John Dryden ( 10 of 157 )
Swear, food, or starve; for the dilemma's even;
A tradesman thou! and hope to go to heaven?
Swear, food, or starve; for the dilemma's even;
A tradesman thou! and hope to go to heaven?
Ill habits gather by unseen degrees,As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.
Ill habits gather by unseen degrees,As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.
And heaven had wanted one immortal song.
And heaven had wanted one immortal song.
He who trusts secrets to a servant makes him his master.
He who trusts secrets to a servant makes him his master.
And nobler is a limited command,
Given by the love of all your native land,
Than a read more
And nobler is a limited command,
Given by the love of all your native land,
Than a successive title, long and dark,
Drawn from the mouldy rolls of Noah's Ark.
So liv'd our sires, ere doctors learn'd to kill,
And multiplied with theirs the weekly bill.
So liv'd our sires, ere doctors learn'd to kill,
And multiplied with theirs the weekly bill.
Skill'd in the globe and sphere, he gravely stands,
And, with his compass, measures seas and lands.
Skill'd in the globe and sphere, he gravely stands,
And, with his compass, measures seas and lands.
The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,
Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees.
Three read more
The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,
Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees.
Three centuries he grows, and three he stays
Supreme in state; and in three more decays.
For who can be secure of private right,
If sovereign sway may be dissolved by might?
Nor read more
For who can be secure of private right,
If sovereign sway may be dissolved by might?
Nor is the people's judgment always true:
The most may err as grossly as the few.
