Classic Poem

When brilliant Merit justly claims Applause,
Commands Esteem, and Admiration draws:
When ev'ry Action suits to please Mankind,
Delights the Sense, and elevates the Mind;
Each Bard enraptur'd should exalt his Lays,
And gladly pay his tributary Praise;
Yet British Wits are silent when they see,
Thy last inimitable Comedy;
In which, a Spirit lives through every Part,
That charms, that sooths, that captivates the Heart.
'Tis thine, O Foote , with a peculiar Ease,
At once to lash, t' instruct us, and to please:
So sweet, yet poignant, all your Satires flow,
That patiently from you our Faults we know;
The Dunce, the Fribble, the affected Wit,
Chastiz'd by you, must silently submit.
Still may Britannia , with a grateful Sense,
Thy matchless Labours strive to recompense;
Thus we in Time, may ev'ry Error find.
And Foote still prove a Mirror to Mankind.