Be fild with praises of divinest wits,

That her eternize with their heavenlie writs!

Some few beside this sacred skill esteme,
Admirers of her glorious excellence;
Which, being lightned with her beauties beme,
Are thereby fild with happie influence,
And lifted up above the worldës gaze,
To sing with Angels her immortall praize.

But all the rest, as borne of salvage brood,
And having beene with acorns alwaies fed,
Can no whit savour this celestiall food,
But with base thoughts are into blindnesse led,
And kept from looking on the lightsome day :
For whome I waile and weepe all that I may.-

585

590

Eftsoones1 such store of teares shee forth did powre,
As if shee all to water would have gone;
And all her Sisters, seeing her sad stowre,2
Did weep and waile, and made exceeding mone,
And all their learned instruments did breake:
The rest untold no living tongue can speake.

595

600

1 Eftsoones, immediately.

2 Stowre, affliction.

VIRGILS GNAT.

LONG SINCE DEDICATED

TO THE MOST NOBLE AND EXCELLENT LORD,

THE EARLE OF LEICESTER,

LATE DECEASED.

1591.

LONG SINCE DEDICATED

TO THE MOST NOBLE AND EXCELLENT LORD,

THE EARLE OF LEICESTER,

LATE DECEASED.

*

WRONG'D,* yet not daring to expresse my paine,
To you (great lord) the causer of my care,
In clowdie teares my case I thus complaine
Unto your selfe, that onely privie are.
But if that any Edipus unware

Shall chaunce, through power of some divining spright,
To reade the secrete of this riddle rare,

And know the purporte of my evill plight;
Let him rest pleased with his owne insight,
Ne further seeke to glose upon the text:
For griefe enough it is to grieved wight
To feele his fault, and not be further vext.

But what so by my selfe may not be showen,
May by this Gnatts complaint be easily knowen.

Nothing is known with certainty respecting the wrong of which Spenser here complains. Some biographers have one conjecture, anc some another, upon the subject.

VIRGILS GNAT.*

I.

WE now have playde, Augustus, wantonly,

Tuning our song unto a tender Muse,
And, like a cobweb weaving slenderly,

Have onely playde: Let thus much then excuse
This Gnats small Poëme, that th' whole historie
Is but a iest, though envie it abuse:

But who such sports and sweet delights doth blame,
Shall lighter seeme then this Gnats idle name.

II.

Hereafter, when as season more secure

Shall bring forth fruit, this Muse shall speak to thee

In bigger notes, that may thy sense allure,

And for thy worth frame some fit Poesie:
The golden ofspring of Latona pure,
And ornament of great loves progenie,

*This is a translation of a poem called Culex, attributed to Virgil, who is, however, responsible for but little if any of it. Warton calls it a vague and arbitrary paraphrase," and Jortin observes that the version is, in many places, wrong. Heyne, in his edition of Virgil, mentions this translation with faint praise. Whether it be a faithful representation of the original or not, it is certainly of very little value as a poem.

Phoebus, shall be the author of my song,
Playing on ivorie harp with silver strong.1

III.

He shall inspire my verse with gentle mood
Of Poets Prince, whether he woon2 beside
Faire Xanthus sprincled with Chimæras blood;
Or in the woods of Astery abide;

Or whereas mount Parnasse, the Muses brood,
Doth his broad forhead like two hornes divide,
And the sweete waves of sounding Castaly
With liquid foote doth slide downe easily.

IV.

Wherefore ye Sisters, which the glorie bee
Of the Pierian streames, fayre Naiades,
Go too; and, dauncing all in companie,
Adorne that god: And thou holie Pales,
To whome the honest care of husbandrie
Returneth by continuall successe,

Have care for to pursue his footing light

[dight.

Throgh the wide woods, and groves, with green leaves

V.

Professing thee I lifted am aloft

Betwixt the forrest wide and starrie sky:
And thou, most dread Octavius, which oft
To learned wits giv'st courage worthily,

O come, thou sacred childe, come sliding soft,
And favour my beginnings graciously:

For not these leaves do sing that dreadfull stound,3
When Giants bloud did staine Phlegræan ground.

VI.

Nor how th' halfe horsy people, Centaures hight,

1 Strong, strung. 2 Woon, dwell. 3 Stound, assault.