Not gods, nor men, nor even booksellers have put up with poets' being second-rate.
Fools through false shame, conceal their open wounds.
There are calumnies against which even innocence loses courage.
Those who go overseas find a change of climate, not a change of soul.
"Painters and poets," you say, "have always had an equal license in bold invention." We know; we claim the liberty for ourselves and in turn we give it to others.
Think of the wonders uncorked by wine! It opens secrets, gives heart to our hopes, pushes the cowardly into battle, lifts the load from anxious minds, and evokes talents. Thanks to the bottle's prompting no one is lost for words, no one who's cramped by poverty fails to find release.