And if these prove not a remedy sure,
Then a pair of red lips you must straight procure.
But if these latter avail not to save,
May I be laid deep down in the grave.
In the case of lovers a kiss is everything; that is the reason why a man stakes his all for a kiss. In Enthousiasme Aarestrup says:
Ha, you're blushing! What red roses
Deck your lips! A man were fain to,
If a chasm yawned before him,
Straightway peril life to gain you.
And man craves for it as his noblest reward:
From beyond the high green mountains
Lamentations fraught with sadness
Issue, soft as from a girl's voice.
Then a youth the sound pursueth,
And he sees a maiden shackled
Fast in fetters thick of roses.
Then the fair maid called unto him:
"Doughty youth, come here and help me;
I'll be to you as a sister."
But the youth straightway made answer:
"In my home I have a sister."
"Doughty youth, come here and help me,
For a brother-in-law I'll choose thee."
