Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar.
But never doubt I love.
Hamlet, Act ii. Sc. 2. SHAKESPEARE.
When love begins to sicken and decay,
It useth an enforcèd ceremony.
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith.
Julius Cæsar, Act iv. Sc. 2. SHAKESPEARE.
You say to me-wards your affection's strong;
Pray love me little, so you love me long.
Love me little, love me long. R. HERRICK.
When change itself can give no more,
'Tis easy to be true.
Reasons for Constancy. SIR C. SEDLEY.
If ever thou shalt love,
In the sweet pangs of it remember me;
For such as I am all true lovers are,
Unstaid and skittish in all motions else.
Save in the constant image of the creature
That is beloved.
Twelfth Night, Act ii. Sc. 4. SHAKESPEARE.
I could be well moved if I were as you;
If I could pray to move, prayers would move me;
But I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true fixed and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
Julius Cæsar, Act iii. Sc. 1. SHAKESPEARE.
CONTENTMENT.
Happy the man, of mortals happiest he,
Whose quiet mind from vain desires is free;
Whom neither hopes deceive, nor fears torment,
But lives at peace, within himself content;
In thought, or act, accountable to none
But to himself, and to the gods alone.
Epistle to Mrs. Higgons. LORD LANSDOWNE.
Yes! in the poor man's garden grow,
Far more than herbs and flowers,
Kind thoughts, contentment, peace of mind,
And joy for weary hours.
The Poor Man's Garden. M. HOWITT.
Whate'er the passion, knowledge, fame, or pelf,
Not one will change his neighbor with himself.
Essay on Man, Epistle II. A. POPE.