Stultifera Navis or, The Modern Ship of Fools [by S. W. H. Ireland] |
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| XX. |
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| XXVII. | SECTION XXVII.
OF FOOLS WHO RELY ON THE STABILITY
OF FORTUNE. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
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| LVIII. |
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| LXIII. |
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| LXVI. |
 | Stultifera Navis |  |
110
SECTION XXVII. OF FOOLS WHO RELY ON THE STABILITY OF FORTUNE.
------Fortuna vitrea est, tum cum splendet frangitur:
Fortuna, nimium quem fovet, stultum facit.
Fortuna, nimium quem fovet, stultum facit.
O listen, fool, and if there's yet one grain,
Of common sense in thy too senseless brain;
As well may'st thou rely on Fortune's smile,
As strive these contraries to reconcile.
When Bond street milliner shall live correct,
And harlots walk in Quaker robes bedeckt;
When doctors disregard their wonted fees,
And great Napoleon's navy rules the seas;
When Pall Mall loungers study common sense,
And high bred ladies sport no impudence;
When lords give satisfaction to their duns,
And vet'ran soldiers shoot not with long guns.
When orators no sep'rate parties join,
And citizens disdain the plump sirloin;
When members of Saint Stephen's gain their seats,
By independence, void of lies and treats;
When Bank directors note fam'd Newland's bills,
And Taylor swallows down his own fam'd pills;
When angry Boreas view with Braham's strain,
And Cæsar fights his battles o'er again;
When halt and blind shall the fandango dance,
And Garrat's mayor usurp the throne of France;
When parson shall forget his wonted text,
And debtor sleep without a mind perplex'd;
When poet shall be dumb, musician meek,
An actor sober, and a curate sleek:
When rich exchange their state with wretched poor,
And Hampshire swine dance minuet de la cour;
Then Fortune's favours thou wilt justly see,
Dispens'd on merit:—Not on fools like thee.
Of common sense in thy too senseless brain;
As well may'st thou rely on Fortune's smile,
As strive these contraries to reconcile.
111
And harlots walk in Quaker robes bedeckt;
When doctors disregard their wonted fees,
And great Napoleon's navy rules the seas;
When Pall Mall loungers study common sense,
And high bred ladies sport no impudence;
When lords give satisfaction to their duns,
And vet'ran soldiers shoot not with long guns.
When orators no sep'rate parties join,
And citizens disdain the plump sirloin;
112
By independence, void of lies and treats;
When Bank directors note fam'd Newland's bills,
And Taylor swallows down his own fam'd pills;
When angry Boreas view with Braham's strain,
And Cæsar fights his battles o'er again;
When halt and blind shall the fandango dance,
And Garrat's mayor usurp the throne of France;
When parson shall forget his wonted text,
And debtor sleep without a mind perplex'd;
When poet shall be dumb, musician meek,
An actor sober, and a curate sleek:
When rich exchange their state with wretched poor,
And Hampshire swine dance minuet de la cour;
Then Fortune's favours thou wilt justly see,
Dispens'd on merit:—Not on fools like thee.
L'ENVOY OF THE POET.
Fortune the ancients justly pictur'd blind,And so is he that on her gifts relies;
But when cool reason's dictates sway the mind,
On self will it depend, and thus be wise.
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THE POET'S CHORUS TO FOOLS.
Come, trim the boat, row on each Rara Avis,Crowds flock to man my Stultifera Navis.
It is certainly a fact, that fools are the favoured of Fortune, but not that race which studies to court her; for the caprice of the lady is so notorious, that she will only force herself upon those who either treat her with contempt, or never think about her.
For though dame Fortune seem to smile,
And leer upon thee for a while;
She'll after show thee in the nick,
Of all thy glories, a dog trick.
The haughty and vainglorious Bajazet was the occupant
of the very iron cage which he had caused to be
constructed for the prison of his enemy, and after all his
grandeur, it has been said that he became his own executioner,
by beating his brains out against the bars of that
very engine which denoted his degradation, and displayed
his downfal to the eyes of every gaping fool.
And leer upon thee for a while;
She'll after show thee in the nick,
Of all thy glories, a dog trick.
The renowned Kouli Khan, whose conquering arms subdued the vast empire of Mogul, was stopped in his career by the hand of one of his own officers, who murdered him in his tent: but, were we to expatiate on this topic, and adduce every circumstance of a similar nature, in order to prove the instability of Fortune, no folio volume would be sufficient to comprize the catalogue; therefore, to fools of this cast, we will conclude with an excellent line of Sallust.
Divitiarum et formæ gloria fluxa atque fragilis.
| Stultifera Navis | |