Though in our liues a feperable spight,
Which though it alter not loues fole effect,
Yet doth it steale sweet houres from loues delight,
I may not euer-more acknowledge thee,
Least my bewailed guilt fhould do thee shame,
Nor thou with publike kindneffe honour me,
Vnleffe thou take that honour from thy name :
But doe not fo, I loue thee in such fort,
As thou being mine, mine is thy good report.
AS a decrepit father takes delight,
To fee his actiue childe do deeds of youth,
So I, made lame by Fortunes dearest spight
Take all my comfort of thy worth and truth.
For whether beauty, birth, or wealth, or wit,
Or any of these all, or all, or more
Intitled in their parts, do crowned fit,
I make my loue ingrafted to this store :
So then I am not lame, poore, nor difpif'd,
Whilft that this fhadow doth fuch fubftance giue,
That I in thy abundance am fuffic'd,
And by a part of all thy glory liue:
Looke what is best, that best I wish in thee,
This wish I haue, then ten times happy me.
Ow can my Mufe want fubiect to inuent
While thou doft breath that poor'ft into my verse,
Thine owne sweet argument, to excellent,
For euery vulgar paper to rehearse :
Oh giue thy felfe the thankes if ought in me,
Worthy perufal stand against thy fight,
For who's fo dumbe that cannot write to thee,
When thou thy felfe doft giue inuention light?
Be thou the tenth Mufe, ten times more in worth
Then thofe old nine which rimers inuocate,
And he that calls on thee, let him bring forth
Eternal numbers to out-liue long date.
If my flight Muse doe please these curious daies,
The paine be mine, but thine fhall be the praise.
OH how thy worth with manners may I finge,
When thou art all the better part of me?
What can mine owne praise to mine owne felfe bring;
And what is't but mine owne when I praise thee,
Euen for this, let vs deuided liue,
And our deare loue loose name of single one,
That by this feperation I may giue:
That due to thee which thou deferu'ft alone :
Oh abfence what a torment wouldst thou proue,
Were it not thy foure leisure gaue fweet leaue,
To entertaine the time with thoughts of loue,
VVhich time and thoughts fo fweetly doft deceiue.
And that thou teacheft how to make one twaine,
By praising him here who doth hence remaine.
TAke all my loues, my loue, yea take them all,
What haft thou then more then thou hadft before? No loue, my loue, that thou maist true loue call, All mine was thine, before thou hadst this more: Then if for my loue, thou my loue receiueft, I cannot blame thee, for my loue thou vfeft, But yet be blam'd, if thou this felfe deceauest By wilfull taste of what thy felfe refusest. I doe forgiue thy robb'rie gentle theefe Although thou fteale thee all my pouerty : And yet loue knowes it is a greater griefe To beare loues wrong, then hates knowne iniury. Lafciuious grace, in whom all il wel fhowes, Kill me with spights yet we must not be foes.
THofe pretty wrongs that liberty commits,
When I am fome-time absent from thy heart,
D
Thy beautie, and thy yeares full well befits,
For ftill temptacion followes where thou art.
Gentle thou art, and therefore to be wonne,
Beautious thou art, therefore to be affailed.
And when a woman woes, what womans fonne,
Will fourely leaue her till he haue preuailed.
Aye me, but yet thou mighft my seate forbeare,
And chide thy beauty, and thy ftraying youth,
Who lead thee in their ryot euen there
Where thou are forft to breake a two-fold truth :
Hers by thy beauty tempting her to thee,
Thine by thy beautie beeing falfe to me.
THat thou haft her it is not all my griefe,
And yet it may be faid I lou'd her deerely,
That she hath thee is of my wayling cheefe,
A loffe in loue that touches me more neerely.
Louing offendors thus I will excuse yee,
Thou dooft loue her, because thou knowft I loue her,
And for my fake euen fo doth she abuse me,
Suffring my friend for my fake to approoue her,
If I loose thee, my loffe is my loues gaine,
And loofing her, my friend hath found that loffe,
Both finde each other, and I loose both twaine,
And both for my fake lay on me this crosse,
But here's the ioy, my friend and I are one,
Sweete flattery, then the loues but me alone.
When most I winke then doe mine eyes best see,
For all the day they view things vnrespected,
But when I fleepe, in dreames they looke on thee,
And darkely bright, are bright in darke directed.
Then thou whofe fhaddow fhaddowes doth make bright,
How would thy fhaddowes forme, forme happy fhow,
To the cleere day with thy much cleerer light,
When to vn-seeing eyes thy fhade fhines fo?
How would (I fay) mine eyes be blessed made,
By looking on thee in the liuing day?
When in dead night their faire imperfect fhade,
Through heauy sleepe on fightlesse eyes doth stay?
All dayes are nights to fee till I see thee,
And nights bright daies when dreams do fhew thee me.
F the dull fubftance of my
flesh were thought,
Iniurious distance should not stop my way,
For then difpight of space I would be brought,
From limits farre remote, where thou doost stay,
No matter then although my foote did stand
Vpon the fartheft earth remoou'd from thee,
For nimble thought can iumpe both sea and land,
As foone as thinke the place where he would be.
But ah, thought kills me that I am not thought
To leape large lengths of miles when thou art gone,
But that fo much of earth and water wrought,
I must attend, times leasure with my mone.
Receiuing naughts by elements fo floe,
But heauie teares, badges of eithers woe.
THe other two, flight ayre, and purging fire,
Are both with thee, where euer I abide,
The first my thought, the other my defire,
These present absent with swift motion slide.
For when these quicker Elements are gone
In tender Embaffie of loue to thee,
My life being made of foure, with two alone,
Sinkes downe to death, oppreft with melancholie.
Vntill liues compofition be recured,
By those swift meffengers return'd from thee,
Who euen but now come back againe affured,
Of their faire health, recounting it to me.
This told, I ioy, but then no longer glad,
I fend them back againe and ftraight grow fad.
MIne eye and heart are at a mortall warre,
How to deuide the conqueft of thy fight,
Mine eye, my heart their pictures fight would barre,
My heart, mine eye the freeedome of that right,
My heart doth plead that thou in him doost lye,
(A closet neuer pearst with christall eyes)
But the defendant doth that plea deny,
And fayes in him their faire appearance lyes.
To fide this title is impannelled
A queft of thoughts, all tennants to the heart,
And by their verdict is determined
The cleere eyes moyitie, and the deare hearts part.
As thus, mine eyes due is their outward part,
And my hearts right, their inward loue of heart.
Betwixt mine
Etwixt mine eye and heart a league is tooke,
And each doth good turnes now vnto the other,
When that mine eye is famifht for a looke,
Or heart in loue with fighes himselfe doth fmother;
With my loues picture then my eye doth feast,
And to the painted banquet bids my heart:
An other time mine eye is my hearts guest,
And in his thoughts of loue doth share a part.
So either by thy picture or my loue,
Thy feife away, are present still with me,
For thou nor farther then my thoughts canft moue,
And I am still with them, and they with thee.
Or if they fleepe, thy picture in my fight
Awakes my heart, to hearts and eyes delight.
Ow carefull was I when I tooke my way,
Each trifle vnder truest barres to thrust,
That to my vse it might vn-vsed stay
From hands of falfehood, in fure wards of truft?
But thou, to whom my iewels trifles are,
|