Classic Poem

Now from vnloving Ire doth Hatred spring,
Which is more Hellish; for, it's lasting Ire
As some suppose; which is a damned thing ,
Like to the Devill her prodigious Sire ,
Who Loues to hate, as Loue hates that desire:
Sith God and Nature hath made Man in loue,
To loue God and his like with loue intire,
What Vice can Vertue in man more reproue,
Then that which Man to misse his Ende doth move?

Yet Ire from Hatred must distinguisht be,
For Ire proceeds from some wrong done to vs,
But Hatred , is conceav'd as soone as we
Suppose a Creature to be odious,
Though to vs it were nere iniurious:
And Time can Ire aswage, but hardly Hate .
Ire would but vex, but Hatred's murderous,
Revenge cooles Ire , but cannot Hate abate ,
Ire's hart can melte, but Hate's is obdurate.

Loue is the Linck that lincks man -kind (by kind
Louing and kinde ) in perfect Vnion ,
This Statute (sans defesance) men doth bind
To succour one another woe-begon,
As if they were not diverse but al one:
But Hatred is the Hatchet, which doth cleeve
Mankinde to peeces in confusion;
Releefe refusing, and eake to releeve,
Yet giues more dammage then it would receave.

None harbreth Hatred , but men like the Devill
(The Proud , & Envious , which are ful of hate )
These hateful Hell-hounds loue this lothsome Evill ,
Because it seekes mankinde to ruinate:
What can the Devill worse excogitate?
It is the Toade that swells with Venome such
That no force can resist, much lesse abate;
The Moath of Man-kind , worse then nought by much,
Yet most indiff'rent to the Poore and Rich .

But hate inhabits Man to good effect,
When he loues nought, that is not perfect good;
For he through Hate doth Evill still reiect,
Which would corrupt his Nature, Mind , & Moode ,
And make it (like it selfe) a Nihilhood
Such hate is happie, holy, and divine,
By which the force of Ill is stil withstood;
This Hate we ought to loue, which doth repine
At al which doth not Loue aright refine.

Then sacred Hate let my Loue thee embrace,
And to an Habit grow'n, inhabit mee,
Sith thou flow'st from the Fountes of Loue , & Grace ,
O let my love be ever backt by thee;
Then Ill from Loue (so backt ) wil ever flee.
It is a feaver of the Minde to hate,
That's hate to Loue , but when they both agree
They doe preserve the Soule in perfect state,
Whilst Ill of Ills they quite annihilate.

Then hate (my Soule ) that thou maist ever love
That which this Hate doth loue, with loue intire,
That is, al good below , much more aboue ,
Whereto this hate through loue would faine aspire;
For perfect Love inflames iust Hate's desire.
No otherwise then Water hott or cold,
Though in some sorte it doth oppung the fire ,
Yet makes the flames thereof more manifold,
When it is cast thereon, so as it should.

Thus Ire and Hatred may be good or ill
According to their obiects , And Envy
(Their aie- familier ) doth follow still
Hatred and Ire , to make a Trinity ,
Which may be vs'd well, ill , or neut'rally
It is well vs'd for God's foes' good successe,
But ill , when it another's good doth eye,
And neut'rally when it doth not transgresse
The boundes of Love , for loving more or lesse.

Shee is to Mercie alwaies opposit
In her true kinde; for Mercy still doth grieue
At others harmes; but envi's glad of it,
And pines with paine, when others wel doe thriue
Yea liues in death , when others liue to liue .
Some envy others' gains , that hinder theirs;
Some, others' weale , when they cannot arriue
Vnto the like: some, other that aspires
To that they sought, but faild of their desires.

But some there are that envy others' good ,
Without respect of their owne benefit,
Only because they think their fate's withstoode
When others on the least good fortune hit,
Or doe the least good , getting praise for it:
This is the envie , than which none is worse,
Ev'n that of Sathan , for Men most vnfit;
This is the envie that incurres his curse,
That from Heav'n for the like did Angels force.

For envie's eies pry most of al on praise ,
The noblest goods, goods of the noblest Minde
They most envie; and stil themselues they raise
To highest vertue , where they (fixt) it finde;
Heereat the teeth of envie most doe grinde:
For looke how much the Minde the Corpes excels,
And the Minde's riches are of rarer kinde;
So much the more the hart of envie swels,
At those that haue these goods , then any els.

Shee is Pride's second-selfe, or other name,
Monsters distinct, yet vndiuiduall;
In heav'n and earth hath wel appeer'd the same
For both made heau'nly Lucifer to fall;
So doe they Lucifers terrestrial:
Pride's more apparant, for it needs must swel;
But envy euer lines Pride's Pectorall:
Pride's as the high'st, envie the lowest hell;
Worse Hags then either, can in neither dwel.

Pride , before all desires to be preferr'd;
If anie therefore be preferr'd before,
Shee instantly is with fel envie stirr'd;
And the more rife, her envie is the more
Though Meeknes mount, prid's hart doth ake therfore:
For shee thinkes, only shee doth al excel,
Then others' excellence her heart must gore:
As others' heav'n on earth, is Envie's Hell:
So others rising makes Pride still to swell.

For, where there is no sunne , no shadow is;
And, where's no weale , or glory, envi's not:
Shee feedes on her owne hart , and others' blisse ,
Shee skornes to looke so low as to their lot
That are of Fortune , or the world forgot:
Therefore shee lurkes about the Courtes of Kings ,
(Whose Crownes are ever subiect to her shot )
There like a Snake , that hisses not, shee stings,
And oft ere shee is seene Confusion bringes.

For, not without iust cause doe Poets faine
That shee (as one of the infernall broode )
Doth poison sucke, to vomit it againe,
And makes of Snakes her flesh-consuming foode;
Which makes her like a blind-worme , without bloud
Who often creepeth like this abiect Worme ,
Not wotting which way , each way but the good:
And in Preferment's way shee doth enorme
All feete shee meets with, which none can reforme.

Envie therefore the hart doth macerate,
Because the Tongue dares not the griefe disclose,
That makes that griefe still on the hart to grate,
Which the leane looke alone in silence shoes;
Yet eies shrinke in (as loth to tell the woes )
And looke ascue, as if in looking straight
They might directly so discouer those ,
All which makes woe to haue the greater waight
The soule and bodie so to over-fraight.

One said, beholding one with envie pin'd,
I know not by thy lookes (which all doe loth)
If they fare well or thou ill; for thy Minde
Is vext alike, alike thou look'st for both:
Which subtill speech included simple troth;
For, envi's griev'd no lesse for others' good
Then for her proper ill , and is as wroth
For others' praise , as if hers were with-stood,
And for both, sucks alike her Subiectes bloud.

Shee envies all to all , except envie ,
And that shee envies to, if it exceede;
Like Argus , shee nere sleepes but when her eie
Is charm'd by Mercurie's sweete-sounding Reede ,
" For envie flattered is well agreed:
When all respect is had of her and hers ,
And all neglected els, her All to feede,
No more, till shee neglected be, shee stirres;
Then as before her selfe shee straight bestirres.

The sunne at highest shee resembles right
(Though base shee be and darke as nether Hell )
For as the sunne obscureth things most bright,
And makes the light of things obscure, excell:
So envie seeks men famous most to quell,
And praiseth most, men least deserving praise,
Such as their deerest fame to shame doe sell;
All such (if any at all) shee most doth raise,
And all men els, doth most of all dispraise.

The more Men want of what they faine would bee,
The more their want with envie is supplide,
The lesse, if prowde , they are in their degree
The lesse they can their betters farre, abide;
" And horse prowd Beggars, they like Kings will ride
Now as each Vice doth in it bear about
An inbred plague: so in this doth reside
The plague of plagues; to weare it selfe quite out
With fretting gainst the rich or roiall Rowt .

The envious , privie to their owne defects ,
Doe witnesse to themselues their small esteeme,
For which the World , they see, them still reiects,
Through which they inly burst with griefe extreme
But dare not let the world them envious deeme.
For, no Affect is lesse disclos'd then this,
Because it makes men lesse then worthlesse seeme,
Therefore the much more dolorous it is;
" For griefes doe breake the heart if vent they misse.

What Common-weales , and mighty Monarchies ,
What glorious Kings , and famous Generals ,
Yea (which is strange) what heau'nly Hirarchies
Whose wretched state and miserable fals
(By envie wrought) remaine in Capitals!
Whence all may see, how actiue and how fell
This Furie is, who rests in Funerals:
Or when on earth Men rest in such an Hell ,
That to th' infernall may be Paralell .