Poem by James Beattie

An Epitaph

LIKE thee I once have stemm'd the sea of life,
    Like thee have languish'd after empty joys, 
Like thee have labour'd in the stormy strife,
    Been grieved for trifles, and amused with toys.

Forget my frailties; thou art also frail:
    Forgive my lapses; for thyself may'st fall: 
Nor read unmoved my artless tender tale --
    I was a friend, O man, to thee, to all. 

1. An Eclogue. In the Manner of Mr. Gay
2. On reading the Declaration of War in 1756
3. Elegy (Tir'D with the Busy Crouds)
4. Law
5. Verses occasioned by the Death of the Revd. Mr. Charles Churchill

William Cowper An Epitaph ("Here lies one who never drew")

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