A brave man struggling in the storms of fate, And greatly falling with a falling state.

I begin where most people end, with a full conviction of the emptiness of all sorts of ambition, and the unsatisfactory nature of all human pleasures.

For lo! the board with cups and spoons is crowned.The berries crackle, and the mill turns round ... At once they gratify their scent and taste.And frequent cups prolong the rich repast... Coffee (which makes the politician wise And see through all things with his half-shut eyes).

Oh, blindness to the future! kindly giv'n, That each may fill the circle mark'd by heaven.

But thinks, admitted to that equal sky, His faithful dog shall bear him company.

Truth needs not flowers of speech.

And empty heads console with empty sound.