Ben Jonson


  E  P  I  G  R  A  M  S .  


XVI. — TO BRAINHARDY.  

HARDY, thy brain is valiant, 'tis confest,
Thou more ; That with it every day dar'st jest
Thy self into fresh brawls : when, call'd upon,
Scarce thy week's swearing brings thee off, of one.
So in short time, thou art in arrearage grown
Some hundred quarrels, yet dost thou fight none ;
Nor need'st thou : for those few, by oath releast,
Make good what thou dar'st do in all the rest.
Keep thy self there, and think thy valor right ;
He that dares damn himself, dares more than fight.


 
Source:
Jonson, Ben.  The Works of Ben Jonson.
Boston: Phillips, Sampson, and Co., 1853. 786.
Backto Works of Ben Jonson

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