Ben Jonson


  U  N  D  E  R  W  O  O  D  S .

 MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.


LXXVII. — AN EPITAPH ON HENRY LORD

LA-WARE.   

If, Passenger, thou canst but read,
Stay, drop a tear for him that’s dead :
HENRY, the brave young lord LA-WARE,
Minerva's and the Muses' care !
What could their care do 'gainst the spite
Of a disease, that lov'd no light
Of honor, nor no air of good ;
But crept like darkness through his blood,
Offended with the dazzling flame
Of virtue, got above his name ?
No noble furniture of parts,
No love of action and high arts :
No aim at glory, or in war,
Ambition to become a star,
Could stop the malice of this ill,
That spread his body o'er to kill :
And only his great soul envied,
Because it durst have noblier died.


 
Source:
Jonson, Ben.  The Works of Ben Jonson.
Boston: Phillips, Sampson, and Co., 1853. 836.
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