These on the parent’s soul their weight impress’d,
And thus he wrote the counsels of his breast: -
“John, thou’rt a genius; thou hast some pretence,
I think, to wit, - but hast thou sterling sense?
That which, like gold, may through the world go forth,
And always pass for what ’tis truly worth:
Whereas this genius, like a bill must take
Only the value our opinions make.
“Men famed for wit, of dangerous talents vain.
Treat those of common parts with proud disdain;