by Lucius Flavius Philostratus (c170 - c248)
Translation by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637)
Drink to me only with thine eyes
Language: English  after the Greek (Ελληνικά)
Available translation(s): GER
Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss within the cup, And I'll not ask for wine. The thirst that from the soul doth rise Doth ask a drink divine; But might I of Jove's nectar sup, I would not change for thine. I sent thee late a rosy wreath, Not so much honouring thee, As giving it a hope that there It could not withered be. But thou thereon didst only breathe And send'st it back to me: Since when it grows, and smells, I swear Not of itself, but thee.
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Note: parodied in Archibald Stodart-Walker's Blink to me only with thine eyes.
Authorship:
- by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637), "Song to Celia" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Lucius Flavius Philostratus (c170 - c248), quotes from love letters 24, 30 and 31 [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernst Alexander 'Sas' Bunge (1924 - 1980), "Drink to me only ", published 1966, from Three poems of Ben Jonson, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Bruce Faith (b. 1926), "To Celia" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Drink to me only with thine eyes", 1921, published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Three songs from old English popular songs, no. 1, from The Arnold Book of Old Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844 - 1931), "Those eyes", op. 22 (Three Songs) no. 2, published 1885 [ voice and piano ], Boston : Arthur P. Schmidt and Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cyril Meir Scott (1879 - 1970), "Drink to me only with thine eyes", published 1913 [ voice and piano ], London: Elkin [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elizabeth Turner (flourished 18th century), "A song", published 1782? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , "Lied an Celia", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 101