When any man of greater pow'r you see
Invested with the robes of dignity,
In honour's gaudiest, gayest livery
Dreaded by all, whose arbitrary will,
Whose very breath, whose ev'ry look can kill;
Whose power, and whose wealth know no restraint,
Whose greatness hardly flattery can paint;
Take care you be not here intangled by
The too great lustre that beguiles your eye;
Beware you do not envy his estate,
Nor think him happier because he's great.
For if true quiet and tranquillity,
Consist in things which in our pow'r do lie,
What residence can emulation find?
What room hath restless envy in the mind?
Envy and happiness can ne'er reside
In the same place, nor in one breast abide.
Nor do you wish yourself (if we may guess
Your real thoughts by what you do profess)
To be a senator or general,
But to be free, (that's greater than them all)
This freedom you would gladly learn, you say,
To which there is but one, one only way:
Which is to scorn, with brave and decent pride,
All things that in another's pow'r reside.