252 [from Partheniades]
Partheniad 11 Urania
O mightye Muse
The mignionst mayde of mounte Parnasse
Ever verdurde with flowre and grasse
Of sundrye hews
5 Saye and not misse
How longe agone and whence yt was
The fayre rounde worlde first came to passe,
As yt now ys.
There be that saye
10 How yt was never otherwise,
Then as wee see it with our eyes,
This very daye,
There bee agayne
A secte of men somewhat precise
15 Beleeve a godd did yt devise
And not in vayne,
Nor longe agone
Onely to serve Adams linage
Some little while as for a stage
20 To playe upon
And by despighte
One daye agayne will in his rage
Crushe it all as a kicson cage
And spill it quite.
25 Some weene it must
Come by recourse of prety moates
Farr finer then the smallest groates
Of sand or dust
That swarme in sonne
30 Clinginge as faste as little clotes
Or burres uppon younge childrens cotes
That slise and runne.
Other suppose
A voũς approcht and by reason
35 Broughte it to shape and to season
From a Chaos
But some tech us
By playne proofes, whye yt were begone
Nor never more shalbe undone
40 But byde even thus,
Whoorlinge his whott
And endlesse roundell with a throwe
Swifter then shaft out of a bowe
Or cannon shott
Of mortall men searchinge to knowe
Or this or that since he must rowe
The dolefull barke,
Which Charon guydes,
50 Fraught ful of shadows colde and starke
That ferrye to the coontryes darke
Tendinge theyr tydes
Since stoute nor stronge
Metall nor moulde of worldlye warke
55 Nor writt of any cunninge clarke
Can last soe longe,
To outlast the skye
Honour empire nor erthly name
Save my princesse most woorthye fame
60 Which cannot dye.