And ye, sweet Muses! which have often proved The piercing points of his avengefull darts, 30 And ye, fair Nimphs! which oftentimes have loved The cruel worker of your kindly smarts, Prepare yourselves, and open wide your harts For to receive the triumph of your glorie, That made you merie oft when ye were sorrie. 35 And ye, faire blossoms of youths wanton breed! Which in the conquests of your beautie bost, Wherewith your lovers feeble eyes you feed, But sterve their harts, that needeth nourture most, Prepare your selves to march amongst his host, 40 And all the way this sacred hymne do sing, Made in the honor of your soveraigne king. Great God of Might, that reignest in the mynd, And all the bodie to thy hest doest frame, Victor of gods, subduer of mankynd, 45 That doest the lions and fell tigers tame, Making their cruell rage thy scornfull game, And in their roring taking great delight, Who can expresse the glorie of thy might? Or who alive can perfectly declare 50 The wondrous cradle of thine infancie, When thy great mother Venus first thee bare, Begot of Plenty and of Penurie, Though elder then thine own nativitie, And yet a chyld, renewing still thy yeares, 55 And yet the eldest of the heavenly peares? For ere this worlds still moving mightie masse Out of great Chaos ugly prison crept, In which his goodly face long hidden was From heavens view, and in deep darknesse kept, 60 Love, that had now long time securely slept In Venus lap, unarmed then and naked, Gan reare his head, by Clotho being waked: And taking to him wings of his own heat, Kindled at first from heavens life-giving fyre, 65 He gan to move out of his idle seat; Weakly at first, but after with desyre Lifted aloft, he gan to mount up hyre*, And, like fresh eagle, made his hardy flight Thro all that great wide wast, yet wanting light. 70 [* _Hyre_, higher.] Yet wanting light to guide his wandring way, His own faire mother, for all creatures sake, Did lend him light from her owne goodly ray; Then through the world his way he gan to take, The world, that was not till he did it make, 75 Whose sundrie parts he from themselves did sever. The which before had lyen confused ever. The earth, the ayre, the water, and the fyre, Then gan to raunge themselves in huge array, And with contráry forces to conspyre 80 Each against other by all meanes they may, Threatning their owne confusion and decay: Ayre hated earth, and water hated fyre, Till Love relented their rebellious yre.