Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.
James Beattie. 1735–1803472. An Epitaph
| LIKE thee I once have stemm’d the sea of life, | |
| Like thee have languish’d after empty joys, | |
| Like thee have labour’d in the stormy strife, | |
| Been grieved for trifles, and amused with toys. | |
| Forget my frailties; thou art also frail: | 5 |
| Forgive my lapses; for thyself may’st fall: | |
| Nor read unmoved my artless tender tale— | |
| I was a friend, O man, to thee, to all. |