The Syren: Part III. Anacreontic & Jovial Songs, Song

With a cheerful old friend, and a merry old song, And a tankard of porter, I'd sit the night long, And laugh at the follies of those that repine,— Tho' I must drink porter while they can drink wine.

I envy no mortal, be he ever so great,— Nor scorn I the wretch for his lowly estate; But what I abhor, and deem as a curse, Is meanness of spirit,—not poorness of purse.

Then let us, companions, be jovial and gay, And cheerfully spend life's remainder away; Upheld by a friend, our fees we'll despise,— For, the more we are envy'd, the higher we rise.