Emaricdulfe SONNETS WRITTEN BY E. C. Esquier Non sunt vt quondam plena fauoris erant BY WISDOME PEACE BY PEACE PLENTY AT LONDON Printed for Matthew Law 1595. TO MY VERY GOOD friends Iohn Zouch and Edward Fittâ—n Esquiers BOth louing friends forasmuch as by reason of an ague I was inforced to keepe my chamber and to abandon idlenes I tooke in hande my pen to finish an idle worke I had begun at the command and seruice of a faire Dame being most exquisitly well featured and of as excellent good carriage adorned with vertue and vnderstanding the storie and knowing you both to be of sufficient valour wit and honestie presumed to dedicate the same to you not doubting but that you will vouchsafe for my sake to maintaine the honour of so sweete a Saint Thus crauing you my deare friends to be patrones of these fewe Sonnets being well perswaded you will excuse my unlearned writing in regard you may be assured I am no scholler as dooth appeare by this my worthles verse hoping you will receiue my good-will with content as I my selfe shall be then best satisfied And so wishing you both as much comfortable happines as to my soule I bid you heartily farewell Yours in all true friendship E. C. EMARICDVLFE SONNET I. WHen first the rage of loue assail'd my hart And towards my thoughts his fiery forces bent Eftsoones to shield me from his wounding dart Arm'd with disdaine I held him in contempt Curld headed loue when from mount Erecine He saw this geere so ill thereof he brookes That thence he speedes vnwilling to be seene Till he had tane his stand in thy faire lookes There all inrag'd his golden bow he bent And nockt his arrow like a pretie elfe Which when I saw I humbly to him went And cri'd hold hold and I will yeeld my selfe Thus Cupid conquer'd me and made me sweare Homage to him and dutie to my deare SONNET II. HOmage to loue dutie to thee my deare Deare mistris of my thoughts Queene of my ioy Then my life 's gratious planet bright appeare My hearts deepe griefe and sorrow to destroy Be not I thee beseech my cares maintainer For in thy power it lyes to saue or strike To kill the griefe or els the griefes retainer With loue or hate the infant of dislike O if that cruell loue did not command To slay my heart without remorse or pitie Or if he did that sad doome countermand And be a gratious Queene of gentle mercie Sweet shew thy selfe diuine in being pitifull For nature of the gods is to be mercifull SONNET III. WHy doe I pleade for mercie vnto thee When from offence my life soule are cleere For in my heart I neere offended thee Vnlesse the hie pitch of his flight it were I that is it I to too well consider Thy sparkling beautie is the sunne that melted My thoughts the waxe that ioyn'd his wings together And till my very fall I neuer felt it Despaire the Ocean is that swallowed me Where I like Icarus continue drowned Till with thy beautie I reuiued be And with loues immortalitie be crowned True loue immortall is then loue me truly Sweet doe and then thy name I le honor duly SONNET IIII. MY forlorne muse that neuer trode the path That leades to top of hie Pierion mount Nor neuer washt within the liuesome bath Of learnings spring bright Aganippe fount Mine artles pen that neuer yet was dipt In sacred nectar of sweet Castalie My louesicke heart that euer hath I clipt Emaricdulfe the Queene of chastitie Shall now learne skill my Ladies fame to raise Shall now take paines her vertues to record And honor her with more immortall praise Then euer heretofore they could affoord Both heart and pen and muse shall thinke it dutie With sigheswolne words to blaze her heaueÌ„ly beutie SONNET V. NAture Emaricdulf did greatly fauour When first her pourtrait she began to pencill And rob'd the heauens of her chiefest honour There sacred beautie all her parts doth tincill Heauens Hyrarkie is in her bright eyes spheered The Graces sport in her cheekes dimpled pits Trophies of maiestie in her face be reared And in her lookes stately Saturnia sits Modest Diana in her thoughts doth glorie Loue-lacking Vesta in her heart inthroned The quired Muses on her lips doe storie Their heauen sweet notes as if that place they owned But aye is me Cupid and Venus faire Haue no degree saue in her golden haire SONNET VI. WIthin her haire Venus and Cupid sport them Sometime they twist it Amberlike in gold To which the whistling windes doe oft resort them As if they stroue to haue the knots vnrold Sometime they let their golden tresses dangle And therewith nets and amorous gins they make Wherewith the hearts of louers to intangle Which once inthral'd no ransome they will take But as to tyrants sitting in their thrones Looke on their slaues with tyrannizing eyes So they no whit regarding louers mones Doome worlds of hearts to endles slaueries Vnlesse they subiect-like sweare to adore And serue Emaricdulf for euermore SONNET VII I Will perseuer euer for to loue thee O cease diuinest sweetnes to disdaine mee Albeit my loues true types can neuer moue thee Yet from affection let not pride detaine thee Although my heart once purchast thy displeasure With ouerbold presumption on thy fauour Yet now I le sacrifice my richest treasure Vnto thy name and much admired honour Teares are the treasure of my griefe-gal'd hart Which on thy loue my altar I haue dropped To thee that my thoughts temples goddesse art Hoping thy anger would thereby be stopped If these to get thy grace may not suffice My heart is slaine accept that sacrifice SONNET VIII EMaricdulf thou grace to euery grace Thou perfect life of my vnperfect liuing My thoughts sole heaueÌ„ my harts sweet resting place Cause of my woe and comfort of my grieuing O giue me leaue and I will tell thee how The haples place and the vnhappie time Wherein and when my selfe I did auow To honour thee and giue my heart to thine Wearie with labour labour that did like me I gaue my bodie to a sweet repose A golden slumber suddenly did strike me That in deaths cabbin euery sense did close And either in a heauenly trance or vision I then beheld this pleasing apparition SONNET IX A Wight was clad most Foster-like in greene With loyal horne and hunting pole in hand Whose chanting houÌ„ds were heard in woods seene The deere amasde before the rider stand The keeper bids goe choose the best in heard The huntsman sayd my choise is not to change And drawing neere the deere was sore affeard Into the woods the rider spurd to range There did he view a faire young barren doe Within the hey fast by the purley side And woodman-like did take the winde then soe Whereby the deere might better him abide At length he shot and hit the very same Where he best likte and lou'd of
all the game SONNET X. BVt stay conceit where he best likt to loue Yea better he if better best might bee The Rider thought the best of better proue Till fortune sign'd his fortune for to see Now wearie he betooke himselfe to rest Deuised where he might good harbour finde Emaricdulf quoth he I am her guest And thither went she greeted him most kinde Welcome sayd she three welcomes more she gaue His hand she tooke and talking with him then What wine or beere to drinke wilt please you haue Sixe welcomes more and so she made them ten He dranke his fill and fed to his desire Refresht himselfe and then did home retire SONNET XI FOrthwith I saw and with the sight was blest A beautious issue of a beautious mother A young Emaricdulf whose sight increast Millions of ioyes each one exceeding other Faire springing branch sprong of a hopefull stocke On thee more beauties nature had bestowde Then in her heauenly storehouse she doth locke Or may be seene disperst on earth abrode Thrise had the Sunne the world encompassed Before this blossome with deaths winter nipt O cruell death that thus hast withered So faire a branch before it halfe was ripte Halfe glad with ioyes and halfe appal'd with feares I wak't and found my cheekes bedew'd with teares SONNET XII MY cheeks bedew'd my eies euē drown'd with teares O fearfull storme that causde so great a showre Griefe ty'd my tongue sorrow did stop my eares Because earth lost her sweetest paramoure O cruell heauens and regardlesse fates If the worlds beautie had compassion'd you You might by powre haue shut deaths ebongates And been remorsefull at her heauenly view O foolish nature why didst thou create A thing so faire if fairenes be neglected But fairest things be subiect vnto fate And in the end are by the fates reiected Yong Emaric yet thou crost the destinie For thou suruiu'st in faine that nere shall die SONNET XIII THat I did loue and once was lou'd of thee Witnesse the fauours that I haue receiued That golden ring pledge of thy constancie That bracelet that my libertie bereaued Those gloues that once adorn'd thy lillie hands That handkercher whose maze inthral'd me so Those thousand gifts that like a thousand bands bound both my heart and soule to weale and woe All which I weare and wearing them sigh forth You instancies of her true loyaltie I doe not keepe you for your soueraigne worth But for her sake that sent you vnto me T is she not you that doth compell my eyes My life 's sole light my hearts sole paradice SONNET XIIII ONe day ô ten times happie was that day Emaricdulf was in her garden walking Where Floras imps ioy'd with her feete to play And I to see them thitherward ran stalking Behind the hedge not daring to be seene I saw the sweet sent Roses blush for shame The Violets stain'd and pale the Lillies beene Whereat to smile my Ladie had good game Sometimes she pleasde to sport vpon the grasse That chang'd his hew to see her heauenly presence But when she was imasked then alas They as my selfe wail'd for her beauties absence They mourn'd for that their mistris went away And I for end of such a blessed day SONNET XV. WHat meane our Merchants so with eger minds To plough the seas to finde rich iuels forth Sith in Emaricdulf a thousand kinds Are heap'd exceeding wealthie Indias worth Then India doth her haire affoord more gold And thousands siluer mines her forhead showes More Diamonds then th' Egyptian surges folde Within her eyes rich treasurie nature stowes Her hony breath but more then hony sweete Exceeds the odours of Arabia Those pretious rankes continually that meete Are pearles more worth then all America Her other parts proud Cupids countermate Exceed the world for worth the heauens for state SONNET XVI LOoke when dame Tellus clad in Floras pride Her summer vaile with faire imbroderie And fragrant hearbs sweet blossom'd hauing dide And spred abrode her spangled tapistrie Then shalt thou see a thousand of her flowers For their faire hew and life delighting sauours Gathered to deck and beautifie the bowers Of Ladies faire grac'd with their louers fauours But when rough winter nips them with his rage They are disdain'd and not at all respected Then loue Emaricdulf in thy yong age Lest being old like flowers thou be reiected Nature made nothing that doth euer flourish And euen as beautie fades so loue doth perish SONNET XVII I Am inchanted with thy snow-white hands That mase me with their quaint dexteritie And with their touch tye in a thousand bands My yeelding heart euer to honour thee Thought of thy daintie fingers long and small For pretie action that exceed compare Sufficient is to blesse me and withall To free my chained thoughts from sorrowes snare But that which crownes my soule with heauenly blis And giues my heart fruition of all ioyes Their daintie concord and sweet musick is That poysons griefe and cureth all annoyes Those eyes that see those eares are blest that heare These heauenly gifts of nature in my deare SONNET XVIII EMaricdulf if thou this riddle reade This darke AEnigma that I will demand thee Then for thy wisedomes well deseruing meede In loues pure dutie thou shalt ay command mee A Turtle that had chose his louing mate Sate seemly percht vpon a red-rose breere Yet saw a bird ayres paragon for state That farre surpast his late espoused deere He chang'd himselfe into that lustfull bird That Iuno loues and to his loue resorted And thought with amorous speeches to haue firde Her constant heart but her in vaine he courted When bootles he had woo'd her to his paine He tooke his leaue and turn'd his shape againe SONNET XIX THe Heauens and Nature whē my Loue was borne Stroue which of both shuld most adorne grace her The sacred heauens in wealthie natures scorne With wisedomes pure infusion did imbrace her Nature lent wings to wisedome for her flight And deckt my Ladie with such heauenly features As nere before appear'd in humane sight Ne euer fithence in terrestriall creatures Quoth Wisedome I will guide her constant hart At all assaies with policie to relieue her Quoth Nature I will cast those gifts apart With outward graces that I meane to giue her Yet were they reconcil'd and swore withall To make her more then halfe celestiall SONNET XX. THat thou art faire exceeding all compare Witnes thy eyes that gaze vpon thy beautie Witnes the hearts thou daily dost insnare And draw to honour thee with louers dutie That thou art wise witnes the worlds report Witnes the thoughts that do so much admire thee Witnes the heauen-borne Muses that resort And for their mistris meekly do desire thee That thou art both exceeding faire and wise Witnes the anguish of my sillie hart Thy heauenly shape hath caught me by my eyes Thy secret wisedome that giues art to art So circumuents me and procures my paine That I must
constant minde is written in my heart Thy seemely grace and pleasing speech haue wrought To vow me thine till death a sunder part Thy fauours forst me subiect vnto thee Thy onely care extended to my good Ty louely lookes commaunded all in me For thy deare sake to spend my dearest blood My ioy consists in keeping of thy loue My bale doth breede if I inioy it not My seruice true from thee none can remoue Vnlesse both life and loue I shall forgot Though life and loue in time must haue an end Yet euer I haue vowde to be thy frend SONNET XXXIII EMaricdulf my Orphan muses mother Pure map of vertue Honors onely daughter Bright gemme of bewtie fayre aboue all other True badge of faith foule ignominies slaughter Ensigne of loue soure enemie to lust The graces grace faire Ereâ—ines disgrace Wrongs cheefe reprouer cause of what is iust Aduices patron councels resting place Wisdomes chiefe fort wits onely pure refiner Graue of deceite the life of policie Fates best beloued natures true diuiner Nurce of inuention hould of constancie Poyson of paine Phisition of anoyes Eliziums pride and paradice of ioyes SONNET XXXIIII EMaricdulf loue is a holy fire That burnes vnseene and yet not burning seene Free of himselfe yet chain'd with strong desire Conquerd by thee yet triumphs in thy eine An eye-bewitching vision thee in seeming That shadow-like flyes from a louers eyes An heauen aspiring spirit voyd of seeing A gentle god yet loues to tyrannize Bond-slaue to honour burthen of conceit The only god of thine eyes Hyrarkie Decay of friendship grandsire of deceit More then a god yet wants a monarkie Bastard of nature that to heauen did clime To seeme the misbegotten heire of time SONNET XXXV O Faith thou sacred Phoenix of this age Into another world from hence exiled Diuorc'd from honor by vnheedfull rage Pure vertues nest by hatefull vice defiled Thou faith that cal'st thy firname Constancie Christned aboue the nine-fold glorious sphere And from the heauens deriues thy pedegree Planting the roote of thy faire linage there Let this thy glorie be aboue the rest That banisht earth where thou didst once remaine Thou yet maist harbour in my mistris brest So a pure chest pure treasure may containe And in her liuing beautie neuer old Seem like a pretious Diamond set in gold SONNET XXXVI WHen I behould heauens all behoulding starres I doe compare them to my woes and smart Causde by the many wounds and mightie scarres That loue hath trenched in my bleeding hart And when I thinke vpon the Ocean sands Me thinkes they number but my ladies bewties And represent the infinites of bandes Wherein my heart is bound to endles duties And when I see natures faire children thriue Nurst in the bosome of the fruitefull earth From my chast vowes they their increase deriue And as they spring so haue my vowes their birth And as the starres and sands haue endles date So is my loue subiect to naught but fate SONNET XXXVII O Lust of sacred loue the foule corrupter Vsurper of her heauenly dignitie Follies first childe good councels interrupter Fostered by sloth first step to infamie Thou hel-borne monster that affrights the wise Loue-choking lust vertues disdainefull foe Wisdomes contemner spurner of aduise Swift to forsweare to faithfull promise slow Be thou as far from her chast-thoughted breast Her true loue kindled heart her vertuous minde As is al-seeing Tytan from the west When from Auroras armes he doth vntwinde Nature did make her of a heauenly mould Onely true heauenly vertues to infould SONNET XXXVIII MY thoughts ascending the hie house of fame Found in records of vertuous monuments A map of honours in a noble frame Shining in spight of deaths oft banishments A thousand colours Loue sate suted in Guarded with honour and immortall time Lust led with enuie feare and deadly sin Opposde against faire Loues out-liuing line True Constancie kneeld at the feet of Loue And begg'd for seruice but could not procure it Which seene my heart stept forth thought to moue Kind Loue for fauour but did not allure it Yet when my heart swore Constancie was true Loue welcom'd it and gaue them both their due SONNET XXXIX IMage of honour Vertues first borne childe Natures faire painted stage Fames brightest face Syren that neuer with thy tongue beguild Sibill more wise then Cumas Sibill was When learnings sun with more resplendent gleames Shall with immortall flowres of poesie Bred by the vertue of Bram bigning beames Deck my inuention for thy dignities With heauenly hymnes thy more theÌ„ heauenly parts I le deifie thy name commands such dutie Though many heads of poisest poets arts Are insufficient to expresse thy beautie Thy name thy honour and loues puritie With Stanzas Layes and Hymnes I le stellifie SONNET XXXX SOme bewties make a god of flatterie And scorne Eliziums eternall types Nathes I abhorre such faithles prophesie Least I be beaten with thy vertues stripes Wilt thou suruie another world to see Delias sweete Prophet shall the praises singe Of bewties worth exemplified in thee And thy names honour in his sweete tunes ring Thy vertues Collin shall immortalize Collin chast vertues organ sweetst esteem'd When for Elizas name he did comprise Such matter as inuentions wonder seem'd Thy vertues hee thy bewties shall the other Christen a new whiles I sit by and wonder Mea fortuna tua Vt hodie sic eras semper qd E. C. FINIS
dye vnles thou true remaine SONNET XXI AL those that write of heauen and heauenly ioyes Describe the way with narrow crooked bēdings Beset with griefe paine horror and annoyes That till all end haue neuer perfect endings The heauen wherein my thoughts are resident The paradice wherein my heart is sainted Through street-like straight hie-waies I did attempt Nor with rough care nor rigorous crosse attainted I must confesse faith was the only meane For that with some for want thereof did misse Only thereby at length I did obtaine And by that faith am now instal'd in blisse There sleepe my thoughts my heart there set thy rest Both heart thoughts thinke that her heauen is best SONNET XXII YE subiects of her partiall painted praise Pen paper inke you feeble instruments Vnto a higher straine I now must raise Your mistris beautious faire abiliments Thou author of our hic Mconian verse That checks the proud Castalians eloquence With humble spirit if I now reherse Her seuerall graces natures excellence Smile on these rough-hewd lines these ragged words That neuer stil'd from the Castalian spring Nor that one true Apologie affoords Nor neuer learn'd with pleasant tune to sing So shall they liue and liuing still perseuer To deifie her sacred name for euer SONNET XXIII YE moderne Laureats of this later age That liue the worlds admirement for your writ And seeme infused with a diuine rage To shew the heauenly quintessence of wit You on whose weltun'd verse sits princely beautie Deckt and adorn'd with heauens eternitie See I presume to cote and all is duetie Her graces with my learnings scarsitie But if my pen Marcias harsh-writing quill Could feede the feeling of my thoughts desire And shew my wit coequall with my will Then with you men diuine I would conspire In learned poems and sweet poesie To send to heauen my Ladies dignitie SONNET XXIIII OFthaue I heard hony-tong'd Ladies speake Striuing their amorous courtiers to inchant And from their nectar lips such sweet words breake As neither art nor heauenly skill did want But when Emaricdulf gins to discourse Her words are more then wel-tun'd harmonie And euery sentence of a greater force Then Mermaids song or Syrens sorcerie And if to heare her speake Laertes heire The wise Vlisses liu'd vs now among From her sweet words he could not stop his eare As from the Syrens and the Mermaids song And had she in the Syrens place but stood Her heauenly voyce had drown'd him in the flood SONNET XXV LEt gorgeous Tytan blush for of her haire Each trannel checks his brightest summers shine The cleerest Comets drop within the aire To see them dim'd with those her glorious eine Iuno for state she matchles doth disgrace Surpassing eke for stature Dyan tall Venus for faire faire Venus for her face In whose sweet lookes are heap't the graces all For wisedome may she make comparison With Pallas yet I wrong her ouer-much For who so sounds her policies each one Will sweare Trytontas wit was neuer such Her she exceeds though she exceed all other Being Ioues great daughter borne without a mother SONNET XXVI EMaricdulf reade here but reading marke As in a mirror my true constancie The golden Sunne shall first be turn'd to darke And darknes claime the Sunnes bright dignitie The starres that spangle heauen with glistring light In number more then ten times numberlesse Shall sooner leaue to beautifie the night And thereby make the world seeme comfortlesse First shall the Sea become the continent And red-gild Dolphins dance vpon the shore First wearie Atlas from his paine exempt Shall leaue the heauens to tremble euermore Before I change my thoughts and leaue to loue thee And plead with words and direful sighs to moue thee SONNET XXVII SWeet are the thoughts of pleasures we haue vsde Sweete are the thoughts that thinke of that same sweet Whose sweetnes is too sweet to be refusde That vertuous loue-tast for my faith was meet The taste whereof is sweeter vnto me Then sweetest sweet that euer nature made No odours sweetnes may compared be To this true sweetnes that will neuer fade This Sonnet sweet with cheerefull voyces sing And tune the same so pleasing to mine eare That Emaricdulf thy praises so may ring As all the world thy honors fame may heare Once didst thou vow that vow to me obserue Whose faith and truth from thee shall neuer swerue SONNET XXVIII IF euer tongue with heauen inticing cries If euer words blowne from a rented hart If euer teares shed from a Louers eyes If euer sighes issue of griefe and smart If euer trembling pen with more then skill If euer paper witnes of true loue If euer inke cheefe harbenger of will If euer sentence made with art to moue If all of these combinde by Cupids power My long-borne liking to anatomise Had but the art with art for to discouer What loue in me doth by his art comprise Then might the heauens the earth water and ayre Be witnes that I thinke thee onely fayre SONNET XXIX MY hart is like a ship on Neptunes backe Thy beautie is the sea where my ship sayleth Thy frownes the surges are that threat my wracke Thy smiles the windes that on my sailes soft gaileth Long tost betwixt faire hope and foule despaire My sea sick hart arriued on thy shore Thy loue I meane begges that he may repaire His broken vessell with thy bounteous store Dido relieu'd AEneas in distresse And lent him loue and gaue to him her heart If halfe such bountie thou to me expresse From thy faire shore I neuer will depart But thanke kinde fortune that my course did sorte To suffer shipwrack on so sweete a porte SONNET XXX ON Tellus bosome spring two fragrant flowers The milkwhite Lilly and the blushing Rose Which daintie Flora for to decke her bowers Aboue all other colours chiefly chose These in my mistris cheekes both empire holding In emulation of each others hew Continually may be discerned folding Beautie in lookes and maiestie in view Sometime they meet and in a skarlet field Warre with rebellious hearts neglecting dutie And neuer cease vntill they force to yeeld Them coward captiues conquered by beautie Emaricdulf thus didst thou play the foe And I the rebell and was conquer'd so SONNET XXXI IN tedious volumes I doe not intend To write my woes my woes by loue procured Nor by my infant muse implore the end Of loues true life this loue I haue abiured Only my face faire deare shall be the booke Wherein my daily care shall be rehearsed Whereby thou shalt perceiue when thou doest looke How by thy beauties darts my heart was piersed My eyes shall witnes with distilling teares And heart with deepe fetcht sighes shall manifest My painfull torments causde by griefes and feares And hourely labours mixt with deepe vnrest Both heart and eyes and face shall all expresse That only thou art cause of my distresse SONNET XXXII THy image is plaine porturde in my thought Thy