 | Amoretti and Epithalamion |  |
LXXIX.
Men call you fayre, and you doe credit it,
For that your selfe ye dayly such doe see:
But the trew fayre, that is the gentle wit,
And vertuous mind, is much more praysd of me:
For all the rest, how ever fayre it be,
Shall turne to nought and loose that glorious hew;
But onely that is permanent and free
From frayle corruption, that doth flesh ensew
That is true beautie: that doth argue you
To be divine, and borne of heavenly seed;
Deriv'd from that fayre Spirit, from whom al true
And perfect beauty did at first proceed:
He onely fayre, and what he fayre hath made;
All other fayre, lyke flowres, untymely fade.
For that your selfe ye dayly such doe see:
But the trew fayre, that is the gentle wit,
And vertuous mind, is much more praysd of me:
For all the rest, how ever fayre it be,
Shall turne to nought and loose that glorious hew;
But onely that is permanent and free
From frayle corruption, that doth flesh ensew
That is true beautie: that doth argue you
To be divine, and borne of heavenly seed;
Deriv'd from that fayre Spirit, from whom al true
And perfect beauty did at first proceed:
He onely fayre, and what he fayre hath made;
All other fayre, lyke flowres, untymely fade.
| Amoretti and Epithalamion | |