Love
Wedded to will is witless
From Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age, ed. A. H. Bullen (London: Nimmo, 1891)
Love
Wedded to will is witless,
And seldom he is skilful
That bears the name of wise and yet is wilful.
To govern he is fitless
That deals not by election,
But by his fond affection.
O that it might be treason
For men to rule by will and not by reason.
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Codex Note
From William Byrd's Psalms, Songs, and Sonnets, 1611.
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Elizabethan songs). “Wedded to will is witless.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-songs/162/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Elizabethan songs). “Wedded to will is witless.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-songs/162/.
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