The Third Decade
Uncivil sickness, hast thou no regard,But dost presume my dearest to molest,And without leave dar'st enter in that breastWhereto sweet love approach yet never dared?Spare thou her health, which my life hath not spared;Too bitter such revenge of my unrest!Although with wrongs my thought she hath opprest,My wrongs seek not revenge, they crave rewardCease, sickness, cease in her then to remain;And come and welcome, harbour thou in meWhom love long since hath taught to suffer in!So she which hath so oft my pain increased,O God, that I might so revenged be,By my poor pain might have her pain released!
Woe to mine eyes, the organs of mine ill;Hate to my heart, for not concealing joy;A double curse upon my tongue be still,Whose babbling lost what else I might enjoy!When first mine eyes did with thy beauty joy,They to my heart thy wondrous virtues told;Who, fearing lest thy beams should him destroy,Whate'er he knew, did to my tongue unfold.My tell-tale tongue, in talking over bold,What they in private council did declare,To thee, in plain and public terms unrolled;And so by that made thee more coyer far.What in thy praise he spoke, that didst thou trust;And yet my sorrows thou dost hold unjust.
Of an Athenian young man have I read,Who on blind fortune's picture doated so,That when he could not buy it to his bed,On it he gazing died for very woe.My fortune's picture art thou, flinty dame,That settest golden apples to my sight;But wilt by no means let me taste the same.To drown in sight of land is double spite.Of fortune as thou learn'dst to be unkind,So learn to be unconstant to disdain.The wittiest women are to sport inclined.Honour is pride, and pride is nought but pain.Let others boast of choosing for the best;'Tis substances not names must make us blest.
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- presume v. t.
- To assume or take beforehand; esp., to do or undertake without leave or authority previously obtained. [F. présumer, L. praesumere, praesumptum; prae before + sumere to take. See Assume, Redeem.]
- molest v. t.
- To trouble; to disturb; to render uneasy; to interfere with; to vex. [F. molester, L. molestare, fr. molestus troublesome, fr. moles a heavy mass, load, burden. See 3d Mole.]
- whereto adv.
- To which; -- used relatively.
- unrest n.
- Want of rest or repose; unquietness; sleeplessness; uneasiness; disquietude.
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- harbour n.
- A station for rest and entertainment; a place of security and comfort; a refuge; a shelter. [OE herbor, herberwe, herberge, Icel. herbergi (cf. OHG. heriberga), orig., a shelter for soldiers; herr army + bjarga to save, help, defend; akin to AS. here ar]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- unkind a.
- Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
- unconstant a.
- Not constant; inconstant; fickle; changeable.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Third Decade is in the public domain. This text is taken from Elizabethan Sonnet-Cycles: Delia - Diana, Project Gutenberg ebook #18842; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Samuel Daniel, The Third Decade, in Delia, with Constable's Diana (1592), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18842, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/daniel-delia/the-third-decade.html, id L02786.
Form and metre
The Third Decade is 42 lines in 3 stanzas of 14 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other English sonnets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCDCDEFEFGG regardA · molestB · breastA · daredB · sparedC · unrestD · opprestC · rewardD · remainE · meF · inE · increasedF · beG · releasedG
- 2 ABABCDCDEFEFGG illA · joyB · stillA · enjoyB · joyC · toldD · destroyC · unfoldD · boldE · declareF · unrolledE · farF · trustG · unjustG
- 3 ABABCDCDEFEFGG readA · soB · bedA · woeB · dameC · sightD · sameC · spiteD · unkindE · disdainF · inclinedE · painF · bestG · blestG
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Uncivil sickness, hast thou no regard, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘···˘/ |
| But dost presume my dearest to molest, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| And without leave dar'st enter in that breast | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Whereto sweet love approach yet never dared? | 10 | ˘/··˘/·/˘· |
| Spare thou her health, which my life hath not spared; | 10 | ·········· |
| Too bitter such revenge of my unrest! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| Although with wrongs my thought she hath opprest, | 11 | ········/˘˘ |
| My wrongs seek not revenge, they crave reward | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Cease, sickness, cease in her then to remain; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| And come and welcome, harbour thou in me | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Whom love long since hath taught to suffer in! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| So she which hath so oft my pain increased, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| O God, that I might so revenged be, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| By my poor pain might have her pain released! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Woe to mine eyes, the organs of mine ill; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Hate to my heart, for not concealing joy; | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| A double curse upon my tongue be still, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Whose babbling lost what else I might enjoy! | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| When first mine eyes did with thy beauty joy, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| They to my heart thy wondrous virtues told; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Who, fearing lest thy beams should him destroy, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Whate'er he knew, did to my tongue unfold. | 11 | ˘˘/······˘/ |
| My tell-tale tongue, in talking over bold, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What they in private council did declare, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| To thee, in plain and public terms unrolled; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And so by that made thee more coyer far. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| What in thy praise he spoke, that didst thou trust; | 10 | ·········· |
| And yet my sorrows thou dost hold unjust. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Of an Athenian young man have I read, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Who on blind fortune's picture doated so, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| That when he could not buy it to his bed, | 10 | ·········· |
| On it he gazing died for very woe. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| My fortune's picture art thou, flinty dame, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| That settest golden apples to my sight; | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| But wilt by no means let me taste the same. | 10 | ·········· |
| To drown in sight of land is double spite. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of fortune as thou learn'dst to be unkind, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| So learn to be unconstant to disdain. | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| The wittiest women are to sport inclined. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Honour is pride, and pride is nought but pain. | 10 | /˘········ |
| Let others boast of choosing for the best; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| 'Tis substances not names must make us blest. | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
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