And finds he has an empty box.
The seven ages of man have been well tabulated by somebody or other on an acquisitive basis. Thus:
First age—Sees the earth.
Second age—Wants it.
Third age—Hustles to get it.
Fourth age—Decides to be satisfied with only half of it.
Fifth age—Becomes still more moderate.
Sixth age—Now content to possess a six-by-two strip of it.
Seventh age—Gets the strip.
Wisdom
When I have ceased to break my wings
Against the faultiness of things,
And learned that compromises wait
Behind each hardly opened gate,