The gods have shown me favour,
(If any gods there be),
Yet were my nature braver
I might dispute the fee.
For gold and gold’s devices
Are cloaks before men’s eyes,
Their virtues and their vices,
Breed envy in disguise.
And envy fosters fawning,
That parasite of trust,
A worm of loathing, spawning
A plague of self-disgust.
When slaves of acclamation
Are met, by chance or plan,
We meet a reputation,
But seldom meet the man—
Fame’s amour shines too brightly,
As once it did for me,
Yet those who wear it lightly,
In time, may rue the fee.-by Felix Denis
