The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe Household Edition : with illustrations |
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THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES. |
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 | The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe |  |
THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES.
“Give me your soldiers' bracelets; allTheir splendid jewels, great and small,
And straight your army shall be led
Within the city walls.” So said
Tarpeia, while the Sabine waits
In siege before the Roman gates.
Whereat each soldier, filing past
The traitress, on her body cast
His heavy bracelet; till at last
The shining heap became so great,
She fell and died beneath their weight.
Even so it fares with mortals, who
With headlong eagerness pursue
Ambition, pleasure, wealth, or fame;
The glittering prize at which they aim
Comes often, like Tarpeia's fate,
To bruise and crush them with its weight.
| The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe | |