George Granville

“ Not Jove, the King of Gods, like Amadis was blest.
Ori. While to Oriana Amadis was true,
Nor wand'ring Flames to distant Climates drew,
No Heav'n, but only Love, the pleas'd Oriana knew.
Amad. That Heav'n of Love, alas! is mine no more
Braving those Pow'rs by whom she falsly swore,
She to Constantius wou'd those Charms resign,
If Oaths cou'd bind, that shou'd be only mine.
Ori. With a feign'd Falshood you'd evade your Part
Of Guilt, and tax a tender faithful Heart:
While by such Ways you'd hide a conscious Flame,
The only Virtue you have left, is Shame. ”

“ Taught oaks to dance, and made the cedars move.⁠10
Nor Venus nor Diana will we name;
Mira is Venus and Diana too;
All that was feign’d of them apply’d to her is true:
Then sing, my Muse! let Mira be our theme.
As when the shepherds would a garland make,⁠15
They search with care the fragrant meadows round,
Plucking but here and there, and only take
The choicest flowers, with which some nymph is crown’d;
In framing Mira, so divinely fair
Nature has taken the same care;⁠20
All that is lovely, noble, good, we see,
All, beauteous Mira! all bound up in thee. ”

“ Sir Toby. Your Piquette Friend will be here instantly, Madam, according to your direction: He is already so charm'd with your Ladyship, that if you are not merciful in time, his heart will break, quite break; poor thing, he is just at the point of death.
Lad. Dor. 'Tis much for a Lady's Honour to have a Lover die.
Sir Toby. True, Madam; but then let those die you don't care for: Tho' it may be for your Glory to triumph over some, yet for your Pleasure you shou'd be kind to others—And this is the prettiest loving little Rogue—Adzooks 'twere a thousand Pities to let him come to any harm. ”

“ Thy Heart, fond Lover, does thy Threats belie,
Canst thou hurt her, for whom thou yet wou'dst die?
Nor durst she thus thy just Resentment brave,
But that she knows how much thy Soul's her Slave.
But see! Aurora rising with the Sun
Dissolves my Charm, and frees th' enchanted Moon,
My Spells no longer bind at Sight of Day,
And young Endymion calls his Love away.
Love's the Reward of all, on Earth, in Heav'n,
And for a Plague, to me alone was giv'n.
Evils we cannot shun we must endure,
Death and a broken Heart's a ready Cure. ”

“ Mira herself, touch’d with the moving song,
Would needs be told to whom those plaints belong;
My tim’rous tongue, not daring to confess,
Trembling to name, would fain have had her guess:
Impatient of excuse she urges still,15
Persists in her demand; she must, she will:
If silent, I am threaten’d with her hate;
If I obey—ah! what may be my fate?
Uncertain to conceal or to unfold,
She smiles—the goddess smiles!—and I grow bold.20
My vows to Mira all were meant to thee,
The praise, the love, the matchless constancy. ”

“ His dart dipt in Wine, Love wounds beyond curing,
And the Liquor like Oyl, makes the Flame more enduring.
By Cordials of Wine, Love is kept from expiring,
And our Mirth is enlivened, by Love and Desiring:
Relieving each other, the Pleasure is lasting,
And we never are cloy'd, yet are ever a tasting.
Then Phillis, begin; let our Raptures abound,
And a Kiss, and a Glass be still going round:
Our Joyes are Immortal, while thus we remove,
From Love to the Bottle, from the Bottle to Love.
Sir Toby takes Angelica about the Neck and Kisses her. ”

“ If then we neglect the approaching Opportunity upon the next Election, we betray all the Ties of Nature, Religion and Allegiance; if we lose it we are lost with it. If a Majority of such Men should again prevail, Farewel to all that is dear to the Lovers of Liberty and Britain.
That Authority which (we know from the general Sense of the Nation) can be continued in the same Hands, by no other Means but Violence and Corruption; must be maintained as it is got. ”

“ The conscious husband, whom like symptoms seize,
Charges on her the guilt of their disease,
Affecting fury, acts a madman’s part;
He ’ll rip the fatal secret from her heart!⁠40
Bids her confess, calls her ten thousand names;
In vain she kneels, she weeps, protests, exclaims:
Scarce with her life she ’scapes, expos’d to shame,
In body tortur’d, murder’d in her fame,
Rots with a vile adulteress’s name;⁠45
Abandon’d by her friends, without defence,
And happy only in her innocence.
Such is the vengeance the just gods provide
For those who barter liberty for pride ”

“ Enter Lucinda and Bellamour.
Lucind. Now the Angry Fit is over, you are come to beg Pardon; this is the Trick of you Men: You Quarrel on purpose to try, whether our Fondness is great enough, to excuse the Insolencies of your Passion, and then think to Lord it as you please.
Bell. You mistake, Madam; I come not to beg Pardon, but to take my leave: Yes, ungrateful Woman, but one last look, and then we part, never to behold each ether more; let cringing Fools and base born Slaves, continue their Officiousness to thole who neglect 'em: A brave Man scorns it. ”

“ This Moment, now, the Murth'rer's in our Pow'r.
Leave Love in Cottages and Cells to reign,
With Nymphs obscure, and with the lowly Swain.
Who waste their Days and Strength in such short Joys,
Are Fools, that barter precious Life for Toys.
Arcab. They're Fools who preach we waste our Days and Strength;
What is a Life, whose only Charm is Length?
Give me a Life that's short, and wing'd with Joy,
A Life of Love, whose Minutes never cloy:
What is an Age in dull Renown drudg'd o'er?
One little single Hour of Love is more.
An Attendant enters hastily, and whispers Arcalaus. ”

“ Yes, perjur'd Bellamour, it is Angelica, the Credulous Angelica; whom you so basely, and so ungratefully have betray'd: And who in a disguise; unworthy her Quality, or the modesty of her Sex, has been a Witness to all your Perjuries. 'Tis that Angelica whose heart ye came hither to pierce. Behold that heart, and with a Resolution worthy the rest of your Treacheries, Pierce, Perfidious Man, Pierce it boldly: see 'tis unguarded for the blow. Alas! but a little longer, and it had broke with the weight of the injuries that opprest it. Why stand you mute? Where is your Courage fled? ”

“ All other merit but each other’s love.
Welcome, bright Princess! to Great Britain’s shore,
As Berecynthia to high heav’n, who bore⁠50
That shining race of goddesses and gods
That fill’d the skies, and rul’d the bless’d abodes:
From thee my Muse expects as noble themes,
Another Mars and Jove, another James:
Our suture hopes all from thy womb arise,⁠55
Our present joy and safety from your eyes;
Those charming eyes! which shine to reconcile
To harmony and peace our stubborn Isle. ”

“ Seeing, we love, and hearing, we grow wise:
So Rome, for Wisdom as for Conquest fam'd,
Improv'd with Arts whom she by Arms had tam'd.
Above the Clouds is plac'd this glorious Light,
Nothing lies hid from her enquiring Sight;
Athens and Rome for Arts restor'd rejoice,
Their Language takes new Musick from her Voice.
Learning and Love in the same Seat we find,
So bright her Form, and so adorn'd's her Mind. ”

“ On things immortal all Attempts are vain,
Tyrant Disease, 'tis loss of Time and Pain;
Glut thy wild Rage, and load thee with rich Prize,
Torn from her Cheeks, her fragrant Lips and Eyes,
As much Vermillion, as much Lustre take,
As might a Hellen or a Venus make;
Like Thetis, she shall frustrate thy vain Rape,
And in variety of Charms escape.
The twinkling Stars drop numberless each Night,
Yet shines the radiant Firmament as bright;
So from the Ocean should we Rivers drain,
Still wou'd enough to drown the World remain. ”

“ A happier man possess’d whom I adore:
O! I should ne’er have seen, or seen before.
Tell, for you know the burthen of my heart,⁠95
Its killing anguish, and its secret smart.
What shall I do? shall I in silence bear?
Destroy myself, or kill the ravisher?
Die, wretched lover! die: but, O! beware,
Hurt not the man who is belov’d by her:⁠100
Wait for a better hour, and trust thy fate:
Thou seek’st her love, beget not then her hate. ”

“ Ha, ha, ha, why Frederick—ha, ha, ha, what! Draw upon a Woman—upon your Mistress too—for shame—you a Man, ha ha.
Fred. Hey Day! Upon a Woman! Upon my Mistress! what the Devil is all this!
Cons. Love they say is blind, have Lovers too no Eyes? Is it possible, that you cannot discover Constantia thro' any Disguise?
Fred. Constantia!
Cons. Yes, dull Lover; where is now the Sympathy and the instinct, by which you Men are always so ready to find us out? one of us is Constantia. ”

“ Die, die, Constantius, die.
Honour and Love, ye Tyrants, I obey,
Where-e'er your cruel Call directs my Way,
To Shame, to Chains, or to a certain Grave
Lead on, unpitying Guides, behold your Slave.
Ori. Love's an ignoble Joy, below your Care,
Glory shall make amends with Fame in War;
Honour's the noblest Chace, pursue that Game,
And recompence the Loss of Love with Fame:
If still against such Aids your Love prevails,
Yet Absence is a Cure that seldom fails. ”

“ PROM. From Jupiter spring all our woes;
Thetis is Jove’s, who once was thine:
’T is vain, O Peleus! to oppose
Thy torturer and mine.
Contented with despair,⁠15
Resign the fair,
Resign, resign!
Or, wretched Man! prepare
For change of torments great as mine.
PEL. In change of torment would be ease;⁠20
Could you divine what lovers bear,
Ev’n you, Prometheus! would confess
There is no vulture like despair.
PROM. Cease, cruel Vulture! to devour.
PEL. Cease, cruel Thetis! to disdain.⁠25
THETIS entering, they repeat together,
Cease, cruel Vulture! ”

“ Faith none at all: Our Inclinations are our Masters, and we wander but as our Stars lead us; if they are false Lights, and shew us out of the way, let them answer for't. It was my fortune to see Angelica, and to love her. ”

“ Keep thy bright Theme within thy steady Sight, ⁠
The Clouds shall fly before the dazling Light,
And everlasting Day direct thy lofty Flight:
Thou who hast never yet put on Disguise
To flatter Folly, or descend to Vice,
Let no vain Fear thy gen'rous Ardour tame,
But stand erect, and sound as loud as Fame.
As when our Eye some Prospect would pursue,
Descending from a Hill, looks round to view,
Passes o’er Lawns and Meadows, till it gains
Some beauteous Spot, and fixing there remains:
With equal Rapture my transported Muse
Flies other Objects, this bright Theme to chuse. ”

“ Thus, if the splendour of the French opera, and the harmony of the Italian, were so skilfully interwoven with the charms of poetry, upon a regular dramatic bottom, as to introduce as well as delight, to improve the mind, as well as ravish the sense, there can be no doubt but such an addition would entitle our English opera to the preference of all others. The third part of the encouragement, of which we have been so liberal to foreigners for a concert of music only, miscalled an opera, would more than effect it. ”

“ What froward Fools are Men? Still they perplex us with ungrounded Jealousies, and affront us with vile Aspersions; yet know us at the same time, to be their Judges, and that by our Sentence 'tis, they Live or Die. No, Bellamour, after your Rude Behaviour to Day, never must you more expect the least appearance of Kindness from me; there is no trusting for a Husband, a Man who makes so unruly a Lover. ”