Fortune And Wisdom
Enraged against a quondam friend,
To Wisdom once proud Fortune said
“I’ll give thee treasures without end,
If thou wilt be my friend instead.”
“My choicest gifts to him I gave,
And ever blest him with my smile;
And yet he ceases not to crave,
And calls me niggard all the while.”
“Come, sister, let us friendship vow!
So take the money, nothing loth;
Why always labor at the plough?
Here is enough I’m sure for both!”
Sage wisdom laughed, the prudent elf!
And wiped her brow, with moisture hot:
“There runs thy friend to hang himself,
Be reconciled I need thee not!”
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)Similar poems:
- The Poetry Of Life “Who would himself with shadows entertain, Or gild his life with lights that shine in vain, Or nurse false hopes […]...
- The Virtue Of Woman Man of virtue has need;-into life with boldness he plunges, Entering with fortune more sure into the hazardous strife; But […]...
- The Bards Of Olden Time Say, where is now that glorious race, where now are the singers Who, with the accents of life, listening nations […]...
- Hymn To Joy Joy, thou goddess, fair, immortal, Offspring of Elysium, Mad with rapture, to the portal Of thy holy fame we come! […]...
- The Alpine Hunter Wilt thou not the lambkins guard? Oh, how soft and meek they look, Feeding on the grassy sward, Sporting round […]...
- Fantasie To Laura Name, my Laura, name the whirl-compelling Bodies to unite in one blest whole Name, my Laura, name the wondrous magic […]...
- The Celebrated Woman – An Epistle By A Married Man Can I, my friend, with thee condole? Can I conceive the woes that try men, When late repentance racks the […]...
- The Cranes Of Ibycus Once to the song and chariot-fight, Where all the tribes of Greece unite On Corinth’s isthmus joyously, The god-loved Ibycus […]...
- The Driver “What knight or what vassal will be so bold As to plunge in the gulf below? See! I hurl in […]...
- The Lay Of The Mountain To the solemn abyss leads the terrible path, The life and death winding dizzy between; In thy desolate way, grim […]...
- The Complaint Of Ceres Does pleasant spring return once more? Does earth her happy youth regain? Sweet suns green hills are shining o’er; Soft […]...
- The Dance See how, like lightest waves at play, the airy dancers fleet; And scarcely feels the floor the wings of those […]...
- The Fortune-Favored Ah! happy he, upon whose birth each god Looks down in love, whose earliest sleep the bright Idalia cradles, whose […]...
- Shakespeare’s Ghost – A Parody I, too, at length discerned great Hercules’ energy mighty, Saw his shade. He himself was not, alas, to be seen. […]...
- Genius “Do I believe,” sayest thou, “what the masters of wisdom would teach me, And what their followers’ band boldly and […]...
- The Imitator Good from the good, to the reason this is not hard of conception; But the genius has power good from […]...
- A Funeral Fantasie Pale, at its ghastly noon, Pauses above the death-still wood the moon; The night-sprite, sighing, through the dim air stirs; […]...
- The Two Guides Of Life – The Sublime And The Beautiful Two genii are there, from thy birth through weary life to guide thee; Ah, happy when, united both, they stand […]...
- To Minna Do I dream? can I trust to my eye? My sight sure some vapor must cover? Or, there, did my […]...
- Carthage Oh thou degenerate child of the great and glorious mother, Who with the Romans’ strong might couplest the Tyrians’ deceit! […]...
- Different Destinies Millions busily toil, that the human race may continue; But by only a few is propagated our kind. Thousands of […]...
- Light And Warmth In cheerful faith that fears no ill The good man doth the world begin; And dreams that all without shall […]...
- Rapture To Laura From earth I seem to wing my flight, And sun myself in Heaven’s pure light, When thy sweet gaze meets […]...
- To A Moralist Are the sports of our youth so displeasing? Is love but the folly you say? Benumbed with the winter, and […]...
- The Words Of Error Three errors there are, that forever are found On the lips of the good, on the lips of the best; […]...
- The Favor Of The Moment Once more, then, we meet In the circles of yore; Let our song be as sweet In its wreaths as […]...
- Wisdom And Prudence Wouldst thou, my friend, mount up to the highest summit of wisdom, Be not deterred by the fear, prudence thy […]...
- Evening Oh! thou bright-beaming god, the plains are thirsting, Thirsting for freshening dew, and man is pining; Wearily move on thy […]...
- The Playing Infant Play on thy mother’s bosom, babe, for in that holy isle The error cannot find thee yet, the grieving, nor […]...
- The Lay Of The Bell Fast, in its prison-walls of earth, Awaits the mould of baked clay. Up, comrades, up, and aid the birth The […]...