The vijth Chapitre.
THERE BE DYUERS that holde opynyon that Venus was a woman of Ciprys. But of hyr parentes many doubte. For sum say that she was the doughter of oone Cirus, and sum agayne say that she was the doughter of this sayde Cyrus, whiche he gatt on Dion, a woman of Cyprys; and other, to magnyfye hyr bewtie, affyrme that she was the doughter of Jupiter and of this Dion. But of what parentes so euer she was procreate of, she is put more for hyr exellent and incomparable beaute emonge other noble women in this my wowrke then for any other goode thynge in hyr ells to be commendyd. For ther was in hyr suche exellent and excedynge beaute that the eyes of theim that behelde hyr were often tymes deceyuyde. In so muche that diuers sayde that she was that same self starre that nowe is callyde Venus. And sum calleth hyr a heuenly woman, commen downe frome the lappe of Jupiter to the earthe, and, brifly, all they, blyndyd with theyr oune folyshnes, all though they knewe well ynoughe that she was a mortall woman, yet they affirmede hyr to be an immortall goddesse, and that she onely was the helper to Cupidos pleasures and the mother therto. Nor she lakte not hir self the craft of gesturs and countenances that longes to that gamme, whiche cam so well to hyr wanton purpose, all though I wyll not wryte all, that she hyrself coulde not resyste suche fylthynes, thoughe she were accomptyd Jupiters doughter and taken as oone of that moste venerable sorte emonge the best. Whereby, not onely at Paphos, a wonders auncyent cyte of Cyprys, they pleasid hyr with fraunkyncens and other ceremonyes, but after she was deade, the folyshe people thought to please hyr with those swete sauowrs that when she was alyue she delytyd in, when she gaue hyrself to voluptuouse pastymes. To thys, the Romayns dedicate to hyr a temple, the title wherof was namede ‘the temple of the mother Venus’, with many gloriouse thynges therto apperteynynge. What shulde I more say? Thys Venus was maryede to twayne husbondes, so men beleue, but it is not certeyn. Albe it they say that she was maryede to Volcan, the Kynge of Lemmam, sonne to Jupiter, Kynge of Crete, whiche deade, she maryede Adonay, the sonne of Cynare and of Myrra, Kynge of Cyprys. And it is the more easely to be beleuyde that after she maryede Adonay, because with hym she myght the more largely vse hyr wanton disportes then with hyr fyrst husbonde before. But Adonay also deade, she fell into so detestable venereall delytes that she darked all hyr meruelouse beautie, as one shulde say, not with closyde eyes, but manyfestly, that all men myght see it. It was not hydde in hyr husbonde Volcan days that she toke to hyr paramoure a knyght of the countrye, wherof is rysune the fable that she playede the harlote with Mars, the god of battell. At the last, to clooke hyr vnchaste ways, that the more therby she myght vse hyr waunton dalyaunces, it is sayde that she was the fyrst that founde thiese comune baudes houses. Which execrable custome many days for a witnes therof was vsede in Ciprfs, and other theyr neighbours had a custome to sende theyr maydyns to Cipris see bankes, that they myght company with the men that mette theym ther. And thys abhomynable custome wentt so farr that at the last it flewe into Italy and to the men of Locres and dyuers countres moo.