Before I sigh my last gaspe, let me breath,
Great love, some Legacies; Here I bequeath
Mine eyes to Argus, if mine eyes can see,
If they be blinde, then Love, I give them thee;
My tongue to Fame; to'Embassadours mine eares;
To women or the sea, my teares.
Thou, Love, hast taught mee heretofore
By making mee serve her who'had twenty more,
That I should give to none, but such, as had too much before.
My constancie I to the planets give;
My truth to them, who at the Court doe live;
Mine ingenuity and opennesse,
To Jesuites; to Buffones my pensivenesse;
My silence to'any, who abroad hath beene;
My mony to a Capuchin.
Thou Love taught'st me, by appointing mee
To love there, where no love receiv'd can be,
Onely to give to such as have an incapacitie.
My faith I give to Roman Catholiques;
All my good works unto the Schismaticks
Of Amsterdam; my best civility
And Courtship, to an Universitie;
My modesty I give to souldiers bare;
My patience let gamesters share.
Thou Love taughtst mee, by making mee
Love her that holds my love disparity,
Onely to give to those that count my gifts indignity.
I give my reputation to those
Which were my friends; Mine industrie to foes;
To Schoolemen I bequeath my doubtfulnesse;
My sicknesse to Physitians, or excesse;
To Nature, all that I in Ryme have writ;
And to my company my wit.
Thou Love, by making mee adore
Her, who begot this love in mee before,
Taughtst me to make, as though I gave, when I did but restore.
To him for whom the passing bell next tolls,
I give my physick bookes; my writen rowles
Of Morall counsels, I to Bedlam give;
My brazen medals, unto them which live
In want of bread; To them which passe among
All forrainers, mine English tongue.
Thou, Love, by making mee love one
Who thinkes her friendship a fit portion
For yonger lovers, dost my gifts thus disproportion.
Therefore I'll give no more; But I'll undoe
The world by dying; because love dies too.
Then all your beauties will bee no more worth
Then gold in Mines, where none doth draw it forth;
And all your graces no more use shall have
Then a Sun dyall in a grave.
Thou Love taughtst mee, by making mee
Love her, who doth neglect both mee and thee,
To'invent, and practise this one way, to'annihilate all three.
[The Will. 1633-69: do. or A Will. A25, B, C, Cy,
D, H40, H49, Lec, M, O'F, P: Loves Will. L74:
Loves Legacies. A18, N, TCC (torn out of TCD), S:
Testamentum. S96: His Last Will and Testament. JC]
[2 Here I 1633-54: I here 1669, Chambers]
[6 teares. Ed: teares; 1633-69]
[8 serve her] love her 1669]
[10 give; Ed: give, 1633-69]
[10-27 These stanzas printed without a break, 1669]
[14 hath] have 1669]
[18 an incapacitie.] no good Capacity. 1669]
[19-27 omitted, A18, A25, B, Cy, D, H40, H49,
JC, L74 (added later), Lec, M (added later), N,
P, TCC: given in O'F, S, and all editions]
[33 wit. Ed: wit; 1633-69]
[34 Love, 1650-69: love, 1633-39]
[36 did 1633 and MSS.: do 1635-69, O'F]
[45 gifts 1633-35, 1669: gift 1639-54]
[46 more; But 1633: more, but 1635-69]
[49-51 forth; ... grave. 1669: forth ... grave, 1633-39 by
interchange: forth ... grave. 1650-54]
[54 all three. 1633-39, three being below the line in 1633
and above in 1635-39: al. three 1650-54, the full stop
having fallen from three to all below it: annihilate
thee. 1669]