WHY, prithee now, what does it signify For to bustle and make such a rout? It is virtue alone that can dignify, Whether clothed in ermine or clout. Come, come, and maintain thy discretion; Let it act a more generous part; For I find by thy honest confession, That the world has too much of thy heart. Beware that its fatal ascendancy Do not tempt thee to mope and repine; With a humble and hopeful dependency Still await the good pleasure divine. Success in a higher beatitude Is the end of what's under the pole; A philosopher takes it with gratitude, And believes it is best on the whole. The world is a scene, thou art sensible, Upon which, if we do but our best, On a wisdom that's incomprehensible We may safely rely for the rest. Then trust to its kind distribution, And however things happen to fall, Prithee, pluck up a good resolution To be cheerful and thankful for all. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DRUMS AND BRASS by DONALD (GRADY) DAVIDSON THE BEAST OF BURDEN by MARIANNE MOORE TO A FRIEND IN THE MAKING by MARIANNE MOORE TIME AND THE PERFUME RIVER by KAREN SWENSON WHEN DE CO'N PONE'S HOT by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN: THE SECOND DAY: LADY WENTWORTH by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW |