s, not only of every
species of plant, but also of other kinds of material. So the crowns of
poets are made not only of myrtle and of laurel, but of vine leaves for
the white-wine verses, and of ivy for the bacchanals; of olive for
sacrifice and laws; of poplar, of elm, and of corn for agriculture; of
cypress for funerals, and innumerable others for other occasions; and if
it please you, also of the material signified by a good fellow when he
exclaimed:

"O Friar Leek! O Poetaster!
That in Milan didst buckle on thy wreath
Composed of salad, sausage, and the pepper-caster."

_Cicada_--Now surely he of divers moods, which he exhibits in various
ways, may cover himself with the branches of different plants, and may
hold discourse worthily with the Muses; for they are his aura or
comforter, his anchor or support, and his harbor, to which he retires in
times of labor, of agitation, and of storm. Hence he cries:--"O Mountain
of Parnassus, where I abide; Muses, with whom I converse; Fountain of
Helicon, where I am nourished; Mountain, that affordest me a quiet
dwelling-place; Muses, that inspire me with profound doctrines;
Fountain, that cleansest me; Mountain, on whose ascent my heart uprises;
Muses, that in discourse revive my spirits; Fountain, whose arbors cool
my brows,--change my death into life, my cypress to laurels, and my
hells into heavens: that is, give me immortality, make me a poet, render
me illustrious!"

_Tansillo_--Well; because to those whom Heaven favors, the greatest
evils turn to greatest good; for needs or necessities bring forth labors
and studies, and these most often bring the glory of immortal splendor.

_Cicada_--For to die in one age makes us live in all the rest.

CANTICLE OF THE SHINING ONES

A Tribute to English Women, from 'The Nolan'

"Nothing I envy, Jove, from this thy sky,"
Spake Neptune thus, and raised his lofty crest.
"God of the waves," said Jove, "thy pride runs high;
What more wouldst add to own thy stern behest?"

"Thou," spake the god, "dost rule the fiery span,
The circling spheres, the glittering shafts of day;
Greater am I, who in the realm of man
Rule Thames, with all his Nymphs in fair array.

"In this my breast I hold the fruitful land,
The vasty reaches of the trembling sea;
And what in night's bright dome, or day's, shall stand
Before these radiant maids who dw