He thus replied: "The rites In which Love's beauteous empress most delights, 300 Are banquets, Doric music, midnight revel, Plays, masks, and all that stern age counteth evil. Thee as a holy idiot doth she scorn; For thou, in vowing chastity, hast sworn To rob her name and honour, and thereby Committ'st a sin far worse than perjury, Even sacrilege against her deity, Through regular and formal purity. To expiate which sin, kiss and shake hands: Such sacrifice as this Venus demands." 310 Thereat she smil'd, and did deny him so, As put[18] thereby, yet might he hope for mo; Which makes him quickly reinforce his speech, And her in humble manner thus beseech: "Though neither gods nor men may thee deserve, Yet for her sake, whom you have vow'd to serve, Abandon fruitless cold virginity, The gentle queen of Love's sole enemy. Then shall you most resemble Venus' nun, When Venus' sweet rites are performed and done. 320 Flint-breasted Pallas joys in single life; But Pallas and your mistress are at strife. Love, Hero, then, and be not tyrannous; But heal the heart that thou hast wounded thus; Nor stain thy youthful years with avarice: Fair fools delight to be accounted nice. The richest[19] corn dies, if it be not reapt; Beauty alone is lost, too warily kept." These arguments he us'd, and many more; Wherewith she yielded, that was won before. 330 Hero's looks yielded, but her words made war: Women are won when they begin to jar. Thus, having swallow'd Cupid's golden hook, The more she striv'd, the deeper was she strook: Yet, evilly feigning anger, strove she still, And would be thought to grant against her will. So having paus'd a while, at last she said, "Who taught thee rhetoric to deceive a maid? Ay me! such words as these should I abhor, And yet I like them for the orator." 340 With that, Leander stooped to have embrac'd her, But from his spreading arms away she cast her, And thus bespake him: "Gentle youth, forbear To touch the sacred garments which I wear. Upon a rock, and underneath a hill, Far from the town (where all is whist[20] and still, Save that the sea, playing on yellow sand, Sends forth a rattling murmur to the land, Whose sound allures the golden Morpheus In silence of the night to visit us), 350 My turret stands; and there, God knows, I play With Venus' swans and sparrows all the day. A[21] dwarfish beldam bears me company, That hops about the chamber where I lie, And spends the night, that might be better spent, In vain discourse and apish merriment:-- Come thither." As she spake this, her tongue tripp'd, For unawares "Come thither" from her slipp'd;