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How vainly men themselves amaze
To win the palm, the oak, or bays,
And their uncessant labours see
Crowned from some single herb or tree,
Whose short and narrow vergéd shade
Does prudently their toils upbraid,
While all flowers and all trees do close
To weave the garlands of repose.

— Andrew Marvell

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More quotes by Andrew Marvell

For though the whole world cannot show such another,
Yet we’d better by far have him than his brother.

The world in all doth but two nations bear —
The good, the bad; and these mixed everywhere.

To make a bank was a great plot of state;
Invent a shovel, and be a magistrate.

The Character of Holland (1653)

An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.

No creature loves an empty space;
Their bodies measure out their place.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Andrew Marvell (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.