Social Commentaries
On a Similar Character
Translated by William Cowper · From Translations
You give your cheeks a rosy stain,
With washes dye your hair,
But paint and washes both are vain
To give a youthful air.
Those wrinkles mock your daily toil,
No labour will efface 'em,
You wear a mask of smoothest oil,
Yet still with ease we trace 'em.
An art so fruitless then forsake,
Which though you much excel in,
You never can contrive to make
Old Hecuba young Helen.
Codex Note
Translated from the Greek.
Cite this poem
MLA
Cowper, William. “On a Similar Character.” Translated by William Cowper. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/cowper/393/.
Chicago
Cowper, William. “On a Similar Character.” Translated by William Cowper. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/cowper/393/.
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