dart Doing him die that neuer it deserued To free his foes that from his heast had swerued What hart can feele least touch of so sore launch Or thought can think the depth of so deare wound Whose bleeding sourse their streames yet neuer staunch But stil do flow freshly still redound To heale the sores of sinfull soules vnsound And clense the guilt of that infected cryme Which was enrooted in all fleshly slyme O blessed well of loue ô floure of grace O glorious Morning starre ô lampe of light Most liuely image of thy fathers face Eternall King of glorie Lord of might Meeke lambe of God before all worlds behight How can we thee requite for all this good Or what can prize that thy most precious blood Yet nought thou ask'st in lieu of all this loue But loue of vs for guerdon of thy paine Ay me what can vs lesse then that behone Had he required life of vs againe Had it beene wrong to aske his owne with gaine He gaue vs life he it restored lost Then life were least that vs so litle cost But he our life hath left vnto vs free Free that was thrall and blessed that was band Ne ought demaunds but that we louing bee As he himselfe hath lou'd vs afore hand And bound therto with an eternall band Him first to loue that vs so dearely bought And next our brethren to his image wrought Him first to loue great right and reason is Who first to vs our life and being gaue And after when we fared had amisse Vs wretches from the second death did saue And last the food of life which now we haue Euen himselfe in his deare sacrament To feede our hungry soules vnto vs lent Then next to loue our brethren that were made Of that selfe mould and that selfe makers hand That we and to the same againe shall fade Where they shall haue like heritage of land How euer here on higher steps we stand Which also were with selfe same price redeemed That we how euer of vs light esteemed And were they not yet since that louing Lord Commaunded vs to loue them for his sake Euen for his sake and for his sacred word Which in his last bequest he to vs spake We should them loue with their needs partake Knowing that whatsoere to them we giue We giue to him by whom we all doe liue Such mercy he by his most holy reede Vnto vs taught and to approue it trew Ensampled it by his most righteous deede Shewing vs mercie miserable crew That we the like should to the wretches shew And loue our brethren thereby to approue How much himselfe that loued vs we loue Then rouze thy selfe ô earth out of thy soyle In which thou wallowest like to filthy swyne And doest thy mynd in durty pleasures moyle Vnmindfull of that dearest Lord of thyne Lift vp to him thy heauie clouded eyne That thou his soueraine bountie mayst behold And read through loue his mercies manifold Beginne from first where he encradled was In simple cratch wrapt in a wad of hay Betweene the toylefull Oxe and humble Asse And in what rags and in how base aray The glory of our heauenly riches lay When him the silly Shepheards came to see Whom greatest Princes sought on lowest knee From thence reade on the storie of his life His humble carriage his vnfaulty wayes His cancred foes his fights his toyle his strife His paines his pouertie his sharpe assayes Through which he past his miserable dayes Offending none and doing good to all Yet being malist both of great and small And looke at last how of most wretched wights He taken was betrayd and false accused How with most scornefull taunts fell despights brused He was reuyld disgrast and foule abused How scourgd how crownd how buffeted how syde And lastly how twixt robbers crucifyde With bitter wounds through hands through feet Then let thy flinty hart that feeles no paine Empierced be with pittifull remorse And let thy bowels bleede in euery vaine At sight of his most sacred heauenly corse So torne and mangled with malicious forse And let thy soule whose sins his sorrows wrought Melt into teares and grone in grieued thought With sence whereof whilest so thy softened spirit Is inly toucht and humbled with meeke zeale Through meditation of his endlesse merit Lift vp thy mind to th' author of thy weale And to his soueraine mercie doe appeale Learne him to loue that loued thee so deare And in thy brest his blessed image beare With all thy hart with all thy soule and mind Thou must him loue and his beheasts embrace All other loues with which the world doth blind Weake fancies and stirre vp affections base Thou must renounce and vtterly displace And giue thy selfe vnto him full and free That full and freely gaue himselfe to thee Then shalt thou feele thy spirit so possest And rauisht with deuouring great desire Of his deare selfe that shall thy feeble brest Inflame with loue and set thee all on fire With burning zeale through euery part entire That in no earthly thing thou shalt delight But in his sweet and amiable sight Thenceforth all worlds desire will in thee dye And all earthes glorie on which men do gaze Seeme durt and drosse in thy pure sighted eye Compar'd to that celestiall beauties blaze Whose glorious beames all fleshly sense doth daze With admiration of their passing light Blinding the eyes and lumining the spright Then shall thy rauisht soule inspired bee With heauēly thoughts farre aboue humane skil And thy bright radiant eyes shall plainely see Th'Idee of his pure glorie present still Before thy face that all thy spirits shall fill With sweete enragement of celestiall loue Kindled through sight of those faire things aboue FINIS AN HYMNE OF HEAVENLY BEAVTIE RApt with the rage of mine own rauisht thought Through cōtemplation of those goodly sights And glorious images in heauen wrought Whose wōdrous beauty breathing sweet delights Do kindle loue in high conceipted sprights I faine to tell the things that I behold But feele my wits to faile and tongue to fold Vouchsafe then ô thou most almightie Spright From whom all guifts of wit and knowledge flow To shed into my breast some sparkling light Of thine eternall Truth that I may show Some litle beames to mortall eyes below Of that immortall beautie there with thee Which in my weake distraughted mynd I see That with the glorie of so goodly sight The hearts of men which fondly here admyre Faire seeming shewes and feed on vaine delight Transported with celestiall desyre Of those faire formes may lift themselues vp hye◠And learne to loue with zealous humble dewty Th' eternall fountaine of that heauenly beauty Beginning then below with th' easie vew Of this base world subiectro fleshly eye From thence to mount aloft by order dew To contemplation of th' immortall sky Of the soare faulcon so I learne to fly That flags awhile her fluttering wings
ranging all about Gaue her the fatall wound of deadly smart And reft from me my sweete companion And reft fro me my loue my life my hart My Lyonesse an woe is me is gon Out of the world thus was she reft away Out of the world vnworthy such a spoyle And borne to heauen for he auen a fitter pray Much fitter than the Lyon which with toyle Alcides slew and fixt in firmament Her now I seeke throughout this earthly soyle And seeking misse and missing doe lament Therewith he gan afresh to waile and weepe That I for pittie of his heauie plight Could not abstain mine eyes with teares to steepe But when I saw the anguish of his spright Some deale alaid I him bespake againe Certes Alcyon painefull is thy plight That it in me breeds almost equall paine Yet doth not my dull wit well vnderstand The riddle of thy loued Lionesse For rare it seemes in reason to be skand That man who doth the whole worlds rule possesse Should to a beast his noble hart embase And be the vassall of his vassalesse Therefore more plaine aread this doubtfull case Then sighing sore Daphne thou knewest quoth he She now is dead ne more endur'd to say But fell to ground for great extremitie That I beholding it with deepe dismay Was much appald and lightly him vprearing Reuoked life that would haue fled away All were my selfe through grief in deadly drearing Then gan I him to comfort all my best And with milde counsaile stroue to mitigate The stormie passion of his troubled brest But he thereby was more empassionate As stubborne steed that is with curb restrained Becomes more fierce and feruent in his gate And breaking foorth at last thus dearnely plained 1 What man henceforth that breatheth vitall aire Will honour heauen or heauenly powers adore Which so vniustly do their iudgements share Mongst earthly wights as to afflict so sore The innocent as those which do transgresse And doe not spare the best or fairest more Than worst or fowlest but doe both oppresse If this be right why did they then create The world so faire sith fairenesse is neglected Or why be they themselues immaculate If purest things be not by them respected She faire she pure most faire most pure she was Yet was by them as thing impure reiected Yet she in purenesse heauen it selfe did pas In purenesse and in all celestiall grace That men admire in goodly womankind She did excell and seem'd of Angels race Liuing on earth like Angell new diuinde Adorn'd with wisedome and with chastitie And all the dowries of a noble mind Which did her beautie much more beautifie No age hath bred since faire Astraea left The sinfull world more vertue in a wight And when she parted hence with her she reft Great hope and robd her race of bountie quight Well may the shepheard lasses now lament For doubble losse by her hath on them light To loose both her and bounties omament Ne let Elisa royall Shepheardesse The praises of my parted loue enuy For she hath praises in all plenteousnesse Powr'd vpon her like showers of Castaly By her owne Shepheard Colin her own Shepherd That her with heauenly hymnes doth deifie Of rusticke muse full hardly to be betterd She is the Rose the glory of the day And mine the Primrose in the lowly shade Mine ah not mine amisse I mine did say Not mine but his which mine a while her made Mine to be his with him to liue for ay O that so faire a flowre so soone should fade And through vntimely tempest fall away She fell away in her first ages spring Whilst yet her leafe was greene fresh her rinde And whilst her braunch faire blossomes foorth did bring She fell away against all course of kinde For age to dye is right but youth is wrong She fell away like fruit blowne downe with winde Weepe Shepheard weepe to make my vndersong 2 What hart so stonie hard but that would weepe And poure forth fountaines of incessant teares What Timon but would let compassion creepe Into his breast and pierce his frosen eares In stead of teares whose brackish bitter well I wasted haue my heart bloud dropping weares To thinke to ground how that faire blossome fell Yet fell she not as one enforst to dye Ne dyde with dread and grudging discontent But as one toyld with trauell downe doth lye So lay she downe as if to fleepe she went And closde her eyes with carelesse quiemesse The whiles soft death away her spirit hent And soule assoyld from sinfull fleshlinesse Yet ere that life her lodging did forsake She all resolu'd and readie to remone Calling to me ay me this wise bespake Alcyon ah my first and latest lone Ah why does my Alcyon weepe and mourne And grieue my ghost that ill more him behoue As if to me had chaunst some euill tourne I since the messenger is come for mee That summons soules vnto the bridale feast Of his great Lord must needs depart from thee And straight obay his soneraine beheast Why should Alcyon then so sore lament That I from miserie shall be releast And freed from wretched long imprisonment Our daies are full of dolour and disease Our life afflicted with incessant paine That nought on earth may lessen or appease Why then should I desire here to remaine Or why should he that loues me sorrie bee For my deliuerance or at all complaine My good to heare and toward ioyes to see I goe and long desired haue to goe I goe with gladnesse to my wished rest Whereas no worlds sad care nor wasting woe May come their happie quiet to molest But Saints and Angels in celestiall thrones Eternally him praise that hath them blest There shall I be amongst those blessed ones Yet ere I goe a pledge I leaue with thee Of the late loue the which betwixt vs past My young Ambrosia in lieu of mee Loue her so shall our loue for euer last Thus deare adieu whom I expect ere long So hauing said away she softly past Weepe Shepheard weepe to make mine vndersong 3 So oft as I record those piercing words Which yet are deepe engrauen in my brest And those last deadly accents which like swords Did wound my heart and rend my bleeding chest With those sweet sugred speeches doe compare The which my soule first conquerd and possest The first beginners of my endlesse care And when those pallid cheekes and ashie hew In which sad death his pourtraiture had writ And when those hollow eyes and deadly view On which the cloud of ghastly night did sit I match with that sweete smile and chearful brow Which all the world subdued vnto it How happie was I then and wretched now How happie was I when I saw her leade The Shepheards daughters dauncing in arownd How trimly would she trace and softly tread The tender grasse with rosye garland crownd And when she list aduance her heauenly voyce Both Nymphes Muses nigh she made
astownd And flocks and shepheards caused to reioyce But now ye Shepheard lasses who shall lead Your wandring troupes or sing your virelayes Or who shall dight your bowres sith she is dead That was the Lady of your holy dayes Let now your blisse be turned into bale And into plaints conuert your ioyous playes And with the same fill euery hill and dale Let Bagpipe neuer more be heard to shrill That may allure the senses to delight Ne euer Shepheard sound his Oaten quill Vnto the many that prouoke them might To idle pleasance but let ghastlinesse And drearie horror dim the chearefull light To make the image of true heauinesse Let birds be silent on the naked spray And shady woods resound with dreadfull yells Let streaming floods their hastie courses stay And parching drouth drie vp the christall wells Let th' earth be barren and bring foorth no flowres And th' ayre be fild with noyse of dolefull knells And wandring spirits walke vntimely howres And Nature nurse of euery liuing thing Let rest her selfe from her long wearinesse And cease henceforth things kindly forth to bring But hideous monsters full of vglinesse For she it is that hath me done this wrong No nurse but Stepdame cruell mercilesse Weepe Shepheard weepe to make my vndersong 4 My litle flocke whom earst I lou'd so well And wont to feede with finest grasse that grew Feede ye hencefoorth on bitter Astrofell And stinking Smallage and vnsauerie Rew And when your mawes are with those weeds corrupted Be ye the pray of Wolues ne will I rew That with your carkasses wild beasts be glutted Ne worse to you my sillie sheepe I pray Ne sorer vengeance wish on you to fall Than to my selfe for whose confusde decay To carelesse heauens I doo daylie call But heauens refuse to heare a wretches cry And cruell death doth scorne to come at call Or graunt his boone that most desires to dye The good and righteous he away doth take To plague th'vnrighteous which aliue remaine But the vngodly ones he doth forsake By liuing long to multiplie their paine Els surely death should be no punishment As the great Iudge at first did it ordaine But rather riddance from long languishment Therefore my Daphne they haue tane away For worthie of a better place was she But me vnworthie willed here to stay That with her lacke I might tormented be Sith then they so haue ordred I will pay Penance to her according their decree And to her ghost doe seruice day by day For I will walke this wandring pilgrimage Throuhout the world from one to other end And in affliction waste my better age My bread shall be the anguish of my mynd My drink the teares which fro mine eyes do raine My bed the ground that hardest I may fynd So will I wilfully increase my paine And the my loue that was my Saint that is When she beholds from her celestiall throne In which shee ioyeth in eternall blis My bitter penance will my cafe bemone And pitie me that liuing thus doo die For heauenly spirits haue compassion On mortall men and rue their miserie So when I haue with sorrow satisfyde Th'importune fates which vengeance on me seeke And th'eauens with long languor pacifyde She for pure pitie of my sufferance mecke Will send for me for which I daylie long And will tell then my painfull penance ecke Weepe Shepheard weepe to make my vndersong 5 Hencefoorth I hate what euer Nature made And in her workmanship no pleasure finde For they be all but vaine and quickly fade So soone as on them blowes the Northern winde They tarrie not but flit and fall away Leauing behind them nought but griefe of minde And mocking such as thinke they long will stay I hate the heauen because it doth withhould Me from my loue and eke my loue from me I hate the earth because it is the mould Of fleshly slime and fraile mortalitie I hate the fire because to nought it flyes I hate the Ayre because fighes of it be I hate the Sea because it teares supplyes I hate the day because it lendeth light To see all things and not my loue to see I hate the darknesse and the dreary night Because they breed sad balefulnesse in mee I hate all times because all times doe fly So fast away and may not stayed bee But as aspeedie post that passeth by I hate to speake my voyce is spent with crying I hate to heare lowd plaints haue duld mine eares I hate to tast for food withholds my dying I hate to see mine eyes are dimd with teares I hate to smell no sweet on earth is left I hate to feele my flesh is numbd with feares So all my senses from me are bereft I hate all men and shun all womankinde The one because as I they wretched are The other for because I doo not finde My loue with them that wont to be their Starre And life I hate because it will not last And death I hate because it life doth marre And all I hate that is to come or past So all the world and all in it I hate Because it changeth euer too and fro And neuer standeth in one certaine state But still vnstedfast round about doth goe Like a Mill wheele in midst of miserie Driuen with streames of wretchednesse and woe That dying liues and liuing still does dye So doo I liue so doo I daylie die And pine away in selfe-consuming paine Sith she that did my vitall powres supplie And feeble spirits in their force maintaine Is fetcht fro me why seeke I to prolong My wearie daies in dolour and disdaine Weepe Shepheard weepe to make my vndersong 6 Why doo I longer liue in lifes despight And doo not dye then in despight of death Why doo I longer see this loathsome light And doo in darknesse not abridge my breath Sith all my sorrow should haue end thereby And cares finde quiet is it so vneath To leaue this life or dolorous to dye To liue I finde it deadly dolorous For life drawes care and care continuall woe Therefore to dye must needes be ioyeous And wishfull thing this fad life to forgoe But I must stay I may it not amend My Daphne hence departing bad me so She bad me stay till she for me did send Yet whilest I in this wretched vale doo stay My wearie feete shall euer wandring be That still I may be readie on my way When as her messenger doth come for me Ne will I rest my feete for feeblenesse Ne will I rest my limmes for frailtie Ne will I rest mine eyes for heauinesse But as the mother of the Gods that sought For faire Eurydice her daughter deere Throghout the world with wofull heauie thought So will I trauell whilest I tarrie heere Ne will I lodge ne will I euer lin Ne when as drouping Titan draweth neere To loose his teeme will I take vp my Inne Ne sleepe the harbenger of wearie wights Shall euer lodge vpon mine
this base world vnto thy heauens hight Where I may see those admirable things Which there thou workest by thy soueraine might Farre aboue feeble reach of earthly sight That I thereof an heauenly Hymne may sing Vnto the god of Loue high heauens king Many lewd layes ah woe is me the more In praise of that mad fit which fooles call loue I haue in th' heat of youth made heretofore That in light wits did loose affection moue But all those follies now I do reproue And turned haue the tenor of my string The heauenly prayses of true loue to sing And ye that wont with greedy vaine desire To reade my fault and wondring at my flame To warme your selues at my wide sparckling fire Sith now that heat is quenched quench my blame And in her ashes shrowd my dying shame For who my passed follies now pursewes Beginnes his owne and my old fault renewes BEfore this worlds great frame in which al things Are now containd found any being place Ere flitting Time could wag his eyas wings About that mightie bound which doth embrace The rolling Spheres parts their houres by space That high eternall powre which now doth moue In all these things mou'd in it selfe by loue It lou'd it selfe because it selfe was faire For faire is lou'd and of it selfe begot Like to it selfe his eldest sonne and heire Eternall pure and voide of sinfull blot The firstling of his ioy in whom no iot Of loues dislike or pride was to be found Whom he therefore with equall honour crownd With him he raignd before all time prescribed In endlesse glorie and immortall might Together with that third from them deriued Most wise most holy most almightie Spright Whose kingdomes throne no thought of earthly wight Can cōprehēd much lesse my trēbling verse With equall words can hope it to reherse Yet ô most blessed Spirit pure lampe of light Eternall spring of grace and wisedome trew Vouchsafe to shed into my barren spright Some little drop of thy celestiall dew That may my rymes with sweet infuse embrew And giue me words equall vnto my thought To tell the marueiles by thy mercie wrought Yet being pregnant still with powrefull grace And full of fruitfull loue that loues to get Things like himselfe and to enlarge his race His second brood though not in powre so great Yet full of beautie next he did beget An infinite increase of Angels bright All glistring glorious in their Makers light To them the heauens illimitable hight Not this round heauē which we frō hence behold Adornd with thousand lamps of burning light And with ten thousand gemmes of shyning gold He gaue as their inheritance to hold That they might serue him in eternall blis And be partakers of those ioyes of his There they in their trinall triplicities About him wait and on his will depend Either with nimble wings to cut the skies When he them on his messages doth send Or on his owne dread presence to attend Where they behold the glorie of his light And caroll Hymnes of loue both day and night Both day and night is vnto them all one For he his beames doth still to them extend That darknesse there appeareth neuer none Ne hath their day ne hath their blisse an end But there their termelesse time in pleasure spend Ne euer should their happinesse decay Had not they dar'd their Lord to disobay But pride impatient of long resting peace Did puffe them vp with greedy bold ambition That they gan cast their state how to increase Aboue the fortune of their first condition And sit in Gods owne seat without commission The brightest Angell euen the Child of light Drew millions more against their God to fight Th' Almighty seeing their so bold assay Kindled the flame of his consuming yre And with his onely breath them blew away From heauens hight to which they did aspyre To deepest hell and lake of damned fyre Where they in darknesse and dread horror dwell Hating the happie light from which they fell So that next off-spring of the Makers loue Next to himselfe in glorious degree Degendering to hate fell from aboue Through pride for pride and loue may ill agree And now of sinne to all ensample bee How then can sinfull flesh it selfe assure Sith purest Angels fell to be impure But that eternall fount of loue and grace Still flowing forth his goodnesse vnto all Now seeing left a waste and emptie place In his wyde Pallace through those Angels fall Cast to supply the same and to enstall A new vnknowen Colony therein Whose root from earths base groundworke shold begin Therefore of clay base vile and next to nought Yet form'd by wondrous skill and by his might According to an heauenly patterne wrought Which he had fashiond in his wise foresight He man did make and breathd a liuing spright Into his face most beautifull and fayre Endewd with wifedomes riches heauenly rare Such he him made that he resemble might Himselfe as mortall thing immortall could Him to be Lord of euery liuing wight He made by loue out of his owne like mould In whom he might his mightie selfe behould For loue doth loue the thing belou'd to see That like it selfe in louely shape may bee But man forgetfull of his makers grace No lesse then Angels whom he did ensew Fell from the hope of promist heauenly place Into the mouth of death to sinners dew And all his off-spring into thraldome threw Where they for euer should in bonds remaine Of neuer dead yet euer dying paine Till that great Lord of Loue which him at first Made of meere loue and after liked well Seeing him lie like creature long accurst In that deepe horror of despeyred hell Him wretch in doole would let no lenger dwell But cast out of that bondage to redeeme And pay the price all were his debt extreeme Out of the bosome of eternall blisse In which he reigned with his glorious syre He downe descended like a most demisse And abiect thrall in fleshes fraile attyre That he for him might pay sinnes deadly hyre And him restore vnto that happie state In which he stood before his haplesse fate In flesh at first the guilt committed was Therefore in flesh it must be satisfyde Nor spirit nor Angell though they man surpas Could make amends to God for mans misguyde But onely man himselfe who selfe did slyde So taking flesh of sacred virgins wombe For mans deare sake he did a man become And that most blessed bodie which was borne Without all blemish or reprochfull blame He freely gaue to be both rent and torne Of cruell hands who with despightfull shame Reuyling him that them most vile became At length him nayled on a gallow tree And slew the iust by most vniust decree O huge and most vnspeakeable impression Of loues deepe wound that pierst the piteous hart Of that deare Lord with so entyre affection And sharply launching euery inner part Dolours of death into his soule did