While some build castles in the air,
Directors build them in the seas;
Subscribers plainly see them there,
For fools will see as wise men please.
Thus oft by mariners are shown
(Unless the men of Kent are liars)
Earl Godwin's castles overflown,
And palace roofs, and steeple spires.
Mark where the sly directors creep,
Nor to the shore approach too nigh!
The monsters nestle in the deep,
To seize you in your passing by.
Then, like the dogs of Nile, be wise,
Who, taught by instinct how to shun
The crocodile, that lurking lies,
Run as they drink, and drink and run.
Antæus could, by magick charms,
Recover strength whene'er he fell;
Alcides held him in his arms,
And sent him up in air to Hell.
Directors, thrown into the sea,
Recover strength and vigour there;
But may be tam'd another way,
Suspended for a while in air.
Directors! for 'tis you I warn,
By long experience we have found
What planet rul'd when you were born;
We see you never can be drown'd.
Beware, nor overbulky grow,
Nor come within your cullies' reach;
For, if the sea should sink so low
To leave you dry upon the beach,
Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 7.djvu/207
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THE SOUTH SEA PROJECT.
195
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