William Cowper

Detested sport,
That owes its pleasures to another's pain.

Detested sport,
That owes its pleasures to another's pain.

Unless a love of virtue light the flame,
Satire is, more than those he brands, to blame;
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Unless a love of virtue light the flame,
Satire is, more than those he brands, to blame;
He hides behind a magisterial air
He own offences, and strips others' bare.

The mind, relaxing into needful sport,
Should turn to writers of an abler sort,
Whose wit well read more

The mind, relaxing into needful sport,
Should turn to writers of an abler sort,
Whose wit well managed, and whose classic style,
Give truth a lustre, and make wisdom smile.

While fancy, like the finger of a clock,
Runs the great circuit, and is still at home.

While fancy, like the finger of a clock,
Runs the great circuit, and is still at home.

Mercy to him that shows it, is the rule.

Mercy to him that shows it, is the rule.