V.10 The Old Dog and the Huntsman

A Dog, that time and often tried,
His master always satisfied;
And whensoever he assail'd,
Against the forest-beasts prevail'd
Both by activity and strength,
Through years began to flag at length.
One day, when hounded at a boar,
His ear he seized, as heretofore;
But with his teeth, decay'd and old,
Could not succeed to keep his hold.
At which the huntsman, much concern'd,
The vet'ran huff'd, who thus return'd:
"My resolution and my aim,
Though not my strength, are still the same;
For what I am if I am chid,
Praise what I was, and what I did."
Philetus, you the drift perceive
Of this, with which I take my leave.