FRIEND.
Too coy to flatter, and too proud to serve,
Thine be the joyless dignity to starve.
POET.
No;—thanks to discord, war shall be my friend;
And mortal rage heroic courage lend
To pierce the gleaming squadron of the foe,
And win renown by some distinguish'd blow. 240
FRIEND.
Renown! ay, do—unkennel the whole pack
Of military cowards on thy back.
What difference, say, 'twixt him who bravely stood,
And him who sought the bosom of the wood?[12]
Envenom'd calumny the first shall brand;
The last enjoy a ribbon and command.
POET.
If such be life, its wretches I deplore,
And long to quit the inhospitable shore.
[Footnote 1: 'Cope': a general famous for an expeditious retreat, though not quite so deliberate as that of the ten thousand Greeks from Persia; having unfortunately forgot to bring his army along with him.]
[Footnote 2: 'Newcastle:' alluding to the philosophical contempt which this great personage manifested for the sensual delights of the stomach.]