With this she seizeth on his sweating palm,
The precedent of pith and livelihood,

And, trembling in her passion, calls it balm,
Earth's sovereign salve to do a goddess good:

Being so enraged, desire doth lend her force
Courageously to pluck him from his horse.

Over one arm the lusty courser's rein,
Under her other was the tender boy,
Who blush'd and pouted in a dull disdain,
With leaden appetite, unapt to toy;

She red and hot as coals of glowing fire,
He red for shame, but frosty in desire.

The studded bridle on a ragged bough
Nimbly she fastens O, how quick is love!
The steed is stalled up, and even now

To tie the rider she begins to prove:

Backward she push'd him, as she would be thrust,
And govern'd him in strength, though not in lust.

So soon was she along as he was down,
Each leaning on their elbows and their hips:
Now doth she stroke his cheek, now doth he frown,
And 'gins to chide, but soon she stops his lips;

And kissing speaks, with lustful language broken,
"If thou wilt chide, thy lips shall never open."

26 precedent] prognostication or indication. Malone's correction of
the Quarto reading president. Cf. Lucrece, 1261: "The precedent
whereof." For lines 25-26 (the significance of a "sweating
palm") cf. Othello, III, iv, 33–35: "This hand is moist, my lady.
.. This argues
fruitfulness and liberal heart," and line 143, infra.

He burns with bashful shame; she with her tears
Doth quench the maiden burning of his cheeks;
Then with her windy sighs and golden hairs
To fan and blow them dry again she seeks:

He saith she is immodest, blames her miss;
What follows more she murders with a kiss.

Even as an empty eagle, sharp by fast,
Tires with her beak on feathers, flesh and bone,
Shaking her wings, devouring all in haste,
Till either gorge be stuff'd or prey be gone;

Even so she kiss'd his brow, his cheek, his chin,
And where she ends she doth anew begin.

Forced to content, but never to obey,
Panting he lies and breatheth in her face;
She feedeth on the steam as on a prey,
And calls it heavenly moisture, air of grace;

Wishing her cheeks were gardens full of flowers,
So they were dew'd with such distilling showers.

Look, how a bird lies tangled in a net,
So fasten'd in her arms Adonis lies;

Pure shame and awed resistance made him fret,
Which bred more beauty in his angry eyes:

Rain added to a river that is rank

Perforce will force it overflow the bank.

53 miss] amiss, fault, misbehaviour. Cf. Sonnet xxxv, 7: "salving thy amiss."

56 Tires] pecks with hungry eagerness. Cf. 3 Hen. VI, I, i, 268–269:

"like an empty eagle Tire on the flesh."

61 to content] to acquiesce.

71 rank] overfull, overflowing.

50

60

70

Still she entreats, and prettily entreats,
For to a pretty ear she tunes her tale;
Still is he sullen, still he lours and frets,
"Twixt crimson shame, and anger ashy-pale;

Being red, she loves him best; and being white,
Her best is better'd with a more delight.

Look how he can, she cannot choose but love;
And by her fair immortal hand she swears,
From his soft bosom never to remove,
Till he take truce with her contending tears,

Which long have rain'd, making her cheeks all wet;
And one sweet kiss shall pay this countless debt.

Upon this promise did he raise his chin,
Like a dive-dapper peering through a wave,
Who, being look'd on, ducks as quickly in;
So offers he to give what she did crave;

But when her lips were ready for his pay,
He winks, and turns his lips another way.

Never did passenger in summer's heat
More thirst for drink than she for this good turn.
Her help she sees, but help she cannot get;
She bathes in water, yet her fire must burn:

"O, pity," 'gan she cry, "flint-hearted boy!
'Tis but a kiss I beg; why art thou coy?

84 countless] Cf. Tit. Andr., V, iii, 156–159: “kiss for kiss .. Countless and infinite, yet would I pay them."

86 dive-dapper] the dabchick or little grebe.

90 winks] winces.

80

90

"I have been woo'd, as I entreat thee now,
Even by the stern and direful god of war,
Whose sinewy neck in battle ne'er did bow,
Who conquers where he comes in every jar;

Yet hath he been my captive and my slave,
And begg'd for that which thou unask'd shalt have.

"Over my altars hath he hung his lance,

His batter'd shield, his uncontrolled crest,
And for my sake hath learn'd to sport and dance,
To toy, to wanton, dally, smile and jest;

Scorning his churlish drum and ensign red,
Making my arms his field, his tent my bed.
"Thus he that overruled I overswayed,
Leading him prisoner in a red-rose chain:
Strong-temper'd steel is stronger strength obeyed,
Yet was he servile to my coy disdain.

O, be not proud, nor brag not of thy might,
For mastering her that foil'd the god of fight!

"Touch but my lips with those fair lips of thine
Though mine be not so fair, yet are they red —
The kiss shall be thine own as well as mine:
What see'st thou in the ground? hold up thy head:
Look in mine eyeballs, there thy beauty lies;
Then why not lips on lips, since eyes in eyes?

100 jar] conflict.

110 Leading ... red-rose chain] Cf. Ronsard, Odes, Bk. iv, Ode 23: "Les muses lièrent un jour De chaines de roses Amour," a charming paraphrase of Anacreon's Ode xix (Bergk) which Ronsard's contemporary, Remy Belleau, translated more literally.

100

110

120

"Art thou ashamed to kiss? then wink again,
And I will wink; so shall the day seem night;
Love keeps his revels where there are but twain;
Be bold to play, our sport is not in sight:

These blue-vein'd violets whereon we lean

Never can blab, nor know not what we mean.

"The tender spring upon thy tempting lip
Shews thee unripe; yet mayst thou well be tasted:
Make use of time, let not advantage slip;
Beauty within itself should not be wasted:

Fair flowers that are not gather'd in their prime
Rot and consume themselves in little time.

"Were I hard-favour'd, foul, or wrinkled-old, Ill-nurtured, crooked, churlish, harsh in voice,

125 blue-vein'd violets] So Barnfield's Affectionate Shepherd (1594), l. 176: "the blue-vein'd Violet."

130 Beauty... wasted] So Sonnet ix, 11; see 163–174, infra, and note. 131-132 Fair flowers. . . little time] Another very hackneyed conceit of the classicising poets of the Renaissance. Cf. Ovid, Ars Amat., ii, 115-116:

"Nec violae semper, nec hiantia lilia florent,

Et riget amissa spina relicta rosa"

Both Wyatt and Surrey adapted the conceit, which the Elizabethans employed to satiety. Cf. Pass. Pilg., xiii. Ronsard's rendering (Euvres, ed. Blanchemain, 1857, vol. i, p. 397) is especially characteristic:

134 harsh in voice] Cf. Lear, V, iii, 272–273: "Her voice was ever soft. Gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman.”

130