Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900.djvu/180

 More we enjoy it, more it dies; If not enjoy'd, it sighing cries— Heigh ho!

112. Ulysses and the Siren

Siren. Come, worthy Greek! Ulysses, come, Possess these shores with me: The winds and seas are troublesome, And here we may be free. Here may we sit and view their toil That travail in the deep, And joy the day in mirth the while, And spend the night in sleep.

Ulysses. Fair Nymph, if fame or honour were To be attain'd with ease, Then would I come and rest me there, And leave such toils as these. But here it dwells, and here must I            With danger seek it forth: To spend the time luxuriously Becomes not men of worth.

Siren. Ulysses, O be not deceived With that unreal name; This honour is a thing conceived, And rests on others' fame: Begotten only to molest Our peace, and to beguile The best thing of our life—our rest, And give us up to toil.