Social Commentaries

A comparison of a Booke, with Cheese

by Sir John Harington 1560–1612

From The Most Elegant and Witty Epigrams (1618), Book 4

Social Commentaries

OLd Haywood writes, & proues in some degrees,
That one may wel compare a book with cheese;
euery market some buy cheese to feed on,
At euery mart some men buy bookes to read on.
All sorts eate cheese; but how? there is the question
The poore for food, the rich for good disgestion.
All sorts read bookes, but why? will you discerne?
The foole to laugh, the wiser sort to learne.
The sight, taste, sent of cheese to some is hateful,
The sight, taste, sense of bookes to some's vngrateful
No cheese there was, that euer pleas'd all feeders,
No booke there is, that euer lik't all Readers.

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Book 4, Epigram 72

MLA

Harington, John. “A comparison of a Booke, with Cheese.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/harington/239/.

Chicago

Harington, John. “A comparison of a Booke, with Cheese.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/harington/239/.

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