If Music and sweet Poetry agree; As they must needs, the sister and the brother: Then must the love be great 'twixt thee and me! Because thou lov'st the one; and I, the other. DOWLAND to thee, is dear; whose heavenly touch Upon the lute doth ravish human sense: SPENSER, to me; whose deep conceit is such As, passing all conceit, needs no defence. Thou lov'st to hear the sweet melodious sound That PHOEBUS's Lute, the Queen of Music, makes: And I, in deep delight, am chiefly drowned When as himself to singing he betakes. One god is god of both, as Poets feign: One knight loves both, and both in thee remain! The other poems set to music by DOWLAND, will be found at _pp_. 519-534, 609-622, 644-656. [Illustration] JOHN DOWLAND, Bachelor of Music. THE FIRST BOOK OF SONGS OR AIRS. 1597. [Illustration] TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR GEORGE CAREY, OF THE NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER, KNIGHT, BARON OF HUNSDON, CAPTAIN OF HER MAJESTY'S Gentlemen Pensioners, Governor of the Isle of Wight, Lieutenant of the County of Southampton, Lord Chamberlain of Her Majesty's most royal House; and of Her Highness's most honourable Privy Council. _That harmony, Right Honourable! which is skilfully expressed by instruments: albeit, by reason of the variety of number and proportion of itself, it easily stirs up the minds of the hearers to admiration and delight; yet for higher authority and power, hath been ever worthily attributed to that kind of music which to the sweetness of [the] instrument applies the lively voice of man, expressing some worthy sentence, or excellent poem. Hence, as all antiquity can witness, first grew the heavenly Art of Music: for LINUS, ORPHEUS, and the rest, according to the number and time of their Poems, first framed the numbers and times of Music. So that PLATO defines Melody to consist of Harmony, Number, and Words: Harmony, naked of itself; Words, the ornament of Harmony; Number, the common friend and writer of them both._ _This small book containing the consent of speaking harmony, joined with the most musical instrument, the Lute, being my first labour, I have presumed to dedicate to your Lordship: who, for your virtue and nobility, are best able to protect it; and for your honourable favours towards me, best deserving my duty and service. Besides, your noble inclination and love to all good arts, and namely_ [particularly] _the divine science of Music, doth challenge the Patronage of all Learning; than which no greater title can be added to Nobility_.