Oculus Britanniae An Heroi-Panegyrical poem on the University of Oxford. Illustrated with divers beautiful Similes, and useful Digressions [by Nicholas Amhurst] |
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 | Oculus Britanniae |  |
Against this ill (to vary from my tale)
But two specifick remedies prevail;
Virtue is one and purity of heart;
But if the flesh subdues the better part,
Another still remains, the fam'd machine
(No doubt the reader guesses what I mean)
That modern rare device, whose injur'd name
Is grown opprobrious, though it covers shame;
Without this guard, if my advice prevail,
On venal joys you never will regale;
Then against fire-ships you may stand the test,
And trust the warmest nymph—probatum est.
But two specifick remedies prevail;
Virtue is one and purity of heart;
But if the flesh subdues the better part,
55
(No doubt the reader guesses what I mean)
That modern rare device, whose injur'd name
Is grown opprobrious, though it covers shame;
Without this guard, if my advice prevail,
On venal joys you never will regale;
Then against fire-ships you may stand the test,
And trust the warmest nymph—probatum est.
| Oculus Britanniae | |