The complete poetical works of John Hay including many poems now first collected |
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The complete poetical works of John Hay | ||
181
DISTICHS
[I
Wisely a woman prefers to a lover a man who neglects her]
Wisely a woman prefers to a lover a man who neglects her.This one may love her some day, some day the lover will not.
[II
There are three species of creatures who when they seem coming are going]
There are three species of creatures who when they seem coming are going,When they seem going they come: Diplomates, women, and crabs.
[III
Pleasures too hastily tasted grow sweeter in fond recollection]
Pleasures too hastily tasted grow sweeter in fond recollection,As the pomegranate plucked green ripens far over the sea.
182
[IV
As the meek beasts in the Garden came flocking for Adam to name them]
As the meek beasts in the Garden came flocking for Adam to name them,Men for a title to-day crawl to the feet of a king.
[V
What is a first love worth, except to prepare for a second]
What is a first love worth, except to prepare for a second?What does the second love bring? Only regret for the first.
[VI
Health was wooed by the Romans in groves of the laurel and myrtle]
Health was wooed by the Romans in groves of the laurel and myrtle.Happy and long are the lives brightened by glory and love.
[VII
Wine is like rain: when it falls on the mire it but makes it the fouler]
Wine is like rain: when it falls on the mire it but makes it the fouler,But when it strikes the good soil wakes it to beauty and bloom.
183
[VIII
Break not the rose; its fragrance and beauty are surely sufficient]
Break not the rose; its fragrance and beauty are surely sufficient:Resting contented with these, never a thorn shall you feel.
[IX
When you break up housekeeping, you learn the extent of your treasures]
When you break up housekeeping, you learn the extent of your treasures;Till he begins to reform, no one can number his sins.
[X
Maidens! why should you worry in choosing whom you shall marry]
Maidens! why should you worry in choosing whom you shall marry?Choose whom you may, you will find you have got somebody else.
[XI
Unto each man comes a day when his favorite sins all forsake him]
Unto each man comes a day when his favorite sins all forsake him,And he complacently thinks he has forsaken his sins.
184
[XII
Be not too anxious to gain your next-door neighbor's approval]
Be not too anxious to gain your next-door neighbor's approval:Live your own life, and let him strive your approval to gain.
[XIII
Who would succeed in the world should be wise in the use of his pronouns]
Who would succeed in the world should be wise in the use of his pronouns.Utter the You twenty times, where you once utter the I.
[XIV
The best loved man or maid in the town would perish with anguish]
The best loved man or maid in the town would perish with anguishCould they hear all that their friends say in the course of a day.
[XV
True luck consists not in holding the best of the cards at the table]
True luck consists not in holding the best of the cards at the table:Luckiest he who knows just when to rise and go home.
185
[XVI
Pleasant enough it is to hear the world speak of your virtues]
Pleasant enough it is to hear the world speak of your virtues;But in your secret heart 't is of your faults you are proud.
[XVII
Try not to beat back the current, yet be not drowned in its waters]
Try not to beat back the current, yet be not drowned in its waters;Speak with the speech of the world, think with the thoughts of the few.
[XVIII
Make all good men your well-wishers, and then, in the years' steady sifting]
Make all good men your well-wishers, and then, in the years' steady sifting,Some of them turn into friends. Friends are the sunshine of life.
The complete poetical works of John Hay | ||