God is best pleased when men forsake their sin;
The devil is best pleased when they persist therein;
The world’s best pleased when thou dost sell good wine;
And you’re best pleased when I do pay for mine.
A well-known instance of self-extrication from a dilemma is thus rendered in rhyme:—
When Queen Elizabeth desired
That Melville would acknowledge fairly
Whether herself he most admired,
Or his own sovereign, Lady Mary?
The puzzled knight his answer thus expressed:—