| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Astrophel and Stella | | XL. As good to write, as for to lie and groan | | Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586) |
| | | AS good to write, as for to lie and groan. | |
| O STELLA dear! how much thy power hath wrought! | |
| Thou hast my mind, none of the basest, brought | |
| My still-kept course, while others sleep, to moan. | |
| Alas, if from the height of Virtue’s throne, | 5 |
| Thou canst vouchsafe the influence of a thought | |
| Upon a wretch, that long thy grace hath sought; | |
| Weigh then, how I, by thee, am overthrown! | |
| And then, think thus, “Although thy beauty be | |
| Made manifest by such a victory; | 10 |
| Yet noblest conquerors do wracks avoid.” | |
| Since then thou hast so far subduèd me | |
| That in my heart I offer still to thee. | |
| O do not let thy temple be destroyed! | | | | |
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