Poems on Several Occasions :: :: University of Virginia Library

Ye envious Prudes, ye strive in vain
To put an end to Chloe's Reign;
In vain exert your utmost Art
To rob her of a single heart:
Inferior Charms their force may try,
And fondly in the combat die.
I freely own Sabina fair,
But has Sabina Chloe's Air?
Belinda's Charms might warm a Saint,
But Chloe's not oblig'd to paint.
In bright Hillaria's Form you find
A perfect Pattern of her kind;
As fine a Shape as Chloe's view:
And has She Chloe's Prudence too?

Pastora's Wit and lively Fire,
Tho' none can equal, all admire:
I can't deny Pastora such,
But Chloe never talks too much:
Thus Prudence, Beauty, Shape, and Air
Conspire to make my Chloe fair:
Yet to such charms of Face and mind
Nor Vanity, nor Art is join'd.

Till that dear Form shall fade away,
(Far off be the protracted day)
Till Heav'n no longer shall bestow
So much Perfection here below,
In vain you rail, in vain dispute,
Her Empire will be absolute:
But when she yields her balmy breath
The beauteous sacrifice of Death,
Then may the all-surviving Fair
Her abdicated empire share.
So Philip's Son, who rul'd the Ball,
Resign'd to Jove's paternal call,
And left a much-contested Throne,
Where many fill'd the Place of One.