John Dryden ( 10 of 157 )
Ill habits gather by unseen degrees,As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.
Ill habits gather by unseen degrees,As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.
And nobler is a limited command,
Given by the love of all your native land,
Than a read more
And nobler is a limited command,
Given by the love of all your native land,
Than a successive title, long and dark,
Drawn from the mouldy rolls of Noah's Ark.
And heaven had wanted one immortal song.
And heaven had wanted one immortal song.
Ay, these look like the workmanship of heaven;
This is the porcelain clay of human kind,
And read more
Ay, these look like the workmanship of heaven;
This is the porcelain clay of human kind,
And therefore cast into these noble moulds.
The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,
Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees.
Three read more
The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,
Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees.
Three centuries he grows, and three he stays
Supreme in state; and in three more decays.
For who can be secure of private right,
If sovereign sway may be dissolved by might?
Nor read more
For who can be secure of private right,
If sovereign sway may be dissolved by might?
Nor is the people's judgment always true:
The most may err as grossly as the few.
A very merry, dancing, drinking,
Laughing, quaffing, and unthinking time.
A very merry, dancing, drinking,
Laughing, quaffing, and unthinking time.
Skill'd in the globe and sphere, he gravely stands,
And, with his compass, measures seas and lands.
Skill'd in the globe and sphere, he gravely stands,
And, with his compass, measures seas and lands.
