Sir Philip Sidney. "Having this day my horse, my hand, my lance." Sonnet 41 from "Astrophil and Stella."

Sir Philip Sidney.

Astrophel and Stella

Sonnet XLI

Having this day my horse, my hand, my lance
Guided so well, that I obtained the prize,
Both by the judgment of the English eyes,
And of some sent from that sweet enemy, France;
Horsemen my skill in horsemanship advance,
Townsfolks my strength;  a daintier judge applies
His praise to sleight, which from good use doth rise;
Some lucky wits impute it but to chance;
Others, because of both sides I do take
My blood from them who did excel in this,
Think Nature me a man of arms did make.
How far they shot awry!  the true cause is,
    Stella looked on, and from her heavenly face
    Sent forth the beams which made so fair my race.

Source:
A Sixteenth Century Anthology. Arthur Symons, Ed.
London: Blackie & Son, Ltd., 1905. 152.

to Works of Sir Philip Sidney