Fresh shadows, fit to fhroud from funny ray;
Fair lawns, to take the fun in seafon due;
Sweet fprings, in which a thousand Nymphs did play;
Soft rumbling brooks, that gentle flumber drew;
High reared mounts, the lands about to view;
Low looking dales, difloign'd from common gaze;
Delightful bowrs, to folace lovers true;
Falfe labyrinths, fond runners eyes to daze;
All which by nature made, did nature self amaze.
XXV.
And all without were walks and alleys dight,
With diverse trees, enrang'd in even ranks;
And here and there were pleasant arbours pight,
And fhady feats, and fundry flowring banks,
To fit and reft the walkers weary thanks :
And therein thousand pairs of Lovers walkt,
Praising their God, and yielding him great thanks,
Ne ever ought but of their true Loves talkt,
Ne ever for rebuke or blame of any balkt.
All these together by themfelves did fport
Their spotlefs pleafures, and fweet loves content,
But far away from these another fort
Of lovers linked in true hearts confent:
Which loved not as thefe, for like intent,
But on chafte vertue grounded their defire,
Far from all fraud, or feigned blandishment;
Which in their spirits kindling zealous fire,
Brave thoughts and noble deeds did evermore afpire.
XXVII.
Such were great Hercules, and Hylas dear
True Jonathan, and David trusty tride;
Stout Thefeus, and Pirithous his fear;
Pylades, and Orestes by his fide;
Mild Titus, and Gefippus without pride:
Damon, and Pythias, whom death could not fever: All these, and all that ever had been ty'd
In bands of friendship, there did live for ever: Whofe lives, although decay'd, yet loves decayed never.
Which whenas I, that never tafted blifs,
Nor happy hour, beheld with gazefull eye,
1 thought there was none other heaven than this;
And 'gan there endless happiness envy.
That being free from fear and jealoufie,
Might frankly there their loves defire poffefs,
Whilft I, through pains and perlous jeopardy,
Was forc'd to feek my lifes dear patronefs: [ftrefs.
Much dearer be the things, which come through hard di-
XXIX.
Yet all those fights, and all that elfe I faw,
Might not my steps withhold, but that forthright
Unto that purpos'd place I did me draw,
Whereas my Love was lodged day and night:
The temple of great Venus, that is hight
The Queen of beauty, and of Love the mother,
There worshipped of every living wight;
Whofe goodly workmanship far paft all other
That ever were on earth, all were they fet together.
XXX.
Not that fame famous temple of Diane,
Whofe height all Ephefus did over-fee, And which all Afia fought with vows profane, One of the worlds feven wonders faid to be, Might match with this by many a degree: Nor that, which that wife King of Jewry fram'd, With endless coft, to be th'Almighty's fee: Nor all that elfe through all the world is nam'd To all the Heathen Gods, might like to this be claim'd. XXXI.
I much admiring that fo goodly frame,
Unto the porch approacht, which open
But therein fate an amiable Dame,
That seem'd to be of very fober mood,
And in her femblant fhew'd great womanhood,
Strange was her tire; for on her head a crown
She wore, much like unto a Danisk hood,
Poudred with pearl and ftone; and all her gown
Enwoven was with gold, that raught full low adown.
On either fide of her, two young men stood,
Both strongly arm'd, as fearing one another;
Yet were they brethren both of half the blood,
Begotten by two fathers of one mother,
Though of contrary natures each to other :
The one of them hight Love, the other Hate.
Hate was the elder. Love the younger brother;
Yet was the younger ftronger in his state
Than th' elder, and him maiftred ftill in all debate.
XXXIII.
Nath'lefs, that Dame fo well them tempred both,
That the them forced hand to join in hand,
Albe that Hatred was thereto full loth,
And turn'd his face away, as he did stand,
Unwilling to behold that lovely band.
Yet fhe was of fuch grace and vertuous might,
That her commandment he could not withstand,
But bit his lip for felonous defpight,
And gnafht his iron tufks at that difpleafing fight.
XXXIV.
Concord the cleeped was in common read,
Mother of bleffed Peace, and Friendship true; They both her twins, both born of heavenly feed, And the herself likewife divinely grew;
The which right well her works divine did fhew:
For ftrength, and wealth, and happiness fhe lends,
And ftrife, and war, and anger does fubdue :
Of little much, of foes she maketh friends,
And to afflicted minds, sweet reft and quiet fends,
XXXV.
By her the heaven is in his course contain❜d,
And all the world in ftate unmoved ftands,
As their Almighty maker firft ordain'd,
And bound them with inviolable bands;
Elfe would the waters overflow the lands,
And fire devour the air, and Hell them quight,
But that he holds them with her bleffed hands.
She is the nurse of pleasure and delight,
And unto Venus grace the gate doth open right..
VOL. II.
By her I entring, half difmayed was;
But fhe in gentle wife me entertain'd,
And twixt her felf and Love did let me pafs:
But Hatred would my entrance have reftrain'd,
And with his club me threatned to have brain'd,
Had not the Lady, with her powreful speech,
Him from his wicked will uneath refrain'd;
And th' other eke his malice did empeach,
Till I was throughly past the peril of his reach.
XXXVII.
Into the inmoft temple thus I came,
Which fuming all with frankincenfe I found,
And odours rifing from the altars flame.
Upon an hundred marble pillours round,
The roof up high was reared from the ground,
All deckt with crowns, and chains, and girlonds gay,
And thousand pretious gifts worth many a pound,
The which fad Lovers for their vows did pay; [May.
And all the ground was ftrow'd with flowres as fresh as
XXXVIII.
An hundred altars round about were fet,
All flaming with their facrifices fire,
That with the fteam thereof the temple fwet,
Which roll'd in clouds, to heaven did aspire,
And in them bore true Lovers vows entire :
And eke an hundred brafen cauldrons bright,
To bathe in joy and amorous defire,
Every of which was to a damzel hight;
For all the Priests were damzels, in soft linnen dight.
XXXIX.
Right in the midft the Goddess felf did stand,
Upon an altar of fome coftly mass,
Whofe fubftance was uneath to understand:
For neither pretious ftone, nor dureful brafs,
Nor fhining gold, nor mouldring clay it was j
But much more rare and pretious to esteem,
Pure in afpect, and like to chrystal glass,
Yet glafs was not, if one did rightly deem;
But being fair and brickle, likeft glats did feem.
But it in fhape and beauty did excell
All other idols which th' heathen adore,
Far paffing that, which by furpaffing skill
Phidias did make in Paphos Ifle of yore,
With which that wretched Greek that life forlore,
Did fall in love: yet this much fairer fhin'd,
But cover'd with a flender veil afore;
And both her feet and legs together twin'd Were with a snake, whofe head and tailwere fast combin'd. XLI.
The cause why fhe was cover'd with a veil,
Was hard to know, for that her Priests the fame
From peoples knowledge labour'd to conceal.
But footh it was not fure for womanish shame,
Nor any blemish which the work mote blame;
But for (they fay) fhe hath both kinds in one,
Both male and female, both under one name:
She fire and mother is her felf alone;
Begets, and eke conceives, ne needeth other none.
XLII.
And all about her neck and fhoulders flew
A flock of little Loves, and Sports, and Joys,
With nimble wings of gold and purple hue;
Whose shapes feem'd not like to terreftrial boys,
But like to Angels playing heavenly toys;
The whilft their elder brother was away,
Cupid, their eldeft brother; he enjoys
The wide kingdom of Love with lordly fway,
And to his law compels all creatures to obey.
XLIII.
And all about her altar, fcatt'red lay
Great forts of Lovers piteously complaining;
Some of their lofs, fome of their Loves delay,
Some of their pride, fome paragons difdaining,
Some fearing fraud, fome fraudulently feigning,
As every one had caufe of good or ill.
Amongst the reft, fome one through loves constraining
Tormented fore, could not contain it ftill,
But thus brake forth, that all the temple it did fill;
|