[side by side text](https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/john-donne/to-his-mistress-going-to-bed) --- BY [JOHN DONNE](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-donne) Come, Madam, come, all rest my powers defy,  Until I labour, I in labour lie.  The foe oft-times having the foe in sight,  Is tir’d with standing though he never fight.  Off with that girdle, like heaven’s Zone glistering,  But a far fairer world encompassing.  Unpin that spangled breastplate which you wear,  That th’eyes of busy fools may be stopped there.  Unlace yourself, for that harmonious chime,  Tells me from you, that now it is bed time.  Off with that happy busk, which I envy,  That still can be, and still can stand so nigh.  Your gown going off, such beauteous state reveals,  As when from flowery meads th’hill’s shadow steals.  Off with that wiry Coronet and shew  The hairy Diadem which on you doth grow:  Now off with those shoes, and then safely tread  In this love’s hallow’d temple, this soft bed.  In such white robes, heaven’s Angels used to be  Received by men; Thou Angel bringst with thee  A heaven like Mahomet’s Paradise; and though  Ill spirits walk in white, we easily know,  By this these Angels from an evil sprite,  Those set our hairs, but these our flesh upright.      Licence my roving hands, and let them go,  Before, behind, between, above, below.  O my America! my new-found-land,  My kingdom, safeliest when with one man mann’d,  My Mine of precious stones, My Empirie,  How blest am I in this discovering thee!  To enter in these bonds, is to be free;  Then where my hand is set, my seal shall be.      Full nakedness! All joys are due to thee,  As souls unbodied, bodies uncloth’d must be,  To taste whole joys. Gems which you women use  Are like Atlanta’s balls, cast in men’s views,  [^1] That when a fool’s eye lighteth on a Gem,  His earthly soul may covet theirs, not them.  Like pictures, or like books’ gay coverings made  For lay-men, are all women thus array’d;  Themselves are mystic books, which only we  (Whom their imputed grace will dignify)  Must see reveal’d. Then since that I may know;  As liberally, as to a Midwife, shew  Thy self: cast all, yea, this white linen hence,  There is no penance due to innocence.      To teach thee, I am naked first; why then  What needst thou have more covering than a man. --- # Footnotes [^1[]: ](<## Hippomenes in Greek Mythology Hippomenes, also known as Melanion, was a legendary Greek hero famous for his unique courtship of Atalanta, a swift and independent huntress. **Key aspects of his mythological story** include: ### Courtship Challenge Atalanta had established an extraordinary marriage condition: any suitor must defeat her in a footrace, with the penalty of death for those who failed. Recognizing he could not outrun her through speed alone, Hippomenes devised a clever strategy[1]. ### Divine Intervention Hippomenes prayed to Aphrodite for help, and she provided him with **three golden apples** from her sacred tree. During the race, he strategically dropped these apples, which distracted Atalanta and caused her to pause, ultimately allowing him to win[1]. ### Consequences of Their Union After winning the race and marrying Atalanta, their relationship met a dramatic end. They were transformed into lions by Cybele (or Zeus) as punishment for having intimate relations in her temple. According to some myths, this occurred because Hippomenes forgot to pay tribute to Aphrodite for her assistance[1]. ### Additional Details - He was potentially the son of Amphidamas or King Megareus of Onchestus - He was considered a disciple of Chiron - He was one of the Calydonian hunters - Some accounts suggest he was the father of Parthenopaeus Sources [1] Hippomenes <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippomenes>) [1a John Donne Master](1a%20John%20Donne%20Master.md)