Matthew Prior

The bewailing of man's miseries hath been elegantly and copiously set forth by many, in the writings as well of philosophers as divines; and it is both a pleasant and a profitable contemplation
~ Lord Bacon's Advancement of Learning
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While cruel Nero only
The moral Spaniard's ebbing veins,
By study worn, and slack with age,
How dull, how thoughtless is his rage

By Sylvia if thy charming self be meant;
If friendship be thy virgin vows' extent,
O
let me in Aminta's praises join,

How old may Phyllis be, you ask,
Whose beauty thus all hearts engages
To answer is no easy task;
For she has really two ages

If wine and music have the
To ease the sickness of the soul,
Let Phoebis every string explore,
And Bacchus fill the sprightly bowl:

Dear Dick, how e'er it comes into his head, Believes, as firmly as he does his creed, That you and I, sir, are extremely great; Though I plain Mat, you minister of state
One word from me, without all doubt, he says, Would fix his fortune in s...

Reader,
I was born, and cried;
I crack'd,
I smelt, and so I died

Dear Chloe, how blubber'd is that pretty face; Thy cheek all on fire, and thy hair all uncurl'd: Prythee quit this caprice; and (as old Falstaff says) Let us e'en talk a little like folks of this world
How canst thou presume, thou hast leave ...

Spare, gen'rous victor, spare the slave, Who did unequal war pursue; That more than triumph he might have, In being overcome by you
In the dispute whate'er I said, My heart was by my tongue belied; And in my looks you might have read How much...

Upon the Model of The Nut-Brown Maid
To Cloe
Thou, to whose eyes I bend, at whose command(Though low my voice, though artless be my hand
I take the sprightly reed, and sing and play,

When Kneller's works, of various grace,
Were to fair Venus shown,
The Goddess spied in every
Some features of her own

Let 'em Censure: what care I
The Herd of Criticks I defie
Let the Wretches know,
I

The
Solomon considers man through the several stages and conditions of life, and concludes, in general, that we are all miserable
He reflects more particularly upon the trouble and uncertainty of greatness and power; gives some instances...

Out from the injured canvas,
Kneller,
These lines too faint; the picture is not like
Exalt thy thought, and try thy toil again:

Releas'd from the noise of the butcher and baker Who, my old friends be thanked, did seldom forsake her,
And from the soft duns of my landlord the Quaker,
From chiding the footmen and watching the lasses,
From Nell that burn'd milk,...

The
Solomon, again seeking happiness, inquires if wealth and greatness can produce it: begins with the magnificence of gardens and buildings; the luxury of music and feasting; and proceeds to the hopes and desires of love
In two episodes...