The revered Muse came to the side of the once new-born Jonson,
And Bacchus too, and Eros, and the Bacchic revel of the Graces,
Bacchus took hold of the new born in a fawnskin, wrapped in ivy,
Washed and moistened him in the nectar of the grapes.
The Graces kissed him, and with ever-green roses
Crowned him, which are the sacred leaves of Bacchic revels.
Little Eros offered Aphrodite's girdle (stripped from his mother),
A pure love charm, to the charming poet;
And then the Muse initiated the child into the mysteries with subtle whispering,
She rose above the cradle on golden wings;
The herald of the Gods hailed the great delight of the British Land.
The hope of the players (still bare-footed) rejoiced;
To them you will be singing, either in the comic or tragic vein,
You will drive Greece and Rome mad with jealousy;
Taking pride in the last stones of the new built Theatre,
Which has exchanged benches for shining arches.
And when the Muse flew away, she brought into the hands of the child
The stone, a symbol of his martial building.

(sig. L1v)