The Contract (Jean de La Fontaine Poems)
THE husband's dire mishap, and silly maid,In ev'ry age, have proved the fable's aid;The fertile subject never will be dry:'Tis ...
THE husband's dire mishap, and silly maid,In ev'ry age, have proved the fable's aid;The fertile subject never will be dry:'Tis ...
IF truth give pleasure, surely we should try;To found our tales on what we can rely;Th' experiment repeatedly I've made,And ...
EXAMPLE often proves of sov'reign use;At other times it cherishes abuse;'Tis not my purpose, howsoe'er, to tellWhich of the two ...
A GASCON (being heard one day to swear,That he'd possess'd a certain lovely fair,)Was played a wily trick, and nicely ...
HOW weak is man! how changeable his mind!His promises are naught, too oft we find;I vowed (I hope in tolerable ...
A CERTAIN husband who, from jealous fear,With one eye slept while t'other watched his dear,Deprived his wife of every social ...
A CLOISTERED nun had a loverDwelling in the neighb'ring town;Both racked their brains to discoverHow they best their love might ...
I'M now disposed to give a pretty tale; Love laughs at what I've sworn and will prevail; Men, gods, and ...
EXAMPLE often proves of sov'reign use; At other times it cherishes abuse; 'Tis not my purpose, howsoe'er, to tell Which ...
I LATELY vowed to leave the nuns alone, So oft their freaks have in my page been shown. The subject ...
ONCE more permit me, nuns, and this the last; I can't resist, whatever may have passed, But must relate, what ...
NO city I to Rheims would e'er prefer: Of France the pride and honour I aver; The Holy Ampoule and ...
WHAT various ways in which a thing is told Some truth abuse, while others fiction hold; In stories we invention ...
DIVERTING in extreme there is a play, Which oft resumes its fascinating sway; Delights the sex, or ugly, fair, or ...
THE Lombard princes oft pervade my mind; The present tale Boccace relates you'll find; Agiluf was the noble monarch's name; ...
NO easy matter 'tis to hold, Against its owner's will, the fleece Who troubled by the itching smart Of Cupid's ...
OFT have I seen in wedlock with surprise, That most forgot from which true bliss would rise When marriage for ...
SOLICITED I've been to give a tale, In which (though true, decorum must prevail), The subject from a picture shall ...
HOW weak is man! how changeable his mind! His promises are naught, too oft we find; I vowed (I hope ...
THE worst of ills, with jealousy compared, Are trifling torments ev'ry where declared. IMAGINE, to yourself a silly fool, To ...
SOME wit, handsome form and gen'rous mind; A triple engine prove in love we find; By these the strongest fortresses ...
FLORENTINE we now design to show;-- A greater blockhead ne'er appeared below; It seems a prudent woman he had wed, ...
WHEN Venus and Hypocrisy combine, Oft pranks are played that show a deep design; Men are but men, and friars ...
A CERTAIN husband who, from jealous fear, With one eye slept while t'other watched his dear, Deprived his wife of ...
I RECOLLECT, that lately much I blamed, The sort of lover, avaricious named; And if in opposites we reason see, ...
HE surely must be wrong who loving fears; And does not flee when beauty first appears. Ye FAIR, with charms ...
THE key, which opes the chest of hoarded gold. Unlocks the heart that favours would withhold. To this the god ...
A CLOISTERED nun had a lover Dwelling in the neighb'ring town; Both racked their brains to discover How they best ...
NEAR Rome, of yore, close to the Florence road, Was seen a humble innkeeper's abode; Small sums were charged; few ...
SOME time ago from Rome, in smart array, A younger brother homeward bent his way, Not much improved, as frequently ...
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