The expense of spirit in a waste of shame Is lust in action; and till action, lust Is perjur'd, murderous, bloody, full of blame, Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust; Enjoy'd no sooner but despised straight; Past reason hunted; and no sooner had, Past reason hated, as a swallow'd bait, On purpose laid to make the taker mad: Mad in pursuit, and in possession so; Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme; A bliss in proof,-and prov'd, a very woe; Before, a joy propos'd; behind, a dream.
To mourn for me, since mourning doth thee grace,
6 And suit thy pity like in every part.
All this the world well knows; yet none knows well
Toshun the heaven that leads men to this hell.
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red: If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damask'd, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound: I grant I never saw a goddess go,— My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare.
Then will I swear beauty herself is black, And all they foul that thy complexion lack.
Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groan For that deep wound it gives my friend and me! Is 't not enough to torture me alone, But slave to slavery my sweet'st friend must be?
Me from myself thy cruel eye hath taken, And my next self thou harder hast engross'd: 6 Of him, myself, and thee, I am forsaken; A torment thrice threefold thus to be cross'd. Prison my heart in thy steel bosom's ward, But then my friend's heart let my poor heart bail;
Whoe'er keeps me, let my heart be his guard; Thou canst not then use rigour in my jail:
And yet thou wilt; for I, being pent in thee, Perforce am thine, and all that is in me.
So, now I have confess'd that he is thine, And I myself am mortgag'd to thy will, Myself I'll forfeit, so that other mine Thou wilt restore, to be my comfort still:
If thy soul check thee that I come so near, Swear to thy blind soul that I was thy Will, And will, thy soul knows, is admitted there; Thus far for love, my love-suit, sweet, fulfil. Will will fulfil the treasure of thy love, Ay, fill it full with wills, and my will one. In things of great receipt with ease we prove Among a number one is reckon'd none: Then in the number let me pass untold, Though in thy stores' account I one must be; For nothing hold me, so it please thee hold That nothing me, a something sweet to thee: 12 Make but my name thy love, and love that still,
And then thou lov'st me,-for my name is Will.
Or mine eyes, seeing this, say this is not, To put fair truth upon so foul a face?
In things right true my heart and eyes have err'd,
And to this false plague are they now transferr'd.
When my love swears that she is made of truth I do believe her, though I know she lies, That she might think me some untutor'd youth. Unlearned in the world's false subtleties. Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, Although she knows my days are past the
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue: On both sides thus is simple truth supprest. But wherefore says she not she is unjust? And wherefore say not I that I am old? O! love's best habit is in seeming trust, And age in love loves not to have years told: 12 Therefore I lie with her, and she with me, And in our faults by lies we flatter'd be.
O! call not me to justify the wrong That thy unkindness lays upon my heart; Wound me not with thine eye, but with thy tongue:
Use power with power, and slay me not by art. Tell me thou lovest elsewhere; but in my sight,
Dear heart, forbear to glance thine eye aside: 6 What need'st thou wound with cunning, when thy might
Is more than my o'erpress'd defence can bide? Let me excuse thee: ah! my love well knows Her pretty looks have been my enemies; And therefore from my face she turns my foes,
That they elsewhere might dart their injuries: Yet do not so; but since I am near slain, Kill me outright with looks, and rid my pain.
Be wise as thou art cruel; do not press My tongue-tied patience with too much disdain: Lest sorrow lend me words, and words express The manner of my pity-wanting pain.
If I might teach thee wit, better it were, Though not to love, yet, love, to tell me so;- 5 As testy sick men, when their deaths be near, No news but health from their physicians
In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes, For they in thee a thousand errors note; But 'tis my heart that loves what they de- spise,
Who, in despite of view, is pleas'd to dote. Nor are mine ears with thy tongue's tune de- lighted;
So runn'st thou after that which flies from thee, Whilst I thy babe chase thee afar behind; But if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me, Ar play the mother's part, kiss me, be kind; 12 So will I pray that thou mayst have thy Will,
If thou turn back and my loud crying still.
Two loves I have of comfort and despair, Which like two spirits do suggest me still: The better angel is a man right fair, The worser spirit a woman, colour'd ill. To win me soon to hell, my female evil Tempteth my better angel from my side, And would corrupt my saint to be a devil, 6 Wooing his purity with her foul pride. And whether that my angel be turn'd fiend Suspect I may, but not directly tell; But being both from me, both to each friend, I guess one angel in another's hell:
Nor tender feeling, to base touches prone. Nor taste nor smell desire to be invited To any sensual feast with thee alone: But my five wits nor my five senses can Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee, Who leaves unsway'd the likeness of a man, Thy proud heart's slave and vassal wretch to be:
Yet this shall I ne'er know, but live in doubt, Till my bad angel fire my good one out.
Those lips that Love's own hand did make, Breath'd forth the sound that said 'I hate,' To me that languish'd for her sake: But when she saw my woeful state, Straight in her heart did mercy come, Chiding that tongue that ever sweet Was us'd in giving gentle doom; And taught it thus anew to greet; 'I hate,' she alter'd with an end, That follow'd it as gentle day Doth follow night, who like a fiend From heaven to hell is flown away.
'I hate' from hate away she threw, And sav'd my life, saying 'Not you.'
Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth, Fool'd by these rebel powers that thee array, Why dost thou pine within and suffer dearth, Painting thy outward walls so costly gay? Why so large cost, having so short a lease, Dost thou upon thy fading mansion spend? 6 Shall worms, inheritors of this excess, Eat up thy charge? Is this thy body's end? Then, soul, live thou upon thy servant's loss, And let that pine to aggravate thy store; Buy terms divine in selling hours of dross; Within be fed, without be rich no more:
So shalt thou feed on Death, that feeds on men,
And Death once dead, there's no more dying
O me! what eyes hath Love put in my head, Which have no correspondence with true sight;
Or, if they have, where is my judgment fled, That censures falsely what they see aright? If that be fair whereon my false eyes dote, What means the world to say it is not so? If it be not, then love doth well denote Love's eye is not so true as all men's: no. How can it? O how can Love's eye be true,
O! from what power hast thou this powerful might,
With insufficiency my heart to sway? To make me give the lie to my true sight, And swear that brightness doth not grace the day?
Whence hast thou this becoming of things ill, That in the very refuse of thy deeds
There is such strength and warrantise of skill,
That, in my mind, thy worst all best exceeds? Who taught thee how to make me love thee more,
The more I hear and see just cause of hate? O! though I love what others do abhor, With others thou shouldst not abhor my state:
If thy unworthiness rais'd love in me, More worthy I to be belov'd of thee.
Love is too young to know what conscience is; Yet who knows not conscience is born of love?
6 Then, gentle cheater, urge not my amiss, Lest guilty of my faults thy sweet self prove: For, thou betraying me, I do betray My nobler part to my gross body's treason; 6 My soul doth tell my body that he may Triumph in love; flesh stays no further reason, But rising at thy name doth point out thee As his triumphant prize. Proud of this pride, He is contented thy poor drudge to be, To stand in thy affairs, fall by thy side.
That is so vex'd with watching and with tears?
No marvel then, though I mistake my view; The sun itself sees not till heaven clears. 12 O cunning Love! with tears thou keep'st me blind,
Lest eyes well-seeing thy foul faults should find.
Canst thou, O cruel! say I love thee not, When I against myself with thee partake? Do I not think on thee, when I forgot Am of myself, all tyrant, for thy sake? Who hateth thee that I do call my friend?
No want of conscience hold it that I call Her 'love' for whose dear love I rise and fall.
In loving thee thou know'st I am forsworn, But thou art twice forsworn, to me love swear- ing;
In act thy bed-vow broke, and new faith torn, In vowing new hate after new love bearing.
On whom frown'st thou that I do fawn upon? 6 But why of two oaths' breach do I accuse thee,
When I break twenty? I am perjur'd most; For all my vows are oaths but to misuse thee, And all my honest faith in thee is lost:
For I have sworn deep oaths of thy deep kind
Oaths of thy love, thy truth, thy constancy; 10 And, to enlighten thee, gave eyes to blindness. Or made them swear against the thing they see; For I have sworn thee fair; more perjur'd L To swear against the truth so foul a lie!
Cupid laid by his brand and fell asleep: A maid of Dian's this advantage found, And his love-kindling fire did quickly steep In a cold valley-fountain of that ground; Which borrow'd from this holy fire of Love A dateless lively heat, still to endure, And grew a seething bath, which yet men prove Against strange maladies a sovereign cure. But at my mistress' eye Love's brand new-fired, The boy for trial needs would touch my breast; I, sick withal, the help of bath desired, And thither hied, a sad distemper'd guest,
But found no cure: the bath for my help lies
Where Cupid got new fire, my mistress' eyes.
The little Love-god lying once asleep
Laid by his side his heart-inflaming brand, Whilst many nymphs that vow'd chaste life to keep
Came tripping by; but in her maiden hand The fairest votary took up that fire Which many legions of true hearts had warm'd; And so the general of hot desire Was, sleeping, by a virgin hand disarm'd. This brand she quenched in a cool well by, Which from Love's fire took heat perpetual, Growing a bath and healthful remedy For men diseas'd; but I, my mistress' thrall, 12 Came there for cure, and this by that I prove, Love's fire heats water, water cools not love.
FROM off a hill whose concave womb re-worded A plaintful story from a sistering vale, My spirits to attend this double voice accorded, And down I laid to list the sad-tun'd tale; Ere long espied a fickle maid full pale, Tearing of papers, breaking rings a twain, Storming her world with sorrow's wind and rain.
Upon her head a platted hive of straw, Which fortified her visage from the sun,
8 A thousand favours from a maund she drew 36 Of amber, crystal, and of beaded jet,
Whereon the thought might think sometime it Which one by one she in a river threw,
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