University of Virginia Library

Apollo being in this heauenly ioy,
For victorie by Pythons death obtain'd,
Lift vp by chaunce his eies, and spide the Nymphe
(The fairest Nymphe as euer he did see)
Whom at the first he onely did behold
With an impartiall eye (a common thing)
And onely markt her beautie, and her grace,
And with that common kinde of honest loue,
In praise of her these louing wordes did moue.

What Nymph might yonder be,
So fine with her dishieueled haire,
That in this forrest hunteth all alone?
I will goe neere to see,
If that she be indeed so faire,
As she doth seeme. Ah (Godheades) there is none
In all your heauenly throne,
No Goddesse, nor no power diuine,
With beautie, and good grace,
That nature doth imbrace,
Then this, in whom most cleerely shine
Her giftes, and chiefest art,
As many as to all she did impart.

But Cupid seeing her in such estate,
Thought it high time to punish the contempt,
And brauing words, that proud Apollo vs'd.
And now to be reuenged on his head
With more dishonor and with greater shame,
He did prepare him to assaile his foe
With those same weapons that were threatned him:
So, with his headed shaft of beaten gold
He smot his brest, and pass'd his carelesse hart;
Omitting not to wound faire Daphnes to
With that of hate, headed with heauie lead.
And so with this the Boy remayned glad,
And well did see, though blind what he had done.
And thus content in minde, he did depart,
Vpon some others to imploy his might.
O blinded Boy, of strong and mightie force,
Where none is found but onely in thy hands,
That more the one with feruent loue doth burne,
The more the other freezeth with disdaine.
And proud Apollo now thou shalt perceiue,
(That think'st no equall God to thee in heauen,
Nor celebrated in the earth beaneth
With such like honours, which thou claym'st alone)
That there is one that raignes in heauen and earth,
In hell, and euerie corner of the world,
More puissant then any other God.
Bicause thou art inuentor of the skill
Of phisicke, and of musickes sweetest art;
Bicause besides) thou tell'st with secret power,
Things that are past, and present, and to come,
Thou think'st thou raign'st alone as Soueraigne.
Now art thou subiect to a sillie maide,
Too base if she be paragon'd to thee:
And yet this greeues him not, but that the more
He loues this Nymph, the more doth she contemne
His mightie loue, and all his vainest suites.
Faire Daphnes hart is hardened and congealed
In loue of this great God of heauen aboue:
Apollos hart consumes with burning heat
In loue of this poore maide in earth beneath.
The God desireth to inioy her loue,
And after this desire commeth hope.
But here his Oracles deceiue him much:
For in these things diuining is but vaine.
So with this hope, which is but vaine, and false,
He doth maintaine and feede his barren loue.
And feeling with great paine his burning fire,
To Cupid in this sort he mildly spake:

What fire is it, that thus my breast doth tame,
And yet no flame, I see that's manifest?
Is this thy best reuenge, O Cupid tell,
Fierce God and fell, which on me thou dost take?
Hovv dost thou make the mightie Gods to bend,
And dost offend the rich, the proud, and vvise,
And dost despise and tame the great and small?
So easie shall not flaxe, nor tovv be burn'd,
Nor reeds be turned to fire laid thereby,
Alas as I vvith thy reuenging games
Do burne in flames: for thou hast made my hart
To feele the smart of loue, and vvith thy might
And golden flight, hast (cruell) vvounded it.
Which thou hast smit, and smitten, stolne avvay,
And made decaye of it vvithin my brest:
Where novv no rest nor vvonted ioyes do dvvell.
Then cruell tell the same vvhere hast thou put,
Where hast thou shut my hart of sorrovv? vvhat,
And is that, perhaps? O that it is.
And novv in this faire forrest do they vse,
Thus to abuse Gods harts, and steale and kill?
From hence I vvill (Cupid) make thee my mate,
And friend (though late) for euer thou shalt be,
Since linked me thou hast in such a chaine.
Her haire doth staine the golden Colchos fleece,
Which out of Greece, Iason shall saile to seeke.
Her face and cheeke enameled vvith red,
With vvhite be spread, passing the Roses gay
In moneth of May, that dare not come in place
To see her face, nor yet the Lillie vvhite
Approch in sight, vvhere her braue beautie shines.
Aurora pines in seeing her, and dyes.
Her tvvinkling eies, more then the heauenly lights
In frostie nights doe shine, where Cupid skips.
Her rubie lips with praise shall not be vouch't,
But onely touch't, and kist of mine againe:
Her necke so plaine, and smooth, nothing doth owe
Vnto the snowe, for pure vnspotted white.
What els (O spite) her wrongfull garments grudge
To shew, I iudge, that nature made each part
With such braue art, as neuer humane eies
Did see the like, or heauenly thought deuise.

Whilste God Apollo wandreth in her praise,
Daphne with hastie foote doth flie away.
Which when he did perceiue, these wordes in vaine
(Continuing still his speech) to her did say.

O thou the skies that dost excell, stay, stay;
Fly not away so fast, thy friend I am:
So flies the lambe from rauening woolfe away,
The Hart againe, of cruell death afraid,
With hart dismaid doth from the Lion flie;
The doues doe hie them from their praying king
With trembling wing, so each thing here belowe
Flies from his foe: But Loue that burnes Apollo
Doth make him follow thee with friendly pace:
O see each place, whereon thy feete doe tread,
With thornes bespread, vnworthily to beare them.
The stones doe weare them like the slauing file:
Then stay a while, and haste not so I pray.
Sharpe is the way, and I for nothing would
My following should make thee (faire Nymph) to fall.
I pray thee, all I may, to moderate
Thy hastie gate, and I with milder pace,
To saue thy face from hurt, will follow thee.
Oh didst thou see, and know but who it is,
That mooueth his great liue vnto thee so,
Thou wouldst I knowe not flie, but tarie still
To knowe my will, and thinke that thou wert blest
To be possest of such a Lord so high.
I dwell not I, in this poore harren hill,
Though heere I kill wilde beastes for my delight:
I hold by right, as much as Tanais streames,
And Titans beames doe see, where they arise:
This I despise, but onely for thy sake,
Where thou didst take thy beauties first of all.
Which countrie shall be reard vnto the skies
In all mens eies, vvith fame and dignitie:
And lou'd of me more then th' Imperiall seate
Of heauen so great, from vvhence faire Nymph I came.
Neither I am a Shepherd, nor doe keepe
Cattell, or sheepe, but vvhat loue doth commend
To me to tend. In Delphos for mine honour,
Of vvhich the ovvnour I am, incense burnes.
Claros by turnes, and Tenedos likevvise
Burne sacrifice to me: The lands vvhich great
Xanthus doth vveat, vvherevvith such sudden voice
I doe reioice the harts of them, that craue
Ansvvers to haue by Oracle diuine.
Delphos is mine, and famous there I am.
Of birth I came more noble then the rest:
For (at the lest) the Gods are kinne to mee.
First in degree great Ioue my father is,
And she ywish that raignes in heauenly seate,
A Goddesse great (Latona) fairer then
Faire Titan, when in all his chiefest pride
Vnto his bride Aurora he doth hast:
By me things past, and those that present be
I know, and see, and things to come can tell:
I do excell in verse, and sweetest song:
With arme most strong I draw, my bow and flight:
Where it doth light, it hits with sure wound:
Yet haue I found, that Cupids certaine arrow
Doth hit more narrow in my wounded breast,
Where all my rest and pleasures it hath spent.
I did inuent the art of medicine.
My wit diuine found out the secret power
Of euerie flower, and herbs whose vertues still
Vnto my skill, and practise subiect bee.
But woe is me, that neither herbe nor pill,
Nor phisickes skill to loue no ease imparts.
Nor that those arts, that profit euery one,
Cannot helpe me their master all alone.

Now running fast away betweene them both,
Daphne to flie Apollos wanton vvill,
Apollo follovving chaste Daphnes loue,
Loue helpe Apollo vvith his speedy vvings,
And vnto Daphnes feete feare tyed her vvings.
And both sufficient fauours haue of both,
But loue in fine doth ouercome pale feare,
Bicause he is more forvvard, light and hot.
But vvhen the Nymph did see herselfe surpris'd,
And that the God embrac'd her in his armes:
Lifting her hands and eies vnto the heauens,
Succour she crau'd of all th' immortall Gods,
Forgetting not her father demy God.
And in this sort, besought their fauours all,
Helpe each immortall power,
For ioyntly all your helpes I do desire,
And humbly do your fauours all inuoke:
None I except out of the heauenly quire:
O saue my virgine flowre:
Be readie, else with force it will be broke.
O let the earth deuoure,
And swallow me within her hidden vaines
With furious paines.
Or else destroy my shape with thunder clap,
Since this mishap
It wrought. Helpe Pene now my father deere,
If deitie be in thy riuers cleere.

Scarce had faire Daphne ended her request,
When by and by a trembling feare possest
Her bodie with each member of the same.
Hard barke did winde about her snow-white brest:
Her golden haire was turned to greene leaues,
Her armes into two long and branchie boughes:
Her nimble foote, which was of late so light,
Fastned remaind in rootes that could not stirre,
And such like shape remaind in euerie part.
Apollo deerely lou'd this Nymph in life,
And now he loues her turn'd into a tree:
Where thrusting his right hand into the barke
Felt, that transformed Daphnes hart did yet
Tremble, and quake vnder the same so new.
He doth imbrace those fine and tender boughes,
As though he would embrace her body yet,
The wood he kisseth, but the wood disdaines
His kisses, and doth seeme to bend away.
So in this sort Apollo stood a while
Speechlesse, and thinking of no other thing:
After like one, that is amazed in minde,
Not knowing whether he doth dreame or no,
Vpon the Gods, and heauen he doth exclaime
With angrie wordes of pitie and despite;
Bicause they vs'd such rigour to his loue.
For faine he vvould had Daphne to his vvife.
But vvhen he savv it could not come to passe,
He chose her for his tree and gaue to it
Great honours, as the like had neuer yet:
And in this great astonishment he said.

What thing is this, vvhich I do see,
Is it a dreame, or none? O that it vvere
A fansie, or some vaine deceite,
What, doe I erre?
Or is it night, or day, what might I be?
If it be true, I see a losse so great
With many harmes my burning soule will threat.

But yet awake I am, for in my right
Hand Python dead, and headlesse I doe beare,
And on my left arme weare
My bowe, and low my quiuer and my flight.
Why, this is Thessalie,
Which this fell beast did waste both day and night,
O woe, and after such a ioy so high,
Must such mishap my sweete content deny?

What hard and cruell God is that,
That hath transform'd with enuie and despite
Her goodly figure, and her face,
Most perfect bright?
Me thinkes, he nill deserues to banquet at
The tables of the Gods, nor heauenly place,
Since he hath wronged nature in this case.

My skill and powers beare not such a sway,
To change thee to thy former shape againe:
And that snowewhite,
And rosie face, which first did breede my paine:
The reason is, bicause that none
(Though neuer yet so learned any way,
And though they ioin'd their vertues all in one)
Can vndoe that, which one did doe alone.

But now since all the fates so dire,
And wicked destinies this good forbid,
That thou my louing wife should'st be:
Yet though they did
With more despite against my will conspire,
Thou shalt for euer be my louing tree,
And I will neuer cease to honour thee.

My yellow haire like shining threeds of golde,
To honour thee, thy leaues shall compasse round:
My harpe with siluer sound
Thou shalt adorne, and quiuer shalt vphold:
In all the world thy noble fame shall bide:
And when triumphantly
In honours chaire the Conquerour doth ride,
Before them they shall carry thee on high,
Lifting their conquest to the starrie skie.

And as my faire and youthfull head
Adorned is with lockes of dangling haires,
Whereon were neuer yet imploid
The little sheares:
Euen so thy leaues shall neuer be destroid.
And angry time thy honour shall not teare;
But euermore greene bowes and leaues shalt beare.

The lightning, that all creatures doth offend,
And every thing of beauties pride bereaues,
Shall neuer touch thy leaues:
But be obedient to thee without end.
From lightning to defend
The okes, with them thy branches they shall reare,
And euery where
In honour of th' Imperiall palace gate,
On portals they shall place thee with great state.

This did Apollo speake vnto the tree,
And gratefully the Laurell bow'd her top,
In steed of moouing her new changed head:
And with her new and tender branches made
A signe that she with thankfull minde receiu'd
These giftes and fauours, which that God did giue
To her, while Laurell on the earth did liue.