"Ah fading joy, how quickly art thou past!," from The Indian Emperor. Songs from the Plays. John Dryden. 1913. The Poems of John Dryden

John Dryden (1631–1700). The Poems of John Dryden. 1913.

Songs from the Plays

“Ah fading joy, how quickly art thou past!,” from The Indian Emperor


AH fading joy, how quickly art thou past!
Yet we thy ruine haste:
As if the Cares of Humane Life were few,
We seek out new,
And follow Fate that does 1 too fast pursue.	5

See how on ev’ry Bough the Birds express
In their sweet notes their happiness.
They all enjoy and nothing spare;
But on their Mother Nature lay their care:
Why then should Man, the Lord of all below,	10
Such troubles chuse to know,
As none of all his Subjects undergo?

Hark, hark, the Waters fall, fall, fall
And with a Murmuring sound
Dash, dash, upon the ground,	15
To gentle slumbers call.

Note 1. that does] Some editors give which would. [back]