Drink to me only with thine eyes,And I will pledge with mine;Or leave a kiss but in the cupAnd I’ll not look for wine.The thirst that from the soul doth riseDoth ask a drink divine;But might I of Jove’s nectar sup,I would not change for thine.
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Ben Jonson quotes & passages
2 passages by Ben Jonson, from To Celia and The Noble Nature. Ben Jonson died in 1637, so the words are in the public domain. Every passage is copied word for word from the Project Gutenberg text.
About Ben Jonson
English playwright and poet (1572–1637), a contemporary of Shakespeare. Wrote Volpone and The Alchemist and the song “To Celia” (“Drink to me only with thine eyes”).
Read their work on Project Gutenberg
It is not growing like a treeIn bulk, doth make man better be;Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:A lily of a dayIs fairer far in May,Although it fall and die that night;It was the plant and flower of light.In small proportions we just beauties see;And in short measures, life may perfect be.
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