[Page 271]
To Mr. GRENVILLE on his intended Resignation.
1 A Wretch tir'd out with Fortune's blows,
2 Resolv'd at once to end his woes;
[Page 272]3 And like a thoughtless silly elf,
4 In the next pond to drown himself.
5 'Tis fit, quoth he, my life should end,
6 The cruel world is not my friend;
7 I have nor meat, nor drink, nor cloaths,
8 But want each joy that wealth bestows;
9 Besides, I hold my life my own,
10 And when I please may lay it down;
11 A wretched hopeless thing am I,
12 Forgetting, as forgot, I'll die.
13 Not so, said one who stood behind,
14 And heard him thus disclose his mind;
15 Consider well pray what you do,
16 And think what numbers live in you:
17 If you go drown, your woes to ease,
18 Pray who will keep your lice and fleas?
19 On yours alone their lives depend,
20 With you they live, with you must end.
21 On great folks thus the little live,
22 And in their sunshine bask and thrive:
23 But when those suns no longer shine,
24 The hapless insects droop and pine.
25 Oh GRENVILLE then this tale apply,
26 Nor drown yourself lest I should die:
27 Compassionate your louse's case,
28 And keep your own to save his place.
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About this text
Author: Richard Berenger
Themes:
hopelessness; vanity of life; politics
Genres:
topical verse
References:
DMI 27899
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Source edition
Dodsley, Robert, 1703-1764. A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. VI. London: printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley, 1763 [1st ed. 1758], pp. 271-272. 6v.: music; 8⁰. (ESTC T131163; OTA K104099.006) (Page images digitized by the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive from a copy in the archive's library.)
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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.