AN old Hellenic saw declares The gods, who govern men's affairs Impartial (grumble as we may), For all their favors make us pay According to their special worth: Wealth, honor, beauty, noble birth, Has each its price; and still the higher The gift, the more the gods require! Hence, let not foolish pride inflate The seeming favorites of Fate. A Fir-tree, very large and tall, That grew beside a Bramble small, Was boasting of his strength and size: "What houses I would make!" he cries; "While you are simply good for naught, Unworthy of the Woodman's thought!" "True!" said the Bramble; "but reflect! -- If he were here, would you elect (Think of his axe, and tell me, sir) To be a Bramble or a Fir?" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...POSSUM SONG (A WARNING) by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON HOW THE GREAT GUEST CAME by EDWIN MARKHAM ON THE LOSS OF THE ROYAL GEORGE by WILLIAM COWPER SONG OF SUMMER by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR REVELATION by EDMUND WILLIAM GOSSE |