University of Virginia Library


113

The Frailty.

1

I know 'tis sordid, and 'tis low;
(All this as well as you I know)
Which I so hotly now pursue;
(I know all this as well as you)
But whilst this cursed flesh I bear,
And all the Weakness, and the Baseness there,
Alas, alas, it will be always so.

2

In vain, exceedingly in vain
I rage sometimes, and bite my Chain;
For to what purpose do I bite
With Teeth which ne're will break it quite?
For if the chiefest Christian Head,
Was by this sturdy Tyrant buffeted,
What wonder is it, if weak I be slain?