Wouldst thou be free? I think it not, indeed;
But if thou wouldst, attend this simple rede:
When quite contented
Thou shall be free when thou canst dine at home
And drink a small wine of the march of Rome;
When thou canst see unmoved thy neighbour’s plate,
And wear my threadbare toga in the gate;
When thou hast learned to love a small abode,
And not to choose a mistress à la mode:
When thus contained and bridled thou shalt be,
Then, Maximus, then first shalt thou be free.
Public-domain source text
In Maximum
by Robert Louis Stevenson
From Standard Ebooks · standardebooks/robert-louis-stevenson_poetry
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