Oh cleerest day-starre, honored
of mine eyes,
Yet sdaynst mine eyes should
gaze vpon thy light,
Bright morning sunne, who
with thy sweet arise,
Expell’st the clouds
of my harts lowring night, 10
Goddes reiecting sweetest
sacrifice,
Of mine eyes teares ay offered
to thine eyes.
May purest heauens scorne
my soules pure desires?
Or holy shrines hate Pilgrims
orizons?
May sacred temples gaynsay
sacred prayers?
Or Saints refuse the poores
deuotions?
Then Orphane thoughts with
sorrow be you waind,
When loues Religion shalbe
thus prophayn’d.
Yet needes the earth must
droope with visage sad,
When siluer dewes been turn’d
to bitter stormes, 20
The Cheerful Welkin,
once in sables clad,
Her frownes foretell poore
humaine creatures harmes.
And yet for all to make amends
for this,
The clouds sheed teares, and
weepen at my misse.
From Eclogue iij
O thou fayre siluer Thames:
O cleerest chrystall flood,
Beta alone the Phenix is, of all thy watery
brood,
The Queene of Virgins onely she:
And thou the Queene of floods shalt be:
Let all thy Nymphes be ioyfull then to see this
happy day,
Thy Beta now alone shalbe the subiect of
my laye.
With daintie and delightsome straines
of sweetest virelayes:
Come louely shepheards sit we down and chant our
Betas prayse:
And let vs sing so rare a verse,
Our Betas prayses to rehearse,
10
That little Birds shall silent be, to heare poore
shepheards sing,
And riuers backward bend their course, and flow
vnto the spring.
Range all thy swannes faire Thames
together on a rancke,
And place them duely one by one, vpon thy stately
banck,
Then set together all agood,
Recording to the siluer flood,
And craue the tunefull Nightingale to helpe you
with her lay,
The Osel and the Throstlecocke, chiefe musicke
of our maye.
O! see what troups of Nimphs been
sporting on the strands,
And they been blessed Nimphs of peace, with Oliues
in their hands. 20
How meryly the Muses sing,
That all the flowry Medowes ring,
And Beta sits vpon the banck, in purple
and in pall,
And she the Queene of Muses is, and weares the
Corinall.
Trim vp her Golden tresses with
Apollos sacred tree,
O happy sight vnto all those that loue and honor
thee,
The Blessed Angels haue prepar’d,
A glorious Crowne for thy reward,
Not such a golden Crowne as haughty Caesar
weares,
But such a glittering starry Crowne as Ariadne
beares. 30
Make her a goodly Chapilet of azur’d
Colombine,
And wreath about her Coronet with sweetest Eglentine:
Bedeck our Beta all with Lillies,
And the dayntie Daffadillies,
With Roses damask, white, and red, and fairest
flower delice,
With Cowslips of Jerusalem, and cloues of Paradice.