| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | IV. Love Vindicating Its Rejecter | | By Aubrey Thomas de Vere (1814–1902) |
| | (Entitled by the Author, “Troilus and Cressida”)
HAD I been worthy of the love you gave, | |
| That love withdrawn had left me sad, but strong: | |
| My heart had been as silent as my tongue; | |
| My bed had been unfevered as my grave: | |
| I had not striven for what I could not save: | 5 |
| Back, back to heaven my great hopes I had flung: | |
| To have much suffered, having done no wrong, | |
| Had seemed to me that noble part the brave | |
| Account it ever. What this hour I am | |
| Affirms the unworthiness that in me lurked: | 10 |
| Some sapping poison through my substance worked, | |
| Some sin not trivial, though it lacked a name, | |
| Which ratifies the deed that you have done | |
| With plain approval. Other plea seek none. | | | | |
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