Oh, No-Not Ev'n When First We Lov'd

Arnold Böcklin
Boy and Girl Picking Flowers

Peder Serverin Kroyer
Wedding Portrait

Charles Angrand

Couple in the Street

Oh, No-Not Ev'n When First We Lov'd

Oh, no-not ev'n when first we lov'd

Wert thou as dear as now thou art;

Thy beauty then my senses mov'd,

But now my virtues bind my heart,

What was but Passion's sigh before

Has since been turn'd to Reason's vow;

And, though I then might love thee more,

Trust me, I love thee better now.

Although my heart in earlier youth

Might kindle with more wild desire,

Believe me, it has gain'd in truth

Much more than it has lost in fire.

The flame now warms my inmost core

That then but sparkled o'er my brow,

And though I seem'd to love thee more,

Yet, oh, I love thee better now.

~ Thomas Moore ~