I would be rich, but see men, too unkind Dig in the bowels of the richest mind:
I would be wise, but that I often see The fox suspected, whilst the ass goes free:
I would be fair, but see the fair and proud, Like the bright sun, oft setting in a cloud:
I would be poor, but know the humble grass Still trampled on by each unworthy ass:
Rich, hated wise, suspected, scorn'd if poor;Great, fear'd, fair, tempted, high, still envy'd more.
I have wish'd all, but now I wish for neither.
Great, high, rich, wise, nor fair: poor I'll be rather.
Would the World now adopt me for her heir;Would beauty's Queen entitle me the fair;
In the loose rhymes of every poetaster ?
Could I be more than any man that lives, Great, fair, rich wise, all in superlatives;Yet I more freely would these gifts resign Than ever fortune would have made them mine.
And hold one minute of this holy leisure Beyond the riches of this empty pleasure.
Welcome, pure thoughts; welcome, ye silent groves;These guests, these courts, my soul most dearly loves.
Now the wing'd people of the sky shall sing My cheerful anthems to the gladsome spring:
A pray'r-book, now, shall be my looking-glass, In which I will adore sweet virtue's face.
Here dwell no hateful looks, no palace cares, No broken vows dwell here, nor pale-fac'd fears;Then here I'll sit, and sigh my hot love's folly, And learn t' affect an holy melancholy:
And if contentment be a stranger then, I'll ne'er look for it, but in heaven, again.
Venator.Well, Master, these verses be worthy to keep a room in every man's memory.I thank you for them; and I thank you for your many instructions, which, God willing, I will not forget.And as St.Austin, in his Confessions, commemorates the kindness of his friend Verecundus, for lending him and his companion a country house, because there they rested and enjoyed themselves, free from the troubles of the world, so, having had the like advantage, both by your conversation and the art you have taught me, I ought ever to do the like; for, indeed, your company and discourse have been so useful and pleasant, that, I may truly say, I have only lived since I enjoyed them and turned angler, and not before.Nevertheless, here I must part with you; here in this now sad place, where I was so happy as first to meet you: but I shall long for the ninth of May; for then I hope again to enjoy your beloved company, at the appointed time and place.And now I wish for some somniferous potion, that might force me to sleep away the intermitted time, which will pass away with me as tediously as it does with men in sorrow;nevertheless I will make it as short as I can, by my hopes and wishes: