Favonius, the milder breath o’ th’ Spring,
When proudly bearing on his softer wing
Rich odours, which from the Panchean groves
He steals, as by the phoenix-pyre he moves,
Profusely doth his sweeter theft dispense
To the next rose’s blushing innocence;
But from the grateful flower, a richer scent
He [doth receive]1 than he unto it lent.
Then, laden with his odour s richest store,
He to thy breath hastes, to which these are poor;
Which, whilst [the amorous wind]2 to steal essays,
He like a wanton lover 'bout thee plays,
And sometimes cooling thy soft cheek doth lie,
And sometimes burning at thy flaming eye:
Drawn in at last by that breath we implore;
He [now]3 returns far sweeter than before,
And rich by being robb’d, in thee he finds
The burning sweets of pyres, the cool of winds.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Gamble: "back receives"
² Gamble: "he sportively"
³ Gamble: "back"

Confirmed with Thomas Stanley: his original lyrics, complete, in their collated readings of 1647, 1651, 1657 by Thomas Stanley, edited by Louise Imogen Guiney, J R Tutin, Hull 1907. Page 33.

Text Authorship:

• by Thomas Stanley (1625 - 1678), "The Breath" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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

• by John Gamble (d. 1687), no title, published 1657 [ voice and bass continuo ], from Ayres and dialogues, no. 6, Confirmed with Ayres and dialogues (to be sung to the theorbo-lute or bass-viol) by John Gamble. Printed by W. Godbid for Humphry Mosley at the Princes-Arms In St. Paul's Church-yard, London 1657.
      Score: IMSLP [external link]  [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-11-29
Line count: 18
Word count: 143