Youth is full of sport, age's breath is short;
Youth is nimble, age is lame;
Youth is hot and bold, age is weak and cold;
Youth is wild, and age is tame.
Age, I do abhor thee, youth, I do adore thee;
O! my love, my love is young:
Yet at my parting sweetly did she smile, 6 In scorn of friendship, nill I construe whether: 'T may be, she joy'd to jest at my exile, 'T may be, again to make me wander thither: 'Wander,' a word for shadows like myself, II As take the pain, but cannot pluck the pelf. Lord! how mine eyes throw gazes to the east;
Age, I do defy thee: Ol sweet shepherd, hie thee,
For methinks thou stay'st too long.
Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good;
A shining gloss that vadeth suddenly;
A flower that dies when first it 'gins to bud;
A brittle glass that's broken presently:
A doubtful good, a gloss, a glass, a flower,
My heart doth charge the watch; the morning
Doth cite each moving sense from idle rest.
Not daring trust the office of mine eyes,
While Philomela sits and sings, I sit and
mark,
And wish her lays were tuned like the lark; 18
Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour. 6 For she doth welcome daylight with her ditty,
And drives away dark dismal-dreaming night:
The night so pack'd, I post unto my pretty;
Heart hath his hope, and eyes their wished
Sorrow chang'd to solace, solace mix'd with
My ewes breed not,
My rams speed not,
All is amiss:
Love's denying,
Faith's defying,
Heart's renying,
Causer of this.
All my merry jigs are quite forgot,
All my lady's love is lost, God wot:
Where her faith was firmly fix'd in love,
There a nay is plac'd without remove.
One silly cross
Wrought all my loss;
For a sweet content, the cause of all my
Other help for him I see that there is
Whenas thine eye hath chose the dame,
And stall'd the deer that thou should'st strike,
8 Let reason rule things worthy blame,
As well as fancy, partial wight:
Take counsel of some wiser head,
Neither too young nor yet unwed.
12 And when thou com'st thy tale to tell,
Smooth not thy tongue with filed talk,
Lest she some subtle practice smell;
O! frowning Fortune, cursed, fickle A cripple soon can find a halt:
But plainly say thou lov'st her well,
And set thy person forth to sell.
What though her frowning brows be bent,
Her cloudy looks will clear ere night;
And then too late she will repent
That thus dissembled her delight;
And twice desire, ere it be day,
That which with scorn she put away.
What though she strive to try her strength,
And ban and brawl, and say thee nay,
Her feeble force will yield at length,
When craft hath taught her thus to say,
'Had women been so strong as men,
In faith, you had not had it then.'
And to her will frame all thy ways;
Spare not to spend, and chiefly there
Where thy desert may merit praise,
By ringing in thy lady's ear:
My shepherd's pipe can sound no deal,
My wether's bell rings doleful knell;
My curtal dog, that wont to have play'd,
Plays not at all, but seems afraid;
The strongest castle, tower, and town,
The golden bullet beats it down.
Beasts did leap, and birds did sing,
Trees did grow, and plants did spring;
Every thing did banish moan,
Save the nightingale alone:
She, poor bird, as all forlorn,
Lean'd her breast up-till a thorn,
And there sung the dolefull'st ditty,
That to hear it was great pity:
'Fie, fie, fiel' now would she cry;
'Tereu, Tereul' by and by;
That to hear her so complain,
Scarce I could from tears refrain;
For her griefs, so lively shown,
Made me think upon mine own.
Ah! thought I, thou mourn'st in vain,
None takes pity on thy pain:
Senseless trees they cannot hear thee,
Ruthless beasts they will not cheer thee:
King Pandion he is dead,
All thy friends are lapp'd in lead,
All thy fellow birds do sing
Careless of thy sorrowing.
Even so, poor bird, like thee,
None alive will pity me.
Whilst as fickle Fortune smil'd,
Thou and I were both beguil'd.
Every one that flatters thee Is no friend in misery. Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find: Every man will be thy friend Whilst thou hast wherewith to spend; 36 But if store of crowns be scant, No man will supply thy want. If that one be prodigal, Bountiful they will him call, And with such-like flattering, 'Pity but he were a king.' If he be addict to vice, Quickly him they will entice; If to women he be bent, They have him at commandement: But if Fortune once do frown, Then farewell his great renown; They that fawn'd on him before Use his company no more. He that is thy friend indeed, He will help thee in thy need: If thou sorrow, he will weep; If thou wake, he cannot sleep: Thus of every grief in heart He with thee does bear a part. These are certain signs to know Faithful friend from flattering foe.
AARON, Tit. Andr.
ABERGAVENNY, LORD, Hen.
A BHORSON, Meas. for Meas.
ABRAHAM, Rom. & Jul.
ACHILLES, Troilus.
ADAM, As You Like It.
ADRIAN, Coriolanus.
ADRIAN, Tempest.
ADRIANA, Com. of Err.
ÆGEON, Com. of Err.
ÆMILIA, Com. of Err.
ÆMILIUS, Tit. Andr.
OF EPHESUS, BAWD, A, Pericles.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE,
Com. of Err.
ANTONIO, M. of Ven.
ANTONIO, Much Ado.
ANTONIO, Tempest.
ANTONIO, Twelfth Night.
ANTONIO, Two G. of Ver.
ANTONY, MARK, Jul. Cæs.,
Ant. & Cleop.
APEMANTUS, Timon.
APOTHECARY, Rom. & Jul.
ÆMILIUS LEPIDUS, Jul. Cæs. ARCHIBALD, EARL OF DOUG-
ÆNEAS, Troilus.
AGAMEMNON, Troilus.
AGRIPPA, Ant. & Cleop.
AGRIPPA, MENENIUS, Coriol.
AGUECHEEK, SIR ANDREW,
Twelfth Night.
AJAX, Troilus.
ALARBUS, Tit. Andr.
ALBANY, DUKE OF, K. Lear.
ALCIBIADES, Timon.
ALENÇON, DUKE OF, I Hen. VI.
ALEXANDER, Troilus.
ALEXAS, Ant. & Cleop.
ALICE, Hen. V.
ALONSO, Tempest.
AMIENS, As You Like It.
ANDROMACHE, Troilus.
ANDRONICUS, MARCUS, Tit.
LAS, I Hen. IV.
ARCHIDAMUS, Winter's T.
ARIEL, Tempest.
ARMADO, DON ADRIANO DE,
Love's L. L.
ARRAGON, PRINCE OF, M. of
ARTEMIDORUS, Jul. Cæs.
ARTHUR, DUKE OF BRITAINE,
K. John.
ARVIRAGUS, Cymbeline.
AUDREY, As You Like It.
AUFIDIUS, TULLUS, Coriol.
AUMERLE, DUKE OF, Rich. II.
AUTOLYCUS, Winter's T.
AUVERGNE, COUNTESS OF,
ANGELO, Com. of Err.
ANGELO, Meas. for Meas.
ANJOU, REIGNIER, DUKE OF, BAPTISTA, Tam. of Shrew.
ANNE, LADY, Rich. III.
ANTENOR, Troilus.
ANTIGONUS, Winter's T.
ANTIOCHUS, KING OF AN-
TIOCH, Pericles.
ANTIOCHUS, DAUGHTER OF,
Pericles.
BARDOLPH, 1 & 2 Hen. IV,
Hen. V, Merry Wives.
BARDOLPH, LORD, 2 Hen. IV.
BARNARDINE, Meas. for Meas.
BASSANIO, M. of Ven.
BASSET, I Hen. VI.
BASSIANUS, Tit. Andr.
BATES, Hen. V.
BEATRICE, Much Ado.
BEAUFORT, HENRY, BISHOP
OF WINCHESTER, I & 2
Hen. VI.
BEAUFORT, JOHN, EARL OF
SOMERSET, I Hen. VI.
BEAUFORT, THOMAS, DUKE
OF EXETER, I Hen. VI.
BEDFORD, DUKE OF, Hen. V,
1 Hen. VI.
BELARIUS, Cymbeline.
BELCH, SIR TOBY, Twelfth
Night.
BENEDICK, Much Ado.
BENVOLIO, Rom. & Jul.
BERKELEY, Rich. III.
BERKELEY, LORD, Rich. II.
BERNARDO, Hamlet.
BEROWNE, Love's L. L.
BERTRAM, COUNT OF ROu-
SILLON, All's Well.
BEVIS, GEORGE, 2 Hen. VI.
BIANCA, Othello.
BIANCA, Tam. of Shrew.
BIGOT, LORD, K. John.
BIONDELLO, Tam. of Shrew.
BLANCH OF SPAIN, K. John.
BLOUN'T, SIR JAMES, Rich. III.
BLUNT, SIR WALTER, 1 & 2
Hen. IV.
BOATSWAIN, Tempest.
BOLINGBROKE, 2 Hen. VI.
BOLINGBROKE (afterwards
HENRY IV), Rich. II.
BONA, 3 Hen. VI.
BORACHIO, Much Ado.
Воттом, Mids. N. Dr.
BOULT, Pericles.
BOURBON, DUKE OF, Hen. V.
BOURCHIER, CARDINAL, ARCH-
BISHOP OF CANTERBURY,
Rich. III.
BOYET, Love's L. L.
BRABANTIO, Othello.
BRAKENBURY, SIR ROBERT,
Rich, III.
|