AGAINST the rigours of a damp cold heaven To fortify their bodies, some frequent The gelid cistern; and, where naught forbids, I praise their dauntless heart. ... Let those who from the frozen Arctos reach Parched Mauritania, or the sultry West, Or the wide flood that laves rich Indostan, Plunge thrice a day, and in the tepid wave Untwist their stubborn pores; that full and free Th' evaporation through the softened skin May bear proportion to the swelling blood. So may they 'scape the fever's rapid flames; So feel untainted the hot breath of hell. With us, the man of no complaint demands The warm ablution just enough to keep The body sacred from indecent soil. Still to be pure, even did it not conduce (As much it does) to health, were greatly worth Your daily pains. 'Tis this adorns the rich; The want of this is poverty's worst woe; With this external virtue age maintains A decent grace; without it, youth and charms Are loathsome. This the venal Graces know; So doubtless do your wives: for married sires, As well as lovers, still pretend to taste; Nor is it less (all prudent wives can tell) To lose a husband's than a lover's heart. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE THREAD OF LIFE by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI IN MEMORIAM A.H.H.: 22 by ALFRED TENNYSON THE INNER VISION by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH VERSES, OCCASIONED BY AN AFFECTING INSTANCE OF SUDDEN DEATH by BERNARD BARTON |