Classic Poem

Dicus

Let mother earth now deck herself in flowers,
To see her offspring seek a good increase,
Where justest love doth vanquish Cupid 's powers
And war of thoughts is swallowed up in peace
Which never may decrease,
But like the turtles fair
Live one in two, a well-united pair,
Which, that no chance may stain,
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain.

O heav'n awake, show forth thy stately face;
Let not these slumb'ring clouds thy beauties hide,
But with thy cheerful presence help to grace
The honest bridegroom and the bashful bride,
Whose loves may ever bide,
Like to the elm and vine,
With mutual embracements them to twine;
In which delightful pain,
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain.

Ye Muses all which chaste affects allow,
And have to Lalus showed your secret skill,
To this chaste love your sacred favours bow,
And so to him and her your gifts distil,
That they all vice may kill;
And like to lilies pure
Do please all eyes, and spotless do endure;
Where, that all bliss may reign,
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain.

Ye nymphs which in the waters empire have,
Since Lalus ' music oft doth yield you praise,
Grant to the thing which we for Lalus crave:
Let one time (but long first) close up their days,
One grave their bodies seize,
And like two rivers sweet
When they, though diverse, do together meet,
One stream both streams contain;
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain.

Pan , father Pan , the god of silly sheep,
Whose care is cause that they in number grow,
Have much more care of them that them do keep,
Since from these good the others' good doth flow,
And make their issue show
In number like the herd
Of younglings which thyself with love hast reared,
Or like the drops of rain;
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain.

Virtue, if not a god, yet God's chief part,
Be thou the knot of this their open vow:
That still he be her head, she be his heart,
He lean to her, she unto him do bow;
Each other still allow,
Like oak and mistletoe,
Her strength from him, his praise from her do grow;
In which most lovely train,
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain.

But thou, foul Cupid , sire to lawless lust,
Be thou far hence with thy empoisoned dart
Which, though of glitt'ring gold, shall here take rust
Where simple love, which chasteness doth impart,
Avoids thy hurtful art,
Not needing charming skill
Such minds with sweet affections for to fill,
Which being pure and plain,
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain.

All churlish words, shrewd answers, crabbed looks,
All privateness, self-seeking, inward spite,
All waywardness which nothing kindly brooks,
All strife for toys, and claiming master's right,
Be hence ay put to flight;
All stirring husband's hate
'Gainst neighbours good for womanish debate
Be fled as things most vain;
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain

All peacock pride, and fruits of peacock's pride,
Longing to be with loss of substance gay
With recklessness what may thy house betide,
So that you may on higher slippers stay,
For ever hence away.
Yet let not sluttery,
The sink of filth, be counted housewifery;
But keeping wholesome mean,
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain.

But above all, away vile jealousy,
The ill of ills, just cause to be unjust
(How can he love, suspecting treachery?
How can she love where love cannot win trust?),
Go snake, hide thee in dust,
Ne dare once show thy face
Where open hearts do hold so constant place
That they thy sting restrain;
O Hymen long their coupled joys maintain

The earth is decked with flow'rs, the heav'ns displayed,
Muses grant gifts, nymphs long and joined life,
Pan store of babes, virtue their thoughts well stayed;
Cupid 's lust gone, and gone is bitter strife,
Happy man, happy wife.
No pride shall them oppress,
Nor yet shall yield to loathsome sluttishness,
And jealousy is slain:
For Hymen will their coupled joys maintain

Philisides

As I my little flock on Ister bank
(A little flock, but well my pipe they couthe)
Did piping lead, the sun already sank
Beyond our world, and, ere I gat my booth,
Each thing with mantle black the night did soothe,
Saving the glow-worm, which would courteous be
Of that small light oft watching shepherds see.

The welkin had full niggardly enclosed
In coffer of dim clouds his silver groats,
Ycleped stars; each thing to rest disposed:
The caves were full, the mountains void of goats;
The birds' eyes closed, closed their chirping notes.
As for the nightingale, wood-music's king,
It August was, he deigned not then to sing.

Amid my sheep, though I saw naught to fear,
Yet (for I nothing saw) I feared sore;
Then found I which thing is a charge to bear,
For for my sheep I dreaded mickle more
Than ever for myself since I was bore
I sat me down, for see to go ne could,
And sang unto my sheep lest stray they should.

The song I sang old Languet had me taught,
Languet , the shepherd best swift Ister knew,
For clerkly rede, and hating what is naught,
For faithful heart, clean hands, and mouth as true.
With his sweet skill my skill-less youth he drew
To have a feeling taste of Him that sits
Beyond the heav'n, far more beyond our wits.

He said the music best thilke powers pleased
Was jump concord between our wit and will,
Where highest notes to godliness are raised,
And lowest sink not down to jot of ill.
With old true tales he wont mine ears to fill,
How shepherds did of yore, how now they thrive,
Spoiling their flock, or while 'twixt them they strive

He liked me, but pitied lustful youth;
His good strong staff my slipp'ry years upbore;
He still hoped well, because I loved truth;
Till forced to part, with heart and eyes e'en sore,
To worthy Coredens he gave me o'er.
But thus in oak's true shade recounted he
Which now in night's deep shade sheep heard of me.

Such manner time there was (what time I n'ot)
When all this earth, this dam or mould of ours,
Was only woned with such as beasts begot;
Unknown as then were they that builden towers.
The cattle, wild or tame, in Nature's bowers
Might freely roam or rest, as seemed them;
Man was not man, their dwellings in to hem

The beasts had sure some beastly policy,
For nothing can endure where order nis:
For once the lion by the lamb did lie;
The fearful hind the leopard did kiss;
Hurtless was tiger's paw and serpent's hiss
This think I well, the beasts with courage clad
Like senators a harmless empire had

At which, whether the others did repine
(For envy harb'reth most in feeble hearts),
Or that they all to changing did incline
(As e'en in beasts their dams leave changing parts),
The multitude to Jove a suit imparts,
With neighing, bleaing, braying, and barking,
Roaring, and howling for to have a king.

A king in language theirs they said they would
(For then their language was a perfect speech)
The birds likewise with chirps and pewing could,
Cackling and chatt'ring, that of Jove beseech
Only the owl still warned them not to seech
So hastily that which they would repent;
But saw they would, and he to deserts went.

Jove wisely said (for wisdom wisely says):
" O beasts, take heed what you of me desire.
Rulers will think all things made them to please,
And soon forget the swink due to their hire.
But since you will, part of my heav'nly fire
I will you lend; the rest yourselves must give,
That it both seen and felt may with you live."

Full glad they were, and took the naked sprite,
Which straight the earth yclothed in his clay.
The lion, heart; the ounce gave active might,
The horse, good shape; the sparrow, lust to play;
Nightingale, voice, enticing songs to say.
Elephant gave a perfect memory;
And parrot, ready tongue, that to apply.

The fox gave craft; the dog gave flattery;
Ass, patience; the mole, a working thought;
Eagle, high look; wolf, secret cruelty;
Monkey, sweet breath; the cow, her fair eyes brought;
The ermine, whitest skin spotted with naught;
The sheep, mild-seeming face; climbing, the bear;
The stag did give the harm-eschewing fear;

The hare, her sleights; the cat, his melancholy;
Ant, industry; and cony, skill to build;
Cranes, order; storks to be appearing holy;
Chameleon, ease to change; duck, ease to yield;
Crocodile, tears which might be falsely spilled;
Ape great thing gave, though he did mowing stand:
The instrument of instruments, the hand.

Each other beast likewise his present brings;
And (but they drad their prince they oft should want)
They all consented were to give him wings;
And ay more awe towards him for to plant,
To their own work this privilege they grant:
That from thenceforth to all eternity
No beast should freely speak, but only he

Thus man was made; thus man their lord became;
Who at the first, wanting or hiding pride,
He did to beasts' best use his cunning frame,
With water drink, herbs meat, and naked hide;
And fellow-like let his dominion slide,
Not in his sayings saying " I", but " we",
As if he meant his lordship common be

But when his seat so rooted he had found
That they now skilled not how from him to wend,
Then gan in guiltless earth full many a wound,
Iron to seek, which 'gainst itself should bend,
To tear the bowels that good corn should send
But yet the common dam none did bemoan,
Because (though hurt) they never heard her groan.

Then gan he factions in the beasts to breed:
Where helping weaker sort, the nobler beasts
(As tigers, leopards, bears, and lions' seed)
Disdained with this, in deserts sought their rests;
Where famine ravin taught their hungry chests,
That craftily he forced them to do ill;
Which being done, he afterwards would kill

For murder done, which never erst was seen
By those great beasts. As for the weaker's good,
He chose themselves his guarders for to been,
'Gainst those of might of whom in fear they stood,
As horse and dog; not great, but gentle blood
Blithe were the commons, cattle of the field,
Tho when they saw their foen of greatness killed

But they, or spent or made of slender might,
Then quickly did the meaner cattle find;
The great beams gone, the house on shoulders light:
For by and by the horse fair bits did bind;
The dog was in a collar taught his kind;
As for the gentle birds, like case might rue
When falcon they, and goshawk, saw in mew.

Worst fell to smallest birds, and meanest herd,
Who now his own, full like his own he used.
Yet first but wool, or feathers, off he teared;
And when they were well used to be abused,
For hungry throat their flesh with teeth he bruised;
At length for glutton taste he did them kill;
At last for sport their silly lives did spill.

But yet, O man, rage not beyond thy need:
Deem it no gloire to swell in tyranny.
Thou art of blood; joy not to make things bleed.
Thou fearest death; think they are loath to die
A plaint of guiltless hurt doth pierce the sky.
And you, poor beasts, in patience bide your hell,
Or know your strengths, and then you shall do well.

Thus did I sing and pipe eight sullen hours
To sheep whom love, not knowledge, made to hear
Now fancy's fits, now fortune's baleful stours
But then I homeward called my lambkins dear;
For to my dimmed eyes began t'appear
The night grown old, her black head waxen grey,
Sure shepherd's sign that morn would soon fetch day.