t diaphanous, veil upon veil in a tiffany drawn
To bedrape the small virginal breasts yet unripe for the spousal of dawn;
Till the vein'd very vermeil of Venus, till Cupid's incarnadine kiss,
Till the ray of the ruby, the sunrise, ensanguine the bath of her bliss;
Till the wimple her bosom uncover, a tissue of fire to the view, 25
And the zone o'er the wrists of the lover slip down as they reach to undo.
_Now learn ye to love who loved never--now ye who have loved, love anew_!

Ipsa nymphas diva luco jussit ire myrteo:
It puer comes puellis. Nee tamen credi potest
Esse Amorem feriatum, si sagittas vexerit. 30
Ite, nymphae, posuit arma, feriatus est Amor;
Jussus est inermis ire, nudus ire jussus est,
Neu quid arcu, neu sagitta, neu quid igne Iaederet;
Sed tamen nymphse cavete, quod Cupido pulcher est;
Est in armis totus idem quando nudus est Amor! 35

_Cras amet qui nunquam amavit; quique amavit eras amet_.

Conpari Venus pudore mittit ad te virgines:

"Go, maidens," Our Lady commands, "while the myrtle is green in the
groves,
Take the Boy to your escort." "But ah!" cry the maidens, "what trust
is in Love's
Keeping holiday too, while he weareth his archery, tools of his
trade?" 30
"Go! he lays them aside, an apprentice released; ye may wend unafraid.
See, I bid him disarm, he disarms; mother-naked I bid him to go,
And he goes mother-naked. What flame can he shoot without arrow or bow?"
Yet beware ye of Cupid, ye maidens! Beware most of all when he charms
As a child: for the more he runs naked, the more he's a strong
man-at-arms. 35

_Now learn ye to love who loved never--now ye who have loved, love anew!
"Lady Dian"--Behold how demurely the damsels approach her and sue--

Una res est quam rogamus: cede, virgo Delia,
Ut nemus sit incruentum de ferinis stragibus.
Ipsa vellet ut venires, si deceret virginem: 40
Jam tribus choros videres feriatos noctibus
Congreges inter catervas ire per saltus tuos,
Floreas inter coronas, myrteas inter casas:
Nee Ceres nee Bacchus absunt, nee poetarum Deus;
De tenente tota nox est pervigilia canticis: 45
Regnet in silvis Dione; tu recede, Delia.
_Cras amet qui nunquam amavit; quique amavit cras amet_.

Hear Venus her only petition! Dear maiden of
Delos, depart!
Let the forest be bloodless to-day, unmolested the
roe and the hart!
Holy huntress, thyself she would bid be her guest, 40
could thy chastity stoop
To approve