Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.
Richard Watson Dixon b. 1833From “Mano: a Poetical History.” III. Of Temperance in Fortune
H
That likewise he her poor relation knows:
To whom both much is given and denied:
To riches and to poverty he owes
An equal debt: of both he makes acquist,
And moderate in all his mind he shows.
But ill befalls the man who hath not miss’d
Aught of his heart’s desires, in plenty murs’d:
For evil things he knows not to resist:
And, aiding their assault, himself is worst
Against himself, with self-destructive rage.
But states are with another evil curs’d,
For, falling into luxury with age,
They burst in tumults, swollen with bloody shame,
Which old exploits aggrieve and not assuage.
Past temperance doth the present feast inflame;
Past grandeur like too heavy armor weighs:
Great without virtue is an evil name.