the soft soles of thy nice-tender Feete I now will goe and to my selfe reherse Those songs which erst I in Calcidick verse On the Sicilian Shepheards Pipe did frame Much rather chusing mongst the beasts untame Henceforth to suffer in this lonely Cave And there my love in barke of Trees ingrave That as they growe my Love thou al 's ' mayst growe Eft then on Menalus I to and fro Will spend my time the dainty Nymphes among Or hunt to lay the boystrous Bore along No could shall let mee make my Ringwalkes round The thick Parthenian thickets with my hound Meethinks I soe how sometimes I dispase Mee 'mongst the Rocks and hollow Woods doo traces Sometime I joy to dravv in Parthian bovve Cydonian arrovves at the mountaine rovve As if these things mote cure my malady Or that that God mote e're relent thereby Or pitty learne the poore to give them ease Againe sometime nor th Hamadriades Nor songs delight nor ought that I can tell And yee delightfull Woods now fare you vvell Not all which vvee can doo may change his mynd No not allbee in bittrest could and vvynd I Hebrus shoulden drinke or clamber upp The hanging heapes or headlong mountaines topp Of candid snovve or chill Sithonian Rocks Ne should I tend the AEthiopian flocks Vnder the Crabstarr vvhen the dying Vine On th-Elmes provvd topps doth dvvindle avvay pine Love makes all yeeld and I to love must yeeld Pycrian Ladies now suffice it yee This song which once your Poet sung as hee Of small soft twiggs fate making Baskets feare To Gallus yee can make them seeme-n great Gallus whose love eekes in mee every hovvr Much as reviv'd vvith Phoebus blisfull povvr Greene Alders vvoont to sprout in prime of spring Novv let us rise 't is naught in shade to sing Shadovves of Iuniper unvvholesome been And shadovves hurt young fruites and herbage green Goe Kiddyes see novv Hesperus doth come Inough yee novv have fedd goe high you home Verbae non sensum transtuli GALLVS The GLOSSE OH Arethusa c. This was a Fountain in Sicily dedicate to the Muses heer hee invokes the Fountain as if the Muses by their presence had infused vertue and of ther power and influence thereunto to helpe the Poets Invention and to make him facetious and witty in the handling of his matter Arethusa was a River rising in Peloponesus and running a long course within the veines of the earth unseen as farr as Cicily by Virgil heere called Cicania where neere to that part of the City of Siracusa named Ortigia it breakes forth into a goodly broad water The Poet heere alludeth to the course that this River houlds quite underneath many other Rivers and by that meanes never mingles with the salt and brackish water by the ebbing or flowing of the Sea which is heere meant by Doris Of this River and of the cause of the course thereof under the ground the Poets have this fiction Arethusa was a young dainty Virgin Companion and fellow huntress with Dyana with this Nymph they say the River Alpheus fell in love and thinking to have forced a curtesie from her which hee could not gain by faire meanes Dyana pittying the danger and willing to save her turn'd her into a cleere fountain of her owne name then Arethusa to bee safe from farther violence of her rude suiter stole away closely from him under the grownd like a modest mayde shrinking down into the bed and hiding her head within the cloathes at the sight of a stranger and never appearing again till shee came at Siracusa which when Alpheus knew with much ado finding which way she was gone hee follow'd day and night after in quest of his sweete heart at last hee overtakes and injoyes her Such a River is that of Gadez in Spaine of which a King of Spaine once in a merry discourse between himselfe and some other Princes about the riches and rarities each one of their own Country boasted of that hee had a Bridge in his Country that fedd every yeere ten thousand Cattle upon it thereby meaning the River of Gadez which from the spring head runns seven miles under grownd and then breakes forth into a fair and pleasant River Neere to this River as may seeme is that little Iland called the lesser Gadiz where the land is so frank and fertile that the Cowes milk yeelds neither whay nor Cheese except they mingle therewith a great deale of water and so wonderfull rich and barning is the pasture that they must let their Cattle blood often or els in thirty dayes they so overgrow that they are stifled with fatt Such as Lycoris c. Augustus himselfe so deere to Gallus For who few verses c. To so great a man to so great a Friend or so great a Poet. Doris bitter Flood c. Doris is said to bee the daughter of Tethis and Oceanus and is heere taken for the Sea Sicanus Flood c. That is Sicely For unto all the woods c. That is the Eccho of the woods will answer us Yee Mayden Nayades c. The Nymphes of the Meadowes Parnassus-topps c. A Mountayn of Greece having two topps under which the Muses dwelt Nor Pindus Hills c. A Mountayn in Thessaly The Aonian Aganippe c. A Fountayn in that Country of Greece which is called Aonia dedicate to the Muses and heereof they were sometime called Aganippides Menalus c. A high Mountayn in Arcadia What woods c. These were the places of Gallus his retrait amongst the Muses and to the study of sweete Poesie wherein if hee had still retir'd himselfe and not addicted him so eagerly to the gaining the acquaintance of the great ones and had not aspired to the great Imployments and Business of state which caus'd his ruin hee had still liv'd Sith nor Parnassus c. For by his study Gallus waded so farr that Greeke was as familiar as his own language therefore the knowledge of the Greeke Poets and the other Arts was no hindrance but that hee might still have persevered in his study so happily begun The Laurels c. The Shrubbs c. All sorts of people lament Gallus his death the Laurels that is the Poets and students in that kind of Learning The Shrubbs that is the Commons The Stones that is the most inferiour amongst the vulgar the most rude and ignorant sort had a sense of his loss The Flocks about him c. The Bucolicks which hee himselfe had made Ne ever they of mee c. That kind of verse that is Bucolicks is so handled by mee that it neede hould no shame to have fallen into my hands Ne needes it thee of them repent c. Thow howsoever thou art so excellent in Poetry and so admirable in this art that now thow maist even bee counted for divine yet needest not repent or shame to bee known to have addicted thy selfe and taken paines in this kind of Pastorall verse
hee is a God why doost thou seek the living amongst the deadâ— Hee is God that lives for evermore From hence comes joy into our hearts and great hope of blessednesse All which in the next verse is prayed for namely that hee would confirme his happinesse and ratifie that which by his expresse commandement weâ— promise to our selves concerning him Oh bee propitious and thy servants c. VVho trust in thee who with all their indeavour doe cleave and adhere unto thee and doe fly to thy patronage as to a safe Asylum and make them absolutely thine whosoever call upon thee for helpe Behould foure Altars c. Perhaps Virgil adds this after the custome observed of the heathen and hee very often mentions Apollo either in respect of the Pastorall verse or for that hee is the God of all Poets or els having respect to Augustus Caesar. But if hee tooke these verses out of the Sybil heereby is meant worship due to the humanity of Christ under the person of Daphnis and to his divinity under the person of Apollo Therefore it is that hee useth this word Arae to Daphnis and Altaria to Apollo forasmuch as Arae are used to those who of mortall men were made Gods Altaria dedicate to those who were the supreme and chiefe of the heavenly Gods Moreover Christ is the true Phaebus that is the Sunne of Iustice and Righteousnesse Ne store of Bacchus c. Christs feasts are not after the manner of such as are dead solemnized with griefe in silence and mourning but with joy and rejoycing as of one living and reigning and mediatour of our everlasting peace and grace with his Father These duties I will c. The remembrance of Christ his holy worship in the Church shall never end so long as man kinde and nature have any beeing This is saith St. Paul the Cup of my new and eternall testament so oft as yee shall eate of this bread and drink of this Cup yee shall shew the Lords death till hee come Their vowes to Bacchus and to Ceres c. As to the most usefull Gods for the sustaining of this mortall life without which man cannot propagate and preserve their kinde so they shall offer their vowes and other duties of devotion to thee and thy power to grant or deny suites made to thee shall bee no lesse then theirs Nathlesse nevertheless or notwithstanding THE ARGVMENT OF THE SIXTH EGLOGVE THis Eglogue intreateth of sundry secrets namely of the first beginning of all things and of the divinity of the Heathen Heerein the power and vertue of the Muses is deciphered whose Knowledge reacheth to all things They celebrate the Gods and preserve the memory of the Heroes and noble Personages as Gallus and Varus c. They also pierce into the neâ—rest secrets and mysteries of nature whereof they have their denomination 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to search or by searching to know for asmuch as they have the knowledge of all things Therefore the opinion of some unskilfull and unlearned is ridiculous who imagine that onely the skill of songs verse belongs to the Muses seeing that a Muse properly is the knowledge and skill of all things both humane and divine as Virgil declares lib. 2. Georgie SILENVS Egloga sexta FIrst my Thalia daign'd in Siracusian verse To play ne 'mongst the woods blusht to converse When Kings and Arms I sung Cynthius mine eare Twicht and this Item whisper'd doost thou heare Tityrus a shepheard his flock fat must feede And homely Hornpipes carroll on his Rheede Now sith great Varus many may bee found That can thy praises and dread warres resound My Muse in tune to my small Pipe I le set Ne I unbidden sing if any yet These songs delight to reade my Tamarisk And euery wood shall Varus sing of thee Ne any lines to Phaâ—bus gratefull bee As which beare title of brave Varus name Phâ—rian Muses now begin the same The Ladd Muasilus and young Chromis spyde All in a Cave Silenus gaping wide His veines all swell'd as woont and fast asleepe With wine which yesterday hee gusled deepe Slipt from his head his Guarland off did lye And his great tankard handle-worn hung by Now for the dotard had with hope of song Them oft deceivd they seize him all among And with his own-selfe Guarlands sast him brayld They fearfull standing Aegle him assayld Aegle mongst all the Nayaâ—des most fayre And all his front and temples doth besmayre With Mulberry-bloody-Iuice with this hee wakes And scorning their abuse why Sirs what makes You bynd mee thus quoth hee Lads set mee free And think you blest that mee you might but see Call for what songs yee please songs your reward And other guerdon I le this Nymph award Eftsoones hee to his songs himselfe addreast Then mote yee see the Faunes the measures tripp The Beasts doe leape the rigid Okes doe skipp Their curled branches capr'e in the ayre For of Parnassus mountain the sole heyre Phoebus is not nor Orpheus th' only hee Whom Ismarus and Rhodope admire And first hee sings how seedes of ayre and fire Water and earth from that vast Chaos were Vnited first then from these Elements How th'infant world and all things did commense How th' Earth woxe firme and Naereus confin'd Within the Seas how all things in their kind Received forme successive by degrees Then how amaz'd the earth stands when it sees The new-Suns radiant Beames and clowdy tovvres Exhaled high now melting into shovvres And vvhen the vvoods in green vvere first arayd And vvhen strange Beasts the uncooth mountains strayd The story then of Pyrrha's stones again Hee doth recount and of Saturnus raign The Fowles of Caâ—casus Prometheus theaft Of Hylâ—â— and the fatall streame where leaft The woefull Mariners him lowd deplore That Hylas Hylas ecchoed all the shore Then fortunate if heards had never bee Hee comforts in his song Paâ—iphae For loving of the snow-white-Bull alack Ah haplesse Dame what fury did thee rack The Pratides the fields and forrests streawd With false-forc'd lowings yet were not so leaw'd With lust of Beasts unkindly to bee caught Though on their neckes they fear'd the yoak sought And fealt for horns in their smooth foreheads oft Poore sowle now roming'mongst the Hills aloft Whilst all among the Daffod Ilies soft Streaking his white lithe-limbes under some tall Black Holm-tree hee or upward doth recall Into his tender Cudd the pallid hearbs Or wooes some sweete-heart in the goodly heards Dictâ—ean Nymphes yee Lady Nymphes of woods Shut up the Groves fense round the Forrest-bracks Enaunter I espie his stragling tracks The pleasant Grass I muchil am afeard Or some or other Heyfer of the heard May to Cortinia this Bull perswade Then hee pursues the story of the Maid Erst of th' Hesperian fruit inamoured Then Phaetons sisters hee invelloped With bitter Alders-hoary-barke-around And tall straight Trees them planted in the ground Then did hee sing how Gallus wandring by
Selfe-have I a Pipe of seaven-fold joynted Rheede Which once Damaetas left mee by his deede This Pipe quoth hee as hee his last did breathe To thee the second owner I bequeathe Heereat the Foole Menalcas much repin'd Besides two milke-white spotted Kids I haue Which in a perillous dale I chanc't to find Two duggs they daily suck whilst they can crave And these I purposely for thee doe save Though Thestilis full faine would have them both And so shee shall sith thou my gifts doost loath Come hither my faire Boy with Bolles brim-full Of silver Lillyes See where the Nimphes doe come And lovely Nais violets pale doth pull And Poppy tops and pretiouse Cynnamum Sweete-savoury Dyll and Daffodillyes some With Hurtles soft decking the Marigould And other sweete flowres mingled manifould And I 'le thee pluck the downe-soft hoarie Quince Chessnutts which my ' Amaryllis did affect And mellow Plums a present for a Prince Yee Laurells also still with verdure deckt And next yee Myrtles I will you collect And by your leave your bonny Berries take For pretious perfume yee together make But Corydon thou's but a sorry swaine Nor doth thy gifts Alexis ought regard Ne thou Iola's free consent canst gaine Albee thou shouldst him tempt with rich reward Ah how have I mine owne faire market mard My flowres keeper I the South have made And to the Bore my Christall streames betrayde Ah foolish Fon whom doost thou seeke to shun Why Dardan Paeris that same Shepheard Knight Yea e'ne the gods themselves the woods did woon Let Pallas praise her Towres goodly hight And in her pompous Pallaces delight Which shee hath builded but of all the rest In my conceit the Forrest-life is best The crewell-grim-fac'd Lionesse pursues The bloody Woolfe the Woolfe the Kid so free The wanton capring Kidd doth chiefly câ—use Amongst the flowring Cithysus to bee And Corydon Alexis followes thee So each thing as it likes and all affect According as their nature doth direct But now from plough the yoaked Oxen creepe And Sol his eeking shades doth double kest Yet Love burnes mee for Love no meane can keepe Ah Corydon Corydon what chance vnblest Or madnesse hath at mischiefe thee possest Vnfinisht thus to leave thy halfe-prun'd Vine Which on these leavie Elmes doth heere incline Whilst thou doost rather chuse some other way Of lesser paines to set on worke thy witt At least which may thy present neede defray Some homely Haske of Osyers woven fit With Rushes round and soft how ever yet If still Alexis doe disdaine thy love Thou shalt some other finde will kinder prove ALEXIS The GLOSSE AND Thestilis doth garlicke beate c. This Thestilis was the name of a Country wench who according to the fashion of hot Countries did pound leekes garlicke and other strong hearbes together for the workemen to allay their heate in extreame whote weather for as Pliny saith in his Naturall History Omnis medicina aut à contrario aut à simili quaeritur All remedies are fetcht either from contraries or from things of like quality whence it comes that extreame heate is abated either by cold which is his direct opposite or by another heate According to which Principle the Poet in the last Aeglogue brings in the Lover resolving to finde remedie to his vehement heate of Love either by travailing into Scythia or into Aegypt two Countries quite different in disposition the one extreme colde the other extreame whote Farre bet for mee c. It had beene much better for mee to have made choice of some friend of meaner condition with whom I might have conversed and discoursed and delighted my mind with his acquaintance vnto my owne hearts desire there being in this life nothing more sweete than a paritie in friendship Ah my faire Boy c Trust not too much to the gifts of Fortune whereof the greatest often fall away and the meanest are preserved As also amongst great persons often friendship is dissolved when amongst meane folke it is charily maintained For who would willingly affect his acquaintance which by reason of his greatnesse he can never conveniently enioy In friendship there must be every way an equality that so friends may enjoy each other so much the more freely Did I forbeare to sing my woonted Rhime c. I doe not onely vnderstand and am skilled in the human arts but I make verses like the auncient Poets and so neere imitate them that there is hardly any difference to bee found betweene them for amongst the later writers it is held a great honour to bee compared to these of former ages when yet ofttimes the later farr exceede the former Selfe as I stood on shore c. For I have conversed with Octavian himselfe with Mecaenas with Tuccas and Varus so that I learne to set a true value vpon my selfe by their judgement of mee When even was the Flood c. In the time of the last peace when in the cessation of warres every man betooke him to his owne home laying by their Armes and all tumults remooved that so it may appeare that they were at leisure to make a true estimate of me For as a quiet still water doth receive the resemblance of the face and so presents it back againe so when the minde is quiet it gives right judgement which being troubled and full of agitation it is not able to perform the Poet here very fitly names Italy the Sea and the Windes the troubles of wars The Hurtle is a wilde berry black as Iet Pan first deviz'd c. This Pan by the Poets feigned to bee the Country god his shape they have made as it were the counterfeit of Nature from whence he hath his denomination of Pan which signifies All as resembling every part and member of nature For hee hath hornes in resemblance of the beams of the Sunne and the hornes of the Mooneâ— his complexion and face is ruddie in resemblance of the skie hee hath in his breast the spotted skinne of a fallow Deere representing the Starres his inferiour members are rough and shagged resembling thereby the Trees Shrubbs and wilde Beasts hee hath Goates feete signifying thereby the solidity and fast compacture of the earth hee hath a pipe of seaven joynts intimating thereby the Harmony of the heaven in which there are seaven severall sounds seaven distinct ayres or kindes of voices lastly he hath his sheepe-hooke or staffe with a crooke at one end resembling the yeare which runnes his course till it returne into it selfe where it began now because hee is the generall god of all nature the Poets have feigned that on a time he and Love contended together and that Pan was overcome according to that principle which the Poet holds Omnia vincit Amor. Ne e're repent c. Hereby hee plainely showes that Cornelius Gallus was the first composer of Pastorall verses having indeed made tryall of rusticke Rimes but not of the rusticke life Cicuta is properly the