Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
I. AdmirationTo the Princess Lucretia
Torquato Tasso (15441595)From London Magazine
T
That to the warm ray opens not its breast,
But, hiding still within its mossy vest,
Dares not its virgin beauties to disclose;
Or like Aurora, when the heaven first glows,—
For likeness from above will suit thee best,—
When she with gold kindles each mountain crest,
And o’er the plain her pearly mantle throws.
No loss from time thy riper age receives,
Nor can young beauty decked with art’s display
Rival the native graces of thy form:
Thus lovelier is the flower whose full-blown leaves
Perfume the air, and more than orient ray
The sun’s meridian glories blaze and warm.