And for coquetry, she disdain'd to wear it:
Secure of admiration, its impression
Was faint, as of an every-day possession.

_Don Juan, Canto 13._


An eye's an eye, and whether black or blue,
Is no great matter, so 'tis in request.
'Tis nonsense to dispute about a hue,
The kindest may be taken as a test.
The fair sex should be always fair; and no man
Till thirty, should perceive there's a plain woman.

_Beppo._



She was not violently lively, but
Stole on your spirit like a May-day breaking;
Her eyes were not too sparkling, yet, half shut,
They put beholders in a tender taking.

_Don Juan, Canto 6._


The very first
Of human life must spring from woman's breast,
Your first small words are taught you from her lips,
Your first tears quench'd by her, and your last sighs