Aphra Behn

A
ND martyrs I have made,   All sacrificed to my desire,
A thousand beauties have betray'd   That languish in resistless fire:
The untamed heart to hand I brought,

Who made love to me,
Imagin'd more than woman.
Fair lovely Maid, or if that Title
Too weak, too Feminine for Nobler thee

Had I remained in innocent security,
I should have thought all men were born my slaves,
And worn my power like lightning in my eyes,
To have destroyed at pleasure when offended.…

How, to thy Sacred Memory, shall I bring (Worthy thy Fame) a grateful Offering?
I, who by Toils of Sickness, am become Almost as near as thou art to a Tomb?
While every soft, and every tender Strain Is ruffl'd, and ill-natur'd grown…

OW strongly does my passion flow,
Divided equally ’twixt two?
Damon had ne’er subdued my heart,
Had not Alexis took his part;

Oh love! that stronger art than Wine,
Pleasing Delusion,
Witchery divine,
Wont to be priz'd above all Wealth

A
CY in love I’ll prize,  And be to beauty true:
And doat on all the lovely eyes,  That are but fair and new.
On Cloris’ charms to day I’ll feed

The Smiles, the Graces, and the Sports,
That in the Secret Groves maintain their Courts,
Are with these Myrtles crown'd:
Thither the Nymphs their Garlands bring;…

A THOUSAND Martyrs I have made,
All sacrific'd to my desire;
A thousand Beauties have betray'd,
That languish in resistless Fire.…

Amyntas led me to a Grove,
Where all the Trees did shade us;
The Sun it self, though it had Strove,
It could not have betray'd us:

While my sad Muse the darkest Covert Sought,
To give a loose to Melancholy Thought;
Opprest, and sighing with the Heavy Weight Of an Unhappy dear Lov'd Monarch's Fate;
A lone retreat, on Thames's Brink she found,

Love in Fantastique Triumph satt,
Whilst bleeding Hearts around him flow'd,
For whom Fresh pains he did create,
And strange Tryanic power he show'd;

O Love! that stronger art than wine,
Pleasing delusion, witchery divine,
Wont to be prized above all wealth,
Disease that has more joys than health;…

Oh, how the hand the lover ought to prize
’Bove any one peculiar grace!
While he is dying for the eyes
And doting on the lovely face,…

Song from AbdelazarLove in Fantastic Triumph sat,
Whilst Bleeding Hearts around him flowed,
For whom Fresh pains he did Create,
And strange Tyrannic power he showed;…

Амур, взойдя на дивный трон,
Кровавые сердца тиранил,
Им создавал мученья он,
Своей волшебной властью ранил.…

Mourn,
Mourn, ye Muses, all your loss deplore,
The Young, the Noble Strephon is no more.
Yes, yes, he fled quick as departing Light

SE, cease,
Aminta, to complain,  Thy languishments give o’er,
Why should’st thou sigh because the swain  Another does adore?
Those charms, fond maid, that vanquish’d thee

One Day the Amarous Lisander,
By an impatient Passion sway'd,
Surpris'd fair Cloris, that lov'd Maid

Alas! and must the Sun decline,
Before it have inform'd my Eyes
Of all that's glorious, all that's fine,
Of all I sigh for, all I prize?…

My Damon, tho' I stint your Love,
I will not stint your Appetite;
That I would have you still improve,
By every new and fresh Delight.…

This Little, Silent, Gloomy Monument,
Contains all that was sweet and innocent ;
The softest pratler that e'er found a Tongue,
His Voice was Musick and his Words a Song ;…

All trembling in my arms Aminta lay,
Defending of the bliss I strove to take;
Raising my rapture by her kind delay,
Her force so charming was and weak.

This Little,
Silent,
Gloomy Monument, Contains all that was sweet and innocent ; The softest pratler that e'er found a Tongue, His Voice was Musick and his Words a Song ; Which now each List'ning Angel smiling hears, Such pretty…