John Dryden ( 10 of 157 )
Content with poverty, my soul I arm;
And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm.
Content with poverty, my soul I arm;
And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm.
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.
Boldness is a mask for fear, however great.
Boldness is a mask for fear, however great.
Ill news is wing'd with fate, and flies apace.
Ill news is wing'd with fate, and flies apace.
Out of the solar walk and Heaven's highway.
Out of the solar walk and Heaven's highway.
Not aw'd to duty by superior sway.
Not aw'd to duty by superior sway.
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.
Our souls sit close and silently within,
And their own web from their own entrails spin;
And read more
Our souls sit close and silently within,
And their own web from their own entrails spin;
And when eyes meet far off, our sense is such,
That, spider like, we feel the tenderest touch.
Wit will shine
Through the harsh cadence of a rugged line.
Wit will shine
Through the harsh cadence of a rugged line.
Great wits are sure to madness near allied,
And thin partitions do their bounds divide.
Great wits are sure to madness near allied,
And thin partitions do their bounds divide.
