Court Odes: Rise, thou best and brightest morning


 Selected item (#5002) = Rise, thou best and brightest morning
 Attributes of this item 
incipit (first line(s), normalized): Rise, thou best and brightest morning
version (if more than one exists):
the item's genre (general): ode
the item's genre (specific): Birthday, Charles II
the institution/place or purpose 
for which the work was first destined:
English court
the work's year (or focal date, if known): 1670 - 1672
author of the text: Richard Crashaw
composer of the music: Henry Cooke
Number of texts stored: 3  
  • Text #275 / Source: GB-Bu 5001, ff. 11 - 14
  • Text #277 / Source: Steps to the Temple 1646, pp. 94 - 95
    special title: ‘An Himne for the Circumcision day of our Lord’
  • Selected text (below): #276 / Source: Steps to the Temple 1670, pp. 72 - 74
    special title: ‘An Hymn on the Circumcision of our Lord’
 Selected text (#276) / Source: Steps to the Temple 1670, pp. 72 - 74  
 Attributes of the selected text 
source for this text
(short title, or library & shelfmark):
Steps to the Temple 1670
location in the source?
(i.e. which vol., pp. or fols):
pp. 72 - 74
type of source: print, literary text, anthology
the source online (if available):
modern edition of this text:
special title (if any): An Hymn on the Circumcision of our Lord
version (if more than one exists):
about this transcription: Transcribed by Estelle Murphy from EEBO, April 2022.
Data-note (EMM, Fri Apr 22 10:26:23 2022):


See file Steps_to_the_Temple.pdf
Transcription:          
   File options:

RIse thou best and brightest morning,
Rosie with a double Red;
With thine own Blush thy Cheeks adorning,
And the dear Drops this day were shed.

All the Purple pride of Laces,
The crimson Curtains of thy Bed;
Guild thee not with so sweet Graces,
Nor sets thee in so rich a Red.

Of all the fair Cheekt-Flowers that fill thee,
None so fair thy Bosom strows
As this modest Maiden Lilly
Our Sins have sham’d into a Rose.

Bid the Goldern God the Sun,
Burnisht in his Glorious Beams
Put all his Red eyed Rubies on,
These Rubies shall put out his eyes.

Let him make poor the Purple East,
Rob the rich Store her Cabinets keep,
The pure birth of each sparkling nest
That flaming in their fair Bed sleep.

Let him embrace his own bright Tresses
With a new morning made of Gems;
And wear in them his wealthy dresses,
Another day of Diadems.

When he hath done all he may,
To make himself Rich in his rise,
All will be darkness, to the day
That breaks from one of these fair eyes.

And soon the sweet Truth shall appear,
Dear Babe e’r many days be done:
The Moon shall come to meet thee here,
And leave the long adored Sun.

Thy Nobler Beauty shall bereave him,
Of all his Eastern Paramours:
His Persian Lovers all shall leave him,
And swear Faith to thy sweeter powers.

Nor while they leave him shall they lose the Sun,
But in thy fairest Eyes find two for one.


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