| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Restoration Verse. 1910. | | | | The Exequies | | By Thomas Stanley (1625–1678) |
| | | DRAW near, | |
| You lovers, that complain | |
| Of Fortune or Disdain, | |
| And to my ashes lend a tear. | |
| Melt the hard marble with your groans, | 5 |
| And soften the relentless stones, | |
| Whose cold embraces the sad subject hide | |
| Of all Love’s cruelties, and Beauty’s pride. | |
| |
| No verse, | |
| No epicedium, bring; | 10 |
| Nor peaceful requiem sing, | |
| To charm the terrors of my hearse; | |
| No profane numbers must flow near | |
| The sacred silence that dwells here. | |
| Vast griefs are dumb; softly, oh softly mourn! | 15 |
| Lest you disturb the peace attends my urn. | |
| |
| Yet strew | |
| Upon my dismal grave | |
| Such offerings as you have: | |
| Forsaken cypress, and sad yew; | 20 |
| For kinder flowers can take no birth | |
| Or growth from such unhappy earth. | |
| Weep only o’er my dust, and say: ‘Here lies | |
| To Love and Fate an equal sacrifice.’ | | | | |
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