rymenhild

Today I've been reading assorted seventeenth-, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature in order to plan a class. This is always entertaining and educational. I shall present, for your entertainment, one of the poems I found in my search. I give you "Nestor", or "Upon the Drinking of a Bowl," by the notorious seventeenth-century drunkard and libertine John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. (In the edition I found this morning, some of the language had been expurgated. I of course have posted the non-expurgated version.)

Nestor (ca. 1670, as far as I can tell; I haven't seen a precise date)

Vulcan contrive me such a Cupp
As Nestor us'd of old:
Show all thy skill to trim it up
Damask it round with gold.

( How big is that cup, my lord? You might well ask... )