Mercurius Gallo-Belgicus

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



Like Esop's fellow-slaves, O Mercury,
Which could do all things, thy faith is ; and I
Like Esop's self, which nothing. I confess
I should have had more faith, if thou hadst less.
Thy credit lost thy credit. 'Tis sin to do,
In this case, as thou wouldst be done unto,
To believe all. Change thy name ; thou art like
Mercury in stealing, but liest like a Greek.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

21 sec read
371

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCCDDEF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 360
Words 69
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 8

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

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