Category: PART III

Great Nature doth by¹ variations live,²
For she to none a constant course doth give.³
We find in change she swiftly runs about,
To keep her health and get⁴ long life (no doubt).
And we are only food for Nature fine,⁵                                   5
Our flesh her meat, our blood is her strong wine.⁶
The trees and herbs, fruits, roots, and flowers sweet,
Are but her salads, or such cooling meat.
The sea’s her bath to wash and cleanse her in
When weary she hath on a⁷ journey been.                            10
The sun’s her fire, which⁸ serves her many ways,
His lights⁹ her looking-glass, and beauties¹⁰ praise.
The winds,¹¹ her horses, pace as she doth¹² please,
The clouds her chariot where she sits with¹³ ease.
The Earth’s her ball, which she oft¹⁴ trundles round;         15
She in this¹⁵ exercise much good hath found.
Night is her bed, her rest therein to take;
Silence doth watch¹⁶ lest noise might her awake.
The spheres her music, and the Milky Way
Is where she dances whilst those spheres do play.              20

Nature did of great rocks and mountains build¹
A city, with all sorts of creatures filled.²
The citizens are worms, which seldom stir,³
But sit within their shops and sell their ware.
The moles are magistrates, who undermine⁴                       5
Each one’s estate, that they their wealth may find,⁵
And with⁶ extortions they⁷ high houses make,⁸
Called mole-hills, wherein they pleasure take.⁹
The lazy dormouse in her house¹⁰ doth keep—
The gentry, which doth¹¹ eat, and drink, and sleep—         10
Unless it be to hunt about for nuts,
Wherein the sport is still to fill their guts.
The peasant ants with their industrious feet¹²
Provisions get, made by hard labors sweet.¹³
They dig, they draw, they plow, and reap with care,           15
And what they get they to their barns do bear.
But after all their husbandry and pains,
Extortion comes and eats up all their gains.
All sorts of bugs, as several merchants, do¹⁴
In all things trade, and each place travel to.¹⁵                      20
But vapors, they are artisans with skill,
And make strong winds to send which way they will.
They do round balls of wildfire make¹⁶ to run,
Which spreads about¹⁷ when that round form’s undone.
This is the city which great Nature makes,                            25
And in this city she great¹⁸ pleasure takes.

In Nature’s market you may all things find,
Of several sorts and of each several¹ kind:
Carts of sickness bring pains and weakness in;
Of surfeits many baskets full are seen;²
Fruits of green sickness there are to be sold,              5
And colic herbs, which are both hot and cold;
Lemons of sharp pain; sour orange sores,³
Besides those things, within this market store.⁴

¹

There were two hearts an hundred acres wide,
Hedged round about,² and ditched on every side.
The one was very rich and fertile ground,
The other barren, where small good was found.

In pasture,³ grass of virtue grew up high,                         5
Where noble thoughts did feed continually.
Some grew like horses, nimble, strong, and⁴ large,
Fit for the manage, or in war to charge.
Others, like kine, did⁵ give the milk of wit,
And cream of wisdom for grave counsels fit.                   10
The sheep of patience had wool⁶ thick and long
Upon their backs and sides, to keep out wrong.
Rich meadows, where the hay of faith doth⁷ grow,
Which with the scythes of reason down we⁸ mow;
Devotion⁹ stacked it up on haycocks high,                        15
Lest in the wint’r of¹⁰ death the soul should die.

The barren ground nothing but weeds did bear.¹¹
No fruit, no corn, no seed that’s good grew there,¹²
But sour rye of ill nature up did spring,¹³
Which doth the colic of displeasure bring,¹⁴                     20
And cruel hempseed, hanging ropes to make,
And treacherous linseed, little birds¹⁵ to take,
And many such like seeds this ground doth bear,¹⁶
As coal black brank, and melancholy tare.
Nay, some parts so insipid were, and¹⁷ dry,                       25
That neither furse nor ling would¹⁸ grow, but die.
The rich ground, by¹⁹ good education plowed,
Deep furrows of discretion had²⁰ allowed,
And several sorts of seeds about did sow,²¹
Where crops of actions good in full ears²² grow:             30
First,²³ wheat of charity, a fruitful seed—
It makes²⁴ the bread of life the poor to feed—
Barley, whose spirits strong do²⁵ courage make,
For he that drinks them²⁶ no affront will take;
And hospitable pease²⁷ firm friendship breeds;²⁸           35
And grateful oats, restoring still good deeds.²⁹
This corn by fame’s sharp scythe is reaped³⁰ and cut,
And into large great barns of honor put.
Where Truth doth thresh it out from gross abuse,
And³¹ Honesty doth grind it fit for use.                              40

¹

The airy clouds do swiftly run a race,
Each other following as² in a chase.
Like horses, some are sprightful, nimbl’and³ fleet,
Others swelled big with wat’ry spavined feet.
Some⁴ lag behind, as tired in⁵ midway,                                     5
And some,⁶ like resty jades, stock-still will stay.
They all of⁷ several shapes and colors be,
Of several tempers, seldom well agree.
And as those horses which are⁸ highly fed
Do proudly snort—their eyes look fiery red—                         10
So clouds exhaled, fed by the hot sun,⁹
With sulphur and saltpetre fierce become,¹⁰
Flash out fire when they on each other light,¹¹
And with those flames the¹² world with terror fright;
Meeting each other,¹³ they encounters make,                          15
And do with strong assaults each other¹⁴ break,
Falling upon each other’s head and back,
Ne’er parted are, but by a¹⁵ thunder crack.¹⁶
Then pouring down some show’rs of rain they do¹⁷
Strong gusts of wind with their long breath out blow.¹⁸        20
Then Boreas whips¹⁹ them up, and makes them run
Till all their breath is spent, and spirits²⁰ gone.
Apollo breaks and backs them fit to ride,
Bridling with his hot beams their strengths²¹ to guide;
He²² gives them heats until they foam and sweat,                   25
Then²³ wipes them dry, lest they a cold should get,
Leads them into the middle-region stable,
Where are all sorts: dull, quick, weak, and²⁴ able.
But when they loose do get, having no fears,
They fall together all out²⁵ by the ears.                                      30

¹

Birds from the cedars tall do² take a flight
On stretchèd wings, to bear their bodies light.
As ships do sail over the ocean wide,
So birds do³ sail, and through the air do⁴ glide.
Their bodies are⁵ the keel; feet, cable rope;⁶                             5
The head, the steersman⁷ which doth guide the poop.
Their wings, as sails, with wind are stretched out wide,
But hard it is⁸ to fly against the tide.
For when the clouds do flow⁹ against their breast,
They¹⁰ weary grow, and on a bough¹¹ do¹² rest.                      10

¹
The mind’s a merchant, trafficking about
The ocean of the brain to find² opinions out.
Remembrance is the warehouse where are laid³
Goods, by imagination’s ships conveyed,⁴
Which every⁵ tradesman of belief still buys,                   5
Gaining by truth, but losing all⁶ by lies.
Thoughts, as the journeymen and prentice boys,
Do help to sort the wares and sell the toys.

¹
Once at imagination’s windows I,²
Standing, a prospect in the mind did spy,³
Shutting the ignorant eye as close may be,⁴
Because the eye of knowledge clear might see,⁵
Drawing a circle round of fine conceits,⁶                            5
Speeches extravagant contracting straight.⁷
The more I viewed, my eye the farther went,
Till understanding’s sight was almost spent.
An aisle of thoughts within a church I viewed;⁸⁹
Filled full of fancy’s light to me it showed.¹⁰                      10
Pillars of judgments thick stood on a row,
And in this aisle Motion walked to and fro.
Fear, love, humility kneeled down to pray;
Desires begged¹¹ of all that passed that way;
Poor doubts did shake as if they had some harm,¹²         15
Yet mantles of good hope did keep them warm.¹³
Generous¹⁴ Faith seemed bountiful and free;
She gave to all that asked her charity.
All sorts of sects¹⁵ in pulpits seemed to preach;
Fables for truth, no doubt, did many teach.¹⁶                    20
Not that I heard¹⁷ what their opinions were,
For prospect’s in the eye, not in the ear.¹⁸

¹

Standing upon² a hill of fancies high,
And viewing round³ with curiosities eye,
Under my thoughts saw⁴ several landscapes lie.⁵

Some champains⁶ of delights⁷ I saw,⁸ did feed
Pleasures, as wethers fat, and ewes to breed.                         5
And cows of probability, which went⁹
In hope’s green pastures, gave milk of content.¹⁰
Some fields, though plowed with care, unsowed did lie,
Wanting the fruitful seed of industry;¹¹
In other fields, full crops of joys there growed,                      10
Where some ripe joys¹² fruition down had mowed;¹³
Some blasted with ill accidents looked black,¹⁴
Others, blown down with sorrow strong, lay flat.¹⁵¹⁶

Then I enclosures viewed, which close did¹⁷ lie,
Hearts hedged about with thoughts of secrecy.                      15
Meadows of youth did pleasant show, and green;¹⁸
Innocency, as cowslips, grew therein.
Some ready with old age to cut for hay,
Some hay cocked high for Death to take away.
Clear rivulets of health ran here and there;                            20
No sign¹⁹ of sickness in them did appear;
No stones or gravel stopped their passage free,
No weeds of pain, or slimy gouts could see.
Woods did present my view on the left side,
With²⁰ trees of high ambition and²¹ great pride.                   25
There shades of envy were made of dark spite,
Which did eclipse the fame of honor’s light.
Faults stood so close, that but few²² beams of praise
Could enter in; spite²³ stopped up all the ways.
But leaves of prattling tongues, which ne’er lie still,²⁴         30
Sometimes speak truth, although most lies they tell.²⁵

Then did I²⁶ a garden of²⁷ beauty view,
Where sweet complexions,²⁸ rose and lily,²⁹ grew.
And on the banks of breasts most perfect there³⁰
Did violets of azure veins appear;³¹                                          35
Lips of fresh gillyflowers grew up high,
Which oft the sun did kiss as he passed by;
Hands of narcissus showed most perfect white,³²
Whose palms,³³ fine tulips, were streaked with delight.³⁴

Close by this gard’n³⁵ a lovely orchard stood,                         40
Wherein grew³⁶ fruit of pleasure rare and good.
All colored eyes grew there, as bullace gray,
And damsons black, which do taste best, some say.
Others there were of the pure bluest grape,
And pear-plum faces, of an oval shape,                                    45
And cheeks³⁷ of apricots made red with heat,
And cherry lips, which most delight to eat.
When I had³⁸ viewed this landscape round about,
I fell from³⁹ fancy’s hill, and so wit’s⁴⁰ sight went out.

¹

Thoughts as a pen do write upon the brain.
The letters which wise thoughts do write, are plain.
Fools scribble, scrabble, and² make many a blot,
Which makes them nonsense³ speak—they know not what.
Some⁴ thoughts, like pencils, draw still to the life,⁵                  5
And fancies mixed, as colors, give delight.
The sadder⁶ thoughts are for the⁷ shadows placed,
By which the lighter fancies are more graced.
Like as⁸ through dark⁹ and wat’ry clouds,¹⁰ more bright
The sun breaks forth with his resplendent light,                      10
Or like to¹¹ night’s black mantle, where each star
Doth clearer seem, so lighter fancies are.
Some like to¹² rainbows various colors show;
So round the brain fantastic fancies grow.