Farewell love and all thy laws forever;
Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more.
Senec and Plato call me from thy lore
To perfect wealth, my wit for to endeavour.
These lines beautifully capture the speaker’s decision to bid farewell to love and its associated rules. They declare that the enticing traps of love will no longer ensnare them. Instead, they are called upon by the wisdom of Senec and Plato to pursue a path of intellectual and spiritual enrichment. The speaker seeks to cultivate their wit and attain a state of perfect wealth, not in material possessions, but in the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. It’s a profound expression of the speaker’s desire for personal growth and enlightenment.
In blind error when I did persever,
Thy sharp repulse, that pricketh aye so sore,
Hath taught me to set in trifles no store
And scape forth, since liberty is lever.
These lines suggest that the speaker, in their previous state of blind error, endured the painful consequences of being repeatedly rejected. This experience has taught them not to place importance on trivial matters and to instead prioritize their freedom. They have learned to let go and move forward, recognizing that freedom is preferable to being bound by unnecessary burdens.
Therefore farewell; go trouble younger hearts
And in me claim no more authority.
With idle youth go use thy property
And thereon spend thy many brittle darts,
These lines highlight the speaker’s farewell to love, urging it to trouble younger hearts instead. The speaker declares that love no longer holds authority over them and encourages it to direct its efforts towards the idle youth. They dismiss love’s attempts to affect them with its fleeting and fragile arrows, suggesting that love should instead be directed towards those who are more receptive to its charms.
For hitherto though I have lost all my time,
Me lusteth no lenger rotten boughs to climb.
These lines emphasize that the speaker has realized the futility of wasting their time on worthless pursuits. They express a desire to no longer engage in climbing rotten boughs, symbolizing fruitless endeavors. The speaker has come to a point where they no longer have an appetite for pursuing meaningless or decaying opportunities. They are seeking more meaningful and fulfilling endeavors instead.
