XV. "To thee, therefore, of this same Iove I plaine, "And of his fellow-gods that faine to be, [raign, "That challenge to themselves the whole world's "Of which the greatest part is due to me, "And heaven itselfe by heritage in fee; "For heaven and earth I both alike do deeme, "Sith heaven and earth are both alike to thee, "And gods no more then men thou doest esteeme; "For even the gods to thee as men to gods do seeme. XVI. "Then weigh, O soveraigne Goddesse! by what right "These gods do claime the world's whole soverainty, "And that is onely dew unto thy might "Arrogate to themselves ambitiously. "As for the gods owne principality, "Which love usurps uniustly, that to be "My heritage, Iove's self cannot deny, "From my great grandsire Titan unto mee "Deriv'd by dew descent; as is well known to thee. XVII. "Yet mauger love, and all his gods beside, "I doe possesse the world's most regiment, "As if ye please it into parts divide, "And every part's inholders to convent, "Shall to your eyes appeare incontinent : "And first the Earth (great mother of us all) "That only seems unmov'd and permanent, "And unto Mutability not thrall, et is she chang'd in part, and eeke in generall : XVIII. "For all that from her springs and is ybredde, "However fayre it flourish for a time, "Yet see we soone decay, and being dead "To turne againe unto their earthly slime ; "Yet out of their decay and mortall crime "We daily see new creatures to arize, "And of their winter spring another prime, “Unlike in forme, and chang'd by strange disguize; "So turne they still about, and change in restlesse XIX. [wise. "As for her tenants, that is man and beasts, "The beasts we daily see massacred dy, "As thralls and vassals unto mens beheasts, "And men themselves doe change continually, "From youth to eld, from wealth to poverty, "From good to bad, from bad to worst of all "Ne doe their bodies only flit and fly, "But eeke their minds (which they immortall call) "Still changeandvary thoughts as new occasions fall. XX. : "Ne is the water in more constant case, "Whether those same on high or these belowe "For th" ocean moveth still from place to place, "And every river still doth ebbe and flowe; "Ne any lake, that seems most still and slowe; "Ne poole so small, that can bis smoothnesse holde, "When any winde doth under heaven blowe, "With which the clouds are also tost and roll'd, "Now like great hills, and streight like sluces, them unfold. Pij XXI. "So likewise are all watry living wights "Next is the ayre, which who feeles not by sense "Of his thin spirit all creatures to maintaine "Therein the changes infinite beholde, "Which to her creatures every minute chaunce, "Now boyling hot, streight friezing deadly cold; "Now faire sun-shine,that makes all skip and daunce Streight bitter storms and balefull countenance, "That makes them all to shiver and to shake: Rayne,hayle, and snowe, do pay them sad penance, "Anddreadfullthunder-claps (that makethemquake) "With flames and flashing lights that thousand changes make. XXIV. "Last is the fire; which though it live for ever, "Ne can be quenched quite, yet every day "We see his parts, so, soone as they do sever, "To lose their heat, and shortly to decay, "So makes himself his owne consuming pray;, "Ne any living creatures doth he breed, "But all that are of others bredd doth slay, "And with their death, his cruell life dooth feed,. "Nought leaving but their barren ashes without XXV. [seed. "Thus all these four (the which the ground-work bee "Of all the world and of all living wights)}, ' "To thousand sorts of change we subject see... "Yet are they chang'd by other wondrous slights "Into themselves, and lose their native mights ;. "The fire to aire, and th' ayre to water sheere,. "And water into earth; yet water fights "With fire, and aire with earth approaching neere, "Yet all are in one body, and as one appeare.. XXVI. "So in them all raignes Mutabilitie; "However these, that gods themselves do call, "Of them doe claime the rule and soverainty; "As Vesta of the fire thereally, r "Vulcan of this with us so usually "Ops of the earth, and Juno of the ayre;. "Neptune of seas, and; Nymphes of rivers all! A "Fon all those rivers to me subiect are, an H "And all the rest which they usurp beall my share. A XXVII. "Which to approven true, as I have told, So forth issew'd the Seasons of the year; That as some did him love, so others did him feare. Then came the iolly Sommer, being dight [sore. |