English poem
Virtuous Love
by Anonymous
How sweet is love when virtue guides, How transient is the mind; Smooth as the summer's peaceful tides, As grateful and as kind.
The morning breaks serenely clear, We welcome in the day; The ev'ning comes without a fear, The night our toils repay.
But sad reverse where vice appears, With all her scorpion train; Joyless we pass our prime of years, And end a life in pain.