[Page 72]

LOVE Disarm'd.

1 Beneath a Myrtle's verdant Shade
2 As Cloe half asleep was laid,
3 Cupid perch'd lightly on Her Breast,
4 And in That Heav'n desir'd to rest:
5 Over her Paps his Wings He spread:
6 Between He found a downy Bed,
7 And nestl'd in His little Head.
8 Still lay the God: The Nymph surpriz'd,
9 Yet Mistress of her self, devis'd,
10 How She the Vagrant might inthral,
11 And Captive Him, who Captives All.
12 Her Boddice half way She unlac'd:
13 About his Arms She slily cast
14 The silken Bond, and held Him fast.
15 The God awak'd; and thrice in vain
16 He strove to break the cruel Chain;
17 And thrice in vain He shook his Wing,
18 Incumber'd in the silken String.
19 Flutt'ring the God, and weeping said,
20 Pity poor Cupid, generous Maid,
21 Who happen'd, being Blind, to stray,
22 And on thy Bosom lost his Way:
[Page 73]
23 Who stray'd, alas! but knew too well,
24 He never There must hope to dwell.
25 Set an unhappy Pris'ner free,
26 Who ne'er intended Harm to Thee.
27 To Me pertains not, She replies,
28 To know or care where Cupid flies;
29 What are his Haunts, or which his Way;
30 Where He would dwell, or whither stray:
31 Yet will I never set Thee free:
32 For Harm was meant, and Harm to Me.
33 Vain Fears that vex thy Virgin Heart!
34 I'll give Thee up my Bow and Dart:
35 Untangle but this cruel Chain,
36 And freely let Me fly again.
37 Agreed: Secure my Virgin Heart:
38 Instant give up thy Bow and Dart:
39 The Chain I'll in Return unty;
40 And freely Thou again shalt fly.
41 Thus She the Captive did deliver:
42 The Captive thus gave up his Quiver.
43 The God disarm'd, e'er since that Day
44 Passes his Life in harmless Play;
45 Flies round, or sits upon her Breast,
46 A little, flutt'ring, idle Guest.
[Page 74]
47 E'er since that Day the beauteous Maid
48 Governs the World in Cupid's stead;
49 Directs his Arrow as She wills;
50 Gives Grief, or Pleasure; spares, or kills.

Text

  • TEI/XML [chunk] (XML - 96K / ZIP - 10K) / ECPA schema (RNC - 357K / ZIP - 73K)
  • Plain text [excluding paratexts] (TXT - 1.8K / ZIP - 1.1K)

Facsimile (Source Edition)

(Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [H 6.8 Art.].)

Images

PDF

All Images (PDF - 3.7M)

About this text

Title (in Source Edition): LOVE Disarm'd.
Author: Matthew Prior
Themes:
Genres: narrative verse

Text view / Document view

Source edition

Prior, Matthew, 1664-1721. Poems on Several Occasions [English poems only]. London: Printed for JACOB TONSON at Shakespear's-Head over against Katharine-Street in the Strand, and JOHN BARBER upon Lambeth-Hill. MDCCXVIII., 1718, pp. 72-74. [42],506,[6]p.: ill.; 2°. (ESTC T075639) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [H 6.8 Art.].)

Editorial principles

Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. This ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

Other works by Matthew Prior