| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Restoration Verse. 1910. | | | | Song betwixt a Shepherd and a Shepherdess | | By John Dryden (1631–1700) |
| | Shepherdess TELL 1 me, Thyrsis, tell your anguish, | |
| Why you sigh, and why you languish; | |
| When the nymph whom you adore | |
| Grants the blessing | |
| Of possessing, | 5 |
| What can love and I do more? | |
| |
Shepherd Think it’s love beyond all measure | |
| Makes me faint away with pleasure; | |
| Strength of cordial may destroy, | |
| And the blessing | 10 |
| Of possessing | |
| Kills me with excess of joy. | |
| |
Shepherdess Thyrsis, how can I believe you? | |
| But confess, and I’ll forgive you: | |
| Men are false, and so are you. | 15 |
| Never Nature | |
| Framed a creature | |
| To enjoy, and yet be true. | |
| |
Shepherd Mine’s a flame beyond expiring, | |
| Still possessing, still desiring, | 20 |
| Fit for Love’s imperial crown; | |
| Ever shining | |
| And refining | |
| Still the more ’tis melted down. | |
| |
Chorus Mine’s a flame beyond expiring, | 25 |
| Still possessing, still desiring, | |
| Fit for Love’s imperial crown; | |
| Ever shining | |
| And refining | |
| Still the more ’tis melted down. | 30 |
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