17.12.2012, 12:48
'Tis advantageous at a mark to pause,
Nor ask of fate deserting in fruition,
To think this you may have adequate cause
Without a vast amount of erudition ;
Success may be beyond its value bought,
Wise oft to be content with what is gain'd,
For if the prize is own'd thus more than sought,
Proportionate peril is e'er attain'd ;
When he who glitter'd victorious arms,
Where was subdued by conquest all alarms
Which the encroaching Louis might have raised,
Right was it to repress his ardour, praised
Is the act, for if the opposing nation
Had fallen, would it have proved compensation ?
Nor ask of fate deserting in fruition,
To think this you may have adequate cause
Without a vast amount of erudition ;
Success may be beyond its value bought,
Wise oft to be content with what is gain'd,
For if the prize is own'd thus more than sought,
Proportionate peril is e'er attain'd ;
When he who glitter'd victorious arms,
Where was subdued by conquest all alarms
Which the encroaching Louis might have raised,
Right was it to repress his ardour, praised
Is the act, for if the opposing nation
Had fallen, would it have proved compensation ?