'Let me excuse thy courser, gentle boy;
And learn of him, I heartily beseech thee, 404
To take advantage on presented joy;
Though I were dumb, yet his proceedings teach
thee.

O learn to love; the lesson is but plain,
And once made perfect, never lost again.' 408

'I know not love,' quoth he, 'nor will not know
it,
Unless it be a boar, and then I chase it;
'Tis much to borrow, and I will not owe it;
My love to love is love but to disgrace it;
412
For I have heard it is a life in death,
That laughs and weeps, and all but with a
breath.

And at his look she flatly falleth down,
For looks kill love and love by looks reviveth;
A smile recures the wounding of a frown; 465
But blessed bankrupt, that by love so thriveth!
The silly boy, believing she is dead,
Claps her pale cheek, till clapping makes it
red;
468

And all-amaz'd brake off his late intent,
For sharply he did think to reprehend her,
Which cunning love did wittily prevent:
Fair fall the wit that can so well defend her! 472

For on the grass she lies as she were slain,
Till his breath breatheth life in her again.

He wrings her nose, he strikes her on the cheeks,
He bends her fingers, holds her pulses hard, 476
He chafes her lips; a thousand ways he seeks
To mend the hurt that his unkindness marr'd:
He kisses her; and she, by her good will,
Will never rise, so he will kiss her still. 480

The night of sorrow now is turn'd to day:
Her two blue windows faintly she up-heaveth,
Like the fair sun, when in his fresh array
He cheers the morn and all the world reliev-
eth:
484

And as the bright sun glorifies the sky,
So is her face illumin'd with her eye;

Whose beams upon his hairless face are fix'd, As if from thence they borrow'd all their shine. Were never four such lamps together mix'd, 489 Had not his clouded with his brows' repine;

But hers, which through the crystal tearsgave light,

Shone like the moon in water seen by night.

'O! where am I?' quoth she, in earth or heaven,

Or in the ocean drench'd, or in the fire?
What hour is this? or morn or weary even?
Do I delight to die, or life desire?.

493

496

But now I liv'd, and life was death's annoy; But now I died, and death was lively joy.

'O! thou didst kill me; kill me once again: Thy eyes' shrewd tutor, that hard heart of thine,

500

Hath taught them scornful tricks and such disdain

That they have murder'd this poor heart of mine;

And these mine eyes, true leaders to their queen,

But for thy piteous lips no more had seen. 504

'Long may they kiss each other for this cure!
O! never let their crimson liveries wear;
And as they last, their verdure still endure,
To drive infection from the dangerous year: 508
That the star-gazers, having writ on death,
May say, the plague is banish'd by thy breath.

Her arms do lend his neck a sweet embrace; Incorporate then they seem, face grows to face.

Till, breathless, he disjoin'd, and backward drew The heavenly moisture, that sweet coral mouth, Whose precious taste her thirsty lips well knew, Whereon they surfeit, yet complain on drouth: He with her plenty press'd, she faint with dearth,

545

Their lips together glu'd, fall to the earth. Now quick desire hath caught the yielding prey,

And glutton-like she feeds, yet never filleth; 548
Her lips are conquerors, his lips obey,
Paying what ransom the insulter willeth;

Whose vulture thought doth pitch the price so high,

That she will draw his lips' rich treasure dry. And having felt the sweetness of the spoil, 553 With blindfold fury she begins to forage; Her face doth reek and smoke, her blood doth boil,

And careless lust stirs up a desperate courage; Planting oblivion, beating reason back, 557 Forgetting shame's pure blush and honour's wrack.

Hot, faint, and weary, with her hard embracing, Like a wild bird being tam'd with too much handling,

560

Or as the fleet-foot roe that's tir'd with chasing. Or like the froward infant still'd with dandling. He now obeys, and now no more resisteth, While she takes all she can, not all she listeth. What wax so frozen but dissolves with tempering, 565 And yields at last to every light impression? Things out of hope are compass'd oft with venturing,

508

Chiefly in love, whose leave exceeds commission: Affection faints not like a pale-fac'd coward, But then woos best when most his choice is froward.

'For where Love reigns, disturbing Jealousy

'For there his smell with others being mingled,

Doth call himself Affection's sentinel;

The hot scent-snuffing hounds are driven to

Gives false alarms, suggesteth mutiny,

doubt,

692

Distempering gentle Love in his desire,

singled

As air and water do abate the fire.

With much ado the cold fault cleanly out;

'Then shalt thou see the dew-bedabbled wretch Turn, and return, indenting with the way; 704 Each envious briar his weary legs doth scratch, Each shadow makes him stop, each murmur stay:

For misery is trodden on by many,

And being low never reliev'd by any. 708

'Lie quietly, and hear a little more;
Nay, do not struggle, for thou shalt not rise:
To make thee hate the hunting of the boar,
Unlike myself thou hear'st me moralize,
Applying this to that, and so to so;

For love can comment upon every woe.

712

800

'Love comforteth like sunshine after rain,
But Lust's effect is tempest after sun;
Love's gentle spring doth always fresh remain,
Lust's winter comes ere summer half be done.
Love surfeits not, Lust like a glutton dies;
Love is all truth, Lust full of forged lies. 804

'More I could tell, but more I dare not say;
The text is old, the orator too green.
Therefore, in sadness, now I will away;
My face is full of shame, my heart of teen: 808
Mine ears, that to your wanton talk attended,
Do burn themselves for having so offended.'

With this he breaketh from the sweet embrace Of those fair arms which bound him to her breast,

812

And homeward through the dark laund runs apace; Leaves Love upon her back deeply distress'd. Look, how a bright star shooteth from the sky,

So glides he in the night from Venus' eye; 816