Matthew Prior. Dialogues of the Dead and Other Works in Prose and Verse. The Text Edited by A. R. Waller |
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UPON
HONOUR.
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 | Matthew Prior. Dialogues of the Dead and Other Works |  |
122
UPON HONOUR.
A FRAGMENT.
Honour, I say, or honest Fame,I mean the substance, not the name;
(Not that light heap of tawdry wares,
Of Ermin, Coronets, and Stars,
Which often is by merit sought,
By gold and flatt'ry oft'ner bought.
The shade, for which Ambition looks,
In Selden's or in Ashmole's books:)
But the true glory which proceeds,
Reflected bright from honest deeds,
Which we in our Own breast perceive,
And Kings can neither take nor give.
| Matthew Prior. Dialogues of the Dead and Other Works | |