154
PRINCIPLES OF
Chap. X.
Gladly with thee would pass inglorious days,
Renounce the warrior's tempting praise,
And buy thee, if thou might'st be sold,
With gems, and purple vests, and stores of plunder'd gold.
Renounce the warrior's tempting praise,
And buy thee, if thou might'st be sold,
With gems, and purple vests, and stores of plunder'd gold.
III.
But neither boundless wealth, nor guards that wait
Around the Consul's honour'd gate,
Nor antichambers with attendants fill'd,
The mind's unhappy tumults can abate,
Or banish sullen cares, that fly
Across the gilded rooms of state,
And their foul nests like swallows build
Close to the palace-roofs and tow'rs that pierce the sky?
Much less will Nature's modest wants supply:
And happier lives the homely swain,
Who in some cottage, far from noise,
His few paternal goods enjoys;
Nor knows the sordid lust of gain,
Nor with Fear's tormenting pain
His hovering sleeps destroys.
But neither boundless wealth, nor guards that wait
Around the Consul's honour'd gate,
Nor antichambers with attendants fill'd,
The mind's unhappy tumults can abate,
Or banish sullen cares, that fly
Across the gilded rooms of state,
And their foul nests like swallows build
Close to the palace-roofs and tow'rs that pierce the sky?
Much less will Nature's modest wants supply:
And happier lives the homely swain,
Who in some cottage, far from noise,
His few paternal goods enjoys;
Nor knows the sordid lust of gain,
Nor with Fear's tormenting pain
His hovering sleeps destroys.
IV.
Vain man! that in a narrow space
At endless game projects the daring spear!
Vain man! that in a narrow space
At endless game projects the daring spear!
