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 Prima vdim teneris intendat amoribus cetas, 
 Et canat ad Cytharam nojlra cammafuam. 
 
 Molle meum Leuibus cor eft penetrabile telis, 
 Etfemper caufa eft cur egofemper amo. 
 
 Vitantur venii, pluuice, vitantur^ et ejlus, 
 Non vitatur amor, mecum tumuletur oportet. 
 
TO 
 
 THE MOST GODLY, 
 
 VERTVOVS, BEAVTIFVLL, 
 
 and accomplifhed PRINCESSE, me- 
 
 ritorioufly dignified with all the Titles 
 
 Religion, Vertue, Honor, Beautie can 
 
 receiue, challenge, afford e, or deferue ; 
 
 ANNA, by diuine prouidence, of 
 
 Great Britane, France, and Ireland, 
 
 Queene: Alexander Craige 
 
 wifheth all health, wealth, 
 
 and royall felicitie. 
 
 Reat Tamburlan cloa- 
 ked his fantafticall cru- 
 eltie hee exercifed on 
 Lazars and Leprous 
 men, with a foolifhe 
 kind of humanity, put- 
 ting all he could find or heare of, to death, 
 A 2. fas 
 
 !vi203095 
 
Epiftle to the Queene. 
 
 (as he faid) to rid them from fo painefull 
 & miferable a Hfe: Though my Poyems 
 (incomparably bountiful!, incomparablie 
 beautifull, and fo peereleffe Princeffe) be 
 painefull to me, and vnpleafant to the de- 
 licat Lector; fhall I with Tamburlan de- 
 flroy them? or like a cruell Althea, con- 
 fume with fire the fatall Tree, kill mine 
 owne Meleager, and fo inhumanlie cut off 
 mine owne birth ? I gaue life to my Lines, 
 and fhall I now become their burreau? 
 O Hue my deformed Child, fome other 
 hand fhall commit thee to Phaeton or 
 Deucalions mercie, then mine: Though 
 Anaxagoras refolued to die; yet for Peri- 
 cles his Maiflers fake he tooke courage, 
 
 and 
 
Epijlle to the Queene. 
 
 & liued. Your royall God-mother poore 
 Rymes hath faued your life : yet am I not 
 like Hercules, who threw lonius in the Sea, 
 that by the violence of wind & waue the 
 carkas might be caried to foraine fhores, 
 for propagation of his fame. I hunt not 
 for fame; nor print I thofe Papers for 
 prayfes, but to pleafure your Princely 
 eyes with varietie of my vaine inuentions. 
 Megabyfus going to vifit Apelles in his 
 worke-houfe, ftoode ftill a long time 
 without fpeaking one word, and then be- 
 gan to cenfure oi Apelles works; of whom 
 he receiued this rude & nipping checker 
 So long as thou held thy peace, thou fee- 
 medft a wife man ; but now thou haft 
 A iii. fpoke, 
 
Epistle to the Qiteeiie. 
 
 fpoke, and the worfl Boy of my fhoppe 
 thinkes thee a foole. I am bold (diuine La- 
 die) to borrow thy bleffed name, to beau- 
 tifie my blotted Booke ; and haue fent 
 thofe Poems, like Apelles Pidlures through 
 the world : nor doe I care (fmce it is your 
 Princely pleafure to protect them) the 
 foolifh iudgement of Megabyfus. Syran7ies 
 the Perfian Prince anfwered thofe (who 
 feemed to woonder why his negotiations 
 fucceeded fo il, whe his difcourfes were fo 
 wife) that he was onely maifter of his Dif- 
 courfes, but Fortune miftris to the fucces 
 of his affaires. My Sonnets & Songes are 
 (gracious Princeffe) for the moft part, full 
 of complaints, forrow, and lamentations: 
 
 The 
 
Epijlle to the Queene. 
 
 The reafon is, I was maifler of my Ver- 
 fes; but Fortune Miftris of my Rewards. 
 When Thetis courted hipiter, and when 
 the Lecedemonians fende Legates to the 
 Athenians, they put them not in minde 
 of the good they had done them, but of 
 the benefites they had receiued of them. 
 Your Maieflies munificens, and frequent 
 benefites beftowed vpon mee, haue head- 
 long impelled mee to propine this worth- 
 leffe worke to your Royall view. Happie 
 beyonde the meafure of my merit fhall 
 I bee, if I can purchafe this portion of 
 your Princely approbation, as to accept 
 and entertaine thefe triuiall toyes (where 
 your Grace fhall fmell Flowes to refrefh, 
 A iiii, Hearbes 
 
Epijlle to the Queene. 
 
 Hearbes to cure, and Weedes to be auoy- 
 ded) in the loweft degree of leaft fauour. 
 But ho^vfoeuer, wifhing your Highnes 
 as many happie yeares, as there be wordes 
 in my Verfes, and Verfes in my worthies 
 Volume: I am 
 
 Your Maiefties moft 
 obfequious Orator, 
 
 Alexander Craige, 
 Scoto-Britan. 
 
Epiftle generall to 
 
 Idea, Cynthia, Lithocardia, 
 Kala, Erantintty Lais, Pan- 
 dora, Penelopes. 
 
 Euxis painted a Childe bearing 
 Vine clusters in his hand fo per- 
 )fe6lly, that the Fowles of the ay re 
 were deceiued, & defcended there- 
 to in vaine: BtU atigrie at his 
 worke, he cry'd out, I haue painted the Clujlers 
 viore litiely then the Child, and the burthen better 
 then the bearer; for had the Child feeined as viue 
 as the Vhie Grapes, the Fowles had bin affraied at 
 his face. I haue in tJiefe amorous Sonets and 
 Songes matchles Idea, virtuous Cynthia, graue 
 Lithocardia, fweete Kala, lonely Erantina, lafci- 
 uious Lais, modest Pandora, liberall Penelopae, 
 painted tny Loue; but haue (allaffe) taken more 
 paines on the Pafsions, then the Poyenis; and more 
 
 worke 
 
worke on my woes, then the Verfes. But had my 
 Lines been as litielyas either they JJiould, or I ivijli 
 they Jiad been. No Momus affraide at the beau- 
 tie of my Verfes had prefum'd (to my difgrace) to 
 gatJier the Grapes of my Errors. Nor had I nee- 
 ded (which necefsarily I mufi doe) to employ the 
 Patrocitiie of your prote6lions. Were I an other 
 Hercules, / could not cut off all tJic hifsing heads 
 of Hydra : & were I as perfc£l a painter as Apel- 
 les, fome fawfie Souier fhall cenfurc aboue the 
 SJwo. But with Agatharchus (who did all in hafle) 
 I humbly craue at all your handes (which with all 
 reuerence, and analogike feruice I kiffe) and looke 
 you will excufe 
 
 Your lotting, but rude 
 Zeuxis. 
 
 A. C. Banfa-Britan. 
 
 lO 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 -Myrnean Mseonides vfed in his 
 delicate Poems diners Dialefts^ as Io- 
 nic, ^ollc, Attic, and Doric : So 
 hatie 1(0 courieotis Header) in this; 
 and but alafse in this, imitate that 
 renowned Hellenijl Homer, in vfmg 
 the ScotiJJi and Englijh DialeHes: the one as iftnated, I 
 can not forget; the other as ajlranger., I can not vJ>on the 
 fodaine acquire. The fubtile Merchant placed ^sop 
 in the middle betwixt Cantor and Grammaticus, that 
 by the interpofition of that deformed fabulator, the other 
 two might appeare thefayrer. So haue I in middeflofmy 
 modeft Affe^ions, committed to the Preffe my vnchafl 
 Loite to Lais, that contraries by conttraries, and Vertue 
 by VicCy more cleerely may JJiine. To each (courteous 
 Reader) that will both of this &> that mixtture of Ditties 
 and Dialers, courteoufly cenfure, I am but end to the 
 fatall end, 
 
 A mofl louing Friend, in all 
 pofsible imployment. 
 
 Craige. 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 Any times from the Table of 
 
 tiy Chamber (matchleffe Idea) 
 aue my deareft Friends, both 
 by them felues, and my Ser- 
 uant (whom I fometimes em- 
 ployed to -write for mee) ftole 
 theinuentions of my wanton vaine,thofe amo- 
 rous Ditties, fuch as they bell liked : and for 
 which hauing, thereby ferued the humour of 
 my paffion, I cared no more; wherein their 
 gaine and my loffe were all one. But now, by 
 printing my then fcattered, and now lately 
 colle6led Scrowles (the moft and beft part 
 whereof, I can not finde) I haue thought good 
 to eafe my felfe,and fatisfie (but with the firft, 
 yourLadifhip)myfriendes.Thenoblei?^w/a!«^ 
 were from all antiquitie, accuftomed to leaue 
 thofe Kinges whom they had vanquifhed, in 
 the poffefsions of their kingdomes,that Kings 
 
 by 
 
 t2 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 by them made flaues, might be inftruments to 
 vprayfe the tropheis of their glorie. Thou 
 knoweft ( Dmme/dea) I am thineby conqueft ; 
 and yet thou alloweft mee the feeming fruiti- 
 on of mylibertie, while in deed I muft pay the 
 eternall tribute of vnfaigned Loue: Foras Car- 
 neades the Cyreneaii Philofopher faid of Chry- 
 fipp2is; And Ckryjzppuswe.v& not, I could not 
 bee; my beeing is by thy munificence. Take 
 this in good part : and ftill I reft, 
 
 Idea's euer obleged and 
 vnmanumisfible flaue, 
 
 Ad Ideam. 
 
 O bona non tradlanda homini bona digna rapina, 
 Ccelicohim, fuperis o bona digna locis. 
 
 <3 
 
To CYNTHIA. 
 
 Ffend not, faire Dame; Though 
 the Lines of my Pi6lure change 
 and varie. The World runnes on 
 Wheeles, all things therein mooue 
 without intermifsion : the folide 
 Earth, the rockes of Caucafiis^ and 
 the Pyramids oi Memphis ; both with publike, and 
 their owne motion. Conftancie it felfe, is nothing 
 but a languifhing and a wauering daunce. I am a 
 Pamphilus, and can not fettle my obie6l. And 
 fmce my Loue runnes ftaggering with a naturall 
 drunkennes, I pray thee (vertuous Cynthia) with 
 patience pcrufe thofe Poyems: And (as Arijlip- 
 pus fayd to his man, who by the way was ouer bur- 
 dened with too much money) carry what you 
 may, and caft away the reft. 
 
 Your La. howfoeuer, 
 and wherefoeuer. 
 
 Ad Cynthiam. 
 
 Nilformcz natura iuce, nihil ajlra negarunf, 
 Vna fupercilij fi tibi dempta nota. 
 
 «4 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. m 
 
 Feare to prefixe (Hono. Lady) to 
 thefe few Poyems, a long Epiftle, 
 leafl fome Diogenes fhould bid mee 
 fhut the Fortes of Minda ere the 
 Towne runne out Let mee this 
 much kindly pray, & preuaile with 
 your La. as to vouchfafe them fome place in the 
 bench of your bibliothek. Xerxes, whofe Armies 
 obumbrate all Hellefpont, was faine in a fmall Fifh- 
 bote for fafetie of hislife,tofliefrom(?r^<?^^. So may 
 you at fome idle howers deigne, and difcende to 
 behold my ruflicke Rymes, and kindly excufe his 
 errours, who ere long, hath purpofe to prefent and 
 pleafe you with fome better Poyem. Till when, 
 and euer, 
 
 I am your La. owne. 
 
 Ad LitJwcardiam. 
 
 Vt nulla e cunHis formofa ejlfcemifia tantum, 
 fee nulla est mi/ero tantum adamata mihi. 
 
 IS 
 
To KALA. 
 
 THefe Poyems are, I confeffe (fweete 
 Kald) vnwoorthy thy prefence, and fo 
 haue more neede of thy proteflion : But 
 let (as Cuero writes in his Epiftle to 06lauius) 
 Confefsion be a medicine for Errour. Twixt 
 Metellus Maccdonicus and Scipio AfricanuSj 
 were mortall Warres : but when Scipio dyed, 
 Metellus prayed the Citie-men to concurre, 
 leafl their Walles fhould be ouerthrowen. 
 Manylouelyiarreshauebeen amongftvs; but 
 in my abfence, thofe my Papers like Citizens 
 of a good republike,fhall all concurre to pleafe 
 and honor thee: AndIbothathome,& abrod, 
 fhall continue 
 
 Thine till death : Craige. 
 
 Et quafiquam inollifcmpcrfis dedita antori, 
 Candida nulla magis, nulla proterna magis. 
 
 |6 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 EVery man (as Pittacus affirmeth) hath fame im- 
 perfe6lion: in tneeLoue is mojl predominant. But as 
 Alcibiades cut off his /aire Dogs eares and tayle, 
 &'fodrouehim in the market place,that giuing this 
 fubiedl of prattle to the people, they might not meddle 
 •with his other aHions. So haue Iprefutned topublijii thefe 
 my cajlrat Rimes vnder (6 lafciuious Lais^ thy prote^ion, 
 that my chajler Verfes may appeare lefse faulty. Anti- 
 nonides the Mufitian, gaue order, that before or after 
 himfome bad Mufitian fhould cloy and furfet his audi- 
 tors. So when the Le^orfliall be weary to ouerread thefe 
 lubriche Lynes, heefhall with more alacrity confider and" 
 ouerlooke the refl. And thus were not hereby I minded to 
 beautifie my other Poyems, y could gladly confent, that all 
 ihofeLynes of 'Lais, were ouer whelmed in obliuion, I glory 
 not ( God knowes ) in my frailty: and more for euitation, 
 then imitation, are thefe Songes foorthfent to the view of 
 the cenfnriug world. And thus nor crauing, nor carefull 
 of thy acceptance, O Lais, Iceafe to feme, or more 
 
 to be Tliine. 
 O miferi quorum gaudia crimeji habent : 
 
 Dumfurtitia dedit nigra munufcula node, 
 Me tenet, dbfentes alios fufpirat amores. 
 
 B. 
 
 17 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 IT is a wounderfull delight I take to Hue in 
 Loue; it is euer at my heart, and moft in my 
 mouth: andfuchafsiftaunce itgiuethto my 
 life, that it feemes the beft munition I haue 
 found in this humane peregrination. The Dif- 
 ciples oi'HegeJias, hunger flamed them felues 
 to death, incenfed therevnto with the perfwa- 
 ding difcourfes of his leffons, til the time King 
 P^olomey forha.deh.lm. any longer to entertaine 
 his Schoole with fuch murtherous preceptes. 
 Though I weare the howers of the day, and 
 wafte the dayes of my life in Loue : I mufe, I 
 roue, and walke : I enregifter my humors and 
 my pafsions. Let none be entifed by my ex- 
 ample : for I am borne to loue, and to die 
 
 Thy Louer. 
 
 O qtiid dura ttiumjic me contemnis amantevi 
 NegleHumq; tiias defpicis ante fores: 
 
 Frigida foenit Hyeins,immiti5 et ingruit cetJier, 
 Exchlfum pateris me tamen ejjeforis. 
 
 t8 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 HE very fame Sonets which at 
 fome time pleafed you (modefl 
 Pandora) with much more cour- 
 tefie and honour, then they, or 
 I, any way deferued, to receiue 
 and reade, I haue (but without alteration or 
 change) heere placed and reduced in a folide 
 bodie. When Babilon was befidged by Da- 
 rius, the number of Women was fo great, 
 the Captaine commaunded euery man to 
 choofe one ; which beeing accordingly per- 
 formed, the reft were put to death, that their 
 victuals might the longer endure. Hadft thou 
 been there, and I Captaine of the Babilonic, 
 armie, thou fhouldft been firft of all thy fexe fe- 
 le<5led to been faued. Pardon (peereleffe Pan- 
 A ii. do7'a) 
 
 19 
 
dora) the perfeuerance of my prefumption, in 
 ftill afifefling thee : and for my fake perufe thefe 
 Sonets, which may happily continue fome 
 dayes and yeares after mee : That fmce I could 
 not be beloued being on-life, I may with def- 
 perat Herostratus, be famous after death : Till 
 when (as Socrates fayd) as I may, I am 
 
 Thy vnalterable man, 
 
 Ah nhnquam potuj lachrymis, aitt fletibtis vllis, 
 Efficere vt nobis mitior ipfa fores: 
 
 Hoc nocuit mifero sericifse fideliter vnj, 
 Hoc nocuit tantafetnper amafse fide. 
 
 20 
 
To PENELOPiE. 
 
 Ntiockus in his youth, writ 
 vehemently in prayfe of the 
 Academu; but beeing old, 
 hee chaunged copie, and 
 writ as violently againft it. 
 While I am young, I muft 
 write of, and for Loue; and 
 I muft goe, becaufe I cannot ftande ftill : I am 
 like the rowling Stone which neuer ftayes, 
 till it come to a lying place. As Infants repofe 
 in the rocked Cradell, fo my fpirit findes reft 
 in reftleffe Loue. Alexander difdayned the 
 Corinthian Ambaffaders, who offered him the 
 Freedome and Burgeofie of their Citie : But 
 when they tolde him that Bacchus and Hercnles 
 were likewife in their Regifters, hee kindly 
 thanked them, and accepted their offer. Doe 
 A iii. not 
 
 %i 
 
not (O vertuous PenelopcE) difdaine my fmall 
 and poore propine. O be not alhamed to fee 
 thy name in die bafe Chattons of my Poefie : 
 Since better then Bacchus, and hardier then 
 Herctilei are in my Regifters. Thus, kifsing 
 thy Hberall hand, I hartily commende both 
 mee and them to thy tuition. 
 
 Your La. 
 
 A. C. 
 
 Si qua videhmtur fcriptis temeraria nojlris, 
 hoc conjlans veripigmis amoris erit: 
 
 Conjilio regitur quifquis moderantms ardef, 
 qniq; amor eji aliis Jit furor iUe, mihi. 
 
 99 
 
To the Queene her 
 
 moft excellent Maieflie. 
 
 APelles matt did all his Wits imploy 
 To paint thejhape ^Laedais Daughter f aire: 
 But whenhefaw his ivorkeproiHd naught, poorcBoy^ 
 He wept for woe, and tooke exceeding care: 
 Then deck'd he her with lew els rich and rare: 
 Which when the braue Apelles did beJiold. 
 Paint on (quoth hee) poore Boy, and haue no fear e, 
 When Beautie fayles, ivell done t enrich with Gold, 
 I am (faire Princeffe) like the Painters man, 
 As ignorant, asfcant offkill as hee: 
 Yet will J flriue and doe the befl J can. 
 To manifefi my louing minde to thee. 
 
 But to fupply the weahtejfe of my fkill, 
 
 In place of Gold (great Lady) take goodwill. 
 
 Craige. 
 
Amorous Songes 
 
 and Sonets. 
 
 TO IDEA. 
 
 IN Golden world, when Satiirne did vpgiuc 
 To Phito, Joue, and Neptune, his Empire 
 They cafl their lots both how, & where to Hue, 
 Becaufe it was old Saturns owne defire : 
 yo7ie ruld the Furnace farre aboue the Fire, 
 The ftately Vault, beyond the flarrie round : 
 And Neptune gat the glafsie Salt to hyre, 
 Then Pbito choofs'd the Hellifh blacke profound: 
 When Cupid fpied they gaue him but the Ground ; 
 Impatient wagg, went out to walke abrod. 
 And conquering thefe that were but lately cround, 
 He made him felfe ouer all thofe Gods a God. 
 Then Lone to thee, as to my Lord I yeeld, 
 I feare to fight, where Gods haue fled thefeeld. 
 
 Omnia vincit amor, et nos cedamus amorj. 
 
 25 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 DOwne fro the Skies for to behold my Dame 
 Came Goddefles, and all the Gods aboue : 
 Joue, SattirnCyMars, \ix\^\.Phcehis^ and with thame, 
 Rich Juno, Mhierue, and the Queene of Loue: 
 Her beauties fame, their mindes did fo commoue, 
 They run, and tooke no reft till they came thare, 
 Thus armies proud, approch't for to approue. 
 And giue their doome, that fhe was matchles faire : 
 Loue like the reft, w^ould faine look'd on, & fweare 
 Vnknit (faire Dame) this Craip, quoth he, & thou 
 Both Bagg and Bow a bonie while fhalt beare, 
 Shoote where thou wilt, and I fhall well allow: 
 They change, & ftie ftiot Loue, that he was faine 
 To Ikarfe his eyes, and begge the Bow againe. 
 
 Cacus amor fuperos fuperaty lithocardia amorem. 
 
 S6 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. 
 
 (~\F late the blind, and naked Archer Boy, 
 
 A libertine, out through the plains would play 
 With ayre-deuiding wings without conuoy : 
 Hee vaging went, and wift not where away. 
 Sad Vemis wep't, and thus to mee can fay. 
 Didft thou behold my blind Babe any whare ^ 
 For hee is gone; O pittie flrange eftray: 
 And he is fightles, fyndonles, and bare: 
 In Craigs and Rocks fuch Elu's doe make repare,. 
 And fo perhaps hee harbers in thy hart. 
 It was too true, yet durft I not declare 
 His beeing there, for feare of further fmart. 
 To want her Babe, braue Venus ftil doth murne, 
 fhe drown's the world with teares, & yet I burne. 
 
 Hei inihi quod nullis amor eft medicahilis herbis. 
 
 «7 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. 
 
 T Oue fet his Bow, his Bag, and Bolts afide. 
 
 And went out through the watrie vaults of ay re 
 Difpofd to play; he goes without a guyde, 
 And with the Winds he wauers heere and thare: 
 Till at the lad a fleeting Caftle faire 
 On fmooth and glafsie Seas hee doth efpie : 
 Hee bords their Barke, the fifhing craft to leare : 
 The poore men yeeldes, not daring to denie, 
 Hee hales their Hookes, and baites them by & by. 
 Then TJietis rofe, and aflc'd if Loue would burne 
 The liquid feat wherein her Lord did ly, 
 Diffwading him from fuch a cruell tume. 
 
 Feare not fayd Loue, I came to fifli, thou fees. 
 And left my flames in LitJwcardias eyes. 
 
 O non humano natapuella toro. 
 
 38 
 
To CYNTHIA. 
 
 nPHe Hobbie Haulke can catch at all no pray, 
 
 Vnles aboue her ayme and marke fhe flie. 
 The Palme doth beare the brauer boughs fome fay 
 From neighbour trees, the higher that it bee. 
 So far'd of thofe my fanfies fond and mee, 
 In hope of hap, I cannot ceafe to fore. 
 If loued, I Hue: and if difdain'd, I die. 
 I pray, I prayfe, I pleade, and I implore : 
 Proud Cytherea loued Adonis poore, 
 And Cynthia feru'd Endiniion Sheepheard fwane ; 
 So though I be inglorious and obfcure. 
 Yet may flie loue her Poet and her Man. (aire 
 Mount then braue thoughts through water, fire & 
 And defp'rately purfue the fweete, proud, faire. 
 
 Blanditiis amor ejf, etfucco moUior omni. 
 
 39 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 Since Joitc him felfe was fubie6l vnto Louc, 
 And left the hft to catch a mortall pray. 
 If Neptune did from glafsie Seas remoue, 
 And would for Loue, afide the Scepter lay. 
 If Phtto loath'd his darke and pitchie Caue, 
 To fpoyle Proferpinc Ceres Daughter faire. 
 If proude Apollo Daphni deare to haue. 
 Left Phaeton to rule his fyrie Chaire. 
 If fhaghhaird Satyrs mountaine-climing race, 
 Purfu'd ^nona; through the Phrygian Woods. 
 If piping Pati from Muficke fweete did ceafe, 
 To hunt the Naiad Nymp's by bankes of Floods? 
 What can I doe (fweet haart) but loue thee Hill .'' 
 On whom nor Gods nor men can gaze their fill. 
 
 lufsit amor, qtiis cnim magna non cedat amorj, 
 Ifi cignum, inpluuiam qui inbet ire jf^ouem. 
 
 ^ 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 TVr Or there where as the yoaked reftles Horfe 
 
 With Phaeton begins their wonted race, 
 and leads their Lord throughout the Hft perforce 
 To circumgire the Earth into each place. 
 Nor there where as the hot and fyrie face, 
 The burning beames of Phcebus bright appeare, 
 When hee diuyds the day in equall fpace 
 With glorious rayes in his meridian Spheare. 
 Nor there, whereas Apollo proude, for feare 
 Our comming night, his lingering fliould controle 
 With fpeedie pace from our Horizon heare, 
 Is headlong hurl'd to view th'antarticke Pole. 
 Nor no where els can any match at all 
 be found to her; whofe vertucs makes me thrall. 
 
 Tu mihifola places. 
 
 31 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 /^Wounder to the world, who woundering eyne 
 
 Doe wounder flill as on the rareft fight 
 Of Natures frame ; yet come to common h'ght, 
 Or Hemifphere, where our Horizon beene. 
 Sweete louely Laura, modeft, chaft, and cleene. 
 It feemes that Poet Petrarche tooke deh'ght, 
 Thy fpotles prayfe in daintie h'nes to dight, 
 By Prophecies, before thy felfe was feene. 
 And now faire Dame, fince thou art borne to bee 
 That Comet ftrange, and that prodigious Starre, 
 Whence life and death, and peace & bloody warre : 
 And calme and florme proceed, as pleafeth thee : 
 Shine ftill, and ftill with fweete afpe£l infufe^ 
 Eternall theame, and matter to my Mufe. 
 
 At mea aim inultis j^lacuiifet mufa pttdlis, 
 Huic vnj, dixj, nojler inJieret amor. 
 
 32 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 THe chafteft Child will oft for mercie cry, 
 And bid the ftriker flay and hold his hand : 
 Yea though he weepe, his teares he will vpdry 
 And kifle (fuppofe againft his will) the wand, 
 With chiuering chin, but fturring will he fland, 
 And patiently fuppres his prefent paine : 
 Poore Babe he dare not but obey command, 
 And hold his peace, leaft he be lafht againe. 
 Such is my ftate, I faikles foule am flaine. 
 Nor can I get the fmalleft graunt of grace, 
 Nor dare I now, though I haue caufe, complaine : 
 And though I durll, my plaints wold haue no place 
 Thus am I faine for feare of further wrong, 
 Euen with the Babe to burft, and hold my tong. 
 
 Non iatnen audebcem tacitos operire dolores, 
 Ingenium metuens cajlapuella tuum. 
 
 c. 
 
 33 
 
To CINTHIA. 
 
 IT fometime chanft, as Stories tell by chanfe, 
 That Herailcs and Hylas were alone. 
 And feuerally they went apart to panfe : 
 But hee and hee, accompanied with none, 
 Till Herailcs to Hylas made his mone, 
 That hee for drouth was like to giue the Ghofl. 
 Thus Hylas to Afcanhis Flood is gone, 
 To draw a drinke, and lo\vting life hath loft. 
 So when mine eyes had fpurd a fpeedie poft, 
 To fet tlie floods of fauour to their friend. 
 My burning heart, which drouth of comfort croft. 
 They dround them felues, & nothing els obteind : 
 So Deftanies my dolefull death concludes, 
 By double force of Furious flames and floudes. 
 
 UroTy ei heu nostro manat ab ignt liqour. 
 
 34 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 THe Lipper man,whofe voyce can not be hard, 
 With dolefull hoarfe vnpleafant tune wil cry, 
 And craue for loue of lefus Chrift reward. 
 And aim's of fuch as chaunce for to paffe by: 
 But when (allace poore foule) he doth efpy 
 That no man heares, nor yet regards his voyce, 
 No longer then takes he delight to ly. 
 But claps his difh, and keepes his language clofe. 
 Right fo as curfb, and carefull is my Crofle, 
 Suppofe the Fates haue not deform'd my fhape, 
 No words I vfe for to lament my lofe, 
 But make my Lines to be the Lippars Clap. 
 Goe Sonet then and beg, I thee befeech, 
 Some grace to him, whom feare deterres from 
 
 (fpeech. 
 
 Dkere qua puduit fcribere iufsit amor. 
 
 Cii. 
 
 35 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 IN flately Troy which was by force of fire 
 Subdu'd in end, and turnd in embers cold, 
 Apollo's Church while Priam did empire, 
 Was beautifull and braue for to behold : 
 In midfl whereof hung in a net of gold 
 A Cocatrice, that Spider, Bird, nor Flie, 
 To enter there, nor build durft not be bold : 
 That famous worke from filth was kept fo frie. 
 The like (faire Dame) may well be thought of thee 
 For why, before thy beauties Altar hings, 
 Canceld with prid, both blood and birth I fee. 
 With cold difdaine, which ferue as certaine fings. 
 To wame a farre my fancie to refraine. 
 And ratherwrake then once reueale mypaine. 
 
 Cor dolet gelidtis torpetfub pertorefanguis, 
 Me taincn opprefsum dicerc veiat amor. 
 
 36 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 IPanfe not on the gold of Tagus fand, 
 Nor Erithrean braue and lliyniug fhells : 
 Hong not for the limits large of Land, 
 Wherein the barbar newfound Nations dwels : 
 I bid not of thefe bounds whofe boofome fwells 
 With birth of braue and coftly Jewels rare, 
 Which with their Muske and Siuet fweetefl: fmels 
 In faireft Chattons, fet perfume the ayre. 
 My pridles Hart fubdued with Loue and feare, 
 Seekes that thofe Songes the Heralds of my hart 
 Might mooue the fweet and flintie harted faire 
 Some fauour once, and pittie to impart : 
 Els that vpon the Alter of her wreath, 
 She would accept th'oblation of my death. 
 
 Atfiue te regum Munera nulla volo. 
 
 111. 
 
 37 
 
To PENELOPE. 
 
 ISerue a Miftris infinitely faire. 
 And (which I more efteeme) exceeding wife, 
 In that, beyond the boundes of all compare : 
 And this in her the wondering world enuies, 
 Thence doth of loue my reftles rage arrife, 
 Thence flowes the font of all the harmes I haue : 
 Her wit my heart, her beautie charm'd mine eyes, 
 To Ve/ms thus and Pallas I am flaue : 
 If curious heades to know her name do craue, 
 Shee is a Lady Rich, it needes no more. 
 And wealthy luno wonted pride may leaue. 
 And gladly feme the Dame whom I adore : 
 Rich, wife, and faire, to thee alone as thrall, 
 I confecrate loue, life, lines, thoughts, and all. 
 
 At niihi feruitiuni, et triJHs iani vita paratur, 
 Illaq; libertas prijlina fiirripitur. 
 
 3« 
 
To PENELOPE. 
 
 SHort is the day, but long (allace) to mee, 
 Who Hue in loue, and am not loued againe r 
 My louely, faire, and loueles Saint I fee, 
 Doth guild with gold her hid & coy difdaine. 
 thinkft thou faire dame, to buy my loue with gaine 
 Caufe thou art rich, I pray thee thinke not fo : 
 I am thy flaue, and for thy fake am flaine. 
 Nor can my Rim's reueale my inward woe. 
 Put now a poynt Pcznelopcs I pray, 
 vnto this web fo oft retex'd by thee. 
 Pay loue with loue, and make no more delay : 
 O raine no more thy fhewers of gold on mee, 
 Onekiffe of thee would breed me more content 
 Then make me king of Crefus Lydian rent. 
 
 39 
 
To LITHOCARDlA. 
 
 By Anagram.. 
 
 \1 /"Hen Churches all oi AJia les and more, 
 
 By Xerxes great were burnt, & call to ground 
 Of pittie hee Dianais Church forbore. 
 A peece of worke whofe like could not be found : 
 And yet by fames report to be renound, 
 Herostratus did fet the fame on fire, 
 Which Xerxes great fuppofe a Monarch cround, 
 Did fpare vnfpoyld for all his proud Empire. 
 Right fo, when as fo many did confpire 
 To conquer mee a poore and Cuntrey Swaine, 
 My hardned hart withheld their hot defire. 
 And I till now, vnconquerd did remaine. 
 That by my loffe, I mull enlarge thy fame, 
 And flay my felfe to feme a glorious Dame. 
 
 Non ego f emit itim Domincz tam mite reatfo, 
 Ah pereatfi quis vincula et ipfe times. 
 
 40 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. 
 
 Anagram. 
 
 A S Marigould did in her Garden walke, 
 
 One day, O ten times happie was that day 
 I thitherward to fee my Saint, did ftalke : 
 Where Floracs Imp's ioy'd with her feet to play, 
 And loe vnfeene behind a Hedge I lay. 
 Where I beheld the Rofes blufli for fhamc. 
 The Lillies were empald vpon the fpray, 
 The Violets were ftaynd about my Dame : 
 My Miftris fmild for to behold the game, 
 And fometimes pleafd vpon the graffe to fport, 
 Which canging hew's new cullors did acclaime, 
 For blythnes of fo fweete a Sainfls refort. 
 
 And from that walke while as away flie went, 
 They weepe with deaw, & I in teares lament. 
 
 Sprenit no/Iras galatea querelas. 
 
 41 
 
To KALA. 
 
 FAirc Kala, fairer then the Wool! moft faire. 
 Of thefe my fairc and filuer fleeced Sheepe 
 Which are committed to my careles care, 
 And vp and downe thofe daintie Dales I keepe : 
 Faire Sheppeardeffe, for thee alone I weepe. 
 None heares my plaints but bleating beafl;s and I, 
 And for thy fake I figh when I fhould fleepe, 
 And on thy name amid my dreames I crie. 
 The fmce thou know's the thraldome of my mind 
 And how my necke to bearc thy yoke is worne : 
 Hauc pittie once, and proue not ay vnkind. 
 And laugh no more thy fhepheard fwaine to fcorne 
 But if thou mind'ft for to remead my mone, 
 Let fanfies then, flocks, folds, and all, be one. 
 
 Turn mijlum cineran commtmi onaareffpukhro, 
 Ainhorvwq : thus contegat off a lapis. .^ 
 
 42 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 What euer thou be that claimes or courts my deare 
 And in my abfence would fupply my place, 
 If courts thou, I pray thee to forbeare, 
 Rob not my right, and latelie granted grace : 
 For if it were, I friendly craue thy cafe, 
 And thou had credit as I fometime hade. 
 Were it not wrong, if I fhould proudlie preafe 
 To raue thy right? yes I may furely faide: 
 Be who thou wilt, I challenge thee therefore. 
 That with thy Daffings deauis my Lais eare; 
 Ceafe from thy fute, and in to time forbeare, 
 Els we can be companions true no more. 
 
 For put the cafe thou fpeed, thou gaines thefe 
 A facill Dame, and of a friend a foe. (two, 
 
 Cajia mane 7iec te iufiis, nee inunera %>ittcant. 
 
 43 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 ■p Veil as a ventering Merchant Ikant of fkill, 
 
 Whom Fortunes frowne or fate hath forc'd to 
 To recempence his former loffe hee will (fall 
 
 Within one Ship and Veffell venter all. 
 So haue I vfed my Stocke, though it be fmall : 
 My Hart I fend halfe dround into difpaire 
 Vnto my Saint, whom euer ferue I fhall : 
 Shee is the Shipp, and it the ventered ware. 
 Oft hath my minde bin cloy'd with clouds of care 
 When contrar winds, with cold and ftormie raine 
 would threat my loffe; but now fr5 bounds of feare 
 My ventring thus, hath made me rich againe. 
 Then flial my Mufe triumph & moume no more, 
 Since fecond windes haue brought my Shipp to 
 
 fliore. 
 
 At nunc iota tiia ejl^ tefolwn Candida fccum, 
 Cflgifa ctfrnstra credula turhafedet. 
 
 44 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 OWatchfull Bird proclaymer of the day, 
 Withhold I pray, thy piercing notes from me:: 
 Yet crow, and put the Pilgrime to his \vay» 
 And let the Worke-man rife to earne his fee : 
 Yea let the Lion fierce, be fcard of thee, 
 To leaue his prey, and lodge him in his Caue : 
 And let the deepe Diuine from dreaming flie, 
 To looke his leaues within his clofe Conclaue: 
 Each man faue I, may fome remembrance haue, 
 That gone is night, and Phofphor draweth nie : 
 Beat not thy breaft for mee poore fleepeles flaue, 
 To whom the Fat's alternall reft denie ; 
 
 But if thou wouldfl bring truce vnto my teares, 
 Crow flill for Mercie in my Miftris cares. 
 
 45 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 Go you o Avinds that blow from north to fouth, 
 Conuey my fecret fighes vnto my fweet : 
 Deh'uer them from mine, vnto her mouth. 
 And make my commendations till we meet 
 But if perhaps her proud afpiring fprit, 
 Will not accept nor yet rceiue the fame, 
 The breft and bulwarke of her bofome beit : 
 Knock at her hart, and tell from whence you came, 
 Importune her, nor ceafe, nor fhrinke, for fhame : 
 Sport with her curl's of Amber cullour'd haire, 
 And when fhe fighs, immix your felues with thame 
 Giue her her o^\^le, and thus beguile the/atfr. 
 Blow winds, flie fighs, where as my hart doth hant 
 And fecretly commend me to my fanfl. 
 
 46 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 IN Arcadie fometime (as Sydne fay's,) 
 Danagoras a proud Lord did remaine, 
 In whom no thing I marke that merits prayfe, 
 Saue that he feru'd Parthcnia fweet with paine : 
 But when he found fhe lou'd him not agane, 
 With leprocie he did infe6l her face, 
 Which cauf'd the conftant knight for to complane 
 But not to change his loue in any cafe : 
 Pandora faire his woofe infe6l'd allace 
 With leprocie of loathfome cold difdane, 
 Bred by my foe, to further my difgrace : 
 Yet neither fayth nor fancie fhall refrane : 
 Yea, were her face deform'd as it is faire, 
 I fhould ay ferue, though I fhould ay difpaire. 
 
 Foiitina poies inuita fecifse bcaium. 
 Quern velis. 
 
 47 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. 
 
 A Very World may well be feene in mee, 
 My hot defires as flames of Fire do fhine, 
 My fighes are ayre, my teares the Ocean fea 
 My fteadfaft fayth, the folid Earth, & fyne, 
 My hope my heauen, my thoughts are ftars diuine 
 My ielofie the very pangues of Hell, 
 My fweete the Sain6l, to whom I do propine 
 For facrifice my feruice and my fell. (dwell 
 
 That hatefuU Hagge, who neere my Dame doth 
 My riuall foe, my Loue the Sommer fweet, 
 My Spring-time, my deferts which fo excell : 
 And my Difpaires, the Winter cold and weet. 
 But (O allace) no Harueft can I fee, 
 Which fpoyls my yeares, & maks me thus to die 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 "XX rEll may I read as on a fnowie fheet 
 
 Of paper faire, my fortune in thy face, 
 Since at my fight thine eyes are both repleit, 
 With loueles looks prefaging but difgrace : 
 And thou into my vifage wann allace, 
 May fee in fad chara6lers of my care, 
 Since neither ruth nor pittie can haue place, 
 A boundles Booke, a volume of difpare. 
 Thus like a Glaffe my face may well declare 
 My loue to thee, and with my loue my paine : 
 Thine fhow's againe (though it be matchles faire) 
 Thy hateful! heart and vndeferu'd difdaine. 
 
 antipathic ftrange to be fufteind, 
 
 1 loue my foe, thou hats thy faithfull friend. 
 
 Vidi ego qucs veneris falleiido iiira refefuit, 
 Perfidicc penas fape luiffe graues. 
 
 D. 
 
 .49 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 'y He Brethren three whofe hot perfut hath broght 
 Death to them felues, & bondage to their land, 
 When as their foe before them fled, they thoght 
 The vidlorie was plac'd into their hand: 
 And yet his flight inferd no feare they fand, 
 For as they came, hee flew them one and one. 
 A Parthian forme, whofe fight in fight doth fl^nd, 
 For while they flie, their foes are kild anone. 
 Euen fo may I, vnhappiefl; I complaine: 
 But pittie thus to feme a Parthian Dame, 
 Who fhuns my futes, and makes my fancie fane. 
 With hofts of harm's for to purfue the fame. 
 O fweet difcord, O fweet concord agane, 
 She flies to kill, I chafe her to be tane. 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 "P Aire louelie Hccbce Queene of pleafant Youth, 
 
 Who bore braue NcSlar to the Gods aboue : 
 VVhofe glanfmg beames like Phcehis in the fouth, 
 Do both bewitch and burne my brefl with loue. 
 O thou that wars the Avoundring world for woorth 
 Whom Nature made to laugh her felfe to fcome, 
 More excellent then I can fet thee foorth : 
 Whofe like nor is, nor fhall againe be borne. 
 My flowing Songs I confecratc to thee, 
 Good reafon were, that they fhould all be thine. 
 Thy prefence creats all thofe thoughts in nice, 
 Which mee immortall, and maks thee diuine: 
 And fuch delight I haue with thee to ftay, 
 As twentie Moones do feeme but halfe a day. 
 
 Et tua quod fupereft teinporis effe prccor. 
 
 D ii. 
 
 5' 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. 
 
 THou who began by Mcnaltis to mone, 
 And lay alone for to lament thy loffe 
 Amid thofe g^eene and grouie Ihads to grone 
 Where Mufidonis knew thee by thy voyce: 
 Thou haft of me a comfort in thy crofle, 
 With Princes proud if poore men may compare, 
 For why my cares fuppofe I keepe them clofe, 
 Ouermatcheth thine, tho thy mifliaps were mare: 
 Thy thuartring thoughts were droud in deepe dif- 
 Mine haue no hope for to be brought to pas : (pare 
 Thy heart has hurt, and mine of blis is bare : 
 Thou chang'd thy fhape, I am not what I was : 
 In end thou fped, I ware my worke in vaine, 
 I loue allace, and am not loued againe. 
 
 Spcq; timor dubia^ fpefq ; timore cadis. 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 SEe Deianira, fee how I am fhent 
 By that fame Shirt v^hich.NeJJiis to thee gaue, 
 And thou againe to me by LycJias fent, 
 I am inflam'd flefh, bons, and all I haue, 
 That IchtJnophagic Ethiopian flaue, 
 Who boyls his angled Fifli by Phoebus beams 
 Vpon a Rock, no other ftire may craue : 
 Nor Sun, nor Rocke, but thefe my gliding gleams. 
 Yet fweete thy fworne Alcidcs will not die, 
 There is no deadlie Dipsas in thy Sarke, 
 I languifli but till / may meet with thee. 
 With quent Dialogs in the quiet darker 
 And fo till time fuch happie time afford, 
 My further will this bearer brings by word. 
 
 Sape greges inter requieuimus arbore terci, 
 Mijlaq; cum folus perbiiit herba torum. 
 
 Diii. 
 
 53 
 
To PENELOPE. 
 
 THe Perfian King in danger to be dround, 
 Ask'd if no helpe in humane hands did ftand. 
 The Skipper then cafl in the Salt profound, 
 Some Perfians braue, & brought the King to land. 
 Then Xerxes crowns the Skipper with his hand, 
 Who faues the King deferu's (quoth he) a crowne: 
 But he atonce to kill him gaue command. 
 Die die, faid he, who did my Perfians drowne. 
 My Ladie faire, a Xerxes proud doth proue. 
 My worthies Verfe (he doth reward with gold : 
 But (O allace) fhe lets me die for loue, 
 And now I rew that I haue bin fo bold. 
 
 As Xerxes crownd, and kild his man; right fo 
 Shee feemes a frind, and proues a mortall foe. 
 
 Crediila res amor ejl . &*e. 
 
 54 
 
At IDEAS direaion, thefe 
 
 two Sonets were made. 
 I. 
 ly/T Ore then I am, accurfed mought I bee, 
 If er'e I did approch my deareft Dame : 
 But fuch a great refpe6l was ftill in mee, 
 As ay feare was equall to my flame : 
 Suppofe fome fots fpoyld of the fenfe of fhame, 
 Or feeling of my honeft Loue, will fay, 
 And publiklie to my difpraife proclame 
 That I delight in loathfome Luft as thay. 
 You facred pow'rs, I ftill inuoke and pray, 
 That all my fpeach turne poyfon in a clap, 
 If either I by word or writ bewray 
 One lufting thought her beautie to entrap, 
 Let pale Enuie (faire Dame) admire and lie, 
 With chaft defiers I ferue and honor thee. 
 
 D iiii. 
 
 51 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 2 
 
 T T""! JTIth chaft defires I feme and honor thee 
 ^ Great Archi-miftris of my rauifht mind, 
 Moft virtuous, wife, and faire, of all thy kind : 
 Whofe leaft command I vow to doe or die. 
 Chaft was my Loue, yet is, and ay fhall bee. 
 The praj'fmg Papers which I haue propin'd, 
 May well beare witnes how I am inclind. 
 And can (ye know) controull mee when I lie : 
 Phroiiefis erring could efpie no place, 
 Meete on this mould, but in thy breaft to dwell, 
 A virtuous mind adorns a beauteous face ; 
 And thou haft both, and in them both excell : 
 This maksmyloue be chaft, my pafsions ft range 
 And I had rather choofe to die then change. 
 
 Afpice diuinas humano in corpore dotes 
 Nil mortahz tibifcemina dignapoJo es. 
 
 S6 
 
To CYNTHIA. 
 
 TIT Adft thou been blacke, or yet had I been blind, 
 my mufe had flept, & none had known my mind 
 Or yet couldft thou as thou art faire, be kind, 
 I had not thus with fighs increaft the wind : 
 But loe thefe frowning fauours which I find. 
 To which allace thou art too much incHnd, 
 By which thy poore affli6led man is pind, 
 Haue broke the heart, which beautie firft did bind : 
 Smile then faire dame, & fometime ceafe to frown 
 For fmiles pleafe mee, and do become thee bed : 
 And fmce thou fees how I am fworne thine owne. 
 Smile ftill on him who loues thee by the reft, 
 So neither fhall I wifh thee to be blacke, 
 Nor curfe my eyes, the caufers of my wr^cke. 
 
 Namfi quent placidis facilis dignaris ocellis, 
 Ne£laris htdcfontes, amhroficeq; fluunt. 
 
 57 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 'X'He Tyrant Nero houering to behold 
 
 The wrack of Rome on top of Tarpe hill, 
 He faw the rich, the poore, the young, the old, 
 Amid the flams in in prefent poynt to fpill : 
 Yet woondering on that woonder, flood he ftill, 
 And (cruell man) would neither mend nor meene, 
 But tooke his pleafure to efpie their ill, 
 And fmild to fee them fmart before his eyne : 
 But had that man, that monftruous man yet beene 
 Referu'd onlife by fatall Nimphs till now. 
 To view thefe flames which may in me be feene, 
 He would bewaile my poore ellate I trow, 
 whofe boyling breafl euen like mont ^tna burns 
 When in his tomb the roaring monfter turns. 
 
 58 
 
To KALA. 
 
 HTHe Per/tan Kings all waters did abiure, 
 ■*■ Saue thofe which flow'd fro faire Choafpes flood : 
 From age to age this they obferu'd as fure, 
 As though no Waters els could do them good. 
 This was a forme, no rather bondage ftrange, 
 which by no means thefe Monarch's braue would 
 
 (change. 
 I am as conflant as a Perjian King, 
 And thou more deare then meat or drinke to mee : 
 For all th'entifments beautie bright can bring. 
 With lifping toong, and foull entifmg eye : 
 In fpight of all thefe all as I began, 
 I am thy true and neuer-changing man. 
 
 Thus will I furfet on thy beautie braue. 
 And Lysard-\\k.Q. Hue on thy looks diuiue : 
 In prefence abfence I am fworne thy flaue. 
 And ftill I would (were I a King) be thine : 
 And for thy fake, till life and breath endure. 
 All other loue and feruice I abiure. 
 
 Tu quoq; iunge fidos fido cum coniuge amores, 
 Ipfe etaiim et coniunx ipfc et amator ero. 
 
 59 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 A Llace that abfence hath fuch force to foyll, 
 
 And to procure my euer pearceing paine, 
 Bereft of reft I tofle, I tume, I toyle, 
 Halfe in difpaire that we may meet againe: 
 Think on my vowes (& think they were not vaine) 
 My countenance, and each thing els I pray, 
 Which then I vf d, when our goodnight was tane, 
 My inward wrack and woe for to bewray: 
 And when allone in clafped armes we lay. 
 With interchange of manie foulefooke kifles : 
 Thinke how we fhed before the dawn of day, 
 With miriads of vnaccomplifht wifhes f' 
 
 Which with my felfe for lacke of prefens pind, 
 I recommend vnto thy vertuous mind. 
 
 Sic mecumfixis herebas nixa lacertis, 
 Mutua aim placido trahebanius gaudia lufis. 
 
 Go 
 
To abfent ERANTINA. 
 
 "JP Ven as a man by darke that goes aftray, 
 
 Would faine behold and looke vnto the light : 
 Or as a Pilgrem erring from the way, 
 In vvildfome wayes, would faine be fet a right : 
 As Mariners in blacke and ftormie night, 
 O'refet with Seas, flrange winds, and ftormie raine 
 Longs to behold the beanies of Phoebus bright. 
 That after ftorme, the calme may come againe : 
 As he whom ftill the layler doth detaine 
 In bondage clofe, of freedome would be glade : 
 Right fo Ihall I of prefence be as faine, 
 To fee the Sain6l for whom my fighs are fhade, 
 L ight, wisJJied way, calme, freedome, fhould not bee 
 So fweete to them, as Prefence vnto mee. 
 
 6i 
 
To KALA. 
 
 Sore is my head and forie is my hart, 
 And yet for all th'emplafters I applie, 
 No helpe hath Nature, nor no ayde brings Art, 
 Without, within, I burne, I fret, I frie: 
 A childifh thing when Care doth come to crie : 
 Yet this doth moft my Feuer fell infe6l, 
 I hid my harms, and fo in filence die. 
 And thus my head muft riue, my hart muft breake. 
 But worfl of all, while vifage wan bewray. 
 What fecret fite my ficke foule doth affale, 
 How I or'edriue in deadly dooU the day, 
 And how this longfome Equino6l I vale : 
 
 Shee cruell fhee that fhould my Surgeon bee, 
 Allow's my loffe, and laughs, and lets me die. 
 
 Nee tamen vlla mea tangitte eiira falutis. 
 
 62 
 
To abfent IDEA. 
 
 Faire dame, for who my mornfull mufe hath worne 
 To want thy fight the black & fable weede, 
 Whofe houering haires difheueld rent and tome, 
 May fliow what baill thy abfence long can breed: 
 Looke if thou lift my Rimes, and thou fhalt reed 
 But coaleblack woes in coaleblack words brought 
 thy abfence long, hath made my cofort deed, (forth 
 And makes my Verfes be fo litle worth. 
 Shine then vpon my parched Sunburnd braine, 
 Chiefe ftay of all my tempeft-beaten Hate : 
 Leaue not thy man difconfolate againe, 
 Faire Goddes of my Fortune both and Fate : 
 All earthly hopes for thee fmce I refufe. 
 Be thou my hope, my Miftris and my Mufe. 
 
 Vtq; fujiercilio fpondes nutuq; loquaci, 
 Nonnihilipfa ineis mota venis precibus. 
 
 63 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 /^ Vtthrough the faire and famous Scythian land, 
 ^''^ A Riuer runns vTito the Ocean mane : 
 Hight Hypanis with cleare and criftall ftrand, 
 Borderd about with Pine, Firre, Oake, and plane : 
 Whofe filuer ftreames as they delight the eye, 
 So none more fweet to either tafl or fmell. 
 Yet Exampcus erre his Lord he fpies, 
 Maks him to ftinke like Stigian flanks at Hell. 
 Eu'n fo faire Dame (whofe fhap doth fo excell) 
 Thy glorious rayes, thy fhining virtues rare, 
 No Poets pen, nor Rhetors tong can tell 
 So farre beyond the bounds of all compare : 
 Yet are they fpoyld with poyfning cold difdaine 
 Andfuch as drink thy beauties floods are flaine. 
 
 Nil noJlrcE mouere preces verba irrita vetitis, 
 Fiidimus et vanas fcopulis impegiimts vndas. 
 
PANDORA refufeth 
 his Letter, 
 
 THe faikles foule Philoxaius was flaine 
 By courtes kind AmphiaUis the Knight, 
 (Who for the faire Cornithian Queens difdainc 
 Borne to his forefaid friend had tane the flight :) 
 But when his Dog perceiu'd that forie fight, 
 He fawn'd vpon his maiflers fatall foe : 
 Who then with hart and hand full of defpight, 
 Beats backe the Dog with manie bitter bio. 
 My deareft Dame and feemlie Sain6l euen fo. 
 For whofe fweet fake I dayhe die and dwins. 
 Hath flaine her flaue with all the wounds of woe. 
 And loaths allace, to looke vpon my Lins : 
 That with the Dog my Ditties mufl; returne, 
 And helpe their martird Maifl:er for to murne. 
 
 Qtds Dms oppoftlit nojlrisfua numvia noiis. 
 
 65 
 
To KALA. 
 
 nrWixt Fortune, Loue, and moft vnhappic mee, 
 
 Behold a chafe, a fatall threefome Reele, 
 Shee leads vs both, fuppofe fhee can not fee, 
 And fpurs the Poft on her vnconftant wheele : 
 I follow her, but while I preafe to fpeele 
 My bounds aboue, I faile, and fo I fall : 
 Loue lifts me vp, and faies all fhall be well, 
 In hope of hap my comfort I recall : 
 We iomie on, Loue is the laft of all; 
 Hee on his winges, I on my thoughts do fore : 
 I flie from him, fuppofe my fpeed be fmall; 
 Shee flies from mee, and woe is mee therefore. 
 Thus am I ftill tAvixt Loue and Fortune flaine, 
 I neither take nor tarrie to be taine. 
 
 66 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. 
 
 ^ Ood caufe hadft thou EtiarcJms to repent, 
 
 The reakles rafhnes of thy bad decreit: 
 Thy crueltie did fpring from good intent. 
 The grounds whereof were tedious to repeet : 
 Yet when thy Sonne fell downe before thy feet, 
 And made thine eyes confeffe that he was thine, 
 Thou wept for woe, yet could thou not retreat 
 The fentence faid, but figh'd and forow'd fine : 
 So may it be that once thofe eyes diuine, 
 Which now difdaine and loath to looke fo low, 
 As to behold thefe miferies of mine, 
 flial weepe whe they my conftant trueth flial know 
 And thou fhalt figh (though out of time) to fee. 
 By thy decret thine owne Piracies die. 
 
 E ii. 
 
 67 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. 
 
 IFeare not Lone with blind and frowning face, 
 His Bow, his flame, nor (harpeft hooked head : 
 A brauer Archer Death fhall haue his place, 
 And put a poynt to all my paine with fpeed : 
 And fince it is my fate to be at feed 
 With her whom once I duelie did adore : 
 Yet fatall Atrops now fhall cut the threed. 
 And breake the heart which flie enioy'd of yore : 
 For fauors floods which I did oft implore, 
 Of Letheis Lake I time by time fliall teaft, 
 Her Marbel heart flial make me moorne no more 
 The buriall ftone my dolor fhall digeafl : 
 Then farewellT^i*, aiithy lone, hard-Jicart, each one. 
 Come Atrops, Lethe, Death, and Buriall stone. 
 
 Nunc te tarn formes iangit decor ijkfuperhce, 
 Vt tua commorint tczdia iniqua deos, 
 
 68 
 
To inconftant LAIS. 
 
 1_T Ow oft haft thou with Siuet fmelHng breath, 
 told how thou loud'ft me, loud'ft me beft of al ? 
 And to repay my loue, my zeale, my fayth, 
 Said, to thy captiue thou waft but a thrall : 
 And when I would for comfort on thee call, 
 Be true to mcc dcare to my fotUey faid I, 
 Then fweetly quhefpering would thou fay, I JJiall: 
 And ccho-VAs.Q. deare to my fotUe, replle: 
 But breach of fayth now feemes no fault to thee, 
 Old promifes new periuries do proue. 
 Apes turfe the whelps they loue from tree to tree 
 And crufh them to the death with too much loue. 
 My too much loue I fee hath chang'd thee fo, 
 That from a friend thou art become a foe. 
 
 Carminibus celebrata mdsforviofa Necera, 
 Aterius maiiult cfse puella viri. 
 
 E iii. 
 
 69 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 SWeet Lais, trufl me, I can loue no more, 
 And which is worfe, my Loue is turnd to hate : 
 Thou art vnkind, and woe is mee therefore, 
 Inconflant fals and to my griefe ingrate, 
 It is too true / lou'd thee well of late. 
 And euen as true thou lou'dft mee well againe : 
 I haue allace, no pleafure to repeat 
 Our wifhes and our vowes fmce all are vaine : 
 What refolutions and what plots prophane 
 Wee two haue had in loue to Hue and die, 
 The time, the place, the tokens giuen and tane ; 
 Yf they could fpeake, can thy accufars bee : 
 But fmce thou ftill art falfe (I muft confefle) 
 Thy loue ^vas lightlie won, and loft for lefle. 
 
 Ah crttdele gefius nee fidum fxvwm iiomen. 
 
 70 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 TI) Und naked loue, who breeds thofe ftormy broyls 
 Which from my deare me to my dole debars: 
 To mee the pangs, to thee pertaine the fpoyls : 
 Thou taks aduantage of our ciuill warres, 
 I liue exild, but thou remains too neare, 
 Yet like a tirant fhee triumphs o're thee. 
 Her prefence maks thee more then blind I heare : 
 And abfence is farre worfe then death to mee, 
 Could I as thou, from ielous eyes be free, 
 Then fhould I be as blith as thou art blind : 
 I Ihould not then difpaire, nor wifh to die, 
 Nor fhould my fighs increas the wauering wind. 
 O rigor ftrange fince Loue mufl ftill remaine, 
 In prefence blind, and I in abfence flaine. 
 
 V/ia dies iantum ejl, qua te nonfemina vidi, 
 Etfme iam videor fettfibiis efss meis. 
 
 nil. 
 
 71 
 
To PENELOPE. 
 
 AXT'Hen ftately Troy by fubtill Siiwns guile. 
 
 And Grecian force was brought to laft deca\- 
 VliJJls braue with faire and facund flile, 
 Achilles Arm's obtaind, and went away: 
 In Afrike yet he was conflraind to flay : 
 For when liis friends did tafte of Lotus trie, 
 As Homers works do more at length be\vray, 
 They green'd no more the GreekiJJi foyle to fee. 
 So fares with mee, O moft vnhapie mee. 
 Since I beheld thy faire and heauenlie hew, 
 The glorious rayes of thy all conquering eye. 
 My rendering heart and foule did fo fubdew. 
 That for thy fake, whom euer feme I fhall, 
 I hauc foi^ot my felfe, my foyle, and all. 
 
 TP, 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 A/T Y Mufe fhal make thy boundles fame to flie 
 In bounds where yet thy felfe was neuer feene : 
 And were not for my Songs thy name had beene 
 Obfcurelie caft into the graue with thee : 
 But loe when cold and limping age fhall bee, 
 A figne of death, and when the graue fhall greene 
 And gape within her bofome to conteene 
 Her child, in fpight of Death thou fhalt not die : 
 For why, my Mufe, my reftles Mufe fhall eeke 
 Ten thoufand wings for to enlarge thy fame, 
 And eu'ry quill of eu'ry wing faire Dame, 
 to preach thy praife ten thoufand wayes fhal feeke 
 Yet thou repayes my labors with difdainc, 
 Thou Hues by mee, and I by thee am flaine. 
 
 O ego 7ionfelix qui tarn crudeliter amo, 
 
 Nullaq; me redamat. 
 
 73 
 
I 
 
 To frowning CI NTH I A. 
 
 F Cajlor fhine, the Seaman hoyfeth faile, (brace 
 With widkaft womb the welcome winds t'em- 
 which gladly grafps the fare & profperous gaile 
 And maks the Ship to run a fleeing race : 
 But if Orion fhine, the ftorme is nie. 
 He lowes the Saile, which flood of late fo hie 
 
 Such is my ftate, if 6<^/Zc?;'-like thou fmile, 
 I onelie Hue to feme and honour thee : 
 But if thou frowne, allace allace the while, 
 As at the fight of Gorgons head I die. 
 As in thy lift fo in thy looks diuine, 
 Orio7i black, and Castor braue do fhine. 
 
 Then fmce thou art ^Orlzon of my loue, 
 Thine eyes the fatall flarres which I adore : 
 With gracious blinks behold me from aboue. 
 Let me not finke, fafe bting me to thy fhore. 
 Or if thou loathsthatlfhould Hue, then frowne 
 For die I, Hue I, I am ftill thine owne. 
 
 Dic6le me 'j^uuenem perijfse in aniore macRq; 
 Viiita qtiodfuerit Cynthia caufa necis. 
 
 74 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 EAch thing allace, prefents and lets mee fee, 
 The rare Idea of, my rarefl Dame, 
 Deepe funke into my foule the verie fame, 
 Whofe view doth flill bewitch vnhappie mee, 
 The fhining Sunne, her hart tranfperfmg eye. 
 The morning red her braue and blufhing shame. 
 Night abfence, and day prefence doth proclame, 
 foule wether frowns, & calme fweet fmil's may bee 
 My fcalding fighs tempeftious winds, and raine : 
 But exhalations of my tragick teares. 
 In froft allace, her cold difdaine appeares; 
 In thaw, and fire, my melting heart agane : 
 
 And thus each thing brings purpofe to be pinde 
 And to my thoughts comends the faire vnkind. 
 
 75 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 T^Eare to my foule, and wilt thou needs be gone. 
 And leaue thy Man behind thee but a heart? 
 Is this the pittie which thou doft impart, 
 Disconfolat to let me die alone ? 
 Thou haft two harts ; mine, thine, and I haue none : 
 Heere fprings the surfe of my enfuing smart; 
 Yet play I pray the gentle Pyrats part, 
 And as thou lou's my life, yet leaue me one : 
 But brooke them both I gladlie grant and ftay, 
 How canft thou ride in raging raine and unnd ? 
 Yet thou muft goe, and woe is me away: 
 Then take my heart, and leaue me thine behind. 
 I gaue thee mine, O then giue thine to mee. 
 That mine and thine be one twix mee & thee. 
 
 Vnafida, vnus le^us, et vnus amor. 
 
I 
 
 To LAIS. 
 
 Haue compard my Miftris many time 
 To Angels, Sun, Moone, Stars, & things aboue: 
 My Confcience then condem'd me of a crime. 
 To things below when I conferd my Loue: 
 But when I find her aflions all are vane, 
 I thinke my Rimes and Poyems all profane. 
 
 With perfect eyes her Pageants I efpy, 
 To no thing now can I compare my Dame, 
 But Tlieramenes fhoo ; the reafon why, 
 It feru'd each foote : and fhe can do the fame : 
 She hears the futes of rich, poore, great, & fmall^ 
 And has difcretion to content vs all. 
 
 Si vitium leuitas, nulla puella bona ejl. 
 
 n 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 FAine would I goe, and faine would I abide, 
 Sweet Hais agme, and kiffe me erre I go, 
 Denie mee not fince there is none befide, 
 No teltale here, though thou wouldft giue me two : 
 Yet giue me one, if thou wilt giue no mo; 
 But one is none, then giue mee two or three. 
 Thy Balmie breath doth flill bewitch me fo, 
 As I mufl; haue an other kiffe, or die. 
 Thy Rubent blufli now bids take leaue of thee : 
 Faine would I goe, and I would kiffe as faine, 
 Then giue me one, or change a kiffe with mee : 
 If neither giue nor change, take all againe : 
 
 When thine & mine are thus conturb'd, I kno 
 Thou canfl but fmile, that I deceiu'd thee fo. 
 
 Mihi dulcia iunge 
 Ofctda^ et in nojlro molle quieffefinu. 
 
To PENELOPE. 
 
 "X^rHile fierce Achilles at the fiedge of Troy, 
 
 (the fatall Nimphs had fo decreed) was flaine 
 A fodaine ftrife arofe who fhould enioy 
 The Armes of that praife-worthie Grecian: 
 Aiax alleg'd he fhould the Arm's obtalne, 
 And by the fword to win and weare them vow'd, 
 Vlijfes faid, they fhould be his againe : 
 And he them gaind, if Stories may be trow'd, 
 But lo the fhield by Sea's was loofd, wee read, 
 And by a florme driu'n from Vlifses fight, 
 And rould to Aicix graue, though he was dead. 
 To fliow the world that he had greatefl right : 
 So when my tombe fhal end thofe teares of mine 
 there fhalt thou figh & fay, I fhould been thine. 
 
 Tumflebit cum mifenferit effefidem. 
 
 f9 
 
To CINTHIA. 
 
 OFt haue I ment with Muficke, fleepe, & wine, 
 The foueraine cur's for fuperficiall cares, 
 For to reuiue this wounded heart of mine, 
 And free my felfe from forow, fighs, and teares : 
 Yet neither all, nor any one of thofe, 
 Haue force to end, or cure, or change my woes : 
 My griefs are growne to fuch confufed force, 
 No number refts for more, nor place for worfe. 
 
 If I had merit to be martird ftill. 
 And with the furie of thy fro^vns abus'd, 
 I could digeft thy gloomings with goodwill, 
 And neither looke nor craue to be excus'd : 
 I loue my Rod like Mofes; but if I 
 Perceiue it proue a Serpent, I muft flie. 
 If thou wilt bind me ftill to be thine owne, 
 Smile ftil (faireDame) if not, I pray thee frowne. 
 
 Vincuntur mollipe^ora duraprece. 
 
 So 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. 
 
 FAlfe Eriphile fometime did betray 
 Facidic wife AmpJdavaiis her fpoufe, 
 (Who willing from the Theban warres to flay) 
 To hide himfelfe fecure at home he trow's : 
 Thus while his driftes Adrastus difallow's, 
 She (knowing that her hufband fhould be flaine 
 At Thebes) for a golden chaine auow's 
 To tell Adrastus where he did remaine; 
 And thus reueald, he goes againft his will, 
 But leaues Alcmeon to reuenge his wrack 
 On Eriphile, which he did fulfill, 
 When dolefull newes of fathers death came backe 
 So fmce in loue thou art fo vnloyall fo long, 
 Some ^xd^ci^Q, Alcmeon muft reuenge my wrong. 
 
 Qwzq; prius nobis intulit illaferat. 
 
 F. 
 
 8i 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 "l^THen CrcJJid went from Troy to Calchs tent, 
 and Greeks with Troians were at fkirmidg hot 
 Then Dioincd did late and aire frequent 
 Her companie, and Troil was forgot : 
 Thou lay alone, fuch was allace thy lot, 
 And Paris brookt poore Mcncia thy Dame, 
 Shee twind in two the matrimoniall knot, 
 And tooke a ftranger when thou went from hame. 
 Such is my cafe, if I may fay for fliame, 
 I florifht once ; once there was none but I : 
 I once was lou'd, and I haue loft the fame, 
 And as God liu's, I know not how nor why: 
 So that my Sainfl for falfhood I am fure. 
 May match the Grecian or the Troian whore. 
 
 Nonfum ego quifueram, mutat via longa pudlasy 
 Quantus in exiguo tempore fugit amor. 
 
 82 
 
To KALA. 
 
 /^Ft haue I fworne; oft haft thou pray'd me too 
 ^■^^No more to loue, nor more to looke on thee: 
 Since looks and loue haue made fo much adoo 
 Twixt loueles thee, and vnbeloued mee : 
 Yet were I dam'd without redres to die, 
 I can not ceafe from feruing thee faire Dame : 
 Yea thou and all the woondering world Ihall fee 
 The fayth, the force, the furie of my flame, 
 Moft like vnto the quefting Dogge am I, 
 Who ftill doth on his angry Maifter fawne, . 
 While thou corre6ls, I kindly queft and cry, 
 And more thou threats, the more I am thine owne 
 Thus loue or loath, or cherrifh mee or chide, 
 Where once I bind, but any breach I bide. 
 
 Sii mihi panpertas tecum mmnda necera. 
 
 F ii. 
 
 83 
 
To KALA. 
 
 "1 7"^ /"Hen jEdipus did fooliflily refigne 
 
 His Kingdome to his Sonnes, that he & he, 
 Aboue the T/iebans yeare about fhould raigne, 
 And that his Cro^vne biparted fo fhould be. 
 Polinices firft raignd, but faith we fee, 
 He from the Crowne Eieodcs debars: 
 Thus while they liue, they neuer can agree, 
 And after death, their burning bones made warrs. 
 My riuall foe againft all right enioyes 
 That Crowne & Kingdome which pertains to me 
 That proud vfurper worker of my noyes, 
 Shall find a foe, vnto the day I die. 
 
 And were we dead, that are too long aliue. 
 Our Ashes in th'exequial vme would flriue. 
 
 Riuaiem pofsum 7wn egoferre youem. 
 
At the newes of IDEAS death, 
 Dialogue twixt the Poets Ghoft 
 and Charon. 
 Ghoji. 
 /^Ome Charon come : (Ch) Who cals? 
 
 (Gh.) a wandring Ghoft, 
 By fortune led vnto the Stygian fhore, 
 (Ch.) What feeks thouheere ? (Gh.) a fafe tranfport 
 
 with poft, 
 As thou haft done to many mo before. dore, 
 (C.) Who flew thee thus } (G.) euen flie whom I a- 
 Hath rould my name in fcrowls of black difgrace. 
 (Ch) What made her thus into thy griefe to glore .'' 
 (G.) LouewBS my foe, & chang'd in wars mypeace. 
 (C.) Go then aback, this Barke ftiall not imbrace 
 The fmalleft one whom Lone at fead hath borne. 
 (Gh.) That fliall I not, for lo before thy face, 
 I fliall ou'r faile the flood and thou had fworne : 
 The Darts of Lone both Boat & Oares, flial bee, 
 Sighs fliall be winds, and Teares a Styx to mee. 
 
 ni. 
 
 85 
 
An other Dialogue to the fame purpofe. 
 
 Ghoji. 
 
 C^Ovci^CImronzovciQ. f'C/^J Whocals? (Gh.)2, 
 
 ^^ martyrd man, 
 
 Since Fame foorthtold the faireft faire was deid. 
 
 (Ch.) What feeks thou ? (Gh.) Help to croce thy 
 waters wan, 
 
 And I will pay thee for thy paines with fpeed. 
 
 (Ch.) Thou feems to be a quick & liuing leid, 
 
 And not a vmber, nor a palled Ghaifl. 
 
 (Gh.) Feare not for that, fmce I for paffage pleid, 
 
 But let mee haue thy helping hand with haift. 
 
 (C.) Though fage ^tieas did o're-faile my ftreame 
 
 By Sybils helpe, none els muft goe againe. 
 
 (G.) Then thinks thou Charon,Xo enioy my Dame 
 
 And ftay my voyage from th' Elejian plaine ? 
 {^C jYesfurelyyes. (G) No C//«r^;^ thou (halt lie 
 For Lotie hath wings, and I haue learnd to flie. 
 
 PandUur ad nullas J^anua nigra preces. 
 
 86 
 
IDEA after long ficknes, becommeth 
 
 well; and as he wept for her, he wijhes 
 
 compenfation of her teares in 
 
 his diftrefje. 
 
 /^Beautie doomb aflonifh'd Maruels chyld, 
 
 The wanton obieft of my weeping ele, 
 Blith was my heart before I was beguyld, 
 And made to beare a feruile yoake by thee : 
 But now allace, though I by birth be free. 
 And not a flaue-borne Mtifcouite by kind, 
 My Sain6l fo Lords my heart, that now I fee, 
 There is no manumifsion to my mind. 
 Faire heauenly Tigres, be no more vnkind, 
 I wept for thee, when weerds did all confpire 
 Thy wrack ; O then behold how I am pind : 
 Weepe thou for me, thy teares may quench my fire 
 As I did thine, fo meene thou my eftate. 
 And be not cald the word of ills ingrate. 
 
 Sis ingrata licet Ji modo bella manes. 
 F iiii. 
 
 87 
 
To CYNTHIA. 
 
 TDRoud Zeiixis gaue his Pi6lures all for nought, 
 
 Such was the loue he to his labors bore, 
 That by no gold nor price they could be bought, 
 And thusfaue thanks poore man,hegaind no more 
 I am as poore, and euen as proud as hee. 
 For Loue nor Lines I craue no price from thee. 
 
 For if thou digne but with a gracious fmile. 
 To looke my Lines, and fpie how I am pind, 
 And with my toyes the fwift wingd time begile, 
 Then am I paide according to my minde : 
 
 Joues oath was Styx^^svdiPhcebiis DaphiieshaXxt', 
 But from hencefoorth I by thy fmiles wil fweare. 
 
 8S 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 TVr O hart fo hard, tho wrought of Vnlcans fteele. 
 
 Or fearcely forg'd of Adamantine ftone, 
 That doe endure or laft fo long fo leele, 
 As mine, who loues thee moft vnlouing one, 
 Whofe purpofe is and plot, as I fuppone, 
 Moft cruellie her captiue thrall to kill, 
 Who onely Hues to loue but her alone : 
 Though fhe reward my true intent with ill : 
 Such is my ftate, I but abide her will, 
 Shee has the fatall flick into her fleeue. 
 And when fhe lift her furie to fulfill, 
 Al^/iea-\ike fhe may my breath bereaue: 
 Nor leue vnlou'd, I rather choofe to die, 
 Then beat the fire, and burne the fatall tree. 
 
 JVam inea crudeles tetigerunt corda fagitte, 
 Atq; animam petijt vulneris afpei'itas. 
 
 89 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 /^anfl thou haue eares, & wil not heare my plaint 
 Canfl thou haue eies, & wil not wipe my teares 
 Haft thou a heart, and feeles not how I faint, 
 Debating t^vixt difpairing hops and feares? 
 Canft thou not fee thofe fad and ciuill weairs 
 Which are within the kingdome of my heart, 
 Where Legions of perfuing pangs appeairs, 
 My vtter wrake and mine to impart ? 
 Heere bums the fire, there fticks the deadly dart: 
 Here teares me droun, there fmokyfighs me fmore 
 Here Beauty wounds, there riuals mns athwart. 
 And ielous eyes do pry into each pore : 
 
 When al thefe al and thou my wrack contriues, 
 I can not laft, and I had twentie liues. 
 
 Perfidafed duris getiuit ie montibus horrais^ 
 Cantafus, hircaneq; admorunt vbera tigres. 
 
 90 
 
Newyeares gift to PENELOPE. 
 
 THat Colatine did talke in Tarqiiins tent, 
 His Ladie Lticrece was moft chart: moft faire, 
 Hee afterward had reafon to repent, 
 Shee died a deemd adultres in difpaire. 
 The Lydian King brought naked bojth and bare, 
 His wife before his friend for to be feene. 
 Which brought him felfe wee fee into the fnare, 
 For he was flaine, and Giges brookt his Queene. 
 Yet can not all thefe wracks forewarne my Mufe, 
 To hold her peace, but prayfe thee more & more: 
 I loue thee ftill, and I will not refufe. 
 Though fmall allace, be my reward therefore. 
 And fo (faire Dame) for Newyears gift receaue 
 My heart thine owne, my felfe to be thy flaue. 
 
 91 
 
To PENELOPE. 
 
 ■\^rHen Alexander did fubdue and bring 
 
 The coaftly lies of Iiide to his Empire, 
 Hee captiue tooke proud Portis Indian King, 
 And bid him aske what moft he did defire? 
 Nought faid braue Poms do I now require, 
 But that thou vfe me as a King fhould bee. 
 Thou fhalt haue friendly hoftage to thy hyre : 
 And for my fake I graunt thy fute (faid hee.) 
 Long with my pafsions haue I borne debate. 
 Oft haue I fought, and now haue loft the feeld, 
 It is my fortune for to be defeate. 
 I am thy Captiue, and faire Dame I yeeld: 
 As Macedo was to the King of Jnde, 
 If not mine, yet for thy caufe be kinde. 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 V7\ /"Hen Dionife was fhut from Regall feat, 
 
 And quite depofd from his Imperial throne 
 For tyrannies too tedious to repeate, 
 Which made oft times the Siramfans grone, 
 When he was thus difgrac'd, and left alone : 
 He could not ceafe to play the tyrant ftill, 
 He grew a pedant infants poore anone 
 He taught and quhipt to exercife his ill. 
 I with my Loue haue plaid the licher long, 
 And fhee the loun with many moe then mee : 
 This cuflome vile, maks fmne to feeme no wrong, 
 And flie muft turne a common Whoore I fee, 
 Though both be bad, and each of both vnfure, 
 I rather ferue a tyrant then a whoore. 
 
 93 
 
To abfent PANDORA. 
 
 T Ong fince hath Cynthia fhownher ful fac'd prid 
 And now compeirs with crefcent horns againe 
 Since at the banks of Neptims flowing tide, 
 I tooke my leaue and fhew how I was flaine : 
 Allace allace, they haue not wept in vaine, 
 Who left vs annals of eternall date, 
 Condemning abfence for a cruell paine, 
 A foe to fayth, a vnfriend vnto fate : 
 A happy life had I in loue of late. 
 To ioy the fweete fruition of thy face. 
 Now from thy fight eftranged is my ftate. 
 Since all my life is darknes and difgrace : 
 Yet midft my woes I wifh that well thou bee, 
 And with the winds I fend thofe fighes to thee. 
 
 Nulla mihifijie te rident locce, difplicet cequor, 
 Sordet terra^ lenes ods aim retibus hamos. 
 
 94 
 
To PENELOPE 
 
 feeke. 
 
 \T\7'Ere I as fkild in Medecine as hee, 
 
 Who did reflore Hippolits health againe, 
 When he was torne with horfe; then fhouldfl thou 
 I fhould prepare emplaflers for thy paine : (fee 
 But fince I am no jEfculap at all, 
 I am thy Bondman, and thy Beadman thrall. 
 
 Phoebe faite, laus magna tibi iribueiur, in vno 
 Corpore feruato reJHtuiffe duos. 
 
 95 
 
Newyeares gift to I D K A. 
 
 'T^HE Locrian King Zalencns made a law, 
 
 That each adultrar both his eyes fhould lofe, 
 But when his Sonne was faultie firft he faw, 
 That facred Kings haue hid and fecret foes, 
 Incontenent vnto the ftage he goes, 
 And from his Sonne one eye, one of his owne 
 He caufd pull out, and in the fight of thofe 
 A carefull King, a father kind was knowne. 
 In Janus Kalends faire and louely fweet. 
 Time out of minde hath been a cuflome old, 
 That friends their friends with mutual gifts fhould 
 To keep true kindnes from becoming cold, (greet 
 Zaleuciis-\}^Q. thefe Lines are fent by mee, 
 To keepe the law and kith my Loue to thee. 
 
 Da veniam mend nil ego, in/sit amor. 
 
 ^ 
 
To CINTHIA. 
 
 A 1 /"hy loues thou more (faire dame) thy Dog then 
 what can he do but (as the Scholer faid (mee ? 
 At Xanthis feaft) fhake eares and tayle on thee? 
 And I can do much more to make thee glade, 
 With tedious toyle and longfome labour made. 
 Hee can perhaps bring thee thy Gloue, or whyls 
 Thy Kirchiff when t'is either left or laide 
 Behind thy heeles with fweet and backaft fmyles : 
 But I, whom thou difdainefuUy exyles 
 From thy fweet bed, and thy moft fweet embrace ; 
 Which fawning Currs with filthy feet defiles, 
 I could doe more, but I lack leaue allace : 
 
 Fie Natures baftard, make no Dog thy Loue 
 Leafl thou a Monfter, I a Martyr proue. 
 
 G. 
 
 97 
 
To KALA. 
 
 IFirft receiud fince did fweet Sain6l vnfold 
 Thy louely Lines, the legats of thy mind, 
 And did with With & ioy-fwolne breaft behold 
 How thou continew'd conftant, true, and kind. 
 But when I did perceiue how thou waft pind. 
 Find for the abfence of thy loue-fick fwaine, 
 My toong was doomb, my filent eyes were blind, 
 I read and mufd, and muf'd and read againe: 
 And be thou iudge (deare heart) if I was faine 
 When I euolu'd from out the Paper Avhit, 
 That SymboU fweete tranfparent pure & plaine, 
 Wherein fome time thou tooke fo much delight : 
 Yea thrife each day (faire Miftris) till we meet, 
 I kis thy Symboll, and thy golden flieet. 
 
 Quifquis ad Jianc vertit peregrifiam Httora pitppim, 
 Ille mihi de te ynulta romius abit. 
 
 98 
 
To KALA. 
 
 ISweare (fweet Kalci) by my flames, thy eyes, 
 O eyes; no eyes, but rather ftarres diuine: 
 Sweet Dioncan twins into their flcies, 
 And by thofe kind alluring looks of thine, 
 I fweare by all our teares whils thine, whils mine, 
 Nor mine nor thine, but both combind in one : 
 By all the fighs blowne from the facred Ihrine 
 Where Craigs true heart hath his heroick throne, 
 I fweare by all our fecret vow's each one, 
 Made in the darke, and reconfirmd by day : 
 By all our kiffes when we were allone, 
 And all the wiflies when I went away : 
 
 Let Weerds and Fortune do the worft they can 
 I am in fpight of Mifoes Nofe, thy man. 
 
 Gii. 
 
 99 
 
To KALA. 
 
 /^How I long to heare from thee againe. 
 And vnderftand the tenor of thy ftate : 
 Thrife hath the Moone begun to wax and wane, 
 With fpheirs and horns fince I receiu'd thy wreat : 
 Then giue mee leaue (fweet Lady) to regrate, 
 Since thou mayhaue of traualing troups fuch ftore, 
 And I haue fent fo many lines of late, 
 Thou art vnkind, and woe is mee therefore : 
 Each one that comes from thee, or from thy (hore. 
 In hope of newes, I entertaine for thee: 
 Each Poll I meet, each Home I heare, yeelds more 
 Harmonious founds, then muficke fweet to mee : 
 But when my hopes proue naught with for}'- 
 I figh & fay vnkind, vnkind, vnkind. (mind. 
 
 Tetnporafi numaes bene qtuz numeramus amantes, 
 Nan venit antefiiam 7ioJlra querela diem. 
 
 ''%» 
 
To CYNTHIA. 
 
 A yX /"Hen thofe which at Ardea did remainc 
 With Aracins did many times contend 
 For Confind Lands, which neither could obtaine, 
 In many Battails, though much blood they fpend, 
 Yet that fometime the ftrife fhould take good end 
 Both they and thofe referre them felu's to Rome, 
 Imperious Rotnans parties both offend, 
 And to them felucs the queftiond Lands affume. 
 Long warres heue been betwixt thy Maid & mee, 
 Yf fhee or I my loueficke heart fliould haue; 
 Shee thinks it hers, it was once mine, and wee 
 To end this flrife, thy facred fentence craue. 
 Thou like thefe conquering Romans in this cafe 
 By fpoyling both, poffeyds my heart in peace. 
 
 Cynthia prima fuit Cynthia finis crit. 
 
 G iii. 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 nPHe ielous eyes which watch my louing Dame, 
 
 And Arg^us-like to trap mee ftill attend, 
 They with my lofTe allace, but feeke her fhame : 
 Which I befeech thee louing Lord defend. 
 O Avould to God my honeft courfe were kend. 
 Or that my bread were made of Criftall cleare. 
 That triall might be tane what I intend : 
 And my true part in prefence might appeare. 
 But (O allace and weladay) I feare, 
 Thefe iarres fhall foone ingender fuch debate. 
 As fhall but doubt debarre mee from my deare, 
 And enterchange my wonted good eftate. 
 O harmonie vnhappiefl: of all, 
 Bad chance brings change, and change hath 
 fram'd my fall. 
 
 J^fs ejl foUiciti plena tinwris afnor. 
 
 I02 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 1"^ Ifordered Haires the types of my difgrace, 
 
 The teftlmonies of my feruile ftate : 
 Ou'ruaile my wanne and pale disfigured face, 
 And let my fauour anfwere to my fate : 
 For fmce I am th'vnhappieft hee, I waite 
 That Loue, or Fortunes enuie can affaile: 
 What refteth then? but ftill for to regrate, 
 Since word, nor writ, nor prayers can preuaile : 
 And fmce my deare difdainfullie doth deale 
 With hopeles mee, who was and .is her owne, 
 My pearfmg paines fhall on my vifage pale, 
 With hoarie, rough, & crumpled skin be knowne. 
 And fuch as fees my furrowed face, fhall fay, 
 The faire Vnkind is caufe of my decay. 
 
 Ilia dies fatum mifero mihi dufct ab ilia, 
 Pefsima mutati cepit amoris Jiyevis. 
 
 1111. 
 
To ERANTINA. 
 
 LOng haue I had long haires vpon my head, 
 Long haue I had hid harmes within my heart, 
 Yet none of thofe are powerfull for to plead 
 The fmallefl falue or foftning to my fmart. 
 Could I draw foorth the Iharpe and golden dart, 
 Wherewith allace, I fecretlie am flaine : 
 Or put thofe black vnpouled locks apart, 
 For which the world accompts mce to be vaine : . 
 Could I to flit as to be fafl be faine, 
 Or thinke that foule that I haue thought too faire. 
 There fliould no harme into my heat remaine, 
 Nor fhould my head be ouerhung with haire. 
 Sweet, if thou loues me, powll thofe locks I pray 
 Yf not, cut life, loue, locks, and all away. 
 
 KH 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 ^^ What a world I fuffer of extreames, 
 
 Twixt hot defire and icie cold difpaire : 
 Moft like the fwift impetuous tyds of Theames, 
 Are thofe the ebs and flowings of my care : 
 I Hue allace, a martire late and aire, 
 Coold with difpaire, and burnd with hot defire : 
 I fee allace, and can not flip the fnare, 
 In floods I frie, and freeze amid the fire : 
 In Sejlian feas to Hero fweet I fwim, 
 And faine would touch the fimber of her goun, 
 Hoyfd with defire vnto the clouds I dim, 
 But by difpaire Lcander^^t. I drown : 
 My Dolphin deare, let not Arion dee 
 Saue mee vnfunke, and I fliall fing to thee. 
 
 Quicquid cojiabor dicere uerfus erit. 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 T7 Aire Sicil fertill firft of Cruell Kings, 
 
 When Dionife did all thy ftate ouerthrow, 
 And wrought fo many ftrange & monftrus things 
 And led fo long a life without all law : 
 Sad forrow was the Syraaifan Song, 
 And all faue old Hymera, wifh'd him dead, 
 Shee wifh'd him weel, caufe many tyrants fprong : 
 And were hee gone, a worfer would fucceed. 
 It is my weird, and woe is me therefore. 
 To feme and loue where recompence is none. 
 Oft haue I chang'd, and now can change no more 
 For badder ay fucceeds, when bad are gone. 
 And this fweethart maksme thy headman thral, 
 Leaft by thy loffe, in harder haps I fall. 
 
 Quando ego non timui graniora pericula veris. 
 
 io6 
 
^ 
 
 To PANDORA. 
 
 When Scythian Lords long fro their lands had bein 
 Their flaues vfurp'd their abfent Maifters place : 
 both wealth & wiues they breok'd before their eine 
 And did the fame feuen yeares poffes in peace : 
 They turning home, and feeing fuch difgrace, 
 fought with their feruants for their wealth & wiues 
 But by the men the maifters gat the chafe, 
 And hardly fcap'd with hazard of their Hues. 
 Then they confult with neither fwords nor glaues, 
 Nor open warres, to make their foes to yeeld, 
 with whips & wands they bat their randring flaues 
 And by the change of weapons wan the feeld. 
 Since fighs, nor teares, nor ditties can fubdue thee 
 I muft (faire fweet)withS^//^/«« armesperfue thee 
 
 107 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 I Put my hand by hazard in the hat 
 Where many names did intermixtly lie, 
 With her and her were you and this and that, 
 A fortune blind, or niuie nake to trie : 
 And lo fuch was my luckie lucke that I 
 Among fo many, found thy Noble name. 
 And on my head, that thou and all may fpie, 
 I well auow the wearing of the fame : 
 It fhall inferre no foyle vnto thy fame. 
 That thou art borne vpon fo bafe a head : 
 A Begger find's a ftone of curious frame, 
 And yet the flone remaines a ftone indead. 
 So thou art thou, and of more worth to mee, 
 Deare Valentine, then thou waft wont to bee. 
 
 lefi 
 
To LITHOCARDIA. 
 
 ^ Reat Alexander gaue a ftraight command, 
 
 That euery Souldier in the Camp fhould fliaue 
 And that his face as haireles as his hand, 
 Both Grecke and Pcrjian time of warrs fhould haue : 
 When Armes were put a part, he lent full leaue 
 To weare long beards ; a fign of fat-fed peace : 
 And thus in Greece a ftranger might perceiue 
 The Countries ftate into the Souldiers face. 
 I am content that cuftome to imbrace; 
 I haue no beard to fhow my peace with thee: 
 But thou wilt fay, my hairs portend difgrace. 
 And difcontent is in my downcaft eye: 
 It is too true ; but let me rife or fall. 
 Or finke or fwim, I am thy feruient thrall. 
 
 Addimus his precibrcs lachriinas quoq; verba preantis, 
 Perlegis, et lachriinas finge iudere meas. 
 
 109 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 A7\7Hy loue I her that loues not mee againe? 
 
 Why am I friendly to my fremmit foe? 
 Why doe I weare my wayting on in vaine. 
 In feruing her that hath deceiu'd mee fo? 
 Why did I thus my freedome fweet forgo, 
 To pleafure her that plagu's mee with difdaine? 
 Or wifh her weel that euer wrought my woe, 
 And would not figh fuppofe fhee faw me flaine: 
 O foolifh I, and haples I alone. 
 No then, O faythleffe and difloyall fhee, 
 Whofe try'd vntrueth thus maks me to complaine 
 And wifh before the fixed day to die : 
 
 For now tint time and trauell maks me fure, 
 I playd the foole, and flie has playd the hoore. 
 
 Periuria ridet a?nantu7n, 
 Jupiter et vmtos irritaferre iuhet. 
 
 no 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 "D Raue Troilus the Troian ftout and true, 
 
 As more at length in Chaufer wee may find, 
 Dreamd that a faire White Bull, as did infue, 
 Had fpoyld his Loue, and left him hurt behind. 
 The Phrygian Nymphe j^noncB dround in drerd, 
 When Paris towards Grece made faile from Troy, 
 In dreames forefaw, as after did fucceed, 
 Her Loue and foraine Ladie fhould enioy. 
 When Hecuba the Wifemen did imploy. 
 Her dreame of flaming Fire for to expone. 
 They fhortly fhew that Paris fhould deftroy 
 And fet on fire faire Ilion fticke and ftone. 
 Right fo might I, if weerds had not withftand, 
 In dolefull dreames forefeene the fall I fand. 
 
 Qidd tuneam ignofo tuneo tamen omnia demens. 
 
To IDEA. 
 
 T Aft yeare I drew (faire Dame) by very chance, 
 Thy Noble name amongft a number moe : 
 
 Glad was my foule to fee the weirds aduance 
 
 The happy hazard of my fortune fo : 
 
 And proud thereof, vpon my pate I plac'd thee, 
 With anagram's and Sonets fweet I grac'd thee. 
 
 But now (wife Dame) behold a wonder ftrange, 
 Which both I wifh thee to beleeue and heare : 
 (I am fo loath where once I choofe, to change) 
 That in my heart thou harbours all this yeare : 
 Then from a Hat I drew thee err I faw thee. 
 Now from my hart it is my doome to draw thee. 
 
 Why fhould I hazard what I haue fo fure, 
 Or fcrape thy name into a fcuruie Scrowle.-* 
 O thou art ^vrit in blood's characters pure, 
 Within the center of my louefick foule : 
 
 Let others try a fortune blind and beare thee. 
 Both on my head & in my heart I'le weare thee. 
 
 112 
 
To KALA. 
 
 BLind Loue (allace) and lelofie vndoo 
 That conftant heart which I bequeath to thee : 
 I loue thee moft, and am moft ielous too, 
 By this I Hue, by that vndone I die : 
 Not that I thinke a fickle change can bee, 
 Where vertue dwels, but that mine owne vnworth 
 Is worfe then twentie rluall foes to mee : 
 Mybafe eftatethefebaftard thoughts brings foorth 
 O were my moyane equall to my minde. 
 Or were my wealth as great as my goodwill. 
 Could I commaund the coftlie lies of Jnde, 
 Thou fliouldft be weell, and I fhould feare no ill. 
 Then Fortune, Fates, & all yee Gods aboue, 
 Enlarge my luck, or els make les my loue. 
 
 Venit amor grauius quoferius vrimur inius, 
 Vrimur, et fecum pe6lora vulnus habent. 
 
 H. 
 
 "3 
 
To PANDORA. 
 
 "XT^Hile gathering in the Mufes garden flowrs, 
 I made a Nofegay, which perfum'd the aire, 
 Whofe fmell fhall fauour to times lateft hours, 
 And fliall for ay adorne thee cruell faire. 
 I laide mee downe vpon the graffie greene. 
 Where I beheld fruit's, flowr's, and hearbs anew, 
 Foorthfpred by Flora glorious Sommers Queene, 
 Whereon the calme and gentle Zephir blew: 
 On haughtie hils, which Giant-like did threat 
 To pearfe the heauens with their afpiring head, 
 Grew war-like Firs, ftrong Oaks, & Ceeders great, 
 Whofe Ihaddie boughs the leauie groues ou'rfpred 
 Thus high and low I looked where I lay, 
 Yet neither fruite nor flower was like my Hay. 
 
 "4 
 
To KALA. 
 
 A /"K T'Hen filent night had fpred her pitchie vaile 
 
 On all the parts of Vestais fruitfull face. 
 And horned Lima penfiue fad and paile, 
 Was at thy prefence darkned with difgrace'; 
 Thinke (comely Kala) with what kind embrace 
 Wee fhew the fecrets of our figh-fwolne foule, 
 How ftri6l a bond we ty'd in litle fpace : 
 Which none but heau'ns haue credit to controule. 
 Sweet Shippardes thinke on thy Loue-fick fvvane, 
 Whofe life, whofe all, doth on thy loue depend : 
 Let nought faue death, deuide vs two againe, 
 And let our loues euen with our Hues take end. 
 And when I ceafe for to be true to thee, 
 Breath vanifh in the winds aud let mee die. 
 
 Dij prefer hoc iubeant vt euntibus ordinefatis, 
 J^Ua meos oculos comprimat, atq; fuos. 
 
 Hii. 
 
 "5 
 
To his Riuall and LAIS. 
 
 AS thou art now, fo was I once in grace, 
 And thou waft: once difgrac't, as now am I. 
 O wonderous chaunce, o cruell contrarie cafe, 
 
 ftrange difcord, yet greeing harmonie. 
 
 1 once was lou'd, thou loath'd ; but now efpie 
 How I am loath'd, and thou art lou'd alone : 
 In this the wheele of Fortune you may try: 
 
 I raignd, thou had no raigne ; thou raignes againe, 
 Then happie thou, if fo thou might remaine : 
 But fayth thou muft come downe there is no dout, 
 And thou muft be a partner of my paine, 
 The nixt muft: needs haue place his time about: 
 
 Els fortunes wheele fhould whirle about no more 
 
 Nor Lais faire be fals, as of before. 
 
 Turpius ejlpulchra nam merdrice nihil. 
 
 u6 
 
Farewell to LAIS. 
 
 Thou fawns (faire nimph) for frindfhip at my hand 
 And fayes, thou feeks no more of worldly blis : 
 But feid forgot that friendfliip true may ftand. 
 And cryes met mercie if thou made amis. 
 But harke my heart, and truft mee weel in this, 
 I can not loue a faigned friend ; no no : 
 Since I am fo acquaint with Judas kis, 
 Shape not (my fweet) for to deceiue me fo : 
 For / haue read in Stories old, of two, 
 Zethius and Amphion did difcord. 
 Till time Ainphion muficke did forgo. 
 Which by his fellow was fo much abhord : 
 Thy fute (my fweet) is feafond with fuch fals, 
 We fhall not friend fo long as thou art fals. 
 
 Non amo tefateor quid enim fimulare necefse ejl. 
 
 H iii. 
 
 117 
 
A fparing farewell to K A L A. 
 
 "pOnd Celuis fome time in a foolifh vaine, 
 -*- Would needs applie emplafters to his foot, 
 And would as fick men doe, figh, weepe, & plaine, 
 And make the world beleeue he had the Gout : 
 And by this cuftome which he had, wee reed 
 DifTembling Celuis tooke the Gout in deed. 
 
 How many broyls betwixt vs two haue beene, 
 Which I oft times of purpofe would deuife. 
 That in that fort our loue fhould fcape vnfeene, 
 And'vndeuulged in a darke difguife? 
 
 But fayth that cuftome hath deceiu'd mee fo, 
 That in efifefl I am thy fremcaft foe. 
 
 When firfb our Loue was in the pleafant prime, 
 Thou lou'dft mee well, I lou'd thee well againe: 
 But heere behold the ftrange effefts of time, 
 My fire turns frost, thy loue turns cold difdaine : 
 Yet time may friend which made vs foes ; til whan, 
 I wifh thee weell, but am no more thy man. 
 
 Namq; vbi non atnor ejl vbi non viifcentur amoris, 
 Suauia nil lauti, nilq; leporis inejl. 
 
 ixB 
 
r 
 
 A wrathfull farewell to K ALA. 
 
 'He whiteft Siluer drawes the blackefl fkore, 
 In greeneft Graffe the deadly Adder lowrs, 
 The faireft Sunne doth breed the fharpeft fhowrs. 
 The fowleft Toads haue faireft Stons in ftore: 
 So fairf'd of Loue, and woe is mee therefore. 
 In greeneft Graffe lies hid the ftinging Adder, 
 In faireft ftiining Sunne the fowleft wadder, 
 A precious Pearle plac'd in a poyfning Pore : 
 Shall I fupp fweet mixt with fo fowre a fals? 
 Or drinke the Gall out of a Siluer pot ? 
 Or ftiall I caft on Hbertie a knot? 
 Als faft, als lows ; als lowfe, als faft, ay fals : 
 No, I befeech the Gods that rule aboue. 
 They let me neuer leue, and euer I loue. 
 
 Durius in terris nihil ejl quod vittat amante. 
 Nee modo fi fapias quod minus efse velis. 
 
 H iiii. 
 
 119 
 
To PENELOPE. 
 
 '\ Z'X 7Hen Tyndaris\w2iS broght from Troy againe 
 andprlncely Pergam leueldwith the ground 
 And fatfed earth with Phrygian flefh was faine 
 Through fhallow furrs faire fruit's for to refound, 
 The facund wife Vlifses moft renound, 
 By fatall anfwers was foretold wee find, 
 That he fhould not in deadlie deep's be dround, 
 Although withheld with many contrar wind : 
 Yet that vnhappy and that baftard brat, 
 That Parricid which from a farre fhould come, 
 Telegonus whom he with Circe gat, 
 Should kill his father at his comming home : 
 Though I haue pafl as many ftorm's as hee, 
 The laft is worft, and for thy loue I die. 
 
Elegie to KALA. 
 
 REed this, and then no more, 
 this fhalbe laft of all, 
 
 And fhould been firft, if now I could, 
 my publifht Rymes recall, 
 But they are gone abrod 
 
 vpon the winges of Fame : 
 Na, can the glyding Ocean waues 
 
 put bounds vnto the fame : 
 The fpacious Continent, 
 
 Nor yet the bordering mane, 
 Can neither hold the woes nor vowes 
 
 of my vnquiet vane. 
 Nor prayers, nor the prayfe 
 
 which I haue pend for thee. 
 Which makes me thus for to be pind, 
 
 and thee fo proud to bee. " 
 This then fhall be the laft, 
 
 fmce firft it can not bee; 
 For I haue waird alreadie els 
 
 a world of words on thee : 
 But worlds Democrit faid, 
 
 were infinite, and fo 
 
 Thou 
 
Thou looks to find infinites 
 
 of worlds of words, or moe : 
 No no; my Poyems haue 
 
 proclaymd thy prid, my paine, 
 And I am wo that I haue waird 
 
 fo many words in vaine. 
 For I haue dryd the braine 
 
 of my inuention quit, 
 And neither conquered my defire, 
 
 nor purchaft thy delight. 
 Lo then how I was led 
 
 with Loue, that Lordly elff. 
 That bred no pleafure vnto thee, 
 
 nor profet to my felff : 
 But as Phceneiis poore 
 
 for Phifick fought in vaine, 
 And by his foe was cur'd, when as 
 
 hee hop'd hee had been flaine. 
 So thy difdains haue cur'd 
 
 my hurt and vlcerd hart. 
 And I am weell againft thy will, 
 
 but fenfe of old-felt fmart. 
 To Sea with fweeteft llreams 
 
 flows Hypanis the flood, 
 
 But 
 
 122 
 
But Exampeiis poyfning well, 
 
 maks bad which erft was good. 
 And thus vnlike it felfe 
 
 grow's Hypanis: euen fo 
 Thy coy difdaine hath changd a friend, 
 
 into a fremmed fo. 
 Thou fawft my dwining looks, 
 
 my fcalding fighs and fobs : 
 Thou fawft my tearefwolne eyes were full 
 
 of liquid pearlie globs. 
 And yet, as Nero proud, 
 
 when Rome was burnd, did grow 
 As glad as at a Comick fport, 
 
 and laugh to fee the low. 
 So thou falfe Tyran, thou 
 
 from turret of thy prid, 
 Thou fmild at my mishaps as proud, 
 
 as braue as Neptims brid. 
 But woorthy Phocion 
 
 a Captaine braue and ftout, 
 For thefe vnkind Athenians , 
 
 fought fourtie Batels out, 
 And yet was flaine by them : 
 
 and when he died, 'tis told 
 
 Hee 
 
 123 
 
Hee pray'd his Sone for to forgiue 
 
 his death, for kindnes old. 
 So though I be in poynt 
 
 by thy difdaine to die, 
 My heart fhall charge my houering hand, 
 
 to write no ill of thee : 
 For like Themijlocles, 
 
 I rather drinke the Gall, 
 Then fight againft my once good friend, 
 
 though now my loue be fmall. 
 Then fometime friend, farewell ; 
 
 this is my moll reuenge, 
 To thinke no good, to write no ill, 
 
 but laft of all to change. 
 
 His 
 
 »34 
 
His Refolution of abfence and 
 farewell to Lithocardia. 
 
 FAire Dame adue, for whom I dayly die, 
 And quicke and dead a martyr ftill remaine : 
 Now muft I flit o faireft, farre from thee, 
 And flie the force of vndeferu'd difdaine, 
 Since I haue weard my warbling Verfe in vaine. 
 O Verfe to be my forows children borne, 
 Abortiue birth brought foorth with too much paine 
 And recompenf'd too much with too much fcorne : 
 Since Lines and I and all are all forlorne, 
 Faire Dame receiue this laft enforft adew, 
 For I fhall fee, if Fates haue not forfworne, 
 If change of Nations natures can renew, 
 If tra61: of time, if change of foyle or aire, 
 May helpe thy Loue, or hinder my difpaire. 
 
 Quid loquor infoeiix, an 7ion per faxa fer igiie, 
 Quo me amq; pedes dticunt mens agrafequetur. 
 
 125 
 
His Reconciliation to Lithocardia 
 after abfence. 
 
 OLautia poore was glad, 
 when \}ci Amazon Queene of yore 
 Receiu'd a Nofegay from her hand, 
 fuppofe Ihee fmeld no more. 
 Clierillus heart was hoifd 
 
 to higheft heauens hee thought. 
 When Macedo ouer lookt his Lines; 
 fuppofe hee lik'd them nought. 
 So, if thou take my Verfe, 
 
 a louing poore propine. 
 Which ouer-fhadowed with thy fight, 
 throughout the world fhall fliine. 
 If thou the fheet receiue, 
 
 though thou vnfold no folds, 
 Yet fhall thofe hidden Lines be blith, 
 whilft thou their backs beholds : 
 And I poore hopeles foule, 
 thy weell affefted man, 
 Shall be as blith as Cherill was, 
 or yet Olantia than. 
 
 Take 
 
 126 
 
Take then my faultles Sheet, 
 
 bedewd with mourning Inke, 
 And if thou wilt not view my Verfe, 
 
 to know the thing I thinke ; 
 Yet fhall the Paper feme 
 
 (O faire and matchles Dame) 
 To be a Bottom to thy Silke, 
 
 or fafftie to thy Seame : 
 But leaft my mourning Inke 
 
 like Niole's blacke tears, 
 Should blacke thy braue Mineruik worke, 
 
 whilfl it thereto adhears, 
 Pine with thy fnow-white hand 
 
 the Verfe before thy view. 
 That they may not infe6l nor foyle 
 
 the farfet Silks faire hew : 
 And thou fhalt fee no more 
 
 fet downe before thy face, 
 For to reueale my endles woe, 
 
 but this one word Allace, 
 Allace, allace, allace, 
 
 Allace, allace againe, 
 Ten thoufand times allace allace, 
 
 can not expres my paine. 
 
 Allace 
 
 127 
 
Allace I am thine owne, 
 
 na haue I hap to vevv 
 Heraclits flood of change thereby, 
 
 my nature to renew. 
 None knew of Hercules 
 
 the poyfoning deadly fhafts, 
 But Philo6letcs; none but I 
 
 complains conceals thy crafts. 
 Though thou haft faild to mee, 
 
 I am not falfe to thee: 
 I am thy Beadman day by day, 
 
 and bondman till I die. 
 And would to God thou hadft 
 
 rich Amaltheas home, 
 To yeeld what fruites thou lift, though I 
 
 liue lightlied and forlome. 
 yEneas loft at Troy, 
 
 Creufa faire his wife 
 And through and with ten thoufand Greeks 
 
 hee made a defperat ftrife : 
 And rooming vp and downe, 
 
 emboldned Avith difpaire, 
 Hee cryd aloud Cretifa come, 
 
 but could not find her there, 
 
 And 
 
 u8 
 
And ftill he crid, till time 
 
 her pallid ghofl anone 
 Appeard, and gaue him certaine figns 
 
 that fhe was dead and gone. 
 So fhall thy foule thy Ghoft 
 
 begin for to remoue, 
 And leaue to be within thy breft, 
 
 before I leaue to loue : 
 And when thy Ghoft is gone, 
 
 and paffc ^ Elijia7i lake, 
 No Dido fhall complaine of mee, 
 
 nor fuffer for my fake. 
 If Romans did returne 
 
 in Arms of fhining Steell 
 Our Rubicon, then were they deemd 
 
 foes to the common weell : 
 But my returns to thee, 
 
 are full of loue and peace, 
 As witneffeth this iterat, 
 
 and oft faid word Allace. 
 If I haue faid too much, 
 
 let mee thy peace implore, 
 And my Epiloge with a figh 
 
 I feale and fay no more : 
 
 I. Pro- 
 
 129 
 
Protefting fince thou knows 
 
 how I am fworne thine owne, 
 And how thy Vertues by my Verfe, 
 
 throughout the world be known : 
 Thou wilt haue fome remorfe 
 
 vpon my careful! cafe, 
 And let thy Courtafies conclude, 
 
 my long long-cri'd AUace. 
 
 130 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 nPHe faire faced Woman, and deformed Ape, 
 
 Hath Nature fram'd to want a taile wee fee i 
 The fiUie beaft with her vnfeemelie fhape, 
 Seems well content and pleaf 'd that fo fhould bee : 
 And yet the Woman ftriueth euen and morne, 
 To haue a taile and flill in Naturs fcorne. 
 
 But let it be (for to fupplie this want) 
 Each difcontented whore fhould haue one taile, 
 What reafon is't (fmce Nature knew them skant) 
 A pockie Punck with pluralties fhould deale? 
 This then is true, which I obferue as fure, 
 A Beafl hath more difcretion, then a Whore. 
 
 Hac venit in thalamos dotefuperha fuos. 
 
 lii. 
 
 131 
 
His conftant Refplution to 
 ERANTINA. 
 
 SHall abfence long, or diftance farr of place, 
 With lowring looks of frem'd vnfriendly foes ? 
 Shall traft of time for les or longer fpace, 
 Haue any force to caufe mee change my choyfe ? 
 No furelie no; I am not one of thofe: 
 I fhall be found no fake nor flitting friend, 
 My loue fhall lafl as long as life fuppofe, 
 Luck be not fuch as fometime I haue feen'd : 
 But what remead, I may not mend, but meen'd, 
 And with your will I hold mee well content : 
 Though many thwartering things haue interueend 
 To interturb and ftay our true intent. 
 
 Yet all thofe iarres fhall not my minde remoue 
 The day of death fhall be the date of loue. 
 
 Dum parts cenone poterit fpirare rdi^, 
 Adfontem xaftthi verfa recurrat aqua. 
 
 13* 
 
Confirmation of his loue to 
 ERANTINA. 
 
 SHaJl abfence long bring change, 
 or make my minde to moue? 
 
 Or yet Ihall diftaunce farre of place, 
 vnlock the Hnke of Loue? 
 Shall either this or that, 
 
 yon, or the other thing, 
 Haue force to breake the blocke we band, 
 
 before the Paphian King? 
 Thou art mine Hero ftill, 
 
 and though the ftreams be flark, 
 I through the waltering waues fhall fwim 
 
 to thee but Boat or Barke. 
 I am not lafons meat, 
 
 Mcedea to beguile? 
 My fayth is firme, this the caufe 
 
 exponis mee exile. 
 Nor am I come by line 
 
 of traytor Troians race, 
 I neuer thought no not by dreame, 
 
 My Dido to difgrace. 
 
 I iii. Nor 
 
 »33 
 
Nor am I hee who brought 
 
 the black faill for the white, 
 Leaft Ariadne kild his fyre, 
 
 and if their wrack was white. 
 A Pyramus I am 
 
 in deed, in thought, in word, 
 And Ihould (wift I thou wert not weell) 
 
 with blood imbrew my fword : 
 And if by Fames report 
 
 thy pains I can perceaue 
 As Hemon did, Ihall I giue 
 
 the Ghoft abone the graue. 
 No that I looke to find 
 
 fuch friendfhip on thy part. 
 Or promis kept which ay fhall be 
 
 inflirind within my hart : 
 Or that I greeue for grace 
 
 thy honor to degrade. 
 For if my Sain6l be fafe and found, 
 
 how can I but be glade. 
 In tears as Biblus did, 
 
 though I confume away, 
 Who was huerted in a Well, 
 
 as auncient Writers fay. 
 
 And 
 
 134 
 
And though I be refolued 
 
 to loue thee tearme of life, 
 Yet muft I leaue thee for a while, 
 
 Vlyfses left his wife. 
 My word fhall be my word, 
 
 my kindnes fhall be knowne, 
 And with my oath I will no boure, 
 
 for I am fworne thine owne. 
 And for thy fake I vow 
 
 the Pilgrems weed to weare, 
 And when in wildfome wayes I walke, 
 
 the Rod and Bag to beare : 
 And this my hoarie head 
 
 vnrafed Ihall remaine; 
 A tipe of my continuing trueth, 
 
 till wee two meet againe. 
 And so with heauie hart, 
 
 adue my deareft Dame, 
 In happie ftate long mayft thou Hue, 
 
 till I enuie the fame ; 
 And would to God thy wealth 
 
 were fuch as I would wifli. 
 So till the Gods our meetings grant, 
 
 Thy fnowie hand I kis. 
 
 I iiii. To 
 
 135 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 IF Rodopx the loathfome Strumpet vile, 
 Became to be a great Egyptian Queene, 
 Put not fvveet heart thy hop's into exile, 
 Good luck may light vpon a life vncleene : 
 Shee was a Queene, thou mull an Emprice bee, 
 For thou art thrife as great a whoore as fhee. 
 
 Cui madidos minxii mmtula multafinus. 
 
 136 
 
His vn willing Farewell to 
 PENELOPE. 
 
 A Frind fome time to Thracian Cotys fend, 
 
 In figne of loue, a veffell rich and rare : 
 But back againe before the bearer wend, 
 Hee brake the fame in peeces heere and there ; 
 Not for contempt, but to preuent my care, 
 I brake this gift which thou haft brought, faid hee, 
 For if my feruants breake the fame, I fweare, 
 They fhould been bate, and I incenfed bee. 
 I Cofys-like (proud Dame, to eafe my paine, 
 And that thou be not forft to heare my cries) 
 Muft leaue to loue; nor fhall my Songs againe 
 Thy furfet breed, nor come before thine eyes : 
 Not, that I loath, where I fo long did loue. 
 Thou art vnkind, and I muft needs remoue. 
 
 137 
 
His louing farewell to 
 PANDORA. 
 
 DEare to my foule once degne, 
 thofe pafsions to perufe, 
 The Swan-like Dirges and the Songs, 
 of this my deeing Mufe; 
 Which are Minerua-]xke, 
 
 by beating of my braine, 
 Brought foorth to fhew the wondering world, 
 
 my long fupprefled paine : 
 For like the doomb borne fonne 
 
 of that rich Lydian King, 
 Now at the imminent of deatli, 
 
 with toong vntied I fmg. 
 Had ^//i"-like my foe 
 
 thy wedding day been flaine 
 By Tydeus fearce, then had I brook'd 
 
 faire Ifniene allaine. 
 Or had thou been a man 
 
 like her whom PJieJlne bred. 
 Whom Telethufa promeft with 
 yanthe faire to wed. 
 
 Then 
 
 138 
 
Then had my riuall been 
 
 as farr from thee as I, 
 Nor had he now, nor thou been iudge 
 
 to my complaint and cry. 
 As Tantalus did cut 
 
 poore Pelops corps a funder, 
 And made a banquet of his Sonne, 
 
 vnro the Gods rare woonder : 
 Yet did they recolle6t 
 
 his cutted Corps againe, 
 And Tantall they condemd to die 
 
 In hunger ftaruing paine. 
 So cruell thou hes karu'd 
 
 ten thoufand wayes my hart, 
 And thou indures obdurat ftill, 
 
 and fenceles of my fmart : 
 Yet will the Gods, I hope, 
 
 recure and purge my paine, 
 And punifh all thy cruelties, 
 
 with cruelties againe. 
 Had I Ixion-like 
 
 made vaunt of lunoes fpoyle, 
 With patience then I Ihould abide 
 
 thy furie and this foyle. 
 
 But 
 
 139 
 
But fince it muft be thus, 
 
 from Atliens I will flie. 
 With wife Deinojihenes, and then 
 
 in Neptuns afyll die. 
 Then cruell faire farewell, 
 
 I may remaine no more, 
 I mind before wee meet againe, 
 
 to fee the Celtik fliore. 
 But howfoeuer I err, 
 
 or wherefoeuer I vaig. 
 In weell, in wo, in want, and wealth, 
 
 thou fhalt command poore Crag: 
 Yea might I make a Feaft, 
 
 As did Deinocrits fire. 
 To all the Perfian troups, ou'r which 
 
 great Xerxes bore empire. 
 Or were I begging bread 
 
 like ItJiak Irus poore. 
 Whom proud Vliffes with his fift 
 
 feld dead into the floore. 
 Yea be I rich or poore, 
 
 or poore and rich againe. 
 At hazards all I am thy man, 
 
 and fo (hall ay remaine. 
 
 Faire 
 
 140 
 
Faire Homicid farewell, 
 
 againft my heart I goe, 
 And that al-maker knows I make 
 
 a voyage full of woe : 
 But euen as Araris 
 
 with filence fweet doth Aide, 
 And none perceiu's if vp or downe, 
 
 or whither flows the tide. 
 So none faue thou fliall know 
 
 the caus of all my paine, 
 And none fhall know wherefore I goe, 
 
 Nor when I come againe. 
 And fo till time wee meet, 
 
 deare heart, whom I adore : 
 Farewell; yet giue me leaue to figh, 
 
 and fay, Farewell once more. 
 
 To 
 
 HI 
 
N: 
 
 To his PANDORA, 
 
 from Englaud. 
 Ow M'hile amid thofe daintie Douns & Dales 
 with Shepheard Swains I fit vnknown to mee 
 Wee fweetly fing, and tell pastorall tales : 
 But my difcourfe and Songs-theame is of tliee; 
 For otherwayes allace, how can it be. 
 Let Venus leaue her blefl abod aboue 
 To tempt my Loue, yet thou fweet foule fhalt fee 
 That I thy man, and thou fhalt die my loue. 
 No tra6l of time, nor fad eclipfe of place. 
 Nor abfence long, which fometime were due cures 
 To my difeafe, fhall make thy flaue to ceafe 
 From feruing thee till life or breath indures : 
 And till wee meet, my ruftick mats and I, 
 Through ■\\oods & plains, Pandoras prayfe fhal 
 
 (cr>-. 
 
 i4« 
 
To LAIS. 
 
 XJArpasie poore, was blind of either eye, 
 
 Yet would fhee not beleeue that it was fo: 
 The roomes are darke wherein I dwell, fayd fhee, 
 Take mee abrod, and but a guyd Tie go: 
 The wife was led abrod into the wind, 
 And yet poore foule fhe flill continued blind. 
 
 Thinks thou that change fro this to yonder place, 
 Can caus thy fhame and fcandall to decay? 
 No Lats no, I pray thee hold thy peace. 
 And put thefe fond opinions quite away : 
 For while thy life, or yet my lins endure, 
 The world fhall fay, thou art a Ihameles whore. 
 
 Foemina nulla bona, est, velfi bona contigii vlla, 
 Nefcio quo cafii res malafaHa bona ejl. 
 
 143 
 
His faythfull feruice to IDEA. 
 
 (whare 
 A /f Y wandring Verfe hath made thee known all- 
 Thou known by them, & they are known by 
 Thou, they, and I, a true relation beare: (mee: 
 As but the one, an other can not bee ; 
 For if it chance by thy difdane I die. 
 My Songs fhal ceafe, and thou be known no more. 
 Thus by experience thou mayft plainly fee, 
 I them, thou mee, and they do thee decore. 
 Thou art that Dame whom I fhall ay adore 
 In fpight of Fortune and the frowning Fats, 
 Whofe fhining beautie makes my Songs to fore 
 In Hyperbolik loftie heigh conceits : 
 Thou, they, & I, throughout the world be known 
 They mine, thou theirs, and laft I am thine own. 
 
 »44 
 
To my Honorable 
 
 good Lord and Maifler (the 
 
 true Maecenas of my Mufe) 
 
 George Earle of Dunba7\ 
 
 Lord Barvvick, high Tre- 
 
 furar of Scotland. 
 
 Am Noble (Maecenas) a 
 spendthrift, vnwifely libe- 
 rall; more pi'one to propine 
 Prefcntes, and make foo- 
 liJJi Feajles, then to pay my 
 Debts: All my babling 
 Bils arc alreadie baptised, 
 and notJnng left, fane thefc 
 fubfeqncnt Songes; which to yonr Honor, in all 
 duetifiill lone and denotion, I dedicate. Philopae- 
 men did fometime leaiie his companie, and com- 
 ming alone to a honfe where he was exprefly looked 
 for; his Hofles, who knetu him not, andfaiu himfo 
 eiiill fauored a felloiv, employed him to helpe her 
 K. Maydes 
 
 145 
 
Maydes to draw ivater, and inendc tJie fire for 
 Philopaemen. The Getitlemcit of his traine find- 
 ing him bufie at ivorkc, enquired zulmt Jie did? 
 wlio anfzvered, I pay the forfeytiire of my vnhand- 
 fomnes. I haue tJwnght good (my Honorable good 
 Lord and Maifkr) to giue thefe Songs the lafl 
 place in my Booke: if any dcmaiinde the caiife, I 
 anfwere with Philopaemen, For their inethodles 
 and irregular vjiJiandfomnes. If your Ho7ior doe 
 not protege and defende them, fovic Parafiticall 
 Abdagafis will feeke to kill Afineus and his bro- 
 ther vnder trufl: But be you a royall and fecondc 
 Artabanus, zuho fayd to Abdagafis, (I can not 
 cofcnt to betray a man tJiat trufleth to my protc6li- 
 on; and fince he hath giuen mee his hand, I zvill 
 keepe the oath I haue made to him by my Gods:) 
 Doe Jicrcin (dcare Lord) as you will encourage mee 
 Jiereafter to vndertake a greater taske. I haue 
 highly (I confeffe) abufcd both time and talent in 
 tliefe amorofe and idle toyes. But your Honor vpon 
 tJie gracious acceptaunce hereof, may haplic ere- 
 long 
 
 146 
 
long fee mee recouer my ejlate, and recdifie the de- 
 cayed walks of my yonth. What I haue heerefct 
 downCy is for your follacc; and fo Ibefeechyonr 
 Honor to aceept from the Table of my Chamber, 
 at your liberall charge and alloivanee, the . 5 . day 
 of Noucmber 1606. 
 
 Your Honors owne man to the 
 lafl article of expiration, 
 
 Craige. 
 
 K ii. 
 
 147 
 
To the Reader. 
 
 Arie of Vitesokia beyonde lor- 
 daiic, flying to leriifalcm when 
 Titus and his Roviaiis befiedged 
 the fame, was enforced for hun- 
 ger to kill her fucking Sonne, 
 and hauing eaten the one halfe, the reft fhee re- 
 ferued. The Enemies fmelling the fent of that 
 ezecrable meat, threatned to kill her, vnleffe 
 they were fharers with her. Then fhee vnco- 
 uered that part of her Sonne which fhe had left 
 vneaten. At which fight they trembled, and 
 horror fell vpon them. Then fayd Marie, this 
 is truely my Sonne, & my doing ; eate you of it, 
 as I haue done; be you no more effeminate then 
 a woman, nor more mercifull then a Mother. 
 My Poyevis and Vcrfes are (beloued Le6lor) the 
 birth of my braine, & the ofspring of my ill ad- 
 
 uentured 
 
 148 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 uentured youth, I haue thefe yeares bygone 
 luxurioufly feafted and furfeited hereon, and 
 haue with the Vitezokian Woman, couered 
 this part of my Child till now : I pray thee with 
 patience, take a part with the Parent ; next time 
 (God willing) thou fhalt fare better. But if any 
 aske (how I prefumed to inuite my noble Mai- 
 fter my Lord, my Meccenas, my all, to this foo- 
 lifli and filthie Feaft of mine ?) I anfwere : The- 
 Diijlocles was animated to noble a6lions by 
 beholding Miltiades trophies. And Alex- 
 ander beholding Achilles Tombe, did gree- 
 uously figh with an honorable emulation. 
 And his courteous welcomming of my vani- 
 ties, will rauifh braue mindes from the bound- 
 les troubles of the world, and win them to the 
 contemplation of Vertue. And fo his Hono- 
 rable example in reading and refpe6ling Lear- 
 ning and the Learned, fhall pull donwe the 
 Babell of ignoraunce. I confefle (as Plutarch 
 K iii. fpeaketh 
 
 149 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 fpeaketh of Arijlophanes Poyems) my Ver- 
 fes are written for no moderat mans pleafure: 
 yet fmce by his Honor they are countenanced, 
 I befeech thee (good Reader) vfe mee kindly; 
 and for his fake, fit flill with him, and take a 
 part of my profane Feaft. My Lord payeth for 
 all, it cofts thee nought faue thanks. 
 
 Thine as thou behaues 
 thy felfe. 
 
 A. Craige. 
 
 150 
 
ALEXIS to LESBIA. 
 
 /^^Ome be my Loue, and Hue with mee, 
 ^And thou fhalt all the folace fee, 
 That glafsie gulfs or earth can bring, 
 From Vejids wealth, or Neptims reigne. 
 
 For we Ihall on the Mountains go, 
 In fhaddie Vmbers too and fro : 
 In ValHes low, and on the Bray, 
 And with thy feet the flowrs fhall play. 
 
 And I fhall make thee pleafant Pofes, 
 Of Dafies Gilliflowrs and Rofes : 
 My Arms fhalbe a Belt to thee : 
 Thine if thou wilt, the like to mee. 
 
 Of Floraes tapeftrie thy Gowne, 
 Thy Cap fhall be my Lawrell Crowne : 
 Which dreft of Daphne's haire fhall fhine, 
 Whyls on my head and whyls on thine. 
 
 And 
 
 iS« 
 
And thou vpon thy rock fhalt reft, 
 And heare the Echoes from my breft: 
 For I fhall fmg in Sonets fhill, 
 the charming numbers of my quill. 
 
 Yea wee with woond'ring eyes fhall gaze 
 On many fundrie curious maze : 
 And view the Archite6lure fare, 
 Of rich and ftatelie buddings rare. 
 
 And we fhall looke about and fee, 
 The wrack of time before our ee : 
 The pendul ftones, their builders ban, 
 Imploring help at hand of man. 
 
 And wee fhall fee the Riuers rin, 
 With delicat and daintie din : 
 And how my Doiiern night and day. 
 With fweet Meanders flides away. 
 
 To pay her debts vnto the Sea, 
 And like a wanton Niinph doth flie 
 Through blooming banks with fmiling face 
 Her Lord the Ocean to imbrace. 
 
 And 
 
 152 
 
And wee fliall fee the towrs of tree, 
 Halfe feeme to fwim, and halfe to flie: 
 Part in the Sea, part in the Aire, 
 And Eag'l heere, a Dolphin thaire. 
 
 Wee fhall behold Nereid Nymphs, 
 Make waters welcome from their lymps : 
 And euery houre into the day. 
 Fresh Floods and th' Ocean billowes play. 
 
 And we fhall heare the Roches ring. 
 While ftorme-prefageing Mermayds fing : 
 And on the Rocks the law's fhall roare, 
 Salut and refalut the Shoare. 
 
 And when Apollo taks his reft, 
 With wearie Horfes in the Well : 
 And Cynthia begins to shine, 
 Thy Poets Tugiir shall be thine. 
 
 Then shalt thou fee my homlie fare. 
 And what poore riches I haue thare : 
 And if thofe things can moue thy mind, 
 Come, come, and be no more vnkind. 
 
 Lifbia 
 
 «S3 
 
LESBIA her anfwer to ALEXIS. 
 
 T F all were thine that there I fee, 
 Thou paynts to breed content to mee: 
 Then thofe delights might moue my mind 
 To yeeld, and be no more vnkind. 
 
 Sith nought is thine that thou fets downe, , 
 Saue Songs, thy felfe, thy Belt, thy Crowne, 
 Thy Tugure, and thy homely fare : 
 And that poore wealth which thou haft thare. 
 
 I might be compted moft accurft, 
 To dwell with thee, fuppofe I durft : 
 And men might thinke mee more then mad, 
 To leaue the better for the bad. 
 
 Yet leaft I fhould be deemd ingrate, 
 To loath thee for thy poore eftate, 
 Though Fortune be thy fremmit foe, 
 No reafon were I fhould be fo. 
 
 Thy Lines allure mee to be thine, 
 And thou fhalt fee it foone or fine : 
 The chriftall ftreams fhall backward moue. 
 Ere I forget thy faythfull loue. 
 
 A new 
 
 154 
 
A new perfwafion to L E S B I A. 
 
 /^Nce more I pray thee be my Loue, 
 
 ^^^Come Hue with mee, and thou fhalt proue 
 
 All pleafures that a Poets vaine, 
 
 Can find on mould or in the mane. 
 
 Wilt thou vpon my Parnas walke, 
 
 And tread the Flowrs with leauie ftalke, 
 
 Which bud on my biforked tops : 
 
 Bedew'd with fweet Ca6lalian drops. 
 
 On Thithorea wilt thou go, 
 
 Or Hyampeus too and fro? 
 
 Or wilt thou with Pierid Nimphs, 
 
 Drinke of thefe euer-flowing Limphs, 
 
 From Hyppocrene which diuall, 
 
 Or fprings of Aganippe wall? 
 
 Wilt thou repofe thee in the fhade, 
 
 Which Nature hath diuinely made? 
 
 Apolloes Laurell thou fhalt fee, 
 
 And louely Vemis Myrtle tree, 
 
 Alcides Popler full of ftate. 
 
 The Palme which thriues in fpight of hate. 
 
 Mineruaes Oliue, and the Mirr, 
 
 And of great Mars the warlike Firr: 
 
 Which 
 
 155 
 
Which Nature hath fo well defpofed. 
 
 And therewithal! fuch walks inclofed, 
 
 As for rich Tapeflrie fhall feme, 
 
 From beames thy beautie to preferue: 
 
 The Gilliflowrs and Rofes fweet, 
 
 Shall ftoope their tops beneath thy feet : 
 
 The Violet and Primrofe faire. 
 
 The Marigold with yellow haire : 
 
 Both Moli and the Balme fhall fmell. 
 
 With Miriads more then I can tell : 
 
 The louely Herald of the Spring, 
 
 The Philomel to thee fhall fmg, 
 
 Both Larke and Maues fhall abone. 
 
 Thy head their fmall recordars toone: 
 
 I'll make thee Garlands faire of Flowrs, 
 
 With Amadriads in their bowers, 
 
 With Myrtill boughs braue to behold. 
 
 And paint their leaues with fpangs of gold, 
 
 Which I will checker all with frets 
 
 Of prettie pinks and Violets : 
 
 And when Apolloes Coach agaue 
 
 Giues way vnto Dianaes Wane: 
 
 Thy Poet on his pyping Reed, 
 
 Thy fanfie with fweet Songs fhall feed. 
 
 Thon 
 
 156 
 
Thou shalt want no content of mind, 
 Saue wealth, which feldome Poets find : 
 If pouertie hath power to moue, 
 Come, come fweet heart, and be my Loue, 
 
 A Letter to L E S B I A, fhewing 
 his difcontents. 
 
 /^Ft haue I pray'd thee be my Loue, 
 
 ^•'^Come h'ue with mee, and thou shalt proue 
 
 All pleafures that a Poets vaine 
 
 Can find on mold, or in the mane : 
 
 Yet neither can my Loue (allace) 
 
 Nor my oble6laments haue place. 
 
 To moue thy hard and flintie hart. 
 
 Some pities portion to impart. 
 
 Difpeafure maks my Mufe be doomb, 
 
 And Parnas barren is become : 
 
 My Wels are dry, trite wayes my walks. 
 
 My Flow'rs do fade vpon their ftalks: 
 
 Trees lack both leaues, and Larks to fing : 
 
 Thofe Fruits thy falfet doth foorthbring, 
 
 Hadft 
 
 157 
 
Hadft thou not known that I was poore, 
 
 Then Luker might thy loue allure : 
 
 Why art thou of fo churlifh kind, 
 
 To loue the moyan, not the mind? 
 
 Proud in her heart would Phillis bee, 
 
 To proue thy pedifeque, for mee : 
 
 Shee foUoweth mee, and yet I flie, 
 
 Purfew'd of her, and plagu'd of thee : 
 
 But wouldft thou to thy feruile flaue. 
 
 Bequeath the credit which I craue? 
 
 Mufe, Birds, Hils, Wels, Trees, Flows, & Walks, 
 
 Would fmg, flow, florifh on their flalks : 
 
 And I reuiu'd by thee (faire Dame) 
 
 My wonted courage would acclame. 
 
 Then let me know thy vtter will, 
 
 Vpon this Paper good or ill : 
 
 And fo till I the fame receaue, 
 
 I am thy well affefled flaue. 
 
 Sonet 
 
 '58 
 
Sonet to LESBI A. 
 
 T^Ime and my thoughts Togither fpurr the Poft, 
 For once I thought to fpend my time for gaine : 
 Yet while I thought this thought, the time was loft 
 And left me there, to thinke my thought was vaine 
 And while I paufe the porting time to fpend, 
 Time fpends it felfe and mee : but how I mufe ? 
 The more I mufe, the more I haft my end. 
 Thus Time doth mee, and I do Time abufe: 
 That Time once tint can not returne againe. 
 A fecret forrow doth poffes my mind, 
 But leaft the world fliould know why I complaine 
 Deare to my foule I pray thee proue more kind. 
 I dreame the darke, and driue in dooll the day. 
 Thus waft my time, and weare my felfe away. 
 
 159 
 
L E S B I A her anfwer. 
 
 T^Riue not deare hart, in dooll the day, 
 
 Waft not thy felfe nor Time away: 
 Doo not fo much as dreame by night, 
 Vnles thy Dreames be fhort and flight. 
 Though wauering wits in time will vaige. 
 Be thou thy felfe a conftant Craige. 
 And for thy Loue thou bears to mee, 
 I am thy debtor till I die. 
 What I haue hight hap good or ill, 
 But fraud or feare I fhall fulfill, 
 I am not of a churlifh kind, 
 To loue the moyane not the mind. 
 No contrar chaufe, nor fortune ftrange. 
 Shall make my fetled mind to change : 
 I am thine fworne, and I fhall feale 
 What I haue fayd ; till when fareweale. 
 
 i6o 
 
C O D R V S Complaint and 
 Farewell to Ralatibia. 
 
 AShepheard poore with ftore of pains oppreft 
 Beneath the branches of a leauie tree, 
 With Lute in hand deliuered his vnreft, 
 When none was nie but Satyrs, Fauns, and hee : 
 And hauing tund his bafe and treble firing, 
 Hee figh'd, hee fob'd, and thus began to fing. 
 
 Why am I banifht from thofe bleffed bounds 
 Where I was wont with pleafure to repaire ? 
 What cruell doome my comfort fo confounds, 
 And cafts mee in the confins of difpaire? 
 What haue I done, fayd, thought (allace the while) 
 that can procure profcrlption and exile? 
 
 I am condem'd, and no inditment heard ; 
 
 There is no grace nor mercie in her eyes. 
 
 I plead for peace, and prefence is debard : 
 
 I loue, fhe loath's; I follow, and flie flies: 
 
 All modefb means that may be, I haue vf'd, 
 My Songs, my felfe, my friends, are all refufd. 
 L. Why 
 
 i6i 
 
Why, was I bome to be the poynt of paine. 
 The fcoriie of Time, the obloquie of Fame? 
 My fellow Shepheards frollicke ouer the plaine, 
 TTiey feed their flocks, & court the countrie Dame 
 On Holidayes their Sonets fweet thy fmg, 
 And to their Loues their befl oblations bring. 
 
 But I exild from Kalatibids eyes 
 By her decret, whom I fhall ay adore : 
 Muft facrifice, figh, tears, plaints, grons, and cryes : 
 But all in vaine, and woe is mee therefore : 
 I long, I loue, I fry, I freeze, I pine. 
 No punishment can be compard to mine. 
 
 Allace, allace, my flocks both ftarue and ftray, 
 quit macerat to want their maifters eye : 
 Which with Licifcais harmles Barke would ftay, 
 And turne againe from neighbour corns to mee: 
 My litle Lambs, my faire and fertill Ewes, 
 With fad reports their plaints for mee renewes. 
 
 What madnes mooues remorfles faire, thy mind. 
 Since neither plaints nor prayers can haue place .^ 
 Haft thou concluded ftill to kythe vnkind, 
 
 And 
 
 162 
 
And day by day delight in my difgrace? 
 O bee it fo! if needs it muft be fo, 
 For I am armd for euerie kind of woe. 
 
 Since I am thus profcrib'd, I pray thee take 
 (Faire Kalatibid) this inforc'd fareweale. 
 Since Fortune, Loue, and weerds, auow my wrake, 
 To whom fhall I (defpifed foule) appeale? 
 O loue no more, nor leue no more a thrall, 
 Die Codrus die, end loue and life and all. 
 
 But Pufillanyme poore and hartles man, 
 Why wouldft thou die to pleafe fo proud a Dame ? 
 Though thou be banisht for a while, what than, 
 Shee's not fo cruell but shee may reclame.? 
 
 Yet flie, be gone ; let good or bad befall thee. 
 
 And care no more, fuppofe she neuer recall thee 
 
 And thus poore foule, from out the Groue he goes. 
 
 And leaues (allace) both Lines and Lute behind : 
 
 Which I (the true Secretar to his woes, 
 
 And fellow of his fortuns) did foorth find : 
 
 And for his fake I figh, fmg, fay, & show them 
 
 that cruel fhe, who they concern may know the. 
 
 L ii. Codrus 
 
 163 
 
^ 
 
 C O D R V S his reconciliation to 
 
 his heart, after he hath abiured 
 
 KALATIBIA. 
 
 ■pOore wandring hart, which Hke the prodig child 
 •^ From reafons rule hath run fo long aflray, 
 Mifled by Loue^ with fancies fond beguild : 
 And now retumd with torne and rent array, 
 my halfe and better part fmce thou art come, 
 with true remorfe mofl kindly welcome home. 
 
 Laciuious looks of life bewitching eye, 
 Inconflant oath's of moft vnfetled mind. 
 You fals infle6lions of a ludas knee. 
 You worthies vowes which vanifh with the wind, 
 Difpatch your felfe, and let mee liue in peace. 
 Within my hart thou haue no dwelling place. 
 
 Come fit thee downe (deare hart) wee'l haue a feaft 
 My fond Conceits I for a Calfe will kill : 
 I am thy Oaft, and thou fhalt be my gueft. 
 Repenting Teares will furnifh Wine at will : 
 Our Mufick Sighs : and if I were more able, 
 Fayth thou fhould find a banquet for thy table. 
 
 with 
 
 164 
 
With hartie draughts will wee to drinke begin, 
 Vnto the brim let reafonn fill each bowll : 
 I'll lock the gate, and Lone shall not looke in, 
 That our contra6l may knit without controull. 
 In fureft fort let vs betroth our felfe, 
 And band gainft Beautie, and the blinded elfe. 
 
 Sigh forie hart, and I will weepe with thee, 
 Let no eclipfe diuide vs two againe : 
 Let Reafon hencefoorth guyd and ruler bee, 
 And waft no more the fwift wingd Time in vaine 
 And while my teares can intertaine thy feaft^ 
 Repenting heart thou art a pleafing Ghueft. 
 
 Now fetlet heart fecure and free from feare, 
 Though all the earth (hould finke in feas of Loue, 
 Fleet in the Arke, fit ftill in Reafons chare, 
 And to the world giue verdits from aboue, 
 The life of Wifedome in Experience lies : 
 Then let thine owne misfortuns mak thee wife. 
 
 Famineos pojl hac difce cauere doles. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 lies 
 
To the Author. 
 
 T Oue now refolu'd to work fo rare a wonder, 
 
 As to make Rocks bereauers, Stones a Streame, 
 Straight to a Craig of Caledon hee came : 
 Whofe yet vndaunted prid hee gan to ponder. 
 Haue I (faid hee) the Earth's deepe Center vnder, 
 Made Phlegeton his floods to feare my flame? 
 Did I the mightie Trident bearer tame, 
 And threatned too, the thrower of the thunder? 
 And fhall one onely Craig withftand my dart, 
 With that his Arrow to his eare he drew, 
 which through the yeelding air loud whiftling flew 
 And turnd his hardnes to a humane Hart: 
 FromoutivhofeivoundjivitnesyoiiNyinpJUs'butnames 
 Great Floods gtijli outoffweet Castalianjlreames. 
 
 I. M. 
 
 166 
 
Cragio fuo. 
 
 TNgenij ft verna feges primoribus annis, 
 in tam latcdandum luxurlaidt opics: 
 
 Qtios fmctus fperare tubes cum forttibus annis, 
 Indicij accedit limafeuera tui. 
 
 Robertus Aytonus. 
 
 De Alexandre Rupoeo popular!, 
 
 familiari ct amicofuo quifnpra 
 plebem vulgus et popnlum. 
 
 '^Hreicij quifquis credit modulamine vatis 
 faxa, feras, fcoptdos refsilijjfe locis: 
 Orphea crediderit rediiiinnin carmine Rupis 
 Arctoae tumulo refsilijfsefno. 
 
 Arthurus Gordonus. 
 
 167 
 
H) 
 
I'y fFTri 
 
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