Tom Brown. 1663-1704.
I do not love thee, Doctor Fell,
The reason why I cannot tell;
But this alone I know full well,
I do not love thee, Doctor Fell.[286:2]
Laconics.
To treat a poor wretch with a bottle of Burgundy, and fill his snuff-box, is like giving a pair of laced ruffles to a man that has never a shirt on his back.[286:3]
Laconics.
In the reign of Charles II. a certain worthy divine at Whitehall thus addressed himself to the auditory at the conclusion of his sermon: "In short, if you don't live up to the precepts of the Gospel, but abandon yourselves to [287]your irregular appetites, you must expect to receive your reward in a certain place which 't is not good manners to mention here."[287:1]
Laconics.
Footnotes
[286:2] A slightly different version is found in Brown's Works collected and published after his death:—
Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare;
Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te
(I do not love thee, Sabidius, nor can I say why; this only I can say, I do not love thee).—Martial: Epigram i. 33.
Je ne vous aime pas, Hylas;
Je n'en saurois dire la cause,
Je sais seulement une chose;
C'est que je ne vous aime pas.
Bussy: Comte de Rabutin. (1618-1693.)
[286:3] Like sending them ruffles, when wanting a shirt.—Sorbienne (1610-1670).
Goldsmith: The Haunch of Venison.
[287:1] Who never mentions hell to ears polite.—Pope: Moral Essays, epistle iv. line 149.