by Thomas Stanley (1625 - 1678)
Foolish Lover, go and seek
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Language: English
Foolish Lover, go and seek For the damask of the rose, And the lilies white dispose To adorn thy mistress cheek: Steal some star out of the sky, Rob the phoenix, and the east Of her wealthy sweets divest, To enrich her breath or eye! We thy borrow'd pride despise: For this wine to which we are Votaries, is richer far Than her cheek, or breath, or eyes. And should that coy fair one view These diviner beauties, she In this flame would rival thee, And be taught to love thee too. Come, then, break thy wanton chain, That when this brisk wine hath spread On thy paler cheek a red, Thou, like us, may'st Love disdain. Love, thy power must yield to wine! And whilst thus ourselves we arm, Boldly we defy thy charm: For these flames extinguish thine.
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View text with all available footnotesConfirmed 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 28.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Stanley (1625 - 1678), "Song" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
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Researcher for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-11-30
Line count: 24
Word count: 144