Note 240:C — Chapter VIII
Reading edition
Of the sweetness of versification and luxuriancy of imagery which Peele occasionally exhibits, we shall quote an instance from "The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe. With the Tragedie of Absalon;" a play which Mr. Hawkins has re-printed in his Origin of the Drama, 3 vols.; observing, that the genius of Peele seems to have been kindled by reading the Prophets, and the Song of Solomon:—
"Bethsabe. Come gentle Zephyr trick'd with those perfumes That erst in Eden sweetened Adam's love, And stroke my bosom with thy silken fan: This shade (sun-proof) is yet no proof for thee, Thy body smoother than this waveless spring, And purer than the substance of the same, Can creep through that his lances cannot pierce. Thou and thy sister soft and sacred Air, Goddess of life, and governess of health, Keeps every fountain fresh and arbor sweet: No brazen gate her passage can repulse, Nor bushy thicket bar thy subtle breath. Then deck thee with thy loose delightsome robes, And on thy wings bring delicate perfumes, To play the wantons with us through the leaves."