1Is Lisle and Lucas
slain? O say not so! 2Who could kill Love and Valor at a blow?
3Just as Minerva’s darling closed his eyes,
4Love, kissing, wept and on his bosom dies.
5Ah me, what horrid Hydra
had the heart 6Them in their deaths thus to unite and part?
7Mars
, on the Areopagus
, once was tried; 8His valor saved him, or he else had died.
9His judge and jury were the best of gods;
10These, worst of men: O me, what odds!
11Had Jove’s three sons
of everlasting fame 12(Born of a mortal and celestial flame),
13Had they been here, this business to decide,
14Then these too
noble gallants had not died. 15Or had Astraeus
(lover of the Morn, 16Of whose bright womb her brighter babe
was born) 17Had he been here, he would have took delight
18To save their lives, that for his child did fight.
19Then, had their judges been the gods eternal,
20Or upright men—nay, or the powers infernal
— 21This unambiguous business to decide,
22Then this unparalleled friendship had not died.
23But Jews, Turks, atheists, Independents
: all 24That curséd rabble made these gallants fall.
25How could they
do it? Were they not amazed
26Whenas
the cruel Parcae
sat and gazed 27On their
perfections? As Lachesis drew the thread, 28“What, won’t you
part asunder then?” she said. 29They, striving in their lives to embrace each other,
30She twirled and twisted both of them together.
31Then Clotho at their constant love did wonder,
32And, in mere pity, pulled them not asunder;
33She being, it seems, the tend’rest-hearted lass,
34“Go, noble souls,” she said, and let them pass.
35But Atropos, enraged, began to chide,
36Saying, “These true love’s knots must be untied.”
37But seeing their lives she could not stay t’untwist,
38“Let those sit idling here” (she said) “that list
; 39How can we give account unto those powers
40That us employ, in trifling out our hours?”
41Then, scolding at her sisters for their sloth,
42She with her fatal scissors snipped them both.
43She then cried out “Alas!”; but hurring
fate 44Forced her, poor girl: her pity came too late.
45Lycaon, Tantal, tender to this brood,
46Who fed on hostages and infants’ blood:
47Why are they
now more cruel than at first? 48They’re drunk with Christian blood, yet still they thirst.
49Doth that old vulture
and his preying brood 50Think to grow young with sucking sprightly blood
? 51Oh, let them next suck Nessus’s
poisoned gore; 52Like mad Alcides
, let them rave and roar; 53And, as they have been three kingdoms’
sore annoyers, 54Let them, like him, at last be self-destroyers.
55Had these undaunted loving heroes died
56In former times, they had been deified.
57Then, their renown and love had spread as far
58As those two famous thunderbolts of war
. 59Effigies, pyramids, columns, colosses
, 60Had been erect to memorize
our losses; 61But we are now denied our just desires.
62True grateful love in this, our age, expires;
63Yet some sad swan
, I know, there will be found 64That for this only action shall be crowned:
65That shall bear lovely Lisle and Lucas’s name
66Unto the temple of eternal fame.
67When that black army, after their short dream,
68Shall floating be on Styx’s
sable stream, 69They by the angry billows shall be tossed
70Till in Oblivion’s
horrid womb they’re lost. 71If he that fired Diana’s fane
for fame 72Lost both his expectation and his name;
73If covetous Cambyses
, who presumed 74To rob the gods till sand his men consumed;
75Or that fierce Gaul
who Delphi meant to plunder 76Till fiery Phoebus
routed
him with thunder: 77If these live now in honor, then no doubt
78Fame shall attend this sacrilegious rout
, 79Who have our faith’s defender
overpowered, 80And temples, altars, victims, all devoured;
81But these victorious souls live now above,
82And gloriously go on in endless love,
83Whilst their fair frames
, which here did close their lives, 84Shall live in fame till they in glory rise.