NON EST MORTALE QUOD OPTO (UPON MRS. A.L.) by JOHN SUCKLING

THOU think'st I flatter, when thy praise I tell,
But thou dost all hyperboles excel;
For I am sure thou art no mortal creature,
But a divine one, thron'd in human feature.
Thy piety is such, that heaven by merit,
If ever any did, thou shouldst inherit;
Thy modesty is such, that hadst thou bin
Tempted as Eve, thou wouldst have shunn'd her sin:
So lovely fair thou art, that sure Dame Nature
Meant thee the pattern of the female creature.
Besides all this, thy flowing wit is such,
That were it not in thee, 't had been too much
For womankind: should envy look thee o'er,
It would confess thus much, if not much more.
I love thee well, yet wish some bad in thee;
For sure I am thou art too good for me.

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