Methinks I should not wonder thou dost wreak Thy will upon me, and upon my weal, But that despite my woes, I yet do live. OROMPO. If the delightful mead Is pleasant to thee as 'twas wont to be In times that now are dead, Come hither; thou art free To spend the day in our sad company. He that is sad agrees Easily with the sad, as thou must know; Come hither, here one flees, Beside this clear spring's flow, The sun's bright rays that high in heaven glow. Come and thyself defend, As is thy custom, raise thy wonted strain, Against each sorrowing friend. For each doth strive amain To show that his alone is truly pain. I only in the strife Must needs opponent be to each and all, The sorrow of my life I can indeed extol, But cannot give expression to the whole. ORFENIO. The luscious grassy sward Is not unto the hungry lamb so sweet, Nor health once more restored Doth he so gladly greet Who had already held its loss complete, As pleasant 'tis for me In the contest that is at hand to show That the cruel misery My suffering heart doth know Is far above the greatest here below. Orompo, speak no word Of thy great ill, Crisio, thy grief contain, Let naught from thee be heard, Marsilio; death, disdain, Absence, seek not to rival jealous pain. But if Heaven so desires That we to-day should seek the battle-field, Begin, whoso aspires, And of his sorrow yield Token with all the skill his tongue can wield. A truthful history In the pure truth doth find its resting-place. For it can never be, That elegance and grace Of speech can form its substance and its base. CRISIO. Shepherd, in this great arrogance I feel Thou wilt reveal the folly of thy life When in this strife of passions we engage. ORFENIO. Thy pride assuage or show it in its hour, Thine anguish sore is but a pastime, friend, The souls that bend in grief, because they go Away, their woe must needs exaggerate. CRISIO. So strange and great the torment is I moan, That thou full soon thyself, I trust, wilt say That nothing may with my fatigues compare. MARS. An evil star shone on me from my birth.