| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Cœlia | | Sonnet XVIII. “I cannot conquer and be conquerèd!” | | William Percy (1575–1648) |
| | | “I CANNOT conquer and be conquerèd!” | |
| Then whole myself I yield unto thy favour! | |
| Behold my thoughts float in an ocean, battered; | |
| To be cast off, or wafted to thine harbour! | |
| If of the fame, thou wilt then take acceptance, | 5 |
| Stretch out thy fairest hand, as flag of peace! | |
| If not, no longer keep us in attendance; | |
| But all at once thy fiery shafts release! | |
| If thus I die, an honest cause of love | |
| Will of my fates the rigour mitigate; | 10 |
| Those gracious ey’n, which will a Tartar move, | |
| Will prove my case the less unfortunate. | |
| Although my friends may rue my chance for aye, | |
| It will be said, “He died for CŒLIA!” | | | | |
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