Amoretti XXVI

~Edmund Spenser (1552/1553-1599)

Sweet is the rose, but grows upon a brere;

Sweet is the juniper, but sharp is the bough;

Sweet is the eglantine, but pricketh near;

Sweet is the fir-bloom, but his branch is rough;

Sweet is the cypress, but his rind is tough;

Sweet is the nut, but bitter is his pill;

Sweet is the broom-flower, but yet sour enough:

And sweet is moly, but his root is ill.

So every sweet with sour is temp’red still,

That maketh it be coveted the more:

For easy things, that may be got at will,

Most sorts of men do set but little store.

     Why then should I account of little pain

     That endless pleasure shall unto me gain!