Aphra Behn

“ Your youth nor Beauty can inspire,
His frozen Heart with Love's perswasive fire;
Alas, you cannot warm him to one soft desire;
Oh mighty Death that art above,
The pow'r of Beauty or of Love!
Thus sullen with my Fate sometimes I grew,
And then a fit of softness wou'd ensue,
Then weep, and on my Knees implore my Fair,
And speak as if Aminta present were.
The QUESTION.
Say, my fair Charmer, must I fall,
A Victim to your Cruelty?
And must I suffer as a Criminal?
Is it to Love offence enough to dye?
Is this the recompence at last,
Of all the restless hours I've past? ”

“ I found myself in Love without any sort of inquietude; when I was Melancholy, I went to visit Bellinda, and she with her Gayety and Wit would inspire me with good Humour; If I were over-prest with good Company, and too much Conversation and Noise, I would visit Bellimante, who by a certain softness in her discourse, and a natural Languishment in her Eyes and Manners, charmed and calmed me to a reposed tranquillity; so that to make me fortunate in Love, I could not have fixed my desires better: I had too little Love to be wretched, and enough to make my happiness and Pleasure. ”

“ Nay, tho' you lov'd me, if you had no Faith in me, I should languish, and love in as much Pain, as if you scorn'd; and at the same time believ'd I dy'd for you: For surely, Iris, 'tis a greater Pleasure to please than to be pleas'd; and the glorious Power of Giving is infinitely a greater Satisfaction, than that of Receiving: there is so Great and God-like a Quality in it. I would have your Belief therefore equal to my Passion, extreme; as indeed all Love should be, or it cannot bear that Divine Name: it can pass but for an indifferent Affection. ”

“ And all the World has agreed to say so much of the Virtues and Wonders of this great Monarch, that they have left me nothing new to say; tho' indeed he every Day gives us new Themes of his growing Greatness, and we see nothing that equals him in our Age. Oh! how happy are we to obey his Laws; for he is the greatest of Kings, and the best of Men!
You will be very unjust, Damon, if you do not confess I have acquitted my self like a Maid of Honour, of all the Obligations I owe you, upon the account of the Discretion I lost to you. ”

“ And this dear Cypher is to let you see,
Love unites Names as well as Hearts.
Without this charming Union, our Souls could not communicate those invisible Sweetnesses, which compleat the Felicity of Lovers, and which the most tender and passionate Expressions are too feeble to make us comprehend. But, my adorable Iris, I am contented with the vast Pleasure I feel in loving well, without the care of expressing it well; if you will imagine my Pleasure, without expressing it: For I confess, 'twould be no Joy to me to adore you, if you did not perfectly believe I did adore you. ”

“ You have our Damon's Wit with all his agreeable Modesty: Two Vertues that rarely shine together: And the last makes You conceal the noble Sallies of the first, with that Industry and Care, You wou'd an Amour: And You wou'd no more boast of either of these, than of your undoubted Bravery.
You are (like our Lover too) so discreet, that the bashful Maid may, without Fear or Blushing, venture the soft Confession of the Soul with You; reposing the dear Secret in Yours, with more Safety than with her own Thoughts. You have all the Sweetness of Youth, with the Sobriety and Prudence of Age. ”

“ Who but your Lovers, fair Iris! doubts but you are the most complaisant Person in the World; and that with so much Sweetness you oblige all, that you command in yielding: And as you gain the Heart of both Sexes, with the Affability of your noble Temper; so all are proud and vain of obliging you. And, Iris, you may live assur'd, that your Empire is eternally established by your Beauty and your Goodness: Your Power is confirm'd, and you grow in Strength every Minute: Your Goodness gets you Friends, and your Beauty Lovers. ”

“ Since Iris is no longer there:
Beauty scarce claims my bare Respect,
Since in the Throng I find not her.
Ah then! how vain it were to dress, and show;
Since all I wish to please, is absent now!
'Tis with these Thoughts, Damon, that your Mind ought to be employ'd, during your time of Dressing. And you are too knowing in Love, to be ignorant,
That when a Lover ceases to be blest
With the dear Object he desires,
Ah! how indifferent are the rest!
How soon their Conversation tires!
Tho' they a thousand Arts to please invent,
Their Charms are dull, their Wit impertinent. ”

“ I shun all Conversation, as far as Civility will allow, and find no Satisfaction like being alone, where my Soul may, without interruption, converse with Damon. I sigh, and sometimes you will see my Cheeks wet with Tears, that insensibly glide down at a thousand Thoughts that present themselves soft and afflicting. I partake of all your Inquietude. On other things I think with indifference, if ever my Thoughts do stray from the more agreeable Object. I find, however, a little Sweetness in this Thought, that, during my Absence, your Heart thinks of me, when mine sighs for you. ”

“ Where Love must have no Part.
A Flame like this you cannot fear,
Where Glory claims an equal Share.
Such a Passion, Damon, can never make you quit any Part of your Duty to your Prince. And the Monarch you serve is so gallant a Master, that the Inclination you have to his Person obliges you to serve him, as much as your Duty; for Damon's loyal Soul loves the Man, and adores the Monarch: for he is certainly all that compels both, by a charming Force and Goodness, from all Mankind.
The KING.
Darling of Mars! ”

“ Beauties so perfect ne'er were seen:
O ye mistaken Fair! Dress ye by Iris' Mein.
The DISCRETION of IRIS.
But, O Iris! the Beauties of the Body are imperfect, if the Beauties of the Soul do not advance themselves to an equal Height. But, O Iris! what Mortal is there so damn'd to Malice, that does not, with Adoration, confess, that you, O charming Maid, have an equal Portion of all the Braveries and Virtues of the Mind? And who is it, that confesses your Beauty, that does not at the same time acknowledge and bow to your Wisdom? The whole World admires both in you ”

“ But to let you see that I am a Maid of Honour, and value my Word, I will acquit my self of this Obligation I have to you, and send you a Watch of my fashion; perhaps you never saw any so good. It is not one of those that have always something to be mended in it: but one that is without fault, very just and good, and will remain so as long as you continue to love me: But Damon, know, the very Minute you cease to do so, the String will break, and it will go no more. ”

“ And why should I be angry if all the Town loved him, since he loved none but Iris? Oh foolish Pleasure! How little Sense goes to the making of such a Happiness! And how little Love must he have for one particular Person, who would wish to inspire it into all the World, and yet himself pretend to be insensible! But this, Damon, is rather what is but too much practiced by your Sex, than any Guilt I charge on you: tho' Vanity be an Ingredient that Nature very seldom omits in the Composition of either Sex ”

“ And I have often, on these occasions, said to my self,
The Reserve.
Tho' Damon every Virtue have,
With all that pleases in his Form,
That can adorn the Just and Brave,
That can the coldest Bosom warm;
Tho' Wit and Honour there abound,
Yet the Pursuer's ne'er pursu'd,
And when my Weakness he has found,
His Love will sink to Gratitude:
While on the asking part he lives,
'Tis she th' Obliger is who gives.
And he that at one Throw the Stake has won
Gives over play, since all the Stock is gone.
And what dull Gamester ventures certain Store
With Losers who can set no more? ”

“ You may believe I did not easily, nor suddenly, bring my Heart to this Condescension; but I lov'd, and all things in Damon were capable of making me resolve so to do. I could not think it a Crime, where every Grace, and every Virtue justified my Choice: And when once one is assured of this, we find not much difficulty in owning that Passion which will so well commend one's Judgment; and there is no Obstacle that Love does not surmount. I confess'd my Weakness a thousand ways, before I told it you; and I remember all those things with Pleasure, but yet I remember 'em also with Shame. ”

“ For oftentimes Scandal makes that pass for an Effect of Love, which is purely that of Complaisance.
Never had any body more Tenderness for their Friends, than Iris: Their Presence gives her Joy, their Absence Trouble; and when she cannot see them, she finds no Pleasure like speaking of them obligingly. Friendship reigns in your Heart, and Sincerity on your Tongue. Your Friendship is so strong, so constant, and so tender, that it charms, pleases, and satisfies all, that are not your Adorers. Damon therefore is excusable, if he be not contented with your noble Friendship alone ”

“ For whom the Muses mourn, the Love-sick Maids
Are Languishing in Melancholly Shades.
The Cupids flag their Wings, their Bows untie,
And useless Quivers hang neglected by,
And scatter'd Arrows all around 'em lye.
By murmuring Brooks the careless Deities are laid,
Weeping their rifled power now Noble Strephon's Dead.
Ah Sacred Wadham! should'st thou never own
But this delight of all Mankind and thine;
For Ages past of Dulness, this alone,
This Charming Hero would Attone.
And make thee Glorious to succeeding time;
But thou like Natures self disdain'st to be,
Stinted to Singularity. ”

“ I am satisfy'd you know it too well; and have too great a Veneration for your glorious Master, to neglect any part of that for even Love it self. And I very well know how much you love to be eternally near his illustrious Person; and that you scarce prefer your Mistress before him, in point of Love: In all things else, I give him leave to take place of Iris in the noble Heart of Damon.
I am satisfy'd you pass your time well now at Windsor, for you adore that Place; and 'tis not, indeed, without great reason: for 'tis most certainly now render'd the most glorious Palace in the Christian World. ”

“ That if his Mistress present be,
It may be thought by all the Fair,
Each in his Heart does claim a Share,
And all are more belov'd than she.
But when with the dear Maid apart,
Then at her Feet the Lover lies;
Opens his Soul, shews all his Heart,
While Joy is dancing in his Eyes.
Then all that Honour may, or take, or give,
They both distribute, both receive.
A Looker-on wou'd spoil a Lover's Joy;
For Love's a Game where only two can play.
And 'tis the hardest of Love's Mysteries,
To feign Love where it is not, hide it where it is. ”

“ Our Loves are not of that sort that can finish, or have an end; but such a Passion, so perfect, and so constant, that it will be a Precedent for future Ages, to love perfectly; and when they would express an extreme Passion, they will say, They lov'd, as Damon did the charming Iris. And he that knows the Glory of constant Love, will despise those fading Passions, those little Amusements, that serve for a Day. What Pleasure or Dependance can one have in a Love of that sort? ”

“ This Lover's Watch, tho' it was made in France,
By the fam'd Bonnecorse; yet you advance
The Value of its curious Work so far,
That as it shin'd there like a glitt'ring Star,
Yet here a Constellation it appears;
And in Love's Orb, with more Applause, it wears
Astrea's Name. Your Prose so delicate,
Your Verse so smooth and sweet, that they create
A lovely Wonder in each Lover's Mind:
The envious Critick dares not be unkind.
La Môntre cannot err, 'tis set so well;
The Rules for Lovers Hours are like a Spell
To charm a Mistress with: The God of Love
Is highly pleas'd ”

“ And when you smile, Oh! what Imagination can conceive how sweet it is, that has not seen you smiling? I cannot describe what I so admire; and 'tis in vain to those who have not seen Iris.
Oh Iris! boast that one peculiar Charm,
That has so many Conquests made;
[Pg 102] So innocent, yet capable of Harm;
So just it self, yet has so oft betray'd:
Where a thousand Graces dwell,
And wanton round in ev'ry Smile.
A thousand Loves do listen when you speak,
And catch each Accent as it flies:
Rich flowing Wit, whene'er you Silence break,
Flows from your Tongue, and sparkles in your Eyes. ”

“ Loyalty being that standard Vertue of the Soul which finds its price all over the World; nor is it in these our glorious days, who bears that Rate now, but who has always done so through Fate and Fortune; dyed in the true Grain, not to be varied with every glittering Sun-shine, nor lost in every falling Shower, but stanch to its first beautiful colour, endures all weathers. ”

“ Coquet all o'er, and every part,
Yet wanting Beauty, even of Art;
Herds with the ugly, and the old;
And plays the Critick on the rest:
Of Men, the bashful, and the bold,
Either, and all, by turns, likes best:
Even now, tho' Youth be langisht, she
Sets up for Love and Gallantry.
This sort of Creature, Damon, is very dangerous; not that I fear you will squander away a Heart upon her, but your Hours; for in spight of you, she'll detain you with a thousand Impertinencies, and eternal Tattle. She passes for a judging Wit; and there is nothing so troublesome as such a Pretender. ”

“ Since then, in all the Excellencies of Mind and Body (where no one Grace is wanting) you so resemble the All-perfect Damon, suffer me to dedicate this Watch to You. It brings You nothing but Rules for Love; delicate as Your Thoughts, and innocent as Your Conversation. And possibly, 'tis the only Vertue of the Mind, You are not perfectly Master of; the only noble Mystery of the Soul, You have not yet studied. And though they are Rules for every Hour, You will find, they will neither rob Heaven, nor Your Friends of ther Due; those so valuable Devoirs of Your Life; They will teach You Love ”