The Poetical Works of William Basse (1602-1653): Now for the first time collected and edited with introduction and notes by R. Warwick Bond |
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 | The Poetical Works of William Basse |  |
Herewith my freind was pleas'd; & did excuse
As you (I hope) doe my well meaning Muse,
Who doth (though she of amorous dietyes sings
And fayned Gods) acknowledge no such things;
But only vse their names to shew the mayne
Distance betweene the vertuous and the vayne.
Weake eyes that cannot (like the Eagle) brooke
The brightnes of the Sun, through lawne must looke,
As Indian gold in Christian vse we spend,
So we vayne fictions vse to vertuous end;
And being not able heauenly workes t'expresse
In their owne greatnes, striue in what is lesse.
Through shadowes dim most shines a reall worth,
As a darke foyle best sets a diamond forth.
As you (I hope) doe my well meaning Muse,
Who doth (though she of amorous dietyes sings
And fayned Gods) acknowledge no such things;
But only vse their names to shew the mayne
Distance betweene the vertuous and the vayne.
Weake eyes that cannot (like the Eagle) brooke
The brightnes of the Sun, through lawne must looke,
As Indian gold in Christian vse we spend,
So we vayne fictions vse to vertuous end;
And being not able heauenly workes t'expresse
In their owne greatnes, striue in what is lesse.
Through shadowes dim most shines a reall worth,
As a darke foyle best sets a diamond forth.
| The Poetical Works of William Basse | |