A Coronet for his Mistress, Philosophy

By George Chapman 1559–1634 George Chapman

Muses that sing love's sensual empery,

And lovers kindling your enraged fires

At Cupid's bonfires burning in the eye,

Blown with the empty breath of vain desires;

You that prefer the painted cabinet

Before the wealthy jewels it doth store ye,

That all your joys in dying figures set,

And stain the living substance of your glory;

Abjure those joys, abhor their memory,

And let my love the honour'd subject be

Of love, and honour's complete history.

Your eyes were never yet let in to see

The majesty and riches of the mind,

But dwell in darkness; for your god is blind.

Biography

George Chapman has retained to this day the considerable reputation he achieved in his own lifetime. Playwright, poet, translator, he is still considered an exceptionally important figure in the English Renaissance. His plays, particularly, were adapted for the stage throughout the Restoration, and, though his reputation dipped during most of the eighteenth century, the nineteenth saw a marked revival of interest in Chapman's . . .

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