When hungry wolves had trespass'd on the fold,
And the robb'd shepherd his sad story told,
'Call in Alcides,' said a crafty priest,
'Give him one half and he'll secure the rest.'
No, said the shepherd, if the Fates decree,
By ravaging my flock to ruin me,
To their commands I willingly resign,
Power is their character, and patience mine;
Though troth, to me there seems but little odds
Who prove the greatest robbers - wolves or gods.
More verses by Matthew Prior
- The English Padlock
- An Epistle To Fleetwood Shephard, Esq. Burleigh, May 14, 1689
- An Extempore Invitation To The Earl Of Oxford, Lord High Treasurer
- An English Ballad, On The Taking Of Namur, By The King Of Great Britain
- A Passage In The Moriae Encomium Of Erasmus. Imitated