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 Cornell University Library 
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 3 1924 012 959 916 
 
B Cornell University 
 
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Qinnctt ^«->p;^C 
 
 .rij-ravctl ly WJ.Jloj.sfi-o-m, th^^ oriym.d- ly Cookson . 
 
 trijraypi 
 
THE 
 
 COMPLETE WORKS 
 
 IN 
 
 VERSE AND PROSE 
 
 OF 
 
 SAMUEL DANIEL. 
 
 Edited, with Memorial-Introduction and a Glossarial 
 Index embracing Notes and Illustrations. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. ALEXANDER B. GROSART, 
 
 D.D.. LL D. (Edin.). F.S.A. (Scot.), 
 St. George^ s-t Blackburn^ Lancashire; 
 
 IN FOUR VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION I.— Biographical. 
 
 I. INEDITED INTRODUCTORY POEMS. 1595—1623. 
 
 II. SONNETS TO DELIA. 1592. 
 
 m. THE COMPLAINT OF ROSAMOND. 1592. 
 
 IV. A LETTER from OCTAUIA to MARCUS ANTONIUS. 1599. 
 
 V. A PANEGYRIKE CONGRATVLATORIE to JAMES I. 1603. 
 VI. A FVNERALL POEME VPON THE DEATH OF THE 
 
 EARLE OF DEUONSHIRE. 1606. 
 VII. CERTAINE EPISTLES. 1601-3. 
 ■ VIII. MUSOPHILUS, OR Defence of all Learning. 1603. 
 IX. OCCASIONAL POEMS, from Various Sources, 1593— 1607 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY. 
 1885. 
 150 eofies only.} 
 
Pfinied by Hazelly Watson, and Viney^ Limited^ London and Aylesbury, 
 
TO 
 
 LEWIS MORRIS, Esq., 
 
 The Poet of 
 
 "Songs of Two Worlds," "Epic of Hades," "Songs Unsung," 
 etc., etc., etc. 
 
 i ifilctte this ftvst taWzt&'at aitb mtical Titian at thf Sitorks at 
 <Sam«xl gaitifl. 
 
 SEER AND SAGE — SAMUEL AND DANIEL — 
 
 UNITED IN HIS NAME WHOSE WORKS I BRING, 
 MORRIS, TO THEE. SO WITS OF OLD WOULD RING 
 
 QUAINT CHANGES ON A NAME THEY LOVED FULL WELL. 
 
 NOR LESS OWN WE TO-DAY THE DULCET SPELL 
 LAID ON US BY HIS OLD-WORLD CAROLLING : 
 THOUGHT-LADEN, YET OF SINGER THAT DOES SING; 
 
 HALF O' THE EARTH, HALF O' THE SKY, — AS BELL 
 
 IN CHURCH-TOWER HEARD FAINT ACROSS MOOR OR MERE. 
 
 I LOVE THIS GENTLE SPIRIT, MAN AND BARD ; 
 
 I WOULD NOT HAVE HIS WREATH GROW DIM OR SERE : 
 
 TRUE POET OF OUR AGE, LET THY REGARD 
 
 SANCTION MY WORK OF LOVE, AS WITH STOOP'D KNEE 
 I HONOUR HIM, AND SEEK TO HONOUR THEE. 
 
 Alexander B. Grosaet. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Prefatory Note ix 
 
 Memorial-Introduction I.— Biographical. By the 
 Editor ^ xi 
 
 INEDITED Introductory Poems, from Various Sources i 
 
 Sonnets to Delia i^ 
 
 The Complaint of Rosamond yg 
 
 A Letter from Octauia to Marcus Antonius- - 115 
 A Panegyrise Congratvlatorie to James I. - - 139 
 A Ftoterall Poeme Vpon the Death of the Earle 
 of Deuonshire i6g 
 
 Certaine Epistles - Ij-o 
 
 MusoPHiLUS, or Defence of all Learning - - 221 
 Occasional Poems from Various Sources - - - 257 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I. 
 
 Portrait by Alais after the Original Engraving in the Quarto of 1623, 
 with Autograph from Letter in H.M. Public Record Office. 
 
 [Face Title-page. 
 
 Facsimile of Letter to the Earl of Devonshire in H.M. Pubhc Record 
 Office (in post 4to only), by Waterlow & Sons (Limited), slightly 
 diminished, as witness the full-sized autograph under portrait. 
 
 [Face page xxii. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 My rule in reproducing the Works of Samuel 
 Daniel has been, as throughout, to furnish the 
 unmutilated, untampered-with text of the Author. 
 I hold with deepened conviction that moderni- 
 sations, improvements (so called), and arbitrary- 
 accommodation to modern syntax, orthography, 
 punctuation, and the like, vitiate any classic, and 
 reader it impossible to trace the growth and 
 gradual enrichment of our national Literature. 
 I simply correct self-evidencing misprints — e.g., 
 p. 264, St. 3, 1. 7, ' sparkling ' for • sprakling ' ; 
 p. 265, St. 7, 1. 4, ' veines ' for ' weaues ' ; st. 8, 
 1. 7, ' ouer-sowne ' for ' ouer-swone ' ; and occa- 
 sionally (,) comma for (.) period in middle of an 
 unfinished sentence, and (;) semicolon for (,) 
 comma — nothing more. Prefixed or affixed in 
 their several places, the sources of the successive 
 poems, etc., will be found recorded. I have also 
 taken pains in noting ' various readings ' where- 
 ever they occur. The value and interest of these 
 are specially illustrated in the ' Delia ' Sonnets. 
 
 As with Spenser, ' Notes and Illustrations ' 
 are reserved for the Glossarial Index in the 
 
"^ PREFA TOR Y NOTE. 
 
 closing volume. Toward them I have the 
 pleasure and satisfaction of promised aid from 
 various capable and sympathetic fellow-workers 
 on our elder Poets and Dramatists. In the same 
 volume, the ' Memorial- Introduction II. — Critical ' 
 will be given, with the completed text before the 
 reader for reference. Therein tributes paid to 
 " well-languaged Daniel," earlier and recent, may- 
 be looked for ; also evidence of his influence from 
 Shakespeare to Wordsworth and Coleridge. 
 Meantime, if the ' Memorial- Introduction I. — 
 Biographical ' — though fuller than any hitherto 
 — is far from being so matterful as I should 
 have wished, it has not been from lack of search 
 or research, or willing helpers. It is infinitely 
 pathetic to find how very little the world knows 
 of its most elect spirits. 
 
 It is with no ordinary satisfaction I furnish a 
 dainty reproduction (by Alais) of the portrait of 
 our Worthy — after that in the quarto of 1623 — 
 in all the four forms ; and underneath it a fae 1 
 simile of his autograph from the Letter given 
 in fac-simile (in the largest paper only) from 
 H.M. Public Record Office. I owe thanks to 
 the authorities there for facilitating the fac-simile 
 being taken. 
 
 I am not without a hope of adding to our 
 knowledge of Daniel as the Works proceed, as 
 various friends are following up lines of inquiry. 
 
 Alexander B. Grosart. 
 
 St. George's Vestry, Blackburn, Lancashire, 
 26ih March, 1885. 
 
MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION I. 
 BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 Daniel and Daniell, Danyel and Danyell (and other 
 variants) is a not infrequent surname in England, earlier 
 and later. But there is a tantalizing absence of connect- 
 ing links, as of anything in any way notable : e.g., the 
 Calendars of State Papers, somewhat preceding and 
 contemporary with our " sweet Singer," bring up a 
 contentious John Daniel and his wife in weary iteration 
 of complaint and appeal* — all long since passed into 
 silence — together with others of the name, but without 
 recognisable relationship between them. Certain Corn- 
 wall Daniels appear to have migrated from the " Low 
 Countries," albeit it is just possible that originally they 
 had passed as Merchant-adventurers to 'Middleburg' 
 from Cornwall, t Others are met with in Cheshire and 
 several southern English counties. 
 
 The various authorities — Anthony a- Wood to Night- 
 ingale and Collinson — unite in describing our Poet as 
 
 * 'Calendars,' 1566 to 161 8, et alibi. 
 
 f In Gentleman's Magazine, 1826 (vol. xcvi., P. i.,pp. 130-2), 
 is an interesting account of Daniels at Penzance in the reign 
 of James I. His father was ' Depute-Govemor ' at Middle- 
 borough (Brabant) in 1613, and the Diarist of this paper 
 notifies that he himself had been born there in 1599. 
 
xii MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. 
 
 son of a John Daniel, a 'music-master'; and upon 
 this Thomas Fuller writes— "his harmonious mind made 
 an impression on his son's genius, who proved an 
 exquisite poet," and again characteristically on Christian 
 and surname — "He carried in his Christian and surname 
 two holy prophets, his monitors, so to qualify his 
 raptures that he abhorred all profaneness" {Worthies ; 
 by Nuttall [1840], iii. 104). No one appears to have 
 traced a ' musical ' John Daniel, except the brother of 
 the name. I am inclined to query whether the fraternal 
 John Daniel has not been split into two John Daniels. 
 Certes, the brother, has left tangible evidence that he 
 was a 'music-master,'* whilst of the father as such 
 nothing has been transmitted. Anthony ^-Wood 
 {Atkencs Oxoniensis, by Bliss, s.n) has designated Samuel 
 as sprung of "a wealthy family." 'Wealth' was unlikely 
 to belong to a ' music-master.' Unfortunately the 
 County Historians in all their big books yield no speck 
 of light on this or aught else — merely perfunctorily 
 repeating after Wood, Fuller, Biographia Britannica 
 (Kippis), Chalmers' Biographical Dictionary, etc., etc. 
 
 There is a shadow of uncertainty on his birth-place. 
 According to Anthony a-Wood he was born at Beck- 
 ington, near Philip's Norton (Somerset) ; but the 
 historian apparently confused his burial-place with his 
 birth-place. The Parish Register of Beckington goes back 
 to 1559; but there is no recorded baptism of any Daniel 
 there until 1567 (as onward). This is decisive on Wood's 
 
 * Dr. Rimbault, in Notes and Queries (1853), No. 179, 
 records John Daniel's Songs for the Lute, Viol, and Voice, 
 1606, and that his name occurs among the Musicians for the 
 Lutes and Voices in a Privy Seal of Dec. 20, 1625. 
 
MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION, xii: 
 
 mistake (Rev. J. L. Sainsbury, M.A., rector of Becking- 
 ton, to me). Le Neve * assigns it to " Wilmington, in 
 Wiltshire, neare the Plaine of Salisburie." Unfortunately 
 the earliest-dated Parish-register entry at Wilmington is 
 1688. Dr. Thomas Fuller, with an express note that he 
 had been 'certified' of this by "some of his acquaintance," 
 states that he was born "not far from Taunton (Somerset- 
 shire)." The 'acquaintance' cannot have been very 
 intimate, as they were unable to inform him of either 
 the date or place of his death. Again, unluckily, the 
 Parish Registers of St. James's, Taunton (which at the 
 period might have been accurately described as ' near ' 
 or 'nigh' Taunton), commence only in 1610. That of 
 St. Mary's, Taunton, commencing before our Daniel's 
 period, has no Daniel entry whatever.t 
 
 As his contemporaries have celebrated him as a 
 'Somerset' man,t we may safely assume that Le Neve 
 was misinformed about Wilmington having been his 
 birth-place, and that Fuller was correct in assigning it 
 to "not far from Taunton." Surely some Somerset 
 antiquary will 'take trouble' and elucidate the point. 
 Ad interim, I judge not Taunton itself but (probably) 
 some near-adjoining hamlet was the birth-place ; per- 
 chance in Taunton Dean, "a parcel of ground round 
 about Taunton," renowned in a still current proverb. § 
 
 * Lansdowne MSS. 983 f. 343. 
 
 t The Rev. Samuel Wilkinson, and Arthur Kinglake, Esq., 
 J. P., Taunton, did their utmost to get at data; in vain thus far, 
 save above. 
 
 :j: See 'Memorial-Introduction II. — Critical' for various 
 notices. 
 
 § " Where should I be born else than in Taunton Dean — 
 with soil so rich that zun (= sun) and zoil (= soil) are all 
 needed'?" — i.e. no manure. 
 
xiv MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Somewhat somnolent Somerset has the distinction of 
 having produced earlier, Hooper the martyr-bishop and 
 Sir James Dyer, Lord Chief Justice, Sir John Harington 
 and Blake and Pym ; and later. Bishop Bull, Ralph 
 Cudworth, John Locke, and Henry Fielding; but no 
 recognised Poet except Samuel Daniel (Thomas Coryat 
 not in the running). It is about time Somerset erected 
 some memorial of " well-languaged Daniel " ? 
 
 The year birth-date was 1562 or 1563. This is arrived 
 at from his entry as 'commoner' in Magdalen Hall, 
 Oxford. This was in 1 579, when he was in his seventeenth 
 year; which carries us back to 1562-3. He was thus 
 about a decade of years younger than Spenser (1553) 
 and Sir Philip Sidney (1554), two or three years or 
 thereby younger than Robert Greene ('about 1560'), and 
 a little older than Shakespeare (1564), and Thomas Nashe 
 (1564), and nearly contemporaneous with Michael 
 Drayton (1563). 
 
 Of his preparatory education nothing whatever is 
 known. He is alleged to have had an ' excellent tutor ' 
 at famous Magdalen. But according to Anthony a- Wood 
 his 'geny' having inclined him rather to lighter studies, he 
 remained under academic training for only "three years," 
 and finally left the University — as did Philip Massinger 
 — "without a degree" (Wood, as before). This brings 
 us to 1582 or 1583. Wood's full account is : — 
 
 "He continued about three years, and improved himself much 
 in academical learning, by the benefit of an excellent tutor. 
 But his geny being more prone to easier and smoother studies, 
 than in pecking and hewing at logic, he left the university 
 without the honour of a degree, and exercised it much in 
 English history and poetry, of which he then gave several 
 ingenious specimens " (Ath. Oxon., by Bliss, ii. 268). 
 
MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. xv 
 
 But though he thus left Oxford, he must have continued 
 his scholarly studies and bookish habits, seeing that in 
 1584-5 there was pubHshed the following considerable 
 book: — 
 
 The 
 
 Worthy tra<5l of 
 
 Paulus louius, contayning a 
 
 Difcourfe of rare inuentions, both 
 
 Militarie and Amorous 
 
 called Imprefe. 
 
 Whereunto is added a Preface contay- 
 
 ning the Arte of compof ing them, with 
 
 many other notable deui/es. 
 
 By Samuel Daniell, late Student 
 
 in Oxenforde. 
 
 At London, 
 Printed for Simon Waterfon. 
 1585- 
 In succession to the Translator's own Epistle-dedicatory 
 of the 'Worthy Tract' to "The right worshipful, Sir 
 Edward Dimmock, Champion to her Maiestie," is a 
 lengthy Epistle " To his good friend Samvel Daniel " 
 by an (unknown) N. W. from ' Oxenforde,' wherein many 
 well-turned compliments are paid to the young scholar, 
 closing thus: — 
 
 "Thus am I bold to animate and encourage you to your 
 credite, which if I haue done to long, so vppon occasion did 
 TuUio, Plato, Seneca : if rudely, ascribe it to simplicitie ; if 
 slightly, to the rarenes of your arte : if to copiously, to too 
 feruent desire : for seeing that in verbis est aliquod prtsmium, I 
 had rather shewe myself to prodigall to my friends then a 
 snudge : which when you haue read, fier it." 
 
 In his "Defence of Rhyme," which was addressed 
 to -SfeiHp- Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, we get a pleasant 
 glimpse of his position from (probably) 1585 onward- 
 
xvi MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. 
 
 He is defending his love of 'rhyme' in verse against 
 Campion's heresy of hexameters, and thus acknowledges 
 his obligations to his patron's mother — 
 
 " Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother " :— 
 
 "Hauing been first encouraged and framed thereunto by 
 your most worthy and honourable mother, and receiud the 
 first notion for the formal ordering of these compositions, at 
 Wilton, which I must euer acknowledge to haue been my best 
 school, and thereof always am to hold a feeling and a grateful 
 memory. Afterwards, drawn farther on by the well-liking and 
 approbation of my worthy lord, the fosterer of me and my muse, 
 I adventured to bestow all my powers therein, perceiuing it 
 agreed so well both with the complexion of the times, and my 
 own constitution, as I found not wherein I might better 
 employ me." 
 
 This seems to warrant us in concluding that upon 
 leaving Oxford he was introduced to the ' charmed 
 circle ' of Wilton ; albeit John Morris (in his Biogra- 
 phical Introduction to his " Selections '' from Daniel) 
 thus put it : — 
 
 '' This may have been the case ; but a closer examination 
 will perhaps show his meaning to be, that in the first place he 
 felt a grateful obligation to the Countess of Pembroke, for his 
 having, through her kindness and encouragement, gained his 
 earliest acquaintance with the delights of literature at Wilton, 
 his best school; and that, in the next place, under the patronage 
 of the Earl, he was drawn further on, or enabled to prosecute 
 higher studies at the University. If this be his meaning, then 
 it will appear that, while yet young, he had obtained the notice, 
 and was favoured with the patronage, of Sidney's sister, the 
 excellent Countess of Pembroke " (p. xiv). 
 
 The thing cannot be dogmatically pronounced upon 
 under our dim light, but in my judgment he is con- 
 trasting the after-delights at Wilton as his ' best school ' 
 
MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. , xvii 
 
 with the (to him) dry-as-dust studies of Oxford that 
 he had escaped from. This later date of residence at 
 Wilton seems further strengthened by the headings of 
 two of the ' Delia ' Sonnets which inform us that he went 
 to Italy ; and it has been the unvarying tradition that 
 he went thither with a Herbert. Besides, it is in relation 
 to the same Sonnets and kindred poems — ^from 1 590-1 
 onward — that he pays glowing homage to the illustrious 
 Mary, Countess of Pembroke.* It is pleasant even at 
 this late day to indulge the Pleasures of Imagination in 
 a vision of young Samuel Daniel pursuing his poetical 
 and other cultured studies at Wilton, while Sir Philip 
 Sidney's death was still a recent memory (1586). 
 
 It was in 1591 that Samuel Daniel first came before 
 the world as a Poet. This he did by the semi-furtive 
 publication of twenty-seven of his Love-sonnets by 
 Thomas Nashe in his famous edition of Sidney's 
 Astrophel and Stella, ' edited ' by this fiery Free-lance 
 of our Literature (see ' Note ' before ' Delia '). This 
 led to his own publication of the series of Sonnets 
 addressed (mainly) to ' Delia ' in 1 592. This first 
 (authoritative) edition was followed by a second in the 
 same year. A third appeared in 1 594, 
 
 I do not suppose it is likely now that we shall ever 
 know who 'Delia' was. But I for one recognize in these 
 Sonnets a human passion, and not mere ' sportive wit ' 
 or 'idle play.' The grief grows o'tiraes monotonous 
 and even grotesque, but ever and anon there comes the 
 genuine ' cry ' of a man's heart in suspensive anguish. 
 He is by no means a strong man — contrariwise reveals 
 
 * See Glossarial-Index, s.n., for full notices of all the ' fair 
 women ' and ' brave men ' celebrated by Daniel. 
 
xviii MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. 
 
 a good deal of valetudinarian sentimentalism ; yet is 
 there reality of ' love,' and not simply rhyme-craft. 
 
 Elsewhere (viz., in Note before 'Delia' and beneath 
 the successive Sonnets) I record the variations of the 
 several editions of 'Delia.' At this point it seems 
 expedient to notice one Sonnet that is found in the first 
 edition alone of 1592. It opens the series. It is headed 
 simply ' To M. P.' John Morris (as before), as have 
 others, explains, " the initials evidently stand for Mary, 
 Countess of Pembroke " (p. i). But this cannot be. For 
 (a) How should he have used initials only in 1592, and 
 given the name in full in 1594 ('Delia').? (d) Can we 
 conceive such a liberty as a dependant thus using the 
 simple initials M. P. ? (c) It has been overlooked that 
 in N. W.'s Epistle before ' Paulus Jovius' (1585) an 
 unmistakable reference is made to ' M. P.' as a common 
 friend and a MAN, thus : — 
 
 " A frend of mine whom you know, M. P., climing for an 
 Sgks nest but defeated by the mallalent of fortune, limned 
 in Ais studie a I'ine tree striken with lightning, carying this 
 mot, II mio sperar .... Yet in despight of fortune he 
 deuised a Pinnace or small Barke, tossed with tempestuous 
 stormes, and on the saile was written expectanda dies, hoping 
 as I think for one sunne shine day to recompence so many 
 gloomy and winter monethes." 
 
 Who this M. P. was it is vain to conjecture; but the 
 tone of the opening Sonnet of the 1592 volume utters 
 personal disappointment and " want " and " care." 
 
 His 'journeying' to Italy being celebrated in the 
 'Delia' of 1592 dates it prior to that year. We know 
 not how long or short before. The 47th Sonnet of 1594 
 is headed " At the Authors going into Italic," and the 
 48th " This Sonnet was made at the Authors being in 
 
MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 Italy "* (see present vol., pp. 71, 72). More interesting 
 still — and hitherto strangely overlooked — his Verses on 
 the translation of ' Pastor Fido ' (see ' Occasional Poems ' 
 in the present volume) seem to make a personal reference 
 to a conversation with Guarini, wherein the Italian 
 depreciated the " English tongue." ' Pastor Fido ' first 
 appeared in 1590. This fact will require fuller after- 
 notice (in ' Memorial-Introduction II. — Critical '). The 
 publication of the Sonnets to 'Delia' made him 'famous' 
 at a bound. He was in all men's mouths. He was a 
 new voice in the heaven of English Song. Surrey and 
 Wyatt had now an 'heir.' If thinner in substance, 
 these Sonnets have finer literary form than theirs. His 
 ' Verses commendatory ' — as given in ' IX. Occasional 
 Poems ' in the present volume — testify that speedily his 
 word went a long way to win public notice. 
 
 His 'Complaint of Rosamond' accompanied the 
 ' Delia ' Sonnets from the outset, and contained a 
 memorable reference to his 'lady-love.' Between 1591-2 
 arid 1600 — wherever located — he must have burned the 
 midnight oil over his Verse. The 1594 'Delia' was 
 accompanied by 'Cleopatra,' a tragedy. In 1595 
 appeared the ' First Foure Bookes of the Ciuill Wars.' 
 In 1 599 was issued ' The Poeticall Essayes of Sam. 
 Danyell, newly corrected and augmented.' This added 
 a fifth Book to the ' Ciuil Wars.' In 1600-1 he pre- 
 pared his folio of the ' Works of Samuel Daniel, newly 
 augmented.' This fine volume was primarily printed 
 for gift-copies or private circulation. Some copies have 
 special dedicatory poems prefixed (see pp. 4 — 9 of the 
 
 * To Mr. J. Payne Collier belongs the praise of having first 
 observed these headings. 
 
XX MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. 
 
 present volume). In 1600 he was engaged as tutor to 
 the (afterwards) renowned Lady Ann Clifford, then in 
 her eleventh year. Dr. Whitaker in his ' Craven ' (by 
 Morant, vol. i., pp. 386-7), thus writes :— 
 
 " Among the papers at Skipton Castle I met with an original 
 book of accounts, filled with memoranda, relating to this lady's 
 education from 1600 to 1602. In the beginning is the follow- 
 ing prayer, intended, I suppose, to be used on entermg the 
 church — 
 
 ' O Lord, increase o'r fayth, and make us euermore attentyve hearers, 
 true conceiuers, and diligent fulfillers, of thy heauenly will.' 
 
 And after — 
 
 ' To wish and will it is my part, 
 To you, good lady, from my hart, 
 The yeares of Nestor God you send. 
 With hapynes to your life's end ! ' 
 
 These lines are, I think, in the handwriting of Samuel Daniel, 
 her tutor; and when compared with the future history and 
 long life of this young lady, then only eleven years old, it 
 cannot be denied that their prayer was heard. She actually 
 saw ninety years wanting only three, and the ' happiness ' of 
 the last thirty had no abatement to her ' life's end.' " 
 
 A still more noteworthy memorial of this tutorship is 
 extant in his verse-address to his fair and precocious 
 pupil. It is after the type of his friend Fulk Greville, 
 Lord Brooke's philosophic poetry, more thought-laden 
 than wrought. He must have had a prescient discern- 
 ment of the strength and intellectual capacity of young 
 'Lady Anne' (see present vol., p. 213). Doubtless his 
 post at Appleby and Skipton had its pleasantnesses, 
 and the Lady through life held her tutor in grateful 
 memory — as witness his being introduced into a great 
 family picture (still preserved), and his ' Whole Works 
 in Verse' being placed along with Spenser's on 
 
MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. xxi 
 
 bookshelves introduced into the background, and his 
 monument at Beckington. None the less his Letter 
 to the Lord Chancellor Egerton has these unsatisfied 
 words — 
 
 I' Such hath been my misery, that whilst I should have 
 written the actions of men, I haue been constrayned to liue 
 with children, ^xA contrary to myne owne spirit, putt out of 
 that scene which nature had made my parte" (the present vol., 
 p. lo). 
 
 From this memorandum it would seem that Daniel 
 relinquished his tutorship in 1602, in which year first 
 appeared Book VL of the ' Civil Wars.' He had been 
 'at Court' toward the close of the foregoing century. 
 There is a kind of vague tradition that Elizabeth 
 appointed him ' Laureate ' on the death of Spenser (in 
 1 599)- I find no evidence of this. But his 'Panegyrike' 
 to King James must have been composed off-hand and 
 as speedily printed (privately) — seeing that copies are 
 found bound up in the folio of 1601 — though it does not 
 appear to have been formally or publicly delivered until 
 1603 in Rutlandshire, as the heading bears (present vol., 
 p. 141). He is most uncourtlily plain-spoken in his 
 'Panegyrike'; and the King and Queen (Ann) deserve 
 all credit for not taking offence. With all his faults and 
 failings, the new king was in sympathy (in the beginning 
 at any rate), with learning and genius. Equally manly 
 was his splendid verse-epistle to Henry, Earl of South- 
 ampton. The Queen must have ' taken ' to him right 
 cordially. Whether his ofiice was 'at pleasure' or by 
 a verbal understanding, he was called upon from time 
 to time to prepare 'Masks' and quasi-theatrical enter- 
 tainments — as his 'Dramatic' productions show, e.g., 
 "Tethys' Festival" and the "Vision of the Twelve 
 
xxii MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Goddesses," and "Hymen's Triumph" and "Queen's 
 Arcadia." He must have been frequently at Court, 
 and in intimate association with the royal family and 
 nobility. Latterly he was eclipsed by " rare Ben '' (who 
 was surly and malignant toward him), and in his 
 melancholy wrote " bitter things " against himself. His 
 self-depreciation, if it be painful, is not without touch 
 of grotesquerie. He grew weary of 'high life,' and 
 secluded himself. Thomas Fuller quaintly describes 
 his periodic retreats thus : — 
 
 "As the tortoise burieth himself all the winter in the ground, 
 so Mr. Daniel would be hid at his garden house in Old Street, 
 near London, for some months together (the more retiredly to 
 enjoy the company of the Muses); and then would appear in 
 public to converse with his friends, whereof Dr. Cowel and 
 Mr. Camden were principal " ( Worthies, as before). 
 
 Spite of these retirements, he was a keen observer from 
 his "loophole of retreat," and could express himself 
 incisively. Thus his Tragedy of " Philotas " had been 
 misapplied to the brilliant but unfortunate Earl of 
 Essex. Thereupon the Author added a spirited 'Vin- 
 dication ' to the play — ' spirited,' yet after all we had 
 rather have had it unwritten. And not only so, but it 
 having reached him that his patron-friend, the Earl of 
 Devonshire (' Stella's ' lord), was displeased with his use 
 of his name, he addressed to this nobleman (in 1604) a 
 striking Letter, as follows : * — 
 
 " My Lorde, 
 
 " Vnderstanding yo"^ lo: is displeased w' mee, it hath 
 more shaken my harte then I did thinke any fortune could 
 
 * See fac-simile from the original in H.M. Public Record 
 Office, in po&t 410 copies of the present volume, in this place. 
 
MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. xxiii 
 
 have donne in respect I have not deservd it, nor donne or 
 spoken any thing in this matter of Philotas ynworthy of yo" 
 or mee. And now having fully satisfyde my L. of Cranborne, 
 I crave to vnburthen me of this imputation w* yo' ho: and it is 
 the last suite I will euer make. And thetefore I beseaeh yo" 
 to vnderstand all this great erro"" I have comitted. 
 
 "first I tolde the Lordes I had written 3 Acts of this 
 tragedie the Christmas before my L. of Essex troubles, as 
 diuers in the cittie could witnes. I saide the maister of the 
 Revells had p'vsed it. I said I had read some parte of it to yo' 
 ho : and this I said having none els of powre to grace mee now 
 in Corte & hoping y' yo" out of yo^nowledg of bookes, or 
 fauoy of letters & mee, might answere that there is nothing in 
 it disagreeing nor any thing, as I protest there is not, but out 
 of the vniuersall notions of ambition and envie, the p'petuall 
 argum*^ of bookes or tragedies. I did not say yo° incouraged 
 me vnto the p'senting of it; yf I should I had beene a villayne, 
 for y' when I shewd it to yo' hono"^ I was not resolud to haue 
 had it acted, nor should it haue bene had not my necessities! 
 ouermaistred mee. And therefore I beseaeh yo" let not now 
 an Earle of Devonsh' ouerthrow what a L. Mountioy hath 
 donne, who hath donne me good and I halue donne him 
 hono'' : the world must, or shall know myne innocencie whilst 
 I haue a pen to shew it, and for y* I know I shall Hue inter 
 historiam temporis as well as greater men, I must not be such 
 an abiect vnto my self as to neglect my reputation, and having 
 bene knowne throughout all England for my virtue, I will not 
 leave a stayne of villanie vppon my name whatsoeuer erro"^ els 
 might skape me vnfortunately thorow myne indiscreation, & 
 misvnderstanding the tyme : wherein good my L. mistake not 
 my harte that hath bene & is a syncere honorer of yo" and 
 seekes yo° now for no other end but to cleare it self, and to be 
 held as I ame (though I neuer more come nere yo") 
 "Yo'hono™ 
 
 " pore follower 5z faithfuU Servant, 
 
 "Samuel Danyel." 
 
 He was early in 1603-4 given charge in some way of 
 the Theatre in connection with the licensing of ' Plays ' : 
 
xxiv MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. 
 
 e..g., in the Calendars of State Papers under "January 31, 
 
 1604," we read : — 
 
 "Grant to Edward Kirkham, Alexander Hawkins, Thos. 
 Kendall and Robert Payne, of license to train up children, 
 to be called ' Children of the Reuels to the Queen,' and to 
 exercise them in playing within the Blackfriars in London, or 
 elsewhere; all flays to be allowed by Sam. Danyell" (p. 72). 
 
 This must have been a permanent function and post, 
 for under "July 10, 161 5," we find the following: — 
 
 "Sir Geo. Buck to John Packer, Secretary to the Lord 
 Chamberlain Somerset. The King has been pleased at the 
 mediation of the Queen on behalf of Sam. Danyell, to appoint 
 a company of youths to perform comedies and tragedies at 
 Bristol, under the name of the Youths of Her Majesty's Royal 
 Chamber of Bristol. Has consented to it as being without 
 prejudice to the rights of his office" (p. 294). 
 
 The late Mr. J. Payne Collier and Peter Cunningham 
 have other entries and notes ; but the forgeries of the 
 former, and the unreliableness of the latter, compel me 
 to leave them unutilized. The biographic fact to be 
 accentuated is that he had (in Fuller's words) "a fair 
 salary "from Queen Ann as "servant in ordinary." His 
 own language is unmistakable in his verse-address " To 
 her sacred Maiestie " — 
 
 " I who by that most blessed hand sustain 'd, 
 In quietnes, do eate the bread of rest : 
 And by that all-reuiuing powre obtain'd 
 That comfort which my Muse and me hath blest." 
 
 (Present vol., p. 9.) 
 
 Later (1618) his theatrical office must have passed to his 
 brother, John Daniel (Calendars, s.n). 
 
 When he was married, and to whom, still remain 
 unknown. It has been stated — on the usual loose 
 
MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION, xxv 
 
 acceptance of inferential statements — that John Florio 
 married a sister of Daniel. But he had no sister, so far 
 as appears.* The Poet's use of ' brother ' in his Verses 
 to him was as ' brother ' scholar or writer, not as relative. 
 Only the Christian name — a foreign-like one, as if 
 brought from Italy- — Justina, has come down to us. 
 They had no issue. 
 
 Equally untraced has been the date of his withdrawal 
 from town to the country. The fact of such with- 
 drawal is thus put by Fuller : — 
 
 " In his old age he turned husbandman, and rented a farm 
 in Wiltshire near to Devizes. I can give no account how he 
 thrived thereupon ; for though he was well versed in Virgil, 
 his fellow-husbandman-poet, yet there is more required to 
 make a good farmer than only to say the Georgics by heart ; 
 and I question whether his Italian will fit on English hus- 
 bandry. Besides, I suspect that Mr. Daniel's fancy was too 
 fine and sublimated to be wrought down to his private profit. 
 However, he had neither a hank of wealth nor a bank of want; 
 being in a competent condition " ( Worthies, as before). 
 
 Up to 1618 — and so probably to the end — he was 
 designated a Groom of the Privy Chamber to the 
 Queen, as is seen in the royal licence then issued, which 
 granted him the privilege of printing for his personal 
 benefit his ' History of England.' In this licence he is 
 described as " our well-beloued seruant Samuel Daniel!, 
 one of the Groomes of the Priuy Chamber, to our 
 
 * See our edition of Spenser, vol. iii., pp. Ixxxviii — cii, 
 " Who were Rosalinde and Menalcas ? " : also Bolton Comey's 
 paper in Notes and Queries, 3rd S., viii., pp. 4, 35, etc. 
 Though mistaken as to Bacon, Corney is certainly right as to 
 Florio and Daniel. I am not aware that Florio had a sister 
 whom Daniel might have married. In his Will there is no 
 mention of a ' Justina ' by Florio. 
 
xxvi memorial-introduction: 
 
 deerest wife the Queen" (Rymer's Fcedera, vol. xvii., 
 p. 22). 
 
 His 'farm' was near Beckington (Somerset) — where 
 Daniels are found to have been resident* — and was 
 named 'Ridge.' It is within hail of Bath — on the 
 highway from Bath to Salisbury — and is still in a 
 pleasant country. Here most probably he wrote his 
 ' History.' Our final glimpse of him is in his Will, as 
 follows : t — 
 
 "Will of Samuel Daniel, the Poet. 
 
 " From the original in the Will Office of the Prerogative Court 
 of Canterbury. 
 
 " I, Samuelis \ In the name of God, Amen. I, Samuel Danyel, 
 Danyell J sick in bodie but well in mynde, make heer 
 my last will and testament. 
 
 " First, I comitt my soule unto God, trusting to be saved by 
 the pretious blood and deathe of my Redeemer, Jesus Christe ; 
 and my body to the earth, to be interred in the parish church 
 where I dye. 
 
 " Item, I bequeathe to my sister, Susan Bowre, one feather 
 bed, and w'" the furniture thearto belongmg, and such lynnen 
 as I shall leave at my house at Ridge. 
 
 " Item, I bequeathe to Samuel Bowre x". 
 
 " Item, to Joane Bowre x". 
 
 " Item, to Susan Bowre x". 
 
 " Item, to Mary Bowre x". 
 
 " For the disposing of all other things, I referre them to my 
 faithfull brother, John Danyel, whome I here ordaine my sole 
 executor, to whose care and conscience I comitt the perform- 
 ance thereof. 
 
 " And I likewise appoynt and ordayne my loving friend Mr. 
 Simon Waterson, and my brother in la we John Phillipps, to be 
 
 * The Parish Register, which begins in 1559, has a Thomas 
 Daniell baptized in 1567, and an Editha Daniell in 1574. 
 t Shakspere Society Papers, iv., 156-8. 
 
MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. xxvii 
 
 overseers of this my last will and testament, whereunto I have 
 set my hand and seal. Dated the 4*"^ daye of September 1619. 
 
 . " Samuel Danyel. 
 " Witnesses of this my last will and testament." 
 Umphery X Aldenes mark. 
 William X Wheatlyes mark. 
 
 The Will is written on one side of a sheet of foolscap 
 paper, and signed by the poet himself in a neat but 
 rather tremulous hand. The words " Witnesses of this 
 my last will and testament," are also autograph. 
 
 He * sleeps well ' at Beckington. His ' pupil/ the 
 Lady Anne, years after placed a mural monument 
 within the Church. It still bears the following in- 
 scription : — 
 
 HERE LYES' EXPECTINGE THE SECOND COMMING OF 
 OUR LORD & SAUIOUR JESUS CHRIST YE DEAD BODY 
 OF SAMUELL DANYELL ESQ THAT EXCELLENT POETT AND 
 HISTORIAN WHO WAS TUTOR TO THE LADY ANNE 
 CLIFFORD IN HER YOUTH SHE THAT WAS SOLE DAUGHTER 
 AND HEIRE TO GEORGE CLIFFORD /EARLE OF CUBERLAND 
 WHO IN GRATITUDE TO HIM ERECTED THIS MONUMENT 
 IN HIS MEMORY A LONG TIME AFTER WHEN SHE 
 WAS COUNTESSE DOWAGER OF PEMBROKE DORSETT 
 & MOUTGOMERY. HE DYED IN OCTOBER 1619. 
 
 Such is the brief story of Samuel Daniel's ' Life.' * 
 The impression left on one, after pondering the facts, 
 is that he was an infii-m, over-sensitive man, physically 
 
 * Langbaine, s.n., in his ' Lives and Characters of the English 
 Dramatick Poets .... (1691)' blunders throughout in his 
 account of Daniel — e.g., he represents him as "weary of the 
 world" and as "living .... till he was near eighty years old"! ! 
 (really 57). Wood's Ashmolean MSS. (quoted in Bliss's edition 
 
xxviii MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and intellectually, though (as to Spenser) he led 
 observers to conclude that he was capable of far 
 greater things than ever he wrote. But for a ' Critical ' 
 estimate of his work the Reader is respectfully asked to 
 wait until our closing volume. 
 
 Alexander B. Grosart. 
 
 of Ath. Oxon., ii. 26) furnishes this singular note — "Sam. 
 Daniel being for the most part in animo Catholicus, was at 
 length desired to be openly a Roman Catholic ; but he denied, 
 because that when he died he should not be buried in West- 
 minster Abbey, and lie interred there like a Roman Catholic " 
 — oracular and improbable. See ■ Memorial-Introduction II. — 
 Critical,' in our closing volume 
 
I. 
 INEDITED POEMS, ETC. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY TO THE 
 
 WORKS OF SAMUEL DANIEL. 
 
 FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. 
 1595— 1623. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 'Examination of the successive issues (private or semi-private and 
 
 jpublished) of his Poems, reveals that Samuel Daniel was wont to insert 
 
 •special Dedications and Addresses in gift-copies of his books ; none of 
 
 ^hich are found in the Quarto of 1623, or known to Bibliographers or 
 
 Editors : e.g., in the 'Poeticall Essayes ' of 1599 (but,incorporating the first 
 
 '' Foure Bookes ' of the ' Ciuill Wars,' dated on title-page 1595) there is an 
 
 'overlooked Sonnet to Lord Mountjoy.; and again in successive exemplars 
 
 'of the l6oi folio of his 'Works' as ' newly augmented ' there occur the 
 
 following : (a) In the beautiful presentation-copy in the Bodleian there is 
 
 Iprefixed a long and characteristic poem on its being deposited in the 
 
 'renowned library, {b) In the British Museum copy (C. 39, h. 23) there 
 
 lis a verse-dedication ' to her sacred Majestie ' ( = Anne, consort of James I.), 
 
 Tvhich takes the place of the one in the Bodleian, neither having the other. 
 
 '(f) In the Bridgewater copy is an autograph letter to the 'Lord Keeper 
 
 Egefton,' first published in Censura Literaria (vol. vi 291-3) and later by 
 
 'the late 'Mr. J. Payne Collier. On this and another Letter printed by the 
 
 latter, see our Memorial-Introduction. Further, in the little volume of 
 
 ' Certaine Small Workes' of 1607 (not of 1611, as stated by the late Rev. 
 
 Thomas Corser, M.A., ' Anglo-Poetica,' s.n.) is an extremely noticeable 
 
 •verse-address ' To the Reader,' which was revised for the re-issue of the 
 
 same volume in 1611 — the latter supplying a 'line that had been inadvert- 
 
 'ently dropped in 1607. Finally, John Daniel introduces the Quarto of 
 
 1623 with an Epistle-dedicatory to Charles I. Though some of these 
 
 have mainly reference to the ' Ciuill Wars ' poems, yet as being so placed 
 
 ;as to be introductory tothe Works, it has been deemed expedient to bring 
 
 them together here. Accordingly the whole wiU be found in their places. 
 
 Other inserted and withdravm Poems — equally unknown with these are 
 
 ^also given in their places, and indicated in relative footnotes (IX. Occasional 
 iPoems in the ipresent volume). It is just possible that other gift-copies, 
 imore especially of the 1601 folio, msgr yield other special JPoems. 
 
 -A. B. G. 
 
I. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE, SIR 
 
 Charles Blunt Knight, Lord Mountioy, 
 
 and Knight of the moft Noble 
 
 order of t%e Garter, and his 
 
 moft worthy Lord.^ 
 
 |D0 not plant thy great refpedled name 
 Here in this front, to th' end thou 
 
 fhouldft protefl 
 Thefe my endeuors from contempt 
 
 or blame, 
 Which none but their owne forces 
 muft effeft : 
 
 Nor do I feeke to win thy more refpedt, lO 
 
 Moft learned Lord, by thefe Effaies of mine, 
 Since that cleere iudgement that did firft elefl 
 To fauor me, will alwaies keepe me thine : 
 Nor do I this more honour to affigne, 
 
 Vnto thy worth, tliat is not more hereby. 
 Since th' offrings made vnto the powers deuine, 
 Enrich not them, but fliew mens pietie: 
 But this i do to th' end if deftiriie 
 Shall any monument referue of me, 
 Thofe times fhould fee my loue, how willing I 20 
 That liu'd by thee, would haue thee Hue with me. 
 
 S. D. 
 
 ' From "The Poeticall EITayes of Sam. Danyel. Newly ^corrected and 
 augmented. Aetas prima canat veneres, postrema tumultus. At London. 
 Printed by P. Short for Simon'Waterson, IS99".(4°)- "-First FoiureBookes 
 •of the Ciuill Wars," title-page 1595. 
 
II. S. D. 
 
 TO HIS BOOKE, 
 In the Dedicating thereof to the Li- 
 brarie in Oxford, erefted by- 
 Sir Thomas Bodley 
 Knight.^ 
 
 JEere in this goodly Magazine of 
 
 witte, 
 This Storehoufe of the choifeft 
 
 furniture 
 The world doth yeelde, heer in this 
 
 exquifite, 
 And moft rare monument, that 
 
 dooth immure lO 
 
 The glorious reliques of the beft of men ; 
 Thou part imperfeft worke, voutfafed art 
 A little roome, by him whofe care hath beene 
 To gather all what euer might impart 
 Delight or Profite to Pofteritie • 
 Whofe hofpitable bountie heere receiues 
 Vnder this roofe( powers of Diuinitie, 
 Inlodg'd in thefe transformed fliape of leaues. 
 For which good Worke his Memorie heere Hues, 
 As th' holy guardian of this reuerent place, 20 
 
 Sacred to Woorth, being fit that hee which giues 
 Honour to others, fhould himfelfe haue grace. 
 
 ' From the ' Works of Samuel Daniel newly augmented,' 1601 (folio), in 
 the Bodleian. 
 
lA^EDITED INTRODUCTORY POEMS, ETC. s 
 
 And charitable Bodlisy that hath thus 
 Done for the good of thefe, and other times, 
 Muft Hue with them, and haue his fame with vs. 
 For well wee fee our groueling fortune climes 
 Vp to that fphere of glory, to be feene 
 From farre, by no courfe elfe, but by this way 
 Of dooing publique good ; this is the meane 
 To fliew we were, how fram'd, of what good clay. 30 
 For well we fee how priuate heapes (which care 
 And / greedy toyle prouides for her owne endes) 
 Doe fpeede with her fucceeders, and what fhare 
 Is left of all that ftore, for which it fpendes 
 It felfe, not hauing what it hath in vfe. 
 And no good t' others nor it felfe conferres : 
 As if that Fortune mocking our abufe 
 Would teach vs that it is not ours, but hers 
 That which we leaue : and if we make it not 
 The good of many, fhe will take that paine, 40 
 
 And re-difpers th' inclofed parcelles got 
 From many hands, t' in-common them againe. 
 Which might aduife vs, that our felues fliould doe 
 That worke with iudgement, which her blindneffe will. 
 And paffe a State which fhe cannot vndoe. 
 And haue th' affurance in our owne name ftill. 
 
 For this is to communicate with men 
 That good the world gaue by focietie. 
 And not like beafts of prey, draw all to' our Den 
 T'inglut our felues, and our owne progenie. 50 
 
 This is to make our giftes immortall giftes. 
 And thankes to laft, whilfl men, and bookes fhall laft ; 
 This heritage of glory neuer fhiftes 
 Nor changes Maifters \ what thou leau'ft thou haft. 
 
INEDITEH mXRODUCTORT POEMS, EIC, 
 
 The grounds, the lands, which now thou called 
 
 thine, 
 Haue had a thoufand lords that term'd them 
 
 theirs, 
 And will be foone againe pent from thy line, 
 By fome concuffion, change, or waftefull heires. 
 We can no perpetuitie collate 
 
 Vpon our race that euer will endure ; 60 
 
 It is the worlds demaines, whereof no ftate 
 Gan be by any cunning made fo fure. 
 But at the change of Lordes for all our paine. 
 It will returns vnto the world againe. 
 
 And therefore did difcreet Antiquitie, 
 Heere / (feeing how ill mens priuate cares did 
 
 fpeede), 
 Ere6l an euerlaft[ing] Granery 
 Of Artes, the vniuerfall State to feede. 
 And made the worlde their heire, whereby their 
 
 name 
 Holdes ftill a firme poffeffion in the fame. "JO 
 
 O well giuen landes, wherein all the whole land 
 Hath an eternall fliare ! where euery childe 
 Borne vnto Letters, may be bolde to ftand 
 And claime his portion, and not be beguilde. 
 Happy eredled walks whofe reuerent piles 
 Harbour all commers, feede the multitude : 
 Not like the prowd-built pallace that beguiles 
 The hungry foule with empty folitude ; 
 Or onely raifde for priuate luxurie 
 Stands as an open marke for Enuies view, 80 
 
 And being the purchafe of felicitie 
 Is Fortunes in remainder, as her due. 
 
TO THE WORKS OF DANIEL. f 
 
 But you, bleft you, the happy monuments 
 
 Of Charitie and Zeale, ftand and beholde 
 
 Thofe vaine expences, and are documents 
 
 To (hew what glory hath the fureft holde. 
 
 You tell thefe times, wherein kind Pietie 
 
 Is dead inteftate, and true noble Worth 
 
 Hath left no heire, that all things with vs die, 89^ 
 
 Saue what is for the common good brought forth. 
 
 Which this iudicious Knight did, truely note,, 
 And therefore heere hath happily begunne 
 To fhew this age, that had almoft forgot 
 This way of glory, and thereby hath wonne. 
 So much of Time, as that his memorie 
 Will get beyond it, and will neuer die. ' 96 
 
III. To her facred Maieftie.^ 
 
 |EERE facred Soueraigne, glorious 
 Queen of Peace, 
 The tumults of difordred times I 
 
 fing, 
 To glorifie thy Raigne, and to in- 
 
 creafe 
 The wonder of thofe bleflings thou 
 dooft bring 
 Vpon thy land, which ioyes th' intire releafe 
 From bloud and forrowes by thy gouerning, 
 That through affliflion we may fee our ioyes 
 And bleffe the glorie of Elizaes dayes. 
 
 Happier then all thy great Progenitors lO 
 
 That euer fate vpon that powrefuU Throne ; 
 Or all thy mightieft neighbour-Gouernors, 
 Which wonder at the bleffings of thy Crowne, 
 Whofe Peace more glorious farre than all their 
 
 warres, 
 Haue greater powres of admiration fhowne ; 
 Receiue thefe humble fruites of mine increafe, 
 Offered on th' Altare of thy facred Peace. 
 
 ' From i6oi folio in British Museum. 
 
INEDITED INTRODUCTORY POEMS, ETC. 9 
 
 I, who by that moft bleffed hand fuftain'd, 
 In quietnes, do eate the bread of reft : 
 And by that all-reuiuing powre obtain'd 20 
 
 That comfort which my Mufe and me hath bleft, 
 Bring here this worke of Warre, whereby was gain'd 
 This bleffed Vnion which thefe wounds redreft, 
 That facred Concord which prepar'd the way 
 Of glory for thee onely to enioy. 
 
 Whereto if thefe my Labors fhall attaine, 
 
 And which, if Fortune giue me leaue to end, 
 
 It will not be the leaft worke of thy Raigne, 
 
 Nor that which leaft thy glory Ihall commend, 
 
 Nor fhall I hereby vainely entertaine 30 
 
 Thy Land, with'ydle fhadowes to no end. 
 
 But by thy Peace, teach what thy bleffmgs are, 
 
 The more t' abhorre this execrable warre. 
 
IV. AN ORIGINAL LETTER OF SAMUEL 
 Danyel fent to Lord Keeper Egerton with 
 a prefent of his Works newly aug- 
 mented, 1 60 1, extant in the 
 Bridgewater Library.^ 
 
 ilGHT HONOURABLE, 
 
 Amongft all the great workes 
 of your Worthynes, it will not be the 
 lead that youi haue done for me in 
 the preferment of my brother, with 1 
 whome yet now fometimes I may 
 eat, whilft I write, and fo go on with 
 the worke I haue in, hand which God knowes had long 
 fince been ended, and your Honour had had that 
 which in my hafte I haue prepared for you, could I 
 haue but fuftayned myfelf, and made truce within, and 
 peace with the world. 
 
 But fuch hath been my mifery, that whilfi I fliould 
 haue written the a£lions of men, I haue been con- 
 ftrayned to Hue with children, and contrary to myneao 
 o^ne fpirit, putt out of that fcene, which nature had 
 made my parte ; for could I but Hue to bring this 
 labour of mine to the Union of Henry, I fhould haue 
 the end of all my ambition in this life, and the utmoft 
 of my defires ; for therein, if wordes can work any 
 
 ' From ' Censuia Literaria,' vi., 291-3. 
 
INEDITED INTRODUCTORY POEMS, EIC. ii 
 
 thing vppon the affeflions of men, I will labour to 
 giue the beft hand I can to the perpetuall clofing vp 
 of thefe woundes, and to my keeping them fo, that 
 our land may lothe to look ouer thofe bleffed boundes, 
 which the prouidence of God hath fet us, into the 30 
 horror and confufion of further and former clymes : 
 and though I know the greatnes of the worke require 
 a greater fpirit than myne, yet we fee that in theas 
 frames of motions, little wheels moue the greater, and 
 fo by degrees turne about the whole ; and God knowes 
 what fo poore a mufe as myne may worke upon the 
 affeftions of men. 
 
 But howeuer I Ihall herein Ihew my zeal to my 
 country, and to do that which my foule tells me is fit ; 
 and to this end do I propofe to retyre me to my pore 40 
 home, and not again to fee you till I haue paid your 
 Honor my voues ; and will only pray that England, 
 which fo much needes you, nday long enjoy the treafure 
 of your counfell, and that it be not driuen to complayne 
 with that good: Roman : Vid&mus quibus extin£lis juris- 
 peritis, quant in paucis nunc /pes, quant in pauciorihis 
 facuUas, quant in nttiltis audacia. 
 
 And for this comfort I haue receiued from your 
 
 goodness, I muft and euer will remayne your Honour's 
 
 in all &c. 5 o 
 
 I am, &c., 
 
 SAM.UEL DANYEL. 
 
 To the Rt. Hon. Sir Thomas Egerton, 
 
 Knt., Lord Keeper of the Great 
 
 Seale of England, 
 
V. To the ReaJer} 
 
 I^^EHOLD once more with ferious labor 
 here 
 Haue I refurnifht out this little 
 
 frame, 
 Repaird feme parts defectiue here 
 
 and there, 
 And paffages new added to the 
 fame : 
 Some rooms inlargd, made fome les the they were 
 Like to the curious builder who this yeare 
 Puis downe, and alters what he did the laft, 
 As if the thing in doing were more deere 
 Then being done, & nothing likes thats paft. 
 
 For that we euer make the latter day 
 The fcholler of the former, and we find 
 Something is ftill amiffe that muft delay 
 Our bufmes, and leaue worke for vs behinde. 
 As if there were no faboath of the minde. 
 And howfoever be it, well or ill 
 What I haue done, it is mine owne, I may 
 Do whatfoeuer therewithall I will. 
 
 10 
 
 ' From "Certaine Small Workes Heretofore Divulged hy Samvel 
 Daniel, one of the Groomes of the Queenes Maiefiies Friuie C/iam-her, & 
 now againe by him corrected and augmented. JSXzs prima canat veneres 
 poftirema tumultus. At L.ondon. Printed by I. W. for Simon Water/on. 
 1607." (12°). 
 
iNEDITED INTRODUCTORY POEMS, ETC. 13 
 
 I may pull downe, raife, and reedifie : 
 It is the building of my life, the fee 2p 
 
 Of Nature, all th' inheritance that I 
 Shall leaue to thofe which muft come after me ; 
 And all the care I haue is but to fee 
 Thofe lodgings of m' affections neatly dreft. 
 Wherein fo many noble friends there be 
 Whofe memories with mine muft therein reft. 
 And glad I am that I haue liud to fee 
 This edifice renewd, who doo but long 
 To liue t' amend. For man is a tree 
 That hath his fruite late ripe, and it is long 30 
 
 Before he come t' his tafte ; there doth belong 
 So much t' experience, and fo infinite 
 The faces of things are, as hardly we 
 Difcerne which lookes the likeft vnto right. 
 
 Befides thefe curious times, ftufd with the ftore 
 Of copofitions in this kind, to driue 
 Me to examine my defefts the more. 
 And oft would make me not my felf belieue. 
 Did I not know the world wherein I liue : 
 Which neither is fo wife, as that would feeme 40 
 Nor certaine iudgement of thofe things doth giue 
 That it difliks, nor that it doth efteeme. 
 
 I know no work from man yet euer came 
 But had his marke, and by fome error fliewd 
 That it was his, and yet what in the fame 
 Was rare, and worthy, euermore allowd 
 Safe couoy for the reft : the good thats fow'd 
 Though rarely paies our coft, & who fo lookt 
 T' haue all thinges in perfeftion, & in frame 
 In mens inuentions, neuer muft read books. 50 
 
14 INEDITED INTRODUCTORY POEMS, ETC., 
 
 And howfoeuer here detraflion may 
 Difvalew this my labour, yet I know 
 There will be foud therein, that 'which wil pay 
 The reckning for the errors which I owe, 
 And likewife will fufficiently allow 
 T' an vndiftafted iudgement fit delight. 
 And let prefumptuous felfe-opinion fay 
 The woorft it can, I know I fliall haue right. 
 
 I know I fhalbe read among the reft 60 
 
 So long as men fpeake englilh, and fo long 
 As verfe and vertue flial be in requeft, 
 Or grace to honeft induftry belong : 
 And England fince I vfe thy prefent tongue, 
 Thy forme of fpeech, thou muft be my defece 
 If to new eares it feemes.not well expreft^ 
 For though I hold not accent I hold fence. 
 
 And fince ithe .meafures of our tong we fee 
 Confirmd, by no edi6l of power doth reft 
 But onely vnderneath the regencie 70 
 
 Of vfe and fafhion, which may be the beft 
 Is not for my poore forces to conteft : 
 But as the Peacock, feeing himfelfe to weake, 
 Confeft the Eagle fairer farre to be, 
 And yet not in his feathers but his beake ; 
 Authoritie of powerfuU cenfure may 
 Preiudicate the forme wherein we mould 
 This matter of our fpirite, but if it pay 
 The eare with sfubftance, we haue what wee wold. 
 For that is all which muft our credit ,hold. 80 
 
 The reft (how euer gay, or feeming rioh 
 It be in faftiion wife men will not wey). 
 The ftamp will not allowe it but the touch.^ 
 • ' This line only in .1611 edition— dropped inadvertently in 1607. 
 
TO THE WORKS OF DANIEL. 15 
 
 And would to God that nothing falty were 
 But only that poore accent in my verfe, 
 Or that I could all other recknings cleere 
 Wherwith my heart ftands charg'd, or might 
 
 reverfe 
 The errors of my iudgmet paffed here, 
 Or els where, jftjpjCbookes, and vnrehearce 
 What I haue vaineljj^ faid, or haue addreft qq 
 
 Vnto negleft, miftallen in the reft. 
 
 Which I do hope to Hue yet to retradl 
 And craue that England neuer will take note 
 That it was mine. He difauow mine act, 
 And wifti it may for euer be forgot. 
 I truft the world will not of me exafl 
 Againft my will, that hath all els I wrote. 
 I will alke nothing therein for my paine 
 But onely to haue in mine owne againe. gg 
 
J^ TO THE HIGH AND MOST IL- 
 
 luftrious Prince Charles His Excellence} 
 
 Sir 
 
 \Refents to gods were offered by the 
 hands of graces ; and why not thofe 
 of great Princes, by thofe of the 
 Mufes f To you therefore Great 
 Prince of Honor, and Honor oj 
 Princes ; J ioyntly prefent Poejie 
 afid Muficke : in tJie one t/te feruice lo 
 of my defunSl Brother, in tJie other, tlie duty of my felfe 
 lining, in both the deuotion of two BrotJters, your High- 
 nes Humble feruants. Your Excellence then who is 
 of fuch recommendable fame, with all Nations, for the 
 curiojity of your rare Spirit to vnderfiand, and ability 
 of Knowledge to iudge of all things, I humbly inuite ; 
 leaning the Songs of his Mtife, who liuing fo fweetly 
 chanted t/te glory of your High Name : Sacred is the 
 fame of Poets, Sacred the name of Princes ; To which 
 
 Humbly bowes, and vowes 20 
 
 Himfelf, euer your 
 
 Highneffe Seruant, 
 
 lohn Daniel. 
 
 ' From the ' Works ' of 1623 (4°). 
 
m^is^si5i«iwiM 
 
 m^m^m^'^^^^m^m^mmmmm^m^m 
 
 feW^SW^fe „ ...>.^„».,>^;.,.:^....^ 
 
 THE 
 
 WHOLE 
 
 VVORKES OF 
 
 Samvel Daniel Efquire 
 in Poetrie. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed by Nicholas Okes, for 
 Simon Waterson, and are to be 
 fold at his f hoppe in Paules Church- 
 yard, at the Signe of the Crowne. 
 1623. 
 
 VOL. I, 
 
' The title-page of the Quarto of 1623 is given on other side, as it is 
 our foundation-text. See Prefatoiy Note and Memorial-Introduction. — G. 
 
11. 
 
 SONNETS TO DELIA. 
 
 1592. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 The ' Sonnets to Delia ' and ' Complaint of Rosamond,' as having been the 
 Poet's first verse-publication, as well as perhaps his most abiding proofs of 
 his faculty, talce inevitably the foremost places in any critical reproduction 
 of his Poems. The publication of the Sonnets was in a manner forced, if 
 we are to credit the Author's statement in his preface to the first edition 
 (1592). The reference is to the quasi-surreptitious edition of Sir Philip 
 Sidney's ' Astrophel and Stella ' ofi59i, the " rascally bookseller " being 
 Thomas Newman, and the editor no less than Thomas Nashe. To this 
 now very rare volume were " added sundry other rare Sonnets of diuers 
 Noblemen and Gentlemen." The larger proportion consists of twenty-seven 
 of Daniel's Sonnets to Delia. Full details of these in the sequel of this 
 Note. 
 
 The following is the original title-page, which is within a pretty 
 wood-cut border : — 
 
 Delia. 
 
 Contayning certayne 
 
 Sonnets : with the 
 
 complaint of 
 
 Rofamond. 
 
 (•••) 
 Sfr Adas prima canal veneres 
 p'ojlrema imnultus. 
 
 i 
 
 AT LONDON. 
 Printed by I. C. for Si- 
 mon Waterfon, dwelling in 
 Paules Church-yard at 
 thefigne of the Crowne. 
 1592. 
 
PREFA TOR Y NOTE. 2 1 
 
 On verso is this Note : — 
 
 To the Reader. 
 Gentle Reader, I pray thee correcft thefe faultes 
 efcaped in the printing, finding them as they 
 are noted heere following. 
 
 Sonnet 5- moll unkindell, read fweete unkindeft. 
 
 Sonnet 14. Yer leaft, read Yet leaft. 
 
 Sonnet 20. def ires, read def iers. 
 
 Sonnet 36. yee, read yce 
 
 Sonnet 41. her brow, read her troubled brow. 
 
 Sonnet 44. tunres, read tumes. 
 
 The second edition was issued in the same year, though not so marked. 
 As the above errata are found corrected in it, we are guided to distinguish 
 it from the other, as second, not first. The following is its title-page, which is 
 within a somewhat poor architectural design, with two tiny miniatures in 
 top corners (a man and a woman), and flowers in the bottom corners. The 
 dove, = Holy Spirit, is above in arch, and the legend Atos, etc. : — 
 
 AIOS AiriOXION 
 DELIA. 
 
 Containing 
 certaine Son- 
 nets : with the 
 complaynt of Ro- 
 Jamond, 
 
 ^tas pnma ca- 
 
 nat veneres poftre- 
 
 ma tumul- 
 
 tus. 
 
 1592 
 
 At London 
 
 Printed by J. C. for S. 
 
 Waterfonne. 
 
 Mr. W. Carew Hazlitt, in his " Bibliography of Old English Literature ' 
 (j.«.), describes a third edition, also of 1592. There was none such. He 
 has confounded the actual first edition with the second, and mis-entered 
 the first, and made a third out of the second. He and others also prove to 
 be mistaken in asserting that an exemplar of the first edition (entered by 
 Hazlitt as second) is at Chatsworth, His Grace the Duke of Devonshire 
 
2 2 PREFA TOR V NOTE. 
 
 informs me that no such book appears ever to have been in his library. 
 Fortunately a perfect copy of the first and an only slightly imperfect copy 
 of the second edition, exist in the Bodleian (Malone and Tanner books). 
 A third edition, in a very charming little volume (i8mo), was published in 
 1594. Its title-page, within a miniature copy of the title-page of 1592, 
 second edition, is as follows : 
 
 Delia 
 
 and 
 
 Rosamond 
 
 augmented. 
 
 Cleopatra. 
 
 By 
 
 Samuel Daniel. 
 
 yEtas prima ca- 
 nal veneres pojlre- 
 ma tumul- 
 tus. 
 
 '594- 
 
 Printed at London for Simon Waterfon, and 
 
 are to be fold in Paules Church-yarde at the 
 
 figne of the Crowne. 
 
 On verso of Sonnet to Countess of Pembroke : — 
 Gentle Reader correft thefe 
 faultes efcaped in the 
 printing. 
 Sonnet 18. lyne 3. for error, readeterror. 
 G I. page 2. for Condemning, read Condufling, 
 In L. page 16. Marke the Speaker, and read thus 
 The iuflice of the heauens reuenging thus. 
 Doth onely fatiffie it felfe, not vs. 
 In the laft chorus, for care, reade cure. 
 
 A careful collation shows that these three editions were all Daniel 
 himself supervised throughout. Later texts give a few isolated and verbal 
 changes, but the little volume of 1594 was evidently meant to be the 
 ultimate text. Accordingly, at the bottom of each, page of our edition of 
 the 'Sonnets to Delia,' there are furnished the various readings and 
 other alterations of these three editions, respectively designated ', ^ ' ; 
 
PREF^ TOR Y NOTE. 
 
 23 
 
 and also such as occur in the folios of the ' Works ' of 1601 and 1602 
 (quite distinct), these again being designated respectively *, '. It is to be 
 understood that wherever ', ' are not adduced they agree with our own 
 foundation-text of 1633. I' l^^s beeij my anxious endeavour to record 
 everything in any way noticeable, not however noting all mere orthographic 
 changes or minor punctuations. The following table gives the contents 
 and varying arrangement of the five editions named : — 
 
 1592 — First Edition. 
 
 I. Title and errata (verso). 
 II. Prose-epistle to Countess of Pembroke. 
 
 Sonnet 1. Vnto... 
 
 so 1594, 
 
 1601, and 1602. 
 
 2. Goe... 
 
 
 
 3. If... 
 
 
 
 4. Thefe... 
 
 
 
 S. Whilft... 
 
 
 
 6. Faire... 
 
 
 
 7. had flie... 
 
 
 
 8. Thou poore... 
 
 
 
 9. If thus... 
 
 
 
 ip. then... 
 
 
 
 li. Teares... 
 
 
 
 12. Myfpottes... 
 
 
 
 13. Behold... 
 
 
 
 14. Thofe amber... 
 
 
 
 15. If that... 
 
 
 
 16. Happie... 
 
 
 , „ [and 17 is 18. 
 
 17. Since... 
 
 in 1594 and 1601-2, 17 Why Ihould I fing. 
 
 18. Reftore,.. 
 
 in IS94 is 19 19 and 20 in V What, etc. 
 
 19. IfBeautie... 
 
 „ 20 21 in ^ =. 
 
 20. Come death..., 
 
 „ 21 22 „ 
 
 21. Thofe forrowing.. 
 
 22 24 „ 
 
 22, Falfe hope... 
 
 33 25 .. 
 
 23. Look?... 
 
 „ 24 26 „ 
 
 24. If I ill vaiae... 
 
 28— not in \ =. 
 
 25. Raigne... 
 
 3S 27 in','. 
 
 26. Whilft... 
 
 „ 26 27 is 27 of ^ and 28 in ", K 
 
 27. Theftarre... 
 
 29 Slin', "■• 
 
 28. Rayfing... 
 
 „ 3oAnd yet... 281531, and in*, 5 
 
 29. why... 
 
 32 34^','- [is 33. 
 
 30. I once... 
 
 „ 
 
 33 35 „ 
 
24 
 
 PREFA TOR V NOTE. 
 
 Sonnet 31. Looke... 
 
 inlS94 
 
 is 34 
 
 36in^^ 
 
 
 32. But loue... 
 
 >> 
 
 35 
 
 37 >. 
 
 [xxxiii.) 
 
 33- When... 
 
 )> 
 
 36 
 
 38 „ (but 
 
 misprinted 
 
 34. When Winter... 
 
 »» 
 
 37 
 
 38 \sic\ 
 
 
 35. Thoucanft... 
 
 J» 
 
 38 
 
 39 is 40 in K 
 
 
 36. be not.. 
 
 »J 
 
 39 
 
 41 in ', '- 
 
 
 37. Delia... 
 
 f> 
 
 40 
 
 42 .. 
 
 
 38. Faire... 
 
 If 
 
 41 
 
 43 » 
 
 
 39. Reade... 
 
 )l 
 
 42 
 
 44 >. 
 
 
 40. My Cynthia... 
 
 }> 
 
 43 
 
 45 .> 
 
 
 41. How long... 
 
 » 
 
 44 
 
 46 „ 
 
 
 42. Beautie... 
 
 >> 
 
 45 
 
 47 ,. 
 
 
 43. I muft... 
 
 JJ 
 
 46 
 
 48 „ 
 
 
 44. Drawne... 
 
 >J 
 
 47 
 
 whether, etc., 
 
 and 44 is 48 
 
 
 
 in '94, and so ■*, ^ 
 in \ K 
 49 51 in S '• 
 
 and 50 is 51 
 
 45. Care-charmer... 
 
 » 
 
 
 46. Set... 
 
 1) 
 
 SO As to the Roman in 51, and 
 
 47. Like as... 
 
 f ) 
 
 52 
 
 S4in^^ 
 
 [S3 in *, =. 
 
 48. None... 
 
 >) 
 
 S3 
 
 55 .. 
 
 
 49. Vnhappy... 
 
 J> 
 
 54 
 
 S6 „ 
 
 
 50. Loe here... 
 
 If 
 
 SS 
 
 57 » 
 
 
 An Ode... 
 
 
 ibid. 
 
 iHd. 
 
 
 The Complaint of Rofamond... 
 
 >» 
 
 tf 
 
 
 A Paftorall... 
 
 
 JJ 
 
 n 
 
 
 1592— Second Edition. 
 
 Title, etc., and Sonnets i to 26 same as ist edition. 
 
 27 Still in the trace... 
 
 28 Oft doe I mufe... 
 29 — 30 as in 1st ed. 
 
 31 To M. P., and 27 of ', again marked 31. 
 
 32 (numbered xxx.), My cares... 
 
 33 misprinted xxii. is 28 of ', 
 
 34 is 30 of '. 
 
 33 (2nd) is 29 of '. 
 
 35 is 31 of. 
 
 36 is 32 of '. 
 
 37 is 33 of '. 
 
 38 is 34 of '. 
 
PREFA TOR Y NOTE. 25 
 
 Sonnet 39 is 35 of '. 
 
 40 is 36 of '. 
 
 41 is 37 of '. 
 
 42 is 38 of '. 
 
 43 — 46 lacking in Bodleian copy. 
 
 47 is 43 of. 
 
 48 is 44 of ', 
 
 49 is 45 of '• 
 
 50 is 46 of '. 
 
 51 is 47 of '- 
 
 52 is 48 of '. 
 An Ode... 
 
 The Complaint... 
 
 Summarily, the first edition contained jo Sonnets, the second 52, the 
 third 55, the fourth and fifth S7. and following the third (substantially) 
 — ours 60, exclusive of additions in the sequel of this Note from volume of 
 1591. In the Memorial-Introduction I make remarks on certain of the 
 various readings and alterations and additions and withdrawals. 
 
 I would now submit the result of a collation of Thomas Newman's or 
 Thomas Nashe's pre-publication of a considerable proportion of these 
 Sonnets. The selection is headed as though it made a single continuous 
 Poem thus — "The Author of this Poeme, S. D.," and commences with 
 " Goe wayling," etc., for introduction (our Sonnet 2) ; and here in the 
 outset a better reading than the Author's presents itself, viz. — ' Goe wayling 
 verfe the infant of my loue ' for ' infants ' ; and in 1. 12, ' crueltie ' for 
 'pitty ' [badly], and 11. 13, 14 run — 
 
 ' Knock at her hard heart : fay, I perifli for her, 
 And feare this deed will make the world abhor her.' 
 
 Then comes as Sonnet I our 1st j Sonnet 2 our 24th. Sonnet 3 was not 
 reprinted by Daniel, but asserts its authorship. It is as follows : — 
 
 ' The onely birde alone that Nature frames, 
 When weary of the tedious life ihee liues. 
 By fier dies, yet finds new life in flames : 
 Her alhes to her ihape new elTence giues. 
 For haplefie loe euen with mine owne def ires 
 I figured on the table of my hart. 
 The goodlieft Ihape that the worlds eye admires, 
 And fo did perifh by my proper arte. 
 
26 PREFA TOR Y NOTE. 
 
 And ftill I toyle to change the Marble breft 
 Of her whofe fweete Idea I adore, 
 Yet cannot finde her breath vnto my reft ; 
 Hard is her heart, and woe is me therefore. 
 
 O blefled he that ioyes his ftone and arte, 
 
 Vnhappie I to loue a ftonie harte.' 
 
 Sonnet 4 is our 3rd, and offers these variations : — 
 
 I. 2, ' . . . and afflicted fongs ' for ' lamentable fongs.' 
 
 II. 4, 5, ' . . . who like to me doe fare 
 
 May moue them, sigh thereat and mone my wrongs.' 
 
 I. 6, ' . . . my foules diftreffe.' 
 
 II. 7, 8, ' . . . you will note what is awry, 
 
 Whilft blind ones fee no error in my verfe.' 
 1. 9, ' . . . hap and errour leades.' 
 1. 10, 'the' for 'your.' 
 1. II, ' . . . forrow reads.' 
 
 Sonnet 5 is our nth. In 1. i, for ' winne ' it reads 'gaines,' and U. 9-10 
 read — 
 
 ' Though frozen will may not be thawed with teares, 
 Though my foules IdoU fkorneth all my vowes.' 
 
 1. n, 'to deafned eares.' Sonnet 6 is our 37th, and opens, ' Why doth 
 my Miftres,' and 1. 10 reads ' the power of your face' 5 1, II, 'To admire ' ; 
 1. 12 (badly) ' caufe ' for ' cafe,' and closes — 
 
 ' I feare your change not flower nor Hyacinth, 
 Medufa's eye may tume . . .' 
 
 Sonnet 7 is our 14th ; 1. 4 reads ' thefe ' for ' thofe ' ; 1. 6, ' ftroke ' for 
 ' wound ' ; 1. 8, ' that ' for ' this fort ' ; 1. 9, ' I lift' for • And lift ' ; 1. 10, 
 ' this ' for ' the ' repeated ; and 1. 14, ' Ladie ' for ' Delia ' — showing 
 delicacy on Nashe's part. Sonnet 8 is our 13th, and reads 1. 7, 'goodlieft' 
 for ' faireft ' ; 1. lo, ' fweete Idea ' for ' fweeteft grace ' ; and 1. 13, ' O 
 blefled he that ioyes ' for ' But happy,' etc. Sonnet 9 is our 27th, and 
 yields these variations — 1. 3, ' And clofe the way ' ; 1. 4, ' bitter ' for 
 ' better ' [very doubtful] ; 11. 5-6— 
 
 ' Whileft garding thus the windowes of my thought 
 My freedomes tyrant glorying in hir art ' ; 
 
 1. 1 1, ' But (ah) fweete ' for ' Small is the victorie.' 
 
 Sonnet 10 is our 28th, and blunders in reading ' yeelds . . . who gaines, 
 and ' and figh ' (1. 14). Sonnet 11, again, was not accepted by Daniel, but 
 equally again reveals its authorship. It is as follows : — 
 
PREFA TOR Y NOTE. 27 
 
 ' The flie Inchanter when to worke his will 
 And fecret wrong on fome forfpoken wight, 
 Frames waxe, in forme to reprefent aright 
 The poore vnwitting wretch he meanes to kill, 
 And prickes the im^e fram'd by Magicks fldll, 
 Whereby to vexe the partie day and night : 
 Like hath ihe done, whofe ftiew bewitcht my fight. 
 To beauties charmes, her Louers bloud to fpil. 
 For firft, like waxe ihe fram'd me by her eyes, 
 Whofe rayes iharp poynted fet vpon my breft, 
 Martyres my life, and plagues me on this wife,. 
 With lingring paine to perjfli. in vnreft. 
 Nought could (faue this) my fweeteft faire fuflSce,, 
 To trie her arte on him that loues her bed.' 
 
 S(Hmet 12 is our 19th, and has only slight variations, e.g., 1. i, 'treafure ' 
 for 'treffes,' and 1. 10, 'voyce yeeldto Hermonitts fpheares.' Sonnet 13 
 is another that only appears in 1591 volume, but once more is self -authen- 
 ticating. It is as follows : — 
 
 ' The tablet of my heauie fortunes heere, 
 Vpon thine Altare {Paphian power) I place ; 
 The greeuous (hipwracke of my trauels deere, 
 In bulged barke, all peritht in difgrace. 
 That traitor Loue, was Pilot to my woe. 
 My Sailes were loofe, fpread with my fighs of griefe, 
 The twine lights which my haples courfe did Ihovir, 
 Hard by th' inconftant fands of falfe reliefe, 
 Where two bright flarres which led my view apart, 
 A Syrens voice alhir'd me come fo neare. 
 To perifli on the marble of her hart, 
 A danger which my foule did neuer feare : 
 
 Lo thus he fares that trufts a calme too much ; 
 
 And thus fare I whofe credit hath beene fuch.' 
 
 Sonnet 14 is our 48th, and presents these various readings : — 
 1. 3, ' . . . . dies' for 'dries.' 
 1. 6, ' . . . . the night wandring.' 
 1. 7, ' Nor euer hath his impoft paid more . . . .' 
 
 I. 8, ' . . . . my foules Queene hath euer beene.' 
 
 II. 9-1 1, 'Yet her hard rocke firme fixt for ay removing 
 
 No comfort to my cares flie euer giueth 
 Yet had I . louing.' 
 
28 PREFA TOR Y NOTE. 
 
 1. 12, ' Than to imbrace . . . .' 
 1. 13, 'I feare .... raigning.' 
 Sonnet 15 is our iSth, and has these readings : — 
 1. I, 'If a true . . . .' 
 
 I. 3, ' Steruen.' 
 
 U. 9-12, ' If I haue wept the day and fighd the night, 
 
 Whilft thrice the Sun approcht his northern bound : 
 If fuch a faith hath euer wrought aright, 
 And well deferud, and yet no fauor found.' 
 
 II. 13-14, ' the whole world it may fee 
 
 the moft hurt be.' 
 
 Sonnet 16 is our 1 8th, and only these variations occur : 1. 6, 'exacts ' 
 
 for ' exacft,' and 1. 7, ' So long and pure a faith no fauour, ' 
 
 Sonnet 17 is the fourth and last of the Sonnets given by Newman and 
 
 Nashe, but not reprinted by Daniel, albeit as certainly his. It is as 
 
 follows : — 
 
 ' Way but the caufe, and giue me leaue to plaine me, 
 For all my hurt, that my harts Queene hath wrought it ; 
 Shee whom I loue fo deare, the more to paine me. 
 Withholds my right, where I haue dearely bought it. 
 Dearly I bought that was fo highly rated, 
 Euen with the price of bloud and bodies wafling, 
 Shee would not yeeld that ought might be abated, 
 For all ihee faw my Loue was pure and lafting, 
 And yet now fcomes performance of the paffion. 
 And with her prefence luftice ouer ruleth, 
 Shee tels me flat her beauty beares no adlion. 
 And fo my plea and proces flie excludeth : 
 
 What wrong ftiee doth, the world may well perceiue it, 
 To accept of faith at firft, and then to leaue it.' 
 
 Sonnet 18 is our 29th, and gives these various readings : — 
 
 11. 4-S, ' When it had hop'd 
 
 My faith of priuiledge could no whit ... .' 
 
 I. 7, 'Whereby flie had no caufe once to . . . .' 
 
 1. 10, ' No comforts line, w[h]ich falling fpirits eredteth ' ; 
 
 1. 14, ' And by her hand that . . . where I had hope to . . , .' 
 Sonnet 19 is our 26th, and presents these : — 
 
 1. 2, ' . . . . thought to thought .... leade . . . .' 
 
 1. 3, ' Fortunes Orphan, hers and the worlds ' 
 
PREFA TOR Y NOTE. 29 
 
 1. 4. ' bad ' for ' fad ' [very poor] 
 
 1- 6. ' neuer funne yet.' 
 
 I. 7, 'A pleafing griefe impreffed hath . . . .' 
 
 II. 9-10, ' Yet . ... muft not.' 
 
 Sonnet 20 is our i6th, but after the version in Nashes beneath in loco. 
 It badly reads in 1. 2 'hart' for 'hurt' and 'mooued' for 'inur'd'; 
 in 1. 6 of our i6th reads '. . . . mercy (mercie yet my merit) ' which is 
 better ; 1. 9, ' Yet fince' ; 1. 10, ' Still forrowes' ; and 11. 12-14 i^" = — 
 ' And nothing but her loue and my harts payning ; 
 Weep howrs, grieue dales, figh months, and ftill mourn yeerly, 
 Thus muft I doe becaufe I loue her dearlie.' 
 
 Sonnet 21 is also our 2ist, and has these variations : — 
 
 I. I, ' . . . . bright be doubled . . . .' [bad] 
 
 II. 2, 5, ' ... . cannot fliine through .... 
 
 And Difdaines vapors are thus .... 
 
 to me quite darkened is, 
 
 Why trouble I the vforld then with my .... 
 
 1. 7, ... . 'ruthfull' for 'ruthleffe' .... [bad]. 
 
 1. 8, ' . . . . my vntuned . . . .' 
 
 1. II, ' ... . ftill hold her moft deare vntill my . . . . 
 
 Our Sonnet 22 in Nashe's text opens — 
 
 ' Come Death the Anchor hold of al my thoughts, 
 My laft refort whereto my foule appealeth : 
 For all too long on earth my fancie dotes, 
 Whiles deareft blood my fierie paffions fealeth.' 
 
 Sonnet 22 is our 24tli, and gives these various readings : — 
 1. I, ' fire ' for ' fmoake . . . .' 
 1. 2, ' Thefe are the ... .' 
 
 I. 3, • And thefe my tyrants cruell minde fulfils.' 
 
 II. 6-8, ' . . . . that yet refpefts no whit 
 
 My youth, vntimely withered with my teares 
 By winter woes . . , .' 
 
 I. II, '. . . . thebliffe . . . .' 
 
 Sonnet 23 is our 9th, and offers in 1. la much better reading, which we 
 accept in text — ' To paint on fluds,' on which see various readings in loco. 
 Most of these also excellent : — 
 
 II. 3-4, ' With prone afpeft ftill tending .... 
 
 Sad horror, pale greefe, proftrate defpaire.' 
 
30 PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 11. 6-8, ' Rife vp to waile, lie down to f igh, to . . . 
 
 With ceafeles toyle Cares reftlefle ftones .... 
 .... and mone .... whilft . . . .' 
 
 I. 9, ' .... to languiih in fuch care . . . .' 
 
 II. 10-12, ' Loathing the light, the world, my felfe, and all. 
 
 With interrupted fleepes, freftie grefes repaire 
 And breathe out horror in perplexed thrall.' 
 
 I. 14, ' Loe then . . . .' 
 
 Sonnet 24 is our 30th (from 1592 '), and gives these variations : — 
 
 II. 2-5, ' My cares drawes on my euerlafting night 
 
 And horrors fable clowds dims my liues funne ; 
 That my liues funne, and thou my worldly light, 
 Shall rile no more to me : my dales are donne.' 
 
 And these — 
 
 11. 7-8, ' I'll goe. 
 
 And dreffe a bed of flowers.' 
 1.9, 'why that.' 
 
 1. 10, '. . . . fault and . . . .' 
 
 1. 13, 'Although the world this deed of hirs may . . . .' 
 
 Sonnet 25 is our 32nd, and thus variantly reads — 
 
 I. I, ' my ' for ' this.' 
 
 II. 2-3, ' crying 
 
 . . . bloud and bloudie trying.' 
 11. 12-13, 'My Ocean teares drowne me and quench my . . . 
 
 Whiles faith doth bid my cruell Faire adieu.' — [bad]. 
 
 Sonnet 26 is our Sgth, and thus opens, 'To' being a self-correcting 
 misprint for ' Lo,' and ' impreft ' for ' impreffe ' : — 
 
 ' To heare the impreft of a faith not faining. 
 That dutie paies and her difdaine extorteth : 
 Thefe beare the meffage of my wofull paining, 
 Thefe oliue braunches mercie ftill exorteth.' 
 
 And there are further these : — 
 
 1. 5, ' . . . . plaints with chafte defires . . . .' 
 1. 9, '. . . . poore foule) I liue exild from . . . .' 
 
 I. II, '. ... liberties . . . .' 
 
 II. 13-14, ' What (hall I doo but figh and waile the while, 
 
 My martyrdome exceedes the higheft flile.' 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 31 
 
 Sonnet 27 is our 38th, and gives these slight verbal various readings — 
 1. I, 'may'for'fliall.' 
 1. 2, ' And .... may . . . .' 
 1. 4, ' . . . . power not . . . .' 
 1. 6, ' .... the worlds eie doth . . . .' 
 1. 7, ' . . . . her praife to . . . .' 
 1. 8, ' . . . . fades the flowers .... fed . . . .' 
 Sonnet 28 (including the Introductory one as i) is our 36th, and finally 
 presents these variations •.^- 
 
 1. I, ' hope for ' hopes.' 
 
 L 3, ' meane ' for ' meanes,' and ' prefumes ' for ' prefum'd.' 
 1. 4, ' For difdaines thunderbolt made me retire.' 
 At the close is added, instead of the simple ' S. D.' of the commencement, 
 these words — ' Finis, Daniell.' 
 
 It may be helpful to add here, collectively, the succession of the 1591 
 Sonnets, together with the first lines : — 
 
 Goe wayling verfe the infant of my loue, 
 Sonnet i. If fo it hap the OflF fpring of my care, 
 
 2. Thefe forrowing f ighs, the fmokes of mine annoy ; 
 
 3. The onely birde alone that Nature frames, 
 
 4. Teares, vowes and prayers gaiues the hardeft hearts, 
 
 5. Why doth my Miftres credit fo her glaffe, 
 
 6. Thefe amber locks are thofe fame nets (my Deare) 
 
 7. Behold what hap Pigmalion had to frame, 
 
 8. Oft and in vaine my rebels thoughts haue ventred, 
 
 9. Raigne in my thoughts, faire hand, fweete eye, rare voice, 
 
 10. The-flie-Inchanter, when to worke his will, 
 
 11. Reftore thy treafure to the golden ore, 
 
 12. The tablet of my heauie fortunes heere 
 
 13. My Cinikia hath the waters of mine eies, 
 
 14. If a true heart and faith vnfauied, 
 
 15. Since the firft looke that led me to this error, 
 
 16. Way but the caufe, and giue me leaue to plaine me, 
 
 17. Whilft by her eies purfude, my poore heart flue it 
 
 18. Looke in my griefes, and blame me not to moume, 
 
 19. Happie in fleepe, waking content to languilh, 
 
 20. If Beautie bright be doubled with a frowne, 
 
 21. Come Death the anchor hold of al my thoughts, 
 
 22. If this be Loue to drawe a wearie breath, 
 
 23. My cares drawes on my euerlafting night, 
 
 24. The Starre of my miOiape impofde my paining 
 
32 PREFA TORY NOTE. 
 
 Sonnet 25. To heare the impoft of a faith not faining, 
 
 26. I once may fee when yeares may wrecke my wrong, 
 
 27. Raifing my hope on hills of high def ire, 
 
 The critical student will perceive that saving four or five bad readings, 
 probably from misreading the MS., the text of these twenty-seven Daniel 
 Sonnets as printed by Newman and Nashe can hold their own against the 
 Author's, and gives no sanction to his condemnation of the 1 591 text, 
 albeit his wrath may have been justified by the surreptitious way in which 
 the transcript had been secured. It is well for us that these twenty-seven 
 Sonnets were thus prematurely published. We are (so to say) admitted by 
 them to the Poet's study, and get a vision of him at work and of the processes 
 of his thought and emotion. The four rejected Sonnets are of special 
 biographic interest. But the reader will find more in our ' Memorial- 
 Introduction II. — Critical,' on the various readings, etc., of the"Delian 
 sonnetry." 
 
 It only remains to add here the line-arrangements of the three editions: — 
 
 1592 — First and Second. iS94. 
 
 In 1S94 edition, the prose-epistle to the Countess of Pembroke is can- 
 celled, and a fresh Sonnet-dedication substituted. I place it after the Prose 
 Epistle and separate from the 'Sonnets to Delia.' On the 'M. P.' and 
 neighbour sonnet of 1592 (2nd ed.)— assigned by various to the Countess 
 of Pembroke in flagrant error— see our ' Memorial-Introduction I. Bio- 
 graphical.' In the various readings and notes beneath each Sonnet a 
 stands for the Quarto of 1623, and, as before noted, ', =, », <, = for 1592 1st 
 and 2nd, 1594 3rd, 1601 4th, and 1602 Sth edition. A. B. G. 
 
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE 
 
 Ladie Mary CountefTe of Pembroke. 
 
 IGHT Honorable, although I rather 
 dejired to keep in the private paffi-ons 
 of my youth, from tJie multitude, as 
 things utterd to my felfe, and confe- 
 crated to filejice : yet feeing I was 
 betraide by the indifcretion of a greedie 
 Printer, and had fame of my fecrets 
 bewraide to the world, vncorre6led : doubting the like of lO 
 the refi, I am forced to publifh that wJiich I neuer ment. 
 But this wrong was not onely doone to mee, but to him 
 whofe vnmatchable lines haue indured the like misfortune; 
 Ignorance fparing not to commit facriledge vpon fo holy 
 reliques. Yet Aftrophel flying with the wings of his own 
 fam£, a higher pitch then tlie grofs-fighted can difccrne, 
 hath regiflred his owne name in the Annals j of eternitie, 
 and cannot be dif graced, howfoeuer difguifed. And for 
 my felfe, feeing I am thrufl out into the worlde, and that ^ 
 my vnboldned Mufe, is forced to appeare fo rawly in ' 
 publique ; I defire onely to bee graced by the countenance 
 of your protection : wlwme tlie fortune of our time hath 
 made the happie and iudiciall Patroneffe of the Mufes 
 (a glory hereditary to your houfe) to preferue them from 
 thofe hidious Beefles, Oblivion and Barbarifme. Wherby 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
•34 TO THE COUNTESSE OF PEMBROKE. 
 
 you doe not onely pojfeffe the Jionour of the prefent, but 
 alfo do bind pojlerity to an euer gratefull meinorie of your 
 vertues, wherein you mufl furvive yotcr felfe. And if 
 my times heereafter better laboured, fhall purchafe grace 
 in tJie world, they mufl remaine the monuinents of your ^o 
 honourable favour, and recorde the zealous duetie of mee, 
 iv/w am vowed to your honour in all obferuancy for euer, 
 
 Samuel Danyell. 
 
TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE, THE 
 Lady Mary, CounteiTe of Fembrooke} 
 
 ONDER of thefe, glory of other times, 
 O thou whom Enuy eu'n is forft t' 
 
 ad my re : 
 Great Patronefs of thefe my humble 
 
 Rymes, 
 Which thou from out thy greatnes 
 dooft infpire : 
 Sith onely thou hafl deign'd to rayfe them higher, 
 Vouchfafe now to accept them as thine owne. 
 Begotten by thy hand, and my defire. 
 Wherein my Zeale, and thy .great might is fhowne. i o 
 And feeing this vnto the world is knowne, 
 O leaue not, ftiU to grace thy worke in mee : 
 Let not the quickning feede be ouer-throwne. 
 Of that which may be borne to honour thee. 
 Whereof, the trauaile I may challenge mine. 
 But yet the glory, (Madam) muft be thine. 1 6 
 
 ' 1594 A I, instead of the Prose Epistle-dedicatory of 1592 ', ^ — as on 
 PP- 33—34- 
 
V^ TO DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. I. 
 
 VNto the boundleffe Ocean of thy beautie, 
 Runnes this poore Riuer, charg'd with ftreames 
 of zeale : 
 Returning thee the tribute of my dutie, 
 Which here my loue, my youth, my plaints reueale. 
 
 Here I vnclafpe the Booke of my charg'd foule, 
 Where I haue call th'accounts of all my care : 
 Here haue I fumm'd my fighs, here I inrole 
 How they were fpent for thee ; looke what they are : 
 
 Looke on the deere expences of my youth, 
 And fee how iuft I reckon with thine eies : 
 Examine well thy beautie with my truth. 
 And croffe my cares ere greater fummes arife, 
 
 Reade it (fweet maide) though it be done but fleightly; 
 
 Who can fhew all his loue, doth loue but lightly. 
 
 V^ 
 
 accepted from heading ' To Delia.' 
 
 Sonnet I. 1. i, ' boundles ' ', ', ^ S = : , not in ' j I. 2, ' Runs '',',',=■: 
 ibid. , ' riuer '>,',*,'; ' Ryue^ ' " = »*»^-> ' ^eale :'',«;,»; nothing ^ *— 
 the colon accepted : 1. 3. ' duetie ' »; ' duty " : 1. 4, ' heere ' ', ^ and so 
 throughout : ibid., ' playnts ' ' ; ' reueale.'— period for nil accepted from 
 ' =, '. S " : !■ S- ' booke ' ', », % ', ° : 1. 7. ' "glies ' '. '. '.'.' = »*»''^-. ' enroule 
 >, = ; 'enrole' '; 'inrole' *, ^: 1. 8, 'Howe", ": 1. 8, 'thee; Looke'>; 
 same in \\ '.but small 'I'— ; for , accepted: Hid., 'are.' \\^; 
 : ■", » : 1. 10, ' thyne eyes ' ' ; ' thine eyes ' ', ' ; ' thine eies ' ', ^ : I. 11, 
 ' trueth ' ' : I. 13, no ( ) in ','' : il>zd., 'maid ", '', ° : Hid., 'doone . . . 
 flightly ", ^ ' ; 'fleightly ",»:!. 14, ' <hewe ' ', '. 
 
38 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. II. 
 
 GOe wailing Verfe, the Infants of my loue, 
 Mineyua-Y<k&, brought foorth without a mother : 
 Prefent the Image of the cares I proue, 
 Witneffe your Fathers griefe exceedes all other. 
 
 Sigh out a Storie of her cruell deedes, 
 With interrupted accents of defpaire : 
 A Monument that whofoeuer reedes, 
 May iuftly praife, and blame my loueleffe Faire. 
 
 Say her difdaine hath dryed vp my blood, 
 And ftarued you, in fuccours flill denying : 
 Preffe to her eyes, importune me fome good. 
 Waken her fleeping pitty with your crying, 
 
 Knocke at that hard hart, begge till you haue raou'd 
 her, 
 
 And tell th'vnkinde, how dearely I haue lou'd her. 
 
 Sonnet 2. 1. 2, ' Mother ' ', ' : 1. 3, ' image ' ', ' : 1. 6, ' difpayre ' ' ; 
 'difpaire' ^ ' : 1. 12, . for , after 'crying' ' : 1. 12, 'that' accepted for 
 ■ her ' of ^ ^, ', ^ : ibid., ' you ", ^ ' accepted for ' ye ' of ', ^ and ' yee ' of a : 
 1. 14, , after 'vnkinde' accepted from ', ", ', *, ' (' vnkind '). 
 
 SONNET. III. 
 
 IF fo it hap, this of-fpring of my care, 
 Thefe fatall Antheames, fad and mornefull Songs : 
 Come to their view, who like afflifted are ; 
 Let them yet figh their owne, and mone my wrongs. 
 But vntoucht hearts, with vnaffefted eie, 
 Approach not to behold fo great diftreffe : 
 Cleere-fighted you, foone note what is awrie, 
 Whilft blinded ones mine errours neuer gefle. 
 
DELIA. 3g 
 
 You blinded foules whom youth and errour leade, 
 You out-caft Eaglets, dazeled with your Sunne : 
 Ah you, and none but you my forrowes reade, 
 You beft can iudge the wrongs that fhe hath done. 
 That fhe hath done, the motiue of my paine, 
 Who whilft I loue, doth kill me with difdaine. 
 
 Sonnet 3. 1. 2, ' fad and mornefuU ' ', ^ ', accepted for ' lamentable ' 
 of ■*, ' and a: 1. 4, ' yet f igh their ' ', '', accepted for ' Let them f igh for 
 their' of, ', and 'Ah let them figh theyr' of ' : 1. 6, 'fo great diftreffe' 
 ', ^ ^ accepted for ' my heauineffe ' of *, *, and a : 1. 7, qy. , after ' Cleere- 
 fighted' ? but as in text in ', ', •',■', ' : 1. 8, ' ones' ', ^ ', accepted for 
 ' foules ' of ', ', and a : 1. g, ' errours ' ', ^ ' : 1. 11, ' Ah ' ', ^ ', accepted 
 for ' Do ' of *, ', and a : 1. 12, ' dunne ' ', ^ : 1. 13, ' doone ' ', ^ 
 
 SONNET. I II I. 
 
 THefe plaintiue Verfe, the Poftes of my def ire, 
 Which hafte for fuccour to her flow regard : 
 Beare not report of any flender fire, 
 Forging a griefe to winne a fames reward. 
 
 Nor are my paffions limnd for outward hew, 
 For that no colours can depaint my forrowes : 
 Delia her felfe, and all the world may view 
 Beft in my face, how cares haue tild deepe forrowes. 
 
 No Bayes I feeke to decke my mourning brow, 
 O cleere-eyde Reftor of the holy Hill : — 
 My humble accents beare the Oliue bough. 
 Of interceffion but to moue her will. 
 
 Thefe lines I vfe, t'vnburthen mine owne hart ; 
 
 My loue afifefts no fame, nor fteemes of Art. 
 
 Sonnet 4. 1. 2, : accepted from ', ^ ' for , of ', °, and a : 1. 8, ' how ' ', ^, 
 accepted for ' where ' of ', *, " and a, but not ' hath ' of ', ' : 1- 1 1, ' craue . . . 
 bow ' ", ^ : 1. 12, ' Of her milde pittie and relenting will ' ', ' ; 'Of inter- 
 ceffion to a Tyrants will ' ' ; ' Of interceffion but to moue her will ' ', ^ at 
 in a. See errata of ' in Note before these Sonnets, 
 
40 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. V. 
 
 WHilft youth and error led my wandring 
 minde, 
 And fet my thoughts in heedleffe wayes to range : 
 All vnawares, a Goddeffe chafte I finde, 
 {pia7ia-Vik.€) to worke my fudden change. 
 
 For her no fooner had mine eyes bewraid. 
 But with difdaine to fee me in that place ; 
 With faireft hand, the fweet vnkindeft Maid, 
 Caft water-cold Difdaine vpon my face. 
 
 Which turn'd my fport into a Harts difpaire, 
 Which fhill is chac'd, while I haue any breath, 
 By mine owne thoughts, fet on me by my Faire : 
 My thoughts (like Houndes) purfue me to my death. 
 
 Thofe that I foftred of mine owne accord. 
 
 Are made by her to murther thus their Lord, 
 
 Sonnet 5. 1. 4, no ( ) in ', ^ : 1. 5, ' my view ' ', ^ ; ' mine eye ' ', * : 
 1. 7, ' moil vnkindeft ' ' : 1. 8, ' Caftes ' ', S ' : L 12, no ( ) in ', 2. 
 
 SONNET. VI. " 
 
 FAire is my Loue, and cruell as fhe's faire ; 
 Her brow fhades frownes, although her eyes 
 are funny. 
 Her fmiles are lightning, though her pride defpaire ; 
 And her difdaines are Gall, her fauours Hunny. 
 A modeft Maide, deckt with a blufli of honor, 
 
 Whofe feete doe tread greene paths of youth and loue, 
 The wonder of all eyes that looke vpon her : 
 Sacred on earth, defign'd a Saint aboue. 
 
DELIA. 
 
 41 
 
 Chaftitie and Beautie, which were deadly foes, 
 Liue reconciled friends within her brow : 
 And had fhe pitty to conioyne with thofe, 
 Then who had heard the plaints I vtter now ? 
 For had fhe not beene faire and thus vnkinde, 
 My Mufe had flept,. and none had knowne my minde. 
 
 Sonaete. 1. I, 'asni'is' ','''■ 
 fliades ' of a, not in ', % ', *, '. 
 
 SONNET. VII. 
 
 FOr had fhe not beene faire and thus vnkinde, 
 Then had no finger pointed at my lightneffe : 
 The world had neuer knowne what I doe finde, 
 And cloudes obfcure had fhaded flill her brightneffe. 
 
 Then had no Cenfors eye thefe lines furuaid, 
 
 Nor grauer browes haue iudg'd my Mufe fo vaine 
 No 5unne my blufh and error had bewraid, 
 Nor yet the world haue heard of fuch difdaine. 
 
 Then had I walkt with bold ere6led face, 
 
 No downe-caft looke had fignified my miffe : 
 But my degraded hopes, with fuch difgrace 
 Did force me grone out griefes, and vtter this. 
 
 For being full, fhould I not then haue fpoken. 
 
 My fence oppreff 'd, had faild, and heart had broken. 
 
 Sonnet 7. 1. I, ' For ' ', \ ', but in ^ ' ' O '—perhaps preferable, albeit 
 the 'For' catches up 1. 13 of Sonnet vi. 
 
42 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. VIII. 
 
 THou poore heart facrifiz'd vnto the faireft, 
 Haft fent the incenfe of thy fighs to heauen : 
 And ftill againft her frownes frefti vowes repaireft, 
 And made thy paffions with her beautie euen. 
 
 And you mine eyes, the agents of my hart 
 
 Tolde the dumbe meffage of my hidden griefe : 
 And oft with careful! turnes, with f ilent Art, 
 Did treate the cruell faire to yeeld reliefe. 
 
 And you my Verfe, the Aduocates of Loue, 
 Haue followed hard the Proceffe of my cafe : 
 And vrg'd that title which doth plainely proue, 
 My faith fhould win, if luftice might haue place. 
 
 Yet though I fee, that nought we doe, can moue, 
 
 Tis not difdaine muft make me leaue to loue. 
 
 Sonnet 8. 1. 8, ' dread ' MS. : 1. 14, ' leaue ' — accepted for ' ceafe ' of 
 ^ ', \ » and a. 
 
 SONNET. IX. 
 
 IF this be loue, to draw a wearie breath, 
 To paint on floods, till the fhore crie to th'aire : 
 With ddwneward lookes, ftill reading on the earth, 
 Thefe fad memorials of my loues difpaire : 
 If this be loue, to warre againft my foule, 
 
 Lie downe to waile, rife vp to f igh and grieue, 
 
 The neuer-refting ftone of Care to roule, 
 
 Still to complaine my griefes, whilft none relieue. 
 
DELIA. 43 
 
 If this be loue, to cloathe me with darke thoughts, 
 Haunting vntrodden paths to waile apart ; 
 My pleafures horror, Muficke tragicke notes, 
 Teares in mine eyes, and forrow at my hart. 
 If this be loue, to liue a liuing death. 
 Then doe I loue and draw this wearie breath. 
 
 Sonnet 9. 1. 1, ', ' drop ' to ' inadvertently : 1. 12, ' my ' ' : 1. 14, 
 ' O then loue I '',',": in 1. 2, Tieck stupidly proposed ' Pant ' (his 
 annotated copy of Daniel in B. Museum). ' My name is writ on water ' 
 catches up the ' cry " better. I accept ' To paint ' of Newman and Nashe 
 text of 1591 : 1. 6, 'me' and 1. 8, 'me' at close in ', ' ; 11. 5, 9, , inserted 
 after 'loue.' 
 
 SONNET. X. 
 
 THen doe I loue, and draw this wearie breath. 
 For her the cruell Faire, within whofe brow 
 I written' finde the fentence of my death, 
 In vnkinde Letters ; wrote fhe cares not how. 
 
 Thou powre that rul'ft the confines of the night. 
 
 Laughter louing Goddeffe, worldly pleafures Queene, 
 Intenerat that heart that fets fo light. 
 The trueft loue that euer yet was feene. 
 
 And caufe her leaue to triumph in this wife, 
 Vpon the proftrate fpoyle of that poore hart 
 That ferues a Trophey to her conquering eies, 
 And mull their glory to the world impart. 
 
 Once let her know, fh'hath done enough to proue me. 
 
 And let her pitte if fhe cannot loue me. 
 
 Sonnet 10. 1. I, 'O then I loue' '; 'O then loue I' ^'; 1. 4, 
 • wrought ' ', ^ ' — perhaps preferable : 1. S, ' O thou ' Vi ' = !• 7> ' Gods '' ; 
 in 1. II period. 
 
44 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. XI. 
 
 TEares, vowes, and prayers, winne the hardeft hart, 
 Teares, vowes, and prayers haue I fpent in vaine ; 
 Teares cannot foften flint, nor vowes conuart, 
 Prayers preuaile not with a quaint difdaine. 
 
 I lofe my teares where I haue loft my loue, 
 I vow my faith, where faith is not regarded ; 
 I pray in vaine, a mercileffe to moue : 
 So rare a faith ought better be rewarded. 
 
 Yet, though I cannot winne her will with teares, 
 Though my foules Idoll fcorneth all my vowes ; 
 Though all my prayers be to fo deafe eares. 
 No fauour though, the cruell faife allowes. 
 
 Yet will I weepe, vow, pray to cruell fhee : 
 
 Flint, froft, difdaine, weares, meltes, and yeeldes we 
 fee. 
 
 Sonnet II. In I. ii the ; in ', '^ obscures the continuous thought, but 
 perhaps a, after 'though ' in 1. 12 is better. It is so in Nashe's text of 
 1591 {in loco) — accepted. 
 
 SONNET. XII. 
 
 MY fpotleffe loue houers with pureft wings, 
 About the Temple of the proudeft frame : 
 Where blaze thdfe lights faireft of earthly things, 
 Which cleere our clouded world with brighteft flame. 
 M'ambitious thoughts confined in her face, 
 Affedl no honor but what fhe can giue : 
 My hopes doe reft in limits of her grace, 
 I weigh no comfort vnleffe flie relieue. 
 
DELIA. 45 
 
 For flie that can my heart imparadize, 
 
 Holdes in her faireft hand what deareft is, 
 My fortunes wheeles the circle of her eies, 
 Whofe rowling grace deigne once a turne of blis. 
 
 All my Hues fweet confifts in her alone, 
 
 So much I loue the mod vnlouing one. 
 
 Somiet 12. 1. I, 'hoouers with white' ', ^ ■ 11. 6, 8, 'me' at close in 
 ', ^ ; cf. Sonnet ix., 11. 6, 8 : 1. ii, ' wheele ' ' ; ' wheele's' ', ', *, ». 
 
 SONNET. XIII. 
 
 BEhold what hap Pigmalion had to frame 
 And carue his proper griefe vpon a ftone ; 
 My heauy fortune is much like the fame, 
 I worke on flint, and thats the caufe I mone. 
 
 For hapleffe loe euen with mine owne defires, 
 I figurde on the table of mine hart. 
 The faireft forme, that all the world admires, 
 And fo did perifh by my proper art. 
 
 And ftill I toyle, to change the Marble breft 
 Of her, whofe fweeteft grace I do adore, 
 Yet cannot finde her breathe vnto my reft. 
 Hard is her hart, and woe is me therefore. 
 
 But happy he that ioy'd his ftone and art, 
 
 Vnhappy I, to loue a ftony hart. 
 
 Sonnet 13. L 6, 'my ' ', ' : 1. 7, 'forme, the worldes eye' ', '—perhaps 
 preferable, but occurs elsewhere in these Sonnets (see Glossarial-Index s.v^. 
 
 T 
 
 SONNET. XIIII. 
 
 Hofe fnary locks, are thofe fame nets (my Deere) 
 Wherewith my liberty thou didft furprize ; 
 Loue was the flame that fired me fo neere, 
 The Dart tranfpearfing, were thofe Chriftall eies. 
 
46 DELIA. 
 
 Strong is the net, and feruent is the flame ; 
 
 Deepe is the wound my f ighes can well report : 
 
 Yet do I loue, adore, and prayfe the fame, 
 
 That holds, that burnes, that wounds me in this fort. 
 
 And lift not feeke to breake, to quench, to heale, 
 The bond, the flame, the wound that feftreth fo, 
 By knife, by liquor, or by falue to deale : 
 So much I pleafe to perifh in my woe. 
 
 Yet leaft long trauailes be aboue my ftrength. 
 
 Good Delia lofe, quench, heale me now at length. 
 
 Sonnet 14. 1. I, 'amber' ', '': ibid., no ( ) in ', ^ : 1. 6, 'do' ' ; 'doe' 
 ^ ^ : 1. 13, ' Yer ' ' — put in errata. 
 
 SONNET. XV. 
 
 IF that a loyall hart and faith vnfained. 
 If a fweet languifh with a chaft defire. 
 If hunger-ftaruen thoughts fo long retained. 
 Fed but with fmoke, and cheriflit but with fire : 
 
 And if a brow with cares charafters painted, 
 
 Bewraies my loue, with broken words halfe fpoken 
 To her that fits in my thoughts Temple fainted, 
 And laies to view my Vultur-gnawne hart open : 
 
 If I haue done due homage to her eyes. 
 
 And had my fighes flill tending on her name ; 
 
 If on her loue my life and honour lyes, 
 
 And fhe (thVnkindefl: maid) ilill fcorns the fame : 
 
 Let this fuffice, that all the world may fee 
 
 The fault is hers, though mine the hurt mud be. 
 
 Sonnet 15. 1. 5, ' carafters ' ' : 1. 8, a misprints ' Vultar' ; 1, 13, ' the 
 world yet may fee ' ', ', 
 
DELIA. 47 
 
 SONNET. XVI. 
 
 HAppy in fleepe, waking content to languifh, 
 Imbracing clouds by night, in day time 
 mourne, 
 My ioys but fhadowes,- touch of truth, my anguifh, 
 Griefes euer fpringing, comforts neuer borne. 
 
 And ftill expefting when fhe will relent, 
 
 Growne hoarce with crying mercy, mercy giue, 
 So many vowes, and praiers hauing fpent. 
 That weary of my life, I loath to liue. 
 
 And yet the Hydra of my cares renues 
 
 Still new borne forrowes of her frefh difdaine : 
 And ftill my hope the Sommer windes purfues, 
 Finding no end nor period of my paine. 
 
 This is my ftate, my griefes do touch fo neerly, 
 
 And thus I liue becaufe I loue her deerly. 
 
 Sonnet i6. 1. 2, ' morne ' ', ' : 
 
 ' All things I loath faue her and mine owne anguifli, 
 Pleaf d in my hurt, inur'd to liue forlome. 
 
 Nought doe I craue, but loue, death, or my Lady, 
 Hoarce with crying mercy, mercy yet my merit ; 
 So many vowes and prayers euer made I, 
 That now at length t' yeelde, meere pittie were it. 
 
 But ftill the Hydra of my cares renuing, 
 Reuiues new forrowes of her frefh difdayning ; 
 Still muft I goe the Summer windes purfuing : 
 Finding no ende nor Period of my payning. 
 
 Waile all my life, my griefes do touch fo neerely. 
 And thus I liue, becaufe I loue her deerely. ' 
 So in ', ^, but " in last L reads ' thus ' for ' this ' of ' (error) : ' myfelfe ' in 
 1. 8 in '. 
 
48 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. XVII. '^ 
 
 '\T \J Hy fhould I fing in verfe, why fliould I 
 \ V frame 
 
 Thefe fad neglefled notes for her deare fake ? 
 
 Why fhould I offer vp vnto her name, 
 
 The fweeteft facrifice my youth can make ? 
 Why fhould I ftriue to make her Hue for euer, 
 
 That neuer deignes to giue me ioy to Hue ? 
 
 Why Ihould m'affllfled Mufe fo much endeuour, 
 
 Such honour vnto cruelty to giue ? 
 If her defefts haue purchaft her this fame, 
 
 What fhould her vertues do, her fmiles, her loue ? 
 
 If this her worft, how fhould her beft inflame ? 
 
 What paffions would her milder fauours moue ? 
 Fauours (I thinke) would fence quite ouercome, 
 And that makes happy Louers euer dombe. 
 
 Sonnet 17. First appeared in ', and is in ', ', and a. 
 
 SONNET. XVII I. 
 
 Since the firfl: looke that led me to this error. 
 To this thoughts-maze, to my confuf ion tending : 
 Still haue I liu'd in griefe, in hope, in terror, 
 The circle of my forrowes neuer ending. 
 Yet cannot leaue her loue that holds me hatefuU, 
 Her eyes exaft it, though her hart difdaines me ; 
 See what reward he hath that ferues the vngratefull, 
 So true and loyall loue no fauour gaines me. 
 
DELIA. 49 
 
 Still muft I whet my yong def ires abated, 
 Vpon the flint of fuch a hart rebelling ; 
 And all in vaine, her pride is fo innated, 
 She yeelds no place at all for pitties dwelling. 
 Oft haue I t-old her that ray foule did loue her, 
 (And that with teares) yet all this will not moue her. 
 
 Sonnet l8. 1. 7, ' th ' \ ^ » : 1. 4, no ( ) in ', ', and so throughout in 
 them — this is xvil. in 1592. 
 
 SONNET. XIX. 
 
 REftore thy treffes to the golden Ore, 
 Yeeld Citliereas fonne thofe Arkes of loue ; 
 
 Bequeath the heauens the ftarres that I adore, 
 
 And to th'Orient do thy Pearles remoue, 
 Yeeld thy hands pride vnto th'Iuory white, 
 
 T' Arabian odors giue thy breathing fweete : 
 
 Reftore thy blufh vnto Aurora bright, 
 
 To Thetis giue the honour of thy feete. 
 Let Venus haue thy graces, her refign'd, 
 
 And thy fvveet voice giue back vnto the Spheares : 
 But yet reftore thy fierce and cruell mind, 
 
 To Hyrcan Tygres, and to ruthles Beares. 
 Yeeld to the Marble thy hard hart againe ; 
 So Ihalt thou ceafe to plague, and I to paine. 
 
 Sonnet 19. See variations in introductory Note to these Delian Sonnets. 
 
 SONNET. XX. 
 
 '\T\J Hat it is to breathe and Hue without life : 
 y V How to be pale with anguifh, red with feare, 
 T'haue peace abroad, and nought within but ftrife : 
 Wifli to be prefent, and yet fhun t'appeare : 
 
 4 
 
50 DELIA. 
 
 How to be bold far off, and bafhfull neare : 
 
 How to thinke much, and haue no words to fpeake : 
 To craue redreffe, yet hold affliftion deare : 
 To haue affeftion ftrong, a body weake, 
 
 Neuer to finde, and euermore to feeke : 
 
 And feeke that which I dare not hope to finde : 
 T'affeft this life, and yet this life difleeke : 
 GratefuU t'another, to my felfe vnkinde. 
 
 This cruell knowledge of thefe contraries, 
 
 Delia my hart hath learnd out of thofe eyes. 
 
 Sonnet 20. First appeared in *, and reprinted in ^ 
 
 SONNET. XXI. 
 
 IF beauty thus be clowded with a frowne, 
 That pitty fhines no comfort to my blis. 
 And vapours of difdaine fo ouergrowne 
 That my Hues light wholy in-darkned is. 
 
 Why fhould I more moleft the world with cries "i 
 The ayre with fighes, the earth below with teares .' 
 Sith I Hue hatefull to thofe ruthleffe eies. 
 Vexing with vntun'd moane her dainty eares. 
 
 If I haue lou'd her dearer th^n my breath, 
 
 My breath that calls the heauens to witnes it : 
 And flill muft hold her deare till after death, 
 And that all this mooues not her thoughts a whit, 
 
 Yet fure flie cannot but muft thinke a part, 
 
 She doth me wrong, to grieue fo true a heart. 
 
 Sonnet 21 is xix. in ', ■' : 1. 4, ' thus wholy darkaed ' ', ^ ' ; 1. 7, 
 ' Since ' ', ^ : 1. 12, 'And if that all this cannot moue ' " ', ^ ; U. 13, 14 — 
 ' Yet let her fay that fhe hath doone me wrong, 
 To vfe me thus and knowe I lou'd fo long ' (', '^, \ 
 
DELIA. 31 
 
 SONNET. XX 11. 
 
 COme Time -the anchor-hold of my defire, 
 My laft Refort whereto my hopes appeale, 
 Caufe once the date of her difdaine t'expire : 
 Make her the fentence of her wrath repeale. 
 
 Rob her faire Brow, breake in on Beauty, fteale 
 Powre from thofe eyes, which pitty cannot fpare : 
 Deale with thofe dainty cheekes as fhe doth deale 
 With this poore heart confumed with difpaire. 
 
 This heart made now the profpedliue of care, 
 By louing her, the cruelft Faire that Hues, 
 The cruelft Fayre that fees I pine for Jier, 
 And neuer mercy to thy merit giues. 
 
 Let her not ftill triumph ouer the prize 
 
 Of mine affeftions taken by her eies. 
 
 Sonnet 22. 1. i, ' death .... of all my thoughtes ' ', ^ ' : I. 2, ' foule 
 appealeth '',';' appeales ' ' : 1. 3, ' For all too long on earth my fancy 
 dotes '',",": 1. 4, ' Whilft my beft blood my younge defires fealeth ' ', ^ ; 
 ' Whilft age vpoa my wafted body fteales ' ^ : 11. S — 14 — 
 
 ' That hart is now the profpecfliue of horror, 
 That honored hath the cruelft faire that lyueth : 
 The cruelft faire, that fees I languifli for her. 
 Yet neuer mercy to my merit giueth. 
 This is her Lawrell and her triumphes prize, 
 To tread me downe with foote of her difgrace : 
 Whilft I did builde my fortune in her eyes, 
 And laide my liues reft in fo faire a face ; 
 That reft I loft, my loue, my life and all. 
 So high attempts to lowe difgraces fall ' (', ^) : 
 
 in ' 1. 4 is ' That hart being made the profpedliue ' - ' Tyme ' and text of 
 a, first in '' and reprinted in °. 
 
52 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. XXIII. 
 
 Time, cruell time, come and fubdue that Brow 
 Which conquers all but thee, and thee too ftaies 
 As if fhe were exempt from Syeth or Bow, 
 From loue or yeares vnfubiefl to decaieg. 
 
 Or art thou growne in league with thofe faire eies 
 That they may helpe thee to confume our dales ? 
 Or doft thou fpare her for her cruelties, 
 Being merciles like thee that no man weies ? 
 
 And yet thou feeft thy powre fhe difobayes, 
 
 Cares not for thee, but lets thee wafte in vaine, 
 And prodigall of howers and yeares betraies 
 Beauty and youth t'opinion and difdaine. 
 
 Yet fpare her Time, let her exempted be. 
 
 She may become more kinde to thee or me. 
 
 Sonnet 23. First in ^ and reprinted in ' : I. 13, cap. T accepted from 
 
 4 5 
 » • 
 
 SONNET. XX nil. 
 
 THefe forrowing fighes, the fmoake of mine annoy, 
 Thefe teares, which heate of facred flame diftils, 
 Are thofe due tributes that my faith doth pay 
 Vnto the tyrant, whofe vnkindnes kils. 
 
 I facrifife my youth, and blooming yeares 
 At her proud feete, and fhe refpe6ls not it ; 
 My flower vntimely's withred with my teares : 
 And Winter woes, for fpring of youth vnfit. 
 
 She thinkes a looke may recompence my care, 
 And fo with lookes, prolongs my long-lookt eafe, 
 As fhort that bliffe, fo is the comfort rare. 
 Yet muft that bliffe my hungry thoughts appeafe. 
 
DELIA. 53 
 
 Thus fhe returnes ray hopes fo fruitleffe euer, 
 
 Once let her loue indeed, or els eye me neuer. 
 
 Sonnet 24. 1. i, 'fmoakes' ', ^ ' : 1. 2, , after 'teares' accepted from 
 ', ^ " : 1. 3, 'thefe '',';!. 10, ' eafe ' ', \ », accepted for ' cafe' of ', =, and 
 a ; also the hyphen ' long-lookt ' : 1. 14, ' eye me ' ', S ' — more quaint and 
 strong — accepted. This is Sonnet xxi. in 1592, and xxii. in '. 
 
 SONNET. XXV. 
 
 FAlfe Hope prolongs my euer certaine griefe, 
 Traitour to me, and faithfuU to my Loue : 
 A thoufand times it promif'd me reliefe, 
 Yet neuer any true effeft I proue. 
 
 Oft when I finde in her no truth at all, 
 I banifh her, and blame her trechery, 
 Yet foone againe I muft her backe recall, 
 As one that dies without her company. 
 
 Thus often as I chafe my hope from me, 
 
 Straight- way flie hafbs her vnto DELIAS eies: 
 Fed with fome pleafing looke there fhall fhe be, 
 And fo fent backe, and thus my fortune lies. 
 
 Lookes feed my Hope, Hope fofters me in vaine, 
 
 Hopes are vnfure, when certaine is my paine. 
 Sonnet 25. 1. 2, ' Traytrous ' ' ; ' Traytours ' '^. 
 
 SONNET. XXVI. 
 
 LOoke in my griefes, and blame me not to mourne, 
 From care to care that leades a life fo bad ; 
 Th'Orphan of Fortune, borne to be her fcorne, 
 Whofe clouded brow doth make my daies fo fad. 
 Long are their nights whofe cares do neuer fleepe, 
 Lothfome their daies, whom no fun euer ioyd, 
 Th'impreffion of her eyes do pearce fo deepe. 
 That thus I Hue both day and night annoyd. 
 
54 DELIA. 
 
 But fince the fweeteft roote yeelds fruite fo fowre, ^ 
 Her praife from my complaint I may not part : 
 I loue th'effeft the caufe being of this powre, 
 He praife her face, and blame her flinty heart. 
 
 Whilft we both make the world admire at vsT 
 
 Her for difdaine, and me for louing thus. 
 
 Sonnet 26. 1. i, ' mome ' ', ''— cf. Sonnet xvi., I. 2 : 1. 7, ' Her faireft 
 eyes doe penetrate ' ', ^ ' : 1. 9, ' doth yeeld thus much '',','; ibid., ' Sith ' * : 
 1. II, 'for that .... fuch ' ', ^ ^ : 1. 13, ' that we make ' ', \ \ 
 
 SONNET. XXVII: 
 
 OFt and in vaine my rebel thoughts haue ventred, 
 To ftop the paffage of my vanquifht hart : 
 
 And fhut thofe waies my friendly foe firft entred, 
 
 Hoping thereby to free my better part. 
 And whilft I garde thefe windowes of this forte, 
 
 Where my harts theefe to vexe me made her choice: 
 
 And thether all my forces doe tranfporte, 
 
 An other paffage opens at her voice. 
 Her voyce betraies me to her hand and eye : 
 
 My freedomes tyrants conquering all by arte. 
 
 But ah, what glorie can fhe get thereby, 
 
 With thee fuch powers to plague one filly harte. 
 Yet my foules foueraigne, fince I muft refigne, 
 Reigne in my thoughts, my loue and life are thine. 
 
 Sonnet 27. From ' and reprinted in ^ but not in ", *, ', or a. 
 
DELIA. SS 
 
 SONNET. XXVIII. 
 
 RAigne in my thoughts faire hand, fweete eye, rare 
 voice, 
 Poffeffe me whole, my hearts triumvirate : 
 Yet heauy heart to make fo hard a choife. 
 Of fuch as fpoile thy poore afflifled ftate. 
 
 For whilft they ftriue which fhall be Lord of all. 
 All my poore life by them is troden downe ; 
 They all ere6l their Trophies on my fall, 
 And yeeld me nought that giues them their renovvne. 
 
 When backe I looke, I f igh my freedome paft, 
 And waile the ftate wherein I prefent ftand : 
 And fee my fortune euer like to laft. 
 Finding me rain'd with fuch a heauy hand. 
 
 What can I do but yeeld ? and yeeld I doo, 
 
 And ferue all three, and yet they fp'oile me too. 
 
 Sonnet 28. No variations. 
 
 SONNET. XXIX. 
 
 To M. P. 
 
 Like as the fpotleffe Ermelin diftreft, 
 Circumpafl'd round with filth and lothfome mud: 
 Pines in her griefe, imprifoned in her neft, 
 And cannot iffue forth to feeke her good. 
 So I inuiron'd with a hatefuU want, 
 
 Looke to the heauens ; the heauens yeelde forth no 
 
 grace : 
 I fearch the earth, the earth I finde as fkant, 
 I view my felfe, my felfe in wofull cafe. 
 
56 DELIA. 
 
 Heauen nor earth will not, my felfe cannot wake 
 A way through want to free my foule from care : 
 But I muft pine, and in my pining lurke, 
 Leaft my fad lookes bewray me how I fare. 
 
 My fortune mantled with a clowde f'obfcure ; 
 
 Thus fliades my life fo long as wants endure. 
 
 Sonnets 29 and 30 appeared only in 1592 " (E 3 and E 3 veiso) — former 
 misnumbered xxxi.. as it follows xxviii., folio 29 after folio 28. They are 
 accepted and re-inserted. See our Memorial-Introduction on them, and 
 specially on the 'M. P.' of Sonnet 29. 
 
 SONNET. XXX. 
 
 MY cares draw on mine euerlafting night, 
 In horrors fable clowdes fets my liues funne : 
 My liues fweet funne, my deareft comforts light, 
 Will rife no more to me, whofe day is dunne. 
 
 I goe before vnto the Mirtle fhades. 
 
 To attend the prefence of my worlds Deere ; 
 And there prepare her flowres that neuer fades. 
 And all things fit againft her comming there. 
 
 If any afke me why fo foone I came. 
 
 He hide her finne and fay it was my lot : 
 In life and death He tender her good name. 
 My life nor death fhal neuer be her blot. 
 
 Although this world may feeme her deede to blame, 
 
 Th' Elifian ghofts (hall neuer know the fame. 
 
DELIA. 57 
 
 SONNET. XXXI. 
 
 Alluding to the Sparrow purfued by a Hawke, that 
 flew into the bofome of Zenocrates. 
 
 \T \ T Hilft by thy eies purfu'd, my poore heart 
 ' V flew 
 
 Into the facred Refuge of thy breft : 
 Thy rigor in that Sanftuary flew 
 That which thy fuccring mercy fhould haue bleft. 
 
 No priuiledge of faith could it proteft, 
 
 Faith being with blood, and fiue yeares witnes fign'd, 
 Wherein no fhew gaue caufe of leafl fufpeftj^^ 
 For well thou faw'ft my loue and how I ^n'd 
 
 Yet no mild comfort would thy Brow reueale, 
 No lightning lookes which falling hopes ereft : 
 What bootes to lawes of Succor to appeale ? 
 Ladies and Tyrants, neuer lawes refpeft. 
 
 Then there I die from whence my life fhould come, 
 
 And by that hand whom fuch deeds ill become. 
 
 Sonnet 31. The heading first in ' : 11. i, 3, ' it ' at close in ', s ' ; iiiti; 
 ' her ' for ' thy ' : 1. 2, ' bofome of my deereft; ' ',\' : 11. 3-14 — 
 ' She there in that fweete fan<5luary flew it. 
 Where it prefum'd his fafetie to be neereft. 
 
 My priuiledge of faith could not protecft it. 
 That was with blood and three yeeres witnes f igned : 
 In all which time Ihe neuer could fufpedl it, 
 For well flie fawe my loue, and how I pined. 
 
 And yet no comfort would her brow reueale mee. 
 No lightning looke, which falling hopes erefleth : 
 What bootes to lawes of fuccour to appeale mee ? 
 Ladies and tyrants neuer lawes refpedleth. 
 Then there I dye, where hop'd I to haue liuen ; 
 And by that hand, which better might haue given ' (', ^ '). 
 
58 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. XXX IT. 
 
 THe Starre of my mifhap impofd this paine 
 To fpend the Aprill of my yeares in griefe: 
 Finding my fortune euer in the waine 
 With ftill frefh cares, fupplide with no reliefe. 
 
 Yet thee I blame not, though for thee tis done, 
 But thefe weake whings prefuming to afpire, 
 Which now are melted by thine eyes bright fun, 
 That makes me fall from oif my hie defire. 
 
 And in my fall I crye for helpe with fpeede, 
 No pittying eye lookes backe vpon my feares : 
 No fuccour finde I now when moft I neede, 
 My heates muft drowne in th'Ocean of my teares. 
 
 Which ftill muft beare the title of my wrong, 
 
 Cauf d by thofe cruell beames that were fo ftrong. 
 
 Sonnet 32 is xxvn. of, xxxi. of ^ xxix. of ^ xxxi. of, = and a : I. i, 
 ' payning ' ', ' : 1. 2, ' wayling ' ', ^ : 1. 3, ' That neuer found my fortune 
 but in wayning ' ', ^ : 1. 4, ' my prefent woes affayling ' ', "^ : 1. 5, ' her 
 ... (he might haue bleft mee '',''; 1. 6, ' But my def ires wings fo high 
 afpiring ' ', ^ : 1. 7, ' Now melted with the funne that hath polTeft mee '",'': 
 1. 8, ' Downe now I fall from off my high defiring' ', '^ ; 1. 9, 'doe cry for 
 mercy fpeedy ' ', "^ : I. 10, 'mourning'',^:!. 11, 'helpel . . . when now 
 moft fauour neede I ' ', ^ : I. 12, ' Th' Ocean of my teares muft drowne 
 me burning '','*: 1. 13, ' And this my death chriften her anew ' ', ^ : 1. 14, 
 ' And giue the cniell Faire her tytle dew.' 
 
 s 
 
 SONNET. XXXIII. 
 
 Till in the trace of one perplexed thought, 
 My ceafles cares continually run on : 
 Seeking in vaine what I haue euer fought, 
 One in my loue, and her hard hart ftill one. 
 
DELIA. 
 
 I who did neuer ioy in other Sun, 
 
 And haue no ftars but thofe, that muft fulfill 
 The worke of rigor, fatally begun 
 Vpon this heart, whom cruelty will kill. 
 
 Iniurious Delia yet I loue thee ftill. 
 
 And will whilft I fhall draw this breath of mine, 
 
 He tell the world that I deferu'd but ill. 
 
 And blame my felfe t'excufe that heart of thine. 
 
 See then who f innes the greater of vs twaine, 
 
 I in my loue, or thou in thy difdaine. 
 
 Sonnet 33. Not in ', ^ : first in ' and reprinted in *, ° and a : ' 
 diCFerent that it must be reproduced here — 
 
 ' Still in the trace of my tormented thought, 
 
 My ceafeleffe cares muft martch on to my death : 
 Thy leaft regard too deerlie haue I bought, 
 Who to my comfort neuer deign'ft a breath. 
 
 Why ftiould'ft thou ftop thine eares now to my cryes, 
 Whofe eyes were open, ready to opprelTe me ? 
 Why fhutt'ft thou not the caufe whence al did rife, 
 Or heare me now, and feeke how to redrefle me ? 
 
 Iniurious Delia, yet lie loue thee ftill, 
 
 Whilft that I breathe in forrow of my fmart : 
 He tell the world that I deferu'd but ill, 
 And blame my felfe for to excufe thy hart. 
 
 Then iudge who f innes the greater of vs twaine, 
 
 I in my loue, or thou in thy difdaine.' 
 
 59 
 
 SONNET. XXXII II. 
 
 Ft do I maruell, whether Delias eies, 
 
 Are eyes, or els two radiant ftarres that fhine 
 For how could Nature euer thus deuife, 
 Of earth on earth a fubftance fo diuine. 
 
 o 
 
6o DELIA. 
 
 Starres fure they are, whofe motions rule defires, 
 And ealme and tempeft follow their afpefts : 
 Their fweet appearing ftill fuch power infpires, 
 That makes the world admire fo ftrange effefls, 
 
 Yet whether fixt or wandring ftarres are they, 
 
 Whofe influence rule the Orbe of my poore hart ? 
 Fixt fure they are, but wandring make me flray, 
 In endles errors, whence I cannot part. 
 
 Starres then, not eyes, moue you with a milder view, 
 
 Your fweet afpefl; on him that honours you. 
 
 Somiet 34. Not in ', " : first in ', and reprinted in ■*, '. and a. 
 
 SONNET. XXXV. 
 
 ANd yet I cannot reprehend the flight, 
 Or blame th'attempt prefuming fo to fore ; 
 The mounting venter for a high delight. 
 Did make the honour of the fall the more. 
 For who gets wealth that puts not from the fhore ? 
 Danger hath honor, great defignes their fame, 
 Glory doth follow, courage goes before. 
 And though th'euent oft anfwers not the fame, 
 Suffice that high attempts haue neuer fhame. 
 The meane obferuer (whom bafe fafety keeps) 
 Liues without honour, dies without a name, 
 And in eternall darkneffe euer fleeps. 
 And therefore Delia, tis to me no blot. 
 To haue attempted, though attaind thee not. 
 
 Sonnet 33. Not in ', ^ : first in ' (xxx.), and reprinted in ', ° and a. 
 
DELIA. 6i 
 
 SONNET. XXX VL 
 
 RAifing my hopes on hills of high defire, 
 Thinking to fcale the heauen of her hart, 
 My {lender meanes prefum'd too high a part ; 
 Her thunder of difdaine forfb me retire, 
 
 And threw me downe to paine in all this fire. 
 Where loe I languifh in fo heauy finart, 
 Recaufe th'attempt was farre aboue my art : 
 Her pride brook'd not poore foules (hould fo afpire. 
 
 Yet I proteft my high defiring will 
 
 Was not to difpoffeffe her of her right : 
 Her foueraignty Ihould haue remained ftill, 
 I onely fought the bliffe to haue her fight. 
 
 Her fight contented thus to fee me fpill, 
 
 Fram'd my defires iit for her eyes to kill. 
 
 Sonnet 36. 1. 4, a badly inserts ' to ' before ' retire ' : 1. 8, ' fliould 
 come fo nye her ' ', ^, ^ : 1. 9, ' afpyring ' ', ^, ^ 
 
 SONNET. XXXVII. 
 
 '\ T\. T^y dooii. thou Delia credit fo thy glaffe, 
 \ \ Gazing thy beauty deign'd thee by the 
 fkies : 
 And doeft not rather looke on him (alas) 
 Whofe ftate beft fhewes the force of murdering eies ? 
 The broken tops of lofty trees declare 
 The fury of a mercy-wanting ftorme ; 
 And of what force thy wounding graces are, • 
 Vpon my felfe thou befl mayft finde the forme : 
 
62 DELIA. 
 
 Then leaue thy glaffe, and gaze thy felfe on me, 
 That Mirror fhewes what power is in thy face : 
 To view your forme too much, may danger bee, 
 NarciJJus chang'd t'a flower in fuch a cafe. 
 
 And you are chang'd, but not t'a Hiacint ; 
 
 I feare your eye hath turnd your heart to flint. 
 
 Sonnet 37. I. i, ' O why dooth Delia . . . her ' ', ^ ' : 1. 2, 'her ' for 
 •thy' and 'thee' ', ==, ' : 1. 3, 'dooth' ', ^»: 1. 8, 'you ... may ' 
 ', S = : 11.7,9.10, 'your.' 
 
 SONNET. XXXVIII. 
 
 I Once may fee when yeares fhall wreck my wrong, 
 When golden haires fhall change to filuer wier : 
 And thofe bright raies that kindle all this fire, 
 Shall faile in force, their working not fo ftrong : 
 
 Then beauty (now the burthen of my fong) 
 
 VVhofe glorious blaze the world doth fo admire, 
 
 Muft yeeld vp all to tyrant Times defire ; 
 
 Then fade thofe flowers that deckt her pride fo long. 
 
 When, if fhe grieue to gaze her in her glaffe, 
 Which, then prefents her winter-withered hew, 
 Goe you my verfe, go tell her what fhe was ; 
 For what fhe was, fhe befl fhall find in you. 
 
 Your firy heate lets not her glory paffe, 
 
 But (Phaenix-like) fhall make her Hue anew. 
 
 Sonnet 38. 1. 8, • which ' ', ». 
 
DELIA. 63 
 
 SONNET. XXXIX. ^ 
 
 LOoke Delia how w'efteeme the halfe blowne 
 Rofe, 
 The image of thy blufh and Sommers honor : 
 Whilft yet her tender bud doth vndifclofe 
 That full of beauty, time beftowes vpon her. 
 
 No fooner fpreads her glory in the ayre, 
 
 But ftraight her wide blowne pomp comes to decline : 
 She then is fcornd that late adornd the Fayre ; 
 So fade the Rofes of thofe cheeks of thine. 
 
 No Aprill can reuiue thy withered flowres, 
 
 Whofe fpringing grace adorns thy glory now : 
 Swift fpeedy Time, feathred with flying houres, 
 Diffolues the beauty of the faireft brow. 
 
 Then do not thou fuch treafure waft in vaine, 
 
 But loue now whilft thou maift be lou'd againe. 
 
 Sonnet 39. 1. i, 'wee fteeme' ', ^ ^ : I. 3 — 
 
 ' in . . . greene (he doth inclofe, 
 That pure fweete beautie, Time ' (', ^ = 
 1. 6, ' ful-blowne pride is in declyning ' ', ^ ' : 1. 8, ' So clowdes thy 
 beautie, after fayreft ihining ' ', ■', ' : 1. 10, ' blooming ", ^ ' : ibid., ' thy ' 
 for ' the ' misprint of a — accepted : 1. 13, ' O let not their . . . riches ' 
 ',','■ 1. 14, ' loue whilft that thou ' ', \ ^ 
 
 SONNET. XL. 
 
 BVt loue whilft that thou maift be lou'd againe, 
 Now whilft thy May hath fild thy lap with 
 flowers, 
 Now whilft thy beauty beares without a ftaine ; 
 Now vfe the Sommer fmiles, ere Winter lowers. 
 And whilft thou fpreadft vnto the rifing funne, 
 
64 DELIA. 
 
 The faireft flowre that euer faw the light, 
 Now ioy thy time before thy fweet be done. 
 And (Delia) thinke thy morning muft haue night, 
 And that thy brightnes fets at length to Weft, 
 
 When thou wilt clofe vp that which now thou fliow'ft, 
 And thinke the fame becomes thy fading beft. 
 Which then fliall moft inuaile and fhadow moft. 
 Men do not -^^y the ftalke for that it was. 
 When once they find her flowre her glory pas. 
 
 Sonnet 40. 1. 7, ' thy ' twice inserted in a before fweet ' : in ', ', spelt 
 ' dunne'— so frequently : 1. 12, ' hide it moft, and couer loweft ' ', ^ '. 
 
 SONNET. XLI. / 
 
 T T"! 7" Hen men fliall find thy flower, thy glory 
 V V paffe, 
 And thou with carefuU brow fitting alone : 
 Receiued haft this meffage from thy glaffe. 
 That tells the truth, and fayes that all is gone ; 
 
 Frefli fhalt thou fee in me the wounds thou madft. 
 Though fpent thy flame, in me the heat remaining, 
 I that haue lou'd thee thus before thou fadft, 
 My faith fliall waxe, when thou are in thy waining. 
 
 The world fhall finde this myracle in me, 
 
 That fire can burne when all the matter's fpent : 
 Then what my faith hath bene thy felfe Ihall fee, 
 And that thou waft vnkinde, thou mayft repent. 
 
 Thou maift repent that thou haft fcornd my teares, 
 
 When winter fnowes vpon thy fable haires. 
 
 Sonnet4l. 1. 4, 'thee": 1. 11, 'flialt' ', ^ ' = 1. 14, 'golden heares' 
 
 I 2 S 
 
DELIA. 6s 
 
 SONNET. XLII. "^ 
 
 "\ 7^ ^ 7" Hen winter fnowes vpon thy fable haires, 
 V V -And froft of age hath nipt thy beauties 
 neere, 
 When darke fhall feeme thy day that neuer cleares, 
 And all lies withred that was held fo deere. 
 
 Then take this picture which I here prefent thee, 
 Limmed with a Penfill not all vnworthy : 
 Here fee the gifts that God and nature lent thee, 
 Here read thy felfe, and what I fuffred for thee. 
 
 This may remaine thy lafting monurnent, 
 Which happily pofterity may cherrifh, 
 Thefe colours with thy fading are not fpent, 
 Thefe may remaine when thou and I (hall perifh. 
 
 If they remaine, then thou fhalt Hue thereby. 
 
 They will remaine, and fo thou canfb not die. 
 Sonnet 42. 1. i, 'golden' •,",": 1. 2, ' flowers ' ', ^, '. 
 
 SONNET. XLIII. -^ 
 
 THou canft not die whilft any zeale abound 
 In feeling hearts that can conceiue thefe lines ; 
 Though thou a Laura haft no Petrarch found. 
 In bafe attire, yet cleerly Beauty ftiines. 
 And I (though borne within a colder clime,) 
 
 Do feele mine inward heat as great (I know it :) 
 He neuer had more faith, although more rime, 
 I loue as well, though he could better fhow it. 
 But I may adde one feather to thy fame. 
 
 To helpe her flight throughout the faireft He, 
 And if my pen could more enlarge thy name. 
 Then fliouldft thou liue in an immortall ftile. 
 
 5 
 
66 DELIA, 
 
 For though that Laura better limned be, 
 Suffice, thou fhalt be lou'd as well as fliee. 
 Sonnet 43. 1. 4, , accepted after ' attire ' ', ', '. 
 
 SONNET. XLIIII. 
 
 BE not difpleafd that thefe my papers fhould 
 Bewray vnto the world how faire thou art : 
 Or that my wits haue fliewed the beft they could. 
 (The chaftefl flame that euer warmed hart) 
 
 Thinke not (fweet Delia) this fhall be thy fhame, 
 MyMufe Ihould found thy praife with mournfuU warble: 
 How many Hue, the glory of whofe name 
 Shall reft in Ife, when thine is grau'd in Marble. 
 
 Thou maift in after ages Hue efteem'd, 
 
 Vnburied in thefe lines referu'd in purenes ; 
 Thefe fhall intombe thofe eies, that haue redeem'd 
 Me from the vulgar, thee from all obfcurenes. 
 
 Although my carefull accents neuer moou'd thee. 
 
 Yet count it no difgrace that I haue lou'd thee. 
 
 Sonnet 44, 1. i, ' O be not grieu'd ' ', ^ ' : ', ° and a badly ' difplead ' •- 
 1. 7, ' lines' ', S ' : 1. 8, ' misprinted ' yee.' 
 
 SONNET. XLV. 
 
 DELIA, thefe eyes that fo admireth thine, 
 Haue feene thofe walls which proud ambition 
 rear'd 
 To check the world, how they intomb'd haue lien 
 Within therafelues, and on them ploughs haue ear'd. 
 Yet neuer found that barbarous hand attaind 
 The fpoyle of fame deferu'd by vertuous men ; 
 Whofe glorious aftions luckily had gaind 
 Th'eternall Annals of a happy pen. 
 
DELIA. 67 
 
 And therefore grieue not if thy beauties die, 
 Though time do fpoyle thee of the faireft vaile 
 That euer yet couered mortality, 
 And muft inftarre the Needle, and the Raile. 
 
 That Grace which doth more then in woman thee, 
 
 Liues in my lines, and multeternall bee. 
 
 Sonnet 45. 1. 2, ' the which ambition ' ', ^ ^ : 1. 5, ' for all that no ' 
 ', -, " : 1. 8, ' Annals ' ' : 1. 9, Why then though Delia fade, let that not 
 moue her ' ',',': 1. II, ' mortallitie did couer ' ', ^, ' : 1. 12, ' which fhall 
 . . . trayle ' ', ^ ' : 1. 13, ' grace, that vertue, all that feru'd t' in woman ' 
 
 SONNET. XL VI. 
 
 MOft faire and louely Maide, looke from the fhore, 
 See thy Leander ftriuing in thefe wanes : 
 Poore foule quite fpent, whofe force can do no more, 
 Now fend forth hope, for now calme pitty faues. 
 
 And waft him to thee with thofe louely eies, 
 A happy conuoy to a holy Land : 
 Now fhew thy power, and where thy vertue lies, 
 To faue thine owne, ftretch out the faireft hand. 
 
 Stretch out the faireft hand, a pledge of peace ; 
 That hand that dartis fo right and neuer miffes : 
 I Ihall forget old wrongs, my griefes fhall ceafe ; 
 And that which gaue me wounds, He giue it kiffes. 
 
 Once let the Ocean of my cares finde fhore, 
 
 That thou be pleaf'd, and I may figh no more. 
 
 Sonnet 46. 1. I, 'Faire and louely' ', ^ " : 1. 3, 'fore-fpent' ' : 1. 5, 
 a badly misprints 'waft' : 1. 11, 'He not reuenge . . . wiath' ", \ '.: 
 1, 13, ' For '','=,' = \' print 'gius.' 
 
68 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. XL VII. 
 
 Ead in my face, a volume of difpaires, 
 The wailing Iliads of my tragicke woe : 
 Drawne with my blood, and painted with my cares, 
 Wrought by her hand that I haue honour'd fo. 
 
 Who whilft I burne, fhe fings at my foules wrack. 
 Looking aloft from turret of her pride : 
 There my foules tyrant ioyes her, in the fack 
 Of her owne feate, whereof I made her guide. 
 
 There do thefe fmoakes that from afiEliflion rife, 
 Serue as an incenfe to a cruell Dame : 
 A facrifice thrice-gratefull to her eies, 
 Becaufe their power ferue to exafl the fame. 
 
 Thus ruines fhe (to fatisfie her will,) 
 
 The temple, where her name was honour'd ftill. 
 
 » 
 
 Sonnet 47. 1. i, , after ' face ' accepted ', S ' : 1. 3, ' printed ' ',',': 
 last 1., , after 'Temple ' accepted ', ■, '. 
 
 SONNET. XLVIII. 
 
 MY Delta hath the waters of mine eies. 
 The ready handmayds on her grace t'attend : 
 That neuer fall to ebbe, but euer rife. 
 For to their flow fhe neuer grants an end. 
 Th'Ocean neuer did attend more duly 
 
 Vpon his fouereignes courfe, the nights pale Queene, 
 Nor payd the impoft of his wanes more truly, 
 Then mine vnto her cruelty hath beene. 
 
DELIA. 69 
 
 Yet nought the rocke of that hard heart can moue, 
 Where beat thefe teares with zeale, and fury driues : 
 And yet I'd rather languifh for her loue, 
 Then I would ioy the faireft flie that Hues. 
 And if I finde fuch pleafure to complaine, 
 What fliould I do then, if I fhould obtaine ? 
 
 ^[Sonnet 48. 1. I, 'Cynthia' ', ■': 1. 2, 'attending' ', ^ " : a badly 'but 
 neuer dries ' from '','';'' giues the true reading ' but euer rife ' — accepted : 
 1. 4, 'ending '',*,': 1. 8, ' to her in truth haue euer beene ' ', S ' : ibid., 
 ' Deitie become ' ' : 1. 10, ' thefe ' accepted ", ^ * : a badly ' their ' from ', * : 
 iiui., 'driueth' ', ^ ^ : 1. n, 'for' ', ^ » : 'I'd' for 'I': 1. 12, 'liueth' 
 ',',': 11. 13, 14- 
 
 ' I doubt to finde fuch pleafure in my gayning. 
 As now I tafte in compas of complayning ' (', ^ *). 
 
 SONNET. XLIX. 
 
 HOw long fhall I in mine affliftion mourne } 
 A burden to my felfe, diftreft in minde : 
 When fhall my interdifted hopes returne, 
 From out difpaire, wherein they Hue confinde i 
 
 When fhal her troubled brow charg'd with difdaine 
 Reueale the treafure which her fmiles impart .' 
 When fhall my faith the happines attaine. 
 To breake the Ife that hath congeald her heart ? 
 
 Vnto her felfe, her felfe my loue doth fommon, 
 (If loue in her hath any power to moue,) 
 And let her tell me as fhe is a woman. 
 Whether my faith hath not deferu'd her loue .' 
 
 I know her heart cannot but iudge with me, 
 
 Although her eyes my aduerfaries be. 
 
 Sonnet 49. 1. I, 'mome' ', ''— of. Sonnet xvi., 1. 2: 1. 5, 'troubled' 
 in errata ', as dropped : 11. 13, 14 — 
 
 ' I knowe fhe cannot but muft needes confeffe it, 
 Yet deignes not with one f imple figne t'exprefle it ' (', ', '). 
 
70 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. L. '^ 
 
 BEatitie (fweet Loue) is in<e the morning dew, 
 Whofc fhort refrefli vpon the tender greene 
 Cheeres for a time, but till the Sunne doth fhew, 
 And ftraight tis gone as it had neuer beene. 
 
 Soone doth it fade that makes the faireft florilh, 
 Short is the glory of the blufhing Rofe : 
 The hew which thou fo carefully doft norifh, 
 Yet which at length thou muft be forc'd to lofe. 
 
 When thou furcharg'd with burthen of thy yeeres, 
 Shalt bend thy wrinckles homeward to the earth, 
 And that in Beauties leafe expir'd, appeares 
 The date of Age, the Kalends of our death. 
 
 But ah ! no more, this muft not be foretold, 
 
 For women grieue to thinke they muft be old. 
 
 Sonnet 50. II. 11, 12 — 
 
 ' When tyme hath made a pafport for thy feares, 
 Dated in age . . .' (', ^ ') : 
 1. 13, ' hath beene often tolde ''.',': 1. 14, ' And.' 
 
 SONNET. LI. 
 
 I Muft not grieue my Loue, whofe eies would reede 
 Lines of delight, whereon her youth might fmile : 
 Flowers haue a time before they come to feede, 
 And ftie is yong, and now muft fport the while. 
 Ah fport (fweet Maide) in feafon of thefe yeares. 
 And leame to gather flowers before they wither : 
 And where the fweeteft bloffomes firft appeares, 
 Let loue and youth conduft thy pleafures thither. 
 
DELIA. 71 
 
 Lighten foorth fmiles to cleere the clouded aire, 
 And calme the tempeft which my f ighs doo raife : 
 Pitty and fmiles doe beft become the faire, 
 Pitty and fmiles muft onely yeeld thee praife. 
 Make me to fay, when all my griefes are gone, 
 Happy the heart that f igh'd for fuch a one. 
 
 Sonnet 51. 1. 3, 'a* dropped by a inadvertently; 1. Ji 'Ah,' ', ^' 
 accepted for ' And ' of a and S ' - 1. 12, ' fliall yeeld thee lafting ' ', ^ ' : 
 1. 13, ' I hope ' ', ^ ». 
 
 SONNET, LIT. 
 At the Authors going into Italic. 
 
 ANd whither (poore forfaken) wilt thou goe, 
 To goe from forrow, and thine owne diftreffe ? 
 When euery place prefents like face of woe. 
 And no remoue can make thy forrowes leffe ? 
 
 Yet goe (forfaken) leaue thefe Woods, thefe plaines, 
 Leaue her and all, and all for her that leaues 
 Thee and thy Loue forlorne, and both difdaines : 
 And of both, wrongfull deemes, and ill conceiues. 
 
 Seeke out fome place, and fee if any place 
 Can giue the leaft releafe vnto thy griefe : 
 Conuay thee from the thought of thy difgrace, 
 Steale from thy felfe, and be thy cares owne thiefe. 
 
 But yet, what comforts fhall I hereby gaine ? 
 
 Bearing the wound, I needes muft feele the paine. 
 
 Sonnet 52, Not in ', '^ : heading accepted from ' : 1. i, ■ O Whether ' '. 
 
72 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. LIIL 
 
 IF This Sonnet was made at the Authors beeing in 
 Italie. 
 
 DRawne with th'atraftiue vertue of her eyes, 
 My toucht heart turnes it to that happy coft : 
 My ioyfull North, where all my fortune lies, 
 The leuell of my hopes defired moft, 
 
 There where my Delia fairer then the Sunne, 
 
 Deckt with her youth whereon the world doth fmile, 
 loyes in that honor which her eyes haue wonne, 
 Th'eternall wonder of our happy He. 
 
 Florifh faire Albion, glory of the North, 
 
 Neptunes befl darling, held betweene his armes : 
 Diuided from the world, as better worth, 
 Kept for himfelfe, defended from all harmes. 
 
 Still let difarmed peace decke her and thee : 
 
 And Mufe-foe Mars, abroad farre foftred bee. 
 
 Sonnet 53. Heading from ' accepted : 1. 5, a badly misprints ' were ' = 
 1. 6, ' fmyleth ", ^ = : 1. 7, ' beautie wonne ' ', ^ ' : 1. 8, ' Th' eternall 
 volume which her fame compyleth ' ', '^ : 1. 10, 'Neptunes darling' ', ^ : 
 ibid., misprinted ' arme ' in a. 
 
 SONNET. LIIII. 
 
 C Are-charmer Sleepe, fonne of the fable night, 
 Brother to death, in filent darknes borne : 
 Relieue my languifh, and reftore the light, 
 With darke forgetting of my care returne. 
 And let the day be time enough to mourne 
 The fhipwracke of my ill aduentred youth : 
 Let waking eyes fuffice to waile their fcorne. 
 Without the torment of the nights vntruth. 
 
DELIA. y^ 
 
 Ceafe dreames, th'I mages of day defires, 
 
 To modell forth the paffions of the morrow : 
 Neuer let rifing Sunne approue you liers, 
 To adde more griefe to aggrauate my forrow. 
 Still let me fleepe, imbracing clouds in vaine, 
 And neuer wake to feele the dayes difdaine. 
 
 Sonnet 54. 1. 5, ' mome ' ', ", as before : 1. 9, ' th' ymagery of our 
 day■^^». 
 
 SONNET. LV. *^ 
 
 LEt others f ing of Knights and Palladines ; 
 In aged accents, and vntimely words : 
 Paint fhadowes in imaginary lines, 
 Which well the reach of their high wits records ; 
 
 But I muft fing of thee, and thofe faire eies, 
 Autentique Ihall my verfe in time to come, 
 When yet th'vnborne fhall fay, Lo where fhe lies, 
 Whofe beauty made him fpeake that elfe was 
 dombe. 
 
 Thefe are the Arkes, the Trophies I ereft. 
 That fortifie thy name againft old age : 
 And thefe thy facred vertues muft proteft, 
 Againft the darke and times confuming rage. 
 
 Though th'error of my youth in them appeare. 
 
 Suffice, they fhew I liu'd and lou'd thee deare. 
 
 Sonnet 55. 1. 13, ' they fliall difcouer ' 
 
74 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. LVI. 
 
 AS to the Roman that would free his Land, 
 His error was his honour and renowne : 
 And more the fame of his miftaking hand, 
 Then if he had the tyrant ouer-throwne. 
 
 So Delia, hath mine error made me knowne. 
 And my deceiu'd attempt, deferu'd more fame ; 
 Then if I had the vi6lory mine owne : 
 And thy hard heart had yeelded vp the fame. 
 
 And fo likewife, renowmed is thy blame. 
 Thy cruelty, thy glory ; O ftrange cafe 
 That errors fhould be grac'd that merit fhame, 
 And f inne of frownes bring honour to the face. 
 
 Yet happy DELIA that thou waft vnkind, 
 
 Though happier far if thou wouldft change thy mind. 
 
 Sonnet 56. First in ": 1. 14, "yet ' '. 
 
 SONNET. LVII. 
 
 Like as the Lute delights or els diflikes, 
 As is his art that playes vpon the fame : 
 So founds my Mufe according as flie ftrikes 
 On my heart-ftrings high tun'd vnto her fame. 
 Her touch doth caufe the warble of the found, 
 • Which here I yeeld in lamentable wife : 
 A wayling defcant on the fweeteft ground, 
 VVhofe due reports giue honor to her eyes. 
 
DELIA. 75 
 
 Elfe harfh my ftile, vntunable my Mufe, 
 
 Hoarce founds the voyce that prayfeth not her 
 name ; 
 
 If any pleafing relifh here I vfe, 
 
 Then iudge the world her beauty giues the fame. 
 For no ground els could make the Muficke fuch, 
 Nor other hand could giue fo true a touch. 
 
 Sonnet S7- I. i, ' that ioyes ' ', ^ " : 11. 13, 14 — 
 ' O happie ground that makes .... 
 And bleffed hand that giues fo fweete '('.",')• 
 
 SONNET. LVIIL 
 
 NOne other fame mine vnambitious Mufe, 
 Affefled euer, but t'eternize thee : 
 All other honors doe my hopes refufe, 
 Which meaner priz'd and momentary bee. 
 
 For God forbid I Ihould my Papers blot, 
 With mercenary lines, with feruile Pen : 
 Praifing vertues in them that haue them not, 
 Bafely attending on the hopes of men. 
 
 No, no, my Verfe refpe6ls not Thames nor Theaters, 
 Nor feekes it to be knowne vnto the Great, 
 But Auon rich in fame, though poore in waters. 
 Shall haue my Song, where Delia hath her feat: 
 
 Auoti fhall be my Thames, and ftie my Song, 
 
 No other prouder Brookes fliall heare my wrong. 
 
 Sonnet 58. 1. 11, ' rich' ', ^ ', accepted for 'poore' of % ■■, ^ arid a \ 
 also ' though ' for ' and ' ; 1. 14, ' lie found her name the Ryuer all along ' 
 
76 DELIA. 
 
 SONNET. LIX. 
 
 VNhappy Pen, and ill-accepted lines 
 That intimate in vaine my chafte defire : 
 My chafte defire, which from darke forrow fhines, 
 Inkindled by her eyes celeftiall fire. 
 
 Celeftiall fire, and vnrefpefting powres 
 
 Which pitty not the wounds made by their might, 
 Shew'd in thefe lines, the worke^pf careful! houres, 
 The facrifice here offred to her fight. 
 
 But fince fhe weighs them not, this refts for me, 
 He mone my felfe, and hide the wrong I haue : 
 And fo content me that her frownes fhould be 
 To m'infant ftile the Cradle, and the Graue. 
 
 What though my Mufe no honor get thereby, 
 
 Each Bird f ings to her felfe, and fo will I. 
 
 Sonnet 59. 1. i, 'papers ' ', ^ ' : 1. 2, 'defiers' ', ^ ": 1. 3, 'defiers, 
 the euer burning tapers ' ', ', ^ : 1. 4, ' tiers ' ', ^, ' : 1. 5, '.fiers ' ', ^ ' : 
 1. 6, ' Tliat deigne not view the glory of your '',',';]. 7, ' In humble 
 lines ' ', ^ ' : I. 8, ' I offer ' ', ^ = : 1. 9, ' fith ' W : ibid., ' fcomes her 
 ': 1. 13, 'felfe' ', S »• 
 
 SONNET. LX. 
 
 LO here the impofh of a faith entire 
 Which loue doth pay, and her difdaine extorts: 
 Behold the meffage of a chafb defire 
 Which tells the world how much my griefe imports. 
 Thefe tributary paffions, beauties due, 
 I fend those eyes the cabinets of loue : 
 That Cruelty her felfe might grieue to view 
 Th'affli6lion her vnkind difdaine doth moue. 
 
DELIA. 
 
 11 
 
 And how I Hue caft downe from off all myrth, 
 Penfiue alone, onely but with Difpaire : 
 My ioyes abortiue, perifh in their byrth. 
 My griefes long liu'd, and care fucceeding care. 
 
 This is my ftate, and Delias heart is fuch, 
 
 I fay no more, I feare I fayd too much. 
 
 Sonnet 60. 1. i, ' vnfaining ' ', ^ ' : 1. 2, ' That loue hath paide .... 
 extortes ' ', ^ ' : 1. 3, ' my iuft complayning ' ', ^ = : 1. 4, ' That fliewes 
 . . . imported '','',': 1. 5, ' plaintes fraught with defire '',-.':!, 7, 
 ' The Paradice whereto my hopes afpire ' ', S ' : 11. 8, 9 — 
 ' From out this hell, which mine afflidlions proue. 
 
 Wherein I thus doe liue caft do'mie from myrth ' (', ^ ^) : 
 1. 10, 'none but defpayre about mee' ', ^ '; 1. 11, 'periflit at' ', ', ' — 
 ' periflit' accepted for 'perifh' from *, = and a: 1. 12, ' carres . . . will 
 not dye without mee ' ', -, ^ : ' Finis ' ', ^ ^ ; 1. 14, qu. — ' I've ' ? 
 
 The Ode and other related Poems appended will be found under 'IX. 
 Occasional Poems.' 
 
in. 
 THE COMPLAINT OF ROSAMOND. 
 
 1592. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 As shown by the title-pages of 1592 (ist and 2nd edition), the ' Complaint 
 of Kofaraond ' accompanied the ' Sonnets to Delia ' ; and so in ', ', °, and 
 a. Our text (as throughout) is the 4to of 1623 ; but underneath the various 
 readings, additions, etc., of the earlier texts are recorded. 
 
 In 1594 edition (Malone 354) on last leaf (verso) the following notes are 
 written : — 
 
 Epitaphium. 
 
 Hie jacet in tombo Rofa mundi non Rofa munda. 
 
 Non redolet fed olet, quae redolere folet. 
 
 Heer lyes intoumbd w'^in this compaft ftone, 
 ffayre Kofamond, not nowe the world's fayre rofa ; 
 Who whilome fweeteft fmelt, foUow'd by none, 
 Doth nowe w"" deadly flaunch infeft -f nofe. 
 
 F. L. 
 
 AND 
 
 This marble flone doth heere enclofe 
 
 The worlds fa)Te not now fweete rofe, 
 
 In whome too late the worlds repofe 
 
 Doth nowe w* flinch offende the nofe. 
 
 F.d. 
 See Memorial-Introduction on Mr. J. Payne Collier's reprints of the early 
 texts of the ' Complaint.' A. B. G 
 
THE 
 COMPLAINT OF 
 
 Rofamond, 
 
 OVt from the horror of infemall deepes, 
 My poore Jififlifted ghoft comes here to plain it, 
 Attended with my fhame that neuer fleepes, 
 The fpot wherewith my kind, and youth did ftaine it. 
 My body found a graue where to containe it : 
 A fheete could hide my face, but not my fin, 
 For Fame findes neuer Tombe t'inclofe it in. 
 
 And which is worfe, my foule is now denied, 
 
 Her tranfport to the fweet Elifian reft, 
 
 The ioyfull bliffe for Ghofts repurified, lO 
 
 The euer-fpringing Gardens of the bleft : 
 
 Caron denies me waftage with the reft. 
 
 And faies my foule can neuer paffe the Riuer, 
 Till Louers fighs on earth fliall it deliuer. 
 
 So fhall I neuer paffe ; for how Ihould I 
 Procure this facrifice amongft the liuing .' 
 Time hath long fince worne out the memorie 
 Both of my life, and Hues vniuft depriuing : 
 Sorrow for me is dead for aye reuiuing. 
 
 Rofamond hath little left her but her name, 20 
 
 And that difgrac'd, for time hath wrong'd the fame. 
 
 1. 4, , accepted from ', '': also : after 'it' for . : 1. 9, 'Elifean' ' : 1. 18, 
 :for,^^». 
 
 6 
 
82 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 No Mufe fuggefts the pitty of my cafe, 
 Each Pen doth ouerpaffe my iufb complaint, 
 Whilft others are prefer'd, though farre more bafe ; 
 Shores wife is grac'd, and paffes for a Saint ; 
 Her Legend iuftifies her foule attaint. 
 
 Eer well-told tale did fuch compalTion finde. 
 That fhe is pafs'd, and I am left behinde. 
 
 Which feene with griefe, my miferable Ghoft, 
 (Whilome inuefted in fo faire a vaile, 30 
 
 Which whilft it liu'd, was honoured of the moft, 
 And being dead, giues matter to bewaile,) 
 Comes to follicite thee, (whilft others faile) 
 To take this tafke, and in thy wofull fong 
 To forme my cafe, and regifter my wrong. 
 
 Although I know thy iuft lamenting Mufe, 
 Toill'd in th'affliftion of thine owne diftreffe. 
 In others cares hath little time to vfe. 
 And therefore maift efteeme of mine the leffe : 
 Yet as thy hopes attend happy redrefle, 40 
 
 The ioyes depending on a womans grace. 
 So moue thy minde a wofull womans cafe. 
 
 Delia may hap to deigne to reade our Story, 
 And offer vp her fighs among the reft, 
 Whofe merit would fuffice for both our glory, 
 Whereby thou might'ft be grac'd and I be bleft ; 
 That indulgence would profit me the beft. 
 
 Such powre Ihe hath by whom thy youth is led, 
 To ioy the lining, and to bleffe the dead. 
 
 1. 27, hyphen accepted ', ^ ^ : 1. 33, 'fince' ',',': 1. 37, 'affliction' 
 accepted ', \ ', for 'affection ' ; 1. 43, 'deynge' ', ^ 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 83 
 
 So I (through beauty) made the wofuH'ft wight, 50 
 By beauty might haue comfort after death :. 
 That dying faireft, by the fairefl: might 
 Finde life aboue on earth,, and reft beneath 
 She that can bleile vs with one happy breath,, 
 Giue comfort to thy Mufe to doe her beft, 
 That thereby thou mayft ioy, and I might reft. 
 
 Thus faid : forthwith mou'd with a tender care,. 
 And pitty (which my felfe couJd neuer find;.) 
 What fhe def ir'd, my Mufe deign'd to declaire,. 
 And therefore, will'd her boldly tell her mind. 60 
 
 And I (more willing) tooke this charge affign'd, 
 Becaufe her griefes were worthy to be knowne, 
 And telling hers, might hap forget mine owne.. 
 
 Then write (quoth fhe) the ruine of my youth. 
 Report the downe-fall of my flippry ftate : 
 Of all my life reueale the fimple truth, 
 To teach to others what I learnt too late> 
 Exem,plifie my frailtie, tell how Fate 
 
 Keepes in eternall darke our fortunes hidden. 
 
 And ere they come to know them tis forbidden. 70 
 
 For whilft the Sun-fhine of my fortune lafted, 
 I iby'd the happieft warmth, the fweeteft heate 
 That euer yet, imperious beauty tafted, 
 I had what glory euer flefh could get : 
 But this faire morning had a fhamefull fet. 
 
 Difgrace dark'd honour, finne did cloude my brow;. 
 As note the fequell, and He tell thee how. 
 
 1. 65, :',^'for,.. 
 
84 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 The bloud I ftain'd, was good and of the beft, 
 My birth had honour, and my beauty fame : q 
 
 Nature and Fortune ioyn'd to make me bleft. 8 b 
 
 Had I had grace t'haue knowne to vfe the fame. 
 My education fliew'd from whence I came, 
 And all concurr'd to make me happy furfl, 
 That fo great hope might make me more accurft. 
 
 Happy liu'd I whilft parents eye did guide 
 The indifcretion of my feeble wayes, 
 And Countrey-home kept me from being eide. 
 Where beft vnknowne I fpent my fweeteft dales : 
 Till' that my friends mine honour fought to raife 
 
 To higher place, which greater credit yeelds, 90 
 
 Deeming fuch beauty was vnfit for fields. 
 
 From Countrey then to Court I was prefer'd 
 From calme to ftormes, from Ihore into the deepes : 
 There where I perifti'd, where my youth firft err'd, 
 There where I loft the floure which honour keepes, 
 There where the worfer thriues, the better weepes ; 
 Ah me (poore wench) on this vnhappy fhelfe, 
 I grounded me, and caft away my felfe. 
 
 There whereas fraile and tender beauty ftands, 
 
 With all affaulting powres inuironed ; 1 00 
 
 Hauing but prayers and weake feeble hands 
 
 To hold their honours Fort vnuanquiftied ; 
 
 There where to ftand, and be vnconquered, 
 
 Is to b'aboue the nature of our kinde, 
 
 That cannot long for pitty be vnkinde. 
 
 1. 98, , ', ^ ', accepted : II. 99 — 105 first inserted in ' are reprinted in \ 
 though left out in 1599 edition, but again In 1605. 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 85 
 
 For thither com'd, when yeeres had arm'd my youth, 
 With rareft proofe of beauty euer feene : 
 When my reuiuing eie had learnt the truth, 
 That it had powre to make the winter greene. 
 And floure affeftions whereas none had beene ; 1 1 o 
 Soone could I teach my brow to tyrannize, 
 And make the world doe homage to mine eyes. 
 
 For age I faw (though yeeres with cold conceit, 
 Congeal'd their thoughts againft a warme defire,) 
 Yet figh their want, and looke at fuch a baite ; 
 I faw-how youth was waxe before the fire ; 
 I faw by ftealth, I fram'd my looke a lyre. 
 
 Yet well perceiu'd, how Fortune made me then 
 The enuie of my fexe, and wonder vnto men. 
 
 Looke how a Comet at the firft appearing, 120 
 
 Drawes all mens eyes with wonder to behold it ; 
 Or as the faddefl; tale at fudden hearing, 
 Makes filent liftning vnto him that told it, 
 So did my fpeech when Rubies did vnfold it ; 
 So did the blazing of my blufh appeare, 
 T'amaze the world, that holdes fuch fights fo deere. 
 
 Ah beauty Syren, faire enchaunting good. 
 Sweet filent Rhetorique of perfwading eyes : 
 Dombe Eloquence, whofe powre doth moue the bloud, 
 More then the words or wifedome of the wife ; 130 
 Still harmony, whofe Diapafon lyes 
 
 Within a brow, the key which paffions moue, 
 To rauifh fence, and play a world in loue. 
 
86 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 What might I then not doe whofe powre was fuch ? 
 
 What cannot women doe that know their powre ? 
 
 What women knowes it not (I feare too much) 
 
 How bliffe or bale lyes in their laugh or lowre ? 
 
 Whilft they inioy their happy blooming flowre, 
 Whilft Nature decks them in their beft attires 
 Of youth and beauty, which the world admires. 140 
 
 Such one was I, my beauty was mine owne, 
 No borrowed blufh which bank-rpt beauties feeke : 
 That new-found fhame, a finne to vs vnknowne, 
 Th'adulterate beauty of a falfed cheeke : 
 Vilde ftaine to hotiour, and to women eeke, 
 
 Seeing that time our fading muft detefl^ 
 
 Thus with defeS; to couer our defeft. 
 
 Impietie of times, Chaflities abator, 
 Falfhood, wherein thy felfe thy felfe denied : 
 Treafon to counterfeit the feale of Nature, 150 
 
 The ftampe of heauen, impreffed by the highei 
 Difgrace vnto the world, to whom thou lieft, 
 
 Idoll vnto thy felfe, fhame to the wife, 
 
 And all that honour thee Idolatrife. 
 
 Farre was that finne from vs whofe age was pure, 
 When fimple beauty was accounted beft. 
 The time when women had no other lure 
 But modeftie, pure cheekes, a vertuous breft : 
 This was the pompe wherewith my youth was bleft. 
 Thefe were the weapons which mine honour wonne, 
 In all the confli6ts which mine eyes begunne. 161 
 
 1. 139, 'her' {bis) 'proper fayre ", =, » : 1. 140, ' Which cheeres the 
 worlde, ioyes each fight, fweetens th'ayre '',",' (in ' misprinted 'arye ') ; 
 1. 152, , ', ^ ^ for . : 1. 158, -.W for . : 1. 160, spelt ' wunne' ', = : 'wun' ^. 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 87 
 
 Which were not fmall; I wrought on no meane obieft, 
 A Crowne was at my feete, Scepters obey'd me : ^ 
 
 Whom Fortune made my King, Loue made my Subie6t; 
 Who did command the Land, moft humbly pray'd me : 
 Henry the fecond, that fo highly weigh'd me, 
 
 Found well (by proofe) the priuiledge of beauty, 
 That it had powre to counter-maund all duty. 
 
 For after all his viflories in France, 
 And all the triumphs of his honour wonne : ^170 
 
 Vnmatcht by fword, was vanquiflit by a glance. 
 And hotter warres within his breaft begunne. 
 Warres, whom whole legions of def ires drew on : 
 Againft all which, my chaftitie contends, 
 With force of honour, which my fhame defends. 
 
 No Armour might be found that could defend, 
 Tranfpearcing raies of criftall poynted eyes : 
 No flratagem, no reafon could amend. 
 No not his age ; (yet old men fhould be wife) 
 But fhewes deceiue, outward appearance lies. 180 
 
 Let none for feeming fo, thinke Saints of others. 
 For all are men, and all haue fuckt their mothers. 
 
 Who would haue thought a Monarch would haue euer 
 Obey'd his hand-maide of fo meane eftate ; 
 Vulture ambition feeding on his liuer. 
 Age hauing worne his pleafures out of date. 
 But hap comes neuer, or it comes too late. 
 
 For fuch a dainty which his youth found not, 
 
 Vnto his feeble age did chaunce allot. 
 
 L 163, : ', ^ ' for , : and so 1. 165 : 1. 170, 'Tryumphing in the honour 
 of his deedes ' ', ^ ' : 1. 1 72, ' bofome breedes ' ', ^ ' ; 1. 1 73, ' def ires feedes ' 
 ', ^ ' : 1. 174, 'oppofes' ', ^ " : 1, 175, 'The fielde of honour vertue neuer 
 lofes ", ^ » : 1. 184, 'a ftate ' ', '. 
 
88 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 Ah Fortune, neuer abfolutely good, 190 
 
 For that fome croffe ftill counter-checks our lucke ; 
 As here behold th'incompatible blood. 
 Of age and youth was that whereon we ftucke : 
 VVhofe lothing, we from Natures breafts doe fucke, 
 
 As oppofite to what our bloud requires ; 
 
 For equall age, doth equall like defires. 
 
 But mighty men, in higheft honour fitting, 
 Nought but applaufe and pleafure can behold : 
 Sooth'd in their liking, careleffe what is fitting, 
 May not be fuffred once to thinke the'are old : 200 
 Not trufhing what they fee, but what is told. 
 Miferable fortune to forget fo farre 
 The flate of flelh, and what our frailties are. 
 
 Yet muft I needs excufe fo great defefl ; 
 
 For drinking of the Lethe of mine eies, 
 
 H'is forc'd forget himfelfe, and all refpeft 
 
 Of maiefty, whereon his flate relies : 
 
 And now of loues and pleafures mufl deuife. 
 For thus reuiu'd againe, he ferues and fu'th. 
 And feekes all meanes to vndermine my youth. 210 
 
 Which neuer by affault he could recouer. 
 
 So well incamp'd in ftrength of chafte defires : 
 
 My cleane-arm'd thoughts repell'd an vnchafte louer. 
 
 The Crowne that could command what it requires, 
 
 I leffer priz'd then Chaftities attires. 
 
 Th'vnftained vaile, which innocents adomes, 
 Th'vngathred Rofe, defended with the thornes. 
 
 1.I9S. ;'.'. 'for,. 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 89 
 
 And fafe mine honor ftood, till that in truth, 
 One of my Sexe, of place and nature bad, 
 Was fet in ambufti to intrap my youth. 220 
 
 One in the habit of like frailtie clad, 
 One who the liu'ry of like weakeneffe had. 
 A feeming Matron, yet a finfull Monfler, 
 As by her words the Charter fort may confter. 
 
 She fet vpon me with the fmootheft fpeech 
 That Court and age could cunningly deuife : 
 Th'one authentique, made her fit to teach, 
 The other learn'd her how to fubtilife. 
 Both were enough to circumuent the wife. 
 
 A document that well might teach the fage, 230 
 That there's no truft in youth, nor hope in age. 
 
 Daughter (faid fhe) behold thy happy chance. 
 That haft the lot caft downe into thy lap. 
 Whereby thou may'ft thy honor great aduance, 
 Whilft thou (vnhappy) wilt not fee thy hap : 
 Such fond refpeft thy youth doth fo inwrap, 
 
 T'oppofe thy felfe againft thine owne good fortune, 
 That poynts thee out, and feemes thee to importune. 
 
 Dooft thou not fee, how that thy King (thy loue) 
 Lightens forth glory on thy darke eftate : 240 
 
 And (howers downe gold and treafure from aboue, 
 Whilft thou dooft fhut thy lap againft thy Fate ? 
 Fie Fondlings fie, thou wilt repent too late 
 The error of thy youth ; that canft not fee 
 What is the Fortune that doth follow thee. 
 
 1. 230, • may ", ^ " : L 232, ' faith ' ', \ 
 
N 
 
 90 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 Thou muft not thinke thy flower can alwayes flourifli, 
 And that thy beauty will be ftill admired ; 
 But that thofe raies which all thefe flames doe nourifli, 
 Cancell'd with Time, will haue their date expired, . 
 And men will fcorne what now is fo defired. 250 
 
 _- Our frailties doome is written in the flowers, 
 Which flourifli now, and fade ere many howers. 
 
 Reade in my face the mines of my youth, 
 
 The wracke of yeeres vpon my aged brow ; 
 
 I haue beene faire (I mufl: confeffe the truth) 
 
 And ftood vpon as nice refpefts as thou ; 
 
 I loft my time, and I repent it now. 
 
 But were I to beginne my youth againe, 
 I would redeeme the time I fpent in vaine. 
 
 But thou haft yeeres and priuiledge to vfethem, 260 
 Thy priuiledge doth beare Beauties great feale ; 
 Bef ides, the Law of Nature doth excufe them. 
 To whom thy youth may haue a iuft appeale. 
 Efteeme not Fame more then thou doft thy weale. 
 
 Fame (whereof the world feemes to make fuch choice) 
 
 Is but an Eccho, and an idle voice. 
 
 Then why fhould this refpeft of honor bound vs, 
 
 In th'imaginarie lifts of Reputation ? 
 
 Titles which cold feueritie hath found vs, 
 
 Breath of the vulgar, foe to recreation : 270 
 
 Melancholies opinion, Cuftomes relation ; 
 
 Pleafures plague, beauties fcourge, hell to the faire, 
 To leaue the fweet for Caftles in the aire. 
 
 1. 256, 'thow ",»,'. 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 91 
 
 Pleafure is felt, opinion but conceau'd, 
 Honor, a thing without vs, not our owne : 
 Whereof we fee how many are bereau'd, 
 Which fhould haue reap'd the glory they had fowne : 
 And many haue it, yet vnworthy, knowne. 
 So breathes his blaft this many-headed beaft, 
 Whereof the wifeft haue efleemed leail. 280 
 
 The fubtill City-women, better learned, 
 Efteeme them chafte enough that beft feeme fo : 
 Who though they fport, it fhall not be difcerned, 
 Their face bewraies not what their bodies do ; 
 Tis warie walking that doth faflyeft go. 
 
 With fhew of Vertue, as the cunning knowes : 
 Babes are beguild with fweets, and men with fliowes. 
 
 Then vfe thy tallent, youth fhall be thy warrant, 
 And let not honor from thy fports detraft : 
 Thou muft not fondly thinke thy felfe tranfparant, 290 
 That thofe who fee thy face can iudge thy fa6l ; 
 Let her haue fhame that cannot clofely a6l. 
 
 And feeme the chafte, which is the chiefeft arte, 
 For what we feeme each fees, none knowes our hart. 
 
 The mightie who can with fuch f innes difpence. 
 In fteed of fhame doe honors great beftow, 
 A worthie author doth redeeme th'offence. 
 And makes the fcarlet f inne as white as fnow. 
 The Maieftie that doth defcend fo low, 
 
 Is not defilde, but pure remaines therein : 300 
 
 And being facred, fanftifies the fin. 
 
 1. 279, 'blafts ■',«:!. 291, 'the' ', ' : 1. 294, 'fees' ', ', accepted for 
 ' fee ' : 11. 295 — 301 from ', ^ ' : L 298, misprinted ' sarelet.' 
 
92 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 What, dooft thou ftand on this, that he is old ? 
 
 Thy beautie hath the more to worke vpon ; 
 
 Thy pleafures want fliall be fupplide with gold, 
 
 Cold age dotes moft when heate of youth is gone : 
 
 Enticing words preuaile with fuch a one. 
 
 Alluring fhewes moft deepe impreffion ftrikes, 
 For age is prone to credit what it likes. 
 
 Here interrupt, fhe leaues me in a doubt, 
 
 When loe beganne the cumbat in my blood : 310 
 
 Seeing my youth inuiron'd round about, 
 
 The ground vncertaine where my reafons ftood ; 
 
 Small my defence to make my party good, 
 Againft fuch powers which were fo furely laid, 
 To ouerthrow a poore vnlkilfuU Maide. 
 
 Treafon was in my bones, my felfe confpiring. 
 
 To fell my felfe to luft, my foule to fin : 
 
 Pure-blufhing fhame was euen in retiring, , 
 
 Leauing the facred hold it glori'd in. 
 
 Honor lay proftrate for my flefh to win, 320 
 
 When cleaner thoughts my weakeneffe gan vpbray 
 Againft my felfe, and fhame did force me fay ; 
 
 Ah Rofamond, what doth thy flefh prepare .? 
 Deftruftion to thy dayes, death to thy fame : 
 Wilt thou betray that honor held with care, 
 T'entombe with blacke reproch a fpotted name ? 
 Leauing thy blufh the colours of thy fhame ? 
 Opening thy feete to finne, thy foule to luft, 
 Graceleffe to lay thy glory in the duft ? 
 
 1. 321, 'can' ', ^ See Glossaiial-Index, s.v. 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 93 
 
 Nay firft let th'earth gape wide to fwallow thee, 330 
 And fhut thee vp in bofome with her dead, 
 Ere Serpent tempt thee tafte forbidden Tree, 
 Or feele the warmth of an vnlawfull bed ; 
 Su firing thy felfe by luft to be mifled ; 
 
 So to difgrace thy felfe and grieue thine heires, 
 That Cliffords race fhould fcorne thee one of theirs, 
 
 Neuer wifh longer to enioy the Aire, 
 
 Then that thou breath'ft the breath of Chaftitie : 
 
 Longer then thou preferu'fh thy foule as faire 
 
 As is thy face, free from impuritie. 340 
 
 Thy face, that makes th'admir'd in euery eie. 
 
 Where Natures care fuch rarities inroule ; 
 
 Which vfd amiffe, may ferue to damne thy foule. 
 
 But what ? he is my King, and may conftraine me. 
 Whether I yeeld or not, I liue defamed. 
 The World will thinke Authoritie did gaine me, 
 I fhall be iudg'd his Loue, and fo be fhamed : 
 We fee the faire condemn'd, that neuer gamed. 
 
 And if I yeeld, tis honorable Ihame, 
 
 If not, I liue difgrac'd, yet thought the fame. 350 
 
 What way is left thee then (vnhappy Maide) 
 Whereby thy fpotleffe foote may wander out 
 This dreadfuU danger, which thou fceft is laide, 
 Wherein thy fliame doth compaffe thee about ? 
 Thy fimple yeeres cannot refolue this doubt. 
 Thy Youth can neuer guide thy foote fo euen, 
 But (in defpite) fome fcandall will be giuen. 
 
94 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 Thus ftood I ballanc'd equally precize. 
 
 Till my fraile flefh did weigh me downe to fin ; 
 
 Till world and pleafure made me partialize, 360 
 
 And glittering pompe my vanitie did win, 
 
 When to excufe my fault my lufts begin. 
 
 And impious thoughts alledg'd this wanton claufe, 
 That though I finn'd, my finne had honefl caufe. 
 
 So well the golden balles caft downe before me, 
 Could entertaine my courfe, hinder my way : 
 Whereat my wretchleffe youth ftooping to flore me, 
 Loft me the Goale, the Glory and the Day. 
 Pleafure had fet my well fchool'd thoughts to play, 
 And bade me vfe the vertue of mine eies, 370 
 
 For fweetly it fits the faire to wantonife. 
 
 Thus wrought to finne, foone was I train'd from Court, 
 T'a follitarie Grange, there to attend 
 The time the King fliould thither make refort, 
 Where he Loues long-defired worke fhould end. 
 Thither he daily meffages doth fend. 
 With coftly lewels (Orators to^ Loue,) 
 Which (ah, too well men know) doe women moue. 
 
 The day before the night of my defeature, 
 He greetes me with a Cafket richly wrought ; 380 
 
 So rare, that Arte did feeme to ftriue with Nature, 
 T'expreffe the cunning Worke-mans curious thought ; 
 The myfterie whereof I prying fought. 
 And found engrauen on the lid aboue, 
 Amymone, how fhe with Neptune ftroue. 
 
 1. 367, 'rechleffe' •,«,»- 
 
O^ ROSAMOND. 95 
 
 Amymone, old Danaus faireft Daughter, 
 
 As (he was fetching water all alone 
 
 At Lerna : whereas Neptune came and caught her : 
 
 From whom fhe ftriu'd and ftruggled to be gone, 
 
 Beating the aire with cries and piteous mone ; 390 
 
 But all in vaine, with him fhe's forc'd to go ; 
 
 Tis fhame that men fhould vfe poore maidens fo. 
 
 There might I fee defcribed how fhe lay, 
 
 At thofe proude feete, not fatisfied with prayer : 
 
 Wayling her heauy hap, curfing the day. 
 
 In a£l fo pitious to expreffe defpaire. 
 
 And by how much more grieu'd, fo much more faire. 
 Her teares vpon her cheekes (poore carefull Gerle,) 
 Did feeme againft the Sunne Chriftall and Pearle : 
 
 Whofe pure cleere ftreames (which lo fo faire appeares) 
 Wrought hotter flames (O miracle of Loue 401 
 
 That kindles fire in water, heate in teares, 
 And makes neglefled beauty mightier proue. 
 Teaching afflifted eyes affefts to moue ;) 
 To fhew that nothing ill becomes the faire. 
 But cruelty, which yeelds vnto no prayer. 
 
 This hauing view'd, and therewith fomething moued. 
 
 Figured I finde within the other fquares. 
 
 Transformed lo, loues deerely loued. 
 
 In her affliftion how fhe flrangely fares. 410 
 
 Strangely diftrefi'd (O beauty, borne to cares) 
 Turn'd to a Heiffer, kept with iealous eyes, 
 Alwayes in danger of her hatefull fpies, 
 
 1. 390, ' Beating ' ', ', ', accepted for ' Bathing ■ of a ; 1. 391 , ' fli'is ",',': 
 1, 404, ) inserted instead of after 1. 401 at ' Loue ' : 1. 406, ' that ' ',',': 
 1.408, 'found' \\ 
 
96 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 Thefe prefidents prefented to my view, 
 Wherein the prefage of my fall was fliowne, 
 Might haue fore-warn'd me well what would enfue, 
 And others harmes haue made me fhun mine owne. 
 But Fate is not preuented, though foreknowne. 
 For that muft hap, decreed by heauenly powers, 
 Who worke our fall, yet make the fault ftill ours. 420 
 
 Witneffe the world, wherein is nothing rifer, 
 Then miferies vnken'd before they come : 
 Who can the Chara6lers of chaunce decipher, 
 Written in cloudes of our concealed dome ? 
 Which though perhaps haue beene reueal'd to fome. 
 Yet that fo doubtfull (as fucceffe did proue them) 
 That men muft know they haue the Heau'ns aboue 
 them. 
 
 I faw the finne wherein my foote was entring, 
 
 I faw how that dilhonour did attend it, 
 
 I faw the fhame whereon my flefh was ventring, 430 
 
 Yet had I not the power for to defend it. 
 
 So weake is fence, when error hath condemn'd it. 
 We fee what's good, and thereto we confent, 
 But yet we choofe the worft, and foone repent. 
 
 And now I come to tell the worft of ilneffe. 
 Now drawes the date of mine affliftion neere. 
 Now when the darke had wrapt vp all in ftilneffe. 
 And dreadfull blacke had difpoffeft the cleere, 
 Com'd was the Night (mother of fleepe and feare) 
 Who with her fable-mantle friendly couers 440 
 
 The fweet-ftolne fport of ioyfuU meeting Louers. 
 
 U- 433-4) ' vs ", ' : added ' corffent,' ' repent.' 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 97 
 
 When lo, I ioy'd my Louer, not my Loue, 
 And felt the hand ofluft mofl vndefired : 
 Enforc'd th'vnprooued bitter fweet to proue, 
 Which yeeldes no naturall pleafure when tis hired. 
 Loue's not conftrain'd, nor yet of due required. 
 
 ludge they who are vnfortunately wed, 
 
 What tis to come vnto a loathed bed. 
 
 But foone his age receiu'd his fhort contenting, 
 
 And fleepe feal'd vp his languifhing defires : 450 
 
 When he turnes to his reft, I to repenting. 
 
 Into my felfe my waking thought retires : 
 
 My nakedneffe had prou'd my fences liers. 
 
 Now opned were mine eyes to looke therein ; 
 
 For firft we tafte the fruit, then fee our fin. 
 
 Now did I finde my felfe vnparadif'd, 
 From thofe pure fields of my fo cleane beginning : 
 Now I perceiu'd how ill I was aduif d, 
 My flefh gan loathe the new-felt touch of finning ; 
 Shame leaues vs by degrees, not at firft winning. 460 
 For Nature checks a new offence with loathing. 
 But vfe of finne doth make it feeme as nothing. 
 
 And vfe of finne did worke in me a boldneffe. 
 
 And loue in him, incorporates fuch zeale. 
 
 That iealoufie increafd with ages coldneffe, 
 
 Fearing to loofe the ioy of all his weale ; 
 
 Or doubting time his ftealth might elfe reueale, 
 H'is driuen to deuife fome fubtill way, 
 How he might fafelyeft keepe fo rich a pra}'. 
 
 1. 4S4, ; added for , : and so 11. 466, 474, 482. 
 
98 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 A ftately Pallace he forthwith did build, 470 
 
 Whofe intricate innumerable wayes 
 With fuch confufed errours, fo beguilde 
 ThVnguided Entrers, with vncertaine ftrayes, 
 And doubtfuU turnings, kept them in delaycs ; 
 
 With booteleffe labor leading them about, 
 
 Able to finde no way, nor in, nor out. 
 
 Within the clofed bofome of which frame, 
 
 That feru'd a Centre to that goodly Round, 
 
 Were lodgings, with a Garden to the fame, 
 
 With fweeteft flowers that eu'r adorn'd the ground, 480 
 
 And all the pleafures that delight hath found, 
 
 T'entertaine the fenfe of wanton eies ; 
 
 Fuell of Loue, from whence lufts flames arife. 
 
 Here I inclofd from all the world afunder. 
 The Minotaure of fhame kept for difgrace. 
 The Monfter of Fortune, and the worlds wonder, 
 Liu'd cloiflred in fo defolate a cafe : 
 None but the King might come into the place, 
 With certaine Maides that did attend my neede. 
 And he himfelfe came guided by a threed. 490 
 
 O lealoufie, daughter of Enuie and Loue, 
 
 Moft wayward iffue of a gentle Sire ; 
 
 Foftred with feares, thy fathers ioyes t'improue. 
 
 Mirth-marring Monfter, borne a fubtill lier ; 
 
 Hatefull vnto thy felfe, flying thine owne defire : 
 Feeding vpon fufpefl that doth renue thee, 
 Happy were Louers if they neuer knew thee. 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 99 
 
 Thou haft a thoufand Gates thou entereft by, 
 Condemning trembling paffions to our hart ; 
 Hundred ey'd Argus, euer waking Spie, 500 
 
 Pale Hagge, infernall Furie, pleafures fmart, 
 Enuious Obferuer, prying in euery part ; 
 Sufpicious, fearefull, gazing ftill about thee, 
 O would to God that loue could be without thee. 
 
 Thou didft depriue (through falfe fuggefting feare) 
 
 Him of content, and me of libertie : 
 
 The onely good that women hold fo deere. 
 
 And turnft my freedome to captiuitie, 
 
 Firft made a prifoner, ere an enemie. 
 
 Enioyn'd the ranfome of my bodies fhame, 510 
 
 Which though I paid, could not redeeme the fame. 
 
 What greater torment euer could haue beene, 
 
 Then to inforce the faire to Hue retir'd } 
 
 For what is beauty if it bee not feene .? 
 
 Or what is't to be feene if not admir'd t 
 
 And though admir'd, vnleffe in loue defir'd } 
 Neuer were cheekes of Rofes, locks of Amber, 
 Ordain'd to Hue imprifon'd in a Chamber. 
 
 Nature created beauty for the view, 
 
 (Like as the Fire for heate, the Sunne for light :) 520 
 
 The faire doe hold this priuiledge as due 
 
 By ancient Charter, to Hue moft in fight. 
 
 And fhe that is debar'd it, hath not right. 
 
 In vaine our friends from this, doe vs dehort. 
 For Beauty will be where is moft refort. 
 
 I- SIS. 'v 
 ' reforting ' 
 
100 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 Witneffe the faired ftreetes that Thames doth vifit, 
 The wondrous concourfe of the glittring Faire : 
 For what rare woman deckt with beauty is it, 
 That thither couets not to make repaire ? 
 The foUitary Countrey may not ftay her. 530 
 
 Here is the centre of all beauties beft, 
 Excepting Delia, left t'adorne the Weft. 
 
 Here doth the curious with iudiciall eies, 
 
 Contemplate Beauty glorioufly attired : 
 
 And herein all our chiefeft glory lies, 
 
 To liue where we are praif'd and moft defired. 
 
 O how we ioy to fee our felues admired, 
 Whilft niggardly our fauours we difcouer : 
 We loue to be belou'd, yet fcorne the Louer. 
 
 Yet would to God my foote had neuer mou'd 540 
 
 From Countrey-fafety, from the fields of reft : 
 To know the danger to be highly lou'd. 
 And liue in pompe to braue among the beft : 
 Happy for me, better had I beene bleft, 
 If I vnluckily had neuer ftraide, 
 But liu'd at home a happy Countrey Maide. 
 
 Whofe vnaffefted innocencie thinkes 
 No guilefull fraude, as doth the Courtly liuer : 
 Shee's deckt with truth ; the Riuer where ftie drinkes 
 Doth ferue her for her glaffe, her Counfell-giuer ; 550 
 She loues fincerely, and is loued euer. 
 
 Her dayes are peace, and fo fhe endes her breath, 
 (True life that knowes not what's to die till death.) 
 
 1. 531, mis-spelt 'beatties,' and 1. 532, 'Delea' in a : 1. 549, ; for 
 , inserted. 
 
OF ROSAMOND. loi 
 
 So fhould I neuer haue beene regiftred, 
 In the blacke booke of the vnfortunate : 
 Nor had my name inrol'd with maides mifled, 
 Which bought their pleafures at fo hie a rate. 
 Nor had I taught, (through my vnhapy fate) 
 
 This Leffon (which my felfe learn't with expence) 
 How mofl it hurts, that moft delights the fence. 560 
 
 Shame followes f inne, difgrace is duely giuen, 
 Impietie will out, neuer fo clofely done : 
 No walles can hide vs from the eye of Heauen, 
 For fliame mufl end what wickedneffe begun ; 
 Forth breakes reproch when we leaft thinke thereon, 
 And this is euer proper vnto Courts, 
 That nothing can be done, but Fame reports. 
 
 Fame doth explore what lies mofl fecret hidden, 
 Entring the Clofet of the Pallace dweller : 
 Abroade reuealing what is moft forbidden. 570 
 
 Of truth and falfhood both an equall teller, 
 Tis not a guard can ferue for to expell her. 
 The Sword of luftice cannot cut her Wings, 
 Nor flop her mouth from vtt'ring fecret things. 
 
 And this our ftealth (he could not long conceale, 
 From her whom fuch a forfeit moft concerned : 
 The wronged Queene, who could fo clofely deale, 
 That fhe the whole of all our praflife learned. 
 And watcht a time when leaft it was difcerned, 
 
 In abfence of the King to wreake her wrong, 580 
 
 With fuch reuenge as fhe defired long. 
 
102 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 The Labyrinth fhe entred by that Threed, 
 That feru'd a conduft to my abfent Lord, 
 Left there by chance, referu'd for fuch a deed, 
 Where fhe furpriz'd me whom fhe fo abhor'd. 
 Enrag'd with madneffe, fcarce fhe fpeakes a word. 
 
 But flies with eager furie to my face, 
 
 Offring me moft vnwomanly difgrace. 
 
 Looke how a Tygreffe that hath loft her Whelpe, 
 Runnes fiercely ranging through the Woods aftray : S 90 
 And feeing her felfe depriu'd of hope or helpe, 
 Furioufly affaults what's in her way, 
 To fatisfie her wrath, (not for a pray) 
 So fell fhe on me in outragious wife. 
 As could Difdaine and lealoufie deuife. 
 
 And after all her vile reproches vfde, 
 
 She forc'd me take the Poyfon fhe had brought, 
 
 To end the life that had her fo abufde. 
 
 And free her feares, and eafe her iealous thought. 
 
 No cruelty her wrath could leaue vnwrought, 600 
 
 No fpitefuU a6l that to Reuenge is common ; 
 
 (No beafl being fiercer then a iealous woman.) 
 
 Here take (faith fhe) thou impudent vncleane, 
 Bafe graceleffe Strumpet, take this next your heart ; 
 Your Love-ficke heart, that ouer-charg'd hath beene 
 With Pleafures furfeit, muft be purg'd with Art. 
 This potion hath a power that will conuart 
 
 To naught, thofe humors that oppreffe you fo. 
 
 And (Gerle) He fee you take it ere I go. 
 
 1. 608, ' nought ' ^ 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 103 
 
 What, ftand you now amaz'd, retire you backe ? 610 
 Tremble you (Minion ?) come, difpatch with fpeed ; 
 There is no helpe, your Champion now you lacke, 
 And all thefe teares you fhed will nothing fteed ; 
 Thofe dainty fingers needes muft doe the deed. 
 Take it, or I will drench you elfe by force, 
 And trifle not, left that I vfe you worfe. 
 
 Hauing this bloody doome from hellifh breath. 
 
 My wofuU eyes on euery fide I caft : 
 
 Rigor about me, in my hand my death, 
 
 Prefenting me the horror of my laft : 620 
 
 All hope of pitty and of comfort paft. 
 
 No meanes, no power ; no forces to contend, 
 My trembling hands muft giue my felfe my end. 
 
 Thofe hands that beauties minifters had bin, 
 They muft giue death, that me adorn'd of late, 
 That mouth that newly gaue confent to fin, 
 Muft now receiue deftruftion in thereat, 
 That body which my luft did violate, 
 
 Muft facrifice it felfe t'appeafe the wrong. 
 
 (So fhort is pleafure, glory lafts not long.) 630 
 
 And fhe no fooner faw I had it taken, 
 But forth fhe rufhes (proud with viftorie) 
 And leaues m'alone, of all the world forfaken. 
 Except of Death, which fhe had left with me. 
 (Death and my felfe alone together be.) 
 
 To whom ftie did her full reuenge refer. 
 
 Oh poore weake conqueft both for him and her. 
 
 11. 617 — 770 first appeared in ', and reprinted in ' and ^ : also in 1599 
 and 1605. 
 
104 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 Then ftraight my Confcience fummons vp my finne, 
 
 T'appeare before me in a hideous face ; 
 
 Now doth the terror of my foule beginne, 640 
 
 When eu'ry corner of that hatefull place 
 
 Di6lates mine error, and reueales difgrace ; 
 
 Whilft I remaine oppreft in euery part, 
 
 Death in my body, Horror at my hart. 
 
 Dovvne on my bed my loathfome felfe I cafl:, 
 
 The bed that likewife giues in euidence 
 
 Againfl my foule, and tels I was vnchaft ; 
 
 Tels I was wanton, tels I followed fence, 
 
 And therefore caft, by guilt of mine offence ; 
 
 Muft here the right of Heauen needes fatisfie, 650 
 And where I wanton lay, muft wretched die. 
 
 Here I beganne to waile my hard mifhap, 
 
 My fudden, ftrange vnlookt for mifery, 
 
 Accufing them that did my youth intrap, 
 
 To giiie me fuch a fall of infamy. 
 
 And poore diftreffed Rofamond (faid I) 
 Is this thy glory got, to die forlorne 
 In Defarts where no eare can heare thee mourne .' 
 
 Nor any eye of pitty to behold 
 
 The wofuU end of my fad tragedie ; 660 
 
 But that thy wrongs vnfeene, thy tale vntold, 
 
 Muft here in fecret filence buried lie. 
 
 And with thee, thine excufe together die. 
 Thy finne reueal'd, but thy repentance hid. 
 Thy fhame aliue, but dead what thy death did. 
 
OF£.OSA MOND. 1 05 
 
 Yet breathe out to thefe Walles the breath of mone, 
 Tell th'Aaire thy plaints, fince men thou canft not tell. 
 And though thou perifh defolate alone, 
 Tell yet thy felfe, what thy felfe knowes too well : 
 Vtter thy griefe wherewith- thy foule doth fwell. 670 
 And let thy heart pitty thy hearts remorfe. 
 And be thy felfe the mourner and the corfe. 
 
 Condole thee here, clad all in blacke difpaire. 
 With filence onely, and a dying bed ; 
 Thou that of late, fo flourifhing, fo faire, 
 Did'ft glorious Hue, admir'd and honored : 
 And now from friends, from fuccour hither led, 
 Art made a fpoyle to luft, to wrath, to death, 
 And in difgrace, forc'd here to yeeld thy breath. 
 
 Did Nature (for this good) ingeniate, 680 
 
 To fhew in thee the glory of her beft ; 
 
 Framing thine eye the ftarre of thy ill fate, 
 
 Making thy face the foe to fpoyle the reft ? 
 
 O Beautie thou an enemie profeft 
 
 To Chaftitie and vs that loue thee moft, 
 
 Without thee, how w'are loath'd, and with thee loft ? 
 
 You, you that proude with libertie and beautie, 
 (And well may you be proude that you be fo) 
 Glitter in Court, lou'd and obferu'd of dutie ; 
 Would God I might to you but ere I goe 690 
 
 Speake what I feele, to warne you by my woe, 
 
 To keepe your feete in cleanly paths of fhame, 
 
 That no inticing may diuert the fame. 
 
 1, 680 (' 6 for thys ')»:!. 687, ' O you ' ». 
 
io6 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 See'ng how againft your tender weakeneffe ftill, 
 The flrength of wit, and gold, and all is bent ; 
 And all th'affaults that euer might or fkill, 
 Can giue againft a chafte and cleane intent : 
 Ah let not greatneffe worke you to confent. 
 The fpot is foule, though by a Monarch made, 
 Kings cannot priuiledge what God forbade. 7°° 
 
 ,/ Locke vp therefore the treafure of your loue, 
 Vnder the fureft keyes of feare and fhame : 
 And let no powers haue power chafte thoughts to moue 
 To make a lawleffe entry on your fame. 
 Open to thofe the comfort of your flame, 
 
 Whofe equall loue fhall march with equall pace. 
 In thofe pure wayes that leade to no difgrace. 
 
 For fee how many difcontented beds. 
 
 Our owne afpiring, or our Parents pride 
 
 Haue caufd, whilft that ambition vainely weds 710 
 
 Wealth and not loue, honor and nought befide : 
 
 Whilft married but to titles, we abide 
 
 As wedded Widowes, wanting what we haue, 
 i^, When fhadowes cannot giue vs what we craue. 
 
 Or whilft we fpend the frefhest of our time, 
 
 The fweet of youth in plotting in the ayre ; 
 
 Alas, how oft we fall, hoping to clime ; 
 
 Or whither as vnprofitably faire, 
 
 Whilft thofe decayes which are without repaire, 
 
 Make vs negle<5led, fcorned and reprou'd. 720 
 
 (And O what are we, if we be not lou'd ?) 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 107 
 
 Faften therefore vpon occafions fit, 
 Left this, or that, or like difgrace as mine, 
 Doe ouer-take your youth or ruine it. 
 And cloude with infamie your beauties fhine : 
 Seeing how many feeke to vndermine 
 The treafurie that's vnpoffeft of any : 
 And hard tis kept that is defired of many. 
 
 And flie (O flie) thefe Bed-brokers vncleane, 
 (The Monfters of our Sexe) that make a pray 730 
 
 Of their owne kinde, by an vnkindely meane ; 
 And euen (like Vipers) eating out a way 
 Through tli'wombe of their owne fhame, accurfed they 
 Line by the death of Fame, the gaine of fin, 
 The filth of luft, vncleanneffe wallowes in. 
 
 As if t'were not inough that we (poore we) 
 
 Haue weakeneffe, beautie, gold and men our foes, 
 
 But we muft haue fome of our felues to be 
 
 Traitors vnto our felues, to ioyne with thofe ? 
 
 Such as our feeble forces doe difclofe, 740 
 
 And ftill betray our caufe, our fhame, our youth, 
 
 To luft, to folly, and to mens vntruth ? 
 
 Hatefull confounders both of bloud and lawes, 
 Vilde Orators of ftiame, that pleade delight : 
 Vngracious agents in a wicked caufe, 
 Faftors for darkeneffe, meffengers of night, 
 Serpents of guile, Deuils, that doe inuite 
 The wanton tafte of that forbidden tree, 
 Wbofe fruit once pluckt, will fhew how foule we bee. 
 
 1,736, 'O is ^J'^ 
 
io8 THE COMFLAINI 
 
 You in the habite of a graue afpeft, 750 
 
 (In credit by the truft of yeeres) can fhoe 
 
 The cunning wayes of luft, and can diredl 
 
 The faire and wilie wantons how to goe, 
 
 Hauing (your lothefome felues) your youth fpent fo. 
 
 And in vncleanneffe euer haue beene fed, 
 
 By the reuenue of a wanton bed. 
 
 3y you haue beene the innocent betraide, 
 The blufhing fearefull, boldned vnto fin, 
 The wife made fubtill, fubtill made the maide, 
 The hufband fcorn'd, difhonored the kin : 760 
 
 Parents difgrac'd, children infamous bin. 
 Confuf'd our race, and falfified our blood, 
 Whilft fathers fonnes poffefTe wrong fathers good. 
 
 This, and much more, I would haue vttered then, 
 
 A teftament to be recorded ftill, . 
 
 Sign'd with my bloud, fubfcrib'd with Confcience Pen, 
 
 To warne the faire and beautifull from ill. 
 
 Though I could wifh (by th' example of my will) 
 
 I had not left this note vnto the faire. 
 
 But dide inteflate to haue had no heire. 770 
 
 But now, the poyfon fpread through all my vaines, 
 Gan difpoffeffe my liuing fences quite : 
 And nought-refpedling death (the laft of paines) 
 Plac'd his pale colours (th'enfigne of his might) 
 Vpon his new-got fpoyle before his right ; 
 
 Thence chac'd my foule, fetting my day ere noone, 
 When I leaft thought my ioyes could end fo foone. 
 
 1. 768, 'And 6 I wife': 1. 771, 'The poyfon foone difperc'd' ', ' : 
 1. 772, ' Had ' ', ^ ' : 1- 773> ' When naught ' ', ^ ; ' and naught ' " ; hyphen 
 inserted. 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 109 
 
 And as conuaide tVntimely funerals, 
 
 My fcarce cold corfe not fuffred longer ftay, 
 
 Behold, the King (by chance) returning, fals 780 
 
 T'incounter with the fame vpon the way, 
 
 As he repair'd to fee his deareft ioy. 
 
 Not thinking fuch a meeting could haue beene, 
 To fee his Loue, and feeing bin vnfeene. 
 
 ludge thofe whom chance depriues of fweeteft treafure, 
 
 What tis to lofe a thing we hold fo deere : 
 
 The beft delight, wherein our foule takes pleafure, 
 
 The fweet of life, that penetrates fo neere. 
 
 What paffions feeles that heart, inforc'd to beare 
 
 The deepe impreffion of fo ftrange a fight, 790 
 
 That ouerwhelmes vs, or confounds vs quite ? 
 
 Amaz'd he fhands, nor voice nor body fteares. 
 Words had no paffage, teares no iffue found, 
 For forrow Ihut vp words, wrath kept in teares ; 
 Confuf'd affefts each other doe confound. 
 Oppreft with griefe, his paffions had no bound : 
 
 Striuing to tell his woes, words would not come ; 
 
 For light cares fpeake,when mightie griefes aredombe. 
 
 At length, extremitie breakes out a way, 
 Through which, th'imprifoned voice with teares attended,, 
 Wailes out a found that forrowes doe bewray : 801 
 
 With armes a-croffe, and eyes to heauen bended, 
 Vaporing out fighs that to the fliies afcended. 
 Sighs (the poore eafe calamitie affords) 
 Which ferue for fpeech when forrow wanteth words. 
 
 1. 791, ' Tongue, pen, nor art, can neuer Ihew a right ' ', ^ ' -• I. 799, 
 'away' ', ^ (bad). 
 
no THE COMPLAINT 
 
 O Heauens (quoth he) why doe mine eyes behold 
 The hatefull raies of this vnhappy Sunne ? 
 Why haue I light to fee my finnes controld, 
 With bloud of mine owne fliame thus vildely done ? 
 How can my fight endure to looke thereon ? 8io 
 
 Why doth not blacke eternall darkeneffe hide, 
 That from mine eyes, my heart cannot abide ? 
 
 What faw my life wherein my foule might ioy ; 
 
 What had my dayes whom troubles ftill afflidled, 
 
 But onely this, to counterpoize annoy ? 
 
 This ioy, this hope, which Death hath interdifled ; 
 
 This fweet, whofe loffe hath all diftreffe inflifled ; 
 This, that did feafon all my fowre of life, 
 Vext ftill at home with broiles, abroade in ftrife. 
 
 Vext ftill at home with broiles, abroade in ftrife, 820 
 Diffenf ion in my bloud, iarres in my bed : 
 Diftruft at boord, fufpefting ftill my life. 
 Spending the night in horror, dales in dread ; 
 (Such life hath Tyrants, and this life I led.) 
 Thefe miferies goe mafk'd in glittering fhowes, 
 Which wife men fee, the vulgar little knowes. 
 
 Thus as thefe paffions doe him ouerwhelme. 
 He drawes him neere my body to behold it. 
 And as the Vine married vnto the Elme 
 With ftrift imbraces, fo doth he infold it : 830 
 
 And as he in his carefull armes doth hold it. 
 Viewing the face that euen death commends, 
 On fenceleffe lippes, millions of kiffes fpends. 
 
 1. 807, • Sonne ' ', ^ " : 1. 817, ' affliaed' ', '. 
 
OF R OSA MOND. 1 1 1 
 
 Pittifull mouth (faith he) that Huing gaueft 
 The fweetefl comfort that my foule could wifh : 
 O be it lawfull now, that dead thou haueft, 
 This forrowing farewell of a dying kiffe ; 
 And you faire eyes, containers of my bliffe, 
 Motiues of Loue, borne to be matched neuer, 
 Entomb'd in your fweet circles, fleepe for euer. 840 
 
 Ah, how me thinkes I fee Death dallying feekes, 
 To entertaine it felfe in Loues fweet place ; 
 Decayed Rofes of difcoloured cheekes. 
 Doe yet retaine deere notes of former grace : 
 And vgly Death fits faire within her face ; 
 Sweet remnants refting of Vermillian red. 
 That Death it felfe doubts whether Ihe be dead. 
 
 Wonder of beautie, oh receiue thefe plaints, 
 Thefe obfequies, the laft that I fhall make thee : 
 For loe, my foule that now already faints, 850 
 
 (That lou'd thee lining, dead will not forfake thee) 
 Haftens her fpeedy courfe to ouer-take thee. 
 He meete my death, and free my felfe thereby, 
 For (ah) what can he doe that cannot die ? 
 
 Yet ere I die, thus much my foule doth vow, 
 Reuenge fhall fweeten death with eafe of minde : 
 And I will caufe Pofterity fhall know, 
 How faire thou wert about all women kinde ; 
 And after-Ages Monuments fhall finde. 
 
 Shewing thy beauties title, not thy name, 860 
 
 Rofe of the world, that fweetned fo the fame. 
 
 1. 834, ' quoth ' ', ^ " : 1. 84s, ' ougly ' ', '^ : 1. 849, 'The ' ', \ 
 
112 THE COMPLAINT 
 
 This faid, though more defirous yet to fay, 
 (For forrow is vnwilling to giue ouer) 
 He doth repreffe what griefe would elfe bewray, 
 Left he too much his paffions fhould difcouer ; 
 And yet refpefl fcarce bridles fuch a Louer, 
 
 So farre tranfported that he knowes not whither, 
 For Loue and Maieftie dwell ill togither. 
 
 Then were my Funerals not long deferred. 
 
 But done with all the rites pompe could deuife, 870 
 
 At Godftow, where my body was interred. 
 
 And richly tomb'd in honorable wife : 
 
 Where yet as now fcarce any note defcries 
 
 Vnto thefe times, the memory of me, 
 
 Marble and Braffe fo Httle lafting be. 
 
 For thofe walles which the credulous deuout, 
 
 And apt-beleeuing ignorant did found ; 
 
 With willing zeale, that neuer call'd in doubt. 
 
 That time their workes fhould euer fo confound, 
 
 Lie like confufed heapes as vnder-ground. 880 
 
 And what their ignorance efteem'd fo holy, 
 
 The wifer ages doe account as folly. 
 
 And were it not thy fauourable lines 
 Re-edified the wracke of my decayes, 
 And that thy accents willingly affignes 
 Some farther date, and giue me longer daies, 
 Few in this age had knowne my beauties praife. 
 
 But thus renew'd, my fame redeemes fome time. 
 
 Till other ages fhall negleft thy Rime. 
 
 1. 86s, ' might ",■■': 1. 867, ' whether ' ', ". 
 
OF ROSAMOND. 1 13 
 
 Then when Confufion in her courfe fhall bring 890 
 
 Sad defolation on the times to come : 
 
 When mirthleffe TImmes fhall haue no Swanne to fing, 
 
 All Muficke filent, and the Mufes dombe. 
 
 And yet euen then it mufl be knowne to feme, 
 That once they flouriftit, though not cherifht fo, 
 And Thames had Swannes as well as euer Po. 
 
 /, 
 
 But here an end, I may no longer flay, 
 I mufl return! t'attend at Stygian flood : 
 Yet ere I goe, this one word more I pray. 
 Tell Delia, now her figh may doe me good, 900 
 
 And will her note the frailtie of our blood. 
 And if I pafTe vnto thofe happy bankes. 
 Then fhe mufl haue her praife, thy Pen her thankes. 
 
 So vanifht fhe, and left me to returne 
 
 To profecute the tenor of my woes, 
 
 Eternall matter for my Mufe to mourne : 
 
 But (yet) the world hath heard too much of thofe. 
 
 My youth fuch errors mufl: no more difclofe. 
 
 He hide the refl, and grieue for what hath beene ; 
 
 Who made me knowne, mufl make me Hue vnfeene. 
 
 910 
 
 11. 902, 904, ' thee ' added : 1. 914, 'vanifht ' accepted from ', ^, for " and 
 a 'vanquiflit.' 
 
 FINIS. 
 
IV. 
 
 A LETTER FROM OCTAUIA TO 
 MARCUS ANTONIUS. . 
 
 ^S99- 
 
NOTE 
 
 This ' Letter from Ocflauia ' was first published in the 'Poeticall Essayes ' 
 of 1599, and was reprinted in the folios of 1601 and 1602, and also in 
 1605, 1607, 161 1 onward to a. Exceptionally, a collation of the successive 
 editions reveals practically no variations. A. B. G. 
 
To the right Honourable and moft 
 
 vertuous Lady, the Lady Margaret 
 
 Countejfe of Cumberland} 
 
 Lthough the meaner fort (whofe 
 thoughts are plac'd 
 As in another Region, farre below 
 The fphere of greatneffe) cannot 
 
 rightly tafle 
 What touch it hath, nor right her 
 
 paffions know : 
 Yet haue I here aduentur'd to beftow 
 Words vpon griefe, as my griefes comprehend ; 
 And made this great afflidled Lady fhow, i o 
 
 Out of my feelings, what flie might haue pend. 
 And here the fame, I bring forth, to attend 
 Vpon thy reuerent name, to Hue with thee 
 Moft vertuous Lady, that vouchfaf ft to lend 
 Eare to my notes, and comfort vnto mee. 
 That one day may thine owne faire vertues fpread, 
 B'ing Secretary now but to the dead. 17 
 
 ' See Memorial-Introduction for notice of this ' Fair Lady.' 
 
The Argument. 
 
 ^on the fecond agreement (the firji 
 being broken through iealoufie of a 
 difproportion of eminencie) betweene 
 the Triumuiri Oflauius Caefar, Marcus 
 Antonius, & Lepidus : Oftauia the 
 fijler of Oflauius Caefar, was marled 
 to Antonius, as a lincke to combine 
 that which nereyet, the greateftflrength 
 of Nature, or any power of nearefi refpeSl could longio 
 hold together, who made but tlte infirument of others 
 ends, and deliuered vp as an OJiage, to ferue the oppor- 
 tunity of aduantages, met not with that integrity fJie 
 brought : but as highly preferred to aJffliSlion, encountred 
 with all the grieuances that beate vpon the mifery of 
 greatneffe, expofed to,ftand betwixt the diuerfe tending 
 humours of vnquiet parties. For Antonie hauingyet 
 vpon him the fetters of jtEgvpt^ layd on by the power of 
 a mofi incomparable beauty^ could admit no new Lawes 
 into the flate of his affeSlion, or difpofe of himfelfe, being 20 
 not himfelfe,, but as hauing his heart turned Eaflward, 
 whither the poynt of his defires were direSled, toucht 
 with the ftrongeft allurements _ that jimbition, arid a 
 licentigusj[qimuign^ \could^df^w__a_man^vntp : could 
 not truly defcend to the priuate loue of a ciuill nuttred 
 
 1. 8, 'neuer' l6oi. 
 
1 20 THE ARG UMENT. 
 
 Matron, who/e entertainment hounded with modejly, and 
 the nature of her education, knew_not_ to c lothe^ Jie r 
 a^Slions in any other ^colours, then_the_plaine^Jiahi£^of 
 truth^: wherein jflte euer futed all her adlions, and vfed 
 all her bejl ornaments of Honejiie, to winne tfte goodio 
 liking of him thai held her, but as a Curtaine, drawne 
 betweene him and Oftauius, to fJiadow his other purpofes 
 wit /tall : which the fharpe fight of an equally j ealous 
 jOMMlion could foone pierce into, and as eafily looke 
 thorow, and ouer bloud and nature, as Ite to ahufe it: 
 and therefore, to preuent his afpiring, lie armes his forces, 
 either to reduce Antonie to the ranke of his efiate, or 
 elfe to difranke him out of flat e and all. WJten Oftauia 
 by t/ie imployment of Antonie (as being not yet ready to 
 put his fortune to her tryall) throwes her felfe, great ^o 
 with childe, and as big with forrow, into tfte tratiell of a 
 mofl labourfome reconciliation : taking her iourney from 
 the far thefl part of Greece, to finde Oftauius, with whom 
 her care and teares were fo good agents, tluzt they effeSled 
 their Commijfion beyond all expeSlation : and for that 
 time quite difarmed tJieir wrath, which yet long could 
 not holdfo. For Antonius falling into the relapfe of his 
 former difeafe, watching his opportunity, got ouer againe 
 into yEgvpt, where he fo forgot himfelfe, tJtat hee quite 
 put off Kis owne nature, and wholly became a prey SO 
 to^is_plealures, as if he had wouttd himfelfe 
 otit of the refpeSl of Countrey, bloud and 
 alliance ; which gaue to Oftauia the 
 caufe of much affliSlion, and 
 to mee, the Argument of 
 
 this Letter. 56 
 
A Letter fent from OSiauia to 
 
 her hufband Marcus Antonius 
 
 into ^gypt. 
 
 though moft dis- 
 keeps 
 
 in 
 
 |0 thee (yet deere) 
 loyall Lord, 
 Whom impious loue 
 
 barbarous land, 
 Thy wronged wife 0£lauia fendeth 
 
 word 
 Of th'vnkind wounds receiued by thy 
 hand : 
 Great Antony, O let thine eyes afford 
 But to permit thy heart to vnderftand 
 The hurt thou doft, and doe but reade her teares. 
 That ftill is thine though thou wilt not be hers. 
 
 Although perhaps, thefe my complaints may come 
 Whilfb thou in th'armes of that inceftuous Queene, 
 The ftaine of .(Egypt, and the fhame of Rome 
 Shalt dallying fit, and blufh to haut them feene : 
 Whilft proud difdainfuU fhe, geffing from whome 
 The meffage came, and what the caufe hath beene, 
 Will fcorning fay. Faith this comes from your Deere, 
 Now Sir you mufl be fhent for flaying heere. 
 
122 A LETTER FROM OCTA UIA 
 
 3 
 
 From her indeede it comes, delitious Dame, 
 (Thou royall Concubine and Queene of luft) 
 Whofe armes yet pure, whofe b reafts are voyde of blame, 
 And whofe mod lawfull flanie^proues thine vniuft : 
 Tis ftie that fends the meffage of thy fhame. 
 And his vntruth that hath betraid her truft : 
 Pardon, deare Lord, from her thefe forrowes are, 
 Whofe bed brings neither infamie nor warre. 
 
 4 
 
 And therefore heare her words, that too too much 
 Hath heard the wrongs committed by thy fhame. 
 Although at firft my truft in thee was fuch. 
 As it held out againft the ftrongeft fame : 
 My heart would neuer let in once a touch 
 Of leaft beleefe, till all confirm'd the fame t 
 That I was almoft laft that would belieue, 
 Becaufe I knew me firft that moft muft grieue. 
 
 How oft haue poore abufed I tooke part 
 With Falfhood, onely for to make thee true ? 
 How oft haue I argued againft my heart. 
 Not fuffering it to know that which it knew ? 
 And for I would not haue thee what thou art, 
 I made my felfe, vnto my felfe vntrue : 
 So much my loue labour'd againft my finne, 
 To fhut out feare which yet kept feare within. 
 
TO MARCUS ANTONIUS. 123 
 
 6 
 
 For I could neuer thinke th'afpiring mind 
 Of worthy and viftorious Antkonie, 
 Could be by fuch a Syren fo declind^ 
 As to be traind a prey to Luxury : 
 I could not thinke my Lord would be s'vnkind. 
 As to defpife his Children, Rome and me ; 
 But O how foone are they deceiu'd that truft. 
 And more their ftiame that will be fo vniuft. 
 
 7 
 
 But now that certaine fame hath open laid 
 Thy new relapfe, and flrange reuolt from me, 
 Truth hath quite beaten all my hopes away. 
 And made the paffage of my forrowes free ; 
 For now poore heart, there's nothing in the way 
 Remaines to ftand betwixt Defpaire and thee : 
 All is throwne downe, there comes no fuccours new, 
 It is mod true, my Lord is mofl vntrue. 
 
 S 
 
 And now I may with fhame inough pull in 
 The colours I aduanced in his grace. 
 For that fubduing powre, that him did win, 
 Hath loft me too, the honour of my face : 
 Yet why fhould I, bearing no part of f inne, 
 Beare fuch a mighty part of his difgrace ? 
 Yes, though it be not mine, it is of mine : 
 And his renowne being clipf'd, mine cannot fliine. 
 
124 ^ LETTER FROM OCTA UIA 
 
 9 
 Which makes me, as I doe, hide from the eye 
 Of the mifiudging vulgar that will deeme, 
 That fure there was in me fome reafon why 
 Which made thee thus, my bed to difefteeme : 
 So that alas, poore vndeferuing I, 
 A caufe of thy vncleane deferts fhall feeme, 
 Though luft takes neuer ioy in what is due, 
 But ftill leaues knowne delights to feeke out new. 
 
 10 
 
 And yet my brother Ccsfar laboured, 
 To haue me leaue thy houfe, and Hue more free : 
 But God forbid OSlauia fhould be led. 
 To leaue to Hue in thine, though left \yj thee. 
 The pledges here of thy forfaken bed, 
 Are ftill the obiefts that remember me 
 What Antony was once, although falfe now. 
 And is my Lord, though he negleft his vow. 
 
 II 
 
 Thefe walles that here doe keepe me out of fight, 
 Shall keepe me all vnfpotted vnto thee. 
 And teftifie that I will doe thee right ; 
 He neuer ftaine thy houfe, though thou fhame me : 
 The now fad Chamber of my once delight. 
 Shall be the Temple of my pietie. 
 Sacred vnto the faith I reuerence. 
 Where I will pay my teares for thy offence. 
 
TO MARCUS ANTONIUS. 125 
 
 12 
 
 Although my youth, thy abfence, and this wrong 
 'light draw my bloud to forfeit vnto fhame; 
 ■^or neede I fruftrate my delights fo long, 
 That haue fuch meanes to carry fo the fame, 
 Since that the face of greatneffe is fo ftrong. 
 As it diffolues fufpeft, and beares out blame; 
 Hauing all fecret helpes that long thereto. 
 That feldome wants there aught, but will to do. 
 
 13 
 
 . Which yet to doe, ere luft this heart fhall frame. 
 Earth fwallow me aliue. Hell rap me hence : 
 Shall I, becaufe difpif'd, contemne my fhame, 
 And adde difgrace to others impudence ? 
 What can my powre, but giue more powre to fame ? 
 Greatneffe muft make it great incontinence : 
 Chambers are falfe, the bed and all will tell. 
 No doore keepes in their fhame that doe not well. 
 
 14 
 
 Hath greatneffe aught peculiar elfe alone, 
 But to Hand faire and bright aboue the bafe ? 
 What doth diuide the Cottage from the^Throne, 
 If vice ^all lay both leuell with difgrace ? 
 For if vncIeaSnelTelmalce tliem IBiit allone. 
 What priuiledge hath Honour by his place ? 
 What though our finnes goe braue and better clad 
 They are as thofe in ragges, as bafe, as bad. 
 
126 A LETTER FROM OCTAUIA 
 
 IS 
 I know not how, but wrongfully I know 
 Hath vndifcerning cuftome plac'd our kind 
 Vnder defert, and fet vs farre below 
 The reputation to our fexe affign'd : 
 Charging our wrong reputed weakneffe, how 
 We are vhconftant, fickle, falfe, vnkitide : 
 And though our life with thoufand proofes flieweS no, 
 Yet fince ftrength faies it, weakeneffe muft be fo. 
 
 i6 
 
 Vnequall partage to b'allow'd no fhare 
 Of power to doe of lifes beft benefit : 
 But ftand, as if we interdifted were 
 Of vertue, aftion, liberty and might : 
 Muft you haue all, and not vouchfafe to fpare 
 Our weakneffe any int'reft of delight ? 
 Is there no portion left for vs at all, 
 But fufferance, forrow, ignorance and thrall ? 
 
 17 
 Thrice happy you, in whom it is no fault, 
 To know, to fpeake, to doe, and to be wife : 
 Whofe words haue credit, and whofe deedes, thou^ 
 
 naught, 
 Muft yet be made to feeme farre otherwife : 
 You can be onely heard, whilft we are taught 
 To hold our peace, and not to ex»ci(ie 
 The powers of our beft parts, becaufe your parts 
 Haue with our freedorae robb'd vs of our harts. 
 
TO MARCUS ANTONIUS. 127 
 
 18 
 
 We, in this prifon of ouLfelues^cOTfinjd, 
 Mufl here fliut vp with our owne paffioiis Hue, 
 Turn'd in vpon vs, and denied to find ""~" 
 
 The vent of outward meanes that might relieue : 
 That they alone muft take vp all our mind, 
 And no room left vs, but to thinke and grieue : 
 Yet oft our narrowed thoughts looke more direfl 
 Then your loofe wifdomes born with wild negledl. 
 
 19 
 
 For, fhould "we to (as God forbid we fliould) 
 Carry no better hand on our defires 
 Then your ftrength doth, what int'reft could 
 Our wronged patience pay you for your hires ? 
 WhatjOixture^of ftrange generations would 
 Succeede^he fortunes of vncertaine Sires ? 
 What foule confufion in your bloud and race 
 To your immortall Ihame and our difgrace ? 
 
 20 
 
 What ? are there barres for vs, no bounds for you ? 
 Muft Leuitie ftand fure, though Firmeneffe fall? 
 Ahd are you priuiledg'd to be vntnie, 
 And we no grant to be difpenf'd withall ? 
 Muft we inuiolable keepe your due, 
 Both to your Ipue, and to your falftiood thrall ? 
 Whilft you haue ftrfitch't your iuft vpon your will. 
 As if your ftrength were licenc'd to doe ill> 
 
128 A LETTER FROM OCTA UIA 
 
 21 
 
 O if you be more ftrong, then be more iuft, 
 Cleere this fufpition, make not the world to doubt, 
 Whether in ftrong or weake be better truft, 
 If frailty or elfe valour be more ftout : 
 And if we haue fhut in our hearts from Iuft, 
 Let not your bad example let them out, 
 Thinke that there is like feeling in our bloud : 
 If you will haue vs good, be you then good. 
 
 22 
 
 Is it, that loue doth take no true delight 
 In what it hath, but ftill in what it would, 
 Which drawes you on to doe vs this vnright, 
 Whilft feare in vs, of loof ing what we hold, 
 Keepes vs in ftill to you, that fet vs light, 
 So that, what you vnties, doth vs infolde ? 
 Then Loue, tis thou that doft confound vs fo, 
 To make our truth the occafion of our wo. 
 
 23 
 Diftreffed woman kind, that either muft 
 For louing loofe your loues, or get negleft : 
 Whilft wantons are more car'd for then the iuft, 
 And falfhood cherifht, Faith without refpeft : 
 Better fhe fares in whom is leffe truft, 
 And more is lou'd that is in more fufpeft. 
 Which (pardon me) fhewes no great ftrength of mind 
 To be moft theirs, that vfe you moft vnkind 
 
TO MARCUS ANTONIUS. 129 
 
 24 
 
 Yet well it fits, for that finne euer muft 
 Be tortur'd with the racke of his' owne frame ; 
 For he that holdes no faith, fhall find no truft. 
 But fowing wrong, is fure to reape the fame : 
 How can he looke to haue his meafure iufl:, 
 That fils deceit, and reckons not of fhame, 
 And being not pleaf 'd with what he hath in lot. 
 Shall euer pine for that which he hath not ? 
 
 25 
 
 Yet if thou couldft not loue, thou mightft haue fem'd 
 Though to haue feem'd, had likewife beene vniuft : 
 Yet fo much are leane fhewes of vs efteem'd, 
 That oft they feede, though not fuffice our truft : 
 Becaufe our nature grieueth to be deem'd 
 To be fo wrong'd, although we be, and mufl, 
 And it's fome eafe yet to be kindly vf'd 
 In outward fhew, though fecretly abuf'd. 
 
 26 
 
 But woe to her that both in fhew defpif'd 
 And in effedl difgrac'd, and left forlorne, 
 For whom no comforts are to be deuif'd. 
 Nor no new hopes can euermore be borne : 
 O Antony, could it not haue fuffiz'd 
 That I was thine, but muft be made her fcorne 
 That enuies all her bloud, and doth deuide 
 Thee from thy felfe, onely to ferue her pride ? 
 
 9 
 
130 A LETTER FROM OCTA UIA 
 
 27 
 
 What fault haue I committed that ftiould make 
 So great diflike of me and of my loue ? 
 Or doth thy fault but an occafion take 
 For to diflike what moft doth it reproue ? 
 Becaufe the confcience gladly would miftake 
 Her owne mifdeeds which fhe would faine remoue ; 
 And they that are vnwilling to amend. 
 Will take offence, becaufe they will offend. 
 
 28 
 
 Or hauing runne beyond all pardon quite, 
 They flie and ioyne with finne as wholly his. 
 Making it now their fide, their part, their right. 
 And to turne backe, would fhew t'haue done amiffe ; 
 For now they thinke, not to be oppofite 
 To what obraides their fault, were wickedneffe : 
 So much doth folly thruft them into blame, 
 That euen to leaue off fhame, they count it Ihame. 
 
 29 
 
 Which doe not thou, deere Lord, for I doe not 
 Purfue thy fault, but fue for thy retume 
 Backe to thy felfe, whom thou haft both forgot 
 With me, poore me, that doth not fpight, but mourne : 
 And if thou couldft as well amend thy blot 
 As I forgiue, thefe plaints had beene forborne : 
 And thou fhouldft be the fame vnto my hart 
 Which once thou were, not that which now thou art. 
 
TO MARCUS ANTOmUS. 131 
 
 30 
 
 Though deepe doth fit the hard recouering fmart 
 Of that laft woua d (which God grant be the laft) 
 And more doth touch that tender feeling part 
 Of my fad foule, then all th'vnkindneffe paft : 
 And Antony, I appeale to thine owne hart, 
 (If th'heart which once was thine thou yet ftill haft) 
 To iudge if euer woman that did liue 
 Had iufter caufe, then wretched I, to grieue. 
 
 31 
 For comming vnto Athens, as I did, 
 Weary and weake with toyle, and all diftreft, 
 After I had with forrow compaffed 
 A hard confent, to grant me that requeft : 
 And how my trauell was confidered, 
 And all my care and coft, thy felfe knowes beft : 
 That wouldft not moue one foote from luft for me, 
 That had left all was deere to come to thee. 
 
 32 
 
 For firft what great adoe had I to win 
 M'offended brother Cmfars backward will ? 
 And praid, and wept, and cride to flay the finne 
 Of ciuill rancor rifing twixt you flill : 
 For in what cafe (hall wretched I be in, 
 Set twixt both, to fhare with both your ill ? 
 My bloud faid I with either of you goes, 
 Who euer win, I fhall be fure to lofe. 
 
132 A LETTER FROM OCTAUIA 
 
 33 
 For what fliame ftiould fuch mighty perfons get, 
 F"or two weake womens caufe to difagree ? 
 Nay, what fhall I that fhall be deem'd to fet 
 Th'inkindled fire, feeming inflam'd for me ? 
 O if I be the motiue of this heate. 
 Let thefe vnguilty hands the quenchers be. 
 And let me trudge to mediate an accord, 
 The agent twixt my brother and my Lord. 
 
 34 
 With prayers, vowes and teares, with vrging hard 
 I wrung from him a flender grant at laft. 
 And with the rich prouifions I prepar'd 
 For thy (intended Parthian warre) made hafte, 
 Weighing not how my poore weake body far'd, 
 But all the tedious difficulties part : 
 And came to Athens ; whence I Niger fent, 
 To fhew thee of my comming and intent. 
 
 35 
 Whereof, when he had made relation, 
 I was commanded to approach no neare ; 
 Then fent I backe, to know what Ihould be done 
 With th'horfe, and men, and money I had there : 
 Whereat perhaps when fome remorfe begun 
 To touch thy foule, to thinke yet what we were, 
 Th'inchantreffe ftrait ftept twixt thy heart and thee, 
 And intercepts all thoughts that came of mee. 
 
TO MARCUS ANTONIUS. 133 
 
 36 
 She armes her teares, the mgins of deceit 
 And all her batterie, to oppofe my loue, 
 And bring thy comming grace to a retreit, 
 The powre of all her fubtilty to proue : 
 Now pale and faint fhe languifhes, and ftrait 
 Seemes in a found, vnable more to moue : 
 Whilft her inftrufted fellowes ply thine eares 
 With forged paffions, mixt with fained teares. 
 
 37 
 Hard-hearted Lord, fay they, how canft thou fee 
 This mighty Queene, a creature fo diuine 
 Lie thus diflreft, and languifhing for thee. 
 And onely wretched, but for being thine ? 
 Whilft bafe OSlauia muft intitled be 
 Thy wife, and fhe efteem'd thy Concubine : 
 Aduance thy heart, raife it vnto his right. 
 And let a Scepter bafer paffions quit. 
 
 38 
 
 Thus they affaile thy natures weakeft fide, 
 And worke vpon th'aduantage of thy minde, 
 Knowing where iudgement ftood leaft fortified, 
 And how t'incounter folly in her kinde : 
 But yet the while, O what doft^thou abide. 
 Who in thy felfe fuch wraftling thoughts doft finde .■• 
 In what confufed cafe is thy foule in, 
 Rackt betwixt pitty, forrow, fhame and fin ? 
 
134 ^ LETTER FROM OCTA UIA 
 
 39 
 I cannot tell, but fure I dare beleeue 
 My trauels needs rnuft fome compaffion moue : 
 For no fuch locke to bloud could Nature giue 
 To fliut out Pitty, though it fhut out Loue : 
 Confcience muft leaue a little way to grieue 
 To let in horror comming to reproue 
 The guilt of thine offence that cauf'd the fame, 
 For deepeft wounds the hand of our owne fhame. 
 
 40 
 
 Neuer haue vniuft pleafures beene compleete, 
 In ioyes intire, but ftill feare kept the dore, 
 And held backe fomething from that full of fweete, 
 To interfowre vnfure delights the more : 
 For neuer did all circumftances meete 
 With thofe defires which were conceiu'd before : 
 Some thing muft ftill be left to checke our finne, 
 And giue a touch of what fhould not haue bin. 
 
 41 
 Wretched Mankinde, wherfore hath nature made 
 The lawfull vndelightfuU, th'vniuft fhame ? 
 As if our pleafure onely were forbade, 
 But to giue fire to luft, t'adde greater flame ; 
 Or elfe, but as ordained more to lade 
 Our heart with paffions to confound the fame ; 
 Which though it be, yet adde not worfe to ill. 
 Do, as the beft men do, bound thine owne will. 
 
TO MARCUS ANTONIUS. 135 
 
 42 
 
 Redeeme thy felfe, and now at length make peace 
 With tliy diuided heart oppreft with toile : 
 Breake vp this warre, this breft-diffention ceafe,' 
 Thy paffions to thy paffions reconcile : 
 I do not onely feeke my good t'increafe, 
 But thine owne eafe, and liberty : the while 
 Thee in the circuit of thy felfe confine, 
 And be thine owne, and then thou wilt be mine. 
 
 43 
 I know my pittied loue, doth aggrauate 
 Enuy and Wrath for thefe wrongs offered : 
 And that my fuffrings adde with my eftate, 
 Coales in thy bofome, hatred on thy head : 
 Yet is not that, my fault, but, my hard fate. 
 Who rather wifti to haue beene vnpitied 
 Of all but thee, then that my loue fhould be 
 Hurtfull to him that is fo deere to me. 
 
 44 
 
 Cannot the bufie world Jetjme alone. 
 To beare alone the burthen of my griefe, 
 But they muft intermeddle with my mone. 
 And feeke t'offend me with vnfought reliefe ? 
 Whilft my affliftions labour to moue none 
 But onely thee, muft Pitty play the thiefe, 
 To fteale fo many hearts to hurt my hart, 
 . And moue a part againft my deerefh part ? 
 
J36 A LETTER FROM OCTA UIA 
 
 45 
 Yet all this fhall not preiudice my Lord, 
 If yet he will but make returne at laft ; 
 His fight fhall raze out of the fad record 
 Of my inrowled griefe all that is paft : 
 And I will not fo much as once afford 
 Place for a thought to thinke I was difgrac'd 
 And pitty Ihall bring backe againe with me 
 Th'offended harts that haue forfaken thee. 
 
 46 
 
 And therefore come deere Lord, left longer flay 
 Do arme againft thee all the powres of fpight, 
 And thou be made at laft the wofuU pray 
 Of full inkindled wrath, and ruin'd quite : 
 But what prefaging thought of bloud doth ftay 
 My trembling hand, and doth my foule affright ? 
 What horror do I fee, prepar'd t'attend 
 Th'euent of this ? what end vnleffe thou end ? 
 
 4; 
 With what flrange formes and fliadowes ominous 
 Did my laft lleepe, my grieu'd foule intertaine ? 
 I dreamt, yee O dreames are but friuolous, 
 
 And yet He tell it, and God grant it vaine. 
 
 A sea horse. ^^ , , . ' ,,. ° 
 
 Me thought a mighty Hippopotamus 
 From Nilus floating, thrufts into the maine, 
 Vpon whofe backe, a wanton Mermaide fate. 
 As if fhe rul'd his courfe, and fteer'd his fate. 
 
TO MARCUS ANTONIUS. 137 
 
 48 
 
 With whom t'incounter, forth another makes, 
 Alike in kind, of ftrength and powre as good : 
 At whofe ingrappling, Neptunes mantle takes 
 A purple colour, dyde with ftreames of bloud ; 
 Whereat this looker on amaz'd, forfakes 
 Her Champion there, who yet the better flood : 
 But fe'ing her gone, ftrait after her he hies. 
 As if his heart and ftrength lay in her eyes. 
 
 49 
 On foUowes Wrath vpon Difgrace and Feare, 
 Whereof th'euent forfooke me with the night 
 But my wak'd cares, gaue me : thefe fhadowes were 
 Drawne but from darkeneffe to inftruft the light. 
 Thefe fecret figures, natures meffage beare 
 Of comming woes, were they defciphered right ; 
 But if as cloudes of fleepe thou fhalt them take, 
 Yet credite Wrath and Spight that are awake. 
 
 SO 
 
 Preuent, great fpirit, the tempefts that begin, 
 If Luft and thy Ambition haue left way 
 But to looke out, and haue not fhut all in, 
 To ftop thy iudgement from a true furuay 
 Of thy eftate, and let my hart within 
 Confider in what danger thou doft lay 
 Thy life and mine, to leaue the good thou haft. 
 To follow hopes with fhadowes ouercaft. 
 
138 A LETTER FR OM O CTA VIA . 
 
 SI 
 
 Come, come away from wrong, from craft, from toile, 
 Poffeffe thine owne with right, with trueth, with peace : 
 Breake from thefe fnares, thy iudgment vnbeguile, 
 Free thine owne torment, and my griefe releafe. 
 But whither am I carried all this while 
 Beyond my fcope, and know not when to ceafe ? 
 Words ftill with my increafing forrowes grow : 
 I know t'haue faid too much,_but jiot^now. 
 Wherefore no more, but onely I commend 
 To thee the hart that's thine, and fo I end. 
 
 Finis. 
 
V. 
 
 A PANEGYRIKE CONGRATVLATORIE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE KING 
 
 {JAMES /.). 
 1603. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 In the gift-folio of i6oi in the Bodleian and other copies, this ' Panegyrike ' 
 is found, so that it was probably privately printed and presented before the 
 King arrived in England ; albeit the 1601 volume is evidently made up of 
 earlier and later printed pieces. A holograph MS. of this 'Panegyrike' 
 is in the British Museum (Royal MSS. A 18. 72). So far as appears it 
 was first published in 1603 : — " A Panegyrike congratulatorie to the King's 
 Maieflie ; alfo certaine epiftles" — folio [British Museum, 837 K 9 (i)]. 
 In the same year it was re-issued with a new general title-page, and 
 ' Defence of Ryme ' added : ' Printed by V. S. for E.- Blount ' [Ibid. 644, 
 K 8 (2) folio]. Another (8vo) edition bears the same date (Ibid. 1076, f. 2), 
 It was also contemporarily reprinted at Edinburgh (4to, 1603). The 
 special title-page in the 1601 volume is given opposite this. It is within 
 the wood-cut border of the others. Unlike his ' Delia ' and ' Funerall 
 Poeme ' for Devonshire, the Author seems to have left the ' Panegyrike ' 
 unaltered, save in the slight variations and margin-note recorded in their 
 places, and in st. 30. See our Memorial-Introduction on this ' Panegyrike.' 
 
 A. B. G. 
 
Semper Eadem. 
 
 A 
 
 PANEGYRIKE 
 CONGRATVLATORY 
 
 Deliuered to the Kings moft 
 
 excellent maiefly at Burleigh 
 
 Harringion in Rutlandfliire. 
 
 By Samvel Daniel. 
 
 Alfo certaine Epijiles. 
 
 With a Defence of Ryme 
 
 heeretofore written, and now 
 
 publiftied by tlie 
 
 Author. 
 
 Carmen amat, quifquis carmine digna gerit. 
 
 At London 
 Printed by V. S. for Edward Blount. 
 
.^iS^ 
 
A PAN EGYRI KE 
 
 CONGRATVLATORIE 
 
 to the Kings moft excellent 
 Maiejlie. 
 
 lOe here the glory of a greater day 
 Then England euer heretofore could 
 
 fee 
 In all her dales ! When fhe did moft 
 
 difplay 
 The enfignes of her pow'r, or when as 
 
 fhe 
 Did fpread her felfe the moft, and 
 moft did fway 
 Her ftate abroade, yet could fhe neuer be 
 Thus bleft at home, nor euer come to grow 
 To be intire in her full Orbe till now. 
 
 And now fhe is, and now in peace therefore 
 Shake hands with Vnion, O thou mighty State, 
 Now thou art all Great-: Britaine and no more. 
 No Scot, no Englifli now, nor no debate ; 
 No borders but the Ocean and the fhore : 
 No wall of Adiian ferues to feparate 
 Our mutuall loue, nor our obedience, 
 Being Subiefls all to one imperiall Prince. 
 
 St. 2, 1, 3, ' great Brittaine ' i6oi. 
 
144 ^ PANEGYRIKE 
 
 3 
 
 What heretofore could neuer yet be wrought 
 
 By all the fwords of pow'r, by bloud, by fire, 
 
 By ruine and diftruftion ; here is brought 
 
 To paffe with peace, with loue, with ioy, defire 
 
 Our former bleffed vnion hath begot 
 
 A greater vnion that is more intire, 
 
 And makes vs more our felues, fets vs at one 
 
 With Nature that ordain'd vs to be one. 
 
 4 
 Glory of men, this haft thou brought to vs, 
 And yet haft brought vs more then this by farre ; 
 Religion comes with thee, peace, righteoufneffe, 
 lodgement and iuftice, which more glorious are 
 Then all thy Kingdomes ; and art more by this 
 Then Lord and Sou'raigne, more then Emperor 
 Ouer the hearts of men that let thee in 
 To more then all the pow'rs on earth can win. 
 
 5 
 / God makes thee King of our eftates, but we 
 Doe make thee King of our affeffion. 
 King of our loue : a paff ion borne more free, 
 And moft vnfubieft to dominion : 
 And know, that England which in that degree 
 Can loue with fuch a true deubtion, 
 Thofe that are leffe then Kings ; to thee muft bring 
 More loue, who art fo much more then a King. 
 
 St. 3 in a, 1. 3, ' to paffe ' ends 1. 3 (error). 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 145 
 
 And King of ..this great Nation, populous, 
 
 Stout, valiant, pow'rfuU both by Sea and Land, 
 
 Attemptiue, able, worthy, generous. 
 
 Which ioyfuUy embraces thy command ; 
 
 A people traflable, obfequious, 
 
 Apt to be fafhion'd by thy glorious hand 
 
 To any forme of honor, t'any way 
 
 Of high attempts, thy vertues fhall affay. 
 
 7 
 A people fo inur'd to peace, fo wrought 
 To a fucceff iue courfe of quietneffe. 
 As th'haue forgot (and O, b'it ftill forgot) 
 The nature of their ancient ftubbornneffe : 
 Time altred hath the forme, the meanes, and brought 
 The State to that proportion'd euenneffe, 
 As 'tis not like againe 'twill euer come 
 (Being vf d abroad) to draw the fword at home. 
 
 8 
 
 This people, this great State, thefe hearts adore 
 Thy Scepter now, and now turne all to thee, 
 Touch't with as pow'rfull zeale, and if not more, 
 (And yet O more, how could there euer be 
 Then vnto her, whom yet we doe deplore 
 Amidft our ioy !) And giue vs leaue if we 
 Reioyce and mourne, that cannot without wrong 
 So foone forget her we enioy'd fo long. 
 
 I. 10 
 
146 A PANEGYRIKE 
 
 9 
 Which likewife makes for thee, that yet we holde 
 True after death, and bring not this refpeft 
 To a new Prince for hating of the olde ; 
 Or from defire of change, or from neglefl ; 
 Whereby, O mighty Soueraigne, thou art tolde 
 Wliat thou and thine are likely to expeft 
 From fuch a faith, that doth not hafte to runne 
 Before their time to an arifing Sunne. 
 
 lO 
 
 And let my humble Mufe, whom fhe did grace. 
 
 Beg this one grace for her that now lies dead. 
 
 That no vile tongue may fpot her with difgrace, 
 
 Nor that her fame become disfigured : 
 
 O let her reft in peace, that rul'd in peace ; 
 
 Let not her honour be difquieted 
 
 Now after death : but let the Graue inclofe 
 
 All but her good, and that it cannot clofe. 
 
 II 
 
 It addes much to thy glory and our grace. 
 That this continued current of our loue 
 Runnes thus to thee, all with fo fwift a pace ; 
 And that from peace to peace we doe remoue 
 Not as in motion put from out our place, 
 But in one courfe, and doe not feeme to moue. 
 But in more ioy then euer heretofore ; 
 And well we may, fince thou wilt make vs more. 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 147 
 
 12 
 
 Our loue we fee concurres with Gods great loue, 
 Who onely made thy way, thy paffage plaine, 
 Leuell'd the world for thee, did all remoue, 
 That might the fhew but of a let retaine : 
 Vnbarr'd the North, humbled the South, did moue 
 The hearts of all the right to entertaine ; 
 Held other ftates embroil'd, whofe enuie might 
 Haue foftred fadlions to impugne thy right ; 
 
 13 
 
 And all for thee, that we the more might praife 
 The glory of his powre, and reuerence thine, 
 Whom he hath raif'd to glorifie our dayes, 
 And make this Empire of the North to fhine 
 Againft all th'impious workings, all th'affayes 
 Of vile difnatur'd Vipers, whofe def igne 
 Was to embroile the State, t'obfcure the light. 
 And that cleere brightneffe of thy facred right. 
 
 To whofe reproch, fince th'iffue and fucceffe 
 Doth a fufficient marke of fhame returne. 
 Let no Pen elfe blazon their ouglineffe ; 
 Be it enough, that God and men doe fcorne 
 Their proiefts, cenfures, vaine pretendences : 
 Let not our children, that are yet vnborne, 
 Find there were any offred to conteft, 
 Or make a doubt to haue our Kingdome bleft. 
 
148 A PANEGYRIKE 
 
 Burie that queftion in th'eternall graue 
 
 Of darkneffe, neuer to be feene againe : 
 
 Suffice we haue thee whom we ought to haue, 
 
 And t'whom all good men knew did appertaine 
 
 Th'inheritance thy facred birth-right gaue, 
 
 That needed n'other fuffrages t'ordaine 
 
 What onely was thy due, nor no decree 
 
 To be made know'n, f ince none was known but thee. 
 
 16 
 
 Witneffe the ioy, the vniuerfall cheere, 
 The fpeede, the eafe, the will, the forwardneffe 
 Of all this great and fpacious State, how deere 
 It held thy title and thy worthineffe : 
 Hafte could not poft fo fpeedy any where, 
 But Fame feem'd there before in readineffe. 
 To tell our hopes, and to proclaime thy name ; 
 O greater then our hopes, more then thy fame ! 
 
 17 
 What a returne of comfort doft thou bring 
 Now at this frefh returning of our bloud. 
 Thus meeting with the opening of the Spring, 
 To make our fpirits likewife to imbud ! 
 What a new feafon of incouraging 
 Biginnes t'inlength the dayes difpof'd to good ! 
 What apprehenfion of recouerie 
 Of greater ftrength, of more abilitie ! 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 149 
 
 18 
 
 The pulfe of England neuer more did beat 
 So ftrong as now : nor euer were our harts 
 Let out to hopes fo fpacious and fo great 
 As now they are : nor euer in all parts 
 Did we thus feele fo comfortable heat, 
 As now the glory of thy worth imparts : 
 The whole compledlion of the Common-wealth, 
 So vveake before, hop'd neuer for more health. 
 
 Could'ft thou but fee from Doner to the Mount, 
 From Totnes, to the Orcades, what ioy, 
 What cheere, what triumphs, and what deere account 
 Is held of thy renowne this bleffed day : 
 A day which we and ours muft euer count 
 Our folemne feftiuall, as well we may. 
 /And though men thus court Kings ftill which are new. 
 Yet doe they more, where they find more is due. 
 
 20 
 
 They feare the humours of a future Prince, 
 
 Who either loft a good or felt a bad, 
 
 But thou haft cheer'd vs of this feare long fince, 
 
 We know thee more, then by report we had : 
 
 We haue an euerlafting euidence 
 
 Vnder thy hand, that now we need not dread 
 
 Thou wilt be otherwife in thy defignes 
 
 Then there thou art in thofe iudiciall lines. 
 
 St. 18, 1. 5, a misprints 'freely.' 
 
A PANEGYRIKE 
 
 21 
 
 It is the greateft glory vpon earth 
 
 To be a King, but yet much more to giue 
 
 The inftitution with the happy birth 
 
 Vnto a King, and teach him how to Hue : 
 
 VVe haue, by thee, far more then thine owne worth, 
 
 That doth encourage, ftrengthen and reheue 
 
 Our hopes in the fucceffion of thy blood. 
 
 That like to thee, they likewife will be good. 
 
 22 
 
 VVe haue an earneft, that doth euen tie 
 Thy Scepter to thy word, and binds thy Crowne 
 (That els no band can binde) to ratifie 
 What thy religious hand hath there fet downe. 
 Wherein thy all commanding Soueraigntie 
 Stands fubieft to thy Pen and thy renowne ; 
 There we behold thee King of thine owne hart. 
 And fee what we muft be, and what thou art. 
 
 23 
 There great Exemplare, Prototipe, of Kings, 
 VVe finde the good fhall dwell within thy Court ; 
 </ Plaine zeale and truth, free from bafe flatterings. 
 Shall there be entertain'd, and haue refort ; 
 Honeft difcretion, that no cunning brings. 
 But counfels that lie right, and that import. 
 Is there receiu'd, with thofe whofe care attends 
 Thee and the State more then their priuate ends. 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 151 
 
 24 
 
 There grace and fauour ftiall not be difpof'd, 
 But by proportion, euen and vpright ; 
 There are no mightie Mountaines interpof'd 
 Betweene thy beames and vs, t'imbarre thy light ; 
 There Maiefty Hues not as if inclof'd 
 Or made a prey t'a priuate benefit : 
 The hand of Pow'r deales there her owne reward, 
 And thereby reapes the whole of mens regard. 
 
 25 
 There is no way to get vp to refpeft, 
 But o'nely by the way of worthineffe ; 
 All paffages that may feeme indire6t 
 Are ftopt vp now, and th^ere is no acceffe 
 By groffe corruption, bribes cannot effedl 
 For th'vndeferuing any offices ; 
 Th'afcent is cleane, and he that doth afcend 
 Muft haue his meanes as cleane as is his end. 
 
 26 
 
 The deeds of worth and laudable defarts 
 
 Shall not now paffe thorow the ftraight report , 
 
 Of an imbafing tongue, that but imparts 
 
 What with his ends and humours Ihall comport : 
 
 The Prince himfelfe now heares, fees, knowes what parts 
 
 Honor and Vertue a6ls, and in what fort : 
 
 And thereto giues his grace accordingly, 
 
 And cheeres vp other to the like thereby. 
 
152 A PANEGYRIKE 
 
 27 
 
 Nor fhall we now haue vfe of flatterie, 
 
 For he knowes falfliood farre more fubtill is 
 
 Then truth, bafeneffe then libertie, 
 
 Feare then loue, t'inuent thefe flourifhes : 
 
 And Adulation now is fpent fo nie 
 
 As that it hath no colours to expreffe 
 
 That which it would, that now we muft be faine 
 
 T'vnlearne that Arte, and labour to be plaine. 
 
 28 
 
 For where there is no eare to be abuf'd 
 
 None will be found that dare t'informe a wrong : 
 
 The infolent deprauer ftands confuf'd : 
 
 The impious Atheift feemes to want a tongue, 
 
 Transform'd into the falhion that is vf'd. 
 
 All ftriue t'appeare like thofe they liue among, 
 
 And all will feeme compof'd by that fame fquare 
 
 By which they fee the beft and greateft are. 
 
 29 
 
 Such pow'r hath thy example and refpeft. 
 As that without a fword, without debate, 
 Without a noife (or feeling in effedl) 
 Thou wilt difpofe, change, forme, accommodate 
 Thy Kingdome, people, rule, and all effeft 
 Without the leaft conuulfion of the State; 
 That this great paffage and mutation will 
 Not feeme a change, but onely of our ill. 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 153 
 
 30 
 We (hall continue and remaine all one, 
 In Law, in luftice, and in Magiftrate ; 
 Thou wilt not alter the foundation 
 Thy Anceftors haue laid of this Eftate, 
 Nor grieue thy Land with innouation, 
 Nor take from vs more then thou wilt collate ; 
 Knowing that courfe is befl to be obferu'd, 
 Whereby a State hath longeft beene preferu'd. 
 
 31 
 A King of England now moft graciouflie, 
 Remits the iniuries that haue beene done 
 T'a King of Scots, and makes his clemencie 
 To checke them more then his corredlion ; 
 Th'annointed bloud that ftain'd moft fhamefully 
 This ill feduced State, he lookes thereon 
 With th'eye of griefe, not wrath, t'auenge the fame. 
 Since th' Authors are extinfl that cauf'd that fhame. 
 
 32 
 Thus mightie riuers quietly doe glide, 
 And doe not by their rage their powers profeffe. 
 But by their mightie workings, when in pride 
 Small Torrents roare more lowd, and worke much leffe : 
 Peace, greatneffe beft becomes : calme power doth guide 
 With a farre more imperious ftatelineffe. 
 Then all the fwords of violence can doe, 
 And eafier gaines thofe ends fhe tends vnto. 
 
 St. 30. We fliall continue one, and be the fame 
 In Law, in' luftice, Magiftrate and forme. 
 Thou wilt not touch the fundamental! frame 
 Of their Eftate thy Anceftors did forme 
 But with a reuerence of their glorious fame 
 Seek onely the corruptions to reforme (1601 folio). 
 
IS4 -A FANEGYRIKE 
 
 33 
 Then England, thou haft reafon thus to cheare, 
 Reafon to ioy and triumph in this wife, 
 When thou fhalt gaine fo much, and haue no feare 
 To lofe ought els but thy deformities ; 
 When thus thou Ihalt haue health and be fet cleare 
 From all thy great infeflious maladies, 
 By fuch a hand that beft knowes how to cure, 
 And where moft lie thofe griefes thou dofl endure. 
 
 34 
 When thou fhalt fee there is another grace 
 Then to be rich ; another dignitie 
 Namviimpi-"^^^'^ money; other meanes for place 
 tS'X^Then gold; wealth Ihall not now make 
 discipuna, honeftie ; 
 
 boniBneque When thou fhalt fee the eftimation bafe 
 iuimZtis Of that which mofl afflifts our miferie : 
 poUei, Without the which, elfe could'ft thou neuer fee 
 Our wayes laid right, nor men themfelues to bee. 
 
 35 
 By which improuement we fhall gaine much more 
 Then by Peru, or all difcoueries : 
 For this way to imbafe, is to inftore 
 The treafure of the Land, and make it rife. 
 This is the onely key t'vnlocke the dore. 
 To let out plenty, that it may fufHce : 
 For more then all this He, for more increafe 
 Of fubiefts then by thee, there can increafe. 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 155 
 
 36 
 
 This fliall make roome and place enough for all, 
 
 Which otherwife would not fuffice a few, 
 
 And by proportion Geometricall 
 
 Shall fo difpofe to all what fliall be due, 
 
 As that without corruption, wrangling, brawle, 
 
 Intrufion, wrefting, and by meanes vndue, 
 
 Defert fliall haue her charge, and but one charge. 
 
 As hauing but one body to difcharge. 
 
 37 
 Whereby the all in-cheering Maiefliie 
 Shall come to fliine at full in all her parts. 
 And fpread her beames of comfort equally. 
 As being all alike to like defarts : 
 For thus to checke, imbafe and vilifie 
 Th'efteeme of wealth, will fafliion fo our hearts 
 To worthy ends, as that we fliall by much 
 More labour to be good then to be rich. 
 
 38 
 This will make peace with Law, reftore the Bar, 
 T'her ancient filence, where contention now p. 
 Makes fo confuf'd a noife ; this will debar ' > 
 
 The fofl:ring of debate, and ouerthrow 
 That ougly Monft:er, that foule rauener. 
 Extortion, which fo hideoufly did grow, 
 By making prey vpon our mifery. 
 And wafting it againe as wickedly. 
 
iS6 ^A PANEGYRIKE 
 
 39 
 The ftrange examples of impou'rifhments, 
 Of facriledge, exaftion and of wafte, 
 Shall not be made, nor held as prefidents 
 For times to come, but end with th'ages paft : 
 Whenas the State fhall yeeld more fuppHments 
 (Being well imploy'd) then Kings can well exhauft ; 
 This golden Meadow lying ready ftill 
 Then to be mow'd, when their occafions will. 
 
 40 
 
 Fauour, like pitie, in the hearts of men 
 
 Haue the firft touches euer violent : 
 
 But foone againe it comes to languifh, when 
 
 The motiue of that humour (hall be fpent : 
 
 But being ftill fed with that which firft hath been 
 
 The caufe thereof, it holdes ftill permanent, 
 
 And is kept in by courfe, by forme, by kinde. 
 
 And time begets more ties that ftill more binde. 
 
 41 
 The broken frame of this difioynted State, 
 Being by the bliffe of thy great Grandfather 
 Henry the feuenth, reftor'd to an eftate 
 More found then euer, and more ftedfafter, 
 Owes all it hath to him, and iff that rate 
 Stands bond to thee that art his fucceffer : 
 For without him it had not beene begunne. 
 And without thee we had beene now vndone. 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 157 
 
 42 
 
 He, of a priuate man, became a King, 
 
 Hauing indur'd the weight of tyrannic, 
 
 Mourn'd with the world, complain'd, and knew the thing 
 
 That good men wifh for in their miferie 
 
 Vnder ill Kings, faw what it was to bring 
 
 Order and forme to the recouerie 
 
 Of an vnruly State ; conceiu'd what cure 
 
 Would kill the caufe of this diftemp'rature. 
 
 43 
 Thou, borne a King, hafl; in thy State endur'd 
 The fowre affronts of priuate difcontent 
 With fubiefts broiles ; and euer beene enur'd 
 To this great myfterie of gouernment : 
 Whereby thy Princely wifdome hath allur'd 
 A State to peace, left to thee turbulent, 
 And brought vs an addition to the frame 
 Of this great worke, fquar'd fitly to the fame. 
 
 44 
 And both you (by the all-working Prouidence, 
 That fafhions out of dangers, toyles, debates, 
 Thofe whom it hath ordained to commence 
 The firft, and great eftablifhments of States) 
 Came when your aide, your powers experience 
 (Which out of iudgement befl accommodates 
 Thefe ioynts of rule) was more then moft defir'd, 
 And when the times of neede the moft requir'd. 
 
 St. 43, 1. I, a misprints 'Tlien,' 
 
iS8 A 'PANEGYRIKE 
 
 45 
 And as he laid the modell of this frame, 
 By which was built fo ftrong a worke of State, 
 As all the powers of changes in the fame, 
 All that exceffe of a difordinate 
 And luftfull Prince, nor all that after came, 
 Nor child, nor ftranger, nor yet womens fate. 
 Could once difioynt the couplements, whereby 
 It held together in iuft Symetry. 
 
 46 
 
 So thou likewife art come as fore-ordaind. 
 To reinforce the fame more really, 
 Which oftentimes hath but beene entertain'd 
 By the onely ftile and name of Maiefty ; 
 And by no other counfells oft attain'd 
 Thofe ends of her inioy'd tranquility. 
 Then by this forme, and by the incumbrances 
 Of neighbour States that gaue it a fucceffe. 
 
 47 
 That hadft thou had no title (as thou haft 
 The onely right, and none hath els a right) 
 We yet muft now haue bin inforc'd t'haue caft 
 Our felues into thy armes, to fet all right, 
 And to auert confufion, bloudfhed, wafte. 
 That otherwife vpon vs needes muft light : 
 None but a King, and no King els befide 
 Could now haue fau'd this State from being deftroid'. 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 159 
 
 48 
 
 Thus hath the hundred jeeres brought backe againe 
 The facred bloud lent to adorne the North, 
 And here return'd it with a greater gaine, 
 And greater glory then we fent it forth. 
 Thus doth th'all-working Prouidence retaine, 
 And keepe for great effefls the feede of worth, 
 And fo doth point the flops of time thereby, 
 In periods of vncertaine certainty. 
 
 49 
 Margaret of Richmond (glorious Grandmother 
 Vnto that other precious Margaret, 
 From whence th' Almighty worker did transfer 
 This branch of peace, as from a roote well fet) 
 Thou Mother, Author, Plotter, Counfeller 
 Of vnion, that didft both conceiue, beget 
 And bring forth happineffe to this great State, 
 To make it thus intirely fortunate. 
 
 SO 
 
 O couldft thou now but view this faire fucceffe, 
 This great effeft of thy religious worke, 
 And fee therein how God hath pleaf'd to bleffe 
 Thy charitable counfels and to worke 
 Still greater good out of the bleffedneffe 
 Of this conioyned Lancajler and Yorke : 
 Which all conioyn'd within, and thofe fhut out 
 Whom nature and their birth had fet without. 
 
 St. 48, margin-note from 1601 folio — " It is iuft a hundred yeares fince the 
 Lady Margaret was married to James the fourth King of Scots." 
 
i6o A PANEGYRIKE 
 
 SI 
 How much haft thou bound all pofterities 
 In this great worke to reuerence thy name ! 
 And with thee, that religious, faithfull, wife 
 And learned Mourton, who contriu'd the fame, 
 And firft aduif'd, and did fo well aduife 
 As that the good fucceffe that thereof came 
 Shew'd well, that holy hands, cleane thoughts, cleere harts 
 Are onely fit to a£l fUch glorious parts. 
 
 52 
 
 But Mufe, thefe deare remembrances muft be 
 In their conuenient places regiftred, 
 When thou ftialt bring fterne difcord to agree, 
 And bloudy warre into a quiet bed : 
 Which worke muft now be finiftied by thee, 
 That long hath laine vndone, as deftined 
 Vnto the glory of thefe dayes : for which 
 Thy vowes and Verfe haue laboured fo much. 
 
 S3 
 
 Thou euer haft oppofed all thy might 
 Againft contention, furie, pride and wrong, 
 Perfwading ftill to hold the courfe of right ; 
 And peace hath beene the burden of thy fon^ : 
 And now thy felfe fhalt haue the benefit 
 Of quietneffe, which thou haft wanted long ; 
 And now fhalt haue calme peace, and vnion 
 With thine owne warres, and now thou muft go on. 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. i6i 
 
 54 
 Onely the ioy of this fo deare a thing 
 Made me looke backe vnto the caufe, whence came 
 This fo great good, this bleffing of a King, 
 When our eftate fo much requir'd the fame : 
 When we had need of pow'r for the well ordering 
 Of our affaires, need of a fpirit to frame 
 The world to good, to grace and worthineffe. 
 Out of this humour of luxurioufneffe. 
 
 55 
 And brings vs backe vnto our felues againe, 
 Vnto our ancient natiue modeftie ; 
 From out thefe forren finnes we entertaine, 
 Thefe lothefome furfets, dugly gluttonie ; 
 From this vnmanly and this idle vaine 
 Of wanton and fuperfluous brauery : 
 The wracke of Gentry, fpoyle of Nobleneffe ; 
 And fquare vs by thy temp'rate foberneffe. 
 
 56 
 
 When Abftinence is fafhion'd by the Time,^ 
 It is no rare thing to be abflinent. 
 But then it is, when th'age full fraught with crime 
 Lies proftrate vnto all mifgouernment. 
 And who is not licencious in the prime 
 And heate of youth, nor then incontinent 
 When out of might he may, he neuer will ; 
 No power can tempt him to that tafte of ill. 
 I. II 
 
i62 A PANEGYRIKE 
 
 57 
 Then what are we t'expe6l from fuch a hand 
 That doth this fterne of faire example guide ? 
 Who will not now fliame to haue no command 
 Ouer his lufts ? Who would be feene t'abide 
 VnfaithfuU to his vowes, to infringe the band 
 Of a moft facred knot which God hath tide ? 
 Who would now feeme to be difhonoured 
 With thVncleane touch of an vnlawfull bed ? 
 
 58 
 
 What a great checke will this chafte Court be now 
 To wanton Court debaufht with luxury ; 
 Where we no other Miftreffes Ihall know 
 But her to whom we owe our loyalty ? 
 Chafte Mother of our Princes, whence do grow 
 Thofe righteous iffues, which fhall glorifie 
 And comfort many Nations with their worth, 
 To her perpetuall grace that brought them forth. 
 
 59 
 We fhall not feare to haue our wiues diftain'd, 
 Nor yet our daughters violated here 
 By an imperiall luft, that being vnrain'd, 
 Will hardly be ref ifted any where. 
 He will not be betrai'd with eafe, nor train'd 
 With idle reft, in foft delights to weare 
 His time of life : but knowes whereto he tends, 
 How worthy minds are made for worthy ends. 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 163 
 
 60 
 
 And that this mighty worke of vrrion now- 
 Begun with glory, muft with grace run on, 
 And be fo clof'd, as all the ioynts may grow 
 Together firme in due proportion : 
 A worke of power and Judgement, that muft fhow 
 All parts of wifedome and difcretion 
 That man can fhew, that no cloud may impaire 
 This day of hope, whofe morning fliewes fo faire. 
 
 61 
 
 He hath a mighty burden to fuftaine, 
 Whofe fortune doth fucceed a gracious Prince, 
 Or where mens expedlations entertaine 
 Hopes of more good, and more beneficence : 
 But yet he vndergoes a greater paine, 
 A more laborious worke, who muft commence 
 The great foundation of a gouernment, , 
 And lay the frame of Order and Content. 
 
 62 
 
 Efpecially where mens defires do runne 
 A greedy courfe of eminency, gaine, 
 And priuate hopes, weighing not what is done 
 For the Republicke, fo themfelues may gaine 
 Their ends, and where few care who be vndone. 
 So they be made, whil'ft all do entertaine 
 The prefent motions that this paffage brings 
 With th'infancy of change, vnder new kings. 
 
1 64 A PANEGYRIKE 
 
 So that the weight of all feemes to relie 
 Wholly vpon thine owne difcretion ; 
 Thy iudgement now muft only reftifie 
 This frame of pow'r thy glory ftands vpon 
 PVom thee muft come ; that thy pofterity 
 May ioy this peace, and hold this vnion : 
 For whil'ft all worke for their owne benefit, 
 Thy only worke muft keepe vs all vpright. 
 
 64 
 
 For, did not now thy full maturity 
 
 Of yeeres and wifdome, that difcerne what ftiowes, 
 
 What arte and colours may deceiue the eye, 
 
 Secure our truft that that cleere iudgement knowes 
 
 Vpon what grounds depend thy Maiefty, 
 
 And whence the glory of thy greatneffe growes ; 
 
 We might diftruft left that a fide might part 
 
 Thee from thy felfe, and fo furprize thy heart. 
 
 65 
 Since th'art but one, and that againft thy breft 
 Are laid all th'ingins both of fkill and wit, 
 And all th'affaults of cunning are addreft 
 With ftratagems of Art to enter it, 
 To make a prey of grace, and to inueft 
 Their pow'rs within thy loue, that they might fit 
 And ftir that way which their affeftion tends, 
 Refpefting but themfelues and their owne ends. 
 
CONG R A TVLA TORIE. 1 65 
 
 66 
 
 And fee'ng how difficult a thing it is 
 To rule, and what ftrength is requir'd to ftand 
 Againft all th'interplac'd refpondences 
 Of combinations, fet to keepe the hand 
 And eye of power from out the Prouinces 
 That Auarice may draw to her command; 
 Which, to keepe hers, fhe others vowes to fpare, 
 That they againe to her might vfe like care. 
 
 But God, that raif 'd thee vp to aft this part, 
 Hath giuen thee all thofe powers of worthines. 
 Fit for fo great a worke, and fram'd thy heart 
 Difcernable of all apparences ; 
 
 Taught thee to know the world, and this great Art 
 Of ord'ring man. Knowledge of Knowledges ; 
 That from thee men might reckon how this State 
 Became reftor'd, and was made fortunate. 
 
 68 
 
 That thou the firft, with vs, in name, might'ft be 
 The firft in courfe, to falhion vs a new. 
 Wherein the times hath offred that to thee, 
 Which feldome t'other Princes could accrue : 
 Thou haft th'aduantage only to be free 
 T'imploy thy fauours where they Ihall be due, 
 And todifpofe thy grace in generall. 
 And like to loue, to be alike to all. 
 
 St. 68, in margin of 1601 folio, ' Eft lupiter omnibus idem.' 
 
1 66 A PANEGYRIKE 
 
 69 
 
 Thy fortune hath indebted thee to none, 
 But t'all thy people vniuerfally, 
 And not to them, but for their loue alone. 
 Which they account is placed worthily : 
 Nor wilt thou now fruftrate their hopes, wheron 
 They reft, nor they faile in their loyalty ; 
 Since no Prince comes deceiued in his truft, 
 But he that firft.deceiues, and proues vniufL 
 
 70 
 
 Then fince we are in this fo faire a way 
 Of Reftauration, Greatneffe and Command, 
 Curfed be he that caufes the leaft flay 
 In this faire worke, or interrupts thy hand ; 
 And curfed he that offers to betray 
 Thy graces or thy goodneffe to withftand ; 
 Let him be held abhorr'd, and all his race 
 Inherit but the portion of difgrace. 
 
 71 
 And he that fliall by wicked Offices 
 Be th'author of the leaft difturbancy, 
 Or feeke t'auert thy godly purpofes, 
 Be euer held the fcorne of infamy : 
 And let men but confider their fuccefle 
 Who Princes loues abuf'd prefumptuoufly : 
 They fhall perceiue their ends do ftill relate, 
 That fure God loues them not whom men do hate. 
 
CONGRATVLATORIE. 167 
 
 72 
 
 And it is iuft, that they who make a prey 
 
 Of Princes fauours, in the end againe 
 
 Be made a prey to Princes, and repay 
 
 The fpoiles of mifery with greater gaine ; 
 
 Whofe facrifices euer do allay 
 
 The wrath of men, conceiu'd in their difdaine : 
 
 For that their hatred profecuteth ftill. 
 
 More than ill Princes, thofe that make them ill. 
 
 73 
 But both thy iudgement and eftate doth free 
 Thee from thefe powers of feare and flattery 
 The conquerours of Kings, by whom we fee 
 Are wrought the a6ls of all impiety : 
 Thou art fo fet, as th'haft no caufe to be 
 lealous, or dreadfull of difloyalty ; 
 The pedeftall whereon thy greatneffe (lands, 
 Is built of all our hearts, and all our hands. 
 
 St 73, L 7, misprinted ' the.' 
 
VI. 
 
 A Fvnerall Poeme Vpon the Death of 
 the late noble Earle of Deuonfhire. 
 
 1606. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 The Earl of Devonshire died on 3rd April, 1606, and this ' Fvnerall 
 Poeme,' which appeared originally as a thin quarto, having a title-page 
 printed in white letters on a black ground, may be dated in the same year, 
 though without date anywhere. The title-page thus runs : — 
 
 A Fvnerall Poeme 
 
 Vpon the Death of 
 
 the late noble Earle 
 
 of Deuonfliire. (ll leaves^ 
 
 An exemplar is in the British Museum. It is found in all the collective 
 editions after 1606. A collation of the quarto of 1623 with this original 
 edition — never before done — abundantly rewards us. At the bottom of 
 the pages lines and whole passages left out by the Author on revision are 
 recorded, and some re-introduced into the text. Passages in the quarto 
 of 1623 not in the original edition are also noted. The 1607 edition 
 supplies in margin an important name. See Memorial-Introduction on 
 this nobleman, and for an original and unpublished letter from Daniel 
 to him. A. B. G. 
 
A 
 FVNERALL 
 
 POE M E . 
 
 Vpon the Death of the late noble 
 
 Earle of Deuonjhire. 
 
 [oWthat the hand of death hath layd 
 thee there, 
 Where neither greatneffe, pompe, nor 
 
 grace, we fee. 
 Nor any differences of earth ; and 
 
 where 
 No vaile is drawne betwixt thy felfe 
 and tliee : 
 Now Deuonjkire that thou art but a name, lo 
 
 And all the reft of thee befides is gone, 
 When men conceiue thee not, but by the fame 
 Of what thy vertue, and thy worth haue done : 
 
 11. 7-I3 in the original edition are as follows : — 
 
 Where all muft be, and leuel'd thee with th' Earth — 
 Where men are all of them alike, and where 
 There are no feu'rall roomes for flate or birth ; 
 Now thou haft nothing left thee but a name 
 (O noble Deiioti/hire) and all is gone 
 With thee, except the memorie, and fame 
 Of what thy vertue . . . hath . ■ . 
 
172 A FVNERAL POEME 
 
 Now fhal my verfe which thou in life didft grace, 
 
 (And which was no difgrace for thee to do) 
 
 Not leaue thee in the graue, that ougly place 
 
 That few regard, or haue refpe6l vnto, 
 
 Where all attendance, and obferuance ends, 
 
 Where all the Sunfhine of our fauour fets. 
 
 Where what was ill, no countenance defends, 20 
 
 And what was good, th'vnthankfull world forgets. 
 
 Here (halt thou haue the feruice of my pen 
 
 (The tongue of my beft thoughts) and in this cafe 
 
 I cannot be fuppofde to flatter, when 
 
 I fpeake behinde thy backe, not to thy face : 
 
 Men neuer footh the dead but where they do 
 
 Find liuing tyes, to hold them therevnto. 
 
 And I ftand cleere from any other chaine 
 
 Then of my loue which freebofne, draws free breath. 
 
 The benefit thou gau'ft me to fuftaine 30 
 
 My humble life, I loofe it by thy deaith. 
 
 Nor was it fuch, as it could lay on me 
 
 Any exaftion of refpeft fo ftrong. 
 
 As t'inforce m'obferuance, beyond thee. 
 
 Or make my confcience differ from my tongue. 
 
 Let thofe be vaffals to fuch feruices 
 
 Who have their hopes, or whofe defires are hye. 
 
 For me I haue my ends, and know it is 
 
 For I haue learnt it is the property 
 
 For free men to fpeake truth, for (laues to lye. 40 
 
 1. 1 5, ' darkefome ' ; 11. 26-7 not in original edition; 1. 28, 'And am 
 vntide ' ; 11. 36-8 accepted from original edition ; 1. 40 — Here in the original 
 edition a very striking but scarcely wrought-out passage is found, as follows : — 
 
 And if miftaken by the Parralax 
 
 And diftance of my Handing too farre off 
 
VPON THE EARLE OF DEUONSHIRE. 173 
 
 And therefore I fincerely will report 
 
 Firft how thy parts were faire conuaid within, 
 
 How that braue minde was built and in what fort 
 
 All thy contexture of thy heart hath beene, 
 
 Which was fo nobly fram'd, fo well compof 'd 
 
 As vertue neuer had a fairer feate, 
 
 Nor could be better lodg'd nor more repof'd, 
 
 Then in that goodly frame ; where all things fweete, 
 
 And all things quiet, held a peacefuU reft ; 
 
 Where paffion did no fuddaine tumults raife 50 
 
 That might difturbe her, nor was euer breft 
 
 Contain'd fo much, and made fo little noyfe; 
 
 I heretofore might erre, and Ihen might tax 
 
 My being to free of prayfeS, without proofe. 
 
 But here it is not fo, and yet the choyce 
 
 Of thofe I made did yeald the greatefl fliow 
 
 Of honour and of worth, and had the voyce 
 
 Of prefent times their virtues to allow. 
 
 And if they haue not made them good, it is 
 
 No fault of mine, nor ought it to be layd 
 
 To difrepute thefe my obferuances : 
 
 True prajrfes doe adorne, the falfe obrayd. 
 
 And oftentimes to greatneffe we are glad 
 
 To attribute thofe parts we wiih they had. 
 
 But Deuonjkire I here ftand cleere with thee, 
 
 1 haue a manumiffion to be free, 
 
 I owe thee nothing, and I may be bold 
 
 To fpeake the certaine truth of what I know : 
 
 There is no power remaines in thee, to hold 
 
 The tongues of men, that will be talking now : 
 
 And now being dead may anatomife. 
 
 And open here all that thou wert within, 
 
 Shew how thy minde was built, and in what wife 
 
 All the contexture . . . [See 1. 39.] 
 
 1. 48, misprinted ' thing.' 
 
174 A FVNERALL POEME 
 
 That by thy filent modeftie is found 
 
 The emptieft veffells make the greateft found. 
 
 For thou fo well difcemd'ft thy felfe, had'ft read 
 
 Man and his breath fo well, as made thee force 
 
 The leffe to fpeake, as being ordain'd to fpread 
 
 Thy felfe in adlion, rather than difcourfe ; 
 
 Though thou hadft made a generall Suruey 
 
 Of all the beft of mens beft knowledges, 60 
 
 And knew as much as euer learning knew. 
 
 Yet did it make thee truft thy felfe the leffe, 
 
 And leffe prefume ; and yet when being mou'd 
 
 In priuate talke to fpeake, thou didft bewray 
 
 How fully fraught thou wert within, and prou'd 
 
 That thou didft know what euer wit could fay ; 
 
 Which fhew'd thou hadft not bookes as manyjiaue 
 
 For oftentation, but for.vfe, and that 
 
 Thy bounteous memory was fuch, as gaue 
 
 A large reuenue of the good, it gat. 70 
 
 Witneffe fo many volumes whereto thou 
 
 Haft fet thy notes vnder thy learned hand, 
 
 And.markt them with that print as will fhew how 
 
 The point of thy conceiuing thoughts did ftand ; 
 
 That none would thinke if all thy life had beene, 
 
 Turn'd into leifure, thou couldft haue attain'd 
 
 So much of time, to haue peruf'd and feene. 
 
 So many volumes that fo much contain'd. 
 
 Which furniture may not be deem'd leaft rare 
 
 Amongft thofe ornaments that fweetly dight 80 
 
 Thy folitary Wanjleed, where thy care 
 
 Had gathered all what heart or eyes delight. 
 
 1. 56, ' ftnoake ' ; ' the ' for ' thee ' ; 1. 59, ' furuiew ' ; U. 81-2, in margin, 
 ' The Library at Wanjieed. ' 
 
VPON THE EARLE OF DEUONSHIRE. 175 
 
 And whereas many others haue, we fee 
 
 All things within their houfes worth the fight, 
 
 Except themfelues, that furniture of thee 
 
 And of thy prefence, gaue the beft delight. 
 
 With fuch a feafon, fuch a temprature 
 
 Wert thou compof 'd, as made fweetnes one, 
 
 And held the tenor of thy life ftill fure, 
 
 In confort with thy felfe in perfe6l tone ; 90 
 
 And neuer man had heart more truely feru'd 
 
 Vnder the regiment of his owne care 
 
 And was more at command, and more obferu'd 
 
 The colours of that modefty he bare 
 
 Then that of thine, in whom men neuer found 
 
 That any fliew, or fpeech obfcene, could tell 
 
 Of any veine thou hadft that was vnfound. 
 
 Or motion of thy powers, that turn'd not well. 
 
 And this was thy prouif ion laid within, 
 
 Thus wert thou to thy felfe, and now remaines. 100 
 
 What to the world thou outwardly haft beene, 
 
 What the dimenfion of that fide containes. 
 
 Which likewife was fo goodly and fo large 
 
 As fhewes that thou wert borne t'adorne the dayes 
 
 Wherein thou liu'ft, and alfo to difcharge 
 
 Thofe parts which Englands and thy fame fhould raife ; 
 
 Although in peace, thou feem'dft to be all peace 
 
 Yet being in warre, thou wert all warre, and there 
 
 As in thy fpheere thy fpirits did neuer ceafe 
 
 To moue with indefatigable care no 
 
 And nothing feem'd more to arride thy heart 
 
 Nor more inlarge thee into iollity, 
 
 U. 87- 98 not in original edition. 
 
175 A FVNERALL POEME 
 
 Then when thou faweft thy felfe in armour girt, 
 
 Or any a£l of armes like to be nye. 
 
 The Belgique warre firft tride thy martiall fpirit, 
 
 And what thou wert and what thou wouldft be found 
 
 And markt thee there according to thy merit 
 
 With honors ftampe, a deepe and noble wound. 
 
 And that fame place that rent from mortall men 
 
 Immortall Sidney, glory of the field 120 
 
 And glory of the Mufes, and their pen 
 
 (Who equall bare the Caduce and the Shield) 
 
 Had likewife bin thy laft, had not the fate 
 
 Of England then referu'd thy worthy blood, 
 
 Vnto the preferuation of a State 
 
 That much concern'd her honour and her good ; 
 
 And thence return'd thee to inioy the blis 
 
 Of grace and fauour in Elizaes fight 
 
 (That miracle of women) who by this 
 
 Made thee be held according to thy right; 130 
 
 Which faire and happy bleffing thou mightft; well 
 
 Haue farre more raifd had not thine enemy 
 
 Retired priuacy, made thee to fell 
 
 Thy greatnes for thy quiet, and deny 
 
 To meet faire Fortune, when fhe came to thee. 
 
 For neuer man did his preferment fly. 
 
 And had it in that emminent degree, 
 
 As thou, as if it fought thy modefty. 
 
 For that which many, whom ambition toyles 
 
 And tortures with their hopes, hardly attaine 140 
 
 1. 128, 'eyes'; 1. 130— 
 
 ' . . . held, and made thee to arife 
 Vnto a note more hye, which thou . . .' ; 
 1. 413, ' quiet' accepted for a's misprint ' quite ; ' 1. 138, mifprinted 'fought.' 
 
VPON THE EARLE OF DEUONSHIRE. 177 
 
 With all their thrufts, & fhouldring- plots, and wiles 
 
 Was eafily made thine, without thy paine. 
 
 And without any priuate malicing 
 
 Or publique greeuance, euery good man ioy'd 
 
 That vertue could come cleere to any thing. 
 
 And faire deferts to be fo fairely pay'd. 
 
 Thofe benefits that were beftow'd on thee 
 
 Were not like fortunes fauours, they could fee, 
 
 Elizas cleere-eied iudgement is renown'd 
 
 For making choice of thy ability: 150 
 
 But it will euerlaftingly redound 
 
 Vnto the glory, and benignity 
 
 Of Britaines mighty Monarch, that thou wert 
 
 By him aduanced for thy great defert ; 
 
 It being the fairer worke of maiefly 
 
 With fauour to reward, than to employ. 
 
 And as thou faidft that naught thy heart did grieue. 
 
 In death fo much, as that time would not yeeld 
 
 Thee meanes to fhew thy zeale, that thou mightft liue 
 
 T'haue done but one dayes feruice in the field, 1 60 
 
 And that faire bed of honour died vpon. 
 
 And with thy bloud haue feald thy gratefulneffe 
 
 To fuch a royall Maifter. Who had done 
 
 So much for thee t'aduance thy feruices ; 
 
 Which were indeed of that defeart, as they 
 
 Might afke their grace themfelues : yet do we fee 
 
 That to fucceffe, defert hath not a way 
 
 But vnder Princes that moll gracious be, 
 
 1. 149, hyphen accepted from original edition; 1. 151, misprinted 're- 
 bound'; 11. 157-65 accepted and re-inserted from the original edition; 
 1. 165 in 1623 reads, ' Although thy feruices, were fuch as they ' ; 1. 166, 
 ' although ' for ' yet do.' 
 
 I, 
 
 12 
 
178 A FUNERALL POEMS 
 
 For without thy great valour we had loft 
 The deareft purchafe euer England made : 1 70 
 
 And made with fuch profufe exceeding coft 
 Of bloud and charge, to keepe and to inuade : 
 As commutation paid a deerer price 
 For fuch a peece of earth, and yet well paid 
 And well aduentur'd for, with great aduice, 
 And happily to our dominions laid ; 
 Without which out-let, England thou hadft bin 
 From all the reft of th'earth fhut out, and pent 
 Vnto thy felfe, and forft to keepe within, 
 Inuiron'd round with others gouernment ; 1 80 
 
 Where now by thisj thy large imperiall Crowne 
 Stands boundleffe in the Weft, and hath a way 
 For noble times, left to make all thine owne 
 That lyes beyond it, and force all t'obay. 
 And this important peece, like t'haue beene rent 
 From off thy ftate, did then fo tickle ftand, 
 As that no ioynture of the gouernment 
 But fhooke, no ligament, no band 
 Of order and obedience, but were then 
 Loofe and in tottering, when the charge 190 
 
 .Thereof was laid on Montioy, and that other men 
 Checkt by example fought to put it off. 
 And he out of his natiue modefty 
 (As being no vndertaker) labours too 
 To haue auoided that which his ability 
 And Englands Genius would haue him do 
 
 1. 169, ' For when our kingdom flood in ftate t' haue loft ' ; 1. 170, ' that 
 it ' for ' euer ' ; 1. 171, ' And what it bought with that ' ; 1. 173, ' As neuer 
 nation '; misprinted ' communation '; 1. 177, ' hadft ' for ' haft '—accepted ; 
 ]■ 180, 'Inuiron'd with incroching'; 1. 183, 'leaft' for 'left'; 1. 192, 
 ' checkt ' accepted for ' chokt ' of c j 1. 196, ' to' in error before ' do ' in a. 
 
VPON THE EARLE OF DEUONSHIRE. 179 
 
 AUeadging how it was a charge vnfit 
 
 For him to vndergo, feeing fuch a one 
 
 As had more power and meanes t'accomplifli it 
 
 Then he could haue, had there fo little done. 200 
 
 VVhofe ill fucceffe (confidering his great worth, 
 
 Was fuch as could that mifchiefe be withftood, 
 
 It had beene wrought) did in it felfe bring forth 
 
 Difcouragement that he fhould do leffe good. 
 
 The flate replide, it was not lookt he fhould 
 Reftore it wholy to it felfe againe, 
 But only now if poffible he could^ 
 In any fafhion but the fame i;efftiine 
 So that it did not fall a funder quite, 
 Being thus difhiuered in a defperate plight. 210 
 
 With courage on he goes, doth exiquute 
 With counfell, an^i returnes with viflory ; 
 But in what noble fafhion he did fute 
 This aftion, with what wit and induftry. 
 Is not to be difgracde in this fmall carde : 
 It afkes a fpacious Mappe of more regarde. 
 
 1. 197, ' And did aleadge it ' ; 11. 201-4 io original edition read — 
 
 ' Whofe iU fucceffe (for that he knew his worth 
 So great, as if there could haue beene redreffe, 
 He had effefted it) in him brought forth 
 Difcouragement, that he fhould there do leffe.' 
 
 1. 206, 'being fo dis-rent' ; 11. 207-8 — 
 
 ' And only now, if poflibly he could 
 But hold it vp, it was fufficient ' — 
 
 'fufficient' rh)rme-word to 'disrent' in 1. 206 ; 1. 211, 'execute' ; 1. 212, 
 •With' accepted for 'Which'; 11, 215-90 not in original edition, which 
 has only the following : — 
 
 ' There is no roome to place it in this ftreight. 
 Time, and my prefent griefes, do difappoint 
 
i8o A FVNERALL POEME 
 
 Here is no roome to tell with what ftrange fpeed 
 
 And fecrecy he vfed to preuent 
 
 The enemies defignes, nor with what heed 
 
 He marcht before report, where what he ment 220 
 
 Fame neuer knew her felfe till it was done, 
 
 His drifts and Rumor feldome being all one ; 
 
 Nor will this place conueniency afford 
 
 To fhew how he, when difmall winter ftormes 
 
 Keepes peace, and makes Mars fheath his fword, 
 
 Toyles him abroad, and noble £i£l performes ; 
 
 Nor how by maftring diiificulties fo 
 
 In times vnufuall, and by paffage hard 
 
 He brauely came to difappoint his foe, 
 
 And many times furprifd him ynprepared. 230 
 
 Yet let me touch one point of that great Aft, 
 That famous f iege, the Mafter-worke of all. 
 Where no diftreffe nor difficulties lackt 
 T'afflift his weary tyred Campe with all. 
 That when inclof'd by powerfull enemies 
 One either fide, with feeble troupes he lay 
 Intrencht in myre, in colde, in miferies ; 
 Kept waking with Alarumes night and day. 
 There were, who did aduife him, to withdraw 
 His army to fome place of fafe defence, 240 
 
 From the apparent perill which they faw 
 Was to confound them, or to force them thence. 
 
 My willingnes. Bef ides being of that weight 
 
 Tis f inne to place it in a narrower point. 
 
 And better now fay nothing then to fay 
 
 But little ; there remaines for this behind, 
 
 A Trophey to b'ere(fted that will ilay 
 
 To all pofterityes, and keepe in minde 
 
 That glorious worke, which did a kingdome faue, 
 
 Kept the Crowne whole & made the Peace we haue.' 
 
VPON THE EARLS OF DEUONSHIRE. i8i 
 
 For now the Spaniard had poffeft three ports 
 
 The moft important of this He fay they, 
 
 And fooner frefh fupplyments, Spaine tranfports 
 
 To them then England can to vs conuay ; 
 
 The Reble is in heart, and now is ioyn'd 
 
 With fome of them already, and doth ftand 
 
 Here ouer vs, with chiefeft ftrength combin'd 
 
 Of all the defperate forces of the land ; 250 
 
 And how vpon thefe difaduantages 
 
 Your doubtfuU troupes will fight your Honour guess. 
 
 Th'vndaunted Montioy hereto anfwers this. 
 
 My worthy friends, the charge of this great ftate 
 And kingdome to my faith committed is, 
 And I muft all I can ingeniate 
 To anfwere for the fame, and render it 
 Vpon as faire a reckning as I may ; 
 But if from hence I (hall once ftirre my feete. 
 The kingdome is vndone, and loft this day. 260 
 
 All will fly thither where they find is hart. 
 
 And feare ftial haue none ftand to take his part ; 
 
 And how fhal we anfwere our Country then 
 At our returne, nay anfwere our owne fame } 
 Which howfoeuer we haue done like men 
 Will be irabranded with the marke of blame. 
 And fince we here are come vnto the point 
 For which we toild fo much and ftaid fo long, 
 Let vs not now our trauailes difappoint 
 Of th'honour which doth thereunto belong. 270 
 
 We cannot fpend our blood more worthily 
 Then in fo faire a caufe, and if we fall 
 
 L 252, spelt ' ges.' 
 
i82 A FVNERALL POEME 
 
 We fall with glory, and our worth thereby 
 Shalbe renowned, and held deare of all. 
 And for my part I count the field to be 
 The honourableft bed to die vpon ; 
 And here your eies this day either fee 
 My body laid, or els this afbion done. 
 
 The Lord the chiefe and foueraigne Generall 
 
 Of Hofls, makes weake to ftand, the ftrong to 
 falL 280 
 
 With which braue refolution he fo warm'd 
 Their Ihaking courage, as they all in one 
 Set to that noble worke ; which they perform'd 
 As gallantly as euer men haue done. 
 Of which tis better nothing now to fay, 
 Then fay too little : For there refts behind 
 A Trophey to b'ere6led, that will flay 
 To all pofterities, and keepe in minde 
 That glorious aft which did a kingdome faue, 
 Kept the Crowne whole and made the peace we 
 haue. 290 
 
 And now I will omit to fhew therefore. 
 His management of publike bufineffes : 
 Which oft are vnder fortunes condufl more 
 Then ours, and tell his priuate carriages ; 
 Which on his owne difcretion did relie. 
 Wherewith his fpirit was furnifht happely. 
 
 Milde, affable, and eafie of acceffe 
 He was, but with a due referuednes : 
 So that the paffage to his fauours lay 
 Not common to all commers, nor yet was 300 
 
 1. 291, 'here' for 'now'; 1. 292, ' buf'neffes ' ; 11. 285-90— see foot- 
 note on pp. 179-80. 
 
VPON THE EARLE OF DEUONSHIRE. 183 
 
 So narrow, but it gaue a gentle way 
 
 To fuch as fitly might or ought to paffe : 
 
 Nor fold he fmoke, nor tooke he vp to day 
 
 Commodities of mens attendances, 
 
 And of their hopes, to pay them with delay. 
 
 And intertaine them with faire promifes. 
 
 But as a man that lou'd no great commerce 
 
 With bufineffe, and with noife, he euer flies 
 
 That Maze of many waies, which might difperfe 
 
 Him, into other mens vncertainties. 310 
 
 And with a quiet calme fincerity, 
 
 H'effefts his vndertakings really. 
 
 His tongue and heart did not turne-backes, but went 
 
 One way, and kept one courfe with what he ment. 
 
 He vf'd no mafke at all, but euer ware 
 
 His honeft inclination open fac'd. 
 
 The friendfhips that he vou'd, moft conftant were. 
 
 And with great iudgment, and difcretion plac'd. 
 
 And Deuonjhire thy faith hath her reward, 
 Thy nobleft friends do not forfake thee now, 320 
 
 After thy death, but beare a kind regard, 
 Vnto thine honour in the Graue, and fhow. 
 That worthinefle, which merits to remaine 
 Among th'examples of integrity ; 
 Whereby themfelues no doubt fhall alfo gaine, 
 A like regard vnto their memory. 
 
 Now muttering enuy, what canft thou produce 
 To darken the bright lufter of fuch parts .' 
 Caft thy pure ftone, exempt from all abufe. 
 Say what defefls could weigh downe thefe deferts .'' 3 3 o 
 
 1, 308, 'bufineffe.' 
 
i84 A FVNERALL POEME 
 
 Summon detra6tion, to obie6l the worft 
 
 That may be told, and vtter all it can. 
 
 It cannot find a blemifli to b'inforft, 
 
 Againft him, other, then he was a man. 
 
 And built of flefh and blood, and did liue here 
 
 Within the region of infirmity ; 
 
 Where all perfe6lions neuer did appeare. 
 
 To meet in any one fo really, 
 
 But that his frailty euer did bewray 
 
 Vnto the world, that he was fet in clay. 340 
 
 But yet his vertues, and his worthineffe 
 
 Being feene fo farre aboue his weakneffe, 
 
 Muft euer fhine, whilft th'other vnder ground, 
 
 With his fraile part, fhall neuer more be found 
 
 And gratitude, and charity I know. 
 
 Will keepe no note, nor memory will haue, 
 
 Of any fault committed, but will now 
 
 Be pleafd, to bring all within his Graue. 
 
 Seeing only fuch ftand euer bafe and low 
 
 That ftrike the dead, or mutter vnder-hand : 350 
 
 And as dogges bark at thofe they do not know, 
 
 So they at fuch they do not vnderfland. 
 
 The worthier fort, who know we do not liue 
 
 With perfe6l men, will neuer be fo vnkinde ; 
 
 They will the right to the difceafed giue. 
 
 Knowing themfelues muft likewife leaue behind, 
 
 •■ 334i . for . accepted ; 11. 341-4 re-inserted and accepted from original 
 edition ; 11. 347-8 accepted for a's — 
 
 ' Of ought, but of his worthy vertues now 
 Which ftill will liue ; the reft lies in his graue ' ; 
 
 1. 349, ' lie ' for ' ftand ' ; 1. 354, ' be fo vnkinde ' accepted for ' f ' vnkind ' j 
 
VPON THE EARLE OF DEUONSHIRE. 185 
 
 Thofe that will cenfure them. And they know how, 
 
 The Lyon being dead euen Hares infult. 
 
 And will not vrge ia paffed error now, 
 
 Whenas he hath no party to confult, 360 
 
 Nor tongue, nor aduocate, to fhew his minde : 
 
 They rather will lament the loffe they finde, 
 
 By fuch a noble member of that worth. 
 
 And know how rare the world fuch men brings forth. 
 
 For neuer none had heart more truly feru'd, 
 
 Vnder the regiment of his own care. 
 
 And was none at command, and none obferu'd 
 
 The coullours of that honefty he bare. 
 
 Then that of his : who neuer more was knowne ; 
 
 To vfe immodeft aft, or fpeech obfcene, 370 
 
 Or any leuity that might haue fliowne, 
 
 The touch but of a thought that was vncleane. 
 
 So that what euer he hath done amiffe, 
 
 Was vnderneath a fhape that was not knowne ; 
 
 As lupifer did no vnworthineffe. 
 
 But was in other formes, not in his owne. 
 
 But let it now fufficient be, that I, 
 The laft Scene of his a6l of life bewray ; 
 Which giues th'applaufe to all, doth glorifie 
 The worke. For t'is the euening crownes the day. 380 
 This aftion of our death efpecially 
 Shewes all a man. Here only is he found. 
 With what munition he did fortifie 
 His heart, how good his furniture hath bin. 
 And this did he performe in gallant wife : 
 In this did he confirme his worthineffe, 
 
 •■ 3S9» '^ paffed error' accepted for 'an imperfection'; II. 365-76 re- 
 inserted and accepted from original edition. 
 
i86 A FVNERALL POEME 
 
 For on the morrow after the furprife 
 
 That ficknes made on him with fierce acceffe, 
 
 He told his faithful! friend whom he held deere 
 
 (And whofe great worth was worthy fo to be) 390 
 
 How that he knew thofe hot difeafes were 
 
 Of that contagious force, as he did fee 
 
 That men were ouer-tumbled fudainly, 
 
 And therefore did defire to fet a courfe 
 
 And order t'his affaires as fpeedily ; 
 
 As might be, ere his ficknes fhould grow worfe : 
 
 And as for death, faid he, I do not wey, 
 
 I am refolu'd and ready in this cafe. 
 
 It cannot come t'affright me any way, 
 
 Let it looke neuer with fo grim a face : 400 
 
 And I will meete it fmiling, for I know. 
 
 How vaine a thing all this worlds glory is. 
 
 And herein did he keepe his word. Did fhow 
 
 Indeede as he had promifed in this. 
 
 For flckneffe neuer heard him grone at all. 
 
 Nor with a figh confent to fhew his paine ; 
 
 Which howfoeuer being tirannicall, 
 
 He fweetly made it looke, and did retaine 
 
 A louely countenance of his being well. 
 
 And fo would euer make his tongue to tell. 410 
 
 Although the feruour of extremity, 
 Which often doth throw thofe defences downe. 
 Which in our health, wall in infirmity, 
 Might open lay more then we would haue knowne : 
 Yet did no idle word in him bewray 
 Any one peece of nature ill fet in ; 
 
 1. 3S9— ir. 1607 edition here in margin ' Sir William Godolphin.' 
 
VPON THE EARLE OF DEVONSHIRE. 187 
 
 Thofe lightnefles that any thing will fay 
 
 Could fay no ill of what they knew within ; 
 
 Such a fure locke of filent modefty 
 
 Was fet in life vpon that noble heart 420 
 
 As that no anguifh, nor extremity 
 
 Could open it t'impaire that worthy part. 
 
 For hauing dedicated ftill the fame 
 
 Vnto deuotion, and to facred fkill, 
 
 That furnifh perfeft held, that bleffed flame 
 
 Continued to the laft in feruour ftill. 
 
 And when his fpirit and tongue, no longer could 
 
 Do any certaine feruices befide, 
 
 Euen at the point of parting, they vnfold 
 
 With feruent zeale, how only he relide 430 
 
 Vpon the merits of the precious death 
 
 Of his redeemer ; and with rapt defires 
 
 H'appeales to grace, his foule deliuereth 
 
 Vnto the hand of mercy, and expires. 
 
 Thus did that worthy, who moft vertuoufly 
 
 And mildly liu'd, mofh fweete, and mildly dy. 
 
 And thus Great Patrone of my mufe haue I 
 Paid thee my vowes and fairely cleer'd the accounts 
 Which in my loue I owe thy memory. 
 And let me fay that herein there amounts 440 
 
 Something vnto thy fortune, that thou haft 
 This monument of thee, perhaps may laft. 
 Which doth not t'euery mighty man befall : 
 For loe how many when they die, die all. 
 And this doth argue too, thy great deferts. 
 For honour neuer brought vnworthineffe 
 Further then to the graue, and there it parts 
 And leaues mens greatnes to forgetfulnes. 
 
1 88 A FVNERALL POEME. 
 
 And we do fee that nettles, thiftles, brakes 
 
 (The pooreft workes of nature) tread vpon 450 
 
 The proudeft frames that mans inuention makes, 
 
 To hold his memdry when he is gone. 
 
 But Detionjhire thou haft another Tombe 
 
 Made by thy vertues in a fafer roome. 
 
 Samvel Daniell. 
 
 1. 455, 'Samuell.' 
 
 FINIS. 
 
VII. 
 
 CERTAINE EPISTLES. 
 1601-3. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 These ' Certaine Epiftles' are also found in the ^ift-folio of l6oi. but 
 probably like the ' Panegjrrike ' (which precedes them) were of later dates. 
 They were described by the Author as ' after the manner of Horace.' A 
 collation of the after-texts shows no various readings except slight 
 orthographical changes. They appear in all the editions. See our 
 M»morial-Introduction on the persons addressed. A. B. G. 
 
TO 
 
 S'- THOMAS EGERTON 
 
 Knight, Lord Keeper of the Great 
 feale of England. 
 
 Ell hath the pow'rfull hand of Maiefty, 
 Thy worthines, and Englands hap 
 
 befide, 
 Set thee in th'aidfull'ft roome of 
 
 dignity, 
 As th'IJikmus, thefe two Oceans to 
 
 diuide, 
 
 Of Rigor and confuf'd Vticerteinty ; 
 To keepe out th'entercourfe of wrong and pride, i o 
 That they ingulph not vp vnfuccoured right 
 By the extreme current of licencious might. 
 
 Now when we fee the moft combining band, 
 The ftrongefl faftning of fociety, 
 Law ; whereon all this frame of men doth ftand, 
 Remaine concuffed with vncerteinty, 
 And feeme to fofter rather than withftand 
 Contention, and embrace obfcurity. 
 Only t'affli6l, and not to fafhion vs, 
 Making her cure farre worfe than the difeafe ; 
 1. 10 — 1601 'fafting' (error). 
 
 20 
 
192 TO SIR THOMAS 
 
 As if fhe had made couenant with Wrong, 
 To part the prey made on our weakneffes, 
 And fuffred Falfhood to be arm'd as ftrong 
 Vnto the combate, as is Righteoufneffe, 
 Or futed her, as if fhe did belong 
 Vnto our paffions, and did euen profeffe 
 Contention, as her only myftery, 
 Which fhe reftraines not, but doth multiply. 
 
 Was fhe the fame fh'is now in ages paft ? 
 
 Or was fhe leffe when fhe was vfed leffe : 30 
 
 And growes as malice growes, and fo comes caft 
 
 luft to the forme of our vnquietneffe ? 
 
 Or made more flow, the more that flrife runs fall, 
 
 Staying t'vndo vs ere fhe will redreffe ? 
 
 That th'ill fhe checks feemes fuffred to be ill, 
 
 When it yeelds greater gaine than goodnes will 
 
 Muft there be ftill fome difcord mixed among 
 The Harmony of men ? whofe mood accords 
 Beft with Contention, tun'd t'a note of wrong. 
 That when warre failes, peace muft make warre with 
 words, 40 
 
 And b'arm'd vnto deftruflion euen as flrong, 
 As were in ages paft our ciuill fwords ; 
 Making as deepe, although vnbleeding wounds, 
 That whenas fury failes, wifdome confounds. 
 
 If it be wifdome, and not cunning, this 
 
 Which fo imbroiles the ftate of truth with brawles, 
 
 And wraps it vp in ftrange confufedneffe, 
 
 As if it liu'd immur'd within the walls 
 
JEGERTON KNIGHT. 193 
 
 Of hideous termes, fram'd out of barbaroufneffe 
 And forren cuftomes, the memorialls 50 
 
 Of our fubieftion, and could neuer be 
 Deliu'red but by wrangling fubtilty. 
 
 Whereas it dwells free in the open plaine, 
 
 Vncurious, Gentle, eafie of aceeffe ; 
 
 Certaine vnto it felfe, of equall vaine, 
 
 One face, one colour, one affuredneffe : 
 
 It's falfhood that is intricate and vaine, 
 
 And needes thefe labyrinths of fubtleneffe : 
 
 For where the cunningft cou'rings moil appeare, 
 
 It argues flill that all is not fincere. 60 
 
 Which thy cleere-ey'd experience well difcries 
 Great Keeper of the ftate of Equity, 
 Refuge of mercy, vpon whom relies 
 The fuccour of oppreffed mifery ; 
 Altar of fafegard, whereto affli£lion flies 
 From th'eager purfuit of feuerity ; 
 Hauen of peace, that labour'fb to withdraw 
 luftice from out the tempefls of the Law. 
 
 And fet her in a calme and euen way, 
 
 Plaine, and direftly leading to redreffe, 70 
 
 Barring thefe counter-courfes of delay, 
 
 Thefe wafting dilatory procefTes : 
 
 Ranging into their right and proper ray. 
 
 Errors, demurs, effoines, and trauerfes ; 
 
 The heads of Hydra fpringing out of death, 
 
 That giues this monfter. Malice, ftill new breath. 
 
 I. 13 
 
194 TO SIR THOMAS 
 
 That what was made for the vtility 
 
 And good of man, might not be turn'd t'his hurt, 
 
 To make him worfer by his remedy. 
 
 And caft him downe,with what ftiould him fupport: 80 
 
 Nor that the ftate of Law might lofe thereby 
 
 The due refpeft, and reu'rence of her port ; 
 
 And feeme a trap to catch our ignorance. 
 
 And to intangle our intemperance. 
 
 Since her interpretations and our deeds 
 
 Vnto a like infinity arife, 
 
 As being a Science, that by nature breeds 
 
 Contention, ftriefe, and ambiguities : 
 
 For altercation controuerfie feeds. 
 
 And in her agitation multiplies : 90 
 
 The field of Cauill lying all like wide, 
 
 Yeelds like aduantage vnto either fide. 
 
 Which made the graue Caftillian king deuife 
 „ ,. , A prohibition, that no Aduocate 
 
 Fefdmand 
 
 king of Should be conuai'd to th'Indian Colonies, 
 Castile (i6°iOLeft their new fetting, fhaken with debate. 
 Might take but flender root, and fo not rife 
 To any perfeft grow'th of firme eftate : 
 For hauing not this fkill, how to contend, 
 Th'vnnourifht ftrife wold quickly make an end. 100 
 
 So likewife did th'Hungarian, when he faw 
 The king of Thefe great Italian Bartolifts, who were 
 Hungarie. Call'd in of purpofe to explane the Law, 
 
 T'imbroile it more, and make it much leffe cleere ; 
 
EGERTON KNIGHT. 195 
 
 Cauf'd them from out his kingdom to withdraw 
 With this infeftious fkill, fome other-where : DifficuUata,z 
 Whofe learning, rather let men farther out, /««' docMna. 
 And opened wider palTages of doubt 
 
 Seeing euen Iniuftice may be regulare. 
 
 And no proportion can there be betwixt no 
 
 Our aflions, which in endleffe motion are. 
 
 And th'ordinances which are alwayes fixt; 
 
 Ten thoufand lawes more can not reach fo far. 
 
 But malice goes beyond, or Hues immixt 
 
 So clofe with goodneffe, as it euer will 
 
 Corrupt, difguife, or counterfet it ftill. 
 
 And therefore did thofe glorious Monarchs, (who 
 
 Diuide with God the ftile of Maiefty 
 
 For being good, and had a care to do 
 
 The world right, and fuccour honefty) 120 
 
 Ordaine this fanftuary, whereunto 
 
 Th'oppreft might flie, this feat of Equity ; 
 
 Whereon thy vertues fit with faire renowne, 
 
 The greateft grace and glory of the Gowne. 
 
 Which Equity, being the foule of law. 
 
 The life of iuflice, and the fpirit of right, 
 
 Dwell's not in written lines, or Hues in awe 
 
 Of bookes : deafe powers, that haue nor eares nor fight 
 
 But out of well-weigh'd circumftance doth draw 
 
 The effence of a iudgement requifit ; 130 
 
 And is that Lefbian fquare, that building fit, 
 
 PHes to the worke, not forc'th the worke to it 
 
196 TO SIR THOMAS 
 
 Maintaining ftiU an equall paralell, 
 
 luft with th'occafions of humanity ; 
 
 Making her iudgement euer liable 
 
 To the refpe£t of peace and amity ; 
 
 When furely Law, fterne, and vnaffable, 
 
 Cares only but it felfe to fatisfie : 
 
 And often innocencies fcarfe defends, 
 
 As that which on no circumftance depends. 140 
 
 But Equity, that beares an euen raine 
 Vpon the prefent courfes, holds in aw. 
 By giuing hand a little, and doth gaine 
 By a gentle relaxation of the law ; 
 And yet inuiolable doth maintaine 
 The end whereto all conftitutions draw ; 
 Which is the well-fare of fociety, 
 Confifting of an vpright policy : 
 
 Which firft being by neceffity compof'd, 
 Necesniasest ^^ ^V neccffity maintain'd in bed eftate ; i So 
 lex temforis. Where, whenas iuftice fliall be ill difpof'd, 
 It fickens the whole body of the State : 
 For if there be a paffage once difclof'd, 
 That Wrong may enter at the felfe-fame gate 
 Which ferues for Right, clad in a coate of Law, 
 What violent diftempers may it draw : 
 
 And therefore do'ft thou ftand to keepe the way. 
 
 And ftop the courfe that malice feekes to run, 
 
 And by thy prouident IniunSlions ftay 
 
 This neuer ending Altercation ; 160 
 
EGERTON KNIGHT. 197 
 
 Sending contention home, to the end men may 
 There make their peace whereas their ftrife begun. 
 And free thefe peftred ftreets they vainely weare, 
 Whom both the ftate, and theirs, do need elfewhere. 
 
 Left th'humor which doth thus predominate 
 
 Conuert vnto it felfe all that it takes ; 
 
 And that the law grow larger than debate, 
 
 And come t'exceede th'affaires it vndertakes : 
 
 As if the only Science of the State 
 
 That tooke vp all our wits for gaine it makes ; 170 
 
 Not for the good that thereby may be wrought, 
 
 Which is not good if it be dearely bought. 
 
 What fhall we thinke whenas ill caufes fhall 
 
 Inrich men more, and fhall be more defir'd 
 
 Than good, as farre more beneficiall ? 
 
 Who then defends the good ? Who will be hir'd 
 
 To entertaine a right, whofe gaine is fmall ? ^ RemedUfor 
 
 Vnleffe the Aduocate that hath conspir'd defending ui 
 
 Tp plead a wrong, be likewife made to runne 
 
 His Clients chance, and with him be vndone. 1 80 
 
 So did the wifeft nations euer ftriue 
 To binde the hands of luftice vp fo hard, 
 That left the falling to proue Lucratiue 
 Might bafely reach them out to take reward : 
 Ordaining her prouifions fit to Hue 
 Out of the publike, as a publike guard 
 That all preferues, and all doth entertaine, 
 Whofe end is only glory, and not gaine. 
 
1 98 TO SIR THOMAS EGERTON KNIGHT. 
 
 That eu'n the Scepter which might all command, 
 Seeing her s'vnpartiall, equall regular, 190 
 
 Was pleaf'd to put it felfe into her hand, 
 Whereby they both grew more admired far. 
 And this is that great bleffing of this land, 
 That both the Prince and people vfe one Barre ; 
 The Prince, whofe caufe (as not to be withftood) 
 Is neuer bad but where himfelfe is good. 
 
 This is that ballance which committed is 
 
 To thy moft euen and religious hand. 
 
 Great Minifter of luftice, who by this 
 
 Shalt haue thy name ftill gracious in this land : 200 
 
 This is that feale of pow'r which doth impreffe 
 
 Thy a6ts of right, which fliall for euer ftand : 
 
 This is that traine of State, that pompoufly 
 
 Attends vpon thy reu'rent dignity. 
 
 All glor>- els bef ides ends with our breath, 
 And mens refpefts, fcarfe brings vs to our graue : 
 But this of doing good, muft out Hue Death, 
 And haue a right out of the right it gaue : 
 Though th'afl but few, th'example profiteth 
 Thoufands, that fhall thereby a bleffing haue. 210 
 
 The worlds refpeft growes not but on defarts, 
 Po^\•'r may haue knees, but iuftice hath our hearts. 
 
TO 
 
 THE LORD HENRIE 
 
 HOWARD, one of his Maiefties 
 Priuy Councell. 
 
 |Raife, if it be not choice, and layd aright, , = 
 Can yeeld no luftre where it is be- 
 
 ftow'd, 
 Nor any way can grace the giuers 
 
 Art, L 
 
 (Tho'it be a pleaf ing colour to delight) '\\ 
 For that no ground whereon it can 
 be fhew'd (3 
 
 Will beare it well, but Vertue and Defart. f lO 
 
 And though I might commend your learning, wit, r> 
 And happy vttrance ; and commend them right, /l 
 As that which decks you much, and giues you grace, (S 
 Yet your cleere iudgement beft deferueth it ; 
 
 Which in your courfe hath carried you vpright, ''■ - 
 
 And made you to difcerne the trueft face, o 
 
 And beft complexion of the things that breed 
 The reputation and the loue of men ; 
 And held you in the traft of honefly, 
 Which euer in the end we fee fucceed ; 20 
 
 1 1, misprinted ' Not,' in all. 
 
200 TO THE LORD 
 
 Though oft it may haue interrupted beene 
 Both by the times and mens iniquity. 
 
 For fure thofe aftions which do fairely runne 
 In the right line of honour, dill are thofe 
 That get moft cleane and fafeft to their end, 
 And paffe the beft without confufion, 
 Either in thofe that a6l or els difpofe, 
 Hauing the fcope made cleere, whereto they tend. 
 
 When this by-path of cunning doth s'imbroile 
 And intricate the paffage of affaires, 30 
 
 As that they feldome fairely can get out ; 
 But coft, with leffe fucceffe, more care and toyle, 
 Whil'fl doubt and the diftrufted caufe ioipaires 
 Their courage, who would els appeare more ftout. 
 
 For though fome hearts are blinded fo, that they 
 Haue diuers doores whereby they may let out 
 Their wills abroad without difturbancy, 
 Int'any courfe, and into eu'ry way 
 Of humor that affeftion turnes about ; 
 Yet haue the beft but one t'haue paffage by, 40 
 
 And that fo furely warded with the gard 
 Of confcience and refpeft, as nothing muft 
 Haue courfe that way, but with the certaine paffe 
 Of a perfwafiue right ; which being compar'd 
 With their conceit, muft thereto anfwere iuft. 
 And fo with due examination paffe. 
 
 Which kind of men, raif'd of a better frame. 
 Are meere religious, conftant and vpright, 
 And bring the ableft hands for any efifedl. 
 And beft beare vp the reputation, fame, 50 
 
 And good opinion, that the aftion's right 
 When th'vndertakers are without fufpedl : 
 
HENRIE HOWARD. 201 
 
 But when the body of an enterprize 
 Shall go one way, the face another way, 
 As if it did but mocke a weaker truft, 
 The motion being monftrous, can not rife 
 To any good, but falls downe to bewray. 
 That all pretences ferue for things vniuft ; 
 
 Efpecially where th'aflion will allow 
 Apparency, or that it hath a courfe 60 
 
 Concentrike with the vniuerfall frame 
 Of men combin'd ; whom it concerneth how 
 Thefe motions runne, and entertaine their force ; 
 Hauing their being refting on the fame. 
 
 And be it, that the vulgar are but groffe, 
 Yet are they capable of truth, and fee. 
 And fometimes geffe the right, and do conceiue 
 The nature of that text that needs a gloffe, 
 And wholy neuer can deluded be : 
 All may a few, few cannot all deceiue. 70 
 
 And thefe ftrange difproportions in the traine 
 And courfe of things doe euermore proceed 
 From th'iU-fet difpofition of their mindes. 
 Who in their a6lions cannot but retaine 
 Th'incumbred formes which doe within them breed. 
 And which they cannot fhew but in their kindes. 
 
 Whereas the wayes and counfels of the light 
 So fort with valour and with manlineffe. 
 As that they carry things affuredlie 
 Vndazling of their owne or others fight : 80 
 
 There being a bleffing that doth giue fucceffe 
 To worthineffe and vnto conftancie. 
 
 And though fometimes th'euent may fall amiffe. 
 Yet fhall it ftill haue honour for th'attempt, 
 
202 TO THE LORD HENRIE HOWARD. 
 
 When craft begins with feare and ends with fhame, 
 And in the whole defigne perplexed is ; 
 Vertue, though luckleffe, yet fhall fcape contempt, 
 And though it hath not hap, it fhall haue fame. 
 
TO 
 
 THE LADIE MARGARET 
 
 Countejfe of Cumberland. 
 
 |E that of fuch a height hath built his 
 minde, 
 And rear'd the dwelling of his 
 
 thoughts fo ftrong, 
 As neither feare nor hope can fhake 
 
 the frame 
 Of his refolued powr's, nor all the 
 winde 
 Of vanitie or malice pierce to wrong 
 His fetled peace, or to difturbe the fame ; 
 What a faire feate hath he, from whence he may lo 
 The boundleffe waftes and wildes of man furuay. 
 
 And with how free an eye doth he looke downe 
 
 Vpon thefe lower regions of turmoyle ! 
 
 Where all the ftormes of paff ions mainly beat 
 
 On flefh and bloud ; where honour, pow'r, renowne 
 
 Are onely gay afHiftions, golden toyle ; 
 
 Where greatneffe ftands vpon as feeble feet 
 
 As frailty doth, and onely great doth feeme 
 
 To little minds, who doe it fo efteeme. 
 
 He lookes vpon the mightieft Monarchs warres 
 But onely as on flately robberies ; 
 Where euermore the fortune that preuailes 
 Muft be the right ; the ill-fucceeding marres 
 
 20 
 
204 TO THE COVNTESSE 
 
 The faireft and the beft-fac't enterprize : 
 
 Great Pirat Pompey leffer Pirats quailes ; 
 
 lujiice, he fees, as if feduced, ftill 
 
 Confpires with pow'r, whofe caufe muft not be ill. 
 
 He fees the face of Right t'appeare as manifolde 
 
 As are the paffions of vncertaine man ; 
 
 Who puts it in all colours, all attires, 30 
 
 To ferue his ends and make his courfes holde : 
 
 He fees, that let Deceit worke what it can, 
 
 Plot and contriue bafe wayes to high defires ; 
 
 That the all-guiding Prouidence doth yet 
 
 All difappoint, and mocks this fmoake of wit. 
 
 Nor is he mou'd with all the thunder-cracks 
 
 Of Tyrants threats, or with the furly brow 
 
 Of power, that proudly fits on others crimes, 
 
 Charg'd with more crying finnes then thofe he checks ; 
 
 The ftormes of fad confufion, that may grow 40 
 
 Vp in the prefent, for the comming times. 
 
 Appall not him, that hath no fide at all 
 
 But of himfelfe, and knowes the worft can fall 
 
 Although his heart fo neere allied to earth, 
 
 Cannot but pitty the perplexed State 
 
 Of troublous and diftreft mortalitie. 
 
 That thus make way vnto the ougly birth 
 
 Of their owne forr-owes, and doe ftill beget 
 
 Affliftion vpon imbecillitie : 
 
 Yet feeing thus the courfe of things muft runne, 5 o 
 
 He lookes thereon, not ftrange, but as foredone. 
 
OF CVMBERLAND. 203 
 
 And whilft diftraught Ambition compaffes 
 And is incompaft ; whil'ft as craft deceJues 
 And is deceiued ; whirft man doth ranfacke man, 
 And builds on bloud, and rifes by diftreffe ; 
 And th'inheritance of defolation leaues 
 To great expefting hopes ; he lookes thereon 
 As from the fhore of peace with vnwet eie, 
 And beares no venture in impietie. 
 
 Thus, Madam, fares that man that hath prepar'd 60 
 
 A refl for his defires, and fees all things 
 
 Beneath him, and hath learn'd this booke of man. 
 
 Full of the notes of frailty, and compar'd 
 
 The beft of glory with her fufferings: 
 
 By whom I fee you labour all you can 
 
 To plant your heart, and fet your thoughts as neare 
 
 His glorious manfion as your pow'rs can beare. 
 
 Which, Madam, are fo foundly fafhioned 
 
 By that cleere iudgement that hath carryed you 
 
 Beyond the feeble limits of your kinde, 70 
 
 As they can ftand agjiinft the ftrongeft head 
 
 Paffion can make ; inur'd to any hue 
 
 The world can caft ; that cannot caft that minde 
 
 Out of her forme of goodneffe, that doth fee 
 
 Both what the beft and worft of earth can be. 
 
 Which makes, that whatfoeuer here befalles > 
 You in the region of your felfe remaine ; 
 Where no vaine breath of th'impudent molefts, 
 That hath fecur'd within the brafen walles 
 
2o6 TO THE COVNTESSE 
 
 Of a cleere confcience, that without all ftaine 80 
 
 Rifes in peace, in innocencie refts ; 
 Whilft all what malice from without procures, 
 Shewes her owne ougly heart, but hurts not yours. 
 
 And whereas none reioyce more in reuenge 
 
 Then women vfe to doe ; yet you well know. 
 
 That wrong is better checkt, by being contemn'd 
 
 Then being purfu'd : leauing to him t'auenge 
 
 To whom it appertain es ; wherein you fhow 
 
 How worthily your cleereneffe hath condemn'd 
 
 Bafe malediftion, liuing in the darke, 90 
 
 That at the raies of goodneffe flill doth barke. 
 
 Knowing the heart of man is fet to be 
 The centre of this world, about the which 
 Thefe reuolutions of difturbances 
 Still roule ; where all th'afpefts of miferie 
 Predominate ; whofe ftrong effefts are fuch 
 As he muft beare, being pow'rleffe to redreffe ; 
 And that vnleffe aboue himfelfe he can 
 Eredl himfelfe, how poore a thing is man ! 
 
 And how turmoyl'd they are, that leuell lie 100 
 
 With earth, and cannot lift themfelues from thence ; 
 That neuer are at peace with their defires, 
 But worke beyond their yeeres, and euen denie 
 Dotage her reft, and hardly will difpence 
 With death : that when ability expires, 
 •Defire li^es ftill : fo much delight they haue 
 To carry tqyle and trauell to the graue. 
 
OF CVMBERLAND. 207 
 
 Whofe ends you fee, and what can be the beft 
 They reach vnto, when they haue caft the fumme 
 And reckonings of their glory ; and you know no 
 
 This floting life hath but this Port of reft, 
 A heart frepar'd, that feares no ill to come : — 
 And that mans greatneffe refts but in his ftiow ; 
 The beft of all whofe dayes confumed are 
 Either in warre, or peace conceiuing warre. 
 
 This concord, Madame, of a well-tun'd minde 
 
 Hath beene fo fet, by that all-working hand 
 
 Of heauen, that though the world hath done his worft 
 
 To put it out, by difcords moft vnkinde ; 
 
 Yet doth it ftill in perfefl vnion ftand 120 
 
 With God and man, nor euer will be forc't 
 
 From that moft fweet accord, but ftill agree 
 
 Equall in Fortunes inequalitie. 
 
 And this note (Madame) of your worthineffe 
 Remaines recorded in fo many hearts. 
 As time nor malice cannot wrong your right 
 In th'inheritance of Fame you muft poffeffe ; 
 You that haue built you by your great deferts. 
 Out of fmall meanes, a farre more exquifit 
 And glorious dwelling for your honoured name 130 
 Then all the gold that leaden minds can frame. 
 
 S. D. 
 
TO 
 
 THE LADIE LVCIE 
 
 Countejfe of Bedford. 
 
 |Hough vertue be the fame when low 
 Ihe ftands, 
 In th'humble fhadowes of obfcuritie, 
 As when flie either fweats in martiall 
 bands, 
 Or fits in Court clad with authoritie ; 
 Yet, Madam, doth the ftrianeffe of 
 her roome 
 Greatly detrafl from her abilitie : 
 For as in-wall'd within a liuing tombe, lo 
 
 Her hands and arraes of a6lion, labour not ; 
 Her thoughts, as if abortiue from the wombe, 
 Come neuer borne, though happily begot. 
 But where fhe hath mounted in open fight 
 An eminent and fpacious dwelling got. 
 Where Ihee may ftirre at will, and vfe her might, 
 There is fhe more her felfe, and more her owne ; 
 There in the faire attire of honor dight, 
 She fits at eafe and makes her glory knowne : 
 Applaufe attends her hands, her deeds haue grace, 20 
 Her worth new-borne is firait as if full growne. 
 I, 14 
 
210 TO THE COVNTESSE 
 
 With fuch a godly and refpefled face 
 Doth vertue looke, that's fet to looke from hie ; 
 And fuch a faire aduantage by her place 
 Hath ftate and greatneffe to doe worthily. 
 And therefore well did your high fortunes meet 
 With her, that gracing you, comes grac't thereby : 
 And well was let into a houfe fo fweet, 
 So good, fo faire, fo faire fo good a gueft ; 
 
 Who now remaines as bleffed in her feat, 30 
 
 As you are with her refidencie bleft. 
 And this faire courfe of knowledge whereunto 
 Your ftudies, learned Lady, are addreft. 
 Is th'only certaine way that you can go 
 Vnto true glory, to true happineffe : 
 All paffages on earth befides, are fo 
 Incumbred with fuch vaine difturbances ; 
 As ftill we lofe our reft in feeking it, 
 Being but deluded with apparances ; 
 And no key had you elfe that was fo fit 40 
 
 TVnlocke that prifon of your fex, as this. 
 To let you out of weakneffe, and admit 
 Your powers into the freedome of that bliffe 
 That fets you there where you may ouer-fee 
 This rowling world, and view it as it is ; 
 And apprehend how th'outfides doe agree 
 With th'inward, being of the things we deeme 
 And hold in our ill-caft accounts, to be 
 Of higheft value and of beft efteeme ; 
 Since all the good we haue refts in the minde, 50 
 
 By whofe proportions onely we redeeme 
 Our thoughts from out confufion, and doe finde 
 The meafure of our felues, and of our pow'rs ; 
 
OF BEDFORD. 211 
 
 And that all happineffe remaines confinde 
 
 Within the Kingdome of this breaft of ours : 
 Without whofe boundes all that we looke on lies 
 
 In others iurifdi6lions, others pow'rs, 
 
 Out of the circuit of our liberties. 
 All glory, honor, fame, applaufe, renowne, 
 
 Are not belonging to our royalties, 60 
 
 But t'others wils, wherein th'are onely growne : 
 And that vnleffe we find vs all within, 
 
 We neuer can without vs be our owne, 
 
 Nor call it right our life that we liue in : 
 But a poffeffion held for others vfe. 
 
 That feeme to haue moft int'reft therein ; 
 
 Which we doe fo diffeuer, part, traduce. 
 Let out to cuftome, fafhion, and to fhew, 
 
 As we enioy but onely the abufe, 
 
 And haue no other deed at all to fhew. 70 
 
 How oft are we conftrained to appeare 
 
 With other countenance then that we owe. 
 
 And be our felues farre off, when we are neere ! 
 How oft are we forc't on a cloudie hart 
 
 To fet a fhining face, and make it cleere ; 
 
 Seeming content to put our felues apart, 
 To beare a part of others weakeneffes ! 
 
 As if we onely were compof'd by Art, 
 
 Not Nature, and did all our deeds addreffe 
 T'opinion, not t'a confcience, what is right : 80 
 
 As fram'd b'example, not aduifedneffe, 
 
 Into thofe formes that entertaine our fight. 
 And though books. Madam, cannot make this minde 
 
 Which we muft bring apt to be fet aright, 
 
 Yet doe they re£tifie it in that kinde, 
 
212 TO THE COVNTESSE OF BEDFORD. 
 
 And touch it fo, as -that it turnes that way 
 
 Where iudgement lies : and though we cannot find 
 The certaine place of truth, yet doe they ftay 
 
 And entertaine vs neere about the fame ; 
 
 And giue the foule the beft delight that may go 
 Encheere it moft, and moft our fpirits inflame 
 
 To thoughts of glory, and to worthy ends : 
 And therefore in a courfe that beft became 
 The cleereneffe of your heart, and beft commends 
 
 Your worthy pow'rs, you run the righted way 
 That is on earth, that can true glory giue ; 
 By which when all confumes, your fame Ihal Hue. 
 
TO 
 
 THE LADIE ANNE 
 
 Clifford. 
 
 Nto the tender youth of thofe faire eies 
 The light of iudgement can arife but 
 
 new ; 
 And yong the world appeares t'a 
 
 yong conceit, 
 Whil'ft thorow the vnacquainted 
 faculties 
 
 The late inuefted foule doth rawly view 
 Thofe obiefts which on that difcretion wait. 
 
 Yet you that fuch a faire aduantage haue lo 
 
 Both by your birth and happy pow'rs, t'out go, 
 And be before your yeeres, can fairely gueffe 
 What hue of life holdes fureft without ftaine ; 
 Hauing your well-wrought heart full furnifh't fo 
 With all the images of worthineffe, 
 
 As there is left no roome at all t'inueft 
 Figures of other forme but fanftitie : 
 Whilft yet thofe cleane-created thoughts, within 
 The Garden of your innocencies reft ; 
 Where are no motions of deformitie, 20 
 
 Nor any doore at all to let them in. 
 
 With fo great care doth £he, that hath brought forth 
 That comely body, labour to adorne 
 
214 TO THE LADIE 
 
 That better part, the manfion of your minde, 
 With all the richeft furniture of worth ; 
 To make y'as highly good as highly borne, 
 And fet your vertues equall to your kinde. 
 
 She tels you how that honour onely is 
 A goodly garment put on faire defarts ; 
 Wherein the fmallell ftaine is greateft feene, 30 
 
 And that it cannot grace vnworthineffe ; 
 But more apparant fhewes defefliue parts, 
 How gay foeuer they are deckt therein. 
 
 She tels you too, how that it bounded is. 
 And kept inclofed with fo many eies. 
 As that it cannot ftray and breake abroad 
 Into the priuate wayes of carelefneffe ; 
 Nor euer may defcend to vulgarize. 
 Or be below the fphere of her abode. 
 
 But like to thofe fupemall bodies fet 40 
 
 Within their Orbs, muft keepe the certaine couffe 
 Of order, deftin'd to their proper place ; 
 Which onely doth their note of glory get. 
 Th'irregular apparances inforce 
 A fhort refpeft, and perifh without grace : 
 
 Being Meteors feeming high, but yet low plac't, 
 
 Blazing but while their dying matters laft : 
 
 Nor can we take the iuft height of the minde. 
 But by that order which her courfe doth fhew. 
 And which fuch fplendor to her adlions giues ; 50 
 
 And thereby men her eminencie finde, 
 And thereby onely doe attaine to know 
 The Region, and the Orbe wherein fhe Hues. 
 
 For low in th'aire of groffe vncertaintie 
 
 Confufion onely rowles, order fits hie. 
 
ANNE CLIFFORD. 215 
 
 And therefore fince the deareft thinge on earth, 
 
 This honour, Madam, hath his ftately frame 
 
 From th'heau'nly order, which begets refpefl ; 
 
 And that your Nature, vertue, happy birth, 
 
 Haue therein highly interplac'd your name, 60 
 
 You may not runne the leaft courfe of negleft. 
 
 For where, not to obferue, is to prophane 
 Your dignity ; how careful! muft you be 
 To be your felfe ? And though you may to all 
 Shine faire afpefts, yet muft the vertuous gaine 
 The beft effefls of your benignitie : 
 Nor muft your common graces caufe to fall 
 The price of your efteeme t'a lower rate. 
 Then doth befit the pitch of your eftate. 
 
 Nor may you build on your fufficiencie, 70 
 
 For in our ftrongeft parts we are but weake ; 
 Nor yet may ouermuch diftruft the fame : 
 Left that you come to checke it fo thereby. 
 As filence may become worfe then to fpeake ; 
 Though filence women neuer ill became. 
 
 And none we fee were euer ouerthrowne 
 
 By others flattery more then by their owne. 
 For though we Hue amongft the tongues of praife. 
 And troopes of fmoothing people that collaud 
 All that we doe, yet 'tis within our harts 80 
 
 Th'ambufhment lies, that euermore betraies 
 Our judgements, when our felues be come t'applaud 
 Our owne abilitie and our owne parts. 
 
 So that we muft not onely fence this fort 
 Of ours, againft all others fraud, but moft 
 Againft bur owne ; whofe danger is the moft, 
 Becaufe we lie the neereft to doe hurt. 
 
2i6 TO THE LADIE ANNE CLIFFORD. 
 
 And foon'ft deceiue our felues, and fooh'ft are loft 
 By our befl pow'rs, that doe vs moft tranfport. 
 
 Such are your holy bounds, who muft conuay 90 
 (If God fo pleafe) the honourable bloud 
 Of Clifford, and of Ruffell, led aright 
 To many worthy flems ; whofe ofspring may 
 Looke backe with comfort, to haue had that good 
 To fpring from fuch a branch that grew f'vpright ; 
 Since nothing cheeres the heart of greatneffe more 
 Then th'Anceftors faire glory gone before. 97 
 
 1. 89 misprinted ' tranfpord ' in 1 623 4to. 
 
TO 
 
 HENRY VVRIOTHESLY 
 
 Earle of Southamton. 
 
 Non fert vllum ilium illmfa falicitas. 
 
 |E who hath neuer warr'd with miferie, 
 Nor euer tugg'd with Fortune and 
 
 diflreffe, 
 Hath had n'occafion nor no field to 
 
 trie 
 The ftrength and forces of his worthi- 
 neffe : 
 
 Thofe parts of iudgement which felicitie 
 Keepes as conceal'd, afflidlion muft expreffe ; lo 
 
 And onely men fhew their abilities, 
 And what they are, in their extremities. 
 
 The world had neuer taken fo full note 
 
 Of what thou art, hadft thou not beene vndone ; 
 
 And onely thy afflidlion hath begot 
 
 More fame, then thy beft fortunes could haue done ; 
 
 For euer, by aduerfitie are wrought 
 
 The greateft workes of admiration. 
 
 And all the faire examples of renowne 
 
 Out of diflreffe and miferie are growne. 20 
 
 Mutius the fire, the tortures Regulus, 
 Did make the miracles of faith and zeale, 
 Exile renown'd, and grac'd Rutilius ; 
 Imprifonment and poyfon did reueale 
 
2i8 TO THE EARLE 
 
 The worth of Socrates ; Fabriiius' 
 Pouertie did grace that Common-weale 
 More then all Syllaes riches, got with ftrife ; 
 And Catoes death did vie with Ccsfars life. 
 
 Not to b'vnhappy is vnhappyneffe ; 
 
 And mifery not t'haue knowne miferie : 30 
 
 For the beft way vnto difcretion, is 
 
 The way that leades vs by aduerfitie. 
 
 And men are better fhew'd what is amiffe, 
 
 By th'expert finger of calamitie, 
 
 Then they can be with all that Fortune brings ; 
 
 Who neuer fhewes them the true face of things. 
 
 How could we know that thou could'ft haue indur'd 
 
 With a repofed cheere, wrong and difgrace ; 
 
 And with a heart and countenance affur'd 
 
 Haue lookt fterne death and horror in the face ! 40 
 
 How fhould we know thy foule had beene fecur'd 
 
 In honeft counfels and in way vnbafe ! 
 
 Hadft thou not flood to fhew vs what thou wert, 
 
 By thy afHidlion, that difcri'd thy heart. 
 
 It is not but the Tempeft that doth fhow 
 
 The Sea-mans cunning ; but the field that tries 
 
 The Captaines courage : and we come to know 
 
 Beft what men are, in their worft ieoperdies : 
 
 For lo, how many haue we feene to grow 
 
 To high renowne from loweft miferies, 50 
 
 Out of the hands of death, and many a one 
 
 T'haue beene vndone, had they not beene vndone. 
 
OF SOVTHAMTON. 219 
 
 He that indures for what his confcience knowes 
 
 Not to be ill, doth from a patience hie 
 
 Looke onely on the caufe whereto he owes 
 
 Thofe fufferings, not on his miferie : 
 
 The more h'endures, the more his glory growes, 
 
 Which neuer growes from imbecillitie : 
 
 Onely the bell compof'd and worthieft harts 
 
 God fets to aft the hardefl and conftant'ft parts. 60 
 
 S.D. 
 
VIII. 
 
 Mufophilus, or Defence of all Learning* 
 
 1602-3. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 In the 1601 gift-folio, again, 'Mufophilus' is found with this title 
 (undated) : — 
 
 A 
 
 Defence of Ryme 
 
 Againft a Pamphlet enti- 
 
 tuled 
 
 Obferuatiotts in the Art of 
 
 Englijh Poefie. 
 
 Wherein is demonftratiuely pro- 
 
 ued, that Ryme is the fitteft har- 
 
 monie of words that comportes 
 
 with our langu^e. 
 
 By Sa. D, 
 
 At London 
 Printed by V. S. for Edward Blount. 
 
 As Dr. Thomas Campion's ' Obferuations ' did not appear until l6o2, 
 the ' Defence ' cannot have been printed sooner than 1602-3. -A- collation 
 of the after-texts yields no various readings save slight orthographical 
 changes. See our Memorial-Introduction on ' Mufophilus,' and Daniel's 
 prose ' Defence ' (in his Prose Works). The general title was thus altered 
 later. 
 
 Mvfophilus : 
 
 Containing 
 
 A General Defence 
 
 of Learning, 
 
 In the 4to of 1623 and elsewhere the placing of the stanzas is irregular 
 (from p; 248, 1, 717) ; all have been made uniform, ?.?., 8 lines each, with 
 first line projecting instead of a line projecting and two lines ; also 1. 728 a 
 -misprint ' temp'ring ' corrected by ' tamp'ring. ' G. 
 
To the right Worthy and ludicious 
 
 Fauorer of Vertue, Mafter 
 Fulke Greuill. 
 
 Doe not here vpon this hum'rous Stage, 
 Bring my transformed Verfe, apparelled 
 With others pajfions, or with others 
 
 rage ; 
 With loues, with wounds, with faSlions 
 furnijhed : 
 But here prefent thee, onely modelled 
 In this poore frame, tJie forme of mine owne Jteart : 
 Where, to reuine my felfe, my Mufe is led lO 
 
 With motions of her owtte, t'a£l her owne part ; 
 
 Striuing to make her now contemned Art, 
 As fair e t her felfe as poffibly fhe can ; 
 Left, feeming of no force, of no defert. 
 She might repent the courfe that fhe began ; 
 And, with thefe times of dijfolution, fall 
 -From Goodneffe, Vertue, Glory, Fame and all. 1 7 
 
MVSOPHILVS 
 
 Containing, 
 
 A generall Defence of all 
 
 Learning. 
 
 Philocofmus. 
 
 Ond man Miifopkilus, that thus doft 
 fpend, 
 In an vngainefull Arte thy deereft 
 
 dayes, 
 Tyring thy wits, and toyling to no end, 
 But to attaine that idle fmoake of 
 Praife : 
 
 Now when this bufie world cannot attend lo 
 
 Th'vntimely Muficke of neglefted layes. 
 Other delights then thefe, other defires 
 This wifer profit-feeking Age requires. 
 
 Mufophilus. 
 
 FRiend Philocofmus, I confeffe indeede, 
 I loue this facred Arte thou fett'ft fo light, 
 And though it neuer fland my life in fteede, 
 It is enough, it giues my felfe delight ; 
 The whiles my vnaflflifled minde doth feede 
 On no vnholy thoughts for benefit. 20 
 
 I. 15 
 
226 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 Be it, that my vnfeafonable Song 
 
 Come out of time ; that fault is in the Time, 
 And I muft not doe Vertue fo much wrong, 
 As loue her aught the worfe for others crime : 
 And yet I finde fome bleffed fpirits among. 
 That cherifh me, and like, and grace my Rime. 
 
 Againe, that I doe mor^ in Soule efteeme, 
 
 Then all the gaine of duft the world doth craue : 
 And, if I may attaine, but to redeeme 
 My name from Diffolution and the Graue ; 30 
 
 I fhall haue done enough, and better deeme 
 T'haue liu'd to be, then to haue dide to haue. 
 
 Short-breath'd Mortalitie would yet extend 
 That fpanne of life fo farre forth as it may, 
 And robbe her Fate ; feeke to beguile her end 
 Of fome few lingring dayes of after-ftay, 
 That all this little All, might not defcend 
 Into the darke, a vniuerfall pray. 
 And giue our labours yet this poore delight. 
 That when our daies doe end, they are not done : 40 
 And though we die, we fhall not perifh quite. 
 But Hue two Hues, where other haue but one, 
 
 Philocofmus. 
 
 Silly defires of felfe-abufing man, 
 Striuing to gaine th'inheritance of Aire, 
 That hauing done the vttermoft he can, 
 teaues yet, perhaps, but beggarie to his heirfe : 
 All that great purchafe of the breath he wan, 
 Feedes not his race, or makes his houfe more faire. 
 
 1.44, 'Seely' 1601. 
 
MVSOPHILVS. 22-, 
 
 And what art thou the better, thus to leaue 50 
 
 A multitude of words tofmall effedl, 
 Which other times may fcorne, and fo deceiue 7 
 
 Thy promif 'd name, of what thou doft expefl ? 
 Befides, fome viperous Criticke may bereaue 
 Th'opinion of thy worth for fome defeft ; 
 
 And get more reputation of hjs wit, 
 
 By, but controlling of fome word or fence. 
 
 Then thou (halt honour for contriuing it, 
 
 With all thy trauell, care and diligence ; 
 
 Being Learning now enough to contradift, 60 
 
 And cenfure others with bold infolence. 
 
 Befides, fo many fo confufedly fing, t. 
 
 Whofe diuerfe difcords haue the Muficke mar'd. 
 And in contempt that myfterie doth bring. 
 That he mufl; fing alowd that will be heard : 
 And the receiu'd opinion of the thing, 
 For fome vnhallowed firing that vildely iar'd, 
 
 Hath fo vnfeafon'd now the eares of men. 
 
 That who doth touch the tenour of that vaine. 
 
 Is held but vaine ; and his vnreckned pen 70 
 
 The title but of Leuitie doth gaine. 
 
 A poore light gaine, to recompence their toyle, 
 
 That thought to get Eternitie the while. 
 
 And therefore, leaue the left and out-worne courfe 
 Of vnregarded wayes, and labour how 
 To fit the times with what is moft in force ; 
 Be new with mens affe6lions that are new ; 
 Striue not to runne an idle counter-courfe. 
 Out from the fcent of humours, men allow. 
 
 For not difcreetly to compofe our partes 80 
 
 Vnto the frame of men (which we mull be) 
 
228 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 Is to put off our felues, and make our Artes 
 Rebels to Nature and Societie ; 
 Whereby we come to burie our defarts, 
 In th'obfcure graue of Singularitie. ' 
 
 Mufophilus, 
 
 DOe not prophane the worke of doing well, 
 Seduced man, that canft not looke fo hie 
 From out that mift of earth, as thou canft tell 
 The wayes of Right, which Vertue doth defcrie ; 90 
 That ouer-lookes the bafe contemptibly, 
 And low-laid follies of Mortalitie : 
 
 Nor mete out Truth and right-difceming Praife, 
 By that wrong meafure of Confufion, 
 The vulgar foote ; that neuer takes his wayes 
 By Reafon, but by Imitation, 
 Rowling on with the reft ; and neuer weighs 
 The courfe which he ftiould goe,'but what is gone. 
 
 Well were it with Mankinde, if, what the moft 
 
 Did like, were beft : But Ignorance will liue 1 00 
 By others fquare, as by example loft : 
 And man to man muft th'hand of Errour giue 
 That none can fall alone, at their owne coft; 
 And all, becaufe men iudge not, but beleeue. 
 
 For what poore bounds haue they, whom but th'earth 
 bounds; 
 What is their end whereto their care attaines, 
 When the thhig got, relieues not, but confounds, 
 Hauing but trauell to fucceede their paines ? 
 What ioy hath he of lining, that propounds 
 Affliftion but his end, and Griefe his gaines ? no 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 22g 
 
 Gath'ring, incroching, wrefting, ioyning to, 
 
 Deftroying, building, decking, furnifhing, 
 
 Repayring, altring, and fo much adoe, 
 
 To his foules toyle, and bodies trauelling : 
 
 And all this doth he, little knowing who 
 
 Fortune ordaines to haue th'inheriting. 
 And his faire houfe raif'd hie in Enuies eie ; 
 
 Whofe Pillars rear'd (perhaps) on bloud and wrong, 
 
 The fpoyles and pillagd of Iniquitie : 
 
 Who can affure it to continue long ? 120 
 
 If Rage fpar'd not the walles of Pietie, 
 
 Shall the prophaneft pyles of finne keepe ftrong ? 
 How many proud afpiring Pallaces 
 
 Haue we knowne, made the prey of wrath and pride ; 
 
 Leuell'd with th'earth, left to forgetfulneffe ; 
 
 Whilft titlers their pretended rights decide. 
 
 Or ciuill tumults, or an orderleffe 
 
 Order, pretending change of fome ftrong fide ? 
 Then where is that proud Title of thy name. 
 
 Written in yce of melting vanitie ? 130 
 
 Where is thine heire left to poffeffe the fame ? 
 
 Perhaps, not fo well as in beggarie. 
 
 Something may rife to be beyond the fhame 
 
 Of vile and vnregarded Pouertie. 
 Which I confeffe, although I often ftriue 
 
 To clothe in the beft habit of my (kill, 
 
 In all the faireft colours I can giue : 
 
 Yet for all that, me thinkes fhe lookes but ill. 
 
 I cannot brooke that face, which de'ad-aliue 
 
 Shewes a quicke body, but a buried will. 140 
 
 Yet oft we fee the barres of this reftraint 
 
 Holdes goodneffe in, which loofe wealth would let flie ; 
 
2.50 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 And fruitleffe riches barriner then want, 
 Brings forth fmall worth from idle Libertie : 
 Which when Diforders fliall againe make fcant. 
 It muft refetch her ftate from Pouertie. 
 
 But yet in all this interchange of all, 
 
 Vertue we fee, with her faire grace, ftands faft : 
 For what high races hath there come to fall. 
 With low difgrace, quite vanifhed and pafl, 150 
 
 Since Chaucer liu'd ; who yet Hues, and yet fhall. 
 Though (which I grieue to fay) but in his laft. 
 
 Yet what a time hath he wrefted from Time, 
 And wonne vpon the mighty wafle of dayes, 
 Vnto th'immortall honour of our clime ! 
 That by his meanes came firft adorn'd with Bayes ; 
 Vnto the facred Relickes of whofe rime, 
 We yet are bound in zeale to offer praife ? 
 
 And, could our lines, begotten in this age, 
 
 Obtaine but fuch a bleffed hand of yeares, 1 60 
 
 And fcape the fury of that threatning rage. 
 Which in confufed cloudes gaftly appeares ; 
 Who would not ftraine his trauels to ingage. 
 When fuch true glory fhould fucceede his cares ? 
 
 But whereas he came planted in the Spring, 
 And had the Sunne, before him, of Refpeft : 
 We, fet in th'Autumne, in the withering 
 And fuUen feafon of a cold defeft, 
 Muft tafte thofe fowre diftafts the times do bring 
 Vpon the fulneffe of a cloy'd Negleft ; 1 70 
 
 Although the fbronger conftitutions fhall 
 Weare out th'infe6tion of diftempred dayes, 
 And come with glory to out-Hue this fall ; 
 Recouping of another fpringing of Praife, 
 
MVSOPHILVS. 231 
 
 Cleer'd from th'opprefing humours wherewithal! 
 The Idle multitude furcharge their laies. 
 
 Wlienas (perhaps) the words thou fcorneft now 
 May Hue, the fpeaking pifture of the minde ; 
 The extraft of the foule, that laboured, how 
 To leaue the Image of herfelfe behinde ; 180 
 
 Wherein Pofteritie, that loue to know 
 The iuft proportion of our Spirits, may finde. 
 
 For thefe Lines are the veines, the arteries. 
 And vndecaying life-ftrings of thofe harts 
 That ftill fhall pant, and ftill fhall exercize 
 The motion, fpirit and Nature both imparts ; 
 And fhall, with thofe aliue fo fympathize, 
 As, nourifht with their powers, inioy their parts. 
 
 O bleffed Letters, that combine in one. 
 
 All Ages paft, and make one Hue with all : 190 
 
 By you, we doe conferre with who are gone, 
 And, the dead-liuing vnto Councell call : 
 By you, th'vnborne fhall haue communion 
 Of what we feele, and what doth vs befall. 
 
 Soule of the world. Knowledge, without thee. 
 What hath the Earth, that truly glorious is ? 
 Why fhould our pride make fuch a ftirre to be, 
 To be forgot ? What good is like to this, 
 To doe worthy the writing, and to write 
 Worthy the reading, and the worlds delight ? 200 
 
 And let th'vnnaturall and wayward Race, 
 
 Borne of one wombe with vs, but to our fhame. 
 That neuer read t'obferue, but to dffgrace; 
 Raife all the tempeft of their powre, to blame. 
 That puffe of folly neuer can deface. 
 The worke a happy Genius tooke to frame. 
 
232 MYSOPHIL VS. 
 
 Yet why (hould ciuill Learning feeke to wound 
 And mangle her owne members with defpight ? 
 Prodigious wits, that ftudy to confound 
 The life of wit, to feeme to know aright, 2 1 o 
 
 As if themfelues had fortunately found 
 Some ftand from off the earth beyond our fight ; 
 Whence, ouer-looking all as from aboue, 
 Their grace is not to worke, but to reproue. 
 
 But how came they plac'd in fo high degree 
 Aboue the reach and compaffe of the reft ? 
 Who hath admitted them onely to be 
 Free-denizons of fkill, to iudge the beft ? 
 From whom the world as yet could neuer fee 
 The warrant of their wit found ly expreft. 220 
 
 T'acquaint our times with that perfeftion 
 
 Of high conceipt, which onely they poffeffe ; 
 That we might haue things exquifitely done, 
 Meafur'd with all their flrift obferuances : 
 Such would (I know) fcorne a Tranflation, 
 Or bring but others labours to the Preffe : 
 Yet, oft thefe monfter-breeding mountaines will 
 Bring forth fmall Mice of great expefted Ikill. 
 
 Prefumption euer fuUeft of defefts, 
 
 Failes, in the doing, to performe her part : 230 
 
 And I haue knowne proude words and poore effefls. 
 Of fuch indeede as doe condemne this Arte : 
 But let them refl, it euer hath beene knowne, 
 They others vertues fcorne, that doubt their owne. 
 
 And for the diuers difagreeing cordes 
 Of inter-iangling Ignorance, that fill 
 The dainty eares, and leaue no roome for words, 
 The worthier mindes negle6l, or pardon will : 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 2 j3 
 
 Knowing the beft he hath, he frankely foordes, 
 And fcornes to be a niggard of his Ikill. 240 
 
 And that the rather, fince this fhort-liu'd race, 
 Being fatally the fonnes but of one day ; 
 That now with all their powre plie it apace, 
 To hold out with the greateft might they may, 
 Againft Confufion, that hath all in chace. 
 To make of all, an vniuerfall pray. 
 
 For now great Nature hath laid downe at lafl 
 That mighty birth, wherewith fo long fhe went, 
 And ouer-went the times of ages paft. 
 Here to lye in, vpon our foft content : 250 
 
 Where fruitfull Ihe, hath multiplyed fo faft, 
 That all fhe hath, on thefe times feem'd t'haue fpent. 
 
 All that which might haue many ages grac'd. 
 Is borne in one, to make one cloy'd with all; 
 Where Plenty hath impreft a deepe diftafb. 
 Of beft and worft, and all in generall : 
 That Goodneffe feemes GoodneiTe to haue defac't, 
 And Vertue hath to Vertue giuen the fall. 
 
 For Emulation, that proude nurfe of Wit, 
 
 Scorning to fl:ay below or come behinde, 260 
 
 Labours vpon that narrow top to fit 
 
 Of fole Perfe6lion in the higheft kinde : 
 
 Enuy and Wonder looking after it, 
 
 Thruft likewife, on the felfefame bliffe to finde : 
 
 And fo, long flriuing, till they can no more. 
 Doe fbuife the place, or others hopes Ihut out ; 
 Who, doubting to ouertake thofe gone before, 
 Giue vp their care, and caft no more about : 
 And fo in fcorne, leaue all as fore poffefb. 
 And will be none, where they may not be beft. 270 
 
234 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 Eu'n like fome empty Creeke, that long hath laine, 
 Left or neglefted of the Riuer by, 
 Whofe fearching fides, pleaf'd with a wandring vaine, 
 Finding fome little way that clofe did lie ; 
 Steale in at firft, then other flreames againe 
 Second the firft, then more then all fupply ; 
 
 Till all the mighty maine hath borne, at laft. 
 The glory of his chiefeft powre that way ; 
 Plying this newfound pleafant roome fo faft, 
 Till all be full, and all be at a flay : 280 
 
 And then about, and backe againe doth caft, 
 Leaning that full to fall another way : 
 
 So fares this hum'rous world, that euermore 
 Rapt with the current of a prefent courfe, 
 Runnes into that which lay contemn'd before : 
 Then glutted, leaues the fame, and falles t'a worfe : 
 Now Zeale holdes all, no life but to adore, 
 Then cold in fpirit, and faith is of no force. 
 
 Strait, all that holy was, vnhallowed lies, 
 
 The fcattred carcaffes of ruin'd vowes : 2 90 
 
 Then Truth is falfe, and now hath Blindneffe eies. 
 Then Zeale trufts all, now fcarcely what it knowes : 
 That euermore, to foolifh or to wife. 
 It fatall is to be feduc'd with fhowes. 
 
 Sacred Religion, mother of Forme and Feare, 
 How gorgeoufly fometimes dofl thou fit deckt ? 
 What pompous veftures doe we make thee weare ? 
 What ftately piles we prodigall ereft ? 
 How fweet perfum'd thou art, how fWning cleare ? 
 How folemnely obferu'd, with what refpe6l ? 300 
 
 L 280, 'folempnly' i6oi ; 1. 2S9, misprinted ' vnhollowed.' 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 235 
 
 Another time, all plaine, all quite thread-bare, 
 
 Thou muft haue all within, and nought without ; 
 
 Sit poorely without light, difrob'd, no care 
 
 Of outward grace, to amuze the poore deuout ; 
 
 Powreleffe, vnfoUowed, fcarcely men can fpare 
 
 The neceffary rites to fet thee out. 
 Either Truth, Goodneffe, Vertue are not ftill 
 
 The felfefame which they are, and alwayes one, 
 
 But alter to the proie6l of our will. 
 
 Or we, our a6lions make them waite vpon, 310 
 
 Putting them in the liuery of our flcill, 
 
 And cafh them off againe when we haue done. 
 You mightie Lords, that with refpefted grace 
 
 Doe at the fterne of faire example ftand, 
 
 And all the body of this populace 
 
 Guide with the turning of your hand ; 
 
 Keepe a right courfe, beare vp from all difgrace, 
 
 Obferue the poynt of glory to our land : 
 Hold vp difgraced knowledge from the ground, 
 
 Keepe Vertue in requefi:, giue Worth her due, 320 
 
 Let not Negleft with barbarous meanes confound 
 
 So faire a good, to bring in night anew. 
 
 Be not, O be not acceflary found 
 
 tVnto h& death, that muft ghie life to you. 
 here will you haue your vertuous name fafe laide*.? 
 In gorgeous Tombes, in facred Cels fecure .' 
 Doe you not fee thofe proftate heapes betraide 
 Your fathers bones, and could not keep them fure } 
 And will you truft deceitfull ftones faire laide. 
 And thinke they will be to your honour truer } 330 
 
 1. 327,— ' prostrate.' 
 
236 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 No, no, vnfparing Time will proudly fend 
 
 A warrant vnto Wrath ; that with one frowne 
 Will all thefe mock'ries of Vaine-glory rend, 
 And make them, as before, vngrac'd, vnknowne ; 
 Poore idle honours that can ill defend 
 Your memories, that cannot keepe their owne. 
 
 And whereto ferue that wondrous Trophei now. 
 That on the goodly Plaine neere Wilton (lands ? 
 That huge dumbe heape, that cannot tell vs how. 
 Nor what, nor whence it is, nor with whofe hands, 340 
 Nor for whofe glory, it was fet to (hew 
 How much our pride mocks that of other lands ? 
 
 Whereon, whenas the gazing paffenger 
 Hath greedy lookt with admiration, 
 And faine would know his birth, and what he were, 
 How there erefted, and how long agone : 
 Enquires, and afkes his fellow traueller, 
 What he hath heard, and his opinion : 
 
 And he knowes nothing. Then he turnes againe. 
 And lookes, and fighs, and then admires afreih, 350 
 And in himfelfe with forrow doth complaine 
 The mifery of darke Forgetfulneife : 
 Angry with Time that nothing (hould remaine 
 Our greateft wonders wonder, to expreff^ 
 
 Then Ignorance, with fabulous difcourfe, 
 
 Robbing faire Arte and Cunning of their right, 
 Tels, how thofe (tones, .were by the Deuils foi^ce, 
 From Affrike brought to Ireland in a night, 
 And thence, to Britannic, by Magicke courfe, 
 From Gyants hands redeem'd, by Merlins (leight. 360 
 
 And then neere Ambri plac'd, in memorie 
 Of all thofe noble Britons murthered there, 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 237 
 
 By Hengiji and his Saxon trecherie, 
 Comming to parlee in peace at vnaware. 
 With this old Legend then Credulitie 
 Holdes her content, and clofes vp her care : 
 
 But is Antiquitie fo great a liar ? 
 
 Or, doe her yonger fonnes her age abufe, 
 
 Seeing after-commers ftill, fo apt t'admire 
 
 The graue authoritie that fhe doth vfe, 370 
 
 That reuerence and Refpeft dares not require 
 
 Proofs of her deedes, or once her words refufe ? 
 
 Yet wrong they did vs, to prefume fo far, 
 Vpon our eafie credit and delight : 
 For, once found falfe, they ftrait became to mar 
 Our faith, and their owne reputation quite. 
 That now her truths hardly beleeued are : 
 And though fh'auouch the right, fhe fcarce hath right. 
 
 And as for thee, thou huge and mighty frame. 
 
 That ftands corrupted fo with times defpight, 380 
 And giu'fl falfe euidence, againft their fame 
 That fet thee there, to teflifie their right ; 
 And art become a Traitour to their name 
 That trufted thee with all the bed they might. 
 
 Thou fhalt (land ftill belide, and flaundered, 
 The onely gazing-ftocke of Ignorance ; 
 And by thy guile, the wife admonifhed, 
 Shall neuer more defire fuch heapes t'aduance ; 
 Nortruft their liuing glory with the dead 
 That cannot fpeake, but leaue their fame to Chance : 
 
 Confidering in how fmall a roome doe lie, 391 
 
 And yet lie fafe, as frefh as if aliue, 
 All thofe great worthies of antiquitie ; 
 Which long foreliu'd thee, and fhall long furuiue ; 
 
238 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 Who ftronger tombes found for Eternitie, 
 Then could the powres of all the earth contriue. 
 Where they remaine thefe trifles to obraid 
 
 Out of the reach of Spoyle, and way of Rage ; 
 Though Time with all his power of yeeres hath laid 
 Long batterie, back'd with vndermining Age, 400 
 Yet they make head, onely with their owne aide 
 And warre, with his all-conquering forces, wage. 
 Pleading the Heau'ns prefcription to be free, 
 And t'haue a grant, t'indure as long as hee. 
 
 Philocofmus. 
 
 BEholde how euery man, drawne with delight 
 Of what he doth, flatters him in his way ; 
 Striuing to make his courfe feeme onely right 
 Doth his owne reft, and his owne thoughts betray : 
 Imagination bringing brauely dight, 410 
 
 Her pleafing Images in beft aray. 
 
 With flattering glaffes that mufl fhew him faire. 
 And others foule : his fkill and wit befl:. 
 Others feduc'd, deceiu'd and wrong in their : 
 His knowledge right, all ignorant the refl. 
 Not feeing how thefe Minions in the aire 
 Prefent a face of things falfely expreft. 
 And that the glimmering of thefe errours fhowne. 
 Are but a light, to let him fee his owne. 
 
 Alas poore Fame, in what a narrow roome, 420 
 
 As an incaged Parrot art thou pent 
 Here amongfl vs, where, euen as good be dombe 
 As fpeake, and to be heard with no attent ? 
 How can you promife of the time to come, 
 Whenas the prefent are fo negligent .' 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 239 
 
 Is this the vvalke of all your wide renowne, 
 This litle Point, this fcarce difcerned He, 
 Thruft from the world, with whom our fpeech vnknowne 
 Made neuer any traffike of our Stile ? 
 And in this All, where all this care is fhowne, 430 
 T'inchant your fame to laft fo long a while ? 
 And for that happier tongues haue wonne fo much, 
 Thinke you to make your barbarous language fuch ? 
 
 Poore narrow limits for fo mightie paines, 
 That cannot promife any forraine vent : 
 And yet, if here, to all, your wondrous vaines 
 Were generally knowne, it might content : 
 But loe, how many reades not, or difdaines 
 The labour of the chiefe and excellent ? 
 
 How many thoufands neuer heard the name 440 
 
 Of Sidney, or of Spencer, or their Bookes ? 
 And yet braue fellowes, and prefume of Fame, 
 And feeme to beare downe all the world with lookes ? 
 What then fhall they expeft of meaner frame, 
 On whofe indeuours few or none fcarce lookes ? 
 
 Doe you not fee thefe Pamphlets, IJbels and Rymes, 
 Thefe ftrange confufed tumults of the minde. 
 Are growne to be the fickneffe of thefe times, 
 The great difeafe inflifted on mankinde ? 
 Your Vertues by your Follies made your crlmes,45o 
 Haue iffue with your indifcretion ioyn'd. 
 
 Schooles, Artes, Profeffions, all in fo great flore, 
 Paffe the proportion of the prefent ftate j 
 Where, being as great a number as before, 
 And fewer roomes them to accommodate : 
 It cannot be but they muft throng the more, 
 And kick, ^nd thrufl, and fhoulder with Debate. 
 
240 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 For when the greater wits cannot attaine 
 
 Th'expefted good, which they account their right, 
 And yet perceiue others to reape that gaine 4 
 Of farre inferiour vertues in their fight : 
 They prefent, with the fharpe of Enuie, ftraine 
 To wound them with reproches and defpight : 
 And for thefe cannot haue as well as they. 
 They fcorne their faith fhould deigne to looke that w 
 
 Hence, difcontented Se6ls and Schifmes arife, 
 Hence interwounding Controuerfies fpfing, 
 That feede the Simple, and offend the Wife, 
 Who know the confequence of cauelling 
 Difgrace, that thefe to others doe deuife : 4 
 
 Contempt and Scorne on all in th'end doth bring, 
 Like fcolding wiues, reckning each others fault, 
 Make ftanders-by imagine both are naught. 
 
 For when to thefe rare dainties, time admits 
 All commers, all complexions, all that will. 
 Where none fhould be let in but choifeft wits, 
 Whofe milde difcretion could comport with fkill : 
 For when the place their humour neither fits. 
 Nor they the place, who can expeft but ill ? 
 
 For being vnapt for what they tooke in hand, 4 
 
 And for aught els whereto they ftiall b'addreft, 
 They eu'n become th'incumbrance of the land, 
 As out of ranke, difordring all the reft : 
 This grace of theirs, to feeme to vnderftand, 
 Marres all their grace, to doe, without their reft. 
 
 Men finde, that aftion is another thing. 
 
 Then what they in difcourf ing papers reade : 
 
 The worlds affaires require in managing, 
 
 More Artes then thofe wherein you Clerkes proceec 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 24t 
 
 Whilft timorous Knowledge ftands confidering, 490 
 Audacious Ignorance hath done the deede ; 
 For who knowes moft, the more he knowes to doubt ; 
 The leaft difcourfe is commonly moft ftoutj) 
 
 This fweet inchaunting Knowledge turnes you cleene 
 Out from the fields of naturall delight, 
 And makes you hide, vnwilling to be feene 
 In th'open concourfe of a publike fight : 
 This fkill, wherewith you haue fo cunning beene, 
 Vnfinues all your powres, vnmans you quite. 
 
 Publike focietie and commerce of men 500 
 
 Require another grace, another f)ort : 
 VThis Eloquence, thefe Rymes, thefe Phrafes then, 
 Begot in fhades, doe ferue vs in no fort ; 
 Th'vnmateriall fwelling of your Pen 
 Touch not the fpirit that aftion doth import^ 
 
 A manly ftile, fitted to manly eares 
 
 Beft grees with wit ; not that which goes fo gay, 
 
 And commonly the gawdy liu'ry weares 
 
 Of nice Corruptions, which the times doe fway, 
 
 And waites on th'humour of his pulfe that beares 510 
 
 His paffions fet to fuch a pleafing kay : 
 
 Such dainties ferue onely for ftomackes weake ; 
 
 For men doe fowleft, when they fineft fpeake. 
 
 Yet doe I not diflike that in fome wife 
 Be fung, the great heroicall deferts, 
 Of braue renowned fpirits ; whofe exercife 
 Of worthy deeds may call vp others hearts. 
 And ferue a modell for pofterities. 
 To fafhion them fit for like glorious parts : 
 But fo, that all our fpirits may tend hereto, 520 
 
 To make it, not our grace, to fay, but do. 
 I. 16 
 
242 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 Mufophilus. 
 
 MVch thou haft faid, and willingly I heare, 
 As one that am not fo poffeft with Loue 
 
 Of what I doe, but that I rather beare 
 
 An eare to learne, then a tongue to difproue : 
 
 I know men muft, as carried in their fpheare, 
 
 According to their proper motions, moue. 
 
 And that courfe likes them beft which they are on, 
 
 Yet Truth hath certaine bounds, but Falfhood none. 
 
 I doe confeffe our limits are but fmall, 531 
 
 Compar'd with all the whole vafte earth befide; 
 All which, againe, rated to that great All, 
 Is likewife as a poynt, fcarcely defcride : 
 So that in thefe refpefts, we may this call, 
 A poynt but of a poynt, where we abide. 
 
 But if we fhall defcend from that high ftand 
 Of ouer-looking Contemplation, 
 And caft our thoughts, but to, and not beyond 
 This fpacious circuit which we tread vpon ; 5 40 
 
 We then may eftimate our mighty land, 
 A world, within a world ftanding alone. 
 
 Where, if our fame confind cannot get out. 
 What, fhall we imagine it is pen'd, 
 That hath fo great a world to walke about, 
 Whofe bounds with her reports haue both one end ? 
 Why fhall we not rather efteeme her ftout. 
 That farther then her owne fcorne to extend ? 
 
 Where being fo large a roome, both to doe well, 
 
 And eke to heare th'applaufe of things well done, 550 
 
 That farther, if men fhall our vertues tell. 
 
 We haue more mouthes, but not more merit won ; 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 243 
 
 It doth not greater make that which is laudable, 
 The flame is bigger blowne, the fire all one. 
 
 And for the few that onely lend their eare, 
 That few, is all the world ; which with a few 
 Doe euer liue, and moue, and worke, and ilirre. 
 This is the heart doth feele and onely know 
 The reft of all, that onely bodies beare, 
 Rowle vp and downe, and fill vp but the row. 560 
 
 And ferues as others members, not their owne, 
 The inflxuments of thofe that doe direfl. 
 Then what difgrace is this, not to be knowne 
 To thofe know not to giue themfelues refpe6l } 
 And though they fwell with pompe of folly blowne, 
 They liue vngrac'd, and die but in Negleft. 
 
 And for my part, if onely one allow 
 
 The care my labouring fpirits take in this. 
 
 He is to me a Theater large enow, 
 
 And his applaufe onely fufficient is : 570 
 
 All my refpeft is bent but to his brow, 
 
 That is my All ; and all I am, is his. 
 
 And if fome worthy fpirits be pleafed too, 
 
 It Ihall more comfort breede, but not more will. 
 But what if none .' It cannot yet vndoo 
 The loue I beare vnto this holy Ikill : 
 This is the thing that I was borne to doo. 
 This is my Scene, this part muft I fulfill. 
 (Let thofe that know not breath, efteeme of winde. 
 And fet t'a vulgar ayre their feruile fong ; 580 
 
 Rating their goodneffe by the praife they find, 
 Making their worth on others fits belong; 
 As Vertue were the hireling of the minde. 
 And could not liue if Fame had ne'r a tong. 
 
244 MVSOPHIL VS 
 
 Hath that all-knowing powre that holdes within 
 The goodly profpeftiue of all this frame, 
 (Where, whatfoeuer is, or what hath bin, 
 Reflefts a certaine image of the fame) 
 No inward pleafures to delight her in. 
 But fhe muft gad to feeke an almes of Fame ? 590 
 
 Muft fhe, like to a wanton Curtezan, 
 
 Open her brefts for ftiew, to winne her praife ; 
 And blaze her faire bright beauty vnto man 
 As if fhe were enamour'd of his wayes, 
 And knew not Weakeneffe, nor could rightly fcan 
 To what defefts his hum'rous breath obayes ? 
 
 She that can tell, how proud Ambition 
 Is but a Beggar, and hath nought at all, 
 But what is giu'n of meere Deuotion : 
 For which, how much it fweats, how much it's thrall ? 
 What toyle it takes, and yet, when all is done, 601 
 Th'endes in expeftation neuer fall ; 
 
 Shall fhe ioyne hands with fuch a feruile mate, 
 And proftrate her faire body, to commit 
 Folly with earth, and to defile that ftate 
 Of cleereneffe, for fo groffe a benefit ? 
 Hauing Reward dwelling within her gate, 
 And Glory of her owne to furnifh it : 
 
 Her felfe, a recompence fufficient 
 
 Vnto her felfe, to giue her owne content. 610 
 
 I'ft not enough, that fhe hath raif'd fo hie, 
 
 Thofe that be hers, that they may fit and fee 
 
 The earth below them, and this AH to lie 
 
 Vnder their view, taking the true degree 
 
 Of the iuft height of fwolne Mortalitie, 
 
 Right as it is, not as it feemes to be ? 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 245 
 
 And vndeceiued with the Paralax 
 Of a miftaking eye of paffion, know 
 By thefe malk'd outfides what the inward lackes ; 
 Meaf'ring man by himfelfe, not by his ftiow ; 620 
 Wondering not at their rich and golden backes, 
 That haue poore mindes and little elfe to fhew : 
 
 Nor taking that for them which well they fee 
 Is not of them, but rather is their loade : 
 The lies of Fortune, wherewithal! men be 
 Deemed within, when they be all abroade : [knee, 
 Whofe ground, whofe graffe, whofe earth haue cap and 
 Which they fuppofe, is on themfelues beftow'd. 
 
 And thinke like If is Affe, all Honours are 
 
 Giuen vnto them alone, the which are done 630 
 
 Vnto the painted Idoll which they beare. 
 
 That onely makes them to be gazed on : 
 
 For take away their packe, and fhew them bare. 
 
 And fee what beft this Honour rides vpon. 
 
 Hath Knowledge lent to hers the priuy kay, 
 To let them in vnto the higheft Stage 
 Of Caufes, Secrets, Counfels, to furuay 
 The wits of men, their hearts, their colds, their rage. 
 That build, deftroy, praife, hate, fay and gainefay, 
 Beleeue and vnbeleeue, all in one age7 640 
 
 And fhall we trufl: goodneffe as it proceedes 
 
 From that vnconftant mouth, which with one breath 
 Will make it bad againe vnleffe it feedes 
 The prefent humour that it fauoureth ? 
 Shall we efteeme and reckon how it heedes 
 Our workes, that his owne vowes vnhalloweth ? 
 
 Then whereto femes it to haue bin inlarg'd 
 With this free manumiffion of the mind, 
 
246 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 If for all that, we ftill continue charg'd 
 
 With thofe difcou'red errors which we finde ? 650 
 
 As if our knowledge onely were difcharg'd, 
 
 Yet we our felues ftaid in a feruile kinde. 
 
 That Vertue mufh be out of countenance, 
 
 If this groffe fpirit, or that weake fhallow braine, 
 Or this nice wit, or that diftemperance, 
 Negleft, diftafte, vncomprehend, difdaine ; 
 When fuch ficke eyes can neuer caft a glance, 
 But through the colours of their proper ftaine. 
 
 Though, I muft needes confeffe, the fmall refpe6l. 
 
 That thefe great-feeming beft of men doe giue, 660 
 (Whofe brow begets th'inferior forts negleft,) 
 Might moue the weake irrefolute to grieue : 
 But ftronger, fee how iuftly this defe6l 
 Hath ouertooke the times wherein we liue : 
 
 That Learning needs muft runne the common fate 
 Of all things elfe, thruft on by her owne weight, 
 Comporting not her felfe in her eftate 
 Vnder this burthen of a felfe conceit : 
 Our owne diffentious hands opening the gate 
 Vnto Contempt, that on our quarrels waite, 670 
 
 Difcou'red haue our inward gouernement, 
 And let in hard opinion to Difgrace 
 The general!, for fome weake impotent 
 That beare out their difeafe with a ftolne face ; 
 Who (filly foules) the more wit they haue fpent. 
 The lefle they fhew'd, not bettring their bad cafey 
 
 And fee how foone this rowling world can take 
 Aduantage for her diffolution, 
 Faine to get loofe from this withholding ftake 
 Of ciuill Science and Difcretion : 680 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 247 
 
 How glad it would runne wilde, that it might make 
 One formeleffe forme of one confufion ? 
 Like tyrant Ottomans blindefolded ftate, 
 
 Which mufh know nothing more, but to obay : 
 For this, feekes greedy Ignorance t'abate 
 Our number, order, liuing, forme and fway : 
 For this, it pra6tifes to diffipate 
 Th'vnfheltred troupes, till all be made away. 
 
 For, fince our Fathers f innes puU'd firft to ground 
 The pale of their diffeuered dignitie, 690 
 
 ■ And ouerthrew that holy reuerent bound 
 That parted learning and the Laiety, 
 And laid all iiat in common, to confound 
 The honour and refpeft of Pietie : 
 
 It did fo much invile the eftimate 
 
 Of th'opened and inuulgar'd myfteries. 
 
 Which now reduc'd vnto the bafeft rate, 
 
 Muft waite vpon the Norman fubtilties, 
 
 Who (being mounted vp into their ftate) 
 
 Doe beft with wrangling rudeneffe fympathize. 700 
 
 And yet, though now fet quite behinde the traine 
 Of vulgar fway (and light of powre weigh'd light) 
 Yet would this giddy innouation faine 
 Downe with it lower, to abafe it quite : 
 And thofe poore remnants that doe yet remaine 
 The fpoyled markes of their diuided right : 
 
 They wholly would deface to leaue no face 
 Of reuerent Diftinflion and Degree, 
 As if they weigh'd no diffrence in this cafe. 
 Betwixt Religions Age and Infancie : 710 
 
 Where th'one muft creepe, th'other ftand with grace. 
 Left turn'd to a child it ouerturned be. 
 
248 MVS6PHIL VS. 
 
 Though to pull backe th'on-running ftate of things, 
 (Gath'ring corruption, as it gathers dayes) 
 Vnto the forme of their firft orderings, 
 Is the befl meanes that diffolution ftayes, 
 And to goe forward, backward, right, men brings, 
 T'obferue the line from whence they tooke their wayes. 
 
 Yet being once gone wide, and the right way 
 
 Not leuell to the times condition : 720 
 
 To alter courfe, may bring men more aftray, 
 And leauing what was knowne to light on none ; 
 Since eu'ry change the reuerence doth decay, 
 Of that which alway fhould continue one. 
 
 For this is that clofe kept Palladmm 
 
 Which once remoou'd, brings ruine euermore : 
 This ftir'd, makes men fore-fetled, to become 
 Curious, to know what was beleeu'd before : 
 Whilft Faith difputes that vfed to be dombe. 
 And more men ftriue to talke, then to adore. 7 30 
 
 For neuer head-ftrong Reformation will 
 Reft, till to th'extreame oppofite it runne. 
 And ouer-runne the meane diftrufted ftill. 
 As being too neare of kinne, to that men fhunne : 
 For good, and bad, and all, muft be one ill, 
 When once there is another truth begunne. 
 
 So hard it is an euen hand to beare, 
 
 In tamp'ring with fuch maladies as thefe ; 
 Left that our forward paffions launce too neare, 
 And make the cure proue worfe then the difeafe : 740 
 For with the worft we will not fpare the beft, 
 Becaufe it growes with that, which doth difpleafe : 
 
 And faults are eafier lookt in, then redreft : 
 Men running with fuch eager violence, 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 249 
 
 At the firft view of errours frefh in queft ; 
 As they, to rid an inconuenience, 
 Sticke not to raife a mifchiefe in the fteed, 
 Which after mocks their weake improuidence : 
 
 And therefore doe make not your owne fides bleed 
 To pricke at others : you that would amend 750 
 By pulling downe, and thinke you can proceed, 
 By going backe vnto the farther end. 
 Let ftand that little Couert left behinde, 
 Whereon your fuccours and refpefts depend. 
 ^And bring not downe the prizes of the minde. 
 With vnder-rating of your felues fo bafe : 
 You that the mighties doores doe crooching find, 
 To fell your felues to buy a little grace. 
 Or waite whole months to out-bid Symonie, 
 For that, which being got, is not your place : 760 
 
 For if it were, what needed you to buy 
 
 What was your due; your thirfting fhewes your fhift, 
 And little worth that feekes iniurioufly 
 A worthier from his lawfull roome to lift ? 
 We cannot fay, that you were then prefer'd. 
 But that your money was, or fome worfe gift. 
 
 O fcattring gath'rers, that without regard 
 Of times to "come, will to be made, vndo 
 As if you were the laft of men, prepar'd 
 To bury in your graues all other to. 770 
 
 Dare you prophane that holy portion 
 Which neuer facrilegious hand durft do .' 
 
 Did forme-eftablifhing Deuotion, 
 
 To maintaine a refpefliue reuerence 
 Extend her bountifull prouifion. 
 With fuch a charitable prouidence, 
 
250 MVSOPHILVS. 
 
 For your deforming hands to diffipate, 
 
 And make Gods due, your impious expence ? 
 
 No maruell then, though th'ouerpeftred State 
 
 Want roome for goodneffe, if our little hold "jZo 
 
 Be lefned vnto fuch a narrow rate. 
 
 That Reuerence cannot fit, fit as it fhould : 
 
 And yet what neede we thus for roomes complaine, 
 
 That fhall not want voyde roomes if this courfe hold ? 
 
 And more then will be fill'd ; for who will ftraine 
 To get an empty title, to betray 
 His hopes, and trauell for an honour vaine, 
 And gaine a Port, without fupport or ftay ? 
 What neede hath Enuy to maligne their Hate, 
 That will themfelues, fo kind, giue it away ? 790 
 
 This makes indeede our number paffe the rate 
 Of our prouifions : which, if dealt aright, 
 Would yeeld fufficient roome t'accommodate, 
 More then we haue in places requifite. 
 The ill difpofing onely doth vs fet 
 In difaray, and out of order quite. 
 
 Whiles other guifts then of the minde fhall get 
 Vnder our colours, that which is our dues, 
 And to our trauels, neither benefit. 
 
 Nor grace, nor honour, nor refpefl: accrewes : 800 
 
 The f ickneffe of the States foule. Learning, then 
 The bodies great diftemprature infues. 
 
 For if that Learnings roomes to learned men 
 Were as their heretage diftributed, 
 All this difordred thrufl would ceafe : for when 
 The fit were call'd, th'vnworthy fruftrated, 
 Thefe would b'afliam'd to feeke, thofe to b'vnfought. 
 And fta/ng their turne, were fure they fhould be fped. 
 
MVSOPHILVS. 251 
 
 Then would our drooping Academies, brought 
 
 Againe in heart, regaine that reuerend hand 810 
 Of loft Opinion, and no more be thought, 
 Th'vnneceffary furnifti of the land, 
 Nor difcourag'd with their fmall efteeme, 
 Confuf'd, irrefolute and wauering ftand : 
 
 Caring not to become profound, but feeme 
 Contented with a fuperficiall fkill ; 
 Which for a fleight reward enough they deeme, 
 When th'one fucceedes as well as th'other will : 
 Seeing fhorter wayes leade fooner to their end, 
 And others longer trauels thriue fo ill. 820 
 
 Then would they onely labour to extend 
 
 Their now vnfearching fpirit beyond thefe bounds 
 Of others powres ; wherein they muft be pend, 
 As if there were befides, no other grounds : 
 And fet their bolde Plus vltra farre without 
 The pillers of thofe Axioms Age propounds : 
 
 Difcou'ring daily more and more about, 
 In that immenfe and boundleffe Ocean 
 Of Natures riches ; neuer yet found out, 
 Nor fore-clof'd, with the wit of any man. 030 
 
 So farre beyond the ordinary courfe I 
 
 That other vninduftrious Ages ran, I 
 
 That thefe more curious times, they might diuorce 
 From the opinion they are linckt vnto 
 Of our difable and vnaftiue force. 
 To fhew true knowledge can both fpeake and do : 
 Arm'd for the fharpe, which in thefe dayes they finde, 
 With all prouifions that belong thereto : 
 
 That their Experience may not come behinde 
 
 The times conceipt, but leading in their place, 840 
 
252 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 May make men fee the weapons of the minde 
 
 Are States beft ftrengths.and kingdomeschiefeft grace; 
 
 And roomes of charge, charg'd full with worth and 
 
 praife, 
 Makes Maieftie appeare with her full face, 
 
 Shining with all her beames, with all her raies, 
 Vnfcanted of her parts, vnfhadowed 
 In any darkened poynt ; which ftill bewrayes 
 The wane of Powre, when powr's vnfurnifhed. 
 And hath not all thofe intire complements 
 Wherewith the State fhould for her ftate be fped, 850 
 \ And though the fortune of fome age confents 
 Vnto a thoufand errours groffely wrought, 
 Which flourifht ouer with their faire euents, 
 Haue part for currant, and good courfes thought : 
 The leaft whereof, in other times againe 
 Moft dang'rous inconueniences haue brought, 
 
 Whilft to the times, not to mens wits pertaine. 
 The good fucceffes of ill manag'd deedes : 
 Though th'ignorant deceiued with colours vaine, 
 Miffe of the caufes whence this lucke proceedes. 860 
 Forraine defefts giuing home-faults the way, 
 Make eu'n that weakeneffe fometimes well fucceedesJ 
 
 I grant, that fome vnlettred praftique may 
 
 (Leauing beyond the Alpes, Faith and Refpeft 
 To God and man) with impious cunning, fway 
 The courfes fore-begunne with like effeft, 
 And without flop, maintaine the turning on, 
 And haue his errours deem'd without defe6l : 
 
 But when fome powerful! oppofition. 
 
 Shall, with a found incountring fhocke, difioynt 870 
 The fore-contriued frame, and thereupon, 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 253 
 
 Th'experience of the prefent difappoynt, 
 And other ftirring fpirits, and other hearts 
 Built-huge, for a6lion, meeting in a poynt : 
 
 Shall driue the world to fommon all their Artes, 
 And all too little for fo reall might, 
 When no aduantages of weaker parts 
 Shall beare out fhallow councels from the light : 
 And this fence-opening a6lion (which doth hate 
 Vnmanly craft) fliall looke to haue her right. 880 
 
 Who then holdes vp the glory of the State- 
 (Which letred armes, and armed letters won) 
 Who fhall be fitteft to negotiate, 
 Contemn'd lujlinian, or elfe Littleton ? 
 When it fliall not be held wifedome to be 
 Priuately made, and publikely vndone : 
 
 But found defignes that iudgement fhall decree 
 Out of a true difcerne, of the cleere wayes 
 That lie direfl, with fafe-going Equitie ; 
 Imbroyling not their owne and others dayes. 890 
 Extending forth their prouidence, beyond 
 The circuit of their owne particular : 
 
 That eu'n the ignorant may vnderftand, 
 How that deceit is but a cauillar ; 
 And true vnto it felfe can neuer ftand, 
 But ftill muft with her owne conclufions warre. 
 Can Truth and Honeflie, wherein confifts 
 The right, repofe on earth ? the fureft ground 
 
 Of Truft, come weaker arm'd into the lifts. 
 
 Then Fraud or Vice, that doth it felfe confound ? 900 
 Or fhall Prefumption that doth what it lifts. 
 Not what it ought, carry her courfes found ? 
 Then, what fafe place out of confuf ion 
 
254 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 Hath plaine proceeding Honeftie to dwell ? 
 
 What fute of grace hath Vertue to put on, 
 If Vice fhall weare as good, and doe as well ? 
 If Wrong, if Craft, if Indifcretion, 
 Aft as faire parts, with ends as laudable ? 
 Which all this mighty volume of euents, 
 The world, the vniuerfall map of deedes 910 
 
 Strongly controwles, and proues from all difcents. 
 That the direfteft courfes beft fucceedes 
 When Craft, wrapt ftill in many comberments 
 With all her cunning thriues not, though it fpeedes. 
 For, fliould not graue and learn'd Experience 
 That lookes with th'eyes of all the world befide. 
 
 And with all ages holdes intelligence, 
 Goe fafer then Deceit without a guide ? 
 Which in the by-paths of her diffidence 
 Croffing the waies of Right, fbill runs more wide : 920 
 Who will not grant ? and therefore this obferu«, 
 No ftate ftands fure, but on the grounds of Right, 
 
 Of Vertue, Knowledge, ludgemeht to preferue. 
 And all the powres of Learning requifite : 
 Though other fhifts a prefent tume may ferue. 
 Yet in the tryall they will weigh too light. 
 ^And doe not thou contemne this fwelling tide 
 And ftreame of words, that now doth rife fo hie 
 
 Aboue the vfuall bankes, and fpreads fo wide 
 
 Ouer the borders of Antiquitie : 930 
 
 Which I confeffe comes euer amplifide 
 With th'abounding humours that doe multiplie : 
 And is with that fame hand of happineffe 
 Inlarg'd, as vices are out of their bands : 
 
 Yet fo, as if let out but to redreff^, 
 
MVSOPHIL VS. 255 
 
 And calme, and fway th'affeftions it commands : 
 
 Which as it ftirres, it doth againe repreffe 
 
 And brings in, th'out-gone malice that withftands. 
 
 Powre aboue powres, O heauenly Eloquence, 
 
 That with the ftrong reine of commanding words, 940 
 
 Doft manage, guide, and mafter th'eminence 
 Of mens affefbions, more then all their fwords : 
 Shall we not offer to thy Excellence, 
 The richeft treafure that our wit affords ? 
 Thou that canft doe much more with one poore pen 
 Then all the powres of Princes can effe6l : 
 
 And draw, diuert, difpofe and falhion men 
 Better then force or rigour can direft : 
 Should we this ornament of Glory then 
 As th'vnmateriall fruits of fhades, negle6l ? 950 
 
 Or fhould we careleffe, come behinde the reft 
 In powre of words, -that goe before in worth, 
 
 Whenas our accents equall to the beft, / 
 
 Is able greater wonders to bring forth : 
 When all that euer hotter fpirits expreft. 
 Comes bettred by the patience of the North. 
 And who, in time, knowes whither we may vent 
 The treafure of our tongue, to what ftrange fliores ! 
 
 This gaine of our beft glory fliall be fent, ' 
 
 T'inrich vnknowing Nations with our ftores ? 96Q 
 What worlds in th'yet vnformed Occident 1 
 
 May come refin'd with th'accents that are ours ? 1 
 Or, who can tell for what great worke in hand 
 The greatneffe of our ftile is now ordain'd ? 
 
 What powrs it fhall bring in, what fpirits command. 
 What thoughts let out, what humours keepe reftrain'd. 
 What mifchiefe it may powrefully withftand, 
 
2s6 MVSOPHIL VS. 
 
 And what faire ends may thereby be attain'd. 
 
 And as for Poef ie (mother of this force) 
 
 That breedes, brings forth, and nourifhes this might, 
 
 Teaching it in a -loofe, yet meafured courfe, 971 
 
 With comely motions how to goe vpright : 
 And foflring it with bountiful! difcourfe, 
 Adornes it thus in fafhions of delight, 
 What fhould I fay ? fince it is well approu'd 
 The fpeech of heauen, with whom they haue commerce; 
 
 That onely feeme out of themfelues remou'd, 
 
 And doe with more then humane fkills conuerfe : 
 Thofe numbers wherewith heau'n and earth are mou'd, 
 Shew, weakeneffe fpeakes in Profe, but powre in Verfe. 
 Wherein thou likewife feemeft to allow, 981 
 
 That th'afts of worthy men fhould be preferu'd : 
 
 As in the holiefl Tombes we can beftow 
 Vpon their glory that haue well deferu'd, 
 Wherein thou doft no other Vertue Ihow, 
 Then what mofl barbrous Countries haue obferu'd : 
 When all the happieft Nations hitherto 
 Did with no leffer glory fpeake, then do. 
 
 Now to what elfe thy malice fliall obieft, 
 
 For Schooles, and Artes, and their neceffitie : 990 
 When from my Lord, whofe iudgement muft direft, 
 And forme, and fafhion my abilitie, 
 I fhall haue got more flrength ; thou fhalt expe6l 
 Out of my better leafure, my reply. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
IX. 
 
 OCCASIONAL POEMS 
 
 FROM 
 
 VARIOUS SOURCES. 
 1593— 1607. 
 
 17 
 
NOTE, 
 The sources of these scattered Poems are recorded in their places. See 
 on them our ' Memorial-Introduction II. — Critical ' in closing volume. 
 
 A. B. G. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 An Ode} 
 
 pW each creature ioyes the other, 
 
 pairing happy dayes and howers ; 
 One Bird reports vnto another, 
 in the fall of f iluer fhowers ; 
 Whilft the earth (our common mother) 
 hath her bofome deckt with flowers. 
 
 Whilft the greateft Torch of heauen, 
 
 with bright rayes warmes FLORAS lap, lo 
 
 Making nights and dayes both euen, 
 
 chearing plants with frelher fap : 
 My field of flowers quite bereuen, 
 
 wants refrefh of better hap. 
 
 ECCHO, daughter of the Aire, 
 ^_ (babling guefl of Rocks and hils,) 
 Knows the name of my fierce Faire, 
 
 and founds the accents of my ils. 
 Each thing pitties my difpaire, 
 
 whilft that ihe her Louer kils. 20 
 
 ' Appeared originally in 1592 ' Delia,' ', '- 
 
26o OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 Whilft that fhe (O cruell Mayd) 
 
 doth me and my true loue defpife ; 
 
 My Hues florifh is decayed, 
 that depended on her eyes : 
 
 But her will muft be obeyed, 
 
 and well he ends for loue who dies. 
 
 A Pajlorall} 
 
 O Happy golden Age, 
 Not for that Riuers ranne 
 With ftreames of milke, and hunny dropt from trees ; 
 Not that the earth did gage 3 1 
 
 Vnto the hufband-man 
 Her voluntary fruites, free without fees : 
 Not for no cold did freeze, 
 Nor any cloud beguile, 
 Th'eternall flowring Spring 
 Wherein liu'd euery thing, 
 And whereon th'heauens perpetually did fmile ; 
 Not for no fliip had brought 
 
 From forraine fhores, or warres or wares ill fought. 40 
 But onely for that name, 
 That Idle name of wind : 
 That Idoll of deceit, that empty found 
 Call'd Honor, which became 
 The tyran of the minde. 
 And fo torments our Nature without ground ; 
 Was not yet vainly found : 
 Nor yet fad griefes imparts 
 
 ' Appeared originally in 1592 'Delia,' ■ ', 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 261 
 
 Amidft the fweet delights 
 
 Of ioyfull amorous wights. 50 
 
 Nor were his hard lawes knowne to free-borne 
 hearts. 
 
 But golden lawes like thefe 
 
 Which nature wrote. Thafs lawfull which doth pleafe. 
 Then amongft flowres and fprings 
 
 Making delightful! fport, 
 
 Sate Louers without conflift, without flame ; 
 
 And Nymphs and fliepheards fings, 
 
 Mixing in wanton fort 
 
 Whifp'rings with Songs, then kiffes with the fame 
 
 Which from affaftion came ; 60 
 
 The naked vit^n then 
 
 Her Rofes frefh reueales, 
 
 Which now her vaile conceales : 
 
 The tender Apples in her bofome feene. 
 
 And oft in Riuers cleere 
 
 The Louers with their Loues confortinj were. 
 Honor, thou firft didfl clofe 
 
 The fpring of all delight : 
 
 Denying water to the amorous thirffc 
 
 Thou taught' ft faire eyes to lofe 70 
 
 The glory of their light ; 
 
 Reftrain'd from men, and on themfelues reuerft. 
 
 Thou in a lawne didfl firft 
 
 Thofe golden haires incafe. 
 
 Late fpred vnto the wind ; 
 
 Thou mad'ft loofe grace vnkind, 
 
 Gau'ft bridle to their words, art to their pace. 
 
 O Honour it is thou 
 
 That mak'fl that ftealth, which loue doth free allow. 
 
263 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 It is thy worke that brings 80 
 
 Our griefes, and torments thus : 
 But thou fierce Lord of Nature and of Loue, 
 The quallifier of Kings, 
 What doeft thou here with vs 
 That are below thy power, fhut from aboue ? 
 Goe and from vs remoue, 
 Trouble the mighties fleepe. 
 Let vs neglefled, bafe, 
 Liue flill without thy grace, 
 
 And th'vfe of th'ancient happy ages keepe : 90 
 
 Let's loue : this life of ours 
 Can make no truce with time that all deuours. 
 
 Let's loue : the fun doth fet, and rife againe, 
 
 But whenas our fhort light 
 
 Comes once to fet, it makes eternall night. 
 
A Defcription of Beauty^ tranjlated 
 out of Marino.^ 
 
 Beauty (heames, nay flame 
 Of that great lampe of light) 
 That fhines a while, with fame, 
 But prefently makes night : 
 Like Winters fhort-liu'd bright, 
 Or Summers fuddaine gleames. 
 How much more deare, fo much 
 loffe-lafting beames. 
 
 2 
 
 Wing'd Loue away doth flye, 
 And with it time doth beare ; 
 And both take fuddainly 
 The fweate, the faine, the deare : 
 A fhining day, and cleare, 
 Succeedes an obfcene night, 
 And forrow is the hewe of fweet delight. 
 
 3 
 
 With what then doft thou fwell, 
 O youth of new-borne day ? 
 Wherein doth thy pride dwell 
 O beauty made of clay ? 
 
 • First appeared in 4to of 1623. 
 
264 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 Not with to fwift away 
 
 The headlong corrant flyes, 
 
 As do the fparkling rayes of two faire eyes. 
 
 4 
 Do not thy felfe betray 
 
 With wantonizing yeares : 
 
 O beauty, tra3d;ors gay, 
 
 Thy melting life that weares, 
 
 Appearing, difappeares. 
 
 And with thy flying dayes. 
 
 Ends all thy good of price, thy faire of prayfe. 
 
 5 
 Truft not, vaine creditor 
 Thy apt deceiued view, 
 In thy falfe counfellor. 
 That neuer tels thee true : 
 Thy forme, and flattred hew, 
 Which fhall fo foone tranfpaffe. 
 Is farre more faire, then is thy looking-glaiTe. 
 
 Inioy thy Aprill now, 
 
 Whilft it doth freely fhine ; 
 
 This lightning flafh and fliow. 
 
 With that cleare fpirit of thine, 
 
 Will fuddainly decline ; 
 
 And thou faire murthering eyes 
 
 Shalbe loues tombes, where now his cradle lyes. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 265 
 
 7 
 Old trembling age will come, 
 
 With wrinkled cheekes, and ftaines, 
 
 With motion troublefome, 
 
 With ikinne and bloodleffe veines. 
 
 That liuely vifage reauen, 
 
 And made deform'd and old, 
 
 Hates fight of glaffe, it lou'd fo to behold. 
 
 8 
 
 Thy gold, and fcarlet Ihall 
 Pale f iluer colour bee, , 
 Thy rowe of pearles fhall fall 
 Like withred leaues from tree ; 
 And thou fhalt fhortly fee 
 Thy face and haire to grow 
 All plough'd with furrowes, ouer-fowne with fnow. 
 
 9 
 That which on Fiords breft. 
 All frefh and flourifhing, 
 Aurora newly dreft, 
 Saw in her dawning fpring ; 
 Quite dry and languifhing 
 Depriu'd of honour quite, 
 Day-clofing Hefperus beholds at night 
 
 10 
 
 Faire is the Lilly, faire 
 
 The Rofe, of flowers the eye ; 
 Both wither in the ayre, 
 
266 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 Their beautious colours die ; 
 
 And fo at length fhall lye 
 
 Depriu'd of former grace, 
 
 The lillies of thy brefts, the rofes of thy face. 
 
 II 
 
 What then wilt it auaile, 
 O youth aduifed ill, 
 In lap of beauty fraile 
 To nurfe a way-ward will ; 
 Like fnake in funne-warme hill ? 
 Plucke, plucke, betime thy flower. 
 That fprings, and parcheth in one Ihort howre. 
 
rp the Angell Spirit of the mojl ex- 
 \ cellent, S^ Phillip Sidney/ 
 
 jo the pure Spirit, to thee alone addreft 
 Is this ioynt worke, by double intrift 
 
 thine ; 
 Thine by. his owne, and what is done 
 
 of mine 
 Infpir'd by thee, thy fecret powre 
 impreft. [combine 
 
 My Mufe with thine, it felfe dar'd to 
 As mortall ftaffe with that which is diuine : 
 Let thy faire beames giue lufter to the reft. 
 
 That Ifraels King may daygne his owne transform'd 
 
 In fubftance no, but fuperficiall tire : 1 1 
 
 And Englifh guif'd in fome fort may afpire 
 
 To better grace thee what the vulgar form'd : 
 
 His facred Tones, age after age admire. 
 
 Nations grow great in pride, and pure defire 
 
 So to excell in holy rites perform'd. 
 
 O had that foule which honour brought to reft 
 
 To foone not leaft, and reaft the world of all 
 
 What man could fhew, which we perfeflion call ; 
 
 This precious peece had forted with the beft. 20 
 
 But ah ! wide feftred wounds that neuer fhall 
 
 Nor muft be clof'd, vnto frefh bleeding fall : 
 
 Ah memory, what needs this new arrift. 
 
 ' First appeared in 4to of 1623 — query for Sidney's ' Psalmes.' .See 
 ' Memorial-Introduction II. — Critical ' in closing volume. 
 
268 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 Yet bleffed griefe, that fweetnes can impart 
 
 Since thou art) bleft. Wrongly do I complaine ; 
 
 What euer weights my heauy thoughts fuftaine 
 
 Deere feeles liiy foule for thee. I know my part, 
 
 Nor be my weaknes to thy rites a ftaine ; 
 
 Rites to aright, life bloud would not refraine : 
 
 Affift me then, that life what thine did part. 30 
 
 Time may bring forth, what time hath yet fuppreft. 
 In whom, thy loffe hath layd to vtter waft 
 The wracke of time, vntimely all defac't, 
 Remayning as the tombe of life difceaft : 
 Where, in my heart the higheft roome thou haft ; 
 There, truly there, thy earthly being is plac't : 
 Triumph of death, in life how more then bleft. 
 
 Behold ! O that thou were now to behold. 
 
 This finifht long perfe6lions part begun ; 
 
 The reft but peic'd, as leaft by thee vndone ; 40 
 
 Pardon bleft foule, prefumption ouerbold : 
 
 If loue and zeale hath to this error run 
 
 Tis zealous loue, loue that hath neuer dun, 
 
 Nor can enough, though iuftly here contrould. 
 
 But f ince it hath no other fcope to go, 
 
 Nor other purpofe but to honour thee. 
 
 That thine may fliine, where all the graces be ; 
 
 And that my thoughts (like fmalleft ftreames that flow. 
 
 Pay to their fea, their tributary fee) 
 
 Do ftriue, yet haue no meanes to quit nor free, 50 
 
 That mighty debt of infinits I owe. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 269 
 
 To thy great worth which time to times inroule 
 Wonder of men, fole borne, foule of thy kind 
 Compleat in all, but heauenly was thy mind, 
 For wifdome, goodnes, fweetnes, faireft foule : 
 To good to wifh, to faire for earth, refin'd 
 For Heauen, where all true glory refts confin'd : 
 And where but there no life without controule. 
 
 O when from this accompt, this caft-vp fomme, 
 This reckning made the Audit of my woe, 60 
 
 Some time of rafe my fwelling paffions know. 
 How work my thoughts, my fenfe, is ftriken dombe 
 That would the more then words could euer flhiew ; 
 Which all fall fhort. Who knew thee bell do know 
 There Hues no wit that may thy prayer become. 
 
 And reft faire monuments of thy faire fame, 
 
 Though not complete. Nor can we reach, in thought, 
 
 What on that goodly peece, time would haue wrought. 
 
 Had diuers fo fpar'd that life (but life) to frame 
 
 The reft : . alas fuch loffe the world hath nought 70 
 
 Can equall it, nor O more grieuance brought, 
 
 Yet what remaines muft euer crowne thy name. 
 
 Receiue thefe Hims, thefe obfequies receiue, 
 (If any marke of thy fecret fpirit thou beare) 
 Made only thine, and no name els muft weare. 
 I can no more deare foule, I take my leaue. 
 My forrow ftriues to mount the higheft Sphere. 
 
Flijfes and the Syre?t} 
 
 Syren. Come worthy Greeke, Vlijfes come 
 Poffeffe thefe fhores with me : 
 The windes and Seas are troublefome, 
 And heere we may be free. 
 
 Here may we fit, and view their toile 
 That trauaile on the deepe, 
 And ioy the day in mirth the while, 
 And fpend the night in fleepe. 
 Vlis. Faire Nimph, if fame, or honor were 1 
 
 To be atteynd with eafe, 
 Then would I come and reft with thee, 
 And leaue fuch toyles as thefe. 
 
 But here it dwelsy and here muft I 
 With danger feeke it forth : 
 To fpend the time luxurioufly 
 Becomes not men of worth. 
 Syr. Vliffes, O be not deceiu'd 
 With that vnreall name : 
 
 This honour is a thing conceiu'd, 20 
 
 And refts on others fame. 
 
 Begotten onely to moleft 
 Our peace, and to beguile 
 (The beft thing of our life) our reft, 
 And giue vs vp to toile. 
 
 ' From " Certaine Small Poems Lately Printed : with the 
 Tragedie of Philotas. Written by Samvel Daniel. 
 At London. Printed by G. Eld for Simon Water/on 1605 (l2mo)," 
 also in 1607, 161 1, etc., but not in 4to of 1623. G. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 271 
 
 Vlis. Delicious Nimph, fuppofe there were 
 
 Nor honour, nor report, 
 
 Yet manlines would fcorne to weare 
 
 The time in idle fport. 
 
 For toyle doth giue a better touch, 30 
 
 To make vs feele our ioy : 
 
 And eafe finds tedioufneffe as much 
 
 As labour yeelds annoy. 
 Syr. Then pleafure likewife feemes the fhore 
 
 Whereto tends all your toyle, 
 
 Which you forgo to make it more. 
 
 And perifh oft the while. 
 
 Who may difporte them diuerfly, 
 
 Finde neuer tedious day, 
 
 And eafe may haue varietie, 40 
 
 As well as a6lion may. 
 Vlis. But natures of the noblefl frame, 
 
 Thefe toyles, and dangers pleafe, 
 
 And they take comfort in the fame. 
 
 As much as you in eafe. 
 
 And with the thoughts of aflions paft 
 
 Are .... reuealed ftill ; 
 
 When pleafure leaues a touch at laft, 
 
 To fliew that it was ill. 
 Syr. That doth opinion onely caufe, 5 o 
 
 That's out of cuftome bred. 
 
 Which makes vs many other lawes 
 
 Then euer Nature did. 
 
 No widdowes waile for our delights, 
 
 Our fportes are without bloud, 
 
 The world we fee by warlike wights, 
 
 Receiues more hurt then goud. 
 
272 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 Vlis. But yet the ftate of things require 
 Thefe motions of vnreft, 
 
 And thefe great Sports of high defire, 60 
 
 Seeme borne to turne them beft. 
 
 To purge the mifchiefes that increafe 
 And all good order mar : 
 For oft we fee a wicked peace, 
 To be well chang'd for war. 
 Syr. Well, well Vlijfes then I fee 
 I fhall not haue thee heare, 
 And therefore I will come to thee, 
 And take my fortunes there. 
 
 I muft be wonne that cannot win, 70 
 
 Yet loft were I not wonne : 
 For beauty hath created bin, 
 T'vndoo, or be vndonne. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 273 
 
 
 The pajfion of a dijlrejfed man, who being in a 
 tempejl on the Sea, and hauing in his Boate two 
 Women, of whom, he loued the one that difdained 
 him, and f corned the other who affeSled him, was 
 by commandement from Neptune, to caft out one 
 of them, to appeafe the rage of the tempeft, but 
 which, was referred to his owne choice." — Pre- 
 fixed to this poem in the folio of 1602 is the 
 following short letter : — 
 
 " To Edward Seymour 10 
 
 Earle of Hertford : 
 
 Concerning his quellion of a diflreffed 
 man in a Boate vpon the Seas. 
 
 Noble Lord, the iudgements of 
 men, as euer according to the 
 fet of their affeftions, and as 
 the images of their paffions are 
 drawn within, fo they fend forth the 
 forme of their opinions : and accordingly 
 muft I iudge of this cafe (which your 20 
 
 Honour hath moued vnto me) as my felfe 
 do ftand looking thorow the profpeftiue 
 of min owne imagination, that onely 
 takes meafure of other mens paffions by 
 that itfelfe feeles. Referring the fame to 
 the better cenfure of your honour. 
 Who fliall euer commaund me, 
 
 Samvel Daniel." 28 
 18 
 
274 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 |Y vnkinde Loue, or flie that loues me 
 deare, 
 Neptune will haue caft forth to calme 
 
 the Seas. 
 One of thefe two, or all muft perifh 
 
 here: 
 And therefore now, which fhall I 
 faue of thefe ? 
 Ah ! doe I make a queftion which to faue, 
 When my defires fhare but one onely part ! 
 Who fhould it be but (he to whom I haue 
 Refign'd my life, and facrific'd my hart ? 
 She, fhe muft Hue, the tempefts of whofe brow 
 Confound me more then all thefe flormes can doo, lo 
 And but for whom I Hue : And therefore how 
 Can any life be life, leffe fhe Hue too ? 
 For by that meanes I both may pacifie 
 The rigour of thefe waues, and her hard heart, 
 Who muft faue him who would not let her die : 
 Nor can fhe but reward fo great defert. 
 
 She cannot, but in mercy needes muft giue 
 Comfort to him, by whom her felfe doth Hue. 
 
 Pars altera. 
 
 BVt fhall the bloud of her that loues me then 20 
 Be facrifiz'd to her difdainefulneffe 
 That fcornes my loue ? and fhall I hope to win 
 Mercie from her, by being mercileffe .' 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 27s 
 
 Will not her fafety being thus attain'd, 
 Raife her proude heart t'a higher fet of fcorne, 
 When fhe fhall fee my pafTions are diftain'd 
 With bloud, although it were to ferue her turne ? 
 Since th'a6t of ill, though it fall good to vs, 
 Makes vs yet hate the doer of the fame : 
 And though my hand fhould haue preferu'd her thus, 30 
 Yet being by cruell meanes, it is my fhame ; 
 Which fhe will but afcribe to my defeats, 
 And th'imperfeftions of my paffions ; which 
 She knowes the influence of her eyes effedls. 
 And therein ioyes t'haue vanquifht me fo much. 
 And when defert fliall feeme t'exa6l reward, 
 It breedes a loathing in the heart of Grace ; 
 That muft worke free out of her owne regard, 
 And haue no dues t'obraid her to her face. 
 So fhall I then haue bent againft my foule 40 
 
 Both her difdaine, and th'horror of that deed ; 
 Which euer muft my crueltie controule. 
 And checke the wrong that neuer can fucceed. 
 And though it be requir'd that one muft go. 
 By meffage fent me from the powrs Diuine, 
 Yet will I not redeeme my fafety fo ; 
 Though life be in their hand, death is in mine. 
 And therefore fince compaffion cannot be 
 Cruell to either, Neptune take all three. 
 
 Refumptio. 5 o 
 
 BVt that were to be cruell to all three, 
 Rebell to Nature, and the gods arreft, 
 Whofe ordinances muft obferued be ; 
 Nor may our frailty with the heauens conteft. 
 
275 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 Why then that muft be done that's leaft vniuft, 
 
 And my affeflions may not beare a part 
 
 With crueltie and wrong. But here I muft 
 
 Be of a fide, to goe againft my hart, 
 
 And her difdaine her due reward muft haue : 
 
 Slie miijl be cajl away that would not/atie. 60 
 
 S. D. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 277 
 
 Of William Jones, his "Nennio 1595." 
 
 IJ Ere dojl thou bring (my friend) ajlranger borne 
 
 To be indenized with vs, and made our owne, 
 Nobilitie ; whofe name indeed is worne 
 By manie that are great, or mightie growne : 
 
 But yet to him moft natural, bejl knowne, 
 To whom, thou doojl thy labours facrifize. 
 And in whom al thofe vertues bejl are JJtowne 
 Which here this little volume doth comprize. 
 
 Wheron when he /hall caji his worthie eies, lo 
 
 He here Jhal glajfe himfelfe, himfelfejhal reed: 
 The modell of his owne perfeSlions lies 
 Here plaine defcriUd, which he prefejtts indeed: 
 
 So that if men can not true worth difcerne 
 
 By this difcourfe, looke they on him and learne. 
 
 Sa. Danyel. 
 
 1. 6, the person meant is " Robert Devreux \sic\, Earle of Essex and 
 Ewe, Vicount of Hereford, Lord Ferrer of Chartley," etc., to whom 
 Wm. Jones dedicates Nennio. This Sonnet follows Ed. Spenser's "Who fo 
 wil feeke by right deferts t'attaine," etc., and precedes George Chapman's 
 Sonnet, " Accept thrice Noble Nennio at his hand," etc. G. 
 
278 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 From " Penelopes Complaint : Or, A Mirrour 
 for wanton Minions. Taken out of Homer's 
 • Odiffea,' and written in English Verfe. By 
 Peter Colfe, 15 96 "appended to "Willobie's Auifa" 
 (Dr. Grosarfs " Occasional Issues," 1880). 
 
 Amicofuo charijfimo P. C. — 5". D. 
 
 OVid quserit titulos, quid dotes ia<5lat Auifa. 
 Anne ea Penelope eft aequiparanda tuae "i 
 Penelope clara eft, veneranda, fidelis : Auifa 
 
 obfcura, obfcuro fcemina nata loco. 10 
 
 Penelope fatrapse eft coniux illuftris : Auifa 
 
 coniux cauponis, filia pandochei. 
 Penelope cafta eft cum fponfus abeffet : Auifa 
 
 cafta fuo fponfo no6le di^que domi, 
 Penelopeia annos bis denos manfit : Auifa 
 
 tot (vix credo) dies intemerata foret. 
 Penelopeia procos centum neglexit : Auifa 
 
 Vix feptem pretium fuftinuit precem, 
 Penelope neuit, penfum confecit : Auifs 
 
 laffauit nunquam pendula tela manus. 20 
 
 Penelope Graijs, Latijs celebratur : Auifse 
 
 vnus homo laudes, nomen, & afta canit. 
 Ergo Penelope vigeat, cantetur : Auifa 
 
 nullo Penelope eft aequiualenda modo. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 279 
 
 Translation (from Introduction to Willobie's Avisa^ 
 pp. XXV- vi). 
 
 To his most dear friend P. C. — S. D.^ 
 
 WHy seeks she titles, boasts she riches, why — 
 Avisa ? 
 Is she with thy Penelope to vie ? 
 The one renowned, revered, true to her own : Avisa 
 An unknown woman from a place unknown. 
 The one spouse of a prince of glorious name : Avisa 
 Child of an innkeeper, wife of the same. i o 
 
 The one is chaste, her husband being away : Avisa 
 Chaste when' he is at home, by night and day. 
 The one through twice ten years strong to endure : 
 
 Avisa 
 Through scarce as many days could be kept pure. 
 The one to a hundred lords refused her hand : Avisa 
 The force and prayers of seven could scarce withstand. 
 The one would spin until her task was done : Avisa 
 Ne'er tired the spinning-wheel with what she spun. 
 The one to the Greeks and Romans praise : Avisa 
 Has but one man her name and fame to raise. 20 
 
 Long live Penelope and flourish fair : Avisa 
 May never with Penelope compare. 
 
 * As in Introduction supra, I doubt if the S. D. represent our Daniel ; 
 still others think so, and it isn't impossible. 
 
28o OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 From "II Paftor Fido ; or The Faithful! 
 Shepheard." Translated out of Italian into 
 English. 1602. 
 
 To the right worthy and 
 
 learned Knight, .... Syr Edward 
 
 Dymock, Champion to her Maieftie, concerning 
 
 this tranflation of Paftor Fido, 
 
 7 Do reioyce learned and worthy Knight, 
 
 That by tlte hand of thy kinde Country-man 
 ( This painfull and induftrious Gentleman) lo 
 
 Thy deare efteenCd Guarini comes to light : 
 
 Who in thy loue T know tooke great delight 
 As thou in his, wlio now in England, can 
 Speake as good Englifh as Italian, 
 And here enioyes the grace of his owne right. 
 
 Though I remember he hath oft imbaf'd 
 Vnto us both the vertues of the North, 
 Saying, our coftes were with no medfures gradd. 
 Nor barbarous tongues could any verfe bring forth, 
 
 I would he f awe his owne, or knew ourftore, 20 
 
 Wliofe fpirits can yeeld as much, and if not more, 
 
 Sam. Daniell. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 281 
 
 From "BARTAS his Deuine Weekes & 
 Workes." Tranflated by lofuah Syluester, 1605. 
 
 To my good friend, 
 
 M. Syluefter, in Jionour of this 
 
 /acred Worke. 
 
 THus to aduenture forth, and re-conuay 
 The beft of treafures, from a Forraine Coaft, 
 And take that wealth wherin they gloried moft, 
 
 And make it Ours by fuch a gallant pray, 
 
 And that without in-iuftice ; doth bewray 10 
 
 The glory of the Worke, that we may boaft 
 Much to haue wonne, and others nothing lofl 
 
 By taking fuch a famous prize away. 
 
 As thou induftrious SYLVESTER haft wrought. 
 And heere enritch'd vs with th'immortall (lore 
 Of others facred lines : which from them brought 
 
 Comes by thy taking greater then before : 
 So haft thou lighted from a flame deuout. 
 As great a flame, that neuer fhall goe out. 
 
 Samuel Daniel. 20 
 
282 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 From Clement Edmundes (Remembrancer of 
 
 the Cittie of London) : his " Obferuations vpon 
 Csefars Comentaries, 1609." 
 
 'To my friend, Maijier ClementEdmpnds, 
 
 WHo thus extrafls, with more then Chymique Art, 
 The fpirit of Bookes, fhewes the true way to 
 finde 
 Th'EHxer that our leaden Parts conuart 
 Into the golden Metall of the Minde. 
 
 Who thus obferues in fuch materiall kinde 
 The certaine Motions of liie Practifes, 10 
 
 Knowes on what Center th'Adlions of Mankinde 
 Turne in their courfe, and fees their fatalnes. 
 And hee that can make thefe obferuances, 
 Muft be aboue his Booke, more then his Pen. 
 For, wee may be affur'd, hee men can gheffe, 
 That thus doth C^SAR knowe ; the Man of men. 
 
 Whofe Work, improu'd here to our greater gaine, — 
 Makes CiESAR more then C^SAR to containe. 
 
 Sam. D any ell. 19 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 283 
 
 From " Queen Anna's New World of Words," 
 etc. Collected by John Florio. 161 1. 
 
 To my deare friend and brother M. lohn Florio, 
 
 one of the Gentlemen of hir Maiefties Royall 
 
 Priuy-chamber. 
 
 / Stand not to giue praife before the face 
 
 Of this great worke, that doth it felfe commend : 
 But to congratulate the good and grace 
 
 That England corn's thereby to apprehend: 
 And in hir name to thanke your indufiry 10 
 
 Laboriiis Florio, wJw hauefo much wrought 
 To honour hir in bringing Italy 
 
 To fpeake hir language, and to giue hir note 
 Of all the treafure that rich tongue containes : 
 
 Wherein I cannot but admire your paines 
 In gathering vp this vniuerfall flore, 
 
 And furniture of words for euery arte, 
 Andjkill of man : So that tJierefeem's no more 
 
 Beyond this fearch, that knowledge can impart. 
 Which being a worke which would take vp the powers 20 
 
 Of m^re then one whole man, I wonder how 
 You could fubtraSl fo many ferious howres 
 
 From that great fumme offeruice that you owe. 
 But that it feemes tlte beaming Gracefulneffe 
 
 That lightens from tlie mofi refulgent QVEENE 
 Our f acred Miftris, work's that ablenejfe 
 
 As maMs you more, then els you could haue beene. 
 Wherein the power of Princes well is feene 
 
 That can infufe fuch force, and make age greene. 
 
284 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 And it were well, if in this feafon, when 30 
 
 They leaue ereSling Churcltes, Colledges, 
 And pious monuments, they would build men 
 
 Who of their glory may be witnejfes, 
 And what tJiey doe be theirs : As Masons raife 
 
 Work's not for them, but for their maflers praife. 
 For, would they but be fief d to know, how f mall 
 
 A portio?i of that ouer-flotving wafle 
 Which run's from them, would turne the wheeles and all 
 
 The frame of wit, to make their glory lafl : 
 I thinke they would doe fomething : but the ftirre 40 
 
 Still about greatneffe, giues it not the f pace 
 To looke out from, itfelfe, or to confer re 
 
 Grace but by chance, and as men are in place. 
 But tJtat concern's not me. It is ynow 
 
 I doe applaud your worke. Thus from my Plow. 
 
 Samuel Daniel. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 285 
 
 From John Florio's 1 6 1 3 edition of his " Done 
 into Englifh " Essayes written in French by- 
 Michael Lord of Montaigne. 
 
 To my deare brother and friend M. Iohn Florid, 
 
 one of the Gentlemen of hir Maiefties moji 
 
 Royall Priuie Chamber. 
 
 D Ooks, like fuperfliwus humors bred with eafe 
 "^ So fitiffe the world, as it becomes oppreji 
 
 With taking more than it can well digeji ; 
 And now are turn'd to be a great difeafe. 10 
 
 For by this ouercharging we confound 
 The appetite offkill they had before : 
 There bdng no end of words, nor any bound 
 Set to conceit the Ocean without fhore. 
 As if man laboured with himfelfe to be 
 As infinite in writing, as intents ; 
 And draw his manifold vncertaintie 
 In any fhape that paffion reprefents : 
 That thefe innumerable images 
 
 And figures of opinion and difcourfe 20 
 
 Draudn out in leaues, may be the witnejfes 
 Of our defeSls much rather than our force. 
 A nd this proud frame of our prefumption, 
 This Babel of our fkill, this Towre of wit, 
 Seemes only checkt with the confufion 
 Of our mifiakings that dijfolueth it. 
 
286 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 And well may make vs of our knowledge doubt. 
 
 Seeing what vncertainties wee build vpon, 
 
 To be as weake within booke as without ; 
 
 Or els that truth hath other Jhapes then one. 30 
 
 But yet although wee labor with this Jiore 
 And with the prejfe of writings feeme opprejl, 
 And haue to many bookes, yet want wee more, 
 Feeling great dearth and fcarcenejfe of the befi ; 
 Which caji in choifer fhapes haue bin produdd, 
 To giue the befi proportions to t/te minde 
 Of our confufion, and haue introduced 
 The likeliefi images frailtie can finde. 
 And wherein mofl the fkill-defiring foule 
 Takes her delight, the bejl of all delight ; 40 
 
 And where her motions euenejl come to rowle 
 About this doubtfull center of the right. 
 Which to difcouer this great Potentate, 
 This Prince Montaigne (if he be not more) 
 Hath more aduentur'd of his owne eflate 
 Than euer man did of himfelfe before : 
 A nd hath made fuch bold f allies out vpon 
 Cuftome : the mightie tyrant of the earth, 
 III whofe Seraglio offubieSlion 
 
 Wee all feeme bred-vp, from our tender birth ; SO 
 
 As I admire his powres, and out of loue. 
 Here at his gate do fiand, and glad I fland 
 So neere to him whom Idofo much loue, 
 T' applaude his happie felling in our land : 
 Andfafe tranfpaffage by his fludious care 
 Who both of him, and vs doth merit much, 
 Hauing as fumptuoufly, as he is rare 
 Plac'd him in the befi lodging of our fpeach. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 287 
 
 And made him now as free, as if borne here. 
 
 And as well ours as theirs, who may be proud 60 
 
 That he is theirs, though he be euery where 
 
 To haue the franchife of his worth allowed. 
 
 It be'ing the proportion of a happie Pen, 
 Not to b'inuajfal'd to one Monarchie, 
 But dwell with all the better world of men, 
 Wliofe fpirits all are of one communitie ; 
 Whom neither Ocean, Defarts, Rockes nor Sands 
 Can keepe from th'intertraffique of the fninde. 
 But that it vents lier treafure in all lands. 
 And doth a mofl fecure commercement finde. 70 
 
 Wrap Excellencie vp neuer fo much. 
 In Hierogliphicques, Ciphers, CaraSlers, 
 And let Jier fpeake neuer fo fir ange a f peach, 
 Her Genius yet finds apt difcipherers : 
 And neuer was fhe borne to dye obfcure. 
 But guided by tJte fiarres of her owne grace. 
 Makes her owne fortune, and is etier fure 
 In mans befl hold, to hold the flrongefi place. 
 
 And let the Critickyi?^ the worfi he can, 80 
 
 He cannot fay but that Montaigne j/^;f, 
 Yeelles mofl rich pieces and extra£ls of man ; 
 Tlwugh in a troubled frame confuf'dlyfet. 
 Which yet His blefl that he hath euer feene. 
 And therefore as a guefl in gratefulneffe. 
 For th.^ great good the houfe yeelds him within. 
 Might fpare to taxe th'vnapt conuayances. 
 But this breath hurts not, for both worke and frame, 
 Whilfl England Englifh fpeakes, is of that flore 
 And that choyfe fluffe, as that without the fame 90 
 
 The richefl librarie can be but poore. 
 
288 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 And they vnbleji who letters doe prof effe 
 
 And haue him not : whofe owne fate beates their want 
 
 With more found blowes, then Alcibiades 
 
 Did his Pedante that did Homer want. 
 
 By Sam, Daniel one of the Gentlemen 
 extraordinarie of hir Maiefties moft 
 royall priuie Chamber, 98 
 
OCCA SIONAL POJSMS. 289 
 
 Concerning the honor of bookes.^ 
 
 ^Ince Honor from the Honorer proceeds. 
 
 How well do they deferue that memorie 
 And kaue in bookes for all pqjlerities 
 The names of worthyes, and their verttious deedes 
 
 When all their glorie els, like water weedes 
 
 WitJwut their element, prefently dyes. 
 
 And all their greatnes quite forgottett lyes : 
 
 A nd when, and how they florijht no man heedes. 
 
 How poore remembrances, are flatutes, Toomes 10 
 
 And other monuments that men erell 
 
 To Princes, which remaine in clofed roomes 
 
 Where but a few behold them ; in refpe£l 
 
 Of Bookes, that to the vniuerfall eye 
 
 Sluw how titey liu'd, the other where they lye. 
 
 ' This Sonnet in 1613 edn. (not 1603) immediately follows the preceding 
 poem, and though it has no signature, seems to belong to Daniel. G. 
 
 19 
 
zgo OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 From "The Effayes, of Morall Politike and 
 Millitarie Difcourfes of Lo: Michaell de Montaigne, 
 Kn', 1603 edition." 1 
 
 To my deere friend M. lohn Florio, concerning 
 his trmijlation of Montaigne, 
 
 JD Ookes the amaffe of humors^ fwolne with eafe. 
 
 The Grief e of peace, the maladie of reft ; 
 So fluff e the ivorld, falne into this difeafe. 
 As it receiues more then it can digefl : 
 And doe fo ouercharge, as they confound 10 
 
 The apetite of fkill with idle ftore : 
 T/tere being no end of words, nor any bound 
 Set to conceipt, the Ocean without fJwre. 
 As if ma?t labor' d with himfelfe to be 
 As infinite in words, as in intents. 
 And drawe his manifold incertaintie 
 In eu'ry figure, paffion reprefents ; 
 That thefe inuumerable vifages 
 And flrange fltdpes of opinions and difcourfe 
 Shadowed in leaues, may be the witneffes 20 
 
 Rather of our defeSls, then of our force. 
 And this proud frame of our prefumption. 
 This Babel of our fkill, this Towre of wit, 
 Seemes onely clieckt with tlte confufion 
 Of our miflakings, that diffolueth it. 
 
 ' The re-casting of this poem for 1613 edn., or ten years later, seems to 
 call for the reproduction separately of its original form. G 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 291 
 
 And well may make vs of our knowledge doubt, 
 Seeing what vncertainties we build vpon, 
 To be as weake within booke as without ; 
 Or els that truth hath other Jhapes then one. 
 
 But yet although we labor with this Jiore 30 
 
 And with tlte prejfe of writings feeme opprejl, 
 And liaue too many bookes, yet want we more. 
 Feeling great dearth and fcarfenejfe of the bejl ; 
 Which cafl in choifer fJiapes haue bin produdd. 
 To giue tlie befl proportions to the minde 
 Of our confufion, and haue introdudd 
 The likeliefl images frailtie can finde. 
 And wherein mofl the fkill-defiring foule 
 Takes tier delight, the befi of all delight ; 
 And wJtere Iter motions ev^nefl com£ to rowle 40 
 
 About this doubtfull center of the right. 
 Which to difcouer this great Potentate, 
 This Prince Montaigne (if he be not more) 
 Hath more aduenturd of his owne eflate 
 Then euer man did of himfelfe before : 
 And hath madefuch boldef allies out vpon 
 Cuftome : the mightie tyrant of the earth. 
 In whofe Seraglio offubiedlion 
 We all feeme bred-vp,from our tender birth ; 
 As I admire his powres, and out ofloue, 50 
 
 Here at his gate do fland ; and glad I fland, 
 So neere to him whom I do fo m.uch loue, 
 T'applaude his happie fetling in our land : 
 Andfafe tranfpajfage by his fludious care. 
 Who both of him and vs doth merit much ; 
 Hauing as fumptu^ufly, as }ie is rare 
 Pladd him in the befi lodging of our f peach, 
 
292 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 And made him now as free, as if borne here, 
 
 And as well ours as theirs, who may be proud 
 
 That he is theirs ; though he be eiiery where 60 
 
 To haue the franchife of his worth alloufd. 
 
 It being the portion of a happie Pen, 
 Not to VinuaffaVd to one Monarchie, 
 But dwell tvith all tite better world of men 
 Whofe fpirits are all of one communitie. 
 Whom neither Ocean, Defarts, Rockes nor Sands 
 Can keepe from th'intertraffique of the minde. 
 But that it vents her treafure in all lands. 
 And doth a mofi fecure commercetnent finde. 
 
 Wrap Excellencie vp neuerfo much, 70 
 
 In Hierogliphicques, Ciphers, Cara£lers, 
 And let her fpeake neuer fo flrange a f peach. 
 Her Genius yet finds apt difcipherers : 
 And neuer was fhe borne to dye obfcure, 
 But guided by the Starres of her owne grace. 
 Makes her owne fortune, and is euer fure 
 In mans befl hold, to hold tJie fir ongefl place. 
 
 And let the Critic fay the worfl he can. 
 He cannot fay but that Montaigne yet, 
 Yeeldes mofl rich pieces and extraSis of man ; 80 
 
 Though in a troubled frame confuj' dly fet. 
 Which yet Kis blefl that he hath euer feene. 
 And therefore as a guefl in gratefulnejfe. 
 For the great good the houfe yeelds him. within 
 Might fpare to taxe tJivnapt conuayances. 
 But this breath hurts not, for both worke and frame., 
 Whilfi England Englifh fpeakes, is of that flore 
 And that choyfe fluffe, as that without the fame 
 The richefl librarie can be but poore. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 293 
 
 And they vnblejl who letters doprofejfe 90 
 
 And haue him not : whofe owne fate beates their want 
 With more found blowes, then Alcibiades 
 Did his Pedante that did Homer want. 
 
 ■ Sam. Danyel. 
 
To the Right Reuerend Father in God^ 
 
 lames Montague, Lord Bifliop of Wincliejier, 
 
 Deane of the Chapell, and one of his Maiefiies 
 
 moft Honorable Priuy Councell.^ 
 
 Lthough you haue out of your proper 
 ftore 
 The beft munition that may fortifie 
 A Noble heart as no man may haue 
 
 more, 
 Againft the batteries of mortality : 
 Yet reuerend Lord voutfafe me leaue 
 to bring 
 One weapon more vnto your furnifhment ; lo 
 
 That you the Affaults of this clofe vanquifhing, 
 And fecret wafting fickneffe may preuent : 
 For that my felfe haue ftruggled with it too, 
 And know the worft of all that it can do ; 
 And let me tell you this you neuer could 
 Haue found a gentler warring enemy, 
 And one that with more faire proceeding would 
 Encounter you without extremity, 
 Nor giue more time to make refiftances 
 And to repaire your breaches, then will this. 20 
 
 For whereas other fickneffes furprize. 
 Our fpirits at vnawares difweopning fodainely, 
 
 ' From Quarto of 1623. A holograph copy is preserved in H.M. Public 
 Record Office. See ' Memorial-Introduction II. — Critical ' ou this. — G. 
 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 295 
 
 All fenfe of vnderftanding in fuch wife, 
 As that they lay vs dead before we die, 
 Or fire vs out of our inflamed fort, 
 With rauing Phrenfies in a fearefuU fort ; 
 
 This comes and fteales vs by degrees away ; 
 And yet not that without our priuity 
 They rap vs hence, as Vultures do their pray ; 
 Confounding vs with tortures inftantly. 30 
 
 This fairely kills, they fowly murther vs, 
 Trippe vp our heeles before we can difcerne ; 
 This giues vs time of treaty to difcus 
 Our fuffring, and the caufe thereof to learne. 
 
 Befides therewith we oftentimes haue truce 
 For many months, fometimes for many yeares, 
 And are permitted to inioy the vfe 
 Of ftudy, and although our body weares 
 Our wit remaines ; our fpeach, our memory 
 Faile not, or come before our felues to die : 40 
 
 We part together and we take our leaue 
 Of friends, of kindred ; we difpofe our ftate. 
 And yeeld vp fairely what we did receiue 
 And all our buf ineffes accomodate : 
 So that we cannot fay we were thruft out. 
 But we depart from hence in quiet fort : 
 The foe with whom we haue the battaile fought, 
 Hath not fubdu'd vs but got our Fort, 
 And this difeafe is held moft incident 
 To the beft natures and moft innocent. 50 
 
 And therefore reuerend Lord, there cannot be 
 A gentler paffage then there is hereby, 
 Vnto that port wherein we fhall be free 
 From all the ftorraes of worldly mifery. 
 
296 OCCASIONAL POEMS. 
 
 And though it fhow vs dayly in our gl^ffe, 
 
 Our fading leafe turn'd to a yellow hue, 
 
 And how it withers as the fap doth paffe, 
 
 And what we may exfpeft is to iinfue. 
 Yet that I know difquiets not your mind, 
 
 Who knowes the brittle mettaile of mankind, 60: 
 
 And haue all comforts vertue can beget, 
 
 And moft the confcience of well afted dayes ; 
 
 Which all thofe monuments which you haue fet 
 
 On -holy ground to your perpetuall praife, 
 
 (As i:hings beft fet) muft euer teftifie ; 
 
 And fhew the worth of Noble Montague. 
 
 And fo long as the Walls of Piety 
 
 Stand, fo long fhall ftand the memory of you ; " 
 
 And Bath, and Wells, and Wincheiter fhall fhow 
 
 Their faire repaires to all Pofterity ; 70 
 
 And how much bleft and fortunate they were 
 
 That euer Gracious hand did plant you there ; 
 
 Befides, you haue not only built vp walls 
 
 But alfo (worthier edifices) men ; 
 
 By whom you fhall haue the memorialls 
 
 And euerlafling honor of the pen 
 
 That whenfoeuer you fhall come to make 
 
 Your Exit from this Scene wherein you haue 
 
 Perform'd fo noble parts, you then fhall take 
 
 Your leaue with honor, haue a glorious graue. 80 
 
 " For when can men go better to their reft 
 " Then when they are efteem'd and loued befb ? " 
 
 Sam. Daniel. 
 end of vol. l