| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Restoration Verse. 1910. | | | | Song: ‘Ye happy swains whose hearts are free’ | | By Sir George Etherege (1635?–1691) |
| | | YE happy swains whose hearts are free | |
| From Love’s imperial chain, | |
| Take warning and be taught by me | |
| T’ avoid th’ enchanting pain; | |
| Fatal the wolves to trembling flocks, | 5 |
| Fierce winds to blossoms prove, | |
| To careless seamen, hidden rocks, | |
| To human quiet, love. | |
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| Fly the fair sex, if bliss you prize; | |
| The snake’s beneath the flower: | 10 |
| Whoever gazed on beauteous eyes, | |
| That tasted quiet more? | |
| How faithless is the lovers’ joy! | |
| How constant is their care | |
| The kind with falsehood to destroy, | 15 |
| The cruel, with despair! | | | | |
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