The Works of Peter Pindar [i.e. John Wolcot] ... With a Copious Index. To which is prefixed Some Account of his Life. In Four Volumes |
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 | The Works of Peter Pindar [i.e. John Wolcot] |  |
446
ODE.
[A cat who from a window peepeth out]
Cats and Princes very much alike.
A cat who from a window peepeth out,
‘Is very like a cat who peepeth in’—
Thus it is said—and he who is no lout,
Knoweth that cats are unto men akin.
‘Is very like a cat who peepeth in’—
Thus it is said—and he who is no lout,
Knoweth that cats are unto men akin.
For princes looking up towards a throne,
Are very much like princes looking down;
That is, love pow'r, love wealth, have great propensities,
Sublimely dealing ever in immensities.
Are very much like princes looking down;
That is, love pow'r, love wealth, have great propensities,
Sublimely dealing ever in immensities.
Princes have clawing passions too, I ween—
Yes, many a foreign king and foreign queen;
With stomachs wide too as a whale's, or wider:
The subject and a king, in foreign land,
I often have been giv'n to understand,
Are a poor jack-ass and his rider.
Yes, many a foreign king and foreign queen;
With stomachs wide too as a whale's, or wider:
The subject and a king, in foreign land,
I often have been giv'n to understand,
Are a poor jack-ass and his rider.
| The Works of Peter Pindar [i.e. John Wolcot] | |