Another, to the Moon.
Thou Queen of Heav’n, Commandress of the deep,
Lady of lakes, Regent of woods and deer;
A Lamp, dispelling irksome night; the Source
Of generable moisture; at whose feet
Wait twenty thousand Naiades!—thy crescent
Brute elephants adore, and man doth feel
Thy force run through the zodiac of his limbs.
O thou first Guide of Brutus to this isle,
Drive back these proud usurpers from this isle.
Whether the name of Cynthia’s silver globe,
Or chaste Diana with a gilded quiver,
Or dread Proserpina, stern Dis’s spouse,
Or soft Lucina, call’d in child-bed throes,
Doth thee delight: rise with a glorious face.
Green drops of Nereus trickling down thy cheeks,
And with bright horns united in full orb
Toss high the seas, with billows beat the banks,
Conjure up Neptune, and th’ Æolian slaves,
Protract both night and winter in a storm,
That Romans lose their way, and sooner land
At sad Avernus’ than at Albion’s strand.
So may’st thou shun the Dragon’s head and tail!
So may Endymion snort on Latmian bed!
So may the fair game fall before thy bow!—
Shed light on us, but light’ning on our foe.
[From the “Twins,” a Comedy, by W. Rider, A. M. 1655.]
Irresolution.
I am a heavy stone,
Rolled up a hill by a weak child: I move
A little up, and tumble back again.
Resolution for Innocence.
My noble mind has not yet lost all shame.
I will desist. My love, that will not serve me
As a true subject, I’ll conquer as an enemy.
O Fame, I will not add another spot
To thy pure robe. I’ll keep my ermine honour
Pure and alive in death; and with my end
I’ll end my sin and shame: like Charicles,
Who living to a hundred years of age
Free from the least disease, fearing a sickness,
To kill it killed himself, and made his death
The period of his health.