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Salmacis
and Hermaphroditus
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In limpt the Blacke-smith; after
stept his Queene,
Whose light arrayment was of louely
greene.
When they were in, Vulcan
began to sweare
By othes that Iupiter himselfe
doth feare,
If any whore in heauens bright
vault were seene,
To dimme the shining of his beauteous
Queene,
Each mortall man should the great
gods disgrace,
And mocke almightie Ioue
vnto his face,
And Giants should enforce bright
heauen to fall,
Ere he would frame one thunderbolt
at all.
Ioue did intreat him that
he would forbeare.
The more he spoke, the more did
Vulcan sweare.
Ioue heard his words, and
'gan to make his mone,
That mortall men would plucke
him from his throne,
Or else he must incurre this plague,
he said,
Quite to forgoe the pleasure of
the mayd:
And once he thought, rather then
lose her blisses,
Her heauenly sweets, her most
delicious kisses,
Her soft embraces, and the amorous
nights,
That he should often spend in
her delights,
He would be quite thrown down by
mortal hands,
From the blest place where his
bright palace stands.
But afterwards hee saw with better
sight,
He should be scorn'd by euery
mortall wight,
If he should want his thunderbolts,
to beate
Aspiring mortals from his glittering
seate:
Therefore the god no more did
woo or proue her,
But left to seeke her loue, though
not to loue her.
Yet he forgot not that he woo'd
the lasse,
But made her twise as beauteous
as she was, |
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| © Twilight
Pictures,
September
2000. This text is freely available for educational, non-profit uses
only. Please report any errors or suggestions to
Drew Whitehead. |
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