On His Mistress, the Queen of Bohemia, stanza 1 (1624). In some versions "moon" replaces "sun". This was printed with music as early as 1624, in Est's "Sixth Set of Books", for example.
“
You meaner beauties of the night,
That poorly satisfy our eyes
More by your number than your light;
You common people of the skies,
What are you when the sun shall rise?
— Henry Wotton
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "You meaner beauties of the night,
That poorly satisfy our eyes
More by your number than your light;
You common people of the skies,
What are you when the sun shall rise?" in the context of "On His Mistress, the Queen of Bohemia, stanza 1 (1624). In some versions "moon" replaces "sun". This was printed with music as early as 1624, in Est's "Sixth Set of Books", for example." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Henry Wotton" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
About Henry Wotton
Sir Henry Wotton (March 30, 1568 – December 1639) was an English author and diplomat.
About Henry Wotton
Sir Henry Wotton (March 30, 1568 – December 1639) was an English author and diplomat.
View all quotes →