The Crown
The Crown: gardens, flowers and the scent trade.
[p. 65] What Constellations rise with Virgo
Next Shines the Maid, and when the Maid ascendsThrice Five Degrees, the glorious Crown attends.The Crown, since Theseus first his Faith betray'd,The Monument of the forsaken Maid:They give Soft Arts, for here the Virgin Shines,And there the Virgin's Crown, and each combinesSoft Beams agreeing in the same Designs.
Births influenc'd then shall raise fine Beds of Flowers,And twine their creeping Jasmine round their Bowers;The Lillies, Violets in Banks dispose,The Purple Poppy, and the blushing Rose:For Pleasure shades their rising Mounts shall yield,And real Figures paint the gawdy Field:Or they shall wreath their Flowers, their Sweets entwine,To Grace their Mistress, or to Crown their Wine;The Odors fair Arabia's Groves dispenseSovereign for Health, or grateful to the Sense,Shall bath these Wreaths; for when the Sweets unite,The new Adultery heightens the delight;Besides they'll study Neatness, learn to dress,Affected grow, and think it Art to please:The present Pleasures Court, and gay desires;For this the Virgin's Age, and this the Crown requires,
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The text is Thomas Creech's 1697 verse translation, checked word by word between three scans of the same type (the 1697 printing, the 1700 printing and a third copy). The long s is printed as s; every other spelling is Creech's. Pages are cited as the 1697 printing numbers them. The portrait is William Marshall’s engraving of Lilly from the front of the 1659 printing (Wellcome Library, public domain).