The Whole Works of William Browne of Tavistock ... Now first collected and edited, with a memoir of the poet, and notes, by W. Carew Hazlitt, of the Inner Temple |
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[To my Browne, yet brightest Swaine] |
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 | The Whole Works of William Browne |  |
[To my Browne, yet brightest Swaine]
To my Browne, yet brightest Swaine
That woons, or haunts or Hill or Plaine.
That woons, or haunts or Hill or Plaine.
Poeta nascitur.
Pipe on, sweet Swaine, till Ioy, in Blisse, sleepe waking;
Hermes, it seemes, to thee, of all the Swaines,
Hath lent his Pipe and Art: For thou art making
With sweet Notes (noted) Heau'n of Hils and Plaines!
Nay, if as thou beginst, thou dost hold on,
The totall Earth thine Arcadie will bee;
And Neptunes Monarchy thy Helicon:
So, all in both will make a God of thee.
To whom they will exhibit Sacrifice
Of richest Loue and Praise; and enuious Swaines
(Charm'd with thine Accents) shall thy Notes agnize
To reach aboue great Pans in all thy Straines.
Then, ply this Veyne: for, it may well containe
The richest Morals vnder poorest Shroud;
And sith in thee the Past'rall spirit doth raigne,
On such Wits-Treasures let it sit abrood:
Till it hath hatch'd such Numbers as may buy
The rarest Fame that e're enriched Ayre;
Or fann'd the Way faire, to Æternity,
To which vnsoil'd, thy Glory shall repaire!
Where (with the Gods that in faire Starres doe dwell,
When thou shalt, blazing, in a Starre abide)
Thou shalt be stil'd the Shepherds-Starre, to tell
Them many Mysteries; and be their Guide.
Hermes, it seemes, to thee, of all the Swaines,
Hath lent his Pipe and Art: For thou art making
With sweet Notes (noted) Heau'n of Hils and Plaines!
Nay, if as thou beginst, thou dost hold on,
The totall Earth thine Arcadie will bee;
And Neptunes Monarchy thy Helicon:
So, all in both will make a God of thee.
To whom they will exhibit Sacrifice
Of richest Loue and Praise; and enuious Swaines
(Charm'd with thine Accents) shall thy Notes agnize
To reach aboue great Pans in all thy Straines.
Then, ply this Veyne: for, it may well containe
The richest Morals vnder poorest Shroud;
And sith in thee the Past'rall spirit doth raigne,
On such Wits-Treasures let it sit abrood:
Till it hath hatch'd such Numbers as may buy
The rarest Fame that e're enriched Ayre;
Or fann'd the Way faire, to Æternity,
To which vnsoil'd, thy Glory shall repaire!
159
When thou shalt, blazing, in a Starre abide)
Thou shalt be stil'd the Shepherds-Starre, to tell
Them many Mysteries; and be their Guide.
Thus, doe I spurre thee on with sharpest praise,
To vse thy Gifts of Nature, and of Skill,
To double-gilde Apollos Browes, and Bayes,
Yet make great Natvre Arts true Sou'raigne still.
So, Fame shall euer say, to thy renowne,
The Shepherds-Star, or bright'st in Skie, is Browne!
To vse thy Gifts of Nature, and of Skill,
To double-gilde Apollos Browes, and Bayes,
Yet make great Natvre Arts true Sou'raigne still.
So, Fame shall euer say, to thy renowne,
The Shepherds-Star, or bright'st in Skie, is Browne!
The true Louer of thine Art and Nature, Iohn Davies of Heref.
| The Whole Works of William Browne | |