
The grandeur that was Greece no doubt was great;
I question not the glory that was Rome;
But nowadays I mainly concentrate
On all the wondrous doings here at home.
Let those who wish invoke the good old days,
Let others sing of once romantic times;
I find it more amusing to appraise
Contemporary antics in my rhymes.
I daily marvel at philosophies
Far wilder than the Greeks dared contemplate,
Bizarre presumptions, improprieties
The vilest Roman would repudiate.
Misdeeds today would leave a Greek aghast;
Not vast, not small, they're simply just half-vast!