Blandior hic oculus, roseo hôc qui ridet in ore; Lactea frons hæc est térque quatérque magis.

Ergò negent, cœlumque suum sua sydera servent: Sydera de coelis non bene danda suis.

Ergò negant: séque ecce sua sub nube recondunt,
Sub tenera occidui nube supercilii :

Nec claudi contenta sui munimine cæli,
Quærunt in gremio Matris ubi lateant.
Non nisi sic tactis ubi nix tepet illa pruinis,
Castáque non gelido frigore vernat hyems.

Scilicet iste dies tam pulchro vespere tingi
Dignus; & hos soles sic decet occidere.
Claudat purpureus qui claudit vesper Olympum;
Puniceo placeas tu tibi (Phoebe) toro;

Dum tibi lascivam Thetis auget adultera noctem,
Pone per Hesperias strata pudenda rosas.
Illas nempe rosas, quas conscia purpura pinxit;
Culpa pudórque suus queîs dedit esse rosas.

Hos soles, nivea noctes, castumque cubile,
Quod purum sternet per mare virgo Thetis;
Hos, sancti flores; hos, tam sincera decebant
Lilia; quæ sibi non rubuêre rosæ.

Hos, decuit sinus hic; ubi toto sydere proni
Ecce lavant sese lacteo in oceano.

Atque lavent: tandémque suo se mane resolvant,
Ipsa dies ex hoc ut bibat ore diem.

JOANN. 16. 26.

Non dico, me rogaturum Patrem pro vobis.

AH

H tamen Ipse roga: tibi scilicet ille roganti
Esse nequit durus, nec solet esse, Pater.

Ille suos omni facie te figit amores;
Ing tuos toto effunditur ore sinus.

Quippe, tuos spectans oculos, se spectat in illis;
Ing, tuo (Jesu) se fovet ipse sinu.

Ex te metitur sese, & sua numina discit:
Indè repercussus redditur ipse sibi.

Ille tibi se, te ille sibi par neetit utrinque :
Tam tuus est, ut nec sit magis ille suus.

Ergò roga: Ipse roga: tibi scilicet ille roganti
Esse nequit durus, nec solet esse, Pater.

Illum ut ego rogitem? Hôc (eheu) non ore rogandum;
Ore satis puras non faciente preces.

Illum ego si rogitem, quis scit quibus ille procellis
Surgat, & in miserum hoc quæ tonet ira caput?

Isto etiam forsan veniet mihi fulmen ab ore:
(Sæpe isto certè fulmen ab ore venit)

Ille und irati forsan me cuspide verbi,
Uno me nutu figet, & interii:

Non ego, non rogitem: mihi scilicet ille roganti
Durior esse potest, & solet esse, Pater.

Immo rogabo: nec ore meo tamen: immo rogabo
Ore meo (Jesu) scilicet ore tuo.

In die Ascensionis Dominicæ.

Ushtria coli quantam hinc invidiam patimur!

Sq etiam nostros Te (Christe) tenemus amores?

Invidiam patiamur: habent sua sydera cœli;
Quæ comunt tremulas crispa tot ora faces;
Phoebenque & Phoebum, & tot picta vellera nubis;
Vellera, quæ roseâ Sol variavit acu.

Quantum erat, ut sinerent hâc unâ nos face ferri?
Una sit hic: sunt (& sint) ibi mille faces.

Nil agimus: nam tu quia non ascendis ad illum, Ether descendit (Christe) vel ipse tibi.

* Act. I. Nubes susceptum eum abstulit.

FINIS.

STEPS

TO THE

TEMPLE,

Sacred Poems.

WITH

The Delights of the Muses.

By RICHARD CRASHAW, sometimes of Pembroke Hall, and late fellow of S. Peters Coll. in Cambridge.

The second Edition wherein are added divers pieces not before extant.

LONDON,

Printed for Humphrey Moseley, and are to be sold at his Shop at the Princes Armes in St. Pauls Church yard.

1648.

halfe; Madrigall fellowes, whose onely businesse in verse, is to rime a poore six-penny soule a Suburb sinner into hell;May such arrogant pretenders to Poetry vanish, with their prodigious issue of tumorous heats, and flashes of their adulterate braines, and for ever after, may this our Poet fill up the better roome of man. Oh! when the generall arraignment of Poets shall be, to give an accompt of their higher soules, with what a triumphant brow shall our divine Poet sit above, and looke downe upon poore Homer, Virgil, Horace, Claudian? &c. who had amongst them the ill lucke to talke out a great part of their gallant Genius, upon Bees, Dung, froggs, and Gnats, &c. and not as himself here, upon Scriptures, divine Graces, Martyrs and Angels.

Reader, we stile his Sacred Poems, Steps to the Temple, and aptly, for in the Temple of God, under his wing, he led his life, in St. Maries Church neere St. Peters Colledge: There he lodged under Tertullian's roofe of Angels; There he made his nest more gladly than David's Swallow neere the house of God, where like a primitive Saint, he offered more prayers in the night, than others usually offer in the day; There he penned these Poems, Steps for happy soules to climbe heaven by.

And those other of his pieces, intituled The Delights of the Muses, (though of a more humane mixture) are as sweet as they are innocent.

The praises that follow are but few of many that might be conferr'd on him: he was excellent in five Languages (besides his Mother tongue) vid. Hebrew, Greek, Latine, Italian, Spanish, the two last whereof he had little helpe in, they were of his own acquisition.

Amongst his other accomplishments in Accademick (as well pious as harmlesse arts) he made his skill in Poetry, Musick, Drawing, Limming, Graving, (exercises of his curious invention and sudden fancy) to be but his subservient