On Conversation (1782) [ Concepts ]
… own scheme; In other eyes our talents rarely shown, Become at length so splendid in our own, We dare not risk them into public view, Lest they miscarry of what seems their due. True modesty is a discerning grace, And only blushes in the … source Of wise reflection and well-timed discourse. We next inquire, but softly and by stealth, Like conservators of the public health, Of epidemic throats, if such there are, And coughs, and rheums, and phthisic, and catarrh. That theme … seems dispersed, And touch the subject I design'd at first, May prove, though much beside the rules of art, Best for the public, and my wisest part. And first, let no man charge me, that I mean To clothe in sable every social scene, And give …
Conversation | Crime
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