I know my sphere, did he the same,

He’d tread that path that leads to fame;

Did he in dang’rous times retire,

And check with care ambition’s fire,

Like me he might new lustre spread.

And deck with laurels fresh his head.

But, coxcomb like, he’s led astray

To shine, and shines but for a day.”

Fable XVIII.
The Angler and the Philosopher.