Cloe's Soliloquy

If Love and Reason ne'er agree, And Virtue trembles at his power, May heaven from Love pronounce me free, And guard me thro' each tender hour.

But if the pleasures Love bestows, Are such as Reason pleas'd allows, Are such as smiling Virtue knows, To Love I'll pay my virgin vows.

And such they are—for loose desires But ill deserve the tender name; They blast, like lightning's transient fires, But Love's a pure and constant flame.

Love scorns a sordid selfish bliss, And only for its object lives; Feels mutual truth endear the kiss, And tastes no joys but those it gives.

Love's more than language can reveal, Or thought can reach, tho' thought is free, 'Tis only felt—'tis what I feel— And hope, that Damon feels for me.