sorroweth she And she answered This my sister likewise as I is enamoured of an other and of him agayne loued aboue measure And to the ende hir desires should not passe the amorous pathes without taking some parte of delight many times she hath endeuoured hir selfe to bring them to effect and contrary to hir deuise iealousie hath always occupied and broken the waye and bicause she coulde neuer attayne thervnto neither saw how to be able so to do she thus distressed is thorough feruent loue consumed as ye may well thinke if euer ye were in loue Séeing we wer theÌ„ here al alone we began to reason of our misfortunes and knowing the same farre greater than these of other women we coulde not withholde from teares but with wéeping sorowed our luckleâ—â—e lottes as ye might well perceiue To heare this of them it gréeued me greatly so that I encountred them with suche wordes as séemed me most profitable for their comfort and so departed from them Many times after reuoluing in minde their griefes and sometimes bethinking me whether of the same shoulde be the greater at one time I agreed to that of the one and at another time I yelded to that of the other and the sundry reasons wherwith as it séemeth me ech one hath to lament hir will not suffer me to stay vpon any one whervpon I remayn here in doubt May it therfore please you that by you may be opened this errour in telling me whether of these two infortunate louers séemed to sustayne the greatest gréefe Great was the sorow of either of them answered the Quéene But considering aduersitie to be most greuous to hir that hath tasted prosperitie we estéeme that shée that hathe lost hir loue féeleth the greatest gréefe and is of Fortune greatliest offended Fabritius neuer bewept the chaunces of fortune But that Pompey did is a thing very manifest If swéet things were not tasted the soure should be yet vnknowne Medea neuer knewe according to hir own saying what maner a thing prosperitie was whilest shée was in loue but being forsakeÌ„ of Iason bewayled hir aduersitie Who will euer lament for that he hath not had not one but wil rather desire it It is demed therfore that of the two women the one wept for gréefe the other for desire It is very hard for me gracious Ladie to thinke that which you affirme sayd the yong Gentleman forsomuche as who that hath his desire of any desired thing ought much more to content his minde thaÌ„ who that desireth and can not fulfil his desire Further nothing is more light to lose than what hope promyseth not heereafter to yéelde There ought to be vnmeasurable greefe whereas the not being able to bring egall willes to effect doth hinder From thence lamentations take place from theÌ„ce thoughtes and troubles doe spring bicause if the willes were not egall of force the desire should want But when as louers see them selues in presence of that they desire and can not attaine thereunto then doe they kindle and sorowe them muche more than if that they wold haue were farre from them And who I pray you torments Tantalus in Hel but only the apples the water for that howe much more neere they bend and swell to hys mouth so much the more afterwards in fléeing the same they increase his hunger Truely I beléeue that who hopeth for a thing possible to be had and can not attaine thereunto thorow contrary resisting impediments féeleth more gréefe than who that bewaileth a thing loste irrecuperable Then sayd the Quéene your answere would haue followed very well where your demaunde shoulde haue bene of an olde griefe although to that also might be sayd thus to be possible throughe forgetting the griefe to shorten the desire in the desired things where as continual impediment is sens not to be able to attayn them as in those lost wherein Hope dothe not shew vs that we should euer haue them agayne But we do reason whether of them sorrowed most wheÌ„n you saw them sorrowing wherfore folowing the propounded case we will giue iudgement that she felt greater griefe that had loste hir louer without hope to haue him agayn putting the case that it be an easie matter to lose a thing impossible to haue agayne neuerthelesse it was to be sayd who loueth well forgetteth neuer than the other who if we looke well might hope to fulfill that hereafter that heretofore she was vnable to performe For a great lessener of griefe is hope It had force to kéepe chaste and to diminish the sorrowes of the lingring long life of Penelope ¶ The thirde Question proposed by a yong Gentlevvoman ON the right side of Longano sat an excellent faire Gentlewoman and very pleasant who as she perceiued that Question by the Quéene determined thus beganne with a swéete talke to say Most renoumed quéene your eares graunt hearing to my words And first by those Gods whom you worshippe and nexte by the power of our pastime I pray you that ye will giue to my demaund profitable counsell I as you know being descended of noble Parents was borne in this Citie and was named with a very gracious name although my surname béeing Cara presenteth me gratefull to the hearers and as by my face it may appeare I haue receiued from the Gods and Nature a singuler gifte of beautie the whiche in following my proper name more than my surname I haue adorned with an infinite pleasantnesse shewing my selfe benigne to whom that is delighted to beholde the same by occasion whereof many haue endeuoured themselues for their pleasure to occupie my eyes agaynst all whom I haue withscode with strong resistaunce holding a stable heart agaynst their assaults but bicause it séemeth to me vnléefull that I onely shoulde pretermit the lawes kept and obserued of all others that is not to loue being loued of many I haue determined to become enamored and setting apart many seekers of suche loue wherof some do excell Midas in richesse some other passe Absalon in beautie and other some in curtesie according to the common report of all are more splendent than any other I haue of all these chosen thrée Of whome eche one pleaseth me alike Of the which thrée the one of bodily force as I beléeue would excell the good Hector he is at euery proofe so vigorous and strong The curtesie and liberalitie of the second is such that as I thinke his fame doth sound through eche pole The third is all full of wisdome so that he surmounteth all other wise men aboue measure But for that as ye haue heard their qualities are diuers I doubt whether of them to take finding in the antique age eche one of these to haue diuerslye the courages of women and of yelding men as of Dianira Hercules of our Clitemnestra Aegistus and of Lucretia Sextus Counsell me therfore to whether of them soonest with least blame and greatest
annoy than I willingly would Learne then to beare the lesse griefs since thou séest the gretest with a valiaunt minde borne of me To whom I answered that as it séemed to me his grief although it wer gret was no ways to be compared to mine He answered me the contrary and thus we abode in a long contention and in the end parted without any diffinition Wherefore I pray you that you wil say your iudgement hereof Yong Gentleman sayde the Quéene great is that payne of yours and great wrong doth the damsell committe in not louing you But yet at all times your griefe may by hope be eased the whiche happeneth not to your companion bicause that since he is once entred in suspecte nothing is able to draw it away Therfore continually whilest loue lasteth he soroweth without comfort So that in our iudgement greater séemeth the griefe of the iealous than that of the vnloued louer Then sayde Clonico Oh noble queene since you say so it playnly appeareth that you haue always ben loued agayne of him whom you haue loued by occasion whereof ye hardely know what my payne is How may it appeare that iealousie bringeth greater griefe than is that I feele forsomuche as the iealous possesseth that he desireth and may in holding the same take more delight thereof in one houre than in a long time after to feele any payne through want thereof and neuerthelesse he may through experience abandon such iealousie if it happen that this iudgement be found false but I being kindled with a fiery desire howe much the more I sée my selfe farre off from the attaining the same so muche the more I burne and consume my selfe assaulted of a thousand instigations neither is any experiēce able to help me therin bicause thorow the often reprouing hir and finding hir euery houre more sharpe I liue desperate Wherefore your answer séemeth contrary to the truthe bicause I doubt not but that it is muche better to holde with suspition than to desire wyth teares That amorous flame that dothe shine in our eyes and that euery houre dothe adorne our sight with the greater beautie doeth neuer consent replied the Quéene that we loue in vain as you affirme but for all that it is not vnknown to vs howe great and what manner of paine that is bothe of the one and the other and therfore as our answere hath bene confirmable to the truth one thing we will shew to you It is manifest that those things which moste doe hinder the quiet of the minde are cares the which are some of them come to a merrie ende so some we sée to end with great sorow wherof how much more the mind is repleat so much the more hath it of gréefe and chiefliest when as the same are noisome and that the iealous haue more store therof thā haue you is manifest bicause you héede nothing else but only to gette the good will of the dāsel whom ye loue the which not being able to attaine is to you a gréefe most gréeuous but yet it is certaine that it may easly come to passe to attaine the same at one instant not thinking therof forsomuch as womens heartes are inconstant bisides peraduēture she loueth you not withstanding to proue if you also loue hir shée sheweth the contrary and so perhappes wil shew vntil such time as she shal be wel assured of your loue so that with these thoughts hope can mitigate vnfained gréefe but the iealous hath his minde ful fraught of infinite eares against the which neither hope nor other delight can bring cōfort or ease the paine For he standeth intentiue to giue a law to the wandring eyes the which his possessor can not giue He wil and doth endeuour hymselfe to giue a law to the féete to the hands and to euery other acte of his Mistresse He will be a circūspect knower both of hir thoughtes of hir myrth interpreting euery thing in euil part towardes himself belèeuing that eche one desireth and loueth hir whome hée loueth Likewise he imagineth euery woord that shée speaketh to be twaine and full of disceit And if he euer committed any detraction towardes hir it is death to him to remembre it imagining to be by the like means deceiued He wil with coniectures shut vp the wayes of the aire and of the earthe And briefly the heauens the earthe birdes beastes and euery other creature that he thinketh doth hinder his deuises And to remoue him from this hope hathe no place bicause in this doing if he find the woman faithful he thinketh that shée espyeth that which he doth and is therfore héedefull therein If he findeth that he séeketh for and that he would not finds who is more dolorous than hée If peraduenture ye thinke that the imbracing hir in his armes be so great a delighte vnto him as shuld mitigate these pangs your iudgemēt is then false bicause such manner of colling bringeth him in choller in thinking that others as wel as he hath imbraced hir in the like sort and if the woman peraduenture doe louingly entertaine him he demeth that shée doth it to the ende to remoue him from suche his imaginations not for the true loue shée beareth him If he finde hir maliciously disposed he thynketh that shée then loueth an other and is not content with him And thus we can shewe you an infinite numbre of other suspitions cares that are harbored in a iealous persone What shall we then say of his lyfe but that it is farre more gréeuous than that of any other liuing creature He lyueth beléeuing and not beléeuing and stil alluring the woman and moste tymes it hapneth that these iealous persons doe end their liues thorow the self same malice wherof they liue fearful not without cause for that with their reprehensions they shewe the way to theyr owne harmes Considering then the aforesayd reasons more cause hath your frend that is iealous to sorrow than haue you bicause you may hope to get and he liueth in feare to lose that which he scarsly holdeth for his own And therfore if he haue more cause of gréefe than you yet comforts him selfe the best he cā much more ought you to comfort your self and to set aside bewailings that are méete for faint heartes and hope that the assured loue which you beare towardes your Ladie shall not lose his due desert For though she shew hir selfe sharp towardes you at this present it can not be but that shee loueth you bicause that loue neuer pardoned any loued to loue and ye shal know that with the fierce vehement windes are sooner broken the stubburne Okes than the consenting réedes The sixt Question proposed by a yong Gentlevvoman NExt vnto Clonico sate a faire Gentlewoman apparelled in black vesture vnder an honest veyle who as she perceiued the Quéen to haue made an end of hir wordes thus began to say Moste gracious Quéene I remembre that
a true report and wil therfore that thou know that this loue is nothing else than an vnreasonable will sprong of a passion entered the heart through a wanton pleasure that is opened to the eyes nourished with idlenesse by the memorie and thoughts of foolish minds and many times in how much it multiplieth so much it taketh away the intent of him in whom it abideth from things necessarie and disposeth the same to things vnprofitable But bicause that thou through example giuing dost endeuour thy selfe to shew that all goodnesse and all vertue doth procéede from him we will procéede to the disprofes of thy prooufes It is no part of humilitie vniustly to bring to a mans selfe that whiche belongeth to an other but rather an arrogancie and an vnsitting presumption The whiche thing Mars whome thou makest throughe loue to become humble assuredly vsed in taking away from Vulcan Venus his moste lawfull wife And without doubt this humilitie that appeareth in the face of louers doth not procéede of a benigne heart but taketh roote from guile and deceipt neither makes this loue the couetous liberal but when as such abundance as thou laiest to haue ben in Medea doth abound in the heart and doth depriue the same of the sight of the minde and most foolishly is become prodigall of things heretofore duly estemed deare and not giuing the same with measure but vnprofitably casting them away beléeueth to please and displeaseth Medea nothing wise of hir prodigalitie in short time repented very muche without vtilitie and knew that if she had modestly vsed those hir dere gifts she should not haue comen to so vile an ende And that soliciting that purchaseth or worketh hurt to the soliciters as it seemeth to vs ought not any ways to be sought for for must better it is to stand idle than worke harme although that neither the one nor the other is to be praysed Paris was a solicitour to his own destruction if he beheld the end of his soliciting Menelaus as reson was became diligent not for loue but to recouer his honor lost as eche discrete person ought to doe Neither yet is this loue a meane to mitigate anger but the benignitie of minde the brunt being paste that induceth it makes it to become nothing and remitteth the offence agaynst whom it is angry And yet louers and discrete persons were wont at the prayers of the person loued or of some friend to forgiue offences to shew them selues curteous of that which cost thē nothing and to make the crauers thereof beholding vnto them And in this sort Achilles many times shewed himselfe to expell from him this congeled anger Likewise it séemes that this makes men couragious and worthy But therof I can shew you the contrary Who was a man of greater valour than Hercules and yet béeing enamoured became vile forgetful of his force so that he did spin thréede with the women of Iole Assuredly in things wherein occurreth no daunger a most hardy people are the enamoured and wherin daunger hapneth they shew themselues in apparaunce hardie and put themselues forwarde neither dothe loue but little wit allure them so to do to the ende they may after haue glory in the sight of their loues although it hapneth very seldome bicause they doubt so much the losing of the person loued that they are rather content to be helde vyle and of little courage than to giue themselues to perill And yet we doubt not but this loue reposeth all swéetenesse in Orpheus harpe We agrée that it is true that thou hast shewed that truly in generall loue ladeth the tongs of his subiects with such a swéetenesse and with so many enticements as they many tymes would therby make the stones turne vp side downe so that to entice is not onely the propertie of wauering and inconstant men but of vile men How shal we say that suche a lorde ought to be followed throughe the good propertie of the follower Assuredly he in whom he abideth maketh wise and profitable counsels to be despised For it was euill with the Troians that those of Cassandra were not heard of Paris He maketh likewise his subiects to forget and despise their good fame the which ought to remayne to vs all on earth after our deathes as an eternall heire of our memorie And how much these aforesayd did contemne the same Egistus may suffise for an example Although Scylla wrought no lesse hurt than Pasiphe Is not he the occasion that breaketh sacred bonds of the promised pure faith Yet truely what had Ariadna done to duke Theseus whereby contaminating the matrimonical bands and giuing himselfe and his promised fayth to the winds he shoulde abandon hir poore miser among the desert rockes A little pleasure in gasing in the eyes of Phedra was occasion to celerate so much euill and of suche requitall for the receiued honor In him also is found no law and that it is true may be séene by the doings of Tereus who hauing receyued Philomena from hir pitifull father and carnally knowen hir made no staye to contaminate the moste holy lawes matrimonially contracted betwéene hym and Progne the sister of Philomena This also calling and causing himselfe to be called a God occupieth the reasons of the gods Who coulde euer fully with words shew the iniquitie of him He to speake briefly leadeth them that follow him to all euilles and if by happe his followers do any vertuous acte whiche happeneth very seldome with a vicious beginning they beginne it desiring therby to come very quickly to the desired ende of their lothsome willes the which may be rather sayd vices than vertues forsomuche as that is not to be héeded onely whiche man dothe but with what minde it is doone and so according to the will of the worker to repute the same vicious or vertuous bicause that neuer of an euill roote sprang a good trée nor from an euill trée good fruite This loue then is leude and naught and if he be naught he is to be fledde And who that fleeth things euill of consequent followeth the good and so is bothe good and vertuous The beginning of this loue is none other thing than feare the sequels is sinne and the ende is griefe and noy it ought then to be fled and to be reproued and to feare you to haue him in you bicause he is violent neither knoweth he in any of his doings to kepe measure and is altogither voyde of reason He is without all doubt the destroyer of the minds the shame anguishe passion griefe and plaint of the same neuer consenteth that the hearte of whome that lodgeth hym be withoute bitternesse who will than prayse that he is to be followed but fooles Truely if it were lawfull we would willingly liue without him but of suche an harme we are to late awares and therefore it is conuenient for vs since we are caught in his nettes to follow his life vntil what time as that light which
guided Aeneas out of the darke wayes fléeing the perilous fiers may appeare to vs and guide vs to his pleasures ¶ The eyght Question proposed by a fayre Gentlevvoman named POLA. ON the right hande of Galeone was set a fayre gentlewoman whose name was Pola pleasaunt and yet vnder an honest couerture who after the Quéene blent thus began to say O noble Quéene ye haue domed at this present that no person ought to follow this our lord Loue and I for my part consent thervnto but yet since it séemes to me impossible that the youthfull race both of men and women should be runne ouer without this benigne Loue I gather at this present setting apart by your leaue your sentence that to be enamoured is lefull taking the euill doing for due working And in following the same I desire to know of you whether of these two women ought rather to be loued of a yong man bothe two pleasing him alike either she that is of noble blood and of able kinsfolke and copious of hauing muche more than the yong man or the other that is nether noble nor rich nor of kinsfolkes so abounding as is the yong mā To whome the Queene thus made answere Faire Gentlewoman admitting the case that both man and womā ought to follow Loue as you haue before affirmed we giue iudgement that in howe much the woman is richer greater and more noble than the yong mā of whatsoeuer degrée or dignitie he be of euen so she ought to be rather preferred to the loue of a yong man than ought shée that hath any thing lesse thā he bicause mans mind was created to folow high things And therfore he must seeke rather to aduance than any ways to imbace himself Further there is a common Prouerbe which sayth The good to couet better t' is Than to possesse that bad is Wherefore in our iudgement thou art better to loue the most noble and wyth good reson to refuse the lesse noble Thē said pleasant Pola noble Queen I wold haue giuen an other iudgement if it had bene to me of this Question as ye shall heare We all naturally doe rather desire short and bréefe than long and tedyous troubles and that it is a lesse more bréefe trouble to get the loue of the lesse noble thā of the more noble is manifest Then the lesse ought to be followed for as muchè as the loue of the lesse may be sayd to be alredy won the which of the more is yet to get Further many perils may folow to a man louing a woman of a greater condition than him selfe is of nether hath he lastly therby any greater delight than of the lesser For we see a great woman to haue many kinsfolks a great family and them all as diligent héeders of hir honour to haue an eye vnto hir so that if any one of them happē to espie this loue therof may folow as we haue already sayd great perill to the louer the which of the lesse noble cā not so lightly com to passe and these perils ech one as he is able ought to flée for as much as who y receiueth harme is sure therof and who that hath done it laugheth him after to scorn saying he spéedeth wel where he liketh there let him loue yet dyeth he more than once But howe that once happeneth where and for what occasion besides eche one ought to take good heede it is very credible that a Gentlewoman will lightly esteeme of hym for that shee will desire to loue one more Noble or greater than hir selfe and not one inferioure to hir self wherby soldome or neuer he shall attaine his desire But of the lesser shall happen the contrary bicause that shee will glory to bée loued of suche a Louer and will endeuour hir selfe to please hym to the ende to nourishe Loue and yet if this were not the power of the Louer onely myght be able wythout feare to bryng to passe to fulfill his desire Wherefore I gather that the lesse Noble oughte to bée preferred in loue before the more noble Your iudgement deceiueth you said the Quéene to the fair Gentlewoman bicause Loue is of thys nature that howe muche the more one Loueth so muche the more he desireth to loue And this may be séene by them that thorowe loue féele the greater gréefe the which although it trouble thē not a litle yet loue they continually the more Neyther doeth any one from his heart althoughe he make great apparance in wordes desire thereof a spéedie end Then as small troubles are sought for of the slouthfull of the wise things that are attained with most trouble are helde most deare and delightfull And therefore in louing the lesse woman to get hir should be as you say little trouble and the loue both litle and short should be folowed as though one in louing would desire to loue lesse and lesse which is contrary to the nature of Loue as we haue sayd But in louing the greater that is gotten wyth trouble happeneth the contrary bicause that as in a thing dearely gotten with trauaile is reposed all diligēce to the wel héeding of the gained Loue euen so is shée euery houre the more loued and the lōger doth continue the delight and pleasure therof And yet if ye will say that all the doubt is of theyr kinsmen we wil not denie it for this is one of the occasions Wherefore it is a trouble to haue the loue of one of these great women but not withstanding the discrete in suche cases procéede by a secrete way And we dout not but that the honor bothe of the greatest and meanest woman is by some of their kinsfolkes according to their power loked vnto in such sort as a fole may come to an euill aduenture louing aswell in a base as in a noble stocke But what shal he be that wil passe Pisistrato in crueltie hauing offended them which loued hys without forethinking that which he should afterwardes haue done to those that had had the same in heart In saying also that louing a greater woman than himself he shall neuer be able to come to the ende of his desire bicause the woman coueteth to loue one greater than hir selfe and therefore will make of him no estimation at all ye shew your self to be ignorant that the meanest man in what belōgeth to naturall vertues is of greater and better condition thā the noblest woman of the world Whatsoeuer man shee then desireth shée desireth him that is of greater and better condition than hir selfe bicause the vertuous or vicious life maketh many times the meane great and the great meane In as much therefore as any woman shall bée solicited by any man in due sorte euen so wythout doubt shée shall yeld to his desire though the great with more trouble thā the mean. For we see the softe water with a continuall fall to breake and pierce the harde stone and
therefore I shoulde thus saye that as you sayde the yong woman did very wisely not defining it for all that as you haue don but in this maner She knowing that she was very well loued of two yong men and that she could not loue mo than one for that loue is an indiuisible thing she would rewarde the one for the loue he bare hir to the ende that suche good will should not be vnrewarded and so gaue him hir garlande in requitall thereof To the other whom she loued she thought she woulde giue courage and assured hope of hir loue taking his garlande and decking hir selfe therewith in token wherof she playnly shewed to be beholding vnto him for the same And therfore in my iudgement she loued better him from whom she toke than him to whom she gaue To whom the Quéene thus made answere Your argument should haue pleased vs right well if your selfe in your tale had not condemned the same Sée how pillage and perfect loue can agrée togither How can ye shew me that we loue him whom we spoyle better than him to whom we giue According to the Question propounded to the one she gaue a garlande and from the other she toke a garlande neither had she too whome she gaue ought giuen hir and that which we see euery day for example may here suffise as is commonly sayde They are of gentlemen farre better loued on whom they bestow fauour and gifts than those that are by them depriued of them And for that cause we lastly holde opinion concluding that he is better loued to whom is giuen than he from whom is taken We know very wel that in these our reasonings much might be obiected agaynst this our definition much also answered to the contrary reasons But lastly such determination shall remayne true And bicause time now serueth not to staye with this our talke vpon one matter only without moe we will giue eare to the rest if it please you To whom Philocopo sayd That it pleased him right wel and that very well suffised suche a resolution to his demaunded question and so helde his peace The second Question proposed by LONGANO NExte to Philocopo was placed a curteous young man and gracious to beholde whose name was Longano who no sooner than Philocopo had left thus beganne Most excellent Quéene so trim hath ben the first question that in my conceipte mine shall bring no delight at al. Yet to the ende not to be seuered from so noble a company foorth it shall and thus he followed saying It is not many dayes past that I abiding all solitarie in my chamber wrapt in a heape of troublesome thoughts sprong frō an amorous desire the which with a fierce battayle had assaulted my heart by happe heard a piteous plaint wherevnto bicause I iudged it by estimation néere vnto me intentiuely I layde mine eare and therby knew that they were women by occasion whereof I sodaynly rose to sée who and where they were and loking forth at my chamber window I heard ouer agaynst the same in one other chamber two yong women the same being sisters adorned with an inestimable beautie there abiding without any other company whom as I saw making this sorowfull plaint I withdrew my selfe into a secret place without beeing of them espied and so behelde them a long while neither was I able for all that to vnderstande all the words that they through griefe vttred in teares but that the effect of suche plaint according to that I coulde comprehende séemed to me to be for loue wherefore I through pitie and so swete an occasion offred being thus close as I was began to shead my trickling teres And after that I had in their gréefe perseuered in the same a good space forsomuch as I was their very familiar also their kinsman I purposed to vnderstand more certayne the occasion of their sorow and so went vnto them who had no sooner espied me but all bashfull they withhelde them from teares endeuoring them selues to do me reuerence To whom I sayde Gentlewomen trouble not your selues neither let this my comming moue you to restrain your inward grief for your tears haue bin now a good space apparant vnto me It shall be therefore needelesse to hide you either yet thorow bashfulnesse to hide from me the cause of thys your plaint For I am come hither to vnderstand the same And be you assured that ye shal not receiue by me either in word or déede any euill requitall but rather helpe and comfort in what I may The women greatly excused themselues saying that they sorrowed for nothing but yet after I had coniured them and they seing me desirous to vnderstand the same the elder thus began to say It is the pleasure of the Gods that to thee our secretes be discouered thou therfore shalt vnderstand that we aboue al other women haue alwayes resisted the sharpe darts of Cupide who of a long season in casting the same was neuer yet able to fastē any one of them in our hearts But now lastly being further inflamed and hauing determined to ouercome that his childishe enterprise tooke of newe with his yong arme of his best and dearest shaftes and with so great force wounded the heartes so sore infeebled through the sundry blowes before receiued as the heades thereof pierced deepe so as they made a farre greater wound than if resistance had not bene made to the other former had like to haue bene And thus for the pleasure of two most noble yong Gentlemen we are become subiectes to his deitie folowing his pleasure wyth more perfect faith and seruent wil than euer any other women haue done Now hath Fortune and the loue of them as I shall declare vnto you left vs both comfortlesse First I before my sister héere was in loue and through mine endeuor beléeuing wisely to ende my desire so wrought as I got the loued yong Gentleman at my pleasure whome I found as greatly enamored of me as I of him But truely nowe hath not the amorous flame through such effect ceassed neither hathe the desire lessened but eache one more vehemently increaseth and more than euer I doe nowe burne in hys fire And what tyme seeing howe I might best mitigate assuage the kindled flame thereof holding it inwardly secrete it after hapned that the horned Moone was no sooner come to hir perfect roundnesse but that he at vnwares committed a fault for the which was adiudged him perpetuall exile from this citie whervpon he dreading death is departed hence without hope euer to returne I sorowfull woman aboue all others more now enflamed thā euer am without him left both dolefull and desperate By occasion whereof I sorrow me and that thing that most increaseth my sorrow is that on euery side I see the way barde from béeing able to follow him Thinke therfore now whether I haue cause to playne me or no. Then sayd I and this other why