Such icy kisses, anchorites that live
Secluded from the world, to dead skulls give;
And those[17:1] cold maids on whom Love never spent
His flame, nor know what by desire is meant,
To their expiring fathers such bequeath,5
Snatching their fleeting spirits in that breath:
The timorous priest doth with such fear and nice
Devotion touch the Holy Sacrifice.
Secluded from the world, to dead skulls give;
And those[17:1] cold maids on whom Love never spent
His flame, nor know what by desire is meant,
To their expiring fathers such bequeath,5
Snatching their fleeting spirits in that breath:
The timorous priest doth with such fear and nice
Devotion touch the Holy Sacrifice.
Fie, Chariessa! whence so chang’d of late,
As to become in love a reprobate?10
Quit, quit this dulness, Fairest, and make known
A flame unto me equal with mine[17:2] own.
Shake off this frost, for shame, that dwells upon
Thy lips; or if it will not so be gone,
Let’s once more join our lips,[17:3] and thou shalt see15
That by the flame of mine ’twill melted be.
As to become in love a reprobate?10
Quit, quit this dulness, Fairest, and make known
A flame unto me equal with mine[17:2] own.
Shake off this frost, for shame, that dwells upon
Thy lips; or if it will not so be gone,
Let’s once more join our lips,[17:3] and thou shalt see15
That by the flame of mine ’twill melted be.
The Idolater.
Think not, pale lover, he who dies
Burnt in the flames of Celia’s eyes,
Is unto Love a sacrifice;
Burnt in the flames of Celia’s eyes,
Is unto Love a sacrifice;
Or, by the merit of this pain,
Thou shalt the crown of martyrs gain!5
Those hopes are, as thy passion, vain.
Thou shalt the crown of martyrs gain!5
Those hopes are, as thy passion, vain.
For when, by death, from[18:1] these flames free,
To greater thou condemn’d shalt be,
And punish’d for idolatry,
To greater thou condemn’d shalt be,
And punish’d for idolatry,
Since thou, Love’s votary before,10
(Whilst she[18:2] was kind,) dost him no more,
But, in his shrine, Disdain adore.
(Whilst she[18:2] was kind,) dost him no more,
But, in his shrine, Disdain adore.
Nor will this fire the gods prepare
To punish scorn, that cruel Fair,
Though now from flames exempted, spare;15
To punish scorn, that cruel Fair,
Though now from flames exempted, spare;15
But as together both shall die,
Both burnt alike in flames shall lie,
She in thy heart,[18:3] thou in her eye.
Both burnt alike in flames shall lie,
She in thy heart,[18:3] thou in her eye.
The Magnet.
Ask the empress of the night
How the Hand which guides her sphere,
Constant in unconstant light,
Taught the waves her yoke to bear,
And did thus by loving force5
Curb or tame the rude sea’s course.
How the Hand which guides her sphere,
Constant in unconstant light,
Taught the waves her yoke to bear,
And did thus by loving force5
Curb or tame the rude sea’s course.
Ask the female palm how she
First did woo her husband’s love;
And the magnet, ask how he[19:1]
Doth th’ obsequious iron move;10
Waters, plants, and stones know this:
That they love; not what Love is.
First did woo her husband’s love;
And the magnet, ask how he[19:1]
Doth th’ obsequious iron move;10
Waters, plants, and stones know this:
That they love; not what Love is.
Be not thou[19:2] less kind than these,
Or from Love exempt alone!
Let us twine like amorous trees,15
And like rivers melt in one.
Or, if thou more cruel prove,
Learn of steel and stones to love.
Or from Love exempt alone!
Let us twine like amorous trees,15
And like rivers melt in one.
Or, if thou more cruel prove,
Learn of steel and stones to love.
On a Violet in her Breast.
See how this violet, which before
Hung sullenly her drooping head,
As angry at the ground that bore
The purple treasure which she spread,
Doth smilingly erected grow,5
Transplanted to those hills of snow.
Hung sullenly her drooping head,
As angry at the ground that bore
The purple treasure which she spread,
Doth smilingly erected grow,5
Transplanted to those hills of snow.
And whilst the pillows of thy breast
Do her reclining head sustain,
She swells with pride to be so blest,
And doth all other flowers disdain;10
Yet weeps that dew which kissed her last,
To see her odours so surpass’d.
Do her reclining head sustain,
She swells with pride to be so blest,
And doth all other flowers disdain;10
Yet weeps that dew which kissed her last,
To see her odours so surpass’d.
Poor flower! how far deceiv’d thou wert,
To think the riches of the morn
Or all the sweets she can impart.15
Could these or sweeten or adorn,
Since thou from them dost borrow scent,
And they to thee lend ornament!
To think the riches of the morn
Or all the sweets she can impart.15
Could these or sweeten or adorn,
Since thou from them dost borrow scent,
And they to thee lend ornament!
Foolish Lover, go and seek
For the damask of the rose,
And the lilies white dispose
To adorn thy mistress’ cheek;
For the damask of the rose,
And the lilies white dispose
To adorn thy mistress’ cheek;
Steal some star out of the sky,5
Rob the phœnix, and the east
Of her wealthy sweets divest,
To enrich her breath or eye!
Rob the phœnix, and the east
Of her wealthy sweets divest,
To enrich her breath or eye!
We thy borrow’d pride despise:
For this wine to which we are10
Votaries, is richer far
Than her cheek, or breath, or eyes.
For this wine to which we are10
Votaries, is richer far
Than her cheek, or breath, or eyes.
And should that coy fair one view
These diviner beauties, she
In this flame would rival thee,15
And be taught to love thee too.
These diviner beauties, she
In this flame would rival thee,15
And be taught to love thee too.
Come, then, break thy wanton chain,
That when this brisk wine hath spread
On thy paler cheek a red,
Thou, like us, may’st Love disdain.20
That when this brisk wine hath spread
On thy paler cheek a red,
Thou, like us, may’st Love disdain.20
Love, thy power must yield to wine!
And whilst thus ourselves we arm,
Boldly we defy thy charm:
For these flames extinguish[20:1] thine.
And whilst thus ourselves we arm,
Boldly we defy thy charm:
For these flames extinguish[20:1] thine.
I go, dear Saint, away,
Snatch’d from thy arms
By far less pleasing charms,
Than those I did[21:1] obey;
But if hereafter thou shalt know5
That grief hath kill’d me, come,[21:2]
And on my tomb
Drop, drop a tear or two;
Break with thy sighs the silence of my sleep,
And I shall smile in death to see thee weep.10
Snatch’d from thy arms
By far less pleasing charms,
Than those I did[21:1] obey;
But if hereafter thou shalt know5
That grief hath kill’d me, come,[21:2]
And on my tomb
Drop, drop a tear or two;
Break with thy sighs the silence of my sleep,
And I shall smile in death to see thee weep.10
Thy tears may have the power
To reinspire
My ashes with new fire,
Or change me to some flower,
Which, planted ’twixt thy breasts, shall grow:15
Veil’d in this shape, I will
Dwell with thee still,
Court, kiss, enjoy thee too:
Securely we’ll contemn[21:3] all envious force,
And thus united be by death’s divorce.20
To reinspire
My ashes with new fire,
Or change me to some flower,
Which, planted ’twixt thy breasts, shall grow:15
Veil’d in this shape, I will
Dwell with thee still,
Court, kiss, enjoy thee too:
Securely we’ll contemn[21:3] all envious force,
And thus united be by death’s divorce.20
Counsel.
When deceitful lovers lay
At thy feet their suppliant hearts,
And their snares spread to betray
Thy best treasure[22:1] with their arts,
Credit not their flatt’ring vows:5
Love such perjury allows.
At thy feet their suppliant hearts,
And their snares spread to betray
Thy best treasure[22:1] with their arts,
Credit not their flatt’ring vows:5
Love such perjury allows.
When they with the[22:2] choicest wealth
Nature boasts of, have possess’d thee;
When with flowers (their verses’ stealth),
Stars, or jewels they invest thee,[22:3]10
Trust not to their borrow’d store:
’Tis but lent to make thee poor.
Nature boasts of, have possess’d thee;
When with flowers (their verses’ stealth),
Stars, or jewels they invest thee,[22:3]10
Trust not to their borrow’d store:
’Tis but lent to make thee poor.
When with poems[22:4] they invade thee,
Sing thy praises or disdain;
When they weep, and would persuade thee15
That their flames beget that rain;
Let thy breast no baits let in:
Mercy’s only here a sin!
Sing thy praises or disdain;
When they weep, and would persuade thee15
That their flames beget that rain;
Let thy breast no baits let in:
Mercy’s only here a sin!
Let no tears or offerings move thee,
All those cunning charms avoid;20
For that wealth for which they love thee,
They would slight if once enjoy’d.
All those cunning charms avoid;20
For that wealth for which they love thee,
They would slight if once enjoy’d.
|
Guard thy unrelenting mind! None are cruel but the kind. |
} |
[22:5] |
Expostulation with Love, in Despair.
|
Love! what tyrannic laws must they obey Who bow beneath thy uncontrolled sway! Or how unjust will that harsh empire prove Forbids to hope and yet commands to love! |
} |
[23:1] |
Must all are to thy hell condemn’d sustain5
A double torture of despair and pain?
Is’t not enough vainly to hope and woo,
That thou shouldst thus deny that vain hope too?
It were some joy,[23:2] Ixion-like, to fold
The empty air, or feed on thoughts as cold;[23:3]10
But if thou to my passion this deny,
Thou may’st be starv’d to death as well as I;
For how can thy pale sickly flame burn clear
When death and cold despair inhabit here?[23:4]
Then let thy dim heat warm, or else expire;[23:5]15
Dissolve this frost, or let that quench the[23:6] fire.
Thus let me not desire, or else possess!
Neither, or both, are equal happiness.[23:7]
A double torture of despair and pain?
Is’t not enough vainly to hope and woo,
That thou shouldst thus deny that vain hope too?
It were some joy,[23:2] Ixion-like, to fold
The empty air, or feed on thoughts as cold;[23:3]10
But if thou to my passion this deny,
Thou may’st be starv’d to death as well as I;
For how can thy pale sickly flame burn clear
When death and cold despair inhabit here?[23:4]
Then let thy dim heat warm, or else expire;[23:5]15
Dissolve this frost, or let that quench the[23:6] fire.
Thus let me not desire, or else possess!
Neither, or both, are equal happiness.[23:7]
Song.
Faith, ’tis not worth thy pains and care
To seek t’ensnare
A heart so poor as mine:[24:1]
Some fools there be
Hate liberty,5
Who[m] with more ease thou may’st confine.
To seek t’ensnare
A heart so poor as mine:[24:1]
Some fools there be
Hate liberty,5
Who[m] with more ease thou may’st confine.
Alas! when with much charge thou hast
Brought it at last
Beneath thy power to bow,
It will adore10
Some twenty more,
And that, perhaps, you’d[24:2] not allow.
Brought it at last
Beneath thy power to bow,
It will adore10
Some twenty more,
And that, perhaps, you’d[24:2] not allow.
Expectation.
Chide, chide no more away
The fleeting daughters of the day,
Nor with impatient thoughts outrun
The lazy sun,
Nor[25:1] think the hours do move too slow;5
Delay is kind,
And we too soon shall find
That which we seek, yet fear to know.
The fleeting daughters of the day,
Nor with impatient thoughts outrun
The lazy sun,
Nor[25:1] think the hours do move too slow;5
Delay is kind,
And we too soon shall find
That which we seek, yet fear to know.
The mystic dark decrees
Unfold not of the Destinies,10
Nor boldly seek to antedate
The laws of Fate;
Thy anxious search awhile forbear,
Suppress thy haste,
And know that Time at last15
Will crown thy hope, or fix thy fear.
Unfold not of the Destinies,10
Nor boldly seek to antedate
The laws of Fate;
Thy anxious search awhile forbear,
Suppress thy haste,
And know that Time at last15
Will crown thy hope, or fix thy fear.
VI. LYRICS PRINTED IN ALL ORIGINAL EDITIONS OF STANLEY.
The Breath.
Favonius, the milder breath o’ th’ Spring,
When proudly bearing on his softer wing
Rich odours, which from the Panchean groves
He steals, as by the phœnix-pyre he moves,
Profusely doth his sweeter theft dispense5
To the next rose’s blushing innocence;
But from the grateful flower, a richer scent
He doth receive[26:1] than he unto it lent.
Then, laden with his odour’s richest store,
He to thy breath hastes, to which these are poor;10
Which, whilst the amorous wind[26:2] to steal essays,
He like a wanton lover ’bout thee plays,
And sometimes cooling thy soft cheek doth lie,
And sometimes burning at thy flaming eye:
Drawn in at last by that breath we implore,15
He now[26:3] returns far sweeter than before,
And rich by being robb’d, in thee he finds
The burning sweets of pyres, the cool of winds.
When proudly bearing on his softer wing
Rich odours, which from the Panchean groves
He steals, as by the phœnix-pyre he moves,
Profusely doth his sweeter theft dispense5
To the next rose’s blushing innocence;
But from the grateful flower, a richer scent
He doth receive[26:1] than he unto it lent.
Then, laden with his odour’s richest store,
He to thy breath hastes, to which these are poor;10
Which, whilst the amorous wind[26:2] to steal essays,
He like a wanton lover ’bout thee plays,
And sometimes cooling thy soft cheek doth lie,
And sometimes burning at thy flaming eye:
Drawn in at last by that breath we implore,15
He now[26:3] returns far sweeter than before,
And rich by being robb’d, in thee he finds
The burning sweets of pyres, the cool of winds.
Chariessa.[27:1] What if Night
Should betray us, and reveal
To the light
All the pleasures that we steal?
Should betray us, and reveal
To the light
All the pleasures that we steal?
Philocharis. Fairest! we5
Safely may this fear despise:
How can she
See our actions, who wants eyes?
Safely may this fear despise:
How can she
See our actions, who wants eyes?
Chariessa. Each dim star,
And the clearer lights, we know,10
Night’s eyes are:
They were blind that thought her so!
And the clearer lights, we know,10
Night’s eyes are:
They were blind that thought her so!
Philocharis. Those pale fires
Only burn to yield a light
T’ our desires;15
And, though blind, to give us sight.
Only burn to yield a light
T’ our desires;15
And, though blind, to give us sight.
Chariessa. By this shade
That surrounds us, might our flame
Be betray’d!
And the day disclose its name.20
That surrounds us, might our flame
Be betray’d!
And the day disclose its name.20
Philocharis. Dearest Fair!
These dark witnesses, we find,
Silent are:
Night is dumb, as well as blind.
These dark witnesses, we find,
Silent are:
Night is dumb, as well as blind.
Then whilst these black shades conceal us,25
We will scorn
Th’ envious morn,
And the sun that would reveal us.
Our flames shall thus their mutual light betray,
And night, with these joys crown’d, outshine the day.30
We will scorn
Th’ envious morn,
And the sun that would reveal us.
Our flames shall thus their mutual light betray,
And night, with these joys crown’d, outshine the day.30
Unalter’d by Sickness.
|
Pale envious Sickness, hence! no more Possess her breast, too cold before. In vain, alas, thou dost invade A beauty that can never fade. |
} |
[28:1] |
Could all thy malice but impair5
One o’ th’ sweets which crown her fair;[28:2]
Or steal the spirits from her eye;
Or kiss into a paler dye
The blooming[28:3] roses of her cheek;
Our suffering[28:4] hopes might justly seek10
Redress from thee, and thou mightst save
Thousands of lovers from the grave.
But such assaults are vain, for she
Is too divine to stoop to thee,
Blest with a form as much too high15
For any change, as[28:5] Destiny,
Which no attempt can violate:
For what’s her beauty is our fate.
One o’ th’ sweets which crown her fair;[28:2]
Or steal the spirits from her eye;
Or kiss into a paler dye
The blooming[28:3] roses of her cheek;
Our suffering[28:4] hopes might justly seek10
Redress from thee, and thou mightst save
Thousands of lovers from the grave.
But such assaults are vain, for she
Is too divine to stoop to thee,
Blest with a form as much too high15
For any change, as[28:5] Destiny,
Which no attempt can violate:
For what’s her beauty is our fate.
EXCUSE FOR WISHING HER LESS FAIR.[29:1]
Why thy passion should it move
That I wished thy beauty less?
Fools desire what is above
Power of nature to express;
And to wish it had been more5
Had been to outwish her store.
That I wished thy beauty less?
Fools desire what is above
Power of nature to express;
And to wish it had been more5
Had been to outwish her store.
If the flames within thine eye
Did not too great heat inspire,
Did not too great heat inspire,
|
Men might languish, yet not die, At thy less ungentle fire,10 |
} |
[29:2] |
And might on thy weaker light
Gaze, and yet not lose their sight.
Gaze, and yet not lose their sight.
Nor wouldst thou less fair appear,
For detraction adds to thee;
If some parts less beauteous were,15
Others would much fairer be;
Nor can any part we know
Best be styl’d, when all are so.
For detraction adds to thee;
If some parts less beauteous were,15
Others would much fairer be;
Nor can any part we know
Best be styl’d, when all are so.
Thus this great excess of light,
Which now dazzles our weak eyes,20
Would, eclips’d, appear more bright;
And the only way to rise,
Or to be more fair, for[29:3] thee,
Celia! is less fair to be.
Which now dazzles our weak eyes,20
Would, eclips’d, appear more bright;
And the only way to rise,
Or to be more fair, for[29:3] thee,
Celia! is less fair to be.
Celia, Sleeping or Singing.[30:1]
Roses, in breathing forth their scent,
Or stars their borrowed ornament;
Nymphs in the watery sphere that move,
Or angels in their orbs above;
The winged chariot of the light,5
Or the slow silent wheels of night;
The shade which from the swifter sun
Doth in a circular motion run,
Or souls that their eternal rest do keep,
Make far more[30:2] noise than Celia’s breath in sleep.10
Or stars their borrowed ornament;
Nymphs in the watery sphere that move,
Or angels in their orbs above;
The winged chariot of the light,5
Or the slow silent wheels of night;
The shade which from the swifter sun
Doth in a circular motion run,
Or souls that their eternal rest do keep,
Make far more[30:2] noise than Celia’s breath in sleep.10
But if the angel which inspires
This subtle frame[30:3] with active fires,
Should mould this[30:4] breath to words, and those
Into a harmony dispose,
The music of this heavenly sphere15
Would steal each soul out at the ear,
And into plants and stones infuse
A life that cherubim[30:5] would choose,
And with new powers[30:6] invert the laws of fate:
Kill those that live, and dead things animate.20
This subtle frame[30:3] with active fires,
Should mould this[30:4] breath to words, and those
Into a harmony dispose,
The music of this heavenly sphere15
Would steal each soul out at the ear,
And into plants and stones infuse
A life that cherubim[30:5] would choose,
And with new powers[30:6] invert the laws of fate:
Kill those that live, and dead things animate.20
Palinode.[31:1]
Beauty, thy harsh imperious chains
As a scorn’d weight, I here untie,
Since thy proud empire those disdains
Of reason or philosophy,
That would[31:2] within tyrannic laws5
Confine the power of each free cause.
As a scorn’d weight, I here untie,
Since thy proud empire those disdains
Of reason or philosophy,
That would[31:2] within tyrannic laws5
Confine the power of each free cause.
Forc’d by the potent[31:3] influence
Of thy disdain, I back return:
Thus with those flames I do dispense
Which, though they would not light, did burn,10
And rather will through cold expire,
Than languish at[31:4] a frozen fire.
Of thy disdain, I back return:
Thus with those flames I do dispense
Which, though they would not light, did burn,10
And rather will through cold expire,
Than languish at[31:4] a frozen fire.
But whilst I the insulting pride
Of thy vain beauty do despise,
Who gladly wouldst be deified15
By making me thy sacrifice,
May Love thy heart which to his charm
Approach’d, seem’d cold, at distance warm!
Of thy vain beauty do despise,
Who gladly wouldst be deified15
By making me thy sacrifice,
May Love thy heart which to his charm
Approach’d, seem’d cold, at distance warm!
The Return.
Beauty, whose soft magnetic chains
Nor time nor absence can untie,[32:1]
Thy power the narrow bound[32:2] disdains
Of Nature or Philosophy;
Thou[32:3] canst by unconfined laws5
A motion, though at distance, cause.
Nor time nor absence can untie,[32:1]
Thy power the narrow bound[32:2] disdains
Of Nature or Philosophy;
Thou[32:3] canst by unconfined laws5
A motion, though at distance, cause.
Drawn by the powerful[32:4] influence
Of thy bright eyes, I back return;
And since I nowhere can dispense
With flames that[32:5] do in absence burn,10
I rather choose ’twixt[32:6] them t’expire,
Than languish by a hidden fire.
Of thy bright eyes, I back return;
And since I nowhere can dispense
With flames that[32:5] do in absence burn,10
I rather choose ’twixt[32:6] them t’expire,
Than languish by a hidden fire.
But if thou th’[32:7] insulting pride
Of vulgar beauties dost despise,
Who, by vain triumphs deified,15
Their votaries do sacrifice,
Then let those flames, whose magic charm
At distance scorch’d, approach’d, but warm.
Of vulgar beauties dost despise,
Who, by vain triumphs deified,15
Their votaries do sacrifice,
Then let those flames, whose magic charm
At distance scorch’d, approach’d, but warm.
Chang’d, Yet Constant.
Wrong me no more
In thy complaint,
Blam’d for inconstancy:
I vow’d t’ adore
The fairest Saint,5
Nor chang’d whilst thou wert she:
But if another thee outshine,
Th’ inconstancy is only thine!
In thy complaint,
Blam’d for inconstancy:
I vow’d t’ adore
The fairest Saint,5
Nor chang’d whilst thou wert she:
But if another thee outshine,
Th’ inconstancy is only thine!
To be by such
Blind fools admir’d10
Gives thee but small esteem,
By whom as much
Thou’dst be desir’d,
Didst thou less beauteous seem.
Sure, why they love they know not well,15
Who why they should not, cannot tell!
Blind fools admir’d10
Gives thee but small esteem,
By whom as much
Thou’dst be desir’d,
Didst thou less beauteous seem.
Sure, why they love they know not well,15
Who why they should not, cannot tell!
Women are by
Themselves betray’d,
And to their short joys cruel,
Who foolishly20
Themselves persuade
Flames can outlast their fuel;
None (though platonic their pretence),
With reason love, unless by sense.
Themselves betray’d,
And to their short joys cruel,
Who foolishly20
Themselves persuade
Flames can outlast their fuel;
None (though platonic their pretence),
With reason love, unless by sense.
And he,[33:1] by whose25
Command to thee
I did my heart resign,
Now bids me choose
A deity
Diviner far than thine;30
No power can Love from Beauty sever:
I’m still Love’s subject; thine was, never.
Command to thee
I did my heart resign,
Now bids me choose
A deity
Diviner far than thine;30
No power can Love from Beauty sever:
I’m still Love’s subject; thine was, never.
The fairest she
Whom none surpass,
To love hath only right;35
And such to me
Thy beauty was,
Till one I found more bright;
But ’twere as impious to adore
Thee now, as not to have done ’t before.40
Whom none surpass,
To love hath only right;35
And such to me
Thy beauty was,
Till one I found more bright;
But ’twere as impious to adore
Thee now, as not to have done ’t before.40
Nor is it just
By rules of Love,
Thou shouldst deny to quit
A heart that must
Another’s prove45
Even in thy right to it;
Must not thy subjects captives be
To her who triumphs over thee?
By rules of Love,
Thou shouldst deny to quit
A heart that must
Another’s prove45
Even in thy right to it;
Must not thy subjects captives be
To her who triumphs over thee?
Cease, then, in vain
To blot my name50
With forg’d apostasy!
Thine is that stain
Who dar’st to claim
What others ask of thee.
Of lovers they are only true55
Who pay their hearts where hearts[33:2] are due.
To blot my name50
With forg’d apostasy!
Thine is that stain
Who dar’st to claim
What others ask of thee.
Of lovers they are only true55
Who pay their hearts where hearts[33:2] are due.
To Chariessa,
Beholding herself in a Glass.[34:1]
Cast, Chariessa, cast that glass away;
Not in its crystal face thine own survey.
What can be free from Love’s imperious laws,
When painted shadows real flames can cause?
The fires may burn thee from this mirror rise,5
By the reflected beams of thine own eyes;
And thus at last fall’n with thyself in love,
Thou wilt my rival, thine own[34:2] martyr, prove.
But if thou dost desire thy form to view,
Look in my heart, where Love thy picture drew,10
And then, if pleas’d with thine own shape thou be,
Learn how to love thyself by[34:3] loving me.
Not in its crystal face thine own survey.
What can be free from Love’s imperious laws,
When painted shadows real flames can cause?
The fires may burn thee from this mirror rise,5
By the reflected beams of thine own eyes;
And thus at last fall’n with thyself in love,
Thou wilt my rival, thine own[34:2] martyr, prove.
But if thou dost desire thy form to view,
Look in my heart, where Love thy picture drew,10
And then, if pleas’d with thine own shape thou be,
Learn how to love thyself by[34:3] loving me.
When I lie burning in thine eye,
Or freezing in thy breast,
What martyrs, in wish’d flames that die,
Are half so pleas’d or blest?
Or freezing in thy breast,
What martyrs, in wish’d flames that die,
Are half so pleas’d or blest?
When thy soft accents through mine ear5
Into my soul do fly,
What angel would not quit his sphere,
To hear such harmony?
Into my soul do fly,
What angel would not quit his sphere,
To hear such harmony?
Or when the kiss thou gav’st me last
My soul stole in its breath,10
What life would sooner be embrac’d
Than so desir’d a death?
My soul stole in its breath,10
What life would sooner be embrac’d
Than so desir’d a death?
|
When I commanded am by thee, (Or by thine eye or hand,) What monarch would not prouder be15 To serve than to command? |
} |
[35:1] |
Then think not[35:2] freedom I desire,
Or would my fetters leave,
Since, phœnix-like, I from this fire
Both life and youth receive.20
Or would my fetters leave,
Since, phœnix-like, I from this fire
Both life and youth receive.20
Fool! take up thy shaft again.
If thy store
Thou profusely spend in vain,
Who can furnish thee with more?
Throw not then away thy darts5
On impenetrable hearts.
If thy store
Thou profusely spend in vain,
Who can furnish thee with more?
Throw not then away thy darts5
On impenetrable hearts.
Think not thy pale flame can warm
Into tears,
Or dissolve the snowy charm
Which her frozen bosom wears,10
That expos’d unmelted lies
To the bright suns of her eyes.
Into tears,
Or dissolve the snowy charm
Which her frozen bosom wears,10
That expos’d unmelted lies
To the bright suns of her eyes.
But since thou thy power hast lost,
Nor canst fire
Kindle in that breast, whose frost15
Doth these flames in mine inspire;
Not to thee but her I’ll sue,
That disdains both me and you!
Nor canst fire
Kindle in that breast, whose frost15
Doth these flames in mine inspire;
Not to thee but her I’ll sue,
That disdains both me and you!
Delay.
Delay! Alas, there cannot be
To Love a greater tyranny:
Those cruel beauties that have slain
Their votaries by their disdain,
Or studied torments sharp and witty.5
Will be recorded for their pity,
And after-ages be misled
To think them kind, when this is spread.
Of deaths the speediest is despair;
Delays the slowest tortures are;10
Thy cruelty at once destroys,
But expectation starves my joys.
Time and Delay may bring me past
The power of Love to cure, at last;
And shouldst thou wish to ease my pain,15
Thy pity might be lent in vain.
Or if thou hast decreed that I
Must fall[36:1] beneath thy cruelty,
O kill me soon! Thou wilt express
More mercy, ev’n in showing less.20
To Love a greater tyranny:
Those cruel beauties that have slain
Their votaries by their disdain,
Or studied torments sharp and witty.5
Will be recorded for their pity,
And after-ages be misled
To think them kind, when this is spread.
Of deaths the speediest is despair;
Delays the slowest tortures are;10
Thy cruelty at once destroys,
But expectation starves my joys.
Time and Delay may bring me past
The power of Love to cure, at last;
And shouldst thou wish to ease my pain,15
Thy pity might be lent in vain.
Or if thou hast decreed that I
Must fall[36:1] beneath thy cruelty,
O kill me soon! Thou wilt express
More mercy, ev’n in showing less.20