You write with ease, to show your breeding,
But easy writing's curst hard reading.

You write with ease, to show your breeding,
But easy writing's curst hard reading.

Art thou a pen, whose task shall be
To drown in ink
What writers think?
read more

Art thou a pen, whose task shall be
To drown in ink
What writers think?
Oh, wisely write,
That pages white
Be not the worse for ink and thee.

The sacred Dove a quill did lend
From her high-soaring wing.

The sacred Dove a quill did lend
From her high-soaring wing.

The feather, whence the pen
Was shaped that traced the lives of these good men,
Dropped from read more

The feather, whence the pen
Was shaped that traced the lives of these good men,
Dropped from an Angel's wing.

Goose [pen] bee [wax] and calf [parchment] govern the world.
[Lat., Anser, apie, vitellus, populus et regna gubernant.]

Goose [pen] bee [wax] and calf [parchment] govern the world.
[Lat., Anser, apie, vitellus, populus et regna gubernant.]

Beneath the rule of men entirely great
The pen is mightier than the sword.

Beneath the rule of men entirely great
The pen is mightier than the sword.

Oh! nature's noblest gift--my gray-goose quill!
Slave of my thoughts, obedient to my will,
Torn from thy read more

Oh! nature's noblest gift--my gray-goose quill!
Slave of my thoughts, obedient to my will,
Torn from thy parent-bird to form a pen,
That might instrument of little men!

The swifter hand doth the swift words outrun:
Before the tongue hath spoke the hand hath done.

The swifter hand doth the swift words outrun:
Before the tongue hath spoke the hand hath done.

If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest
of men, I will find read more

If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest
of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.
[Fr., Qu'on me donne six lignes ecrites de la main du plus
honnete homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.]