by Thomas Stanley (1625 - 1678)

Celinda, by what potent art
Language: English 
Celinda, by what potent art, 
   Or unresisted charm, 
Dost thou thine ear and frozen heart 
   Against my passion arm;

Or by what hidden influence, 
   Of powers in one combin'd, 
Dost thou rob Love of either sense, 
   Made deaf as well as blind. 

Sure thou as friends united hast
   Two distant deities,
And Scorn within thy heart hast plac'd
   And love within thine eyes.

Or those soft fetters of thy hair,
   (A bondage that disdains
All liberty,) doth guard thy ear
   Free from all other chains.

Then my complaint, how canst thou hear; 
   Or I this passion fly; 
Since thou imprison'd hast thine ear, 
   And not confin'd thine eye.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Thomas Stanley: his original lyrics, complete, in their collated readings of 1647, 1651, 1657 by Thomas Stanley, edited by Louise Imogen Guiney, J R Tutin, Hull 1907. Page 45.


Text Authorship:

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 Gamble (d. 1687), no title, published 1657 [ voice and bass continuo ], from Ayres and dialogues, no. 4, Confirmed with Ayres and dialogues (to be sung to the theorbo-lute or bass-viol) by John Gamble. Printed by W. Godbid for Humphry Mosley at the Princes-Arms In St. Paul's Church-yard, London 1657.
        Score: IMSLP [external link]  [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-11-29
Line count: 20
Word count: 108