| Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922. | | | | The Latest Decalogue | | By Arthur Hugh Clough (1819–1861) |
| | | THOU shalt have one God only; who | |
| Would be at the expense of two? | |
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| No graven images may be | |
| Worshipp’d, except the currency: | |
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| Swear not at all; for, for thy curse | 5 |
| Thine enemy is none the worse: | |
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| At church on Sunday to attend | |
| Will serve to keep the world thy friend: | |
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| Honour thy parents; that is, all | |
| From whom advancement may befall: | 10 |
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| Thou shalt not kill; but need’st not strive | |
| Officiously to keep alive: | |
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| Do not adultery commit; | |
| Advantage rarely comes of it: | |
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| Thou shalt not steal; an empty feat, | 15 |
| When ’tis so lucrative to cheat: | |
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| Bear not false witness; let the lie | |
| Have time on its own wings to fly: | |
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| Thou shalt not covet, but tradition | |
| Approves all forms of competition. | 20 | | | |
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