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by George Etheredge, Sir (1635? - 1691)

Cease, anxious world
Language: English 
Cease, anxious world, your fruitless pain,
To grasp forbidden store;
Your studied labours shall prove vain,
Your Alchemy unblest,
While seeds of far more precious ore
Are ripen'd in my breast.

My breast, the forge of happier love,
Where my Lucinda lives;
And the rich stock does so improve,
As she her art employs,
That ev'ry smile and touch she gives
Turns all to golden joys.

Since then we can such treasures raise
Let's no expense refuse;
In love let's lay out all our days,
How can we e'er be poor
When ev'ry blessing that we use
Begets a thousand more?

Text Authorship:

  • by George Etheredge, Sir (1635? - 1691) [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 Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "Cease, anxious world", Z. 362, published 1684. [
     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: 18
Word count: 101

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–Emily Ezust, Founder

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