Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE CONNOISEURS; FROM YRIARTE, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE CONNOISEURS; FROM YRIARTE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Within a wine-vault once arose
Last Line: I think the toper's rule is best!
Subject(s): Alcoholism & Alcoholics


WITHIN a wine-vault once arose
A quarrel -- so the story goes --
Among the Bacchanalian crowd,
So fierce and bitter, long and loud,
It fairly threatened broken laws,
And bloody noses, -- all because
Two parties held conflicting views
About the fittest way to choose
Their beverage! Some stoutly hold,
"A first-rate tap is always old;
At least, a thousand proofs attest
The oldest always is the best.
Not till the cunning spiders spin
A million lines across the bin
Do men of sense imbibe the juice;
Then, only then, 't is fit for use,
Pure, mellow, fragrant, ripe; in fine,
Worthy the glorious name of wine!"
The others just as roundly swear,
"New wine is best. Age" (they de clare)
"Is far more apt to mar than mend
Good wine (whatever fools pretend),
And then 't is oft a mere device,
Got up by rogues to raise the price!"
While thus with wrath that grew to rage,
Their foolish feud the wranglers wage,
Up spoke a stranger from Navarre:
"Cease, gentlemen! your wordy war!
I've tippled wine of every sort,
Canary, Malta, Xeres, Port,
And many a famous tap beside;
All brands and ages have I tried, --
The white, the red, the old, the new,
The good, the bad, the false, the true;
I've drunk in cellar, booth, and inn;
I've drunk from bottle, cask, and skin;
And if there be a judge of wine,
To know the fair, the foul, the fine,
In glass or bumper, cup or can, --
By jolly Bacchus! I'm the man!
Crede experto! Take my word,
For all the nonsense you have heard
About the charm of 'old' or 'new,'
'T is trial only tests the true!
Old wine may still be wretched stuff,
And new wine excellent enough
For men or gods! No rule on earth,
Save drinking, can decide its worth,
Give me good wine, and I engage
I'll not inquire about its age!"

L'ENVOI.

In Books and Art some bid us seek
The highest worth in the "antique";
While other critics (just as wise)
No genius but the "modern" prize:
In judging either, I protest
I think the toper's rule is best!





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