legge was straighter then the thigh of Ioue And he farre fairer then the god of loue When first this wel-shapt boy beauties chiefe king Had seene the labour of the fifteenth spring How curiously it paynted all the earth He 'gan to trauaile from his place of birth Leauing the stately hils where he was nurst And where the Nymphs had brought him vp at first He lou'd to trauaile to the coasts vnknowne To see the regions farre beyond his owne Seeking cleare watry springs to bathe him in For he did loue to wash his iuory skinne The louely Nymphes haue oft times seene him swimme And closely stole his clothes from off the brim Because the wanton wenches would so fayne See him come nak'd to aske his clothes againe He lou'd besides to see the Lycian grounds And know the wealthy Carians vtmost bounds Vsing to trauaile thus one day he found A cristall brooke that tril'd along the ground A brooke that in reflection did surpasse The cleare reflection of the clearest glasse About the side there grew no foggy reedes Nor was the fount compast with barren weedes But liuing turfe grew all along the side And grasse that euer flourisht in his pride Within this brook a beauteous Nymph did dwell Who for her comely feature did excell So faire she vvas of such a pleasing grace So straight a body and so sweet a face So soft a belly such a lustie thigh So large a forehead such a cristall eye So soft and moyst a hand so smooth a brest So faire a cheeke so well in all the rest That Iupiter would reuell in her bowre Were he to spend againe his golden showre Her teeth were whiter then the mornings milke Her lip was softer then the softest silke Her haire as farre surpast the burn sht gold As siluer doth excell the basest mold Ioue courted her for her translucent eye And told her he would place her in the skye Promising her if she would be his loue He would ingraue her in the heauen aboue Telling this louely Nymph that if he would He could deceiue her in a showre of gold Or like a Swanne come to her naked bed And so deceiue her of her maiden-head But yet because he thought that pleasure best Where each consenting ioynes each louing brest He would put off that all-commaunding crowne Whose terrour strooke th' aspiring Giants downe That glittering crown whose radiāt sight did tosse Great Pelion from the top of mighty Osse He would depose from his world-swaying head To taste the amorous pleasures of her bed This added he besides the more to grace her Like a bright starre he would in heauens vault place her By this the proud lasciuious Nymph was mou'd Perceiuing by great Ioue shee was belou'd And hoping as a starre she should ere long Be sterne or gracious to the Sea-mans song For mortals still are subiect to their eye And what it sees they striue to get as hie Shee was contented that almighty Ioue Should haue the first and best fruits of her loue For women may be likened to the yeere Whose first fruites still do make the dayntiest cheere But yet Astraea first should plight her troth For the performance of Ioues sacred oth Iust times decline and all good dayes are dead When heauenly othes had need be warranted This heard great Iupiter and lik'd it well And hastily he seekes Astraeas cell About the massie earth searching her towre But she had long since left this earthly bowre And flew to heauen aboue lothing to see The sinfull actions of humanitie Which when Ioue did perceiue he left the earth And flew vp to the place of his owne birth The burning heauenly throne where he did spy Astraeas palace in the glittering skie This stately towre was builded vp on hie Farre from the reach of any mortall eye And from the palace side there did distill A little water through a little quill The dewe of iustice which did seldome fall And when it dropt the drops were very small Glad was great Ioue when he beheld her towre Meaning a while to rest him in her bowre And therefore sought to enter at her dore But there was such a busie rout before Some seruing men and some promooters bee That he could passe no foote without a fee But as he goes he reaches out his hands And payes each one in order as he stands And still as he was paying those before Some slipt againe betwixt him and the dore At length with much adoo he past them all And entred straight into a spacious hall Full of darke angles and of hidden wayes Crooked Maeanders infinite delayes All which delayes and entries he must passe Ere he could come where iust Astraea was All these being past by his immortall wit Without her doore he saw a porter sit An aged man that long time there had beene Who vs'd to search all those that entred in And still to euery one he gaue this curse None must see Iustice but with emptie purse This man searcht Ioue for his owne priuate gaine To haue the money which did yet remaine Which was but small for much was spent before On the tumultuous rout that kept the dore When he had done he brought him to the place Where he should see diuine Astraeas face Then the great King of gods and men in went And saw his daughter Venus there lament And crying lowd for iustice whom Ioue found Kneeling before Astraea on the ground And still she cry'd and beg'd for a iust doome Against blacke Vulcan that vnseemely groome Whome she had chosen for her onely loue Though she was daughter to great thundring Ioue And though the fairest goddesse yet content To marrie him though weake and impotent But for all this they alwayes were at strife For euermore he rayld at her his wife Telling her still Thou art no wife of mine Anothers strumpet Mars his concubine By this Astraea spyde almighty Ioue And bow'd her finger to the Queene of loue To cease her sute which she would heare anon When the great King of all the world was gone Then she descended from her stately throne Which seat was builded all of Iasper stone And o're the seat was paynted all aboue The wanton vnseene stealths of amorous Ioue There might a man behold the naked pride Of louely Venus in the vale of Ide When Pallas and Ioues beauteous wife and she Stroue for the prise of beauties raritie And there lame Vulcan and his Cyclops stroue To make the thunderbolts for mighty Ioue From this same stately throne she down descēded And sayd The griefs of Ioue should be amended Asking the King of gods what lucklesse cause What great contēpt of state what breach of lawes For sure she thought some vncouth cause befell That made him visit poore Astraeas cell Troubled his thought and if she might decide it VVho vext great Ioue he dearely should abide it Ioue onely thankt her and beganne to show His cause of comming for each one
doth know The longing words of Louers are not many If they desire to be inioyd of any Telling Astraea It might now befall That she might make him blest that blesseth all For as he walk'd vpon the flowry earth To which his owne hands whilome gaue a birth To see how streight he held it and how iust He rold this massy pondrous heape of dust He laid him downe by a coole riuer side Whose pleasant water did so gently slide With such soft whispering for the brook was deepe That it had lul'd him in a heauenly sleepe When first he laid him downe there was none neere him For he did call before but none could heare him But a faire Nymph was bathing when he wak'd Here sigh'd great Ioue and after brought forth nak'd He seeing lou'd the Nymph yet here did rest Where iust Astraea might make Ioue be blest If she would passe her faithfull word so farre As that great Ioue should make the mayd a starre Astraea yeelded at which Ioue was pleas'd And all his longing hopes and feares were eas'd Ioue tooke his leaue and parted from her sight Whose thoughts were ful of louers sweet delight And she ascended to her throne aboue To heare the griefes of the great Queene of loue But she was satisfide and would no more Rayle at her husband as she did before But forth she tript apace because she stroue With her swift feet to ouertake great Ioue She skipt so nimbly as she went to looke him That at the palace doore she ouertooke him Which way was plaine and broad as they went out And now they could see no tumultuous rout Here Venus fearing lest the loue of Ioue Should make this mayd be plac'd in heauen aboue Because she thought this Nymph so wondrous bright That she would dazel her accustom'd light And fearing now she should not first be seene Of all the glittring starres as shee had beene But that the wanton Nymph would eu'ry night Be first that should salute eche mortall sight Began to tell great Ioue she grieu'd to see The heauen so full of his iniquity Complayning that eche strumpet now was grac'd And with immortall goddesses was plac'd Intreating him to place in heauen no more Eche wanton strumpet and lasciuious whore Ioue mad with loue harkned not what she sayd His thoughts were so intangled with the mayd But furiously he to his Palace lept Being minded there till morning to haue slept For the next morne as soone as Phoebus rayes Should yet shine coole by reason of the seas And ere the parting teares of Thaetis bed Should be quite shak't from off his glittring head Astraea promis'd to attend great Ioue At his owne Palace in the heauen aboue And at that Palace she would set her hand To what the loue-sick god should her command But to descend to earth she did deny She loath'd the sight of any mortall eye And for the compasse of the earthly round She would not set one foot vpon the ground Therefore Ioue meant to rise but with the sunne Yet thought it long vntill the night was done In the meane space Venus was drawne along By her white Doues vnto the sweating throng Of hammering Black-smithes at the lofty hill Of stately Etna whose top burneth still For at that burning mountaynes glittring top Her cripple husband Vulcan kept his shop To him she went and so collogues that night With the best straines of pleasures sweet delight That ere they parted she made Vulcan sweare By dreadfull Stix an othe the gods do feare If Ioue would make the mortall mayd a starre Himselfe should frame his instruments of warre And tooke his othe by blacke Cocitus Lake He neuer more a thunder-bolt would make For Venus so this night his sences pleas'd That now he thought his former griefs were eas'd She with her hands the black-smiths body bound And with her Iu'ry armes she twyn'd him round And still the faire Queene with a prety grace Disperst her sweet breath o're his swarty face Her snowy armes so well she did display That Vulcan thought they melted as they lay Vntill the morne in this delight they lay Then vp they got and hasted fast away In the white Chariot of the Queene of loue Towards the Palace of great thundring Ioue Where they did see diuine Astraea stand To passe her word for what Ioue should command In limpt the Blacke-smith after stept his Queene Whose light arrayment was of louely greene When they were in Vulcan began to sweare By othes that Iupiter himselfe doth feare If any whore in heauens bright vault were seene To dimme the shining of his beauteous Queene Each mortall man should the great gods disgrace And mocke almightie Ioue vnto his face And Giants should enforce bright heauen to fall Ere he would frame one thunderbolt at all Ioue did intreat him that he would forbeare The more he spoke the more did Vulcan sweare Ioue heard his words and 'gan to make his mone That mortall men would plucke him from his throne Or else he must incurre this plague he said Quite to forgoe the pleasure of the mayd And once he thought rather then lose her blisses Her heauenly sweets her most delicious kisses Her soft embraces and the amorous nights That he should often spend in her delights He would be quite thrown down by mortal hands From the blest place where his bright palace stands But afterwards hee saw with better sight He should be scorn'd by euery mortall wight If he should want his thunderbolts to beate Aspiring mortals from his glittering seate Therefore the god no more did woo or proue her But left to seeke her loue though not to loue her Yet he forgot not that he woo'd the lasse But made her twise as beauteous as she was Because his wonted loue he needs would shew This haue I heard but yet scarce thought it true And whether her cleare beautie was so bright That it could dazel the immortall sight Of gods and make them for her loue despaire I do not know but sure the maid was faire Yet the faire Nymph was neuer seene resort Vnto the sauage and the bloudy sport Of chaste Diana nor was euer wont To bend a bow nor euer did she hunt Nor did she euer striue with pretie cunning To ouergoe her fellow Nymphs in running For she was the faire water-Nymph alone That vnto chaste Diana was vnknowne It is reported that her fellowes vs'd To bid her though the beauteous Nymph refus'd To take or painted quiuers or a dart And put her lazy idlenesse apart Nor tooke she painted quiuers nor a dart Nor put her lazy idlenesse apart But in her cristall fountaine oft she swimmes And oft she washes o're her snowy limmes Sometimes she comb'd her soft discheuel'd hayre Which with a fillet tide she oft did weare But sometimes loose she did it hang behind When she was pleas'd to grace the Easterne wind For vp and downe it would her tresses hurle And as she went it
Hermaphroditus sayd How should I loue thee when I doe espie A farre more beauteous Nymph hid in thy eye When thou doost loue let not that Nymph be nie thee Nor when thou woo'st let that same Nymph be by thee Or quite obscure her from thy louers face Or hide her beauty in a darker place By this the Nymph perceiu'd he did espie None but himselfe reflected in her eye And for himselfe no more she meant to shew him She shut her eyes blind-fold thus did woo him Fayre boy thinke not thy beauty can dispence With any payne due to a bad offence Remember how the gods punisht that boy That scorn'd to let a beauteous Nymph enioy Her long wisht pleasure for the peeuish elfe Lou'd of all others needs would loue himselfe So mayst thou loue perhaps thou mayst be blest By graunting to a lucklesse Nymphs request Then rest awhile with me amid these weeds The Sunne that sees all sees not louers deeds Phoebus is blind when loue-sports are begun And neuer sees vntill their sports be done Beleeue me boy thy blood is very stayd That art so loth to kisse a youthfull mayd Wert thou a mayd and I a man I le show thee With what a manly boldnesse I could woo thee Fayrer then loues Queene thus I would begin Might not my ouer-boldnesse be a sinne I would intreat this fauour if I could Thy rosiat cheeke a little to behold Then would I beg a touch and then a kisse And then a lower yet a higher blisse Then would I aske what Ioue and Laeda did When like a Swan the craftie god was hid What came he for why did he there abide Surely I thinke hee did not come to chide He came to see her face to talke and chat To touch to kisse came he for nought but that Yes something else what was it he would haue That which all men of maydens ought to craue This sayd her eye-lids wide she did display But in this space the boy was runne away The wanton speeches of the louely lasse Forc't him for shame to hide him in the grasse When she perceiu'd she could not see him neere her When she had cal'd and yet he could not heare her Looke how when Autumne comes a little space Paleth the red blush of the Summers face Tearing the leaues the Summers couering Three months in weauing by the curious spring Making the grasse his greene locks go to wracke Tearing each ornament from off his backe So did she spoyle the garments she did weare Tearing whole ounces of her golden hayre She thus deluded of her longed blisse With much adoo at last she vttred this Why wert thou bashfull boy Thou hast no part Shewes thee to be of such a female heart His eye is gray so is the mornings eye That blusheth alwayes when the day is nye Then his gray eye 's the cause that cannot be The gray-ey'd morne is farre more bold then he For with a gentle dew from heauens bright towre It gets the mayden-head of eu'ry flowre I would to God he were the rosiat morne And I a flowre from out the earth new borne His face was smooth Narcissus face was so And he was carelesse of a sad Nymphs woe Then that 's the cause and yet that cannot be Youthfull Narcissus was more bold then he Because he dide for loue though of his shade This boy nor loues himselfe nor yet a mayd Besides his glorious eye is wondrous bright So is the fierie and all-seeing light Of Phoebus who at eu'ry mornings birth Blusheth for shame vpon the sullen earth Then that 's the cause and yet that cannot be The fierie Sunne is farre more bold then he He nightly kisseth Thaetis in the sea All know the story of Leucothoe His cheeke is red so is the fragrant Rose Whose ruddie cheeke with ouer-blushing gloes Then that 's the cause and yet that cannot bee Eche blushing Rose is farre more bold then he Whose boldnesse may be plainely seene in this The ruddy Rose is not asham'd to kisse For alwayes when the day is new begun The spreading Rose will kisse the morning Sun This sayd hid in the grasse she did espie him And stumbling with her will she fel down by him And with her wanton talke because he woo'd not Beg'd that which he poore nouice vnderstood not And for she could not get a greater blisse She did intreat at least a sisters kisse But still the more she did the boy beseech The more he powted at her wanton speech At last the Nymph began to touch his skin Whiter then mountaine snow hath euer bin And did in purenesse that cleare spring surpasse Wherein Actaeon saw th' Arcadian lasse Thus did she dally long till at the last In her moyst palme she lockt his white hand fast Then in her hand his wrest she 'gan to close When through his pulses strait the warme bloud gloes Whose youthfull musike fanning Cupids fire In her warme brest kindled a fresh desire Then did she lift her hand vnto his brest A part as white and youthfull as the rest Where as his flowry breath still comes and goes She felt his gentle heart pant through his clothes At last she tooke her hand from off that part And sayd It panted like anothers heart Why should it be more feeble and lesse bold Why should the bloud about it be more cold Nay sure that yeelds onely thy tongue denyes And the true fancy of thy heart belyes Then did she lift her hand vnto his chin And prays'd the prety dimpling of his skin But straight his chin she 'gan to ouerslip When she beheld the rednesse of his lip And sayd thy lips are soft presse them to mine And thou shalt see they are as soft as thine Then would she faine haue gone vnto his eye But still his ruddy lip standing so nie Drew her hand backe therefore his eye she mist ' Ginning to claspe his neck and would haue kist But then the boy did struggle to be gone Vowing to leaue her and that place alone But then bright Salmacis began to feare And sayd Fayre stranger I wil leaue thee here Amid these pleasant places all alone So turning back she fayned to be gone But from his sight she had no power to passe Therefore she turn'd and hid her in the grasse When to the ground bending her snow-white knee The glad earth gaue new coates to euery tree He then supposing he was all alone Like a young boy that is espy'd of none Runnes here and there then on the bankes doth looke Then on the cristall current of the brooke Then with his foote he toucht the siluer streames Whose drowzy waues made musike in their dreames And for he was not wholy in did weepe Talking alowd and babbling in their sleepe Whose pleasant coolenesse when the boy did feele He thrust his foote downe lower to the heele O'recome with whose sweet noyse he did begin To strip his soft clothes from his tender skin