Lines in “Letters of an Italian Nun and an English Gentleman,” by J.J. Rousseau, Founded on Facts
Away, away,—your flattering arts,
May now betray some simpler hearts;
And you will smile at their believing,
And they shall weep at your deceiving.
Answer to the Above, Address’d to Miss ——
Dear simple girl those flattering arts,
(From which you’d guard frail female hearts,)
Exist but in imagination,
Mere phantoms of your own creation;
For he who sees that witching grace,
That perfect form, that lovely face;
With eyes admiring, oh! believe me,
He never wishes to deceive thee;
Once let you at your mirror glance,
You’ll there descry that elegance,
Which from our sex demands such praises,
But envy in the other raises.—
Then he who tells you of your beauty,
Believe me only does his duty;
Ah! fly not from the candid youth,
It is not flattery, but truth.
July, 1804.