Hypnerotomachia: The Strife of Loue in a Dreame
that built Thebes, with hir satyre. _Issa_ the daughter of _Machareus_
with hir shepheard. _Antichia_ the daughter of _Aecus_ and yoong
_Danae:_. _Asterie_ the daughter to _C[ae]us_, and _Alchmena_ with hir
fained husband. Afterward I beheld the pleasant _[Ae]gina_ solacing hir
selfe with the cleere flood and diuine fire. The daughter of _Fullus_
and that of _Menemphus_, with hir counterfeit father, and that other of
_Diodes_ with hir lap full of flowers and a writhing serpent, and the
faire yoong gyrle no more sorrowing for the growing of hir hornes.
_Astiochia_ and _Antigone_ the daughter of _Laomedon_ solaciously
delighting hir selfe in hir storkish plumes, and _Lurisile_ the first
inuentrix of wheeles. _Garamantide_ the dauncing Nymph holding by hir
little finger, and washing hir delicate pretie feete from sweate in the
riuer Bagrada. After that I beheld a quaile flying, and a faulcon
pursuing hir: _Erigone_ hauing hir faire shining brest stickt full of
sweete grapes, and the daughter of king _Chollus_ with hir bull,
_Eriphile_ and hir changed husband: The daughter of _Alpes_ and the
virgin _Melantho_ with hir dolphin, _Phyllira_ the daughter of old
_Oceanus_ with the father of _Chiron_. Next hir _Ceres_ with hir head
instrophyated with ripe eares of corne imbracing the scalie _Hydra_: And
the faire Nymph _Lara_ sorting with _Argiphon_: and the sweete _Futurna_
of the riuer _Numicus_.
And whilest I stood with excessiue delight beholding onely as an
ignorant this rare companie and mysticall triumphes, circumsept with
these and such like sorts, and so also the delicious fields, but that me
thought it was a louely sight to behold, and so I should haue continued:
then the gratious Nymph associating and leading me, seeing my
simplicitie and carelesnes, with a ready countenance and sweete and
pleasant words, without asking, she said thus vnto me: My _Poliphilus_,
doest thou see these? (shewing me those of the olde world) these were
beloued of _Iupiter_, and this, and this was such a one, and these were
in loue with him, by this meanes shewing vnto me their high and mighty
linage, and not knowing their names, she in great curtesie told me.
Afterward she shewed me a great number of little virgins, vnder the
gouernment of three sober and discreete matrones the leaders to so great
delight: Adding thereunto very pleasantly (changing hir angellike
countenance) My _Poliphilus_, thou shalt vnderstand, that no earthly
creature can enter in heere without a burning torch as thou seest me,
either with extreeme loue and great paines, or for the fauour and
company of those three matrones. And from hir hart setting a deepe sigh,
she said: This torch haue I brought hither for thy sake, minding to put
it out in yonder temple.
These speeches pearced my hart, they were so delightfull and desired,
and so much the more, bicause she called me hir _Poliphilus_. Whereupon
I assured my selfe, that she was _Polia_, and from top to the toe I
found an extreeme alteration into a supreame delight, my hart flying
onely to hir. Which thoughts were bewraied by my countenance, and
whispering small sighes.
Which she cunningly perceiuing, brake on this new accident with these
words: Oh how many be there which would most gladly behold these
triumphes, and therefore _Poliphilus_, addresse thy thoughts to other
matters, and behold what noble and woorthy Nymphs shew themselues
deseruedly consorted with their amorous louers, curteous and affable:
who with sweete and pleasant notes in measured verse, praise and commend
one another without wearines, incessantly celebrating their turnes with
excessiue delight, and extolling the triumphs, the aire also full of the
chirpings of diuers pretie birds, yeelding a diffused charme.
About the first triumph among the reioising companie, the nine Muses did
sing, with their leader the diuine Luter _Apollo_.[A]
[Sidenote A: This verse consisted of _Strophe_, _Aristophe_, and
_Epodus_.]
After the triumph followed the faire Parthenopeian _Leria_, with a
lawrell crowne, accompanied with _Melanthia_, whose habites and voices
represented the pride of Greece,[A] whereupon the great Macedon rested
his head: She bare a splendent lampe, communicating the light thereof
with hir companion, then the rest more excellent both in voice and song.
[Sidenote A: _Homer._]
There the faire Nymph shewed me the auncient _Iphianassa_, and after the
old father _Himerinus_ his daughters and their drinke, and one betwixt
the two Theban brothers: These with pleasant noises, sweete musicke and
fine agilities, paste on about the first triumph.
About the second triumph was the noble _Nemesis_ with the _Lesbian
Corina_, _Delia_ and _Ne[ae]ra_, with diuers others amorous Nymphs,
making pleasaunt soundes vppon stringed instruments of yealow wood.
About the thirde triumph, the glorious Nymphs shewed me _Quintilia_ and
_Cynthea Nauta_, with others, in great solace, making sweete harmonies,
and singing pleasant verses: there also I behelde the virgin
_Violantilla_ with hir Doue, and the other sorrowing for hir Sparrow.
About the fourth triumph, before it went the _Lidian Cloe_, _Lide_,
_Neobole_, sweete _Phillis_, and the faire _Lyce_ _Tyburts_ & _Pyra_,
with their harps singing and making a most pleasant noyse. After this
fourth triumph among the M[ae]nades and sacrificers to _Bacchus_, there
folowed an amorous damosell singing in the commendation of the head of
hir louer _Plaon_, she desired hornes. And after them all she shewed me
two women, one of them apparelled in white, and the other in greene,
which came hindermost singing togither.
And thus they marched about in a most pleasant and delightfull maner
vpon the fresh greene and flourishing plaine: Some instrophiated with
laurel, some with myrtle, and others with other sorts of flowers and
garlands, incessantly without any wearines or intermission in a
perfection of the felicitie of this world, mutually enioying one
anothers aspect and companie.
_The Nymph hauing at large declared vnto Poliphilus the mysticall
triumphs and extreeme loue, afterwards she desired him to go on
further, where also with great delight he beheld innumerable other
Nymphs, with their desired louers, in a thousand sorts of pleasures
solacing themselues vpon the greene grasse, fresh shadowes, and by
the coole riuers and cleere fountaines. And how Poliphilus there had
with madnes almost forgotten himselfe in the passions of desire, but
hope did asswage his furie, quieting himselfe in the beholding of the
sweete sauour of the faire Nymph._
Not onely happie but aboue all other most happie were he, to whom it
should be granted continually by speciall fauour to beholde the glorious
pompe, high triumphs, beautiful places, sweet scituations, togither with
the goddesses, halfe goddesses, faire Nymphes of incredible delight and
pleasure, but especially to be seconded and accompanied with so
honorable a Nymph of so rare and excellent beautie. And this I thought
not to be the least and smallest point of my felicitie. Now hauing
looked vpon these sights, I remained a great space recording of the
same, being therewith beyonde measure abundantly contented.
Afterwards, the faire and sweet damsell my guide said thus vnto me:
_Poliphilus_, let vs now go on a little further. And then immediately we
tended our walke toward the fresh fountains and shady riuers, compassing
about the flourshing fields with chrystalline currents and gratious
streames.
In which cleare water, grew the purple flowering sonne of the Nymph
_Liriope_, looking vp from his tender stringes and leaues. And al the
faire riuers were ful of other flowers sweetlie growing among their
greene and fresh leaues. This delightfull place was of a spatious and
large circuit, compassed about and inuironed with wooddie mountaines, of
a moderate height of greene lawrell, fruitefull memerels, hearie & high
pine trees, and within the cleere channels, with graueled banks, and in
some places the bottom was faire soft yealow sande, where the water ran
swifte, and the three leaued driope grew.
There were a great companie of delicate faire Nymphs of tender age, with
a redolent flower of bashfulnes, and beyond all credite beautifull, with
their beardles louers continuallie accompanied. Among which Nymphs, some
verie pleasantly with wanton countenaunces in the cleere streams shewed
themselues sportefull and gamesome, hauing taken vppe finelie their thin
garments of silke of diuers colours, and holding them in the bouts of
their white armes, the forme of their rounde thighs were seene vnder the
plytes, and their faire legges were reuealed to the naked knees, the
current streames comming vp so high: it was a sight which woulde haue
prepared one to that which were vnfit, and if himselfe had been vnable
thereunto. And there where the water was most still, turning downe their
faire faces of exceeding beautie, and bending their bodies of rare
proportion, as in a large goodly glasse they might behould their
heauenly shapes, breaking off the same with the motion of their pretie
feete, making a noyse with the contrast of the circulating water. Some
solaciouslie striuing to go by the tame swimming swans, and sportingly
casting water one at another, with the hollownes of their palms: others
standing without the water vpon the soft coole grasse, making vp of
nosegaies and garlands of sundrie sweete flowers, & giuing the same to
their louers as tokens of their fauorable remembraunce, not denieng
their sweet kisses, & louing imbracings, with the amorous regardes of
their star-like eyes.
And some were set vpon the greene banks not ouergrown with reed and
segs, but finely beautified with sweete hearbs and flowers, among the
which the tender Nymphs comming wet out of the water more cleere then
_Axius_ in _Mygdonia_, vnder the vmbragious trees, did sit sporting and
deuising one with another in delightfull imbracings, with their
reuerencing louers, not cruelly scorning & reiecting them, but with a
sociable loue and benigne affablenesse, disposing themselues to the like
shew of true affection, their sweete gestures and pleasant behauiours
far more gratious to the eie, then flowing teares be to the frowarde and
vnmercifull _Cupid_, the sweete fountaines and moist dewes to the green
fieldes, and desired forme to vnfashioned matter.
Some did sing amorous sonnets, and verses of loue, breathing out in the
same from their inflamed breasts, scalding sighs ful of sweete accents,
able to enamorate harts of stone: And to make smooth the ruggednesse of
the vnpassageable mountaine _Caucasus_, to staie whatsoeuer furie the
harpe of _Orpheus_ woulde prouoke, and the fowle and euill fauoured face
of _Medusa_, to make any horrible monster tame and tractable, and to
stop the continuall prouocation of the deuouring _Scylla_. Some rested
their heads in the chaste laps of their faire loues, recounting the
pleasaunt deuises of _Iupiter_, and they instrophyating their curled
locks with sweete smelling flowers.
Others of them fained that they were forsaken, and seemed to flie and go
awaie from them, whom dearely they did affect, and then was there
running one after another with loud laughters, and effeminate criengs
out, their faire tresses spredding downe ouer their snowie shoulders
like threeds of gold, bound in laces of greene silke: Some loose after a
Nymphish maner, others bounde vp in attyres of golde set with pearle.
Afterwards comming neere togither, they would stowpe downe, and twiching
vp the sweete flowers with their faire and tender fingers, fling the
same in the faces of their pursuing louers with great pleasure and
solace, maintaining their fained disgracings.
Others with great curtesie were putting of Rose leaues one after another