Two bookes of epigrammes, and epitaphs Dedicated to two top-branches of gentry: Sir Charles Shirley, Baronet, and William Davenport, Esquire. Written by Thomas Bancroft |
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42. On Gentry.
I saw once (on a Hill in Wales)Th'old Herald Time with dusty Scales
Weighing of Gentry, and close by
Stood the blind Goddesse secretly.
Those that were brainelesse, light, and vaine,
Did mount aloft; and those againe
That had their weight of worth, did fall
Low as this earthly Pedestall:
And still as Fortune pleas'd, she made
The Ballance move, and laugh'd, and play'd
Her wanton prankes (too seriously)
Ah ha, are these your tricks? thought I;
Then is the cause by Fortune found,
Why Gallants floate, and Wits are drown'd.
| Two bookes of epigrammes, and epitaphs | |