And whilest I stood with excessiue delight beholding onely as an ignorant this rare companie and mysticall triumphes, circumsept with these and such like sorts, and so also the delicious fields, but that me thought it was a louely sight to behold, and so I should haue continued: then the gratious Nymph associating and leading me, seeing my simplicitie and carelesnes, with a ready countenance and sweete and pleasant words, without asking, she said thus vnto me: My _Poliphilus_, doest thou see these? (shewing me those of the olde world) these were beloued of _Iupiter_, and this, and this was such a one, and these were in loue with him, by this meanes shewing vnto me their high and mighty linage, and not knowing their names, she in great curtesie told me. Afterward she shewed me a great number of little virgins, vnder the gouernment of three sober and discreete matrones the leaders to so great delight: Adding thereunto very pleasantly (changing hir angellike countenance) My _Poliphilus_, thou shalt vnderstand, that no earthly creature can enter in heere without a burning torch as thou seest me, either with extreeme loue and great paines, or for the fauour and company of those three matrones. And from hir hart setting a deepe sigh, she said: This torch haue I brought hither for thy sake, minding to put it out in yonder temple.
These speeches pearced my hart, they were so delightfull and desired, and so much the more, bicause she called me hir _Poliphilus_. Whereupon I assured my selfe, that she was _Polia_, and from top to the toe I found an extreeme alteration into a supreame delight, my hart flying onely to hir. Which thoughts were bewraied by my countenance, and whispering small sighes.
Which she cunningly perceiuing, brake on this new accident with these words: Oh how many be there which would most gladly behold these triumphes, and therefore _Poliphilus_, addresse thy thoughts to other matters, and behold what noble and woorthy Nymphs shew themselues deseruedly consorted with their amorous louers, curteous and affable: who with sweete and pleasant notes in measured verse, praise and commend one another without wearines, incessantly celebrating their turnes with excessiue delight, and extolling the triumphs, the aire also full of the chirpings of diuers pretie birds, yeelding a diffused charme.
About the first triumph among the reioising companie, the nine Muses did sing, with their leader the diuine Luter _Apollo_.[A]
[Sidenote A: This verse consisted of _Strophe_, _Aristophe_, and _Epodus_.]
After the triumph followed the faire Parthenopeian _Leria_, with a lawrell crowne, accompanied with _Melanthia_, whose habites and voices represented the pride of Greece,[A] whereupon the great Macedon rested his head: She bare a splendent lampe, communicating the light thereof with hir companion, then the rest more excellent both in voice and song.
[Sidenote A: _Homer._]
There the faire Nymph shewed me the auncient _Iphianassa_, and after the old father _Himerinus_ his daughters and their drinke, and one betwixt the two Theban brothers: These with pleasant noises, sweete musicke and fine agilities, paste on about the first triumph.
About the second triumph was the noble _Nemesis_ with the _Lesbian Corina_, _Delia_ and _Ne[ae]ra_, with diuers others amorous Nymphs, making pleasaunt soundes vppon stringed instruments of yealow wood.
About the thirde triumph, the glorious Nymphs shewed me _Quintilia_ and _Cynthea Nauta_, with others, in great solace, making sweete harmonies, and singing pleasant verses: there also I behelde the virgin _Violantilla_ with hir Doue, and the other sorrowing for hir Sparrow.
About the fourth triumph, before it went the _Lidian Cloe_, _Lide_, _Neobole_, sweete _Phillis_, and the faire _Lyce_ _Tyburts_ & _Pyra_, with their harps singing and making a most pleasant noyse. After this fourth triumph among the M[ae]nades and sacrificers to _Bacchus_, there folowed an amorous damosell singing in the commendation of the head of hir louer _Plaon_, she desired hornes. And after them all she shewed me two women, one of them apparelled in white, and the other in greene, which came hindermost singing togither.
And thus they marched about in a most pleasant and delightfull maner vpon the fresh greene and flourishing plaine: Some instrophiated with laurel, some with myrtle, and others with other sorts of flowers and garlands, incessantly without any wearines or intermission in a perfection of the felicitie of this world, mutually enioying one anothers aspect and companie.
_The Nymph hauing at large declared vnto Poliphilus the mysticall triumphs and extreeme loue, afterwards she desired him to go on further, where also with great delight he beheld innumerable other Nymphs, with their desired louers, in a thousand sorts of pleasures solacing themselues vpon the greene grasse, fresh shadowes, and by the coole riuers and cleere fountaines. And how Poliphilus there had with madnes almost forgotten himselfe in the passions of desire, but hope did asswage his furie, quieting himselfe in the beholding of the sweete sauour of the faire Nymph._
Not onely happie but aboue all other most happie were he, to whom it should be granted continually by speciall fauour to beholde the glorious pompe, high triumphs, beautiful places, sweet scituations, togither with the goddesses, halfe goddesses, faire Nymphes of incredible delight and pleasure, but especially to be seconded and accompanied with so honorable a Nymph of so rare and excellent beautie. And this I thought not to be the least and smallest point of my felicitie. Now hauing looked vpon these sights, I remained a great space recording of the same, being therewith beyonde measure abundantly contented.
Afterwards, the faire and sweet damsell my guide said thus vnto me: _Poliphilus_, let vs now go on a little further. And then immediately we tended our walke toward the fresh fountains and shady riuers, compassing about the flourshing fields with chrystalline currents and gratious streames.
In which cleare water, grew the purple flowering sonne of the Nymph _Liriope_, looking vp from his tender stringes and leaues. And al the faire riuers were ful of other flowers sweetlie growing among their greene and fresh leaues. This delightfull place was of a spatious and large circuit, compassed about and inuironed with wooddie mountaines, of a moderate height of greene lawrell, fruitefull memerels, hearie & high pine trees, and within the cleere channels, with graueled banks, and in some places the bottom was faire soft yealow sande, where the water ran swifte, and the three leaued driope grew.
There were a great companie of delicate faire Nymphs of tender age, with a redolent flower of bashfulnes, and beyond all credite beautifull, with their beardles louers continuallie accompanied. Among which Nymphs, some verie pleasantly with wanton countenaunces in the cleere streams shewed themselues sportefull and gamesome, hauing taken vppe finelie their thin garments of silke of diuers colours, and holding them in the bouts of their white armes, the forme of their rounde thighs were seene vnder the plytes, and their faire legges were reuealed to the naked knees, the current streames comming vp so high: it was a sight which woulde haue prepared one to that which were vnfit, and if himselfe had been vnable thereunto. And there where the water was most still, turning downe their faire faces of exceeding beautie, and bending their bodies of rare proportion, as in a large goodly glasse they might behould their heauenly shapes, breaking off the same with the motion of their pretie feete, making a noyse with the contrast of the circulating water. Some solaciouslie striuing to go by the tame swimming swans, and sportingly casting water one at another, with the hollownes of their palms: others standing without the water vpon the soft coole grasse, making vp of nosegaies and garlands of sundrie sweete flowers, & giuing the same to their louers as tokens of their fauorable remembraunce, not denieng their sweet kisses, & louing imbracings, with the amorous regardes of their star-like eyes.
And some were set vpon the greene banks not ouergrown with reed and segs, but finely beautified with sweete hearbs and flowers, among the which the tender Nymphs comming wet out of the water more cleere then _Axius_ in _Mygdonia_, vnder the vmbragious trees, did sit sporting and deuising one with another in delightfull imbracings, with their reuerencing louers, not cruelly scorning & reiecting them, but with a sociable loue and benigne affablenesse, disposing themselues to the like shew of true affection, their sweete gestures and pleasant behauiours far more gratious to the eie, then flowing teares be to the frowarde and vnmercifull _Cupid_, the sweete fountaines and moist dewes to the green fieldes, and desired forme to vnfashioned matter.
Some did sing amorous sonnets, and verses of loue, breathing out in the same from their inflamed breasts, scalding sighs ful of sweete accents, able to enamorate harts of stone: And to make smooth the ruggednesse of the vnpassageable mountaine _Caucasus_, to staie whatsoeuer furie the harpe of _Orpheus_ woulde prouoke, and the fowle and euill fauoured face of _Medusa_, to make any horrible monster tame and tractable, and to stop the continuall prouocation of the deuouring _Scylla_. Some rested their heads in the chaste laps of their faire loues, recounting the pleasaunt deuises of _Iupiter_, and they instrophyating their curled locks with sweete smelling flowers.