Robert Herrick

"Whom should I fear to write to if I can     Stand before you, my learn'd diocesan?     And never show blood-guiltiness or fear     To see my li"

"Who read'st this book that I have writ,     And can'st not mend but carp at it;     By all the Muses! thou shalt be     Anathema to it and me."

"If thou ask me, dear, wherefore     I do write of thee no more,     I must answer, sweet, thy part     Less is here than in my heart."

"Y'ave laughed enough, sweet, vary now your text!     And laugh no more; or laugh, and lie down next."

"Leech boasts, he has a pill, that can alone     With speed give sick men their salvation:     'Tis strange, his father long time has been ill,"

"One silent night of late, When every creature rested, Came one unto my gate, And knocking, me molested. Who's that, said I, beats there, And tro"

"Here lies a virgin, and as sweet     As e'er was wrapt in winding sheet.     Her name if next you would have known,     The marble speaks it, M"

"To work a wonder, God would have her shown     At once a bud and yet a rose full-blown."

"No wrath of men, or rage of seas, Can shake a just man's purposes; No threats of tyrants, or the grim Visage of them can alter him; But what he do"

"Give way, and be ye ravish'd by the sun,     And hang the head whenas the act is done,     Spread as he spreads, wax less as he does wane;"

"TO THE HONOURED MR ENDYMION PORTER, GROOM OF THE BED-CHAMBER TO HIS MAJESTY Sweet country life, to such unknown, Whose lives are others', not thei"

"All I have lost that could be rapt from me;     And fare it well: yet, Herrick, if so be     Thy dearest Saviour renders thee but one     Smile"

"Peapes he does strut, and pick his teeth, as if     His jaws had tir'd on some large chine of beef.     But nothing so: the dinner Adam had,"

"Craw cracks in sirrop; and does stinking say,     Who can hold that, my friends, that will away?"

"Look how the rainbow doth appear     But in one only hemisphere;     So likewise after our decease     No more is seen the arch of peace."

"When I of Villars do but hear the name,     It calls to mind that mighty Buckingham,     Who was your brave exalted uncle here,     Binding the"

"Roots had no money; yet he went o' the score,     For a wrought purse; can any tell wherefore?     Say, what should Roots do with a purse in pri"

"If hap it must, that I must see thee lie     Absyrtus-like, all torn confusedly;     With solemn tears, and with much grief of heart,     I'll"

"Man is a watch, wound up at first, but never Wound up again; Once down, he's down for ever. The watch once down, all motions then do cease; The man"

"Wilt thou my true friend be?     Then love not mine, but me."

"From noise of scare-fires rest ye free, From murders Benedicite. From all mischances that may fright Your pleasing slumbers in the night : Mercy s"

"I'll write no more of love, but now repent Of all those times that I in it have spent. I'll write no more of life, but wish 'twas ended, And that m"

"Till I shall come again, let this suffice, I send my salt, my sacrifice To thee, thy lady, younglings, and as far As to thy Genius and thy Lar; To"

"O earth! earth! earth! hear thou my voice, and be Loving and gentle for to cover me! Banish'd from thee I live; ne'er to return, Unless thou giv'st"

"Love, I recant,     And pardon crave     That lately I offended;     But 'twas,     Alas!     To make a brave,     But no disdain intended."

"Learn this of me, where'er thy lot doth fall,     Short lot or not, to be content with all."

"When a daffodil I see, Hanging down his head towards me, Guess I may what I must be: First, I shall decline my head; Secondly, I shall be dead; L"

"Smooth was the sea, and seem'd to call     Two pretty girls to play withal:     Who paddling there, the sea soon frown'd,     And on a sudden b"

"Does fortune rend thee? Bear with thy hard fate:     Virtuous instructions ne'er are delicate.     Say, does she frown? still countermand her th"

"Tears, though they're here below the sinner's brine, Above, they are the Angels' spiced wine."

"Nor is my number full till I inscribe     Thee, sprightly Soame, one of my righteous tribe;     A tribe of one lip, leaven, and of one     Civi"

"Ay me! I love; give him your hand to kiss     Who both your wooer and your poet is.     Nature has precompos'd us both to love:     Your part's"

"'Twixt kings and tyrants there's this difference known:     Kings seek their subjects' good, tyrants their own."

"Live with a thrifty, not a needy fate;     Small shots paid often waste a vast estate."

"Beauty's no other but a lovely grace     Of lively colours flowing from the face."

"God has a right hand, but is quite bereft     Of that which we do nominate the left."

"Whither dost thou hurry me, Bacchus, being full of thee? This way, that way, that way, this, Here and there a fresh Love is; That doth like me, th"

"The power of princes rests in the consent     Of only those who are obedient:     Which if away, proud sceptres then will lie     Low, and of t"

"Reach with your whiter hands to me Some crystal of the spring; And I about the cup shall see Fresh lilies flourishing. Or else, sweet nymphs, do"

"You are a lord, an earl, nay more, a man     Who writes sweet numbers well as any can;     If so, why then are not these verses hurled,     Lik"

"As oft as night is banish'd by the morn,     So oft we'll think we see a king new born."

"Strut, once a foreman of a shop we knew;     But turn'd a ladies' usher now, 'tis true:     Tell me, has Strut got e're a title more?     No; h"

"The same who crowns the conqueror, will be     A coadjutor in the agony."

"As thou deserv'st, be proud; then gladly let     The Muse give thee the Delphic coronet."

"I could wish you all who love,     That ye could your thoughts remove     From your mistresses, and be     Wisely wanton, like to me,     I co"

"Can I not sin, but thou wilt be My private protonotary? Can I not woo thee, to pass by A short and sweet iniquity? I'll cast a mist and cloud upon"

"Afflictions bring us joy in times to come,     When sins, by stripes, to us grow wearisome."

"To this white temple of my heroes here,     Beset with stately figures everywhere     Of such rare saintships, who did here consume     Their l"

"Whatever comes, let's be content withal:     Among God's blessings there is no one small."

"I, who have favour'd many, come to be     Grac'd now, at last, or glorified by thee,     Lo! I, the lyric prophet, who have set     On many a h"

"Now is the time for mirth, Nor cheek or tongue be dumb; For with the flow'ry earth The golden pomp is come. The golden pomp is come; For now eac"

"Give me a cell To dwell, Where no foot hath A path; There will I spend, And end, My wearied years In tears."

"Shame is a bad attendant to a state:     He rents his crown that fears the people's hate."

"The shame of man's face is no more     Than prayers repell'd, says Cassiodore."

"'Tis not the food, but the content     That makes the table's merriment.     Where trouble serves the board, we eat     The platters there as s"

"Like to the income must be our expense;     Man's fortune must be had in reverence."

"Tears most prevail; with tears, too, thou may'st move     Rocks to relent, and coyest maids to love."

"You say you'll kiss me, and I thank you for it;     But stinking breath, I do as hell abhor it."

"Happy's that man to whom God gives     A stock of goods, whereby he lives     Near to the wishes of his heart:     No man is blest through ever"

"To all our wounds here, whatsoe'er they be,     Christ is the one sufficient remedy."