Читать книгу English Poets of the Eighteenth Century - Various - Страница 36

I'd be concerned in no litigious jar;

Beloved by all, not vainly popular.

Whate'er assistance I had power to bring

T' oblige my company, or to serve my king,

Whene'er they called, I'd readily afford,

My tongue, my pen, my counsel, or my sword.

Lawsuits I'd shun, with as much studious care,

As I would dens where hungry lions are;

And rather put up injuries, than be

A plague to him who'd be a plague to me.

I value quiet at a price too great

To give for my revenge so dear a rate:

For what do we by all our bustle gain,

But counterfeit delight for real pain?