by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637)
Language: English
Still to be neat, still to be drest, As you were going to a feast; Still to be powder'd, still perfum'd: Lady, Lady, it is to be presum'd: Though art's hid causes are not found, All is not sweet, all is not sound. Give me a look, give me a face, That makes simplicity a grace; Robes loosely flowing, hair is free; Such sweet neglect more taketh me Than all th'adulteries of art; They strike mine eyes, but not my heart.
Composition:
- Set to music by Geoffrey Bush (1920 - 1998), "A Rebuke", 1952 [ baritone and piano ], from Three Songs of Ben Jonson, no. 3
Text Authorship:
- by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637)
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Süße Saumsal", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 81