Classic Poem

Happy was man ere cheated sense,
By love's false fires misled,
From all the sweets of innocence
To wilder passions fled.
Free from desire he knew no fear,
Enjoyment crowned the circling year.

Since art and wisdom cannot stay
The too swift-footed hours,
Let us in pleasures melt the day
While yet we call it ours.
He only truly knows to live
Who drinks, and scorns to love or grieve.