To the Reason of a Man Who Has It

Poem by Fanny De Beauharnais Collection Miscellaneous Fugitive Poems and Prose of No ConsequencePeriod 18th centuryPrint

To sing the reason that guides you,
At least, is speaking to someone:
Yes, you have common sense;
Pallas yielded you her aegis.
In Rome*, where they know a thing or two
In more than one important affair,
They saw the prudent activity
Of your mind, which pleases mine,
And whose soul is always content.
Of such Judges I make great account.
Wisdom, amiable with charms;
Over us she acquires empire,
When mockers cover her steps,
And when Love can smile upon her.
This God, nearly wise today,
Veils himself in his brother’s features,
And maliciously with him,
Trades his torch to please you.
She who has just chosen you,
Your companion & your friend,
Beside you will unite
Both decency & pleasure,
That double charm of life.
Her happiness & her feelings
Each day will make her more beautiful:
Virtue, joined to graces,
Has never found an unfaithful one.
Fate is therefore just today;
Although, in certain days of tedium,
It has often seemed fatal to me:
You make my peace with it;
And, since it treats you as a friend,
I hold it quit for the rest.
( * ) M. le Marquis d’Aub…. has been Ambassador to Rome, & has just married.

fanny-de-beauharnais

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