Category: FANCIES

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

Nature did of great rocks and mountains build⁵
A city, with all sorts of creatures filled.⁶
The citizens are worms, which seldom stir,⁷
But sit within their shops and sell their ware.
The moles are magistrates, who undermine⁸                       5
Each one’s estate, that they their wealth may find,⁹
And with¹⁰ extortions they¹¹ high houses make,¹²
Called mole-hills, wherein they pleasure take.¹³
The lazy dormouse in her house¹⁴ doth keep—
The gentry, which doth¹⁵ 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 feet¹⁶
Provisions get, made by hard labors sweet.¹⁷
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, do¹⁸
In all things trade, and each place travel to.¹⁹                      20
But vapors, they are artisans with skill,
And make strong winds to send which way they will.
They do round balls of wildfire make²⁰ to run,
Which spreads about²¹ when that round form’s undone.
This is the city which great Nature makes,                            25
And in this city she great²² pleasure takes.

Great Nature doth by²³ variations live,²⁴
For she to none a constant course doth give.²⁵
We find in change she swiftly runs about,
To keep her health and get²⁶ long life (no doubt).
And we are only food for Nature fine,²⁷                                   5
Our flesh her meat, our blood is her strong wine.²⁸
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 a²⁹ journey been.                            10
The sun’s her fire, which³⁰ serves her many ways,
His lights³¹ her looking-glass, and beauties³² praise.
The winds,³³ her horses, pace as she doth³⁴ please,
The clouds her chariot where she sits with³⁵ ease.
The Earth’s her ball, which she oft³⁶ trundles round;         15
She in this³⁷ exercise much good hath found.
Night is her bed, her rest therein to take;
Silence doth watch³⁸ lest noise might her awake.
The spheres her music, and the Milky Way
Is where she dances whilst those spheres do play.              20

³⁹

A painter who would⁴⁰ draw the firmament
Did with a round plump face the same⁴¹ present.
His pencils were the beams shot from fair eyes,
Where some of them he in red blushes dyes,
Which as the morning, when the heaven’s⁴² clear,              5
Shows⁴³ just so red before the sun appear.
The veins he draws for a blue azure⁴⁴ sky,
And for the sun, a great and fair⁴⁵ grey eye.
The rainbow like a brow he pencils⁴⁶ out,
Which circles half a weeping eye about.                               10
From pure pale complexions, takes⁴⁷ a white,
Mixed with a count’nance⁴⁸ sad, he shades the⁴⁹ night.
Thus Heav’n he doth with such⁵⁰ a face present,
That⁵¹ is adorned with beauty excellent.

⁵²
No music’s better than the winds do⁵³ make,
If all their several notes right places take:
The full, the half, the quarter-note they⁵⁴ set;
The tenor, bass, and treble there are met.⁵⁵
The northern wind a strong big bass⁵⁶ doth sing;               5
The east is sweet, like a⁵⁷ small treble string;
The south and west the tenor’s parts do take,⁵⁸
And so, all joined, a fine sweet consort make.⁵⁹
All that this music meets, it moves to dance,
If bodies yielding be with compliance.⁶⁰                               10
The clouds do dance in circle, hand in hand,
Where in⁶¹ the midst⁶² the worldly ball doth stand.
The seas do dance with ships upon their back,
Where, cap’ring⁶³ high, they many times do wrack,
As men which venture on the ropes to dance                     15
Oft tumble down, if they too high advance.
But dust,⁶⁴ like country clowns, no measure keep,
But rudely run⁶⁵ together on a heap.
Trees grave and civil first bow down⁶⁶ their head
Towards the Earth, then every leaf outspread,⁶⁷                20
And every twig each other will salute;
Embracing oft, they⁶⁸ kiss each other’s root.
And so each other plant and flower⁶⁹ gay
Will sweetly dance when as⁷⁰ the winds do play.
But when they’re out of tune, they discord make,              25
Disorder all—nothing its⁷¹ place can take.
But when Apollo with his beams⁷² doth play,
He⁷³ places all again in the right way.

⁷⁴

The heart unto⁷⁵ a harp compare I may,
The passions,⁷⁶ strings on which the mind doth play.
’Tis⁷⁷ harmony, when they just time do keep;
With notes of peace they bring the soul to sleep.

The head unto an organ I compare,                                         5
The thoughts, as several pipes, make music there.
Imagination’s bellows drawn, do⁷⁸ blow
Windy opinions, which the thoughts make⁷⁹ go.
The little virg’nal⁸⁰ jacks which skip about
Are several fancies that run in and out.                                  10

The tongue’s a lute, strung with the strings of breath.⁸¹
The words as fingers play; the pegs are teeth.⁸²
These moving all, a sweet soft music make,
Wise sentences the ground⁸³ of music take.
Witty light airs are pleasant to the ear;                                    15
Strains of description all delight⁸⁴ to hear.
In similizing quavers⁸⁵ lies great art,
Flour’shes⁸⁶ of eloquence are a⁸⁷ sweet part.
Stops of reproof are usèd with great⁸⁸ skill;
Flatt’ring division doth the mind please⁸⁹ still.                      20
The thoughts are several tunes, which they do⁹⁰ play,
And thus the mind doth pass its time away.

⁹¹
The brain a garden seems, full of delight,⁹²
Whereon⁹³ the sun of knowledge shineth bright,
Where fancy flows, and runs in bubbling streams,
Where flowers grow⁹⁴ upon the banks of dreams,
Whereon the dew of sleepy eyes doth fall,                            5
Bathing each leaf, and every flower small.
There⁹⁵ various thoughts as several flowers grow:
Some milk-white innocence, as⁹⁶ lilies, show,
Fancies, as painted tulips’⁹⁷ colors fixt,
By Nature’s pencil neatly⁹⁸ intermixt;                                      10
Some as sweet roses, which are newly blown,
Others as tender buds, not yet full⁹⁹ grown;
Some, as small violets, much¹⁰⁰ sweetness bring.
Thus many fancies from the brain still spring.
Their wit, as butterflies, hot love¹⁰¹ do make,                        15
On every flower fine their pleasure take,¹⁰²
Dancing¹⁰³ about each leaf in pleasant sort,
Passing¹⁰⁴ their time away in amorous sport.
Like Cupids young, their painted wings display,
And with Apollo’s golden beams do¹⁰⁵ play.                            20
Industrious pains¹⁰⁶, as¹⁰⁷ bees, suck out the sweet,
Wax of invention gather¹⁰⁸ with their feet.
Then on the¹⁰⁹ wings of fame fly to their hive,
Which from the wint’r of¹¹⁰ death keeps them alive.
There birds of poetry sweet notes still sing,                          25
Which through the world, as through the air, do¹¹¹ ring,
And on the branches of delight they¹¹² sit,
Pruning their wings, which are with study wet,
Then to the cedars of high honor fly,
Yet rest not there, but mount up to the sky.                           30

¹¹³
The tongue’s a wheel, to spin words from the mind,
A thread of sense by th’understanding’s twined;¹¹⁴
The lips, a loom, these words of sense to weave¹¹⁵
Into discourse, which to the ears they leave.¹¹⁶
This cloth i’th’chest of memory’s laid up,¹¹⁷                           5
Till into shirts of judgments it¹¹⁸ be cut.

Grounds of great loss, with sorrows were deep plowed,¹¹⁹
Wherein the fertile seed of care was sowed;¹²⁰
Horses of hopes did draw the cart of pains,¹²¹
With expectations filled, to th’barn of brains;¹²²
Cows of content did give¹²³ the milk of ease;                              5
Curds pressed with love did make¹²⁴ a friendship cheese;
Cream of delight was put in¹²⁵ pleasure’s churn,
In a short time to butt’r of joy did turn;¹²⁶
Sweet whey of tears from laughing eyes did flow:¹²⁷
Thus all her housewif’ry did Nature show.¹²⁸                           10
Eggs of revenge were laid by some design;
Chickens of mischief hatched by¹²⁹ words divine.
Life’s nourishment¹³⁰ the poultry fat doth cram,
And so she doth all creatures else, and man.¹³¹
And Nature makes the Fates¹³² to sit and spin,                         15
And Destiny lays out and brings flax in.
In this her housewif’ry doth Nature¹³³ take
Such great delight,¹³⁴ the cloth of life to make,
That¹³⁵ every garment she herself cuts out,
Disposing¹³⁶ to her creatures all about.                                      20
Where some wear them so long, till they be¹³⁷ torn,
And some do cast them off before half worn.
Thus busy Nature¹³⁸ doth her self employ
On every creature small, until they¹³⁹ die.
When any¹⁴⁰ dies, that work is at an end;¹⁴¹                               25
Then to a new she doth her study bend.¹⁴²

¹⁴³

Great Nature clothes the soul, which is but thin,¹⁴⁴
With¹⁴⁵ fleshly garments,¹⁴⁶ which the Fates do spin.
And when these garments are grown old and bare,
With sickness torn, Death takes them off with care,
And folds¹⁴⁷ them up in¹⁴⁸ peace, and quiet rest,                       5
So¹⁴⁹ lays them safe within an earthly chest.
Then scours them,¹⁵⁰ and makes them sweet and clean,
Fit for the soul to wear those clothes again.