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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SONNET by JOACHIM DU BELLAY

First Line: FLORENCE I HATE FOR GRIPING AVARICE
Last Line: BUT HATE A PEDANT MOST OF ALL, I WOT.

FLORENCE I hate for griping avarice,
I hate Sienna's dull fatuity,
I hate the Genoese mendacity,
And Venice for its subtle treacheries.

I hate Ferrara for its hidden vice,
Lombards I hate for infidelity,
Proud Naples for its monstrous vanity,
The slothful Roman for his cowardice.

I hate rebellious England, Scotland brave,
The Frenchman rash and the Burgundian knave,
The haughty Spaniard and the German sot.

In short, I loathe some vice in every state,
And my own imperfections too I hate;
But hate a pedant most of all, I wot.



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