Gnomic Verses
i Great things are done when men and mountains meet;
This is not done by jostling in the street.ii To God If you have form'd a circle to go into,
Go into it yourself, and see how you would do.iii They said this mystery never shall cease:
The priest promotes war, and the soldier peace.iv An Answer to the Parson Why of the sheep do you not learn peace?
Because I don't want you to shear my fleece.v Lacedaemonian Instruction Come hither, my boy, tell me what thou seest there.
A fool tangled in a religious snare.vi Nail his neck to the cross: nail it with a nail.
Nail his neck to the cross: ye all have power over his tail.
vii Love to faults is always blind;
Always is to joy inclin'd,
Lawless, wing'd and unconfin'd,
And breaks all chains from every mind.Deceit to secrecy confin'd,
Lawful, cautious and refin'd;
To anything but interest blind,
And forges fetters for the mind.
viii There souls of men are bought and sold,
And milk-fed Infancy for gold;
And Youth to slaughter-houses led,
And Beauty, for a bit of bread.
I ask'd the soft Snow with me to play:
She play'd and she melted in all her prime;
And the Winter call'd it a dreadful crime.
The ruddy limbs and flaming hair,
But Desire gratified
Plants fruits of life and beauty there.
When two Virginities meet together:
The king and the priest must be tied in a tether
Before two Virgins can meet together.
The tears of repentance you'll certainly wipe;
But if once you let the ripe moment go,
You can never wipe off the tears of woe.
Aught but the love that on me grew;
And now I'm cover'd o'er and o'er,
And wish that I had been a whore.
O! I cannot, cannot find
The undaunted courage of a virgin mind;
For early I in love was crost,
Before my
flower of love was lost.
The sickle in the fruitful field:
The sword he sung a song of death,
But could not make the sickle yield.
Nor seest the net that is spread beneath.
Why dost thou not fly among the corn fields?
They cannot spread nets where a harvest yields.
But Pity stands before the door.
1 Eternity He who bends to himself a Joy
Doth the wingèd life destroy;
But he who kisses the Joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity's sunrise.2 The look of love alarms,
Because it's fill'd with fire;
But the look of soft deceit
Shall win the lover's hire.3 Soft deceit and idleness,
These are Beauty's sweetest dress.4 The Question answered What is it men in women do require?
The lineaments of gratified desire.
What is it women do in men require?
The lineaments of gratified desire.
| Previous chapter | Back | Home | Email this | Search | Discuss | Bookmark | Next chapter/page |