James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902.
August 6To Ben Jonson
By Robert Herrick (1591–1674)
A
Say, how or when
Shall we, thy guests,
Meet at those lyric feasts
Made at the Sun,
The Dog, the Triple Tun;
Where we such clusters had
As made us nobly wild, not mad,
And yet each verse of thine
Outdid the meat, outdid the frolic wine?
Or come again,
Or send to us
Thy wit’s great overplus;
But teach us yet
Wisely to husband it,
Lest we that talent spend;
And having once brought to an end
That precious stock, the store
Of such a wit, the world should have no more.