ne Destinies,
He wounds with love, and forc'd them equally
To dote upon deceitful Mercury.
They offer'd him the deadly fatal knife
That shears the slender threads[23] of human life;
At his fair-feather'd feet the engines laid,
Which th' earth from ugly Chaos' den upweigh'd. 450
These he regarded not; but did entreat
That Jove, usurper of his father's seat,
Might presently be banish'd into hell,
And aged Saturn in Olympus dwell.
They granted what he crav'd; and once again
Saturn and Ops began their golden reign:
Murder, rape, war, and[24] lust, and treachery,
Were with Jove clos'd in Stygian empery.
But long this blessed time continu'd not:
As soon as he his wished purpose got, 460
He, reckless of his promise, did despise
The love of th' everlasting Destinies.
They, seeing it, both Love and him abhorr'd,
And Jupiter unto his place restor'd:
And, but that Learning, in despite of Fate,
Will mount aloft, and enter heaven-gate,
And to the seat of Jove itself advance,
Hermes had slept in hell with Ignorance.
Yet, as a punishment, they added this,
That he and Poverty should always kiss; 470
And to this day is every scholar poor:
Gross gold from them runs headlong to the boor.
Likewise the angry Sisters, thus deluded,
To venge themselves on Hermes, have concluded
That Midas' brood shall sit in Honour's chair,
To which the Muses' sons are only heir;
And fruitful wits, that inaspiring[25] are,
Shall, discontent, run into regions far;
And few great lords in virtuous deeds shall joy
But be surpris'd with every garish toy, 480
And still enrich the lofty servile clown,
Who with encroaching guile keeps learning down.
Then muse not Cupid's suit no better sped,
Seeing in their loves the Fates were injured.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The Arguments are by Chapman, who also divided Marlowe's portion of
the form into the First and Second Sestiad.

[2] Eds. 1600, 1606, 1613, "Sea-borders."--Ed. 1598, according to
Malone, has "sea-borderers;" and so eds. 1629, 1637.

[3] Some editions give "wore."

[4] Some eds. have "rockt," which may be the right reading.

[5] So ed. 1637.--The earlier editions that I have seen read "may."

[6] Cf. _Venus and Adonis_ (l. 3)--

"_Rose-cheek'd A