I call not that virginity a virtue, which resideth only in the bodies integrity; much less if it be with a purpose of perpetually keeping it: for then it is a most inhumane vice. - But I call that Virginity a virtue which is willing and desirous to yield itself upon honest and lawful terms, when just reason requireth; and until then, is kept with a modest chastity of body and mind.
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That chastity of honour which felt a stain like a wound.
That chastity of honour which felt a stain like a wound.
So dear to Heaven is saintly chastity,
That, when a soul is found sincerely so,
A thousand read more
So dear to Heaven is saintly chastity,
That, when a soul is found sincerely so,
A thousand liveried angels lacky her,
Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt.
Even from the body's purity, the mind
Receives a secret sympathetic aid.
Even from the body's purity, the mind
Receives a secret sympathetic aid.
Like the stain'd web that whitens in the sun,
Grow pure by being purely shone upon.
Like the stain'd web that whitens in the sun,
Grow pure by being purely shone upon.
As pure as a pearl,
And as perfect: a noble and innocent girl.
As pure as a pearl,
And as perfect: a noble and innocent girl.
Then she rode forth, clothed on with chastity:
The deep air listen'd round her as she rode,
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Then she rode forth, clothed on with chastity:
The deep air listen'd round her as she rode,
And all the low wind hardly breathed for fear.
Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.
Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.
Mine honor's such a ring;
My chastity's the jewel of our house,
Bequeathed down from many ancestors,
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Mine honor's such a ring;
My chastity's the jewel of our house,
Bequeathed down from many ancestors,
Which were the greatest obloquy i' th' world
In me to lose.
'Tis chastity, my brother, chastity;
She that has that is clad in complete steel,
And, like a read more
'Tis chastity, my brother, chastity;
She that has that is clad in complete steel,
And, like a quiver'd nymph with arrows keen,
May trace huge forests, and unharbour'd heaths,
Infamous hills, and sandy perilous wilds;
Where, through the sacred rays of chastity,
No savage fierce, bandite, or mountaineer,
Will dare to soil her virgin purity.
