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ASTROPHEL:

A PASTORAL ELEGY

Upon the death of the most noble and valorous knight,
SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.

Dedicated to the most beautiful and vertuous lady,
THE COUNTESS OF ESSEX.

SHEPHERDS! that wont on pipes of caten reed
Oft-times to plain your loves concealed smart,
And with your piteous lays have learn'd to breed
Compassion in a country lass's heart,
Hearken, ye gentle Shepherds! to my song,
And place my doleful plaint your plaints emong.
To you alone I sing this mournful verse,
The mournful'st verse that ever man heard tell;
To you whose softned hearts it may empierce
With Dolour's dart, for death of Astrophel;
To you I sing, and to none other wight,
For well I wote my rymes been rudely dight.

Yet as they been, if any nicer wit
Shall hap to hear, or covet them to read,
Think he that such are for such ones most fit,
Made not to please the living but the dead;
And if in him found pity ever place,
Let him be mov'd to pity such a case.

A GENTLE shepherd, born in Arcady,
Of gentlest race that ever shepherd bore,
About the grassy banks of Hæmony
Did keep his sheep, his little stock and store:
Full carefully he kept them day and night
In fairest fields, and Astrophel he hight.

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Young Astrophel! the pride of shepherds' praise,
Young Astrophel! the rustick lasses love,
Far passing all the pastors of his days,
In all that seemly shepherds might behove;
In one thing only failing of the best,
That he was not so happy as the rest.

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For from the time that first the nymph his mother
Him forth did bring, and taught her lambs to feed,
A slender swain, excelling far each other
In comely shape, like her that did him breed,
He grew up fast in goodness and in grace,
And doubly fair wox both in mind and face;

Which daily more and more he did augment
With gentle usage and demeanure mild,
That all mens hearts with secret ravishment
He stole away, and weetingly beguil'd:

Ne Spight it self, that all good things doth spill,
Found out in him that she could say was ill.

His sports were fair, his joyance innocent,
Sweet without sowre, and honey without gall;
And he himself seem'd made for merriment,
Merrily masking both in bower and hall:
There was no pleasure nor delightful play
When Astrophel so-ever was away.

For he could pipe and dance, and carol sweet
Emongst the shepherds in their shearing feast,

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As sommer's lark, that with her song doth greet
The dawning day, forth coming from the east:
And layes of love he also could compose;
Thrice happy she whom he to praise did chose.

Full many maidens often did him woo
Them to vouchsafe emongst his rimes to name,
Or make for them, as he was wont to do
For her that did his heart with love inflame;
For which they promised to dight for him
Gay chapelets of flowers and girlonds trim.

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And many a nymph, both of the wood and brook,
Soon as his oaten pipe began to shrill,

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Both crystal wells and shady groves forsook,
To hear the charms of his enchanting skill,
And brought him presents, flowers if it were prime,
Or mellow fruit, if it were harvest-time.

But he for none of them did care a whit,
Yet wood-gods for them often sighed sore;
Ne for their gifts, unworthy of his wit,
Yet not unworthy of the country's store:
For one alone he car'd, for one he sigh'd,
His life's desire, and his dear love's delight.

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Stella the fair! the fairest star in sky,

As fair as Venus, or the fairest fair,

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(A fairer star saw never living eye)

Shot her sharp-pointed beams through purest air:

Her he did love, her he alone did honour,

His thoughts, his rimes, his songs, were all upon her.

To her he vow'd the service of his days,

On her he spent the riches of his wit,
For her he made hymns of immortal praise,
Of only her he sung, he thought, he writ:
Her, and but her, of love he worthy deemed,
For all the rest but little he esteemed.

Ne her with idle words alone he wooed,
And verses vain, (yet verses are not vain)
But with brave deeds to her sole service vowed,
And bold atchievements her did entertain;
For both in deeds and words he nourtred was,
Both wise and hardy, (too hardy, alas!)

In wrestling nimble, and in running swift;
In shooting steddy, and in swimming strong:
Well made to strike, to throw, to leap, to lift,
And all the sports that shepherds are emong.
In every one he vanquisht every one,
He vanquisht all, and vanquisht was of none.

Besides, in hunting such felicity,

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Or rather infelicity, he found,

That every field and forest far away

He sought, where salvage beasts do most abound:

No beast so salvage but he could it kill,

No chace so hard but he therein had skill.

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Such skill, matcht with such courage as he had, 85
Did prick him forth with proud desire of praise
To seek abroad, of danger nought ydrad,
His mistress' name and his own fame to raise.
What needeth peril to be sought abroad,
Sith round about us it doth make aboad?

It fortuned as he that perilous game
In forein soil pursued far away,

Into a forest wide and waste he came,
Where store he herd to be of salvage prey:
So wide a forest, and so waste as this,

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Nor famous Ardeyn nor foul Arlo is.

There his well-woven toyls and subtil trains
He laid, the brutish nation to enwrap;

So well he wrought with practice and with pains,
That he of them great troups did soon entrap: 100
Full happy man (misweening much) was he,
So rich a spoyl within his power to see.

Eftsoones all heedless of his dearest hale,

Full greedily into the herd he thrust,

To slaughter them, and work their final bale, 105 Lest that his toyl should of their troups he burst. Wide wounds emongst them many a one he made, Now with his sharp-boar spear, now with his blade.

His care was all how he them all might kill,
That none might scape (so partial unto none) 110
Volume VIII.

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