William Congreve (1670-1729). Semele to Jupiter. William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. 1910. The Book of Restoration Verse

William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Restoration Verse. 1910.

Semele to Jupiter

By William Congreve (1670–1729)


WITH 1 my frailty, don’t upbraid me,
I am woman as you made me;
Causeless doubting, or despairing,
Rashly trusting, idly fearing:
If obtaining,	5
Still complaining;
If consenting,
Still repenting;
Most complying,
Then denying:	10
And to be followed, only flying.

With my frailty, don’t upbraid me:
I am woman as you made me.

Note 1. From Semele, an Opera, 1710. [back]