C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
The Honest Lover
By Sir John Suckling (1609–1642)
H
If in all thy love there ever
Was one wavering thought, if thy flame
Were not still even, still the same,—
Know this:
Thou lov’st amiss,
And, to love true,
Thou must begin again, and love anew.
Thou dost not quake, and art struck dumb,
And in striving this to cover,
Dost not speak thy words twice over,—
Know this:
Thou lov’st amiss,
And, to love true,
Thou must begin again, and love anew.
And all defects for graces take,
Persuad’st thyself that jests are broken
When she hath little or nothing spoken,—
Know this:
Thou lov’st amiss,
And, to love true,
Thou must begin again, and love anew.
Thou lett’st not men ask and ask again;
And when thou answer’st, if it be
To what was asked thee properly,—
Know this:
Thou lov’st amiss,
And, to love true,
Thou must begin again, and love anew.
Thou cutt’st not fingers ’stead of meat,
And, with much gazing on her face
Dost not rise hungry from the place,—
Know this:
Thou lov’st amiss,
And, to love true,
Thou must begin again, and love anew.
That thou art no perfect lover,
And, desiring to love true,
Thou dost begin to love anew,—
Know this:
Thou lov’st amiss,
And, to love true,
Thou must begin again, and love anew.