Lucrece (Quarto, 1594)
Author: William ShakespeareEditor: Hardy M. CookNot Peer Reviewed


¶Let him haue time to teare his curled haire,
¶Let him haue time again
st him
selfe to raue,
¶Let him haue time of times helpe to di
spaire,
¶Let him haue time to liue a lothed
slaue,
985Let him haue time a beggers orts to craue,
¶_And time to
see one that by almes doth liue,
¶_Di
sdaine to him di
sdained
scraps to giue.
¶Let him haue time to
see his friends his foes,
¶And merrie fooles to mocke at him re
sort:
990Let him haue time to marke how
slow time goes
¶In time of
sorrow, and how
swift and
short
¶His time of follie, and his time of
sport.
¶_And euer let his vnrecalling crime
¶_Haue time to waile th'abu
sing of
_his time.
995O time thou tutor both to good and bad,
¶Teach me to cur
se him that thou taught'
st this ill:
¶At his owne
shadow let the theefe runne mad,
¶Him
selfe, him
selfe
seeke euerie howre to kill,
¶Such wretched hāds
such wretched blood
shuld
spill.
1000_For who
so ba
se would
such an office haue,
¶_As
sclandrous deaths-man to
so ba
se a
slaue.
¶The ba
ser is he comming from a King,
¶To
shame his hope with deedes degenerate,
¶The mightier man the mightier is the thing
1005That makes him honord, or begets him hate:
¶For greate
st
scandall waits on greate
st
state.
¶_The Moone being clouded, pre
sently is mi
st,
¶_But little
stars may hide them when they li
st.
¶The Crow may bath his coaleblacke wings in mire,
1010And vnperceau'd flie with the filth away,
¶But if the like the
snow-white Swan de
sire,
¶The
staine vppon his
siluer Downe will
stay.
¶Poore grooms are
sightles night, kings glorious day,
¶_Gnats are vnnoted where
soere they flie,
1015_But Eagles gaz'd vppon with euerie eye.

