Edmund Spenser (1552?–1599). The Complete Poetical Works. 1908.
AstrophelAn Elegie, or Friends Passion, for His Astrophill
[By Matthew Roydon.]
A
No swelling cloude accloid the aire;
The skie, like glasse of watchet hew,
Reflected Phœbus golden haire;
The garnisht tree no pendant stird,
No voice was heard of anie bird.
The lion king, the elephant;
The maiden unicorne was there,
So was Acteons horned plant,
And what of wilde or tame are found
Were coucht in order on the ground.
The palme that monarchs do obtaine,
With love juice staind, the mulberie,
The fruit that dewes the poets braine,
And Phillis philbert there away,
Comparde with mirtle and the bay,
With stately height threatning the skie,
And for the bed of love forlorne,
The blacke and dolefull ebonie,
All in a circle compast were,
Like to an amphitheater.
The airie winged people sat,
Distinguished in od degrees,
One sort is this, another that.
Here Philomell, that knowes full well
What force and wit in love doth dwell.
Percht there upon an oke above;
The turtle by him never stird,
Example of immortall love;
The swan that sings about to dy,
Leaving Meander, stood thereby.
The phœnix left sweet Arabie,
And on a cædar in this coast
Built up her tombe of spicerie,
As I conjecture by the same,
Preparde to take her dying flame.
I saw one groveling on the grasse:
A man or stone, I knew not that:
No stone; of man the figure was,
And yet I could not count him one,
More than the image made of stone.
His bodie on his elbow end:
Earthly and pale with gastly cheare,
Upon his knees he upward tend,
Seeming like one in uncouth stound,
To be ascending out the ground.
As might have torne the vitall strings;
Then down his cheeks the teares so flows,
As doth the streame of many springs.
So thunder rends the cloud in twaine,
And makes a passage for the raine.
He wofully gan to complaine;
Such were the accents as might wound,
And teare a diamond rocke in twaine:
After his throbs did somewhat stay,
Thus heavily he gan to say.
‘On wretched me why dost thou shine?
My star is falne, my comfort done,
Out is the apple of my eine:
Shine upon those possesse delight,
And let me live in endlesse night.
As heavie as a mount of lead,
The remnant of my life controll,
Consort me quickly with the dead;
Halfe of this hart, this sprite, and will,
Di’de in the brest of Astrophill.
Gentle birds, beasts, and shadie trees,
I am assurde ye long to kno
What be the sorrowes me agreev’s;
Listen ye then to that insu’th,
And heare a tale of teares and ruthe.
(That I should live to say I knew,
And have not in possession still!)
Things knowne permit me to renew;
Of him you know his merit such,
I cannot say, you heare, too much.
He chiefe delight and pleasure tooke,
And on the mountaine Parthenie,
Upon the chrystall liquid brooke,
The Muses met him ev’ry day,
That taught him sing, to write, and say.
His personage seemed most divine,
A thousand graces one might count
Upon his lovely cheerfull eine,
To heare him speake and sweetly smile,
You were in Paradise the while.
A full assurance given by lookes,
Continuall comfort in a face,
The lineaments of Gospell bookes;
I trowe that countenance cannot lie,
Whose thoughts are legible in the eie.
‘Was never eie, did see that face,
Was never eare, did heare that tong,
Was never minde, did minde his grace,
That ever thought the travell long,
But eies, and eares, and ev’ry thought,
Were with his sweete perfections caught.
In whom so rare desarts did raigne,
Desired thus, must leave us than,
And we to wish for him in vaine!
O could the stars that bred that wit
In force no longer fixed sit?
The Muses willed him to love;
That instrument can aptly shew
How finely our conceits will move:
As Bacchus opes dissembled harts,
So Love sets out our better parts.
Most rare and rich of heavenly blis,
The highest in his fancie stood,
And she could well demerite this:
Tis likely they acquainted soone;
He was a sun, and she a moone.
O Stella, vaunt of Astrophill,
Albeit thy graces gods may move,
Where wilt thou finde an Astrophill?
The rose and lillie have their prime,
And so hath beautie but a time.
In common sight of ev’ry eie,
Yet in his poesies when we reede,
It is apparant more thereby:
He that hath love and judgement too
Sees more than any other doo.
For when thy bodie is extinct,
Thy graces shall eternall be,
And live by vertue of his inke;
For by his verses he doth give
To short livde beautie aye to live.
Which erst approoved in his song
That love and honor might agree,
And that pure love will do no wrong.
Sweet saints! it is no sinne nor blame,
To love a man of vertuous name.
In any mortall brest before;
Did never Muse inspire beneath
A poets braine with finer store:
He wrote of love with high conceit,
And beautie reard above her height.
Our Astrophill with her device,
Whom in his armor heaven admyrde,
As of the nation of the skies;
He sparkled in his armes afarrs,
As he were dight with fierie starrs.
(An envious eie doth see afar)
“Such majestie,” quoth he, “is seeld,
Such majestie my mart may mar;
Perhaps this may a suter be,
To set Mars by his deitie.”
An iron cane, wherein he put
The thunder that in cloudes do breede;
The flame and bolt togither shut
With privie force burst out againe,
And so our Astrophill was slaine.’
And Natures inward life strings twitch:
The skie immediately above
Was dimd with hideous clouds of pitch,
The wrastling winds from out the ground
Fild all the aire with ratling sound.
And sigh’d the sorrow of his fall,
The forrest beasts made ruthfull mone,
The birds did tune their mourning call,
And Philomell for Astrophill
Unto her notes annext a phill.
Shewd feeling passion of his death;
Me thought she said, ‘I tell thee truthe,
Was never he that drew in breath
Unto his love more trustie found,
Than he for whom our griefs abound.’
Began his funerall dirge to sing:
‘Good things,’ quoth he, ‘may scarce appeere,
But passe away with speedie wing:
This mortall life as death is tride,
And death gives life,’—and so he di’de.
Among the creatures of Kinde
Fired the phœnix where she laide,
Her ashes flying with the winde,
So as I might with reason see,
That such a phœnix nere should bee.
May breede an offspring neere that kinde,
But hardly a peere to that, I doubt;
It cannot sinke into my minde,
That under branches ere can bee
Of worth and value as the tree.
The mournfull habite of the place,
And parted thence with mounting flight,
To signifie to Jove the case,
What sorrow Nature doth sustaine
For Astrophill by envie slaine.
The flight the egle upward tooke,
All things did vanish by and by,
And disappeared from my looke;
The trees, beasts, birds, and grove was gone,
So was the friend that made this mone.
A deepe compassion in my spright;
My molting hart issude, me thought,
In streames forth at mine eies aright:
And here my pen is forst to shrinke,
My teares discollors so mine inke.