Penny Dreadfuls, 1812 · page 197 of 258
Psyche, and other poems — page 197: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page 179: Philosophical Verse on Friendship and Love This is a text page (not a title page or illustration) from what appears to be a Victorian-era publication. The page presents a moral epigraph—"A Faithful Friend is the Medicine of Life" (attributed to the Son of Sirach)—followed by an extended poem exploring the mingling of sorrow with pleasure, disappointment with joy, and the corrupting influence of passion on pure affection. The verse employs ornate, sentimental language typical of Victorian sentiment, contrasting Heaven's gift of true friendship with Love's tendency to poison innocent pleasures through desire and anguish.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
179 ¢ A FAITHFUL FRIEND IS THE MEDICINE OF LIFE. Son of Sirach. in the dreams of delight, which with ardour we seek, Oft the phantom of sorrow appears ; | And the roses of pleasure, which bloom in your cheek, Must he steeped in the dew of your tears : ’Mid the fountain of bliss, when it sparkles mostbright, | Salt mixtures embitter the spring, ‘Though its lustre may tremble through bowers of delight, In the draught disappointment will sting. But if Heaven hath one cup of enjoyment bestowed, Unmingled and sweet as its own, In the streams of affection its bounty hath flowed, And there we may taste it alone. But the pure simple drops Love would seize as his prize And defile them with passion’s foul tide ; While the bowl he prepares as it dazzles our eyes The poison of anguish can hide. | Connicloooks.comnn