If the story in Genesis don't tell a fib,
Should your naughty companion e'er quarrel with you,
You are certain to prove the best man of the two.
In the following case this was certainly true;
For the lovely Xantippe just pulled off her shoe,
And laying about her, all sides at random,
The adage was verified—"Nil desperandum."
Mister Socrates Snooks, after trying in vain,
To ward off the blows which descended like rain—
Concluding that valour's best part was discretion—