University of Virginia Library

The .vij. Epistle.

Dido to Æneas.

Euen so when fates doe call
ystretcht in moysted spring,
Upon Meanders winding banckes
the snowishe Swanne doth sing.
Not for I thinke my wordes
may ought preuaile, I write:
For why I know the haughtie Gods,
at this my purpose spite.
But since my fame, my corps,
and spotlesse minde are lost
By cankred hap: to waste my wordes
I reck it little cost.
Now art thou bent to passe
and leaue poore Dido so:
And with the selfe same windes thy sayles
and fickle faith shall go.
Æneas now thou mindste
thy Nauie with thy vowe
To lose: and seeke Italia lande
but where, thou doste not knowe.
Not Carthage built anewe,
ne yet the rysing wall,
No not my stately Scepter may
conuert thy minde at all.
Thou fleest the thing atchiude
for those that are not donne:
Thou hast bene in one lande, and now
wilt to another runne.
Suppose thou finde an Ile,
who will giue thee the place
To rule? will any yeelde his soyle
to men of forraine race?
New loue remaynes for thee
another Dido eake,
With other troth to be impaunde
which thou againe mayst breake.
When will it be that thou
wilt builde Carthagos peere?
Or vewe from Turrets top a troupe
of such as soiourne heere?
Though all these came to passe
and thou hadst wishe at will:
Yet where wouldst thou haue such a spouse
to beare thee like good will?
Euen as a waxen Torch
with Sulphure toucht I burne
Both day and night to Didos thought
Æneas makes returne.
Euen that vngratefull guest
that scornes the gifts I gaue:
And he, whome I might want full well
as wisdomes loare doth craue.
Yet hate I not the man
though he deserue dispight:
But make complaint of his vntruth,
and lesse imbrace the wight.
O Venus, vse hir well
that maried with thy sonne:
O Cupide, friend thy brother, let
him in thy number ronne:
Or else let him (for why
I ne desdaine to loue)
Whome I began to fancie, force
me greater cares to proue.
I see I am deceyude,
his Image bleard my sight:
He differs from his mothers trade
and swarues hir maners quight.
The rocks and ragged Hilles
and Okes in Mountaynes bred
Begat, and thou of brutall beasts
in desert hast bene fed,
Or of the gulfe, which nowe
thou seest turmoylde with winde:
On whom (though waues rebell) to passe
thou fixed hast thy minde.
Why? whither fleest? the stormes
doe rage: let stormes haue powre
To ayde my case, see how the seas
doe surge with Eurus scowre.
Let mee indebted be
to stormes, for that which I
Had rather owe to thee: more iust
than whome the waues I trie.
I am not so much worth
(though thy desert be small)
That fleeing me by waltring Seas
thou lose thy lyfe and all.
Thy hate is deare in deede
and of no slender price,
If whilst thou go from mee, to die
thou reck it but a trice.
Within a while the Seas
will cease their swelling tide:
And Triton with his grayish Steedes
on calmed waues will ride.
O that with windes thou wouldst
exchaunge thy ruthlesse minde:
And so thou wilt vnlesse of Okes
thou passe the stubburne kinde.
What if thou didst not knowe
how raging Seas could rore?
Yet thou that hast so often tride
wilt trauaile as before?
Though waues were neuer so smouth
when thou shouldst leaue the bay:
Yet dure and doolefull things God wote
might happen by the way.
And further, they that false
their faith in daunger are
On perillous seas: the place with them
for treasons guilt doth warre.
And most when loue is wrongde,
cause Venus hath beene thought
T'haue had hir ofspring of the waues
that in Cytheris wrought.
I feare least I vndone
shall be thy cause of woe:
Or least by wrack of ship I should
endaunger thee my foe.
I pray thee liue, for so
I may reuenged bee
Farre better than by death: thou shalt
be saide to murther mee.
Put case, that thou were caught
with sway of whirling winde:
(But vaine be this abodement fell)
what then would be thy minde?
Then wouldst thou oft reuoke
to thought the Phrygian tongue,
That did pronounce thy periurde talke
which wrought poore Didos wrong
Before thine eyes the forme
and Idoll of thy Feere
Deceyude, would stande in saddest sort,
with bloudie feltred heere.
Thy selfe wouldst graunt, thou hadst
deserude these torments all:
And thinke the thunder cast on thee
what so should hap to fall.
Wherefore giue time to wrath
and rage of roaring flood:
Great is the price of little stay,
thy passage will be good.
Hast no respect to mee?
yet spare Iülus breath:
Sufficeth thee to haue bene thought
the Author of my death.
What poore Ascanius hath
or Countrie Gods deserude?
The Sea shall sinck the Saints, which were
from Phrygian flame preserude.
But neyther thou thy Syre
ne priuate Gods didst beare
Upon thy back: thy vaunting crakes
these to Elisa were.
Thou lyste at euery worde,
not now thy tongue doth ginne
To gloze, ne I the first in trap
and guilefull snare hath binne.
If question were what of
Iülus Dame became:
Hir cruell husbande hir forsooke
to his eternall shame.
This thou to me displayste.
which made my brest to bende:
Much sooner will my torment finde
than this my cryme an ende.
And I doe nothing doubt
but that thy guiltie minde
Will thee condemne. Thou seauen yeares space
no resting place couldst finde.
At length I gaue thee porte,
cast vp on blisfull shore:
And did infeffe thee with my Realme
thy name scarce tolde before
Would Gods this had beene all
the freendship I had showne:
And that report of bedding had
not beene so lightly blowne.
That day procurde my bale
in which for sodaine raine
That pourde adowne, to couch in one
selfe Caue we both were faine.
I heard a voyce, I thought
the Nymphes had howlde for ioy:
But they were Furies that forespake
of this my fell annoy.
Now broken fayth I owde
to olde Sychæus name,
On me take vengeance, that to Hell
must go bereft of shame.
In shrine of Marble made
I haue Sichæus bones,
Whome boughes and snowwhite fleeses shroude
appoynted for the nones.
Foure times with woonted mouth
he callde me to the place:
To whome with wispring voice, he sayde
come Dido, come apace.
Without delay I came
sometime thy wedded Feere:
But this my shamefull fact procurde
mee slacker to appeere.
Forgiue my fault, alike-
loe man hath mee betrayde:
And one that hatred of the fact
and foule despight hath stayde.
His dame a heauenly wight,
his syre on shoulders borne
Did force me iudge he would haue stayde,
and not haue beene forsworne.
If needes I must haue errde,
this errour hath a showe
Of iust pretence: Be true and then
I shall not yrke it so.
But as my life at first
vnluckie was begonne:
Euen so the tenour of the same
to latter day doth ronne.
At sacred Altars slaine
my husband fell to ground,
And of the fact the spoyle vnto
Pigmalion did redound.
I as a wight exilde
my natiue soyle did lose:
And left the cinders of my spouse
pursude by wreakefull fose.
At length escaping seas
and brothers wrath, was brought
To coast vnknowne, where all the soyle
I gaue to thee I bought.
I framde it vp a towne,
and with farre stretching wall
Enuironde it, to neighbour townes
which was a deadly gall.
Then battayles broyle began,
with warre a forraine wight,
And sielie woman was pursude
when gates was scarcely pight,
A thousand suters came
which ioyntly did complaine
That I a raskall had preferde,
and had them in disdaine.
Why staggerest thou to yeelde
mee to Hiarbas handes?
My selfe will stretch mine armes abrode
to bide thy cursed bandes.
I haue a brother eke
whose hungrie hande doth long
For Didos blood, as earst it did
Sichæus life to wrong.
Lay downe thy Gods prophande
and Reliques brought to lande:
It fittes thee not such sacred things
to touch with hurtfull hande.
If thou of force were hee
that should transport the same,
Reserude from fire: no force had beene
if they had burnt in flame.
(Unthrift) perhaps thou leauste
thy Dido great with childe:
And in my wombe is part of thee
whome thou hast so beguilde.
The miser Impe will adde
vnto his Mothers death:
So thou shalt kill a sielie babe
that neuer tasted breath.
Iülus brother with
his Dame shall so be slaine:
And one selfe torment shall bereue
the liuely powres of twaine.
But God doth force thee flee,
would God had kept away
Such guilefull guestes, and Troians had
in Carthage made no stay.
No doubt that God procures
the waywarde windes to blowe:
And makes thee waste the wearie time
in sandie seas so slowe.
As when that Hector liude
if Troie stoode againe)
To passe to Troie thou scarcely shouldst
endure a greater paine.
But not to Symois thou
but Tiber mindes to passe:
Arriued there, yet shalt thou be
a straunger naythelasse.
Thou seekste a lurcking lande
and vncouth place to holde:
Which scarce will be thy lot to finde
till thou be waxen olde.
Ambages layde aparte,
more better were for thee
Pigmalions wealth to haue in hande
and soiourne here with mee.
With luckie hap to Tyre
thy Troian stock transport:
And sacred Scepture holde in hande
in place of Princely port.
But if thou long for warre,
or yong Iülus seeke
By manly Mart to purchase prayse
and giue his foes the gleeke:
Cause naught shall want, he shall
haue foes to wreake his wrath:
This place of lawes and armes good store
and broyling battayles hath.
For olde Anchises sake
and bowe of Venus Boie:
For all those sacred Gods which thou
hast safely brought from Troie.
So Gods agree that they
which from thy Countrie came,
May Victors be, and all mishap
conuert to gladsome game:
And yong Ascanius liue
white siluer lockes to haue,
And olde Anchises broosed bones
may lodge in quiet graue:
I pray thee spare the house
that yeeldes it selfe to thee,
Saue that I looude, what crime at all
mayst thou impute to mee?
Not I from Pthia came,
ne from the Mycene lyne:
My husband ne my father were
no spitefull foes of thine.
Thine Hostisse let me bee
if of thy spouse thou shame:
So I remaine thy Dido still
I force not on the name.
The waues on Afrus bancks
that beate I know full well:
Sometime they fauour passengers
sometimes they doe rebell.
Then launch thy ship from shore
when weather doth applie,
But now the weedes will let thy Barck
on waltring Seas to hie.
Giue me in charge to marke
the Tyde, and then be bolde
To furrow flouds: though thou wouldst stay
then will I not withholde.
Thy wearie wandring Mates
doe lack, and looke for rest:
Thy Nauie faine would stay, till time
hir tackle were adrest.
For my deserts, and that
which after I shall owe
To thee, for marrige hope doe not
as yet thy thrall forgoe:
Till surge of seas doe cease
and loue doe temper trade:
Meane while for to sustaine the worst
I stronger shall be made.
If not, I minde to waste
my lothsome lyfe ere long:
It is but for a time that thou
shalt woorke poore Dido wrong.
Mine ymage whilst I write
O that thou sawste with eye:
I write, and in my lappe the while
thy Troian sworde doth lye:
Downe by my cheekes the teares
vpon the weapon fall:
Which now in steade of brine with blood
shall be imbrued all.
Full well thy giftes agree
to this my wrethed fate:
My graue shall be small charge to thee
vnfitting to my state.
Not now my brest at furst
with cruell Launce is pierst
That place with dure and deadly dint
hath Cupid crazed earst.
Thou sister (Anne) that wast
of counsell in this case:
Now offer vp thy latter boone
to Dido in the place.
When that my corps is burnt,
I will not then be sed
Sichæus Dido: on my Herse
this scripture shall be red.