Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher

'Tis a word that's quickly spoken,
Which being unrestrained, a heart is broken.

'Tis a word that's quickly spoken,
Which being unrestrained, a heart is broken.

Nature too unkind;
That made no medicine for a troubled mind!

Nature too unkind;
That made no medicine for a troubled mind!

Thy clothes are all the soul thou hast.

Thy clothes are all the soul thou hast.

Corruption is a tree, whose branches are
Of an immeasurable length: they spread
Ev'rywhere; and the dew read more

Corruption is a tree, whose branches are
Of an immeasurable length: they spread
Ev'rywhere; and the dew that drops from thence
Hath infected some chairs and stools of authority.

Yet what are they, the learned and the great?
Awhile of longer wonderment the theme!
Who shall read more

Yet what are they, the learned and the great?
Awhile of longer wonderment the theme!
Who shall presume to prophesy their date,
Where nought is certain save the uncertainty of fate?
- Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher,