Henry James Pye

20 February 1745 – 11 August 1813 / London, England

Verses Addressed To A Lady

Of toil you say a moderate share
In each pursuit should rise,
Too much may make our hearts despair,
Too little we despise:
In every common case I own
The justness of the thought,
A fly may be too quickly won,
The world too dearly bought.
Not so in Love; his charms depend
Upon himself alone,
No foreign circumstance can lend
A lustre to his throne:
Though gain'd without one care, his joys
High-valued must remain,
Are cheaply purchas'd when the prize
Of Industry and care.
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