No More Learning

Yet ere thou counsel'st with thy glass,
Appear thou to mine eyes
As smooth, and nak'd, as she that was
The prime of paradise.

If blush thou must, then blush thou through
A lawn, that thou mayst look
As purest pearls, or pebbles do
When peeping through a brook.

As lilies shrin'd in crystal, so
Do thou to me appear;
Or damask roses when they grow
To sweet acquaintance there.


825. COUNSEL.

'Twas Caesar's saying: _Kings no less conquerors are
By their wise counsel, than they be by war. _


826. BAD PRINCES PILL THE PEOPLE.

Like those infernal deities which eat
The best of all the sacrificed meat;
And leave their servants but the smoke and sweat:
So many kings, and primates too there are,
Who claim the fat and fleshy for their share
And leave their subjects but the starved ware.


827. MOST WORDS, LESS WORKS.

In desp'rate cases all, or most, are known
Commanders, few for execution.


828. TO DIANEME.

I could but see thee yesterday
Stung by a fretful bee;
And I the javelin suck'd away,
And heal'd the wound in thee.
A thousand thorns and briars and stings,
I have in my poor breast;
Yet ne'er can see that salve which brings
My passions any rest.

As love shall help me, I admire
How thou canst sit, and smile
To see me bleed, and not desire
To staunch the blood the while.

If thou, compos'd of gentle mould,
Art so unkind to me;
What dismal stories will be told
Of those that cruel be?

_Admire_, wonder.


830. HIS LOSS.

All has been plundered from me but my wit:
Fortune herself can lay no claim to it.


831. DRAW AND DRINK.

Milk still your fountains and your springs: for why?
The more th'are drawn, the less they will grow dry.


833. TO OENONE.

Thou say'st Love's dart
Hath pricked thy heart;
And thou dost languish too:
If one poor prick
Can make thee sick,
Say, what would many do?


836. TO ELECTRA.