XI

Now, giving and taking’s a proper exchange,

Like question and answer: you’re both content.

But buying and selling seems always strange;

You’re hostile, and that’s the thing that’s meant.

It’s man against man—you’re almost brutes;

There’s here no thanks, and there’s there no pride.

If Charity’s Christian, don’t blame my pursuits,

I carry a touchstone by which you’re tried.

Poems — Volume 1 · 第 97 / 271 题