The Mitheology
By the City is Meant the World: by the King and Queene, God, and Nature: by the two elder
sisters, the flesh and the will: by the last the soule, which is the most
beautifull, and the youngest, since she is infused, after the body is fashioned: Venus,
by which is understood lust, is feigned to envy her, and stirre up Cupid,
which is Desire, to destroy her: But because Desire has equall relation both
to good and evill, he is here brought in to love the soule, and to be ioynd with her, whom also he perswades not to see his face;
that is, not to learne his delights and vanities: for Adam,
though he were naked, yet he saw it not, till he had eaten of the tree of
concupiscence. And whereas, she is said to burne him, with the despumation of the Lampe;
by that is understood, that she vomits out the flames of desire, which was hid in
her breast; for desire the more it is kindled, the more it burnes, and makes as it were
a blister in the minde. thus, like Eve, being naked through desire,
she is
cast out of all happinesse, exhil'd from her house, and
tost with many dangers: By
Ceres and
Iuno both
repulsing of her, is meant, that neither wealth, nor honour,
can succour a distressed soule: in the separation
of severall graines, is understood the act of the
soule, which is recollection; and the substance of,
that act, her fore-past sinnes: by her going to hell
and those severall occurrences, are meant the many
degrees of despaire: by the
Stygian water, the
teares of repentance; and by the golden fleece, her
forgivenesse. All which, as in the argument is
specified, being by divine providence accomplisht, she
is married to her spouse in heaven.
