[THE PHILOSOPHIC PILL]

I've wisdom from the East and from the West,

That's subject to no academic rule;

You may find it in the jeering of a jest,

Or distil it from the folly of a fool.

I can teach you with a quip, if I've a mind;

I can trick you into learning with a laugh;

Oh, winnow all my folly, and you'll find

A grain or two of truth among the chaff!

I can set a braggart quailing with a quip,