Soon after that into a golden fhowre,
Himself he chang'd, fair Danaë to view,
And through the roof of her strong brafen towre
Did rain into her lap an hony dew,
The whiles her foolish guard, that little knew
Of fuch deceipt, kept th' iron dore faft bard,
And watcht, that none fhould enter, nor iffue,
Vain was the watch, and bootless all the ward,
Whenas the God to golden hue himself transfer'd.
XXXII.
Then was he turn'd into a fnowy Swan,
To win fair Leda to his lovely trade:
O wondrous skill, and fweet wit of the man,
That her in Daffadillies fleeping made,
From fcorching heat her dainty limbs to fhade:
Whiles the proud Bird ruffing his feathers wide,
And brushing his fair breaft, did her invade;
She flept, yet 'twixt her eye-lids clofely fpide,
How towards her he rufht, and smiled at his pride.
XXXIII.
Then fhew'd it, how the Theban Semelee,
Deceiv'd of jealous Juno did require
To fee him in his foveraine majesty,
Arm'd with his thunder-bolts and lightning fire,
Whence dearly fhe with death bought her defire.
But fair Alcmena better match did make,
Joying his love in likeness more entire ;
Three nights in one, they fay, that for her fake
He then did put, her pleafures longer to partake.
XXXIV
Twice was he seen in foaring Eagles shape,
And with wide wings to beat the buxom air:
Once when he with Afterie did fcape;
Again, whenas the Trojan boy fo fair
He fnatch from Ide hill, and with him bare:
Wondrous delight it was, there to behold,
How the rude Shepherds after him did ftare,
Trembling through fear left down he fallen fhould,
And often to him calling, to take furer hold.
In Satyr's fhape, Antiopa he fnatcht:
And like a fire, when he Egin' affay'd:
A fhepherd, when Mnemofyne he catcht:
And like a Serpent to the Thracian maid.
Whiles thus on earth great Jove these pageants playd,
The winged boy did thrust into his throne,
And fcoffing thus unto his mother said,
Lo, now the heavens obey to me alone,
And take me for their Jove, whiles Jove to earth is gone.
XXXVI.
And thou, fair Phabus, in thy colours bright
Waft there enwoven, and the fad diftrefs
In which that boy thee plunged, for defpight
That thou bewraydft his mothers wantonnefs,
When fhe with Mars was meynt in joyfulness:
Forthy he thrild thee with a leaden dart,
To love fair Daphne, which thee loved lefs:
Lefs fhe thee lov'd, than was thy juft defart;
Yet was thy love her death, and her death was thy smart.
XXXVII.
So lovedst thou the lufty HyacinƐt,
So lovedft thou the fair Coronis dear:
Yet both are of thy hapless hand extinct,
Yet both in flowres do live, and love thee bear,
The one a Paunce, the other a sweet breare;
For grief whereof, ye mote have lively feen
The God himself rending his golden hair,
And breaking quite his girlond ever green,
With other figns of forrow, and impatient teen.
XXXVIII.
Both for thofe two, and for his own dear fon,
The fon of Clymene he did repent,
Who bold to guide the charet of the fun,
Himself in thoufand pieces fondly rent,
And all the world with flashing fiere brent,
So like, that all the walls did feem to flame.
Yet cruel Cupid, not herewith content,
Forc'd him eftfoons to follow other game,
And love a Shepherds daughter for his dearest Dame.
XXXIX.
He loved Iffe for his deareft Dame,
And for her fake her cattle fed awhile,
And for her fake a cow-herd vile became,
The fervant of Admetus, cow-herd vile,
Whiles that from heaven he fuffered exile.
Long were to tell each other lovely fit,
Now like a Lyon, hunting after spoil,
Now like a Stag, now like a Falcon flit:
All which in that fair arras was most lively writ.
XL.
Next unto him was Neptune pictured,
In his divine refemblance wondrous like:
His face was rugged, and his hoary head
Dropped with brackish dew; his three-forkt pike
He fternly fhook, and therewith fierce did strike
The raging billows, that on every fide
They trembling ftood, and made a long broad dike, That his fwift charet might have paffage wide, Which four great Hippodames did draw in team-wife tide. XLI.
His fea-horses did feem to fnort amain,
And from their nofethrills blow the briny ftream,
That made the fparkling waves to fmoke again,
And flame with gold: but the white foamy cream
Did fhine with filver, and fhoot forth his beam.
The God himself did penfive feem and fad,
And hung adown his head, as he did dream:
For privy love his breaft empierced had;
Ne ought, but dear Bifaltis, ay could make him glad.
XLII.
He loved eke Iphimedia dear,
And Eolus fair daughter Arne hight;
For whom he turn'd himself into a Stear,
And fed on fodder, to beguile her fight.
Alfo to win Deucalions daughter bright,
He turn'd himself into a Dolphin fair;
And like a winged horfe he took his flight,
To fnaky-lock Medusa tô repair,
On whom he got fair Pegafus, that flitteth in the air.
Next Saturn was, (but who would ever ween,
That fullen Saturn ever ween'd to love?
Yet Love is fullen, and Saturn-like feen,
As he did for Erigone it prove)
That to a Centaur did himself tranfmove.
So prov'd it eke that gracious God of wine,
When for to compafs Philliras hard love,
He turn'd himself into a fruitful vine,
And into her fair bofom made his grapes decline.
XLIV.
Long were to tell the amorous affays,
And gentle pangs, with which he maked meek
The mighty Mars, to learn his wanton plays:
How oft for Venus, and how often eke
For many other nymphs he fore did fhriek;
With womanish tears, and with unwarlike fmarts,
Privily moistening his horrid cheek.
There was he painted full of burning darts,
And many wide wounds lanced through his inner parts. XLV.
Ne did he fpare (fo cruel was the Elf)
His own dear mother (ah why should he fo!)
Ne did he spare fometime to prick himself,
That he might tafte the fweet-confuming woe,
Which he had wrought, to many others moe,
But to declare the mournful tragedies,
And fpoil's, wherewith he all the ground did ftrow,
More eath to number with how many eyes
High heaven beholds fad Lovers nightly thieveries.
Kings, Queens, Lords, Ladies, Knights, and Damzels
Were heapt together with the vulgar fort,
And mingled with the rafcal rablement,
Without refpect of perfon or of port,
To fhew Dan Cupids powre and great effort:
And round about, a border was entrail'd
Of broken bows and arrows fhiver'd fhort,
And a long bloody river through them rail'd,
So lively and fo like, that living fenfe it fail'd.
VOL. I.
K k
And at the upper end of that fair room,
There was an altar built of precious stone,
Of paffing value, and of great renown,
On which there ftood an Image all alone,
Of maffy gold, which with his own light fhone;
And wings it had with fundry colours dight,
More fundry colours, than the proud Pavone,
Bears in his boasted fan, or Iris bright,
[bright. When her discolour'd bow fhe spreads through heaven XLVIII.
Blindfold he was, and in his cruel fift
A mortal bow and arrows keen did hold, With which he shot at random, when him lift, Some headed with fad lead, fome with pure gold; (Ah man beware, how thou those darts behold.) A wounded Dragon under him did lie, Whofe hideous tail his left foot did enfold, And with a shaft was fhot through either eye, That no man forth might draw, ne no man remedy. XLIX.
And underneath his feet was written thus,
Unto the Victor of the Gods this be:
And all the people in that ample houfe
Did to that image bow their humble knee,
And oft committed foul idolatry.
That wondrous fight fair Britomart amaz'd,
Ne feeing could her wonder fatisfy,
But ever more and more upon it gaz'd,
The whiles the paffing brightness her frail fenfes daz'd.
L.
Tho as fhe backward caft her bufie eye,
To search each fecret of that goodly sted,
Over the door thus written fhe did spy,
Be bold fhe oft and oft it over-read,
Yet could not find what fence it figured:
But what fo were therein or writ or meant,
She was no whit thereby difcouraged
From profecuting of her firft intent,
But forward with bold fteps into the next room went.
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