That heap of Pyramids appear,
Which, now, too much like those of Egypt are:
Eternal monuments of pride and sin,
Magnificent and tall without, but dead men's bones within.
The Retirement. Exactly dated in the Firth MS., August 17, 1665. Stanza III, found in this MS., was cancelled in 1674, 1676, 1682, but restored in 1686. Stanzas IV and V appear as a separate poem entitled 'Upon the Plague' in Bodley Rawlinson MS. D. 260, fol. 29 verso.
28 moan] tone Firth MS., 1676, 1682.
57 strongly] deeply Firth and Rawlinson MSS.
59 of Love] on Love MSS., 1674, 1676.
66 advance] exalt MSS.
71 rivals MSS.: rival 1682, 1686.