Art thou poor, yet hast thou golden slumbers? 
    O sweet content! 
  Art thou rich, yet is thy mind perplexed? 
    O punishment! 
  Dost thou laugh to see how fools are vexed
  To add to golden numbers, golden numbers? 
  O sweet content!  O sweet, O sweet content! 
    Work apace, apace, apace, apace;
    Honest labor bears a lovely face;
  Then hey nonny nonny, hey nonny nonny!

  Canst drink the waters of the crisped spring? 
    O sweet content! 
  Swimm’st thou in wealth, yet sink’st in thine own tears? 
    O punishment! 
  Then he that patiently want’s burden bears
  No burden bears, but is a king, a king! 
  O sweet content!  O sweet, O sweet content! 
    Work apace, apace, apace, apace;
    Honest labor bears a lovely face;
  Then hey nonny nonny, hey nonny nonny!

Thomas Dekker.

IF YOU CAN’T GO OVER OR UNDER, GO ROUND

Often the straight road to the thing we desire is blocked.  We should not then weakly give over our purpose, but should set about attaining it by some indirect method.  A politician knows that one way of getting a man’s vote is to please the man’s wife, and that one way of pleasing the wife is to kiss her baby.

  A baby mole got to feeling big,
  And wanted to show how he could dig;
  So he plowed along in the soft, warm dirt
  Till he hit something hard, and it surely hurt! 
  A dozen stars flew out of his snout;
  He sat on his haunches, began to pout;
  Then rammed the thing again with his head—­
  His grandpap picked him up half dead. 
  “Young man,” he said, “though your pate is bone. 
  You can’t butt your way through solid stone. 
  This bit of advice is good, I’ve found: 
  If you can’t go over or under, go round.”

  A traveler came to a stream one day,
  And because it presumed to cross his way,
  And wouldn’t turn round to suit his whim
  And change its course to go with him,
  His anger rose far more than it should,
  And he vowed he’d cross right where he stood. 
  A man said there was a bridge below,
  But not a step would he budge or go. 
  The current was swift and the bank was steep,
  But he jumped right in with a violent leap. 
  A fisherman dragged him out half-drowned: 
  “When you can’t go over or under, go round.”

  If you come to a place that you can’t get through,
  Or over or under, the thing to do
  Is to find a way round the impassable wall,
  Not say you’ll go YOUR way or not at all. 
  You can always get to the place you’re going,
  If you’ll set your sails as the wind is blowing. 
  If the mountains are high, go round the valley;
  If the streets are blocked, go up some alley;
  If the parlor-car’s filled, don’t scorn a freight;
  If the front door’s closed, go in the side gate. 
  To reach your goal this advice is sound: 
  If you can’t go over or under, go round!