And if I did, eche starre
That is in heauen aboue,
May frowme on me, to marre
The hope I haue in loue.
And if I did; such warre
As they brought vnto Troy,
Bring all my life as farre
From all his lust and ioy.
And if I did so say,
The beautie that me bounde;
Encrease from day to day
More cruel to my wounde.
With all the mone that may,
To plaint may turne my song;
My life may soone decaye,
Without redresse by wrong.
If I be cleare from thought,
Why do you then complayne?
Then is this thing but sought
To turne my hart to paine.
Then this that you haue wrought,
You must it now redresse ;
Of right therfore you ought
Such rigour to represse.
And as I haue deserued,
So grant me now my hyre,
You know I never swarued,
You neuer found me lier.
For Rachel haue I serued,
For Leah carde I neuer,
And her I haue reserued
Within my hart for euer.
OF SUCH AS HAD FORSAKEN HIM.
Lux my faire fawlcon, and thy fellowes all,
How well pleasant it were your libertie,
Ye not forsake me, that fayre mought you fall,
But they that sometime liked my company.
Like lice away from dead bodies they crall,
Loe! what a proof in light adversitie,
But ye my birds I swere by all your belles,
Ye be my frendes and very few elles.
A DESCRIPTION OF SUCH A ONE AS HE WOULD LOVE.
A FACE that should content me wonderous well,
Should not be faire, but louely to behold,
Of liuely loke all griefe for to repell;
With right good grace so would I that it should
Speke without word, such wordes as none can tell,
Her tresse also should be of crisped golde;
With wit, and these perchaunce it might be tride,
And knit againe with knot that should not slide.
HOW VMPOSSIBLE IT IS TO FINDE QUIET IN LOUE.
EVER my hap is slack and slow in comyng
Desire encreasing aye my hope vncertaine,
With doubtful loue that but encreaseth paine;
For, tigre like, so swift it is in parting.
Alas! the snow blacke shall it bee and scalding,
The sea waterlesse, and fishe upon the mountaine,
The Temmes shall back returne into his fountaine,
And where he rose, the Sunne shall take his lodging,
Ere I in this finde peace or quietnesse :
Or that loue, or my ladie right wisely,
Leaue to conspire against me wrongfully.
And if I haue after such bitternesse
One drope of swete, my mouth is out of taste,
That al my trust and trauell is but waste.
OF LOUE, FORTUNE, AND THE LOUERS MINDE.
LOUE, fortune, and my minde whith doe remember
Eke that is now and that, that once hath bene,
Torment my hart so sore that very often
I hate and enuy them beyond all measure.
Love fleeth my hart, while fortune is depriuer
Of all my comfort; the foolish minde than
Burneth and plaineth, as one that very seldam
Liveth in rest. So still in displeasure
My pleasant dayes they flete and passe
And dayly doth myne yll change to the worse,
Whyle more than halfe is runne now of my course.
Alas, not of steele, but of brittle glasse,
I se that from my hand falleth my trust,
And all my thoughtes are dashed into dust.
THE LOUER PRAIYETH HIS OFFRED HART TO BE RE-
CEAUED.
How oft haue I, my deere and cruell foe,
With my great paine to get some peace or truce,
Geven you my hart: but you doe not vse,
In so hie thinges, to cast your minde so low.
If any other loke for it, as you trow,
Their vaine weake hope doth greatly them abuse;
And that thus I disdaine, that you refuse,
It was once mine, it can no more be so.
If you it chafe that it in yoù can finde
In this exile no manner of comforte,
Nor liue alone, nor where he is calde, resort,
He may wander from his natural kinde.
So shall it be great hurt vnto vs twaine,
And yours the losse, and mine the deadly paine.
THE LOUERS LIFE COMPARED TO THE ALPES.
LIKE unto these vnmeasurable mountaines,
So is my painfull life the burden of yre;
For hie be they, and hie is my desire;
And I of teares, and they be full of fountaines.
Vnder craggy rockes they haue barren plaines,
Hard thoughts in me my wofull minde doth tire:
Small frute and many leaues their tops do attire,
With small effect great trust in me remaines.
The boistrous winds oft theire high bowes do blast,
Hott sighes in me continually be shed,
Wilde beasts in them, fierce loue in me is fed:
Unmoueable am I, and they stedfast.
Of singing-birdes, they haue the tune and note,
And I alwayes plaintes passing through my throte.
CHARGING OF HIS LOUE AS VNPITEOUS AND LOUING
Ir amorous faith, or if an hart vnfained,
A swete langour, a greate louely desire,
If honest wyll kindled in gentle fire,
If long errour in a blind mase chained,
If in my visage eche thought distained,
Or my sparkeling voice, lower or hier,
Which feare and shame so wofully doth tyre,
If pale colour which loue alas hath stained,
If to haue another then my self more dere,
If waleing or sighing continually,
With sorowful anger feding busily,
If burning farr of, and if frising nere,
Are cause that I by loue my self destroy,
Yours is the fault, and mine the great annoy.
FAREWELL loue, and all thy lawes for ever,
Thy bayted hookes shall tangle me no more:
Senec and Plato call me from thy lore,
To parfit welth, my witt for to endeuer.
In blinde errour when I did perseuer,
Thy sharp repulse, that pricketh aye so sore,
Taught me in trifles that I set no store;
But scapte forth thence since libertie is leuer :
Therefore, farewell, go trouble yonger harts,
And in me claime noe more auctoritie:
With ydle youth goe vse thy propertie,
And theron spend thy many brittle dartes.
For hitherto though I haue lost my time,
Me list no lenger rotten boughs to clime.
VOL. I.
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