| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | VI. The Praise of a Solitary Life | | By William Drummond, of Hawthornden (1585–1649) |
| | | THRICE happy he who by some shady grove, | |
| Far from the clamorous world, doth live his own; | |
| Though solitary, who is not alone, | |
| But doth converse with that eternal love. | |
| O how more sweet is bird’s harmonious moan, | 5 |
| Or the hoarse sobbings of the widowed dove, | |
| Than those smooth whisperings near a prince’s throne, | |
| Which good make doubtful, do the evil approve! | |
| Or how more sweet is Zephyr’s wholesome breath, | |
| And sighs embalmed which new-born flowers unfold, | 10 |
| Than that applause vain honor doth bequeath! | |
| How sweet are streams to poison drunk in gold! | |
| The world is full of horrors, troubles, slights; | |
| Woods’ harmless shades have only true delights. | | | | |
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