Love
Anacreon: Ode II (A Comparison betwixt the Strength of Beasts, the Wisdom of Man, and the Beauty of a Woman's Face)
From A Poetical Rhapsody (1602), ed. A. H. Bullen (1890–91)
The bull by nature hath his horns,
The horse his hoofs, to daunt their foes;
The light-foot hare the hunter scorns;
The lion's teeth his strength disclose.
The fish, by swimming, 'scapes the weel;
The bird, by flight, the fowler's net;
With wisdom man is armed as steel;
Poor women none of these can get.
What have they then? — fair Beauty's grace,
A two-edged sword, a trusty shield;
No force resists a lovely face,
Both fire and sword to Beauty yield.
Codex Note
Translated from Anacreon. Credited to "A. W." in Francis Davison's own manuscript list (Bullen prints the initials in square brackets).
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Elizabethan miscellanies). “Anacreon: Ode II (A Comparison betwixt the Strength of Beasts, the Wisdom of Man, and the Beauty of a Woman's Face).” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-miscellanies/97/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Elizabethan miscellanies). “Anacreon: Ode II (A Comparison betwixt the Strength of Beasts, the Wisdom of Man, and the Beauty of a Woman's Face).” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-miscellanies/97/.
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