“Venus, thy eternal sway All the race of men obey.” Euripides.
X.
Unconquerable and inviolate Is Love; servant and sov’reign of man’s wit: Though the light-wingèd fancy changeful flit, She rules unswervingly her fair estate, O’erbears mischance and error, envy and hate; High intellect, ambition, passion, pride, Endowments that capricious Fortune brings, By her disfranchisements are set aside; The mistress she alike of slaves and kings, Empress of Earth’s dominions, far and wide, Eldest of potentates, and latest born. Of all in Heaven above or Earth below, No being so illustrious or forlorn, That to Love’s sceptre doth not gladly bow.
“Ye tradeful merchants! that with weary toil Do seek most precious things to make your gain, And both the Indies of their treasure spoil, What needeth you to seek so far in vain? For, lo! my love doth in herself contain All this world’s riches that may far be found;
But that which fairest is, but few behold, Her mind adorned with virtues manifold.” Spenser.
XI.
Ancestral tendencies far down descend; They bless or blame for generations long; They prick us forward toward our destined end, Alike the weak, the sluggish, and the strong. When her grave ancestor, of Winthrop’s date, Did with the rich mint-master’s daughter join In wedlock, he, sagacious magistrate, Gained more in sterling worth than silver coin: So, when King’s Chapel saw, in gladsome May, The mild schoolmaster lead his willing bride, And the courtly warden give her hand away, Mintage of like worth had no land beside. True love alone nobility doth outvie, And character’s the sterling currency.
“How still the sea! behold, how calm the sky! And how, in sportive chase, the swallows fly! Sweet breathe the fields, and now a gentle breeze Moves every leaf and trembles through the trees.” Phillips.
XII.