Classic Poem

At once, a Common Foe, as Common Friend,
You seem, since Friendship, you to all pretend
Alike, all less t'oblige sure, than offend;
You, by your Honest Friends, who flatter none,
Are thought no Friend, for being so much one;
More Disobliging, with your Courtesie,
Are you, who nothing can to none deny,
So you do Kindness, but Injuriously;
For Kindness, which does make no Difference,
'Twixt Good, and Bad, is to the Good Offence;
In Treating all alike, the Good, and Bad,
You made Friends Foes, when Friends of Foes you made;
Benefits, which to all alike are done,
Must Welcome, or Obliging be, to none;
When you, betwixt Men, no Distinction make,
What you give all Men, you from Best Men take;
From the most truly Meritorious Few,
That which is only but their proper Due;
To give it others, but to those Mens Wrong,
To whom, of Right, it truly does belong;
The Best, and Worst Men, but alike to make,
So, from the Good Men, for the Bad to take
Th' Honour of Diff'ring from the most of Men,
Since most Men, Knaves, and Fools, have always been;
Praises, which Rascals must, with Good Men, share,
Affronts to the True Meritorious, are;
And when the Benefit too Public grows,
Twill Honour, Thanks, it seeks from all Men, lose;
That Common Good, which, to Mankind is, done,
Rewards, and Thanks, returns itself alone,
Since, there's none due to that from any one;
The Public Act, it self, does gratifie,
Repaid in its own Coin, with Vanity;
You then, in Courtesie, so general,
Disgust most, as you most wou'd Pleasure all;
Thus a Male Whore, in Friendship, as in Love,
You, to both Sexes, generally prove;
In giving all your Hand, to none your Heart,
Since that to all, none justly can impart;
Thus, your too Common Generosity,
Like the Whore's Love, grows more your Infamy,
The more you give it, Universally;
Friendship, like Love, does true, but then appear,
When it is Private, and Particular;
In growing Public, grows the Giver's Shame,
Who, seeking all Men's Praise, gets all Men's Blame;
Obliging all, deserves the Thanks of none,
Since his Good Deeds but to himself are done;
Whose Justice, or whose Charity for Man,
End but at home, as they but there began;
Whose Friend's Want, did not cause his Noble Deed;
Who but of his Friend's Praise stood more in need;
Thus he his Good Act only sold for Praise,
To make his Bart'ring Bounty his Disgrace;
Himself a Merchant of his Benefit,
Which he did, but for what he got by it;
Not for his Wanting Friend's sake, but his own,
So makes his Kindness, but for Praises done,
Not his Gift, but his Mercenary Loan;
Who but from Selfishness lends, gives his Pelf
His Friend to gratifie, less than himself;
A Common Friend then, like a Common Whore,
Does but Good Turns, upon the Common Score,
More Kindness does, to make Friends do him more;
Who loving all alike, gets Scorn for Love,
Till his Free Heart does his Dishonour prove;
And till his Public Generosity,
Is but his Friendship's Blame, and Infamy,
His Public Kindness, private Injury;
Since Public Good, is oft Peculiar Wrong,
Which does but to the few Good Men belong;
Kindness to all, no one Man shou'd repay,
Since Payment, or Returns, but take away
From the Vain Donor, more ungratefully,
Honour, that's due to Generosity;
Since the true Great Man's Satisfaction is,
More to give his Friends theirs, than purchase his;
His Satisfaction, from his Friends to shun,
Lest his Good Deeds shou'd seem for Wages done;
Whose Praise for them, and Pleasure's in 'em more,
As their Return is less in his Friend's Pow'r,
And more in his, his Friend's Wants to supply,
His Friends, more than they him, to satisfie;
Since Vain Fools but for Ostentation give,
Their own Wants, not their Friends, so to relieve;
Not their Friend's Want of Coin, their own of Fame;
Not so much out of Honour, as for Shame,
To get more Credit, as to 'scape more Blame;
The Common Friend then, like the Common Shore,
Useful to some, ungrateful is to more;
Does of a Public Benefit, become
To most a Nusance, to serve only some;
So Benefits to all alike still done,
Are, being to much Kindness, reckon'd none;
No more to Common Friends then, Poor Men ow,
Than Poor Soils do to Showr's, which them o'erflow,
And only but whether they will or no;
Who, like Forc'd Friends, but do the Benefit,
But because they can't help their doing it;
No Thanks are due to the Vain Prodigal,
Nor can One ow, the Debt that's General;
No Man's oblig'd to pay, what's lent to All;
Nor Money, which is giv'n but to relieve
The Donor's Want of Credit, which he'll give,
A Kindness less to do, than to receive;
But in Exchange of Honour, Fame, or Praise,
Which to him, for his Boon his Friend repays;
Which he more than his Money values, so,
He does the Favour, rather take, than do;
Which he does only to the Grateful Man,
But for Thanks, Praise, which he does for it gain;
Not for his Friend's Advantage, but his own,
So to his Int'rest, turns his Gift or Loan,
Not for his Friend's sake, but his own sake done;
His Friend, to pleasure him, does not relieve
So much, as Pleasure by it to receive.