by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620)
Thou ioy'st, fond boy, to be by many loued
Language: English
Thou ioy'st, fond boy, to be by many loued : To haue thy beauty of most dames approued ; For this dost thou thy natiue worth disguise And play'st the Sycophant t' obserue their eyes ; Thy glass thou councel'st more t'adorne thy skin, That first should schoole thee to be fayre within. 'Tis childish to be caught with Pearle, or Amber, And woman-like too much to cloy the chamber ; Youths should the Field affect, heate their rough Steedes, Their hardned nerues to fit for better deedes. Is 't not more ioy strong Holds to force with swords Than womens weaknesse take with lookes or words? Men that doe noble things all purchase glory : One man for one braue Act haue prou'd a story : But if that one tenne thousand Dames o'ercame, Who would record it, if not to his shame? 'Tis farre more conquest with one to liue true Then euery houre to triumph Lord of new.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620) [author's text not yet checked 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 Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620), "Thou ioy'st, fond boy, to be by many loued", published 1617, from the collection The Third and Fourth Booke of Ayres - The Fourth Booke, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-11-16
Line count: 18
Word count: 155