The Poetical Works of Robert Herrick Author:Robert Herrick General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1825 Original Publisher: W. Pickering Subjects: Drama / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Literary Criticism / Poetry Poetry / General Poetry / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there ... more »may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: HESPERIDES. THE ARGUMENT OF HIS BOOK. I Sing of brooks, of blossomes, birds, and bowers, Of April, May, of June, and July-flowers; I sing of May-poles, hock-carts, wassails, wakes, Of bride-grooms, brides, and of their bridall-cakes. I write of youth, of love, and have accesse By these, to sing of cleanly wantonnesse; I sing of dewes, of raines, and, piece by piece, Of balme, of oyle, of spice, and amber-greece. I sing of times trans-shifting; and I write How roses first came red, and lillies white ; I write of groves, of twilights, and I sing The court of Mab, and of the fairie king. I write of Hell; I sing, and ever shall, Of Heaven, and hope to have it after all. TO HIS MUSE. Whither, mad maiden, wilt thou roame ? Farre safer 'twere to stay at home ; Where thou mayst sit, and, piping please The poore and private cottages. Since coats and hamlets best agree With this thy meaner minstralsie ; There with the reed thou mayst expresse The shepherd's fleecie happinesse ; And with thy Eclogues intermixe Some smooth and harmlesse Beucolicks. There, on a hillock, thou mayst sing Unto a handsome shephardling; Or to a girle, that keeps the neat, With breath more sweet than violet. There, there, perhaps, such lines as these May take the simple villages; But for the court, the country wit Is despicable unto it. Stay then at home, and doe not goe, Or Hie abroad to seeke for woe; Contempts in courts and citie...« less