"Canst thou, and honour’d with a Christian name, Buy what is woman-born, and feel no shame? Trade in the blood of innocence, and plead Expedience as a warrant for the deed? So may the wolf, whom famine has made bold To quit the forest and invade the fold: So may the ruffian, who with ghostly glide, Dagger in hand, steals close to your bedside; Not he, but his emergence forced the door, He found it inconvenient to be poor."
William Cowper

January 1, 1970

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Added on April 10, 2026
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Original Language: English

Sources

"Charity", l. 180 (1782)

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