John Dryden (1631–1700). The Poems of John Dryden. 1913.
Songs from the PlaysSong betwixt a Shepherd and a Shepherdess, from The Duke of Guise
Shepherdess.Tell me Thirsis, tell your Anguish,
Why you Sigh, and why you Languish;
When the Nymph whom you Adore,
Grants the Blessing of Possessing,
What can Love and I do more?
Makes me faint away with Pleasure;
Strength of Cordial may destroy,
And the Blessing of possessing
Kills me with Excess of Joy.
But confess and I’le forgive you;
Men are false, and so are you;
Never Nature fram’d a Creature
To enjoy, and yet be true.
Still possessing, still desiring,
Fit for Love’s imperial Crown;
Ever shining, and refining,
Still the more ’tis melted down.
Still possessing, still desiring,
Fit for Love’s imperial Crown;
Ever shining, and refining,
Still the more ’tis melted down.