May sit i' th' centre, and enjoy bright day : But he that hides a dark soul, and foul thoughts, Benighted walks under the mid-day sun: Himself is his own dungeon.
Y. Bro. "Tis most true, That musing meditation most affects The pensive secresy of desert cell,
Far from the cheerful haunt of men and herds, And sits as safe as in a senate-house;
For who would rob a hermit of his weeds, His few books, or his beads, or maple dish, Or do his grey hairs any violence?
But beauty, like the fair Hesperian tree
Laden with blooming gold, had need the guard Of dragon-watch, with uninchanted eye, To save her blossoms, and defend her fruit From the rash hand of bold incontinence. You may as well spread out the unsunn'd heaps Of misers' treasure by an outlaw's den, And tell me it is safe, as bid me hope Danger will wink on opportunity, And let a single helpless maiden pass Uninjur'd in this wild surrounding waste. Of night or loneliness it recks me not; I fear the dread events that dog them both, Lest some ill-greeting touch attempt the Of our unowned sister.
E. Bro. I do not, brother,
Infer, as if I thought my sister's state Secure without all doubt, or controversy. Yet where an equal poise of hope and fear Does arbitrate th' event, my nature is That I incline to hope rather than fear, And gladly banish squint suspicion. My sister is not so defenceless left
As you imagine; she has a hidden strength Which you remember not.
Y. Bro. What hidden strength, Unless the strength of Heav'n, if you mean that?
E. Bro. I mean that too, but yet a hidden strength, Which if Heav'n gave it, may be term'd her own; 'Tis chastity, my brother, chastity:
She that has that, is clad in complete steel, And like a quiver'd nymph with arrows keen May trace hugh forests, and unharbour'd heaths, Infamous hills and sandy perilous wilds, Where, through the sacred rays of chastity, No savage fierce, bandit, or mountaineer Will dare to soil her virgin purity: Yea there, where very desolation dwells,
By grots, and caverns shagg'd with horrid shades, She may pass on with unblench'd majesty, Be it not done in pride, or in presumption. Some say no evil thing that walks by night, In fog or fire, by lake or moorish fen, Blue meagre hag, or stubborn unlaid ghost, That breaks his magic chains at curfeu time, No goblin, or swart fairy of the mine Hath hurtful power o'er true virginity. Do ye believe me yet, or shall I call Antiquity from the old schools of Greece To testify the arms of chastity?
Hence had the huntress Dian her dread bow, Fair silver-shafted queen, for ever chaste, Wherewith she tam'd the brinded lioness And spotted mountain pard, but set at nought The frivolous bolt of Cupid; Gods and men Fear'd her stern frown, and she was Queen o' th' Whatwas that snaky-headed Gorgon shield [Woods. That wise Minerva wore, unconquer'd virgin, Wherewith she freez'd her foes to congeal'd stone, But rigid looks of chaste austerity,
And noble grace that dash'd brute violence With sudden adoration, and blank awe? So dear to Heav'n is saintly chastity, That when a soul is found sincerely so, A thousand liveried angels lackey her, Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt, And in clear dream, and solemn vision, Tell her of things that no gross ear can hear, Till oft converse with heav'nly habitants Begin to cast a beam on th' outward shape, The unpolluted temple of the mind, And turns it by degrees to the soul's essence, Till all be made immortal: but when lust, By unchaste looks, loose gestures, and foul talk, But most by lewd and lavish act of sin, Lets in defilement to the inward parts, The soul grows clotted by contagion, Imbodies and imbrutes, till she quite lose The divine property of her first being. Such are those thick and gloomy shadows damp, Oft seen in charnel vaults and sepulchres, Ling'ring and sitting by a new-made grave, As loth to leave the body that it lov'd, And link'd itself by carnal sensuality To a degenerate and degraded state.
Y. Bro. How charming is divine philosophy! Not harsh and crabbed, as dull fools But musical as is Apollo's lute. And a perpetual feast of nectar'd sweets, Where no crude surfeit reigns.
E. Bro. List, list, I hear Some far off halloo break the silent air.
Y. Bro. Methought so too; what should it be? E. Bro. For certain,
Either some one like us night-founder'd here, Or else some neighbour woodman, or at worst Some roving robber calling to his fellows.
Y. Bro. Heav'n keep my sister. Again, again, and Best draw, and stand upon our guard.
If he be friendly, he comes well; if not, Defence is a good cause, and Heav'n be for us.
The attendant Spirit, habited like a Shepherd. That halloo I should know; what are you? speak; Come not too near, you fall on iron stakes else.
Spi. What voice is that? My young lord? Speak again.
Y. Bro. O brother, 'tis my father's shepherd, sure. E. Bro. Thyrsis? whose artful strains have oft The huddling brook to hear his madrigal, [delay'd And sweeten'd every muskrose of the dale.
How cam'st thou here, good swain? hath any ram Slipt from the fold, or young kid lost his dam, Or straggling wether the pent flock forsook? How couldst thou find this dark sequester'd nook? Spi. O my lov'd master's heir, and his next joy, I came not here on such a trivial toy
As a stray'd ewe, or to pursue the stealth Of pilfering wolf; not all the fleecy wealth That doth enrich these downs, is worth a thought To this my errand, and the care it brought. But, O my virgin lady, where is she? How chance she is not in your company?
E. Bro. To tell thee sadly, shepherd, without Or our neglect, we lost her as we came. [blame, Spi. Ay me unhappy! then my fears are true. E. Bro. What fears, good Thyrsis? Prythee briefly shew.
Spi. I'll tell you; 'tis not vain or fabulous ; (Though so esteem'd by shallow ignorance) What the sage poets, taught by th' heav'nly Muse, Story'd of old in high immortal verse, Of dire chimeras and inchanted isles, And rifted rocks whose entrance leads to Hell; For such there be, but unbelief is blind.
Within the navel of this hideous wood, Immur'd in cypress shades a sorcerer dwells, Of Bacchus and of Circe born, great Comus, Deep skill'd in all his mother's witcheries, And here to every thirsty wanderer By sly enticement gives his baneful cup,
With many murmurs mix'd, whose pleasing poison The visage quite transforms of him that drinks, And the inglorious likeness of a beast Fixes instead, unmoulding reason's mintage Character'd in the face; this have I learnt Tending my flocks hard by i' th' hilly crofts That brow this bottom glade, whence night by night He and his monstrous rout are heard to howl Like stabled wolves, or tigers at their prey, Doing abhorred rites to Hecate
In their obscured haunts of inmost bowers. Yet have they many baits, and guileful spells, To inveigle and invite th' unwary sense Of them that pass unweeting by the way. This evening late, by then the chewing flocks Had ta'en their supper on the savory herb Of knot-grass dew-besprent, and were in fold, I sat me down to watch upon a bank With ivy canopied, and interwove With slanting honeysuckle, and began, Wrapt in a pleasing fit of melancholy, To meditate my rural minstrelsy, Till fancy had her fill, but ere a close The wonted roar was up amidst the woods, And fill'd the air with barbarous dissonance; At which I ceas'd, and listen'd them a while, Till an unusual stop of sudden silence Gave respite to the drowsy flighted steeds,. That draw the litter of close curtain'd sleep: At last a soft and solemn breathing sound Rose like a steam of rich distill'd perfumes, And stole upon the air, that even silence
Was took ere she was ware, and wish'd she might Deny her nature, and be never more Still to be so displac'd. I was all ear, And took in strains that might create a soul Under the ribs of death: but O ere long Too well I did perceive it was the voice Of my most honour'd lady, your dear sister. Amaz'd I stood, harrow'd with grief and fear, And O poor hapless nightingale thought I, How sweet thou sing'st, how near the deadly snare! Then down the lawns I ran with headlong haste, Through paths and turnings often trod by day, Till guided by mine ear I found the place Where that damn'd wizard hid in sly disguise (For so by certain signs I knew) had met Already, ere my best speed could prevent, The aidless innocent lady, his wish'd prey, Who gently ask'd if he had seen such two, Supposing him some neighbour villager. Longer I durst not stay, but soon I guess'd Ye were the two she meant: with that I sprung Into swift flight, till I had found you here, But further know I not.
Y. Bro. O night and shades, How are ye join'd with Hell in triple knot, Against th' unarmed weakness of one virgin Alone, and helpless! is this the confidence You gave me, brother!
E. Bro. Yes, and keep it still; Lean on it safely; not a period
Shall be unsaid for me: against the threats Of malice or of sorcery, or that power Which erring men call chance; this I hold firm, Virtue may be assail'd, but never hurt; Surpris'd by unjust force, but not inthrall'd; Yea even that which mischief meant most harm, Shall in the happy trial prove most glory; But evil on itself shall back recoil, And mix no more with goodness, when at last Gather'd like scum, and settled to itself, It shall be in eternal restless change, Self-fed, and self-consum'd: if this fail, The pillar'd firmament is rottenness, And earth's base built on stubble. But come, let's on; Against th' opposing will and arm of Heav'n May never this just sword be lifted up; But for that damn'd magician, let him be girt With all the grisly legions that troop Under the sooty flag of Acheron, Harpies and hydras, or all the monstrous forms "Twixt Africa and Ind, I'll find him out, And force him to restore his purchase back, Or drag him by the curls to a foul death, Curs'd as his life.
Spi. Alas! good vent'rous youth,
I love thy courage yet, and bold emprise; But here thy sword can do thee little stead; Far other arms, and other weapons must Be those that quell the might of hellish charms: He with his bare wand can unthread thy joints, And crumble all thy sinews.
E. Bro. Why, prythee, shepherd,
How durst thou then thyself approach so near, As to make this relation?
Spi. Care and utmost shifts
How to secure the lady from surprisal, Brought to my mind a certain shepherd lad, Of small regard to see to, yet well skill'd In every virtuous plant, and healing herb, That spreads her verdant leaf to th' morning ray: He lov'd me well, and oft would beg me sing, Which when I did, he on the tender grass Would sit, and hearken even to extasy, And in requital ope his leathern scrip, And shew me simples of a thousand names, Telling their strange and vigorous faculties: Among the rest a small unsightly root, But of divine effect, he cull'd me out;
The leaf was darkish, and had prickles on it, But in another country, as he said,
Bore a bright golden flower, but not in this soil: Unknown, and like esteem'd, and the dull swain Treads on it daily, with his clouted shoon ; And yet more med'cinal is it than that moly That Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave; He call'd it hemony, and gave it me, And bade me keep it as of sov'reign use
'Gainst all inchantments, mildew, blast, or damp, Or ghastly furies' apparition.
I purs'd it up, but little reck'ning made, Till now that this extremity compell'd: But now I find it true; for by this means I knew the foul enchanter, though disguis'd, Enter'd the very lime-twigs of his spells, And yet came off: if you have this about you, (As I will give you when we go) you may Boldly assault the necromancer's hall; Where if he be, with dauntless hardihood And brandish'd blade rush on him, break his glass And shed the luscious liquor on the ground, But seize his wand; though he and his curs'd crew Fierce sign of battle make, and menace high, Or like the sons of Vulcan vomit smoke, Yet will they soon retire, if he but shrink.
E. Bro. Thyrsis, lead on apace, I'll follow thee, And some good angel bear a shield before us. The Scene changes to a stately palace, set out with all manner of deliciousness: soft music, tables spread with all dainties. Comus appears with his rabble, and the lady set in an inchanted chair, to whom he offers his glass, and which she puts by, and goes about to rise.
Comus. Nay, lady, sit; if I but wave this wand, Your nerves are all chain'd up in alabaster, And you a statue, or as Daphne was Root-bound, that fled Apollo.
Lady. Fool, do not boast.
Thou canst not touch the freedom of my mind, With all thy charms, although this corporal rind Thou hast immanacl'd, while Heav'n sees good. Comus. Why are you vext, lady? Why do you frown?
Here dwell no frowns, nor anger; from these gates
Sorrow flies far: see here be all the pleasures That fancy can beget on youthful thoughts, When the fresh blood grows lively, and returns Brisk as the April buds in primrose season. And first behold this cordial julep here, That flames and dances in his chrystal bounds, With sp'rits of balm and fragrant syrups mix'd, Not that Nepenthes, which the wife of Thone, In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena, Is of such power to stir up joy as this, To life so friendly, or so cool to thirst. Why should you be so cruel to yourself, And to those dainty limbs which nature lent For gentle usage and soft delicacy?
But you invert the covenants of her trust, And harshly deal like an ill borrower With that which you receiv'd on other terms, Scorning the unexempt condition
By which all mortal frailty must subsist, Refreshment after toil, ease after pain, That have been tir'd all day without repast, And timely rest have wanted; but, fair virgin, This will restore all soon.
Lady. "Twill not, false traitor;
"Twill not restore the truth and honesty
That thou hast banish'd from thy tongue with lies. Was this the cottage, and the safe abode Thou told'st me of? What grim aspects are these, These ugly-headed monsters? Mercy guard me! Hence with thy brew'd inchantments, foul deceiver; Hast thou betray'd my credulous innocence With visor'd falsehood, and base forgery? And would'st thou seek again to trap me here With liquorish baits fit to insnare a brute? Were it a draught for Juno when she banquets I would not taste thy treasonous offer; none But such as are good men can give good things, And that which is not good is not delicious To a well-govern'd and wise appetite.
Comus. O foolishness of men! that lend their To those budge doctors of the Stoic fur, And fetch their precepts from the Cynic tub, Praising the lean and sallow abstinence. Wherefore did nature pour her bounties forth With such a full and unwithdrawing hand, Covering the earth with odours, fruits, and flocks, Thronging the seas with spawn innumerable, But all to please and sate the curious taste? And set to work millions of spinning worms, That in their green shops weave the smooth-hair'd To deck her sons, and that no corner might (silk, Be vacant of her plenty, in her own loins She hutch'd th' all worship'd ore, and precious To store her children with: if all the world [gems Should in a pet of temp'rance feed on pulse, Drink the clear stream, and nothing wear but frieze, Th' All-giver would be unthank'd, would be un
Not half his riches known, and yet despis'd, And we should serve him as a grudging master, As a penurious niggard of his wealth, And live like Nature's bastards, not her sons,
Who would be quite surcharg'd with her own And strangled with her waste fertility. [weight, Th' earth cumber'd, and the wing'd air darkt with plumes,
The herds would over-multitude their lords; The sea o'erfraught would swell; and th' unsought diamonds
Would so imblaze the forehead of the deep, And so bestud with stars, that they below Would grow inur'd to light, and come at last To gaze upon the sun with shameless brows. List, lady, be not coy, and be not cozen'd With that same vaunted name virginity. Beauty is nature's coin, must not be hoarded, But must be current, and the good thereof Consists in mutual and partaken bliss, Unsavoury in th' enjoyment of itself; If you let slip time, like a neglected rose It withers on the stalk with languish'd head. Beauty is nature's brag, and must be shewn In courts, in feasts, and high solemnities, Where most may wonder at the workmanship; It is for homely features to keep home;
They had their name thence; coarse complexions, And cheeks of sorry grain, will serve to ply The sampler, and to tease the housewife's wool. What need a vermeil-tinctur'd lip for that, Love-darting eyes, or tresses like the morn? There was another meaning in these gifts, Think what, and be advis'd, you are but young yet. Lady. I had not thought to have unlock'd my lip In this unhallow'd air, but that this juggler Would think to charm my judgment, as mine eyes, Obtruding false rules, prankt in reason's garb. I hate, when vice can bolt her arguments, And virtue has no tongue to check her pride. Impostor, do not charge most innocent nature, As if she would her children should be riotous With her abundance; she, good cateress, Means her provision only to the good, That live according to her sober laws, And holy dictate of spare temperance: If every just man that now pines with want, Had but a moderate and beseeming share Of that which lewdly-pamper'd luxury Now heaps upon some few with vast excess, Nature's full blessings would be well dispens'd In unsuperfluous even proportion, And she no whit encumber'd with her store; And then the giver would be better thank'd, His praise due paid; for swinish gluttony Ne'er looks to Heav'n amidst his gorgeous feast, But with besotted base ingratitude Crams, and blasphemes his feeder. Shall I go on? Or have I said enough? To him that dares Arm his profane tongue with contemptuous words, Against the sun-clad pow'r of chastity, Fain would I something say, yet to what end? Thou hast nor ear nor soul to apprehend The sublime notion, and high mystery, That must be utter'd to unfold the sage And serious doctrine of virginity,
And thou art worthy that thou shouldst not know More happiness than this thy present lot. Enjoy your dear wit, and gay rhetoric, That hast so well been taught her dazzling fence, Thou art not fit to hear thyself convinc'd; Yet should I try, the uncontrouled worth Of this pure cause would kindle my rapt spirits To such a flame of sacred vehemence, That dumb things would be mov'd to sympathize, And the brute earth would lend her nerves, and shake,
"Till all thy magic structures, rear'd so high, Were shattered into heaps o'er thy false head.
Comus. She fables not; I feel that I do fear Her words set off by some superior power; And though not mortal, yet a cold shudd'ring dew Dips me all o'er, as when the wrath of Jove Speaks thunder, and the chains of Erebus To some of Satan's crew. I must dissemble, And try her yet more strongly. Come, no more, This is mere moral babble, and direct Against the canon laws of our foundation;
I must not suffer this, 'tis but the lees And settlings of a melancholy blood: But this will cure all strait; one sip of this Will bathe the drooping spirits in delight Beyond the bliss of dreams. Be wise, and taste.
The Brothers rush in with swords drawn, wrest his glass out of his hand, and break it against the ground; his rout make sign of resistance, but are all driven in; the attendant Spirit comes in.
Spirit. What, have you let the false inchanter scape!
O ye mistook, ye should have snatch'd his wand, And bound him fast; without his rod revers'd, And backward mutters of dissevering power, We cannot free the lady that sits here, In stony fetters fix'd, and motionless: Yet stay, be not disturb'd; now I bethink me, Some other means I have, which may be us'd, Which once of Melibœus old I learnt, The soothest shepherd that e'er pip'd on plains. There is a gentle nymph not far from hence, That with moist curb sways the smooth Severn Sabrina is her name, a virgin pure; [stream, Whilome she was the daughter of Locrine, That had the sceptre from his father Brute. She, guiltless damsel, flying the mad pursuit Of her enraged stepdame Guendolen,
Commended her fair innocence to the flood, That stay'd her flight with his cross-flowing course. The water-nymphs that in the bottom play'd, Held up their pearled wrists, and took her in, Bearing her strait to aged Nereus' hall, Who, piteous of her woes, rear'd her lank head, And gave her to his daughters to imbathe In nectar'd lavers strow'd with asphodil, And through the porch and inlet of each sense Dropt in ambrosial oils, till she reviv'd And underwent a quick immortal change, Made Goddess of the river; still she retains
Her maiden gentleness, and oft at eve Visits the herds along the twilight meadows, Helping all urchin blast, and ill-luck signs That the shrewd meddling elf delights to make, Which she with precious vial'd liquors heals; For which the shepherds at their festivals Carol her goodness loud in rustic lays,
And throw sweet garland wreaths into her stream Of pancies, pinks, and gaudy daffodils. And, as the old swain said, she can unlock The clasping charm, and thaw the numbing spell, If she be right invok'd, in warbled song, For maidenhood she loves, and will be swift To aid a virgin, such as was herself, In hard-besetting need; this will I try, And add the power of some adjuring verse.
Listen where thou art sitting
Under the glassy, cool, translucent wave, In twisted braids of lilies knitting The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair; Listen for dear honour's sake, Goddess of the Silver Lake. Listen and save;
Listen and appear to us, In name of great Oceanus;
By th' earth-shaking Neptune's mace And Tethys' grave majestic pace; By hoary Nereus' wrinkled look, And the Carpathian wizard's hook; By scaly Triton's winding shell, And the old soothsaying Glaucus' spell; By Leucothea's lovely hands, And her son that rules the strands; By Thetis' tinsel-slipper'd feet And the songs of Syrens sweet; By dead Parthenope's dear tomb; And fair Ligea's golden comb, Wherewith she sits on diamond rocks Sleeking her soft alluring locks; By all the Nymphs that nightly dance Upon thy streams, with wily glance; Rise, rise, and heave thy rosy head From thy coral-paven bed,
And bridle in thy headlong wave, Till thou our summons answered have.
Sabrina rises, attended by Water-nymphs, and
By the rushy-fringed bank,
Where grows the willow and the osier dank, My sliding chariot stays,
Thick set with agate, and the azure sheen Of turkis blue and emerald green, That in the channel strays; Whilst from off the waters fleet Thus I set my printless feet O'er the cowslip's velvet head,
That bends not as I tread; Gentle swain, at thy request, I am here.
Spi. Goddess dear,
We implore thy powerful hand To undo the charmed band
Of true virgin here distrest, Through the force, and through the wile Of unblest inchanter vile.
Sab. Shepherd, 'tis my office best To help insnar'd chastity: Brightest lady, look on me; Thus I sprinkle on thy breast Drops that from my fountain pure
I have kept of precious cure, Thrice upon thy finger's tip, Thrice upon thy rubied lip; Next this marble venom'd seat, Smear'd with gums of glutinous heat,
I touch with chaste palms moist and cold: Now the spell hath lost his hold; And I must haste ere morning hour To wait on Amphitrite's bower.
Sabrina descends, and the Lady rises out of her seat.
Spi. Virgin, daughter of Locrine, Sprung from old Anchises' line, May thy brimmed waves for this Their full tribute never miss From a thousand petty rills, That tumble down the snowy hills: Summer drouth, or singed air, Never scorch thy tresses fair, Nor wet October's torrent flood Thy molten chrystal fill with mud; May thy billows roll ashore The beryl, and the golden ore; May thy lofty head be crown'd With many a tower and terras round, And here and there thy banks upon With groves of myrrhe, and cinnamon.
Come, lady, while Heav'n lends us grace, Let us fly this cursed place, Lest the sorcerer us entice With some other new device. Not a waste, or needless sound, Till we come to holier ground; I shall be your faithful guide Through this gloomy covert wide, And not many furlongs thence Is your father's residence, Where this night are met in state Many a friend to gratulate His wish'd presence, and beside All the swains that near abide, With jigs and rural dance resort; We shall catch them at their sport, And our sudden coming there Will double at their mirth and cheer. Come let us haste, the stars grow high, But night sits monarch yet in the mid sky!
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