by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647 - 1680)
Translation

To wine and beauty
Language: English  after the English 
Vulcan provide me such a cup, 
As Nestor used of old;
Try all your art to trim it up, 
And damask it round with gold.

Carve me thereon a curling vine,
A lovely girl and boy:
Their limbs in am'rous folds intwine,
The type of future joy.

Make it so large, when fill'd with Sack,
Up to the swelling brim,
That toasts in that delicious lake
Like ships at sea may swim.

Bacchus and Venus my guardians are,
Let wine and beauty reign!
With wine we'll drive away all care,
And then to love again.

Note: this is a bowdlerized version of the original.


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Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):


Researcher for this page: David K. Smythe

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-29
Line count: 16
Word count: 95