 | I. |
| II. |
 | III. |
|
|
|
| IV. |
 | Poems on Affairs of State |  |
The sharpest Satyrist with Poetick Rage
Strives to reform the Vices of the Age;
Laughs at the Fool, and at the Villain rails;
Yet Folly reigns, and Villany prevails;
VVhile the crack'd Skull shows all that has been said,
Leaves Marks on nothing but the Poet's Head:
For partial Man, try'd by himself alone,
Protesting every Sentence but his own;
Severe to all Men, to himself too kind,
Sees others Faults, but to his own is blind.
Strives to reform the Vices of the Age;
Laughs at the Fool, and at the Villain rails;
Yet Folly reigns, and Villany prevails;
VVhile the crack'd Skull shows all that has been said,
Leaves Marks on nothing but the Poet's Head:
For partial Man, try'd by himself alone,
Protesting every Sentence but his own;
Severe to all Men, to himself too kind,
Sees others Faults, but to his own is blind.
| Poems on Affairs of State | |