University of Virginia Library

Beautie, The first pleasure.

For now beholde in youth, one chiefest ioy,
In which too many, most delight doe finde:
Which though well waide, is but in deede a toy,
Yet to delight, allures the wisest minde.


Which thing to name, is Beauties heauenly hue:
Which yeeldes delight, that thousands dayly rue.
For beautie first breedes liking in the minde,
Liking breedes lust, lust lewdnes, lewdnes, what?
Such world of woes, as age doth quickly finde,
And cries (alas) repentance all too late.
See beautie then, in youth the chiefest ioy,
In age is seene to worke no small annoy.
Beautie in some doth cause a kinde of pride,
And pride must be maintained all by cost:
And cost makes youth, in age his head to hide,
For shame or debt, when all his wealth is lost.
But oh fond youth to ioy in Beautie so:
As that in age his ioy doth breede such woe.
In other some, yet Beautie worketh woorse,
It makes accesse, of such as practise ill:
Whose ill accesse the beautifull may curse,
That vnto vice allure their wanton will.
Oh vile delight, where Beautie so is plast:
To make in deede, the fairest face disgrast.
In some againe it breedes a great delight,
In modest mindes, whose heartes are not at rest:
But thousand pangs, are dayly forst to proue,
For louing them, whome beautie so hath blest.
For lucklesse lots, so follow louers ioy:
As many wayes doth worke them great annoy.
But where the face, with beautie is bedeckt,
And beares withall a modest countenance:
Whose minde againe to vertue hath respect,
And thereby seekes, their state for to aduaunce.
There will I say it is no foolish toy:
But thought in deede a rare and heauenly ioy.
But to be short, in youth our chiefe delight,
As first I said, in beauties heauenly hue:
As well in youth as age, worke such despight,
As well may make the stoutest hart to rue,


Which now I leaue, and to some other toy:
Which yeeldes great woe, but to a little ioy.