WOULDST thou be free? I think it not, indeed;
But if thou wouldst, attend this simple rede:
[When quite contented / Thou shall be free when] thou canst dine at
home
And drink a small wine of the march of Rome;
When thou canst see unmoved thy neighbour’s plate,
And wear my threadbare toga in the gate;
When thou hast learned to love a small abode,
And not to choose a mistress _à la mode_:
When thus contained and bridled thou shalt be,
Then, Maximus, then first shalt thou be free.