| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Restoration Verse. 1910. | | | | To a Lady, Asking How Long He Would Love Her | | By Sir George Etherege (1635?–1691) |
| | | IT is not, Celia, in our power | |
| To say how long our love will last; | |
| It may be we within this hour | |
| May lose those joys we now do taste: | |
| The blessèd, that immortal be, | 5 |
| From change in love are only free. | |
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| Then since we mortal lovers are, | |
| Ask not how long our love may last; | |
| But while it does, let us take care | |
| Each minute be with pleasure pass’d: | 10 |
| Were it not madness to deny | |
| To live because we’re sure to die? | | | | |
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