COME, y'are deceiv'd, and what you do Esteem a happy life's not so; He is not happy that excels I' th' Lapidary's bagatelles; Nor he, that when he sleeps doth lie Under a stately canopy; Nor he, that still supinely hides, In easy down, his lazy sides; Nor he, that purple wears, and sups Luxurious draughts in golden cups; Nor he, that loads with princely fare, His bowing tables, whilst they'll bear; Nor he, that has each spacious vault With deluges of plenty fraught, Cull'd from the fruitful Libyan fields, When autumn his best harvest yields; But he whom no mischance affrights, Nor popular applause delights, That can unmov'd, and undismay'd, Confront a ruffian's threatening blade: Who can do this; that man alone Has power Fortune to disthrone. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SNOW IN THE SUBURBS by THOMAS HARDY THE STIRRUP-CUP by JOHN MILTON HAY THE VANITY OF THE WORLD by FRANCIS QUARLES DEFEAT AND VICTORY by WALLACE RICE THE MEDITATION OF THE OLD FISHERMAN by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 24. AR-RAFI by EDWIN ARNOLD SONNET (2) by JOACHIM DU BELLAY |