Thomas Stanley: His Original Lyrics Part 4

Nor will this fire the G.o.ds prepare 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.

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 force 5 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.

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.

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.

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 surpa.s.s'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!

SONG.

Foolish Lover, go and seek 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 phoenix, 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 are 10 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.

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

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.

THE PARTING.

I go, dear Saint, away, s.n.a.t.c.h'd from thy arms By far less pleasing charms, Than those I did[21:1] obey; But if hereafter thou shalt know 5 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 b.r.e.a.s.t.s, 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.

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.

When with poems[22:4] they invade thee, Sing thy praises or disdain; When they weep, and would persuade thee 15 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.

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 }[23:1]

Forbids to hope and yet commands to love! } Must all are to thy h.e.l.l condemn'd sustain 5 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 pa.s.sion 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.

Alas! when with much charge thou hast Brought it at last Beneath thy power to bow, It will adore 10 Some twenty more, And that, perhaps, you'd[24:2] not allow.

No, Chloris, I no more will prove The curse of love, And now can boast a heart 15 Hath learn'd of thee Inconstancy, And cozen'd women of their art.

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 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 last 15 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 phoenix-pyre he moves, Profusely doth his sweeter theft dispense 5 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.