 | The Poems and Sonnets of Henry Constable |  |
lxxvii
FOURE SONNETS TO SIR PHILLIP SIDNEY'S SOULE.
lxxviii
[Give pardon (blessed soule) to my bold cryes]
Give pardon (blessed soule) to my bold cryes
If they (importun'd) interrupt thy song,
Which nowe with joyfull notes thou sing'st, among
The angel-quiristers of heav'nly skyes.
If they (importun'd) interrupt thy song,
Which nowe with joyfull notes thou sing'st, among
The angel-quiristers of heav'nly skyes.
Give pardon eake (sweet soule) to my slow eyes,
That since I saw thee now it is so long,
And yet the teares that unto thee belong
To thee as yet they did not sacrifice.
That since I saw thee now it is so long,
And yet the teares that unto thee belong
To thee as yet they did not sacrifice.
I did not know that thou wert dead before,
I did not feel the griefe I did susteine;
The greater stroke astonisheth the more,
Astonishment takes from us sence of paine;
I stood amaz'd when others' teares begun,
And now begin to weepe, when they have doone.
I did not feel the griefe I did susteine;
The greater stroke astonisheth the more,
Astonishment takes from us sence of paine;
I stood amaz'd when others' teares begun,
And now begin to weepe, when they have doone.
lxxix
[Sweet soule! which now with heav'nly songs doost tel]
Sweet soule! which now with heav'nly songs doost tel
Thy deare Redeemer's glory, and his prayse,
No mervaile though thy skilfull Muse assayes
The songs of other soules there to excell;
Thy deare Redeemer's glory, and his prayse,
No mervaile though thy skilfull Muse assayes
The songs of other soules there to excell;
For thou didst learne to sing divinely well,
Long time before thy fayre and glittering rayes
Encreas'd the light of heav'n, for even thy layes
Most heavenly were, when thou on earth didst dwel.
Long time before thy fayre and glittering rayes
Encreas'd the light of heav'n, for even thy layes
Most heavenly were, when thou on earth didst dwel.
When thou didst on the earth sing Poet-wise,
Angels in heav'n pray'd for thy company;
And now thou sing'st with Angels in the skies,
Shall not all Poets praise thy memory?
And to thy name shall not their works give fame
When as their works be sweetned by thy name?
Angels in heav'n pray'd for thy company;
And now thou sing'st with Angels in the skies,
Shall not all Poets praise thy memory?
And to thy name shall not their works give fame
When as their works be sweetned by thy name?
lxxx
[Even as when great men's heires cannot agree]
Even as when great men's heires cannot agree,
So ev'ry vertue now for part of thee doth sue;
Courage prooves by thy death thy hart to be his due,
Eloquence claimes thy tongue, and so doth courtesy;
So ev'ry vertue now for part of thee doth sue;
Courage prooves by thy death thy hart to be his due,
Eloquence claimes thy tongue, and so doth courtesy;
Invention knowledge sues, judgment sues memory,
Each saith thy head is his, and what end shall ensue
Of this strife know I not; but this I know for true,
That whosoever gaines the sute, the losse have wee;
Each saith thy head is his, and what end shall ensue
Of this strife know I not; but this I know for true,
That whosoever gaines the sute, the losse have wee;
Wee (I meane all the world); the losse to all pertaineth;
Yea they which gaine doe loose, and onely thy soule gaineth;
For loosing of one life, two lives are gained then.
Honor thy courage mov'd, courage thy death did give;
Death, courage, honor, makes thy soule to live,
Thy soule to live in Heav'n, thy name in tongues of men.
Yea they which gaine doe loose, and onely thy soule gaineth;
For loosing of one life, two lives are gained then.
Honor thy courage mov'd, courage thy death did give;
Death, courage, honor, makes thy soule to live,
Thy soule to live in Heav'n, thy name in tongues of men.
lxxxi
[Great Alexander then did well declare]
Great Alexander then did well declare
How great was his united Kingdom's might,
When ev'ry Captaine of his Army might
After his death with mighty Kings compare;
How great was his united Kingdom's might,
When ev'ry Captaine of his Army might
After his death with mighty Kings compare;
So now we see after thy death, how far
Thou dost in worth surpasse each other Knight,
When we admire him as no mortall wight
In whom the least of all thy vertues are;
Thou dost in worth surpasse each other Knight,
When we admire him as no mortall wight
In whom the least of all thy vertues are;
One did of Macedon the King become,
Another sat in the Egiptian throne,
But onely Alexander's selfe had all.
So curteous some, and some be liberall,
Some witty, wise, valiaunt, and learned some,
But King of all the vertues thou alone.
Another sat in the Egiptian throne,
But onely Alexander's selfe had all.
So curteous some, and some be liberall,
Some witty, wise, valiaunt, and learned some,
But King of all the vertues thou alone.
| The Poems and Sonnets of Henry Constable | |