Till grief in bitterness complete his day.
Folly of youth and free desire incite
Great sums to lavish on each brief delight.
Surely young men on this ought well to ponder,
That better cannot be, if thus they wander;
And when remains two apples’ worth alone,
’Twill not the time be their mistake to own.”
Shakespeare presents the very same thought and almost the identical expressions. To the Countess of Rousillon, Bertram’s mother, Helena confesses love for her son, All’s Well that Ends Well (act i. sc. 3, l. 182, vol. iii. p. 127),—
“Then, I confess,
Here on my knee, before high heaven and you,