Intemperance is esteemed a friend.
He shares their mirth, their social joys,
And as a courted guest destroys.
The charge on him must justly fall
Who finds employment for you all.”
It is in the following fable that Gay especially satirises the sanguinary diet:—
“Pythagoras rose at early dawn,
By soaring meditation drawn;
To breathe the fragrance of the day,
Through flow’ry fields he took his way.