Chapter 13

The bed, more kind then they religious are, Doth seeke to shroud their foule defiled act, And therefore lets them fall into it farre As in some vale for to conceale the fact: Like bulwarkes rising to defend their names, Or swelling mountains to obscure their shames.

O there they lie and glut themselues with sin, A iocund sin that doth the flesh delight, A filthy flesh that can reioyce herein, A silly ioy that gainst the soule doth fight, A fasting sport, a pleasure soone forgot, That bringeth shame with an eternall blot.

Thrice happy now, had wicked _Myrha_ bene, If some foule swelling _Eban_ cloud would fall, For her to hide her selfe eternall in, Or had the bed bene burnt with wilde fire all, And thereby moult the heauens golden frame That al things might haue ended with her shame.

And now reuenge, a souldier vnto lust, Comes scouring in, as it had bene beguil'd Accompanied with fame and foule distrust, And with disgrace, blacke luxures basest child, These threaten them and blaze abroad the fact, And like to Trumpets thunder out the act.

Not many nights they spending in this sort, But _Cyneras_ at length desir'd to know Who 'twas affoorded him this pleasant sport, And freely did the curtesy bestow: And hauing done this taske vs'd euery night. Forth he doth steale and goes to seek the light.

O hide thee _Myrha_, 'tis not time to sleepe, A thunderbolt is leuel'd at thy head, Vnlesse thy eies prepare them for to weepe, With fire and sword thou art betrai'd in bed, Awaken wench, the day of doome bewray, And see the father his owne child betray.

And whither steales thou furious _Cynaras_? Why seekes a light to open thy owne shame? Who hop'st to finde in this accursed place? Make not such hast to spy thy ignoble game, Stay, stay thy feete, thou wilt repent to late, Mischiefe itselfe comes in with speedy gate.

What, sleepst thou _Myrha_? why th[=e] sleep thou long Or else awake and welcome in thy woes, Another happy day will neuer come, Pale misery thy pleasure ouer-goes; Dreame sleeping, thou didst with thy father lie, Or wake, and see him reuenge the villany.

Confound thy head, and all thy parts with feare, And thinke the fiends incompasse thee about, Striuing with burning tongs thy flesh to teare, Pulling thy tongue and eies with tortures out; O thinke with raizors they do flea thy skin, _A_dding new tortures vnto euery sin.

Now comes the father, being fully bent For to disclose his loue with his faire light, Sleepe _Myrha_, thou hast time for to repent, Arise in care, passe many a weary night; Looke _Cyneras_, and spy disgrace too soone, _Myrha_ awake, see what thy lust hath done.

Blush lustfull King, and see the end of lust, Behold thy owne dishonour and disgrace, Learne what it is to vse thy wife vniust, And lay a Strumpet in her Princely place, Sham follows th[=e] reu[=e]ge hangs o're their heads That basely do defile their marriage bed.

It's like a tender flower nipt with frost, It euer after hangs his drooping head, And hath her wonted prime of glory lost, Or like the cup that hath his _Nectar_ shed: Cracke you the richest pointed Diamond, And all his prise and glory's lost and gone.

Old _Cynaras_ his daughter knowing well, For very anger could not speake a word, But into most outragious fury fell, And would have kil'd the Lady with a sword, But nimbly she, by helpe of cloudy night, Conueyes her selfe out of her fathers sight.

Most like a Lyon, ranging for a pray, Each corner of the house he madly lookes, No barre, or stop, doth hinder him, or stay, He rifles chambers, beds, and secret nookes. This Lyon seekes for her, the dart did throw, And quietly lets all the other go.

By this the Lady's in the _Arabian_ fields, And fearefully doth range about the same, Which plenteously the bearing _Date-tree_ yeelds, At length she also through _Pænchaia_ came, Her fathers rage being something over-past, At _Saba_ land she doth arriue at last.

The King not finding her, begins to fret, And vex himselfe with anguish, care & griefe, He scoulds with fortune, that this trap did set, _A_nd chides the Fates for yeelding no reliefe: Small sorrowes grew till they to greater came, Like little sparkes increasing into flame.

Euen as a river swelling ore her bounds, By daily falling of small drops of raine, Likewise his care continually abounds, By howerly thinking of his his fault againe, Content were found soone in calamity, The thought thereof raz'd out of memory.

Daughter, quoth he, with eyes full fraught with teares, What hast thou done? ô foule accursed child! Why hast deceiu'd my aged blosom'd haires? Why didst thy Princely Father so beguile? _A_lasse! I erre, thou art no childe to me, Nor longer Il'e thy louing father be.

Go seeke some hole eternall to lye in, _A_nd neuermore behold the heauens light, Thou hast disgraced all thy name and kin, Then hide thee euerlasting from my sight, Thou hast not onely brought vs both to shame, But made thy father actor of the same.

How will thy mother thinke her selfe abus'd, That hast made her a quot-queane shamefully, Of filthy incest I do thee accuse, That Lemmon-like didst with thy father lye, Then hye to hell, haste to the Furies there, When raging parets witnesse gainst thee beare.

Oh but the fault thy owne was most of all, Poore _Myrha_ thou didst meane no hurt to me, It wot: thou said'st (my selfe I witnesse call) Twas ill with your owne childe in loue to be. And vrg'd againe, what if she _Myrha_ were, I basely said, there was no fault in her.

Then rent thy braines with terror of the deed, Confused thoughts burst thine accursed breast, As if thou did'st on deadly poyson feed, And in _Elisium_ let thy soule nere rest, Rore seas, quake earth, till you deuoure him That hath defil'd his daughter with foule sin.

Yet she did know I was her father deere, What meant she then to seeke me in such sort? I did not know my daughter to be there, And therefore wished her no kind of hurt. She sin'd, and knew her father she abused, I sin'd, uncertaine who it was I vsed.

By this the Sunne neere past the Zodiaque ore, And thrice three signes had fully ouer-run, Returning tow'rd the point he was before, Ninty degrees wanting thereto to come, He had the Cliptike and one quadre gone, And in that space the child ripes in the womb.

When _Myrha_ weeping much her barne to beare, Tired with wandring in the wood so long, Weary of life beginneth for to feare What shall hereafter on herselfe become. Now she perceiues the folly lust did bring, And may take time of penitence to sing.

Things done in haste, haue leasure to repent, A hasty braine is neuer wanting woe, Youth with _Decorum_ seldome is content, Yong yeares and lust associat-like do goe, Youth hath no wit till it be deerely bought, And often times then it is good for nought.

Alasse! quoth _Myrha_, bursting out with cryes, What shall I do that haue so vilely erred? Let bellowing grones pierce vp into the skyes, That all the Gods to pitty may be stirred, O let some Trumpets voice from thee be driuen To waken mighty _Iupiter_ in heauen.

You gentle Gods, that wonted were to heare The suppliant praiers of distressed soules, Now open wide your gracious listning eare, That I may win some pitty with my houles. O let it stand with your omnipotence, For to remit the sorrowfuls offence.

I do confesse my wickednesse is much, And there's no hope that I should fauour win. Yet your still-pardoning clemency is such, That vndeserued you forgiue our sin, We run in errors every day most ill, Yet you are apt to grant vs pardon still.

What haue I gain'd? my fathers foule disgrace, My owne dishonor, and my friends disdaine; What have I won? an imputation base, My mothers curse, and a perpetuall staine, I seldome see one mischiefe to arise, But it brings others at her heeles likewise.

And since my fault into such height is driuen That I deserue not in the earth to rest, Nor haue a place amongst the starres in heauen, You nightly powers grant me this request: That neither with the dead nor liue I do remain, _A_nd so no place in earth or heauen gaine.

To this her last request the Gods consent, And so the ground her feet did couer ore, Out from her toes the scrawling roots were sent Which by her travell she had bruised sore. These twining roots most plentuously abound, Till they had fixt her body to the ground.

Where be the walks that thou wast wont to haue The shady groues paued with Camomile? The rosie bowers that heate of Sunne did saue, And yeelded to thy sence a pleasant smile? Where be the pleasant roomes thou solast's in. Thou art dispoil'd thereof by thine owne sin.

Thou shalt no more within thy Chariot ride, Gazing vpon the people kneeling downe. No more will come to woe thee for a Bride, Lust hath defil'd the tipe of thy renowne, Those feet of thine, that to offence did lead, Imprisoned are, and not allow'd to tread.

By this the growing tree so far had past, That her faire bones to timber turned were: Her marow did conuert to pyth at last, And all her bloud the name of _Sap_ doth beare, Her armes to bowes, her fingers branches be, Her skin to bark, and so she made a tree.

Where is the face that did all faces staine, But shrunke within a hard consolid barke? No one will sue to kisse it once againe, But must be hid perpetually in darke. That snow-white-neck, that men desir'd to tuch, Now they refuse to handle it as much.

Where are those eyes, those glassy eyes of thine, That lent the glorious Sun his chiefest light? Where is that Angels voyce, that voyce deuine, Whose wel-tun'd t[=o]gue did al the gods delight? What, are they gone? doth time thy glory rust? No, they be spoiled with incestious lust.

Farewell thy armes, made kindly to embrace, But now a bough for birds to pearch upon, Farewell thy pretty fingers in like case, The curious Lute ordain'd to quauer on. Your wonted glory you shall see no more, Your filthy lust hath thrust you out of dore.

Now with her shape she lost her sences quite. For that and for her fault she weepeth still; Which teares are held in honor, price, & might, And daily do out of the tree distill, And from the gummy barke doth issue _Myrrh_, Which evermore shall beare the name of her.

At last the swelling wombe diuides the tree, The infant seeking for some passage out, No Nurse nor Mid-wife could the baby see, The vse of speech his mother is without, And could not therefore begge _Lucina's_ aid, She might done well could she one prayer said.

And therefore sighes and grones most heauily, Bending most humbly to the ground below. Shedding from euery bow teares plenteously. At length the Gods some fauour did bestow. And so _Lucina_ laid her hand thereon, And speaking words, receiu'd the words anon.

The watry _Nymphs_ this pretty child take, And on soft smelling flowers laid him downe, Of which a curious cradle they did make, The hearbs perfumed were for more renowne. The Nymphs this boy affected more and more, And with his mothers teares stil washt him ore.

As yeares increase, so beauty doth likewise, And is more faire tomorrow then to day, His beauty more & more continuall doth arise, That enuy did delight, in him bewray, As _Venus_ fell in loue with him at last, Who did reuenge his mothers lusting past.

_FINIS._

Transcriber's Notes:

Passages in italic font are indicated by _italic_.

Passages in bold font are indicated by =bold=.

Elongated "s" has been modernized.

The use of "VV" in place of "W" is intentional to represent the appearance of the original text.

Letters printed in the original text with macrons are indicated by [=x]. The macrons are used to indicate missing letters, either "m" or "n".

Additional spacing after some of the quotes is intentional to indicate both the end of a quotation and the beginning of a new paragraph as presented in the original text.

Misprints corrected: "Glancus" corrected to "Glaucus" (page XVII) "he" corrected to "be" (page 102) "Appollo" corrected to "Apollo" (page 134) "haning" corrected to "hauing" (page 152) Stanza number "85" corrected to "45" (page 187) Stanza number "100" corrected to "102" (page 208) "ber" corrected to "her" (page 212) "hearr" corrected to "heart" (page 223)

Printing errors (such as unmatched quotation marks and parentheses, inconsistent spelling, punctuation, and capitalization) have been intentionally retained.