Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ABOUT HUSBANDS, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ABOUT HUSBANDS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Johnson was right. I don't agree at all
Last Line: But apt to take his temper from his dinner.
Subject(s): Food & Eating; Marriage; Weddings; Husbands; Wives


"A man is, in general, better pleased when he has a good dinner
upon his table, than when his wife speaks Greek."
-- SAMUEL JOHNSON.

JOHNSON was right. I don't agree to all
The solemn dogmas of the rough old stager;
But very much approve what one may call
The minor morals of the "Ursa Major."

Johnson was right. Although some men adore
Wisdom in woman, and with learning cram her,
There is n't one in ten but thinks far more
Of his own grub than of his spouse's grammar.

I know it is the greatest shame in life;
But who among them (save, perhaps, myself)
Returning hungry home, but asks his wife
What beef -- not books -- she has upon the shelf?

Though Greek and Latin be the lady's boast,
They're little valued by her loving mate;
The kind of tongue that husband's relish most
Is modern, boiled, and served upon a plate.

Or if, as fond ambition may command,
Some home-made verse the happy matron show him,
What mortal spouse but from her dainty hand
Would sooner see a pudding than a poem?

Young lady, -- deep in love with Tom or Harry, --
'T is sad to tell you such a tale as this;
But here's the moral of it: Do not marry;
Or, marrying, take your lover as he is,

A very man, with something of the brute
(Unless he prove a sentimental noddy),
With passions strong and appetite to boot,
A thirsty soul within a hungry body.

A very man, -- not one of nature's clods, --
With human failings, whether saint or sinner;
Endowed, perhaps, with genius from the gods,
But apt to take his temper from his dinner.





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