To mix, and sympathise, and to be free,
Is the true sociality.
These meet, like marbles mingled in a bag,
And the net outcome, friend, is friction, fag,
Boredom, and sheer banality.
"The strongest symptom of quick life crops out
In watchful mutual mockery. Gibe and flout
In low asides flow freely.
Oh, bland elysium for the brave and fair,
Whose pleasures are the snigger and the stare,