by William Alexander
The heauens beheld that all men did despise,
That which the owner from the graue acquites,
That sleepe, the belly, and some base delights,
Had banish'd vertue from beneath the skies;
Which to the world againe for to restore,
The gods did one of theirs, to th'earth transferre,
And with as many blessings following her,
As earst Pandora kept of plagues in store.
She since she came within this wretched vale,
Doth in each mind a loue of glorie breed;
Bettering the better parts that haue most need,
And shewes how worldlings to the clouds may scale:
She cleares the world, but ah hath darkned me,
Made blind by her, my selfe I cannot see.
Last updated January 14, 2019