Englands Parnassus: or the choysest flowers of our moderne poets, with their poeticall comparisons Descriptions of bewties, personages, castles, pallaces, mountaines, groues, seas, springs, riuers, &c. Whereunto are annexed other various discourses, both pleasaunt and profitable.

Destinie.

Sad Clotho held the rocke, the whiles the thrid By grisly Lachesis, was spunne with paine, That cruell Atropos eft-soones vndid, With cursed knife cutting the twist in twaine, Most wretched mē, whose daies depēdonthrids so vain. E. of S.

The holy Prophet brought Astolpho, where A Pallace (seldome seene by mortall men) Was plac't, by which, a thicke darke riuer ran, Each roome therein was full of diuers fleeces: Of Wolle, of Lint of Woll, or else of Cotten, An aged woman spunne the diuers peeces. Whose looke and hue did shew her old and rotten, Nor much vnlike vnto that labour this is.

By which in sommer a new made silke is gotten, Where from the silke-wormes his fine garment taking, They reaue him of the cloathes of his owne making. For first in one large roome a woman span, Infinite thrids of diuers stuffe and hew, An other doth wi••h all the speed she can, With other stuffe the distaffe still renew: The thrid in feature like, and pale and wan, Seuers the faire f••om foule, the olde from new. Who be these here, the Duke demaunds his guide? These be the fatall sisters he replide: The Parcaes that the thrid of life do spin To mortall men, hence death and nature, knowe When life must end, and when it must begin. Now she that doth deuide them, and bestow The course from finer, and the thick from thin Workes to that kinde, that those which finest grow, For ornaments in Paradice must dwell. The course are curst, to be consum'd in hell. Further, the Duke did in the place behold, That when the thrids were spent that had bene spunne Theit names in brasse, in siluer, and in gold Were wrote, and so into great heapes were donne. From which, a man that seemed wondrous old With whole loades of those names away did runne, And turn'd againe as fast, the way he went, Nor neuer weary was, nor neuer spent. This aged man did hold his pace so swift, As though to runne, he had bene onely borne, And in the lappet of his cloake were borne The names, &c. This was time.

An heape of names within his cloake he bore, And in the riuer did them all vnlade: Or to say truth, away he cast them all, Into this streame, which Laethe we do call. S. I. Harr. Transl.

Vide. Fame.

—You sad daughters of the quiet night, Which in your priuate resolution wright, What hath, or shall vpon our fortunes light, Whose stories none may see, much lesse recite; You rulers of the Gods. I. Markham.

Downe in the bottome of the deepe Abisse, Where Demogorgon in dull darknesse p••nt, Far from the view of Gods, or heauens blisse, The hidious Chaos, there dreadfull dwelling is. Ed. Spencer.

What man can turne the streame of Destenie? Or breake the chaine of strong necessitie? Which fast is tide to Iones eternall seate? Idem.

—What shalbe shall. There is no choice, Things needs must driue as Destenie decreeth: For which we ought in all our haps reioyce, Because the eye eternall, things foreseeth: Which to no ill at any time agreeth, For ills, too ill to vs, be good to it, So farre his skill exceeds, our reache of wit. I. H. Mir. of M.

Woe worth the wight that striues with Gods foresight They are not wise, but wickedly do erre, Which thinke ill deeds due destenies may barre. Idem.

No hūble speech nor mone, may moue the fixed stint. Of Destinie or death: such is the will that paints The earth with colours fresh, y^e darkish skies with store Of Starry light. Ed. Spencer.

Walls may a while keepe out an enemie, But neuer castle kept out destinie. M. Drayton.

—Who can deceiue his destinie? Or weene by warning to auoyd his fate? That when he sleepes in most securitie, And safest seemes, him soonest doth amate, And findeth due effect, or soone, or late, So feeble is the power of fleshly arme. Ed. Spencer.

—That which Ioue and Destinie haue done, Men may lament, but neuer disanull. Ch. Fitz.

vide fate.