| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895. |
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| From “Mano: a Poetical History.” III. Of Temperance in Fortune |
| | | Richard Watson Dixon (b. 1833) |
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| HAPPY the man who so hath Fortune tried | |
| That likewise he her poor relation knows: | |
| To whom both much is given and denied: | |
| To riches and to poverty he owes | |
| An equal debt: of both he makes acquist, | 5 |
| And moderate in all his mind he shows. | |
| But ill befalls the man who hath not miss’d | |
| Aught of his heart’s desires, in plenty murs’d: | |
| For evil things he knows not to resist: | |
| And, aiding their assault, himself is worst | 10 |
| Against himself, with self-destructive rage. | |
| But states are with another evil curs’d, | |
| For, falling into luxury with age, | |
| They burst in tumults, swollen with bloody shame, | |
| Which old exploits aggrieve and not assuage. | 15 |
| Past temperance doth the present feast inflame; | |
| Past grandeur like too heavy armor weighs: | |
| Great without virtue is an evil name. | |
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