“You meaner beauties of the night,
That poorly satisfy our eyes
More by your number than your light;
You common people of the skies,
What are you when the sun shall rise?”

—  Henry Wotton

On His Mistress, the Queen of Bohemia, stanza 1 (1624). In some versions "moon" replaces "sun". This was printed with music as early as 1624, in Est's "Sixth Set of Books", for example.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "You meaner beauties of the night, That poorly satisfy our eyes More by your number than your light; You common peopl…" by Henry Wotton?
Henry Wotton photo
Henry Wotton13
English ambassador 1568–1639

Related quotes

“You know when love's
shining in your eyes
it may be the stars
fallen from above.
And you know love
is with you when you rise,
for night and day belong to love.”

Enya (1961) Irish singer, songwriter, and musician

Song lyrics, Amarantine (2005)

Virginia Woolf photo

“No sooner have you feasted on beauty with your eyes than your mind tells you that beauty is vain and beauty passes”

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English writer

Margaret Atwood photo

“Time rises and rises, and when it reaches the level of your eyes you drown.”

Margaret Atwood book The Blind Assassin

Source: The Blind Assassin

Leonardo Da Vinci photo

“Observe the light and consider its beauty. Blink your eye and look at it. That which you see was not there at first, and that which was there is there no more.”

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath

The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (1938), I Philosophy

Michelle Lambert photo

“Will you remember my name or at the end of the night is it all a game
Or will you hold on to my hand together forever we will stand
Or the sun will rise and you’ve had your prize
And you don’t even know the color of my eyes”

Michelle Lambert (1985) American singer-songwriter and violinist

"I'm Just a Girl" (2015)

Arthur O'Shaughnessy photo

“Bring us hither your sun and your summers;
And renew our world as of yore;
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
And things that we dreamed not before:
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
And a singer who sings no more.”

Arthur O'Shaughnessy Ode

Music and Moonlight (1874), Ode
Context: Great hail! we cry to the comers
From the dazzling unknown shore;
Bring us hither your sun and your summers;
And renew our world as of yore;
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
And things that we dreamed not before:
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
And a singer who sings no more.

George William Russell photo

“How shallow is this mere that gleams!
Its depth of blue is from the skies;
And from a distant sun the dreams
And lovely light within your eyes.”

George William Russell (1867–1935) Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, and artistic painter

By Still Waters (1906)

Marcus Aurelius photo

“Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.”

Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Ancient Rome

Source: The Emperor's Handbook

Prevale photo

“Your sublime beauty will allow you to donate joy and light to the eyes of the lucky ones who will have occasion to meet you.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: La tua sublime bellezza ti permetterà ogni volta di donare gioia e luce agli occhi dei fortunati che avranno occasione di incontrarti.
Source: prevale.net

Ramakrishna photo

“You see many stars in the sky at night, but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? O man, because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God.”

Ramakrishna (1836–1886) Indian mystic and religious preacher

Source: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960), p. 1

Related topics