Verse > William Blake > Poetical Works
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William Blake (1757–1827).  The Poetical Works.  1908.
 
On Friends and Foes
On S[tothard]: You say reserve and modesty he has
 
XVI
YOU say reserve and modesty he has,
Whose heart is iron, his head wood, and his face brass.
The fox, the owl, the beetle, and the bat 1
By sweet reserve and modesty get fat.
 
Note 1. XVI 3, 4 Blake uses this couplet in his Descriptive Catalogue, with the change of ‘owl’ to ‘mole’ in l. 3. [back]
 
 
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