Poems, and phancies written By the Thrice Noble, Illustrious, And Excellent Princess The Lady Marchioness of Newcastle [i.e. Margaret Cavendish]. The Second Impression, much Altered and Corrected |
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The Common Fate of Books.
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 | Poems, and phancies |  |
The Common Fate of Books.
Books have the worst Fate, when they once are Read,They're laid aside, forgotten like the Dead:
Under a Heap of Dust they Buried lye,
Within a Vault of some small Library:
But Spiders, which Nature has taught to Spin,
For th'Love and Honour of this Art, since Men
Spin likewise all their Writings from their Brain,
A lasting Web of Fame thereby to Gain,
They do high Altars of thin Cobwebs raise,
Their Off'rings Flies, a Sacrifice of Praise.
| Poems, and phancies | |