Poems on Several Occasions | ||
From MARTIAL.
Vitam quæ faciunt beatiorem, &c.
Pleasantest Companion This,
This in Life is Happiness:
Timely an Estate to gain,
Left, not purchas'd by your Pain:
Grounds that pay the Tiller's Hire,
Hearths with ever-during Fire;
Safe from Law t'enjoy your own,
Seldom view the busy Town;
Health, with mod'rate Vigour join'd;
True well-grounded Peace of Mind;
Friends, your Equals in Degree,
Prudent, plain Simplicity;
Easy Converse Mirth afford,
Artless Plenty fill the Board:
Temp'rate Joy your Ev'nings bless,
Free from Care as from Excess:
Short the Night by Sleep be made;
Chaste, not cheerless, be the Bed:
Chuse to be but what you are;
Dying, neither wish nor fear.
Poems on Several Occasions | ||