Hypnerotomachia: The Strife of Loue in a Dreame
into their laced brests, adding after them sweete kisses, some giuing
their louers (if ouer-bold) vpon the cheekes with their harmles palmes
pretie ticks, making them red like the wheeles of _Phoebus_ in a faire
and cleere morning: with other new and vnthought contentions, such as
loue could deuise. They all being pleasant, merrie, and disposed to
delight: Their gestures and motions girlish, and of a virgineall
simplicitie, putting on sincere loue without the offence of honorable
vertue: Free and exempt from the occursion of griefe or emulation of
aduers fortune: Sitting vnder the shade of the weeping sister of the
whited _Phaeton_, and of the immortall _Daphne_ and hairie pineapple
with small and sharpe leaues, streight Cyprus, greene Orenge trees, and
tall Cedars, and others most excellent, abounding with greene leaues,
sweete flowers, and pleasant fruits still flourishing in such sort as is
inestimable, euenly disposed vpon the gratious banks, & orderly growing
in a moderat distance vpon thee grassie ground, inuested with green
Vinca peruince or laurel. What hart is so cold and chilling, that would
not be stirred vp to heate, manifestly beholding the delightfull duties
of reciprocall loue, such as I was perswaded would haue kindled _Diana_
hir selfe?
Whereupon I was bold to shew that folly which tormented my inward
spirits, enuying to see what others possessed, that was a continuall
delight in pleasure and solace without any wearines in full cloying, and
thus diuers times my hart being set on fire by my eies, and extreemely
burning, my minde still fixed vpon delightfull pleasures and their
smacking kisses, and regarding with a curious eie the abounding guerdons
of the fethered god, me thought at that instant, that I did behold the
extreeme perfection of pleasure. And by this meanes I stood wauering and
out of measure amazed, and as one which had droonke an amorous potion,
calling into remembrance the ointments of the mischeeuous _Circes_, the
forcible hearbs of _Medea_, the hurtfull songs of _Byrrena_, and the
deadly verses of _Pamphile_, I stood doubtfull that my eies had seene
somthing more than humane, and that a base, dishonorable, and frail
bodie should not be where immortall creatures did abide.
After that I was brought from these long and doubtfull thoughts and
phantasticall imaginations, and remembring all those maruellous diuine
shapes and bodies which I had personally seene with mine eies, I then
knew that they were not deceitfull shadowes, nor magicall illusions, but
that I had not rightly conceiued of them.
And now with earnest consideration among these beholding the most
excellent Nymph fast by me, my eies filled with amorous darts ceased not
to wound my passionate hart, by means wherof incontinently all my
wandering thoughts were stirred vp, compact, and fixed vpon hir their
desired obiect, recalling my mortified soule afresh to be tormented in
his first flames, which most cruelly I suffered, in that I durst not be
bold to aske if she were my desired _Polia_, for she had put me in some
doubt thereof before, and now fearing to offend hir with my being ouer
bolde, and ore troublesome with my rude and vntilled toong, diuers times
when my voice was breaking out betwixt my lips, vpon that occasion I
suppressed the same. But what she should be, it was beyond my compasse
to imagine, and I stood as suspicious thereof, as the deceiued _Socia_
with the fained _Atlantiades_. Thus with diligent regards and cordiall
searches examining hir heauenly features inuaded with a burning desire
beyond measure, I said to my self: Oh that I might be, if it were
possible, a free man in such a place, for no sorrow shoulde greeue me,
nor imminent danger should make me afraid: although that frowarde
fortune shoulde oppose hir selfe against me, I woulde spende my life
without any regard therof, not refusing to vndertake the laborsome and
great enterprise of the two gates shewed to the sonne of _Amphitrio_.
To spend the prime of my youth and pleasure of my yeers in the mortall
daungers of the merciles seas, and in the fearfull places of
_Trinacria_, with the excessiue trauels and terrors of _Ulysses_, in the
darke caue of the horrible _Polyphem_, the son of _Neptune_, to be
transformed in the companie of _Calypso_, although I lost my life, or
indured the most hard & long seruitude of _Androdus_, for all wearines
is forgotten where loue is vehement. To vndertake with the amorous
_Minalion_ and _Ileus_ to runne with _Atalanta_, or to com but in such
sort as the strong and mightie _Hercules_ for his loue _Deianira_, did
with the huge _Achelous_, so as I might atchieue so gratious a fauor,
and attaine to so high delight, as the remaining in these solacious
places, and aboue all to enioy the precious loue and inestimable good
wil of hir, more faire without comparison, then _Cassiopeia_, of better
fauour then _Castiamira_. Ah me, my life and death is in hir power! And
if so be that I seeme vnwoorthie of hir fellowshippe and amorous
commers, yet would God it might be granted me as a speciall rewarde and
priuiledge to looke vpon hir: and then I saide to my selfe, oh
_Poliphilus_, if these heauie and burthenous weights of amarous conceits
do oppresse thee; the sweetenes of the fruite doth allure thee
thereunto: and if the peremptorie dangers strike thee into a terror, the
hope of the supportation and helpe of so faire a Nymph will animate thee
to be resolute. Thus my thought being diuers, I said, Oh God, if this be
that desired _Polia_ which I see at this present, and whose precious
impression without intermission, I haue stil born in my burning and
wounded hart, fro the first yeers of my loue vntil this present, I am
contented with all sorrows, & besides hir, I desire no other request but
only this, that she may be drawne to my feruent loue, that it may be
with vs alike, or that I may be at liberty, for I am no longer able to
dissemble my griefe, or hide the extremity of my smart, I die liuing, &
liuing am as dead: I delight in that which is my griefe: I go mourning:
I consume my self in the flame, & yet the flame doth norish me, &
burning like gold in the strong cement, yet I find my self like cold
yce. Ah wo is me, that loue should be more greeuous vnto me then the
weight of _Iuarime_ to _Typhon_. It disperseth me more, then the
rauenous vulturs the glomerated bowels of _Tityus_: It holdeth me in
more, then the labirinth crooking: It tosseth me more, then the
northeast winds the calme seas: It teareth me woorse then _Acteons_
dogges their flieng master: It troubleth my spirits more then horrible
death doth them who desire to liue: It is more direfull to my vexed
hart, then the crocodils bowels to _Ichneumon_. And so much the more is
my greefe, that with all the wit I haue, I knowe not to thinke in what
part of the worlde I shoulde be, but streight before the sweete fire of
this halfe goddesse, which without any corporall substance consumeth me:
hir aboundant and faire yealow haire, a snare and net for my hart to be
masked in: hir large and phlegmatique forehead, like white lillies, bynd
me in as with a withe: hir pearcing regards take away my life as sweete
prouocations to afflict me: hir roseall cheekes do exasperate my desire,
hir ruddie lips continue the same, and hir delicious breasts like the
winter snow vpon the hyperboreall mountaines, are the sharp spurs and
byting whip to my amorous passions: hir louely gestures and pleasant
countenance do draw my desire to an imaginatiue delight, heaping vp my
sorrow. And to all these insulting martyrdoms and greeuous vexations of
that impious and deceitfull _Cupid_ I laie open, mightilie striuing to
beare them, and no waie able to resist them, but to suffer my selfe to
be ouercome: neither coulde I shun the same, but remained still as one
vnawares lost in the Babylonian fen.
Oh _Titius_, thou canst not perswade me that thy paine is equall with
mine, although that the vultures teare open thy breast, and taking out
thy smoking warm hart, do pluck it in peeces with their crooked beaks,
and pinch the same in their sharpe tallents, eating vp also the rest of
thy flesh, vntill they haue ingorged thenselues, & within a while after
thou renewed againe, they begin afresh to pray vpon thee. Thou hast a
time to be reuiued againe, and made sound as euer thou wert: but two
eies without all pitie or intermission haue wounded me, deuour and
consume me, leauing me no time of rest, or space to be comforted.
And hauing had these discourses with my selfe, I began secretly to
mourne and weepe, and desire a way that I might die, fetching deepe
sighes as if my hart had torne in sunder with euery one of them. And
diuers times I had purposed with a lamentable voice to desire hir helpe,
for that I was at the point of death: but as one drowned and
ouerwhelmed, I deemed that way to be vaine, and to no purpose, and
therfore furiously, and as one of a raging spirit I thought thus: Why
doest thou doubt, _Poliphilus_? Death for loue is laudable, and
therefore my greeuous and malignant fortune, my sorrowful accident and
hard hap in the loue of so beautifuil a Nymph, will be writ and reported
when I shall lie interred. The same will be sung in doleful tunes vpon
sweete instruments of musicke, manifesting the force of hurtfull loue.
And thus continuing the follie of my thoughts, I said: It may be that
this Nymph, by al likelihoods, is some reuerend goddesse, and therefore
my speeches will be but as the crackling reedes of Archadia in the moist
and fennie sides of the riuer Labdone, shaken with the sharpe east wind,
with the boisterous north, cloudy south & rainie south west wind.
Besides this, the gods will be seuere reuengers of such an insolencie,
for the companions of _Vlysses_ had been preserued from drowning and
shipwracke, if they had not stolne _Apollos_ cattell kept by _Phaetusa_
and hir sister _Lampetia_. _Orion_ had not beene slaine by a scorpion,
if he had not attempted the cold & chast _Diana_, and therefore if I
should vse any indecencie against the honor of this Nymph in any sort,
such like reuenge or woorse woulde be vsed vpon me. At last getting
foorth of these changeable thoughts, I did greatly comfort my selfe in
beholding and contemplating the excellent proportion and sweete sauour
of this ingenuous and most rare Nymph, containing in hir al whatsoeuer
that may prouoke amorous conceits and sweete loue, giuing from hir faire
eies so gratious and fauorable regards, as thereby I somewhat tempered
my troublesome and vnbrideled thoughts. And my resounding sighes
reflexed with a flattering hope (oh the amorous foode of louers and
sauce of salt teares) by these and no other rains I did manage my
vehement thoughts, and made them stop in a conceiued hope, fixing mine
eies with excessiue delight vpon hir faire bodie and well disposed
members, by all which, my discontented desires were gently mitigated and
redeemed from that furie and amorous fire, which so neere had bred the
extremitie of my passions.
_The Nymph leadeth the inamored Poliphilus to other pleasant places,
where he beheld innumerable Nymphs solacing them, and also the triumph
of Vertumnus and Pomona._
By no meanes I was able to resist the violent force of _Cupids_
artillerie, and therefore the elegant Nymph hauing amorously gotten an
irrevocable dominion ouer me a miserable louer, I was inforced to follow
still after hir moderate steps, which led me into a spatious and large
plaine, the conterminate bound of the flowered greene & sweet smelling
vallie, where also ended the adorned mountaines and fruitfull hils,
shutting vp the entrance into this golden countrie, full of incredible
delight with their ioining togither: couered ouer with green trees of a