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[Page 200]
The DECISION.
BALLAD III.
I.
1 MY Florio, wildest of his sex,
2 (Who sure the veriest saint wou'd vex)
3 From beauty roves to beauty;
4 Yet, tho' abroad the wanton roam,
5 Whene'er he deigns to stay at home,
6 He always minds his duty.
II.
7 Something to every charming she,
8 In thoughtless prodigality,
9 He's granting still and granting,
10 To Phyllis that, to Cloe this,
11 And every madam, every miss;
12 Yet I find nothing wanting.
III.
13 If haply I his will displease,
14 Tempestuous as th' autumnal seas
15 He foams and rages ever;
[Page 201]16 But when he ceases from his ire,
17 I cry, such spirit, and such fire,
18 Is surely wond'rous clever.
IV.
19 I ne'er want reason to complain;
20 But sweet is pleasure after pain,
21 And every joy grows greater.
22 Then trust me, damsels, whilst I tell,
23 I should not like him half so well,
24 If I cou'd make him better.
About this text
Author: Christopher Smart
Themes:
relations between the sexes
Genres:
ballad metre
Text view / Document view
Source edition
Smart, Christopher, 1722-1771. Poems on several occasions: By Christopher Smart, A. M. Fellow of Pembroke-Hall, Cambridge. London: printed for the author, by W. Strahan; and sold by J. Newbery, at the Bible and Sun, in St. Paul’s Church-Yard, MDCCLII., 1752, pp. 200-201. [16],230p.,plates; 4⁰. (ESTC T42626; OTA K041581.000) (Page images digitized from microfilm of a copy in the Bodleian Library [2799 d 134].)
Editorial principles
The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.
Other works by Christopher Smart
- Against ILL-NATURE. (); ODE AGAINST ILL-NATURE. ()
- APOLLO and DAPHNE. An EPIGRAM. ()
- The BAG-WIG and the TOBACCO-PIPE. A FABLE. ()
- CARE and GENEROSITY. A FABLE. ()
- The DISTRESSED DAMSEL. BALLAD VII. ()
- EPITHALAMIUM. ODE XI. ()
- The FAIR RECLUSE. BALLAD VIII. ()
- The FORCE of INNOCENCE. To Miss C—. BALLAD VI. ()
- THE HOP-GARDEN. A GEORGIC. In Two BOOKS. ()
- IDLENESS. ODE VII. ()
- THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS. A MASQUE. ()
- The LASS with the golden Locks. BALLAD II. ()
- A MORNING PIECE, OR, AN HYMN for the HAY-MAKERS. ODE I. ()
- A NIGHT-PIECE; OR, MODERN PHILOSOPHY. ODE III. ()
- A NOON-PIECE; OR, The MOWERS at Dinner. ODE II. ()
- AN OCCASIONAL PROLOGUE and EPILOGUE TO OTHELLO, ()
- ODE ON ST. CECILIA's DAY. ()
- ODE IX. The Author apologizes to a Lady, for his being a little man. ()
- On an EAGLE confined in a College-Court. ODE XIII. ()
- On GOOD-NATURE. ()
- On Miss * * * *. ODE X. ()
- ON THE ETERNITY OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- On the Fifth of December, being the Birth-day of a beautiful young Lady. ODE V. ()
- ON THE GOODNESS OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- ON THE IMMENSITY OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- ON THE OMNISCIENCE OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- ON THE POWER OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- On the sudden Death of a CLERGYMAN. ODE IV. ()
- The PHYSICIAN and the MONKEY. An EPIGRAM. ()
- The PRETTY CHAMBERMAID: In Imitation of Ne sit Ancillae tibi amor pudori, &c. of Horace. ODE VI. ()
- The SILENT FAIR. BALLAD V. ()
- [A SONG to DAVID.] ()
- SWEET WILLIAM. BALLAD I. ()
- The TALKATIVE FAIR. BALLAD IV. ()
- To ETHELINDA, On her doing my Verses the honour of wearing them in her bosom. Written at Thirteen. ()
- To Miss — one of the Chichester Graces. BALLAD IX. ()
- To the reverend and learned Dr. WEBSTER, Occasioned by his Dialogues on ANGER and FORGIVENESS. ODE VIII. ()