I could, were I so pleased, use higher-strains,
And for applause on tenters stretch my brains;
But what needs that? The arrow out of sight
Does not the sleeper nor the watchman fright:
To shoot too high doth make but children gaze,
'Tis that which hits the man doth him amaze.
Should all be forced their brains to lay aside,
That cannot regulate the flowing tide
By this or that man's fancy, we should have
The wise unto the fool become a slave.
Words easy to be understood do often hit the mark, when high and
learned ones do only pierce the air. He also that speaks to the
weakest, may make the learned understand him; when he that striveth
to be high, is not only for the most part understood but of a sort,
but also many times is neither understood by them nor by himself.