Should betray us, and reveal
To the light
All the pleasures that we steal?
_Philocharis._ Fairest! we 5
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!
_Philocharis._ Those pale fires
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
_Philocharis._ Dearest Fair!
These dark witnesses, we find,
Silent are:
Night is dumb, as well as blind.
_Chorus._
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
UNALTER'D BY SICKNESS.
Pale envious Sickness, hence! no more }
Possess her breast, too cold before. }
In vain, alas, thou dost invade }[28:1]
A beauty that can never fade. }
Could all thy malice but impair 5
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 seek 10
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 high 15
For any change, as[28:5] Destiny,
Which no attempt can violate:
For what's her beauty is our fate.
TO CELIA.
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 more 5
Had been to outwish her store.
If the flames within thine eye
Did not too great heat inspire,
Men might languish, yet not die, }[29:2]
At thy less ungentle fire, } 10
And might on thy weaker light
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.
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.
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
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 sphere 15
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 laws 5
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.
But whilst I the insulting pride
Of thy vain beauty do despise,
Who gladly wouldst be deified 15
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 laws 5
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.
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.
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!
To be by such
Blind fools admir'd 10
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 foolishly 20
Themselves persuade
Flames can outlast their fuel;
None (though platonic their pretence),
With reason love, unless by sense.
And he,[33:1] by whose 25
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
Nor is it just
By rules of Love,
Thou shouldst deny to quit
A heart that must
Another's prove 45
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 name 50
With forg'd apostasy!
Thine is that stain
Who dar'st to claim
What others ask of thee.
Of lovers they are only true 55
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.
SONG.
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?
When thy soft accents through mine ear 5
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?
When I commanded am by thee, }
(Or by thine eye or hand,) }
What monarch would not prouder be }[35:1] 15
To serve than to command? }
Then think not[35:2] freedom I desire,
Or would my fetters leave,
Since, phoenix-like, I from this fire
Both life and youth receive. 20
SONG.
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 darts 5
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.
But since thou thy power hast lost,
Nor canst fire
Kindle in that breast, whose frost 15
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
THE REPULSE.
Not that by this disdain
I am releas'd,
And, freed from thy romantic[37:1] chain,
Do I myself think blest;
Not that thy flame shall burn 5
No more; for know
That I shall into ashes turn
Before this fire doth so.
Nor yet that unconfin'd
I now may rove, 10
And with new beauties please my mind;
But that thou ne'er didst love!
For since thou hast no part
Felt of this flame,
I only from thy tyrant heart 15
Repuls'd, not banish'd, am.
To lose what once was mine
Would grieve me more
Than those inconstant sweets of thine
Had pleas'd my soul before. 20
Now I've not lost that[37:2] bliss
I ne'er possessed;
And, spite of Fate, am blest in this:
That I was never blest.
SONG.
Celinda, by what potent art
Or unresisted charm,
Dost thou thine ear and frozen heart
Against my passion arm?
Or by what hidden influence 5
Of powers in one combin'd,
Dost thou rob Love of either sense,
Made deaf as well as blind?
Sure thou as friends[38:1] united hast
Two distant deities, 10
And scorn within thy heart hast plac'd,
And love within thine eyes;
Or those soft fetters of thy hair,
(A bondage that disdains
All liberty,) do guard thine ear 15
Free from all other chains.
Then my complaint how canst thou hear,
Or I this passion fly,
Since thou imprison'd hast thine ear,
And not confin'd thine eye? 20
THE TOMB.
When, cruel fair one, I am slain
By thy disdain,
And as a trophy of thy scorn
To some old tomb am borne,
Thy fetters must their power bequeath 5
To those of Death;
Nor can thy flame immortal burn
Like monumental fires within an urn.
Thus freed from thy proud empire, I shall prove
There is more liberty in Death than Love. 10
And when forsaken lovers come
To see my tomb,
Take heed thou mix not with the crowd,
And, as a victor, proud
To view the spoils thy beauty made, 15
Press near my shade!
Lest thy too cruel breath, or name,
Should fan my ashes back into a flame.
And thou, devour'd by this revengeful fire, }[39:1]
His sacrifice, who died as thine, expire. } 20
Or should my dust thy pity move
That could not, love,
Thy sighs might wake me, and thy tears
Renew my life and years;
Or should thy proud insulting scorn 25
Laugh at my urn,
Kindly deceiv'd by thy disdain,
I might be smil'd into new life again.
Then come not near: since both thy love and hate
Have equal power to kill[39:2] or animate. 30
But if cold earth or marble must
Conceal my dust,
Whilst, hid in some dark ruins, I
Dumb and forgotten lie,
The pride of all thy victory 35
Will sleep with me;
And they who should attest thy glory
Will or forget, or not believe this story.
Then, to increase thy triumph, let me rest,
(Since by thine eye slain,) buried in thy breast! 40
TO CELIA.
PLEADING WANT OF MERIT.[40:1]
Dear, urge no more the killing cause
Of our divorce:
Love is not fetter'd by such laws,
Nor bows to any force.
Though thou deniest I should be thine, 5
Yet say not thou deserv'st not to be mine!
Oh, rather frown away my breath
With thy disdain,
Or flatter me with smiles to death;
By joy or sorrow slain, 10
'Tis less crime to be kill'd by thee,
Than I thus cause of mine[40:2] own death should be.
Thyself of beauty to divest,
And me of love,
Or from the worth of thine own breast 15
Thus to detract, would prove
In us a blindness, and in thee
At best a sacrilegious modesty.
But, Celia,[40:3] if thou wilt despise
What all admire, 20
Nor rate thyself at the just price
Of beauty or desire,
Yet meet my flames! and thou shalt see
That equal love knows no disparity.
THE KISS.[41:1]
When on thy lip my soul I breathe,
Which there meets thine,
Freed from their fetters by this death,
Our subtle forms[41:2] combine:
Thus without bonds of sense they move, 5
And like two cherubim converse by[41:3] love.
Spirits to chains of earth confin'd
Discourse by sense;
But ours, that are by flames refin'd,
With those weak ties dispense. 10
Let such in words their minds display:
We in a kiss our mutual thoughts convey.[41:4]
But since my soul from me doth fly,
To thee retir'd,
Thou canst not both retain; for I 15
Must be with one inspir'd;
Then, Dearest,[41:5] either justly mine
Restore, or in exchange let me have thine.
Yet if thou dost return mine own,
O tak't again! 20
For 'tis this pleasing death alone
Gives ease unto my pain.
Kill me once more, or I shall find
Thy pity than thy cruelty less kind.
THE SNOWBALL.
Doris, I that could repel
All those darts about thee dwell,
And had wisely learn'd to fear
'Cause I saw a foe so near;
I that my deaf ear did arm 5
'Gainst thy voice's powerful charm;
And the lightning of thine eye
Durst, by closing mine, defy;
Cannot this cold snow withstand
From the winter[42:1] of thy hand. 10
Thy deceit hath thus done more
Than thy open force before:
For who could suspect or fear
Treason in a face so clear,
Or the hidden fires descry 15
Wrapt in this cold outside lie?
Flames might thus, involv'd in ice,
The deceiv'd world sacrifice;
Nature, ignorant of this
Strange antiperistasis, 20
Would her falling frame admire,
That by snow were set on fire!
SPEAKING AND KISSING.
The air which thy smooth voice doth break
Into my soul like lightning flies;
My life retires whilst thou dost speak,
And thy soft breath its room supplies.
Lost in this pleasing ecstasy, 5
I join my trembling lips to thine,
And back receive that life from thee,
Which I so gladly did resign.
Forbear, platonic fools! t'inquire
What numbers do the soul compose: 10
No harmony can life inspire,
But that which from these accents flows.
THE DEPOSITION.[43:1]
Though when I lov'd thee thou wert[43:2] fair,
Thou art no longer so:
Those glories do[43:3] the pride they wear
Unto opinion owe.
Beauties, like stars, in borrow'd lustre shine; 5
And 'twas my love that gave thee thine.
The flames that dwelt within thine eye
Do now with mine expire;
Thy brightest graces[43:4] fade and die
At once, with my desire. 10
Love's fires thus mutual influence return:
Thine cease to shine when mine to burn.
Then, proud Celinda, hope no more
To be implor'd or woo'd,
Since by thy scorn thou dost restore 15
The wealth my[43:5] love bestow'd;
And thy despis'd disdain too late shall find
That none are fair but who are kind.
LOVE'S HERETIC.
He whose active thoughts disdain
To be captive to one foe,
And would break his single chain,
Or else more would undergo,
Let him learn the art of me, 5
By new bondage to be free!
What tyrannic mistress dare
To one beauty Love confine?
Who, unbounded as the air,
All may court, but none decline. 10
Why should we the heart deny
As many objects as the eye?
Wheresoe'er I turn or move,
A new passion doth detain me:
Those kind beauties that do love, 15
Or those proud ones that disdain me.
This frown melts, and that smile burns me;
This to tears, that, ashes, turns me.
Soft fresh virgins not full-blown
With their youthful sweetness take me; 20
Sober matrons that have known,
Long since, what these prove, awake me;
Here, staid coldness I admire,
There, the lively active fire.
She that doth by skill dispense 25
Every favour she bestows,
Or the harmless innocence
Which nor court nor city knows;--
Both alike my soul inflame,
That wild beauty, and this tame. 30
She that wisely can adorn
Nature with the wealth of Art,
Or whose rural sweets do scorn
Borrow'd helps to[44:1] take a heart;--
The vain care of that's my pleasure; 35
Poverty of this, my treasure.
Both the wanton and the coy
Me with equal pleasure[44:2] move;
She whom I by force enjoy,
Or who forceth me to love: 40
This, because she'll not confess,
That, not hide, her happiness.
She whose loosely flowing hair,
(Scatter'd like the beams o' th' morn.)
Playing with the sportive air, 45
Hides the sweets it doth adorn,
Captive in that net restrains me,
In those golden fetters chains me;
Nor doth she with power less bright
My divided heart invade, 50
Whose soft tresses spread, like night,
O'er her shoulders a black shade;
For the starlight of her eyes
Brighter shines through those dark skies.
Black, or fair, or tall, or low, 55
I alike with all can sport,
The bold sprightly Thais woo,
Or the frozen vestal court:
Every beauty takes my mind,
Tied to all, to none confin'd. 60
LA BELLE CONFIDANTE.
You earthly souls that court a wanton flame,
Whose pale weak influence
Can rise no higher than the humble name
And narrow laws of sense!
Learn by our friendship to create 5
An immaterial fire,
Whose brightness angels may admire
But cannot emulate.
Sickness may fright the roses from her cheek,
Or make the lilies fade, 10
But all the subtle ways that Death doth seek
Cannot my love invade.
Flames that are kindled by the eye
Through time and age expire,
But ours, that boast a reach far higher, 15
Cannot decay or die.[45:1]
For[45:2] when we must resign our vital breath,
Our loves by Fate benighted,[45:3]
We by this friendship shall survive in death,
Even in divorce united: 20
Weak love, through fortune or distrust,
In time forgets to burn,
But this pursues us to the urn,
And marries either's dust.
LA BELLE ENNEMIE.
I yield, dear enemy, nor know
How to resist so fair a foe.
Who would not thy soft yoke sustain,
And bow beneath thy easy chain,
That with a bondage blest might be 5
Which far transcends all liberty?
But since I freely have resign'd,
At first assault, my willing mind,
Insult not o'er my captiv'd heart
With too much tyranny and art, 10
Lest by thy scorn thou lose the prize
Gain'd by the power of thy bright eyes;
And thou this conquest thus shalt prove,
Though got by beauty, kept by love.
LOVE DEPOSED.
You that unto your mistress' eyes
Your hearts do sacrifice,
And offer sighs or tears at Love's rich shrine,
Renounce with me
Th' idolatry, 5
Nor this infernal power esteem divine!
The brand, the quiver, and the bow,
Which we did first bestow,
And he as tribute wears from every lover,
I back again 10
From him have ta'en,
And the impostor now unveil'd discover.
I can the feeble Child disarm,
Untie his mystic charm,
Divest him of his wings, and break his arrow; 15
We will obey
No more his sway,
Nor live confin'd to laws or bounds so narrow
And you, bright Beauties, that inspire
The Boy's pale torch with fire, 20
We safely now your subtle power despise,
And unscorch'd may,
Like atoms, play
And wanton in the sunshine of your eyes.
Nor think hereafter by new arts 25
You can bewitch our hearts,
Or raise this devil by your pleasing charm:
We will no more
His power implore,
Unless, like Indians, that he do no harm. 30
THE DIVORCE.
Dear, back my wounded heart restore,
And turn away thy powerful eyes;
Flatter my willing soul no more:
Love must not[46:1] hope what Fate denies.
Take, take away thy smiles and kisses! 5
Thy love wounds deeper than disdain;
For he that sees the heaven he misses,
Sustains two hells of loss and pain.
Shouldst thou some other's suit prefer,
I might return thy scorn to thee, 10
And learn apostasy of her
Who taught me, first, idolatry.[46:2]
Or in thy unrelenting breast
Should I[46:3] disdain or coyness move,
He by thy hate might be releas'd, } 15
Who now is prisoner to thy love. }[46:4]
Since, then, unkind Fate will divorce
Those whom affection long united,
Be thou as cruel as this force,
And I in death shall be delighted. 20
Thus whilst so many suppliants woo, }
And beg they may thy pity prove, }[46:5]
I only for thy scorn do sue:
'Tis charity here not to love.
THE BRACELET.
Rebellious fools that scorn to bow
Beneath Love's easy sway,
Whose stubborn wills no laws allow,
Disdaining to obey,
Mark but this wreath of hair, and you shall see 5
None that might wear such fetters would be free.
I once could boast a soul like you,
As unconfin'd as air;
But mine, which force could not subdue,
Was caught within this snare; 10
And by myself betray'd, I for this gold
Have to mine enemy my freedom sold.[47:1]
No longer now, wise Art, inquire,
(With this vain search delighted,)
How souls that human[47:2] breasts inspire 15
Are to their frames united:
Material chains such spirits well may bind,
When this soft braid can tie both arm and mind.
Now, Beauties, I defy your charm,
Rul'd by more powerful art: 20
This mystic wreath which crowns my arm
Defends my vanquish'd heart;[47:3]
And I, subdu'd by one more fair, shall be
Secur'd from conquest by captivity.
THE FAREWELL.
Since Fate commands me hence, and I
Must leave my soul with thee, and die,
Dear, spare one sigh, or else let fall
A tear to crown my funeral,
That I may tell my grieved heart 5
Thou art unwilling we should part;
And martyrs that embrace the fire
Shall with less joy than I expire.
With this last kiss I will bequeath
My soul, transfus'd into thy breath, 10
Whose active heat shall gently slide
Into thy breast, and there reside,
And may, (in spite of Fate thus blest,)
Be, in this death, of heaven possess'd.[48:1]
Then prove but kind; and thou shalt see 15
Love hath more power than Destiny.
THE EXCHANGE: DIALOGUE.[49:1]
_Phil[ocharis]._
That kiss which last thou gav'st me, stole
My fainting life away;
Yet, though to thy breast fled, my soul
Still in mine own doth stay.
Weak Nature no such power doth know: } 5
Love only can these wonders show. }[49:2]
_Char[iessa]._
And with the same warm breath did mine
Into thy bosom slide,
There dwell, contracted unto thine,
Yet still with me reside. 10
Weak Nature no such power doth know:
Love only can these wonders show.
_Chor[us]._
Both souls thus in desire are one,
And each is two in skill,
Doubled in intellect alone, 15
United in the will.
Weak Nature no such power doth know:
Love only can these wonders show.
THE EXEQUIES.
Draw near,
You lovers, that complain
Of Fortune or Disdain,
And to my ashes lend a tear.
Melt the hard marble with your groans, 5
And soften the relentless stones,
Whose cold embraces the sad subject hide }
Of all Love's cruelties, and Beauty's pride. }[50:1]
No verse,
No epicedium, bring; 10
Nor peaceful requiem sing,
To charm the terrors of my hearse;
No profane numbers must flow near
The sacred silence that dwells here.
Vast griefs are dumb: softly, oh softly mourn! 15
Lest you disturb the peace attends my urn.
Yet strew
Upon my dismal grave
Such offerings as you have:
Forsaken cypress, and sad yew; 20
For kinder flowers can take no birth
Or growth from such unhappy earth.
Weep only o'er my dust, and say: "Here lies
To Love and Fate an equal sacrifice."
THE SILKWORM.
The[51:1] silkworm, to long sleep retir'd,
The early year hath re-inspir'd,
Who now to pay to thee prepares
The tribute of her pleasing cares;
And hastens with industrious toil 5
To make her ornament thy spoil.[51:2]
See with what pains[51:3] she spins for thee
The thread of her own destiny,
Then, (growing proud in death, to know
That all her curious labours thou[51:4] 10
Wilt, as in triumph, deign to wear!)
Retires to her soft sepulchre.
Such, Dearest, is that hapless state
To which I am design'd by Fate,
Who, by thee willingly o'ercome, 15
Work mine own fetters and my tomb.
AMBITION.
I must no longer now admire
The coldness which possess'd
Thy snowy breast,
That can by other flames be set on fire;
Poor Love, to harsh Disdain betray'd, 5
Is by Ambition thus outweigh'd.
Hadst thou but known the vast extent
Of constant faith, how far
'Bove all that are
Born slaves to wealth, or honours' vain ascent;[52:1] 10
No richer treasure couldst thou find
Than hearts with mutual chains combin'd.
But Love is too despis'd a name,
And must not hope to rise
Above these ties. 15
Honours[52:2] and wealth outshine his paler flame!
These unite souls, whilst true desire
Unpitied dies in its own fire.
Yet, cruel fair one, I did aim
With no less justice too, 20
Than those that sue
For other hopes, and thy proud fortunes claim.
Wealth honours, honours wealth, approve;
But Beauty's only meant for Love.
SONG.
When, dearest Beauty, thou shalt pay
Thy faith and my vain hope away
To some dull soul that cannot know
The worth of that thou dost bestow;
Lest[53:1] with my sighs and tears I might 5
Disturb thy unconfin'd delight,
To some dark shade I will retire,
And there, forgot by all, expire.