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Poem
October 6, 1752
The Virginia Gazette
Richmond, Williamsburg, Richmond County, Virginia
What is this article about?
The speaker contemplates what would bring true bliss, rejecting wealth, estates, luxuries, fame, love, power, and pleasures, ultimately choosing sweet Contentment as the supreme prize that enhances all else and soothes the soul.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
The CHOICE.
MIGHT I, like others, make Request,
For what I'd choose, to make me blest,
Few Words should speak my whole Desire,
And tell how high my Thoughts aspire.
'Tis not a sumptuous lordly Seat,
By Art and Nature, form'd complete:
'Tis not huge Heaps of Golden Store,
Confin'd in Coffers from the Poor:
'Tis not a wealthy large Estate,
Nor all the Splendors of the Great:
'Tis not to have my Table spread
With dainty Meats, and White and Red;
With Lac'd drest Servants when I dine,
To serve the Rounds of sparkling Wine:
Nor is it Musick's soft'ning Strains,
To banish Care and sooth my Pains:
'Tis not neat Gardens and Alcoves,
Nor cooling Rills, nor silent Groves,
Nor verdant Fields, nor painted Flowers,
Nor Songs of Birds, nor smiling Bowers.
'Tis not to spend the grey-ey'd Morn,
In prightly Chase with Hound and Horn.
'Tis not that Men should stamp my Name
Upon the shining Wings of Fame.
'Tis not that chearing Balm of Life,
A lovely, virtuous, faultless Wife;
(Yet O! would Heaven that Blessing send,
'Twould most my sovereign Choice befriend:)
Nor is't that I'd live single still,
And keep a Mistress at my Will.
'Tis not that I'd an Empire sway,
To make the haughty World obey;
'Tis not to have this World in Hand,
And all it's Pleasures at Command.
Well since all this my Fancy denies,
Say, what contains the matchless Prize?
Not these combin'd my Choice I'd call,
But sweet CONTENT, that's more than all.
Since all possess'd would tasteless be,
If sweeten'd not, CONTENT! by thee.
Come then, dear Charmer, to my Breast,
Be thou my kind, perpetual Guest:
Thy chearing Voice shall still inspire
The moderate, prudent, calm Desire;
Shall ever sooth my Soul to Rest,
And make me know, "WHAT IS IS BEST."
MIGHT I, like others, make Request,
For what I'd choose, to make me blest,
Few Words should speak my whole Desire,
And tell how high my Thoughts aspire.
'Tis not a sumptuous lordly Seat,
By Art and Nature, form'd complete:
'Tis not huge Heaps of Golden Store,
Confin'd in Coffers from the Poor:
'Tis not a wealthy large Estate,
Nor all the Splendors of the Great:
'Tis not to have my Table spread
With dainty Meats, and White and Red;
With Lac'd drest Servants when I dine,
To serve the Rounds of sparkling Wine:
Nor is it Musick's soft'ning Strains,
To banish Care and sooth my Pains:
'Tis not neat Gardens and Alcoves,
Nor cooling Rills, nor silent Groves,
Nor verdant Fields, nor painted Flowers,
Nor Songs of Birds, nor smiling Bowers.
'Tis not to spend the grey-ey'd Morn,
In prightly Chase with Hound and Horn.
'Tis not that Men should stamp my Name
Upon the shining Wings of Fame.
'Tis not that chearing Balm of Life,
A lovely, virtuous, faultless Wife;
(Yet O! would Heaven that Blessing send,
'Twould most my sovereign Choice befriend:)
Nor is't that I'd live single still,
And keep a Mistress at my Will.
'Tis not that I'd an Empire sway,
To make the haughty World obey;
'Tis not to have this World in Hand,
And all it's Pleasures at Command.
Well since all this my Fancy denies,
Say, what contains the matchless Prize?
Not these combin'd my Choice I'd call,
But sweet CONTENT, that's more than all.
Since all possess'd would tasteless be,
If sweeten'd not, CONTENT! by thee.
Come then, dear Charmer, to my Breast,
Be thou my kind, perpetual Guest:
Thy chearing Voice shall still inspire
The moderate, prudent, calm Desire;
Shall ever sooth my Soul to Rest,
And make me know, "WHAT IS IS BEST."
What sub-type of article is it?
Ode
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Contentment
True Bliss
Rejecting Wealth
Moral Choice
Inner Rest
Virtuous Life
Poem Details
Title
The Choice.
Subject
Choice For Contentment
Form / Style
Rhymed Couplets
Key Lines
But Sweet Content, That's More Than All.
Since All Possess'd Would Tasteless Be, If Sweeten'd Not, Content! By Thee.
Come Then, Dear Charmer, To My Breast, Be Thou My Kind, Perpetual Guest:
Thy Chearing Voice Shall Still Inspire The Moderate, Prudent, Calm Desire;
And Make Me Know, "What Is Is Best."