No More Learning

_Ed_: grow; _1633-69_]

[14 or _1633-39_: and _1650-69_]

[16 Mine. _Ed:_ Mine; _1633-69_]

[18 upon _Ed:_ upon, _1633-69_]




_A Letter to the Lady_ Carey, _and M^rs_ Essex Riche, _From_ Amyens.


MADAME,

Here where by All All Saints invoked are,
'Twere too much schisme to be singular,
And 'gainst a practise generall to warre.

Yet turning to Saincts, should my'humility
To other Sainct then you directed bee, 5
That were to make my schisme, heresie.

Nor would I be a Convertite so cold,
As not to tell it; If this be too bold,
Pardons are in this market cheaply sold.

Where, because Faith is in too low degree, 10
I thought it some Apostleship in mee
To speake things which by faith alone I see.

That is, of you, who are a firmament
Of virtues, where no one is growne, or spent,
They'are your materials, not your ornament. 15

Others whom wee call vertuous, are not so
In their whole substance, but, their vertues grow
But in their humours, and at seasons show.

For when through tastlesse flat humilitie
In dow bak'd men some harmelessenes we see, 20
'Tis but his _flegme_ that's _Vertuous_, and not Hee:

Soe is the Blood sometimes; who ever ran
To danger unimportun'd, he was than
No better then a _sanguine_ Vertuous man.

So cloysterall men, who, in pretence of feare 25
All contributions to this life forbeare,
Have Vertue in _Melancholy_, and only there.

Spirituall _Cholerique_ Crytiques, which in all
Religions find faults, and forgive no fall,
Have, through this zeale, Vertue but in their Gall. 30

We'are thus but parcel guilt; to Gold we'are growne
When Vertue is our Soules complexion;
Who knowes his Vertues name or place, hath none.

Vertue'is but aguish, when 'tis severall,
By occasion wak'd, and circumstantiall. 35
True vertue is _Soule_, Alwaies in all deeds _All_.

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.