 | Original poems on several subjects |  |
319
To ---
[Learn a plain lesson from a friend]
Learn a plain lesson from a friend,Sway'd by no mercenary end;
Never to gratify your wit,
Howe'er by fools admir'd for it,
Your pride, your knowledge, learning, sense,
At blushing Modesty's expense;
Nor, which the worst of tempers shows,
Your neighbour's venial slips expose.
The truest wisdom is, to know
That none are perfect here below;
The noblest candour, to conceal
What Malice only would reveal.
| Original poems on several subjects | |