| Samuel Waddington, comp. The Sonnets of Europe. 1888. | | | | To Leander | | By Mateo Vázquez de Leca (1542?–1591) |
| | Translated by Sir John Bowring
YOU were a foolish, though an amorous fellow, | |
| Leander! had you for a boat but waited, | |
| Death and the devil might have both been cheated, | |
| And history have been spared the pains to tell how | |
| A silly youth was drowned.—You might have gone | 5 |
| Dry-footed to your mistress—and have kissed her | |
| In nuptial joy—but no!—for driven on | |
| By an impatient passion’s gust—you miss’d her, | |
| And died.—A pity that!—in this our Seville, | |
| You’ve not a notion how we cheat the devil; | 10 |
| And run no risk of colds, or disappointments; | |
| True, love may graze us,—but the drowning plan | |
| Is a mistake, which neither oil nor ointments, | |
| Nor wit, nor wisdom, can get over, man. | | | | |
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