by William Congreve (1670 - 1729)
Nature framed thee
Language: English
Nature framed thee sure for loving, Thus adorned with ev'ry grace; Venus' self thy form approving Looks with pleasure on thy face. Happy nymph who shall enclose thee Circled in her yielding arms! Should bright Helen once behold thee She'd surrender all her charms. Fairest nymph, all nymphs transcending That the Sun himself has seen; Were she for the crown contending Thou would'st own her beauty's queen. Gentle shepherd if my pleading can from thee the prize obtain, Love himself thy conquest aiding, Thou that matchless fair shall gain.
Text Authorship:
- by William Congreve (1670 - 1729) [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 John Eccles (1668 - 1735), "Nature framed thee", 1701, from the [a play]
incidental music The Judgment of Paris [
text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 89