She having hung upon a bough on high.
Her bow and painted quiver, had unlafte
Her filver bufkins from her nimble thigh,
And her lank loins ungirt, and breasts unbrafte,
After her heat the breathing cold to tafte;
Her golden locks, that late in treffes bright
Embreaded were for hindring of her hafte,
Now loose about her fhoulders hung undight,
And were with fweet Ambrofia all befprinkled light.
XIX.
Soon as the Venus faw behind her back,
She was afham'd to be fo loose furpris'd;
And wox half wroth againft her damfels flack,
That had not her thereof before avis'd,
But fuffred her fo carelefly difguis'd
Be overtaken. Soon her garments loofe
Upgath'ring, in her bofom fhe compris'd,
Well as the might, and to the Goddess rofe,
Whilst all her nymphs did like a girlond her enclofe.
XX.
Goodly fhe 'gan fair Cytherea greet,
And shortly afked her what caufe her brought
Into that wilderness (for her unmeet)
From her sweet bowrs, and beds with pleasures fraughti
That fuddain change fhe ftrange adventure thought.
To whom (half weeping) fhe thus answered,
That the her dearest fon Cupido fought,
Who in his frowardnefs from her was fled;
That the repented fore, to have him angered.
XXI.
Thereat Diana 'gan to fmile in fcorn
Of her vain plaint, and to her fcoffing faid;
Great pity fure, that ye be fo forlorn
Of your gay fon, that gives ye fo good aid
To your difports: ill mote ye been apaid.
But fhe was more engrieved, and replide;
Fair fifter, ill befeems it to upbraid
A doleful heart with fo difdainful pride;
The like that mine, may be your pain another tide.
As you in woods and wanton wilderness
Your glory fet to chace the falvage beafts;'
So my delight is all in joyfulness,
In beds, in bowrs, in banquets, and in feafts:
And ill becomes you with your lofty creafts,
To fcorn the joy that Jove is glad to feek;
We both are bound to follow heavens beheafts,
And tend our charges with obeyfance meek:
Spare (gentle fifter) with reproch my pain to eek;
XXIII.
And tell me, if that ye my fon have heard,
To lurk emongst your nymphs in fecret wife;
Or keep their cabins: much I am affeard,
Left he like one of them himself disguise,
And turn his arrows to their exercife:
So may he long himself full eafie hide:
For he is fair and fresh in face and guife,
As any nymph (let not it be envide.)
So faying, every nymph full narrowly she eyde.
But Phebe there-with fore was angered,
And harply faid; Go Dame, go feek your boy,
Where you him lately left, in Mars his bed;
"He comes not here, we fcorn his foolish joy,
Ne lend we leifure to his idle toy:
But if I catch him in this company,
By Stygian lake I vow, whofe fad annoy
The Gods do dread, he dearly fhall aby:
Ile clip his wanton wings, that he no more fhall fly.
XXV.
Whom whenas Venus faw fo fore difpleas'd,
She inly forry was, and 'gan relent
What he had faid: fo her the foon appeas'd,
With fugred words and gentle blandifhment,
Which as a fountain from her fweet lips went,
And welled goodly, forth, that in fhort space
She was well pleas'd, and forth her damzels fent,
Through all the woods, to fearch from place to place,
If any tract of him or tidings they mote trace.
To fearch the God of love, her nymphs fhe fent
Throughout the wandring foreft every where:
And after them herself eke with her went
To feek the fugitive both far and near.
So long they fought, till they arrived were
In that fame thady covert, whereas lay
Fair Chryfogone in flumbring traunce whylere:
Who in her fleep (a wondrous thing to fay)
Unwares had borne two babes, as fair as springing day.
Unwares fhe them conceiv'd, unwares fhe bore :
She bore withouten pain, that fhe conceiv'd
Withouten pleasure: ne her need implore
Lucinas aid: which when they both perceiv'd,
They were through wonder nigh of fenfe bereav'd,
And gazing each on other, nought befpake:
At lalt, they both agreed, her (feeming griev'd)
Out of her heavy fwoon not to awake,
But from her loving fide the tender babes to take.
XXVIII.
Up they them took ;, each one a babe up-took,
And with them carried, to be fostered,
Dame Phabe to a nymph her babe betook,
To be brought up in perfect maidenhead;
And of her felf, her name Belphabe read:
But Venus hers thence far away conveyd,
To be upbrought in goodly womanhead,
And in her little Loves ftead which was ftraid,
Her Amoretta call'd, to comfort her difmaid.
She brought her to her joyous paradise,
Where most she wonns, when fhe on earth does dwell
So fair a place as nature can devife:
Whether in Paphos, or Cytheron hill,
Or it in Gnidus be, I wote not well;
But well I wote by trial, that this fame
All other pleafant places doth excell,
And called is by her loft Lovers name,
The garden of Adonis, far renown'd by fame.
XXX.
It that fame garden, all the goodly flowres
Where-with dame nature doth her beautifie,
And decks the girlonds of her paramours,
Are fetcht: there is the first feminarie
Of all things that are born to live and die,
According to their kinds. Long work it were,
Here to account the endless progenie
Of all the weeds, that bud and bloffom there
But fo much as doth need, must needs be counted here.
XXXI.
It fited was in ftuitful foil of old,
And girt-in with two walls on either fide;
The one of iron, th' other of bright gold,
That none might thorough break, nor over-ftride:
And double gates it had, which opened wide,
By which both in and out men moten pafs;
Th'one fair and fresh, the other old and dride:
Old Genius the Porter of them was;
Old Genius, the which a double nature has.
XXXI.
He letteth in, he letteth out to wend,
All that to come into the world defire;
A thoufand thoufand naked babes attend
About him day and night, which do require,
That he with fleshly weeds would them attire:
Such as him lift, fuch as eternal fate
Ordained hath, he clothes with finful mice,
And fendeth forth to live in mortal ftate,
Till they again return back by the hinder gate.
XXXII.
After that they again returned been,
They in that garden planted be again;
And grow afresh as they had never feen
Fleshly corruption, nor mortal pain.
Some thousand years fo doen they there remain,
And then of him are clad with other hue,
Or fent into the changeful world again,
Till thither they return, where firft they grew
So like a wheel around they run from old to new
Ne needs their gardiner to fet, or fow,
To plant, or prune: for of their own accord,
All things as they created were, do grow
And yet remember well the mighty word,
Which first was fpoken by th' Almighty Lord,
That bade them to increafe and multiply, 1104
Ne do they need with water of the ford,
Or of the clouds, to moiften their roots dry,
For in themselves, eternal moisture they imply.
XXXV.
Infinite fhapes of creatures there are bred,
And uncouth forms, which none yet ever knew,r And every fort is in a fundry bed
Set by it felf, and rankt in comely rew:
Some fit for reasonable fouls t' indew,
Some made for beafts, fome made for birds to wear,
And all the fruitful fpawn of fishes hew
In endless ranks along enranged were,
That feem'd the Ocean could not contain them, there.
Daily they grow, and daily forth are fent
Into the world, it to replenifh more;
Yet is the stock not leffened, nor fpent,
But ftill remains in everlasting ftore,
As it at first created was of yore.
For in the wide womb of the world, their lies
In hateful darknefs, and in deep horrore,
An huge eternal Chaos, which fupplies
The fubftances of natures fruitful progenies.
XXXVII.
All things from thence do their first being fetch,
And borrow matter, whereof they are made;
Which whenas form and features it does ketch,
Becomes a body, and doth then invade
The ftate of life, out of the griefly shade.
That substance is etern, and bideth fo;
Ne when the life decays, and form does fade,
Doth it confume, and into nothing go,
But changed is, and often altred to and fro.
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