On Conversation (1782) [ Concepts ]
… weed! whose scent the fair annoys, Unfriendly to society's chief joys, Thy worst effect is banishing for hours The sex whose presence civilizes ours; Thou art indeed the drug a gardener wants To poison vermin that infest his plants; But … brighten up his parts, Make him athletic as in days of old, Learn'd at the bar, in the palæstra bold, Divest the rougher sex of female airs, And teach the softer not to copy theirs: The change shall please, nor shall it matter aught, Who …
Conversation | Crime
Anthology