by Thomas Carew (1595? - 1639?)
[No title] See original
Language: English
Know, Celia, since thou art so proud, ’Twas I that gave thee thy renown; Thou hadst in the forgotten crowd Of common beauties lived unknown, Had not my verse exhal'd thy name, And with it imp’d the wings of Fame. That killing power is none of thine: I gave it to thy voice and eyes; Thy sweets, thy graces, all are mine; Thou art my star, shin’st in my skies; Then dart not from thy borrowed sphere Lightning on him that fixed thee there. Tempt me with such affrights no more, Lest what I made I uncreate; Let fools thy mystic forms adore, Ile know thee in thy mortal state: Wise poets, that wrapt Truth in tales, Knew her themselves through all her veils.
Note provided by Iain Sneddon: "imped" is a falconry term referring to the insertion of new feathers to repair the broken fethers of a hawk's wing.
Composition:
- Set to music by Henry Lawes (c1595 - 1662), no title, published 1655 [ voice and continuo ], from The Second Book of Ayres, and Dialogues, no. 20, Confirmed with The Second Book of Ayres and Dialogues, for One, Two, and Three, by Henry Lawes, John Playford, London 1655, Page 18.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Carew (1595? - 1639?), "Know, Celia"
See other settings of this text.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-10-21
Line count: 18
Word count: 127