"Why should the worm intrude the maiden bud? Or hateful cuckoos hatch in sparrows’ nests? Or toads infect fair founts with venom mud? Or tyrant folly lurk in gentle breasts? Or kings be breakers of their own behests? But no perfection is so absolute, That some impurity doth not pollute."

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Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Added on April 10, 2026
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Original Language: English

Sources

Lines 848–54

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Rape_of_Lucrece