 | The Workes of Benjamin Jonson |  |
Another. In defence of their Inconstancie.
A Song.
Hang
up those dull, and envious fooles
That talke abroad of Womans change,
We were not bred to sit on stooles,
Our proper vertue is to range:
Take that away, you take our lives,
We are no woman then, but wives.
That talke abroad of Womans change,
We were not bred to sit on stooles,
Our proper vertue is to range:
Take that away, you take our lives,
We are no woman then, but wives.
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Such as in valour would excell
Doe change, though man, and often fight
Which we in love must doe aswell,
If ever we will love aright.
The frequent varying of the deed,
Is that which doth perfection breed.
Doe change, though man, and often fight
Which we in love must doe aswell,
If ever we will love aright.
The frequent varying of the deed,
Is that which doth perfection breed.
Nor is't inconstancie to change
For what is better, or to make
(By searching) what before was strange,
Familiar, for the uses sake;
The good, from bad, is not descride,
But as 'tis often vext and tri'd.
For what is better, or to make
(By searching) what before was strange,
Familiar, for the uses sake;
The good, from bad, is not descride,
But as 'tis often vext and tri'd.
And this profession of a store
In love, doth not alone help forth
Our pleasure; but preserves us more
From being forsaken, then doth worth,
For were the worthiest woman curst
To love one man, hee'd leave her first.
In love, doth not alone help forth
Our pleasure; but preserves us more
From being forsaken, then doth worth,
For were the worthiest woman curst
To love one man, hee'd leave her first.
| The Workes of Benjamin Jonson | |