The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd Centenary Edition. With a Memoir of the Author, by the Rev. Thomas Thomson ... Poems and Life. With Many Illustrative Engravings [by James Hogg] |
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How Foolish are Mankind.
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 | The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd |  |
How Foolish are Mankind.
How foolish are mankind to look for perfection
In any poor changling under the sun!
By nature, or habit, or want of reflection,
To vices or folly we heedlessly run.
The man who is modest and kind in his nature,
And open and cheerful in every degree;
Who feels for the woes of his own fellow-creature,
Though subject to failings, is dear unto me.
In any poor changling under the sun!
By nature, or habit, or want of reflection,
To vices or folly we heedlessly run.
The man who is modest and kind in his nature,
And open and cheerful in every degree;
Who feels for the woes of his own fellow-creature,
Though subject to failings, is dear unto me.
Far dearer to me is the humble ewe-gowan,
The sweet native violet, or bud of the broom,
Than fine fostered flowers in the garden a-growing,
Though sweet be their savour and bonnie their bloom.
Far dearer to me is the thrush or the linnet,
Than any fine bird from a far foreign tree;
And dearer my lad, with his plaid and blue bonnet,
Than all our rich nobles or lords that I see.
The sweet native violet, or bud of the broom,
Than fine fostered flowers in the garden a-growing,
Though sweet be their savour and bonnie their bloom.
Far dearer to me is the thrush or the linnet,
Than any fine bird from a far foreign tree;
And dearer my lad, with his plaid and blue bonnet,
Than all our rich nobles or lords that I see.
| The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd | |