The Spanish Bawd (Calisto and Meliboea) (Celestina) · chunk 202 of 205
Mabbe, James / Rojas, Fernando de · published 1631 · first performed or written 1631 (Annals) tragicomedy; literary play unassigned nearest T4 Love-longing and the lover's complaint · 474 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of the nearest topic T4: love, heart, sweet, loves, fair, phillis, eyes, beauty, amyntas, lovers.
I thought in my more tender years, that both thou and thy actions were governed by order, and ruled by reason: But now I see thou art Pro and Con; there is no certainty in thy calms: thou seemest now unto me to be a Labyrinth of errors; a fearful wilderness; an habitation of wild Beasts; a Dance full of changes; a Fen full of mire, and dirt; a Country full of thorns; a steep and craggy mountain, a field full of stones; a meadow full of Snakes and Serpents; a pleasant garden to look to, but without any fruit; a fountain of cares, a river of tears, a sea of miseries; trouble without profit; a sweet poison, a vain hope, a false joy, and a true sorrow. O thou false world! thou dost cast before us the baits of thy best delights, and when we have swallowed them, they seeming savoury unto us, then dost thou show us the hook that must choke us. Nor can we avoid it, because together with us, thou dost captivate our wills: Thou promisest mountains, but performest Molehills: and than thou dost cast us off, that we may not put thee in mind of making good thy vain promises. We run thorough the spacious fields of thy rank vices, recklessly, and with a loose rein; and then dost thou discover thy ambushes unto us, when thou seest there is no way forus to retreat. Many have forsaken thee, fearing thy sudden forsaking of them. And well may they style themselves happy, when they shall see, how well thou hast rewarded this poor heavy sorrowful old man, for his long service. Thou dost put out our eyes, and then to make us amends, thou anointest the place with oil: thou breakest our head, and givest us a plaster; after thou hast done us a great deal of harm, thou givest us a poor cold comfort; thou dost hurt unto all, that no man may boast, that others have not their crosses as well as we; telling them, that it is some ease to the miserable, to have companions in their misery. But I alas, disconsolate old man stand all alone. I am singular in my sorrows; I am grieved, and have no equal companion of my grief. No man's misfortune is like unto mine; though I revolve in my troubled memory, persons both present and past, I cannot instance in the like. If I shall seek to comfort myself with the severity and patience of Paulus Aemilius, who having lost two sons in seven days, bore this brunt of fortune with so undaunted a courage, that the people of Rome had rather need to be comforted by him, than he by them; yet cannot this satisfy me, for he had two more remaining that were his adopted sons.
seed 43: unassigned · seed 44: unassigned — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
I thought in my more tender yeeres, that both thou and thy actions were gouerned by order, and ruled by reason: But now I see thou art Pro and Con; there is no certainty in thy calmes: thou seemest now vnto me to be a Labyrinth of errours; a fearefull wildernesse; an habitation of wilde Beasts; a Dance full of changes; a Fen full of mire, and dirt; a Country full of thornes; a steepe and craggy mountaine, a field full of stones; a meddow full of Snakes and Serpents; a pleasant garden to looke to, but without any fruite; a fountaine of cares, a riuer of teares, a sea of miseries; trouble without profit; a sweet poyson, a vaine hope, a false ioy, and a true sorrow. O thou false world! thou dost cast before vs the baytes of thy best delights, and when we haue swallowed them, they seeming sauoury vnto vs, then doest thou shew vs the hooke that must choake vs. Nor can we auoyd it, because together with vs, thou dost captiuate our wills: Thou promisest mountaines, but performest Mole-hils: and then thou dost cast vs off, that wee may not put thee in minde of making good thy vaine promises. We runne thorow the spacious fields of thy ranke vices, retchlesy, and with a loose reyne; and then doest thou discouer thy ambushes vnto vs, when thou seest there is no way forvs to retreat. Many haue forsaken thee, fearing thy sudden forsaking of them. And well may they stile themselues happy, when they shall see, how well thou hast rewarded this poore heauy sorrowfull old man, for his long seruice. Thou dost put out our eyes, and then to make vs amends, thou anointest the place with oyle: thou breakest our head, and giuest vs a plaister; after thou hast done vs a great deale of harme, thou giuest vs a poore cold comfort; thou dost hurt vnto all, that no man may boast, that others haue not their crosses as well as wee; telling them, that it is some ease to the miserable, to haue companions in their misery. But I alas, disconsolate old man stand all alone. I am singuler in my sorrowes; I am grieued, and haue no equall companion of my griefe. No mans misfortune is like vnto mine; though I reuolue in my troubled memory, persons both present and past, I cannot instance in the like. If I shall seeke to comfort my selfe with the seuerity and patience of Paulus Aemilius, who hauing lost two sonnes in seuen daies, bore this brunt of fortune with so vndaunted a courage, that the people of Rome had rather neede to be comforted by him, then he by them; yet cannot this satisfie mee, for hee had two more remaining that were his adopted sonnes.