Publisher's Synopsis
Venus and Adonis By William Shakespeare EVEN as the sun with purple-colour'd faceHad ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn, Rose-cheek'd Adonis tried him to the chase;Hunting he lov'd, but love he laugh'd to scorn; 4Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him, And like a bold-fac'd suitor 'gins to woo him.'Thrice fairer than myself, ' thus she began, 'The field's chief flower, sweet above compare, 8Stain to all nymphs, more lovely than a man, More white and red than doves or roses are;Nature that made thee, with herself at strife, Saith that the world hath ending with thy life. 12'Vouchsafe, thou wonder, to alight thy steed, And rein his proud head to the saddle-bow;If thou wilt deign this favour, for thy meedA thousand honey secrets shalt thou know: 16Here come and sit, where never serpent hisses;And being set, I'll smother thee with kisses: 'And yet not cloy thy lips with loath'd satiety, But rather famish them amid their plenty, 20Making them red and pale with fresh variety;Ten kisses short as one, one long as twenty: A summer's day will seem an hour but short, Being wasted in such time-beguiling sport.' 24With this she seizeth on his sweating palm, The precedent of pith and livelihood, And, trembling in her passion, calls it balm, Earth's sovereign salve to do a goddess good: 28Being so enrag'd, desire doth lend her forceCourageously to pluck him from his horse.Over one arm the lusty courser's reinUnder her other was the tender boy, 32Who blush'd and pouted in a dull disdain, With leaden appetite, unapt to toy;She red and hot as coals of glowing fireHe red for shame, but frosty in desire. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enrichin
