English poem
Upon Honour.
Honour, I say, or honest Fame, I mean the substance, not the name; (Not that light heap of tawdry wares, Ermin, Coronets, and Stars, Which often is by merit sought, By gold and flatt'ry oft'ner bought. The shade, for which Ambition looks, In Selden's or in Ashmole's books): But the true glory which proceeds, Reflected bright from honest deeds, Which we in our Own breast perceive, And Kings can neither take nor give.
More by Matthew Prior
- To The Lady Elizabeth Harley, Since Marchioness Of Carmarthen, On A Column Of Her Drawing
- To the Right Honourable The Countess Dowager Of Devonshire, On A Piece Of Wiessen's
- Truth And Falsehood. A Tale
- Two Riddles.
- Upon Playing At Ombre With Two Ladies
- Upon This Passage In Scaligeriana
- Venus Mistaken
- Venus' Advice To The Muses