The poem
Queen and huntress, chaste and fair, Now the sun is laid to sleep, Seated in thy silver chair State in wonted manner keep: Hesperus entreats thy light, Goddess excellently bright.
Earth, let not thy envious shade Dare itself to interpose; Cynthia's shining orb was made Heaven to clear when day did close: Bless us then with wished sight, Goddess excellently bright.
Lay thy bow of pearl apart, And thy crystal-shining quiver; Give unto the flying hart Space to breathe, how short soever: Thou that mak'st a day of night, Goddess excellently bright.
I had been trying for years to determine where the final lyrics in a musical work called "Incantations" by Mike Oldfield had their source. Most of this work, mainly instrumental, contains excerpts from Hiawatha by Longfellow. I could not find a connection between these two groups of lyrics however, until I typed the verse "Hesperus entreats thy light" into a search field and found this work by Ben Jonson. Incredible, and so fitting with the theme by Mike Oldfield in his Masterpiece, Incantations. Obviously in reference to the Moon. A reverence for it's character and quality as viewed from the perspective of those who so depended on her light.