His parting from her.
Since she must go, and I must mourn, come Night,
Environ me with darkness, whilst I write:
Shadow that hell unto me, which alone
I am to suffer when my Love is gone.
Alas the darkest Magick cannot do it,
Thou and greate Hell to boot are shadows to it.
Should Cinthia quit thee, Venus, and each starre,
It would not forme one thought dark as mine are.
I could lend thee obscureness now, and say,
Out of my self, There should be no more Day,
Such is already my felt want of sight,
Did not the fires within me force a light.
Oh Love, that fire and darkness should be mixt,
Or to thy Triumphs soe strange torments fixt?
Is't because thou thy self art blind, that wee
Thy Martyrs must no more each other see?
Or tak'st thou pride to break us on the wheel,
And view old Chaos in the Pains we feel?
Or have we left undone some mutual Right,
Through holy fear, that merits thy despight?
No, no. The falt was mine, impute it to me,
Or rather to conspiring destinie,
Which (since I lov'd for forme before) decreed,
That I should suffer when I lov'd indeed:
And therefore now, sooner then I can say,
I saw the golden fruit, 'tis rapt away.
Or as I had watcht one drop in a vast stream,
And I left wealthy only in a dream.
Yet Love, thou'rt blinder then thy self in this,
To vex my Dove-like friend for my amiss:
And, where my own sad truth may expiate
Thy wrath, to make her fortune run my fate:
So blinded Justice doth, when Favorites fall,
Strike them, their house, their friends, their followers all.
Was't not enough that thou didst dart thy fires
Into our blouds, inflaming our desires,
And made'st us sigh and glow, and pant, and burn,
And then thy self into our flame did'st turn?
Was't not enough, that thou didst hazard us
To paths in love so dark, so dangerous:
And those so ambush'd round with houshold spies,
And over all, thy husbands towring eyes
That flam'd with oylie sweat of jealousie:
Yet went we not still on with Constancie?
Have we not kept our guards, like spie on spie?
Had correspondence whilst the foe stood by?
Stoln (more to sweeten them) our many blisses
Of meetings, conference, embracements, kisses?
Shadow'd with negligence our most respects?
Varied our language through all dialects,
Of becks, winks, looks, and often under-boards
Spoak dialogues with our feet far from our words?
Have we prov'd all these secrets of our Art,
Yea, thy pale inwards, and thy panting heart?
And, after all this passed Purgatory,
Must sad divorce make us the vulgar story?
First let our eyes be rivited quite through
Our turning brains, and both our lips grow to:
Let our armes clasp like Ivy, and our fear
Freese us together, that we may stick here,
Till Fortune, that would rive us, with the deed
Strain her eyes open, and it make them bleed:
For Love it cannot be, whom hitherto
I have accus'd, should such a mischief doe.
Oh Fortune, thou'rt not worth my least exclame,
And plague enough thou hast in thy own shame.
Do thy great worst, my friend and I have armes,
Though not against thy strokes, against thy harmes.
Rend us in sunder, thou canst not divide
Our bodies so, but that our souls are ty'd,
And we can love by letters still and gifts,
And thoughts and dreams; Love never wanteth shifts.
I will not look upon the quickning Sun,
But straight her beauty to my sense shall run;
The ayre shall note her soft, the fire most pure;
Water suggest her clear, and the earth sure.
Time shall not lose our passages; the Spring
How fresh our love was in the beginning;
The Summer how it ripened in the eare;
And Autumn, what our golden harvests were.
The Winter I'll not think on to spite thee,
But count it a lost season, so shall shee.
And dearest Friend, since we must part, drown night
With hope of Day, burthens well born are light.
Though cold and darkness longer hang somewhere,
Yet Phoebus equally lights all the Sphere.
And what he cannot in like Portions pay,
The world enjoyes in Mass, and so we may.
Be then ever your self, and let no woe
Win on your health, your youth, your beauty: so
Declare your self base fortunes Enemy,
No less by your contempt then constancy:
That I may grow enamoured on your mind,
When my own thoughts I there reflected find.
For this to th'comfort of my Dear I vow,
My Deeds shall still be what my words are now;
The Poles shall move to teach me ere I start;
And when I change my Love, I'll change my heart;
Nay, if I wax but cold in my desire,
Think, heaven hath motion lost, and the world, fire:
Much more I could, but many words have made
That, oft, suspected which men would perswade;
Take therefore all in this: I love so true,
As I will never look for less in you.
[Elegie. XII. &c. Ed: Eleg. XIIII &c. 1635-54 (Eleg.
XIII. being Come, Fates, &c., p. 407): Elegie XIIII.
1669: At her Departure. A25: At his Mistris departure.
B: Elegie. H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD (II)]
[1 Night, Ed: night 1635-69]
[4 Love] soule 1635-54]
[5-44 omit, 1635-54, A25, B]
[6 Thou and greate Hell H40, O'F, P, S96: And that
great Hell 1669
to boot are 1669, H40, O'F: are nought but P, S96]
[7 thee, Ed: thee 1669]
[9 thee H40: them 1669, P, S96, TCD]
[10 Day, Ed: Day. 1669]
[11 felt want H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD: self-want,
sight, Ed: sight 1669]
[12 fires H40, S96, TCD: fire 1669, P]
[14 Or] Are S96: And TCD
soe H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD: such 1669]
[17 the H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD: thy 1669]
[20 Through holy fear, that merits (causes S96) thy despight
(meriteth thy spight P) H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD:
That thus with parting thou seek'st us to spight? 1669]
[21 was H40, S96: is 1669, P, TCD]
[23 Which ... decreed, H40, O'F, S96: Which (since I
lov'd) for me before decreed, 1669, P, TCD: Which,
since I lov'd in jest before, decreed H-K, which Chambers
follows]
[25 now, sooner all the MSS.: sooner now 1669
rapt] wrapt 1669]
[27 a vast H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD: the vast 1669]
[29 thy self] myself Chambers]
[31 my own H40, O'F, P, S96: one 1669
sad 1669: glad H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD]
[32 fate: Ed: fate. 1669]
[33 blinded] blindest H40]
[34 followers H40, P, TCD: favourites 1669, S96]
[37 glow H40, S96, P, TCD: blow 1669]
[38 flame H40, S96, P, TCD: flames 1669]
[40 so dangerous H40, P, S96, TCD: and dangerous
[42 all, Ed: all 1669
towring 1669, TCD: towred O'F, P, S96: lowering
Grolier
the towred husbands eyes H40: the Loured, husbandes eyes
RP31]
[43 That flam'd with oylie H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD:
Inflam'd with th'ouglie 1669
jealousie: Ed: jealousie, 1669]
[44 with H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD: in 1669]
[45 Have we not kept our guards, H40, O'F, P, S96,
TCD: Have we for this kept guards, 1669
on 1669: o'r 1635-54]
[49 most 1635-69, H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD: best
[50 our] thy RP31]
[52 from our words? 1669: from words? 1635-54]
[53 these secrets MSS.: the secrets 1635-69
our] thy RP31]
[54 Yea ... panting heart? 1635-69, A25: Yea thy pale
colours inward as thy heart? H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD]
[56 sad] rude P, TCD]
[57-66 om. 1635-54, A25, B]
[58 brains] beams P: brain Chambers]
[61 Fortune, Ed: fortune, 1669
would rive us, with H40, O'F, S96, TCD: would ruine us
with 1669]
[62 her H40: his 1669
it] yet 1669
bleed: Ed: bleed. 1669]
[65 Oh Fortune,] Oh fortune, 1669, S96: And Fortune H40,
P]
[66 shame. H40, O'F, P, S96: name. 1669]
[67 Do thy great worst &c. 1669: Fortune, doe thy worst
&c. 1635-54 (after 56 the vulgar story?)
armes, 1635-69, H40, O'F, P, S, TCD: charmes H-K
(Grosart and Chambers)]
[69 Rend us in sunder, 1669 and MSS.: Bend us, in sunder
1635-54]
[72 shifts. 1635: shifts, 1639-69]
[76 Water H40, P, TCD: Waters 1635-69, A25, S96
sure. Ed: sure; 1635-69]
[77 Time] Times H40, TCD
Spring Ed: spring 1635-69]
[79 ripened in the eare; B, H40, O'F, P, S96, TCD:
ripened in the yeare; 1635: inripened the yeare; 1639-69]
[83-94 omit 1635-54, A25, B]
[85 Though H40, P, TCD: The 1669, S96]
[87 he ... Portions Ed: he ... portions H40: he ...
portion O'F, P, TCD: we ... Portion 1669: he can't in
like proportion H-K (Grosart)]
[88 enjoyes] yet joys H40]
[89 ever your] your fayrest H40, TCD]
[92 by your contempt then constancy: H40, S96: be your
contempt then constancy: O'F, H-K (Grosart), P, TCD:
be your contempt then her inconstancy: 1669]
[94 there reflected H40, O'F, P, S, TCD: here
neglected 1669: there neglected H-K (Grosart, probably
wrongly)]
[95-104 om. TCD]
[95 For H40, S96: And 1635-69]
[96 my words are now; H40, P: my deeds are now; 1635-69,
O'F, S96: my thoughts are now; A25]
[102 oft, 1633-54: oft 1669
would 1635-54, A25, B, H40, O'F, S96: most 1669]