633. Connubii Flores, or the Well-Wishes at Weddings
Chorus Sacerdotum. From the temple to your homeMay a thousand blessings come!And a sweet concurring streamOf all joys to join with them.
Chorus Juvenum. Happy Day,Make no long stayHereIn thy sphere;But give thy place to Night,That she,As thee,May bePartaker of this sight.And since it was thy careTo see the younglings wed,'Tis fit that Night the pairShould see safe brought to bed.
Chorus Senum. Go to your banquet then, but use delight,So as to rise still with an appetite.Love is a thing most nice, and must be fedTo such a height, but never surfeited.What is beyond the mean is ever ill:'Tis best to feed Love, but not overfill;Go then discreetly to the bed of pleasure,And this remember, virtue keeps the measure.
Chorus Virginum. Lucky signs we have descri'dTo encourage on the bride,And to these we have espi'd,Not a kissing Cupid fliesHere about, but has his eyesTo imply your love is wise.
Chorus Pastorum. Here we present a fleeceTo make a pieceOf cloth;Nor, fair, must you be bothYour finger to applyTo housewifery.Then, then beginTo spin:And, sweetling, mark you, what a web will comeInto your chests, drawn by your painful thumb.
Chorus Matronarum. Set you to your wheel, and waxRich by the ductile wool and flax.Yarn is an income, and the housewives' threadThe larder fills with meat, the bin with bread.
Chorus Senum. Let wealth come in by comely thriftAnd not by any sordid shift;'Tis hasteMakes waste:Extremes have still their fault:The softest fire makes the sweetest malt:Who grips too hard the dry and slippery sandHolds none at all, or little in his hand.
Chorus Virginum. Goddess of pleasure, youth and peace,Give them the blessing of increase:And thou, Lucina, that dost hearThe vows of those that children bear:Whenas her April hour draws near,Be thou then propitious there.
Chorus Juvenum. Far hence be all speech that may anger move:Sweet words must nourish soft and gentle love.
Chorus Omnium. Live in the love of doves, and having toldThe raven's years, go hence more ripe than old.
Words in this poem
- overfill v. t.
- To fill to excess; to surcharge.
- cupid
- The god of love, son of Venus; usually represented as a naked, winged boy with bow and arrow. [L.Cupido, fr. cupido desire, desire of love, fr. cupidus. See Cupidity.]
- imply v. t.
- To infold or involve; to wrap up. [From the same source as employ. See Employ, Ply, and cf. Implicate, Apply.]
- housewifery n.
- The business of the mistress of a family; female management of domestic concerns.
- income n.
- A coming in; entrance; admittance; ingress; infusion.
- larder n.
- A room or place where meat and other articles of food are kept before they are cooked. [OF. lardier. See Lard, n.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- sordid a.
- Filthy; foul; dirty. [L. sordidus, fr. sordere to be filthy or dirty; probably akin to E. swart: cf. F. sordide. See Swart, a.]
- omnium n.
- The aggregate value of the different stocks in which a loan to government is now usually funded. M'Culloch. [L., of all, gen. pl. of omnis all.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
633. Connubii Flores, or the Well-Wishes at Weddings is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Hesperides & Noble Numbers: Vol. 1 and 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #22421; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Herrick, 633. Connubii Flores, or the Well-Wishes at Weddings, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/633-connubii-flores-or-the-well-wishes-at-weddings.html, id L05589.
Form and metre
633. Connubii Flores, or the Well-Wishes at Weddings is 63 lines in 10 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA-A homeA · comeA · stream · themA
- 2 AABBCDDDCEFEF dayA · stayA · hereB · sphereB · nightC · sheD · theeD · beD · sightC · careE · wedF · pairE · bedF
- 3 AABBCCDD delightA · appetiteA · fedB · surfeitedB · illC · overfillC · pleasureD · measureD
- 4 A-ABBB descri'dA · bride · espi'dA · fliesB · eyesB · wiseB
- 5 AA----BBCC fleeceA · pieceA · cloth · both · apply · housewifery · beginB · spinB · comeC · thumbC
- 6 AABB waxA · flaxA · threadB · breadB
- 7 AABBCCDD thriftA · shiftA · hasteB · wasteB · faultC · maltC · sandD · handD
- 8 AABCBC peaceA · increaseA · hearB · bearC · nearB · thereC
- 9 AA moveA · loveA
- 10 AA toldA · oldA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Chorus Sacerdotum. From the temple to your home | 13 | /˘······/˘··· |
| May a thousand blessings come! | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| And a sweet concurring stream | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Of all joys to join with them. | 7 | ······· |
| Chorus Juvenum. Happy Day, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Make no long stay | 4 | ···· |
| Here | 1 | · |
| In thy sphere; | 3 | ··· |
| But give thy place to Night, | 6 | ······ |
| That she, | 2 | ·· |
| As thee, | 2 | ·· |
| May be | 2 | ·· |
| Partaker of this sight. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| And since it was thy care | 6 | ······ |
| To see the younglings wed, | 6 | ······ |
| 'Tis fit that Night the pair | 6 | ······ |
| Should see safe brought to bed. | 6 | ······ |
| Chorus Senum. Go to your banquet then, but use delight, | 14 | /˘·····/˘···˘/ |
| So as to rise still with an appetite. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Love is a thing most nice, and must be fed | 10 | ·········· |
| To such a height, but never surfeited. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| What is beyond the mean is ever ill: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| 'Tis best to feed Love, but not overfill; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Go then discreetly to the bed of pleasure, | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| And this remember, virtue keeps the measure. | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Chorus Virginum. Lucky signs we have descri'd | 12 | /˘···/˘····· |
| To encourage on the bride, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| And to these we have espi'd, | 7 | ······· |
| Not a kissing Cupid flies | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Here about, but has his eyes | 7 | ······· |
| To imply your love is wise. | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Chorus Pastorum. Here we present a fleece | 11 | /˘·····˘/·· |
| To make a piece | 4 | ···· |
| Of cloth; | 2 | ·· |
| Nor, fair, must you be both | 6 | ······ |
| Your finger to apply | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| To housewifery. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Then, then begin | 4 | ··˘/ |
| To spin: | 2 | ·· |
| And, sweetling, mark you, what a web will come | 10 | ·········· |
| Into your chests, drawn by your painful thumb. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Chorus Matronarum. Set you to your wheel, and wax | 13 | /˘··········· |
| Rich by the ductile wool and flax. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Yarn is an income, and the housewives' thread | 10 | ···/···/·· |
| The larder fills with meat, the bin with bread. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Chorus Senum. Let wealth come in by comely thrift | 12 | /˘·······/˘· |
| And not by any sordid shift; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| 'Tis haste | 2 | ·· |
| Makes waste: | 2 | ·· |
| Extremes have still their fault: | 6 | ˘/···· |
| The softest fire makes the sweetest malt: | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Who grips too hard the dry and slippery sand | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Holds none at all, or little in his hand. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Chorus Virginum. Goddess of pleasure, youth and peace, | 13 | /˘···/˘·/˘··· |
| Give them the blessing of increase: | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And thou, Lucina, that dost hear | 8 | ········ |
| The vows of those that children bear: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Whenas her April hour draws near, | 9 | /˘·/˘/˘·· |
| Be thou then propitious there. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Chorus Juvenum. Far hence be all speech that may anger move: | 15 | /˘··········/˘· |
| Sweet words must nourish soft and gentle love. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Chorus Omnium. Live in the love of doves, and having told | 15 | /˘/˘˘·······/˘· |
| The raven's years, go hence more ripe than old. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
Notes from the edition 1
Word-glosses from Pollard's edition (Muses' Library, 1891; Project Gutenberg #22421).
- Stanza 10 Nice: dainty · Painful: painstaking; for the passage cp. Catull. _Nupt. Pel. et
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