LETTRE A WATSON

Tohn Lyly to the Authour his friend.

My good friend, I haue read your new passions, and they haue renewed mine old pleasures, the which brought to me no lesse delight, then they haue done to your selfe commendations. And certes had not one of mine eies about serious affaires beene watchfull, both by being too too busie had beene wanton : such is the nature of persuading pleasure, that it melteth the marrowe before it scorch the skin, and burneth before it warmeth : Not vnlike vnto the oyle of Ieat, which rotteth the bone and neuer ranckleth the flesh, or the Scarab flies, which enter into the roote and neuer touch the rinde.

And whereas you desire to haue my opinion, you may imagine that my stomake is rather cloyed, then quesie, & therfore mine appetite of lesse force then mine affection, fearing rather a surfet of sweetenes, then desiring a satisfying. The repeating of Loue, wrought in me a remembrance of hking, but serching the very vaines of my hearte, I could finde nothing but a broad scarre, where I left a deepe wounde : and loose stringes, where I tyed hard knots : and a table of steele, where I framed a plot of wax.

Whereby I noted that young swannes are grey, & the olde white, young trees tender, & the old tough, young men amorous, & growing in yeeres, either wiser or warier. The Corall in the water is a soft weede, on the land a hard stone : a sworde frieth in the fire like a blacke ele, but layd in earth like white snowe : the heart in loue is altogether passionate, but free from desire, altogether carelesse.

But it is not my intent to inueigh against loue, which women account but a bare word, & that men reuerence as the best God : onely this I would add without offence to Gentlewomen, that were not men more supersticious in their praises, then women are constant in their passions : Loue would either shortly be worne out of vse, or men out of loue, or women out

of lightnes. I can condemne none but by coniecture, nor commend any but by lying, yet suspicion is as free as thought, and as farre as I see as necessary, as credulitie.

Touching your Mistres Ï must needes thinke well, seeing you haue written so well, but as false glasses shewe the fairest faces, so fine gloses amend the baddest fancies. Apelles painted the Phenix by hearesay not by sight, and Lysippus engraued Vulcan with a streight legge, whome nature framed with a poult foote, which proueth men to be of greater affection then iudgement. But in that so aptly you haue varied vppon women, T will not vary from you, for confesse I must, and if I should not, yet mought I be compelled, that to Loue were the sweetest thing in the earth : If women were the faithfullest, & that women would be more constant if men were more wise.

And seeimg you haue vsed mee so friendly, as to make me acquainted with your passions, I will shortly make you pryuie to mine, which I woulde be loth the printer shoulde see, for that my fancies being neuer so crooked he would put them in streight lines, vnfit for my humor, necessarie for his art, who setteth downe, blinde, in as many letters as seeing.