| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | August 6 | | To Ben Jonson | | By Robert Herrick (1591–1674) |
| | | | Ben Jonson died August 6, 1637. |
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AH, Ben! | |
| Say, how or when | |
| Shall we, thy guests, | |
| Meet at those lyric feasts | |
| Made at the Sun, | 5 |
| The Dog, the Triple Tun; | |
| Where we such clusters had | |
| As made us nobly wild, not mad, | |
| And yet each verse of thine | |
| Outdid the meat, outdid the frolic wine? | 10 |
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| My Ben! | |
| Or come again, | |
| Or send to us | |
| Thy wit’s great overplus; | |
| But teach us yet | 15 |
| Wisely to husband it, | |
| Lest we that talent spend; | |
| And having once brought to an end | |
| That precious stock, the store | |
| Of such a wit, the world should have no more. | 20 | | |
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