The Golden Treasury. Various

      Come live with me and be my Love,

       And we will all the pleasures prove

       That hills and valleys, dale and field,

       And all the craggy mountains yield.

      There will we sit upon the rocks

       And see the shepherds feed their flocks,

       By shallow rivers, to whose falls

       Melodious birds sing madrigals.

      There will I make thee beds of roses

       And a thousand fragrant posies,

       A cap of flowers, and a kirtle

       Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle.

      A gown made of the finest wool,

       Which from our pretty lambs we pull,

       Fair linéd slippers for the cold,

       With buckles of the purest gold.

      A belt of straw and ivy buds

       With coral clasps and amber studs:

       And if these pleasures may thee move,

       Come live with me and be my Love.

      Thy silver dishes for thy meat

       As precious as the gods do eat,

       Shall on an ivory table be

       Prepared each day for thee and me.

      The shepherd swains shall dance and sing

       For thy delight each May-morning:

       If these delights thy mind may move,

       Then live with me and be my Love.

      C. Marlowe

VIII

      OMNIA VINCIT

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      Fain would I change that note

       To which fond Love hath charm'd me

       Long long to sing by rote,

       Fancying that that harm'd me:

       Yet when this thought doth come

       'Love is the perfect sum

       Of all delight,'

       I have no other choice

       Either for pen or voice

       To sing or write.

      O Love! they wrong thee much

       That say thy sweet is bitter,

       When thy rich fruit is such

       As nothing can be sweeter.

       Fair house of joy and bliss,

       Where truest pleasure is,

       I do adore thee:

       I know thee what thou art,

       I serve thee with my heart,

       And fall before thee!

      Anon.

IX

      A MADRIGAL

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      Crabbed Age and Youth

       Cannot live together:

       Youth is full of pleasance,

       Age is full of care;

       Youth like summer morn,

       Age like winter weather,

       Youth like summer brave,

       Age like winter bare:

       Youth is full of sport, Age's breath is short, Youth is nimble, Age is lame: Youth is hot and bold, Age is weak and cold, Youth is wild, and Age is tame:— Age, I do abhor thee, Youth, I do adore thee; O! my Love, my Love is young! Age, I do defy thee— O sweet shepherd, hie thee, For methinks thou stay'st too long.

      W. Shakespeare

X

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      Under the greenwood tree

       Who loves to lie with me,

       And turn his merry note

       Unto the sweet bird's throat—

       Come hither, come hither, come hither!

       Here shall he see

       No enemy

       But winter and rough weather.

      Who doth ambition shun

       And loves to live i' the sun,

       Seeking the food he eats

       And pleased with what he gets—

       Come hither, come hither, come hither!

       Here shall he see

       No enemy

       But winter and rough weather.

      W. Shakespeare

XI

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      It was a lover and his lass

       With a hey and a ho, and a hey nonino!

       That o'er the green corn-field did pass

       In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,

       When birds do sing hey ding a ding:

       Sweet lovers love the Spring.

      Between the acres of the rye

       These pretty country folks would lie:

       This carol they began that hour,

       How that life was but a flower:

      And therefore take the present time

       With a hey and a ho and a hey nonino!

       For love is crowned with the prime

       In spring time, the only pretty ring time,

       When birds do sing hey ding a ding:

       Sweet lovers love the Spring.

      W. Shakespeare

XII

      PRESENT IN ABSENCE

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      Absence, hear thou this protestation

       Against thy strength,

       Distance, and length;

       Do what thou canst for alteration:

       For hearts of truest mettle

       Absence doth join, and Time doth settle.

      Who loves a mistress of such quality,

       His mind hath found

       Affection's ground

       Beyond time, place, and mortality.

       To hearts that cannot vary

       Absence is present, Time doth tarry.

      

      By absence this good means I gain,

       That I can catch her,