LOVE'S CONSISTENCY.

Odi te, mihi crede, quantacunque, &c.

Marullus, lib. iv. p. 52.

BELIEVE me I hate thee, as fair as thou art,
Yes, hate thee, both now and for ever.-
Yet the farther I banish thee out of my heart,
And the more to detest thee, endeavour;
I still am constrain'd to pursue thee, and love,
Attracted at once and repell'd:

Thus is he, whom thy cruelty forces to rove,
By thy beauty from roving withheld.

THE IMPORTUNE.

Quid frustra toties necas rogando, &c.

Marullus, lib. i. p. 12.

WHY dost torture me with asking

What I must decline?

While in one love's radiance basking,

Can I too be thine?

I'm not one to woo a hundred;

Cannot change so fast:

Maud and I shall ne'er be sunder'd;

She's my first and last.

If thou feel'st the least compassion,

Seek some other swain;

If he love in thine own fashion,

Thou'lt not sigh in vain.

Maud and I have clubb'd our fuel,

Leave us then to burn:

Lovers' fate is worse than cruel,

Meeting no return.

REPRISALS.

Forte Jovi dum jactat sua tela, &c.
Marullus, lib. i. p. 10.

As Love was displaying his mischievous darts,
And his pranks which amaz'd the beholders;
Arch Hermes, in roguery Master of Arts,
His quiver purloin'd from his shoulders.

But Cupid, though blind, soon detected the cheat,
And cried "Thou 'rt a fool for thy pains;
"To steal a child's quiver's a notable feat!

"But how oft have I stolen thy brains?"

THE FEINT.

Odit Leucothoe, &c.

Marullus, lib. i. p. 8.

SHE hates me--perhaps so-and by the same rule,
The more that she hates, I adore-
What, if she were kinder?-I'm just such a fool,
I should doat on her less than before.
This foible she knows; and to lose me unwilling,
She flies--but to make the more certain of killing.