Xxi. Modesty And Contentment Poem by Ellis Walker

When you see any one with tears bemoan
The loss of goods or absence of a son,
Whom he perhaps thinks drown'd at sea, beware
You be not bias'd here, and fondly share
His foolish weakness, and commiserate
His ruin'd and deplorable estate,
While vainly he in earnest doth bemoan
Things in another's pow'r, not in his own.
T' avoid this error therefore keep in mind
This reas'ning, 'tis of mighty use, you'll find:
'What hath befall'n this man doth not molest
His mind, nor plays the tyrant in his breast;
He by his own opinion is distress'd;
For could the thing itself afflict him, then
'Twould work the same effect in other men:
But this we see disprov'd, since some men bear
The like disasters, without sigh or tear.'
You may indeed condole as far as words,
This pity mere civility affords;
To tell him he's mistaken will inrage
His grief; to call him fool will not asswage;
Besides 'tis rudeness, barb'rous cruelty,
T' insult even over fancy'd misery;
Nay, we'll allow that you may sigh with him,
But then beware, lest you perhaps begin,
To be too sensibly concern'd within.