John Milton(1608–1674)

Song ("Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv'st unseen")

Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv'st unseen,

Within thy airy shell,4

By slow Meander's margent green,5

And in the violet-embroider'd vale,

W h e r e the love-lorn nightingale6

Nightly to thee her sad song m o u r n e t h well;

C a n s t thou not tell me of a gentle pair

That likest thy N a r c i s s u s are

O, if thou have

Hid them in some flowery cave,

Tell me but where,

Sweet q u e e n of parley, daughter of the sphere!7speech

So mayst thou be translated to the skies,

And give resounding grace to all heav'n's harmonies. 6