Appendix to Epigrams:

Dacus with some good colour and pretence,Tearmes his love's beauty "silent eloquence:"For she doth lay more colour on her faceThan ever Tully us'd his speech to grace.

In Marcum. 46.

Why dost thou, Marcus, in thy misery,Raile and blaspheame, and call the heauens unkind?The heauens doe owe no kindnesse unto thee,Thou hast the heauens so little in thy minde;For in thy life thou neuer usest prayerBut at primero, to encounter faire.

Meditations of a Gull. 47.

See, yonder melancholy gentleman,Which, hood-wink'd with his hat, alone doth sit!Thinke what he thinks, and tell me if you can,What great affaires troubles his little wit.He thinks not of the warre 'twixt France and Spaine,Whether it be for Europe's good or ill,Nor whether the Empire can itselfe maintaineAgainst the Turkish power encroaching still;Nor what great towne in all the Netherlands,The States determine to beseige this Spring;Nor how the Scottish policy now stands,Nor what becomes of the Irish mutining.But he doth seriously bethinke him whetherOf the gull'd people he be more esteem'dFor his long cloake or for his great black feather,By which each gull is now a gallant deem'd;Or of a journey he deliberates,To Paris-garden,[122]Cock-pit or the Play;Or how to steale a dog he meditates,Or what he shall unto his mistriss say:Yet with these thoughts he thinks himself most fitTo be of counsell with a king for wit.

Ad Musam. 48.

Peace,[123]idle Muse, haue done! for it is time,Since lousie Ponticus enuies my fame,And sweares the better sort are much to blameTo make me so well knowne for my[124]ill rime:Yet Bankes his horse,[125]is better knowne then he.So are the Cammels and the westerne hogge,[126]And so is Lepidus his printed Dog:[127]Why doth not Ponticus their fames enuie?Besides, this Muse of mine, and the blacke featherGrew both together fresh[128]in estimation:And both growne stale, were cast away together:What fame is this that scarce lasts[129]out a fashion?Onely this last in credit doth remaine,That from henceforth, each bastard cast-forth rime,Which doth but savour of a libell vaine,Shall call me father, and be thought my crime;So dull, and with so little sence endu'd,Is my grose-headed Judge, the multitude.

Finis. I. D.

(FROM THE HARLEIAN MSS. 1836.)

As explained in the Note, page 6ante, I have gleaned a few additions to these Epigrams. At close of those ofHutton,—in the MS. marked 60 and in Hutton's own volume 56,—on folio 15d, is the word 'finis.' Immediately under this, the MS. is continued in the same handwriting on to folio 19, whereon 'finis' is again placed: and on folios 19 and 20 Lines 'of Tobacco' with 'finis' once more. These Lines on 'Tobacco' are curious: and somewhat resemble those on 'Moly' given in the Hitherto Unpublished Poems of Davies, onward. G.

1.In Superbiam.Epi. 4.

I tooke the wall, one thrust me rudely by,And tould me the King's way did open lye.I thankt him ythe did me so much grace,to take the worse, leave me the better place;For if by th' owners wee esteeme of things,the wall's the subjects, but the way's the King's.

2. Epi. 5.

NIX:. I that the Winter's daughter am whilst thus my letters stand,Am whiter then the plumbe[130]of swan or any ladye's hand;IX:. Take but away my letter first, and then I doe enclineThat stood before for milke white snowe to be the figure nine.And if that further you desire by change to doe som trickes,As blacke as any bird I am.

CORNIX:. by adding COR to NIX.

3. Epi. 6.

Health is a jewell true, which when we buyPhysitians value it accordingly.

4.In Amorosum.Epi. 7.

A wife you wisht me (sir) rich, faire and youngwith French, Italian, and the Spanish tongue:I must confesse yorkindnesse verie muchbut yet in truth, Sir, I deserve none such,for when I wed—as yet I meane to tarry—A woman of one language i'le but marry,and with that little portion of her store,expect such plenty, I would wish no more.

5. Epi. 9.

Westminster is a mill that grinds all causes,but grinde his cause for mee there, he ytlist:For by demures and errours, stayes and clauses,the tole is oft made greater then the grist.

6. Epi. 10.

He that doth aske St. James they [?] say, shall speed:O ytKinge James would answere to my need.

NOTE.

These 'Gullinge Sonnets' were first printed in my reproduction of the Dr. Farmer MS. for the Chetham Society (2 vols. 4to., 1873) in Part I. pp. 76-81. There seems no question that these Sonnets belong to Sir John Davies. Besides the "J. D." and "Mr. Dauyes" of the MS., his most marked turns of thought and epithet are readily discernible in them. See critical remarks on them and their probablemotifin Memorial-Introduction.

The Sir Anthony Cooke to whom these Sonnets are dedicated descended from the Sir Anthony who was Preceptor to King Edward VI., and for Letters from whom whoso cares may consult the "Reformation" correspondence of the Parker Society. His daughter Mildred was second wife of Lord Burleigh, and his daughter Anne was mother oftheBacon. His son and heir, Richard Cooke, died in 1579, and was succeeded by his son Anthony (this Sir Anthony), who was knighted in 1596 by the Earl of Essex at the sacking of Cadiz. He was buried at Romford, Essex, on the 28th December, 1604. G.

[Dedicatory Sonnet.]

TO HIS GOOD FREINDE SRANTH. COOKE.

Here my Camelion Muse her selfe doth chaungeto diuers shapes of gross absurdities,and like an Antick[131]mocks wthfashion straungethe fond[132]admirers of lewde gulleries.Your iudgement sees wthpitty, and wthscorneThe bastard Sonnetts of these Rymers bace,Wchin this whiskinge age are daily borneTo their own shames, and Poetrie's disgrace.Yet some praise those and some perhappes will praiseeuen these of myne: and therefore thes I sendto you that pass in Courte yorglorious dayes;Ytif some rich rash gull these Rimes commendThus you may sett this formall witt to schoole,Vse yorowne grace, and begg him for a foole.J. D.

J. D.

Gullinge Sonnets.

1— The Louer Vnder burthen of his MrisloveWchlyke to Ætna did his harte oppre[s][s]e:did giue [s]uch piteous grones ythe did mouethe heau'nes at length to pitty his di[s]tre[s][s]ebut for the fates in theire highe Courte aboueforbad to make the greuous burthen le[s][s]e.the gracous powers did all con[s]pire to proueYt miracle this mi[s]cheife mighte redre[s][s]e;therefore regardinge ytyeloade was [s]uchas noe man mighte wthone man's mighte [s]u[s]tayneand ytmylde patience[133]imported muchto him that [s]hold indure an endles payne:By there decree he [s]oone transformèd wasinto a patiente burden-bearinge A[s][s]e.2— As when yebrighte Cerulian firmamenthathe not his glory wthblack cloudes defas'te,Soe were my thoughts voyde of all di[s]content;and wthnoe my[s]te of pa[s][s]ions ouerca[s]tthey all were pure and cleare, till at the la[s]tan ydle careles thoughte forthe wandringe wenteand of ytpoy[s]onous beauty tooke a ta[s]teWchdoe the harts of louers [s]o torment:then as it chauncethe in a flock of [s]heepewhen [s]ome contagious yll breedes fir[s]t in onedaylie it [s]preedes & [s]ecretly doth creepetill all the [s]illy troupe be ouergone.So by clo[s]e neighbourhood wthin my bre[s]tone [s]curuy thoughte infecteth all the re[s]t.

3— What Eagle can behould her [s]unbrighte eye,her [s]unbrighte eye ytlights the world wthloue,the world of Loue wherein I liue and dye,I liue and dye and diuers chaunges proue,I chaunges proue, yet [s]till the [s]ame am I,the [s]ame am I and neuer will remoue,neuer remoue vntill my [s]oule dothe flye,my [s]oule dothe fly, and I [s]urcea[s]e to moue,I cea[s]e to moue wchnow am mou'd by you,am mou'd by you ytmoue all mortall hartes,all mortall hartes who[s]e eyes yoreyes doth veiwe,Yoreyes doth veiwe whence Cupid [s]hoots his darts,whence Cupid [s]hootes his dartes and woundeth tho[s]ethat honor you and neuer weare[134]his foes.

4— The hardnes of her harte and truth of mynewhen the all [s]eeinge eyes of heauen did [s]eethey [s]treight concluded ytby powre devineto other formes our hartes should turnèd be.then hers as hard as flynte, a Flynte becameand myne as true as [s]teele, to [s]teele was turned,and then betwene orhartes [s]prange forthe the flameof kinde[s]t loue, wchvnextingui[s]h'd burned;And longe the [s]acred lampe of mutuall loueince[s][s]antlie did burne in glory brighte;Vntill my folly did her fury moueto recompence my [s]eruice wthde[s]pighte,and to put out wth[s]nuffers of her pridethe lampe of loue wchels had neuer dyed.

5— Myne Eye, mine eare, my will, my witt, my hartedid [s]ee, did heare, did like, di[s]cerne, did loue:her face, her [s]peche, her fa[s]hion, iudgemt, arte,wchdid charme, plea[s]e, delighte, confounde and moue.Then fancie, humor, loue, conceipte, and thoughtedid [s]oe drawe, force, inty[s]e, per[s]wade, deui[s]e,that [s]he was wonne, mou'd, caryed, compa[s]t, wroughtto thinck me kinde, true, comelie, valyant, wi[s]e;that heauen, earth, hell, my folly and her pridedid worke, contriue, labor, con[s]pire and [s]weareto make me [s]corn'd, vile, ca[s]t of, bace, defyedWthher my loue, my lighte, my life, my deare:So that my harte, my witt, will, eare, and eyedoth greiue, lament, sorrowe, di[s]paire and dye.

6— The [s]acred Mu[s]e that fir[s]te made loue deuinehath made him naked and wthout attyre,but I will cloth him wththis penn of mynethat all the world his fa[s]hion [s]hall admyre,his hatt of hope, his bande of beautye fine,his cloake of crafte, his doblett of de[s]yre,greife for a girdell, [s]hall aboute him twyne,his pointes of pride, his Ilet holes of yre,his ho[s]e of hate, his Cod peece of conceite,his [s]tockings of [s]terne [s]trife, his [s]hirte of [s]hame,his garters of vaine glorie gaye and [s]lyte;his pantofels of pa[s][s]ions I will frame,pumpes[135]of pre[s]umption [s]hall adorne his feeteand Socks of fullennes excedinge [s]weete.

7— Into the midle Temple of my hartethe wanton Cupid did him[s]elfe admittand gaue for pledge yorEagle-[s]ighted wittYthe wold play noe rude vncivill parte:Longe tyme he cloak'te his nature wthhis arteand [s]add and graue and [s]ober he did [s]itt,but at the la[s]t he gan to reuell it,to breake good rules, and orders to peruerte:Then loue and his younge pledge were both conuentedbefore [s]add[136]Rea[s]on, that old Bencher graue,who this [s]add [s]entence vnto him pre[s]entedby dilligence, yt[s]lye and [s]ecreate knaueThat loue and witt, for euer [s]hold departeout of the midle Temple of my harte.

8— My ca[s]e is this, I loue Zepheria brighte,Of her I hold my harte by fealtye:WchI di[s]charge to her perpetuallye,Yet [s]he thereof will neuer me accquite.for now [s]uppo[s]inge I wthhold her righte[s]he hathe di[s]treinde my harte to [s]atisfiethe duty wchI neuer did denye,and far away impounds it wthde[s]pite;I labor therefore iu[s]tlie to repleaue[137]my harte wchshe vniu[s]tly doth impoundebut quick conceite wchnowe is loue's highe Sheiferetornes it as e[s]loynde, not to be founde:Then wchthe lawe affords I onely craueher harte for myne in wit her name to haue.

9— To Loue my lord I doe knightes [s]eruice oweand therefore nowe he hath my witt in warde,but while it is in his tuition [s]oeme thincks he doth intreate it pa[s][s]inge hard;for thoughe he hathe it marryed longe agoeto Vanytie, a wench of noe regarde,and nowe to full, and perfect age doth growe,Yet nowe of freedome it is mo[s]t debarde.But why [s]hould loue after minorityewhen I am pa[s]t the one and twentith yeareperclude my witt of his [s]weete libertye,and make it [s]till yeyoake of ward[s]hippe beare.I feare he hath an other Title gottand holds my witte now for an Ideott.MrDauyes.

MrDauyes.

Minor Poems.

I.The Courtier.

Long haue I liu'd in Court, yet learn'd not all this while,To sel poore sutors, smoke: nor where I hate, to smile:Superiors to adore, Inferiors to despise,To flye from such as fall, to follow such as rise;To cloake a poore desire vnder a rich array,Not to aspire by vice, though twere the quicker way.

II.The Divine.

My calling is Diuine, and I from God am sent,I will no chop-Church be, nor pay my patron rent,Nor yeeld to sacriledge; but like the kind true mother,Rather will loose all the child, then part it with another;Much wealth, I will not seeke, nor worldly masters serue,So to grow rich and fat, while my poore flock doth sterue.

III.The Souldier.

My occupation is, the noble trade of Kings,The tryall that decides the highest right of things:ThoughMarsmy master be, I doe notVenusloue,Nor honourBacchusoft, nor often sweare byIoue;Of speaking of my selfe, I all occasion shunne,And rather loue to doe, then boast what I haue done.

IV.The Lawyer.

The Law my calling is, my robe, my tongue, my pen,Wealth and opinion gaine, and make me Iudge of men.The knowne dishonest cause, I neuer did defend,Nor spun out sutes in length, but wisht and sought an end:Nor counsell did bewray, nor of both parties take,Nor euer tooke I fee for which I neuer spake.

V.The Physition.

I study to vphold the slippery state of man,Who dies, when we haue done the best and all we can.From practise and from bookes, I draw my learnèd skill,Not from the knowne receipt of 'Pothecaries bill.The earth my faults doth hide,[139]the world my cures doth see,What youth, and time effects, is oft ascribde to me.

VI.The Merchant.

My trade doth euery thing to euery land supply,Discouer unknowne coasts, strange Countries to ally;I neuer did forestall, I neuer did ingrosse,No custome did withdraw, though I return'd with losse.I thriue by faire exchange, by selling and by buying,And not by Jewish vse,[140]reprisall, fraud, or lying.

VII.The Country Gentleman.

Though strange outlādish spirits praise towns, and country scorn,The country is my home, I dwel where I was born:There profit and command with pleasure I pertake,Yet do not Haukes and dogs, my sole companions make.I rule, but not oppresse, end quarrels, not maintaine;See towns, but dwel not there, t'abridge my charg or train.

VIII.The Bacheler.

How many things as yet are deere alike to me,The field, the horse, the dog, loue, armes or liberty.I haue no wife as yet, whom I may call mine owne,I haue no children yet, that by my name are knowne.Yet if I married were, I would not wish to thriue,If that I could not tame the veriest shrew aliue.

IX.The Married Man.

I only am the man, among all married men,That do not wish the Priest, to be unlinckt agen.And thogh my shoo did wring,[141]I wold not make my mone,Nor think my neighbors chance, more happy then mine own,Yet court I not my wife, but yeeld obseruance due,Being neither fond[142]nor crosse, nor iealous, nor vntrue.

X.The Wife.

The first of all our Sex came from the side of man,I thither am return'd, from whence our Sex began;I doe not visite oft, nor many, when I doe,I tell my mind to few, and that in counsell too:I seeme not sick in health, nor sullen but in sorrow,I care for somewhat else of, then what to weare to morrow.

XI.The Widdow.

My dying[143]husband knew, how much his death would grieue me,And therefore left me wealth, to comfort and relieue me.Though I no more will haue, I must not loue disdaine,Penelopeher selfe did sutors entertaine;And yet to draw on such, as are of best esteeme,Nor yonger then I am, nor richer will I seeme.

XII.The Maid.

I marriage would forsweare, but that I heare men tell,That she that dies a maid, must leade an Ape in Hell;Therefore if fortune come, I will not mock and play,Nor driue the bargaine on, till it be driuen away.Tithes and lands I like, yet rather fancy can,A man that wanteth gold, then gold that wants a man. (pp. 1-4.)

II. A CONTENTION

Betwixt a Wife, a Widdow, and a Maide.[144]

Wife.Widdow, well met, whether goe you to day?Will you not to this solemne offering go?You know it isAstreasholy day:The Saint to whom all hearts deuotion owe.Widow.Marry, what else? I purpos'd so to doe:Doe you not marke how all the wiues are fine?And how they haue sent presents ready too,To make their offering atAstreasshrine?See then, the shrine and tapers burning bright,Come, friend, and let vs first ourselues advance,We know our place, and if we haue our right,To all the parish we must leade the dance.But soft, what means this bold presumptuous maid,To goe before, without respect of vs?Your forwardnesse (proude maide) must now be staide:Where learnd you to neglect your betters thus?Maid.Elder you are, but not my betters here,This place to maids a priuiledge must giue:The Goddesse, being a maid, holds maidens deare,And grants to them her own prerogatiue.Besides, on all true virgins, at their birth.Nature hath set[145]a crowne of excellence,That all the wiues and widdowes of the earth,Should giue them place, and doe them reuerence?Wife.If to be borne a maid be such a grace,So was I borne and grac't by nature to,But seeking more perfection to embraceI did become a wife as others doe.Widow.And if the maid and wife such honour have,I haue beene both, and hold a third degree.Most maides are Wardes, and euery wife a slaue,I haue my livery sued,[146]and I am free.Maid.That is the fault, that you haue maidens beene,And were not constant to continue so:The fals of Angels did increase their sinne,In that they did so pure a state forgoe:But Wife and Widdow, if your wits can make,Your state and persons of more worth then mine,Aduantage to this place I will not take;I will both place and priuilege resigne.Wife.Why marriage is an honourable state.Widow.And widdow-hood is a reuerend degree:Maid.But maidenhead, that will admit no mate,Like maiestie itselfe must sacred be.Wife.The wife is mistresse of her family.Widow.Much more the widdow, for she rules alone:Maid.But mistresse of mine owne desires am I,When you rule others wils and not your owne.Wife.Onely the wife enjoys the vertuous pleasure.Widow.The widow can abstaine from pleasures known:Maid.But th' vncorrupted maid preserues[147]such measure,As being by pleasures wooed she cares for none.Wife.The wife is like a faire supported vine.Widow.So was the widdow, but now stands alone:For being growne strong, she needs not to incline.Maid.Maids, like the earth, supported are of none.Wife.The wife is as a Diamond richly set;Maid.The maide vnset doth yet more rich appeare.Widow.The widdow a Iewel in the Cabinet,Which though not worn is stil esteem'd as deare.Wife.The wife doth loue, and is belou'd againe.Widow.The widdow is awakt out of that dreame.Maid.The maids white minde had neuer such a staine,No passion troubles her cleare vertues streame.Yet if I would be lou'd, lou'd would I be,Like her whose vertue in the bay is seene:Loue to wife fades with satietie,Where loue neuer enioyed is euer greene.Widow.Then whats a virgin but a fruitlesse bay?Maid.And whats a widdow but a rose-lesse bryer?And what are wiues, but woodbinds which decayThe stately Oakes by which themselues aspire?And what is marriage but a tedious yoke?Widow.And whats virginitie but sweete selfe-loue?Wife.And whats a widdow but an axell broke,Whose one part failing, neither part can mooue?Widow.Wiues are as birds in golden cages kept.Wife.Yet in those cages chearefully they sing:Widow.Widdowes are birds out of these cages lept,Whose ioyfull notes makes all the forrest ring.Maid.But maides are birds amidst the woods secure,Which neuer hād could touch, nor yet[148]could take;Nor whistle could deceiue, nor baite allure,But free vnto themselues doe musicke make.Wife.The wife is as the turtle with her mate.Widow.The widdow, as the widdow doue alone;Whose truth shines most in her forsaken state.Maid.The maid a Phœnix, and is still but one.Wife.The wifes a soule vnto her body tyed.Widow.The widdow a soule departed into blisse.Maid.The maid, an Angell, which was stellified,And now t' as faire a house descended is.Wife.Wiues are faire houses kept and furnisht well.Widow.Widdowes old castles voide, but full of state:Maid.But maids are temples where the Gods do dwell,To whom alone themselues they dedicate.But marriage is a prison during life,Where one way out, but many entries be:Wife.The Nun is kept in cloyster, not the wife,Wedlocke alone doth make the virgin free.Maid.The maid is ever fresh, like morne in May:Wife.The wife with all her beames is beautified,Like to high noone, the glory of the day:Widow.The widow, like a milde, sweet, euen-tide.Wife.An office well supplide is like the wife.Widow.The widow, like a gainfull office voide:Maid.But maids are like contentment in this life,Which al the world haue sought, but none enioid:Go wife to Dunmow, and demaund your flitch.Widow.Goe gentle maide, goe leade the Apes in hell.Wife.Goe widow make some younger brother rich,And then take thought and die, and all is well.Alas poore maid, that hast no help nor stay.Widow.Alas poore wife, that nothing dost possesse;Maid.Alas poore widdow, charitie doth say,Pittie the widow and the fatherlesse.Widow.But happy widdowes haue the world at will.Wife.But happier wiues, whose ioys are euer double.Maid.But happiest maids whose hearts are calme and still,Whom feare, nor hope, nor loue, nor hate doth trouble.Wife.Euery true wife hath an indented[149]heart,Wherein the covenants of loue are writ,Whereof her husband keepes the counterpart,And reads his comforts and his ioyes in it.Widow.But euery widdowes heart is like a booke,Where her ioyes past, imprinted doe remaine,But when her iudgements eye therein doth looke;She doth not wish they were to come againe.Maid.But the maids heart a faire white table is,Spotlesse and pure, where no impressions beBut the immortal Caracters of blisse,Which onely God doth write, and Angels see.Wife.But wiues haue children, what a ioy is this?Widow.Widows haue children too, but maids haue none.Maid.No more haue Angels, yet they haue more blisseThen euer yet to mortall man was knowne.Wife.The wife is like a faire manurèd[150]field;Widow.The widow once was such, but now doth rest.Maid.The maide, like Paradice, vndrest, vntil'd,Beares crops of natiue vertue in her breast.Wife.Who would not dye as wife, as Lucrece died?Widow.Or liue a widdow, as Penelope?Maid.Or be a maide, and so be stellified,[151]As all the vertues and the graces be.Wife.Wiues are warme Climates well inhabited;But maids are frozen zones where none may dwel.Maid.But fairest people in the North are bred,Where Africa breeds Monsters blacke as hell.Wife.I haue my husbands honour and his place.Widow.My husbands fortunes all suruiue to me.Maid.The moone doth borrow light, you borrow grace,When maids by their owne vertues gracèd be.White is my colour; and no hew but thisIt will receiue, no tincture can it staine.Wife.My white hath tooke one colour, but it isMy honourable purple dyed in graine.[152]Widow.But it hath beene my fortune to renueMy colour twice from that it was before.But now my blacke will take no other hue,And therefore now I meane to change no more.Wife.Wiues are faire Apples seru'd in golden dishes.Widow.Widows good wine, which time makes better much.Maid.But Maids are grapes desired by many wishes,But that they grow so high as none can touch.Wife.I haue a daughter equals you, my girle.Maid.The daughter doth excell the mother then:As pearles are better then the mother of pearleMaids loose their value whē they match with men.Widow.The man with whō I matcht, his worth was suchAs now I scorne a maide should be my peare:[153]Maid.But I will scorne the man you praise so much,For maids are matchlesse, and no mate can beare.Hence is it that the virgine neuer loues,Because her like she finds not anywhere;For likenesse euermore affection moues,Therefore the maide hath neither loue nor peere.Wife.Yet many virgins married wiues would be.Widow.And many a wife would be a widdow faine.Maid.There is no widdow but desires to see,If so she might, her maiden daies againe.Widow.[154]There neuer was a wife that liked her lot:Wife.Nor widdow but was clad in mourning weeds.Maid.Doe what you will, marry, or marry not,Both this estate and that, repentance breedes.Wife.But she that this estate and that hath seene,Doth find great ods betweene the wife and girle.Maid.Indeed she doth, as much as is betweeneThe melting haylestone and the solid pearle.Wife.If I were Widdow, my merry dayes were past.Widow.Nay, then you first become sweete pleasures guest,Wife.[155]For mayden-head is a continuall fast,And marriage is a continual feast.Maid.Wedlock indeed hath oft comparèd binTo publike Feasts where meete a publike rout;Where they that are without would faine go in,And they that are within would faine go out.Or to the Iewell which this vertue had,That men were mad till they might it obtaine,But when they had it, they were twise as mad,Till they were dipossest of it againe.Wife.Maids cannot iudge, because they cannot tell,What comforts and what ioyes in marriage be:Maid.Yes, yes, though blessed Saints in heauen do dwell,They doe the soules in Purgatory see.Widow.If euery wife do liue in Purgatory.Then sure it is, that Widdowes liue in blisse:And are translated to a state of glory,But Maids as yet haue not attain'd to this.Maid.Not Maids? To spotlesse maids this gift is giuen,To liue in incorruption from their birth;And what is that but to inherit heauenEuen while they dwell vpon the spotted earth?The perfectest of all created things,The purest gold, that suffers no allay;[156]The sweetest flower that on th' earths bosome springs,The pearle vnbord, whose price no price can pay:The Christall Glasse that will no venome hold,[157]The mirror wherein Angels loue to looke,Dianaesbathing Fountaine cleere and cold,Beauties fresh Rose, and vertues liuing booke.Of loue and fortune both, the Mistresse borne,The soueraigne spirit that will be thrall to none;The spotlesse garment that was neuer worne,The Princely Eagle that still flyes alone.She sees the world, yet her cleere thought doth takeNo such deepe print as to be chang'd thereby;As when we see the burning fire doth make,No such impression as doth burne the eye.Wife.No more (sweete maid) our strife is at an end,Cease now: I fear we shall transformèd beTo chattering Pies, as they that did contendTo match the Muses in their harmony.Widow.Then let us yeeld the honour and the place,And let vs both be sutors to the maid;That since the Goddesse giues her speciall grace,By her cleere hands the offring be conuaide.Maid.Your speech I doubt hath some displeasure mou'd,Yet let me haue the offring, I will see;I know she hath both wiues and widdowes lou'd,Though she would neither wife nor widdow be. (pp 5-15.)

Wife.Widdow, well met, whether goe you to day?Will you not to this solemne offering go?You know it isAstreasholy day:The Saint to whom all hearts deuotion owe.

Widow.Marry, what else? I purpos'd so to doe:Doe you not marke how all the wiues are fine?And how they haue sent presents ready too,To make their offering atAstreasshrine?

See then, the shrine and tapers burning bright,Come, friend, and let vs first ourselues advance,We know our place, and if we haue our right,To all the parish we must leade the dance.

But soft, what means this bold presumptuous maid,To goe before, without respect of vs?Your forwardnesse (proude maide) must now be staide:Where learnd you to neglect your betters thus?

Maid.Elder you are, but not my betters here,This place to maids a priuiledge must giue:The Goddesse, being a maid, holds maidens deare,And grants to them her own prerogatiue.

Besides, on all true virgins, at their birth.Nature hath set[145]a crowne of excellence,That all the wiues and widdowes of the earth,Should giue them place, and doe them reuerence?

Wife.If to be borne a maid be such a grace,So was I borne and grac't by nature to,But seeking more perfection to embraceI did become a wife as others doe.

Widow.And if the maid and wife such honour have,I haue beene both, and hold a third degree.Most maides are Wardes, and euery wife a slaue,I haue my livery sued,[146]and I am free.

Maid.That is the fault, that you haue maidens beene,And were not constant to continue so:The fals of Angels did increase their sinne,In that they did so pure a state forgoe:

But Wife and Widdow, if your wits can make,Your state and persons of more worth then mine,Aduantage to this place I will not take;I will both place and priuilege resigne.

Wife.Why marriage is an honourable state.Widow.And widdow-hood is a reuerend degree:Maid.But maidenhead, that will admit no mate,Like maiestie itselfe must sacred be.

Wife.The wife is mistresse of her family.Widow.Much more the widdow, for she rules alone:Maid.But mistresse of mine owne desires am I,When you rule others wils and not your owne.

Wife.Onely the wife enjoys the vertuous pleasure.Widow.The widow can abstaine from pleasures known:Maid.But th' vncorrupted maid preserues[147]such measure,As being by pleasures wooed she cares for none.

Wife.The wife is like a faire supported vine.Widow.So was the widdow, but now stands alone:For being growne strong, she needs not to incline.Maid.Maids, like the earth, supported are of none.

Wife.The wife is as a Diamond richly set;Maid.The maide vnset doth yet more rich appeare.Widow.The widdow a Iewel in the Cabinet,Which though not worn is stil esteem'd as deare.

Wife.The wife doth loue, and is belou'd againe.Widow.The widdow is awakt out of that dreame.Maid.The maids white minde had neuer such a staine,No passion troubles her cleare vertues streame.

Yet if I would be lou'd, lou'd would I be,Like her whose vertue in the bay is seene:Loue to wife fades with satietie,Where loue neuer enioyed is euer greene.

Widow.Then whats a virgin but a fruitlesse bay?Maid.And whats a widdow but a rose-lesse bryer?And what are wiues, but woodbinds which decayThe stately Oakes by which themselues aspire?

And what is marriage but a tedious yoke?Widow.And whats virginitie but sweete selfe-loue?Wife.And whats a widdow but an axell broke,Whose one part failing, neither part can mooue?Widow.Wiues are as birds in golden cages kept.Wife.Yet in those cages chearefully they sing:Widow.Widdowes are birds out of these cages lept,Whose ioyfull notes makes all the forrest ring.

Maid.But maides are birds amidst the woods secure,Which neuer hād could touch, nor yet[148]could take;Nor whistle could deceiue, nor baite allure,But free vnto themselues doe musicke make.

Wife.The wife is as the turtle with her mate.Widow.The widdow, as the widdow doue alone;Whose truth shines most in her forsaken state.Maid.The maid a Phœnix, and is still but one.

Wife.The wifes a soule vnto her body tyed.Widow.The widdow a soule departed into blisse.Maid.The maid, an Angell, which was stellified,And now t' as faire a house descended is.

Wife.Wiues are faire houses kept and furnisht well.Widow.Widdowes old castles voide, but full of state:Maid.But maids are temples where the Gods do dwell,To whom alone themselues they dedicate.But marriage is a prison during life,Where one way out, but many entries be:Wife.The Nun is kept in cloyster, not the wife,Wedlocke alone doth make the virgin free.

Maid.The maid is ever fresh, like morne in May:Wife.The wife with all her beames is beautified,Like to high noone, the glory of the day:Widow.The widow, like a milde, sweet, euen-tide.

Wife.An office well supplide is like the wife.Widow.The widow, like a gainfull office voide:Maid.But maids are like contentment in this life,Which al the world haue sought, but none enioid:

Go wife to Dunmow, and demaund your flitch.Widow.Goe gentle maide, goe leade the Apes in hell.Wife.Goe widow make some younger brother rich,And then take thought and die, and all is well.

Alas poore maid, that hast no help nor stay.Widow.Alas poore wife, that nothing dost possesse;Maid.Alas poore widdow, charitie doth say,Pittie the widow and the fatherlesse.

Widow.But happy widdowes haue the world at will.Wife.But happier wiues, whose ioys are euer double.Maid.But happiest maids whose hearts are calme and still,Whom feare, nor hope, nor loue, nor hate doth trouble.

Wife.Euery true wife hath an indented[149]heart,Wherein the covenants of loue are writ,Whereof her husband keepes the counterpart,And reads his comforts and his ioyes in it.

Widow.But euery widdowes heart is like a booke,Where her ioyes past, imprinted doe remaine,But when her iudgements eye therein doth looke;She doth not wish they were to come againe.

Maid.But the maids heart a faire white table is,Spotlesse and pure, where no impressions beBut the immortal Caracters of blisse,Which onely God doth write, and Angels see.

Wife.But wiues haue children, what a ioy is this?Widow.Widows haue children too, but maids haue none.Maid.No more haue Angels, yet they haue more blisseThen euer yet to mortall man was knowne.

Wife.The wife is like a faire manurèd[150]field;Widow.The widow once was such, but now doth rest.Maid.The maide, like Paradice, vndrest, vntil'd,Beares crops of natiue vertue in her breast.

Wife.Who would not dye as wife, as Lucrece died?Widow.Or liue a widdow, as Penelope?Maid.Or be a maide, and so be stellified,[151]As all the vertues and the graces be.

Wife.Wiues are warme Climates well inhabited;But maids are frozen zones where none may dwel.Maid.But fairest people in the North are bred,Where Africa breeds Monsters blacke as hell.

Wife.I haue my husbands honour and his place.Widow.My husbands fortunes all suruiue to me.Maid.The moone doth borrow light, you borrow grace,When maids by their owne vertues gracèd be.

White is my colour; and no hew but thisIt will receiue, no tincture can it staine.Wife.My white hath tooke one colour, but it isMy honourable purple dyed in graine.[152]

Widow.But it hath beene my fortune to renueMy colour twice from that it was before.But now my blacke will take no other hue,And therefore now I meane to change no more.

Wife.Wiues are faire Apples seru'd in golden dishes.Widow.Widows good wine, which time makes better much.Maid.But Maids are grapes desired by many wishes,But that they grow so high as none can touch.

Wife.I haue a daughter equals you, my girle.Maid.The daughter doth excell the mother then:As pearles are better then the mother of pearleMaids loose their value whē they match with men.Widow.The man with whō I matcht, his worth was suchAs now I scorne a maide should be my peare:[153]Maid.But I will scorne the man you praise so much,For maids are matchlesse, and no mate can beare.

Hence is it that the virgine neuer loues,Because her like she finds not anywhere;For likenesse euermore affection moues,Therefore the maide hath neither loue nor peere.

Wife.Yet many virgins married wiues would be.Widow.And many a wife would be a widdow faine.Maid.There is no widdow but desires to see,If so she might, her maiden daies againe.

Widow.[154]There neuer was a wife that liked her lot:Wife.Nor widdow but was clad in mourning weeds.Maid.Doe what you will, marry, or marry not,Both this estate and that, repentance breedes.

Wife.But she that this estate and that hath seene,Doth find great ods betweene the wife and girle.Maid.Indeed she doth, as much as is betweeneThe melting haylestone and the solid pearle.

Wife.If I were Widdow, my merry dayes were past.Widow.Nay, then you first become sweete pleasures guest,Wife.[155]For mayden-head is a continuall fast,And marriage is a continual feast.

Maid.Wedlock indeed hath oft comparèd binTo publike Feasts where meete a publike rout;Where they that are without would faine go in,And they that are within would faine go out.

Or to the Iewell which this vertue had,That men were mad till they might it obtaine,But when they had it, they were twise as mad,Till they were dipossest of it againe.

Wife.Maids cannot iudge, because they cannot tell,What comforts and what ioyes in marriage be:

Maid.Yes, yes, though blessed Saints in heauen do dwell,They doe the soules in Purgatory see.

Widow.If euery wife do liue in Purgatory.Then sure it is, that Widdowes liue in blisse:And are translated to a state of glory,But Maids as yet haue not attain'd to this.

Maid.Not Maids? To spotlesse maids this gift is giuen,To liue in incorruption from their birth;And what is that but to inherit heauenEuen while they dwell vpon the spotted earth?

The perfectest of all created things,The purest gold, that suffers no allay;[156]The sweetest flower that on th' earths bosome springs,The pearle vnbord, whose price no price can pay:

The Christall Glasse that will no venome hold,[157]The mirror wherein Angels loue to looke,Dianaesbathing Fountaine cleere and cold,Beauties fresh Rose, and vertues liuing booke.

Of loue and fortune both, the Mistresse borne,The soueraigne spirit that will be thrall to none;The spotlesse garment that was neuer worne,The Princely Eagle that still flyes alone.

She sees the world, yet her cleere thought doth takeNo such deepe print as to be chang'd thereby;As when we see the burning fire doth make,No such impression as doth burne the eye.

Wife.No more (sweete maid) our strife is at an end,Cease now: I fear we shall transformèd beTo chattering Pies, as they that did contendTo match the Muses in their harmony.

Widow.Then let us yeeld the honour and the place,And let vs both be sutors to the maid;That since the Goddesse giues her speciall grace,By her cleere hands the offring be conuaide.

Maid.Your speech I doubt hath some displeasure mou'd,Yet let me haue the offring, I will see;I know she hath both wiues and widdowes lou'd,Though she would neither wife nor widdow be. (pp 5-15.)

III. A LOTTERY.[158]

Presented before the late Queenes Maiesty at the Lord Chancelors House, 1602.[159]

A Marriner with a Boxe vnder his arme, contayning all the seuerall things following, supposed to come from the Carrick,[160]came into the Presence, singing this Song:

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