| John Dryden (1631–1700). The Poems of John Dryden. 1913. | | | | Songs from the Plays | | “Can Life be a Blessing,” from Troilus and Cressida |
| | 1 CAN Life be a Blessing, | |
| Or worth the possessing, | |
| Can Life be a blessing if Love were away? | |
| Ah no! though our Love all Night keep us waking, | |
| And though he torment us with Cares all the Day, | 5 |
| Yet he sweetens he sweetens our Pains in the taking, | |
| There’s an Hour at the last, there’s an Hour to repay. | |
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2 In ev’ry possessing, | |
| The ravishing Blessing, | |
| In ev’ry possessing the Fruit of our Pain, | 10 |
| Poor Lovers forget long Ages of Anguish, | |
| What e’re they have suffer’d and done to obtain; | |
| ’Tis a Pleasure, a Pleasure to sigh and to languish, | |
| When we hope, when we hope to be happy again. | | | | |
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