesseth dyed by the false deceipt of his Stepmother Phaedra for not yeelding ouer himselfe vnto her incestuous loue whereuppon Senâ—ca writeth thus Iuuenisque castus crimine incestae iacet Pudicus insons DIana since Hippolytus is deade Let me enioy thy fauour and his place My might through will shall stand thée in some steade To driue blinde Loue and Venus from thy chase For where they lately wrought me miekle woe I vow me nowe to be theire mortall foe And doe thou not mistrust my chastetie When I shall raunge amidst thy virgine traine My raynes are chastned so through miserie That Loue with me can nere preuaile againe The childe whose finger once hath felt the fire To playe therewith will haue but sinale desire Besides I vow to heare a watchful eye Discou'ring such as passe along thy groue If Iuppiter him selfe come loytring by Ile call thy crew and bid them fly from Ioue For if they stay he will obtaine at last What now I loathe because my loue is past LXXXV The cheifest substance of this Sonnet is borrowed out of certeine Latin verses of Strozza a noble man of Italy and one of the best Poëts in all his age who in describing Metaphorically to his friend Antonius the true forme of his amorous estate writeth thus Vnda hic sunt Lachrima Venti suspiria Remi Vota Error velum Mens malesana Ratis Spes Temo Curae Comites Constantia Amoris Est malus Dolor est Anchora Nauita Amor c. THe souldiar worne with warres delightes in peace The pilgrime in his ease when toyles are past The ship to gayne the porte when stormes doe cease And I reioyce from Loue dischargâ—d at last Whome while I seru'd peace rest and land I lost With grieusome wars with toyles with storm's betost Sweete liberty nowe giues me leaue to sing What worlde it was where Loue the rule did beare Howe â—oolish Chaunce by lottes rul'd euery thing Howe Error was maine saile each waue a Teare The master Loue him selfe deepe sighes were winde Cares rowd with vowes the ship vumery minde False hope as healme oft turn'd the boat about Inconstant faith stood vp for middle mâ—aste Despaire the cable twisted all with Doubt Held Griping Griefe the pyked Anchor fast Beautie was all the rockes But I at last Am now twise free and all my loue is past LXXXVI The sense of this Sonnet is for the most part taken out of a letter which Aeneas Syluius wrote vnto his friend to persuade him that albeit he lately had published the wanton loue of Lucretia and Euryalus yet hee liked nothing lesse then such fond Loue and that he nowe repented him of his owne labour ouer idlely bestowed in describing the same SWeete liberty restores my woonted ioy And bids me tell how painters set to viewe The forme of Loue They painte him but a Boy As working most in mindes of youthfull crewe They set him naked all as wanting shame To keepe his secret partes or t' hide the same They paint him blinde in that he cannot spy What diffrence is twixt vertue and default With Boe in hand as one that doth defie And cumber heedelesse heartes with fierce assault His other hand both hold a brand of fire In signe of heate he makes through hot desire They giue him winges to flie from place to place To note that all are wau'ring like the winde Whose liberty fond Loue doth vnce deface This forme to Loue old paynters haue assignd Whose fond effects if any list to proue Where I make end let them begin to Loue. LXXXVII The Authour in the firste staffe of this Sonnet expresseth how Loue first went beyond him by persuading him that all was golde which glistered In the second hee telleth how time broughte hym to trueth and Trueth to Reason by whose good counsell he found the way from worse to better did ouergoe the malice of blinde Fortune In the third staffe he craueth pardon at euery man for the offences of his youth and to Loue the onely cause of his long errour hee geueth his vltimum â—ale YOuth made a fault through lightnes of Beléefe Which fond Beleefe Loue placed in my brest But now I finde that Reason giues◠〈◊〉 And time shewes Trueth and Wit thats bought it best Muse not therefore although I chaunge my vaine He runnes too farre which neuer turnes againe Henceforth my mind shall haue a watchfull eye Ile scorne Fond Loue and practise or the same The wisedome of my hart shall soone descâ—ie Each thing thats good from what deserueth blame My song shalbe Fortune hath spâ—tte her spight And Loue can hurt no more withall his might Therefore all you to whome my courâ—e is knowne Thinke better comes and pardon what is past I find that all my wildest Oates are sowne And Ioy to see what now I see at last And since that Loue was cause I trode a wry I heere take off his Bels and let him flie LXXXVIII This whole Sonnet is nothing els but a briefe and pithy morall and made after the selfe same vaine with that which is last before it The two first staffes excepting onely the two first verses of all expresse the Authours alteration of minde life and his change from his late vaine estate and follies in loue by a metaphore of the shipmaÌ„ which by shipwrakes chaunce is happely restoared on a sodeine vnto that land which he a long time had most wished for I Long maintayned warre gainst Reasons rule I wandred pilgrime like in Errors maze I sat in Follies ship and playde the foole Till on Repentance rocke hir sides did craze Herewith I learne by hurtes alreadie past That each extreme will change it selfe at last This shipwrackes chance hath set me on a shelfe Where neither Loue can hurte me any more Nor Fortunes hand though she enforce her selfe Discretion graunts to set me safe on shoare Where guile is fettred fast and wisedome rules To punish heedeles hearts and wilfull fooles And since the heau'ns haue better lot assign'd I feare to burne as hauing felte the fire And proofe of harmes so changed hath my minde That witt and will to Reason doe retyre Not Venus nowe nor Loue with all his snares Can drawe my witts to woes at vnawares LXXXIX The two first staffes of this Sonnet are altogether sententiall and euerie one verse of them is grownded vpon a diuerse reason and authoritie from the rest I haue thought good for breuitie sake onelie to set downe here the authorities with figures whereby to applie euerie one of them to his due lyne in order as they stand 1. Hieronimus In delicijs difficile est seruare castitatem 2 Ausonius dispulit inconsultus amor
defit vtrique sua Ingenio tandem praestans Watsonus arte Pieridas docuit verba Britanna loqui Et faciles alijs aditus patefecit ad artem Quam multi cupiunt fingere nemo refert Iste tuus labor est lúcrum est Watsone tuorum Et tua ne desint praemia Laurus erit ITs seldome seene that Merite hath his due Or els Dezerte to find his iust desire For nowe Reproofe with his defacing crewe Treades vnderfoote that rightly should aspyre Malde Industrie discourag'd hides his face And shuns the light in feare to meete Disgrace Seld seene said I yet alwaies seene with some That Merite gains good will a golden hyre With whome Reproofe is cast aside for scumme That growes apace that vertue helps t'aspire And Industrie well chearish't to his face In sunshine walkes in spight of sowre Disgrace This fauour hath put life into the pen That heere presentes his first fruite in this kinde He hopes acceptance friendly graunte it then Perchaunce some better worke doth stay behinde My censure is which reading you shall see A Pythy sweete and cunning poesye M. Roydon To the Authour IF grauer headdes shall count it ouerlight To treate of Loue say thou to them A staine Is incident vnto the finest die And yet no staine at all it is for thee These layes of Loue as myrth to melancholy To fellowe fast thy sad Antigone Which may beare out a broader worke then this Compyl'd with iudgement order and with arte And shrowde thee vnder shadowe of his winges Whose gentle heart and head with learning fraight Shall yeld thee gracious fauour and defence G. Peele A Quatorzain of the Authour vnto this his booke of Louepassions MY little booke goe hye thee hence away Whose price God know's will countervaile no parte Of paines I tooke to make thee what thou arte And yet I ioy thy byrth But hence I say Thy brothers are halfe hurt by thy delaye For thou thy selfe arte like the deadly dart Which bred thy byrth from out my wounded hart But still obserue this rule where ere thou staye In all thou mai'st tender thy fathers fame Bad is the Bird that fileth his owne nest If thou be much mislik't They are to blame Say thou that deedes well donne to euill wrest Or els confesse A Toye to be thy name This trifling world A Toye beseemeth best I The Author in this Passion taketh but occasion to open his estate in loue the miserable accidentes whereof are sufficiently described hereafter in the copious varietie of his deuises whereas in this Sonnet he seemeth one while to despaire and yet by by after to haue some hope of good successe the contrarietie ought not to offend if the nature true qualitie of a loue passion bee well considered And where he mentioneth that once hee scorned loue hee alludeth to a peece of worke whiche he wrote long since De Remedio Amoris which he hath lately perfected to the good likinge of many that haue seene and perused it though not fully to his owne fancy which causeth him as yet to kepe it backe from the printe WEll fare the life sometimes I ledde ere this When yet no downy heare yclad my face my heart deuoyde of cares did bath in blisse my thoughts were free in euery time place But now alas all's fowle which then was faire My wonted ioyes are turning to despaire Where then I liu'd without controule or checke An other now is mistris of my minde Cupid hath clapt a yoake vpon my necke Under whose waighte I hue in seruile kinde I now cry creake that ere I scorned loue Whose might is more then other Gods aboue I haue assaide by labour to eschewe What fancy buildes vpon a loue conceite But nearthelesse my thought reuiues anew Where in fond loue is wrapt and workes deceite Some comfort yet I haue to liue her thrall In whome as yet I find no fault at all II In this passion the Author describeth in how pitious a case the hart of a louer is being as he fayneth heere seperated from his owne body remoued into a darksome and solitarie wildernes of woes The coÌ„ueyance of his inuention is plaine pleasant enough of it selfe and therefore needeth the lesse annotation before it MY harte is sett him downe twixt hope feares Upon the stonie banke of high desire To view his own made flud of blubberig teares Whose waues are bitter salt and hote as fire There blowes no blast of wind but ghostly grones Nor waues make other noyse then pitious moanes As life were spent he waiteth Charons boate And thinkes he dwells on side of Stigian lake But blacke despaire some times with open throate Or spightfull Ielousie doth cause him quake With howlinge shrikes on him they call and crie That he as yet shall nether liue nor die Thus voyde of helpe he sittes in heauie case And wanteth voyce to make his iust complaint No flowr but Hiacynth in all the place No sunne comes there nor any heau'nly sainte But onely shee which in him selfe remaines And ioyes her ease though he abound in paines III This passion is all framed in manner of a dialogue wherein the Author talketh with his owne heart beeing nowe through the commandement and force of loue separated from his bodie miraculouslie and against nature to follow his mistres in hope by long attendance vpon her to purchase in the end her loue and fauour and by that meanes to make him â—elfe all one with her owne hearte SPeake gentle heart where is thy dwelling place W t her whose birth the heaueÌ„s theÌ„selues haue blest What dost thou there Somtimes behold her face And lodge sometimes within her cristall brest She cold thou hot how can you then agree Not nature now but loue doth gouerne me With her wilt thou remaine and let mee die If I returne wee both shall die for griefe If still thou staye what good shall growe thereby Ile moue her heart to purchase thy reliefe What if her heart be hard stop his eares Ile sigh aloud make him soft with teares If that preuaile wilte thou returne from thence Not I alone her heart shall come with mee Then will you both liue vnder my defence So long as life will let vs both agree Why then dispaire goe packe thee hence away I liue in hope to haue a golden daie IIII The chiefe grounde and matter of this Sonnet standeth vppon the rehearsall of such thinges as by reporte of the Poets are dedicated vnto Venus whereof the Authour sometime wrote these three Latine verses Mons Erycinus Acidalins sons alba columba Hesperus ora Pathos Rosa Myrtus insula Cyprus Idaluimque nemus Veneri haec sunt omnia sacra And Forcatulus the French Poet wrote vppon the same particulars but more at large he beginneth thus Est arbor Veneri Myrtus gratisâ—ima flores Tam Rosa quam volucres alba columba praeit Igniferum coeli prae cunctis diligit astris
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
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
blame the bird that willingly Cheaseth a golden cage for liberty LXXIIII The Author in this passion vpoÌ„ a reason secret vnto him selfe extolleth his Mistres vnder the name of a Spring First he preferreth the same before the sacred fount of Diana which as Ouid witnesseth 3. Metam was in the valley Gargaphie adioyning to Thaebes then before Tagus the famous riuer in Spaine whose sandes are intermixt with stoare of gold as may be gathered by those two verses in Martiall lib. 8. Non illi satis est turbato sordidus auro Hermus Hesperio qui sonat orbe Tagus And lastly before Hippocrene a fountaine of Boeotia now called the well of the Muses fained by the Poëts to haue had his source or beginning from the heele of Pegasus the winged horse ALthough the droppes which chaung'd Actaeons shape Were halfe diuine and from a sacred fount Though after Tagus sandes the world do gape And Hippocrene stand in high account Yet ther's a Spring whose vertue doth excell Dianaes fount Tagus and Pegase well That happie how'r wherein I found it furst And sat me downe adioyning to the brinke My sowe it selfe suppris'd with vnknow'n thurst Did wish it lawfull were thereof to drinke But all in vaine for Loue did will me stay And waite a while in hope of such a pray This is that Spring quoth he where Nectar flowes Whâ—se liquor is of price in heaun's aboue This is the Spring wherein swete Venus showes By secrete baite how Beautie forceth Loue. Why then quoth I deere Loue how shall I mend Or quench my thurst vnlesse thou stand my frend LXXV In this passion the Authour boroweth from certaine Latine verses of his owne made long agoe vpon the loue abuses of Iuppiter in a certaine peece of worke written in the commendation of women kinde which he hath not yet wholie perfected to the print Some of the verses may be thus cited to the explaining of this passion although but lamelie Accipe vt ignaram candentis imagine Tauri Luserit Europam ficta c. Quà ◠nimio Semelen fuerit complexus amore c. Qualiâ— Asterien aequilinis presserit alis Quoque dolo laedam ficto sub olore fefellit Adde quòd Antiopam Satyri sub imagine c. Et fuit Amphytrio cum te Tâ—rynthia c. Aegmaeque duos ignis sub imagine natos c. Parrhasiam fictae pharetra Vultuque Dianae Mnemosynen pastor serpens Deoïda lusit c. Ouid writeth somewhat in like manner Metam lib. 6. NOt she whom Ioue transported into Crete Nor Semele to whom he vow'd in hast Nor she whose flanckes he fild with fayned heate Nor whome with Aegles winges he oft embrast Nor Danaë beguyl'd by golden rape Nor she sor whome he tooke Dianaes shape Nor fai e Antiopa whose fruitefull loue He gayned Satyr like nor she whose Sonne To wanton Hebe was conioyn'd aboue Nor sweete Mnemosyne whose loue he wunne In shepheardes wéede no such are like the Saint whose eyes enforce my feeble heart to faint And Ioue him selfe may storme if so he please To heare me thus compare my Loue with his No forked fire nor thunder can disease This heart of mine where stronger torment is But O how this surpasseth all the rest That she which hurtes me most I loue her best LXXVI In this Sonnet the Author being as it were in halfe a madding moode falleth at variance with Loue himselfe blasphemeth his godheade as one that can make a greater wounde then afterwardes he him selfe can recure And the chiefe cause that he setteth downe why he is no longer to hope for helpe at Loues hande is this because he him selfe could not remedie the hurt which he susteyned by the loue of faire Psyches THou foolish God the Author of my griefe If Psyches beames could set thy heart on fire How can I hope of thée to haue reliefe Whose minde with mine doth suffer like desire Henceforth my heart shall sacrifice elswhere To such a Sainte as higher porte doth beare And such a Saint is she whom I adore As foyles thy force and makes thee stand aloofe None els but she can salue my festred soare And she alone will serue in my behoofe Then blinded boye goe packe thee hence away And thou Sweet Soule giue eare to what I say And yet what shall I say straunge is my case In mid'st of froast to burne and freze in flame Would Gods I neuer had beheld thy face Or els that once I might possesse the same Or els that chaunce would make me free againe Whose hand helpt Loue to bring me to this paine LXXVII The chiefe contentes of this Passion are taken out of Seraphine Sonnet 132. Col tempo passa gli anni imesi e l' hore Col tempo le richeze imperio e regno Col tempo fama honor fortezza e ingegno Col tem ogiouentu con belta more c But this Authour inuerteth the order which Seraphine vseth some times for his rimes sake but for the most part vp on some other more allowable consideration TIme wasteth yeeres and month's and howr's Time doth consume fame honour witt and strength Time kills the greenest Herbes and sweetest flowr's Time weares out youth and beauties lookes at length Time doth conuey to ground both foe and friend And each thing els but Loue which hath no end Time maketh eu'ry tree to die and rott Time turneth ofte our pleasures into paine Time causeth warres and wronges to be forgott Time cleares the skie which first hung full of rayne Time makes an end of all humane desire But onely this which settes my heart on fire Time turneth into naught each Princely state Time brings a fludd from newe resolued snowe Time calmes the Sea where tempest was of late Time eates what ere the Moone can see belowe And yet no time preuailes in my behoue Nor any time can make me cease to loue LXXVIII This Passion concerneth the lowring of his Mistres and herein for the most part the Authour imitateth Agnola firenzuola who vpon the like subiect writeth as followeth O belle donne prendam pietade Dimepur hor ' in talpa trasformato D'huom che pur dianza ardiua mirar fisâ— Come Aquila il sol chiar in paradiso Cosi va'l mondo e cosi spesso accade A chisi fida in amoroso stato c. VVHat scowling cloudes haue ouercast the skie That these mine eies can not as woonte they were Beholde their second Sunne intentiuely Some strange Eclipse is hap'ned as I feare Whereby my Sunne is either baid of light Or I my selfe haue lost my seeing quite Most likely soe since Loue him selfe is blinde And Venus too perhaps will haue it so That Louers wanting sight shall followe kinde O then faire Danies bewaile my present woe Which thus am made a moale and blindefolde runne Where Aegle like I late beheld the Sunne But out alas such guerdon is assignde To all that loue and followe Cupids carre
gaine My Loue is past wherein was no good how'r When others ioy'd to cares I did encline Whereon I fedde although the taste were sow'r And still beleu'd Loue was some pow'r diuine Or some instinct which could not worke in vaine Forgetting Time well spent was double gaine XCIIII In this Passion tho Authour hath but augmented the inuention of Seraphine where he writeth in this manner Biastemo quando mai le labbra apersi Per dar nome à costei che acciò me induce Biastemo il tempo quanti giorni hò persi A seguitar si tenebrosa luce Biastemo charta inchiostro e versi Et quanto Amor per me fama gliaduce Biastemo quando mai la vidi anchora El mese l'anno giorno el punto â—hora I Curse the time wherein these lips of mine Did praye or praise the Danie that was vnkinde I curse both leafe and yâ—ke and euery line My hand hath writ in hope to moue her minde I curse her hollowe heart and slattring eyes Whose slie deceyte did cause my mourning cryes I curse the sugred speach end Syrens song Wherewith so oft she hath bewitcht mine eare I curse my foolish will that stay'd so long And tooke delight to bide twixte hoape and feare I curse the howre wherein I first began By louing lookes to proue a witlesse man I curse those dayes which I haue spent in vaine By seruing such an one as reaches no right I curse each cause of all my secret paine Though Loue to heare the same haue small delight And since the heau'ns my freedome nowe restore Hence foorth Ile liue at ease and loue no more XCV A Labyrinth is a place made full of turnings creekes wherehence he that is once gotten in can hardly get out againe Of this sorte Pliny mentioneth foure in the world which were most noble One in Crete made by Daedalus at the commaundement of king Minos to shut vp the Minotaure in to which monster the Atheniens by league were bound euery yeere to send seuen of their children to bee deuoured which was perfourmed till at the last by the helpe of Ariadne Theseus slewe the monster An other he mentioneth to haue beene in Aegipt which also Pomponius Mela describeth in his first booke The third in Lemnos wherein were erected a huÌ„dreth fifty pillers of singuler workmaÌ„ship The fourth in Italy builded by Porsenna king of Heâ—ruria to serue for his sepulchre But in this Passion the Authour alludeth vnto that of Crete only THough somewhat late at last I found the way To leaue the doubtfull Labyrinth of Loue Wherein alas each minute seemd a day Him selfe was Minotaure whose force to proue I was enforst till Reason taught my mind To slay the beast and leaue him there behind But being scaped thus from out his maze And past the dang'rous Denne so full of doubt False Theseus like my credite shall I craze Forsaking her whose hand did helpe me out With Ariadne Reason shall not say I sau'd his life and yet he runnes away No no before I leaue the golden rule Or lawes of her that stoode so much my friend Or once againe will play the louing foole The sky shall fall and all shall haue an end I wish as much to you that louers be Whose paines will passe if you beware by me XCVI In this Passion the Authour in skoffing bitterly at Venus and her sonne Cupid alludeth vnto certaine verses in Ouid but inuerteth them to an other sense then Ouid vsed who wrote them vpon the death of Tibullus These are the verses which he imitateth Ecce puer Veneris fert euersamque phraretram Et fractos arcus sine luce facem Aspice demissis vt eat miserabilis alis Pectoraque infesta tondat aperta manu c. Net minus est confusa Venus c Quà m iuuenis rupit cum ferus inguen aper WHat ayles poore Venus nowe to sit alone In funerall attyre her woonted hew Nuite chang'd her smile to teares her myrth to mean As though Adonis woundes nowe bled anew Or she wish young Iulus late return'd From seeing her Aeneas carkas burn'd Alack for woe what ayles her little Boy To haue his tender cheekes besprent with teares And sit and sighe where he was wonte to toy How happes no longer he his quiuer weares But breakes his Boe throwing the shiuers by And pluckes his winges and lettes his fyrebrand dye No Dame and Darling too yee come to late To winne me now as you haue done tofore I liue secure and quiet in estate Fully resolu'd from louing any more Goe pack for shame from hence to Cyprus Ile And there goe play your prankes an other while XCVII The Authour in this passion alludeth to the fable of Phineus which is sette downe at large in the Argonauticks of Apollonius and Valerius Flaccus He compareth him selfe vnto Phineus his Mistres vnto the Harpyes and his thoughtes vnto Zethes and his desires vnto Calais the two twinnes of Boreas and the voyce of Ne plus vltra spoaken from Heauen to Calais and Zethes vnto the Diuine grace which willed him to follow no further the miseries of a Louers estate but to professe vnfainedlie that his Loue is past And last of all the Author concludeth against the sower sawce of Loue with the French prouerbe Pour vn plaisir mille douleurs THe Harpye birdes that did in such despight Greiue and annâ—y old Phinëus so sore Were chas'd away by Calais in fight And by his brother Zeth for euermore Who follow'd them vntill they hard on hye A voyce that said Ye Twinnes No further fly Phineus I am that so tormented was My Laura here I may an Harpye name My thoughtes and lustes bee Sonnes to Borëas Which neuer cea'st in following my Dame Till heau'nly Grace said vnto me at last Leaue fond Delightes and say thy loue is past My loue is past I say and sing full glad My time alas mispent in Loue I rewe Wherein few ioyes or none at all I had But stoare of woes I found the prouer be true For eu'ry pleasure that in Loue is found A thousand woes and more therein abound XCVIII The Author is this passion telling what Loue is easeth his heart as it were by rayling out right where he can worke no other manner of reuenge The inuention hereof for the most part of the particulars conteyned is taken out of certeine Latine verses which this Authour composed vpon Quid Amor. Which because they may well importe a passion on of the writer and aptly befitte the present title of his ouerpasâ—ed Loue he setteth them downe in this next page following but not as accomptable for one of the hundreth passions of this booke HArke wanton youthes whome Beawtie maketh blinde And learne of me what kinde a thing is Loue Loue is a Brainesicke Boy and fierce by kinde A Willfull Thought which Reason can not moue A Flattring Sycophant a Murd'ring Thiefe A Poysned choaking Bayte
trees tender the old tough young meÌ„ amorous growing in yeeres either wiser or warier The Corall in the water is a soft weede on the land a hard stone a sworde frieth in the fire like a blacke ele but layd in earth like white snowe the heart in loue is altogether passionate but free from desire altogether carelesse But it is not my intent to inueigh against loue which womeÌ„ account but a bare word that meÌ„ reuerence as the best God onely this I would add without offence to Gentlewomen that were not men more supersticious in their praises theÌ„ womeÌ„ are constant in their passions Loue would either shortly be worne out of vse or men out of loue or women out of lightnes I caÌ„ coÌ„demne none but by coÌ„iecture nor commend any but by lying yet suspicion is as free as thought and as farre as I see as necessary as credulitie Touching your Mistres I must needes thinke well seeing you haue written so well but as false glasses shewe the fairest faces so fine gloses ameÌ„d the baddest fancies Apelies painted the Phenix by hearesay not by sight and Lysippus engraued Vulcan with a streight legge whome nature framed with a poult foote which proueth men to be of greater affection then iudgement But in that so aptly you haue varied vppon women I will not vary from you for confesse I must and if I should not yet mought I be compelled that to â—oue were the sweetest thing in the earth If women were the faithfullest that women would be more constant if men were more wise And seeing you haue vsed mee so friendly as to make me acquainted with your passions I will shortly make you pryuie to mine which I woulde be loth the printer shoulde see for that my fancies being neuer so crooked he would put theÌ„ in streight lines vnfit for my humorâ— necessarie for his art who setteth downe blinde in as many letters as seeing Farewell Authoris ad Libellum suum Protrepticon VAde precor timidus patrium mittende per orbeÌ„ Nec nugas iacta parue libelle tuas Si quis Aristarchus mordaci laeserit ore Culparum causas ingeniosus habe Si rogat vndè venis dic tu de paupere Vena Non ambire tuas laurea serta comas Sique rogat verbis quis adauxit metra solutis Ex amimo nomen dic cecidisse tibi Forsitan intrabis nostrae sacraria Diuae Quam colit in medijs multa Diana rosis Quae Cybele caeli nostri quae gloria regni Vnica quaeque sui sola Sybilla soli Quae vatum lima est quae doctis doctior ipsa Iuno opibus Pallas moribus ore Venus Quae superat Reges quantum querceta myricas Quam recinat Famae buccina nulla satis Illa tuos sancto si spectet lumine rithmos O quantum gemino Sole beatus eris Tu sed stratus humi supplex amplectere plantas Cuius erit vili pondere laesamanus HÃc tamen hÃc moneo nésperes tanta futura Attica non auris murmura vana probat Hic quoque seu subeas Sydnaei siue Dyeri Scrinia quà Musis area bina patet Dic te Xeniolum non diuitis esse clientis Confectum Dryadis arte rudique manu Et tamen exhibitum Vero qui magna meretur Virtute et vera nobilitate sua Indè serenato vultu te mitis vterque Perleget et naeuos condet vterque tuos Dum â—amulus Verum comitaris in aurea tecta Officij semper sit tibi cura tui Tùm fortasse pijs Nymphis dabit ille legendum Cùm de Cyprigeno verba iocosa serent Si qua tui nimiùm Domini miseretur amantis Sic crepita folijs vt geâ—â—uisse putet Tetrica si qua tamen blandos damnauerit ignes Dic tu mentito me tepuisse foco Tumque refer talos et fixum calce sigillum Quà Venerem temnis filiolumque suum Taliter efficies vt amet te candida turba Forsan Autoris palma futura tui Viue libelle precor Domino faelicior ipso Quem sine demerito sors inopina premit Denique si visum fuerit dic montis in alto Pierij vacuum tempora dura pati A Quatorzain in the commendation of Master Thomas Watson and of his Mistres for whom he wrote this Booke of Passionat Sonnetes THe starr's which did at Petrarch's byrthday raigne Were fixt againe at thy natiuity Destening thee the Thuscan's poesie Who skald the skies in lofty Quatorzain The Muses gaue to thee thy fatall vaine The very same that Petrarch had whereby Madonna Laures same is growne so by And that whereby his glory he did gaine Thou hast a Laure whom well thoâ— dost commend And to her praise thy passion songs do tend Yee both such praise deserue as naught can smother In briefe with Petrarch and his Laure in grace Thou and thy Dame be equall saue percase Thou passe the one and â—heexcell's the other G. Bucke To the Authour THy booke beginning swéete and ending sowre Deere friend bewrayes thy false successe in loue Where smiling first thy Mistres falles to lowre When thou did'st hope her curtesie to proue And finding thy expected lucke to fayle Thou false from praise and dost begin to rayle To vse great tearmes in praise of thy deuise I thinke were vaine therefore I leaue them out Content thée that the Censure of the wise Hath put that needeles question out of doubt Yet howe I weigh the worke that thou hast wrought My iudgement I referre vnto thy thought T. Acheley An Ode written to the Muses Concerning this Authour YOu sacred Nymphes Apolloes sisters faire Daughters of Ioue parentes of rare deuise Why take you no delight in change of ayre Is Helicon your onely paradise Hath Britan soyle no hill no heath no well No wood no wit wherein you list to dwell Ladies voutsafe with pacience once to viewe Our liuely springs high hills and pleasaunte shades And as you like the seat and countries hewe Pitche downe your tentes and vse your sporting trades Hard hap it is if nothing here you finde That you can déeme delightfull to your minde Loe Watson prest to enterteine your powre In pleasante springs of flowing wit and skill If you esteeme the pleasures of his bower Let Britan beare your spring your groue and hill That it hence foorth may of your fauour boast And him whome first you heere voutsafe for hoast C. Downhalus Eiusdem aliud de Authore GRaecia permultos peperit foecunda pottas Quorum lapsa diu saecula famamanet Ausonia Argolicae tellus post aemula laudis Transtulit in Latios doctum Helicona sinus Acceptam Latium tenuit fouitque poesin Inque dies Laurus auget Apollo tuas Gallicaâ— Parnasio coepit ditescere lingua Ronsardâ—â—ê“ operis Luxuriare nouis Sola quia interca nullum paris Anglia vatem Versifices multi nemo pâ—ëta tibi est Scilicet ingenium maius fuit hactenùs arte Forsan hic merces
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
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
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
thought to conquere for my sake That she is proude and I without recure Which triple hurte doth cause my hope to quake Hoape lost breedes griefe griefe paine and paine disease Disease bringes death which death will onely please LXIIII This Passion is of like frame and fashion with that which was before vnder the number of XLI whetherto I referre the Reader But touching the sense or substance of this Passion it is euident that herein the Authour by layinge open the long continued grieuesomnes of his misery in Loue seeketh to moue his Mistres to some compassion MY humble sute hath set my minde on pride Which pride is cause thou hast me in disdaine By which disdaine my woundes are made so wide That widenesse of my woundes augmentes my paine Which Paine is cause by force of secreate iarres That I sustaine a brunt of priuate Warres But cease deere Dame to kindle further strife Let Strifes haue ende and Peace enioy their place If Peace take place Pitie may saue my life For Pitie should be show'ne to such as trace Most daung'rous wayes and tread their stepp's awry Or liue in woes and such a one am I. Therefore My Deere Delight regard my Loue Whome Loue doth force to follow Fond Desire Which Fond Desire no counsell can remoue For what can counsell doe to quench the fire That fires my hart through fancies wanton will Fancie by kind with Reason striueth still LXV In the first and second part of this passion the Author proueth by examples or rather by manner of argument A maiori ad minus that he may with good reason yeeld him selfe to the imperie of Loue whome the gods them selues obey as Iuppiter in heauen Neptune in the seas and Pluto in hell In the last staffe he imitateth certaine Italian verses of M. Girolamo Parabosco which are as followeth Occhi tuoi anzi stelle alme fatali Oâ—e ha prescritto il ciel mio mal mio bene Mie lagrime e sospir mio riso e canto Mia spene mio timor mio foco giaccio Mia noia mio piacer mia vita morte WHo knoweth not how often Venus sonne Hath forced Iuppiter to leaue his seate Or els how often Neptune he hath wunne From seaes to sandes to play some wanton feate Or howe he hath constraind the Lord of Stix To come on earth to practise louing trickes If heau'n if seaes if hell must néedes obay And all therein be subiect vnto Loue What shall it then auaile if I gainsay And to my double hurt his pow'r do proue No no I yéeld my selfe as is but meete For hetherto with sow'r he yéeldes me sweet From out my Mistres eyes two lightsome starres He destinates estate of double kinde My teares my smyling cheere my peace my warres My sighes my songes my feare my hoping minde My fyre my frost my ioy my sorrowes gall My curse my prayse my death but life with all LXVI This Latine passion is borrowed from Petrarch Sonettâ— 133. which beginneth Hor ch'l ciel e la terra e'l vento tace E le fere e gli augelli il sonno affrena Notte'l carro stellato in giro mena E nel suo letto il mar senz ' onda giace c. Wherein he imitated Virgill speaking of Dido thus Nox erat et tacitum carpebant fessa soporem Corpora c. And this Author presumeth vpon the paines he hath taken in faithfully translating it to place it amongst these his owne passions for a signe of his greate sufferance in loue DVm coelum dum terra tacet ventusque silescit Dumque feras volucresque quies complectitur alta Noxque agit in gyrum stellantes sydere currus Inque suo lecto recubat sine flumine Pontus Multa ego contemplor studeo conflagro gemisco Et mea quae dulcis paena est mihi semper oberrâ—â— In me bella gero plenusque doloris irae Paxque mihi modica est Laurae solius in vmbra Oritur ex vno claro mihi fonte acerbum Et quod dulce sapit quorum depascor vtrque Vnica meque manus ladit laesoque medetur Martyriumque meum nullo quia limite clausum est Mille neces pacior vitas totidemque resumo Quoque die superestque mihi spes nulla salutis LXVII A man singuler for his learning and magistrate of no small accoumpt vpon slight suruey of this booke of passions eyther for the liking he had to the Author or for his owne priuate pleasure or for some good he conceyued of the worke voutchsafed with his own hand to set down certaine posies concerning the same Amongst which this was one Loue hath no leaden heeles Whereat the Author glaunceth throughout al this Sonnet which he purposely compyled at the presse in remembrance of his worshipfull frend and in honour of his golden posie WHen Cupid is content to keepe the skies He neuer takes delight in standing still But too and froe and eu'ry where he flies And eu'ry God subdueth at his will As if his boaw were like to Fortunes wheele Him selfe like her hauing no leaden heele When other whiles he passeth Lemnos Ile Unhappy boy he gybes the Clubfoote Smith Who threatens him and bids him stay a while But laughing out he leaues him he forthwith And makes him selfe companion with the Windâ— To shew his heeles are of no leaden kinde But in my selfe I haue too trewe a proofe For when he first espyde my raunging Heart He Falcon like came sowsing from aloofe His swiftly falling stroake encreast my smart As yet my Heart the violence it feeles Which makes me say Loue hath no leaden heeles LXVIII The Author hath wrought this passion out of certaine verses of Stephanus Forcatulus which are these Cor mihi punxit amor sed punxit praepete telo figitur hoc tum plus cum magis exeutio c. Carpere dictamum Cretoea nil iuuet Ida quo vellunt cerui spicula fixa leues Telephus haec eadem fatalia vulnera sensit sanare vt tantum quifacit illa queat And whereas the Author in the end of this passion alludeth to the woundes of Telephus he is to be vnderstoode of that Telephus the Sonne of Hercules of whose wounde being made and healed by Achilles onely Ouid writeth thus Vulnus Achillaeo quod quondam fecerat hosti Vulneris auxilium Pelias hasta tulit And propertius in like maner lib. 2. Mysus et Haemonia iuuenis qui cuspide vulnus Senserat hac ipsa cuspide sensit opem Suidas mentioneth an other Telephus an excellent GraÌ„marian of Pergamus IN secrete seate and centre of my hearte Unwares to me not once suspecting ill Blinde Cupides-hand hath fixt a deadly dart Whereat how ere I plucke it sticketh still And workes effect like those of Arab soyle Whose heades are dipt in poyson steed of oyle If't were like those wherewith in Ida plaine The Craetan hunter woundes the chased deere I could with Dictame drawe
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
a Tysing Griefe A Tyrant in his Lawes in speach vntrue A Blindfold Guide a Feather in the winde A right Chameleon for change of hewe A Lamelimme Lust a Tempest of the minde A Breach of Chastitie all vertues Foe A Priuate warre a Toilsome webbe of woe A Fearefull Iealosie a Vaine Desire A Labyrinth a Pleasing Miserie A Shipwracke of mans life a Smoaklesse fire A Sea of teares a lasting Lunacie A Heauie seruitude a Dropsie Thurst A Hellish Gaile whose captiues are accurst Quid Amor QVid sitamor qualisque cupis me scire magistro Est Venens proles caelo metuendus et Orco Et leuior ventis et fulminis ocyor alis Peruigil excubitor fallax comes inuidus hospes Armatus puer insanus iuuenis nouitatis Quesitor belli fautor virtuti inimicus Splendidus ore nocens promisso lege tyrannus Dux caecus gurges viciorum noctis alumnus Fur clandestinus mors viuida mortua vita Dulcis inexpertis expertis durus Eremus Stultitiae â—acula ignescens vesana libido Zelotypum frigus mala mens corrupta voluntas Pluma leuis morbus iecoris dementia prudens Infamis leno Bacchi Cererisque minister Prodiga liberâ—as animae pruritus inanis Prauorum câ—rcer corrupti sanguinis ardor Irrationalis motus sycophanta bilinguis Struma pudicitiae fumi expets flamma patronus Periurae linguae prostrato saeuus amicus Immeritis aniâ—â— tempestas luxuriosus Praeceptor sine sine malum sine pace duellum Naufragium humanae vitae laethale venenum Flebile cordollum graue calcar acuta sagitta Sontica pernicies nodosae causa podâgrae Natus ad insidias vulpes pontus lachrymarum Virgineae Zonae ruptura dolosa voluptas Multicolor serpens vrens affectus inermis Bellator senijque caput seniumque iuuentae Ante diem funus portantis vipera maestus Pollinctor syren fallax mors praeuia morti Infector nemorum erroris Labyrinthus amara Dulcedo inuentor falsi via perditionis Formarum egregius spectator paena perennis Suspirans ventus singultu plena querela Triste magisterium multae iactura diei Martyrium innocui temerarius aduena pondus Sisyphium radix curarum desidis esca Febris anbela sitis morosa bidropicus ardor Vis vno dicam verbo incarnata Gehenna est XCIX This passion is an imitation of the first Sonnet in Seraphine grownded vpon that which Aristotle writeth of the Aegle for the proofe she maketh of her birdes by setting them to behold the Sonne After whom Pliny hath written as foloweth Aquila implumes etiamnum pullos suos percutiens Subinde cogit aduersos intueri Solis radios et si conniuentem humectantemque animaduertit praecipitat e nido velut adulâ—erinum atque degenerem illum cuiuâ— acies firma contra steterit eâ—ucat THe haughtie Aegle Birde of Birdes the best Before the â—eathers of her younglinges growe She liftes them one by one from out theire nest To vewe the Sunne thereby her owne to knowe Those that behold it not with open eye She lettes them fall not able yet to flye Such was my case when Loue possest my mind Each thought of mine which could not bide the light Of her my Sunne whose beames had made me blinde I made my Will suppresse it with Despight But such a thought as could abide her best I harbred still within my carefull brest But those fond dayes are past and halfe forgotte I practise now the quite cleane contrary What thoughtes can like of her I like them not But choake them streight for feare of ieopardy For though that Loue to some do seeme a Toy I knowe by proofe that Loue is long annoy C The Authour faineth here that Loue essaying with his brand to fire the heart of some such Lady on whome it would not worke immediately to trie whether the old vertue of it were extinguished or no applied it vnto his owne brest and therby foolishlie consumed him selfe His inuention hath some relation vnto the Epitaph of Loue written by M. Girolimo Parabosco In cenere giace qui sepolto Amore Colpa di quella che morir mi face c. REsolu'd to dust intomb'd heere lieth Loue Through faulte of her who heere her selfe should lye He strooke her iâ—rest but all in vaine did proue To fire the yse and doubting by and by His brand 〈◊〉 lost his force he gan to trye Upon him selfe which tryall made him dye In sooth no force let those lament that lust Ile sing a carroll song for obsequy For towardes me his dealings were vniust And cause of all my passed misery The Fates I thinke seeing what I had past In my behaâ—â— wrought this reuenge at last But somewhat more to pacyfie my minde By illing him through whome I liu'd a slaue Ile cast his ashes to the open winde Or write this Epitaph vppon his graue Here lyeth Loue of Mars the bastard Sonne VVhose foolish fault to death him selfe hath donne This is an Epilogue to the whole worke and more like a praier then a Passion and is faithfully translated out of Petrarch Sonnet 314. 2. parte where he beginneth I vò piangendo i miei passati tempi I quai posi in amar cosa mortale Senza leuarmi à volo hauenà ' io l'ale Per dar forse dâ—me non bassi essempi c. LVgeo iam querulus vitae tot lustra peracta Quae malè consumpsi mortalia vana secutus Cùm tamen alatus potui volitasse per altum Exemplarque fuisse alijs nec inutile forsan Tâ—â— mea qui peccata vides culpasque nefandas Coeli summe parens magnum venerabile numen Collapsae succurre anima mentisque caduca Candida defectum tua gratia suppleat omnem Vt qui sustinui bellum durasque procellas In pace portu moriar minimeque probanda Si mea vita fuit tamen vt claudatur honestè Tautello vitae spacio quod fortè supersit Funeribusque meis praesentem porrige dextram Ipse vides inte quà m spes mea tota reposta est FINIS The Labour is light where Loue is the Paiemistres * 〈◊〉 * 〈…〉 Part prâ—â—a Sonet 103. Addâ—ntâ—r Tuscano hij duo veâ—sus Nasus Aquilâ—â— ex Peâ—saruÌ„ opinione maiestatem personae arguit * Quale 〈◊〉 recâ—nit funere cumen Oloâ— Strozza vide Pâ—â—n de cantu Olâ—rino lib 〈◊〉 not hist. cap 2â— * Vide 〈◊〉 1. Cent. 5 adag â—4 〈…〉 ex Philostrati ad vxorem epistola mutuatu Metam lib. 4. * Quod natatale esse ait Phnius lib. 11. natur hist. c. 36. * Galataea was a water Nymph and daughter to old Nereus * Sic methymnaeo gauisus Arâ—oâ—e Delphin Martial lib. 8. * Consurgente sieto cedit Lyra Cyllenaea Ruff. Fest. Vide Plinium natur hist. lib. 10. cap. 2. * SiquideÌ„ opinati sunt aliqui in osculo fieri animaturn coÌ„binationeÌ„ * Vide Pliâ— nat hist. lib. 10. cap. 3. et lib 28 cap 6. qui de hacre mutuatur ex Aristotelis historia Potró vide Seraphinum sonet 1. vbi de aquila suisque pullis per coÌ„patationem legantissimé canit Lib. 3. Metamorph * S. Liquescens immutat sensuâ—â— Ep son 2. liute du Bocage En ses mesianges * Hii tres versâ—â— a Ronsardo describâ—â—â—teor ex Anacreâ—â— Graeco 〈◊〉 liure des 〈◊〉 meslanges * Here he â—â—â—â—deth vnto the pourtraict of Venus which Apelles drew as Ouid doth lib. 3. de art aman St Venerem Cous nunquaÌ„ pâ—â—xislet Apelles Metamorph. lib. 1. Tibal. lib. â— Eroticon lib. 2. * Cuius otâ—uâ— occasuÌ„ me morat Plimus nat hist. lib â—â— c. 28. c. 31. Assai ben basiâ— a chi Formasuona * Vide Sophocl aut Senecam in tragedijs suis de Oedipi miserijs In Trachinijs Parte prima Sonet 105. AEncid 10. * Naulum intelligit de quo Iuuenal Miserian est post omnia perdere naulum Claud. in Gigantomachia * AEsculapius * 〈◊〉 * For both experience teacheth Philosophical reason approoueth that an Ethyopian may easily in Spaine be 〈◊〉 thered with the heat of the countrey through Spaine be more temperate then Ethyopia is Dearte Pocucâ— * Ouid. Metam lib. 7. Odarum lib. 1. * Electra Selua Seconda Volcanâ— De remed lib. 1 * He alludeth to the wound of Pâ—â—locteâ—es Erotopaegnicon lib. 1. * Vide Apul. * Polygrapâ—â—ae â—uae lib. 5. Huius Colâ—â— nae Basis preâ—sillabâ—â—â—â— mero liâ—â— rum propoâ— one est Orâ—â— matica 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sophoc in Aia. flagell 〈…〉 vt Martiâ— reuocetur a 〈…〉 Tonantes A te luâ—o petie Câ—stoâ— et ipsa Venus Mutâ—aiâ—s 1. Hierom. 2. Ausou 3. Seneca 4. Proper 5. Horat. 6. Xenoph. 7. Calent 8. Ouid. 9. Pont. 10. Marull 11. Tibull 12 Virgil. do Vino et Venere Sonnet 313. Ad Pyâ—â—ham ode 5. In Oedipo Colonaeo In Trachiniiâ— * Lib 36. ca 13 Elegiar lib. 8 * Vide Plin. natura Hist. lib. 28. cap. 8. * Lib. 9. Hist. animal Nat Hist lib. to cap. 1.