A very proper dittie: to the tune of Lightie love,
Leave Lightie love Ladies, for feare of yll name:
And True love embrace ye, to purchace your Fame.
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BY force I am fixed my fancie to write,
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Ingratitude willeth mee not to refraine:
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Then blame me not Ladies although I indite
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What lighty love now amongst you doth raigne
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Your traces in places, with outward allurements
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Doth moove my endevour to be the more playne:
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Your nicyngs and ticings, with sundrie procurementes
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To publish your lightie love doth mee constrayne.
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Deceite is not daintie, it coms at eche dish,
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Fraude goes a fisshyng with frendly lookes,
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Throughe frendship is spoyled the seely poore fish,
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That hoover and shover upon your false hookes,
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With baight, you lay waight, to catch here and there,
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Whiche causeth poore fisshes their freedome to lose:
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Then loute ye, and floute ye, wherby doth appere,
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Your lighty love Ladies, styll cloaked with glose.
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With DIAN so chaste, you seeme to compare,
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When HELLENS you bee, and hang on her trayne:
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Meethinkes faithfull Thisbies, be now very rare,
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Not one CLEOPATRA, I doubt doth remayne:
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You wincke, and you twincke, tyll Cupid have caught,
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And forceth through flames your Lovers to sue:
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Your lyghtie love Ladies, too deere they have bought,
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When nothyng wyll moove you, their causes to rue.
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I speake not for spite, ne do I disdayne,
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Your beautie fayre Ladies, in any respect:
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But ones Ingratitude doth mee constrayne,
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As childe hurt with fire, the same to neglect:
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For proovyng in lovyng, I finde by good triall,
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When Beautie had brought mee unto her becke:
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She staying, not waying, but made a deniall,
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And shewyng her lightie love, gave mee the checke.
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Thus fraude for frendship, did lodge in her brest,
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Suche are most women, that when they espie,
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Their lovers inflamed with sorowes opprest,
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They stande then with Cupid against their replie
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They taunte, and they vaunte, they smile when they vew
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How Cupid had caught them under his trayne,
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But warned, discerned, the proofe is most true,
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That lightie love Ladies, amongst you doth reigne.
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It seemes by your doynges, that Cressed doth scoole ye,
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Penelopeys vertues are cleane out of thought:
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Meethinkes by your constantnesse, Heleyne doth rule ye,
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Whiche, both Greece and Troy, to ruyne hath brought:
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No doubt, to tell out, your manyfolde driftes,
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Would shew you as constant, as is the Sea sande:
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To truste so unjust, that all is but shieftes,
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With lightie love bearyng your lovers in hande.
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If ARGUS were lyvyng, whose eyes were in nomber:
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The Peacockes plume painted, as Writers replie,
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Yet Women by wiles, full sore would him cumber,
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For all his quicke eyes, their driftes to espie:
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Suche feates, with disceates, they dayly frequent,
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To conquere mennes mindes, their humours to feede,
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That bouldly I may geve Arbittrement:
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Of this your lightie love, Ladies indeede.
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Ye men that are subject to Cupid his strooke,
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And therin seemeth to have your delight:
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Thinke when you see baight, theres hidden a hooke,
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Whiche sure wyll bane you, if that you do bight:
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Suche wiles, and suche guiles, by women are wrought
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That halfe their mischefes, men cannot prevent,
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When they are most pleasant, unto your thought,
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Then nothyng but lightie love, is their intent.
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Consider that poyson doth lurke oftentyme
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In shape of sugre, to put some to payne:
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And fayre wordes paynted, as Dames can define,
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The olde Proverbe saith, doth make some fooles faine:
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Be wise and precise, take warning by mee,
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Trust not the Crocodile, least you do rue:
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To womens faire wordes, do never agree:
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For all is but lightie love, this is most true.
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ANEXES so daintie, Example may bee,
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Whose lightie love caused youg IPHIS his woe,
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His true love was tryed by death, as you see,
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Her lightie love forced the Knight therunto:
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For shame then refrayne, you Ladies therfore,
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The Cloudes they doo vanish, and light doth appeare:
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You cannot dissemble, nor hide it no more
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Your love is but lightie love, this is most cleare.
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For Troylus tried the same over well,
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In lovyng his Ladie, as Fame doth reporte:
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And likewise Menander, as Stories doth tell,
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Who swam the salt Seas, to his love, to resorte:
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So true, that I rue, such lovers should lose
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Their labour in seekyng their Ladies unkinde:
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Whose love, thei did proove, as the Proverbe now goes
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Even very lightie love, lodgde in their minde.
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I touche no such Ladies, as true love imbrace,
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But suche as to lightie love dayly applie:
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And none wyll be grieved, in this kinde of case,
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Save suche as are minded, true love to denie:
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Yet frendly and kindly, I shew you my minde,
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Fayre Ladies I wish you, to use it no more,
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But say what you list, thus I have definde,
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That lightie love Ladies, you ought to abhore.
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To trust womens wordes, in any respect,
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The danger by mee right well it is seene:
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And Love and his Lawes, who would not neglect,
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The tryall wherof, moste peryllous beene:
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Pretendyng, the endyng, if I have offended,
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I crave of you Ladies an Answere againe:
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Amende, and whats said, shall soone be amended,
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If case that your lightie love, no longer do rayne.
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