1 189
2 VIII.
3 Night into day let no man think of turning,
4 Nor sleep by day to wake up when ’tis night ;
5 A brain confused, or with strong potions burning,
6 Cannot conceive of men or things aright :
7 Let me remark, such feasting folks concerning,
8 They are not wise ; but act as if in spite
9 Of sense and reason ; for, surely, every one
10 Requires some rest after hard labor done.
11 IX.
12 Why should we, glutton like, our bodies feed
13 As if we wished grim Death to cast his dart ?
14 Why should we hasten to the grave with speed,
15 As if from all our friends we longed to part ?
16 Of temperance every man on earth has need,
17 To save him from affliction’s direful smart ;
18 Then why use food as if it held the germs
19 Which make ourselves rich nourishment for worms ?
20 x.
21 Suppose that we should wish our lamp to burn,
22 We trim it, nicely, with sufficient oil ;
23 But, if we overcharge the feeding urn,
24 Of course, the brilliancy of light we spoil,
25 Or, put it wholly out : hence, we may learn,
26 Without much labor or fatiguing toil,
27 If man his “ feeding urn ” (his body) surfeit,
28 The darkness of the grave must prove the forfeit.
29 XI.
30 A little generous wine makes glad the heart ;
31 Unbends the mind o’er which dull sorrow reigns ;
32 Lightens sad melancholy of its smart,
33 And makes infirmity forget its pains ;
34 Invigorates the blood ; performs its part
35 In quickening circulation through the veins ;
36 It prompts digestion, and the stomach braces,
37 Languor dispels, depression, too, displaces.