139. Wherein Hope May Be Harassed, but Not Destroyed, by Envy -
WHEREIN HOPE MAY BE HARASSED, BUT NOT DESTROYED, BY ENVY
O Envy, virtue's constant nemesis,
Breathing hot challenge to the sweet and fine!
By what soft stealth, furtive and serpentine,
Have you gained ingress, changed her into this?
You have uprooted thence my deepest bliss,
Showing me, in this happier love than mine,
How she, that once bestowed such looks benign,
Seems cold now, coiled for a perpetual hiss.
Yet though, by subtle little cruelties,
You grudge my good and sneer at my distress,
You cannot alter one thought, if you please!
Not though a thousand times each day confess
Her scorn, nor hope nor love grows less by these,
Her threats are nothing: Love survives the stress.
O Envy, virtue's constant nemesis,
Breathing hot challenge to the sweet and fine!
By what soft stealth, furtive and serpentine,
Have you gained ingress, changed her into this?
You have uprooted thence my deepest bliss,
Showing me, in this happier love than mine,
How she, that once bestowed such looks benign,
Seems cold now, coiled for a perpetual hiss.
Yet though, by subtle little cruelties,
You grudge my good and sneer at my distress,
You cannot alter one thought, if you please!
Not though a thousand times each day confess
Her scorn, nor hope nor love grows less by these,
Her threats are nothing: Love survives the stress.
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