«Однажды ночью я увидел вечность…» Английские стихотворения XVI–XVII веков / I saw Eternity the other night…. Коллектив авторов

      Tell age it daily wasteth;

      Tell honour how it alters;

      Tell beauty how she blasteth;

      Tell favour how it falters.

      And as they shall reply,

      Give every one the lie.

      Tell wit how much it wrangles

      In tickle points of niceness;

      Tell wisdom she entangles

      Herself in overwiseness.

      And when they do reply,

      Straight give them both the lie.

      Tell physic of her boldness;

      Tell skill it is pretension;

      Tell charity of coldness;

      Tell law it is contention.

      And as they do reply,

      So give them still the lie.

      Tell fortune of her blindness;

      Tell nature of decay;

      Tell friendship of unkindness;

      Tell justice of delay.

      And if they will reply,

      Then give them all the lie.

      Tell arts they have no soundness,

      But vary by esteeming;

      Tell schools they want profoundness,

      And stand too much on seeming.

      If arts and schools reply,

      Give arts and schools the lie.

      Tell faith it’s fled the city;

      Tell how the country erreth;

      Tell manhood shakes off pity;

      Tell virtue least preferreth.

      And if they do reply,

      Spare not to give the lie.

      So when thou hast, as I

      Commanded thee, done blabbing—

      Although to give the lie

      Deserves no less than stabbing—

      Stab at thee he that will,

      No stab the soul can kill.