If e'er ill luck did gentleman betide,
In tears and troubles steeped, that man am I.
I love to live in peace, yet war must ply;
I love glad cheer, yet must in sorrow bide.
I love renown, and my deservings hide;
Safe sleep I love, which war's alarms deny;
Virtue I love, yet live with soldiery;
Fair war I love, with thieves and rogues allied.
My native soil I love, yet wander far,
Through many a year and land, in tedious war.
Folly I loathe, yet hear from great and small
Vile speech; so hearing I would fain forego.
Pillage I hate, and yet am forced thereto.
Meanwhile I rhyme, a marvel deemed of all.
Jean de la Taille (1540 - 1607) France
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