Behn, “The Libertine” read by Jenna Calautti
Source: UMW Download Title
A THOUSAND martyrs I have made,
All sacrificed to my desire,
A thousand beauties have betray’d
That languish in resistless fire:
The untamed heart to hand I brought,
And fix’d the wild and wand’ring thought.
I never vow’d nor sigh’d in vain,
But both, tho’ false, were well received;
The fair are pleased to give us pain,
And what they wish is soon believed:
And tho’ I talk’d of wounds and smart,
Love’s pleasures only touch’d my heart.
Alone the glory and the spoil
I always laughing bore away;
The triumphs without pain or toil,
Without the hell the heaven of joy;
And while I thus at random rove
Despise the fools that whine for love.

I enjoyed the beginning: “A thousand martyrs I have made, if all sacrificed to my desire.” I guess if you don’t have any religious beliefs than anyone can be a martyr temporarily. I don’t see why that’s bad. I also enjoyed the ending: “and while I thus at random rove, despise the fools that whine for love.” Behn must have viewed the Libertine the same way as a rover: the wondering free-thinker whose unrestrained sexual appetite can only do harm.
Posted on 29-Mar-08 at 11:14 am | Permalink