SEARCH
0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Prev | Current Page 330 | Next

Dryden, John, 1631-1700

"The works of John Dryden, $c now first collected in eighteen volumes. $p Volume 02"


_Vasq_. A glorious day! and bravely was it fought;
Great fame our general in great dangers sought;
From his strong arm I saw his rival run,
And, in a crowd, the unequal combat shun.
_Enter_ Cortez _leading_ Cydaria, _who seems crying and
begging of him_.
_Cort_. Man's force is fruitless, and your gods would fail
To save the city, but your tears prevail;
I'll of my fortune no advantage make,
Those terms, they had once given, they still may take.
_Cyd_. Heaven has of right all victory designed,
Where boundless power dwells in a will confined;
Your Spanish honour does the world excel.
_Cort_. Our greatest honour is in loving well.
_Cyd_. Strange ways you practise there, to win a heart;
Here love is nature, but with you 'tis art.
_Cort_. Love is with us as natural as here,
But fettered up with customs more severe.
In tedious courtship we declare our pain,
And, ere we kindness find, first meet disdain.
_Cyd_. If women love, they needless pains endure;
Their pride and folly but delay their cure.
_Cort_. What you miscall their folly, is their care;
They know how fickle common lovers are:
Their oaths and vows are cautiously believed,
For few there are but have been once deceived.
_Cyd_. But if they are not trusted when they vow,
What other marks of passion can they show?
_Cort_.


Pages:
318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342