| |
|
Go, Soul, the
body's guest,
Upon a thankless arrant:
Fear not to
touch the best;
The truth shall be thy warrant:
Go, since I needs must die,
And give the world the
lie.
Say to the court, it glows
And shines
like rotten wood;
Say to the church, it shows
What's good, and doth no good:
If church and court
reply,
Then give them both the lie.
Tell
potentates, they live
Acting by others' action;
Not loved unless they give,
Not strong but by a
faction:
If potentates reply,
Give potentates the
lie.
Tell men of high condition,
That manage
the estate,
Their purpose is ambition,
Their
practice only hate:
And if they once reply,
Then
give them all the lie.
Tell them that brave it
most,
They beg for more by spending,
Who, in their
greatest cost,
Seek nothing but commending:
And if
they make reply,
Then give them all the lie.
Tell zeal it wants devotion;
Tell love it is but
lust;
Tell time it is but motion;
Tell flesh it is
but dust:
And wish them not reply,
For thou must
give the lie.
Tell age it daily wasteth;
Tell
honour how it alters;
Tell beauty how she blasteth;
Tell favour how it falters:
And as they shall reply,
Give every one the lie.
Tell wit how much it
wrangles
In tickle points of niceness;
Tell wisdom
she entangles
Herself in over-wiseness:
And when
they do reply,
Straight give them both the lie.
Tell physic of her boldness;
Tell skill it is
pretension;
Tell charity of coldness;
Tell law it
is contention:
And as they do reply,
So give them
still the lie.
Tell fortune of her blindness;
Tell nature of decay;
Tell friendship of unkindness;
Tell justice of delay:
And if they will reply,
Then give them all the lie.
Tell arts they have
no soundness,
But vary by esteeming;
Tell schools
they want profoundness,
And stand too much on
seeming:
If arts and schools reply,
Give arts and
schools the lie.
Tell faith it's fled the city;
Tell how the country erreth;
Tell manhood shakes off
pity
And virtue least preferreth:
And if they do
reply,
Spare not to give the lie.
So when thou
hast, as I
Commanded thee, done blabbing
-
Although to give the lie
Deserves no less than
stabbing -
Stab at thee he that will,
No stab the
soul can kill.
|
|
|
