But for this, I say,
And but for selfish getting of the land,
And beggarly entailing it, we two,
Today well fed, well grown, well dressed, well read,
We might have been two horny-handed boors,—
Lean, clumsy, ignorant, and ragged boors,—
Planning for moonlight nights a poaching scheme,
Or soiling our dull souls and consciences
With plans for pilfering a cottage roost.
—Jean Ingelow, "Brothers and a Sermon."
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