Ben Jonson. To My Bookseller

Ben Jonson

  E  P  I  G  R  A  M  S .

III. — TO MY BOOKSELLER.

Thou that mak'st gain thy end, and wisely well,
Call'st a book good, or bad, as it doth sell,
Use mine so too ;  I give thee leave :  but crave,
For the luck's sake, it thus much favor have,
To lie upon thy stall, till it be sought ;
Not offer'd, as it made suit to be bought ;
Nor have my title-leaf on posts or walls,
Or in cleft-sticks, advanced to make calls
For termers, or some clerklike serving-man,
Who scarce can spell th' hard names ;  whose
         knight less can.
If, without these vile arts, it will not sell,
Send it to Buckler's-bury, there 'twill well.

Source:
Jonson, Ben. The Works of Ben Jonson.
Boston: Phillips, Sampson, and Co., 1853. 785.

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