“A little learning is a dangerous thing:
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.”
here’s an old Pope-ish legend going,
About the right of knowing,
Which says it’s only for the upper classes,—
Only for them the Muses’ tap is flowing,—
And all below the salt must sit with empty glasses.
“Not so,” says Education,
“I brew for all the nation,—
Drink, he who thirsts,—I sell by pint and barrel.”
And this explains the quarrel.
So ye who wish to be as learned
As St. Augustine or St. Bernard,
Cardan or Aristotle,
Drink on (there’s none prevents) your fill;
Get boosey on the classic rill;
But the Pierides declare
The Million waits to have its share;
So drink,—but pass the bottle!
Berni.