Poem by Francis Beaumont

The Indifferent

Never more will I protest,
To love a woman but in jest:
For as they cannot be true,
So, to give each man his due,
 When the wooing fit is past
 Their affection cannot last.

Therefore, if I chance to meet
With a mistress fair and sweet,
She my service shall obtain,
Loving her for love again:
 Thus much liberty I crave,
 Not to be a constant slave.

But when we have tried each other,
If she better like another,
Let her quickly change for me,
Then to change am I as free.
 He or she that loves too long
 Sell their freedom for a song.

1. A Funeral Elegy on the Death of the Lady Penelope Clifton
2. Lay a Garland on My Hearse
3. In Laudem Authoris
4. The Examination of His Mistress's Perfections
5. The Conclusion

Alexander Brome The Indifferent ("MIstake me not, I am not of that mind")

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