Stanzas by Shakspeare, and Somebody Else.
Oh how much more doth beauty beauteous seem1
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give !2
The rose is fair, but fairer we it deem3
For the sweet odour which doth in it live.4
And thou, my rose, wilt ever be a rose,5
Though time may steal the ruby from thy lips ;6
Thine eyes thy soul’s bright thoughts will still disclose,7
Though time their early lustre may eclipse.8
Thy present mansion, lady, well I wot9
Is very beautiful, but ’tis not thee
;10
For it may fade or change, but thou wilt not ;11
Though e’en when faded, ’twill be fair to me.12
For thy fair soul so fair a shrine is meet,13
But in thy being does most beauty lie ;14
As summer flower is to the summer sweet,15
Though to itself it only live and die.16