Hypnerotomachia: The Strife of Loue in a Dreame
with verie great reason my _Poliphilus_, that before you set downe your
rest heere in this place, you ought in any case to see the third Gate.
Whereunto I consented with a very good will, and therefore going out
from hence, we came to the other Gate, where _Thelemia_ knocking at a
ring of Brasse, it was forth-with sette open, and when wee were come in,
there came towardes vs a notable goodly woman, and her name was
_Philtronia_.
Her regards were wanton, lasciuious, and vnconstant, her grace
wonderfull pleasant, so as at the verie first sight shee violently drew
me into her loue.
This place was the Mansion-house of Voluptuousnes. The grounde decked
with small hearbes, and adorned with all sorts of sundrie flowers,
abounding with solace and quiet ease. Issuing and sending foorth in
diuers places small streames of water, pyppling and slyding downe vpon
the Amber grauell in theyr crooking Channels heere and there, by some
suddaine fall making a still continued noyse, to great pleasure
moystning the open fieldes, and making the shadowed places vnder the
leaffye Trees, coole and fresh.
Shee had with her also sixe young women of like statures, passing fayre,
of pleasant countenaunces, amorously adorned, and dressed as may bee
desired of an ambitious beautie and gesture.
The first was called _Rastonelia_. The second, _Cortasina_. The thirde,
_Idonesa_. The fourth, _Triphelia_. The fift, _Epiania_. And the last
was named _Adia_.
These and their companie, were very delightfull to my gasing and
searching eyes. VVhere-vppon _Logistica_ presentlie with a sad and
grieued countenaunce, seeing mee disposing my selfe abruptlie to the
seruile loue of them, shee said vnto mee, O _Poliphilus_, the alluring
and inticing beauties of these, are vaine, deceiueable, and
counterfeited, vnsauorie and displeasant, and therefore if thou wouldest
with aduisement looke vppon their backes, thou wouldest then hate,
contemne, and abhorre theyr lothsome filthinesse and shame, abounding in
stinke and noysome sauoure aboue any dunghill, which no stomacke can
abide.
And therefore what is slypperie and transitorie flye and eschewe,
despise that pleasure which bringeth shame and repentance, vaine hopes,
a short and small ioy, with perpetuall complaynts, doubtfull sighes, and
a sorrowful life neuer ending.
Oh adulterated and vnkindly pleasure, fraught with miserie, contayning
such bitternesse, like honnie, and yet gall dropping from greene leaues.
O lyfe worse then death, and yet deadly, delighted in sweete poyson,
with what care, sorrow, pensiue thoughts, mortall and desperate
attempts, art thou sought for to bee obtained by blind Louers, who
without regarde or aduise cast themselues headlong into a gulfe of
sorrowes.
They be present before thine eyes, and yet thou seest them not. Oh what
and howe great sorrowes, bitter and sharpe paine and vexation doost thou
beare, wicked, execrable and accursed appetite.
O detestable madnesse, oh beguiled senses, by your faulte with the selfe
same beastlie pleasure, myserable mortall men are ouerthrowne.
Oh filthy lust, absurd furie, disordinate and vaine desire, building
nests with errours, and torments for vvounded harts, the vtter
destroyer, and idle letting goe by of all good blessings.
Oh blinde Monster, how doost thou blinde, and with what deceipt doost
thou couer the eyes, and deceiue the vnderstanding sences of vnhappie
and miserable Louers with vailes and mystes.
O monstrous and slauish, which compassed with so manie euils, hastenest
to so small pleasure poysoned and fayned.
_Logistica_ speaking with vehemencie these and such lyke words, her
fore-head frowning, wrympling with sorrowes, and veines, rysing vp in a
great rage, shee cast her Lute vppon the ground and brake it.
VVhere-vppon _Thelemia_, with a smyling countenaunce, nodded towards
mee, as if shee shoulde say, let _Logistica_ speake her pleasure, but
doe as you see good your selfe.
And _Logistica_ seeing my wicked intent and resolute determination,
beeing kindled with disdaine, turned her backe, and with a great sigh
hastened away.
And I remained still with my companion _Thelemia_, vvho with a
flattering and smyling grace said vnto me, _Poliphilus_, this is the
place where thou shalt not continue long, but thou shalt finde the
deerest thing which thou louest in the world, & which thou hast in thy
hart, without intermission determined to seeke and desire.
And doubtfully then discoursing with my selfe, I was resolued that
nothing coulde breede quiet, or bring content to my poore grieued hart,
but my best desired _Polia_. The promise and warrantise of _Thelemia_
for my obtayning the same, bred in mee some comfort.
And shee perceiuing that the Mistris of thys place, and the seate it
selfe, and her Women dyd bothe please mee vvell, and entertained mee
courteously, shee kissing mee, tooke her leaue and gaue me a fare-well.
The metallyne gates beeing shut, I remayned incloystered among these
fayre and beautifull Nymphes, who began very pleasantly and wantonly to
deuise with mee: and beeing hemmed in with their lasciuious company,
I found my selfe prouoked by their perswasiue alluring intisements, to
vnlawfull concupiscence, feeling in my selfe a burning desire, kyndled
with their wanton aspects, an increasing prouocation of a lusting fier.
I doubt me that if _Phrine_ had beene of that fauour, and force in
gesture of speech, colde _Xenocrates_ would haue consented to her
alluring, and not haue beene accused by her, to be an image of stone.
Their countenances were so lasciuious, their breastes naked and
intycing, theyr eyes flattering, in their roseall forheads, glystering
and rowling, their shapes most excellent, their apparell rich, their
motions girlish, theyr regards byting, theyr ornaments, sweete and
precious, no part counterfeited, but all perfected by nature in an
excellent sort, nothing deformed, but all partes aunswerable one to an
other.
Their heades yellowe, their tresses fayre, and the hayre soft and fine,
in such a sort dressed vp and rouled into trammels, with laces of silke
and golde, passing any ioye that a man may beholde, turned about their
heads in an excellent manner, inuiluxed, and bound vppe together, their
forheades compassed about and shaddowed with wauering curles, mouably
pr[ae]pending in a wonderfull manner, marueilous delightfull, perfumed &
sweet, yeelding an vnknown fragrancie. Their speeches so perswasorie and
pleasing, as might robbe the fauour of an indesposed hart, and violently
drawe vnto them any mind, though Satyr-like or churlish howsoeuer, to
depraue Religion, to binde euery loose conceit, to make any rusty
Peasant amorous, and to mollifie any froward disposition. Vppon which
occasion, my minde, altogether set on fier with a new desire, and in the
extreame heate of concupiscence, prouoked to fall headlong into a
lasciuious appetite, & drowned in lustfull loue vnbridled: in the
extreame inuasion and infectious contage thereof, the Damoselles
forsooke mee and left me all alone in a fruitfull playne.
_In this place Poliphilus being left alone, a most fayre Nymphe (when
hee was forsaken of the lasciuious company) came vnto him, whose
beautie and apparell Poliphilus dooth amourously describe._
My tender heart thus excessiuely wounded with amorous prouocation,
I think I was mad, I stood so amazed, or blinde at the least, because
that I coulde not perceiue in what sort or how this desired and
delightfull company gaue mee the slip: and at last not knowing what I
did, but casting mine eyes right forward, I behelde before mee, a fine
Arbour of sweete Gessamine, somewhat high, lifting vppe and bending
ouer, all to bee painted and decked with the pleasant and odoriferous
flowers of three sortes commixt, and entring in vnder the same.
Wonderfully perplexed for the losse of my company, I knewe not howe
or in what sort, and calling to remembraunce the diuers, rare and
wonderfull thinges past, and aboue al the great hope and trust which
I had conceiued vpon the Queenes promise, that I should finde my loue
_Polia_.
Alas said I, with a deepe sigh, my _Polia_, that the greene Arbour
resounded againe therewithall, my amourous breathings were such, framed
within and sent out from my burning hart. And I was no sooner entered
into this agony, and ouerwhelmed in this passion, but as I passed on to
the other ende of the Arbor, I might perceiue a farre off, a great
number of youthes, solacing and sporting themselues very loude with
diuers melodious soundes, with pleasant sports and sundry pastimes, in
great ioye, and passing delight assembled together, in a large playne.
Vppon this gratefull and desired noueltie, I set me down marueiling at
it, before I would step any further on.
And beholde, a most noble and faire Nymph, with a burning torch in her
hand, departing from the company, tended her course towardes mee, so as
I might well perceiue that shee was a reall mayde indeede and no
spirite, whervpon I mooued not one whit, but gladly expected her
comming, who with a maidenly hast, modest accesse, star-like
countenance, and smiling grace, drewe neere vnto mee with such a
Maiestie, and yet friendly, so as I doubt me, the amorous _Idalea_ neuer
shewed her selfe to _Mars_, nor to her the fayre Pastor _Adonis_. Nor
the delicate _Ganimed_ to _Iupiter_, or the fayre _Psyches_, to her
spouse _Cupid_.
For which cause, if shee had beene the fourth among the three contending
Goddesses, if _Joue_ had beene Iudge, as in the shady Wooddes of
_Mensunlone_ was the Phrigian Sheepheard, without all doubt she had
beene iudged of farre more excellent beautie, and without equiuolence,
more worthy of the golden apple, then all or any one of the rest. At the
first sight I was perswaded that shee had beene _Polia_, but the place
vnaccustomed & her apparell made mee thinke the contrarie, and therefore
my doubtfull iudgement remained in suspence, hauing onely a reuerent
suspition therof.
This honourable Nymph, had her virgineall diuine and small body couered
with a thinne subtill stuffe of greene silke, powdered with golde, vppon
a smocke of pure white coorled Lawne, couering her most delicate and
tender body, and snowye skinne, as fine and good as euer _Pamphila_ the
daughter to _Platis_ in the Iland of Coo, did inuent to weaue. Which
white smocke seemed as if it had couered damaske Roses.
The coate which she wore ouer that, was not like our fashioned
petticoates with French wastes, for that her sweete proporcioned body
needed no such pinching in, & vnholsome weare, hyndering procreation and
an enemie to health: but rather like a wastcoate, with little plightes
and gathers vnder her rounde and pretty bearing out breasts, vpon her
slender and small waste, ouer her large proportioned flanckes and little
round belly, fast girded about with a girdle of golde: and ouer the
same, a gowne or garment side to the ground, and welted belowe.
This garment beeing very side, was taken vp round about the pitch of her
hippes, and before vpon her belly, & tyed about with the studded
marriage girdle of _Citherea_, the plucking vp of y^e garment, bearing
ouer the girdle about her like a french vardingale, & the nethermost
part falling down about her feet in plightes and fouldes, vnstable and
blowne about with the sweete ayre & coole winde, causing sometime, by
the thinnesse thereof, her shape to be seene in it, which shee seemed
with a prompt readinesse to resist and hynder. Her beautie and grace was
such, as I stoode in doubt whether shee were begotten by any humaine
generation: her armes stretching downe, her handes long and slender, her
fingers small and fayre, and her nayles thinne and ruddy, and shining,
as if she had beene _Minerua_ her selfe. Her armes to be seene through