 | Flower o' the thorn |  |
OLD CYNICS AND NEW.
TUB-TRUNDLING sage, that o'er Life's smooth its rough,For Freedom's sake, preferredst and to please,
134
How hadst thou of our cynics deemed, who stuff
Themselves with garbage at the general trough
And take for good whate'er the mob decrees,
Nor question whether it be chalk or cheese,
So but the gilt thereon be thick enough?
—For me, considering their hoggish lust,
Their brute complacency and base content
With the swine's husks of Life, perforce I must
Them to some landscape of the moon compare,
Forever void of water and of air,
As they of humour, wit and sentiment.
| Flower o' the thorn | |