By Voltaire <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you would have me love once more,
The blissful age of love restore;
From wine’s free joys, and lovers’ cares,
Relentless time, who no man spares,
Urges me quickly to retire,
And no more to such bliss aspire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From such austerity exact,
Let’s, if we can, some good extract;
Whose way of thinking with this age
Suits not, can ne’er be deemed a sage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let sprightly youth its follies gay,
Its follies amiable display;
Life to two moments is confined,
Let one to wisdom be consigned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You sweet delusions of my mind,
Still to my ruling passion kind,
Which always brought a sure relief
To life’s accurst companion, grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will you forever from me fly,
And must I joyless, friendless die?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No mortal e’er resigns his breath
I see, without a double death;
Who loves, and is beloved no more,
His hapless fate may well deplore;
Life’s loss may easily be borne,
Of love bereft man is forlorn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘Twas thus those pleasures I lamented,
Which I so oft in youth repented;
My soul replete with soft desire,
Vainly regretted youthful fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But friendship then, celestial maid,
From heaven descended to my aid;
Less lively than the amorous flame,
Although her tenderness the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The charms of friendship I admired,
My soul was with new beauty fired;
I then made one in friendship’s train,
But destitute of love, complain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Voltaire If you would have me love once more,The blissful age of love restore;From wine’s free joys, and lovers’ cares,Relentless time, who no man spares,Urges me quickly to retire,And no more to such bliss aspire. From such austerity exact,Let’s, if we can, some good extract;Whose way of thinking with this ageSuits not, can ne’er […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[126],"tags":[156],"class_list":["post-804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-favourite-poetry","tag-voltaire-poetry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_20260315_072938_Google.jpg?fit=956%2C1155&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":697,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/from-love-to-friendship\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":0},"title":"From Love to Friendship","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"4 March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Voltaire\u00a0 If you would have me love once more,\u00a0 The blissful age of love restore;\u00a0 From wine\u2019s free joys, and lovers\u2019 cares,\u00a0 Relentless time, who no man spares,\u00a0 Has torn those moments from my breast,\u00a0 And left but friendship in their rest.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Favourite Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Favourite Poetry","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/category\/favourite-poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772595949202.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772595949202.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772595949202.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772595949202.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":696,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/sonnet-116\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":1},"title":"Sonnet 116","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"4 March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By William Shakespeare Let me not to the marriage of true mindsAdmit impediments; love is not loveWhich alters when it alteration finds,Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fix\u00e8d markThat looks on tempests and is never shaken;It is the star to every wand\u2019ring bark,Whose worth\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favourite Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Favourite Poetry","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/category\/favourite-poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772595653905.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772595653905.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772595653905.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772595653905.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":714,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/sonnet-43\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":2},"title":"Sonnet 43","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"5 March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"From Sonnets from the Portuguese By Elizabeth Barrett Browning How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favourite Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Favourite Poetry","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/category\/favourite-poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772712135819.png?fit=844%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772712135819.png?fit=844%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772712135819.png?fit=844%2C460&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772712135819.png?fit=844%2C460&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":755,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/10\/hope\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":3},"title":"Hope","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"10 March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Emily Dickinson \"Hope\" is the thing with feathers,That perches in the soul,And sings the tune without the words,And never stops - at all. And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard,And sore must be the storm,That could abash the little Bird,That kept so many warm. I\u2019ve heard it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favourite Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Favourite Poetry","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/category\/favourite-poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773114630954.png?fit=844%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773114630954.png?fit=844%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773114630954.png?fit=844%2C460&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773114630954.png?fit=844%2C460&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":728,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/07\/the-wound-is-the-place-where-the-light-enters-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":4},"title":"\u201cThe Wound is the Place Where the Light Enters You\u201d","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"7 March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Rumi \"Don\u2019t turn away.Keep your gaze on the bandaged place.That\u2019s where the light enters you.Don\u2019t run from the pain.Face it, feel it, and let it teach you.The wound is not the end.It\u2019s the beginning of healing.\"","rel":"","context":"In "Favourite Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Favourite Poetry","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/category\/favourite-poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772889538826.jpeg?fit=614%2C921&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772889538826.jpeg?fit=614%2C921&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/copilot_image_1772889538826.jpeg?fit=614%2C921&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":788,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/12\/the-odyssey\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":5},"title":"The Odyssey","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"12 March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By HomerSing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turnsdriven time and again off course, once he had plunderedthe hallowed heights of Troy.Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds,many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea,fighting to save his life and bring\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favourite Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Favourite Poetry","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/category\/favourite-poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_20260312_090547_Google.jpg?fit=758%2C1171&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_20260312_090547_Google.jpg?fit=758%2C1171&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_20260312_090547_Google.jpg?fit=758%2C1171&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_20260312_090547_Google.jpg?fit=758%2C1171&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/ph3bPZ-cY","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}