"To thee, therefore, of this fame love I plaine, "And of his fellow-gods hat faine to be, "That chalenge to themselves the whole wak's "raign,

"Of which the greateft part is due to me, "And heaven i felfe by heritage in fee; "For heaven and earth I both alike doe deems, "Sith heaven and earth are both alike to thee, "And gods no more than men thou docit "teeme;

"For even the gods to thee as men to gods da "feeme.

"Ne is the water in more conftant cafe, "Whether those fame on high or thefe belowe: For th' ocean moveth ftill from place to place, "And every river ftill doth ebbe and flowe; "Ne any lake, that seems most still and flowe; "Ne poole fo fmall, that can his smoothneffe "holde,

“When any winde doth under heaven blowe, "With which the clouds are alfe toft and roli'd, "Now like great hills, and straight like fluces, "them unfold.

"Thus all thefe four (the which the ground"work bee

"Of all the world and of all fiving wights) "To thousand forts of change we fubicct fee, "Yet are they chang'd by other wondrous flights "Into themselves, and lofe their native mights; "The fire to aire, and th' ayre to water sheere, "And water into carth; yet water fights "With fire, and aire with earth approaching "neere,

"Yet all are in one body, and as one appeare.

"Which to approven true, as I have told, "Vouchfafe, O Goddeffe to thy prefence call "The reft which doe the world in being hold, "As Times and Seafons of the year that fall; "Of all the which demand in generall, "Or indge thyfelfe by verdit of thine eye, "Whether to me they are not fubiect all." Nature did yield thereto, and by and by Bade Order call them all before her Maiefty.

XXVIII.

So forth iffew'd the Seafons of the year;
First lufty Spring, all dight in leaves of flowers
That freshly budded, and new bloofmes did beare,
In which a thousand birds had built their bowres,
That fweetly fung to call forth paramoures;
And in his hand a javelin he did beare,
And on his head (as fit for warlike ftoures)
A guilt engraven morion he did weare,

That as fome did him love, fo others did him feare.

D diiij

For he had been a fatting hogs of late,
That yet his browes with fweat did reek and
fteem,

And yet the feafon was full fharp and breem;
In planting eeke he took no small delight:
Whereon he rode, not easy was to decnie,
For it a dreadfull Centaure was in fight,

The feed of Saturne and faire Nais, Chiron hight.

XLI.

And after him came next the chill December,
Yet he, through merry feasting which he made,
And great bonfires, did not the cold remember,
His Saviour's birth his mind so much did glad ;
Upon a fhaggy, bearded Goat he rode,

The fame wherewith Dan love in tender yeares,
They fay, was nourisht by th' læan mayd;
And in his hand a broad deepe boawle he beares,
Of which he freely drinks an health to all his
peeres.

XLII.

Then came old Ianuary, wrapped well
In many weeds, to keep the cold away,
Yet did he quake and quiver like to quell,
And blowe his nayles to warme them if he may,
For they were numbd with holding all the day
An hatchet keenc, with which he felled wood,
And from the trees did lop the needlesse spray;
Upon an huge great Earth-pot steane he flood,
From whofe wide mouth there flowed forth the
Romane flood.

XLIII.

And laftly came old February, fitting
In an old Waggon, for he could not ride,
Drawne of two Fishes for the feafon fitting,
Which through the flood before did softly flyde
And swim away; yet had he by his fide
His plough and harnesse fit to till the ground,
And tooles to prune the trees, before the pride
Of hafting prime did make them burgein round;
So paft the Twelve Months forth, and their dew
places found.

XLIV.

And after these there came the Day and Night,
Riding together both with equall pace;
Th' one on a palfrey blacke, the other white;
But Night had covered her uncomely face
With a blacke veile, and held in hand a mace,
On top whereof the moon and stars were pight,
And fleepe and darkneffe round about did trace;
But Day did beare upon his fcepter's hight
The goodly fun, encompast all with beames
bright.

XLV.

Then came the Howres, faire daughters of high love

And timely Night, the which were all endewed
With wondrous beauty fit to kindle love;
But they were virgins all, and love efchewed,
That might forflak the charge to them fore-
fhewed

By mighty love, who did them porters make
Of heaven's gate, (whence all the gods iffued)

Which they did dayly watch and nightly wake By even turnes, ne ever did their charge forfake.

XLVI.

And after all came Life, and lastly Death;
Death with most grim and griefly vifage feene,
Yet is he nought but parting of the breath,
Ne ought to fee, but like a fhade to weene,
Unbodied, unfoul'd, unheard, unfeene;
But Life was like a faire young lufty boy,
Such as they faine Dan Cupid to have beene,
Full of delightfull health and lively ioy,
Deckt all with flowres, and wings of gold fit to
employ.

XLVII.

When these were paft, thus gan the Titaneffe; Lo, mighty Mother! now be iudge, and say "Whether in all thy creatures more or leffe "Change doth not raign, and beare the greatest "fway,

"For who fees not that Time on all doth pray? "But times do change and move continually, "So nothing here long ftandeth in one stay; "Wherefore this lower world who can deny "But to be fubiect still to Mutabilitie ?"

XLVIII.

Then thus gan love; "Right true it is that "these,

"And all things elfe that under heaven dwell, "Are chaung'd of Time, who doth them all def "feife

« Of being; but who is it (to me tell) "That time himselfe doth move and ftill com66 pell

"To keepe his courfe! is not that namely wee, "Which poure that vertue from our heavenly " cell

"That moves them all, and makes them changed "be?

"So them we gods do rule, and in them allo "thee"