GREENE'S FAREWELL TO FOLLY 1 Modern spelling tran

GREENE’S FAREWELL TO FOLLY 28
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feigned affection, first deciphering her beauty to be more than superlative, comparing her
face unto Venus, her hair unto gold, her eyes unto stars, nay more, resembling her
chastity unto Diana when they seek only to make her as common as Lais; then how her
feature hath fired their fancy, how her sight hath besotted their senses, how beauty hath
bewitched them, painting out their passions as Apelles did puppets for children, which
inwardly framed of clay, were outwardly tricked up with fresh colours. They plunge in
pain, they wail in woe, they turn the restless stone with Sisyphus and allege the torments
of Tantalus. What grief, what pain, what sorrow, what sighs, what tears, what plaints,
what passions, what tortures, what death is it not they endure till they obtain their
mistress’ favour, which got, infamy concludeth the tragedy with repentance, so that I
allow those pleasing poems of Guazzo, which begin: Chi spinto d’amore, thus Englished:
He that appalled with lust would sail in haste to Corinthum,
There to be taught in Lais’ school to seek for a mistress,
Is to be trained in Venus’ troop, and changed to the purpose;
Rage embraced, but reason quite thrust out as an exile,
Pleasure a pain, rest turned to be care, and mirth as a madness,
Fiery minds inflamed with a look, enraged as Alecto;
Quaint in array, sighs fetched from far and tears, marry, feigned,
Pen-sick sore, deep plunged in pain, not a place but his heart whole;
Days in grief and nights consumed to think on a goddess,
Broken sleeps, sweet dreams but short fro the night to the morning;
Venus dashed, his mistress’ face as bright as Apollo,
Helena stained, the golden ball wrong given by the shepherd;
Hairs of gold, eyes twinkling stars, her lips to be rubies,
Teeth of pearl, her breast like snow, her cheeks to be roses;
Sugar-candy she is, as I guess, fro the waist to the kneestead;
Naught is amiss, no fault were found if soul were amended,
All were bliss if such fond lust led not to repentance.
So that of these verses I conclude that such young gentlemen as, tickled with lust, seek to
please their senses with such pernicious delights, may justly come within the compass of
this folly.
May [+we?], quoth the Lady Margaret, let the selfsame predicament comprehend such
fantastic poets as spend their times in penning down pamphlets of love, who with Ovid
seek to nourish vice in Rome by setting down Artem amandi [=the art of love] and giving
dishonest precepts of lust and lechery, corrupting youth with the expense of time upon
such frivolous fables, and therefore deserve by Augustus to be banished from so civil a
country as Italy amongst the barbarous Getes to live in exile?
Stay there, quoth Messire Benedetto, your commission is too large, and your censure too
satirical. We read not that any woman was ever Stoic or Cynic either to be so strict in
passions or bitter in invectives and [sic for ‘as’?] to write of love, not to favour the folly
but to condemn the fault, and therefore, madam, either be more partial or more
particular.
Modern spelling transcript copyright 2007 Nina Green All Rights Reserved