University of Virginia Library

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.

[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.

[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.

[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 anguish
Could 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.

[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.