A Celebration of Charis: IV. Her Triumph

By Ben Jonson 1572–1637 Ben Jonson

See the chariot at hand here of Love,

Wherein my lady rideth!

Each that draws is a swan or a dove,

And well the car Love guideth.

As she goes, all hearts do duty

Unto her beauty;

And enamour'd, do wish, so they might

But enjoy such a sight,

That they still were to run by her side,

Through swords, through seas, whither she would ride.

Do but look on her eyes, they do light

All that Love's world compriseth!

Do but look on her hair, it is bright

As Love's star when it riseth!

Do but mark, her forehead's smoother

Than words that soothe her;

And from her arched brows, such a grace

Sheds itself through the face

As alone there triumphs to the life

All the gain, all the good, of the elements' strife.

Have you seen but a bright lily grow,

Before rude hands have touch'd it?

Ha' you mark'd but the fall o' the snow

Before the soil hath smutch'd it?

Ha' you felt the wool o' the beaver?

Or swan's down ever?

Or have smelt o' the bud o' the briar?

Or the nard in the fire?

Or have tasted the bag of the bee?

Oh so white! Oh so soft! Oh so sweet is she!

Biography

Ben Jonson’s “Song to Celia” is known to millions as “Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes.” Jonson was educated at the prestigious Westminster School in London. He took up acting, and by 1597 he was writing original plays. Jonson’s first widely acclaimed play, Every Man in His Humour, included William Shakespeare in its cast.

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