William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Elizabethan Verse. 1907. To Dianeme By Robert Herrick (1591–1674)
SWEET, 1 be not proud of those two eyes Which starlike sparkle in their skies; Nor be you proud that you can see All hearts your captives, yours yet free; Be you not proud of that rich hair 5 Which wantons with the love-sick air; Whenas that ruby which you wear, Sunk from the tip of your soft ear, Will last to be a precious stone When all your world of beauty’s gone. 10
Note 1. Pretty twinkling starry eyes. Sonnet 11, in The Passionate Shepherd, 1604. Two stanzas have been omitted from the text, which the editor regrets, and they are inserted here: Sure ye were not made at first, For such mischief to be curst: As to kill affection’s care, That doth only truth declare. Where worth’s wonders never wither, Love and Beauty live together. Blessed eyes then give your blessing, That in passion’s best expressing: Love that only lives to grace ye, May not suffer pride deface ye. But in gentle thought’s directions, Show the praise of your perfections.
