Ode on solitude

• • Happy the man whose wish and care
  • A few paternal acres bound,
  • Content to breathe his native air
  • In his own ground.
• • Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
  • Whose flocks supply him with attire,
  • Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
  • In winter fire.
• • Bless’d who can unconcern’dly find
  • Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
  • In health of body, peace of mind,
  • Quiet by day;
• • Sound sleep by night: study and ease
  • Together mix’d; sweet recreation;
  • And innocence, which most does please,
  • With meditation.
• Thus let me live, unseen, unknown,
• Thus unlamented let me die;
• Steal from the world, and not a stone
• Tell where I lie.
•    Alexander Pope, aos 12 anos. ano 1700.