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All flesh doth frailty breed!

Edmund Spenser

Through knowledge we behold the world’s creation, How in his cradle first he fostered was; And judge of Nature’s cunning operation, How things she formed of a formless mass.
EDMUND SPENSER

Creation Form Herself Judgement Knowledge Nature Operation World
Foul jealousy! that turnest love divine to joyless dread, and makest the loving heart with hateful thoughts to languish and to pine.
EDMUND SPENSER

Divine Hate Heart Jealous Joy Love Thinking
All sorts of flowers the which on earth do spring In goodly colours gloriously arrayed; Go to my love, where she is careless laid.
EDMUND SPENSER

Color Earth Flower Glory Goodness Herself Love Spring
How many perils doe enfold The righteous man to make him daily fall.
EDMUND SPENSER

Adversity Fall Flower Right
Death is an equall doome To good and bad, the common In of rest.
EDMUND SPENSER

Bad Death Equality Goodness Rest
For that which all men then did virtue call, Is now called vice; and that which vice was hight, Is now hight virtue, and so used of all: Right now is wrong, and wrong that was is right.
EDMUND SPENSER

Call Man Myself Right Virtue Wrong
But times do change and move continually.
EDMUND SPENSER

Change Move Time
But angels come to lead frail minds to rest in chaste desires, on heavenly beauty bound. You frame my thoughts, and fashion me within; you stop my tongue, and teach my heart to speak.
EDMUND SPENSER

Angel Desire Fashion Heart Leadership Stop Talk Teaching
But O the exceeding grace Of highest God, that loves his creatures so, And all his works with mercy doth embrace, That blessed angels, he sends to and fro, To serve to wicked man, to serve his wicked foe.
EDMUND SPENSER

Creature Enemy God Grace Love Man Mercy Service Wickedness
Joy may you have and gentle hearts content Of your loves couplement: And let faire Venus, that is Queene of love, With her heart-quelling Sonne upon you smile
EDMUND SPENSER

Content Heart Love Queen Smile Yourself
Ill can he rule the great that cannot reach the small.
EDMUND SPENSER

Greatness Myself Reach Rule
And painful pleasure turns to pleasing pain.
EDMUND SPENSER

Happiness Pain
Discord oft in music makes the sweeter lay.
EDMUND SPENSER

Music Sweet
Woe to the man that first did teach the cursed steel to bite in his own flesh, and make way to the living spirit!
EDMUND SPENSER

Flesh Live Man Spirit Teaching Yourself
Full little knowest thou that hast not tried, What hell it is in suing long to bide: To loose good dayes, that might be better spent; To waste long nights in pensive discontent; To speed to-day, to be put back to-morrow; To feed on hope, to pine with feare and sorrow.
EDMUND SPENSER

Day Fear Feed Goodness Hell Hope Night Sorrow Speed Unknown Wasted
Sweet breathing Zephyrus did softly play, A gentle spirit, that lightly did delay Hot Titan’s beams, which then did glister fair.
EDMUND SPENSER

Breathe Fair Light Play Soft Spirit Sweet
And painful pleasure turns to pleasing pain.
EDMUND SPENSER

Happiness Pain Pleasure
Fly from wrath; sad be the sights and bitter fruits of war; a thousand furies wait on wrathful swords.
EDMUND SPENSER

Angry Fly Fruit Wait War Word
Fretting grief the enemy of life.
EDMUND SPENSER

Enemy Grief Life One Liner
For evil deeds may better than bad words be borne.
EDMUND SPENSER

Action Bad Evil Home Word
For since mine eyes your joyous sight did miss, my cheerful day is turned to cheerless night.
EDMUND SPENSER

Eyes Joy Missing Night
For next to Death is Sleepe to be compared; Therefore his house is unto his annext: Here Sleepe, ther Richesse, and hel-gate them both betwext.
EDMUND SPENSER

Compare Death Help Home Sleep
Man’s wretched state, That floures so fresh at morne, and fades at evening late.
EDMUND SPENSER

Evening Fade Fresh Man Morning Taste
For deeds to die, however nobly done, And thoughts of men to as themselves decay, But wise words taught in numbers for to run, Recorded by the Muses, live for ay.
EDMUND SPENSER

Action Death Live Man Thinking Wisdom Word
For easy things, that may be got at will, Most sorts of men do set but little store.
EDMUND SPENSER

Easy Man Willing
So let us love, dear Love, like as we ought; Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.
EDMUND SPENSER

Lesson Love Teaching
For we by conquest, of our soveraine might,And by eternall doome of Fate’s decree,Have wonne the Empire of the Heavens bright.
EDMUND SPENSER

Bright Eternity Fate Forever Heaven Ourselves

All flesh doth frailty breed!

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All flesh doth frailty breed!

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