The Bull And The Mastiff.

        Deem you to train your son and heir,
        For his preceptor then take care;
        To sound his mind your cares employ,
        E'er you commit to him your boy.
        Once on a time on native plain
        A bull enjoyed a native reign.
        A mastiff, stranger there, with ire
        Beheld the bull, with eyes of fire.
        The bovine monarch, on his part,
        Spurned up the dust with dauntless heart,
        Advised the mastiff to think twice,
        And asked - if lust or avarice,
        From which, in main, contention springs,
        Caused him to break the peace of kings?
        The mastiff answered him, 'twas glory -
        To emulate the sons of story;
        Told him that Cæsar was his sire,
        And he a prince baptized in fire;
        That rifles and the mitrailleur
        Had thrown his bosom in a stir.

        "Accursed cur!" the bull replied,
        "Delighting in the sanguine tide:
        If you are Revolution trained,
        Doubtless your paws with blood are stained -
        Demons that take delight in slaughter,
        And pour out human blood as water -
        Take then thy fate." With goring wound
        The monarch tossed him from the ground
        In air gyrating - on the stones
        He fell a mass of broken bones.

John Gay

John Gay was an English poet and dramatist of the early 18th century. He is best remembered for 'The Beggar's Opera' (1728), a ballad opera that satirized the contemporary government and society of England. Gay was a member of the Scriblerus Club, alongside notable writers like Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. Despite facing financial difficulties, his work remains influential in the landscape of English literature.

John Gay

Plutus, Cupid, And Time.

John Gay, Simple Poetry

The Unsatisfactory Painter.

John Gay, Simple Poetry

The Two Monkeys.

John Gay, Simple Poetry

Squire And Cur.

John Gay, Simple Poetry

English

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The Mastiff.

        Those who in quarrels interpose
        Must often wipe a bloody nose.

        A mastiff of true English mood
        Loved fighting better than his food.
        When dogs were snarling o'er a bone
        He wished to make their war his own;
        And often found (where two contend)
        To interpose, obtained his end:
        The scars of honour seamed his face;
        He deemed his limp endued with grace.

        Once on a time he heard afar
        Two dogs contend with noisy jar;
        Away he scoured to lay about him,
        Resolved no fray should be without him.
        Forth from the yard - which was a tanner's -
        The master rushed to teach him manners;
        And with the cudgel tanned his hide,
        And ...

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Council Of Horses.

        A steed with mutiny inspired
        The stud which grazed the mead, and fired
        A colt, whose eyes then blazing fire,
        Stood forth and thus expressed his ire:

        "How abject is the equine race,
        Condemned to slavery's disgrace!
        Consider, friends, the deep reproach -
        Harnessed to drag the gilded coach,
        To drag the plough, to trot the road,
        To groan beneath the pack-horse load!
        Whom do we serve? - a two-legged man,
        Of feeble frame, of visage wan.
        What! must our noble jaws submit
        To champ and foam their galling bit?
        He back and spur me? Let him first
        Control the lion - tiger's thirst:
        I here avow that I disdain
        His might, th...

John Gay

Cur And Mastiff.

        A sneaking cur caused much disaster
        By pandering scandal for his master.
        The hound was beaten, mastiff chidden,
        Puss in disgrace, and pug forbidden.
        Each of his dearest chum grew shy.
        And none could tell a reason why.
        Burglars to rob the house laid wait.
        Betty in love, undid the gate;
        The cur was won by dint of meat;
        Remained the mastiff dog to cheat.
        The mastiff dog refused the bribe,
        And tore the hand of one beside.
        The cur off with the tidings ran,
        And told how he had bit a man.
        The master said: "Hanged he shall be!"
        They dragged poor Trusty to the tree:
        He met his master, and averred
        That he had been condemned...

John Gay

Hound And Huntsman.

        Seeing yourselves are wise, ye smile
        On fools and folly for a while;
        But water wears the rocks, and sense
        Is wearied by impertinence.

        The wind was southerly, the sky
        Proclaimed that a good scent would lie -
        Forth from the kennel burst the hounds,
        As schoolboys sally out of bounds.
        They hailed the huntsman; he by name
        Greeted each dog, who thought it fame.
        See them obey command: when bade,
        They scattered thro' the copse and glade;
        They snuffed the scent upon the gale,
        And sought the remnant of a trail.

        Ringwood, a pup, on the alert,
        Was very young and very pert;
        He opened - from exuberant spirit -
        But o...

John Gay

Shepherd's Dog And Wolf.

        A hungry wolf had thinned the fold,
        Safely he refuged on the wold;
        And, as in den secure he lay,
        The thefts of night regaled his day.
        The shepherd's dog, who searched the glen,
        By chance found the marauder's den.
        They fought like Trojan and like Greek,
        Till it fell out they both waxed weak.

        "Wolf," said the dog, "the whilst we rest on,
        I fain would ask of you a question."

        "Ask on," the wolf replied; "I'm ready."

        "Wolf," said the dog, "with soul so steady
        And limbs so strong, I wonder much
        That you our lambs and ewes should touch.
        There are the lion and the boar
        To bathe your jaws with worthier gore;
        'Tis cowa...

John Gay

Lion And Cub.

        All men are fond of rule and place,
        Though granted by the mean and base;
        Yet all superior merit fly,
        Nor will endure an equal nigh.
        They o'er some ale-house club preside
        With smoke and joke and paltry pride.
        Nay, e'en with blockheads pass the night;
        If such can read, to such I write.

        A lion cub of sordid mind
        Avoided all the lion-kind,
        And, greedy of applause, sought feasts
        With asses and ignoble beasts;
        There, as their president appears,
        An ass in every point, but ears.
        If he would perpetrate a joke,
        They brayed applause before he spoke;
        And when he spoke, with shout they praised,
        And said he beautifully br...

John Gay