No More Learning

This Vertue thinking to give dignitie
To your soule, found there no infirmitie,
For, your soule was as good Vertue, as shee;

Shee therefore wrought upon that part of you 40
Which is scarce lesse then soule, as she could do,
And so hath made your beauty, Vertue too.

Hence comes it, that your Beauty wounds not hearts,
As Others, with prophane and sensuall Darts,
But as an influence, vertuous thoughts imparts. 45

But if such friends by the honor of your sight
Grow capable of this so great a light,
As to partake your vertues, and their might,

What must I thinke that influence must doe,
Where it findes sympathie and matter too, 50
Vertue, and beauty of the same stuffe, as you?

Which is, your noble worthie sister, shee
Of whom, if what in this my Extasie
And revelation of you both I see,

I should write here, as in short Galleries 55
The Master at the end large glasses ties,
So to present the roome twice to our eyes,

So I should give this letter length, and say
That which I said of you; there is no way
From either, but by the other, not to stray. 60

May therefore this be enough to testifie
My true devotion, free from flattery;
He that beleeves himselfe, doth never lie.


[A Letter to _&c. _ _1633-69_, _D_, _H49_, _Lec:_ To the Lady
Carey and her Sister M^rs Essex Rich. From Amiens. _O'F:_
To the Lady Co: of C. _N_, _TCD:_ To the Ladie Carey. _or_ A
Letter to the Ladie Carey. _B_, _Cy_, _S96:_ _no title_, _P:_
To M^rs Essex Rich and her sister fro Amiens. _M_]

[13 who are] who is _1633_]

[19 humilitie _1633-54_, _B_, _Cy_, _D_, _H49_, _Lec_, _M_,
_N_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_ humidity _1669_, _Chambers_]

[26 contributions] contribution _B_, _D_, _N_, _TCD_]

[30 this zeale, _1635-69_, _B_, _Cy_, _D_, _H49_, _N_, _O'F_,
_P_, _S96_, _TCD:_ their zeale, _1633_, _Lec_]

[31 Gold] Golds _1633 some copies_]

[33 aguish,] anguish, _1650-54_]

[57 our eyes,] your eyes, _Cy_, _D_, _H49_, _Lec_, _P_]

[60 by the] to the _1669_

other, _1669:_ other _1633-54_]




_To the Countesse of Salisbury. _ August. 1614.
Faire, great, and good, since seeing you, wee see
What Heaven can doe, and what any Earth can be:
Since now your beauty shines, now when the Sunne
Growne stale, is to so low a value runne,
That his disshevel'd beames and scattered fires 5
Serve but for Ladies Periwigs and Tyres
In lovers Sonnets: you come to repaire
Gods booke of creatures, teaching what is faire.
Since now, when all is withered, shrunke, and dri'd,
All Vertues ebb'd out to a dead low tyde, 10
All the worlds frame being crumbled into sand,
Where every man thinks by himselfe to stand,
Integritie, friendship, and confidence,
(Ciments of greatnes) being vapor'd hence,
And narrow man being fill'd with little shares, 15
Court, Citie, Church, are all shops of small-wares,
All having blowne to sparkes their noble fire,
And drawne their sound gold-ingot into wyre;
All trying by a love of littlenesse
To make abridgments, and to draw to lesse, 20
Even that nothing, which at first we were;
Since in these times, your greatnesse doth appeare,
And that we learne by it, that man to get
Towards him that's infinite, must first be great.
Since in an age so ill, as none is fit 25
So much as to accuse, much lesse mend it,
(For who can judge, or witnesse of those times
Where all alike are guiltie of the crimes? )
Where he that would be good, is thought by all
A monster, or at best fantasticall; 30
Since now you durst be good, and that I doe
Discerne, by daring to contemplate you,
That there may be degrees of faire, great, good,
Through your light, largenesse, vertue understood:
If in this sacrifice of mine, be showne 35
Any small sparke of these, call it your owne.
And if things like these, have been said by mee
Of others; call not that Idolatrie.
For had God made man first, and man had seene
The third daies fruits, and flowers, and various greene, 40
He might have said the best that he could say
Of those faire creatures, which were made that day;
And when next day he had admir'd the birth
Of Sun, Moone, Stars, fairer then late-prais'd earth,
Hee might have said the best that he could say, 45
And not be chid for praising yesterday;
So though some things are not together true,
As, that another is worthiest, and, that you:
Yet, to say so, doth not condemne a man,
If when he spoke them, they were both true than. 50
How faire a proofe of this, in our soule growes?
Wee first have soules of growth, and sense, and those,
When our last soule, our soule immortall came,
Were swallowed into it, and have no name.
Nor doth he injure those soules, which doth cast 55
The power and praise of both them, on the last;
No more doe I wrong any; I adore
The same things now, which I ador'd before,
The subject chang'd, and measure; the same thing
In a low constable, and in the King 60
I reverence; His power to work on mee:
So did I humbly reverence each degree
Of faire, great, good; but more, now I am come
From having found their _walkes_, to find their _home_.
And as I owe my first soules thankes, that they 65
For my last soule did fit and mould my clay,
So am I debtor unto them, whose worth,
Enabled me to profit, and take forth
This new great lesson, thus to study you;
Which none, not reading others, first, could doe. 70
Nor lacke I light to read this booke, though I
In a darke Cave, yea in a Grave doe lie;
For as your fellow Angells, so you doe
Illustrate them who come to study you.
The first whom we in Histories doe finde 75
To have profest all Arts, was one borne blinde:
He lackt those eyes beasts have as well as wee,
Not those, by which Angels are seene and see;
So, though I'am borne without those eyes to live,
Which fortune, who hath none her selfe, doth give, 80
Which are, fit meanes to see bright courts and you,
Yet may I see you thus, as now I doe;
I shall by that, all goodnesse have discern'd,
And though I burne my librarie, be learn'd.


[To the Countesse _&c. _ _1633-69_, _D_, _H49_, _Lec:_ To
the Countess of Salisbury. _O'F:_ To the Countess of S. _N_,
_TCD_]

[2 and what _1633_, _1669_, _D_, _H49_, _Lec:_ what _1635-54_,
_N_, _O'F_, _TCD_]

[16 Court,] Courts, _1669_]

[17 noble fire,] nobler fire, _O'F_]

[24 him] him, _1633_

that's _1650-69:_ thats _1633-39_]

[29-30 _Chambers includes in parenthesis_]

[30 fantasticall; _Ed:_ fantasticall: _1633-69_]

[34 light, largenesse,] lights largeness, _1669_]

[38 Idolatrie.