1. How many a father has time aggrieved,
And how many a mother has it left bereaved,

2. And how many a lord has it caused to grieve,
Who totters on one foot that's weakly heaved.

3. And how oft have we seen a hero brave
Shoot branches in a family noble and grave,

4. Fending the enemy off with armor bright,
Feeding the poor on a cold dark night.

5. Time shot him with the arrow of evil fate,
And he woke among the silent crowd sedate.

6. Why do I see people in negligence sunk?
As if their hearts were deaf, cold, and shrunk.

7. They sold God's pleasure for worldly pelf,
Yet they know it shall soon disperse itself.

8. At morn they rise like ragged lions blind,
Kept hungry over night by the chill wind.

9. They follow but their passions and conceits,
Yet pretend to walk the path which reason meets.

10. You see faces that the lookers enchant,
While underneath are hearts that are decadent.