How much more happy is that sweet estate,
That neither creeps too low nor soars too high;
Which yields no matter for contempt or hate,
Which others not disdain, nor yet envy,
Which neither does nor takes an injury,
But living to itself in sweet content,
Is neither abject, nor yet insolent.
1629. Herbert.
My country, sir, is not a single spot
Of such a mould, or fixed to such a clime.
Marvel of Peru.... Timidity.
The Marvel is a native of Peru, and receives its name from the wonderful diversity of colours in flowers of the same root;
Changing from the splendid rose
To the pale violet’s dejected hue.
Akenside.
This plant retains its beauty for a great length of time, being frequently covered with blossoms from the beginning of July to the end of October. It is chosen as the emblem of timidity, because the flowers are too timid to expand during the day, and open and give out their fragrance at night.
Sure, ’twas his modesty. He might have thriven
Much better possibly, had his ambition
Been greater much. They ofttimes take more pains
Who look for pins, than those who find out stars.