| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Parthenophil and Parthenophe | | Sonnet CIV. Hold! matchless Mirror of all Womankind! | | Barnabe Barnes (1569?–1609) |
| | | HOLD! matchless Mirror of all Womankind! | |
| These Pens and Sonnets, servants of thy praise! | |
| Placed in a world of graces, which amaze | |
| All young beholders, through Desire blind. | |
| Thou, to whom conquered CUPID hath resigned | 5 |
| His bow and darts, during thy sunny days! | |
| Through thine eyes’ force enfeebled by the rays | |
| Which wonderers, to their cost, in thine eyes find! | |
| That there, with beauty’s excellence unable, | |
| To write, or bear, my pens, and books refuse; | 10 |
| Thine endless graces are so amiable! | |
| Passing the spirit of mine humble Muse. | |
| So that the more I write, more graces rise! | |
Which mine astonished Muse cannot comprise.
F I N I S. | | | | |
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